Ironman Florida

A phone call from Brian on Sunday morning encapsulated the whole weekend. I had talked to him the night before, after I finished but hadn't heard from him yet that morning. Our friend Robert showed me his phone so I could see that Brian was calling him. They spoke for a few minutes about Robert's race and then Robert said to me "Brian says I got a call first because my race was more important." This could not be more true, so in that spirit for this post I will get to my race eventually, but first I want to tell you about the people I traveled there with, so sorry if this post is a little long.

I started riding with the Fat Frogs Chesapeake shop 4 years ago when I moved to the area. I used to get dropped by the B pace group and was known as "the girl that can't turn." I have come a long way since then and really appreciate all of their support throughout the last 4 years.

Robert was one of the first cyclists I met. He's a pretty happy guy, friendly to everyone, encouraging of everyone. Every time I walked in the shop and heard a "hey baby" I knew he was probably hanging out on the couch post ride. He has been one of Brian and I's biggest supporters over the years and I was really excited when I found out he would be doing Ironman Florida to celebrate his 50th birthday. Robert has struggled in the swim in the past, and has had to overcome fears and doubts after being pulled from the water at Rev3 Williamsburg. He told me his biggest concern was not making the cut off for the Florida swim. Well he made it with 49 minutes to spare, posting a 1:31 swim split. And it was no easy, calm swim either, I even got a little rattled after being thrown under by a wave after the first lap. It was amazing talking to him after when he said "I really didn't know if I could do it, and then I looked up and saw the first red turn buoy and at that moment I knew I was going to be an Ironman." I almost got really emotional when I was a few miles from the finish and I saw him on the run, because I knew he was going to make it. He did make it, and with plenty of time to spare with a 15:16 finish time. I think the picture below pretty much sums everything up.



Another Frog doing his first Ironman was my training buddy Keith. Keith had done several long rides with me (including a lot of my epic week) as well as some hard run workouts. He is really good at making sure I pace myself more evenly on mile repeats since I tend to try to sprint from the go. Keith also has a wonderful family that seemed just as excited for me as they were for Keith. I even had an awesome sign that said "Your feet hurt because you're kickin so much ass-phalt." What impressed me the most about Keith's training all year was how he balanced it with spending time with his family and flying long trips as a FedEx pilot. Keith had an excellent Ironman debut, finishing in 11:12.





Kristen is also part of the group and drove down with me to the race. She had driven to Steelhead with me as well and makes an excellent travel buddy. I was actually a little concerned that my abs would be sore from laughing almost the whole 13 hr drive. She had made special "badass" outfits for us to wear. The most memorable part of our trip though was running out of gas on I-95 South, and Kristen changing into running shoes and shorts to run down the highway to get gas at the next exit. We had some pretty interesting conversations, including theorizing what each athlete was like back in Kindergarten. I love traveling with Kristen and others like her because she's so positive and light hearted, it really helps to calm the nerves pre race. Kristen has done Louisville a couple times and had an hour and a half PR this past weekend at Florida (13:39). I'm looking forward to many more race trips with Kristen in the future.





While I know those three the best, it was really fun experiencing race week with all of the other frogs doing their first Ironman. David H came in at 10:36 with an awesome bike split. Dixie overcame losing her Garmin in the swim and finished in 11:30. Scott struggled with stomach issues all day but still finished in 15:03. David L. came in with Robert in 15:16. Mike struggled to run a couple of miles not too long ago and finished the IM in 15:25. Walt coached the group and sacrificed his own training and still came in in 16:05 with Ava. Everyone from the group finished and it was incredible seeing them come across the line.



Ok so now I'll go over my race a little. The pro meeting shortly after I got in was insane. It was standing room only, they were saying the biggest pro field for a non championship Ironman. I forced myself to see it as a way to push myself and not let the nerves take over. Another potentially nerve racking issue was the storm that blew in the day before the race. Double red flags meant the beach was closed and palm trees were bending with the wind, sand was whipping across the road and rain was coming down. I took shelter in the condo and just trusted the forecast that it was going to be clear the following day.



Race morning came and the waves and wind had calmed considerably, there was still some swell coming in but not the magnitude of the day before. The men went off at 6:50 and the women a few minutes later. It was a bit hard getting out and keeping track of the group on the first couple hundred meters. I latched onto the small group (not the first group) and tried to hang on. Coming in after the first loop I was on Whitney's feet (I was on her feet at Louisville too so it felt like dejavu), when we both got picked up by a wave and slammed together underwater. We eventually surfaced and she kind of looked at me and asked "are you okay?" It rattled me a little and I didn't get back in the water fast enough for the second lap and ended up on my own. With it being difficult to get back in I thought my swim time was going to be horrible, when I saw 1:04 I thought, well not good but definitely not horrible. My friend Jonathan yelled to me in the wetsuit stripper line and almost dragged me down the beach trying to get it off, they had to have another volunteer hold my arms.



The volunteers in transition got me out of there quickly, handed me my bike and I was off. I felt a little queasy from the salt water but got into a rhythm quickly, started hitting my power numbers and taking in little bits of nutrition at a time. I love my GU brew because it has a light taste that is really easy to get down after the swim. I started eating my chomps as well, never seem to get sick of them and I especially love the new lemon flavor, as well as my peanut butter gels. The conditions were very similar to my 2011 race, some periods of headwind and some period of tailwind. I tried to keep my spirits up in the headwind and my power fairly consistent, and then I tried to use the tail wind advantage as best I could. I tried to remember to stretch a little and loosen up periodically because riding in that exact position for 112 miles can be hard on the body. I was fortunate to have some other pro women near me that I could pace off and use as motivation. Coming in off the bike, I was really happy that I had been able to maintain a good steady effort and was coming off the bike with my best split ever and very close to 5 hours which I had really wanted. All the work on the bike this year is really paying off, and I'm just beginning to realize that potential so next year is going to be even better.



I ran into the T2 changing tent and was frantically getting my stuff on when I looked over and saw Rinny, and thought huh that's cool. Since Rinny had won the Ironman World Championship, she is guaranteed an entry into Kona 2014, but needs to do one Ironman to validate her slot. I thought she showed a lot of class at the Florida race, she didn't have anything to prove and instead made it a sort of well deserved victory lap. I ran out of transition before her, so when she caught me on the run looking like she was out for a jog, she was very nice and asked me my name. Every time I saw her after that she would say "hello again." I appreciated these little exchanges during some of my dark moments on the run. The first 6 miles of the run I was feeling awesome, it felt easy and my pace was faster than expected. I went with it, thinking maybe I would surprise myself. About 6 miles in I started to feel off, it was hard to pin point but I started to take in some extra salt and coke hoping that would help me get out of my funk. About 15 miles in I started to come out of it. I wasn't able to drop my pace back down to quite what it was, but my turnover was improving and I was hanging in there. Seeing the frogs, their families and my friend Jeff really picked me up. My Canadian friends Gord and Judy were about 1.5 miles from the finish and every time I passed them they had a kind word and a high five. I started looking forward to that little spot on the run, and it was so great having them out there.



While I did struggle more than I expected to on the run, I was so ecstatic to run down the chute to a 13 minute PR. This race is so special to me, I would have teared up at the finish if I had any fluids left. I hope to come back to Florida again and again.



Now that the triathlon season is over for me, I'm looking forward to some rest, relaxing, yummy food and time with my hubby and puppies before getting into base training. I have learned so much this year as a rookie pro. I appreciate every opportunity I've had to become a stronger athlete and better person. I know I say this over and over, but we appreciate everyone that supports and encourages us. When it gets hard in racing and training, it picks me up knowing how many people are behind us.

I want to write a special sponsor highlight blog next but for now, thank you to all our sponsors. Zoot for all their support, I had no discomfort in my kit, my prophet kept me buoyant, warm and fast in the water, no blisters in my tempos and they were super responsive even with my tired legs. Fat Frogs Bike and Fitness Chesapeake, for getting my bike race ready and even helping with any concerns I had during race week. Ghent Chiropractic for keeping me healthy and always making sure no injuries are creeping up on me. GU for the tasty nutrition, I was fueled from start to finish. Garmin for my 910XT giving me accurate info to gauge my effort and pace. Stages Cycling for a power meter that allowed me to gauge my effort on the bike so I could pull off my PR bike split.

I want to write more on this later, but my coach Tara has truly been an amazing friend and coach to me this season. I have felt challenged all season, she talks me through everything and I can't wait to see what is in store for next season. Stay tuned for what we will be up to in 2014.

Ironman 70.3 Augusta

This report is a little delayed, but in my defense I had the second part of the biggest exam of my life last week (and I passed!). I wanted to make sure I wrote up a report though, because once again, I learned a lot and had a great deal of fun along the way.

A friend Jeffrey and I decided last minute to drive down to Georgia together. We didn't know each other super well beforehand, but I'm really glad I was able to get to know him better. Jeff very graciously did most of the driving so that I could get some studying done. He has his PhD in exercise science so we were able to talk a bit about what I was studying and the differences in our fields. Even though my background is marine biology, I am really interested in exercise physiolgy and have actually considered working on human swimming biomechanics and/or wetsuit design after grad school (my work involves a lot of fluid dynamics). We also had a ton of fun, pretty sure we laughed most of the way down to Augusta. It's really nice to be able to joke around before a race, given how stressful race weekends can sometimes be.



I was able to get in the river Friday and Saturday, and the current was whipping, especially on Friday. Although it had slowed just a smidge on race day, I was still excited to have a super fast swim. The only problem with a super fast swim, is that since it's my weakest discipline, the other girls are still going to be faster. More on that later.

My homestay, Brittany, was wonderful. We actually met in line for the port a potty before Rev3 Williamsburg. I mentioned I was doing Augusta and she offered me a homestay. She is on the Rev3 tri team and has an incredible story of resilience and hard work. It was very inspiring to learn more about her journey in the sport and I look forward to staying in touch.



So on to the race. I got to transition really early and had my area all set up and ready to go with plenty of time left to hang around until race start. I felt a little awkward just standing around my bike, but then I met a very nice pro named Helen and chatting with her before the race really eased my tension and made the time go more quickly. In retrospect I probably should have practiced diving off the dock at least once, but was worried about standing around cold before the start. The men went off first and when they dove off the dock, the force pushed it back and all the pro women nearly fell in after them. We lined up at the edge and three minutes later, dove in. Immediately my goggles flooded because I didn't tuck my head enough. I hastily cleared them and tried to keep track of what the group was doing, who was breaking away etc. I just couldn't get on any good feet, and ended up by myself with a few women on my feet. I put my head down and just tried to make sure I was staying on the line of buoys which was a little tricky with the angle of the sun but I managed ok. They had told us to keep the yellow/orange buoys on our left and then go around a red buoy at the finish. I had been counting buoys and knew I was nearing the finish, but then I saw 3 red buoys, which one do I go around?! I didn't want to get a penalty so turned one way, and then a kayaker pointed me another way and I finally saw the finish.

Transition went fairly quickly and I was on the bike right with the women I had come out of the water with. I rode a little back for awhile and then 2 of them went off ahead. I kept riding at my prescribed watts to avoid blowing up too early. Coach and I have since determined that the watts I was riding are probably closer to what I should be doing in fulls, but it's still something that we are working to dial in. Once I hit the hills about 10 mi out, the road got rougher and the riding was tougher than I had anticipated. I lost a little focus here and didn't regain it until about the halfway point or so. I did really enjoy the last half of the ride. One of the pro women had been riding a little ways back from me and all of a sudden passed me with a couple miles left. I kept her in my sights, hoping to get out on the run with her.

I started out on the run with that pro woman just in front of me, I was hitting my target pace and my legs felt good so I let her go, I knew that my target pace would be challenging enough, and if I tried to catch up to her I would do myself in. I was feeling pretty good and for the first time in a half this year, really felt like I was going to nail the run. At about the 3 mile mark, all of a sudden I just didn't feel so good. I got cold and something was just off. This was frustrating for me because I could see that great run split slipping away. I came out of this eventually and picked my pace back up but wasn't able to get fully back to that target pace. Though this was frustrating, I am happy that I was at least able to come out of it. I often forget that my 70.3's this year are still much faster than previous years. They aren't quite as fast as I want them to be, but I am at least making progress, and slowly dialing in what I need to do at this distance. My coach, Tara, has really been incredible this year. She helps me learn from each race and helps me to put things in perspective. I loved something she said to me after Augusta. She said that she was glad I wasn't satisfied with 9th, that it was a good race for me, but that I should want more. She is always reminding me to be patient, that I am young in this sport, and I am really grateful for these reminders. I really believe in my potential, and am excited to see where this sport takes me. All in all, although I was looking for a little more, this wasn't a "bad" race for me, but I love that it made me hungry for more.



After the race I was able to meet up with my team mate Danielle (who killed it, and got a 70.3 Worlds slot) along with friends Gisela, Sarah, Susan, Jeff, Brittany and her daughter. We enjoyed a really fun dinner out, swapping race stories. Part of the reason I love this sport so much is that you just meet the coolest people. I am always so touched by how many amateurs use precious breath during the race to give me a bit of encouragement. The other pros are very welcoming as well, and quite a few of the pro men that went by me on the run, and were obviously running hard, still managed a "good job" as they went by.





Thank you to Zoot for the awesome kicks (Kiawe 2.0) and comfortable kit, my prophet wetsuit kept me warm and buoyant on the swim and was super easy to get off. GU fueled me on the bike with my favorite peanut butter gels and then some roctane gels on the run. My nagging foot discomfort didn't bother me on the run thanks to Ghent chiropractic. And my bike was tuned just right thanks to Fat Frogs Bike and Fitness Chesapeake.

Last race of the tri season is Ironman Florida on Nov 2, and after Louisville I am definitely looking forward to it. I'm excited to see all the Fat Frogs race their first Ironman, and it will be nice to wrap up the season with a race that is so near and dear to my heart.

Ironman Louisville

Ironman Louisville was my 4th Ironman and 1st Ironman as a pro. This was Brian's 5th Ironman. I really enjoyed traveling to the race with Brian and spending a weekend in Kentucky with him. We were also able to meet up with several Zoot Ultra team mates as well as some friends from back home. All those people, combined with an awesome homestay, made for a really fun and relaxing trip.

We arrived in Kentucky on Wednesday afternoon, which gave us a day or two to enjoy the area before really buckling down into race mode. We strolled around the city, had some delicious food and even made it by the Louisville Zoo. Brian even got to visit a giant Cabela's store, one of the highlights of his trip haha.

                                outside the science museum              Brian and the Tapir

compared to a gorilla, wish I had that arm span for swimming!

 

                                  selfie with a meerkat                                 trip to Cabela's

We were blessed with a wonderful homestay with a great family. Kelly even rode with me for one of my pre race rides. We really enjoyed meeting her and her husband Garry and their three kids Trey, Parker and Olivia. The kids were a lot of fun. They all played our traditional pre race mini golf with us, and Olivia brought me some green nail polish so my nails could match my tri kit. Most of them came down to the finish line area to give us high fives before crossing the finish line. Late that night, exhausted from the race and hanging around after, we got back to find that the kids had made us really sweet signs. We took the signs home with us and they are going to go up in our training room.

                                    pre race mini golf                           our signs from the kids

Our pre race preparations went very smoothly, and I arrived to transition on race morning feeling nervous but relaxed and ready. I like being a bit nervous because it shows how much I care about the race.

Brian and I walked down to the start with his coach Jesse and Jesse and I got ready to get in the water. We jumped in a few minutes before 6:50 and I splashed around a little before lining up. As soon as the gun went off the group of pro men and women started to break up. I desperately tried to latch onto someone. Just as I felt like I was losing the pair of feet I was on, a male pro passed me and slid into the gap so I could catch on. The three of us, Whitney, male pro from US pro tri team then me, swam in this line until right before the finish. Every time I thought I could maybe get around them, someone would throw in a surge and I was hanging on again. I'm pretty sure I drove the male pro a little nuts with my continuous foot slapping but I didn't want to lose those feet! I came out of the water and glanced at my watch, a six minute swim PR! I know part of it was the current, but it was still nice to come out of the water knowing I wasn't super far behind. I heard the announcer say, "and Rachel Jastrebsky is another one of our female pros out of the water, one of the favorites for the day." I thought, huh?! Since when am I a favorite?! Even if he was mistaking me for someone else it was still pretty cool to hear.

The bike starts with a pretty fast section, and then about 20 miles out of town you do an out and back with a couple bigger downhills and uphills. After that, its rolling hills until about you start to head back to town around mile 90 to 100. I kept thinking about what Brian's coach had said before the race, don't go crazy on the first 70 miles and you can kill it on the last 40. I held back a little on the climbs, trying not to tax my legs too much. Looking back, I probably could have and should have pushed it just a little bit more on the two loops in the middle of the course, but am still ok with my effort on the bike. About mile 60 or so we started the second loop and collided with the amateurs. This was a tricky section for me, because it was difficult to get around everyone. There were many times when people were riding 3-4 wide across the road, and descending with riders in the middle of the road made me nervous. I managed ok though, and as soon as I split off to head to town I was able to pick up some more speed.

coming into T2 - picture by Kelly Smith, her husband Steven (a friend of ours) was racing 

starting out on the run (picture also by Kelly Smith)

I have a bad habit of booking it out of transition, and this race was no exception. Fortunately I was able to catch myself pretty quickly and reign it in. I remember hearing the announcer call out that I was starting the run and that my husband was also racing, it gave me a bit of a lift being reminded that Brian was out there. I was holding a good pace and feeling pretty good until about the first turn around. That was when I started to notice the heat and I could feel that my legs didn't quite have the spunk they started with. I was able to hold pretty steady though, and started making sure I was staying on top of nutrition. It made a huge difference with the heat to put ice down my top/shorts every chance I got as well as dumping water over my head. Although, I'm pretty sure one of the photographers got a not so flattering picture of me putting ice down my shorts. Every time I started to think I couldn't possibly hold the pace, I did one of a few things. 1. I did a little self assessment and discovered that my legs weren't really as tired as I kept thinking they were. 2. I remembered what coach Tara said and repeated to myself, this will pass. 3. I prayed that my legs would keep moving. It seemed to work, because even though my pace slowed a little, I was still holding fairly steady.

thank you Ali Engin Photography for the sweet photo

On the second lap, I started to notice that 6th place wasn't incredible far ahead. I thought, if I can hold this I might just be able to catch her. After the turn around on the far side of the second lap I kept thinking where the heck is this girl!? A little before the 24 mile mark I could see her just ahead. Shortly after, I passed our team mate Diana and she yelled out, you can catch her! And it gave me that little extra umph I needed to make the pass. I did my best to keep it together to avoid a pass back and ran pretty strongly to the finish. About half a mile from the finish I decided I was going to really enjoy the last few minutes. Too often, we get tunnel vision during these races and we forget to really soak it in. I reminded myself how lucky I am to be able to do this and tried to slap as many high fives as possible. One lady was holding a sign that said "For super powers, press here" and I almost knocked the sign out of her hand I slapped it so hard. WTC played a mean trick on me by switching the clock to the amateur start time before I finished so I thought I'd done a 9:46, but surprisingly, after seeing on my watch that it was 9:56 I was not disappointed. I hadn't fallen apart, I hadn't given up on myself, I had been smart. There are things I can do better next time, there always are, but that doesn't change my happiness about this race. I made it into the money in my first pro Ironman and that to me was awesome. I went to the awards the next day expecting to see the top 5 on the stage and was pleasantly surprised to get a trophy for 6th! The other pro women/men were all very positive and inspiring and I enjoyed getting to chat with a few of them, especially fellow rookie Brooke who absolutely killed it.

I always enjoy racing with Brian, it picks me up seeing him on the course and it was great to get a high five and an "I love you" from him about halfway through the run. I also got to put his medal on him at the finish which was really special. I was so proud of him for his 6 minute swim PR (he has come sooooo far), his blazing fast bike (5:06!) and then for toughing it out on the run even though he hadn't run in almost two months.

I was overwhelmed with the response from our friends and family about our races this past weekend. The support and encouragement really does mean so much to us. Thank you also to our awesome sponsors. Zoot, the swim skin, shoes and kit made for a fast and comfortable day. GU my nutrition plan was just about spot on thanks to you guys. Fat Frogs Chesapeake, thanks for checking my bike over! Ghent Chiropractic, keeping us healthy so we can train and race. Stages Cycling, using power to gauge my effort on the bike is very useful. Big thank you to my coach Tara for believing in my potential and for helping me to develop into a better athlete and person. Looking forward to continuing to work with her!

Last but not least huge congrats to our fellow team mates that raced this weekend, Cathy and Diana both placing in their age groups and Jesse making top ten for the male pros. Congrats as well to Steven and Adam, doing awesome in their first Ironman! And of course our friend Shane for toughing it out once again in Louisville. Congrats as well to our team mates and friends that raced elsewhere this weekend.

Steelhead 70.3

A lesson in patience, that is the major thing I have taken from this race last weekend. This has been a difficult lesson for me to swallow because I'm not a very patient person. Pretty sure my impatience ended in stitches a few times when I was younger because I refused to wait for my dad to help me use some tool. I've realized though that if this came too easily and if there were no lessons to be learned, than I probably wouldn't appreciate it very much. Instead, each obstacle is something to learn from and when that endurance and speed does evolve over time, I'll be a much better athlete and person from those struggles.

Take the swim for example. I taught myself to swim when I was 18, I even used a nose clip for a few years. Ask my college swimmer friends, they teased me relentlessly (all in good fun of course). They were also the ones most excited when I did start to improve in the swim, and they were the first to give tips and advice. My swim start in my first pro race at Williamsburg was almost comical. I didn't really know what to do in the start and as a result lost the entire group. Since then, every time I got into open water, I practiced swim starts. Coach Tara was great about teaching me how to go right from the gun and get onto feet. It must have paid off, because my swim start at Steelhead was probably the highlight of my race. I dolphin dove with the best of them and latched onto feet right away. The water was choppy and we were swimming against a light current but I didn't lose those feet until the very last part of the swim. By then, another group had caught up and I came out with them right on my heels. Speedy swimmer Radka had gone way off the front, followed by a few women in a group and then I came out with the next group.

It was a long run up the beach and down the lines of bikes through transition. I didn't sprint and instead thought about what I needed to do to get on my bike. Some of the other girls in the group out of the water had gotten up the beach before me and had already left on their bikes. Once on the bike I set my sights on a couple girls just ahead. One of the girls I was back and forth with almost the entire ride. I would catch up and pass on the hills and then she would pass back on the flats. I took the last stretch a bit conservatively to see if it would help my run and she pulled away a little. Not sure if this more conservative approach was best, but I am just starting to train with power (Stages) and that should help me to gauge my efforts better.

Another long run through transition and then I was able to get my stuff together much more quickly and get onto the run. I felt pretty good for the first few miles, my legs were turning over well. After those first few miles though I had trouble getting my legs to open up and find that half ironman gear. Good news I guess for my upcoming full but not so great when you're trying to do a speedy half. I have three main races left this season: Ironman Louisville, Augusta 70.3 and Ironman Florida. I feel like I'm better at the full distance so I'm excited to change gears and focus on those more. With less than 3 weeks until Louisville, the main goal right now is to stay healthy and maintain the edge.

I had a chance to talk to several of the other pro women and men. They were all very encouraging and all had the same advice: patience.

The weekend was made very enjoyable by my travel buddy Kristen, and our homestay hosts Sean and Jann. Kristen made me laugh all weekend, and her positive attitude was infectious. She raced as well, and got a PR! I remember walking from the parking lot to the expo and a nice gentlemen offered us a ride on his golf cart. Kristen replied "we are not allowed to receive any outside assistance." She and Brian helped me find perspective after the race. She also helped me research causes of peeing blood, because to be honest it was the first time its happened to me and it genuinely freaked me out. I was reading off the potential causes: enlarged prostate, tumors or long distance running. She replied "well it can't be the long distance running, maybe you should get your prostate checked." Haha so much ridiculousness.

Sean and Jann (and their kids) were wonderful. It must not be the easiest thing to open your home to strangers, especially athletes that tend towards type A personalities. They were also racing (Sean the half and Jann running for a relay team) and both did awesome. Kristen and I missed our puppies and they shared their goofy pup Blue with us for the weekend. Their friends were wonderful and fun. I really enjoyed meeting their friend Andrea, who is also just starting out as a pro. She and I shared some similar thoughts and experiences and its nice to have that camaraderie with other pros that are trying to find their way.

I also really enjoyed seeing a couple of our team mates. Zoot Ultra team mates Rick and Dana were both racing and both made it on the podium in the 30-34 age group. Our team is full of positive and fun people and its always great to catch up at races. I was also finally able to congratulate Rick and his awesome wife Brittany on their recent wedding :)

Thank you to my sponsors for their continued support. Thank you to my family and friends for your words of encouragement. Huge thank you to coach Tara for helping me to develop as an athlete.

Savageman Training Camp

We heard about this camp through my coach, Tara Norton. Savageman 70.0 is one of her favorite races, and she was going to be coaching at the inaugural training camp on the course. We figured it would be a great way to meet her halfway and see her for the weekend, as well as get some great training in.

The Savageman triathlon is pretty aptly named. The bike course for the 70 covers 55.7 miles with an elevation gain of 6717 feet. Most of the major climbs have max grades between 15 and 25%, with one max grade of 31%.


The 31% grade is called the Westernport Wall. The wall itself is not very long, but the pavement is rough and is famous for riders falling attempting to climb it. If a rider makes it up the wall during the tri without putting a foot down, they will get a brick laid into the top of the wall with their name on it.

We arrived on Thursday afternoon and I went out for a quick run to shake off the drive. I saw a few arrows for the savageman course and remembered thinking hmm these are some serious hills! Well those were baby hills compared to what was in store. Friday morning we headed over to Deep Creek Lake to do an open water swim. Brian and I were swimming fairly relaxed out to the bridge, and then on the way back we ran into Coach T. She had me swim behind her (and then Brian behind me) so I could practice staying on fast feet (something I've had trouble with). With some difficulty (and I doubt she was even swimming hard :P) I managed to hang on..until Tara got on the feet of John Kenny, the camp's swim coach and excellent open water swimmer. After we had dried off and changed, I headed out with a few of the guys, including Brian and the camp's run coach Josh, to do the Savageman 70 run course (two loops). The run course goes through a campground that has quite a few good hills and then rolls for a bit before going up a steep dirt incline to the turn around point. I was running pretty well considering and enjoying the company and getting some tips from Josh. Kyle (the race director) was waiting for us at the turn around with water, nutrition and was nice enough to take some of our shed, sweaty shirts. The course winds back along the lake and is tough but it really is beautiful.


trying to hang on to coach's feet



the group headed out to run

We were able to head back to the hotel and get some food and a quick nap (we almost slept through the ride!) before meeting to ride the 30 (olympic) bike course. It was a really fun ride, great company and awesome scenery. After a really fast downhill (I got up to 45mph and was being a bit conservative even though it wasn't technical), we went up the few shorter, steep climbs. Josh and John gave us some input on the course since they have both raced the half multiple times.


Beautiful courses, we are the little specks on the road at the right

On Saturday, we met at the lake in the morning to start the Savageman 70 course. The start of the course is along the river and mostly descends with a few smaller undulations. This part was really fun, we were flying (though I was still taking it slower on some of the more technical areas) and the river was very pretty. As it started to flatten out, we could see the smoke stacks that marked the town of Westernport. Heading into town, John warned me to get into my small chain ring and start taking it easy.


start of the 70 ride

This was the part of the course that I was most intimidated by, but it did not end up being the hardest section. Coach Tara and John had advised us to take it easy leading up to the wall. The wall is at about mile 18 and is sandwiched between two 20% grade climbs. Once we were at the climb leading to the wall, John, Brian and I (and a few others) started to zigzag up. Right before the wall a little dog came out of nowhere and started chasing John. He had no choice but to start gunning it up the hill, and I followed close behind. I There is no sitting while climbing up Westernport, you're in the small chainring and last gear in the back going as hard as you can and leaning forward so you don't tip backwards. I was so excited to make it up without putting a foot down, and stopped at the top to cheer on the other campers. Once wasn't enough for Brian and John so they went back down and climbed it a few more times.


John in front up the wall and then me at the base, coach Tara at the top cheering


Brian and John going up...for the 4th time

Once everyone was through, we started the climb up Big Savage Mountain. This was a long, slow climb, mostly in that last gear still, with several very steep areas. I have my watch set to auto pause once it gets under I think 4mph, and it paused several times during the climbs. Towards the top of the mountain I had worked my way back to John and Brian (climbs have a way of evening the playing field) and we rode the rest of the course more or less together. Coming up on Coach T's aid station around mile 40 or so I remember saying "this is challenging but its manageable!" She then told me the section we were coming up on is where she realized she had asthma. Little did I know that we hadn't hit what I considered (after the ride) the hardest section. "Killer Miller" climb is sandwiched between two other pretty difficult climbs and is very steep. All three of us were cranking away and all going about the same speed...which was around 4-5 mph... Made it though, and then once those few climbs were done, it was smooth rollers for the last 8-10 miles. Once we made it back to the lake, Brian and John headed out for some more punishment on the bike and I headed out to run up the fire escape road (that steep gravel road followed by a nice winding trail). I was able to see some of the other campers finishing the bike and it was very inspiring to watch everyone finish up a really tough ride. Once my stomach stopped being angry at me for not nailing my nutrition, I had a very enjoyable run and was surprised that my legs felt pretty good.


top of Big Savage Mountain

After the run, I had to hurry back to where we were staying so that I could eat something and then listen to the talks by the coaches. Tara spoke about climbing/descending, as well as mental strategies. A lot of the mental strategies she talked about are things she and I have discussed and implemented in my own training. I love having a coach with the depth of experience she has, and she has been a very positive, encouraging, supportive influence on my training and racing.



Next up was coach AJ Morrison, a USAT level 2 coach, and she spoke about nutrition. She was also nice enough to speak with me outside of the seminar about my own nutrition. She gave me some pointers that I tried out in my last ride and I think they will help. Last up was John Kenny, the camps swim coach. We all had our swim stroke video taped and he went through each video and gave tips on how to improve. It was nice to hear what he said about each swimmer and not just our own tapes. It gave me a better sense of what a good swim stroke is supposed to look like. He was also nice enough to take some time to give me some additional advice on open water swimming and descending hills (baby steps on this whole descending fast thing :P). Josh had videoed everyone's running stride and went over them individually. I didn't have a chance to go over mine with him but he handed the video over to Tara and she was able to give me some pointers.


Swimmers getting videod and also getting pointers from coaches on deck and in the water



Saturday culminated in a fun dinner out with everyone, lots of laughing and good conversation, as well as much needed calories.


camp dinner, pizza and beer at Big Mountain Brewing Company

Sunday started out with our last open water swim. I almost thought I was getting off the hook when I didn't see Tara at the start :P (just kidding coach) but she met up with us on our way back from the bridge. She and I worked on deep water swim starts, with me trying to jump on her feet right away. I was really happy that we were able to do this and hope to continue to work on it with a few fast lady swimmers in my area (looking at you Michelle, Sarah, Morgan!).

After the swim I headed out for one loop of the run course. The legs were a little heavy, but seeing all the other campers gutting it out definitely lightened them up a bit. The camp ended at noon, but John, Brian and I headed out for another ride in the afternoon: the Fabulous 44, one of the gran fondo rides. We were a little delayed by John getting stuck in the elevator... but I was happy we made it out for the ride. The ride usually ends on a climb up Wisp mountain, but we started it with that climb. There are some steep climbs after Wisp, but are fairly spread apart. About midway through we got into a little town hoping to refill water bottles. Everything was closed, but some very nice xterra athletes were going by and gave us the rest of their water and gatorade. So if you are by some slim chance reading this, very nice strangers, thank you again! After the town we started a long very gradual climb. This climb culminated in Bowman's hill. At the bottom of the hill, the word pain with an up arrow is spray painted onto the road. I looked up the hill and thought well this is steep but at least its short.... but I couldn't see around the bend...it kept going up. Midway through was another word and arrow "suffering" and then closer to the top "agony." I'm not sure if it was because my legs were fatigued, but that hill was pretty tough. The rest of the ride was pretty nice rollers, we weren't riding very hard (except for the climbs since you don't really have a choice) so we were able to chat and joke around. After we returned to the dorm, we said goodbye to John, hoping to meet up for more training together in the future, packed up and went to say goodbye to Coach T.



I am so happy I was able to spend some time with Coach T and her family (Bruce and Maya), they are all so wonderful (Maya is just the cutest) and I'm so happy that Tara has been not only a great coach the last couple years but also a great friend. We will be back to Garrett County Maryland to either race or train again!

photos by Kyle Yost (Savageman and gran fondo race director)

Rev3 Williamsburg

I chose to start my season a bit late this year. I wanted to do some smaller, local races first, get the competitive juices flowing and then jump into my first pro race. I picked Rev3 Williamsburg as my first pro race because I would be able to train on the course, which would ideally lead to less anxiety on race day. My training has come a very long way since last year, and I was really looking forward to coming out guns blazing for this race. However, sometimes things just don't work out exactly the way you expect them to. I'm a rookie pro, and I made a few rookie mistakes.

Swim:
Heading down to the water I realized my timing chip strap was not secured very well, I thought hmmm I should probably safety pin that, but just never got around to finding a safety pin. Its little tiny things like this that I'm realizing I should probably pay more attention to. The men went off a couple minutes before us and we all laughed a bit at how ridiculous it looked when they ran almost all the way to the first buoy. I lined myself up somewhere in the middle along the beach and kept my eyes on the first line of buoys. The gun went off and everyone took off running into the water. My original plan had been to kind of copy cat what the other women were doing. The water was still around knee deep when I started to feel the timing strap going up and down my leg. I didn't want to lose it so I thought, well maybe dolphin diving will be better. This is about when I learned that I really, really need to work on my dolphin dives. After a couple pretty comical attempts, I decided to just swim. The water was still really shallow and the other women were still running. Brian later asked me why I had started swimming when everyone else was running: rookie mistake number one. In all the confusion, the group had gotten a bit of a jump on me which very quickly lengthened. I tried to make up the gap but I was too late and all of a sudden I was mostly on my own: rookie mistake number two. I put my head down and decided to just swim as best I could and hope that I wasn't too far back and could make it up on the bike. I was having some (ok a lot) of difficulty swimming in a straight line. It was hard to tell what exactly the current was doing, and my sighting was probably not at its best. It felt like it took forever down the back part of the triangle swim course. On the last stretch, I was caught by a couple amateur men. This is about where I knew I was in trouble. When I stood up and glanced at my watch, I could hardly believe it, slower even than Kona, which to me had been a very difficult swim. I gritted my teeth and ran into transition. I knew I had work to do so I made it through T1 and onto my bike fairly quickly.

Bike:
My bike has come a very long way over the past couple years, but I knew my work was cut out for me after coming out so far back in the swim. I was getting in a groove pretty quickly and my speed and effort were right where I wanted them to be. I was passed by a few amateur men, and once I was sure I was way back of the drafting zone, I put my head back down and kept at it. In my hurry to get back in the game, I completely forgot about the stagger rule (only applies to pros): rookie mistake number three. Once I realized, I moved to the left, but it was too late and a marshall drove up next to me and told me to stand down. Standing on the side of the road, watching the stop watch count up to two minutes was heart breaking. I knew with a bad swim and a penalty it was going to be very difficult to bridge up to the main group. As soon as the two minutes were up I jumped back on my bike, determined to continue to ride well. Minus the penalty, I actually had a good ride. The wind on the way back didn't get to me, and I rode at a very consistent effort. I also got my planned nutrition down. Heading into T2 I was anxious to get into my running shoes, but also a bit worried if I had made up any of the time I had lost. Looking at the pro women bike splits after the race, without my penalty, I was right up there with a bunch of the other pro women. I know this is far from just a bike race, but it was encouraging to know that I have made good gains on my biking.





Run:
Coming through transition, I heard someone yell good job and that I was on video, I thought it was someone from Rev3, but it was actually our friend Frank. He videoed my T2 which was actually kind of cool because then I got to see later how I can get through transition more quickly. Again, in my hurry to get out and make up some time, I got a little flustered. I should have put my socks then shoes on, grabbed my visor/race belt and run out while putting them on. Instead I put my race belt then visor on. Then socks and shoes. Minor details I know, but still areas I can improve. I also decided to run out the wrong way, and thankfully Frank yelled for me to turn around: rookie mistake number four. The first couple miles I was on pace and felt like my legs were turning over decently well. Overall I felt pretty good. Then, I started to slow. My stomach was feeling weird, and I just didn't want to take calories, plus I couldn't tell if I was hot or cold. I kept trying to make my legs move faster only to see my watch reading off the same pace, I wasn't getting any slower, but I also wasn't speeding back up. However, I've felt similar to this before in a race and completely unraveled. This time I held it together enough to at least have an ok run. There are some kinks to work out, but I'm confident that I can figure it out and have a more solid run in the next race. I love to run, so I always love to finish off strong. Right before the finishing chute Brian started to run next to me. I got a little paranoid and yelled at him that he couldn't pace me and he was going to get me a penalty. He explained that he had asked the race director if he could run down the chute with me. So we ran in together, hands held, and it was a really nice moment to share with him. Another run highlight was seeing Caldwell and Lauren Clarke's kids Will and Katie with their super awesome sign for me "Go Rachel, Run Like A Squid!" I just made it into the money with a 10th place finish.


Right after I saw my little buddies


Will with my sign



A huge congratulations to all the pro men and women, as well as all our friends I saw racing. It was really nice to get high fives along the course and to see friendly faces. Its going to be a great season for everyone. I was really proud of Brian for gutting it out to 1st in the 25-29 division. He even offered to run with me when he passed me instead of continuing his own race. A very selfless offer and I appreciate his support way more than he probably realizes.

Thank you so much to my coach, Tara Norton. All aspects of my training and racing have come so far since I started being coached by her last January. She is so encouraging, and she keeps me honest and positive. She helps me to learn from difficult training days and races and is always helping me to move forward to become a better athlete and person.

Overall, I learned quite a bit. The pro women are an extremely talented, fast bunch and you can't lose focus out there. I've discovered how important the swim start is and that I have a few things that I can definitely improve on for next time. A race is only bad if you don't learn from it. The pro women after were very encouraging, as well as a few of the pro men. Our friends and family are always so supportive and it means so much to me that they continue to believe in us. I am extremely grateful for our sponsors for all that they do for us: Zoot, GU, Fuelbelt, Fat Frogs Bike and Fitness Chesapeake, Ghent Chiropractic, Garmin. I am also excited to start working with a new sponsor, Stages Cycling. I will have my new power meter this week and can't wait to train with it.


top 10 women

Training Partner All Stars

Another really good training buddy of mine moved away this past week, and it caused me to reflect on my greatest training partners of all time, so this is a sort of tribute I guess to them :)

Rebekah Wigton

Rebekah is my older sister, and my longest standing training buddy. I always say that the competitiveness in our family stems from a race my dad put on when we were pretty young. He had us all run a lap around the block and timed us, and then he ran a lap and timed himself. He has kept that paper all these years to prove that at one time he could beat us all. I (and my other siblings) started running by entering a local 5K in Jamestown called the Jack 'O' Lantern jog. One year he told us that whichever one of us had the fastest time, would get a happy meal from McDonalds. I ended up getting the nuggets and lion king toy that year. Bekah and I raced cross country in middle school and our coaches did something similar, they told me if I beat Bekah then they would get me whatever I wanted when we stopped for dinner on the way home. Food must be a pretty huge motivator for me, because that McFlurry tasted extra awesome that night. Now I should mention that my sister is a very talented athlete, and definitely beat me more times than I beat her growing up. She is super tough, she lost a shoe at the beginning of a very cold cross country race one year and still finished second, our coach couldn't even catch her to give her shoe back! I've always said that she has so much natural talent, and she has taught me to tough it out even when it gets hard. When we were in middle school and high school, she used to read all sorts of running books and I still attribute my running form to her running beside, correcting my arm position and telling me to speed up at the top of hills. We went on to run cross country and track in high school and she continued to be a great role model, bringing the whole team together and making practices and meets really fun. She is a really strong upbeat person, and she was able to motivate and excite the team so effortlessly. Once she graduated, she came to a few of my track meets and would run back and forth across the infield to cheer for me on both straightaways. Pretty sure the parents spectating were wondering what this nutcase was doing running back and forth. Once we were in college, she got into Rugby, which is a perfect sport for her, given how tough she is. She would come back from matches with two black eyes and just kind of shrug it off. She did her first tri with me in RI and my favorite memory from that race was when we went to get coffee after. I asked if we should wash our numbers off first and she exclaimed that we shouldn't because they were our badges of honor. She still runs a bit (she injured her knee in Rugby and has to be careful with running) and has done a few tris. She can pick it back up pretty quickly. She follows my racing and is always excited to hear how it went. She lives in London now but we make a point to run together when we are both home in RI. I visited her when she was living in Spain for a year and we made it a point to run along the beach together. We have had many memorable runs together but this one was especially enjoyable. We were running in this beautiful Spanish city along the ocean. A few Italian guys saw us and got down on all fours on the sidewalk yelling "salta, salta!" We hurdled them and they all cheered, we saw them several other times on that run and you would have thought we were running in the finals for the olympics the way they cheered for us. Running was always our way to connect, and find time, amidst the craziness that is our family to chat. We could be in a brutal argument and then we go for a run together and come back completely fine. We have both used running to get past trying moments in our lives and some of our best conversations have been out on the road. It's always one of my favorite parts of going home.

Super swimmers at an early age

Bekah came out for my first half Ironman

at one of my track meets my senior year

heading out for a bike ride together on a family trip

cheering me on through another 70.3

A wintery run in RI on Christmas Day

out for dinner with our parents

Bekah's first triathlon

Adam Towler

When I first met Adam  he was singing Irish folk songs on the beach at our high school meet and greet freshmen year. I immediately thought, woah this guy is weird, and we didn't really hang out much freshmen year. He was also on the cross country team, so by sophmore year we had started to chat at practices and meets. He was this goofy, quirky guy from Wyoming that had all these crazy stories, and we shared a mutual love of pie. We started hanging out more and became very close friends. He was a very honest, loyal and caring person. I always felt like he was so much wiser than me. He had a very old soul but was still just very fun and upbeat. I always called him Towler, as did most of the school, I actually blanked one day when he asked me what his first name was. We often ran together outside of practices, talked on the bus about our races (and pie) and ate countless dinners together. Our dinners were pretty funny because I ate really fast (if you don't eat fast in our family's house, you don't eat), and he ate extremely slow. This usually meant that he had to guard his plate from me picking off his french fries once I was done. He got me into Irish music, and one of my favorite songs to this day is "Jonny Jump Up," we listened to it before every race. We both struggled with injuries, so we would ice together after practice, or walk down to the bay to wade in the cold New England water. We stayed in touch when we both went to college and he was always trying to get me to come to Wyoming to get some good altitude training. The last time I talked to Adam was a week or so before he passed away. I was telling him about how I was starting to train for my first marathon. He was so excited about it and was really encouraging. After he passed away, the training for that marathon really helped me to deal with the loss. I ran the marathon for him, and continue to run for him. I often think about him, and another good friend that passed away (Ali) during my training and racing and they inspire me to do my best. His sister and dad also run in his memory and we have grown closer sharing training and racing experiences.

Adam after a cross country race

at the semi-formal dance, in his Wyoming cowboy attire

putting us on the senior wall as XC captains

at New Englands for cross country

Sarah and I at the Rock N Roll half marathon

my first marathon for Adam

my first Ironman for Adam

Brian Jastrebsky
I met Brian at running group (Running Etc.) in January of 2010. I didn't know his name for a couple of months but he always wore an orange shirt so I called him "orange shirt guy." He was very outgoing, but we didn't chat very much until the summer. After runs the group went to get beer and pizza down the street. We had many mutual friends and groups of us went to the beach. We often played with a football in the surf and he distinctly remembers me nailing him in the head with it several times (I swear it wasn't on purpose). He asked me to dinner a couple times but I kept putting it off. We were becoming really good friends and I just wasn't sure. I had been in a serious cycling/car accident in 2008 and was nervous about riding on some of the roads. He started doing my long rides with me so that I wouldn't be so nervous. When you ride with someone for 4-5 hours, you get to know them really well. In the fall, I had class and couldn't make it to running group, so he would skip the group run to run with me after class so I wouldn't have to run alone at night in Norfolk. It was after one of these runs that we had our first kiss... It was super awkward, but to his credit he didn't give up and about a month later, right after I finished my first Ironman, he asked me to be his girlfriend, and then his wife at the same Ironman the following year. We still do some of our easier workouts together. We keep it light and fun for the most part, sometimes we chat and laugh, and other times we can run/ride in silence and still enjoy the time together. If we swim together, it usually ends in either a doggy paddle race or a few rounds down the slide at the pool.

before we were dating, Brian paced me in the Rock n Roll half marathon

asked me to be his girlfriend after my first IM

proposal after IM Florida 2011

racing in Kona for our honeymoon

Meghan Gebke

Meghan has shown me that training doesn't have to be super serious, it can be really fun! I first met Meghan when she was nine months pregnant. She and her husband Clint came out to do an open water swim with Brian and I (we had met Clint at running group). I still give Brian a hard time that a nine month pregnant lady beat him on that swim. I remember thinking she was either crazy or awesome for then going on a short run after the swim. I've had so many runs with Meghan where I've almost had to stop because I'm laughing so hard. I remember one run in particular in the park, it was downpouring like crazy and the trails were flooded. We had long since stopped trying to go around the puddles. It was towards the end of our run so we had gotten a little quieter, but every couple minutes one of us would start giggling at how ridiculous the whole thing was. We've also had runs that we call "therapy runs." If one of us was having a tough time with something we would go out for a run, chat about it, and I always felt better afterwards. There was usually some good natured smack talk with Meghan or her husband Clint leading up to IM Florida 2011 (we were all racing together). I think I remember telling Clint I was going to send him on a scavenger hunt in transition for his running shoes. He was always trying to offer me extra helpings of Meghan's awesome chocolate chip cookies in an attempt to fatten me up. They even traveled to RI with me to do a half IM up there, and then a big group of us all did IM Florida together. Their daughter Lexie was the first kid I got to see grow up from infant to now almost 3 year old. Now Meghan and Clint are getting ready for their second kid and I am going to need to get down to Texas to meet him/her.

Lexie's first birthday, thought this shirt would be appropriate for her

IM 70.3 Providence (Clint, Meghan, me, Lawrence)

the whole group that did IM Florida, and where we finished among all the finishers

Meghan as one of my bridesmaids

Brenda Carawan
We met Brenda through her husband Russ. Russ is a cyclist and had ridden with Brian. He asked Brian if he would pace Brenda in a half marathon. We both met Brenda that morning and headed out to the race. Her and Brian did very well, and finished in the time she had wanted. She is an ultra marathoner, so running a faster half marathon was a little outside her comfort zone. My favorite recounted moment from them was when they were approaching the one hill on the course, a bridge over the inlet. Brenda exclaimed "ugh the brdige!" and Brian replied "you just did a 135 mile race [Badwater] with 5,000 feet of climbing and you're worried about a bridge?!" and Brenda said "actually it was 14,000 feet of climbing." After that race, Brenda and I started doing some long runs together. We both have coaches so there was always the understanding that our workouts might not be the same, but we would do what we could together. We often went to Starbucks to get coffee and chat about running and life. She moved to Texas last year, but we still catch up often on the phone and she makes a point to check in with me before and after races to see how I'm feeling and how it went. We struggle with some similar things so we are always exchanging notes and giving each other some new insight. She puts me in check when I need (in the nicest way possible of course). I remember recently she very nicely, told me I shouldn't be worrying about a certain thing. She later apologized for speaking up, but I said "no! don't be sorry, that's what I needed to hear." Brian and I have paced her for a couple ultramarathons (a 100 miler and a 100K) and it was really cool to see her in her element. One thing she said after one of these races has really stuck with me. She wanted us to all cross the finish line with her (her husband and crew, Brian and I). I asked her why she wanted us to do that, it was sort of her moment and I didn't want to intrude on that. She said, this training/racing that we do takes a village. She pays so much tribute to everyone that has encouraged her, trained with her, crewed for her etc. and I hope that I pay that same type of tribute to those that have helped me along the way. She helps me to remain positive. I remember a race last year that I was was just devastated after. She got coffee with me and told me "that race is going to be the best thing that ever happened to you, because it showed you what you were doing wrong." That helped me to learn from the "bad" races and enjoy the "good" races.

pacing Brenda for the Graveyard 100 miler

finish of the Graveyard 100 miler (1st overall)

finish of the Graveyard 100K (1st overall)

Michelle

And last but certainly not least (did these in order of when I met them), my biking buddy Michelle. Michelle is a very talented triathlete that is getting back from an injury that put her out for over a year. Since she wasn't able to run at all for a year, we started biking together (met through mutual friends). She has been so great to ride with. I'm not always the easiest person to bike with, because I tend to just want to go my speed. So sometimes we ride next to each other, other times we ride single file. Sometimes if I have intervals during a long ride, she'll ride a little behind and shout words of encouragement and its like I have my own cheerleader on long rides, pretty awesome. Riding with someone for a few hours at a time, you get to talk about a lot of stuff. We talk about anything from training/racing to our pups. She is super positive and really believes in Brian and I, and she also understands the challenges of being a competitive athlete. It has been really cool to see her coming back so strong from such a tough injury. She even recently won her first triathlon back. With her already being a super strong swimmer and runner, now that she has put so much time into the bike, she's going to crush it. I've really enjoyed getting to know her better, and am looking forward to many more awesome bike rides and hopefully some great runs and swims as well (if I can keep up!).