New Website

So now you know! In addition to sitting around eating bon bons and reading trashy magazines, I have been busy making some fun changes! The first one you will notice is that I have moved my blog to www.gofastmichelle.com.

Please stop by and take a look, subscribe and bookmark it and let me know what you think!

Bunnies For Boobies!

This is a repeat post from a couple of months ago!! Bunnies for Boobies needs your donations! Please consider donating to this worthy cause (breast cancer) and supporting our team! The Pink Chase Fundraiser is next weekend (December 12). Help us kick some breast cancer ass!

So who do you know? I'm sure there is someone. Someone you know that has breast cancer. Or someone who has survived. And maybe even someone who has died. 1 in 8. That is the statistic. In your lifetime, you or someone in your circle of friends and colleagues will be diagnosed with breast cancer. That is a frightening statistic. I know many people......my mom, a grandma, a friend's mom, did I mention my mom, and a friend diagnosed at age 39. I also know Amy who was recently diagnosed at age 31 while 35 weeks pregnant. I know women that have died. And I'm only 40....how many more women that I know will have this diagnosis in the next 10 years? 20 years? How many do you know?

Clearly, more research and money need to be thrown at this cause. So I have teamed up with fellow triathletes and general badass chicas Amy Dannwolf and PIC Sonja Wieck to form Team Bunnies For Boobies and participate in K2's Pink Chase Fundraiser. The Pink Chase raises money for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, a foundation committed to finding a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime by providing critical funding for innovative clinical and translational research at leading medical centers worldwide and increasing public awareness about good breast health.

What is the Pink Chase all about? This is the fun part......teams of three women compete for the most vertical skied, most creative costumes, and most money raised. Amy, Sonja, and I are all over this challenge!! Not only are we triathletes and general outdoor enthusiasts, but we also love to ski and rip it up on the slopes! And since we are all not really competitive (hahahaha), we are completely excited to go and rip up Keystone Mountain on December 12 and compete for the grand prize.

How do you fit in the picture? Well, we need your support!! Powder7 and Smith Optics have already committed to supporting our team (remember, that's Bunnies For Boobies) and now we need your help!! Please consider making a donation here, and remember that lots of companies will MATCH your donation!! Amy, Sonja, and I want to make a difference and are committed to this cause. Please help us out!!

By the way, I just mentioned Powder7 and if you are looking for skis this is the place to go! Check them out!

Smith Optics is a sponsor of the Pink Chase and is helping out Bunnies For Boobies out as well, check out these googles we will be wearing (in hot pink of course)!

So please, consider making a donation! And remember, grope your wife/girlfriend and save the boobies!

Rest, review, repeat

Rest, recover, recuperate. Who knew I needed all of these things after a long season? I didn't know. I had no idea.

But I started my race season way back in April. April!! Rage in the Sage in Vegas (BABY!). It seemed a bit early at the time but at that point my race season was to be over mid-September. And I distinctly remember eagerly awaiting the race because the off-season had gone on too long. Oy. Two days after Rage, I lit my headlamp and started running down the Grand Canyon. And kept running all the way to the other side and up a bit too. Until my knees started giving me trouble and I turned around and ran back. For 38 miles I had an incredible adventure.

Beth and me at Rage

Grand Canyon

The month of May came and went and I rediscovered my legs after a couple months of "over" training. And I decided to run BolderBoulder for the first time. Then there was the Hugo Bike Race at the end of May (78 miles!) and racing was an absolute blast. And I was training with my peeps and feeling good.

Me, Sonja, Beth post-78 mile road race

And June? Well that's where my season started to go long. I went to Kansas to race in my first 70.3 and qualified for Worlds. And really, who can turn down a spot to Worlds? Certainly not me!! So I forked over my $300 and made plans to be in Clearwater in November......I didn't race Lake to Lake because at the last minute I decided to haul the girls to Hawaii for my sister's wedding. (good decision!)

That's my Clearwater spot!!

Aloha

July came and went, with only one race...Boulder Peak (and the first time EVAH I went to the med tent). But I also met my new love, my new-to-me tri bike Newt and we started spending quality time together. At high speeds. Ahhh, still makes my heart flutter!!

Newt ready to race at State Games sprint

August was all about speedwork. A sprint at the beginning of the month and Nationals 3 weeks later. And then 3 weeks after that, Worlds in Australia. Can you say whirlwind??

Nationals

Australia with Anthony, Sonja and Beth

And though my season when initially planned out was supposed to end after Worlds, I had one more Worlds to prepare for in Clearwater. But I really wanted to be done. And the weather turned too just to make it a bit more difficult. The beautiful "normal" October fall weather we have here in Colorado turned cold, wet and snowy. And the trainer had my name all over it...in October. I started to doubt my fitness and all the hard work I put in over the spring and summer. I didn't have many long days over 3 hours. But I managed to put a great race together.

Sonja and I racing together!!

Clearwater has come and gone and now I am setting up next year's race schedule!! I am so proud of this last season, I am almost sad to say goodbye to it! But I am ready to put it to bed and look forward to the challenges that 2010 will bring. A couple of bike races, a couple of half ironmans, a handful of oly distances, a worlds race. And the kicker? Ironman Arizona 2010. I'm signed up!

But back to resting, recoverying and all that good stuff. I got sick after Clearwater (and no I'm not blaming Sonja but she did start it!) and decided it was good to take a few days off. A few days turned into a conscious decision to actually take an entire WEEK off. I haven't done that since I had salmonella poisoning almost 3 years ago. The week went on and my cold didn't get better and I really had no good reason to swim, bike or run. It was kinda nice. I do admit to lots of lounging. And eating too because I think my appetite was still big from the race. I have been baking. And I have not missed training.

Until now! So, starting tomorrow morning I am back in the pool. And since I have a marathon in January (why, oh why did I pick a January marathon???) the miles will also pick up tomorrow!

So, with that....farewell to "last" season, and the 2 week "no" season, and hello to "off" season!!!

Ironman 70.3 Worlds Race Report

I am sitting here in my kitchen so thankful to be home with my family and to be in front of my beloved computer! I came home from Florida last night, it was 15 degrees in Colorado.....and I had a sunburn from being on the beach earlier in the day!

Sonja, Anthony and I arrived in beautiful Florida on Thursday afternoon. Except it wasn't that warm....lingering effects from Hurricane Ida had cooled things off. We quickly built our bikes, got a bite to eat and then headed over to Pier 60 for a look at the ocean in the dark. As we walked over, it became quite obvious that the ocean was, well, angry. It was roiling, wavy, and clearly not meant for swimming in. Although, of course, I'm thinking about a nationals repeat and a swimmers course. The buoys were not in yet. Huh?. Oh no....they won't cancel the swim will they?

Yes, it's a poor picture but here's the official logo in the sand

Friday morning rolled around and it was time to check in. This is where I got my first case of nerves.....I saw the sign....Ironman 70.3 WORLD Championships. Oh shit....what am I doing here? There are 75 women in my age group.....75 of the toughest women in the world..... AHHHHHH!!! Time to take a deep breath, smile, relax, and remember what my goals are for the race. It's not about everyone else. It's about me!!! Anywho, did you know they weigh you at these races? Crap. I hop on the scale (after taking everything off I possibly could without actually being naked in public). Didn't like the weight number. Didn't like the % body fat number. But I did like the third number....hydration. I was ready to race because I was peeing every hour!!

This is where I initially freaked out....

Being only my second 70.3 race, I am still not used to all these bags they give you, morning check in bag, bike bag, run bag.....I was a bag lady. We finally got everything packed up and it time to check the bags and bike in. Here was where I really started to realized how great the volunteers are at this race. I was greeted at transition by this volunteer who took my bags and walked me to where I was to rack my bike. He gave me a map of the new swim (yep, WTC decided to switch from the ocean to intracoastal bay) and walked me through everything I needed to know about bag drop, picking up the bags, changing tent (girls on the left!!).....it was friggin' awesome (those that went to the awards banquet will understand that reference)!!

We then went to check out the swim start and swim exit and realized that it was a time trial start. Yippee!!! Looking back at my Worlds experience in Australia, a big mistake I made for the swim was getting caught up in the beach start and looking for feet to follow, assuming there would be faster swimmers than me. It lead to me getting the crap kicked out of me in the swim and a relatively slow swim time. So it was important for me to stay in my own head and my own race at this swim start. But with a time trial start, I knew that it would be my race from the get-go. There would be no splashing around, kicking, fighting for position. Just me getting to the left/right of the line of swimmers and doing my own thing. I told this to Sonja too because I knew she could also have the same experience and I knew it would play right into her goal of having a kick-ass swim. (not to mention the fact that she has been puttin' time in the pool the last six weeks and also would play into the kick-ass swim)

The four of us (Son, Anthony, me and Steve) settled in early and relaxed. And then it was race morning! Sonja did a spectacular job of finding us a hotel 2 blocks from transition.....so we dropped off our bottles in the morning and went and relaxed back in our room before heading to the swim start. It. Was. Awesome. Avoiding the transition area craziness and chatter!!

Me and Son

Transition

Swim

OK, I will confess now. I did not warm up. I did not run. I did not swim. I did nothing. But apparently that was OK. I did, however, have to pee. Again. And then I realized that the pavement wasn't wet from people getting in and out of the water....say it with me....EWWWWW! So I joined in the fun! With that taken care of, I lined up and got in the water. The day had finally begun. I started out extraordinarily controlled and relaxed. My breathing was fantastic as was my sighting. I kept thinking about the pacing I had done in the pool in order to have the swim I wanted.....I was so tired of having mediocre swims!! I knew to start out slow and build into it....focus on turnover and breathing. I ran into some traffic but it wasn't too bad. I felt like I was flying in the water with minimal effort. It. Was. Friggin. Awesome. The swim exit was a bit crazy as we were essentially funneled in to a skinny, slippery ramp and there was traffic. But I swam as long as possible and got the heck out of the water. I didn't have a watch and had no idea what my time was but I felt great about my swim. So I smiled. At every spectator and volunteer. And I thanked every volunteer I encountered.

T1

I had a great number so I was able to pick out my bag right away and head into the tent. There were not one, but two volunteers there helping me out! OMG. I love this! They took off my wetsuit and asked me what I needed. And then they sent me on my way!

Bike

I picked up Newt, saw teamie Anthony, told him to have a great ride, got on my bike and off I went. Was this really going to be the draft fest I had been hearing so much about? My goal was to stay out of it and be legal. I kept my chain in the little ring to get my legs under me through the 12% short climb up the bridge and I started my garmin because I wanted my heart rate data to manage my effort. I was being passed from the get-go like I was standing still and naturally, I picked it up. And then I scolded myself.....what are you doing??? You have 56 miles, this is not an Oly race. Simmer down!!! Be true to yourself. And that was my motto for the rest of the ride. Be true to yourself. I knew where I needed to be via heart rate and I knew that I was going to be much more aggressive compared to my ride in Kansas. So I just settled in and smiled. At the spectators, at the people passing me, at the people I passed, at the volunteers. I was having fun! And, I was going fast. Everytime I checked my watch I was in the 22 - 24 mph range. Really? But, I was in fast and flat Florida and my heart rate was exactly where it needed to be. Weeeeeeee!!!!

For the first 24 miles of this ride, I was riding alone doing my own thing. I think I even asked myself at one point, where is the drafting? And then I found out. I started getting passed by PACKS of people. 10 - 20 deep. Really? Apparently, these peeps weren't too concerned about drafting and certainly not looking to avoid it. C'mon, just give it a try....race on your own!! And then it got scary. I was approaching a U-turn and a pack had overtaken me and I was being passed on the left and right. People yelling and accelerating into the U. OMG. Some f****r is going to take me down!!! I made it through that turn and just tried to get over to the right and let them go by. Saw a penalty tent and it was inexplicably empty. I finally got in a good place to drop back and be alone when I was overtaken. Again. By another deep pack. And once again, I was being passed on the RIGHT! AHHHHH!! DANGER DANGER!!!! I was trying to figure out where to go with this pack when I heard the officials motorcycle and was in a bad place. So I made a break for the front. I will pull these assholes if needed!! I went left, yelled at people that I was on the left and got to the front. Phew. This was crazy. But I avoided a possible penalty by moving to the front. And so it went from there, just trying to avoid pack after pack. I was kind of "on" my nutrition but I was also a bit concerned I hadn't taken enough in. My hydration seemed to be good because I had to pee again. But had I taken in enough calories???? Probably 500 calories on the bike....seems low. I looked around and I was on a flat bridge and it was absolutely beautiful. Water all around me. Sunny. 5 miles to go. I started shaking out my legs and headed back into town.

T2

You know what the volunteers did when I came into transition??? They took my bike!!!! I felt like a friggin' rock star!! It. Was. Awesome!! Picked up my bag and headed back into the change tent. Once again, I had my own personal assistant giving me water and asking me what I needed out of my bag. Hat? Yes. Gel? Yes. The area smelled suspiciously like urine but I wasn't about to pee on the seat.....and for the first time EVAH, I had to use a porta-potty during a race!! (as a side note on transition area porta-pottys......EWWWWW......c'mon peeps can't you hit the bowl? When you are pooping????????? EWWWWWW)

Run

I was out of transition and onto the run course and initial check of the body was good! My legs felt decent! And then I realized I had left my hat on the chair in T2. Crap that's my favorite hat. And then realized I hadn't taken off my top like I had intended so I could just run in my sports bra. Duh. Hello....race brain???

I soon realized that there were some pro women finishing up their first lap as I started my first. I saw Jodie Swallow ahead of me and heard she was fourth woman overall. And I seemed to be catching her. Huh? I looked at my watch and told myself to simmer down. But I felt good. I caught her. She passed me back and I was on her shoulder. I saw Sonja's dad and waved and smiled. And there was ELF (I read her blog) on the sidelines cheering for Jodie and telling me to stay with the fourth woman overall!! It. Was. Awesome. And then I passed her back on the hill. And never saw her again. Then I got passed by Laura Bennett, Sarah Groff, Amanda Stevens, and Michellie Jones!! I could reach out and touch a pro! But I didn't because that would be kinda weird. I continued to feel good but knew I had many miles to go. I took a sip of gatorade at each station and cooled off with the sponges.

Just so you know, this run course is a bitch. It is hard. It is not flat. It is 2 laps up and over the Memorial Causeway, which just happens to be a 12% grade. So, 4 hills over 13 miles. Very difficult. As I was coming in to finish my first lap I still felt OK. I started lap 2, and around mile 7 I started to hurt. Badly. My knee hurt. My feet hurt. My back hurt. My hip hurt. I had officially entered the hurt locker. Ugh. I still had 6 miles. Up and over my third hill. I just wanted to walk. I wanted to quit. I told myself there was no way I would do an Ironman next year or even ever do a 70.3 again. Never. I started the bargaining process....just run to the next block, the next tree, the next whatever. Constant forward motion. Just keep moving. Had I run out of nutrition? Possibly. One more hill and then the finish.

And then the best part of my day happened. Sonja had started 5 minutes behind me and I knew she would pass me at some point. And on that final hill, there she was. On my shoulder. She didn't say anything. Nor did I. We just climbed the hill. We crested the hill. I felt better with her there. I told her to go on and she said she was exactly where she needed to be plus she wanted to get her dad to take a picture of us racing together! She handed me water, told me to relax my shoulders. I told her to go. She said no. Then we saw Eric and got our picture and I sent her on her way. It. Was. Friggin'. Awesome. I am lucky enough to be able to train with this wonderful woman and she is an amazing training partner and friend but to be able to run with her in a race? That was the most amazing mile and a half. It brings tears to my eyes thinking about it.....Thank you Sonja!

Then there it was, the finish line. I smiled and crossed the finish line. I did not need the med tent, I did need advil. Anthony and Sonja were there and we did the thing we love to do.....cheer other competitors to the finish line. What a great day. Oh, and I will do another 70.3 and I will do an Ironman. Next year.

Here are the numbers:

Swim: 27:53 (Yippee!!! And, 2nd out of the water in age group!!)

T1: 3:28 (Listen, I really wasn't in any big hurry, I wanted to chat with the lovely volunteers!)

Bike: 2:23:33 (23.4mph!! Woot Woot!!)

T2: 3:27 (I had to pee peeps and clearly still not in that much of a rush!)

Run: 1:44:30 (didn't meet my goal of negative splitting but oh well!)

Total Time: 4:42:15

9th in Age Group!!!

Pier 60

Ahhh, the beach, toes in sand!

Building Again

Here's the latest update......I am building my house again after the "fire" (I really don't want to offend anyone that has actually been through an actual fire)! I picked up my computer yesterday from the data recovery dude in Boulder. And the good news is, I have more data than I thought I would get back! Bad news, I have lost all recently created pages and numbers documents. And all of Isabelle's baby pictures from the first 3 months of her life (but I'm pretty sure my mom can help me out with this one). And I have to reorganize all of my 3000+ emails into their proper categories (I use email as a filing system for personal and business). And I have to re-do all photo events for the last six years. And I lost all of my play lists on iTunes. And for some reason the recovery process duplicated lots (500+???) songs that now need to be deleted. But hey, I have data!!! So even though I am looking at hours and hours of work in front of my computer......it's OK. I can deal with this.

And bless my wonderful husband, he took on the whole "negotiating with Apple" part of the deal. And as of last night, I feel mildly satisfied at what they are doing for us. Of course, it is not compensation because they are not liable for data loss blah blah blah. But they are at least doing something.

Speaking of my husband, a big Happy Birthday Michael!!! You are my rock, my love, and I cannot imagine life without you!! Have a wonderful day:)

Oh, and that other little thing around the corner......Clearwater???!!! Yep, hopping on a plane in the morning and racing on Saturday. I am excited! I'm looking forward to meeting new peeps, and racing in another "worlds" this year. I have my race plan and nutrition plan all set up, now it's just getting to the start line. Of course, I am traveling with my buddies PIC Sonja and Anthony and I know we will have fun:)

I will try to post an update or 2 and I believe you can follow live on www.ironman.com. Just look up my last name and make sure I got out of the water without too much bruising and ego bashing (last world's experience). My start time is 7:15!

Ciao for now!

Apple Burned My House Down

Or, alternative title...The Things I Lost in the Fire. There was not an actual fire I assure you but the only way to describe the loss I have experienced over the last week is to compare it to that. PIC and I got to ride outside the other day....it was glorious and 75 degrees. As we talked about what happened, she said just that. It's like your house burned down.

It's my computer. My mac. My life. Apple has ruled my world since 2006 and actually before that I think. I am an Apple lover and we are an Apple family (except for Michael's work stuff)....an iphone (my second one since they don't actually swim), 3 shuffles (only 1 currently works), 3 nanos, 2 classics. I need a laptop soon since my kids are taking over the desktop and a macbook pro was at the top of my list. Was.

So what happened you ask? I upgraded my operating system to Snow Leopard about a month ago since I wanted to upgrade my iPhoto and do more things with my 4,000+ photos. Easier editing, better organizing....it all sounded so wonderful. I put more memory in the mac to handle the new OS and at the beginning of October I was up and running! It was great! I love iPhoto. iTunes was pretty much the same and I also changed my mail option to mac mail. For the last month I have been editing, sorting etc. etc. Snow Leopard also prompted me to set up a guest account. Great! I was thinking about having the kids work/play there and not potentially mess up my stuff. But Sunday night my computer went to sleep while I was putting the kids to bed. I came back down to check email and accidentally clicked on the guest account. It took a very long time to log in. Way too long. So I hit escape to try to get back into the main log in screen. Once there I logged into my account.

And it was gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. I did what any person who has had experience with an IT department does. I rebooted. And logged in again. And once again. Gone. I literally panicked. I may have screamed. I freaked out. Michael freaked too. It was all gone. The programs were there but they were empty. iTunes prompted me to start a new account. Same with iPhoto and mail. WTF? The documentation of my children growing up over the last seven years. Years of building a great iTunes. And my mail. All documentation of my work, my business, receipts. Gone. As I type this I am shaking again. Garmin data for the last 3 years? Gone.

After 30 minutes on the line with Apple support on Monday, I get this.....we know about this problem with Snow Leopard and guest accounts but we can't help you. You need to go to a third party data recovery specialist. WTF? I was crying trying to keep my shit together and not rip the Apple guy's head off on the phone.....because I know that as much as that may have made me feel a tad bit better, it wouldn't have accomplished anything else. So I find a data recovery specialist and after several days of him looking into the problem here's what we know. He has found raw data files but it doesn't have any information on it like date stamps or anything helpful like that. He feels pretty confident that he can recover most photos (THANK YOU!!!), all of iTunes, and not so sure about mail and any other documentation. All for the low low low cost of $700. And, more than likely, I will have days and weeks of work to go back in and reorganize all the data.

And what is Apple doing to help us out? Well, at this point, nothing. Nothing!! They keep pointing the finger back at me......because I didn't back up my data. See, because I had the new OS, I was a tad bit lazy getting around to backing up my computer. I was confident that I was OK with Snow Leopard. I have a hard drive. It's just unused and empty. But is this problem really my fault? I think not. This is a known problem to Apple and there are no warnings out there. No one told me at the Apple store....BTW don't set up a guest account you may lose all your data.....no warnings. So tell me, what is your data worth to you? How much would you pay for it? How much should Apple?

I will get my computer back on Tuesday. And we'll see what I've got. I am mildly hopeful but I still wake up in the middle of the night thinking how stupid I was for trusting my OS and not backing up. And freaking out that I may have lost all those wonderful family photos. My children's history......My business.......My life......

Lessons here peeps???? BACK UP YOUR DATA!!!!!!

AHHHHHH

So last week, I didn't have much to say.....this week I do. But on Sunday night after dancing with the girls to a variety of music on my computer (including Thriller!) I somehow managed to delete everything on my computer. Or maybe not delete. It's just hiding. Somewhere. Every single piece of information on my iMac. You know, like every single photo taken the last 6+ years. My iTunes? Yep, it's gone too. Tax returns, word files and even my mail. Just gone.

I call up Apple Support on Monday morning and talk with "Mark". Mark has no clue what I have done except that it has something to do with a guest account. (I accidentally hit guest account to log in after putting the girls to bed rather than my account) "Mark" put me on hold to talk with someone who apparently knew alot more than he did and when he got back on the line I got the dreaded......"this is probably not what you want to hear but you'll need to try to get you data recovered from a third party"....... Are you f***king kidding me? I go to the wrong account and my data disappears into thin air. Really? Oh, and the kicker - "Mark" tells me that this problem is known to Apple (I just recently upgraded my operating system to Snow Leopard) and they are working on a solution. That made me feel tons better. How about you?

My computer is now sitting with some recovery expert dude and I am waiting to find out how much this will cost. And how long it will take. In the meantime, I have hijacked my hubby's computer while he is out!!! Fun, fun, fun.

Thanks Apple!! Appreciate the support for your f***ked up operating system Snow Leopard. Beware out there peeps and back up your data!!!!!!!! And don't use any sort of guest account!

On the training front, I am finishing up a pretty tough week (snow storm included) and am fried! But should be just enough time to be recovered and rested for Clearwater! I can't wait for the after race margarita on the beach, toes in sand:)

Blogity Blog Blog Blah

Blogity blog blog blah blah blah. You may (or more likely, not) have noticed that I am taking a bit of a blog break this week. I just don't have that much to say! (Gasp, the shock, the horror!) Life is nice and settled right now and we have cruised to the end of October. As I type this, we are in the midst of a winter storm warning and I think I have yet another foot of snow that needs to be shoveled. Naturally, Michael bolted out of town for business yesterday so it's up to me to get it done. Total bummer. For him.....I decided not to shovel his side of the garage!!!

Where's the bush?

Not much to report on the training front either. Clearwater is a couple of weeks away and I have been getting my final workouts done although the weather is not cooperating. It is only October and me and my trainer have already been spending way too much time together. This could be a tough winter!! I just have to trust in the work I did all summer long, focus on my nutrition and go out there and have fun all day long (well half day)!!

I've been spending lots of time thinking about next season as well as Halloween and all the candy my kids will bring home. But next season is shaping up!! I have my preliminary "A" races and then of course my "A/B" races. There will be races in Arizona, Knoxville, Kansas, Budapest, Alabama and a really, really long race next November either in Florida or Arizona.....

But right now, I have that pre-race build tiredness thingy going on. And the I could eat more thingy going on. And, wow that couch looks way comfy thingy going on too. Less than three weeks to Florida. A quick little trip with my peeps Sonja, Anthony and Steve. Another half-Ironman under my belt.

Here are some fun photos!

Isabelle as the Monkey King in a production of "The Little Frog"

Nana and Iz

Silly Char and Iz at the Fall Festival last weekend

Char the pirate!

Iz the cat!

Denver Half Marathon 2009

I signed up for this race back in August for a couple of reasons. First, I really like this race - it showcases the best of Denver and it is about as flat as you can get at altitude. Second, I thought it might make some sense to have a half marathon under my belt going into Clearwater, at best this would be a quality training day and I was hoping to PR or it would just be a good training day. And third, I figured if I was going to do it, may as well sign up before the big price increases!

On Saturday I woke up with a scratch in my throat after sleeping 10 hours....not a good sign. And then my tummy turned on me. Not good, but may have been attributable to the mass amounts of coffee I ingested earlier in the day. A PR?? Really, my goal was to beat my 1/2 marathon time off the bike at Kansas 70.3 earlier in the year. But could I do this without the good 2.5 hour "warm-up" of being on the bike? With a cold? I knew I would get up and race regardless of how I felt and I knew that I would do whatever I could with the run with whatever I was "given" on that particular day.

But race morning was kind of interesting! Sure, I still had that horrible cough/itchy throat thingy going on.....got my breakfast down (and yes, it was my favorite pre-race breaky Mix1!!) and then realized that I was indeed a tad bit nervous! Why was this? I am usually not nervous before a running race so this was a bit unexpected. And then I figured out why.....I wanted to PR. I had a time in mind and I knew it was realistic and I really wanted to do it, I'm pretty sure I haven't approached a run race with that mindset before!

Michael and the kiddos got me to the race in plenty of time to warm up (PIC Sonja ran down to the race site even though she wasn't racing and she warmed up with me!!!) and then I got positioned around the right pace group. I felt pretty good at this point but maybe a tad dehydrated so I knew I would need to take in some fluids along the way. No worries though and then we were off!

I was towards the front of the start line so the pace was a bit quicker from the get-go. I kept my eye on my heart rate and the first mile came in around 7:50. Perfect. Next mile was a bit quicker at 7:33 and I had to remind myself that I also wanted to negative split this. So I just kept my heart rate in the range I knew would get me to the finish line. And so it went for the first 6 miles, keeping myself in check so that I could pick it up (or in this case maintain my pace) to the end. As the miles ticked by I knew that I had a good chance at my PR but as I hit mile 10 and that uphill to Cheesman Park, my legs started feeling heavy and my breathing was a bit more labored. Uhhhhhgggghhhh, a 7:54 on that mile. Got to the top and kept pushing on the downhill and then I got a sight for my sore tired eyes. Boo Yah Tyler was at the Park cheering on the runners!! I loved seeing him and although I couldn't speak, I waved to him and that gave me a little lift on the remaining downhill. Now onto mile 11 and I heard Bethie cheering (didn't know it was her at the time!!) and that gave me another lift. And then PIC was there running beside me telling me to watch my breathing, relax my shoulders and hands and that I was doing great and to keep the pace up. That mile clocked in at my fastest at 7:21......I managed to tell her something to the effect of you're killing me but really what I wanted to say was thank you. And then I was in the final mile running up Lincoln. I had no capacity to pick it up but my pace did not slow down. I even passed a girl in the finish chute.

1:41. A PR!!! And 9th in my age group, 68th woman overall. I will not lie, those last couple of miles hurt, but you know what? It is supposed to hurt. I even had those thoughts....you know the ones. The why am I doing this? But then I crossed the finish line and saw my wonderful family. The hurt subsided and I was left with a great feeling of accomplishment. So thank you to my peeps, PIC, and my family for the cheering and everything else. And to Trakkers, it was a great experience to wear the device (didn't even notice it!) and hopefully help them out bringing it to market.

With that report, I have just one more race on the schedule for the year: Clearwater!!!

Racing With Trakkers!

This weekend I'll be lacing up the ol' running shoes and heading downtown to run the Denver Half Marathon. The weather will be gorgeous and this course is awesome - running through downtown, passing by the Pepsi Center and Coors Field, then running to City Park, then to Cheesman Park. I also really enjoy making the turn towards the finish line for the half while the marathoners go straight!! (No worries mate, I have a marathon on my schedule for January)

But the really cool thing about this race is that I am testing a Trakkers device while I run. Trakkers is a cool company that has developed a GPS device (about the size of a beeper) that you hook onto your shorts. It then sends information about your race to a website and friends and family can "watch" you run from their computer! Because they are still in development, your feedback is critical and needed. I have copied the email I received from Carole at Trakkers about the process. If you are awake at 7:00am on Sunday morning, please give this a try and give some honest feedback - it will be appreciated!

Below is the link you can send to your loved ones to use to follow you on race day. At this point I don’t think our application is compatible with iPhone but we are moving in that direction. I think (but am not 100% certain) this test is only viewable from a computer – and I have heard MAC causes problems. ?

(Feel free to forward this email to your friends and family if you’d rather not take the time to explain everything I am below.)

When sending the link to your friends and family, please ask them to fill out the online user survey they’ll find on race day. We are specifically not giving online user instructions how to navigate the system as this is part of our test (frankly, it’s the primary purpose). We realize not every person who wants to follow their loved one will be computer savvy and we are trying to create a system that is fairly intuitive to navigate. Our online user feedback has been critical to improvements and we truly appreciate everyone’s time they’ve taken to give feedback on their experience.

I thank you (and your friends and family) in advance for any feedback they offer. Ultimately, we are creating this device and website for THEM so they can follow you during your training and racing. Knowing how to make this better for them is our primary objective.

We are continuing to make modifications to URL page until race day, so know the final version will not be ready until the morning of the race. Also, if you have difficulty getting to this page, try copying and pasting the URL directly.

Here is the link they will go to on race day.
http://www.trakkersgps.com/trackevents/event-test.aspx?eventid=16&subeventid=19

Thanks again for your help! We are excited for this test and eager for your loved ones to have an intimate connection to your progress!

K2 Pink Chase Fundraiser

So who do you know? I'm sure there is someone. Someone you know that has breast cancer. Or someone who has survived. And maybe even someone who has died. 1 in 8. That is the statistic. In your lifetime, you or someone in your circle of friends and colleagues will be diagnosed with breast cancer. That is a frightening statistic. I know many people......my mom, a grandma, a friend's mom, did I mention my mom, and a friend diagnosed at age 39. I also know Amy who was recently diagnosed at age 31 while 35 weeks pregnant. I know women that have died. And I'm only 40....how many more women that I know will have this diagnosis in the next 10 years? 20 years? How many do you know?

Clearly, more research and money need to be thrown at this cause. So I have teamed up with Amy Dannwolf and PIC Sonja Wieck to form Team Bunnies For Boobies and participate in K2's Pink Chase Fundraiser. The Pink Chase raises money for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, a foundation committed to finding a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime by providing critical funding for innovative clinical and translational research at leading medical centers worldwide and increasing public awareness about good breast health.

What is the Pink Chase all about? This is the fun part......teams of three women compete for the most vertical skied, most creative costumes, and most money raised. Amy, Sonja, and I are all over this challenge!! Not only are we badass triathletes, but we also love to ski and rip it up on the slopes! And since we are all not really competitive (hahahaha) at all, we are completely excited to go and rip up Keystone Mountain on December 12 and compete for the grand prize.

How do you fit in the picture? Well, we need your support!! Powder7 and Smith Optics have already committed to supporting our team (remember, that's Bunnies For Boobies) and now we need your help!! Please consider making a donation here, and remember that lots of companies will MATCH your donation!! Amy, Sonja, and I want to make a difference and are committed to this cause. Please help us out!!

By the way, I just mentioned Powder7 and if you are looking for skis this is the place to go! Check them out!

Smith Optics is a sponsor of the Pink Chase and is helping out Bunnies For Boobies out as well, check out these googles we will be wearing (in hot pink of course)!

So please, consider making a donation! And remember, grope your wife/girlfriend and save the boobies!

Worlds Race Photos

As promised, here are a few of my favorite race photos from Worlds. Thank you thank you to PIC's dad Eric Willis for hanging out photographing all the action that day. If we are elite age group triathletes, then Eric is an elite age group photographer!! These are all of his photos.

Transition. We ran over that bridge out of T2.

Me at the swim start. Sure they all look like nice women.

Just don't get in their way!

I'm on the right being overtaken by a pack of women. Oh, right. There wasn't any drafting....

Run Ford Run!

Running it in

Me and PIC post race. Yep, that's my dad in the background.

Sonja, me and Beth goofing off after the race

Of course, the butt shot!

7.5 Weeks

I look at that title "7.5 Weeks" and think no, nothing interesting like the movie "9 1/2 Weeks". And while we're on that subject, what in the heck happened to Mickey Rourke? In that movie he was hotness in front of a fridge. And today....did you see The Wrestler? Plastic surgery gone awry? Yick.

But I digress.

Yeah, I've been taking a little break from blog-land. It's the only break I'm getting right now too. So while a lot of my friends and training partners have eased into their post-season fun trail running, mountain biking, sleeping in, staying up late, I am into my last build to Clearwater in 7.5 weeks. Yikes. And the problem is......well, I have to admit the season is getting long.

My first race was back in April!! Rage in the Sage immediately followed by a non-race but big event nonetheless: Rim to (almost) Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon. From there I raced Bolder Boulder, then onto Kansas for my first Ironman 70.3 race. Then Boulder Peak, State Games of America, Nationals and Worlds. There was also an 80 mile bike race and a crit in there as well. Phew - that's a lot of racing. Denver Half Marathon for a "training" race in a couple weeks. And then it's down to just one race left....and it's on another "world" stage.

But I'm ready to put in the work. I'm ready for another few weeks of tough training. I'm ready for the mental challenge of a 70.3 race. I know I can put together a sound race strategy and nutrition plan and I'm looking forward to seeing how this one turns out. I know my goals. Sure it could be another tough swim. And I know (doesn't everyone) that the bike is just a big draft-fest (there's a reason it's also known as Cheatwater).

So yes, the season is getting long. But I am still doing what I love to do. I get to be outside even on crappy days (either the weather or me) and watch the season turn into fall - my favorite time of year. I'm running, I'm swimming (more time in the pool!!), and I am on my bike. And I have no shortage of training partners.....PIC, Steve, and Anthony are all headed to Florida with me. And after that???? Oh yeah. I signed up for a marathon!!

Crazy is as Crazy does. 7.5 weeks.

Australia pictures part 2

So here's how this was supposed to work: go to the Apple store to purchase iLife '09, go home and immediately install new software and the all important iPhoto upgrade (which I have resisted until I saw the editing feature in action), edit all Australia photos while baking cookies and whistling, publish said fabulous, edited photos on blog within days of returning from trip.

And here's what actually happened: accidentally purchased family pack of iLife '09 that I don't need from Apple store, decide to install anyway and return the next day, pop in the disk only to find out that I need to upgrade my operating system to run new iLife '09, also discover that I need more memory to do any of this and order another memory card to install, and since I want iLife '09 and a new operating system Apple made the decision for me that I must also include iWork in the software package. Even if I don't need/want it. Follow? To sum up, I have not edited one single picture. Oh well, here are some highlights from week 2!

We left the Gold Coast on Monday morning after the race and road tripped up North. I was hoping to hit the southern edge of the Great Barrier Reef and force the kids on a boat so Michael and I could snorkel but we didn't make it that far. We can only take so much "are we there yets", "I have to go to the bathroom," "I'm hungry" in a couple of hours!! Our first stop was a cool little town called Mooloolaba and its sister Maroochydore. Great beaches, great food but we only stayed a night and then went to the Australia Zoo. This is the zoo that Steve Irwin founded and it was an awesome place! After visiting the zoo we went further up the coast and ended up in a great little town called Noosa Heads. We found a great apartment 1 block from the beach and a cafe with "free" wifi!! Of all the strange things, free wifi was scarce any where we went in Australia!!!

Isabelle before this trip held her nose every time she went under the water. Well, not anymore....she is now learning to boogie board and body surf!

Charlotte petting a baby alligator at the Australia Zoo.

Charlotte and Isabelle fed Asian elephants too!

Of course, there was a great croc show....Crikey, look at the size of that thing!

There were even pony rides!

These are wombats. Pretty cute and cuddly too but apparently you don't want to pet these guys.

Building sand castles.

Yep, I decided it was time to take a surf lesson! That's me getting yelled at by the instructor.

Wiping out....

Standing up!!!! OK, this surfing stuff is hard work, after 2 hours I was exhausted!

From the Sunshine Coast, we flew back to Sydney where we met up with my parents. They had a few days to themselves (sans kids/grandkids) to enjoy Sydney and then we came in and crashed their "quiet" party. We took a double decker bus tour of the city!

The opera house is just as amazing in person as it is in pictures and movies.

As is the Harbor Bridge...

Some random water fountain that I really liked. Sydney is a lovely and clean city!! We will return some day and run the marathon!!!

Australia pictures part 1

It is a cold day here in Denver and although I said I would edit my pictures before posting, that means I would actually have to go outside (in the cold) and drive to the nearest Apple store (to buy the latest version of iLife with the way improved photo editing) thus risking an accident since I am still fighting jet lag and would probably fall asleep at the wheel. Phew, what a sentence!! My jet lag seems to be getting worse rather than better and I'm 3 nights in. This is based on my astute observations of every one else in my family sleeping at 12:30am and me watching them! But really, how long can this last?

But I digress (trust me, I'm doing that a lot lately). Here are some great pictures from our trip. There will be more coming and more race photos too!

We stayed at the Q1 on the 54th floor in Surfer's Paradise. This was our view! The beach and waves were great although the water was a bit chilly.

OK, tilt your head to the left. This is the Q1, its design was based on the 2000 Sydney Olympic torch.

14 hours after leaving LA, here's my mom and Michael at the airport waiting for the next flight to the Gold Coast. (Surfer's Paradise is a town along the Gold Coast)

Yes, they are as cute and cuddly as you think! On our first full day in Australia we went to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and some of the first animals we saw were koala bears. Oh, they are cute. And the best part.....

Isabelle, Charlotte and I got to hold one! Her name was Par-lay and was 18 months old. Koalas are solid animals - she must have weighed around 30lbs, that is why the girls couldn't hold her, plus Australia has very strict koala cuddling laws!

And then it was on to FEED the kangaroos! The 'roos were everywhere and more than eager to approach you to see if you had food! The girls loved feeding and petting these guys. What a cool experience!

This 'roo really "liked" Michael and got a bit aggressive with him. No worries mate, the wildlife helpers immediately stepped in!

I think the sign says it all....

Naturally, PIC Sonja and I found a rather large croc and we wrestled it to save the children:)

Feeding the lorikeets

It is tough vacation-ing with a wife who is tapering and about to compete and not enjoying a beer or 2. But Michael is a trooper and seemed to handle it OK!

Some of Team USA before a group run

Packet pick-up with Anthony, Sonja, Beth and me. This is the near the start beach. It's true - it was a beautiful venue.

Registration.....guess who's in the picture?

Anthony and Steve at the opening ceremonies

Kind of a strange picture, and yes, editing would help. But remember the thing about the Apple store and driving etc.....Anywho, this is Team Australia leading the parade of nations into the opening ceremonies. They had around 1000 athletes!!

Ummm, OK. We were getting bored waiting to march in the parade!

All I can say is, Oh Tahiti!!!

Me and my Dad.

Dad and Mom at our post-race celebration. It was wonderful having them with us for the race and everything els!