So, today is the day before the big race...I am nervous, but yet very confident in having a great performance.  There is nothing better than feeling prepared for something that you have worked so hard for.  Everyone involved has helped me accomplish and surpass many goals and expectations; now it is time to do it AGAIN...ONE MORE TIME!!!

In order to make my last statement make sense, I guess I should update everyone with my season perfromances.  My stats say it all; I have competed in two sprint distance triathlons, finishing #1 overall female.  I competed in an olympic distance triathlon at Moss Park, finishing #1 overall female.  My most recent race was Nationals in Portland Oregon; an olympic distance triathlon.  I was very pleased with my perfromance there as well.  I was a little nervous about the course, being that there was nothing but hill after hill after hill.  However, to my surprise I handled them very well...all the training in Clermont prepared me for those lovely hills, but not the temperatures; a little too chilly for me.  When I couldn't feel my hands and feet anymore on the bike, that was the first indication of how much more effort I was going to have to put into the race if I wanted to come out on top and at least finish #1 in my age group.  Low and behold, I some how managed to make it through the race without too much trouble and finish #1 in my age group...so I thought.  A couple hours after the event was over and the final results were announced, I came to find out that I ended up getting a penalty for running out the "swim in" entry, which was MAYBE two feet away from the "run out" area.  I must have gotten so distracted with not feeling my feet, that I couldn't read the BIG, BLARING sign the read RUN OUT...go figure.  as an end result, I recieved a penatly of 2 minutes which dropped my ranking from #1 female to 4th; what a shame.  I guess we all have to get a penalty some time...I guess if I am going to get a penatly, I am going to do it right, Nationals of all places.  Despite the penalty, I still qualified for World championship, which will be held in Gold Coast Australia in Sept 2009.  that in itself is an accomplishment I was very proud of; not to mention the mere fact that I KNOW, I had the #1 time in my age group.  I chalked it up as a learning lesson!!!

 Since Nationals, training only got longer and more intense.  My coaches pushed me to the limits; mentally and physically...But, they also showed me that I can handle it; and potentally go even further if necessary.  I tell you what, I was ready for the taper when it came time to back off a little.  That may have been one of the harder things for me to cope with.  Being that my training sessions we long and intense for so long, I felt as if I wasn't getting enough milage in during the taper.  With the encouraging comments provided by my coaches, friends, and family, I went against my inner voice and followed the taper accordingly.  Thanksfully I listened, I feel like a million bucks!  I am ready to race and continue my streak!  Now, it is your turn to particiapte in my success, just take a moment on Sat morning to wish me luck and think positively about my race.  That alone will help me get through the event and continue with success!!!

Hello everyone, I am sorry it has taken me so long to provide you with an update as to how my training and competitions have been going.  Training with Team Hendryx for the epic challenge has been great; we are increasing our mileage and intensity every week.  Actually, this past weekend I had a sprint Tri in Sebring on Sunday, I was reluctant to go through a hard workout (bike, run brick) on Sat  (the day before the event); but the coaches encouraged me to do so and use the sprint tri as training.  I succumed to their request; to my surprise, my legs felt great on race day, even after the intense sat workout.  This alone is a good indication that I am getting stronger and building the appropriate base for the Florida Challenge (1/2 ironman) in Clermont Florida in Oct. It is extremely encouraging to see and feel the changes that are taking place within my training; especially within the past 2 weeks...I am getting stronger each day; I notice it in my training workouts as well as in competitions.

Speaking of competitions, let me update you all of my accomplishments.  On June 23rd, I competed in a Sprint Tri in Baldwin Park, Orlando, Fl.  the event consisited of a 750m swim; 13.4 mile bike; and 2.5 mile run.  I finished the event in 1:07:39, with this time, I was the overall women's winner and 7th out of the entire field.  My time also qualified me for the US National team for my age group.  The national even takes place in Portland, Oregon on Sept. 20th.  I am looking forward to taking my competitions to the next level; not only in distance but also quality of competition.

On July 13th, I competed in another sprint tri in Sebring, Fl.  The event consisted of 400m swim; 15mile bike; and 3.1mile run.  I finished with a time of 1:06:15; with this time I was the overall women's winner and 6th out of the entire field.

Needless to say, I am very proud of my accomplishments; I am also looking forward to longer competitions in the near future.  The true test will be in Oct during the Florida Challenge (1/2 ironman);I have my goals and aspirations set high, so lets hope the coaching and everyone's hard work continues to pay off.

Mandy McLane

I just wanted to update everyone on how things are going.  So far, I am feeling great; granted there are days where I am feeling fatigued and needing time to recover, but within a 24 hour period, I am ready to go again.  I think the toughest aspect of training right now is getting up in the mornings.  This week I am training at 5:30 am on two mornings so I can get it done and have my afternoon open...when that alarm goes off, I often ask myself, why am I doing this again.  But as soon as I up and moving and actually start the training, I am quickly reminded.

 On Tuesday I went through a full on evaulation for range of movement, flexitibity, and biomechanical analysis to see if we can come up with the underlying cause of chronic knots resulting in fatigue on my left leg.  Chuck Wolfe with Human in Motion did an outstand job.  Low and behold, it appears as if all my problems stem from the high arch in my feet, which ultimately is limiting my mobility and flexibility, causing a tight left hip, and majority of obsorption on the lateral portion of my quad.  With my biomenchanics and genetic make-up, my left quad has no choice but to take the majority of the work load.  With a couple of adjustments as far as flixibility and strength conditioning, as well as a shoe insert, I should notice a significant difference in the knot size and fatigue within the next month or so.  I'm not sure what it feels like to have two fresh legs.  I was happy to have one; many people feel fatgued all the time through this type of training.

 So Far, things are going well.  I am beginning to think more and more about my upcoming event in Balwin Park on June 29th.  I am ready to see how I will perform with transitions and just being in a competative race senario again. 

Thus far training is going very well.  We are just delving into it and getting a taste of what is to come.  Last week we focused on all three events; some days we transitioned from one event to the next during training, while others we would train a singel event, such as swimming.  I welcomed the swimming days being that it allowed for a little recovery. 

This past weekend was very eventful.  Sunday, Monday and Tuesday we went through all kinds of testing.  Sunday we participated in a fitnes test, which entailed  a general fitness evaluation; all kinds of measurements such as height, weight, body fat, resting heart rate, blood pressure, and typical body measurements (bust, waist, hips).  Following the fitness test we road about 30 miles as a group, ate lunch and moved onto the next set of testing; VO2 Max testing at zernergy.  The VO2 Max test was interesting. To say the very least, it got your heart rate up.  Despite the intensity of the test, it provided me with all kinds of good information, which will help with my training.  Most importantly, I now know a target heart rate when I amasked to perform at specific percentage of my max.  Monday we spent a couple hours at Fleet Feet for a gait ananlysis.  They had us get on a treadmill so they could video and break down the biomechanics of our run.  As a result we were then fitted for a pair of running shoes that would accomodate our individual running style.  Not only were we provided with information pertaining to what type of shoe we will benefit most from, we also recieved feedback on areas we may need to make small adjustments in order to improve the biomechanics of our running style.  Tuesday we met with Gear for Mulitsports, where we recieved a bathing suit and goggles for competitions.  All the vendors and testing was very helpful and informative; essential to improving as a triathalete.

I have a little more testing set up with Chuck Wolfe over at Sports Specific, in order to have a full on body evaluation.  They are going to be looking for assymetery, muscular strengths and weaknesses, as well as an miomechanic flaws that could eventually cause injury later on down the road.  I am really excited about this evaluation; for many years I have been dealing with chronic fatigue to my left leg due to consistent knots developing on my vatus laterlus muscle of my quad.  I am hoping to get enough feedback to either decrease or eliminate the knots; most importantly the underlying cause.  I will keep you all posted as to how that evaluation goes...it will take place at the beginning of next week.

This week, the week of June 9th, training has increased a little.  Coaches are expecting a little more from us as far as intensity and milage is concerned.  Once again, I am always welcoming my swim and recovery days.  To help with recovery,I am recieving weekly massages at Sport Specific; I have also been icing on a regular basis...I really don't want all this training to catch up with me, especially this early in the season.

I will continue to post to keep everyone abreast of how I am feeling,as well as any new and exciting events that might take place.  Oh by the way, I am competing in the Balwin Park Sprint Tri on June 29th...I hope to hear a lot of cheering, even if it is via telepathy  :)

Mandy McLane