Redman, Race day 2

(September 20th)
So, our cheering squad headed back to Bricktown, and Tiernan and I went back to the hotel. I couldn't wait to get back to the hotel and into the SHOWER!!! Once outta the shower, I hopped into that cozy, white, fluffy bed! Aaaaaahhhhhhhhh. I also started chowing down on some of our leftover pizza.
Now, it's Tiernan's turn...the focus is shifting to her race tomorrow! We napped for a bit and then got ready to meet everyone for dinner! Scott and Ann have friends in OKC and were planning to meet them for dinner. We all went to a mexican restaurant - fajitas - mmmm. It was fun just hanging out and re-capping the day. We didn't stay out too late, 'cause we needed to get to bed for yet another early morning wake up call.
Tiernan was smart and decided she would just roll out of bed, grab her coffee, and head to the race site to secure a spot in transition. As it turns out, these race organizers already had that nailed down...I'm tellin' ya, it's a really well-run race! Anyway, she was able to get body-marked, etc. and came back to the hotel to finish getting ready. When she got back, I was out of the bathroom and ready to go, so I wouldn't be in her way at all. I made her a bagel and tried to just be there to support her, as she had done for me ALL day yesterday!
We got to the race site plenty early, which is always a good idea! I stood there watching all the nervous sprint/olympic distance athletes getting ready for their day. It was fabulous getting to watch, instead of participating! I stood outside the transition area, watching Tiernan set up her space. She took her bike out for a quick spin, and was ready to go. We grabbed her wetsuit and swim stuff and headed down to the lake.
We got her in the wetsuit and she was ready. Very shortly after that, James (her hubby) found us - yeah! She was excited to see him and promptly spilled his tall cup o' java as they were trying to get a pic. :-(
Scott, Ann and the boys found us too - we're all ready to cheer for Tiernan. Go Tiernan! We had so many spectating opportunities! Tiernan had a fantastic race, and it was so much fun just getting to cheer for her and so many other athletes! I liked being a spectathlete! :-)
This was Tiernan's first Olympic distance triathlon and she was speedy! She was like 25th outta the water, but moved up in the ranks through the bike and run, and finished top 15 women. CONGRATULATIONS, Tiernan, on a fantastic day!!!
We went back to the hotel to get cleaned up and packed...and started our road trip home to Kansas City. Thankfully, James came with us this time, and he drove us all the way home.
I want to mention just one more time that this Redman event had a fabulous group of volunteers and organizers!!! We had a great weekend!

Redman, Race Day 1

(September 19th)
Rise and shine! The alarm sounded at 4:40. Ugh. I was actually pretty happy that I had a solid night of sleep! I'm ready to go. Coffee is priority #1, then food, then shower, clothes, potty, car - we're off to the race site. We got there with plenty of time to spare, and after dropping my transition bag by my bike, I found the line for timing chips. This line was kinda long, but moved along pretty quickly and before I knew it - I had a timing chip strapped to my ankle. Next line? Portapotty. Gross, but what's the alternative, right? This line seemed to take longer than the timing chips!
I made my way back into transition and started setting up. Transition mat-bike-helmet-sunglasses-running shoes-visor-socks-swim cap-goggles-wetsuit-fuel...yaddayaddayadda. As I'm setting things up, I hear this guy yelling what I thought was "Bob" at the time. He must have said it 4 times or more, when finally it occured to me that the voice was actually yelling, "Dawn"! It was Brett from Kansas City! He had attended my spinning classes for quite some time, and it was great seeing him here. He told me he is now an Ironman also - yeah Brett!! It really was fun running into him.
I continued setting up, and just about the time I was ready to roll, I went over to chat with Tiernan...it couldn't have been more than a minute and I felt a drop of rain. WHAT?! It's raining. Boo Rain. Boo. At first it was just a drizzle and we were sure it would stop quickly. Well, as it turned out, it went from drizzle to downpour pretty quickly. I grabbed my wetsuit, goggles, and swim cap and headed for cover under the shelter. It was pretty chilly, but there were lots of us huddled in the shelter. It continued to rain.
The full distance athletes were supposed to start at 7. Well, the race announcer came over the speakers and said they were discussing what to do - sections of the bike course were pretty covered in water, so they just weren't sure. They kept updating us every few minutes - usually just saying that they were still talking and would tell us just as soon as a decision was made. At one point, they told us that we might do a swim/run/swim. Come again? Um, can you imagine getting back into a wetsuit after being sweaty and wet? Could be interesting. I wasn't excited about possibly missing out on the bike leg!
So, while we're under the shelter, I decided to go ahead and get into my wesuit to get warm! It was interesting working my way into the wetsuit while crammed under a shelter with all these people. Thanks to Tiernan's help, I was in! We started talking to this other gal and her fam/friends who were under that shelter. When I decided to walk back over to transition, I told her I was heading over there and she wanted to come along. We got to chatting and guess what? She was from Kansas City too! Not just KC, but Smithville...what? I had to come to OKC to meet another northland triathlete? :) Nan was doing her first 1/2 Ironman, but she has BIG plans ahead. In just 2 months, she'll be doing her first IRONMAN!!! GO NAN! We made our way back into transition and I just couldn't believe how "flooded" everything was! It was just drenched.
Finally, they announced that the race would go on - all three legs! We were told that at one part of the bike course that was flooded, so we would have to dismount and go around this section on foot. They encouraged folks not to stress about setting a PR, but to just go out there and have a good time, and that we did!
As the girls were heading down to the swim start, I was about middle of the pack, and heard them say, "60 seconds!" Uh, hello folks...we gotta move. Well, needless to say, we didn't all get down the ramp before the gun went off and it was time to SWIM!

I thought - no way do I wanna start in the middle of this mess...so I held back for a few minutes. I literally saw all the women up ahead. I was dead last. Hmmm. I don't like that either. Since the waters had cleared, I started to swim. I felt good, but was taking it easy. I quickly felt like I was gettin in a groove, and really felt great. Slowly but surely, I started passing these pink caps. Ok, I feel better that I'm not at the back. :-) We swam along the shore, three left turns, and then back into the RedBull arch! Once I hit the 2nd turn, I picked it up just a little bit more, but wasn't ever really in a big rush. That said, I ended up finishing the 1.2 mile swim with a solid time of 40:06.

I took my time in transition, since everything was soaking wet. Tiernan was a great cheerleader, and cheered me off on the bike! Wow. I learned a valuable lesson today (one that I should have totally learned before now!)...always pack rain/cool weather gear in your transition bag - always. I was cooooold on that bike! It was spitting rain as I headed out on the 56 mile route, but aside from the cold, rain, and occasional wind, my legs were feeling F-I-N-E! It was an interesting ride with all the water. There was no relaxing and settling in, because you had to watch for water-covered potholes and such. The good news was that it was pretty flat! Yeah for flat! I tried to just stay pretty comfortable and not kill it. I finished the ride in 3:04.

My bike to run transition was comical. I literally picked up my socks and had to wring them out. I also dumped water out of my tennis shoes. Never before have I stopped at a portapotty during a race...I did here. And, I was off on the run. The run wasn't my best performance ever. I couldn't believe how many puddles we were running through. This guy in front of me ran into one of the puddles and came out without his shoe! It was somewhere in the red clay/mud that was now covering pretty much everything. Too funny! The good thing was that everyone had a really good attitude about it, and I enjoyed being out there. I was amazed at how many KC athletes I saw out there too - very cool!

When I came around to the turnaround on the run, some more fans had joined Tiernan (Scott, Ann, their kiddos, and Tiernan's husband, James came to watch us race). It was good to see familiar faces and have the extra support out there. The sun finally decided to join us, around mile 8 of my run. So, while I wish I could've been a little zippier with the 13.1 miles, I did finish it (2:45). Coming into the finish was a beautiful sight...a big long trail of red....I was happy to be done! (6:39:43)

I claimed my medal and my finishers shirt, grabbed a drink and was greeted by my cheering section! Woohoo - another 1/2 Ironman in the books!!! Now, could someone please find me a chair?!

More to come....

It's been a month?

Wow - it's been exactly a month since I posted anything on my blog. Sad, eh?
I've been busy, I suppose. So, what's been going on?

Well, I celebrated another year of life (just a nice way of saying I'm older). I sold one of my bicycles. I watched the Tour of Missouri come through town! I completed my 3rd Half Ironman race. Yes, that's right, another half ironman is in the books. In fact, while we're on that subject, let's just hear the race update, shall we?

(September 18th)
Redman Triathlon races were in Oklahoma City. There were 2 days of racing: Saturday- Half and Full Ironman distance races, and Sunday - Sprint and Olympic distances. I'd been talking about these races early in the year, and knew of a few other KC folks going to race. Tiernan decided to race the Olympic distance and we made plans to trek to OKC together. We left KC Thursday evening, chatting all the way. It was a quick drive and we were in Edmond, OK before we knew it. Ya see, we didn't actually book a hotel room for Thursday night because the hotel we had set up for Fri/Sat didn't have anything left (well, except for smoking - not really an option). So, we were winging it. Thanks to my dad, we had a map of Edmond with several hotel options plotted out. First stop - Holiday Inn Express. Mind you, it was a bit after midnight, and we were greeted by Patrick. Patrick was a rather chipper chap, but we were happily entertained as we discussed rates, perks, etc. We got him to come down a whole $4 on the rate. Yee haw! His talk of a "free" hot breakfast, and seeing the fruit and Otis Spunk muffins strewn through the lobby, and we were SOLD! Sign us up. Give us our key. We're in!

I had no idea my little buddy Tiernan enjoyed the free treats so much. Here is a pic of all the food she collected in our 6, maybe 7 hours at that hotel.

Too funny! We had a great laugh about that!

We decided to sleep in a little bit, got up, dressed, and headed down for our free, hot breakfast. Mmmm. We checked out shortly after that and thought we'd go check in to our other hotel and get that all settled. When we arrived at the Extended Stay America (yes, it was cheap and had a kitchen, so we thought it was a good option), we were told that our room wasn't ready and we should check back at 1. So, we went to find the lake for a swim. Ooops, we can't swim again till 2. We needed to get some things at Target, and by the time we finished up there and wandered around town, we ended up back at the ESA to attempt check in. Well, the hotel smelled funny when we walked in, but we were both game to give it a shot. We again asked at the desk...the gal told us someone would go finish up our room now and we could check in. She then said, "it's 2 double beds, smoking, right?" To which we both replied...uh, nope. It should be non-smoking and that's pretty important. A few minutes later she tells us that it's a non-smoking room, but it's on the smoking floor. Hmmmm. Well, let us check it out and we'll let you know if we're staying. We went up to the 3rd floor to assess the situation. It took all of about 3 minutes to determine that it wasn't gonna happen. For starters, one of the beds was tilted all cock-eyed. Not really sure how anyone would sleep on that. The room wreaked of smoke (and the spray they used to try to make it a non-smoking room!). And, we all know there wasn't a chance that I would be storing anything in that refrigerater, let alone cooking a dinner in the pots/pans they provide. BARF!!! We turned in the key, hopped in the car and took off.

We found a great little Italian place and ordered some DELICIOUS grilled chicken pizza. While we were chowing down on pizza, Tiernan had her laptop going, trying to find another hotel option. Bingo! We found a room at the Crowne Plaza...just a few minutes from the race site. Our room was poolside, with two VERY comfy beds...white bedding that actually looked like it had been laundered, and a good sized refrigerator in the room. Ahhhhh. We were happy! Now, on to the race site.

We changed clothes, grabbed our wetsuits and such, and headed over to Lake Hefner. When we arrived, we opted to go through the check in lines first, and collect all our race loot. The line for the Half check in was pretty long. First thing was the race bracelet. Then on to the packet. For the half, we got a really nice carryall bag with our stuff in it, that was cool. Pink caps for the ladies. Medical form turned in. Maps picked up. Medium t-shirt...cute. I think that's it. We're done. We zipped through the expo too, but didn't find much we needed/wanted. So, over to the lake we went. Getting into a wetsuit is always a little challenging. It's especially fun when you have an audience. Well, fun for them! :-) Once in the wetsuits, we made our way down to the water, where they had a pre-race course set up, with lifeguards and all! The water was a little chilly initially, but as we got going, it felt good. We swam for 15-20 minutes and called it done.

Time to check in the bike. I threw on some dry clothes at the car, put the race stickers on my bike, and rode it up to transition. This race was so well organized, and the volunteers - across the board - were excellent! Bike check in took me no time, as they had all the bike racks labeled with your name and number. I noticed that I was in a sea of bikes from KC area and around...that's cool!

We're done here - well, until tomorrow. Now, it's off to find some dinner and get ready to race! We landed at the Olive Garden, and as suspected, there were tons of athletes waiting to load up on pre-race pasta dinners. While we waited, I re-packed my transition bag with all my gear for the race. It was kind of a relief to get that done now, so I wouldn't have so much to do back at the hotel.

Surprisingly enough, we only waited about 10 minutes before they called us in. Woohoo. We ate it up on salad, breadsticks, pasta....Mmmmm. Back to the hotel we went. It didn't take long for me to get everything set out for the next morning, shower, and hop into bed. Ahhhh. We set like 5 alarms to make sure we were up and at 'em eeeeeeeaaaaarrrrrrrlllllyyy! (to be continued in the next post. Pics will also follow when I get around to downloading them)

Bye for now, Pap

As I type this blog entry, funeral services are being held for Samuel McPherson (known to all of us as "Pap"), in Indiana, Pennsylvania. I've wanted to blog about the past few weeks, but just couldn't bring myself to do it until this morning. It's crazy that I've made it to, well, we'll just call it my middle 30's, never having lost a close family member.
(Photo: Left to Right back row is my Uncle Sam, Uncle Tom, Uncle Dan, my Dad - pictured with g'ma and pap)

I don't even really know what to say with this entry...thoughts galore are flooding my mind right now, and I'm not sure what will flow out.

I have wonderful childhood memories of my grandparents, Sam and Betty McPherson. I was actually born in Indiana, PA. In fact, I was born in the same hospital where my Pap passed away. We moved from PA to Florida when I was just a little girl. Growing up in Florida, it wasn't exactly a hop, skip and a jump getting back to PA, but we made that road trip many times. When I was in Jr. High, we actually moved back to PA for a short time, and lived in our own farm house in Amish country. This was quite an interesting experience, but again, holds some pretty great memories.

A few weeks ago, Pap was put in the hospital. He had a series of small strokes and wasn't doing very well. Dad and Mom jumped in the car and headed to PA to see Pap and G'ma. I might also mention that my sister, Sharon, and her family now live in Pennsylvania too. They aren't terribly far from Indiana, so it's been good that she can keep up with the family there and let us know how things are going.

On Tuesday evening, August 11th, Sharon sent an email with pictures of everyone visiting Pap on the therapy floor of the hospital. On Wednesday, my folks were making another visit to the hospital and out to see g'ma, and were planning to head home. Unfortunately, things changed pretty rapidly from this point, and Pap started to decline quickly. When Bill and I saw the pictures, we both felt the urge to get there and see Pap and all the family again. Bailey's birthday was Thursday, August 13, so since we were going to miss her party, Bill wanted to spend some time with her that day. This worked out fine, as I needed to pack up and get some things taken care of before heading out. I squeezed in a swim, packed all my gear (and I do mean all - even my bike!), and headed out to Bill's house. I dropped Tucker off with Kim and Bailey, moved all my stuff over to Bill's vehicle, and jumped in. It was a little later than we hoped...like 5ish...but we were on the road!

We drove through the night, taking turns sleeping/driving, and arrived at Sharon's house a bit after 7a.m.! It was good to see everyone and be all together. With only 2 hours of sleep, I was a bit tired, but didn't really want to sleep...we wanted to go see Pap. We showered, grabbed some breakfast, and loaded up for the hospital. I wasn't really prepared for seeing Pap that first time. It was mid morning, and he was very sleepy/groggy. He opened his eyes, but they just seemed empty. Oh boy, it sure was tough seeing him like this. Dad looks so much like Pap too, that it was really just more than I could take at that moment. We didn't stay long on this first visit, 'cause Pap just wanted to go to sleep. I was able to tell him I loved him, and we let him know we'd come back. I was a mess.

It's funny how it sometimes takes moments like this to realize that you should always tell people what they mean to you, and it's pretty silly that we try to hide our emotions. Why does it matter if someone knows you're sad? Why can't you cry without restraint? It's just funny, and perhaps a bit sad. When we got to the car I told my dad I was really sorry he had to see his dad like this. It must be extremely hard.

We grabbed something to eat and headed out to see g'ma at the house. As it turned out, we missed them! Uncle Sam and my cousin, Steve (Tom's son), had taken g'ma to the hospital. We waited at the house for a bit, and then decided to go up to the hospital and catch them up there. It was good to see g'ma, but pretty heart wrenching seeing the way she looked at my Pap in that hospital bed. They've been married for 67 years!!! I cannot even imagine. We were able to talk to Pap this time, and he was responsive - what a relief to know he knew we were there. He was even making jokes like he always did. At one point I asked if he was sleepy. His response..."I'm always sleepy." This was so true and made us all laugh. Pap had a great sense of humor. Sometimes you couldn't tell if he was joking or not, but he was always funny.

Pap was getting tired, so was g'ma, so we all headed out. Saturday, we went back to the house to see g'ma. It was good to see her, the house, and my uncle Sam. Dad has 3 brothers - Sam is the oldest, then Dad, Tom, and Dan. Dan lives in Indiana, but everyone else is now out of state. Bill and I sat in the house for a while, talking to g'ma. We reminisced about the good times we've had there - the hot cocoa and frozen girl scout cookies, Danny and Bill getting yelled at by g'ma 'cause Pap told on them, g'ma working in her office, the clown room, rolling down the hill in front of the house...we could go on and on, and we did. It was nice talking to her. It was also tough seeing her declining too. Her mind is still sharp as a tack, however, and she always has told the best stories (yes, sometimes they really are stories) - I love hearing her describe "stuff" (one of her favorite words).

There were a few times during our visit where Sharon, Bill and I were with Mom and Dad - so strange having the 5 of us together again...just the 5 of us. We laughed it up about some really silly, stupid, funny things that happened over the years. We reminisced a lot about times spent in Pennsylvania. We went for ice cream (a couple times, actually!) at a place we went as children. We went to see the old farm house in Smicksburg, and Dad took us on a drive to show us the house where he grew up, where his friends lived, hills they sledded down, where he went to school, etc. We all really enjoyed these times. It was all bittersweet, really.

The next couple days were more of the same - sleep, eat, hospital, g'ma's, hospital and repeat. I cannot even describe the sadness I felt, sitting in the hospital room with Pap. It was unbelievably difficult watching him lay there, getting weaker each time we saw him. I'm extremely grateful we were all there, and we know that Pap was aware of it. Bill and I returned home on Monday. It was hard to leave, knowing we wouldn't see Pap again. It was also tough leaving Dad and the rest of the family...it was just nice all being together. It was also good to get home, though it seemed so quiet.

Everyone loved Pap - how could you not love Pap?! And, I think we all knew that Pap loved us. He had a wonderful family, loving wife, 4 sons, lots of grandchildren, great grandchildren, many friends, spent years traveling in the RV, camping and just sitting on the porch or sleeping in his chair...he had a full life. Most importantly, Pap knew Christ as his Savior and that's why we were all able to let him go. We know that on Wednesday morning, August 19, when Pap took his final breath here on earth, he was immediately in heaven with God. What a comfort knowing that many of us will see him again someday.

So, goodbye for now, Pap. We love you and will miss you, but we'll see you soon!

Sleepover with Bailey!

Bailey and I had a sleepover tonight! Bill and Kim were both working, so it worked out well that she could hang out with Aunt Dawn and celebrate her birthday (tomorrow!). So, I picked her up - with Tucker - and we ran some errands to start. No fun, but had to be done. :-)
We dropped Tucker off at home and headed out for the first "surprise". A little history here...when Bailey spent the night last week, we watched TONS of the Cake Boss! We went so far as to check airfare to Hoboken, NJ to see Carlos Bakery in person. Too bad that didn't work out, eh? 'nough said - we love the bakery shows and I knew I wanted to take her to some kind of bakery for a little birthday treat.
We headed to the River Market area, to a small shop on Missouri Ave, called Baby Cakes. Mmmmm! is just one word to describe it. The shop is tiny and cute, and smells oh-so-delicious. We snapped a few pics outside, and then went in to survey the options. Wow-wee, so many flavors to choose. Bailey picked a chocolate one, and one with peanut butter and chocolate. Of course, I also had to have one, but I went with what they called their signature Red Velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting.
We chatted with the shop owner a little bit too, and he must have really liked Bailey, 'cause he gave her a few birthday surprises (in addition to the cupcakes, of course). She got a couple little trinkets, and then he gave her a long-sleeved tshirt that says, "Baby Cakes" on it. So cute. She was pretty excited.

It was soooo hot outside, we weren't able to leave the cupcakes in the car, so we had to eat them right away - not a problem. After the cupcakes, we drove around in the P&L District a little bit. I didn't find anything I was looking for, so we headed back up North. Bailey wanted to eat dinner at Chipotle, so that was our next stop...even after the cupcakes! he he

After dinner, we went to see a movie and then called it a night. What a fun time with my lil' niece. I can't believe she'll be 12 tomorrow. It just doesn't seem possible. Soooo, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Bailey! I'm already looking forward to our visit to Baby Cakes next year!!!

Here's a link to our pictures - way fun!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23106&id=1599194754&l=e389c0719a

Removing the Question Mark

I finally removed the question mark (?) from the Redman 1/2 Ironman entry on my 2009 race list. I don't know why it took me so long...I'm registered, hotel is booked, travel buddy enlisted...42 days and counting!!!

Prairie Punisher Duathlon doesn't disappoint in Dishing up the Punishment

I'm sitting here (2 days post-race) with two pretty sore calves, and quads that are a bit tired as well. I'm drinking a cup of java - duh! - and watching the Today Show. Whaaa...where is my Tour de France? I miss it already!

For the past, oh, 6 years or so, Terry and I have done the Prairie Punisher Duathlon in Gardner, KS. We have each missed a year in there somewhere, but for the most part, this is on the schedule each July. It's also typical that July in Kansas City is blazing hot with some crazy high humidity.

This year, however, is a bit different. To start, there are gobs of us heading to Gardner for the race! My mom has a crew rounded up to do the 5k walk/run. These girls (mom, patti, ashley, jancee, and stephanie) will team up to compete in the upcoming Kansas City Marathon! This was their first "practice" meet as they prep for the October race. We also had an EPIC Bike and Sport crew out there to do the Du! Galen, Amy, Terry, Tiernan and I are shown in this pic, sporting our Epic gear.

Tiernan, Terry and I met at the shop a little after 5 on Saturday morning, and traveled out to Gardner. Eeeks...there was a nice lightening show right where we were heading! We had plenty of time to get checked in, pick up the chip, set up in the very wet transition area, etc. I hopped on my bike for just a few minutes, to ensure everything was shifting right and open up the legs a little bit. I really didn't get as much of a warmup as I would've liked. They were calling everyone to the starting line. I re-racked the bike, donned the running shoes and got ready to roll.

My mom's crew were all gearing up for their walk/run, so I was able to say a quick hello and wish them a good race. Then it was time for the rest of us to line up for the Duathlon start. So, now is probably a good time to mention that the course changed a bit this year. Typically the run portion of the race (which, for those of you who don't know, you run 2 times!) is pretty flat, however, this year it is hilly! I scoped out the course last weekend, and that was the first I was aware of the newly added hills. Hmmm. It wasn't until I started on that first run though, that I became painfully aware of exactly how much this would hurt!

It's always a challenge to remain calm and hold your own pace in the first run of a duathlon. Participants often take off like a herd and it's very easy to get caught up running way faster than you're able...believe me, that catches up with you sooner than later in these races! So, I felt like I did a great job starting out very controlled and settling into my own pace/rythym. Though it may not sound like a great accomplishment, I was absolutely thrilled to actually run the entire first run. My legs wanted to stop at the hills, but - no way - I wasn't listening to them! I ended up finishing the first 5k in just under 30 minutes. That's pretty good for me...on a hilly course too!

As I entered the transition area, I felt like I needed to hurry up, but just wasn't moving very fast at all. I finally got everything together, grabbed the bike and shuffled to the bike mount/dismount line.

Typically, once I hit the bike, I'm feeling great - that didn't seem to be the case this time. My legs were feeling that run. Ruh-roh...I have to do that again too. Ok, just ride...pedal...this hurts...keep pedaling...where did this wind come from?...change gears...pedal faster...drink...pedal...when are my legs gonna join me?...pass someone...turn left...climb a hill...pass more people...wonder if the 5k-ers are done...uh, we're racing here - pick it up...go faster, Dawn...PEDAL...

This scenario goes on for the duration of the 18 mile ride. Around mile 8 or 9, I felt my left calf twinging. I know this isn't good. I would struggle with that twinge, turned mild cramp, turned pretty bad cramping, for the rest of the race. There were a few points where I just couldn't hardly pedal with that leg. Thankfully, there wasn't much of the bike course left, and I quickly saw the transition area. I'll admit, as I approached the dismount line, I was a bit fearful of hopping off my bike - if that calf pulls up, I may topple over. Never fear, it didn't happen!

As I ran into transition and got ready for the run, I could hear the 5k-ers cheering for me - thanks folks! This transition was quicker than the first, and I was out on the run. The legs were bark-, bark-, barking at me, but I had to just keep running. I made it to the base of the first climb, and as it started turning upward, I was forced into a fast walk. My calves were cramping, so I was trying to stretch them out a little too, changing up my stride. I've also never really had a problem with side-stitches while running, but I was struggling with that or something going on in the ol' gut too. Oh well, I just wanted to get to the turnaround. I knew Amy was behind me, 'cause I passed by her on the bike. I kept running, thinking at any moment she would come up along side me. Sure enough, right after I turned around, I saw her heading up to the turnaround and soon she was beside me. We exchanged encouraging words, and with that, she passed me up. I couldn't really respond...just kept chugging along.

There is one more big hill coming back toward the finish...again, I was forced into a walk (as were the folks up ahead). Finally, before reaching the top, I started to run again - all the way into the finish stretch this time. It had started to rain, which actually felt great at this point! As I came into the finish, Tiernan was running down the grass, screaming at me - it's so encouraging to have people cheering. As luck would have it, everyone else was done, so they were all cheering...he he I was thrilled to cross that line and call that race done! Woohoo!

I ended up with a bike time of 58+ and 2nd run of 34+...not stellar times, but got the job done. The results slip says I was 4th in my age group, but I'll admit to not knowing how many gals that includes at this point. One of these days (and I hope it's really soon), all the great training will come together and I will have a fantastic race!

It was so much fun racing with teammates again! Great job to all of the other racers who put up some good times!

See--there IS still hope!

People are always trying to console me with stories of folks they know that "...didn't get married till they were 40+..." or whatever. As if I was asking for consolation of my single state. It just cracks me up. So, when I spotted this article today, I simply couldn't resist posting it. I mean, surely I have more options than this poor gal, right? :-)

106-Year-Old Single Gal Still Dating
Dating & LoveWeird News48 CommentsStatia Kealy of Ireland has never married, smoked, drank or even put on makeup. So maybe that's why she's finally ready to cut loose and hit the dating scene at the tender age of 106.

Statia, who could easily pass for 88 or 89, says she's looking for love. If you know any lonely centenarians who live near Ireland, maybe you should pass along her number. She's got a sense of humor, telling one reporter, "Those that get married do well, but those that don't do better." Fiery!

If she can't find a man and is willing to learn Chinese, maybe she could be pen-pals with Wang Guiying, a 107-year old Chinese lady who finds herself in the same "predicament." Although 106 years of eating Poptarts alone in bed doesn't necessarily sound so bad.

Blogging Slacker

I haven't felt much like blogging lately. I'm not really sure why that is, exactly, but we'll just leave it at - I've been a blogging slacker!
The good news is that I haven't been slacking in every area...I've been getting in a lot of training! Yeehaw!

So, here's what you've been missing:
June 14 - last blog post
June 18 - drove home from Chicago
June 19 - long training ride
June 20 - WIN for KC group workout from Epic!
June 21 - celebrated Father's Day with the fam at the firestation
...training, training, work, training...
June 25 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANIE! Celebrated at Jen's apartment - food and games
June 27 - went for a 3 hour bike ride in the sizzlin' heat. Friends from NE, Chad and Carol, were in town. Met lil' baby Miriam - she's so sweet.
On to a wedding! Erin and Aaron got married this evening - congratulations!
June 28 - church, work, church, surprise party for Heidi/Haley, movie with Jen!
June 29 - lunch with Angie and Morgan. Leslie also stopped by to say hello.
June 30 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEPHANIE! Another celebration with the Fullers. We ate at Stix, and you'll see Steph pretended to try some unusual cuisine. Barf.
...work, training, work...
JULY IS HERE!
July 4 - Ride from shop with fun group. Fourth of July celebration out at the Fullers. Lots of people, games, food, fireworks, fun!

See there - I mean, it's not like I've just been sitting around. :-)

1st Triathlon of the Season

Sunday was the Naperville Women's Triathlon - where else? but in Naperville, IL. I did this race back in 2007, and remembered it being fun, so I signed up to do it again. Sadly, my friends weren't here before the race, but it still worked out great for me to watch their house and dog, Ginger!

I went to packet pick up Saturday, and it was so chilly and rainy outside! I was glad the forcast was calling for nicer weather on race day. There wasn't really much excitement at the expo, so I just did a quick breeze through and called it a day. I think it helped that I was not at home, and no one was around - no distraction. It was funny - I think this was the first time I had actually eaten dinner and had all my race stuff ready to go - WAY early Saturday! I got in bed by 8pm, but as luck would have it...could NOT go to sleep! I think it ended up taking me 2+ hours to fall asleep, but I guess it was good to be relaxing, right? Once I fell asleep, I slept pretty well. The alarm comes WAY too early on race morning - 4 a.m.!

I jumped up, showered, dressed, ate my breakfast, drank coffee...yadda, yadda, yadda.
I left the house right at 5, and arrived at transition shortly after it opened. I wanted to get there with plenty of time to find parking where I wouldn't get boxed in post-race, and to find a nice spot in transition. I accomplished both. It's funny at this race, they are ultra-cautious about making sure everyone has their stuff together...you can't even get in transition if you don't already have your chip strapped to your ankle, and all your stickers in place.

They do have assigned transition areas, unfortunately, my spot was right in the center of this HUGE transition. I mean, center down the super long bike racks, and center across all the rows...we were in the 16th swim heat, and I think there were 30+ heats. At least everyone in your age group is in the same boat, eh? I set up transition, and headed for the porta potty before the lines got too long. As I walked out of transition, I saw Coach Liz setting up her area. She was on bike rack #1 - lucky! I suppose those gals have earned their spot, eh? :-) I only chatted with her for a couple minutes as I didn't want to interrupt the race mojo! I wished her a good race and headed back to collect my stuff for the swim.

So, the race starts at 7 a.m. Well, Liz started at 7, and when the winner was crossing the line, I was just starting my swim. Too funny. The swim heats go off in 4 minute intervals, which is absolutely necessary in this laned pool set up. I mentioned that the swim has 5 turns...too many for me. It was cool to see the pros come out of the water. I went over to cheer for Liz as she ran past...these gals are speedy! Finally, after lots of people watching and worrying that I wouldn't find someone to help me tug on the arms of my wetsuit, it was my turn to walk down to the start. I had spotted this guy helping these gals pull up their wetsuits - there is an art to this, and I wanted someone who knew what they were doing - so I beckoned his services. He was fantastic! I was ready to go!

I lined up right at the front of my heat, off to the left side (if you don't watch it in this set up, you'll get completely pinched into the buoys)...I had my plan. About 60 seconds before they blew the horn, this gal came up behind me and asked if she could move ahead because she was a really strong swimmer. Uh, sure, I guess. I shoulda stuck to my guns, 'cause this totally threw me off. The gun sounded and the race was off. Mind you, you are about shin deep in the water at the start, but I wanted to just dive and go, go, go...this swarm of women all just started wading/jogging down into the swim - INCLUDING this really strong swimmer who I let in front of me. Hmmm. Dawn, that was dumb. I tried darting around to the left and swimming hard for a few strokes, but I couldn't quite get away. Then, the rest of the swim was just like that - several hard, good strokes...running into people who couldn't swim straight...grabbing feet...I just couldn't get it together. About the time I felt like I would get it together, I'd hit another turn and run into someone back-stroking, doggie paddling, etc. Believe me, I'm not blaming others for this, I should have been able to get my mental game together and just didn't do it. Finally, I reached the final turn and just pulled it up to the exit.

This is quite possibly the longest run to transition - ever - in the history of triathlon (does everyone say that? ha ha). It really is long. You exit the water onto sand. Up the sand you go, hit some grass, then some cobblestone, then the pavement that takes you into transition. I saw a guy with a broom prior to the race, so I was thinking the pavement would be smooth - wrong-O! Ouch, Ouch, Ouch! It hurt my feet SO badly! One of my goals was to run all the way to transition, however, so I kept running. YEOWZAH! I was soooo happy to hit my towel. I grabbed all my bike gear and ran out to the mount line. This is pure chaos, mind you, as you have every type of bicyle trying to mow you down. I got on the bike and took off! I was just looking to take out all the "16's" that beat me on the swim...I wanted ALL of them! he he (evil laugh)

I tried to hold it back just a bit on the first loop, letting the legs get to spinning. I was feeling really good. I also knew that I had some business to take care of on the run - I was *NOT* walking anything this go around - so, should I hold back for that? My nutrition plan was working great...meaning, I actually followed it this time. :-0 I hit that 2nd lap and picked it up, still feeling great. This course was mostly flat, with just a touch of uphill and a little wind at a couple parts, but nothing at all to complain about - it totally suits my riding! Coming into transition was a bit ugly...girls were slowing down a half mile before they needed to, so it's a bit dangerous flying by. I was yelling "LEFT" a ton! Anyway, I hit the dismount and tried jogging into my bike rack. It was tough on that surface in my shoes, but I made it back to my towel and threw on my running hat, shoes, and race belt. I was off! I ran out of transition and onto the run course.

The legs weren't feeling great for about the first mile, but once I hit that water station, I grabbed a cup and kept right on running. I felt pretty good. Get this, I actually passed people on this run! Stop it! I'm serious. I hit the 1.5 mile mark and walked just long enough to down a gel and drink some water. I knew I just needed to keep it rolling right to the finish, and that's what I did. I was supposed to turn it on at this one spot that Liz pointed out Friday night, and I tried...I picked it up a little bit and then backed off again. Once I hit the grassy patch leading into the finish, I was able to pick it up a bit more. Woohoo! I was done! I didn't even see the clock, so I had no idea how I did, but I was happy to be finished.

It was a bit of a let down not having anyone else out there to cheer for or meet up with at the finish, but that's ok. I walked around the little booths to see what they had, and then made my way back to transition. It hadn't opened back up yet...so I waited just a few minutes. Once transition opened back up, I went in, grabbed all my gear, and jumped on my bike to ride back to my car. I felt good.

Later Sunday afternoon, Liz and I talked about my race. All things considered, it was pretty good. I asked how she did - YEAH FOR LIZ, she placed 3rd overall! CONGRATS!!!

Liz invited me to join her and her hubby for a bike ride Sunday evening. It was great! I met them at their house and even got to meet Boss (their dog), and we just rode around neighborhoods and such for about an hour. It felt good to spin out the legs and get to know each other a little more. Thanks Liz!

Lonnie, Eric and the kiddos come home tomorrow...I'm looking forward to having some company at their house!

(I have just a couple pics I took of transition that I'll post later)

Meeting Coach Liz

I mentioned that I have a new coach, but I don't think I mentioned that I LOVE working with her! (don't worry, Liz, this is not a stalker situation...)
So far, she has provided excellent information, training and advice, and I can really tell that it's helping! Anyway, we hadn't met in person until I came in for the triathlon. Liz arranged to meet me for a swim at the "beach" in Naperville on Friday evening.
I was a little nervous about our first meeting - not just the actual meeting of her, but having her watch me swim, etc. - oh the pressure! ha ha Centennial Beach was our meeting spot. It's a really different area - but cool for hanging out/workouts. I don't prefer it for the race because there are like 5 turns to the swim course. It's been chilly here in the Chicago area, so at the last minute (and after consulting with coach) I threw the wetsuit in the car. I was happy to have that wetsuit as the water was pretty chilly! I swam for 30 minutes or so, and then they blew the whistle for everyone to get out. They do these safety checks periodically to ensure parents know where their children are...checking to see if anyone's at the bottom of the quarry (ha ha)...so, I hopped out of the water and went up to grab my water bottle.
As I was heading back down to the water, I spotted Chris - Liz's husband - standing down on the deck in his wetsuit. I immediately recognized him from Liz's blog and facebook (see there - these things aren't a waste of time!). So, like a big nerd, I pointed at him and said...you're Chris...Liz's husband...I'm meeting her here...
I wasn't expecting to see them already in the water, so it threw me off a bit. Oh well, nothing like acting stupid at first meeting someone, right? :-)
Liz came over and the three of us chatted for a couple minutes. Finally, the safety check was over and it was time to swim for the coach! I jumped in the water and swam down/back while she stood on the deck watching me. I was nervous to hear the feedback. After 2 down and backs, I stopped at the wall like a puppy with its tongue hanging out, waiting for her comments. She hopped in with me and told me that I was actually a good swimmer. Whew. Hearing those words was such a relief! Of course, she told me not to change anything for Sunday's race, but did provide me with some excellent feedback on a few things I could improve. I'm eager to get to work on those things.
We stayed in the water and swam around to different piers in the pool - even climbed up a couple and proceeded to dive off into the water. That worked the first time, but I knocked my goggles off on the 2nd dive...smooth! Anyway, it was fun.
We all cleaned up and decided to drive the race course (bike and run). This was good, as I realized it had changed a bit from the last time I raced it. After driving the courses, Liz and Chris kindly invited me to tag along with them and get a bit to eat - and treated - how nice! It was great getting to know them and talking through my race plan, etc. After dinner we walked all around downtown Naperville, and stopped in at Naperville Running company - cool store and a neat little town. It was a good time!
Why didn't I take a picture???

Road Trip to the Windy City

My third race of the season is Sunday. While it's my third race, it's the first triathlon of 2009. Woohoo. I decided to road trip it this time. It's just easier to throw all your gear in the car and not worry about your bike making it in one piece, or the extra fees when flying. So, I had lots to do this morning, and was up and at 'em early.

I didn't start the drive until 11:30ish, but my timing actually worked out pretty well in the end. Much like any type of travel, taking a long drive can be fairly entertaining. I mean, I was by myself, so I had to find things to occupy my time, right? I couldn't possibly capture all the excitement of my trip - clearly there was just too much!

So, about 30 minutes into the drive I broke into the trail mix. ha ha Seriously, you've been on the road for 30 minutes and you're already hungry and bored. :-)

Somewhere near the Iowa border, I saw a fella on the shoulder, pulling 2 shopping carts behind him. Poor guy, it was uphill for certain and he was using some kind of rope system to pull them. I'll give him credit - they looked very stable and he seemed to be making good time. Following this sighting, I spent some time pondering his destination.

Shortly after I hit the Iowa border, I started running into various sections of construction...8 miles, 11 miles, 15 miles...good times. It wasn't too bad if everyone maintained the construction zone speed limit. I think a few vehicles I encountered were equipped with brake sensors wired to engage each time they passed an orange barrel. Really, it doesn't require braking people. Just drive.

About 33 miles outside of Des Moines, I spotted some cows that looked like Oreo cookies. Was I just hungry? No, upon second glance, they were black at both ends and white around the middle. Mmmmm. I could go for some Oreos (or even better - some Newman O's!). By the way, this cow has a name. It is called the Belted Galloway. And, I guess my likening it to an Oreo isn't original. Bummer!
I didn't get to snap a picture myself, but found one online. Look at this picture and tell me it doesn't make you hungry for a cookie.

I thought I would stop in Des Moines, but I was changing interstates there, and didn't want to risk missing my new route, so I waited. My first stop of the trip was at 2:30pm in Altoona, IA! It was a spur of the moment decision - I spotted a sign for HyVee and thought...I'll exit here! Altoona is a cute little town - even Altoona has a bike path running through it - why can't Kansas City get 'er done?! Never mind, on to the *new* HyVee. See there, no gas station potty for me. Niiiice! I was especially pumped to choose my lunch from the Health Food market in this new store. I picked up some greek yogurt and a couple apples for the trip. Mmmm.

I also visited a gas station in Altoona, where I watched a man with a minivan try to pull between two cars, into the middle pump. It was entertaining. He finally gave up and waited till someone was finished. I was fueled up and on the road again.

I crossed South Skunk river.

5:04pm - passed a truck with my name on it. 5:05pm - contemplated truck driving as next career. 5:05:30pm - back to looking at farm land.

More construction in Bureau County - 11 miles more to be specific. As luck would have it, I got stuck behind a gal in a champagne colored Chrysler, going about 20 mph UNDER the posted construction zone speed limit. Good times. Despite her low speed, she was making me nervous as I could see her leaning way over into the seat next to her, trying to fetch something. There were a couple times, she narrowly missed taking out an orange barrel! Finally! A second lane allowed me to escape the torture. As I passed by, I glanced over and saw a messy-haired lady, staring at the road with her mouth hanging open. I drove on. stay tuned for an update on Chrysler woman)

Second stop of the day - Princeton. This was around 5:30pm, I think. Fill up, potty, bug wash #2, and I was back on the road. I hadn't been back on the road long when...look! up ahead - it's a bird, it's a plane...it's more orange barrels and CHRYSLER WOMAN! Aggghhh! Please, please, please let me get around her before it's down to one lane. Whew, I made it. As I passed by, she was still in a blank stare at the road, mouth open.

The remainder of my trip was pretty uneventful. I arrived safely to Lonnie's house, and was greeted by their pooch - Ginger - who was extremely excited to see me! (Lonnie and Eric are graciously allowing me to stay at their home, even though they're away for a few days - THANK YOU LONNIE AND ERIC!)

On a more serious note, please pray for Lonnie's nephew, Kyle, and their family. Kyle was in a terrible car accident May 31st, and remains in critical condition. You can read more about Kyle's accident and his progess on this blog his family set up. Kyle has made some small steps forward, but it will be a very long road ahead for him and his family.

Another Du!

Early start this morning! The alarm went off at 4am, and I was ready to roll. I drank coffee, ate breakfast, read over my race plan, and pulled the final few items together before hopping in the car.

I drove over to Terry's house and we headed to Sedalia. We're gonna do the Sedalia Duathlon today. It's about a 2 hour drive from Kansas City, so plenty of time to relax and think through the race. The drive went fairly fast. As we neared Sedalia, I noticed some lightening and rain off in the distance. Oh dear. I don't want the race to get cancelled after driving all this way, nor do I want to race in a storm! We got to the race site with plenty of time to spare. In fact, there were only a couple cars in the parking lot.

We got great spots in the transition area, set it up, and went to pick up our packets. Then, it was time to warm up. We started with the bike. When we rolled out onto the course, my legs were feeling pretty good. I tested them just a little bit, with some harder efforts, and things were still checking out. We flipped it around, rode back into transition, and got ready to run. The 2nd run of the Du started on pavement, but quickly moved into a grassy section. I didn't love the grass, but at least it wasn't terribly long. We ran this section for our warm up, and headed back to the start.

We were just a couple minutes from the start and we stopped at the potty and I think I just pulled my shirt down a bit and the zipper totally opened - as in off the track. (Nothing says "dainty" like blowing out the zipper in your jersey!) Uh-oh, this isn't good. Um, er, uh...hmmm. Let's try these safety pins. Nope, that's not gonna work. I'll run back to my car. Nope, no time. Everyone is lined up ready to go. Ok, the t-shirt they gave us for the race is in my transition bag...I'll just have to wear that. Racing in cotton - always nice.

Here we go! This was a pretty small race. I think someone actually just said, "go", for the race to start. Funny. Ok, so toe to the line...I was ready. The first few steps of the run, my legs weren't feeling it. I thought, "what am I doing?" Then, I quickly set those negative thoughts aside and settled in. I'm tellin' ya what, these folks shot off that line like someone had a torch to their shorts! I kept thinking of my plan, and just settled in at a steady pace. I felt good. The route was fairly flat, slight uphill in just a couple places. The stretch on grass had some uneven spots, so I didn't love that part, but thankfully it wasn't too long. Anyway, I was pleased with the first run and felt good coming into transition. Time to get on my bicycle!

The legs didn't feel too bad when I got on the bike, so I tried to stay in an easier gear and keep the cadence high (slight problem - I must have bumped my cadence sensor, 'cause I wasn't getting a readout for that. oh well). I picked up the pace a little too soon, and way underestimated how hilly this course was! Sadly, I totally tanked on a hill around mile 6. I was trying to push over the top and then realized
the hill kept going. Uh oh. Yeah, so it took me just a minute to pull myself back together and pick it up.

Just about that time, it started raining...thankfully that only lasted for a few miles and cleared away. The winds picked up a bit with that rainstorm too, and it started to heat up and get a bit more humid. Getting back into transition required going up this hill. It wasn't very long, but fairly steep, so that wasn't too much fun after the 40 minutes of pushing on the rollers.

Here's where I'm not so happy with my performance. I hit that 2nd run and my
legs just felt like cinder blocks. It was ugly. I ran out transition (with
bottle of Heed in hand) - this time we ran the course in reverse, so it started on the grass. I hated it. My feet felt so unstable and I was really having trouble keeping going. I made it through most of the grassy portion, and just as we turned onto this gravel trail, I pooped out. I walked fast, but I was walking! It's a race and I was walking. I knew I would be disappointed if I couldn't get it together. I drank some Heed and continued to walk fast for a couple minutes. Then, I was able to run again, but it was terribly slow and I just couldn't pick it up. About a mile in, I finally felt like I might make it...then, going back into the finish I hit the steep ramp-type deal into the parking lot...I had ridden up it, but this felt
nasty. Terry was actually standing there at the turn, cheering me on. He ran (and walked) up the hill with me. It's always nice to have encouragement at that point of your race! My legs felt like they were gonna explode and I felt a bit woozy. I shuffled up it, but also ended up walking a few steps of it too - hating that I couldn't muster up the guts to just tear up that hill. I had no big burst into the finish, merely a steady pace just across the line.


We grabbed some water and walked over to the bikes, talking about the race. It felt good to be done. After loading all my stuff back into the car and changing into clean/dry clothes, we went back up to transition for the awards. Terry had a great race - he took 2nd in his age group! WAY TO GO, Terry!

Follow this link to view a few other pics from the race.

So, overall a good race. I was fairly pleased with the 1st and 2nd legs, but also have some clear indication of some areas for improvement. I'll get there. Next race - 2 weeks away, and we'll be adding in a swim!

HAPPY 60th MOM!

Can you believe it? 2 days in a row! I promised more updates, and here they come...

On May 9, my mom celebrated her 60th birthday - HAPPY 60th DONNA MARIE!!! :-) We had some surprises up our sleeve for her, and they actually worked. It's not too easy surprising my mother, but we managed to do it in a couple big ways. Woohoo!

The first of the surprises came on Wednesday of the birthday week. Mom has wanted new furniture for quite some time, so Dad and Bill picked up the couch she looked at, and had it in the living room (with some help from Terry - see, these birthday surprises take a lot of participants!) when mom and I came home from taking the doggies to Petco. I think she may have had an inkling on this little surprise, but she played it off well and was too thrilled with her new sofa!

Birthday surprise #2 came on Thursday. Sharon (my sister), Dan and the boys traveled from PA on a stealth mission for the birthday festivities. This just fell into place perfectly. I worked all day (as did my dad), so mom asked me if I wanted to stay and watch some finale shows after work. I did. Dad got home a little before 9, which was perfect - they were just a few minutes away. When my dad came in, he mentioned that the neighbor was gonna stop by in a few minutes. So, when Sharon rang the doorbell, Mom just says really casually, "come on in..." Then we watched her complete confusion as she tried to figure out why my sister and her clan were walking through the door. I regret that I did not capture my mother's face on camera that night - priceless!

Third on our list of surprises was a party on her actual birthday - Saturday! Terry and Kathy agreed to host the party at their house, and we invited a hanful of my parents' friends and operation party was underway. Mom loves wedding cake, so I found a local bakery that received rave reviews from local brides, and I ordered her birthday cake. I looked at tons of pictures and with the help of the gal at the shop, I chose a style they had done before, but we changed the colors on the cake to white with some red accents (very different than the blue with brown accents as shown in the picture!)
The family had planned to go out to an early dinner at JackStack, and then end up over at the Wilkes' house. I ran around getting the party stuff together on Saturday - Kathy helped me set up things at the house and it was lookin' good.

We hadn't quite decided how to get mom to the Wilkes after dinner, but I was thinking I would tell her that the cake was messed up and Kathy offered to pick it up for me. As luck would have it, this wasn't hard to pull off! I couldn't pick up the cake until after 3, which was a snafu too - we were actually supposed to pick it up Friday, and since I was working, Terry attempted to pick it up...only to be told that they wouldn't have it ready till Sat. When I arrived at the bakery, I was excited to see the finished product. There were two gals working, (neither of which were the ones I ordered it from) so one of the gals brought out the cake - opened the box - and....well....it wasn't the right cake. It was BLUE and BROWN! How can I take a blue and brown cake when my mom hates blue, and the whole party is based around her favorite color - Red! Um, this isn't gonna work. After several phone calls and apologies, the bakery told me that they could strip down the cake and re-decorate it - and, Terry and Kathy would go pick it up. Aaaaghhh! So, see...we didn't have to lie after all!

When I got over to the folks house, I told everyone about the cake - it fell right into place. We had a great dinner, and then Bill entertained us all by driving around downtown...taking the longest route possible to get home. Oh, I almost forgot - while we were eating, mom said "did you invite Terry and Kathy to have cake with us?" Um, well...sure, that's a great idea. So the hoax was set. We arrived at the Wilkes and when mom walked in and saw all the decorations, she thought Kathy had done that just for her - then everyone popped out and shouted, "surprise! happy birthday!" She was really surprised. And, we had a fantastic time celebrating with friends and family!

HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY, MOM!!!!

(more pics on facebook album)

Aaaagh! I need to update...

where o where does the time go? I feel like I say that with each blog entry...yet, here I am again! As usual, I've been keeping busy. The bike shop is hopping, and I've been fortunate to work up there more often. Have I mentioned that I love my work at the bike shop? This past weekend, I was able to host our Epic booth at the WOW KC Bicycle Festival out at Swope Park. I had such a good time talking to many women about cycling, triathlon, racing...what's not to love about encouraging women to get out there and enjoy these activities?! One gal I talked to was saying that she really wanted to do a tri, but just wasn't sure she was ready, etc. I commented that we (especially women) tend to wait until...we lose 5 more pounds, can run just a little faster, get our hair cut - you get the idea, it's always something. I challenged this gal to just get out there and do it! It was touching, because she was actually moved to tears. I guess I hit on some things that were holding her back and helped her to see that there's never a perfect time. (I think I may have talked to myself there too. ha ha)
I also met another lovely lady who had never ridden a bicycle! She is doing the WIN for KC tri this summer as a team, and was asking me if she started training after that race, could she be ready to do all 3 legs of the race next year? YOU BETCHA! I responded. And, how cool is this? She came by the shop and bought a bike!!! She's gonna do it! So, again I say - what's not to love about this?!

I've been training a fair amount too. I'm working with another coach and am pretty excited about it. I felt like I had lost a bit of my zest for running, and I can now feel it creeping back in. Woohoo. It's been great to have workouts planned that push me in all three sports, and receiving feedback on my training again. So, the big reveal? My new coach is Elizabeth Fedofsky Waterstraat! It's funny because I've been reading her blog for a couple years. She's a very entertaining writer! I recall reading about her Kona experience when I was preparing for Coeur d'Alene...very inspiring. You can check out her blog, and I'll also put a link to her coaching website, Multisport Mastery, for you to check out if you're interested. I'm sure there will be much more to come. I'm looking forward to meeting Liz in person when I head to Chicago for the Naperville Womens Triathlon. Yippee!

Speaking of my new coach, I need to head out for a long run this morning, so I better end this for now. I have many more things to blog about, so more to come - I promise!