Kona Pics

I am not even going to write much, just who it is and what it is of. My only comment is 'God Bless the Human Body' and 'Ironman Hawaii'.

The other side of this said 'Athletes in Pain' - someone had stripped the letters off.


Chrissie Wellington at a practice swim pre-race


Coffee Swim - I was so afraid of sharks at that point.


Hanging out at our favorite place - Lava Java



God Bless Dig Me Beach and the BODIES!


Just a few people I got to touch! I haven't showered yet. Ok, kidding.
Chris Lieto


Macca


The start of the UnderPants Run...


Michael & Amanda Lovato - Holy Shit, look at them - hotter than hot!


Have to throw in another booty shot from the 'fun' run.


More to follow from race day!

Day 5 in Kona

Took off from Madison, WI on Saturday, October 3rd for Kona, HI. We have several friends who are racing in the World Championship race this year.

Here are some things we've done so far...
- swam on the Ironman course, pretty cool to see the fish, coral, 30 ft below you

- swam another day out to the Kona Coffee boat. They actually set up a boat and serve you coffee while you tread water. Didn't mind the coffee, as it was very tasty, but hated treading water and thinking something below was going to get me.

- walked up and down the main area on Ali'i Drive, drank several iced lattes at Lava Java (best people watching place)

- rented road bikes and have gone on a few bike rides up and down the Queen K. You would think it is flat, but it is not. Rolling hills. You can stay seated and spin up them, but geesh, not easy with the heat, black pavement and lava all around you, oh and the winds.

- met some of the pro males and females at the expo on Wed

- got in a 5 mile run - held a 9 min pace with some girl - then on the way back, held a 7:54 pace with some guy. People slow down, can't we do my 10 min run with a 1 min walk.

- overall, just enjoying our time here and taking in the athletes, their bodies, how quick they are when they run, bike, and swim...even during practice workouts. My god..

My connection is so slow to upload photos to my blog, so if you want to see all the pictures, you need to go out to my facebook profile. Send me your email address (and I'll delete it after) and I can send you my info. :)

Kona Bound

Hubby and I leave for Kona on Saturday. Only 2 days from now. And we are over there for 13 days.

I am so excited, I can't contain it anymore. No I am not racing, I wish, but I am not that fast. Maybe when I hit the 70-74 age group I'll toe the line on the Big Island.

We are going because we've always wanted to cheer on the pro's, but we also have 4 friends who are over there racing. So we thought, since we know a handful of peeps doing it, let's go!

I haven't packed yet. I do have a list started of what I need to pack. That is a start.

I have so much to do at work. And I am writing in my blog. Geesh...get my priorties straight.

I am not feeling well. Feels like the flu. Ugh. I am sure these symptoms will go away immediately when I step off the plane in the heat and humidity that the Big Island offers.

I will be taking my laptop to update either my blog or Facebook profile with pictures of the pro's and of our friends.

:)

Girls on the Run

2x a week I coach a program for 3rd-5th grade girls called Girls on the Run. The program incorporates running and discussing various topics related to young girls.

The program is 10 weeks long and in that time we are to get the girls ready to run a 5k. More importantly, during each session we talk about issues related to young girls i.e., body image, emotional health, gossiping, bullying, etc.

Our team was filmed the other day by a local news station...use the link below to watch our team in action.

http://www.channel3000.com/family/21143016/detail.html
Sorry I can't figure out how to add a link in the blog. Just copy and paste into your browser.

On November 14th, we'd love to have you join us for the inaugural 5k hosted by Girls on the Run in the Waunakee area. The link below gives more details about the 5k.

http://www.girlsontherundaneco.org/newbalancegirlsontherun5k.html

Knock, Knock, Knock...Anyone Home?

So sorry I've dropped the ball on this blogging thing. Not sure what has taken up my time, but something has.

Everytime I come out to this blogger world to read 'your' blogs, I think to myself, 'go write something...anything...just to show you are alive and well.'

And I am alive and well.

Here are some highlights of what has been going on in my lil world in Madison, WI.

- Did the 600 mile bike ride in the early part of the summer...so much fun and I would highly recommend riding your bike back to back days.

- Became a head coach for Girls on the Run program here in Madison...there are 13 teams within Dane County - the girls are 3rd-5th grade, so you can just imagine how much fun it would be. Program lasts 10 weeks, 2x a week we meet, a topic is discussed with the girls i.e., body image, gossiping, etc. and then we incorporate running drills around the topic to get them ready for a 5k by Nov 14th.

- Ran the Madison Mini-Marathon (1/2 Marathon) with a bunch of girlfriends and had a blast. We ran it in 2:17:25...

- Trained with friends this summer who are doing Ironman WI. I know I don't miss the training, but now that the race is here - I so want to be toeing that line. Oh well, not this year, not next year even, but I think 2011 I'll be back and ready for another IM.

- Didn't do one tri this year...god knows if the wetsuit fits.

- Only swam once this year so far - 3800 yards for a friend's b-day swim.

- Finally finished all of the remodeling on our house. New roof. 27+ windows. Wood floors redone. Garage torn down and rebuilt. Electric all redone in house. New sod and regraded yard. New paver walkways, patios, and driveway. All in 7 months.

- With the new sod, it has brought the coons out at night where they lift the corners of the sod to find their worms and grubs. Instead of replacing a shit load of sod, we hired Critter Control to set live traps and haul the coons away. So far we've caught 7 racoons - totaling $350 in coon. Damn, I am in the wrong business.

- Still have the kitchen and basement/3rd bathroom to remodel..those will be phased out over the next 3 years. We are done dealing with contractors right now so these projects with just have to wait.

- Traveled to Maine for wedding and Boulder, CO to visit friends.

- Next up is Hawaii to spectate a friend at the Ironman World Championships on October 10th. We head to Kona on Oct 3rd - 14th...can't wait. We've rented bikes to get around the island during the race. We have our outfits all ready to go for the underwear run that takes place the Th before the race (only 1.5 mile run). Cannot wait to try and touch the pro's calf muscles. Yum.

I will try to be a little more diligent about keeping my blog updated. Not that anyone cares about my lil world...but I like to think I have 'fake' friends out there :)

Keep updating your blogs, cause I read them! I just am terrible about keeping mine updated.

Good Luck to everyone doing Ironman WI tomorrow...can't wait to cheer you all on!

Madison Mini-Marathon

Not sure why the race director picked mini-marathon to represent a 1/2 marathon race. Oh well...it is what it is...

But.

I did run a 1/2 marathon on August 29th. My first ever stand alone running event, besides a couple 5ks and 10ks, my long runs are usually part of a training plan or part of a triathlon. So...decided to take on the challenge of just training for a running event.

The run was perfect, ran it with a few girlfriends, and held a 10:30 pace so that we could converse the entire time. Every mile we had a saying that we would yell out and then continue to use it in our conversation for that mile. Example...holy balls was one of our sayings...so we'd yell out 'holy balls this is hard hill' or 'holy balls, i need water..' Pretty funny to say the least...

Our final time was 2:17:25...only 5 minutes better than my 1/2 Ironman run split. But for me it wasn't about how fast I could go nor about racing, it was about having a great time with great friends. And we did just that :)

Next up...Tyranena 1/2 Barrel run on Nov 7th. Another 1/2 Marathon.

I'd post pics, but I don't have them on this computer, so I'll be sure to post some here soon!

Day Seven - Potosi to Dubuque

Day Seven - The Final Day of the Ride!

WoW!!!

I can't even believe we are on our last day. I did not want it to end.

So the night before we stayed in Potosi, WI - a quiant little town along the river. I will say the hills coming in on Day six were relentless. I think I said in my last post, that it was fairly flat, yeah I forgot until I just started to write it down here.

The hills were crazy again. Oh my god, I thought I was going to have to use my fundraising money from American Heart to use for my own personal heart issues. Holy shit were the hills hard, long, and steep.

So the night (on day six) we all were so tired, but we went out for dinner at the Potosi Brewery where we met the owner - Rex! I should've taken a picture of him, he was a weird guy - he wore pleated silk pants (tan) with a black silky shirt with palm trees on it. Ick.



After dinner, we all went back to the local elementary school/church gymnasium we were sleeping in...see below for our sleeping quarters. Some played a lil basketball and others relaxed until we hit the bars that night.



The name of the bar we went to across the street from the school/church - was..."Scooter's Roadhouse" Classic!



We ordered up several pitchers of Spotted Cow, ran the jukebox, and began to dance the night away.






Great evening with great friends!

Now onto the last day of the ride...sad, so sad!

So Dave Browne's parents came to the start of the last day of the ride. We presented them with a team jersey and they started talking about their son and how much Team242 has carried on his memory...so sad and moving. :(



It took the group a little bit longer to pack up in the morning...as you see even the boys had to have a wrestling match.



Ann was so generous to come and sag for us the last day...she even pimped out her mini-van for us! The start time for the ride was scheduled for 10am, so that other friends or family members could join us on the last day of the ride since it was only 23 miles. Shane and George joined us. They parked the car at the 'finish line' and rode up to Potosi to meet us.





Some more pics before we all start our final 23 mile journey...








We finally take off...and it starts to rain. Shoot! I don't want it to rain on the last day, but then I think, thank god, it is only 23 miles. Easy - schmeasy...we rode some incredible downhills. Stopped at a rest stop after riding 10 miles.



We all meet up less than a 1/2 mile from the finish line to ride in as a group. Here I am bringing up the rear coming in after riding for 6 days and a lot of miles. Can't believe it is over.




The group picture - that was a bittersweet moment.


Total ride time with stops: 2:20:00
Ride Time: 1:49:00
Mileage: 23
Weather: Rain, cold, windy
Average speed: 14.0

The End! Here is to 'White Lightning' that got us to the end.