Three More Sleeps...

...until the Ironman!!!

Insanity

Things are crazy around here! I saw it lurking on the horizon like a storm cloud rolling in from the distance, but now that it has actually descended upon me I realize it's not just any old storm...it's more like being caught outside during a tornado. Lucky for me, I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie (as my realtor keenly observed) and I tend to be very productive in times like these. Here's just a taste of what the current 3 weeks of my life are like: it began with the trip to Boise for the 70.3 triathlon this past weekend, while Albert and Sherman headed off to Portland for a week to visit family and run what ended up to be a non-existent 5K at the Portland Track Festival. We are also attempting to close on a house before the 30th (fingers crossed for the tax credit!) and with Albert being gone I am the one responsible for organizing fun things like the house inspection. Not to mention we are less than 2 weeks out from Ironman Coeur d'Alene (my first stab at the distance!)...and we'd like to move ASAP after that event...in time for my parents and college roommate Courtney to roll in from Indiana for a visit. At the same time. Which means a very full house (Courtney will have her 10-year-old daughter with her) and only 1 bathroom no matter which way you look at it. But a place with 4 bedrooms and 1 bathroom (for 6 people) is WAY better than a place with only 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom!

Needless to say, I don't have much spare time right now. So this recap will have to be short (by my standards, that is).

The Boise race on Saturday was my final tune-up going into IM CDA. I'm mostly pleased with this race, but there is part of me kicking myself for not sucking it up and being a little tougher in dealing with a rough patch on the run. I had a legitimate shot at being on the podium and I blew it between miles 5-8 when my stomach started doing something funny and I was reduced to walking in patches. Damn! Even so, I'm pleased to have mixed it up with some ladies who have pretty impressive resumes and I'm heartened to be in striking distance at this stage of my training. The swim and the bike were dreamy...I was out of the water in 2nd place thanks to my BlueSeventy Helix wetsuit, then held that position until about mile 35 of the bike. The two girls who passed me before T2 are both very strong cyclists and I was pleased to have held them off that long. The run started off well, then I hit that rough spot around mile 5 and took a few miles to get it together again. Here's a big THANK YOU to my friend and PowerBar teammate Tim Hola for offering up some encouraging words when I was struggling out there! I started feeling better just before mile 8 and picked up enough steam from there to finish strong. Two girls passed me on the run which unfortunately landed me in 6th place, just one spot off the podium. Next time! It was my highest finish at an Ironman branded event, and with the stellar field I have to be pleased with the overall result.

Boise itself is an AWESOME little vibrant city, situated in a picturesque location and full of friendly and enthusiastic people. If I were not buying a house in Utah I would seriously consider moving there. The course was great, the spectators and volunteers were amazing, and it was honestly the most fun half ironman event I've ever done. Thanks to the race directors and the city for putting on a good show, and to my wonderful homestay Rachel Corey for adopting me for the weekend! And congrats to all the people from Salt Lake who made the trip up for the race...way to represent SLC!

Discovery

In the course of training for an Ironman I have discovered that I really enjoy doing long solo bike rides...really REALLY long solo bike rides...followed by long runs (of the 10+ mile variety)...

Can't wait for Coeur d'Alene!

Girls On The Run

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to participate as a running buddy in the Girls On The Run 5K at Sugarhouse Park. Girls On The Run is a wonderful program aimed at getting elementary-aged girls involved in running, giving them a sense of empowerment and achievement and promoting a healthy and active lifestyle. One of the masters swimmers that I help coach, Susan DeYoung, is a GOTR coach at Backman Elementary and she recruited me to be a running buddy for one of her girls. We did a practice 5K at the school about month prior to the "real deal", so I had already met my runner, Jenny, and was looking forward to pacing her through another 5K. I knew this would be tougher because the course at Sugarhouse is hillier than what we practiced on, but there was no doubt in my mind that Jenny could do it!

Despite being hot and (relatively) humid, it was a great morning for a run. The festivities started early, with face-painting and hair-coloring available for the girls, as well as samples of Jamba Juice for everyone. After meeting our runners at their designated table, all the different schools came together for a group warm-up led by Cari Jung of OPT-IN Fitness. Then we headed over to the start line and the horn went off! The course consisted of two laps around the road in the park, then a little straightaway at the end into the finish line. Jenny got pretty hot during the run because she was wearing long pants, but by adopting a strategy of alternating running with walking and making sure to stay hydrated she was able to pace herself and complete the 5K in a respectable time. It was so awesome to run down the finishing chute with everyone cheering for her! Each girl got a medal as they crossed the line, and everyone also got pink GOTR t-shirts with the race #1. It was really great not only to see so many girls running, but to also see a lot of familiar adult faces out there supporting the cause. My clients Rebecca and Jordan brought their cute fluffy dog Beau along to run with their two younger kids, and I also bumped into another lady I trained for a while, Shelley Snow. It was a great event and is something I'm excited about being involved with again next year.