Lisa Mensink - Professional Triathlete

The Unlucky Penny

lisa — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 22:23:38 +0000

A belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge, in or of the ominous significance of a particular thing, circumstance, occurrence, proceeding, or the like….

I wasn’t always superstitious, maybe just a little obsessive compulsive about certain things, but no “must put left sock on first” type stuff. Sport has definitely made me superstitious….bad things happen in 3′s, black cat’s crossing my path, and most recently picking up pennies that are heads down…

I’ve a had a recent run of what I can only call “spontaneous injuries”, meaning they were caused by something sudden and unforeseen, not a nagging knee pain or niggle I neglected to take care of, but in these cases it was caused by just plain bad luck. A trip, where I landed hard on a downhill slope fracturing my hip, a crash where I was body slammed by a flying Belgian breaking my arm, and the latest where I was running an awesome track session, where I tore my plantar fascia on the very last interval. After this injury, I was pretty bummed, I searched for reasons for my bad luck–was it the spider in my room that I squashed that gave me bad karma? Was it that crack in the sidewalk that I stepped on? Then I figured it out…I had picked up a penny that was tail-side up the day before the incident….hmmmm…I wasn’t certain this was the cause of my bad luck but just in case, I placed a shiny new penny heads up on the sidewalk to pass on some good luck to someone else and perhaps get some good karma thrown my way! Crossing my fingers it works….

For now here are some random photos that I managed to upload from various devices:

Uber athlete Chris ter Horst and I huddling together in the observation deck on top of Haleakala…oh so cold my hands were frozen like that:

The view from the top of Haleakala on the day….now I have to climb 10,000′ again to actually see the crater!!

This is what happens to your water-bottles after descending 10,000′!

An all too brief stop in San Diego included a visit with Cathy & Chris, an MRI, and an air cast! No racing Oceanside this year, will have to return next year for sure!

Once I got the ‘all-clear’ to ride, I escaped the never-ending winter in Calgary and headed down to St George for some warmth and to get some fitness back. The views here never cease to amaze me:

A spring cactus bloom:

One of my favourite training partners. This guy has taught me a ton about recovery…he’s either running all out or sleeping…

That’s the latest on my end. Racing the 70.3 in St George in 2 weeks (although not completely ruled out yet) is probably not going to happen, so a new race plan will have to be crafted! Lucky for me the season is still young and there is an endless number of races to choose from!

Heading out to look for some lucky pennies (heads up only…).

Lisa

Pleasurable Suffering….

lisa — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 04:35:56 +0000

An update from Maui. I’ve been on the island for 15 days and have fully entered my self-absorbed training camp mode. The training camp routine: Eat, sleep, train & repeat in any order. So far it’s been a great camp, great coaches, training partners and roommates,and a good kick in the pants to get 2013 off on the right foot. I could write a book on some of the awesome days we’ve had here and the so-called “pleasurable suffering” I’ve willingly put myself thru but instead I’ll let the photos do the talking (all photo credits go to my best training partner, uber athlete & roomie Heather Leiggi).

The Dynamic Trio off on a little spin around the island…

Our adapted Hawaiian cat…we named her Pele, she has brought us good karma with the Hawaiian gods and got us safely up Haleakala!

I celebrated another birthday abroad. It was a fun night…even got a passionfruit chocolate cake made for me and some presents from my super generous training group & coach! So grateful!

Back to the pleasurable suffering….Haleakala…we biked up all 10,000 feet of it and I had a smile on my face for all but the last 2000′ (but still smiling on the inside the last little bit in the cold wind and ice pellets!!). It was a white-out at the top so we didn’t even get to view the crater….guess I have to do it again!

Post climb & still smiling! Yes I have 5 layers on!!

We also managed to sneak in a little tourist activity as well…A whale watching tour! The Humpbacks winter in Maui and are everywhere around the island right now. During our open water swim sessions you can see them jumping in the distance and hear them singing underwater. It’s awesome!!

The boats have to stay 100′ away from the whales but sometimes they just swim up nice and close and give a little show. Tough to get good pictures since you never know where they’ll pop up but Heather did a great job!

A big splash, this was a highlight…a big guy decided to jump out right in front of our boat!

That’s all from Maui for now. A few more tough days on the island then time to race!!

Lisa

Finally a 2013 Update!

lisa — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 18:56:13 +0000

A 2013 update is long overdue…I know! It’s still January, so it’s still a new year’s post right?!
Normally, I don’t make NY resolutions but this year I actually did! It was to have a better year than 2012, no crashes, no fractures, and nothing but awesome racing and training. To be honest, I was just happy the 2012 season was over and I could start once again from scratch. So let it be resolved that 2013 is simply going to be great.

As it was off-season for me the last couple months and the holiday season; this update will involve family, outdoor fun, and a hairy house guest that stayed with us over the holidays!

A few generations of Mensink women on NYE (and one cute dog):

A family Christmas photo? The best we got…Me, Richard and honorary member Mr. Shaggy:

Playing with the Niece & Nephew Christmas morning:

The boys and your truly at a Canmore gathering:

Some Lake Louise snowshoeing fun:

Taking in the views…the Lake Louise ski hill on the opposite slope:

A beautiful sunset while on a walk with the dog:

Our house guest making himself at home:

Taking in some culture: Andy Warhol: The Athlete Series Exhibit: Any guesses on who the athletes are??

That’s it, that’s all for now. Just back from Victoria for a 10 day training camp that kicked my butt into gear.

2013 is going to be a good one. Let the games begin!

Cheers,

Lisa

When I get knocked down, I get up again….& again…&again…

lisa — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 23:34:15 +0000

The 2012 summary is pretty quick. I went down 3 times and got up 3 times. Since there was not a whole lot of racing and shining moments, it simply was a year of persistence & perseverance. The year started off with a stress fracture and a labral tear in the hip as a result of a spill while running, it took time and hard work but I recovered from this injury just in time for the last 2 London qualifying races and then we all know what happened in San Diego. Luckily for me, I had amazing friends, my husband, and my mom there to pick me up after this knock down. I was determined to bounce back from this one too, I switched my focus to 70.3 and cross country run races instead. My tri season officially finished at the Miami 70.3–a fun race, a nice city and a 4th place finish. My run season officially ended last weekend in Vancouver for XC nationals and I managed to squeeze in one more fall before this race too…right on my butt on some ice, injuring my sacrum and making running (and even walking) a challenge…but I sucked it up and ran thru the muddy trails, finished with a smile and helped my run club UCAC finish second in the team competition! Let the recovery season begin…and let’s hope I keep it fall/crash free….in the words of Vince Lombardi…”it’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up”….

Now for the year in pictures…

Starting the year off on the bike in NZ….lots of cycling there!!

2/3 ready for the WTS in Sydney

Finding my run form in Victoria

Getting some stitches in San Diego…not where I wanted to be!

Moving onto some fun racing…Banff/Calgary/Miami….

Cross country running in Vancouver, can’t beat these views!

Playing in the mud!

Richard enjoying a sunny day in Vancouver

Winter time in Calgary…gotta dust off the skis!

Off season DIY projects have commenced….

And that’s a wrap on 2012. We’ll officially call it the Year or Perserverence. Onward & upward.

Happy Holidays!!

Time to embrace & enjoy winter!

Lisa

Solar Powered

lisa — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:38:21 +0000

After a fantastic summer/September the weather in Calgary started to turn…the mornings were chilly, the wind had a bite to it and the days were getting WAY too short. When the white stuff hit the ground last week, I packed up the car, abandoned my husband, and drove 1800km south….the long solo drive was worth every boring second….

Red Rocks & blue skies...nothing beats this view!

So it’s official, I’m solar powered! It’s amazing how much easier a long ride, kilometer repeats and endless meters in the pool feel when it’s 28 degrees and not a cloud in the sky!

Up next…Miami 70.3…hopefully I’m fuelled by humidity too!!

Lisa

I Feel it in my bones

lisa — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 19:44:36 +0000

Hmmm…where did I leave off…oh right, Calgary 70.3…Here’s a quick recap of the last few action packed months!

I jumped back into racing action (albeit a little prematurely) for the Calgary 70.3. The swim was ok considering the limited (or lack) of swim training I’ve been doing lately, the bike was solid after only a few weeks riding outside on my TT bike, and the run showed I still had some work to do before I was back to form! I finished off in 5th position in a fairly competitive women’s field. The arm was healing, although I can now predict the weather…my elbow aches when there is rain coming, but I still had some work to do on my fitness!!

After that it was a quick trip to Lake Winnipeg, a nice and relaxing visit with family and a fun cycling group to jump in with–VB 8:00 @ the Gate!

Victoria Beach–Lake Winnipeg

Victoria Beach 8:00 @ the Gate crew!

Being home this summer has also left a bit of time for some serious dog-sitting time! Shaggy & Watson have been regular visitors at our house…one day we’ll commit to a dog of our own…

Shaggy & I testing out the waters of Two Jack Lake in Banff

Watson finally spent after a long run!

From there, a short flight over to the island to race in Sooke. The race didn’t go as I hoped (maybe too many beach bakery treats the week before??) but it was a fun event in a beautiful place.

Sunrise in Victoria

Then it was back into more training with a little break for my BFF’s happy wedding event in Fairmont. Richard and I managed to sneak in a bike ride and an awesome long trail run between the festivities!

The gorgeous bride…what a great day ; )

Then it was out west to Banff for the Subaru Western Triathlon Series final race. Hands down the most scenic race out there…even beats Kitzbuhel, Austria!! The race was a fun race for me and I felt like I finally was mentally back into racing again…or as my good friend Cathy said–I finally started to find my MOJO again–it’s been hiding for a long time, so it was nice to get re-aquainted! I managed to win the women’s race finish second over-all, but more importantly, I had a smile on my face the whole day–A win in the mountains was all I needed.

Racing in a National Park…

The swim…chilly but oh so beautiful!

Transition on Banff Ave..Cascade Mountain in the background

The run/finish and the fun crowd

Phew….That brings me to now. What’s next, you say?…you’ll have to check back for the next update to find out!!!

That’s all from Calgary for now. Keep training and smiling.

ps-If my arm starts aching, I’ll let you know to get the rain gear out ; )

Lisa

And we go back to the start….

lisa — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 22:57:34 +0000

The blog has been a bit quite lately…so here’s a little update…

Since getting the all-clear to return to full training 6 weeks post crash (or PC from now on!), I found myself having to start from the beginning one more time this year. So it’s a return to training which is awesome but it hasn’t been a smooth return! 6 weeks is the most time I’ve spent out of the water in 25 years…needless to say, my swimming is less than stellar right now…tough for me to see the slow times after being in my best triathlon swim shape pre-crash, but I’ve put my head down and hope to slowly regain my strength and speed. I was able to ride on my trainer 2 weeks PC but once back on the pavement, I found out that I had been heavily leaning on my good arm and was a little squirrely out there the first few rides! Not to worry, I’ve worked out the kinks! My running only had a minor disruption PC, nothing that Wendy @ Riverside Sports couldn’t fix, but I’m still looking for my speed as I phase back in all 3 sports. So, it’s a slow start but a start back nonetheless!

Here’s a picture summary of what I’ve been upto the past 10weeks PC….

Calcification! Yipee!!

Enjoying the lovely Calgary weather and scenery....

Working on the garden and neglected things in/around the house...

Watching the Canadian Olympic Track trials...

Taking in some local football games....

Some outdoor time with my 2 favourite guys....

Our dog-sitting services have been in high demand this summer. Trying to tire this guy out is a real challenge! Score 1 for us this day!

Getting ready for the Calgary 70.3 race...what do I do with this stuff???

As you can see from the last photo, I will be throwing myself back into racing starting with the Calgary 70.3 on July 29th. A hometown race for my comeback!! I can’t wait, I’ve left a lot of sweat out there on this course while training, so it will be fun to race it on Sunday!

Today I’ll leave you with a quote (author not written down…): “Things workout best for those who make the most of the way things workout”.

That’s all for now.

Lisa

Lisa’s A Series of Unfortunate Events: May ’11-May ’12

lisa — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 19:47:24 +0000

The title pretty much summarizes my last 12 months of racing. 2011 started off promising, an 11th place finish (with a silly penalty) at the WTS race in Sydney. The rest of the 2011 season was then plagued by a lost shoe incident, a poor immune system, and racing at less than 100% (see previous blog posts for details!). By the end of the season in mid-September, I hadn’t seen the results I knew I was capable of, I was sick again, and exhausted.

From there I took a much needed extended break. Then finally in December, I felt healthy, I wanted to exercise, I got my nutrition back on track, I wanted to get fit and race & train smart and to my full potential. The fire was back and I had a lot of work to do. I built up slow, knowing there was lots of time until Sydney in April. My first hurdle in 2012 came in the form of a stress fracture & labral tear in my hip (from a fall in December). Not a great start & a pretty big challenge to start the season. It involved 9 weeks of NO running. So I swam and biked and I got strong and fast in 2/3 sports. I went to every therapist I could, I got advice from professionals in 4 different countries, I worked hard. Finally 3 weeks out of Sydney, I was running without pain and seeing some decent run workouts but knew I was lacking some speed and run strength. Starting Sydney was a bit of a bonus but I wanted to start to get some race pace under my belt going into San Diego. The swim went well, I was 11th out of the water and the bike solid (unfortunately almost the entire field came together on the bike) but I just wasn’t quite ready to handle the hard pace out of T2 onto the run. I slugged it out for 50th. Not a great result but I knew my swim/bike was there and I had 4 weeks to get the run speed back. I came back to North America and worked hard to get my run back. 2 weeks out of SD I ran an unrested 35′ 10k, I had some great key workouts, I was back on track.

So that brings me to San Diego 2012. The race started out right in the swim. I was 12th out of the water and could see the leaders, so onto the bike I got my shoes on quick and got ready to chase. To keep a long story short, we went into a tight corner (the road went from wide 2 lanes into a tight 1 lane with a cement island on the outside) a little too fast. The wheel in front of me rode close to the barricade, I saw the concrete coming up fast and leaned hard into the corner. I went down and unfortunately 2 girls behind me had no other way around and went down too. I got up and realized I was on the course, so I stepped over the concrete island & off the course to where my bike had landed and was in the process of assessing the damage…thinking, can I go on? Then, as far as I can tell, the exact same thing happened to one of the women coming thru the corner after us but she hit the barrier and I was standing in her trajectory…she slammed into me at full force, and I hit the ground and my bike hard–fracturing my elbow in 2 places, injuring my hand, and getting a black eye. That’s how my quest for a second Olympic Games ended.

Off to a good start....

This is where it ended up...getting stitched up post crash...

Back home looking banged up for Mother's Day brunch

So now I am back in Calgary. I’m fusing some bones back together, growing some new skin and reassessing what’s to come–a full 6 weeks no swimming and no outdoor cycling. Sport is awesome, it can bring such great highs–one’s you are always chasing. But also such great lows–one’s that leave you looking up & wanting more. I was sent a great quote: “There is honour in giving it everything, in putting it all on the line. In order to win, you must open yourself up to loss”. Would I do it all again? Without a moments hesitation. And I’m not done yet.

Now time for some thank you’s.

First off to all those there for me in San Diego after my crash–THANK YOU: Cathy for running to my side and keeping me calm and getting me the right care and bandaging me up. Richard for always being my rock and being there to dress me, feed me, brush my hair, and keep me sane…such love! My mom for being in SD and cleaning my wounds and washing my hair and giving me hugs!

Now THANK YOU to everyone who was there thru all the ups and downs of the last 12 months: My friends, family, & supporters from around the world who get up at all hours to yell at the computer and send me great notes of support no matter the outcome. To Paul for being a great coach and friend when I needed it most. And finally to the NTB & Coach John for keeping the faith and believing in me.

Up next? Still working out the details…but some news to come soon….stay tuned!

Lisa

ITU World Champs-Madrid

lisa — Sun, 27 May 2012 20:48:38 +0000

ITU World Champs-San Diego

lisa — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:46:55 +0000