tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89098136193870771422024-03-13T02:41:01.545-06:00You just have to TRI!Who knew exercise could be so much fun!Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.comBlogger353125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-61613854768677283812012-11-06T20:12:00.000-07:002012-11-06T20:12:08.543-07:00Ironman Florida As a spectator!<br />
<br />
I know I haven't posted much so not sure who is even around to read this but this past weekend I went to Florida and cheered on my friend <a href="http://kathleen-daretodream.blogspot.com/">Kathleen</a> as she competed in her 2nd Ironman. It was my first to spectate at and it was a ton of fun! She used <a href="http://www.endurancesportstravel.com/">Endurance Sports Travel</a> to get her entry and for all our ground packages. I would highly recommend them as they did an awesome job taking care of all of us. Everything from airport transfers to food to CO2 cartridges. The weather was really pretty great, the water was great...well with the exception of race morning...the company was great...I can't wait to do it again. I'm still not sure if a full is going to be for me, after watching I was convinced not..but I've still been thinking about it everyday, so never say never. :) And now for the pictures!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcw-n6kz99aY71tDACzuGjUUaKijCr0E62gaYoALWrOqSORXpu_98zssFshiXaXfYdSFgmS8O-4U0h_PXVpA3Q9b1ARdVR77TNqWKwRKOAW4zTDfVeF4KastIkPbRIuTO3w7leH794a5Li/s1600/IMG_3058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcw-n6kz99aY71tDACzuGjUUaKijCr0E62gaYoALWrOqSORXpu_98zssFshiXaXfYdSFgmS8O-4U0h_PXVpA3Q9b1ARdVR77TNqWKwRKOAW4zTDfVeF4KastIkPbRIuTO3w7leH794a5Li/s320/IMG_3058.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
When your not racing you get to sit on the deck and do this.....</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilPr4W0aAqgXAt0Sztgzy697GbP-1MTGL4NvNZEZJ-IIy8qoVtCbq-ZUOR43pVru_hyphenhyphenRevi4V7Me0J8yyr2KcV_ot1kM901vSPD-1hjOGvbAVpA4lHlOGbgISbEVhKUL5dGoLdGfXFXJba/s1600/IMG_3030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilPr4W0aAqgXAt0Sztgzy697GbP-1MTGL4NvNZEZJ-IIy8qoVtCbq-ZUOR43pVru_hyphenhyphenRevi4V7Me0J8yyr2KcV_ot1kM901vSPD-1hjOGvbAVpA4lHlOGbgISbEVhKUL5dGoLdGfXFXJba/s320/IMG_3030.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
And enjoy this view</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFD1iz3SThl8Wd10v7bu2Sfhjz6RpMza0aqY8oPizDrgRCIJQHFS6r1-bPkFxZh_ItKNrpcWOD_qj9jjv5-nfDIw994bSZvOo9cXVmn2qWlXeHDWItl9qDpmbptk6K0QbVMDCJFYtpGdIh/s1600/550184_10151121659673107_430799954_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFD1iz3SThl8Wd10v7bu2Sfhjz6RpMza0aqY8oPizDrgRCIJQHFS6r1-bPkFxZh_ItKNrpcWOD_qj9jjv5-nfDIw994bSZvOo9cXVmn2qWlXeHDWItl9qDpmbptk6K0QbVMDCJFYtpGdIh/s320/550184_10151121659673107_430799954_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
And lay on the beach and soak up the sun.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaEFX5Wmu8T_GAAZ3V-PSa8e7qX54saqnW9JYM3oOB5BhI6PYI3D8VsA1rbxyJp9UbpLhySUGscnJCGSEBFT7yUN0J9sc9NXkYqejxRw6_nMlKA839uMEFYK9uc4TPoFg18eE0yJFwJ-E1/s1600/396211_10151121696003107_1681510524_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaEFX5Wmu8T_GAAZ3V-PSa8e7qX54saqnW9JYM3oOB5BhI6PYI3D8VsA1rbxyJp9UbpLhySUGscnJCGSEBFT7yUN0J9sc9NXkYqejxRw6_nMlKA839uMEFYK9uc4TPoFg18eE0yJFwJ-E1/s320/396211_10151121696003107_1681510524_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And then early in the morning you can get up and head out with "your athlete" to the get the special needs bags dropped off. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvC_woVdr_vIcncGT8e8iQQC2NkCvOOUEEoFR_HHcRUN5k6quBDbZ4I0a2Bur22CysL3ItlHBek3dEj9TKmN-7_ATkDJsmmEEuGt1TC-zl_c0fZT8EIsGEpt4H0_d3Ge__dINeaDuibWdd/s1600/IMG_3076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvC_woVdr_vIcncGT8e8iQQC2NkCvOOUEEoFR_HHcRUN5k6quBDbZ4I0a2Bur22CysL3ItlHBek3dEj9TKmN-7_ATkDJsmmEEuGt1TC-zl_c0fZT8EIsGEpt4H0_d3Ge__dINeaDuibWdd/s640/IMG_3076.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv7Gm9UUoofeFG6aSbcw16SXm5064BDrPK36gHomaUAr5RKu2r8dZZh0tIHn1ftcza1rrvmSTSwO2U3OnkITYi0wDfa6urOgCgdwFH3sm8kxbwq7wXMqca9diT5whClNRd2Dt7P1N3mtEC/s1600/417071_10151121697288107_300268627_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv7Gm9UUoofeFG6aSbcw16SXm5064BDrPK36gHomaUAr5RKu2r8dZZh0tIHn1ftcza1rrvmSTSwO2U3OnkITYi0wDfa6urOgCgdwFH3sm8kxbwq7wXMqca9diT5whClNRd2Dt7P1N3mtEC/s640/417071_10151121697288107_300268627_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
And then watch in fear as 3000 people head out into these crazy waves! The water was really pretty rough out there. We actually saw several people that were walking out without even starting the race and many more we saw that were either pulled out or didn't make the 2nd loop. Many people that we talked to after spoke having a hard time during the swim and from what I understand there was much losing of nutrition. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAHoGro38358rGe0kIpX61h_Vx0xTrX41iUpIZkhPWbfOVu7K6ew3PicIaVg1BuOOr4Nuxvx0RUtOMRBRFOyvOozYyOCvhr-mfWgWd_LNn050NtTzAO5HW8pECCYadfTXrft7ykq1wYgOH/s1600/26638_10151121698983107_1638369912_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAHoGro38358rGe0kIpX61h_Vx0xTrX41iUpIZkhPWbfOVu7K6ew3PicIaVg1BuOOr4Nuxvx0RUtOMRBRFOyvOozYyOCvhr-mfWgWd_LNn050NtTzAO5HW8pECCYadfTXrft7ykq1wYgOH/s320/26638_10151121698983107_1638369912_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Kathleen after completion of the first loop of the swim course. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9EMmPgwKWqI1sBrREogI8vZc4BwJhGfqoMJphZd8MznFcnG3pOxsY0A9utOy7UbHi9zcuQmXZ_-9cpoYu4lEKWhggRv4xiftumOvfe_qLESVsa9h4ByC4kNpPcvw43Zsj0jDqPwIGOEr/s1600/IMG_3094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9EMmPgwKWqI1sBrREogI8vZc4BwJhGfqoMJphZd8MznFcnG3pOxsY0A9utOy7UbHi9zcuQmXZ_-9cpoYu4lEKWhggRv4xiftumOvfe_qLESVsa9h4ByC4kNpPcvw43Zsj0jDqPwIGOEr/s640/IMG_3094.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This was the view from our room and the bike course below...in fact I'm pretty sure that is <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">Andrew Starykowicz on his way to setting the worlds best Ironman bike split of 4:04:49. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM2qIwMNkzYrSCAXbnUaQqvW4-CMGX9KtVN_pVimL6nRoyWEzeGVmNzm3LeXyPrXSnVkgiY60cJVABj82WlTq1SWJcYOQV86W3ZvcBSW6fOwggjr263glEbj5hzy58Cabo1CrU5x2LrfnM/s1600/579077_10151121744168107_87992418_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM2qIwMNkzYrSCAXbnUaQqvW4-CMGX9KtVN_pVimL6nRoyWEzeGVmNzm3LeXyPrXSnVkgiY60cJVABj82WlTq1SWJcYOQV86W3ZvcBSW6fOwggjr263glEbj5hzy58Cabo1CrU5x2LrfnM/s640/579077_10151121744168107_87992418_n.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Kathleen as she exits T2 with a big smile on her face!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUK-4HmDNg7ZePa2TCo5OwnCMn6PohGguo0-gUPAMFMP-u1KhtPU9CfIpOiKkMKOtoH85vkkQqB6tDxxqPxfjAZagoWSxzh3v4eCCF2pEsfIxlf715WG1hBpRZGn1Cnr4ouaG6-nxpeu9o/s1600/387945_10151121736553107_884699206_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUK-4HmDNg7ZePa2TCo5OwnCMn6PohGguo0-gUPAMFMP-u1KhtPU9CfIpOiKkMKOtoH85vkkQqB6tDxxqPxfjAZagoWSxzh3v4eCCF2pEsfIxlf715WG1hBpRZGn1Cnr4ouaG6-nxpeu9o/s640/387945_10151121736553107_884699206_n.jpg" width="636" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The fantastic Miranda Carfrae as she ran by me on her way to a 2nd place finish.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZcom3GuxYxDK-t7VSG8xC2D_m3bqwOLEE5bJAcZEReuBuKvS7c4TnzQfK1gVIe8QLD2ymculrPOtcN1KpQW6aBDBWm-MpGFi9M8WM89p_RW75rsZQ2M99nyUAJIrchiEXSAnOUyHrYJ3q/s1600/546864_10151121737538107_2108874220_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZcom3GuxYxDK-t7VSG8xC2D_m3bqwOLEE5bJAcZEReuBuKvS7c4TnzQfK1gVIe8QLD2ymculrPOtcN1KpQW6aBDBWm-MpGFi9M8WM89p_RW75rsZQ2M99nyUAJIrchiEXSAnOUyHrYJ3q/s400/546864_10151121737538107_2108874220_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1st place woman Yvonne Van Vlerken with Miranda</span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 16px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMwdsFfgY42D-XTpaTWpbaZrmrLThgj3XtQNSwSs3JCzx5eC7FFae7XC4QsWXTP-Ijo4QAVzDSUWeHSxibguTcGWEDk9wTw3wGEPga5IAi-_k_ZcQMSAJezDkQsXEKmo6VPM_jOx7yLW-i/s1600/534754_10151121746108107_264889677_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMwdsFfgY42D-XTpaTWpbaZrmrLThgj3XtQNSwSs3JCzx5eC7FFae7XC4QsWXTP-Ijo4QAVzDSUWeHSxibguTcGWEDk9wTw3wGEPga5IAi-_k_ZcQMSAJezDkQsXEKmo6VPM_jOx7yLW-i/s640/534754_10151121746108107_264889677_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Kathleen after finish! It was a tough day out there for her but she got it done and we were so excited to see her finishing! Number 2 in the books for her! </div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7MIBdPcuOKVBUBkEhfLcA96z3X9F3JSFTEsTKfIx7cnAh_7ku4t05kXo6ZARvxKKgzO6GLmABk3gC-_GE2RzOr8Tv6wQUVXXV0JieRwO2_FWv3Bq2A2hoc6SAKgYONaiuUXbGvKXz8rXg/s1600/IMG_3119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7MIBdPcuOKVBUBkEhfLcA96z3X9F3JSFTEsTKfIx7cnAh_7ku4t05kXo6ZARvxKKgzO6GLmABk3gC-_GE2RzOr8Tv6wQUVXXV0JieRwO2_FWv3Bq2A2hoc6SAKgYONaiuUXbGvKXz8rXg/s640/IMG_3119.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Men's first place finisher <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">Andrew Starykowicz</span> <a href="http://triathlon.competitor.com/2012/06/news/andrew-starykowicz-spent-time-in-jail-following-abu-dhabi-international-triathlon_56047">who has had a really crazy year</a> and happens to be a pretty good dancer when Sexy and I know it comes on.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span class="line line-s" id="line_33" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">"I'm sexy and I know it</span><span class="line line-s" id="line_34" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">Check it out, check it out</span><span class="line line-s" id="line_34" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;">Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle wiggle yeah!"</span><span class="line line-s" id="line_35" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span class="line line-s" id="line_36" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span><span class="line line-s" id="line_36" style="border: 0px; display: block; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: 15px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 5px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">All I can say is FUN! I loved the experience and would totally suggest you go out and spectate at a race! </span>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-89982467441336627502012-10-03T19:14:00.003-06:002012-10-03T19:14:41.899-06:00Nothin to see here.... ....training wise anyway. The last month has been pathetic...ok 2012 has been pathetic as far as training goes. There has been quite a bit going on recently however, most notable my son going through Marine boot camp and graduating last weekend and then getting engaged. Can you say "Mom you are an emotional mess?" It was a crazy 3 months. (This coming on the heals of my Mom being so sick earlier this year) With only letters, and 2 very short phone calls (one 2 minutes and one 4) as a way of communicating it can be quite draining. Your child will sound down or ask for advice about something in a letter and you immediately write back but have no idea when/if he will receive your letter, but typically he got them in about 10 days...and then wait another week to get an answer to that letter...well it's crazy when you are used to being able to text or talk. Luckily Josh's platoon got mail pretty regularly some were not as fortunate. He and his platoon did awesome. Just awesome. They ended up being named Honor Platoon which means that over all they preformed best at all of the different tests.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbSvyQwTGLMojpFSLe_QoR-VfqTPOF2mTtHxIGz2kqDhy2DZT2pxVMKVsWN2W0JNRPwN27d4b-SlW5rZ4ieIZQ-aYxvd2lqvH-gWeFn7DoVs7CBz8cln8EneEOiW3IgRU9ELfKBNPDuKA0/s1600/platoon+josh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbSvyQwTGLMojpFSLe_QoR-VfqTPOF2mTtHxIGz2kqDhy2DZT2pxVMKVsWN2W0JNRPwN27d4b-SlW5rZ4ieIZQ-aYxvd2lqvH-gWeFn7DoVs7CBz8cln8EneEOiW3IgRU9ELfKBNPDuKA0/s640/platoon+josh.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Honor Platoon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We arrived in San Diego a day early and spent just a little bit time at the beach which was nice.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2MRSVaICAeSav2Z1TS9MCArgEqeo2gRRN8tfN60D1RqSKEo7WhlvpzgXVcMH2b12mmTKhLeTwjYrC2sp2pSAutEZlO4ubRNz8qBdPoWM_bB78TuB2CzrEU4oXJkmdCTWCTCW5FGd0NEO/s1600/101_2690z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2MRSVaICAeSav2Z1TS9MCArgEqeo2gRRN8tfN60D1RqSKEo7WhlvpzgXVcMH2b12mmTKhLeTwjYrC2sp2pSAutEZlO4ubRNz8qBdPoWM_bB78TuB2CzrEU4oXJkmdCTWCTCW5FGd0NEO/s640/101_2690z.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My baby :) Zach and I and yes I'm standing on my tiptoes to put my arm on his shoulders. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbrnByGiOJHjW8maKgxVdQT2VARcyRxtokz3jFRRJXOFsSsRY5NA6xno_8OJaNMd-YXMbPGHxaVsYTOj7-aU52em0VXyBgjA_2Qkr5BWUCSa8Hk_ZIrj8HZiruRcgJzzNSm-jiqbA5GGZb/s1600/101_2722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbrnByGiOJHjW8maKgxVdQT2VARcyRxtokz3jFRRJXOFsSsRY5NA6xno_8OJaNMd-YXMbPGHxaVsYTOj7-aU52em0VXyBgjA_2Qkr5BWUCSa8Hk_ZIrj8HZiruRcgJzzNSm-jiqbA5GGZb/s320/101_2722.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Finally it was Thursday and Family Day and we would get to see and hug Josh! The first thing they do is called a moto run and we had situated ourselves about where we though he would be and we could not have picked a better spot. Without even knowing it the tears were just flowing down my face. It was a lesson in self control to not run out and hug him! I don't imagine it was any easier for them to stand there and not smile.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGo0fHio_TuU0gpdudd0xvpEQpXRbXw20uLmpQVlnr93OqtJ2_2G9Zbs5pTOCkdkNzfBg3q-6iyf3C_dPMZDAoDZJ8HKVDYfxGVbYJHn7lIkUeFdlI6fpjnOv7fHbWve41qIAr0sJpyhG/s1600/101_2717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGo0fHio_TuU0gpdudd0xvpEQpXRbXw20uLmpQVlnr93OqtJ2_2G9Zbs5pTOCkdkNzfBg3q-6iyf3C_dPMZDAoDZJ8HKVDYfxGVbYJHn7lIkUeFdlI6fpjnOv7fHbWve41qIAr0sJpyhG/s640/101_2717.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excuse the date..not right obviously. :) Josh is in the back in pretty much the middle of the picture. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowpAUyCAiovbjqk9G66kUi8jIcBre7-6dPyPo_wsltSaCTGe5wHpl_WxwGBXsHT6jGvYRlJiB2KUpSMbBYaNWcXB9Alb1zZ20IQAWrPuAIFQ3Q3tlVe1MT07_v2HsmwiICmv4gxy1OMZ3/s1600/101_2753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowpAUyCAiovbjqk9G66kUi8jIcBre7-6dPyPo_wsltSaCTGe5wHpl_WxwGBXsHT6jGvYRlJiB2KUpSMbBYaNWcXB9Alb1zZ20IQAWrPuAIFQ3Q3tlVe1MT07_v2HsmwiICmv4gxy1OMZ3/s640/101_2753.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm not happy to see him at all. :) Yes crying again.<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Then they run off and it's about 2 hours before you finally get to grab them and hug them! We then got to spend all day wandering the base with him. It was so great! Then on Friday the actually ceremony, which we couldn't really hear, but was still amazing! You can not believe the power and force in their voices when they answer the Drill Instructors. And the precision is crazy!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm4bqbhMQrHdFOgxrz1n44JYxAwWpbZkNrElbWRTRf8k5Zkg-UzClWJeJX79PkvLL9QlTlnFOw8zMCtoSSqhOXKdgG0es5XA6OI2iOa4ulri0pk_HE7LlhuYUbv0wLxUDPYFv7sb0FuSB8/s1600/DSCN9583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm4bqbhMQrHdFOgxrz1n44JYxAwWpbZkNrElbWRTRf8k5Zkg-UzClWJeJX79PkvLL9QlTlnFOw8zMCtoSSqhOXKdgG0es5XA6OI2iOa4ulri0pk_HE7LlhuYUbv0wLxUDPYFv7sb0FuSB8/s400/DSCN9583.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDkxHRClA317pebYdqiLlhWQ8hRGyW7-wk_MdT3oGdcgBzn5ESfZVXDTad_SgT6PdVdY9EpTQUNbtQuUcI4wRFeuROSyYxTa_H5ARbYmsQeMIxGHm-B21RjdF6z8qyA1TTyibcXB7uGTns/s1600/DSCN9592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDkxHRClA317pebYdqiLlhWQ8hRGyW7-wk_MdT3oGdcgBzn5ESfZVXDTad_SgT6PdVdY9EpTQUNbtQuUcI4wRFeuROSyYxTa_H5ARbYmsQeMIxGHm-B21RjdF6z8qyA1TTyibcXB7uGTns/s400/DSCN9592.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9l8HW1HtQiCeTfmReOf6N4su95ZIUYN9olnjw0bCEYvvs2wID8Zkj9meF60XhzONvybGuuMtPq6V93If-pB5Kj9IvFUb3tBVFLp6s4Wa9aHI0QXPO-V3DpmJKMKG9tDsONYAAfRr0fMCj/s1600/DSCN9705.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9l8HW1HtQiCeTfmReOf6N4su95ZIUYN9olnjw0bCEYvvs2wID8Zkj9meF60XhzONvybGuuMtPq6V93If-pB5Kj9IvFUb3tBVFLp6s4Wa9aHI0QXPO-V3DpmJKMKG9tDsONYAAfRr0fMCj/s640/DSCN9705.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHXdX-UPD5DeGzmXIqd0hGUlPWaogL2C43t-Lrhh8oWc0ZwxD7Urd6Zg6Sx8uvHT_Qfttc-P_N3277fLEB5qKy-pncdX0Pf5MtQtZUoU9FfFRkd-6pwwNmiYuKbPo2EI5eNzXW3C6tFdGG/s1600/DSCN9738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHXdX-UPD5DeGzmXIqd0hGUlPWaogL2C43t-Lrhh8oWc0ZwxD7Urd6Zg6Sx8uvHT_Qfttc-P_N3277fLEB5qKy-pncdX0Pf5MtQtZUoU9FfFRkd-6pwwNmiYuKbPo2EI5eNzXW3C6tFdGG/s640/DSCN9738.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josh is right there in the center</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ZpuMb7UaqZDVR9abxNNKd22annuOhdWp2CN4mFfyVAU7XDU-gSYcT3W0qZd9o0FCgTXMHDPUCLlWaBS3oz4O9PLEbdBrc5CrT7G4p0Pt4tNxxhIwMFviwyQZMIdaAuh-xp3GWQnOHhz3/s1600/DSCN9590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ZpuMb7UaqZDVR9abxNNKd22annuOhdWp2CN4mFfyVAU7XDU-gSYcT3W0qZd9o0FCgTXMHDPUCLlWaBS3oz4O9PLEbdBrc5CrT7G4p0Pt4tNxxhIwMFviwyQZMIdaAuh-xp3GWQnOHhz3/s640/DSCN9590.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were almost 600 of them graduating that day<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeC48aksMdiDgpk5MDf66TIjXeWM0pq2zlODtXS8AqSmh7HzzYLyrWx1XgkI9T_MCOiKo5PPNUlr-sW_YCVHWzQ0ETauOICESc4y5fx0kQaYX_Flew6v1I0OaifTYAH1whXedrVk59Wzow/s1600/IMG_2892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeC48aksMdiDgpk5MDf66TIjXeWM0pq2zlODtXS8AqSmh7HzzYLyrWx1XgkI9T_MCOiKo5PPNUlr-sW_YCVHWzQ0ETauOICESc4y5fx0kQaYX_Flew6v1I0OaifTYAH1whXedrVk59Wzow/s320/IMG_2892.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_lr_5oY_IIB6w0tLUncv8nL20A8SRfDyZw-bHSkEe5IaMCUqot0Ofgz7E-CHhgLrC2hBEpSbJHZLpm5xrgDapo84KfJf4a-84dL9qPShLa1TW3lX6ycoc39Kp9WuIEuwrUqBCV2Drjdn/s1600/IMG_3356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO_lr_5oY_IIB6w0tLUncv8nL20A8SRfDyZw-bHSkEe5IaMCUqot0Ofgz7E-CHhgLrC2hBEpSbJHZLpm5xrgDapo84KfJf4a-84dL9qPShLa1TW3lX6ycoc39Kp9WuIEuwrUqBCV2Drjdn/s400/IMG_3356.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josh and his rack mate.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxLNpCuTD-RfDoeNeMMNUpLyiwL2OVamyEUBGQXpIfVix_UcC2Xt0PYb2vtC6jah1AGqz-9ArzZpF4jT-Xmyu1cddZAYJLBeNp1ExPjmqOC-J6iB3utI3_pUTR47Yh6-LV2W2iQN18Rhc/s1600/IMG_2998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxLNpCuTD-RfDoeNeMMNUpLyiwL2OVamyEUBGQXpIfVix_UcC2Xt0PYb2vtC6jah1AGqz-9ArzZpF4jT-Xmyu1cddZAYJLBeNp1ExPjmqOC-J6iB3utI3_pUTR47Yh6-LV2W2iQN18Rhc/s400/IMG_2998.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josh and his girlfriend</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvYx0RzdADX2vADjnnGZ_3g7vjoSAyarwZps5iwpOC-furrWJu7cjhuC80Sw0VoLbP8zxBRlm7cwMO_2UD4qH1FYbwAzH76tUjyPlQxiDzaGzVZZG314puT7Jcs4iZS_K1Ri09Ax8QOwN/s1600/101_2782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNvYx0RzdADX2vADjnnGZ_3g7vjoSAyarwZps5iwpOC-furrWJu7cjhuC80Sw0VoLbP8zxBRlm7cwMO_2UD4qH1FYbwAzH76tUjyPlQxiDzaGzVZZG314puT7Jcs4iZS_K1Ri09Ax8QOwN/s320/101_2782.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of the sea bags lined up and ready for them to head home. The actually get out there and measure it all so it's perfect. I even heard that they pack them with pillows or cardboard or whatever to get them to be the exact same. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And finally we got to take that boy home and spend 10 days with him. As mentioned he and his girlfriend also got engaged. I'm not sure mom was quite ready for that and again I cried and cried.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1F53GzokuMkjTRPd4-marpIx6YpsBUcZcMDbKcbcfYQyWDDJAUMK1xNl8Uj61DRIEYOYcgHh-uvbMIKXN14K5BYOyRM8FI6J4zpoJLBA4-17Xl5sBwTWCjCHzDldqPQEfs-bESw1vGryi/s1600/404604_464263403614499_647409210_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1F53GzokuMkjTRPd4-marpIx6YpsBUcZcMDbKcbcfYQyWDDJAUMK1xNl8Uj61DRIEYOYcgHh-uvbMIKXN14K5BYOyRM8FI6J4zpoJLBA4-17Xl5sBwTWCjCHzDldqPQEfs-bESw1vGryi/s320/404604_464263403614499_647409210_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Megan and Josh the night the announced their engagement</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And all to soon it was time for me to take him to the airport so he could continue his training and life as a Marine. I could not be more proud of my son. It's been hard on this MoM. And I know that we face mannnyy challenges in the future. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC-lqdt4Mar6J6hyphenhyphenKh_G-F04rYrRTJIlzCmcPzE1K7MOlN9Guz10mb7-4TDzd8Ydpett3PPo5ryWBg18-5vbjDfEd-gKj8TG_2hYYn74Fdh1HLF-3EyYrnYIFQn4SANSvHUzU7oKc6UsEp/s1600/250075_528514083831459_1813946951_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC-lqdt4Mar6J6hyphenhyphenKh_G-F04rYrRTJIlzCmcPzE1K7MOlN9Guz10mb7-4TDzd8Ydpett3PPo5ryWBg18-5vbjDfEd-gKj8TG_2hYYn74Fdh1HLF-3EyYrnYIFQn4SANSvHUzU7oKc6UsEp/s320/250075_528514083831459_1813946951_n.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
<br />
I however must find my way back to some kind of training and healthy eating. And find my way back to the blogs. Both reading and writing. So let's see what I can do this month! Thanks to any of you that are still around to read this blog!Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-62780324751864588202012-08-27T06:00:00.000-06:002012-08-27T06:00:08.978-06:00Rattlesnake Triathlon Crazy Back 2 Back Day Two<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Ok before beginning the story of day 2 lets go back to day 1 for a minute. Besides much stretching, ibprofen, cold water bath (I'm to chicken for actual ice) and laying around I did nothing for the rest of the day. I was debating on the race for Sunday but soon decided there was no way I couldn't show up. Besides the fact that I heard that while the sprint racers would get the t-shirt we got for doing the oly, the back 2 backers would get something differnt and usually pretty good.....well I am all about the swag so I'm there.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWsEh-7qj81for5Q7vmea-Kd0NWk96CBkF1wihcvnvn8S0LTo5a6oOrzh86uG4hImyfq96asRlbW9ox0twAREQHNB9Ywy8ivPY2VEgnbBbE2vmY8gPlrEc9b_K78MdDx1hXDHf_kr58ycZ/s1600/IMG_2855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWsEh-7qj81for5Q7vmea-Kd0NWk96CBkF1wihcvnvn8S0LTo5a6oOrzh86uG4hImyfq96asRlbW9ox0twAREQHNB9Ywy8ivPY2VEgnbBbE2vmY8gPlrEc9b_K78MdDx1hXDHf_kr58ycZ/s320/IMG_2855.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice long sleeve t-shirt and finisher "medal" from the sprint day 1</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoxQMz9TsGR6yRdpLVJEi0wiXZsvd3yXKRBB04x0I7CV0luhLKsUFfZqVq_2mbfy4zYq58TrZ8qZRfVYzYr8pjxHRz2Tsk2n3lg_rij8b-8q2IyL21g09f2EP9qt8lbe5tUdkTdxBiDuf3/s1600/IMG_2856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoxQMz9TsGR6yRdpLVJEi0wiXZsvd3yXKRBB04x0I7CV0luhLKsUFfZqVq_2mbfy4zYq58TrZ8qZRfVYzYr8pjxHRz2Tsk2n3lg_rij8b-8q2IyL21g09f2EP9qt8lbe5tUdkTdxBiDuf3/s320/IMG_2856.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Up close of the medal/key chain/bottle opener.<br />
I actually really like it. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once again the alarm went off at 4 and I rolled out of bed. I was not as sore as I had feared I might be so of that I was glad. I made the drive, this time not missing my turn and was soon set up and ready to go.<br />
<br />
Swim 15:15 (it was only a 500 meter swim)<br />
This time at least I was prepared for the start, and they got us lined up correctly which had been a challenge the day before...have you ever seen a bunch of triathletes tri to put themselves in numerical order...no wonder we do mass starts. Luckily they had someone to help us today and that someone knew the correct order to put us in. This time we just did the triangle that was the end part of the race yesterday. It felt ok, my arms could feel the swim from yesterday and I did swallow a couple of big gulps of water. I just took it easy and based on my time it was... easy that is..although I would say I was slower "running" up to transition also which is included in the swim time.<br />
T1 2:43<br />
<br />
Bike 51:19<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKrs4YhuC30Qd5gf_k4fIKD0ZUhoWUctr6dqczfeMkI4-h3pjEoTxDHz3zE8xlPXyo5ipR0AErmwnPUuPNnKFaRmnXupa8_9vU0-bRPGcmDTkI94tLFQzR-10z8N4ScOPHbC4yF_Atjyyx/s1600/ratt+sprint.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKrs4YhuC30Qd5gf_k4fIKD0ZUhoWUctr6dqczfeMkI4-h3pjEoTxDHz3zE8xlPXyo5ipR0AErmwnPUuPNnKFaRmnXupa8_9vU0-bRPGcmDTkI94tLFQzR-10z8N4ScOPHbC4yF_Atjyyx/s400/ratt+sprint.png" width="400" /></a></div>
I just barley started out on bike when I realized that something had moved and my bike computer wasn't giving me speed info. It was however showing my cadence so I was glad of that as that is kind of what I was using as my guide, just try to keep it around 80. I did have my Garmin but did not have it set to show average speed. It wasn't long before I realized just how tired my legs were, but the turn around came very quickly compared to yesterday and that felt really good.Of course we did however turn around in to winds just as strong as yesterday. And boom just like that it was over. I was pleased when I looked at the results to see that my average pace on Sunday was 14.11 while Saturdays was 13.7. Neither of these fast speeds but I was happy to be faster on the 2nd day. You can see the profile above which of course looks similar to the oly because it was the same course. :)<br />
T2 1:38<br />
<br />
Run 39:33<br />
Oh yea....the legs are tired....toes a little numb from the ride when I started. I had decided on a different pair of shoes to run in and put in one of the pad things that I used when my morton's neuroma seemed so bad last year. I could feel the pain in the butt occasionally but never really got bad. I did a bit more running today, it was of course easier knowing it was only 3 miles. It was fun also as I saw all my friends on the course and was able to shout to them and both encourage and be encouraged. Also nice was the fact that becuase the course was so much shorter there were still many people on the course (they didn't all have time to pass me!) and that always makes a race more fun. It's never a joy to be one of they only ones out there. So again my average pace was faster (not fast...just faster) on the 2nd day...which is a good thing since it couldn't have been much slower...Sunday 12:43 Saturday 14:13.<br />
<br />
For the most part this was a very fun race and I think I would like to maybe do it again. I would however like to...once again...lose some weight and train a little more. The race photos...hideous...so I won't bother to "borrow" them. :) However upon finishing we did get our swag for completing the B2B and it was a really nice fleece vest.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWjXTmU8e7TOUYKWWiwCz2ktoAlAvn4pgypjbhiDW0UjvDLDvDlRSYP-ICdXk56Sq8GAD_6aE5WdftQK1XF-YO2ve2gO7e95py0J1wtC5tBcCsi3T4XkGPw3wT-urHDFSoly7NNoW8qui/s1600/IMG_2835a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWjXTmU8e7TOUYKWWiwCz2ktoAlAvn4pgypjbhiDW0UjvDLDvDlRSYP-ICdXk56Sq8GAD_6aE5WdftQK1XF-YO2ve2gO7e95py0J1wtC5tBcCsi3T4XkGPw3wT-urHDFSoly7NNoW8qui/s400/IMG_2835a.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah, me and Kathleen after completing the B2B all sportin' our new vests</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
There were 115 crazy people this year who decided to do the Back 2 Back.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmcI3PTIOn9s0W5Un2JJqK-UxfjYLDnfSL2kF6N9salG4lOtdNKlNmB35yb69FLSobhOF8uEB2l9TWkhsEOseJrv01Po1JjC-H0TjXkHu0U5WzHzfEiNOxZ6mZgtfRZTUBJkRZR0twdi8/s1600/b2b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYmcI3PTIOn9s0W5Un2JJqK-UxfjYLDnfSL2kF6N9salG4lOtdNKlNmB35yb69FLSobhOF8uEB2l9TWkhsEOseJrv01Po1JjC-H0TjXkHu0U5WzHzfEiNOxZ6mZgtfRZTUBJkRZR0twdi8/s640/b2b.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am on the far right, three rows back with the white hat with sunglasses on it. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br />
This was a very fun and well put on race. For the most part everything seemed very well organized. The volunteers were awesome, all of them, and the swag...well I'm not complaining, both the t-shirt and vest seem to be very nice quality. I believe I will do this race again...snakes, wind and all. </div>
Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-26527945341803326822012-08-21T20:56:00.003-06:002012-08-21T20:56:54.192-06:00Rattlesnake Triathlon Crazy Back 2 Back - Day One<br />
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
This was another one of those races that I signed up for back in January or so when I was still flying high from the finish of my 70.3. Feeling strong and ready to conquer it all. This was the Crazy Back 2 Back which consisted of an Olympic distance on Saturday and a Sprint on Sunday. My training has been less then stellar but I figured I could make it though the oly. Even though I hadn't swam much my biggest worry was the run. I hadn't done much of that either and the longest run I had done in some time was 4 miles. Well I know there would be much walking. The day started early as the alarm went off at 4. I headed out by 4:45 to make the 45 minute drive. I think I may have dozed off as I drove as somehow I managed to pass the exit but luckily it wasn't much of a problem and only added a little time to my drive. When I got there I was lucky enough to meet up with <a href="http://katieaschmidt.blogspot.com/">Katie of Will Race for Carbs</a> Katie has been somewhat absent from blogging but hopefully will start to blog a little more. She is a riot and I loved getting to meet her! (She did a fantastic job at her first olympic distance! This girl is fast!) Also doing the race were my friends and training partners from last year Kathleen, Sarah and Paul, as well as a few other people I knew.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXWLSSnNq8SLuq6pGthBy_AND4dtC2imtNaJeqfPkUWgY9XP7IBm7Okvq7ZchzRquj_WgyJwEwss-ZB-emIc6W8f9F9HFzGX9XRw_dn2qKY-abZqdfakAte4EF26EUbwHu0VmcE62NYIk/s1600/IMG_2833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJXWLSSnNq8SLuq6pGthBy_AND4dtC2imtNaJeqfPkUWgY9XP7IBm7Okvq7ZchzRquj_WgyJwEwss-ZB-emIc6W8f9F9HFzGX9XRw_dn2qKY-abZqdfakAte4EF26EUbwHu0VmcE62NYIk/s320/IMG_2833.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me (looking pretty dorky in my glasses) Katie.<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUVQ1baCMeHMD7NiOacRYHGRoZI4cf_Aa1qlWee10ZyN47Ozjmbr4vWuHwFMk5Qq-PPLqc2FfFPdXo6gIwaRz38o1lkKwfwbGxnvWQ4ZKCNmhL2O3b5ISQ1HXgFdHl2F-FOuxGWkUW2Awd/s1600/rattles.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUVQ1baCMeHMD7NiOacRYHGRoZI4cf_Aa1qlWee10ZyN47Ozjmbr4vWuHwFMk5Qq-PPLqc2FfFPdXo6gIwaRz38o1lkKwfwbGxnvWQ4ZKCNmhL2O3b5ISQ1HXgFdHl2F-FOuxGWkUW2Awd/s320/rattles.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: justify;">Swim 36:15</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
The air temp was pretty chilly, around 65 I think so I was ready to get started. When they played the National Anthem I started to tear up..oh who am I kidding I was crying. They had someone playing the trumpet and the thoughts of my son were right there on the surface. I got a grip pretty quick though as I knew swimming and crying would not mix well. The water didn't feel to bad since it was around 70. This race has a couple things that are different from any race I've done. First off it starts with a time trial start...I've never done this and to tell the truth the first day I was not actually ready to go when it was my turn...I didn't quite get that I was going right then, didn't take me long to figure it out though. Because of the fact that we were doing the B2B we got to go first on the swim both days. The course was a little different also as you can see above by the blue line you go straight out make a u-turn come back run around a buoy and swim back out then you turn wide and head to the finish. This is both nice and strange. There is a yellow guide rope that keeps you from running into people going the other way and it also let's you swim without really having to do any sighting if you stay near the rope..that was AWESOME! It was however strange to look up and see someone that appeared to be swimming right at you. It also seemed to make the water a little choppier and I swallowed a bit of water but through the whole swim I felt pretty good. I just took it easy and finished feeling good about it. There is a pretty long run to transition and that along with the wet suit strippers is all added into the swim time.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
T1 2:35- uneventful, I am never going to be fast at this. I just don't have the balance to stand and put my socks and shoes on. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Bike - 1:49</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7isxH0-KOhEYC0KIYNgOTYboAie38Qu7jCn4qI4-YJzBO2wGur9LF2aGRgTnXDZZHDPp0WQ8zdacWf9w3HOgKOZlF1CpjbSvD4xZy4RBiVbWr932i-HhcAjKtGHUo4QAz_As0N-JSwd6B/s1600/oly+ele.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7isxH0-KOhEYC0KIYNgOTYboAie38Qu7jCn4qI4-YJzBO2wGur9LF2aGRgTnXDZZHDPp0WQ8zdacWf9w3HOgKOZlF1CpjbSvD4xZy4RBiVbWr932i-HhcAjKtGHUo4QAz_As0N-JSwd6B/s320/oly+ele.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
Felt pretty good on the bike. It is a rolling course...there are not many flats to speak of you are pretty much always going up or down. The above elevation profile is from the race site (I was trying to download my Garmin but gave up when because of the multi sport thing I kept getting the run instead. I know I figured this out one time, but I'm tired to night and have no patience for it.) So anyway given that it is an out and back course I'm not sure where that flatish downhill comes from and I would say the first 12 miles is pretty accurate. I actually was feeling pretty good at the turn around....not fast but feeling pretty good. At one part I rode past a snake and thank goodness it was dead, but I was still grossed out and later they posted a picture of this "beauty" on Facebook...he/she/it was seen at the bike turn around. ...uhhhhh gross... </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRo1TzMOb1zpkCLWj2q55SmFhtVTk33vvTG1OK93wGJERmhXOsb3ZMTqt0n_AapXzhnoGMiFH9BuZU0EYSDlSWZb9D6xh8-StDZih95lOWBGeyK59MQLJ-hrZU7X50ewXtZqLPfbpzQJcJ/s1600/527918_457305807643469_1716923905_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRo1TzMOb1zpkCLWj2q55SmFhtVTk33vvTG1OK93wGJERmhXOsb3ZMTqt0n_AapXzhnoGMiFH9BuZU0EYSDlSWZb9D6xh8-StDZih95lOWBGeyK59MQLJ-hrZU7X50ewXtZqLPfbpzQJcJ/s320/527918_457305807643469_1716923905_n.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I guess we know why the call it the Rattlesnake Tri huh?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So then comes the turn around and you know it...right into a head wind so yea you had to work hard even going downhill. And while at the turn around I was showing an average pace of 15.? mph it ended up being 13.7 thanks to the wind. But it seemed like it went fast. I was passed a lot but I knew I would be since I started the swim as one of the first few people. All in all though I felt pretty good about my bike. </div>
T2 1:54<br />
The "run" 1:26....<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Yep you read that right took me 1:26 minutes do a 10k.... what can I say. The first 3 miles were going pretty good. I started chatting with a girl on the course and we were working on 2 minute run and then walk. I could tell a few of my issues were coming on. The butt/sciatic was bothering me some, my ankle/achilles felt a little tender and I was most concerned about messing that up and then it wasn't long before the numb toes/front of foot started in and was causing much pain. At the turn around I convinced my new friend to go ahead as I was only slowing her down and from there on out it was much more walking than running. For the most pat though I just didn't care. I had said all along that it wasn't a race I was just "doing the distance" and that's what I did.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Total time 3:57<br />
<br />
What remained to be seen...could I actually do the sprint on Sunday....to be continued.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-9659795121644502552012-08-07T19:16:00.000-06:002012-08-07T19:17:05.312-06:00Cougar, Cheetah or Perv?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9m7jrwbLFntQen5JxPa2Tl8t-F4l-DMPrGxiNiXS8kNqfThQIqtVtH0KgxxsXruhyB3FQqQoli8u2CClXyOA1UYcstckcrjJ8DkEVDS0zprIZfPNZ3M7wJaY2xqDoKcODCfTtVAhmwPDr/s1600/maxine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9m7jrwbLFntQen5JxPa2Tl8t-F4l-DMPrGxiNiXS8kNqfThQIqtVtH0KgxxsXruhyB3FQqQoli8u2CClXyOA1UYcstckcrjJ8DkEVDS0zprIZfPNZ3M7wJaY2xqDoKcODCfTtVAhmwPDr/s400/maxine.jpg" width="316" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
As you may remember I decided to bail on the Boulder 70.3 this year. My lack of training as well as my stress level and what seems like one small injury/sickness after another left me feeling very unprepared. I was not really sure how I would feel when the day rolled around..and you know what I felt really good about my decision. It didn't bother me at all to get up a little later and head on up there to cheer on my friends and volunteer. I was told upon check in that I would be doing sunscreen at "run out". Ok I can do that. It's not a bad job for the most part. It was amazing to be right next to the pro rack and watch them come rolling in drop their bikes and run out..AMAZING! how fast they are...This was the first time that I've really gotten to watch any of the pros. It was pretty fun. There was just one other guy and I doing sunscreen and as you would expect none of the first people through were interested in hanging out for sunscreen. But we soon became pretty busy. Arms, shoulder, heads, necks, ears, and even some legs. All shapes and sizes, male and female, some hairy, some sweaty, but hey I'm a triathlete too so what's a little gross stuff between friends and strangers huh? So as things are slowing down there is much more standing around waiting, while I'm standing there pro Ben Hoffman tells me thank you for volunteering, Matty Reed asks if they can get their bikes out and this guy below Marcus Fernandes from Brazil asks in cute little accent if he can have some sunscreen.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvUJWoZdjlac2a0LveJxYh21rb2AYq_2qI-NjuVVtvkAyjsSlQZvmVPCtDsb7QZDKKEuBsLcC5bL0pLpGo2TcmH2VRoetLczCQKfD53Hq4w1Z28yi5hCCYmSLWHhsUYoyfOfeVci_GeeD3/s1600/0210_13407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvUJWoZdjlac2a0LveJxYh21rb2AYq_2qI-NjuVVtvkAyjsSlQZvmVPCtDsb7QZDKKEuBsLcC5bL0pLpGo2TcmH2VRoetLczCQKfD53Hq4w1Z28yi5hCCYmSLWHhsUYoyfOfeVci_GeeD3/s400/0210_13407.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="text-align: center;"> Sure I say and proceed to put some his back and </span><span style="text-align: center;">shoulders</span><span style="text-align: center;">...and then...he turns AROUND! Yes he wants it some on his chest too!!! What is a girl to do? I of course did his chest and his abs...OH MY GOD!!! I have never felt such a hard body... incredible! Ok I'm going to stop there...this is a "family blog" The next day I couldn't help but wonder if that's what he really wanted when he turned around...my brain got a little mushy...so while I was telling the story of the highlight of my weekend.....he was probably telling the story of the pervy old lady. But hey I'm still smiling so it's all good. </span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-86399410071802578032012-08-01T19:57:00.000-06:002012-08-01T19:57:37.714-06:00Wordless Wednesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSBbdIddcdjI8Mz2d7QqfTpscOWnmuNclYslb4cpuSxMzYLsN-EG5VD5yg463TSVZuUCRFlAok78vojG126jpAh4OlNIkJAgBWqzcXTyh3eSTqyD-oDJ3F4E5oAfmG-PeKMA92e9_YBeCR/s1600/IMG_2806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSBbdIddcdjI8Mz2d7QqfTpscOWnmuNclYslb4cpuSxMzYLsN-EG5VD5yg463TSVZuUCRFlAok78vojG126jpAh4OlNIkJAgBWqzcXTyh3eSTqyD-oDJ3F4E5oAfmG-PeKMA92e9_YBeCR/s640/IMG_2806.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Anybody use these? </div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-90221116420811104012012-07-29T19:22:00.000-06:002012-07-29T19:22:29.082-06:00Evergreen Sprint Tri race reportThis is a little fuzzy but I do want to get it down so I'll do the best I can...just like I did at the tri. :) It also contains some of the worst pictures I've ever seen...but well what's a blog post with no pictures? :)<br />
<br />
The alarm went off early...way early. I was a little worried about
parking since it was pretty limited . It was a small tri
215 finishers, but also only one way in and one way out...so with a 45
minute drive and a 5:00 transition opening I was up around 3:45. I tried
to choke down a peanut butter and banana sandwich but was feeling
pretty sick to my stomach. Nerves. I arrived and got the closest parking I have
ever had for a tri. I was literally parked right next to the transition
area. It was great. It was a very cool morning. I met up with Aimee and Kathleen and we got all set up.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2nuqSxl9hAtU1p4ZX4hLtW5bhWGa81EA9ny7CDcqtM4wJFaj-eZCGTH7zIWuQszRkxhp7s0qQUs1FnTT4wFNBIvkB0qrCwXOvbmERCPmRjiC_Qfrl2Sp5LU0q3YToQVDvD-3T3BRFeIF/s1600/evergreen+pre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2nuqSxl9hAtU1p4ZX4hLtW5bhWGa81EA9ny7CDcqtM4wJFaj-eZCGTH7zIWuQszRkxhp7s0qQUs1FnTT4wFNBIvkB0qrCwXOvbmERCPmRjiC_Qfrl2Sp5LU0q3YToQVDvD-3T3BRFeIF/s320/evergreen+pre.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h2>
Me, Aimee and Kathleen</h2>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
With out a doubt one of the worst pics of me I've ever seen...we were all cold and barley awake</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After getting our transition areas set up we went and sat in my car to keep warm. Lucky for us due to some very warm temps around Colorado the water was actually around 67 I think..almost unheard of for Evergreen. <br />
<br />
The swim: 18:27 <br />
We were all in the last wave. I've finally managed to find a pair of goggles that don't fog and don't leak and what a difference it makes for sighting! On the other hand because I could see I think I was it the middle of things more and never seemed to find clear water until the very end. And because of this I also never seemed to be able to find a groove. I'm sure that this had nothing to do with the fact that my swimming has been sorely lacking. The water was very murky and pretty weedy. The mud at the exit was crazy...sucking you in...I swam until I couldn't any more just to avoid it. This is the first race I've ever done that had wet suit strippers. I used them but don't know if it helped and because we had to go through so much gravel the mat we laid on was just covered and then of course so was I.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho_6Batc_HpMNNjyFQLZeRdQYxc3WrCsTO0cUYv6tleU7LaxOjEMKEouhLlLix0yJ-3JLrsCQttH8BvD0jkB5ZY1sDnGRhDai2KDExmV2cXLEnlz_Kvn2EZX2lfVoQMemj5fI8k8DABs_X/s1600/Evergreen+swim.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho_6Batc_HpMNNjyFQLZeRdQYxc3WrCsTO0cUYv6tleU7LaxOjEMKEouhLlLix0yJ-3JLrsCQttH8BvD0jkB5ZY1sDnGRhDai2KDExmV2cXLEnlz_Kvn2EZX2lfVoQMemj5fI8k8DABs_X/s400/Evergreen+swim.png" width="166" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I borrowed some pictures... :) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
T1 2:24..uneventful...slow <br />
<br />
Bike 1:04<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDcoJntwvEWBohvyiOPZaTuJQk8uWPN7FyphkgBBSZDZZ745HmfcogsPbIb9N81mVyhNGdx80T1SnxZMGEDmi2VN64PbcEaPBLyhc5i9bF8t3iLzieVzd8ruEQnXp9vYbGi03bWnisITz/s1600/evregreen.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDcoJntwvEWBohvyiOPZaTuJQk8uWPN7FyphkgBBSZDZZ745HmfcogsPbIb9N81mVyhNGdx80T1SnxZMGEDmi2VN64PbcEaPBLyhc5i9bF8t3iLzieVzd8ruEQnXp9vYbGi03bWnisITz/s320/evregreen.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You may remember this from the pre ride</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWOravRRPuVEPBKjRZCFLWYs4hyphenhyphenlCwSGtPLB96ia2YImuETM78-39qyoFQnFPxoRzjpTkq9LJdJqZlWaD4yCqryKwWORpguUj5cdp9d07yLo7rRUfATfqA41ezDf1W02AM08TlVFrLecYc/s1600/Evergreen+bike.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWOravRRPuVEPBKjRZCFLWYs4hyphenhyphenlCwSGtPLB96ia2YImuETM78-39qyoFQnFPxoRzjpTkq9LJdJqZlWaD4yCqryKwWORpguUj5cdp9d07yLo7rRUfATfqA41ezDf1W02AM08TlVFrLecYc/s400/Evergreen+bike.png" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pictures from this race were...not good. :) It really hit home just how much weight I had put back on. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I knew this was going to be hard. It's quite a bit of climbing and I knew that I had a hard time during the pre ride. I was passed by a few people all though there just weren't that many behind me after the swim I passed a few also. I just tried to stick to a fairly easy pace and do what I could. around mile 5 I saw bike off to the side but know one around. It was turned upside down so I don't know if the problems or just gave up. I kept trucking and was doing pretty good until I hit the last hill. It's just after the 7th mile and probably the steepest one. I just couldn't do it again...I had to walk. There was another lady walking with me. Shortly after getting back on the bike one of the motorcycles went by with a girl on the back. For what ever reason she must have called it a day. Finally at this point it is almost all downhill...and it's nice, all though parts of it are so steep that you ride your breaks and still are moving at good speed. <br />
<br />
T2 1:44<br />
The "run" 40:38<br />
This run starts uphill...at first it's not so bad but I was not really doing much running but you just keep going up and up and then you get to the steep part. :) I think its about the first 3/4 of mile before you finally hit a down hill. While challenging all of this course is quite beautiful. The run goes through a bit of a mountain neighborhood and along the golf course for this part. After a nice downhill you run by the lake before you get to the end and find some stairs to go down...run a little more and then go up the stairs.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdN-RFqDnWdMJbWUm2jPBfyO3oRyEbwOPc5HKFdmic9dRX2IE6eUtfgI9sLfL-AyPadZmqtbraOBFcegF1ohjwtg9VvHPbgprgV_0RmAeQI5-_NiVe6yIoL8HPE3ig6AEnV5ityS49YQ8/s1600/Evergreen+run.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdN-RFqDnWdMJbWUm2jPBfyO3oRyEbwOPc5HKFdmic9dRX2IE6eUtfgI9sLfL-AyPadZmqtbraOBFcegF1ohjwtg9VvHPbgprgV_0RmAeQI5-_NiVe6yIoL8HPE3ig6AEnV5ityS49YQ8/s320/Evergreen+run.png" width="236" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What can I say, awful...but at least I look like I'm running....slogging..or something. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Here I found one of the most fabulous volunteers I've ever encountered. She was running up and down the stairs with everyone...well maybe just us at the end but she was fantastic! As I started up she was finishing with another lady and she says..I'm coming doing to run up these with you and there she was just encouraging and being so very nice. It was awesome. From there it was all flat to the finish and I just ran and walked as needed. It was slow but I was ok with it and just happy to be finishing.<br />
Total time 2:08<br />
<br />
Slowest sprint ever....most challenging sprint ever...biggest accomplishment...first sprint ever not to have to stop to use the restroom during the race. :)<br />
<br />
<br />Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-70338442664016679292012-07-26T20:08:00.000-06:002012-07-26T20:08:04.264-06:00Thursday three...Things I know Part 2<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif;">I know that I finished the Evergreen Sprint...and I know it was the hardest sprint I’ve ever done....I also know I haven’t written a race report...not sure if I will get one done as it already seems pretty much of a blur, but here are a few pictures.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWnMRAyz7LmvZmu3Cy3fluSDF0UljXy01VEjohzQesX7fmwNdfXC7Z0xro_zcLTFlT22NN31P76rZrakJewPxpgaoDPLUtBUt8rf203JpwlqwsHSXq7wLCz5LO1XAMVAMfjJMtNnRpH3t/s1600/IMG_2791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWnMRAyz7LmvZmu3Cy3fluSDF0UljXy01VEjohzQesX7fmwNdfXC7Z0xro_zcLTFlT22NN31P76rZrakJewPxpgaoDPLUtBUt8rf203JpwlqwsHSXq7wLCz5LO1XAMVAMfjJMtNnRpH3t/s400/IMG_2791.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The goodies...truth be told I signed up because I liked the picture on the glass...I wish it had been on the shirt..but the shirt is nice too. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj17Es4Hgko3QlJEnZnURfahBsyb1_5PILjL3qIBeMjiU-854_wyPlip_oO9igj7D-67gSw_8dICEkY6GxTq30NJFnNhjF7IqTqaU4TsCCgC9AG8s4sRSTOse3w8j6HFvSfBkKfGmRD3Zu1/s1600/IMG_2798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj17Es4Hgko3QlJEnZnURfahBsyb1_5PILjL3qIBeMjiU-854_wyPlip_oO9igj7D-67gSw_8dICEkY6GxTq30NJFnNhjF7IqTqaU4TsCCgC9AG8s4sRSTOse3w8j6HFvSfBkKfGmRD3Zu1/s400/IMG_2798.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This elk was hanging out right by transition. Not real happy with all of intruding either. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgflNYL_cY8yHC_8AEPR3FNwwokPNCaX7JT-MU-MfOMNbxvzH5UYDNagiZ-t2huvyztmWwWkhYiYrq79uQM8rmDEKP12FU3uxG5dMO_tlpSC8Uo9T0RuBY4H-4IawT1A7fmnBllPt62xPau/s1600/IMG_2799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgflNYL_cY8yHC_8AEPR3FNwwokPNCaX7JT-MU-MfOMNbxvzH5UYDNagiZ-t2huvyztmWwWkhYiYrq79uQM8rmDEKP12FU3uxG5dMO_tlpSC8Uo9T0RuBY4H-4IawT1A7fmnBllPt62xPau/s400/IMG_2799.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lake house</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBx9w33DyROwIy3SaImSAdOWZwrpGUCRSRstkFAZExvBBFZflhbtdoPzMQ6uR_YWo8cKZ1dcNU2BPxaJggJCciweVzMWc1KQcdydIyefBCO5E82IQi50t9mUlkX9s13_FuCdauY4mY7fXg/s1600/IMG_2800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBx9w33DyROwIy3SaImSAdOWZwrpGUCRSRstkFAZExvBBFZflhbtdoPzMQ6uR_YWo8cKZ1dcNU2BPxaJggJCciweVzMWc1KQcdydIyefBCO5E82IQi50t9mUlkX9s13_FuCdauY4mY7fXg/s400/IMG_2800.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lake. :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPjQXkm4mppUblShJDX_chu2y2_Jl1SVOcghW68Gl_j96FxFDdV_K0NvS30d4DUhKwt77pv4v1Bx0ol8vGzQzl62us4JvmHgF4D-ON6CCd2rhGWEpfgfyza1CG07XfiTmKExvr9-leHgmi/s1600/IMG_2801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPjQXkm4mppUblShJDX_chu2y2_Jl1SVOcghW68Gl_j96FxFDdV_K0NvS30d4DUhKwt77pv4v1Bx0ol8vGzQzl62us4JvmHgF4D-ON6CCd2rhGWEpfgfyza1CG07XfiTmKExvr9-leHgmi/s400/IMG_2801.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Transition before it filled up. See that row of cars...I was parked right there...never been that close to transition before it was great!!! We got to sit in the car and stay warm while we waited. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif;">I know that my training is only so-so...I’ve been getting some of it done. Swimming..I have a hard time getting to the pool. I’m sure that it is going to be one miserable weekend doing that crazy back to back...but I still have 3 weeks to work on it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif;">I know my focus is not on triathlon. In fact right now I have little to no interest in most things tri.... I don't get to read blogs like should and obviously I"m not blogging. :) My focus is all things Marine...especially all things Marine boot camp. In fact that is a big reason I haven’t blogged much...most of my writing time is spent writing letters to my son (or tracking all the other Delta Company recruits on a Facebook group....) I’m certain he will regret having asked us to “write frequently if we can. “ My favorite quote from one of his recent letters.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif;">"I am doing pretty good here, there are times it sucks but also times its not so bad (but not good). " That's my boy! He hasn't lost his sense of humor!</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="font-size: 11pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-27860095059959855772012-07-12T06:30:00.000-06:002012-07-12T06:30:02.110-06:00Thursday Three- Things I know1. First tri of the year this weekend. Evergreen....you know the one...I talked about it in my<a href="http://youjusthavetotri.blogspot.com/2012/07/nothing-like-reminder.html"> last post</a> the one with the cold water, hills and stairs. I'm excited yet nervous. I know it will be challenging and I know I will be slow, I know there is every chance that I will be one of the last finishers, but I also know that I will finish.<br />
<br />
2. First letter from my son Josh in boot camp..... "Food is good, sleep is minimal, exercise is abundant" I know this is tougher on him then it is on me. :) I also know that during above tri I will be thinking of him and giving it everything I've got.<br />
<br />
3. I know you will enjoy this.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/A1Fw1GdRKkc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Good luck to everyone who is racing this weekend!</span></h2>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-30527958829344238412012-07-02T06:30:00.000-06:002012-07-03T05:00:28.667-06:00Nothing like a reminder......of how much your training has sucked this year....and just when I was feeling a little better about things.<br />
<br />
This morning I headed up to Evergreen which in just a couple of short weeks I will do my first tri of the season (It's the first year they have done a tri up there since the 90's) and well last year when I was feeling pretty good about things (and may not have fully appreciated the course profile (did they post it?) it seemed like a good idea.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwWFnc7Hhv2Tkkbrr5aKVEpntLmm95pInRhbMXfqnFZ-Z1teSk9aLxraOGyXuU54kGtQG7Hqk0mlpAelSOsWOQ9g78O4uuA_5zs1HgIQro1e13J_KRHpEcPGAP_XA1zAP1vWG7mgfbtB-B/s1600/IMG_2783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwWFnc7Hhv2Tkkbrr5aKVEpntLmm95pInRhbMXfqnFZ-Z1teSk9aLxraOGyXuU54kGtQG7Hqk0mlpAelSOsWOQ9g78O4uuA_5zs1HgIQro1e13J_KRHpEcPGAP_XA1zAP1vWG7mgfbtB-B/s400/IMG_2783.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, Aimee and Kathleen before the ride</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I met <a href="http://trirunveg.blogspot.com/">Aimee </a>and <a href="http://kathleen-daretodream.blogspot.com/">Kathleen</a> who would be joining me in this journey both today and during the tri. I knew going in that both of the ladies are much stronger riders than I but I hoped not to hold them up to much, of course I did. I really had not taken in to account the fact that the ride started at 7100' and went up about 900' to 8000'. Even though Denver is at 5200' it is still a difference. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT3qF1IvbiNGzA_VrRSgwg4s4qdAdL87kGwMIYkkTuX7LSalKOOA2I0iS8LmydYsWL1Kbs5gQ_E3thNOYMxdcrrb0Jva5ZmzXOFJBRVV5tnebxBXavNfrYWa7TN4DgI3WuLuvSkQX6owJH/s1600/evregreen.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT3qF1IvbiNGzA_VrRSgwg4s4qdAdL87kGwMIYkkTuX7LSalKOOA2I0iS8LmydYsWL1Kbs5gQ_E3thNOYMxdcrrb0Jva5ZmzXOFJBRVV5tnebxBXavNfrYWa7TN4DgI3WuLuvSkQX6owJH/s400/evregreen.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doesn't really look that bad does it? </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Holy I can't breath. Add to the fact that I'm not a great climber and still coughing, especially when exercising and I may just die when I attempt this again......providing I survive the swim.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPru2pBE1a4FZoHjxpGXT-WvLJ0tkS_6gSrPJ3t2p0sFhuiJufBuipQlKrXbn1lsoZCD2fVVuIPGsLRnfCL8gnVXye84C3IbCBxIKz9RXXMOXUDLvdaESteTfUB5vumaDnrE1l5hCjqZFA/s1600/IMG_2785.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPru2pBE1a4FZoHjxpGXT-WvLJ0tkS_6gSrPJ3t2p0sFhuiJufBuipQlKrXbn1lsoZCD2fVVuIPGsLRnfCL8gnVXye84C3IbCBxIKz9RXXMOXUDLvdaESteTfUB5vumaDnrE1l5hCjqZFA/s400/IMG_2785.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view after we started our descent. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLC_JdKIau2ytwH5GtjRfR5r_MvFVNPGCywpulRBYYpqadMkc1nKO3qQOUlHVuuZhH6Obg8u-RcK1LPgDLKMUdr8kcsOFpadWim-F9UdG-naxOGeIAhi2kkvG9CFETxotoYeX-SvVl7t42/s1600/IMG_2786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLC_JdKIau2ytwH5GtjRfR5r_MvFVNPGCywpulRBYYpqadMkc1nKO3qQOUlHVuuZhH6Obg8u-RcK1LPgDLKMUdr8kcsOFpadWim-F9UdG-naxOGeIAhi2kkvG9CFETxotoYeX-SvVl7t42/s400/IMG_2786.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the last hills...I had thought we were done with the hills.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The final descent is crazy fast...we literally all had our brakes on as hard as we could and were still moving crazy fast! Pathetically even though I hit some pretty good speeds at the end, my average speed was just over 10...and that of course does not include all of the breaks I had...Did I say I'm really excited to do this again?<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUyOu5Am4A5qM8QWmNQKVHykn04DdnI5XJmko8WPLa060oToHsInuu4Y-9MNKLSa4hYrAaH0pK2Tg68QnlonAscvYMxZqwpbT96lXS4Q9F2r21o0_m4JW86cWTLu4N2QoQ5gwg8ccjLdDr/s1600/IMG_2788.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUyOu5Am4A5qM8QWmNQKVHykn04DdnI5XJmko8WPLa060oToHsInuu4Y-9MNKLSa4hYrAaH0pK2Tg68QnlonAscvYMxZqwpbT96lXS4Q9F2r21o0_m4JW86cWTLu4N2QoQ5gwg8ccjLdDr/s400/IMG_2788.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aimee and Kathleen getting ready to run...ok walk the course. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After we finished the bike we wondered around trying to figure out the run portion. We encountered something that I've never had happen before and thankfully we were warned by someone. There was a mama elk guarding her baby and was chasing after people. She was chasing a lady who had a stroller and a dog and Aimee being fearless was yelling at the elk and distracting her. Yea Aimee! Kathleen and I stayed back a bit but Aimee she was as tough as that Momma elk. I think we ultimately figured out most of it (with many wrong turns) and it should be pretty tough too. Basically we had a nice little walk. The altitude difference seemed very evident on the run portion. I have little doubt I will be one of the final finishers of this event.<br />
<br />
I can't decide if I ignored the course description or just didn't read it when I signed up, as it contains sentences such as these<br />
<br />
"the lake will be chilly"<br />
" the challenging 12 mile bike course"<br />
" includes the stairs down and up the dam, reminiscent of the Escape from Alcatraz tri."<br />
<br />
Stay tuned.....Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-58798198089525555442012-06-27T06:51:00.002-06:002012-06-27T06:51:58.427-06:00(almost) Wordless WednesdayToday please keep in your thoughts, hearts and prayers<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglF5Hy5Pg2EwzlpJLMpG8NW8j-k-CNrdi8Bp2IlVGYG_E8BP53sBMe6o9IrxL5szUAb5KpG3BJDPWLe7G982mgmoumsucKGQ8nwoMSR8VUIS00r6_HTNMIAPBiDHDwXR85gmYh-DTcK7z1/s1600/IMG_2780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglF5Hy5Pg2EwzlpJLMpG8NW8j-k-CNrdi8Bp2IlVGYG_E8BP53sBMe6o9IrxL5szUAb5KpG3BJDPWLe7G982mgmoumsucKGQ8nwoMSR8VUIS00r6_HTNMIAPBiDHDwXR85gmYh-DTcK7z1/s320/IMG_2780.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My son Josh who shipped out to Marine boot camp on Monday </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and all others out there serving our country.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCHze46z9S9DoRkzu5L1xCZflzftKynRP4C3XsANloTSS3_4flMYYaAIsuJnYyI8Vr8_zmbXZUZCDbBv6SKt4bNfRMFq8MFZXy6VoFS3KEVg-bIUtQvqCyBh9diu8J1PNstn94rwGCn3O/s1600/539731_450319098319434_764453987_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCHze46z9S9DoRkzu5L1xCZflzftKynRP4C3XsANloTSS3_4flMYYaAIsuJnYyI8Vr8_zmbXZUZCDbBv6SKt4bNfRMFq8MFZXy6VoFS3KEVg-bIUtQvqCyBh9diu8J1PNstn94rwGCn3O/s320/539731_450319098319434_764453987_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
All of the people in Colorado that are being affected by the fires that </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
we have going on at the moment. Especially our blogger friend</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://pedestrianrunner.blogspot.com/2012/05/jumpstart-to-clean-eating-summary.html">Christi</a> that is in the evacuation area in Colorado Springs. </div>
<br />
<br />Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-48156858986843517482012-06-18T19:48:00.000-06:002012-06-19T07:02:54.919-06:00Denver Century/Metric Century<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
Originally
when I signed up for this back in December it was with the intent of
doing the full Century again this year. But as we know my fitness level
and training is not what it should be so I decided I would shorten the
ride. I wasn’t sure what mileage I would do and had the opportunity to
change at many different points during the ride. I knew that I wasn’t up
for Lookout Mountain. Lookout Mountain is a very well known ride here
in Denver and I did it several times last year including the Denver
Century last year. At the last minute <a href="http://kathleen-daretodream.blogspot.com/">Kathleen</a> decided she would sign up
and I was thrilled to be able to share at least part of the ride with
her. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
As
usual when the alarm went off at 4:20 I was wondering why in the heck I
sign up for these things that have me getting out of bed so early on my
days off. Even if it is my normal weekday time to rise it just feels
wrong on a Sunday morning! But drag my butt out of bed I did. Had some
coffee grabbed my stuff and headed to the start of the ride.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHh93M7NsIfpeiTARKhjbk65J-H5zESNtOTGpTPFqckFtbj0qzJkaaKE8xS68hV7QywYwUZs48Snc0cNRnvZd1A4rbn9WBZllbC-mwPXnLC_oVEufswuEUgw0km6W_ShDa0vpnDH9dqyeu/s1600/IMG_2728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHh93M7NsIfpeiTARKhjbk65J-H5zESNtOTGpTPFqckFtbj0qzJkaaKE8xS68hV7QywYwUZs48Snc0cNRnvZd1A4rbn9WBZllbC-mwPXnLC_oVEufswuEUgw0km6W_ShDa0vpnDH9dqyeu/s400/IMG_2728.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Kathleen</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
This
ride would prove to be a little different than I was used to as part of
it was very urban. In fact we rode through parts of downtown. It was
kind of cool but also a bit of a hassle as there were many stop lights
and the roads at the beginning were a little scary. There were many huge
holes as well as long cracks that were just the right size to catch a
tire. Luckily we survived with no issues but I heard there were others
that were not so lucky. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS1lI29p8ch-eNzJkHqIHjkd2Kv2UGM1U5MDaYOxU2w7ZBCj5KzxG0UUl-uW0JxukmRXPr8pQniHaYdlM7qN8dxfARIhgngt5PIEuQ8pgRll6phpCEMbNWTHyZ-C3aCS28tW_Jpn3IM51W/s1600/IMG_2730.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS1lI29p8ch-eNzJkHqIHjkd2Kv2UGM1U5MDaYOxU2w7ZBCj5KzxG0UUl-uW0JxukmRXPr8pQniHaYdlM7qN8dxfARIhgngt5PIEuQ8pgRll6phpCEMbNWTHyZ-C3aCS28tW_Jpn3IM51W/s640/IMG_2730.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
After going through downtown we went through
more of an older residential neighborhood. As we neared Golden and what
would be the first real aid station I saw my dad on the side of the
road sitting in his lawn chair and holding a florescent green sign. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwcxwdN0e-6QCb8SOXNjyTMZgSpZ98a1rlnJGzB-7pgQayWI_v__suEJXKk3qK0Wh5N034l1hNOMUvCurRwBJRHo05yG1gUswfOHt4uURvXH5TT7kysoP6lXq8YG0yIHmzZPv9jQT6XPHO/s1600/IMG_2734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwcxwdN0e-6QCb8SOXNjyTMZgSpZ98a1rlnJGzB-7pgQayWI_v__suEJXKk3qK0Wh5N034l1hNOMUvCurRwBJRHo05yG1gUswfOHt4uURvXH5TT7kysoP6lXq8YG0yIHmzZPv9jQT6XPHO/s400/IMG_2734.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Father's Day Dad! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
It was fun to see him out there and all though he
had mentioned he may come watch us go by I didn’t know for sure if he
would be there and I for sure didn’t expect the sign. He had a lot of
fun talking with the riders that went by and all of the male and female
riders who claimed to be Julie. I stopped to chat for a bit and then
got back to it. It wasn’t long before I realized that I had forgotten to
wish him happy father’s day...how awful is that! And right as I was
thinking about it two girls road by and asked if I was the Julie that
the sign was for. They had read my name on my bib. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigqY_3F32lXfvmDUQaBH7XERGHWRkomy1Wd5Er9sInEETrpUapTUVsqGpailULyqOLMktHuPCpGn-8EC9UWwFUltCPkqYPtQSSeNarAHuL1PaFWYzmBG5qYFQ0gOeC0VXrz5ym-DLC1JhU/s1600/IMG_2735.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigqY_3F32lXfvmDUQaBH7XERGHWRkomy1Wd5Er9sInEETrpUapTUVsqGpailULyqOLMktHuPCpGn-8EC9UWwFUltCPkqYPtQSSeNarAHuL1PaFWYzmBG5qYFQ0gOeC0VXrz5ym-DLC1JhU/s400/IMG_2735.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not the best photo but gives you an idea of the different terrain we saw. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
At
the first aid station I sent Kathleen on her way to have fun with
Lookout while I took my time, sampled the food...they had coffee and
these great sandwiches made with waffles, sausage and eggs! Sent my Dad a Happy Fathers Day text and chatted
with a couple of women I knew from the <a href="http://youjusthavetotri.blogspot.com/2012/01/stepping-up.html">group compu rides</a> that we had
done early this winter. Soon I figured I better move on. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
The course had
been pretty flat for the most part so far and with the exception of few
hills I knew were coming up ( it’s an area I ride quite a bit we were quite near my home) it continued that way. Which was good. My cough was
doing better but it was still there and the easier I took it the better
off I was. If I exerted myself to much I would start to cough. It wasn’t
long into this part of the ride I saw one of the strangest things. This
guy road by on a motorcycle that was covered in pelts and had all these
antlers on it. I’m telling you it was crazy! </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m01kv0RfwC1r4amizo1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m01kv0RfwC1r4amizo1_1280.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not my picture. May or may not have been the one I saw but looked just like this! </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
After a
few small hills and a little wind I arrived at the next aid
station. The views had changed a bit and as I was sampling the food at
this aid station...turkey sandwiches and the best Oreo’s ever...the wind
really began to pick up.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWP6hD0e3nimksr_sjB99-2C8_8S-LdiZDt95SckMygR2_x4k6ABLtZY-M64Az2EOekGpPOLIHGeyJjKOxoSJQF2ip0PPEJWsR3wQuxIezUbTgQgOPqrOe78MleF4RmQxCWdqP466r3XZm/s1600/IMG_2739.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWP6hD0e3nimksr_sjB99-2C8_8S-LdiZDt95SckMygR2_x4k6ABLtZY-M64Az2EOekGpPOLIHGeyJjKOxoSJQF2ip0PPEJWsR3wQuxIezUbTgQgOPqrOe78MleF4RmQxCWdqP466r3XZm/s640/IMG_2739.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
I exchanged some texts with Kathleen as we
tried to decide what would happen. We were hoping that she would catch
up with me as she is a much stronger rider. We decided I would just
continue on at my slow pace..as I headed up Indiana which is a fairly
heavily traveled road, not sure why the organizers chose this street,
there is no shoulder at all and the wind got CRAZYYYYY! It was literally
blowing us around and with all the cars and the lack of shoulder to
ride on it was difficult to say the least. It wasn’t long be for the
coughing started and I felt it was better to just get off and walk. I
was not the only one. When I reached the top of the hill I took a short
break and headed out. It was pretty much downhill from here. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpIfc9hqw0rXdcCW5VMy2vM8idxe6XQ0FHas677dP8aypafnml76H4ncouOnXN594QE40g_prouH9tb1uxWDwOFIFILAC4ORozGl8f0HenNkOjONcCsBNBHw12R0zWRLPNIBdQ9ziv8mp-/s1600/IMG_2744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpIfc9hqw0rXdcCW5VMy2vM8idxe6XQ0FHas677dP8aypafnml76H4ncouOnXN594QE40g_prouH9tb1uxWDwOFIFILAC4ORozGl8f0HenNkOjONcCsBNBHw12R0zWRLPNIBdQ9ziv8mp-/s320/IMG_2744.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
By the time I hit the next aid station mile 46ish<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;"></span> ,
it was getting really hot...I mean really hot..they had ice at the aid
station and I drank a whole bottle of ice cold water...it was
fabulous...I knew there was only one more quick water stop left before
the end and it was only 6 miles from the end..through this point I was
starting to get a little sore..my quad in my right leg wanted to cramp
up a few times and my feet on and off got numb and sore. It was still
windy but nothing like the wind from before. I was so ready to be done.
Exchanged a few more texts with Kathleen. She was struggling, the wind
and the heat were taking it out of her. I kept waiting for the water
stop which I finally thought I must have somehow missed. I was at mile
60 and kept wondering how it was possible I could be back to the start
in only 2 more miles. I had ridden this bike path before and had a vague
idea of where I was and I just couldn’t figure out how it would
work...before I knew I hit 62 miles and guess what I found...yea the
water stop and 6 more miles to go to the finish....so more water and
Gatorade. I spent quite a bit of time at this point a little angry with
myself for the lack of fitness. I am pretty disappointed in just how
much worse it is this year than last <a href="http://youjusthavetotri.blogspot.com/2011/06/its-just-hillget-over-it-denver-century.html">when I completed the full century.</a> On a more positive note though I
didn’t finish this ride feeling as bad as I did at the end of the Platte
River ½ marathon in May. </div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWwNNW1d0dSlHhsrycHgH5E4zuYLv8ugGa8NbL_PiRnSIr2JeW7jsHaGaFvKfw7UIc6KLEDcwTgKI1uwi2OCZW9hlMbtmy8cVYwk9v127WETBeg5WvZUs6BJeLhpau-YDoIt6ZkZpeu6ry/s1600/IMG_2745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWwNNW1d0dSlHhsrycHgH5E4zuYLv8ugGa8NbL_PiRnSIr2JeW7jsHaGaFvKfw7UIc6KLEDcwTgKI1uwi2OCZW9hlMbtmy8cVYwk9v127WETBeg5WvZUs6BJeLhpau-YDoIt6ZkZpeu6ry/s400/IMG_2745.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the bike path</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bppSbLdQsM7I1cXiAKd2zCqCC3tKdH7mBaVyQ_E7yQhp2p6tlLUup1uGFqrjVoS6QGh09EW4FoH_AInJZrJthsu6NYZt9cW96oEzEXt8FMoOQA7ff9PAG1bX_dGC2DSyxu7YtPjdGW2q/s1600/IMG_2746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0bppSbLdQsM7I1cXiAKd2zCqCC3tKdH7mBaVyQ_E7yQhp2p6tlLUup1uGFqrjVoS6QGh09EW4FoH_AInJZrJthsu6NYZt9cW96oEzEXt8FMoOQA7ff9PAG1bX_dGC2DSyxu7YtPjdGW2q/s400/IMG_2746.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The huge Outdoor World store we rode by.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
Much
of the last part of this ride had us riding on long spots of gravel.
Now while I’m not a fan of riding through gravel I don’t mind if it’s
just a little, but these areas seemed to be quite long and there were
several spots I felt should have been marked a little better as you
would be riding along when all the sudden the gravel would become close
to 2 inches deep of loose gravel. Scary. As I approached the end a guy I
was following stopped and turned around and pointed out a sign that
said we were suppose to turn, so he did and I followed...I think we must
have been the only two that did this...it went way around this
neighborhood and brought us in the back area of the park. There were
other signs too so it’s not as if someone had just moved one sign. Very
strange. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
I headed straight for the food line and then the beer line and sat down to enjoy this</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN8G-Bwcgb4e1qXJI8l2EIA5NomJbSzKDbExZQwIjemDdItqwERUAbagXdnAWP21a6-qvLGFzI0Yy9zhTDYcL-6tzUE-cb3ep9Md0oIFz_UWBJDyJHNtf9z5PoLbNZmSYLP-1QBujVYqJ2/s1600/IMG_2747.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN8G-Bwcgb4e1qXJI8l2EIA5NomJbSzKDbExZQwIjemDdItqwERUAbagXdnAWP21a6-qvLGFzI0Yy9zhTDYcL-6tzUE-cb3ep9Md0oIFz_UWBJDyJHNtf9z5PoLbNZmSYLP-1QBujVYqJ2/s400/IMG_2747.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It occurs to me that much of this post is about the food....</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
Along
with some pretty decent 80’s music. I chatted with some people sitting
around me while I waited for Kathleen. Finally as I was really starting
to get worried I saw her. She had stopped a few times to cool off as she
was starting to feel pretty bad. We didn’t hang out long as she just
wanted to get home and I need to get going also. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
And
did I say it was hot? When I got packed up and in my car it showed that
the temp was 102 degrees!!!! I waited thinking oh it will drop down a
bunch once I get going...yea dropped all the way down to 100!!! Yea it
was hot out there! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
Total 69.5 miles<br />
5 hours 23 minutes ride time</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit;">
<br /></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-10871156546918806722012-06-15T13:38:00.003-06:002012-06-15T13:38:52.306-06:00"Excuses only sound good to the person making them"So I won’t make them. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I have decided to withdrawal from the Boulder 70.3. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Good luck to all those out there racing this weekend! I will be riding some portion of the Denver Century on Sunday. I've not decided yet just how many miles either 62 or 80sih. <br />
Have a great weekend !<br />
<br />
<br />
.<br />
<br />
<br />Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-14506836169657189512012-06-05T20:06:00.000-06:002012-06-05T20:06:12.536-06:00Shoes and seriousness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAUSJXJjMq98wZ5IB1rFBWF2HrUiWK0dODekYVLEJtS_iN867fqbd4c1s3lG2KJdjn4e_00ThbsVcpVmi2r-DqI61c9eEsYPmr_3FUtrobSsic_irbo7jfUUiTY0AiznRu84Q0REqvlwXl/s1600/IMG_2708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAUSJXJjMq98wZ5IB1rFBWF2HrUiWK0dODekYVLEJtS_iN867fqbd4c1s3lG2KJdjn4e_00ThbsVcpVmi2r-DqI61c9eEsYPmr_3FUtrobSsic_irbo7jfUUiTY0AiznRu84Q0REqvlwXl/s320/IMG_2708.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Can you say new shoes? I know that I just has<a href="http://youjusthavetotri.blogspot.com/2012/04/three-thing-thursdaycelebrations.html"> posted</a> about getting new shoes. I had purchased the Saucony Cortana's. They just didn't work for me mostly because they have this really hard rubber toe thing that rubbed on my toe and caused major pain. I've been getting my shoes at <a href="http://www.roadrunnersports.com/rrs/content/topic.jsp?contentId=content2502">Road Runners</a> and while I think it is a little strange that you need to pay for the VIP program it has been well worth it. I've been able to try some shoes that I might not have and return them when I decided I didn't like them. And in this case it worked really well because when I returned the Cortanas I was able to get two pairs of Kinvaras the 2 and the new 3's and it only cost me an extra $4.39! I'm looking forward to trying the new 3's. I really like some of the changes they made. I wore them this morning when I tried to run this morning and they felt really good, however that was mostly a walk. And the other new pair of shoes the Brooks Pure Flow's that I got from a <a href="http://journeytoahalfmaraton.blogspot.com/">certain someone</a> who didn't have great luck with them. I've only tried them once since this illness has kept me from much running. So I should be set for shoes for some time.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6czTPY3YL_XYeLOhwJAPJzG-euFRM4nE2tKUUGUGNFi3UFfWR6DEz2cXPFnFmrVXpBHWTE01vh5yl4ma6WVe9HhClBnoLKWyOiz7e_9Yz7wWk4ngIHMMoqgTYvtBkfrLSgDmHEppkTm1/s1600/2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6czTPY3YL_XYeLOhwJAPJzG-euFRM4nE2tKUUGUGNFi3UFfWR6DEz2cXPFnFmrVXpBHWTE01vh5yl4ma6WVe9HhClBnoLKWyOiz7e_9Yz7wWk4ngIHMMoqgTYvtBkfrLSgDmHEppkTm1/s320/2011.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmyGrHfsFCL6F-OixGkSg-WUmL9DyObGnA5hCvtdohTUPWBcIidaFA5AaGOfxGfJc_i7yhFlaVgmHHWgiLQ2Lc1NhT7FuSqj44ZhD9qMEYPIOeRwyH9jOXR-SFw-5O-WhBD3ZTgL2EY-D/s1600/2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmyGrHfsFCL6F-OixGkSg-WUmL9DyObGnA5hCvtdohTUPWBcIidaFA5AaGOfxGfJc_i7yhFlaVgmHHWgiLQ2Lc1NhT7FuSqj44ZhD9qMEYPIOeRwyH9jOXR-SFw-5O-WhBD3ZTgL2EY-D/s320/2012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Now time for the seriousness. Above you see the training that I've done this year and last year through June. Here are the numbers.<br />
Jan 2011 2012 <br />
S - 6100 yards 4700<br />
B - 93 135<br />
R - 43 50 <br />
<br />
FEB 2011 2012<br />
S- 4600 2950<br />
B- 77 66<br />
R- 50 26<br />
<br />
MAR 2011 2012<br />
S- 10150 3400<br />
B- 145 91<br />
R- 66 40<br />
<br />
APRIL 2011 2012<br />
S- 5300 0<br />
B- 119. 67.<br />
R - 70 47<br />
<br />
MAY 2011 2012<br />
S- 8650 0<br />
B - 344 232<br />
R - 55 48<br />
<br />
Yep it's pretty bad. Which brings me to the serious question. I'm seriously considering withdrawing from the 70.3. It's the first weekend in August, 8 weeks away, and after going back and reading my <a href="http://youjusthavetotri.blogspot.com/2011/08/ironman-boulder-703-race-report.html">race report </a>from last year I've really started thinking. Anyone who knows me and knows how cheap I am knows how hard it would be for me to give up almost $200 by dropping out. But it's been a hard year so far and June is just not looking any better. I've had this chest cold for 2 1/2 weeks now and while it's getting better training is still almost impossible and I don't know when it will improve, everyone I know that has it (and there are a bunch!) have had it for at least a month! There is also my son's leaving. I'm trying to spend any time I can with him. This is not a huge problem as I can usually train when he's not here but training has not been my priority. But what it all comes down to is I just don't feel like I'm going to be prepared for this. I have until the 20th to decide and get back a little bit of money. So what I'm thinking is maybe I should just focus on the crazy back to back (Olympic on Saturday, Sprint on Sunday) that I also signed up for that is mid August. I'm not sure this makes any sense but I guess what it comes down to is this...is there any way I could finish the 70.3 given the training I've done? Yea I don't think so either. <br />
<br />Thoughts? Insights? Have you ever pulled out of race?Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-89833941525764939162012-05-30T18:02:00.001-06:002012-05-31T12:15:59.068-06:00Last week by the numbers<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">1-<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">son graduated from high school</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QDLfRa32hBJZdmicML6lkGiUUiI9l_KtWT2t_dEg4ukKEcbMS2KqMC9xBDYIWq8fqzJo9RkPblrY9aSRl4X5InDCH7UsmKEvMt-1sf1n92RUzshOZ0OCM0ifvV-2x5fqiBjhCJ_zJJcu/s1600/IMG_2684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QDLfRa32hBJZdmicML6lkGiUUiI9l_KtWT2t_dEg4ukKEcbMS2KqMC9xBDYIWq8fqzJo9RkPblrY9aSRl4X5InDCH7UsmKEvMt-1sf1n92RUzshOZ0OCM0ifvV-2x5fqiBjhCJ_zJJcu/s400/IMG_2684.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";"><span style="color: black;">Zach, Josh, stepbrothers girlfriend, stepbrother Mikey and stepbrother Jesse</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">5 give or take - times I cried at graduation</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">1 give or take – times I tear up daily</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">43 – hilly miles ridden</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">1 – times I fell over on above ride </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">2 – times I’ve fallen over on my bike this year. Yes I’ve been riding for a few years </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgapOdxoldo6h5leGXfZ7YYt1Y4CCwxFyJY3yND58KuxbHGuIerz8L4rsaFAafWQ1yy0JydXLgHUZabBslr1Ivnza2kg4rCvdqusZitLU3SI8LbQrSja47zd4ztH7nHexwe3RdNMiuk4nSF/s1600/Untitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgapOdxoldo6h5leGXfZ7YYt1Y4CCwxFyJY3yND58KuxbHGuIerz8L4rsaFAafWQ1yy0JydXLgHUZabBslr1Ivnza2kg4rCvdqusZitLU3SI8LbQrSja47zd4ztH7nHexwe3RdNMiuk4nSF/s400/Untitled.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I all ways wonder just how accurate these are. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">5702feet or 1728ms– the number it says I climbed on the BT elevation profile. BDD or someone, maybe you can explain these numbers to me...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">0 – time I swam</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">1bazillion – times I have coughed over the last week</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">139 – number of pictures we took to get 4 decent ones of me and the boys. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCFYRl3mli4Hj6pglMQzZ8g5b3r5LfwN91rv1QcZL7LDoItuCzpTfkpKHNa4LyZBPF2hHQwowZasIDjtUOVT3b8ukZENBZ10ALlpPBp7Bv5hOPRtGd8tEUoXYiPOXQC7Jn-N860SDor0he/s1600/2+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCFYRl3mli4Hj6pglMQzZ8g5b3r5LfwN91rv1QcZL7LDoItuCzpTfkpKHNa4LyZBPF2hHQwowZasIDjtUOVT3b8ukZENBZ10ALlpPBp7Bv5hOPRtGd8tEUoXYiPOXQC7Jn-N860SDor0he/s400/2+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJblLFt5awtIa57576MwonGe-X9WwDlRt8_EfmD9SKYfKjjqIYtUA7ZcsPRdqVWqYBWJQi9-RUR18uCRmgczPVuaOWBJbUPg74QiWr8dgJGT9aHO776ow8SQOabutfzKnViIJJ8xbrxr9/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVJblLFt5awtIa57576MwonGe-X9WwDlRt8_EfmD9SKYfKjjqIYtUA7ZcsPRdqVWqYBWJQi9-RUR18uCRmgczPVuaOWBJbUPg74QiWr8dgJGT9aHO776ow8SQOabutfzKnViIJJ8xbrxr9/s400/4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">7 – hilly miles Josh and I ran / walked together Monday morning. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">14.47 – pace of said run/walk including potty stops, horse petting stops, and coughing fits by one or the other of us, regardless of how slow it is we did not however stop to take a nap. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">10 – times I told Josh to just go ahead without me</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">10 – times he said it was all good </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";"> 1 – son that now has a purple mohawk </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyY3UbFHrRYeXijUOUmf1icXYhYDfKBbpVq4FOAdffsDLMDp28Gbzcmcx-4zVQ2q3cxbhP3G0Lp-CMcyDCWukvGzin0dj5ALll3f8c1A9-8-Ji1bKDappjEMX5NcYrkXheAQr5W2xWjFhA/s1600/IMG_2706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyY3UbFHrRYeXijUOUmf1icXYhYDfKBbpVq4FOAdffsDLMDp28Gbzcmcx-4zVQ2q3cxbhP3G0Lp-CMcyDCWukvGzin0dj5ALll3f8c1A9-8-Ji1bKDappjEMX5NcYrkXheAQr5W2xWjFhA/s320/IMG_2706.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looks a little different doesn't he?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">18- days until the Denver Century. I’m pretty sure this will be cut to either 85 miles or maybe even 62.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">26- days until Josh leaves for bootcamp</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans", "sans-serif";">46 – days until my first tri- I better start swimming</span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-29825639572962081012012-05-21T20:24:00.001-06:002012-05-21T20:24:34.308-06:00The weekend...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">As
some of you may remember I was supposed to do a metric century this
weekend. Unfortunately they ended up canceling it Friday evening due to a
fire in the area and the poor air quality. I was kind of bummed, but a
canceled ride is nothing compared to what the people in the area are
going though. Thankfully because of a cool wet Saturday they were able
to get some control of it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">As
I said it was cool and wet Saturday morning, my plan had been to take
my car to the shop at 8 and do short 30 minute run home...you know that
rain started right as I was about to leave the house. I went back and
forth with myself on if I should call for a ride instead of running. I
started to dial the phone at least 3 times before I just decided to HTFU
and run in the rain. And as usual it was not near as bad as I thought
it would be, although I’m not sure I would have wanted to run to much
longer. I even managed to make it to the pool! After 7 weeks of no
swimming I didn’t expect much but I did manage 1000 slow yards. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">Sunday
was a beautiful day for a ride! The temps were perfect and although I
didn’t get in a full metric century I did get just a bit over 40 miles
in. I stuck to the bike paths, some of the ones around my area are
amazingly empty and it was really quite nice. Even though they are flat I
actually find them kind of challenging because of the fact that, like
being on the trainer you really never get a break you just keep
pedaling. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">Questions and observations from a weekend of training.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">Why do some men feel the need to wear bike shorts and tuck in their t-shirts?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">Why do so many people that ride wear gloves and no helmets? Are their hands more important than their heads?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">Why
do people take a lap lane and then just hang out at one end, the other
end from the one where you would start, and never swim a single lap?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">Why do people not understand sharing a swim lane when the rest are full? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">Why do people wear head phones and then ride down the middle of a bike path?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">Over all a good and productive weekend! Hope you all had a great weekend too! </span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-20436086712332540322012-05-15T06:30:00.000-06:002012-05-15T06:49:54.992-06:00Tuesday Truths and Tidbits<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">I’ve done some kind of training 5 out of 7 days for the last 3 weeks. Much better than I had been doing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">10 days until my oldest son Josh graduates high school. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">I’ve been to the pool zero times in the last 7 weeks. Is that good for someone who plans to do a 70.3 in August? Need to change that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">I’ve had some pretty good long rides, 40ish miles, but can tell my bike fitness is nowhere near it was last year. This past weekend was a long ride of about 54 miles 40 of which were enjoyable. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0AlVom725ZJmIoPzMcey1G-2EgOfaI-IZb_OTpS3D0Kp2rKLl0MEXZl23IH8M_re9cC3VbP7Paap6XZGd4p0UaKuGW-MC7ut_FJ-AP1A7ho0EvgDyq0U_9_9PgWdKFm1HcMvQq7wiUKG6/s1600/Can+you+imagine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0AlVom725ZJmIoPzMcey1G-2EgOfaI-IZb_OTpS3D0Kp2rKLl0MEXZl23IH8M_re9cC3VbP7Paap6XZGd4p0UaKuGW-MC7ut_FJ-AP1A7ho0EvgDyq0U_9_9PgWdKFm1HcMvQq7wiUKG6/s320/Can+you+imagine.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">Some of you may have seen this <a href="http://youjusthavetotri.blogspot.com/2011/01/can-you-imagine.html">picture</a>......</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">It shows the amount of weight I had worked hard and lost last year. Thirty pounds. Sadly I’ve gained about 2/3 of this back. No wonder riding and running is harder. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">I have a metric century this weekend. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">I’m not very excited about the way my pants fit...or actually the way they don’t fit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">My
youngest son, Zach wants to get a mohawk, not really fond of the idea,
but well it’s only hair, and it’s not the first time I guess. He had
one, one summer when he was much younger. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">I wish I was having more fun. With the training, and you know looking forward to racing. I’m not. Have you ever lost it? Will it come back? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJP7W-ces2dLaHGFEta2RcOwSQKbG63aj4hsd9JOutEq3_4yTILZy80GsXquYwMaWEynA1YiAjizc3mmTq0U-xTcCWplmE8i68Y0Zc4SWU03e_lKB_-AmSM1oObMFXBRBD9P6iqx7zPY5/s1600/IMG_2667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJP7W-ces2dLaHGFEta2RcOwSQKbG63aj4hsd9JOutEq3_4yTILZy80GsXquYwMaWEynA1YiAjizc3mmTq0U-xTcCWplmE8i68Y0Zc4SWU03e_lKB_-AmSM1oObMFXBRBD9P6iqx7zPY5/s320/IMG_2667.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">Do your drawers look like this? Really Julie? You may have a problem. These are all exercise clothes.....3 drawers! And there are a bunch of them that aren't even in there because they are dirty or still hanging up after being washed. It's crazy! I'm certain I have more exercise clothes than any other. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">I've been a crying fool recently...I cry at everything...and sometimes it's not just the watery eyes but full out sobbing...over tv shows! Really...it's crazy...or maybe I'm crazy.... </span><br />
<br /></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-39201558335388569112012-05-02T13:27:00.002-06:002012-05-02T13:27:46.666-06:00Motivation......I need some..... <br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ZER0LUymzsA" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-59932343533447697152012-04-26T07:08:00.001-06:002012-04-26T07:08:46.917-06:00Three Thing Thursday...Celebrations1. Mom and Dad are home! Yea!!!!!! After just shy of 10 weeks in the hospital, I picked them up at the airport yesterday. It is oh so good to see them back in Denver. While mom will still have some work to do on getting back to full strength she can now do it from her own home.<br />
<br />
2. This guy turned 18 yesterday. Wow unbelievable how fast the time goes. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDmwdLE538tpAu11GSa41vyYLoCJPrWhgDujw2TMfaPD2fMXIAOcsd_2z0ctj5rj0my7pC1lyRjSjnuNrTtxtSuCV0rRrJ5EdWHkc4IwgRkhtZWVmUT_KxSt43XeZzBcS3F_7rzDkBDey/s1600/IMG_2641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWDmwdLE538tpAu11GSa41vyYLoCJPrWhgDujw2TMfaPD2fMXIAOcsd_2z0ctj5rj0my7pC1lyRjSjnuNrTtxtSuCV0rRrJ5EdWHkc4IwgRkhtZWVmUT_KxSt43XeZzBcS3F_7rzDkBDey/s320/IMG_2641.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Prom this past weekend</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OuTb3PAjXUD8zXbm6TypbKJE0s-T1xLmzE-6wp_4FPJR-qZsAv9yzLPV-qjfWnSdx7gPJh7fQkk8bQM9uaSufr9ir9LS09pMOoLg_YlbMZQrKwz5ZkBhXF5Ojx26Wnk1pglsQMT4MtmB/s1600/2011+Josh+%252810+of+121%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OuTb3PAjXUD8zXbm6TypbKJE0s-T1xLmzE-6wp_4FPJR-qZsAv9yzLPV-qjfWnSdx7gPJh7fQkk8bQM9uaSufr9ir9LS09pMOoLg_YlbMZQrKwz5ZkBhXF5Ojx26Wnk1pglsQMT4MtmB/s320/2011+Josh+%252810+of+121%2529.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Senior picture</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
3. Not quite as important...I got new shoes! I went with the men's to see if the wider width would be better. So far I think I like them, but I've only got a few miles on them. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRYjo8hLjnW0dMyC3qZjV1dW6w9oB72W41-daRyzluYNc64yWISvH5q8Nt2-PBhxZV1ACuLKIhI-1e6H9bJrgHwvaj8yk8VONX71am4zFyEgWo5zD3WJb6z8GqEcGcRJ18EhqMSf-6qHIJ/s1600/20127-3_1_700x700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRYjo8hLjnW0dMyC3qZjV1dW6w9oB72W41-daRyzluYNc64yWISvH5q8Nt2-PBhxZV1ACuLKIhI-1e6H9bJrgHwvaj8yk8VONX71am4zFyEgWo5zD3WJb6z8GqEcGcRJ18EhqMSf-6qHIJ/s320/20127-3_1_700x700.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-28457847453467606602012-04-16T20:13:00.001-06:002012-04-16T20:13:50.243-06:00Glad that’s done....Platte River ½ Marathon Race Report<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">I’m
going to keep this short, none of you want to hear me whine, and I
could (and have) believe me. The race and packet pick up is well organized and smooth, and although this is
the 2<sup>nd</sup> time I’ve run this race I’ve yet to participate in any
of the finish line festivities. The only positive about my race is
that I got to see some friends. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1sqpdelO-UQrpr1LDgNyE1ObpHCyNsV0alaQpez6SMjVItgbXSOy1SSkyd_7d2YiO2D3ZKqdd9ry6QBN3kFHPvR7PkxRVYDaq4tLKYxGO2C1VC3OsZx45Vydf3UtcG50nYgvvvkGppx1S/s1600/IMG_2629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1sqpdelO-UQrpr1LDgNyE1ObpHCyNsV0alaQpez6SMjVItgbXSOy1SSkyd_7d2YiO2D3ZKqdd9ry6QBN3kFHPvR7PkxRVYDaq4tLKYxGO2C1VC3OsZx45Vydf3UtcG50nYgvvvkGppx1S/s320/IMG_2629.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";"> <a href="http://runwithjill.blogspot.com/">Jill </a>and I (I was as thrilled to be there as I look) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQhybEUBudSzjQ2HXYmmPS2F1mLp7ocK_CAgzOQuSrwKuQMJhwmteNpA4IVfOavMTmx5fxKjM9kKIGUcR5HCyXHhWtSlAkvb5OMOmG6CZk3K3i-ucat_9Fk8vL4mBzufezpB8mWhA9mrKI/s1600/IMG_2630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQhybEUBudSzjQ2HXYmmPS2F1mLp7ocK_CAgzOQuSrwKuQMJhwmteNpA4IVfOavMTmx5fxKjM9kKIGUcR5HCyXHhWtSlAkvb5OMOmG6CZk3K3i-ucat_9Fk8vL4mBzufezpB8mWhA9mrKI/s320/IMG_2630.JPG" width="320" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://kathleen-daretodream.blogspot.com/">Kathleen </a>, me, Meg </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">As
you know I went into this race very under trained. Now while some
people might have the fitness base to carry them through it...I
obviously do not. It hurt. Yes other races hurt, but not like this.
Miles 1-5 were not too bad, I have no idea what my times were as I
walked out of the house without my Garmin, miles 5-10 were tolerable.
Some running some walking, by miles 11-13 I was pretty darn miserable
and most of my time was spent walking. The wind had picked up and at
times felt like you were being pushed backwards. The temps dropped and
there were a few sprinkles here and there. Everything hurt, I felt like
I was dragging my left leg along for the ride, it was kind of a strange sensation. The
last mile was ridiculous. There is a bridge over the highway, while it’s
not a huge hill it is a hill, really the only of the course, and the
bridge seemed to go on forever and ever, thank god for the fence on the
side of the bridge because the wind gusts were so strong they were
literally blowing us over. In the end I achieved a personal worst of
3:02.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">The
only other thing I have to say is that I will never go into a race of
this length feeling so completely under trained. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">Now it is time to get
down to business....when I stop hurting.... :)</span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-34850588094456741522012-04-05T06:30:00.000-06:002012-04-05T06:30:02.399-06:00What's for Dinner? Couscous Confetti Salad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoA7m682PJlxJoBXxvI73NZ1Ruvv5sJZsCWIyGkwhe9pakjuZCw-rBnftwJeVrXa4lFq3hqQlzSTXzB6e432has-MqfPbVDOEF_p_A01s_5-qMksBmcT5JvpDxByp45JGSdqjioa7LJoFK/s1600/IMG_2607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoA7m682PJlxJoBXxvI73NZ1Ruvv5sJZsCWIyGkwhe9pakjuZCw-rBnftwJeVrXa4lFq3hqQlzSTXzB6e432has-MqfPbVDOEF_p_A01s_5-qMksBmcT5JvpDxByp45JGSdqjioa7LJoFK/s320/IMG_2607.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
This is not a great photo, but trust me this was really tasty! To make it more of a meal I added chickpeas and it was great! I liked it slightly warm after first mixing the hot couscous and I really liked it cold. I did heat it one time too and didn't care for that as much.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nutritionmd.org/recipes/view.html?recipe_id=189">Couscous Confetti Salad </a><br />
Makes about 8 1-cup servings<br />
<i>Couscous is pasta from northern Africa that cooks almost
instantly and makes a beautiful and flavorful salad. Whole-wheat
couscous is sold in natural food stores and some supermarkets. </i><br />
1 <sup>1</sup>/<sub>2</sub>
cups
dry whole-wheat couscous
<br />
2
cups
boiling water
<br />
3
- 4
green onions, finely chopped, including tops
<br />
1
red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
<br />
1
carrot, grated
<br />
1
- 2
cup
finely
shredded red cabbage
<br />
<sup>1</sup>/<sub>2</sub>
cup
finely
chopped fresh parsley
<br />
<sup>1</sup>/<sub>2</sub>
cup
golden raisins or chopped dried apricots
<br />
1
juice of 1
lemon
<br />
<sup>1</sup>/<sub>4</sub>
cup
seasoned rice vinegar
<br />
1
tablespoon
olive oil
<br />
1
teaspoon
curry powder
<br />
1 <sup>1</sup>/<sub>2</sub>
teaspoons
salt
<br />
<br />
In a large bowl, combine couscous and boiling water. Stir to mix,
then cover and let stand until all the water has been absorbed, 5 to 10
minutes. Fluff with a fork. <br />
<br />
Add green onions, bell pepper, carrot, cabbage, parsley, and raisins or apricots. <br />
<br />
In a small bowl mix lemon juice, vinegar, oil, curry powder, and salt.
Add to salad and toss to mix. Serve at room temperature or chilled.Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-30624481782376051842012-04-01T19:50:00.000-06:002012-04-01T19:50:31.958-06:00Well...glad I got that out of the way for the year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN75i8Cl4NNaRsv4MNMBUnyHdaoW4L3hjtWMWN-vgYTShfaA_vGYxJGa2PdYRkQD2OgfsNgIHCWtmDXH8aH_NVTs6pbpZ8OHQk7J_6LVVB5mdoi8ZQXknJfVVpdOoV5bzKuQIRWle-1Xup/s1600/IMG_2625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN75i8Cl4NNaRsv4MNMBUnyHdaoW4L3hjtWMWN-vgYTShfaA_vGYxJGa2PdYRkQD2OgfsNgIHCWtmDXH8aH_NVTs6pbpZ8OHQk7J_6LVVB5mdoi8ZQXknJfVVpdOoV5bzKuQIRWle-1Xup/s320/IMG_2625.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Yep...I fell over on my bike (and I hope that it is the only time this year!) I tried to make a really sharp turn while maneuvering thought these bumpy things and the next thing you know... boom. <a href="http://runwithjill.blogspot.com/"> Jill</a> managed to contain most of her laughter while I'm sure being very thankful it wasn't her. It could have been worse, and it didn't stop it from being a beautiful ride and as always a great time. The weather here in Denver has just been crazy warm. 80's both days this weekend! It will be interesting to see what the rest of spring and summer brings us. <br />
<br />
Week 2 of 70.3 training brought still no two- a- day workouts, but another week of 6 workouts. 4 - runs, 1- swim and 1 - bike. Still not where I need to be but luckily there is plenty of time for improvements. I did have more miles running this week than I have since last spring. Although I was close to this mileage at the end of my 70.3 training last year. That is not to say it was good. I had only 17 miles, not near enough with a 1/2 mary in two weeks. Today's "long" run of 7 miles was slow, really slow and in fact was mostly a 2 minute run 1 minute walk. Lucky for me those I will be doing it with have had as many issues as I and are no better trained. :) I think it will just be a fun run/walk with friends. This weekends "long" run will likely be my last before the 1/2. Not because I need to taper :) but because I'll be heading to Florida for a long weekend visit with my Mom and Dad. I'm excited to see them and with any luck it will help them to have a different face around for a few days. Mom seems to be improving slowly but steadily. I'm hoping that this week will bring no setbacks and lots of gains! I told her I would like to see her out of bed and walking some when I get there. <br />
<br />Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-82032240148418156892012-03-26T20:11:00.000-06:002012-03-26T20:11:02.450-06:00I should have just stayed in bed this year...<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">Things
continue to be a little crazy in my world. 2012 just doesn’t seem to be
off to a real great start but I sure hope that’s changing soon! I seem to break most things I touch the last few weeks. From my stove to my car. On the positive side, while still far from close to coming home, mom has had a couple of pretty good days so the more we can string together the better off we will be. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">As
for week 1 of 70.3 training. Well I wouldn’t say I nailed it but I do
feel like I’m back in the routine of training each day. I only missed
one day last week, what I didn’t do was get some of the two a days in.
So I managed 2 swims – 3 runs and one bike. This week we will work on
doubling up a couple of times.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">Diet,
that too was much improved last week. Not perfect by any means but
there was some control there. I actually decided to try to incorporate
some vegetarian days into my diet. I’m not sure why other than that
truly I don’t really eat that much meat as it is. I am not ready, and
may never be ready to commit to being a vegetarian, I really do like a
good hamburger once in awhile, but I thought it would be interesting to
see if I miss it. I really didn’t. I went 4 days with no meat and the
other 3 I ate at least a little meat. When my older son Josh heard this he threatened to
move out if I became a vegetarian....a little bit of an idle threat...
especially when he leaves for the Marines in June. I’m going to continue
to try for at least 4 meatless days a week. And along that lines I have
a really good couscous salad recipe that I made and will try to post
later this week, the meat lover son even liked it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";">Training for ½ marathon that is coming up on the 15<sup>th</sup>
of April, that’s right... 3 weeks from yesterday...that has not improved
much. I managed to make it 6 miles yesterday. They are 6 of the slowest
miles I’ve done in.....well a long time. This has the very real
potential of being a personal worst, and my worst was already pretty
bad. My first ½ was right at 3 hours, yes I’m slow. I had high hopes of
being able to get under 2:30 at this one, I was close last year and
prior to the ending of my training mid February I was on track to break 2:30 but those 4
weeks with no running have just left me with what seems like no fitness
at all.I'll just keep plugging away and even if I have to walk the whole thing I will be out there doing that 1/2. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";"></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-82586697754997690652012-03-19T06:30:00.000-06:002012-03-19T06:30:00.061-06:00Focus....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://blogs.umflint.edu/universityrelations/files/2011/11/Focus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://blogs.umflint.edu/universityrelations/files/2011/11/Focus.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
There has been no focus in my life recently. And really there is no reason for not getting back in control of my eating and exercise. It has been bad for the last month. Now it is going to stop. I am going to find my focus...maybe that 1/2 marathon in 4 weeks. That Century in 11 weeks or that 70.3 in 20 weeks. <br />
<br />
Today starts my 20 week 70.3 plan. <br />
<br />
<h2>
If it's important to you, you'll find a way. If not...you'll find an excuse.</h2>
<div class="byline">
</div>Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8909813619387077142.post-85704105466438452782012-03-15T12:08:00.002-06:002012-03-15T12:08:54.302-06:00Thursday Three – Things could be better...but things could be much worse.1. First off thanks to all for you concern about my Mom. It is turning out to be a very long road. At the end of last week things were going great but then on Sunday Mom started feeling really bad. On Tuesday they decided that she had something called C. Diff which is caused when the antibiotics kill not only the bad bacteria but the good. She was feeling very bad for a few days and while she is starting to feel a little better she obviously has not made progress in the strength department. She had been getting up and walking some with the walker but that came to an hault. She also ended up on oxygen and IV’s again. Hopefully she will soon feel strong enough to start walking and exercising again. Good news is that the pneumonia that she went in for is all cleared up. Tomorrow will start week 5 of the hospital adventure. And week 6ish since the left Colorado. Keeping my fingers crossed that they will be able to come home soon!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
2. Motivation.....lacking. I’ve gotten some workouts in, but not near what I should. Running is just killing me. I was doing pretty darn good on training for the ½ marathon I have coming up in just about a month, but all that went out the window with being out of town and this darn cold. I’ve been out to run a few times but it feels so hard. My heart rate is much higher than it was, my lungs are not yet clear and my calves especially are very tight. Although I occasionally have this little “thing” in my butt too. It’s not the same place as when I was problems before so I don’t know if it is the same thing or not. Most of the time I don’t even notice it, but occasionally it likes to speak to me. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
3. Monday will be 20 weeks until Boulder 70.3. I need to pick a plan and get started. I’m thinking I may just go with the one I used last year from Beginner Triathlete. Overall I thought it was pretty good last year and it’s nice that you can import it to your log and see it all laid out. Maybe this will help with my motivation. Do you have a favorite plan that you use?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Keeping a positive attitude....<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Juliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15944445755726396280noreply@blogger.com12