aprilgellatly.com

WARNING  - NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.

hint – workout is easier if you bring christmas joy into the pool with you.  i recommend singing mental christmas carols.  it’ll be over before you know it.

on the first day of christmas, my true love gave to me -

1 x 300 easy warm up, la la la

2 x 25 fast

3 x 250s (progressive by 50 – start 250 @ moderate pace, increase speed throughout 250, finish last 50 FAST!), la la la

4 x 25s fast kick

5 x 200s (hold best pace, solid 85 – 90% effort, HOLD PACE!), la la la

6 x 25s fast kick

7 x 150s (#1 100 kick, 50 swim (focus on consistent kick), #2 50 kick, 100 swim (focus on consistent kick), #3 150 swim)

8 x 25s easy – recovery swim (mentally prep up – swim extra christmas carols)

9 x 100s (hold best pace – 85 – 90% effort – make it hurt!  HOLD PACE!)

10 x 25s kick

11 x 50s 2 easy, 1 FAST!!! (repeat 1 – 11)

12 x 25 FAST  - because its christmas – the gifts just keep coming.

your arms and legs should hurt.  if they don’t try again – you didn’t work hard enough.

stay tuned for NEWS YEARS swim workout!

ho, ho, ho!  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

also known as the lake lanier sprint.  thank you to Jim Rainey and the GA multi-sport staff for putting on such a great race!!!

I was out of shape, focused on a wedding, but I wanted to do lake lanier for a couple reasons -

1.  my niece had yet to see me race.  I thought if she understood part of my profession, MAYBE it would be easier to teach her swim, bike, and run.  she is a bit resistant to the unknown (much like her aunt).

2.  I WANTED TO HAVE FUN AT A RACE!!!  this season in triathlon has been tough, intense focus for not quite as much return as I had hoped.  I made progress.  I grew in the sport in a different way than I expected.  it’s a long road to Kona as a pro – but I got a garmin this year and half the battle is navigation.  okay, that was a very bad joke – but point being – I am starting to figure it all out.  I’ll live to fight another year.

back to my love – this was for madi -

my precious darling.

pre-race group hug.

fun = all smiles, SO race goal = all smiles!

i can not remember the last time I waved in a race. miss america’s got nothing on me!!

i looked and looked for the family going into the run.  finally saw them and they got…a smile!!!

and in conclusion – this race was for my sunshine although she does not like the sunshine in her eyes.  xoxo madi.

I love, love, LOVE this photo!

my final race as a ‘Gellatly’ – so glad to have a photo with corn fields in the direct background.  In Bowling Green, OH (high school – BGHS – go bobcats!), the crops rotated were corn and soy beans.  we had corn in our back yards, literally.

excuses aside – I am happy with my race at rev3 – CP.  I loved the course, the mild temperatures (a welcomed break from our long summer!), and the amusement park (cedar point is americas roller coast.).

excuses front and center – I let my focus drift pre race and I didn’t listen to my coach.  I waffled back and forth about whether to do the race – up until the week of the race.  I went in WELL undertrained – which was all my own damn fault – and pulled off a respectable day (considering).

not many photos of race day because I drove up to Ohio alone – all 11 hours – the friday before the race.  good planning.

telling on myself a little here – but Saturday, the day before the race, I went into the park for an hour to ride as many coasters as I could fit in – only got 3 in, but they were quality.  I love america’s roller coast!!

during the race prep and build up, everything went pretty much according to plan.  there was a panera bread and a target – between the two all my needs our met.

skip to race day -

I had the swim of my life!  It was my first time racing in my quintana roo wetsuit – awesome!  awesome wetsuit + amazing dolphin diving skills = staying with a swimmer that is much more talented at the actual swim portion than you are.  I actually swam to the first swim buoy with Amy Marsh and Sam Warriner – you want proof?  I am pretty sure that Sam could have dropped Amy but hung around because she wanted someone to play with – I, however, could not hang.  As I got dropped, I hung with the next pair of feet that came a long – and the 4 x 200 meter dolphin dive sections were my time to shine!  all those years of jumping up and down off the bottom of the pool in warm down, FINALLY paying off.  see coach Gary, it pays to play

bike was going smooth – I was rolling in 4th – although I did not know I was in 4th.  until I got a stagger penalty and had to stand down for 4 minutes.  I stood calming about 1/2 the penalty – ate, drank.  until I got thinking about why I was standing down – the girl in front of me was ALMOST of sight.  I did not have the intent to draft, I had all but forgotten she was there – I received no benefit from the infraction I was standing down for SO for about 2 minute the official got to hear me rant on about intent and warning and how the term ‘ we will be reasonable’ was used in our meeting.  It’s been months now, I have a new last name, I’ll let it go.  It made no impact on my result, but my swim advantage which I so strategically plotted was gone.  I got passed by a couple girls while standing down, but for the sake of the race, I had to let it go.

i am so proud of this run – not because it was great – but because the run LITERALLY went to shit – about every 2 miles to be specific, but it was the first time in a race when it all unraveled, yet I ran it out.  I don’t know if I swallowed too much Lake Eerie or new sports drink but my stomach was NOT happy with the transition into the run.  At mile 14, I sat in the porta potty crying – talking myself into going back out again – double loop course – trying to figure out how the hell I was going to get through the other half of the course.  I started drinking coke and progressively mile by mile – it wasn’t so bad anymore.  I even passed someone on the run course.  running myself into 8th place!  I still don’t know my finish time, but I finished – and I finished strong!  despite my shitty prep and a shitty run.

huge thank yous to my homestay, Kathy (even though she didn’t let me have her daughter PINK bedroom  ), quintana roo – awesome swim and ride, all3sports, rev3 – great series, looking forward to racing more of them next season!, coach – matt russ, the husband, tom – the mechanic, tri-ptc, and splish.  without the support, this season would not have been possible.

finish up with some wedding photos that have been left out thus far -

the robot.

my precious darling flower girl LOVES to twirl!

post wedding photo follow up – there are so many others.  these were taken by Morgan Jones -http://morganjones.org/photos/main.php?g2_itemId=13711 – the extended version if interested.

madi loves wait staff.  she thinks they are nice because they talk to everyone in the room.  she is telling the waiter that she is 3.

walking down the aisle with my brother.

just married!

i love this series of photos.

very special that i made this face!

family photo organization = family disFUNction

gellatlys + burkeys

ken’s best friends family made us a song – mrs. burkey.  awesome.  it was really cool.  video clip to come…

trying to get him on board with the not throwing cake in each others face tradition.

alright, last pure wedding blog/post – i am trying to force myself out of the honeymoon bubble and get in gear.  it’s been tough – relaxing – my major focus on enjoying time with Ken.  it’s been 4 weeks since the wedding and i think i have done 4 days of work.  good news there is only a loose timeline within the profession and things will happen when i am ready.  welcoming myself back to reality as mrs. burkey!

Team Luna Chix and April Gellatly partnering to get YOU race ready August 1!

Date – August 1, 2010

Time – 7:30am – 10:30am

Location – Dallas Landing, 5120 Allatoona Dr., Acworth, GA 30101

(same location as the PT  Solutions Acworth Women’s sprint triathlon on August 8 )

Cost – $50 per person (with % of proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Fund)

Reserve your space (clinic limited to 50) please RSVP – contact April Gellatly at algellatly@gmail.com

Clinic Timeline:

Registration and meet the PRO, April Gellatly (www.aprilgellatly.com), 7:30am -8:00am

Race ready clinic: 8:00am-10:00am

• small groups based on experience
• low coach to athlete ratio
• open water entry and exit
• efficient buoy turning, sighting
• OWS tips
• transition contests and instruction
• run drills

Questions for coaches and LUNA refreshments: 10:00am-10:30am

when i grow up, there are 2 skills that i’d like – the ability to blog in a timely manor (#fail)  and i’d like to find enjoyment in cooking (#notime and #fail).  i suppose hash tags don’t work when not used on twitter (to follow via twitter – aprils_awesome), but i still like the concept.

the macon half race report teachings an important lesson – don’t race sick.

but if you do – look pretty so you can post photos.  i may have raced flat, but PEARL and i looked great.

thanks for the great pre race swim talk amy.

t1 smile (HA! i do smile and race!)

top 2 photos by leland black

photo by sam morgan

photo by sam morgan

i wanted to share because i can’t be the only one that struggles with a less than excited morning stomach.  i rarely want to eat early in the morning.  however, as i head out on long training runs or rides, i need something in my stomach for fuel.  my solution…

it is an all natural product that i feel good about putting in my body first thing in the morning.  200 cal, 15g protein, solid START to the day.  my stomach approves (most important aspect of my nutrition)!

for more information on the product, please visit – mix1.

i am a once a month blogger.  grrrr.  i don’t mean for that to be the case, but it’s always crazy, and been trying, trying to put free time into updating the site in general.  i finally wrote 1/2 a bio, the latter 1/2 still to come…

still yet to race more than a 5k for the season, i have been itching to race as i read all the race reviews and reports.  knowing full well that it is not yet my time and that my fitness is not there yet.  i think i’ve had coach wondering why i was a professional triathlete for the past 2 months.  after a series of slow runs, very unimpressive ride results on the road bike, we had some break through workouts last week in both departments.

loving my new QR CD 0.1!  here she is in all her glory -

all smiles on the new ride.  big thanks to Morgan and all3sports.com for helping me get on PEARL (she has been named).

to save 15% @ all3sports.com, use discount code – aprilref.

may has been a month of marriage.  2 weddings and Ken and i have set a date for our own wedding!!  we’re going to get married in Kona in October whether i qualify or not.  I think it’ll be a great way to share an important island with him.

off on manic monday.  happy training all!

i hired a coach this week.  i should have warned you…i hope you were sitting down!  Matt Russ with The Sports Factory (http://www.thesportfactory.com/site/index.shtml) here in ATL, GA is dragging me kicking and screaming into the 21st century.  it hasn’t been so bad, but this past week, i had to run on a treadmill (i hadn’t in 2 – 3 years…maybe more), try to upload my powertap data (more fighting with software, macs and my power tap), and learn to work a Garmin.  apparently, my description – it was a ‘hard run’ and my HR max @ 172 – doesn’t help him have a real understanding of the workout.

it’s been good for me though.  it’ll be a good relationship, and i am relieved to ‘just do’ vs. my own scattered planning that i tend to do for myself.  this approach is much more purpose driven.

lots going on these days, and it is welcomed work, lots of swimming, some triathlon consulting, some speaking, etc.  i am thankful to be busy, happy healthy, and able to pay my bills!  keep it coming…  :)

this coming week, i have family stuff going on…my little sister turns 24.  momma is turning 50!  so this coming weekend, we’ll have some quality family time!  a handful or surprises and pictures to follow…

the emotional journey of under performance appears to me to fall in line with similar stages of that found in dealing with grief:  denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally landing on acceptance.  i feel i have moved through the stages fairly swiftly.  i actually got through to acceptance during the 5 hours of the race…

at first, i think i was in denial that i was actually racing.  telling myself…’it’s okay if those girls ride away…it’s okay’  what the hell?!?  it is not okay.  where is your competitive fire woman?!?  if a professional females comes around you on the bike, you fall back 10 meters, BUT you do not just let her ride away!  

anger, i can be angry with my tires for not popping during the race  and allowing me a perfectly acceptable DNF.  i can be angry with all the other women in the pro field for riding so strong.  i can be angry with myself for signing up for the racing knowing i would need a mental break post double ironman.  regardless, i think i have stumbled onto something there, if i am to be angry with anyone, i may as well look in the mirror.  my under performance is not only a direct result of my lack of training, but also due to my attitude during the race.  my attitude wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but i was in cruise control with a high heart rate.  

bargaining, oh this one is easy, i was bargaining all week.  

‘it will be better to race than to sit on the couch,’  metaphorically not physically, it may have been a chair come race day, but point being, it was time for me to get back out there!

depressions, up next, which feels like a revolving door emotion more than any of the others.  it doesn’t take much to get me down.  it’s not that i am depressed with my race result.  it would have been unfair on my part to expect any better.  it’s more that i hate people looking at the performance and comparing my apples to their oranges, and them thinking they have the better fruit.  because, dude, whatever, it doesn’t matter, it won’t ever matter.  i really like my apples and that’s all that matters to me today.  so i picked an apple 9 weeks too early because i had to to be in the contest in augusta on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean that come Thanksgiving weekend, my apple pie won’t freaking ROCK!  (Ironman Cozumel is the weekend of Thanksgiving.)  

and finally acceptance, acceptance that i needed the last month to recoup, to re-gather, and to learn a slightly different way to move forward so that i can continue to grow as an athlete.  acceptance that a 5 hour 70.3 race is the best i had in me on Sunday.  acceptance that good things came from this race and this day, and knowing that i will move forward stronger having finished that run even if it was against my own will.

alright i came across this today, but with that…”the end” of this grief consueling session.

http://www.pbase.com/tombriggs/image/116733707

(i guess we’ll take this as a compliment, sort of…)

the organization of the race went much more smoothly than i expected.  they held a great event.  our tri club, ptc tri, did an AWESOME job of support!  they rock the corner of 10th, and took care of me as i came staggering up, bonking a little more with every step…  so highly recommended, augusta 70.3 2010!  but i, also, recommend training for the event

tri ptc corner in Augusta…those are my people cheering…