Trista Francis Triathlete: Training on Isolation Island/Huntingtons Disease Triathlon

Well, I think I have experienced paradise. I had the opportunity to go down to a remote Island off Florida and train for a week in the extreme heat and humidity that abounds there this time of year. My friend who is a budding Pro Triathlete, has lived and trained there for a year and a half now.

As we got onto the island and arrived to his dwelling, I immediately was taken back that he had both of his bikes just sitting there outside his house. In the open, for anyone to see. He proclaims they have been there for a year and a half and they were just fine. Guess I’m not in suburbia anymore?! It was a very difficult thing for me to wrap my head around. Shortly, thereafter, my Orbea Ordu got plopped right next to the other two and I hesitantly went inside feeling like I was completely abandoning one of my most prized possessions!

I couldn’t get inside fast enough to remove a few layers of clothing. I’ve been to Kona several times and this heat index didn’t even touch it. I began learning about my new training facility for the week and was completely excited to get the training rolling. First of all, training nutrition: mango’s are unlimited here. I could hardly believe it, I LOVE MANGO’S… I knew it was going to be a great week!

Next we headed out for my first bike ride and island tour. There is one road that goes from one end to the other but we didn’t ride on the road, we rode on the “path”. Yes, this was crazy. Residents here drive golf carts around the island to get around, it was actually kind of hilarious! Some have custom painted golf carts and I even saw one with bigger tires and painted flames on it. I don’t think most of them even golf! You just have a golf cart to get around. My first ride was a very interesting experience, as I learned how to share the path with the golf carts and most often was riding faster than them and “passing on the left” was a common occurrence. On another note, I have NEVER sweat so profusely in my life. Within a minute or two of getting back out into the heat, my body was pouring sweat from every single pore. I had sweat just constantly dripping off my chin and running down my legs into my shoes. This was all while riding! I consumed 80 fluid ounces of water and PowerBar Electrolyte drink during my short 2 hour ride! The island is about 7 miles long, so, yes, we looped back and forth. It was so beautiful, and so fun to be in a new environment, it never got old. I would go back in a heartbeat.

The swimming pool was fantastic and turned into my favorite workout everyday as it was the coolest of them all! It was fun increasing my yardage significantly this week and giving/getting stroke feedback. Every evening we jumped on the Vasa Trainer and had another workout. My upper body definitely reaped some rewards from the multiple training sessions daily. One day we decided to swim in the ocean. I quickly got overheated in the 90 degree water and almost hurled. It was quite interesting. But if I had hurled, there would’ve been no one there to witness it… as we were always the only ones on the white sand beach!! =)

We would run on the same path that we biked on… I did a lot of loops so I could refill water at the house. I did notice by Thursday my water needs had been reduced significantly. I love adaptation!

I finished up my last training day with around 5 and a half hours and then we packed up and headed to Miami to race Huntington’s Disease Olympic Triathlon. It was sad to say goodbye to my ‘training facility’ I had instantly bonded with. We traveled through Alligator Alley and dropped into downtown Miami and as we pulled into the Hyatt, I quickly realized what two extremes I was going to experience this week. A remote retreat to the flashiest of cities out there.

After a solid nights sleep, I awoke and headed over to the race. It was a balmy 85 at about 5am. At this point, the decision was made. I was going commando, no speedsuit for me. I just needed to make sure I made it through the swim without overheating. This was my first non-wetsuit swim and I was excited. After pacing conservatively for the first half of the swim, I put the hammer down the last half when I knew I was in the clear for making it through the swim. I hopped on the bike and low and behold, began experiencing the biggest sufferfest I have ever known! I felt every hour of training in my legs and couldn’t ever seem to pull the effort out of tempo watts. I chuckled a little as I got passed by a few that I know normally I could hold off. My goal for the run was a big goal… I wanted to come in just 6 secs faster than my run at Boulder Peak 3 weeks prior regardless of the big run/training week I was coming off of. Well, I did just that and then some. When I came across the finish line with another 1:21 off my 10k time… I was STOKED!!!! Couldn’t have been happier! BAM!!! It even got me a 5th place age group finish and was like the cherry on top of an awesome week! A shout out to my training partner in crime for pulling off a 2nd overall finish among the Elite competitors.