CONGRATULATIONS SONJA!!

I’m not even sure congratulations are enough for this accomplishment.  Sonja has put her heart and soul into doing all the things necessary to better herself in her sport and has been willing to sacrifice and put the hard work into achieving the goals she has set for herself.  But bigger than this, and by “this” I mean the training-this girl has grown into an amazing woman, mother, wife and has earned the title of friend by many people.  Triathlon seems to be the area where we see this girl shine.  And she shines here because she lives on a foundation of honesty, eagerness, passion, hard-work, ethics, love, and a zest for life.

Her growth over the years has been amazing.  From seeing her cry at the “agony of defeat” to crying for the “thrill of victory” and winning her Kona spot-her adventure through the “human drama of athletic competition” has been worth every moment because of what she has turned it into.  I cannot wait to follow her journey to Kona!  GRRRR is up girl.

Follow Sonja to Kona:

GoSonja.com

Let me start by saying Boise is a COOL town!  I guess when people describe it they call it a little Denver.  I could see why-I mean, gosh, they have a Proto’s too.  Which, on a side note, is where I ate lunch one afternoon where I watched the Ironman crew set up the finish line.  With all of that being said Ironman Boise 70.3 was a kickin’ good time!  With the finish right downtown in the evening it really felt like an Ironman 140.6.

Some things the same and some things different.  This race is unique in my opinion for 2 reasons:  First, it is a Saturday race, and second, it starts at 2 in the afternoon.  So the new beau, who really isn’t so new anymore in terms of time in our relationship but is still new to me because he stirs things in me that have never been stirred before, and well, quite frankly that is still new to me…but back to our story cuz this really is about triathlons, Boise 70.3 specifically, and not my love life.  We departed Denver on a 10pm flight that got delayed until 10:30pm.  Now this you must already know since you are reading a triathletes blog-we triathletes have a hard time staying up past 9pm!  Airplanes really aren’t that comfortable of a place to sleep, but I did manage some zzz’s on NB’s shoulder and in his lap-and a little bit on the other cute boy sitting next to me, quite by accident of course.  We arrived in Boise around midnight and caught the shuttle to the hotel and laid our heads on the pillow around 12:45am.  Not too bad.  Under normal race circumstances I would never fly on such a late flight, but we had Friday to sleep in, check out the course as best as we could without a car, and pick up race packets in the afternoon.  And, we didn’t have to rise and shine o’dark thirty for a race the day after either.  So…alas the trip to Idaho was uneventful and had no negative impact on us really.

The next day we were up around 9am, strolled down for the hotel breakfast and ran into GoDoreen who had so lovingly met a gentleman traveling alone and with a car!!  Bike course scoping time!  It was really nice of Richard to offer to let us tag along to scope out the reservoir and the bike course.  This race is a point to point event which always makes me a little nervous- just cuz I am a little forgetful sometimes!  Ironman Louisville is a point to point race as well, so I figured Boise made good practice for not forgetting things.  The bike starts out of transition with a mild downhill, with a short climb up onto the dam  and then a should be screaming decent heading to the outskirts of town.  A couple of climbs, a couple of technical turns, a tight turn around and then back to do it all over again except head downtown-slightly uphill but not too noticeable in the car and then a long straight road to T2.  Good stuff.  Hills to get out of the saddle, technical turns to have fun, and long straightaways to hammer.

Packet pick up at the Qwest Arena was well organized and super fast and super simple even though there was a line.  Great shopping at the Ironman Store-too bad it is all way out of my current budget.  Schwag was alright.  K Swiss bags and T shirts and a Headsweat cap.  With all the work finished for the day we headed out for lunch at Proto’s and hooked up later  with Keith, who so lovingly drove our bikes from Denver.  Once again we headed to the reservoir this time to drop our bikes the night before the race.  Here is another interesting thing about Boise 70.3.  Bike check in the day before is optional.  The event organizers offer racers and spectators the option of purchasing an $8 shuttle ticket for race morning and do not allow bikes on the bus, rightfully so.  However, this is interesting to me because the race start at the reservoir is about 10 miles away from the downtown area where all of the hotels are.  In my opinion, not a bikeable distance before a half.  Also, the parking at the reservoir is very limited and has you walking about a mile up a pretty steep hill.  I decided shuttle tickets were the way to go, but part of me really feels like the shuttle should not have cost participants extra money.  If you are going to offer a point to point race you should include the cost of transportation in the race.  But now that I have said that-there is A TON of police support and road closures on this course, so maybe the money is better spent there and what is 8 smackers really?  Bikes tucked in for the night, time for for dinner and bed!

So 2pm starts, first of all, call for  beer at a local brewery for dinner, but also make for a great morning.  Leisurely get up enjoy breakfast and pack some extra food-peanut butter and jelly bagels, bananas and waters for lunch time snack.  The shuttle to the start was simple to catch, they were a little behind schedule but everything went well regardless.  We chose the early shuttle and got all set up with plenty of time to find a shady area under a truck to lay down and stay cool.  Another interesting situation with this event is how they set up the bike transition.  They call it a “clean transition”.  Which translates to:  Everything for your bike must stay in the bike bag provided by the race.  Helmet, bike shoes, sunglasses, race number etc.  It was really no big deal with everyone having the same situation it is what it is right.  I just set everything up in my bag like I would have if I had a transition towel.  It went quite well except for one itty bitty thing.  I decided to get out of transition with my race belt in hand.  I figured I would clip it on while on the flat dam road or right as I started to descend.  I can ride without hands alright on my bike for a couple of minutes-in theory this seemed like a good idea as I was getting out of transition.  So here is where I begin to tell you how windy it was.  There was no hands free riding for me up on that dam road.  The cross wind was wicked.  So I stopped really fast, yes I even stop really fast, and buckled my race belt on my fanny.  And off I went towards the what should have been screaming decent.

I know I mentioned it once already, but it was WINDY!!  The entire ride.  Headwinds, crosswinds, and some tailwinds.  The triathlon gods were sort of smiling on us when they gave the tailwinds on the biggest climb of the course!  That made me happy.  The ride was hard for me.  I found myself fighting the wind a lot having to remind myself to just relax.  The volunteers on the course were awesome.  One was so awesome that he handed me an open chocolate Power Gel.  Yeah, I’m gonna let your imagination run with that one!!  I find myself interesting.  As I was sticking the gel in my back pocket I realized I had gel everywhere, I never think angry thoughts.  This is good.  Instead I spray myself and my bike down with a water bottle (I knew there was another aid station close) and laugh.  It brings back an old memory of a guy who had white bike shorts on during a race who had chocolate gu running down his butt.  I chuckled for quite awhile wondering if I had chocolate gu running down my butt.  Other than the wind and the open chocolate gel the bike was uneventful.  The long straightaway back to transition was brutal, and I was ready to get off my bike and go for a run!  Wait…did I just say that?  Yes, I was ready to run.

In true Andrea fashion, the first mile is good then I let myself take a break.  Had to potty, nowhere to pull over on the side to potty, so waited for a portalette.  Got going again.  Hooked onto a guy and chatted a little bit.  Anyone who runs with me knows that I hook on close and bump elbows, not sure why I feel the need to get so close, but I do and it helps me.  However, this guy got a little stronger and I couldn’t hold on.  Had to poo.  Got to a portalette again and did my business and felt much better.  Saw Steve.  Saw Keith.  Run run run.  Go past the finish.  Killer crowd ROARING.  Second lap much better.  I had a guy hook onto me and I just run run run.  My second loop must have been WAY better than my first because somehow I seem to manage a 12:00 pace.  True Andrea fashion.

For the training I have been putting in this race made me happy.  Can I do better?  Yes.  Do I have more?  Yes.  Is this where I am at the moment?  Yes.  Am I alright?  Pretty alright.  I always want so much more from myself but haven’t quite figured out how to get it out of myself.  Expectations and hope need to be backed with good, solid work.  That’s where I’m at.  The good, solid work stage.

Sorry for the lack of pictures…everyone was a racin’!  Congrats to Doreen, Keith, and Steve on amazing days!  Love you guys.

Running through the Switzerland of America

Another day living the Sweet Life.  Steve and I decided to head up the Million Dollar Highway and find a place to run/hike after our bike ride to Telluride.  We found some amazing things on the drive up.  A river flowing under the highway.  Some mountain flowers.  A little lake at the top of the pass.  Avalanche blowouts.  And lots of places to run.  There must be a million hidden treasures of trail runs in these mountains.  I know I am only seeing the tip of the iceberg.  It makes me want to go back and explore every weekend.  I have always said I never want to own a vacation home because I would have to spend time in one place.  Instead I would rather explore all different places.  Well Ouray may very well be changing my mind.  I think I could explore here every season of the year.  After a little bit of exploring we settled on a trail run called the Bear Creek Trail.

This trail is an old mining trail that takes you back to the Grizzly Bear Mine.  From the Grizzly Bear Mine you can connect to the Yellow Jacket Mine than eventually you would end up on a jeep trail called Engineer Pass, which is the first half of the “Alpine Loop” with Cinnamon Pass completing the second half of the loop. It is extremely scenic and very long.  Our trail for the day starts at 8400 feet and climbs to 10,000 feet in 2.4 miles.  The trail is part dirt and part broken slate and mostly switchbacks.  It is absolutely gorgeous and like nothing I have ever experienced.  I decided I wanted to take my time and really take in the experience of this trail.  All I could think about were the old miners traversing with their  carts and mules.  Insane!!  Spots on the trail were covered with avalanche debris.  The picture at the top of this post is a HUGE tree that had been pummeled by an avalanche!  It was absolutely crazy.  In one spot there was still snow sitting over the trail that if you slipped or the snow broke you would fall and die.  Here is why I love him:

Steve (stern and concerned): “Baby we are not going over that.  I am not letting you go.”

Me (unsure of how to handle someone telling me no): “But baby, we need to get to the mine.  I think we will be alright.”

Steve (hesitant, serious and father like-unsure of being with a crazy woman): “You are crazy.  There is no way we are going over that.  No.”

Me (desperately wanting to go over continuing to explore ways to get to the other side and satiate my need to explore):

” Look, there are footprints.  We can totally do it.”

Steve: (hesitant and scared) “Let me see.  Geez.  Why don’t you ever give up?  Alright, let me go first.”

Me (excited but now a little worried cuz my man could fall to his death):”Yeah!!”

Steve (a bit worried about falling to his death but somewhat playful): “Now you don’t think this is so fun do you.  I could fall and die!”

Me ( a bit worried):” Go baby!!  You will make it!!”

Steve (really worried cuz it’s my turn) ” Just follow my footsteps and you’ll be fine.  Take your time.”

Me: (thinking about how I could arrest a fall) “Holy Shit!  This is freakin scary!”

We made it

By the time you hit Yellow Jacket Mine you are at 11,100 feet after 4.2 miles.  There was a storm front blowing in so the top of the mountain was super windy and we could see a storm blowing in, so we headed back down to the car.  What took us 2 hours to ascend took us 30 minutes to descend!!  And just like that we were down and on our way back to Denver.  What an incredible weekend/beginning of the week.

Again, my Steve, thank you for being the voice of reason.  In the 9 star ki I am 1 water and you are 8 soil.  You are my rock.  You keep me grounded and flowing with purpose. I love you.

This past week has been AMAZING!  For me it was the big kick off for super long bike training for Ironman Louisville.  Friday we took off from snowy, cold, wet Denver and headed to snowy, wet, cold Buena Vista for the Buena Vista Bike Fest Century ride.   From Buena Vista Steve and I were headed to Ouray to sit in the hot springs, get another hundred miler in on the bikes, sit in the hot springs, get a good trail run in, sit in the hot springs, get a little recovery swim in, and sit in the hot springs.  Did I mention the hot springs?  Cuz they are INCREDIBLE!!  Lots of bike riding planned and some good training for Louisville….but would the weather spoil our plans?  Not when you are living The Sweet Life!

Saturday morning was the century ride; the snowy ride into BV left us a little worried it wasn’t going to happen.  However, with Bethie along for the ride and determined not to let the weather win and steal a hundred mile bike ride from her,  the plan was to get up and at least start the ride no matter the weather and see what it got us.  We woke up to about 2 inches of snow and a fog covered valley.  The event director cancelled the event for the first time in 12 years.  After much deliberation amongst ourselves as to whether we should just go for it and get some mileage in or go to breakfast and get a good run it, we decided it probably wasn’t safe to be out there on our bikes.  The pass was closed up to Leadville so we wouldn’t have been able to go to the pretty part of the ride.  Breakfast followed by a 2 hour run prevailed.  Buena Vista is a cute little town with some great local offerings.  We ate at the Rooster’s Crow and headed back to our host’s home where we could run up the road and hit the Colorado Trail.

The run was hilarious.  We never did find the Colorado Trail, instead we blazed our own trail up the snow covered mountain.

It was actually a pretty brutal start heading up a mountain at 9000 feet of elevation!  My little heart was a poundin’!!  It ended up being a great climb up to a vista where we followed some animal tracks back to the roads,  and did a little loop around the neighborhood.  After hot showers we all got together at Priscilla’s sister and brother in laws for a feast of a dinner.  Everyone pitched in and made an incredible spread of butternut squash soup, chili, salads, guacamole and chips, fruit, cheese and crackers, all with wine, beer, and water!  I am always so grateful for the friends I have especially when we get to meet new people and sit together at family style dinners.  Over dinner plans were laid for the ride on Sunday as the forecast was calling for a clear, beautiful, albeit a little windy day.

Anyone will tell you living with Colorado weather is wild.  One day we will have snow and the next day it will be 70 degrees.  Lucky for us the forecast was correct, and we woke up to clear, blue, sunny skies and the possibility of an incredible day for biking.  The plan was to head from Buena Vista to Salida.  Refuel in Salida then head back to Buena Vista for another food and water stop  before heading as far as we could to Turquoise Lake in Leadville.  The lot of us got ourselves breakfast and headed out the door.  The weather was a little cool but really quite comfortable for riding.  We discovered we would have a tailwind with us on the downhill to Salida and therefore, a headwind on the uphill back to Buena Vista and into Leadville.  We had a great ride.  Lots of chatting and working together.  Little bits of speed work on the way into Salida and then a good strength workout, both mental and physical, back to Buena Vista.  After coming back into Buena Vista we decided not to fight the headwind into Leadville and called the ride at a metric century.  The surly group of us got back to our homes, changed into running shoes and did a quick 30 minute run, ate leftovers for lunch, then headed to the Mount Princeton Hot Springs.  The Mount Princeton Hot Springs was alright.  It is simply 2 swimming pools with hot spring water in them.  There are also some soaking spots along the river, but they weren’t accessible because of the high waters in the river.  It was nice floating around and chilling with B&P, BT&John, and Jewels.  After a quick soak, it was back to pack and for Steve and I to head off on the 3 hour drive to Ridgway.

I am made for road traveling. I love packing the car up, getting good snack foods, and making my way to destinations while being able to check out the areas in between.  Having the bikes along on this trip was exciting because not only did we get to enjoy a drive together but I also knew we were going to get to experience the area by bike.  After our little drive into town and checking into our hotel, we were off to the springs for an evening soak.  Orvis Hot Springs is very nicely kept and very clean.  The little gardens around the pool are quaint and filled with great plants and flowers.  With the pools being outside and away from light pollution at night you soak in the pools covered by a blanket of stars.  The first time we came to the hot springs was New Years this year.  There was a full, blue moon the night we arrived and we were instantly enchanted and fell in love even more while floating around in darkness.  While melting away the ride from the day before and the drive into town we decided to check with the local bike shop in the morning to decide which route to bike the following day.  The options we came up with were:  to ride to Silverton via the million dollar highway or ride to Telluride via Highway 62.  Danika from Peak to Peak Bicycles was great and informed us of conditions on both routes.  She didn’t speak down to us at all and gave us options for all kinds of riding.  She never made judgement on what kind of riders we were, she just gave us information and left the decisions to us.  I always hate going into bike shops where the staff thinks they are all that and treat you like dork cuz you’re a girl.  I really appreciated her approach to educating us about the different rides in the area.

The ride to Silverton was a hard climb over the pass with no shoulder and a decent amount of traffic.

Video of the Highway

Warning it is 10 mins long and it’s not mine !  But great video of the pass.

Our second option, she told us, was a more gradual, gentle climb over Dallas Divide.  There was plenty of shoulder and much less traffic during the week.  She said it was a gorgeous ride as well and let us know about an additional loop we could add on if we wanted to make the ride longer than the 37 miles each way and add a little more climbing.

We hadn’t driven either of the routes or seen them in our lives, so we didn’t really understand the scope of what she was telling us.

After a cup of Joe from Cimarron Books and CoffeeHouse

and a bomber of a breakfast burrito from the Ridgway Mountain Market

We were off to Telluride!

The day was gorgeous and I couldn’t help but keep looking around.  It was difficult to stay focused on anything except how pretty it was all around me.  Good thing I didn’t have focused training to do!  The goal was to just get more miles on my legs and enjoy the day.

The route to Telluride is 37 miles.  I just can’t seem to do the day justice with my writing.  We climbed 2000 feet in about 12 miles to the top of the Dallas Divide, snapped a couple pics

and headed down the backside of the divide.   It was a nice 13 mile and 1650 foot descent into Placerville.  Although, to be perfectly honest, the long descent planted a little seed of worry into my head for the return trip.  What goes down must go up, right?  I knew I would be hitting the climb back up the divide at about 60 miles into my ride.  So the next thought that went into my head was: “Girl, you rode the double Epic Loop which is just a sick amount of climbing, 160 miles, 12 hours long and you were fine.  This will be tough but you are strong.”

After a quick potty and refueling stop in Placerville…

off we went on another climb into Telluride.

The road travels alongside the San Miguel River.  The fact that we were following a river flowing the opposite way we were riding told me we were going uphill, but it didn’t really feel like that much of an uphill.  However, I guess I was going pretty slowly because Steve pulled alongside me and told me we needed to average 15mph to get to Telluride and start back before it got dark!  He pulled in front of me to block the wind and picked the pace up and off we went.  There was one more crazy climb to get into the little town and to get to lunch!

Telluride lay just ahead.  I wanted to be there so badly!  It was a long straight road into town and in the distance you could see this switch back going up the mountain.

We thought it was Imogene Pass, but after a little research I think it is actually Black Bear Pass.   As I was riding into town, I was thinking to myself that I should go run that and then decided I didn’t want to  Maybe sometime in the future.  We found a great burger place, had a fantastic lunch, and headed back out to get home!

The ride home was sick fast!  It took us about 4 hours to get to Telluride, including our stops for various things and 2 hours to get back to Ridgway.  I had no idea how much climbing we actually did.  And the back side of Dallas Divide, that climb I was worried about… well I kicked that little hill’s butt.  Yeah, I averaged 10mph for the 13 mile ride back to the top.  Boo Yaa!

Thank you to Steve for being my partner and always being the guy beside me telling me how strong I am and how great of an athlete I am.  You are my rock.  Solid and strong.  Always behind me 100% no matter the situation.  You are the one who holds it all together and keeps us moving forward as a solid, strong unit.  You make life a little SWEETER-I love you!

Even though it was not a triathlon (jealous of Beth,Tony, goSonja, gofastMichelle, and Tyler who got to tri in Knoxville at Rev3), it was a race.  I was nervous because my winter was different from my last 7 winters of training hard.  This last winter consisted of some running some biking, and some swimming-but nothing I would really call training.  Three weeks ago I decided I wanted to work with someone to coach me and so my training really began then-for the Colorado Marathon.  People work like 3 months getting ready for marathons-what was I thinking?!  Would I really be able to run a marathon?  The last marathon distance I set out to run saw me get 23 miles in 6 hours and a hurt IT band.  We decided I had enough base that I could finish the marathon and that I would use it as a stepping stone for getting my running mileage back up for the real goal of the year-Ironman Louisville.  So with three solid weeks of great training I was off to run a marathon without letting my heart rate go above 160.  Leave my ego on the bus.

Saturday afternoon we headed up later than I would have liked to packet pick up, got our stuff, and met up with Nicole, Christine, John, and Keith at the hotel and decided to go out to dinner together.  Every place in old Fort Collins was packed and had a waiting list of an hour and a half, which would have put us eating at 8:30 at night!  Stressful!!  So we split up into 2’s and put reservations in at 3 different restaurants….John and Keith got us in at Rasta Pasta!  Yeah.  I had Jamaica Tortellini Mon which was tortellini, rotini pasta, bananas, pineapple, and grapes.  It was light and delicious and I ate the whole thing-oops!  By the end of dinner I was pooped!  The stress of getting to packet pick up, finding food, and then having to find a friend’s house where we were staying was getting me.  After our good luck and good night hugs from friends Steve and I were off to find our bed for the night.

His friend’s front yard was SO COOL!  There was a little picket fence surrounding a really cool water feature that was all lit up for us.  There was no way I could hold on to the little bit of stress I was carrying around after walking to the front door.  Steve’s friend was staying with his girlfriend so we had the place to ourselves, which was a good thing because I really wanted to get my stuff ready for the morning and go to bed.  Now you all have to remember, I have spent years percolating perfect pre race conditions, so the first race on my own and I let a few things go, like having a glass of wine at dinner and getting to packet pick up really late, and eating later than I would have liked, but I couldn’t let the “I have to be the first person there” monkey go.  The bus was taking us up at 4:00am.  After getting our stuff all set for the morning I set the alarm for 3:15 and hit the pillows at 10:15.  3:15 jump out of bed (Sorry goSonja-no picture of the jump out of bed), dressed, fill water bottle, make an egg sandwich, and get to the bus station at 3:50.  Damn I’m good-Steve thinks I am a little crazy, but it was perfect for me.  We got to sit together on the way up and rest, we didn’t have any problem getting a parking spot, and I was comfortable.  Honestly, I was nervous about the marathon, so taking the stress out of race morning was important to me.  I put my headphones in on the ride up and used the time to relax and visualize my day.

The marathon start is up in a canyon and right alongside the river.  It was beautiful, albeit a little bit cold at 4:55am.  I was glad I had Steve to snuggle with on a park bench to try to stay warm.   We got to be the first people to use the porta potties without having to wait in line at all.  Just being able to hang out and relax before the race even though Steve was sniffling a little bit about being there too early, and whose silly idea was it to run a marathon, and next time we will….  Wait…did he just say there was going to be a next time?  I think he’s hooked  Before we knew it we were stripping out of our warm clothes, putting sunblock on, and heading over to the start line!  I saw Keith and John and got my good luck hugs and looked for Doreen without luck.  The gun went off and off I went.

Steve and I ran the first mile together and then he was on his way and I settled into myself and took a moment to enjoy the canyon, listen to the river, and be grateful for my life and smile.  The last run I had before the marathon was really hard and it was really uncomfortable and I was very happy that I was feeling good.  Lately, I have been having to use my inhaler.  Most people don’t know this, but I have asthma and have had it since I was 3 years old.  For some reason, this last few months it has been bothering me.  That last training run that didn’t feel good, I did not use my medicine before the run and I was wheezing.  So, I used my meds before the marathon and once during and it helped me breath a little easier.  The last lung capacity test I took showed that I used 70% of my lung capability, so for me using an inhaler just brings me to almost normal lung capacity.  Anyhow, LOTS of people passed me but I knew right where I supposed to be.  Heart Rate needed to be at 135-140 and I did that knowing it would help me the last few miles.  A few minutes into the run I knew I was going to have to use a bathroom.  There was no place to sneak off into the bushes on this course!  Every aid station had porta potties but they all had lines and it wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t wait for a bathroom without a line.  Finally, around mile 8 there was an aid station at the fire house where there wasn’t a line.  So into the bathroom I went, did my thing, and headed back out to run feeling much more comfortable.  From that point I was actually racing.

I put my tunes in, took off my jacket, and started picking people off.  No one passed me from that point on.  Not one person.  I was amazed that I was racing.  It was very exciting to me to be having these feelings of competition.  Last year at Rage was the first time I discovered that sense of competition.  I really did not expect it for the marathon and was quite excited to have it rear its head so early in the season. I would see someone in front of me and just put my head down, stay within myself and catch up.  From there I would take inventory for a quick second:  Should I stay on this person’s shoulder or should I keep going?  Every time I kept going.  One after the other after the other.  Big hill mile 18-19.  Run up the hill-you are strong on the hills girl. Everyone is walking.  Pass em up.  I just kept going and going and going.  I was working, but keeping my heart rate down, staying in control never crossing that I’m going to die line and just fascinating myself.  I really have to take moments like these and think about how cool it is that I can go out and run a marathon without really training.  While it is not the most ideal circumstance and I don’t recommend it, it is cool to know I have enough fitness to get me through a marathon.  This leaves me feeling like I am well on my way to Louisville.

The last nine miles were tough.  I broke them up into three 5K’s.  While I was not fast by any stretch of the imagination the only time I walked was when I took on fuel.  Running strong into the finish was pretty cool.  My perception of  26.2 miles is totally different than the first time I ran a marathon.  Having done multiple 30+ runs in the last year, finishing an Ironman, running rim to rim to rim at the Grand Canyon, running the Catalina 50 mile race, and having a 17 hour training day have really done great things for my mind and body.  While I know not everyone wishes to do these types of endurance events,  they have given me confidence.  However, the coolest thing about the entire day was when I finished Steve was there with a huge smile on his face!  Not only was I proud of myself, but he was proud of me too.  A few times during the run when I wanted to slow down or walk I thought of the people who have been behind me this past year and it helped me feel like I was giving something back to them.    There is nothing in the world I would trade for the friendships I have made, the relationship with my family, and for the man I am creating my ultimate partnership with.  These are the things that help keep me running!

Congratulations to:

David Hart: 3:05:21  3rd Overall Masters

Michelle Hart: 3:49:02   Qualified for Boston

Keith Negri:3:46:06 (Doing 50 races in his 50th year-Congrats dude!)

John Murtaugh:4:10:51 ( One of my favorite people to see come get me at the end of a long day)

Steve Rogers: 4:17:13 (first marathon in 10 years!!)

Doreen DeRoss: 5:20:51 (Getting ready for Ironman Louisville)

Sooo…BAMF= Bad A$$ Mother F**&$#@!  And SAMF=Stupid A$$ Mother F*&%$@*.

Today I was a BAMF, but could have been a SAMF.  I started my ride from Boulder to Littleton (about 50 miles) at 2:30.  It was cold and raining.  I didn’t really want to go, but I had my kiddo take me up to Boulder and drop me off with my bike and take off.  All the way up as it was raining I kept saying I didn’t think it was a good idea, and that I was pretty sure I was stupid.  He, very lovingly mind you, said, “Mom, you are a pussy.  I play rugby in snow, melting snow, rain, sleet, freezing cold and you don’t ever hear me complain.”  I was shut up by my 17 almost 18 year old.  He was right.  I have never had the opportunity to race in acclimate weather, but what if it happens?  Am I prepared?  I intentionally do not sign up for the Harvest Moon Long Course in September because the chances of the weather being cold and wet are high.  I do not like to be cold.  So here was an opportunity staring me in the face.  Get on my bike and go!

Well, I did it.  Averaging about 15mph I rode my bundled up butt home from Boulder.  I was lucky enough to have the beau with me to freeze as well.  I am so proud of him because he did a 20 mile run in the morning and then met me to drag my arse all the way back to Littleton.  What a stud-I’m just sayin.  We had a great time and even stopped at Wendy’s  really fast for a bite to eat cuz neither one of us ate lunch (bad coach, I know…).  This was my first time riding on the Morgul-Bismark course from the Coors Classic.  The hump-not so bad.  The WALL-  a one mile gradual incline that ends with a 12% grade.  Not so bad either, so I was left wondering why everyone who talks about that course talks about the wall like it was something super evil.  Well come to find out the wall is at the end of a 13.1 mile loop that racers looped 8 times!  Yeah that is 104+ miles.  Yikes!!  The Wall is kinda crazy 8 times in a race!  After climbing the wall and heading into Golden the weather really cleared up.  We took our rain jackets off and enjoyed the rest of the ride in pretty dry, moderately cool conditions.

So, Shaun I am not a pussy!  However, I do know that my preference is to exercise outside in nice weather, who doesn’t really?  Overall, I am a tough cookie and am willing to head out on an adventure and get a little dirty and I like that about myself. I just commented to the beau, who is lying in bed reading, that we didn’t take any pictures either.  He said, “Really do we need to take pictures?  I am not a picture kinda guy.” Really? Does he not know that I love my pictures?  Next time there will be pics

On Janury 17, 2010 it was announced by the Boulder Daily Camera the city of Superior Colorado is bringing back the race beginning Memorial Day weekend 2010. The race is being re-named “Superior Morgul Classic”. The three day event will encompass a wide range of race events, art festival, music, and a public showing of the movie “American Flyers”. The current plan is to continue the event until 2014 – depending on its success.

I am in a state of absolute bliss.  60 miles on the bike today and only saw snow in the shadiest of shady spots and along the creeks in the mountains.  I rode by Lair O the Bear and saw mountain bikers headed up and got to thinking maybe a run on the ol’ trail is in order tomorrow.  This last couple of weeks have me out of my training funk and really getting my groove on!! It is a great feeling to be out there enjoying whatever weather Colorado is throwin’ at me and working towards Ironman Louisville.  Thanks to Laura and Stephanie for the nice ride and for splitting a buffalo burger from the Blue Cow three ways.  See, you can have your burger and eat it too!

Good luck to Doreen and Cory racing down in Vegas this coming weekend.  Can’t wait to hear all about it!

Did you know visualization can be used for good and evil?  If every time you are getting ready for a training day and you think about the things that can go wrong or if you think you are going to walk during a run or if you believe you are going to get dropped on a ride chances are things will go just as you imagined them.  The thing about visualization is typically what we visualize is what we believe.  So this has got me thinking.  Can we turn these visualizations into positive visualizations and believe the story we are creating in our mind?

I believe the answer is yes, it just takes practice.  So how do we practice?  Guess what?  It is just like training.  I have been using the time just as I am waking up as an opportunity to visualize the workout I have on tap for the day.  I start from the very beginning and go through all the motions.  Breakfast.  Calm.  Getting dressed.  Being prepared.  Starting out nice and relaxed, calm, and easy.  Then all of a sudden I am going over something in my visualization that I don’t want to see.  I stop and start all over again from the beginning.  I do this over and over and over again until I get through the workout the way I want it to be.   Now that I have the workout the way that I want it in my head I find examples of when things have gone that way in order for me to incorporate belief in the vision.  For me I look back on the workouts or races I am most proud of.  The ones I executed brilliantly or the ones where my running was strong or the training ride I stayed with the pack.

Then off I go on my workout.  Last night I had a 12 mile run on tap.  I spent my time visualizing running strong for the entire run.  I used some of my great runs from the past to help me believe in my capabilities and what I was seeing myself doing.  There were moments where I got a little tired and wanted to slow down and walk but my vision of the workout did not include that and I had experiences to back up my belief that I was capable of running strong.  Sure enough the workout turned out exactly as I had envisioned it.

In a nutshell, positive visualization, for me, has three steps.

1. Being aware of what I am visualizing
2. Creating a vision of what I truly want the workout to look like
3. Relying on my positive experiences to back up the vision- eg: find reasons to believe the vision is possible.

The coolest by product of visualization is that even if my workout doesn’t go 100% as visualized I end up 100% satisfied with my efforts.  This may seem contradictory.  But in my mind it isn’t.  Training and racing is ultimately about doing your best.  It may be that you are riding with riders who average 21mph and you average 19mph.  You will get dropped.  It is just the way it is.  But what visualization helps with is not giving up and giving in.  You can have personal bests and still not win the race.  I hope you will start training your brain to participate in your triathlon adventures.

“Overcome your chief weakness and inspire others who have the same weakness to overcome theirs”

This past month I read two books:  the first, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and the second, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.  Both books captivated me and compelled me to analyze the outcomes of the choices the women in these books make.  Although the struggles the women face in the two books are very different, all three women find strength through astonishingly challenging situations.

The Glass Castle is Jeannette Wall’s memoir of her childhood.  While her parents did not provide much in the way of food, clothing and shelter,  they did provide love and freedom to exercise choice.  The family continually moved until they settled in her father’s childhood hometown where poverty was the norm, but even in this environment it was clear to Jeannette that she had nothing but her resources.  She worked diligently to save money to get herself out of the situation her parents created for her.  And once the money was saved, twice because her father stole her savings once, she ended up giving it to her sister to get her out of the situation which was selfless. In the depths of poverty the girl was creative, ingenious, crafty, and always seeking ways to feel proud.

The two women in A Thousand Splendid Suns endured things I will never know in my life.  Making a choice to live with a repulsive, older, abusive man to ensure your child is taken care of is a sacrifice that seems unthinkable.  Yet knowing what the options were the choice was straightforward.  These two women exhibited strength and courage throughout the book and finally ended with liberation of sorts.

These stories made me think about strength.  Maybe strength is innate; a part of my constitution.  It is just something I am without thinking about it or needing direction towards it.  Everyone has strengths.  How do we use them in the face of adversity?  Maybe it is simply taking a different perspective on the situation.  Can weaknesses be strengths?  More often these days I am leaning on my weaknesses to define my strengths.  It is like my weaknesses are actually opportunities.  Maybe my weaknesses send me on a different path where my spirit, energy and vitality are nourished and I am able to exhibit my health and tenacity without using great amounts of my reserves.  Or maybe they are opportunities to be tenacious and gut it out and feel empowered afterwards.

These books caused me to evaluate my situations and decide what perspective I want to take on my weaknesses. What are your weaknesses?  How can you grow and use your strength to make the most of them?  I encourage you to take a different perspective.  You might just find yourself smiling when you least expect it.  Have fun with it and get out there and have some fun with it.  After all, we are not victims of anyone or anything but ourselves.

Ahhhh!  I do love traveling and I  love spending time with friends and family but there is just something about being in my own home.  It is like a breath of fresh air.  It is like spring daffodils popping through the thawing soil.  It is like…well, home.  The place I have created for myself and my boys is special to me.  It has shown me that I can make it.  For the past 5 years I had a “partner” telling me I couldn’t make it on my own.  Someone who said he believed in me but everything he did showed the opposite.  I realized as I was writing an athlete’s schedule that I had even given up my personality in this relationship.  So I started adding my personality back into my schedules.  Everything is clear as the spring blue sky now.  I am making it, rediscovering myself, and creating a new relationship with the Andrea who has been wintering somewhere warm but far away.  It is good to be home.

I can celebrate other’s accomplishments once again.  Being proud of my friends warms my heart.  Seeing them working hard, having a great time, and accomplishing their goals is truly inspiring and keeps me pushing harder towards my goals.  Sonja ran 100 miles this weekend.  In ONE day.  In 21 hours and change ( and she chicked a bunch of dudes in the process-rock star).  How awesome is that?  Beth did an adventure race with 3 dudes she has never met before.  How frickin’ brave is that?   A bunch of people got to be out there cheering both of these rock stars on in Moab this weekend and all I can think is, “How cool is that?”  How cool is it that everyone who can gets their butt to Moab to help a couple of crazy women accomplish their dreams and goals?  Once again, I am touched by people’s kindness.  It is good to be home.

My visit with my sister was awesome.  I got to trek all over Austin on my Bro in Laws’ fixie.  I got to run on the Barton Springs Greenbelt and at Town Lake in the warm rain.  My sister is an AMAZING chef.  She has educated herself in the macrobiotic philosophy of cooking and living and she and her husband have become very well respected in their community.  She fed me delicious food infused with love, warmth, and a desire for me to be my best.  I am refreshed and rejuvenated and ready after a long reprieve from training to be back in the saddle again, so to speak.  This past 6 months has been a journey for me.  The path I was on came to a dead end.  I didn’t want to make a left or right turn, I wanted to continue going straight because it allowed me an easy way through.  But alas, I have turned the corner and created a new path.  It is a beautiful path.  Along the way I have rediscovered the things that I hold dear to my heart and have allowed myself to put energy into those things and hold off on training for a little while.  At first there was a lot of guilt associated with it and almost a loss of self.  However, I have been filled with yummy food, lots of exercise, and love from my sister.  I am glad to be home.

The coolest thing about coming home this time is that I got to come home to an incredible man.  He is amazing and I fall in love with him more and more every single day.  The past five years of my life have been spent pretending I had the perfect life when the real story is that I had the most miserable life.  I lacked the basic foundation of unconditional love.  With every triumph, with every struggle, with every smile, and every fit of tears the man in my life is there and with me through it all.  My soul believes in people’s goodness and in the true spirit of community.  Living from my heart and soul and not from fear is so refreshing.  It is good to be home building the foundation for my life from my heart once again.  Ahhhhh.