Ben asked me on lap 9 to explain the difference between the sprinters paincave and that of the endurance athlete. While the sprinter dealts with 100% all over mind degrading pain, the minute he or she stops it would take a small miracle to conjure up the severity of the pain. To the endurane athlete the pain is much like that of injury. Every single step hurts with searing sharp pain in the hips, knees, and ankles. But, you are there for it. There is no mentally escaping from the endurance runners pain. The pain does not stop when you stop and often times haunts you for days. The endurance athletes pain is almost a form of depression. And when it wakes you up at 2am, when you obviosly need your sleep, you feel utterly broken. That’s the difference.

So yea, I hurt. But as I said many times during my 62 miles of running yesterday, “I’m still me”. I’m still smiling, chatting, laughing, downplaying the effort, and just generally exicuting sound strategy. I’m still totally humbled by everyone who came out to run with me. Several of them, including X-stud quarterback Ryan, and his motorcross racing wife, Melissa, went father than they ever had before. They dragged Ryans sister Jen out, who doubled her longest run of 6 miles out to 12. She’s probobly feeling very similar to me right now.

As I lay here waiting for the Vitamin I (as Chucky calls it) to set in, my big thoughts of the day include.

- I am so supported by my running friends, I had someone with me every lap! I can not thank you guys and gals enough.

- My husband Troy continues to shock and amaze me and others with his ability to watch Annie in a boaring parking lot for 13 hours while keeping me refueled, doing a check on me every lap, being time keeper, welcoming runners there to pace me, and supporting all of us.

- The gear my sponsors have provided totally rocks. First Enduance, Nuun, Mix1, and Justins Nut Butter kept me fueled, Nathan provides the most comfortable running packs, Core Concepts clothes me in things that do not rub or chaffe, Trakkers hats keep me sunburn free, Saucony has created a shoe I never once wanted to change out of even when they were a soaking wet muddy mess, and Josh at Tri-massage with his fixing techniques and exercises kept me on my feet.

- Although most of the entire run hurt, I reached a pain plateau and it was one that I could manage.

- There are 38 more miles in me, I now know this.

- Do not sit down. Beware of the chair. Sitting is reserved for the port-a-pottie.

- Circus Animals (the pink and white ones) and yellow bunny peeps saved the day. These two things rocked my mouth!

With this thought, I will post this rant and get back to bed. The pain has gone from a 29 to a 16 and I think I might be able to sleep. I took video during my run, so tomorrow I will edit it and post it, along with a play by play report. Until then…yawn!

Michelle and I met shortly before our first ever trip to USAT Age-Group Nationals in 2007. That was way back when I had only done two sprints and Michelle was still riding this red bike with like Shimano 105 on it (I don’t mean to offend anyone…well maybe I do a little bit).

Breakfast two days before Nationals in 07

We were roomies in this totally cheep extended stay hotel right next to Nike in Portland. We both had what I would call super solid races, but even bigger than that we began a friendship that both of us never realized would be so much fun.

I think this was probably the last time we got totally sloshed right after a race…we are much more dedicated now (we are the middle two).

We trained together occasionally, mostly on weekend bike rides. Michelle was a working girl with a demanding job, but she was focused and nailed her workouts.

We went through a Twinkie phase (identical, comes in a pack of two). Almost all the group pictures we were standing next to each other, and we had matching helmets, blue bikes (she got rid of the crummy red one…no offense) and ponytails. Check it out.

Twinkies we are

Scary huh?

We came back to nationals in Portland in 2008 ready to kick ass, and qualify for Team USA. We had Australia on our minds. For the first time we allowed another person into our nationals lair, Tyler.

PIC, Me, and Tyler

He proved to be an acceptable addition. It also meant that PIC and I shared a bed for the first time. And we learned that we sleep well together, who would have thought? Probably a fact that our husbands try not to think about too often…or maybe they do. I don’t know and this is going south…

So we both really rocked the house at Nationals, it was the same course as the year before and PIC knocked 16+ minutes off her time, and I took off a little over 6. PIC nabbed that Team USA slot, and I missed it by one, but got it back in the lotto.

Early morning pre race, we are together, there’s a shock!

Several months after Nationals, the best thing EVER happened to my athletic career (and let’s be honest, it’s all about me). PIC got laid off, SWEEET, full time training partner. I think this is when the term “PIC” came about. That year was about becoming super stud kick ass athletes and helping each other get there. We started on the bikes.

Mt.Evans in the back, we two man teamed it all over the place that spring.

We really learned a lot about each other. Usually we knew more about where each other was at than we knew about ourselves. I knew when she was blitzed, she knew when I needed to eat. We shared gels, we took turns on each others wheels, and we had so much fun.

We raced across the county, heck the world, together. We always found a way to get our PIC time even if we weren’t rooming together. We found a camaraderie that year that was sorta “the next level”. I think in the beginning we may have felt a little competitiveness against each other, but any and all of that dissipated throughout last year. When we became PIC’s things changed and we helped each other through the hard times, and the hard races, and we celebrated with each other through the good ones. It helped that we had numerous good performances through the year. At Kansas, we qualified for Clearwater together.

We went to Nationals for a 3rd year together, we added Beth and Tyler to the room, which meant again…PIC and I were sharing a bed. Which apparently meant great races for the both of us. PIC taking 5th in her AG, and me 14th, both earning TEAM USA spots if we so choose to take them. Seeing her on the podium made me feel like I was on the podium, I kid you not.

Red hair extension…it was for CHARITY!

We went to Worlds in Australia with our different families, but we found a way to hook up and train everyday together. Training in unfamiliar adds a whole different crazy factor to things, but when we were together we seemed to have so much more confidence. It didn’t matter that we were riding on the wrong side of the road, we handled it together and we laughed a lot. Meeting up with Michelle was like a having a piece of home with me.

In AUS, training, note that we now have matching TT bikes, and non matching helmets, since I crashed and broke mine.

I think having each other there at World Championships paid off, we went 19th for PIC, and 30th for me, in our age group, in the world. And you know, PIC slept over in my hotel room the night before, I’m thinking that’s why we raced so well.

And at the end of the season we found each other in Clearwater, out there on the race course, and ran together for part of the race. It was almost poetic.

Michelle and I have learned through the years the value of having a training partner. I don’t think either of us could have ever imagined just how tight we would become. Going forward this year we have switched coaching, and we have switched team affiliation. It was a process that we relied heavily on each other to get through. Lots of leaning on each other, and a fair amount of tears.

It wasn’t easy, but you live, you learn, and you try to move forward with an open heart. With Michelle, I’m not afraid to tell her the truth, and she knows I’m in her corner 100%. I’m so extatic that the recent changes in our athletic career have brought us even closer together. I couldn’t imagine racing in a uniform that is different from hers, so I’m pretty stoked that this year we will be Twinkies again.

Having the same coach will enable us to continue to train together and to help each other achieve our goals. We have been very upfront with our new coach (who likes upfrontness) and he has instructed us to tattle on each other to our heart’s content (when it pertains to training). He seems to “get” our relationship and has an idea on how to use it to make each of us stronger.

We feel like we are a little mini-team this year. Our sponsors are the same, we represent them together, and although we are training towards different goals (as we have most years) I have no doubt that this year will yield lots more fun and silly pictures.

Thank you PIC, Michelley-elley, Fordy-Ford for all of your support, for being my “honesty” meter, for not making things harder than they need to be, for traveling with me, planning with me, schooling me in swimbikerun, for not holding it against me when I school you in bikerun, for sharing recipes, and photos, and lessons learned.

Here’s to another year of fun, we’re gonna kick ass!

As I start to dig into planning all the details of my Grand Canyon Rim to Rim To Rim run this year I wanted to put a post on my blog for those of you who are thinking about joining in on the fun.

As you know, one of my goals this year is to inspire and help people to do something that is a little more than they thought they were capable of. Now, the Grand Canyon is a very formidable run, it’s long, it’s hot, it’s 46 miles, and you need to be well trained. But, it’s also A LOT OF FUN.

The date has been set for April 19th. It’s a Monday. That would allow those that would like to do the Rage in the Sage Triathlon a few days to get over to the Grand Canyon, same as those competing in the Salt Lake City Marathon.

So, if you have been thinking about asking me if you can tag along on this trip, now is the time to make yourself known.

The trip will be well planned, that is a specialty of mine. I will be sending out an email soon with the overall schedule and lodging options. I provide the structure and the details, and you provide the fitness and your own cash.

My sponsors this year have all agreed to give a little love to this “adventure” so that will be an additional perk.

Lastly, if you are in the area and we have emailed, or tweeted and you need to get to know me better for Grand Canyon purposes, I am running 45 miles this weekend in 6 mile loops. Loops will leave at the top of the hour starting at 8am from the Cherry Creek State Park area. Contact me or leave a comment if you need details.

Last years R2R2R video

Grand Canyon R2R2R from sonjawieck on Vimeo.

2010 is a big year. Ten years in the 2000’s. What better than to make it extra special by running, biking and swimming all over the place.

My 2010 schedule is set, and I’m sure that you want in on some of the action. The year will be divided between epic adventures, and kick butt racing.

EPIC ADVENTURES:

~ Moab 100 miler, 3/27 – 3/28 (running)

~ Double Crossing of the Grand Canyon, Monday 4/19

~ Ride Across Colorado in 3 days, 470 miles, 7/16-7/18, taking the north route through Poudre Canyon/Steamboat.

~ Double Summit of Mt. Evans, bike up then run up, late August

~ Something in the summer in the Tahoe region. Not quite sure yet, but the Tahoe Rim Trail will be incorporated. Still scheming.

KICK BUTT RACING (the big races)

~ Rev3 Knoxville, 5/8, Olympic distance

~ Rev3 Middlebury CT, 6/5, 1/2 Iron distance

~ IM Coeur d’Alene, 6/27

~ A second Iron Distance Race, either the big island one, or this one.

~ USAT Age Group Nationals, 9/25

~ IM Arizona, 11/21

So, who’s in for some fun? Did my Grand Canyon video last year make you want to join me? My goal this year is to inspire others to do a little more than they thought was possible. To that aim, all my adventures will be well supported, well schwaged, and well planned. If you want to come along, contact me, ask questions, leave a comment, hunt me down…

“Triathletes”, “friends”, yes you.

You are planning your 2010 season aren’t you? I knew it! It’s what December is all about!

Well, if you haven’t looked into the Rev3 races, you just gotta. Next week I am going to have a discount code on registration, but I wanted to give you a heads up so that you make sure to take some time to cruise the Rev3 website. There are three races you need to know about and you can check out the details further with the links below.

The really cool thing about the Rev3 company is that all of their races have options. We like options, Olympic, half, full…we like options. What do we like better than options? We like happy families. That’s why when you race at Rev3 races, your family and friends get access into the race venues….which just happen to be amusement parks.

May 9: Rev3 Knoxville. The main event is the OlympicRev distance, but they also have a HalfRev. The finish is smack dab in the middle of World’s Fair Park. Don’t believe me, check it out.

June 5/6: Rev3 Quassy. I went to this last year, it ROCKED THE HOUSE. They have added an OlympicRev to the docket this year. Your family gets to ride roller coasters at Quassy Amusement park all day while you race your heart out. Win win.

September 12: Rev3 Cedar Point. This the the debut of the FullRev, oh yes folks it’s the real deal: 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, marathon. There is a HalfRev as well. All the action is in the middle of World Famous and grandiose Cedar Point Amusement Park. My mom said she would totally go, but that she would ride the coasters all day. Thanks Mom, just be sure to drag me home after 11 hours or so.

The race experience at a Rev3 event is like no other. Race staff create a forum where the pros are approachable, the schwag is delicious, and cozy, everyone is treated like a world class athlete, and where your family is extremely well taken care of.

Give the site a looksey, you will likey.

DISCOUNT CODE COMING NEXT WEEK.

Oh, and you might want to sign up for the Rev3 mailing list. That way you will stay in the know.

Double Oh, and for all my TBL fan friends, look who is doing the entire series, including the FullRev? If she can do it, so can you!

Triple Oh, I am on team Trakkers, and team Trakkers has an affiliation with the Rev3 organization. I get entry into the races for free. Just trying to keep to the new full disclosure rules. I do however pay all my travel expenses, lodging, etc, unless one of you out these would like to help me with that. Any takers?

So, First Endurance must be pretty sure of it’s product. Because by sponsoring Team Trakkers that means that 30-40 blog-aficionados will be testing their products, using them like crazy, and then blogging and tweeting the honest to goodness truth about them. Bold move, First Endurance!

So, when I think “First Endurance” I think Michael Lovato. What really sticks in my mind is that a “shipment” would be delivered to his condo in Kona when he was there for World Championships. I thought that was an amazingly rock star triathlete thing to do…rather than packing your goods in your bag, to actually be cool enough that your sponsor would ship you a box of goodies right to your location. I know, I’m easily impressed.

I wanted to learn a bit about First Endurance before we got to select some free goods to test out. I started by joining Team First Endurance. This is a place for athletes to educate, research, and commune. They have a “facebook” like setup on the Team FE site. You can create a profile, add friends, and post blog posts about your experiences. It’s really quite cool and is so much more helpful than just a message board. Check out the profile I made:

Once my profile was made I started searching around. I found a great blog entry by none other than the Michael Lovato himself, outlining his Kona nutrition strategy.

I added myself to the Team Trakkers Group, and the Rev3 Group.

Then I clicked on Programs. This section REALLY impressed me. You can pick a program topic (Caffeine, Gluten, Sodium Loading, Anti-Inflammatory Foods, and Low Carbo Training). I picked Caffeine. They had an article summarizing and explaining the “Caffeine issue” including common misconceptions, and the history of it being a banned substance (in high levels by the US Olympic committe..now unbanned). There were recommendations on safe use, and a huge list of references. Then, the next link was “How to Implement a Caffeine Test” with great instructions on how to test it within your own body. Finally a link to their forum where the issue is discussed and a survey to take after you complete the test (along with the survey results). I was just really impressed.

Now I’m all giddy and excited to perform some of the tests, and to report my results.

My overall impression thus far is that they really take “individual” nutrition seriously, not only recognizing that each person is different, but providing a tool that athletes can use to educate themselves, and mingle with others to discuss issues.

Check out their site. And check out Team First Endurance.

At 4:30 am I hit the road from my house running. I wanted to get my 18 mile long run in before the race so that Troy could get his in later so I decided to run down to the race start. It’s kinda scary running at 4:30am on the bike paths through the shady areas of town. I had one scare where a guy came up on me in the dark on a bike and yelled “Hey” so that I could hear him. He scared me, I went on the defensive, cussed him out, put up my dukes to fight, then realized he was friendly. I appologized and we had a good laugh while he asked me what the hell I was doing. Heh Heh, crazy is hard to describe.

I got there just in time to do a nice warmup with Michelle Ford (PIC). She was racing the half, and was wearing a Trakkers unit and a Trakkers hat. I ran into Gaye too, also wearing a Trakkers unit. Michelle and I did some active warm up plyo stuff and it was time to get her into the corral.

Here she is all excited and stuff, with her new light pink Trakkers hat on (one that I don’t even have, gonna have to work on that)!

I saw Randi and Ross on their way to the start. Randi was doing the full, Ross the half. I helped them up and over the fences into the corral and they were ready to go. Randi was testing a Trakkers unit as well.

Then I took off running. I made it down to the 1 mile mark, check out how many runners there are. This is just a TINY sampling of them.

Then I ran up to the 4 mile mark. I was getting some great mileage in. The best part was that I was wearing my BRIGHT green Trakkers top and everyone I knew recognized me and would yell hello as they ran by. I saw so many friends out there, it was great to cheer for them all. the mens leader was flying. It was great to see Framke and Cyrus in the front, as was Matt Reed!

When my fellow Phidippides Track Club member Jay ran by he had me laughing up a storm. He was ROCKING the green Trakkers visor, and the Trakkers unit on his race belt. What a spokesperson, eh? The dude is 50 years old, but he’s HOT! Jay ran a 3:09 marathon yesterday, whoosh!

I ran on over to mile 11 where I started getting “Your everywhere” comments from the runners. Love it! I was cheering up a storm. Saw Matty go by me flying (he went 1:14).

Then PIC Michelle came running by…FAST. I hopped in with her and gave her a little push (not literally). Just a little “drop your arms”, “pick up your cadence”. Before she could slaughter me, I pulled off to the side and booked it to the finish so I could see her cross the line. Michelle was gunning for sub 1:40 and she went 1:41:18. SOOOO Close. And her Garmin had her right on pace, but the course marked a little long on the Garmins. We’ll get her there!

I love this shot of her.

After she finished I hung out and collected some Trakkers units, then Tyler and I hit up the marathon course. We sat outside on the curb, ate breakfast, and cheered. After cheering for Randi who rocked the marathon hard, just 6 days after Steve had her run 24 miles, I headed up the road to swap with Troy. I hopped in the car, he hopped out. He ran home, I drove!

It was great to see the Trakkers units out on my home course. As with technology, beta testing is a “process” and I’m confident that Trakkers will produce a great product when beta testing is complete.

On that note, here’s a parting photo. He ran the MARATHON, I saw him like 5 times on the course. I’m wondering if he lost some sort of bet?

Denver Marathon Maniacs!,

Ok, you’re NOT maniacs – well, maybe you are – but in my book this is GOOD maniac. Some of you may be familiar with one of Super-Sonja’s sponsors: Trakkers. Basically, Trakkers is a GPS device for athletes. The athlete wears the device and friends/family can go online to follow them along, in training or racing, in real time. A google map pops up and a dot moves along the map in real time. VERY cool stuff, and the next step in technology for sports, really.

Trakkers is looking for some folks who would like to be involved in a beta-test at the Denver Marathon. We are in the final stages of product development and are looking for another test to iron out the final glitches before the device is available to the mainstream public.

What is in it for you? Aside from my eternal thanks, your friends and family will be able to follow you online (so they can be in another state and get to follow you!) during your race, and you get to use the device for free.

If you are interested, please send me an email: carole.sharpless@trakkersgps.com

Happy marathon!

Kindest Regards,
Carole Sharpless
VP of Operations

Also, I know some of you were pretty jealous when I attended the Rev3 race this year. You saw my Green Iguana Trakkers uniform and you WANTED ONE! I can’t blame you, the Trakers uniform is super comfy, plus Trakkers sponsorship grants you lots of goodies, training camp, and being a part of cool tri team. Do you think you’ve got what it takes to be on Team Trakkers 2010? Here’s the official application. It will download to your computer as a word doc.

Back into the changing tent and this time I know exactly what I am up to. I change my shoes, grab my sunscreen and nutrition, strip off my shirt, throw on my new pink Trakkers hat that I saved just for the occasion, and off I go. There was only one other lady in the tent with me and for some reason I was excited about this. Kinda like getting out of the swim and seeing lots of bikes still on the racks. I knew that I was doing pretty good and that I was in the front several hours of the participants.

I took off running and right away I noticed and recognized the lady in front of me. How could I not, she beat the cookies out of me at Loveland Lake to Lake this year, taking the overall title, and doing it all in a swimsuit that said “Who Rocks?”… and on the butt “I Rock”. She wasn’t wearing that suit in the IM, but I still knew her. Oh wow. Wasn’t expecting to “know” people! Well there we go.

So out of transition I run and it’s that dicy moment. How are the legs? How do they feel? So much self inventory is going on. And you know what? They felt like I was just starting my race. Literally. my legs felt absolutely great. I realized that this could be good, or bad. Good if I kept myself under control and doled my energy out evenly. Bad if I decided to run 7:30 pace and ran out of steam at oh say mile 18 or 20 when everyone else seems to bonk. So, I kept it under control.

8:12, 8:02, 8:17 I was hitting these miles easy and I even passed “Who Rocks?I rock?” without an issue. Up in the distance I see a lady that was giving me a little trouble on the bike (for the last 20 miles I happened to find her on my wheel several times). I saw her in my sights and 7:52, 7:47 happened. Whoops, but I had to let her know that she wasn’t going to bike on my wheel and then run on my shoulder. A girl has her limits.

Then I settled in and just enjoyed myself. 8:10, 8:16, 8:18, 8:18, 8:22. I was running with a hand bottle, and “gasp” it was the first time I had tried it. I know, something new on race day, but it worked out well. The hand bottle had a pocket and I shoved as many NUUN tabs as I could fit in it. My routine at the aid station was to take the cap off my hand bottle and stick it in my sports bra, sponge my quads with the cold sponges, pour water and ice into my bottle, sponge my quads again, put a NUUN tab in, and screw the lid back on. I could do all this without slowing down one bit. The ice NUUN water in my bottle was great for several reasons. I could rub it on my legs or tummy to cool them down, I could drink the contents, or I could pour it on my head. Since the NUUN isn’t sticky I could squirt it on myself without ill effect. Worked like a charm.

I arrived at the hilly part of the course. The hills are pretty steep and lots of people were walking up them. I saw Anthony going the other direction and he yelled at me to “Go get em”. I was pretty focused so I gave a wave and kept my nose to the grindstone. I was so happy to see him doing well!

I then had the worst part of my day. I saw Steve. He was walking. I was instantly saddened. The one thing I didn’t want to do during the day of the Ironman was pass my coach and best training partner. It made me horribly sad. I could tell that all was not well and I had barely any time to react before I was right next to him. All I could muster was “Hey Baby”. Not quite sure why in the heck that phrase came out and I’m a little embarrassed about it now, but I just hated seeing that he was struggling.

On I went 9:15, 8:19, 8:32 over the hills and to the turn around. They had my special needs bag waiting for me and I grabbed it and never stopped running. I knew exactly what I wanted from it. RICE CRISPY TREATS!!! I tucked one in each side of my sports bra. I grabbed my huge can of Pringles, took out a huge stack and tossed everything else. As I ran up and over the hills I ate Pringles, they were SOOO tasty. Half of them would fall out of my mouth but it felt great to crunch crunch crunch along. When the hills got really tough I tossed the remainder of my stack and apparently Steve got a huge kick out of that when he ran by after me.

Now, the rice crispy treats. Those were just great. The crunch, the sugar, oh, they really hit the spot. I ate two of them and saved one for later. Did you know they are 90 calories, just like a gel! I continued to pass people all through this section. Even though I ran 9:05, 8:55, 9:15 most people were walking or were pretty slow through here. There weren’t many spectators, just a few in boats on the lake.

Can you believe I am actually trying to smile here. Really, I am. I “think” that I’m smiling…but it seems to show differently on film….er digital??

Passing people here was pretty neat. I knew that I was fine but I also started getting a little nervous. I had done the math and I realized that I had the chance to break 11 hours. I was really attached to that number for some reason. The mantra that popped in my head, as totally strange as it sounds was “Don’t compromise the 11 hour mark”. I repeated it to myself over and over. 8:33, 9:03, 9:12, 9:13. Now these splits look like they are slowing down, like I’m bonking or something but in actuality I was flying by person after person. I was reeling them in. I was in the midst of a total running high and I every time I saw my mile split I knew that I was going to break 11 and my thoughts were “You are doing it”, and “Just keep your pace right here”.

I had passed women here and there, but hadn’t passed anyone in my age group in a long time. As I neared the next aid station I saw a lady in my age group and she was walking. I really felt for her, because she was racing so well, and she was so close. I passed her and as soon as she saw my calf…and I’m thinking the “30″ part, not the “For Amy” part, she took off like a bat outa’ hell. For a second I thought “Should I race her”? Then into my head came “Don’t compromise the 11 hour mark”. So, I let her go. I also thought to myself, if she holds this, then the girl deserves it, cause that’s quite the come back. I let it go. 9:11, 8:59, 9:19.

Oh my, there she is again, walking. Man, too bad for her. I passed her again, at my pace, and she didn’t take off that time. I know she must have had a Kona slot on her mind. She still finished very strong, about a minute behind me. So, now I’m at mile 24 or so and really, I feel great. I’m hydrating, eating, and pretty much having a gay old time. We are back into town and I decide that the 11 hour mark is gonna happen. Nothing I can do will kill it now, so let’s pick it up. 8:55.

I see my mom, she’s cheering up a storm with my aunt Sandy. She tried to run next to me, I tell her to stop. She asks if I’m feeling good, I tell her I’m feeling great!! 8:23.

It’s the final mile and now I know, oh wow, I’m really going to do this. I see my dad taking pics, I hear Troy cheering from the balcony of our apartment. I make the turn and I can see the stands. 8:26.

I run into the stands and I’m overwhelmed with joy. I have my arms in the air and I’m crying crying crying. I can’t believe it. I had an absolutely perfect first Ironman. My training paid off. My day is almost over. I am an Ironman.

I cross the line like I’ve just won the race. I’m overjoyed and just can’t believe how well it all went. The stars had aligned. 10:47:58, 7th in F30-34, 35th woman, 20th amateur woman.

I also want to share with you the after party, the Kona Roll down experience and my post race ahh-hah’s. Next post!

We ran 41 miles on the Colorado trail and dragged way way way too many people with us.

We ran up Red rocks stairs a ka-billion times.

We swam and swam and swam all winter long

We signed up for our first 50K and ran all over Moab.

We ran long long runs in tights…with friends.

We ran even longer runs, through the snow.

We swam more…and more…and more.

We ran 46 miles to Boulder in 19 degree weather.

I tried to run 15 miles two days after running 46 miles and not yet recovered. I hurt myself. My knee kept me out of the running game for about 4 weeks, just had to take it’s time to properly heal. I learned the difference between bad pain, and healing pain. I will try much harder not to make that mistake again. Here is the “I’m happy but I hurt look”.

We ran up Mt Evans in the snow and I turned back early b/c the knee wasn’t quite back completely. I can’t believe I left these two together.

We went to Catalina Island and I watched Steve, Andrea, and Anthony run 50 miles. It was a hoot, and I gained perspective on being on the sideline. I had a ton of fun, and drank a few too many pomegranate margaritas.

We ran up Highgrade…a tough climb for most local cyclists

I progressed through another great snowshoe season, this time with more depth to my running and made my second National Snowshoe team.

I got two new bikes which made me way faster

Michelle and I raced the boys over our entire Shadow loop, and we won (because we’re better).

We rode everywhere. Shadow, Epic, Shadow, Epic. Climb climb climb

We went to Las Vegas and slaughtered a half Ironman

Then turned around 40 hours later and ran across the Grand Canyon….twice

I ran a mountain marathon in Gateway Colorado

I raced my first road race

I went to Connecticut and raced the Rev3 Half Ironman

And then the next weekend raced the Kansas 70.3 half Ironman

and then the next weekend raced the Loveland Lake to Lake Oly

And then we rode our bikes home

It all involved a lot of this

and this

Then we cranked up the mileage and rode out east week after week after week, hundreds of miles. 156 mile rides, 100 mile rides, and lots of 85 mile rides.

We trained for 17 hours in one day. The “official” 17 hour training day. 7K swimming, 100+ riding, and 30+ running.

I went to California and competed in Vineman 70.3 Half Ironman

Then came home, rode a couple hundred miles, and entered my first crit

Then we rode 225 miles in one day

And finally we endured a hail storm after 100 miles on the bike and 18 on the run, incurring substantial “hail damage” to our bodies.

So, all these experiences. What if I completely choke at Ironman? Doesn’t matter. No really, won’t I be so disappointed if it just doesn’t go my way on the actual day? Nope. Because, for one, I know what it feels like when it’s not going my way. I’ve been to that ugly place on runs, on swims and on rides, and you know what, I’ve persevered through it, I’ve figured out how to keep going. So does adversity scare me? Nope. Number two, I’ve enjoyed this training, I’ve enjoyed the Ironman lifestyle. If you haven’t seen much of me lately it’s not because I’m out there painfully toiling away on my bike, it’s because I’m out there living it up doing what makes my soul happy. I have found out that there is something in me that loves to go long. I love the outdoors, and I love the way this training makes me feel in both heart and mind. If all this was for nothing…I would sign up again tomorrow. The adventures and experiences have been priceless.

I don’t know how I can encourage you all out there, but I want to let you know that I don’t consider myself to have any special powers. I don’t see myself as an unusually hard worker. What I do have is a passion to live life to it’s fullest, and the ability to smile. If any of what I have done in the past year sounds fun to you, please find a way to talk to me about it. Do you see all the pictures of all the different people that did just some of the fun stuff I did last year. Well, that could be you. So please don’t sit by and think “Man, I wish I could join them”. I would love to find a way to make that possible for you.