Packing Up

My final day in Tucson is turning out to be very similar to my first day (completely full of training). We started off this morning with a tough swim practice at the U of AZ pool...now that the men have brought home the NCAA Championships, I'm soaking up all the 'Champion' vibes (or is that just chlorine?).
Tim and I rocked a great 5k workout this morning and then we headed off to the Bally's gym for some strength and weights. I have to admit that I spend most of my time in the Bally's "people-watching." There are quite a few interesting characters that distract me from focusing on my own workout...like the guy today on the treadmill in his pajamas or the women busting out splits on the stretching mat.
I got back to the hotel, hung up my wet swim stuff, grabbed my hat and glasses, and got a ride down to the 'wash' to do my mid-day jog. It was a great sunny day and I enjoyed my last few moments of training in a different scenery. There is just nothing else like this arid, cactus filled, cloud-less state.
By the time I got back to the hotel, it was time for lunch. I cooked up some leftovers in my kitchen and was enjoying the feast when my brother called me from the Phoenix airport. He is on his way from Florida to California to take a tour of all the graduate schools that have accepted him into their Aerospace Engineering program. The finalists are Irvine, Stanford, USC, and Cal Tech.
Now I'm just killing time before my mid-afternoon massage. I think I'm going to ask for a pretty deep tissue massage on my legs (they've got some knots/kinks that I would like to make disappear) and then go for a chill 90 minute bike ride to spin out everything that the massage digs up. I had to find someone to go on the ride with me (Dave has volunteered) because I have no idea where I am and what direction to start riding.
Afterwards, it will be time to box up the bike and bag up my gear. Tomorrow morning I've got a flight out of Tucson at 8:40am and I will be traveling all day back to Orlando.

Mooloolaba World Cup

(Photo of Vanessa, Emma, and Laura in T1)

I'm hanging out with all the USAT campers/coaches/staff watching the online coverage of the first 2008 Triathlon World Cup. We've got a few Americans down under (Laura Bennett being our top contender) so we are cheering for the USA.
Also, there are a couple of countries that are basing some last Olympic qualifications on this race (Australia, New Zealand, to name a few) so the competition is fierce.
We had a pot-luck style dinner...I brought some black beans and rice, Dave made a salad, Joe brought cookies and ice cream, Dr. Keith provided some Trader Joe pizzas...all good stuff (and I am stuffed:)

Dustin's NCAA Recap

As of 15 minutes ago, my brother's NCAA Swimming career is officially complete!!
Congratulations to Dustin on a great four years as a Florida Gator!
He just finished swimming the 1650 freestyle at the NCAA championships in Seattle, Washington with a great performance (just off his amazing swim at SEC's last month) of 15:22. He also swam the 400 IM yesterday (3:49) and the 200 IM on Thursday (1:49). Unfortunately, he JUST missed scoring in the 400 IM...he was 17th in the prelims and the top 16 come back to swim at Finals.
BUT...I am still very proud of all that he has accomplished and just to compete at the NCAA's is a dream that many collegiate athletes never experience. I have talked to him a few times on the phone and he has sounded upbeat and happy to be at the meet. The Gators are having a strong showing even though they are on the other side of the country and out of their element in the cold, rainy, and cloudy state of Washington.
Tonight is the conclusion of the meet and it looks like the University of Arizona might bring home the men's trophy to complement their women's victory last weekend. I'm just hoping that it's something in the Arizona pool water so that I might be able to soak up a bit of their success during my training sessions in their facilities this week:)

More Tucson

Another great day in Tucson is coming to a close. Since I’m still on Florida time, I was awake early…but since I didn’t have to build my bike, I just chilled in bed and watched TV. The breakfast bar opens in the lobby around 6:15am and I met Bec and Julie for some cereal and yogurt.
At 7:30am we headed over to the pool for morning practice. The sun wasn’t as powerful in the early hours so I don’t think I added to the burn that I’m rocking on my back from yesterday’s mid-day swim! We did a ton of pulling sets and I had no complaints because I knew the rest of the day was going to be tough on my legs.
After swimming, Julie, Bec and I got a ride to a great running trail for our second workout of the day. It was an easy jog and I enjoyed taking in the sights on the trail (spotted a few hares and lots of beautiful wild flowers) along with working on my form thanks to Coach Bobby’s advice. I even let Bobby put some acupuncture needles into my bum foot after the workout…which, as most people know about me, I made sure NOT too even glance at my foot when they were in place!
Lunch was the next important event of my day while relaxing in my suite in front of the TV with my computer on my lap. I had about 90 minutes before I started getting ready for the final workout session of the day: 2.5 hour bike ride. I put sunscreen onto EVERY inch of skin that wasn’t going to be covered with cycling clothes and filled FOUR bike bottles with water and ice.
We rolled out at 1:30pm into a fierce headwind (I just stayed tucked behind the boys, so it wasn’t that bad:). It was all new to me so I just followed along, took in some more sights, and even took out my camera a few times to click some photos while riding. Unfortunately, I can’t show you those photos b/c I forgot to bring my camera-computer uploading cord…that just means there will be a LOT of photos uploaded all at once next week when I get home!
To finish off a great day, I joined Julie and Bec for dinner at their suite. Both ladies are departing Tucson tomorrow so they had a dinner made entirely from ‘leftovers’ in the fridge. As a bonus, they had even more food stuff leftover and they just gave it all to me for my week here. So, big thanks to the girls for filling my fridge instead of their garbage can.
Tomorrow I’m looking forward to another morning practice, a strength workout at the Bally’s gym and then an afternoon massage! I can’t even remember when my last massage was…this will be a treat!

Exhausted Already!

One day in Tucson and I’m already exhausted!! No kidding, after a VERY long day of traveling yesterday, I was awake early this morning (6am) and haven’t relaxed until now.
I started by putting my bike together and making sure everything was in working order. Our first activity of the day was cycling so I needed to be prepared. Everything went together easily until I realized that I had to search through my bike box for one tiny skewer spring and one small screw from my aerobars…that only took an extra 20 minutes:)
Around 6:15am I headed over to the lobby building for breakfast. It was a GREAT spread, not just a coffee and Danish bar that some hotels provide…we had yogurts, granola, cereal, milk, fruit, oatmeal, waffles, bacon and eggs, hard boiled eggs, toast, bagels, peanut butter, jelly, AND the Danish spread and coffee bar! I was able to eat my typical meal and gathered enough food to take back to my room for lunch. At this rate, I’m not going to have to spend a fortune of money on food. Free breakfast and lunch, can’t beat that!
At 7:30am we rolled out of the parking lot with the OTC van following closely behind. Everyone tossed their run gear in the van along with extra water bottles because this was a bike/run brick session. I had a great time on the warm up ride taking in the sights of Tucson. The mountains were off in the distance (very beautiful) and the cacti were huge. About 30 minutes down the road, it ended at a park of hiking trails. We set up a transition rack in the parking lot, warmed up a bit, and then started the workout.
We didn’t use the park trails, just the road for both biking and running (to minimize any tripping on rocks/roots). I was grouped up with Tim and Joe and the other group was Jules, Bec, and Cliff. We did three bike/runs (decreasing in duration each time) and I had a great time! It was hard, it was fast, and I was glad when we finished the last one and got to ride home easy.
There was a short break for us to grab lunch and get our swim stuff together before we piled into the vans and headed to the U of Arizona pool for a 1 pm swim practice. Before today, I had never been to the UAz pool and I’m glad to report that it’s a very nice 50m x 25y facility. It was nice to see it set up long course because I’ve been doing too much short course lately. Cliff gave us a great 5000+ workout and Tim and I rocked the main set on a good interval (2x400, 3x300, 4x200).
We weren’t done yet…after swimming we put on our workout gear and drove down to the Bally’s Fitness gym for a 30 minute strength session. I wasn’t very enthusiastic but I went through the whole routine. I was more looking forward to 5:30 when we were heading down the street to Chuy’s for a group Mexican dinner! After a great evening with friends, laughter and good food, I stopped at the grocery store for some staple foods (carrots, cottage cheese and a large bag of peanuts:) . Now I’m just taking care of my computer obligations before crawling into bed for an attempt at recovering before another huge day of training!

Flying, Flying, Flying

Tucson, here I come! If this darn plane ever LANDS! Geeze, I feel like I’ve been in a plane all day…2pm to 5pm flying from Orlando up to Washington, DC and then from 5:30pm to 7:30pm over to Tucson (and no, that’s not a 2 hour flight…figure in a 3 hour time change and it works out to a little over 5 hours). My legs are not loving me right now, should have packed the compression socks…but I actually don’t know where they are: Florida or Colorado??
I just did some math and I would be rolling into bed right now if I was still in FL…but I’ve got about another 45 minutes in the air, a long wait for my baggage, a drive from the airport to the hotel, and then finally I will be able to check in and crash in my hotel room. I heard that we have a hard bike/run session in the morning at 7:30am. At least I know that I won’t have any problems waking up in time…I can almost guarantee that my body clock will have me up and starving at 4:30am! Well, I will put those few hours to good use and build my bike so that I am ready for the workout…and probably have a few minutes to twiddle my thumbs:).
***Time passes***
The Residence Inn that we are staying at is really sweet. My room is a ‘single’ with just one bed…and a living room, bathroom, and full kitchen! I just fixed myself a hot cocoa to get ready for bed and I’m starting to feel the effects (it’s getting harder to keep my eyes open). Fortunately, we’ve got access to some free internet so I’ve already shot off some emails, checked out some websites that I read about in the United magazine, and posted this blog!

Cleaning, Baking, & Packing

My evening has consisted of those three activities. I could have taken another beautiful photo of my three-part dinner creation...but I want to refrain from turning this into a diary about my eating adventures (and I forgot to get my camera out until I was already sitting down eating). Suffice it to say that I was happy with how everything turned out: Baked Sweet Potato, Pecan and Raisin Salad; Spicy Roasted Potato Wedges with Parmesan Cheese; and Steamed Brussels Sprouts and Cauliflower with Walnuts. My Mom even ventured in and ate some of the potato wedges, 1/2 a Brussels sprout, and one cube of sweet potato. (She really hasn't eaten a single thing that I've created in the past 5 months...my Dad on the other hand, has dug into everything with almost as much gusto as I have shown:)
***Side note...did you know that the word "Brussels" in 'Brussels sprouts' is always capitalized and has an 's' on the end? Apparently that is the truth because that's the only choice that my spell-checker is giving me. I thought there was just a typo on the recipe that I was reading!***
The cleaning activity that I am referring to are the three loads of laundry that I ran through the washer today. I must have let the hamper get a bit full during the past few days because I was anticipating doing fresh laundry to pack for Tucson. At least I realized it with plenty of time to prepare before tomorrow's departure. I have yet to place a single item into a bag of luggage...that will all take place in a mad rush tomorrow morning. My flight departs O-town at 1:53pm (bound for Tucson, AZ via Washington, DC) so I don't have to get out of the house until a little before noon. That leaves plenty of time for a small sleep-in, a casual breakfast, a hard bike workout followed by the complete packing of my bike box, a shower (only for the benefit of my seatmates on the plane:), and maybe some lunch. (Is anyone else laughing at my use of the word 'maybe' in the previous sentence?)
I should write an early "Thanks" to my Dad for giving me a lift to the airport tomorrow. Hopefully he will still be in good spirits to drive to Orlando after spending the morning at the Dentist's offices! Speaking of appointments, my Mom has her two-week check up with her knee surgeon tomorrow morning. That's a large percentage of McLarty's that are going to be seeing Doctors tomorrow, I've got my fingers crossed that I don't find myself joining them!
Back to discussing 'work' related activities...my seven days in Tucson, participating in the second USA Triathlon Elite camp of the year, will start tomorrow afternoon. I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone, listening and sharing gossip stories, showing off my Florida tan, working my butt off at all the training sessions, cooking and eating with friends, etc. I have no idea what the exact training schedule is...but I know that the riding is great, swim practice is at the Univ. of Arizona pool (the women just won NCAA's last week!) and we are taking advantage of the local trails for running.
I hope to compose a 'Elite Athlete Update' about the Tucson camp after my first few days.If Jason likes it, maybe he will put it up on the USAT.org website. I will make sure to include a link on here if that is the case. This will also be the first trip for my new computer...and my new computer sleeve/bag. Can you tell that I'm happy to have this new machine? I can't stop mentioning it...okay, that will be the last time, I'm putting a stop to my obsession:)
Next stop (and probably next blog) from the Residence Inn by Marriott in Tucson, Arizona!

Dinner Beauty

I was a whizz in the kitchen tonight. Whipping up a healthy, hot, and delicious meal in about 15 minutes. I was multi-tasking all over the counter, stove, and oven trying to get my three items to finish at the same time.

My favorite was the Broiled Portobello Pizzas...big mushroom caps filled with marinara sauce and topped with Parmesan cheese.

The asparagus was simply drizzled with EVOO, sprinkled with salt and pepper and then lightly broiled. If anything went wrong, it was that I might have left the skinny asparagus spears under the broiler for a few seconds too long.

Finally, I boiled a can of organic black beans, squeezed in the juice of half a lime and then served with some diced red bell pepper (for decoration and crunch:)

Great Article

Click here to read a great article that I just read about "The State of Youth Triathlon" by Mike Kanute. I was just catching up on the world of triathlon news and came across this at http://www.insidetri.com/
I am including this on my blog because I believe that Mike's opinions about Youth Triathlon in the United States are perfectly in-tune with my own thoughts. It is just coincidence that my name was mentioned in the text (I would have be shocked if I wasn't included, what with all the support and voice that I have given to the Youth triathlon movement).
If you don't have the time or interest to read his whole essay, let me summarize the key points:
*Youth triathlons are having a great success, combined with adult races or as summer events in the "try a tri" theme (by the way, that was the name of the clinic that my Mom and I organized in Daytona in 2001: "Try a Tri")
*No matter what the kid's skill level or how the race was organized, they will all be smiling at the end...Mike even mentions IronKids and the "Every Finisher is a Winner" as the perfect model for Youth races around the country
*Unfortunately, there is a very weak system in our country to encourage young triathletes to progress into the Olympic style racing...very few non-professional races allow drafting or provide the situations to practice skills that will be needed in on the World Cup circuit. The draw of collegiate scholarship sports like swimming and cross country leave a gaping hole in the upcoming stars of triathlon.
*The article goes on to commend USAT for creating and developing a Junior and Youth series of races around the country that provide what has been lacking for these athletes. I have actually seen this series in action because the races have been tied into some of the big Professional races (like the Hy-Vee World Cup in Des Moines) and I make sure that I am out cheering and talking with the kids to show my support (and scouting the field for future competitors:)
Well, the point of all this was that I agree 100% with Mr. Kanute and his closing points. We need to continue to find new ways to develop and improve our current methods of support for the Youth movement. We also need to keep encouraging all the kids who are riding their bikes in swimsuits and running shoes with visions of Olympic Glory in their heads.

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy

Things that make me smile right now…
My new toy…this computer to be exact! It is so much fun and it’s exactly what I wanted in a laptop: lightweight, portable, pretty, etc. And, it’s got a lot of bonus fun things that make playing with it double-the-fun: touch screen (I can’t wait to pay tic-tac-toe with friends on my next travel trip), fingerprint swiper (now my index fingers are doubly useful), swivel screen (who wants to watch a movie over a keyboard?), etc. Last week Dad wired the internet connection up to the house (it had been only accessible it in the shop at the desktop computer) and now I can check my email without even climbing out of bed! Life is sweet!
Cooking…yes, cooking. Any kind, any size, anywhere. I LOVE to cook! And I get to cook as much and as often as I want when I’m in a house…unlike the OTC where my choices are cafeteria food, energy bars, or starving). Tonight we had some family friends over (we’ve had an unusually high number of people at the house lately…all visiting my mother as she recovers from the knee-replacement) and I usually encourage them to stay for dinner because then I have a reason to perform well in the kitchen! Tonight I whipped up a batch of Sweet Potato and Butternut Squash Pilaf…it was absolutely delicious (I don’t care if my judgment is considered biased because I cooked it and because Butternut Squash is probably my favorite food)! As I was working at the stove, I realized that it was the first time that I have ever, personally, used a Bay Leaf in food preparation. I believe this officially means I have graduated from PB&Js and scrambled eggs!
Top Gear. Now I’m pretty sure that not too many people will know what I’m talking about when I mention the television show Top Gear but it has to be my favorite show of ALL time. I am addicted to British comedy and this is the just the funniest of all time. It’s actually a show about cars, get it: “Top Gear,” but the three show hosts: Jeremy, Hamster, and Captain Slow can make me laugh even if they are taking about disk brakes. Some of the episodes revolve around a new car on the market and they test it, time it, and talk about it good and bad features. But my favorite episodes are the adventures or challenges they do…like having a race to the North Pole, dog sleds versus a Toyota truck (you might be interested to know that they were attempting to be the first people to DRIVE to the North Pole…I won’t ruin the hilarity by giving away the results of the race). Anyways, between watching the episodes that are recorded on our Tivo and those that have been uploaded to YouTube, I’ve pretty much filled most of the spare time in my days!
The sunshine…remember, I’m still in Florida (the Sunshine State…at least our motto makes sense, what does “the show me state” mean???). I haven’t been this tan since I retired from my life as a swimmer and move to Colorado where all the pools are inside! I just got home from another two hours in the beautiful outdoor Port Orange YMCA pool…yes, I had my sunscreen on (don’t forget yours). There are no bad moods or any type of depression that a little time in the sun can’t cure, and if you are already in a good mood, imagine how happy you can be!

Sara McLarty Interview

Windermere Ride

Yesterday morning, my Dad and I drove down to Orlando to join the Windermere Roadies Sunday group ride. I have done this ride a half-dozen times and absolutely LOVE it! It's soooo hard, and so intense, and sooo hilly...I know I'm getting a great training session even if I do get dropped every time the pace increases up a huge climb!
But, yesterday, I was determined to stay with the lead group...and I was a bit rested because I had missed a handful of workouts during the week to spend time with my mother in the hospital --- I'll do an update on her later in this post. So we started off just like every other Sunday morning, riding over to Clermont. I was feeling good and still very determined. As we neared the first big climb where the pack shatters into a million pieces, the ride leaders made a slight course change because of a road closure on the normal route. I took it in stride and prepared myself by moving up to the front so that I could get a chance up the Grassy Lake Hill.
BANG...we hit that hill hard. But this time, I found myself at the top of the climb still among the leaders! I was stoked and that feeling of accomplishment only increased my determination to hang on.
Unfortunately, making it to the top of the climb is only half the battle. Immediately following the crest of the hill comes some of the sketchiest road conditions (imagine Paris-Roubaix on steroids) that all the Central Florida roadies approach without fear. Potholes, sand, road patches, etc...they just keep on hammering through the lot of it!
The thing is...I just can't do it. I just can't risk my life and limbs out there on a training ride just to stay with the pack. My new motto for these rides is: "I'd rather be average and able to compete, than be dead trying to be the best." So I lost the front pact during this section but managed to bridge myself back up with the help of some other riders that seemed to be just as determined as I was!
Next came the Buckhill section and I rode it with EASE! Yes, I just wrote 'ease' and 'hill' in the same sentence...that might be a first for me:). As we continued to ride the normal route, a message was relayed through the group that, today, we were going to climb the front-side of Sugarloaf Mountain! When I heard the news, I took it in stride and mentally prepared myself for the hardest climb in Florida.
(Now, when I say that I "mentally prepared myself" I am referring to the effort that it took not to scream or moan in disbelief and beg all the guys to please, please, please just go up the back-side like normal!)
It hurt like H-E-double-hockey-sticks but I pedalled up that hill and managed to get to the top ahead of two people (no need to mention that the 30 other people from the group were already halfway down the other side:). Again, I found myself with another group of determined individuals and we gutted it out in a small rotating pace-line to catch back up. I was just on Cloud-9 at this point because of how strong and how hard I was riding...also on Cloud-9 because I couldn't feel too much of my body anymore! Anyways, the whole ride was just a great experience. It all took place on another Beautiful Florida day in the middle of March. The sun was shinning...I was dripping with sweat...what more could a girl ask for?!?!
After the ride I had to have Dad drive us home because I was completely out of energy. We didn't have to worry about my Mom because Dustin was home for the weekend and in charge of 'Mom-Care' for the morning. By the way, she is doing AMAZING...you wouldn't believe it if I told you that she is walking around, climbing stairs, going to lunch with friends, relaxing in her lounge-chair outside, visiting the McLarty Farm animals, etc. Thanks to the drugs, she is in minimal pain and only taking the pills when she needs to...her goal is to be off them by the time she goes in for a check-up two weeks after the surgery!
And I also mentioned that Dustin was home...from Saturday after swim practice to after dinner last night. It was great to see our newest NCAA qualifier (he made his first 'A' cut last weekend at Auburn so he is heading up to Seattle, WA in two weeks to compete in his first National Championships with the rest of the Gators)! Too bad the meet is as far away as possible (and still within the continental USA) or else I might be a little more motivated to go...but I was happy to watch him compete in Alabama last month and I have a plane ticket to the Olympic Trials this summer.
As for myself, it's the beginning of another week, my training log has been posted, the weather is beautiful, and I'm heading out for a horse-back-ride!

My Attempt at Swimming

I just got home from the Orlando Aquatic Center where I swam the 200m freestyle as the lead-off leg of the Daytona Beach Swimming relay. It was a lot of fun...I got to see and watch Ryan, Vipa, Tina, and a bunch of other Daytona, Clermont, and Gator swimmers compete in the prelims.
Unfortunately, my swim wasn't the most amazing thing...I went a 2:09...but I've got a bunch of reasons why I could swim faster: I wasn't wearing a race suit, just a practice suit; I had no competition, our relay was in heat 1; etc, etc. I could go on and on but who the h*ll wants to read about that?
I felt pretty good and I sure was hurting on the last 50! I think my comment when I climbed out of the pool was "Now I remember why I quit this sport!" How in the world can two minutes of effort produce so much lactic acid?!?! My 50 splits were: 30, 32, 33, 32...so at least I still know how to pace a race, just at a completely different pace than I used to be at:)
On another note, my Mom is home and upstairs on the couch watching TV. She was released from the hospital around noon (when I was warming up to swim in Orlando) and was happy to get home, lie in the sun on her new lounge-chair, climb into the house and up all the stairs, take a nap in her bed, take a shower, watch TV, pet the cats, eat normal food, etc.
The current weather situation in Delightful DeLand is CLOUDS and RAIN. Yucky, yucky. I have decided to devote the rest of this afternoon to updating my new computer. I've got my flash-drive out and I'm going to spend a few hours copying photos, music, and files from my old, crappy computer onto this new, sweet machine! I've also got some emails to write, a post-race press release to compose, and travel plans to research and plan.

Hospital Update

I've been spending a few hours every day with my mother in her hospital room. The initial visit on operation day was horrible. Yesterday, was a bit better and we visited in the morning and evening.

Today, after eating breakfast at home, Dad and I went for another visit. She was feeling MUCH better today...because she actually got some sleep last night...and we cheered her through some great rehab. With the assistance of a walker, she walked down the hall to the nurse's station and back, into the bathroom, and then sat down in a comfy chair instead of getting right back to the bed (after 2 days, I would be sick of lying down too:).

She has requested that we bring her crutches this evening so that she can get some practice with them before arriving home to climb the steps and stairs in the house. I was also happy to see her eat some solid foods and drink quite a bit of juices and Gatorade...bananas and grape juice seem to be her favorite choices of the moment (not much different than when she is at home).

I've been carrying my new, tiny, laptop into the hospital and getting some good free wireless Internet. Yesterday, Dustin and Mom talked via Skype and he was able to see her all bandaged up on the bed. After they finished talking, he was off to see a performance by The Blue Man Group at the O'Dome in Gainesville. On a side note...Spring Break at UF is probably not the best time to do a performance (any type of performance) because the entire town is a ghost-town...but the benefit was that Dustin and his roommates and teammates were able to get good, cheap tickets very easily and enjoyed a great show.

The KNEE!!

OUCH!!! Lots of pain going on here! But everyone says she's going to be better off for it (at least, in a week's time when the pain starts to subside:).

So, right after surgery, her leg is strapped into this device that constantly bends and straightens her leg...seriously, RIGHT after the surgery (actually, as the final part of the surgery) her leg is constantly being moved. I guess there is no better time than the present to start the rehab!

Congrats and good luck to Mom!!

Total Knee Replacement Surgery

At 10am this morning, my active, fit, out-doors-y mother was admitted to the hospital for total knee replacement surgery on her left leg! We have heard from the hospital that she is out of surgery and in the recovery room...but in LOTS and LOTS of pain.
My heart is breaking because there is nothing I can do to help. Family can't even go into the recovery room. As soon as they have the pain under control and she will be moved to her private room (where she will remain for the next two nights/three days). Dad and I are waiting by the phone for the call that says we can come visit.
Dustin surprised her by coming down from Gainesville on Monday and stayed until she headed off to the hospital this morning. (He has since driven back up to UF to make afternoon practice.)

SPEEDO's World Swim Against Malaria

Please check out the World Swim Against Malaria site to see what it's all about.

I have registered as a swimmer and donated one mosquito bed-net. After swim practice this afternoon I will plug in the distance I swam and help reach the goal of swimming around the world by April 5th.

If you would like to join the cause, you can register yourself as a swimmer here.

If you would just like to make a donation to help kids escape the mosquitoes carrying malaria...you can sponsor ME here. Just $5 gets a new, long-lasting, insecticidal net put over the heads and beds of those in need!

Please help us get more nets!!

I Won a Race This Morning!

I just got up from my comfortable chair where I was lounging in front of the TV and came down to my computer to post the results of the race this morning. First, of course, I checked my email as the results page was loading. It seems I don't even need to blog about WINNING the Florida's Great Escape this morning because my inbox was already full of congratulations emails!
Where did you people see results for this obscure little triathlon on a FREEZING morning in March!?!? I mean, it's not like they will be posted on the home page of USAT, ITU, or Triathlete...so I feel like I was late to make my own announcement!
Oh well, I'll just make the announcement again, in case you didn't catch it the first time in my previous paragraph: I won the race this morning!! Yea, my first 'win' as a professional triathlete...even though it wasn't technically a 'pro' race, but there was prize money and other competitors with pro cards.
Actually, there were quite a few other pros out this morning because Clermont is such a popular place to train during the winter. There was a large contingent of Canadian athletes training down the road from Lake Louisa at the Vacation Villages. A couple Ironman and 70.3 athletes, etc.
I think another reason might be that this is one of the first triathlon races of the year in the continental United States...not too many other places would be crazy enough to mark March 9th on their calendars. The 324 people that finished the race this morning were pretty crazy (myself being one of them) because we woke up to temperatures in the 40s, strong wind from the north, and 57 degree water in the lake! Yes, that is not a typo..57 degrees. Tom Ziebart (the race director) emailed me that the water was a pleasant 65 degrees on Tuesday and I had my fingers crossed that it might warm up to 'non-wetsuit-legal' temperatures (obviously, a snowball's chance in...:)
Just getting out of the house and into the car at 5:30am was a brave action...let alone having to: strip down to a race suit, pull on a wetsuit, dive into the water, swim for 12 minutes, take off the wetsuit, pull on a cycling vest, ride 17 miles soaking wet, not feel my fingers to shift on the bike, not feel my feet to put my shoes on, running 3 miles on frozen nubs, etc. The bonus of the day was winning (obvious) and running a strong 5K off-road, sub-18 minutes.
Now I'm attempting to recover from the early morning (by the way, that was a 4:30am wake-up for every part of my body except the watch on my wrist which read "5:30am"), a hard physical effort (the race, duh), a very sore foot (still hurts but doesn't affect my racing:), and the huge pizza dinner that I just consumed (mushroom, sweet pepper, and pineapple if you were interested...or hungry)!

Me...Working...For-Real!

Here is proof! I made sure that someone got out the camera so that I would have evidence of me, Sara McLarty, doing real work!
Over the past year, my Dad and Mom have rebuilt the Greenhouse on our house...new sky-windows, new treated boards on the outside, new doors inside, etc. I thought I would lend a hand in the painting...at least it sounded like one part where I could be helpful and useful (for all of the other stuff...ie: building...I think I would be more of a nuisance).

So here I am, on a sunny but cool day last week, doing some back-breaking work to put "smooth, long, fluid" paint strokes onto the lower part of the Greenhouse wall. This was actually a photo during the second-coat of paint. A few days earlier, Dad and I had put the base coat over the green-weather-treated boards. That would have made a better photo, but no one would get the camera:)

Now that I have recovered from this amazing experience of 'real-work,' it's time to get back to my play-work that pays the bills! Tomorrow morning I am off to Clermont's Lake Louisa State Park for the Florida's Great Escape Triathlon. I've got my bags all ready and they are just waiting on some bottles to be filled with Gatorade (Lemon-Lime, if anyone was curious). It will be interesting to get to the race site and figure out what I forgot to pack...it's been almost five months since my last race and I'm hoping that I can still remember all the little items.
Ya know, I am the Queen of making LISTS. You would think that I already made a 'race day' list for myself...but that is not the case. Guess what I will be doing on Sunday afternoon when I get home and sit in front of my computer?!?
The thing that is hard about making triathlon lists is that everyone is different (some people wear hats on the run, others don't), the weather can affect what to pack (a cold-water swim needs a wetsuit, a warm-water swim doesn't), and the type of race is also important (an ITU race doesn't need a race-number-belt like a USAT sanctioned race). I might actually need to make myself a couple of lists:)
The race tomorrow is just a sprint distance and I'm doing it to get the winter-kinks out of my system and practice my race mentality. I thought about writing a 'Pre-Race Press Release' but I decided against the idea. Instead, I'm just going to write a post-race report and welcome all my friends, family, supporters, and fans to 'Race Season 2008'.
Actually, I waited to long to write the report...I'm a good procrastinator...and tonight is an important night of sleep: DAYLIGHTS SAVINGS happens at 2am on Sunday morning. Yes, that is correct, we LOOSE a whole hour of sleep tonight...and I have to go race at 8am! Actually, it will be 7am for everyone's body clock and for the amount of light we have! The light shouldn't be a factor once we are racing, could be a problem for warming-up before hand, but the COLD front that is chilling over Central Florida WILL be a problem...who invited these low temperatures to town??

Last Bit of Energy

Hard training day today! I'm exhausted and going to sleep (to get ready for another big day). Thought I would mention my bike/run brick workout this morning...as funny as it sounds, I rode the Computrainer on a beautiful Florida day! Sometimes you just need to do the workout your coach writes, no matter how pretty the weather is, ya know? I also followed the bike session with a run OUTside! Yep, it was a pleasant way to switch-things-up from my regular road rides and treadmill runs.
As I came back down the driveway after my run, Buddy, our horse, was looking very lonely and forlorn. Yesterday, his girlfriend, Star, was taken away, never to return to the McLarty farm! POOR Buddy...he is heartbroken and lets us know every time he lets out a loud whinny in our direction. So, I thought I would at least give him some company and give him a good brushing. (I was way too sweaty and improperly dressed to take him on a ride...maybe on one of my off-days...whenever that might be!) I think he enjoyed having someone around him, even for a short period of time, and I promise to go riding soon!
I have to go riding SOON because I got one Birthday present, from my Mom, in the form of a brand new pair of riding boots! They are really sweet and I've always been envious of hers (as I ride painfully in old sneakers, she rides comfortably in her boots) so now I need to take advantage!
Okay, so after visiting with Buddy, I took a wonderful mid-day nap before dragging myself out the door for swim practice. The dark clouds were rolling in as I drove over to Port Orange, but I thought we had a chance to make it through swim practice. I mustered up some solid swimming for the Distance workout that Coach Steve gave and was pleasantly surprised with the times he was calling off (albeit, they were "Coach Steve Times" which always come with a bit of skepticism and the knowledge to add 1-2 seconds to get your 'actual' time).
So, by the time we were on the last set of the afternoon, and I was dying, I actually had no complaints when the thunder and lightning finally arrived and ended practice a few 50s early. I was a bit flustered because they called us out of the pool because I had just swam a set of 50s all-out and I could have used a few laps of warm-down...but you try explaining that to the weather!
Back at home, I couldn't weasel my way out of yoga because my Mom said she would go as well and I never enjoy letting her out-do me...so off to the airport for an hour of torture...oh, did I say torture? I mean stretching and relaxing, and breathing, and strengthening, and balancing, etc. I barely made it into the house for the evening, threw some leftovers in a bowl, called it dinner, and watched American Idol with the parents before calling it a night.

Featured Athlete

Sarah Thomsen just published a new website called HerTri.com. It is a multisport site for women, about women, and by women. I was honored to be the first featured athlete for the month of March. Check out our fun interview on the site.
Thanks HerTri.com for the opportunity to speak to multisport women about my life as a pro triathlete!

Bikes, Trees, Cats and Computers

What better way to start a Sunday than driving over to Clermont and taking part in the 65 mile, hilly, and grueling Windemere group ride?!?!
Yes, I know there are many answers to that question (quite a few that I have already thought of) but I'm not interested in technicalities here! I'm interested in what ACTUALLY happened on this Sunday morning:
Alarm went off at 6am, I dressed in my bike gear, rounded up some breakfast, and then Dad and I were out the door and on the road by 6:45am. We picked up two other triathletes in the DeLand area (Chad and Mike) and pulled into the Elementary School parking lot by 7:50am...time to spare, I guess I didn't need to drive 80+mph on the interstate!
I had a beautiful day to ride in the hills. After visiting the Olympic Trials course last weekend in Tuscaloosa, I know that I need to keep up my cycling strength so that I can drag myself up all 16 of the hills on the race course.
We grabbed some Subway chow on the return trip to Delightful DeLand, dropped of Chad and Mike and pulled into the McLarty Farm around 1pm. Martha and John, family friends, had stopped by the house with their "ascending" gear. "Ascending" is the term to use when talking about climbing a tree using a 'non-evasive' method...basically ropes instead of spikes.

So here is my Dad, half way up a pine tree in the north pasture, using the 'ascending' method. Here are the steps: lift foot, raise ascender up rope, stand up on foot, scoot knot up, repeat. Keep doing this for a few minutes and eventually you will find yourself a couple of feet off the ground and entering the tree 'canopy.'

Mom and Martha watching the tree climbing from our rental-golf-cart. This thing is SWEET...and I hate that it is being returned in two days (anyone got a spare $4k lying around that we can buy a golf cart with??).

Dad was waving to Grandma Jane. She was watching from her back porch but wanted no part in the tree business:)

It took my Mom a few minutes to figure out the method to 'ascend'...but once she got the steps, right up the tree she went!

This is my Grandma Jane and her new kitty, Tess. Tess is the sweetest thing...friendly, active, happy, loving, etc. Now I have two reasons to go visit the Pink Cottage in the front yard:)

As for new things in my life, sometime next week I will be getting a package delivered from HP containing my NEW LAPTOP! I'm so excited because the computer that I am currently typing on is sorta making me a little loco!!! This new present to myself (a little belated-B-day gift) has tons of sweet features...check it out here...touch screen, fingerprint recognition, lightweight, tablet style, built-in web cam and mic, etc, etc!! It's going to make my reporting abilities from the road a breeze!

I have been drooling over this particular computer for a few weeks and the final straw that convinced me to make the purchase: I found a $400 coupon online for this model! No joke, I had the thing ordered within 10 hours of that marvelous discovery!

Racing Season Approaches

The first thing on my list of "Things To Do" is take the entry form for the Florida's Great Escape race down to the fax machine and get registered for the race next weekend.
Yep, you read that correctly, my first race of 2008 is next Sunday, March 9th, over in Clermont at Lake Louisa State Park. The gun goes off at 8am and I should be finishing somewhere around 9am...it's a sprint distance! Nothing better than racing a triathlon that takes about an hour to complete. (Who suggested that 2 hour distance to the Olympic committee??) The race flier says 1K swim, 25K bike, 5K run...PERFECT...a long swim and bike (compared to the run distance) is what I look for in races!
Earlier this week I submitted my completed forms and required payment to become a member of the Daytona Beach Speed swim team (again) as well as register with USA Swimming as an active member.
Now, you might be asking, why would I be spending time and money for all that? Fabulous question...thanks for asking...I'm actually still debating the answer myself. But, the main reason is that I have been talked-into competing at the Sectionals swim meet in Orlando in two weeks time!!
Oh my gosh...what have I gotten myself into?!?! I've entered the 200, 400 and 800 meter freestyles (none of that multi-stroke-IM stuff, I might seriously embarrass myself:)! I thought that all my winter swim training could be put to use (and entertainment) by diving back into the competition pool...and mainly, this is to remind myself WHY I retired from the sport of swimming 4 years ago: because it's painful!!
Right away, I sent an email off to Speedo (my sponsor) to inform them of this interesting decision...and to request a few of the FASTEST suits they manufacture so that I might have the best advantage possible over the 14 and 15 year-olds that I'm going to be swimming against:). Actually, in the slower heats that I'm going to be in, I'll probably be lining up against the 12 and 13 year-olds!
Other than those fascinating events that are looming in my future, I'm still hanging out in Florida at the McLarty Farm. I'm actually helping out around here when my presence is requested...like right now...I am heading outside (in the heat of the day...notice the timestamp on this post) to help my Dad paint the outside of the Greenhouse! Paint now, blog more later:)