Get Fit - and Stay Fit - with Coach Christina (2026)

03/06/2017

First race of the season is in the books! Cooperstown Tri - well....aquabike for me, because I'm not running just yet. Yes ...you're reading that first pic correctly - the water temp was 61° this morning!! 😮 and that air temp was sometime after the swim...it was closer to 50° at race start - and it was crazy windy to boot.

Jumped in for the swim "warm up" 😂😂😂😂😂 before the race to acclimate to the temp. I was in the water for 5 minutes, and my feet and hands were frozen. ❄❄ The good part was that when I got back in the water for my swim wave, it wasn't nearly as cold (since my feet and hands were already numb 😂😂🐧). I had to breathe every stroke, because I couldn't take keeping my face in the water for longer at a time....i was a bit slower because of that, but still managed a respectable 2:15/100 pace. :)

T1 was interesting....got a little dizzy taking off my wetsuit (another woman in transition commented the same thing, so I'm guessing it was from the cold) - the feeling had passed by the time I got my bike shoes (with socks!), jacket and gloves on, so I put on my helmet and headed out for the bike.

I had never so much as driven the bike course, merely mapped it out on strava, so I had a rough idea of elevation/hills (mostly uphill on the first half of the loop, mostly downhill on the second half), but that didn't matter. My feet were totally numb and my muscles were frozen. It took everything I had in me just to get my legs spinning. I was using easier gears than normal (thus slower) because I just couldn't push harder gears :/ the downhill second half of each loop was super fun and fast though! :D

Total time was about 1:40 (still waiting on official time)....good enough for 1st place in the aquabike! :D

And a huge thank you to my friend, Laurie, for coming with me today! Made the car ride fly by!! 😘

08/08/2016

Iron Girl 2016 Race Report (posted this on my other page by accident last night 😂 - reposting here this am for anyone who's not on my Tri Posh page ☺):

My morning started out great - had a good night's sleep and was wide awake at 4:30am...at the park by 5am. Got body marked by my teammate, Mary, and had my transition area setup by 5:30. Used the port-a-potty and waited for my BFF to arrive to French braid my hair. Got my hair braided and got my leg taped when my massage therapist arrived. Then my troubles began. :/ Had trouble getting my wetsuit on - couldn't get it pulled up high enough. My teammate, Toby, was at the swim start and zipped me. I get into the water and am ready to go.

The horn goes off and away we go. I simply couldn't get into a good rhythm because of my wetsuit not being pulled all the way up - it was constricting my arm movement and made ut difficult to breathe properly. On a good note, I had no problems at all sighting. And bring in the first wave, I didn't have to deal with swimming around people. Official time 15:32.

Coming out of the water, I was conservative and walked to my transition spot. Even with that, my official T1 time was 3:23.6.

Get to the bike mount line, and I see Toby - "Go Christina! This is your course!" Get going and I see my bestie, Laura, who tells me to put the swim behind me and crush the bike. It took me a few miles to actually get the swim out of my head, but once I did, I was settled in. :) Then in the last couple of miles, my hip started bothering me, but I pushed through it as best I could. Coming up the final hill before the entrance to the park, I head Toby cheering and Kristen on her megaphone. :) I wasn't as fast as last year, which was expected, since I haven't been able to train on hills or really push very hard in training at all this year, but still finished in 1:04:07 - one of, if not the fastest ride all season.

Immediately racked my bike, and took off my bike shoes, helmet and sunglasses. I decided to go with socks this year, because I hadn't run in these shoes since March, when socks were required due to temps. I had "pre-rolled" them tho, so I don't think I lost a ton of time. Put on my shoes, and grabbed my visor and race belt. Official T2 time - 1:49.8

Going into the race, my plan for the run was to run/walk the best I could. I started at a slow shuffle coming out of transition. Passed my friends, Bridget and Mary Lou, who were manning transition. Started walking once I hit the grass, since uneven surfaces seem to cause more issues. Once I got past the grass, I saw my teammate Mary. Then once I got past the gravel, I saw my BFF, Laura, and Brendan, one of the fleet feet coaches, who gave me some words of encouragement as I started my run/walk pattern - 60 seconds run, 90 seconds walk. The first few intervals went well...had no pain in my knee, but my hip was still bothering me from the bike. Then, the pain started presenting in my knee at the end of my run intervals, and started hurting earlier and earlier into my run segments. But I just gritted my teeth, checked my watch, and pushed through to the full 60 seconds each time. Saw all of my teammates who were racing either just before or just after the turnaround. And Laura was bopping around the run course in her fatbike, and kept checking on me, which was so helpful. :) Finally reach the last stretch and see Kristen (with her megaphone) and Toby again. I drop to a walk for the gravel and sand, and get some last words of encouragement from Laura and Mary. As soon as I got past the sand and hit the pavement, I picked it up. I mentally and literally gritted my teeth as I did a gimpy sprint to the finish! Somehow, even tho I haven't done more than a handful of aquaruns and power walks since March, I finished the run in 43:39 at an avg pace of 14:00/mi.

Overall time - 2:08:33! I was expecting at least 2:15, but my run and my transitions were all better than I'd estimated. :)

I'm not sure how well I'll be able to walk tomorrow, but have nothing else on my schedule, and can totally concentrate on fixing my hips. :)

07/08/2016

Soooo....Iron Girl is tomorrow. The one race I'm still doing this year because there are no deferrals, transfers, or refunds.

I've been working on my swim stroke, so I'm very confident there...and the Iron Girl course is pretty much all I've been riding, so I know every bump inside and out. My goal is to kill the swim and the bike.

The run? Well...the original plan was to walk the run....but when I did my brick on Wednesday, I attempted a few "shuffles" during my walk and had no pain! So...now, the plan is to do a run/walk, and hope I stay pain free. I guess we'll see. :)

Mr Mussel is crossing his fingers for me...and Barry was very interested in his first Flat Christina. 😁

20/06/2016

Been having a bit of a struggle lately...my leg is sore and achy much of the time. The hilliest course I can ride is the Iron Girl course, and I'm doing pull-only swims (no kicking. Because my workouts are shorter and less intense than normal, I don't burn as many calories...but I'm struggling with emotional eating because I can't workout like I want to. :(

Sadly, I've officially dropped Delta Lake and Old Forge for this season (I can't even aquabike because as of now, I can't bike the hills on those courses). :'( That leaves only Iron Girl in August - no transfers and no refunds for that one...but at least I know I'm okay riding that course, so I will just walk the 5k).

I spent all day Saturday and yesterday volunteering at Ironman 70.3 Syracuse...manned the info booth on Sat and then did body marking, wetsuit stripping and medaling until the last finisher crossed the line. I absolutely LOVED being there for my friends and teammates (and complete strangers - I got "hey! You're my body marker!" more than once lol) to medal them as they finished. ❤ I must admit tho, it was slightly bittersweet, wishing that I had been able to officially cross the finish line last year, instead of being herded into a barn 3/4 of the way thru the run and shuttled back to the park in a box truck. But...that is in the past, and I've made my peace. 😌

On a positive note, we (ortho, pt and my coach) have narrowed the probable cause of my knee pain in my "great looking" MRI'd knee to an incredibly angry hip flexor. So we've started working on that and will hopefully see some progress in the coming weeks. One of my massage therapist friends worked in my leg a bit yesterday while the athletes were on the bike course, and I am 100% convinced that I can only function today because of her magic (thank you again, Tiffany!!). My whole body was achy today, but I was able to get out after work and get a 45 minute ride in with absolutely NO pain or soreness for the first time in weeks! :D

04/06/2016

Had my MRI yesterday. The sports med ortho said "that's a great looking knee you have there...just a small touch of arthritis, but nothing to be concerned with". No meniscus tear, not even any visible ITB inflammation. So...still no confirmation of what is causing the pain (which has been getting worse - it's now sore after biking and hurts while swimming). :/

Both my coach and my physical therapist think since there's nothing wrong with the knee itself, the cause is likely stemming from issues with my hip complex along with muscle imbalances and weakness. I have a follow-up with the ortho on the 13th (to see what the radiologist says about the MRI), and will ask about that. In the meantime, my PT is going to start working more specifically on my hips and back....and I'll be doing a lot of cheerleading from the sidelines.

*sigh*

19/05/2016

Yep. This has been my goal lately, since actual intense training is out until my knee is better (MRI is 2 weeks from tomorrow).

Actually did 5 of my 6 scheduled workouts last week (wound up taking a complete and total rest day on Sunday - like a "watch TV all day" rest day, and felt a LOT better on Monday)...and I'm 3 for three so far this week! :D

10/05/2016

I know I've been quiet for a while....this ITB/knee issue isn't getting better. :/ The cortisone shot the ortho gave me at the beginning of April didn't help - still can't run at all, biking is starting to bother it, pushing off the wall while swimming can't bug it too sometimes....and sometimes it hurts just sitting at work. 😭 So I have an MRI scheduled for 6/2 (see the sports med ortho right after).

Because of that, my workouts gave been sporadic and light. But I did get a solid workout in today - a 20 minute aquarun (that doesn't seem to have bothered anything - yay!), and a 30 minute pull only swim (1300y). Felt great! Hoping to get a nice easy ride in tomorrow. :)

17/03/2016

So...as some of you know, I've been dealing with ITB issues since early Jan. Between easing back on my running and physical therapy, it was slowly getting better (I could run farther without pain). But in the last week or two, I started backsliding (pain starting sooner). Then last night, I realized that the pain was happening on impact instead of on the swing (where I've previously felt it). And my entire lower leg felt off (not numb or even tingly...just weird). Both my PT and my coach recommended I see an ortho for some diagnostic tests due that change in pain location and the weird feeling in my leg...so I'm off running until my appt on the 4th. And I totally am relating to this meme. :/

04/03/2016

LOL!! :P

Moxie spin class tonight - a full 90 minutes...19 miles. Did two sets of single leg drills, and decreasing time/increasing effort TTs.

02/03/2016

Spin on the trainer tonight. Still feeling yucky, so only did 11 miles in 48 minutes....but didn't feel like I had a fever tonight. LOL :)

On a side note, I'm 4 episodes into Fuller House, and am enjoying it so far :D

01/03/2016

I know I've been MIA for a bit. I've still been doing my workouts, but things have been super busy, and the hubs and I were on vacation for a week at camp (I went skiing for the first time!). :)

Did a 60 minute spin on the trainer tonight.

Happy Leap Day! :)

04/02/2016

Yep. So do it. ;)

45 minute tempo swim tonight for 2050y at an average pace of 2:12/100y. :) followed by a 15 minute aqua run at 5k effort. :)

Get Fit - and Stay Fit - with Coach Christina