A weekend in Florida

This post was written for Specialized. See the original post here.

Well, it’s definitely no secret that my Camber and I have become quite the pair. My boyfriend and I have even started making a tiny course to practice on in our backyard AND I signed up for a Women’s Downhill Camp that’s happening in July. I pretty much jumped in with both feet to say the least. I’m still SO incredibly new, but very set on learning. 

This past weekend we took a trip to Destin for a little beach vacation and while we were there we thought we would visit a local MTB trail. We reached out for suggestions on social media, found the address of a trail near by, packed up our stuff, and headed out. The trail head had no map of the trail system, but plenty of bear warnings. As we’re riding along I’m thinking to myself how flat it is, no one would need anything more than a CX bike out here, easiest trail ever, so and so on and then BAM I over correct and throw myself into a tree. Just goes to show you that you can literally fall anywhere so use this as my friendly reminder to wear a helmet while riding. Regardless of the tiny scratches (and slightly hurt ego) I ended up with, we had fun, explored through the path of palm trees, admired the crazy amount of white moss, and of course stopped to take photos.

We finished the ride, stopped for acai bowls, and ended our day playing in the ocean while enjoying Floridas white sandy beaches. Bikes, food, and the beach - I’d say this is one of my favorite ways to spend a day. 

Advice from an Ironman - Eric Hinman

Hey guys! I'm finallllly catching up! I don't recommend starting a new job during the busiest time of year for your other job, hah! Oh well, I've enjoyed it, but I miss blogging! So a while ago I reached out and interviewed Eric Hinman whom I met while in Hawaii with Oakley. He's an incredible athlete and I just had to pick his brain. First I asked him to tell us a little bit about himself and then further down you can find the actual interview. Thanks!

Mae: So, Eric, tell us about yourself:

Eric: I started training for triathlon in 2010. I didn't know how to swim. I never biked competitively, I had a running background - high school circa 2002. I signed up for my first sprint (a small local race), and spent hours in the pool leading up to it learning how to swim, practicing two stroke breathing. In my first sprint distance triathlon, I side stroked, and back stroked the entire 800m. I was scared shitless surrounded by other people, flailing in the water. I thought I might drown! With a bit of luck, and perseverance, I made it through the swim, passed people on the bike, and held my own on the run. I finished 3rd - excited that I did well, but hungry to improve. Triathlon is a very individual sport - the biggest competition is yourself. I love self improvement, and was instantly addicted to the process to improve. I competed in one other local sprint distance triathlon that summer, with my sights set on 2011. I hired a coach, and began training with purpose. I started to understand the difference between training hard, and training smart. I completed my first Olympic distance, then two half Ironmans in 2011. In my second half Ironman, I qualified for the half Ironman world championships. In 2012, I completed my first full Ironman in Lake Placid. I was soooo sore, for days after!! I missed qualifying for Kona by one spot, which equated to 1 minute. It fueled my competitive drive to further improve and quality for Kona in 2013. Under the helm of my triathlon coach, Mike Corona, I trained long purposeful hours, in prep for IM Lake Placid 2013. It worked. I qualified for Kona! In Kona, I was a victim of the lava fields, heat and wind. I had an awful race. It took everything not to quit. Seeing so many other inspiring athletes on the course gave me the mental fortitude to continue on, finish the race, and get my finishers tee shirt + medal. Yet again, my competitive drive was fueled. I had to perform better in Kona - for my own satisfaction! I trained even longer, and harder in prep for IM Lake Placid 2014. I qualified again. In Kona 2014, I finished in 9:36. I was satisfied!

2x Kona Qualifier + Finisher (IM World Championships)
4x Half Ironman World Championship Qualifier
5x Ironman Finisher
10x Half Ironman Finisher

Mae: How did you get started? Any sports before competing in Ironmans?

Eric : I played three sports in high school - basketball, track, and cross country.  I played one year of basketball in college (a bit too short to be a force!). I started weight lifting in college, and stuck with that through my early 20's. I really didn't have an extensive athletic background, other than always enjoying being active, and competing against myself/seeking self improvement.

Mae: So I reached out to some people online who also have some questions. Below are a few I chose. 

Do you get motivation externally or internally? What practices do you use before a big race? Visualization? Meditation? 

Eric: I get motivation internally. I am very competitive with myself. I'm always seeking self improvement in all aspects of life. I set seemingly unattainable goals, and then execute on a daily basis to reach them. My theory - if someone else has done it, I can do it with enough time and purposeful practice. I try to go through life with purpose in anything I'm doing.

I do some visualizing + meditation in the weeks leading up to a big race - the 5 hour bike rides provide plenty of alone time! However, in most training sessions, I focus on being in the present - if you think about how much longer the training session is, or how much you have to do, it's easy to defeat yourself.

Mae : Crowd Question : Do you sing to yourself, or what keeps your mind occupied during such long stretches of road on ride/run. I know we can all guilty of getting in our own heads, so what prevents you from doing that?

Eric : Mental fatigue is the hardest part of any sport (in my opinion). Like anyone, I have on days where I'm in a flow state, and off days where 5 minutes into a 2 hour session I want to quit. However, I try to go into every training session with a positive attitude, purpose, and excitement. Luckily, once I start training, I normally get "in the zone" quickly.  

Mae : Crowd Question : Do you use any sort of sports psychologist? Dr. Michael Gervais was just a guest on the Rich Roll podcast and it got me thinking about how high level endurance athletes are seemingly all employing some sort of sports related psychologists. How do you deal with self sabotage in tough events where things seem to be going poorly?

Eric: I don't. I am good at tricking my mind - for example, I set mini-goals during races. On the Ironman run (a marathon), I'll typically just focused on getting to the next aid station (one mile away) looking forward to a cup of Coca Cola at the aid station - to spike my blood sugar level, to keep going. I don't think about how far I have to go, just how far I've already gone. A positive mindset is paramount - think about past successes - I've run a marathon before, I can do this. I trained long hours, I can do this. Others have done this, I can do this.

Mae : Crowd Question : Tips for sticking to training schedule while still having a life on the road!

Eric : It's tough to balance. When I was training long hours, I structured my days around my workouts. I traveled less frequently, and avoided places where I couldn't easily get into my training routine. Ex.) I'd visit places that allowed for easy training - Austin, TX where I can easily run, bike at a training facility, and accessibility to a pool. 

Mae : Crowd Question : What kind of cross training do you do besides swim, bike, run?

Eric: I do a lot of strength training, and Crossfit (5x per week off-season and 3x per week in-season). I truly feel this has given me an edge - increasing my strength to weight ratio, building durability and muscular endurance, and reduces my risk of getting injured from the high repetition/volume in triathlon training. The metabolic conditioning workouts in Crossfit also give me a mental edge to really dig deep when my body is hurting - I can think back to all my past sessions, and convince myself, I've been through worse!

Mae : Crowd Question : What does your nutrition look like while in training? Are you counting calories or macros?

Eric: I adopted a high fat diet. Here's a typical day:
https://www.evernote.com/shard/s18/sh/63b98521-2fe9-46d9-8522-c117a04547a9/fa66f79114f2d10dcb3e3963c5cd85aa

Mae : Any pre-race rituals?

Eric: I always write a race plan. I read my prior race reports to see what I did well, and what I didn't do well. 

Mae : Best advice to someone wanting to do their first ironman? 

Eric: Find a coach. Think like a bumble-bee, and train like a race horse. Find a great coach that will help you train with purpose. Hit the workouts, don't overthink it. Put in the time + effort, and you will succeed! Discuss with your significant other - it's a major time commitment.
The training needs to be consistent.

Thanks Eric!! 
You can find his social media here:

https://www.instagram.com/erichinman/

http://www.fitner.co/eric

Smart Eyewear : Oakley Radar Pace

"Okay, Radar - What's my workout today?" I say out loud as I'm getting on my bike. "Today, you're practicing group cycling. We'll be going 38.5mi and climbing 2,910ft," is the response I hear through my smart eyewear.

Yep, that's right - I'm talking to my sunglasses. 

The above photo is by the amazing @wildermonster & @ncruzimagery

The above photo is by the amazing @wildermonster & @ncruzimagery

On October 3rd, Oakley and Intel released Radar Pace, a hands-free virtual coach built into your eyewear to use for cycling and running. With moveable and detachable earbuds, you can listen and respond back to the glasses to do to various things such as receive feedback about your workout, ask questions like, "how am I doing?, listen to your music, and accept phone calls. Using the free Radar Pace app, Bluetooth, and smart technology, the glasses will collect and analyze personal performance data including power output, heart rate, speed, cadence, time, pace and distance. If you'd like to read more about specs, I'll point you into the direction of the professionals and tell you to click here.

Last week I had the opportunity to go to Kona, Hawaii during the Ironman World Championships and actually put the Oakley Radar Pace glasses to the test. With both the Intel and Oakley team there, we started off on Thursday with a demo day learning all about the glasses. At the Ironman Expo were two large shipping containers turned into a really rad Oakley booth where you could shop Oakley gear, create custom glasses, and of course, watch a live demo of the Radar Pace. 

At the demo we watched a guy as he started running on a treadmill while talking to seemingly no one. A female voice responded through the speakers commenting on his stride, heart rate and water consumption. He responded back with questions, and the female voice would respond in real time. While totally hands-free the runner was receiving feedback about his workout via the smart eyewear. My eyes got huge and I immediately had SO many questions. "Can you import your own workouts?" I asked. "No, but the free app has tailored workouts for you based on what you're training for and when the event is." Wow, so the glasses not only talk to you, but the connected app has customizable workout plans. That's pretty awesome. After that, a lot of technology words were throw around and that's where I was a little lost. As much as I love gadgets, I'm 100% into the experience while numbers and fancy words go in one ear and out the other. At this point, I'm totally hung up on the fact that my sunglasses can talk to me! Like, hello - is this real life? My next question was, "can I remove one of the earbuds? Safety first, you know? The answer is yes. You can either bend the arm of the earbud to hover it above or below your ear, or completely detach it. 

Later that day, the team took us outside where helmets, kits, shoes, bikes, and Radar Pace glasses were waiting for each of us. I'm a kid in a candy store at this point. I'm taken up to a table where someone works with me one on one to walk me through the process of fitting the earbuds to my ear, adjusting them to make everything as comfortable as possible, and syncing them to my heart rate strap, power meter, and phone. As we are setting everything up, I'm being told that the glasses charge via micro USB, hold a charge for 4-6 hours, come with additional clear lenses in addition to the PRIZM Road lenses, and feature touch sensors on the left side to do things like control my music and adjust the volume. After the glasses are ready to go, another person fits me to my bike, puts brand new cleats on my shoes, and the next thing I know - I'm riding around on a sweet Specialized Roubaix with Di2! What is my life right now?! My heart is full and my mind is blown. 

The next day we meet up for a sunrise ride/run with three time world champion, Craig Alexander, where everyone is decked out and ready to test the Radar Pace. I turn on my phone and glasses, ask what my workout is, and a group of us get going. As I'm riding, I'm asking her various questions for fun. "What's my cadence? What's my heart rate? What's my power? Is that good?" She responds with the stats and I keep going. The only thing I wish I would have done is attach the aero clip because when it got really windy going downhill, she couldn't hear me because of the microphone interference. So noted, always use the aero clip. What really got me was when she reminded me to drink water, or better yet, told me that I'm coasting too much (we stopped to take photos, ok?!) haha. 

The above photo is by the amazing @wildermonster & @ncruzimagery

Overall the experience was great and immediately I thought of my friend Liz. How perfect are these for someone who doesn't currently have a coach, but trains and wants an efficient workout? I met up with her last night to tell her all about it and she's sold. With the price point at $449, I rate this as fair. Considering the Oakley PRIZM road glasses (without additional lenses) range from $120-$250 just by themselves, you're also getting headphones with great sound quality, additional clear lenses, an app with customizable workouts, and of course the two-way conversation real-time coach that calibrates to you and just gets better the more you use it. 

The above photo is by the amazing @wildermonster & @ncruzimagery

A big thank you to Oakley for allowing me to be apart of this experience. It's one thing to try a product, but another to meet the people behind the brand, hear about the two years of hard work that went into making the product, and actually have the creators help us out first hand. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you. 

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If you'd like to see Radar Pace in action, please view the video below. 

Can't get enough of sunrise

I was up before the sun when I was in Chattanooga to make sure I caught some epic views before my ride. I must say, Tennessee, you did not disappoint. With the summer heat getting less bearable every day, the temperature was perfect at 6:30AM. New friends and old friends watched the sunrise with fellow campers who were there from the night before. Pure serenity, motivation and perfection. Nature, you are badass.

Last two images by Jeff Rhoda

No Garmin No Rules?

I feel like my cycling life has taken a 360 from last year. Not in a bad way, it’s just different. I was all about racing road for the first time last summer and totally loved it! I made so many new friends, became more fit than I had ever been in my life, and tried something I was really scared to do. Although I dabbled in soccer previously in my life, being this athletic for this long was totally new to me. I was not the kid who grew up being good at sports and looking back I don’t think “athletic” would have been a word that was used to describe me. But you know what, I did it and this fitness journey has totally changed my life for the best and I have cycling to thank for that. Sadly I found myself completely exhausted by the end of last year when I had raced road and CX back to back. (Side note, cheers to those of you badass cyclists out there who race all year long, because that was crazy for me!) I burned myself out for a bit and since then I’ve been rekindling the original love I had for cycling before racing was even a factor in my life. I present to you what’s been going on behind the scenes : my Garmin-less, gravel road, no training-plan lifestyle. Right now I’m not looking at any numbers, and it’s just me and my Amira. I ride how I want to ride, and not how I think I’m supposed to. Now don’t get me wrong, I will eventually start training again for cyclocross, but right now I’m just free as a bird on my rides and totally loving it. 

What I Eat In A Day

Lately I’ve been exploring other forms of fitness and I tried a boxing class for the first time! Because I’m still getting my ride done in the morning, I find that these doubled up days tend to help me eat a bit better since I know I’m fueling up for a few workouts - thumbs up for that! Now I’m not much of a cook, but I have been trying to make better choices lately so here is an example of what I eat (on a good day)!

Breakfast: I make a smoothie or smoothie bowl with spinach/kale, oats, berries, acai juice, almond milk, banana, half an apple, flax seed, chia seed, cinnamon and sometimes protein powder. I pair that with some delicious espresso and a ton of water. 

On The Ride: So on the ride, depending on how long it is, I’ll take a banana and a Clif bar. These are just my choices, of course there are plenty of options out there. Sometimes I eat, both, none or just one. Also, water is a given on the bike.

Lunch: When I get home from my ride it’s time to get to work. I baked some salmon and asparagus and put it over some mixed greens. It’s so easy and flavorful which definitely makes it one of my favorite go-to meals. Again, paired with water.

Afternoon Snack: Because I meet up with a friend for my boxing class, it actually takes me a while to get there. I’m always heading straight from work so I find a fruit pouch is an easy item to grab for in the car. 

Dinner: Coming home in the evenings is always something I look forward to. My boyfriend and I are trying to make an effort to cook together, so I chose to make a pasta bowl. This one is whole wheat pasta with broccoli, avocado, shrimp, cilantro and lemon. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t eat chocolate at some point during the day, so I added in a few pieces of dark raspberry chocolate for dessert. Again, I paired my meal with water. See a trend here? That’s usually all I drink except sometimes I’ll mix it up with a tea or La Croix. Also, if you haven’t treated yourself to a candle lit bath using a bath bomb, I HIGHLY recommend it. It’s becoming my favorite way to relax. 

Well that’s it! Here’s to a journey of better eating and mixing up my workout this year! 

(CONTEST CLOSED) BLOGMAS GIVEAWAY : SPECIALIZED + RIP VAN WAFELS

Winner is @llafayettte

BLOGMAS GIVEAWAY! Day 2!

The giveaway for today is given to you by Specialized and Rip van Wafels! One lucky winner will receive a cycling package including:

- Two (2) Specialized Armadillo All Condition Tires
- Stix Sport Headlight
- Stix Sport Taillight
- Coconut Rip van Wafels
- Honey & Oats Rip van Wafels
- Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Rip van Wafels

HOW TO ENTER:
1. Follow @MaeElizabethG, @iamspecialized_road and @ripvanwafels on Instagram
2. Tag two friends on the giveaway image on my Instagram (@MaeElizabethG)
Bonus Entry: Comment on this blog post (on www.MaeElizabeth.com) and tell me which product you're looking forward to most. Make sure you leave your IG name so I can contact you if you win!

• Winner will be announced on Thursday, December 24th - Good luck!
  
  P.S. if you didn't enter yesterdays giveaway, you still have time! Click here! 

24 Hours Before A CX Race.

Hi guys! My last race of the CX season is this Sunday, but I have to pack everything tomorrow (dual home living situation problems). Anyways, I thought I would go through what I do during the 24 hours leading up to my race. This is for CX and differs a bit from road, but you get the general idea. Also, this is just my personal routine, so take it as you will. Feel free to leave any additional tips in the comments below! 

xx
Mae

Day Before:
 

- I mean this should be your goal everyday, but make sure you stay hydrated! On top of water throughout the day, I usually drink some Pedialyte the day/night before a race, too. 

- My ride for the day opens up my legs. Usually nothing too terribly long with some sprints thrown in. Aka whatever my coach tells me to do. More about him, here. 

- I clean my bike, shoes, kits, socks, etc. They are almost always dirty and you shouldn't show up with dirty gear, tisk tisk! Oh, and lube your chain. 

- Give you bike/gear a run down. This is a double check, NOT the first time you should be checking your bike for problems. An actual thorough run down of your gear should be done earlier in the week. Do NOT wait until the night before. Trust me, I date "King Bike Maintenance Procrastinator" who has run into mannnny problems because he waited until the night before. Don't do it, it's so stressful and you aren't always guaranteed to have it sorted out before the race.

- Pack everything food, drink and bike related! Bring two kits + socks incase you get your first one disgusting during warm up. PLENTY of water, any pre or post race fuel/hydration/recovery. Don't forget your number (if you're in a series) and license (I mean you should really just use the app)! I tend to overpack since I'll be at the venue all day watching everyone race after me. I'm prepared for rain or shine to ensure optimum spectator comfort as well as race comfort! Some of what is in my bag can be found, here. 

- Carb up at dinner time. I tend to go for pasta and broccoli, and I totally stay clear of cheese. It's usually some sort of variation of this. Everyone obviously goes for different things and this is the one for me. Oh and my breakfast and lunch are pretty standard, nothing fancy or out of the norm for me. 

- Shower and shave your legs! I hate showing up with hairy legs, I feel like I've ruined my race day if I do. It's my weird thing, I know. 

- Go ahead and plug the race venue address into your GPS to see how long it will take to get there. Set your alarm accordingly. I give myself drive time PLUS two hours before my race. 

- Get some good sleep! Night, night!

Race Day:

- Eat breakfast. For me it's oatmeal and espresso. More about what I eat, here. 

- Pack the car, get your GPS going, and you're off!

- Don't forget to turn on some good pump up music. Insert rap music here. 

- Like I said, I give myself 2 hours at the venue before my race to get ready. This is my personal preference because I want to handle my business before the race and not be frantic. Plus this gives me a buffer time incase anything sudden goes wrong with traffic, long check in line, warm up, getting dressed, etc, etc.

Alright, at this point you're at the race venue

- Go register asap! You never know what the line will be like. 

- Go to the bathroom. I'm serious because if you don't, the line will be so long and you'll be that person at the start line thinking "damn, I need to pee" and that is just the worst. 

- Get your tire pressure situated. 

- Check out the course and pre ride! Pay attention to turns, course features, best lines, etc

- Put spare wheels and bike in the pit. I don't do this, but if you have extra stuff, go for it. 

- Pin on race number, kit up, adjust tire pressure if needed, etc

- WATCH THE CLOCK and get to the start line early. Unless you have call-ups, you need to make sure you get a good starting position. 

Ok, now you're at the start line

- Is your Garmin started and are you in the right gear? Check. 

- Lastly, PMA. Tell yourself you are going to win. YOU ARE GOING TO WIN, YOU HEAR ME??