UNITED We TRI

We are getting close to race day for the Share a Smile Triathlon! Only four weeks until we should all start our tapers for race week! Are you getting your miles in on your bike? Are you getting your laps done in the pool? Are you getting the minutes in running around town? I know summer months are cRaZy months for trying to get workouts in! So keep up the good work! You will love the feeling you will have after you cross the finish line on August 23rd! Just a reminder: We are putting an order together for race shirts for our "tri crew" for this race. The logo is above. If you'd like a shirt, let me know ASAP. We need to order soon. Again, $15 for a t-shirt, $20 for a tech shirt. We will all look so cool in our shirts! Good luck in the remaining weeks of training! Let me know about shirts! Even if you are not racing with us this time, if you think you might want to race with us in the future, get a shirt! Or, if you just want to support the UNITED We TRI crew, get a shirt! And you can look cool, too! You know the line from the movie "Grease"..."If you can't be an athlete, be an athletic supporter!" Ciao for now!

Go Green or Go Home

Gas prices are at an ALL time high and show no sign of slowing down. I thought about buying a scooter to ride here, there and everywhere, but decided that I should save my money. Instead, I have decided to bike to work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Yes, I am crazy. But, this accomplishes two things. 1) I am getting my workout in for the day. 2) I am saving money. So, please drive super safe on Tuesdays and Thursdays...and be nice to other bikers on the road EVERYDAY!

Lost in a Parking Lot

I left this afternoon for a walk with my work-walk-buddy, Laura. We decided to do the Jordan Parkway route and enjoy a stroll by the river. We decided when heading back that we were going to see if we could find a short cut through the parking lot of an apartment complex. I had to draw the line at climbing a fence. We finally made it back to work...sweaty, hot, and winded. I am so out of shape. I have got to up the intensity, frequency, and duration of my workouts. XTERRA knocks at the door...

Sharma and I have been designing a t-shirt for the race in August. Looks like we have come up with a winner. If you only knew how many versions of this design there were...Wow. Hats off to graphic designers. There are folks traveling from many different lands to compete in the Share a Smile Tri. A large group of us from UTah, Sharma from IDaho, and Wende from NEbraska. I took the abbreviations for each state and came up with UNITED. Thus: UNITED WE TRI.

If you'd like a shirt, let me know by 18 July 2008. Cost is $15 for a t-shirt, $20 for a tech shirt. Design is below! Will someone turn the AC on?

Let The Games Begin!!!

With the Olympics just around the corner, and warmer weather knocking dangerously on Utah's door, I am very excited to start training in earnest for triathlon events this summer! Dennis and I did not do the Shark Attack tri last weekend. He has a stress fracture and my knees are just barely getting "better" after our trip to Japan. (I know I need to have my knees scoped and cleaned up...but I am procrastinating.) Zach and Tyron and I are doing the XTERRA Mountain Championship in Ogden in August. We are doing this race as a relay. I will swim, Zach will mountain bike, and Tyron will do the trail run. Zach has done this race in the past and says it is a BLAST! I am looking forward to it. The FOLLOWING week, many friends and family (Wende and Sharma are coming!) are gathering to do the Share a Smile Triathlon in Orem. If you will remember, this was the FIRST race I did last year. So keep the following dates on your calendar :: Saturday 16 August 2008 :: XTERRA MOUNTAIN CHAMPIONSHIP and Saturday 23 August 2008 :: Share a Smile Triathlon. See you all at the races!

More Iron Girl Photos

Divas Las Vegas!

I honestly can't believe I finished the innagural AFLAC IRON GIRL LAKE LAS VEGAS TRIATHLON!!! My race was not pretty, and it was not fast, but I finished! Yeah, the guy in the white suit on the beach in front of the competitors... yeah, that's Elvis. And yes, that is a large inflated duck in the background. "AFLAAAAAC!"

The swim really threw me for a loop. The swim was seriously the ONE thing I was not worried about. I love to swim! I am a good swimmer! The water in Lake Las Vegas was sooooo very cold! I was not able to get my face in the water, get a good rhythm going, and really get moving! The swim took me three times as long as I anticipated. Every time I would try to get something together as far as a stroke was concerned, the tempurature of the water totally took my breath away. I finally calmed myself down, created a new breaststroke, and somehow managed to finish the 600 meter frigid swim. Sharma hauled in the water! I was so proud of her! She took off on the beach and never looked back! I wouldn't see Sharma again until my second loop on the bike course. On to T1:

I made it out of the water and then up the hill to the transition area. I did not practice getting out of my wetsuit "quickly". I saw women spraying Pam Cooking Spray on the outside of their wetsuits before the race. Now I know why. I was having a rough time getting my right foot out of the wetsuit for some lame reason. Finally, I sat down in the transition area and took the darn thing off. While I was still seated, I put on my shoes and SOCKS!!! Yes, I remembered socks this time! But, alas, wearing socks still did not prevent me from getting blisters on my big toes. Oh well, what's an endurance race without some sort of injury to show for it? I left the transition area and headed out on the bike.

Loop #1 was okay. Big climb (for me) was the first on the agenda. I walked my bike. I really need to get over my mental block for biking and hills. Note to self: Work on that. After climbing a hill, you get to go down the hill. This was GREAT! I think I hit my all time top speed ever of over 18 miles per hour! I don't like to go down hills either... Note to self: Work on that. At the bottom of the hill, yet another climb was laid out in front of me. Steeper than the first, but a shorter distance. Again, what goes up, must come down. Hooray!

As I began Loop #2, what should my wondering eyes should appear? SHARMA!!! She had just come off the hills of the run portion of the race. She looked great and looked as if she was finishing strong! Of course she was finishing strong! Loop #2 was much harder. Could it be that I was getting very tired? Or was it simply the fact that I am just not that great on the bike? Probably a combination of the two. But I finished. I completed the bike. Final leg: The 5K run.

Here's Sharma...coming into the transition area from the run...See how strong she looks?? :)

T2 to run. The first part of the run was long, slow, and very dusty. Not to mention, we got to climb two killer hills in the dust. The NBC helicopter filming the pros was doing a really good job of kicking up more dust and debris. I met the coolest lady on the run. Ms. Linda from Virginia Beach. She was great! We finished the race together. She was so positive and so supportive. Aren't we cute? (I'll post a better picture of us at the end of the blog!)

Dennis actually walked with Linda and me as we finished the race. Nearing the finish line a race volunteer kicked Dennis off the course. The pros were passing us. I don't feel bad about that at all...the pros passing us. You go, girls!!!

As I finished the race, I accomplished a goal of mine: to finish smiling. It was not hard to finish smiling because I had my husband, my mom, Sharma, Nate, and their kids, my aunt Ilah, and Jeremy there to cheer me on. How could I do anything BUT smile? I gave Linda from Virginia Beach a hug and that was it. We were done.

Here are some fun finish photos:

Here is Hollie and Linda from Virginia Beach:

Another WAY COOL thing that happened was that I met Judy!!! She was as warm in person as she was in our email communications. I do hope we stay in touch and that we "bump" in to one another at future races! Thanks again, Judy for all your words of encouragement and support! You are a ROCKSTAR!!!

And now, for my tribute: To my training partner, and neurotic "twin"...Sharma. Girl, I could not have done this without you. You are truly the poster child for IRON GIRL. I am amazed and inspired by you. I love you!!!! I can't wait to race with you again!

Race Week!

Believe it or not! It is FINALLY race week! It seems like forever since I registered for the Iron Girl! And it kind of has been forever! I registered on 10 December 2007! I am excited, ready, nervous, excited, and nervous all at the same time. I swam in my wetsuit on Saturday. Love, love, LOVED it!!! Thanks ZOOT for a great suit! Sharma has a ZOOT suit, too! We'll be twinners! I went to REI on Saturday for some race day nutrition. I guess I need to just start putting my gear in my bags and get ready to hit the road!!! More to come after the race this weekend! Wish me luck! See you at the finish line!!!