The Making of a Speed Leopard

What Happened to the Speed Leopard?

2009-04-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

Wow - time sure has flown and imagine my surprise when I realized almost a year has passed since my last update. So where have I been????

After IM CDA last summer we bought a house, my husband got into a serious car accident and I discovered this cool thing called Facebook :)

I will continue to post Race Reports here on Speedleopard.com and I have several races this summer with Pacific Crest 1/2 Ironman being my A race for the year on June 27th.

If you want to keep up with my day to day stuff feel free to friend me on Facebook with a note that you are a Speedleopard reader in case I don't recognize your name.

Happy Spring!!!

Ironman Coeur d'Alene 2008

2008-07-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

Slept really well on Saturday night and woke up just before my alarm at 3:45am. I ate my banana and PB&J bagel and got sunscreened, body-glided and dressed. I ate another part of a PB&J bagel and went to the bathroom a few times before grabbing my gear and heading down to the car. Since our hotel was only 1.2 miles from the race start Preston and Siani were still sleeping and were going to walk over to say goodbye to me before the swim start.

I got my frozen stuff from the hotel freezer and my special needs bags along with my bike pump and tri-bag in the car and there was a card on my seat. It said For This Morning Pre-Ironman on the outside and next to it on the passenger seat was a CD and People magazine with a note that said For Post-IM Relaxation.

I had turned the car on and immediately I heard talking. At first I thought Preston had left the stereo tuned to talk radio and I went to turn it off but then I heard what it was.

I opened the card and it was absolutely priceless. He knows me so well!!!!! I got a little choked up as I drove into town around 4:45am listening to the motivational clip and thinking about his words for me.

I re-read the card before getting my bags and heading to the transition area. I got body marked, hit the port-o-lets, then added my frozen bottles to my bike, pumped up my tires and went to drop off my special needs bags. Along the way I saw many of my friends and wished them well and gave hugs and high fives along the way. It had rained pretty hard overnight with the thunderstorms so our transition bags were soaked. Normally it’s very easy to spot my bags because I tie them with Pink and Green feather boas. Unfortunately feather boas are useless in the rain and I finally located my bags and now sopping, limp boas. Hehe! This made me laugh. I added my frozen stuff into my 2 bags and made the rounds looking for my bike pump that I’d left with Cathy and Kelly from BT.

Another turn waiting in line at the port-o-lets before getting suited up. Luckily I met up with my camp friends Zoe and Celeste and they helped me into my new long sleeved wetsuit. I used tons of bodyglide because chafing was a real concern for me seeing as how this would be the first time ever swimming in this particular suit. I packed all my stuff up and then stole away to see Preston and Siani and say my goodbyes. All morning I’d been listening to my Ironman iPod mix and just as I approached them our song (Fly by Sara Groves) started to play. I got very choked up seeing Preston and he hugged me very tightly and told me to “Have Fun!” before I headed back into the tent to get my goggles and cap.

I felt so calm and ready as I headed towards the timing mat. I found Kelly and Cathy on the way in and we went over the timing mats together. Met up with Randy (easy to spot in his sleeveless) and Dan and then moved back away from the front while the National Anthem was sung. Hooray!!! Last year I couldn’t hear any of this stuff because of the wind.

The cannon blew and we were off! I had a TON more contact than last year. It was absolute mayhem out there to the first turn buoy. I felt really good the whole first lap and my new wetsuit was working great. Started lap 2 at about 45 minutes in – WOO HOO!!!

Unfortunately things started going downhill fast. I was starting to get cold and the chop was picking up a bit more. There were a lot of people swimming erratically and it was hard to find a draft. I just kept telling myself to get to the turn buoy, focus on the turn buoy. I seemed to take in quite a bit of water getting there but I finally made it. At this point my fingers had started to freeze open and I was having trouble swimming. I couldn’t scoop the water and I was getting colder and colder. For the first time ever I did not how I would ever finish this thing. The shore seemed so far away and I was really having a lot of defeatist negative thoughts because I felt like I was swimming in place with my hands clawing the water.

I took a moment and gathered myself and thought about what I did to calm myself when I was swimming at home. I count laps using the alphabet and I sing a song for each letter so for M I would sing Move Along or for A I might sing After the Rain etc. So I just started going through the alphabet and singing the songs in my head. I also decided since I couldn’t do much on my own with my hands like they were that drafting was the way to make forward progress. I found any feet I could and stayed right behind them til someone else came by. Slowly but surely the shore got closer and closer. I finally knew I would make it out of the water in one piece.

I’ve never been so happy to finish a swim. Ever! Not even last year’s crazy choppy, people yukking in the water swim was as bad to me as this.

As I exited the swim I remembered the photographers were right there and waited a sec to start taking the wetsuit off. I saw Preston and Siani who happened to be standing right next to Paula Newby Fraser as we headed to the peelers so I pointed to the long sleeved suit and yelled THANK YOU to her as I moved past.

Seriously I would never have made it out of the swim had I not gotten the full suit. There’s no question in my mind.

Swim – 1:43.17

Made it to the wetsuit peelers and dropped down and they had my suit off in a flash. Found my T1 bag despite the wet boas and entered the tent. It was craziness in there. Found a place to sit and tried to open my bag. It was futile as my fingers were just not working so I ripped the bag open and dumped my stuff in front of me.

I couldn’t think straight and I could hardly use my hands so thankfully a volunteer arrived and started helping me. We got my feet washed off and socks and shoes on and my sleeveless jersey on and pockets filled. I couldn’t even fasten the chinstrap of the helmet. It was so ridiculous to me that I was just laughing. I felt so incompetent like “how the heck was I going to ride my bike for 112 miles when I can’t even put on my helmet”.

Took a moment and made sure I had everything, thanked the woman who was now getting a new bag to put all my gear in and off I went. Heard Preston and Siani cheering again as I grabbed my bike and hurried to the mount line.

It was about 8:54 when I started the bike, a few minutes later than last year but that was ok by me cause I’d lived through the swim.

T1 – 9.17

One of the best things about IM CDA is that the course is 2 loops and you go out and back several times on various parts of the course so you’re almost always seeing other people either ahead or behind you. I took it very easy through town and out to Higgens Point when I finally started warming up and looking around me. I saw Jenny and Sue and Ovetta while I was out on Lake CDA drive and Katherine just as I was coming back into town.

I was going very relaxed and easy and I knew I was having a great start to the bike as I made it back into town almost 5-7 min faster than I have in the past. I actually surprised Preston and Siani who were near the car which I’d parked facing towards the bike course and they waved and cheered as I was early and they hadn’t expected to see me yet.

Made it up to 4th and OMG could it be, possibly, YES!!!!!!! There in the middle of the road was Elmo – WOO HOO, I smiled and laughed and yelled the whole way past. What fun I was already having. One of the things I love to do while riding is wave to spectators, smile lots and say hi to all the farm animals I’m passing. I’m not sure why exactly but I love Alpacas. They are like my favorite animal to see. I knew there were 2 Alpaca farms on the course and as I came up on the first I yelled really loudly “ALPACAS – I LOVE YOU!!!!!!” I think I scared the crap out of the girl I was passing at the time.

Up to the golf course and into the hills. Knowing the course well I felt really good about my shifting and having the inside track on when to descend fast, go easy etc so imagine my surprise when on one of the only unimpeded descents of the course (where you didn’t have a sharp right or left at the bottom) this girl that had passed me while I was climbing who is now riding to the left as I am starting to descend like a freight train and I’m yelling “on your left, on your left” and she barely moved over. It’s not like there was anyone else near her and she yelled “you could put on your brakes you know” and I’m like “whatever girl – just because you kicked my butt up the hill and I’m now schooling you on the descent doesn’t mean you have to be mean about it”.

Rode through my favorite part of the course and was doing well on pace, nutrition and everything felt good. Climbed up English Point and was feeling good going into the turnaround on Ohio Match road. At this point the pros started to catch us as we made our way back to Aid Station #4. My Uncrustable tasted amazing and I was done with the hills on lap 1. WOO HOO!

So as I’m heading back towards town on Rimrock and there’s this really great fast descent. I started into it and noticed that the Pros were all starting to catch up but guess what!!!!!! I descended past Viktor the winner from last year and I actually (unless he was resting) held my position on the descent until he passed me on the flats. Even if I was imagining it – it seemed very cool to be such a fast descender.

My nutrition was working great and I was drinking my cocktail and taking GU regularly and getting water at each aid station for my aerobottle. At this point it’d started to warm up quite a bit (or so it seemed to me) so I also poured some water over my head and down my back to keep my core cool.

As I started the last stretch into town I could feel the wind pick up and I saw storm clouds forming over the mountains towards Spokane. Uh-oh!!!! This wasn’t a good sign because that meant the last 12 miles of the race would be into a headwind. It felt pretty steady and I got a few gusts that caused me to grip my bars very tightly to keep from getting blown over as I was rounding corners. Made it through lap 1 and was super stoked about my lap1 time. I was riding at about a 7:15 bike split pace coming off the first lap and that included 2 very quick bathroom stops.

Saw Preston and Siani as I headed back through town towards Special Needs. My bag was easy to spot this time cause the Special Needs boas hadn’t gotten wet and I wisely packed everything extra into 1 bag and everything I knew I planned to take into another. The volunteer was very helpful opening my cold bag and handing me a fresh cocktail bottle (that was still cold), new Uncrustables, Peeps and Chocolate Cinnamon Bears and helping me fill my bento box with tortilla chips and Cheetos. Stuffed a few extra in my mouth as I pedaled away. Hit the port-o-let on the trail to quickly add some extra BodyGlide and pee again. This is where I started to get worried.

I didn’t see my friend Jenny at all and Katherine, Ovetta and Sue were all just heading towards Higgens Point as I was going back to town. I sent them all speedy vibes and hoped Jenny was ok.

Back on Government Way and saw the most $(#*@@ thing ever in a race. They had blocked off the left most lane for cyclists and cars were riding on the right of us with no left hand turns allowed by cars. So we’re all riding along and all of the sudden a car turns right into the cycling lane narrowly missing the rider directly in front of me and causing me to swerve to miss the car. OMG – if that cyclist hadn’t have been paying attention she would have been hit by the car. I screamed, she screamed, people on the sidewalk cheering us basically swarmed the lady’s car and just flipped out on her. Very scary stuff.

I knew at this point that this was the only time I’d have the wind with me so I pedaled hard going into the hills to build up some time in preparation for the headwind heading back. Up and down the hills and UGH they suck on the 2nd lap. There were lots of people walking at this point but there were fewer people on the course so it’s actually a great chance to chat as you see the same people as you climb, descend, repeat. Ate 1 Peep after English Point and snacked on my Cheetos and Tortilla Chips throughout lap 2. Yummy!!!!

One fun thing was that as I passed the 2 Alpaca Farms on the first lap I yelled out my greeting to them and they were like in the middle of the field far away from the fence but as I passed them on the 2nd lap they had all moved up right next to the fence and that made me super happy – I LOVE YOU ALPACAS!!!!!! Turned around at Ohio Match and boom, right into the headwind. My lower back was really starting to bother me and I kept sitting up and stretching again and again trying to relieve the pressure. The wind just never let up. I knew I had plenty of time but as I headed back towards town I saw my 2 friends Katherine and Ovetta and knew that they were going to be super super close to the cut-off based on the wind and distance they still faced. I tried to encourage them as I went past.

The last 12 miles were a dogfight for me. I was hurting and the wind was sucking the life out of me. I sang songs out loud and talked to my new buddy Lasko who I saw for much of the 2nd lap. As I went down Government Way for the last time I was struggling so much that I had shifted into my small chain ring and was just spinning as easily as I could. Turns out by the time I hit transition I had shifted all the way down to my 3rd lowest gear for the flat to downhill section. EEEKKKORAMA!!!! The wind was killing me but all of the sudden there I was making the turn into transition. WOO HOO – in spite of the wind I had rocked last year’s bike time and put some time in the bank. Saw Preston and Siani again as I hopped off the bike and it was whisked away by a very nice volunteer.

Bike – 7:46.47

Grabbed my bag, which was easy to spot since my boas had dried out and were fluffy again and zipped into the tent. Was met by several volunteers who I’ve worked the tent with in previous years and they were efficient and helpful. I got more sunscreen, vaselined my feet and put my socks and shoes on, body glided my inner arms and thights, my volunteers got my fuel belt loaded with my frozen GU20 bottles, put my race belt on and hat and my sweet tank top that I’d designed as a surprise for my husband to celebrate our 10th Anniversary this summer. After I loaded my pockets with Mike & Ikes and Chocolate Cinnamon Bears, I thanked the volunteers, took a deep breath and was out the door. I felt very ready to get out on the run!!!!

T2 – 6.46

As I headed out of transition I turned on my interval timer, which was set for 3 min run/ 1 min walk intervals. My plan was to stick with these intervals as long as I could and walk each aid station and the hills. Running was the area this year where I’d made the most improvement in terms of speed so I was hoping that would pay off with a faster marathon time.

It felt pretty warm out there by this time (only 74) so I started right away with ice in the sports bra but I avoided sponges cause I didn’t want my feet to get too wet. My lower back wasn’t really hurting anymore which was a bonus J I saw Suzanne as I came back from the short out and back and when I got back into town I was so excited to see Preston and Siani. He loved the shirt and I stopped to give them a hug! Up NW Blvd and out into the neighborhoods where the people of CDA really come out in droves and it’s just awesome to have such great support. I was feeling good and running along well at a solid pace repeating my run mantra of “Reasonable Sustainable Pace” on the run parts and “Strong Purposeful Strides” on the walks. Took in my salted GU20 and water at the aid stations and took in 1.5 Gus and a pack of SportBeans on the first lap. I was disappointed that I didn’t see Elmo on the run but maybe he had other plans this year. I love that once you’re on the run you can see all the other racers because of the out and back nature of the course, plus most people are wearing their run # and it has their first name on it so it’s great to be able to encourage people by name.

I felt like I had a rock in my shoe at about mile 5 so I stopped to get it out. Unfortunately it wasn’t a rock but a hotspot developing on the bottom of my foot. ACK! No time to dwell on it I just put my shoe back on and kept on moving. I was doing water, ice and 3ozs of my GU20 at each aid station. I hit the hill and walked to the top then ran to the bottom and headed back into town. Now on the back into stretch I saw a TON of people because I was able to see all the people way ahead of me going out on their 2nd loop and then those behind me still on their 1st lap. I saw Sue and Tanya but I didn’t see Katherine or Ovetta. This made me really sad cause I had wanted to see them out doing the marathon. They are both rockstars!

Kept up my pace back through town and saw Preston and Siani again right at the mile 13 marker. WOO HOO – 1 loop done and I was down the homestretch. Did the out and back, smiled lots, thanked volunteers, high fived a few kids along the way and then popped into Special Needs to grab my long sleeved shirt for around my waist, my big bag of Mike & Ike’s and another frozen bottle of GU20. At this point I made the calculated decision that I’d drop my fuel belt into my SN bag (since I got it back last year I hoped I’d get again this year) and just carried the 1 small bottle, which I was pouring over ice at the next few aid stations.

I saw my friend Carole and we exchanged updates on the status of some of our other friends racing as I jogged back up NW Blvd towards the lake. I also saw Preston and Siani again and I told Preston I’ll see you at our usual spot (the top of the hill just past mile 25 where we walked together last year) but be prepared because if I think I can go under 16 hours we’re gonna be running it in.

The sun still seemed pretty high in the sky as I passed mile 15 and just before the 16 mile mark they came by with the glow sticks. That seemed weird because last year I got my glow stick after mile 17 and it was still sunny out. Ah well. Passed through the neighborhoods and everything started getting skewed because I was so much earlier this year than last year. I was at like mile 17 almost 18 before I started thinking about hitting the chicken broth, before the sun started setting etc. I put my long sleeved shirt on just before starting to climb the hill and was doing water and chicken broth at the aid stations and Mike & Ike’s in between. I was really feeling strong as I ran back down the hill and I knew (even though I hadn’t seen a clock) that I should be close to going under 16 so I was like Forest Gump, I just kept on running. Did my walk intervals but kept them strong and brisk and then ran hard on the run segments. I was passing tons of people at this point who were walking and that made me feel great!!!!!

Hit the Inspiration Mile just after mile 23 and my message was displayed (Keep Defying Gravity) but more importantly I saw the race clock for the first time since I started on the marathon. It read 15:05 and that’s when I knew I had it in the bag. I felt strong, I was running hard and I only had 3.2 miles to go – WOO HOOO!!!!!!!

Kept up my pace and at the last aid station I made a quick pit stop to pee before starting up the hill towards town. I saw Preston at the top of the hill and I yelled “Hey Pup” and he was like OMG ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????? He couldn’t believe it was me already because he hadn’t expected me so early. We hugged and I did my walk interval and then he jogged with me until we got to the corner on Sherman. I gave him another huge hug and thanked him for making this race possible for me and I turned and ran.

Sherman is an amazing place on Ironman Day. The people are 5 or 6 deep and they are lined up for like 8 city blocks. This part of the day was surreal for me because last year I went into the race with the goal of enjoying the day and hopefully finishing by midnight. I played it safe all day and didn’t really push myself.

This year I worked my ass off all day. I struggled in the swim to keep my head in the game, I biked into the wind and through the hills and tried to stay as strong and focused as I could and once I started running, I just ran and left everything I had on the course.

So as I ran down Sherman and high fived the crowds, smiled, waved and soaked it all in it was a totally different experience for me than it was last year because I really honestly felt like I had gutted it out and earned the finish that was waiting for me. I checked behind me to make sure no one was catching up to me and I ran into the chute to AC/DCs You Shook Me All Night Long.

Run – 6:01.55

I pumped my fists as I saw the time clock ahead of me reading 15:48 and I could hear Mike Reilly saying “from Beaverton, OR Bonnie Crawford you are an Ironman”

Total Time – 15:48.28

I crossed the finish line and was caught by my friend Carole who helped me get my medal, finisher hat and (WOO HOO) a size Medium finisher shirt. Got big hugs from BT friends Whizz and Shannon and chatted a bit while I waited for Preston and Siani to arrive. We took some pictures and I headed off to get my pizza and a massage.

Last year I ate 3 pieces of pizza at the finish line and I swear it was the best pizza ever so this year for 13 miles I’m thinking about that pizza. So I get to the food area and find out they just gave out their last piece. I was like well how long til some more arrives? The volunteer looked so sad to have to tell me that there was no more coming. I was like OMG I am so sad about this I have been dreaming about this pizza for like 2.5 hours and I finished way earlier than I did last year but there’s no pizza.

Talked to Preston and Siani about my bags and bike and they told me the shocking and horrible news that no one could find my swim bag. And I was like wait a second……my swim bag with my BRAND NEW WETSUIT in it? Yep – that would be the bag. It’s missing. So no pizza and the prospect of no wetsuit had me kind of bummed out going into the massage tent but I got a great massage from Joanne and had told Preston about the mishap with the swim bag in T1 and how they had to make me a new bag cause I’d ripped mine open so he went back to look for a bag without a #.

HOORAY!!!!! The bag was located, Joanne gave me the great idea to have pizza delivered to our hotel and I talked to my mom (in the UK) and my dad (in Hawaii) via phone while we drove home.

We waited in the hotel lobby on the cushy couches for more than hour for our 7 cheese pizza to arrive from local place Pizza Pipeline and after hearing all the fun stories of how Siani and Preston had spent their day we were all kind of crashed out and cranky when it finally arrived but HOLY MACKERAL it was seriously the most awesome delicious pizza ever.

So that’s the story of IM CDA 2008. It was a totally hard full out effort. The Bonnie of last year wouldn’t have made it to the finish line this year so I’m really satisfied with not only my completion but also my improvement year over year. I really felt like it took an Ironman effort to keep my head throughout the day and cross the finish line knowing that I had done everything I could to give my very best.

A huge thank you to my family and friends. IM Training is taxing but I hope my more sane training approach this year resulted in you all feeling less like you wanted to strangle me by the time the race arrived.

To all the amazing BT Peeps – I loved our group this year and it was an absolute pleasure to train, race and cheer for you through the months leading up to the race and out on the course. You are all rockstars!

And finally to Preston. You are the love of my life and truly my inspiration. You encourage me to keep discovering my true potential. As we prepare to celebrate our 10th Anniversary next month I can’t begin to thank you enough for all of the love, laughter and realism you bring to me everyday. You gave me this race when you saw me struggling without a big goal and I promised you that you would always come first and that IM training would take a back seat to us. I hope you feel that I kept my promise.

Ironman CDA 2008 - Pre Race Report

2008-06-29T16:22:00.000-07:00

Wednesday

After getting everything packed and saying goodbye to Preston I headed off to my last massage with Stefan. On Sunday I had started to get a pretty bad head cold so I had laid low and rested all of Monday and Tuesday skipping my easy short workouts. Which makes waking up Tuesday with a very serious pain in the back of my calf so weird. I wasn’t freaking out but I did ask Stefan to please figure out what it was and how to fix it.

He said it was my papliomous (sp) which probably got inflamed because I’d run a 10k Sunday and hadn’t stretched well enough. He dug in and I held back the tears as he tried to loosen it up.

Whew!!! He pronounced me good to go. Asked me to get out of the car every hour or 2 and stretch and pretty soon I was on the road.

I made it up to CDA without incident stopping a few times for coffee, gas and the bathroom.

As I got closer to my exit I played my theme song for this year, which is from the Broadway show Wicked. It’s called Defying Gravity and I love it! As I drove into town I wasn’t quite as emotional as last year but tears did still spring into my eyes as I thought about what this year’s race meant to me and how excited I was to be racing again.

The hotel people were wonderful and the room was huge so I got unpacked and headed out for a quick easy jog. My calf still felt sore and stiff but I just took deep breaths and believed that I would be right as rain come race day.

Met up with Kelly (tri-chic) from BT and her coach for a delicious dinner and then headed out to get my grocery items and get some sleep.

Thursday

The locals have taken to calling this June – Junuary because of how cool and drizzly it’s been so we’d been watching the forecasts and water temp all month silently willing it to warm up. We got our wish and the race week forecast had full sun and temps up into the high 80s. WOO HOO!!! Unfortunately the water was still hovering at about 56-57 on Thursday. I tried not to freak out about it. I had swam in cold water before I was sure I would be fine. I met up with a bunch of my buddies from Beginner Triathlete (BT) at the morning swim and we got suited up for a practice swim. As I looked around at hundreds of triathletes I noticed several things. Everyone was wearing either a neoprene hood or booties and I was the only female that I could see in a sleeveless wetsuit. Uh-oh!!!!

I got in the water and got lots of looks and comments like “whoa, she must be hardcore”. If they only knew……I hadn’t bought a full sleeved wetsuit because I was worried about shoulder fatigue, I didn’t want to spend any more money on IM this year and I didn’t think I really needed it. Big mistake!

So into the water I went in my booties, 2 swim caps and sleeveless suit. It was bone chilling. Mind numbing. Ice Cream Headache producing. OMG – I can’t even describe it. I swam about 1100 yards and when I got out my hands were frozen open. Like I had no muscle control to keep my fingers closed which is very important when you’re trying to scoop the water during your swim stroke.

I got warmed up, dressed and then hit the merchandise tent to buy some gear that said IM CDA on it without the giant FINISHER on the back (since last year I hadn't wanted to jinx myself and buy anything pre-race). WOO HOO – they had tons of cute stuff and I only spent $200 (a huge improvement from last year). For that I got a zip-up hoodie, a long sleeved technical running shirt, a visor, 2 luggage tags, a women’s specific shirt and a t-shirt for Preston that reads:

“I don’t do the Ironman, I’m Doing An Ironman – IronMate”

Hehe!!! They had Men’s and Women’s versions which were so funny I had to get it for him.

Met up with Jenny and Randy, two of my friends doing their 1^st Ironmans and we got all registered then I cruised through the expo to buy my reflective tape and some extra body glides, made a sign for some of my friends and headed off to have some lunch and work on organizing my gear into my race bags.

Jenny and I went for an easy bike ride on Thursday afternoon into town and back to spin our legs out and check our bikes, which was a lot of fun.

Thursday evening Randy and his awesome wife Angela had a bunch of our training group over for a BBQ at their rental house on the river. It was a wonderful evening of relaxation and good food and good friends!

I went to bed hoping that the neoprene gloves I had procured earlier in the day from a local dive shop would help keep my fingers warm the next day.

Friday

Friday was a weird day. I got up and headed down to meet up with a bunch of the BT peeps for a swim and hoped the water had warmed up. I had my diving gloves and after suiting up I got in and made it about 100 yds with them before I returned to shore and gave them to a spectator to put with my stuff. They felt like weights on my hands and filled with water. Not an improvement!

Started swimming with my fingers as tight as I could make them but by the turn buoy my fingers started drifting apart. I was so cold I couldn’t control the muscles well enough to close them so I was basically clawing the water. Ugh! All kinds of defeatist and negative thoughts were swirling in my head. I felt awful.

I finally made it out of the water and it took me 52 minutes to swim that 1 lap. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t think straight. It was all I could do to get my wetsuit off and wrap a towel around myself before heading to the Multisports.com Camp breakfast.

I talked to a few people there including Michael ;) who looked poised to have a great race! After the breakfast 2 very interesting things happened.

#1 - I asked Heather Fuhr and Paula Newby Fraser who were camp coaches if it was ok to give the Biggest Loser prize to the 2^nd place person because assuming no one beat my weight loss I didn’t feel right about getting the prize 2 years in a row. They said if I won I could do whatever I wanted (more on this later).

# 2 - I was very stressed and agitated about the water temp situation and was still (almost an hour after getting out of the water) shivering and a little loopy. Paula asked me what the problem was and I explained I had a sleeveless wetsuit and she practically grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me. It was pretty funny. She was like “why would you not try a long sleeved suit” and of course I have a million reasons namely that you shouldn’t try anything new on race day and I’ve never swam in a full suit before blah blah. She’s like “OMG girl get down to the booth right now and try on a full suit, do you want to finish the swim???? Extreme conditions call for extreme measures etc”

So I left the breakfast and pretty much had to hold back the tears because honestly at that exact moment I felt so defeated and freaked out I just couldn’t even handle it.

I got to the Blue Seventy booth and they told me I could try on a suit in the water but I only had 10 minutes to swim before they closed. Fine I said and I told the woman my height and weight and she gave me a Women’s M/L suit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOO HOOOOOOOOO – I was still melting down inside but as I slipped this beautiful wetsuit on I felt so happy and it clicked in my mind why I’d been getting so cold. I bought my sleeveless suit 3 seasons ago when I weighed 220lbs. They didn’t make a women’s suit large enough to fit me so I bought the Men’s Short and Stocky suit. Well I’ve since lost more than 40lbs and I didn’t really think about the size because the suit seemed to still fit me in the hips and butt which of course makes sense cause it’s cut for a man not a woman.

So into the water I jumped in this trial long sleeved suit. I swam around for about 10 minutes and honestly it felt fine and I seemed to be a lot warmer. I got out and was hurrying to get my towel and sweatshirt back on because I was now about to be late to my massage when I asked how much the wetsuit cost……

$550 + tax

Visualize my head exploding at this moment. I was like WOW – do you have other suits that are less. Yes – they had a high, medium and low priced suit and I was trying out the high one of course.

Jetted off to my massage and planned to hit the tent later to try the other 2 models on.

Joanne calmed me down, warmed me up and helped me relax with a lovely massage before I headed back to the merchandise tent. I ended up buying the medium priced suit because I could really feel the lower priced suit wasn't flexible enough and I just couldn’t justify more than ½ my rent for a wetsuit. $440 later (SALES TAX SUCKS!!!!!!) I have my new suit and I am feeling much calmer about things.

I hit the Inspiration Station where I found a pink marker and decided to make a big sign for myself that had pink spots all over it and said Speed Leopard in huge letters. It would give me something to look for while I was riding and running on Sunday.

Finally went back to the hotel where I did some laundry, mixed all my bottles, packed all my frozen bags and stored them in the hotel freezer and then relaxed and watched some TV before heading to the Athlete Dinner.

Sooooooo every year at IM they do the Biggest Loser contest where they say if you’ve lost more than 10lbs stand up, 20 stay standing etc and when they get down to like 3-4 people they bring them on stage. Last year I won the contest by a mile because I had lost like 170lbs at that point but Mike Reilly was injured and not hosting the dinner and I was really bummed out cause I wanted to talk to him. So imagine my surprise when he starts this portion of the evening by saying “If over the last 8 months, training for this race you’ve lost more than 20lbs stand up”

Interesting……

Not only did I not even stand up this year but last year I would have only been standing for 1 round - 2 guys ended up tying with 86lbs lost which is incredible and awesome but honestly if I were a first time IM like myself last year I’d want to be recognized for losing a lot of weight even if it had happened pre-Ironman training. So I’m going to suggest that they make the contest for first-timers instead of limiting it to just weight you’ve recently lost.

After the dinner I picked up my tortilla chips from Taco del Mar in Spokane and Preston from the airport and headed to bed because Saturday was going to be a busy day.

Saturday

Woke up early because I’d been asked to share my story with the CDA Weight Watchers Center members at 7:30am which was awesome. There were about 75 people there and I talked for about 40 minutes. There were lots of members volunteering the next day which was great because I’d have a whole new cheering section. People seemed very motivated to know that a very normal WW member could go and do something like Ironman. Hopefully they were inspired :)

I zipped back to the hotel and met up with Jeff (IronViking from BT) for our now traditional pre-race brick. We chatted and rode our bikes for about 20 minutes and then hopped off for a 10 minute transition run. My legs felt good and I was really excited for the next day to start.

Jenny, Katherine and I had all met through our Weight Watchers Triathlon group and since we were all racing here at CDA we met up with Carole (also from our group) who did CDA in 2006 and her husband Tom and Katherine’s friend Pam who was also racing. We had a great breakfast hanging out and having fun! Preston had picked up my best friend Siani from the airport and we all headed back to the hotel to pick up my bags and bike for check-in.

After a quick check of my list (Reset speedometer, release some air from tires, GU, medicine and chapstick in my Bento Box, check my gearing to make sure I was in an easy gear to leave transition) I said a quick prayer for my bike to work well and for me to be strong and calm on race day and then headed back to the hotel.

Siani, Preston and I settled in and it turned out HBO had some great movies on that afternoon. We started with We Are Marshall, moved on to Oceans 13 and then rounded it out with Thelma and Louise - Kick Ass!!! I was rested, relaxed and calm about the next day despite the thunderstorm happening outside my window.

We got some dinner from the Olive Garden (my traditional pre-race Cheese Ravioli w/sauce on the side, yummy!!!!) and then I showered, stretched, wrote a card for Siani to give Preston while I was out on the course the next day and closed the evening by watching the YouTube videos of The Hoyts and Jon Blais. Those guys are the embodiment of everything the Ironman is and means and it always helps give me perspective on things to see them.

In bed and ready to rock and roll by 9:15pm.

They don't call it Ironman for nothing....

2008-06-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

I promise a full awesome race report with pictures and everything but in the meantime I had another wonderful day on Sunday!!!!!

The conditions were way tougher this year which makes the result that much sweeter :)

I took 34 minutes off my time - WOOO HOOO!!!!!!

15:48.28

I wanted to post a picture of the race shirt I designed this year as a surprise for Preston. Last year my shirt was dedicated to all the people who had supported me over the years and this year in celebration of our 10th Wedding Anniversary I designed the shirt for him. The red line separates the front from the back of the shirt :)

CDA Here I Come!

2008-06-17T15:01:00.000-07:00

I'm all packed and ready to go. I have a bit of cold but I'm not concerned as it gets better every day.

If you're interested in tracking my progress throughout the day Sunday here's what you need to know:

www.ironmanlive.com

Look for the Track An Athlete link for Ironman Coeur d'Alene.

My athlete # is 1861

The race starts at 7am Pacific Time and I will be swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and then running a full marathon (26.2 miles) hopefully finishing before the midnight cut-off. There's a live video link to the finish line so for those of you interested in staying up late I hope to finish sometime between 10pm and midnight.

Time Flies When You Are Having Fun!

2008-06-10T08:39:00.001-07:00

I can hardly believe it's been almost 6 months since my last blog post. Where does the time go.....

This year it went to a lot of socializing, a good amount of training and hours spent with family and friends in person so they didn't have to read about my life on my blog :)

So Ironman is just around the corner. I feel excited and ready for the race to happen. I've had training ups and downs as you might expect, the great thing about this year is that I'm so relaxed about the whole affair. I know what it's like, I know what to expect and it makes me feel much calmer and it's great to be able to share my experiences and insight with people preparing for their first one.

I will try to blog a little more these next 2 weeks and of course I'll have pictures and a race report to share when it's all over.

In the meantime here's an amazing piece of news!

Last year at Ironman you'll remember I found out my body fat was like 26% which was considered healthy and normal. It was measured using the Ironman scale. This year I discovered that Adventist Medical Center in Portland has a dunk tank where you can get the Hydrostatic Weighing done. It's the gold standard for body fat measurement.

So I went down to get tested because I thought it'd be a great way to celebrate going into Ironman this year.

Wise Move!

My Body Fat was 21% - HOLY MACKERAL!!!!! Elite athletes generally have BF between 15-18% and the average woman has between 23-30%. I actually fall into the lean category. OMG - I was so psyched!!!!

Starting the New Year in Style...

2008-01-02T19:26:00.001-08:00

I know, I know. I have been horribly remiss in writing on my blog but expect more posts in the coming months as I again record my journey towards the Ironman finish line in 2008. Yep, I'm headed to Ironman Coeur d'Alene again in June.

The past few months have been spent relaxing, vacationing in Hawaii, playing lots of board games with my husband and our friends and generally enjoying the non-regimented life that is not consumed with Ironman training.

Along those lines, I've started doing weight loss, fitness and nutritional consulting this fall. I have 4 clients so far along with a series of seminars I give to a weight loss group at one of our local medical clinics - Greenfield Health Center.

It's been really fun and I'm looking forward to seeing my clients meet their goals this coming year.

So one of my friends and fellow weight loss success stories John (amazing guy who lost like 200lbs and then did IM Florida a few years back) was contacted about doing a segment on our local morning TV show. He doesn't live in Portland anymore so he gave them my name. Thank you John!

So today Preston and I were on TV :)

Click Here for the Video - Bonnie and Preston on AM Northwest

Ironman training starts next week and I'm looking forward to sharing the road with several of my good friends who are doing their first Ironmans there this year!!!!! (Jen, CW and Randy - WOO HOO)

I'm an iPod Convert :)

2007-10-07T23:34:00.000-07:00

I'll admit it! I am iCrazy!!!!!

Between finding new songs, making playlists, taking my Nike + sensor out for runs with me I can hardly believe how much I love this thing.

So if you're interested in what keeps me rocking while I'm out running, here's the SpeedLeopard Running Mix.

This is an Awesome Picture!

2007-09-14T22:02:00.000-07:00

Swimming with the Buckeyes Rocks!

2007-09-13T08:57:00.000-07:00

I know you're all probably like SpeedLeopard where the heck have you been?

The last few days I've been on the road in Ohio doing a training for one of our customers and got to do the coolest thing.

I've run, swam and biked all over the world on 3 continents throughout the past few years but yesterday's swimming experience was pretty cool.

My training was being held in Columbus so I was staying right across the street from the beautiful Ohio State campus. As I was wandering around waiting for some documents to be printed at Kinkos I noticed an Ice Rink.

Ding! The light bulb went off in my head. This is a ginormous school so anyplace this big must have an aquatic facility.

A few clicks and a few calls pleading my case to the Student working the athletic center membership desk and I had a day pass to use the aquatic center for only $10 - Super Sweet!

I headed over with my cap, goggles and SportBeans and was floored by how beautiful the facility was. The pool was an 8 lane 50m competition pool with digital timing system, cool clean water and about 5-10 ft deep. Next to the pool was the Springboard and Platform diving wells and as I did my laps I got to watch some of OSUs divers practicing.

I did 2000m which took just over an hour and I had a blast. I haven't swam that far since IM and it felt great to push myself on both distance and speed.

What really made the experience great though was the facility. There's something awesome about swimming in a long course pool where it feels like you can swim forever before turning around. Where light pours in from windows and vaulted ceilings.

Thank you Buckeyes for your hospitality!

I have lots of interesting things to post on but for now I'm in Chicago and have to catch my flight.

SpeedLeopard out :)

Life After Ironman

2007-07-15T22:59:00.000-07:00

Like most big life events: a graduation, a wedding, a baby there's a lot of mixed emotions about completing a "project" which you've been pouring your energy, focus and time for months.

These last 3 weeks have been a good time for me to reflect. Reflect on the day and how much fun it was. Reflect on the people that helped me get through the day successfully but most importantly to enjoy the life that was swirling around me as I immersed myself in all things Ironman these last few months.

I've managed to keep my weight in check in spite of the drastic drop in activity, I'm easing back into workouts for the pure fun of it rather than because my training plan tells me to run 3 miles or bike 40. I'm sleeping in late with my husband and going out with friends. I'm catching up on movies, shopping and this week I even became an Aunt :)

One of the fun things I decided to do to celebrate life Post-IM was to have my blog redesigned. Isn't it cool and fun? Mallie redesigned it for me and I absolutely LOVE it!!!! I think it captures the silliness and fun that makes me, well me.

So I'm sure I'll have more thoughts to share throughout the summer but for now I'm resting, relaxing, recapturing the unscheduled, unstructured fun that is just exercising and enjoying all the sun that I can.

Ironman Coeur d'Alene

2007-06-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

It's difficult to describe a 22 hour day - 16 of which were spent in motion so please bear with me on what may be a book by the time I'm finished but hey, I was out there a long time :)

Race Morning
-----------
My alarm and a wake-up call were set for 4am but at 3:35 when I woke up I decided it wasn't worth it to try to go back to sleep for 30 minutes so I started checking things off my pre-race list which is included here for reference.

4:00 am – Wake Up

Eat Banana
Bathroom Trip #1
Eat Bagel w/PB & Jelly
Apply Sunscreen
Apply Bodyglide

Get dressed

TriShorts
Sports Bra
Hair band
Barrettes
Bracelets
Watch
Pink W/U Pants
Princess Fleece
Keens

Try to eat 2nd Bagel w/PB & Jelly
Drink GU20
Take Swim Bag (DeSoto Tri Bag)

Wetsuit
Cap
Booties
Goggles
Spare Goggles
Timing Chip on Chip Strap
Body Glide
20oz bottle of H20
20oz bottle of GU20
MP3 Player
Kleenex
Flashlight
3 Gus

Take Tire Pump
Take Special Needs Bags

5:00 am – Transition area opens

Get Body Marked
Pump Tires
Check Speedometer
Fill Aerobottle with H20
Load Bike with 2 bottles of Cocktail
Take 2 Tylenol
Turn on watch timer

6:00 am – Add frozen items to bags

T1 – 2 Uncrustables
T2 – 4 frozen Fuel Belt bottles, Chocolate Cinnamon Bears
Bike SN – 1 frozen bottle of cocktail, 1 Uncrustable, Peeps, Chocolate Cinnamon Bears
Run SN – 2 frozen Fuel Belt bottles, Chocolate Cinnamon Bears

6:30 am -Transition area closes
7:00 am – Start Having an Awesome Day ☺

I did everything on my lists and several things that weren't like duh! drop off Special Needs bags which was like a block or 2 from the transition area and stand in line for the portolets for like 20 minutes.

After successfully eating my 2nd bagel and heading out after saying goodbye to Preston who had woken up with me and was talking to me and relaxing me the whole morning I headed out to transition.

OY VEY! The wind was blowing and it was pretty chilly out :( I was really happy I was wearing my comfy pink yoga pants and hooded fleece Disney Princess (also pink) sweatshirt. After getting body marked I headed to the bike area and pumped my tires, added water to my aerobottle, filled my bento box with GU and placed my bottles of cocktail on my bike. I added armwarmers and sunscreen to my T1 bag and tortilla chips to T2 then went to the bathroom again :)

I had like 20 min before meeting up with my dad and Preston so I went into the women's changing tent to get out of the wind and review my race plan and meditate a bit on the day and listen to some music and relax.

Back when I did my first Danskin sprint triathlon in 2003 Sally Edwards gives each group of swimmers a secret word before they start. Once she gives you the word she has you swing your arms while saying "I am a (insert word) swimmer" I thought back to my word which was Stupendous and repeated to myself I am a Stupendous swimmer.

This helped calm me a bit because the whitecaps and wind seemed to be getting worse not better. Finally it was 6am and I met up with Preston and my dad to get my cold bags. I quickly added them to my transition bags and then we walked down a few blocks to drop off my Special Needs bags.

Each of my bags had been marked with a piece of pink and green feather boa so they stood out and were so amazingly easy to find. WOO HOO! Thank you Tink for the idea :)

I handed over my tri bag with my Keens and all my extra stuff, hugged my dad, kissed Preston and got a little choked up when he whispered in my ear "Have Fun".

Before every race he's told me to just HAVE FUN, whatever happens. It's like our ritual and it reminded me again what a wonderful support he's been to me over the years. Even on my worst days if I could remember to have fun I'd still be a winner!

I headed back to transition and was faced with a HUGE line for the portolets, crap (literally). There was no choice, I had to go so I waited in the line. After what seemed like an eternity I got in there and got finished. Luckily standing in the long line gave me a chance to eat my pack of Sport Beans, drink some water, BodyGlide my legs and get most of my clothes in my Dry Clothes bag. Multi-tasking at it's best.

I headed into the changing tent to pull on my wetsuit and met up with my longtime friend DonnaLee who was here volunteering. Hooray! She was helping other ladies into their wetsuits and it was great to see a smiling face.

Once properly suited up I started the penguin walk to the timing mat. There was a small opening in the lake wall where we all had to walk through to get our chips activated. Somewhere in the melee of very nervous athletes (it was 6:50am and we were moving very slowly) I ran into Shannon. WOO HOO!!!! Shannon and I had been training together on BeginnerTriathlete and finally got to meet in person during race week. She is awesome and it was so calming to meet a friend for the long walk :)

While in line we hear Mike Reilley (the voice of Ironman) come over the PA system and announce that while we're all adults and can make our own decision, in light of the very rough lake conditions people would have the option of doing a duathlon.

WHAT??????????!!!!!!!!! OMG - this is probably the only point in the day where I almost freaked out. If the conditions were so bad people could do a duathlon that meant they were beyond a little chop. It's almost unprecedented for that to happen. YIKES!!!!! Shannon and I looked at each other, then looked at the water and almost in unison said "This is the Ironman, I'm doing the swim"

We finally got to the opening and we walked arm in arm across the mat. A wonderful fun way to start the day. We said goodbye and I headed to the far right of the beach where I met up with my other BT friend Doug. It was so windy we couldn't hear anything that was happening at the far end of the beach but I heard they played the National Anthem and then as the cannon went off U2's It's a Beautiful Day started playing. I didn't hear that but I heard the cannon and we all surged forward into the wild water. HERE WE GO!!!!!!

I started my watch and then dove right in. The water was pretty warm especially considering how cool it was outside and I started swimming.

Breathe, Long Relaxed strokes, I am a stupendous swimmer, feel the waves and try to roll with them.

Breathe, follow the masses, protect your head, watch out for wild breaststrokers.

Look for buoys, OMG I can't see anything, the waves are too high, think Leopard!!!!! Look for caps and follow them.

Breathe, ACK huge gulp of water. Cough, Cough, Breathe, Breathe, don't freak out, try to tread water, DUDE seriously treading water sucks when the waves are hitting you in the face because you can't bob high enough to get over them.

Long relaxed strokes, protect your ribs, watch out for breaststrokers, Why are we stopping????

WOO HOO - the buoy! We're at a complete standstill and there must have been like 300 of us all treading water moving very slowly around this buoy. We're all chatting and laughing about the conditions and how no one is swimming and I'm like "I thought this was the Ironman, not the Dog Paddle man."

A few people thought that was funny and then we were off again.

Repeat all of the above and next thing I know I'm touching the sand and heading through the turnaround to start loop 2.

47 minutes - WOW, in spite of the waves I'm kicking ass!

Realizing I am wearing a sleeveless black wetsuit and look exactly like a million other athletes I yell "GO SPEED LEOPARD" as I go up the beach and dive back in.

All of the above, 3 times worse for round 2. I could not see the buoy to save my life. People were hanging onto kayaks and surfboards and I was getting tossed about every stroke. I started seeing particles that looked like puke in the water, oh geesh.

For some reason I started thinking of lines from Napolean Dynamite and started laughing underwater. Hehehe, at least I could still crack myself up. Finally, finally found the buoy and made the turn. Went way off course as I was trying to get back to the beach but eventually I was kicking hard to warm up my legs and staggering up the beach and across the mat.

WOO HOO - 33% done with Ironman. I survived one of the worst swims ever. I felt fine I yelled WOO HOO as I was starting to wog up the beach.

KICK ASS - I did that swim in just over an hour and 40 minutes. I would have rocked my best super secret time if not for those waves. I was just shocked.

Swim 2.4 miles - 1:41.32

As I stripped the top half of my wetsuit off I could hear my family and friends yelling for me and I was yelling and waving right back at them. HOORAY - I was moving on to the bike.

I wogged up to the wetsuit strippers dropped onto the ground and in 20 seconds my wetsuit was off and I was headed for my bag. As I said before it was so easy to spot because of the boas. I grabbed the bag and wogged into the changing tent where it was mass chaos.

Apparently like nearly all of the women in the race came out of the water at the same time. I saw my friends Amanda and Joanna and wished them both great rides and finally found a spot at the end of the tent. I dried off, pulled on my top and dried my feet and then DonnaLee found me and helped me get my sleeveless jersey on and helmet, shoes, pockets filled and I was out the door.

Got some additional sunscreen and headed towards my bike. My support team was going so crazy - it was awesome!!!! I smiled and cheered and grabbed my bike and wogged it to the bike mount line.

T1 - 9.55

I checked the clock as I mounted my bike and it was 8:51 am. Sweet right on schedule. I smiled and started pedaling.

The first part of the bike course is a gradual uphill past tons of spectators. I took it easy up the hill, waving and smiling and trying to settle in for the first loop. As I pedaled I was also really keeping an eye out for other racers and trying to make sure I took the turns easy since I'm not super comfortable riding with a ton of other people.

We hit the first big hill on the way to Higgens Point and I just spun into my lowest gear. At the top of the hill we passed the first aid station which was coming back in the other direction and there were tons of flags, cheerleaders cheering us and lots of people clapping and ringing bells.

I had opted not to put armwarmers on and I was glad for that because I wasn't cold at all on the fast downhill to the turnaround. Through the 1st aid station and sweet! managed to grab a bottle of water and not crash. That was good news because it was one of the only things I hadn't really practiced in training.

Back through town and all the screaming people and we were off. Probably one of the biggest mental benefits going into race day was knowing the course from a bike. Not just driving it in a car but actually pedaling each hill twice :) Prior to the race I had set some checkpoints for myself. I was planning to ride from checkpoint to checkpoint. I had already gone from T1 to Higgens Point, then from HP to town. Now I was on my way to the high school.

Followed my plan and spun easily, waving at spectators, smiling and sipping water. It was kind of cool to have mile markers since I can't see that on my bike computer.

In case you don't know I'm a little obsessive about numbers so early on in the training season I decided to put a piece of medical tape over my speedometer so I couldn't see speed or distance only time. I kept it on there for the race because I wanted to stay focused on going easy.

Past the high school and there were so many people at this roundabout we had to go by. WOO HOO!!!! I waved at them all and chatted with a few cyclists as they passed or I passed. Now we're headed out for a long flat straightaway through Hayden.

OMG - there is a man in a giant Elmo suit on the other side of the road. HEHE - that is awesome. We pass all the festivities around Hayden Days which the town has scheduled to coincide with Ironman and there are people all over in lawn chairs, with signs, with bells, blasting music from their cars. It's amazing the difference it makes when there are people cheering you on.

Hi people, thanks for coming out! WOO HOO!!!!

Hit another aid station and got more water. My plan was basically to sip my cocktail which consisted of:

2 scoops CarboPro (calories and carbs)
1 scoop GU20 (electrolytes)
1 packet Crystal Light Lemon Electrolyte drink
1 packet Crystal Light Lemonade
600 mg salt
1 packet Sweet-n-Low

I had 2 bottles of this drink on my bike (one Lemonade, one Peach Iced Tea) and then 2 more bottles in Special Needs.

So I'm sipping my cocktail, watching the road, taking a GU, here comes an aid station, grab some water pour it into my aero bottle. Smile, wave, thank the volunteers, repeat.

We make the turn and here I am at the next checkpoint - the golf course :) I say to a volunteer that I think I might stop and play a round of golf and he just got this blank look on his face. Hehe! As soon as we hit the golf course we hit the hills but I'm ready.

Downshift, slow and steady, nice circles, nice cadence. Breathe deeply, no waving here, don't take your hands off the handlebars. Easy does it Leopard. Watch out for cyclists weaving up the hill. Very interesting, I'm actually passing a few people. Wonders never cease. I finally get to the top and then I'm cruising past lots of residents in lawn chairs cheering and clapping. Awesome!

I can't say enought about how wonderful the crowd support is here in CDA. The people are just amazing. Nearly every neighborhood had people with music, signs or even posters telling us we could use their bathrooms if we needed to. Thank you all!!!!

A few more up and down climbs and I chatted with the oldest woman doing the race for a few minutes then we headed for the steepest climb of the day. WOW - it was tough but I talked myself up it and actually talked to a few other ladies who seemed to be struggling. They were happy to hear this was the worst hill on the course.

More cocktail, another GU, more smiles, thank yous and hills. WOO HOO, I was now on my favorite part of the course which is a goregeous climb directly overlooking Hayden Lake. I sang songs at the top of my lungs as I zoomed down the other side of the hill.

Before I knew it I was nearing the Llamas and horses and heading up Rimrock Rd which has the most hills in a row. I ate my Uncrustable (portable PB&J sandwich) and as always it was delicious. I followed it with a salt tablet and more water. At this point I had seen several of my buddies from camp (Amanda and Joanna) since we were on an out and back stretch.

I hit the turnaround and headed back to finish my 1st loop.

After spinning easy for the first 50 miles I was really bummed that we were going right into a headwind on the downhill back to town when we should have been able to get free speed. Oh well. I had decided at the 40 mile mark to take a 2 minute break to pee since I seemed to be right on schedule and really didn't want wet shoes and socks all day. A very nice volunteer held my bike while I dashed into the portolet.

As I was about 2 miles from the start of my 2nd loop the race clock and media motorcycles zoomed past. Sweet, the pros were about to get off the bike. I looked for Michael (refer to the nice picture from IM camp) since we were all hoping he'd win the race but I didn't see him.

Saw the signs for finish or 2nd loop and said to myself "Ready for Round 2? HOOYAH"

Almost as soon as I started the 2nd loop I saw my family and friends and I was waving and yelling and smiling like crazy!!!!! WOO HOO I'm more than 1/2 way done with the bike.

Back up to Higgens Point and it was easy to find my Special Needs bag. It took a little longer than expected because my bag was heavy and had way to much stuff in it to sort through. Oh well. I ripped open my bubble envelope and low and behold my bottles of cocktail were still cold. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is amazing. I am so glad I did that. Prior to IM I had heard about someone freezing their bottles and putting them with an icepack into a bubble envelope. My friend Katherine tried this at IM AZ and it worked well so I was thrilled it worked for me too.

I'd gone through almost both of my cocktail bottles on the 1st loop so I put 2 new bottles in my cages, stashed my delicious Peeps and a still frozen Uncrustable in my back pocket along with a tube of Bodyglide before filling my Bento box with Baked Cheetos and Taco del Mar tortilla chips. Yummy!

I thanked the volunteers and headed a few hundred yards up the road to a bathroom on the trail since the portolets were behind me. I peed again and reapplied my BodyGlide. I was off and headed back to town.

Hello family and friends - WOO HOO!!!!!! I'm on my way to the hills for the last time. More waves, smiles, thanking the awesome traffic control volunteers and I was off towards the hills for the last time. As I headed up Government Way towards the High School I reapplied Chapstick, drank water, ate some cheesy Cheetos and salty tortilla chips and continued to enjoy the day.

I cheered other racers when I could, talked to myself, sang songs, smiled and waved so much and then before you knew it I was past the Elmo (OMG - he's still out there????) and into the hills.

After spinning up the first set of hills and rounding the corner I could see there were numerous people walking their bikes up the steepest of the hills. Come on Leopard, dig deep, slow and steady, you've done these hills the 2nd loop before, remember that a-hole from training weekend who breezed past you and told you how hard these would be on the 2nd loop and how t-o'd you were when you said "THIS IS MY 2nd LOOP" - Channel that feeling, you can do it, deep breaths, gut it out, keep going, there's the top, you can do it.

WOO HOO - the top of the hill brought several fun conversations with a few girls who recognized me as the Biggest Loser from the banquet and as we climbed the next set of hills we chatted about weight loss and motivations for IM, where they were from etc. I ate my next Uncrustable and salt tablet saw many many people I knew (JR from Portland Fit, Stephen from PDX, Amanda, Joanna, Jared from BT) and made a few new friends with various people as we slingshotted back and forth on the climbs and descents.

Hit the turnaround at Ohio Match Road and it was on - Yes I was headed for home. Another quick pee stop at an aid station, more waves and cheers and cocktail and tortilla chips, a few sticky marshmellowy Peeps and I was cruising back down 4th towards home.

ELMO!!!!!!!!! Finally I was on the right side of the road and OMG this guy in the Elmo suit was still there. He must have been burning up in that suit. He was accompanied by an older woman in a housecoat ringing a bell and even though I normally despise Elmo, he cracked me up the entire day so I tried to get a high five but barely missed :( Oh well, thanks Elmo you made my day!

With just 6 miles to go I had to pee again so I decided to hit the last aid station so I wouldn't have to go in T2. A quick in and out and I was in my big ring headed down the home stretch. As I hit the last downhill on NW Blvd I saw Preston - PUP!!!!!!!! I'm almost done with the bike and I'm having fun - HOORAY!!!!!!!

2 miles to go and I was at about 7:52 on my bike computer so I knew I'd end up just over 8 hours on the bike. AWESOME. As I'm cruising for the final turn there's a guy on the side of the road with a sign that says If I blow this horn I think you're HOT! so of course I'm thinking he probably won't blow the horn for me but just as I pass he blows the horn and yells "BOOTYLICIOUS" - OMG I almost crashed into the curb I was laughing so hard. Nice!

I see the sign 2nd loop straight, finish turn right and I'm like Oh yeah finish here I come!!!!! My family and friends are there yelling and cheering for me and I'm down the chute and there's the dismount line. I hop off and a volunteer grabs my bike.

WOO HOO I am off the bike and I loved it!!!!! I had a great time, I was right on pace, my stomach felt great and I was heading toward my beautiful pink and green boa tied bag for T2.

Bike 112 Miles - 8:04.52

I grabbed my bag and jogged into the tent. As I hit the tent I yelled "Susan, DonnaLee" - WOO HOO, I was here! I got lots of hugs from my buddies in the tent and then it was like let's get me off and running. DonnaLee and Susan dumped my bag and I started giving instructions. Since I hadn't peed on the bike I didn't need to change my shorts. I need the bottles from my frozen bag into my fuel belt. I need to get my cycling shoes off and find my vaseline so I can get my running socks and shoes on. Please spray my legs and body with sunscreen, can someone pour water onto this washcloth so I can wipe my face? I want my chocolate covered cinnamon bears in my pocket, WOO HOO I finally get to wear my cool running top that Preston designed from RunningBanana, visor on, nope please don't help me with my shoes and socks, I want to do that myself. Apply vaseline and get shoes and socks on, read my motivational cards while getting BodyGlide on my inner arms and thighs.

Chapstick in pocket - Check!
Race # on - Check!
Fuel Belt with cold bottles of GU20 - Check!
BodyGlided - Check!
Feeling happy and ready to run - HOOYAH!!!!!!

More hugs and cheers from inside the tent and I'm off and running. Turn my interval timer on as I exit the tent. It's set for 3 minutes of running and 1 minute of walking. Check the race clock as I am heading out, super sweet it's 5:05. Just 5 minutes behind my projected plan. WOO HOO!

T2 - 8.58

Almost as soon as I crossed the timing mat I saw my mom and Carol P :) Hugs and shrieks as I can't believe I am running. WOO HOO!!!!!! I do the out and back on the Dyke Road and hit the portolet just before Mile 2. Quick in and out to pee and I'm running again. This is a really fun part of the course because of all the people and I'm finding that unlike the bike where I can only wave or cheer I can actually hug or highfive people now that I'm running. TOO COOL!

After heading through town I take an inventory. I'm doing my 3/1 intervals, my legs are feeling good, I have no aches or pains, I'm still smiling and my stomach feels great. I eat a chocolate cinnamon bear and drink some of the salted GU20 in my fuel belt. I see BT friends, camp friends and various others from my town and we wave, high five or smile as we pass. Since most of us now have our Run # on, it has our first name so I try to encourage people as I see them pass me in the other direction. "Nice job Heather, Way to go Anne, Looking good John"

This course is absolutely perfect for interaction amongst athletes and spectators and then between the athletes themselves. I saw everyone multiple times :) I was just about mile 4 still smiling and happy, eating pretzels and taking some water at the aid station and getting ready to make the turn onto Lake Coeur d'Alene drive when who do I see?????

ELMO!!!!!!!!!!! Are you kidding me!!!!!!!!! This Elmo is awesome. He's everywhere and now he's here. I run past and give him a great big high five and thank him and his older companion with her bell. This is so cool. I'm laughing all the way to mile 5.

Another cinnamon bear and a GU at the next aid station and since I'm running I can actually read the signs on the side of the road. WOO HOO - there are a few for SpeedLeopard. Yeah, that's me! I love reading everyone else's signs too when I'm not seeing people I know or smiling and thanking volunteers.

Mile 6 and 7 pass quickly and I walk up the huge hill to the turnaround and then run the entire way back down. I'm able to see Amanda and Joanna and I know they are doing great. You go girls! Miles 8 and 9 come and go and I'm still doing my run/walk and chatting with various people as I go. Several groups were like we're walking this thing if you want to join us and I was like thanks but I'm doing my intervals for the entire 1st loop if I can.

Mile 10 and I eat my Sport Beans, yummy! I swear they are the best invention and for some reason I always eat them at mile 10 during any long run or race. The sun was really shining and it seemed warm to me so I was getting a sponge each mile and putting it down my sports bra. It wasn't hot enough to warrant ice but the cool water did feel good.

Mile 11 and I decided to try a chocolate chip cookie from the aid station along with the water and GU20 I was drinking. Hmmmm.... it was pretty crunchy and anyone who knows me will know my thoughts on crunchy cookies :( Ah well, I'm still cruising forward.

Smile, wave, thank the volunteers. Sweet - this house is playing the Rocky theme. Nice! Next neighborhood is playing MC Hammer, do a little dance, drink some more GU20. Walk up the last hill on the way back to town and see Shannon from BT - WOO HOO girl I'm having fun!!!!!

Mile 12 passes and I'm passing the split where the volunteers say left to finish, straight for 2nd loop. I was like "I'll be back", this cracks me up and I keep running. Back on Lakeside and there's my crew cheering just before the park. I stop and give my dad and hug and tell him Happy Birthday!!!!! I shriek when I see Carole and tell her I'm still running and I feel great. This is awesome :)

I hit the park and pump my arms as I start my 2nd loop. Mom, Carol P and Cathy are on the other side of the street so I yell "I'll see you guys in a few minutes". I see Karie and Ruthie and give them both hugs. I keep running and see my best friend Siani who looks ADORABLE in her orange running skirt with matching socks. I give her a huge hug and she is choked up which in turn choked me up because she's just amazing and has been an absolute rock for me my entire adult life (Girl - I love ya!!!!).

Out and back on the Dike Road along the lake and I run/walk along with a group of 4 very nice ladies and 1 guy all of us doing our first IM. We chat for a while and I kind of leapfrog them since I can't keep up with their speed walking but I pass them when I'm running. I keep looking for a timing mat because I figured they'd be posting our 1/2 marathon splits and I know I'm past mile 13 by now. Sure enough here comes mile 14. I take a quick look at my time and see I've been running for 3 hours exactly. AWESOME!!!!! The sun is still up and as we ran this section on the first loop I told a Team Z girl named Julie that if we saw mile 14 with the sun still up we'd make it to the finish for sure :)

12.2 miles to go and just under 4 hours to do it. I know I can finish this thing. WOO HOO!!!!! Every step I took I was smiling and as I hit the turnaround on the Dike road I felt so happy. Throughout the day I had set incremental goals and I had just checked another off the list. I was still running and I was on my 2nd lap.

Having won the Biggest Loser contest Friday had its advantages and as I neared Special Needs the main Ironman official there was cheering and going crazy telling everyone "this girl lost 170 lbs, isn't that amazing?" I appreciated her enthusiasm but I was just another racer out here on a long day. There were 2200 other stories just as worth telling :)

Again super easy to spot my bags! I grabbed my Motivational Menu and read my quotes while the volunteer was opening my cold pack with new (amazingly still cold) Fuel Belt bottles of GU20. I took my mini-pack of Chocolate Cinnamon Bears for later and grabbed my baggie of Mike & Ikes. This was a good decision! Thanked the volunteers and kept on running. I felt like I was Forest Gump at this point. As I headed back through the park into town I see Preston's hat peeking through the crowd.

PUP!!!!!!! I practically sprint to the barrier and throw my arms around him. I love you!!!!!!! Everytime I saw Preston he had a smile on his face and that was just awesome. I could not have asked for a better, more amazing husband. Check out the great picture of the moment.

Back up through the crowds and back into the neighborhoods. I'm nearing a milestone. There it is, at the top of the hill. Mile 16. For most people on this day it's just another mile but for me it signified the furthest I've ever run in my life. Each step moved me into new territory and man I was loving it!!!!

I hadn't taken my 2 Tylenol as planned in T2 cause I didn't feel I needed it and I still didn't need it but once I passed that magic mile I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. I was still within shouting distance of the speedy walkers and we walked/ran some intervals together through mile 16 and 17. After that mile marker I decided to try the Coke.

BLECK!!!!!!!!! I don't drink regular soda. I haven't in 5 years but I was looking forward to some yummy crisp cold Coke. What I got was cool generic cola and it was not the same. I took 1 sip and knew it was a no go. Fine, that's fine (said in my best Cartman voice). Next year IM can you please have the real stuff? :)

I was taking water and had started snacking on my Mike and Ike's and I have to say they were so delicious! I had used them as a treat on the bike but I thought they'd be a good portable snack for the run and I was right. Unfortunately as I was trying to eat and run I lost like 20 of them out the side of my bag. Oh well, I would just have to ration them for the next 9 miles.

At mile 17 the sun has set and it's getting past dusk and up ahead I see the truck with the glow sticks!

WOO HOO - We're getting our GLOW STICKS!!!!!!! I'm so excited about this but the people around me didn't seem to be that excited that they were out here past dark but for me I was like Super sweet, I'm getting another part of the IM experience. The volunteers fastened them around our neck and off we went.

It was about this time that I was starting to get a little cool and I was also getting kind of tired of the GU20. Hmmm...... I wonder how the Chicken Broth tastes? Got a cup of steaming broth and holy mackeral that was some yummy goodness. I was still doing my intervals although a bit slower than before but I did walk the length of the aid stations with my broth. OMG - it was the most delicious thing. I ran with my friend Jeff from BT for a while before we made the turn for the final time onto Lake CDA drive. And I know you're all dying to know...... was Elmo still there?

Too funny! He must have had to go to the bathroom or something, poor guy but when we rounded the corner there was the woman and she was waving a stuffed Elmo. This just struck me as hysterical at this point. Next aid station brought more chicken broth and water and I stopped to get a rock out of my shoe. I knew I had time to make it before midnight so why not be comfortable.

Between aid stations I encouraged other racers, scanned the horizon for my buddies on their way home to the finish line and I ate Mike & Ike's. Mile 19 came and went and as I hit the 20 mile mark I gave the mile marker a little kiss (via my hand) because I had run a 10k tons of times and I knew I was home free and I was still running and smiling.

I ate another Chocolate Cinnamon Bear and decided to get a space blanket because it was now dark and I was getting cold. Run, walk, thank the volunteers, watch the road in front of me because it was dark and all that could be seen were these glowing green halos around peoples necks and hats as we moved up the last long hill to the turnaround. Now that I had the space blanket I was making jokes about being Superman because it was like a cape around me as I ran the whole way back down the hill.

I saw my camp friend Joanna and it seemed like she was keeping a good pace and would make it before midnight. I also saw my buddy Amanda and I was worried she might not have enough time but with a broken toe and mechnical issues I know she just wanted to beat the distance and time wasn't the driving factor for her anymore. She looked determined and was pressing on with a smile!

Mile 21 and 22 brought more chicken broth and Mike & Ike's and I still felt great! I was doing my intervals going from group to group although by now there wasn't anyone running toward us because the final finishers had started up the hill behind me now. I had a bit of gravel in my shoe so I stopped and got it out because again, no reason not to be comfortable right?

At mile 23 I decided to dump my fuel belt. I wasn't doing the GU20 anymore because I was hooked on the chicken broth and I needed a new one anyway and I sure didn't want it in my finishing photo (vanity I know). So into the trash can it went along with my space blanket because now I felt like I was burning up. I met up with this guy who'd had stomach issues and done 5 IMs before but was convinced if he started running again he'd puke. I was like "ok but I'm not running very fast, I'm more jogging and I'm only doing it for 3 min so try it and see how you feel". He said we could keep walking and we'd make it before midnight and I was like "dude, we can walk 30 minute miles at this point and still make it". He ended up coming with me for almost .5 mile and then smiled, said thanks and off he went jogging into the darkness.

About this time I met up with a man and a woman who were run/walking. They recognized me from the banquet and we started chatting about how I'd lost the weight. The woman had done Kona and was telling the man (a first timer) and I about how she thought the CDA course was tougher on the bike than the Kona course. Well, that'd be AWESOME since I do hope to do Kona someday. We chatted about her daughter and how she works at a medical clinic as a nutritionist and she would love to have my story as an example to all the people getting surgery especially since she was from Texas and a lot of people are getting the surgery there. I gave her my web address and told her to email me because diet and exercise is the only way to go and I was happy to share my story.

Mile 24 and we were into the neighborhoods again. There were still people out here with tiki torches and music. One house was having a lawn party and played the Macarena as we went by. I did a little leopard dance and they all cheered. With every turn we got closer, I hit the aid station just before Mile 25 and drank my last chicken broth and ate my last Chocolate Cinnamon Bear. I was feeling good and I knew I was almost home.

I turned towards the final hill and I saw my friend Doug who had already finished but he came out to cheer me on! It was great to see him and Shannon and he said "You're an Ironman girl, Enjoy it". I hugged them and walked up to the top of the last hill.

As I crested the hill and hit the mile 25 marker I thought I saw Preston. I was like "Preston?" no response....., "Pup?". It was so dark and I looked so much like the other athletes in terms of size he almost didn't recognize me. I hugged him so tightly and we started walking.

During my 1st triathlon and my 1st 1/2 Ironman Preston had walked out to bring me in the final mile and here he was just after 11pm and it was like old times. We held hands as we walked and talked. How was my day? How was his? We both got choked up as we enjoyed the quiet moments before we made the final turn.

Getting to this place was a team effort and to be able to have this time together was truly priceless. We hit the split where the volunteer was directing us to turn onto Sherman and I hugged and kissed him and said "Thank you for everything! I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you". I saw my best friend Siani at the corner and we shrieked and hugged and then I started running.

The last 8 blocks to the finish line are all downhill and once I was on Sherman with Preston and Siani running ahead of me I just wanted to enjoy the experience. I'd been thinking about it for years and I remembered how I felt as I crossed that first finish line at the Danskin 4 years ago. There would never be another 1st Ironman experience. I high-fived every kid, the streets were lined with people and I was smiling and high-fiving other athletes who had returned to cheer for all of us finishing in this last golden hour.

Our dear friend Larry ran up next to me and I was like WOO HOO Larry, I'm here and I'm still running. He ran behind me a few paces (I didn't realize why at the time but he got some great pictures) :)

I ran under the arch and I could hear Mike Reilly's voice up ahead, I could see the finish line now. People were cheering and screaming and having a great time. I was pumping my arms and smiling and cheering right along with them. I had been on my feet for 16 + hours and I was still having fun. It had been a wonderful day and now here I was about to enter the finishers chute.

I've heard people say that it's like you're floating once you hit the chute and I definitely agree, I could feel the crowd carrying me forward like on a wave of cheers and high fives. Over the absolute mayhem of the crowd I could her the song "YMCA" and I laughed out loud because what better song to finish to then one that is just plain fun and happy. I could see the tape and the actual finish line and I put my arms in the air and jumped through the tape.

Run 26.2 miles (my first marathon) - 6:17.06

I had done it! I was an Ironman.

Even better than just finishing, I felt AWESOME!!!!!! I was shrieking and smiling as I was scooped up by my buddy Susan who was working the finishing chute. She wrapped me in my space blanket, gave me my finisher medal, finisher hat and finisher shirt (I'd heard lots of late finishers get XL or XXL shirts cause they run out of the correct size, but WOO HOO I got a size L, which was a big deal cause I'd worked hard to wear a size L - hooray!)

Larry told me my parents were just at the end of the chute and I sprinted towards them shrieking and there were hugs and happy tears all around from all the amazing family and friends who had supported me not just on this day but my entire life to this point.

I hugged, cheered, shrieked, laughed and got a little teary for a few minutes with everyone as we took pictures and chatted. My buddy Drew who finished like 4 hours earlier and who I trained with for the last 6 months had come back to cheer me in and it was great to see him (Dude, move to Portland because you are so cool and I loved hanging with you race week!)

People kept asking me "Are you okay? How do you feel?"

WOO HOO - I FEEL GREAT!!!!!!! I HAD THE PERFECT DAY!!!!!!!!!!

As we headed towards the massage tent it started to rain and then it started to pour and I sent a silent cheer for my 2 buddies still out in the cold night. I knew they would see the finish line. Ladies - You rock!!!!

Got my massage while eating 3 pieces of cheese pizza which were such yummy goodness after 16 hours and 22 minutes of non-stop activity. Siani got my bags for me while Preston walked me back to the hotel where we all said goodnight and I popped on to my Weight Watchers Message board to drop a quick note to the amazing ladies who got me started on this fun and crazy thing called triathlon. I slipped out of my race gear and running shoes and kissed them because they carried me a long way. Preston got me some of my favorite recovery food (Pumpkin Flax granola with Rice Milk) and mixed me a bottle of GU20 which I drank while we chatted about the day and then at about 1:30 am we headed to bed.

Post Race
----------

We got about 6 hours sleep before I woke up a bit stiff but mostly hungry! We had a great breakfast at the hotel which included lots of congratulations cause I was wearing my blue finisher shirt :) Got my pictures, headed over and bought some finisher gear, saw a few more friends and picked up my special needs bags before hitting the Finisher's Banquet. It was pretty fun but it was pretty focused on the AgeGroup and Pro winners. I did get to see my camp coaches Paul Huddle and Roch Frey which was fun!

Dinner at the hotel and the manager bought us dessert so Siani, Preston and I shared a kids sized celebratory Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Sundae - Yummy!!!!

Tuesday we packed up and Preston drove us back to Portland where I've been relaxing, resting, stretching and now going stir-crazy as I reflect on the total blast I had in Coeur d'Alene.

These last few days people have asked me "What's Next?" and the answer is I don't know. But I do know that I loved the Ironman. I loved the people who cheered us on for hours on end. I loved the volunteers who were selfless and amazing and so thankful to have us there enjoying their city. I loved the people of Coeur d'Alene, who manned the shops, worked in the hotels, the restaurants, the coffee shops. You are all amazing and your hospitality was unmatched! We will definitely be back. North America Sports puts on a great race and I can see why people return to these races year after year. Every detail was awesome and I had the most wonderful time.

To my family and friends who endured countless hours of me talking about training, racing, plans, my nutrition, my equipment and then of course why I maybe couldn't go out on a certain weekend, who supported me virtually and in person, who cheered me on before Ironman was ever even a possibility. Thank you! I would not have made it to the starting line let alone the finish line without all your support. You were with me every step of the way and I love you all!

And finally to my husband Preston. You believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. You pumped my tires when I was afraid they would blow up. You rode 2 and 3 miles with me when that was as far as I could go and behind me when I had my blood clot. You cried when I crossed the finish line of my first triathlon and you have loved and supported me no matter what passion I was pursuing. The moments I got to spend with you during race day were so special and I will treasure them. We started as a team and we continue to be a team. You are my hero and the reason I'm able to run down my crazy dreams. I love you!

Stay tuned for more SpeedLeopard adventures in the future. Who knows what's next but I can tell you I will definitely do another IM because it was just that fun!

IM CDA Pre-Race

2007-06-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of Brunch on Saturday and me checking in my bike and transition bags!

Pre-race Evening
-------------
My husband and best friend brought me Cheese Ravioli which is my traditional pre-race meal and I ate that about 5:30pm after spending the afternoon with my feet up watching The Rookie and GI Jane. I showered, shaved my legs, stretched, posted to my various boards, mixed my bottles, double checked my gear then ended the evening watching the You Tube videos of Dick and Ricky Hoyt and Jon Blais. Amazing men who truly embodied the spirit of Ironman.

By 9pm I was tucked into bed by my amazing husband who talked, snuggled and calmed my nerves as I tried to get a few hours sleep. He's my rock and wouldn't you know I slept 6.5 hours straight through :)

Motivation to tide you over :)

2007-06-29T09:08:00.000-07:00

Since I'm only now starting on the run segment of my Race Report I thought you might like to see the "Motivational Menus" I created to put into each of my bags.

I had them in my T1/T2 and Special Needs bags and they were filled with pictures, quotes, mantras, and anything else that motivated me during my training.

I should have the Race Report finished today or tomorrow :)

Ironman - I DID IT!!!!!!!

2007-06-26T20:40:00.000-07:00

I Imagined I would.

I Believed I could.

I Enjoyed every minute!

I AM AN IRONMAN - 16:22.22

I'm working on a race report now but the sneak preview is I had an amazing day and I want to thank everyone who cheered, prayed, hoped, stayed up late, ran all over CDA on race day and supported me all day long. I knew you were all with me and I appreciate all the emails, calls and virtual congratulations.

Pictures and a full report to follow :)

Ironman Pre-Race Thoughts

2007-06-23T17:24:00.000-07:00

Since I'm trying to keep track of as much of the experience here as I can I thought some of you might like to see my race strategy :)

Swim:

Start to the back and right
Remember to breathe
Focus on long smooth strokes
Look for feet if possible

T1:

Wog to Wetsuit Peelers
Hold onto Cap and Goggles
Fill Pockets
Dry Feet
Apply more Body Glide

Bike:

Spin the entire 1st Loop
Go for the easiest gear
Smile as people pass you
Drink, Eat and Enjoy the scenery!

T2:

Apply Body Glide to Inner Arms and Thighs
Fill Pockets
Start Interval Timer
Eat a treat if you feel like it :)

Run:

Keep Moving Forward
Smile and thank the volunteers
Do 3/1 intervals as long as you can
Remember - you can do anything you put your mind to :)

So that's it. In just over 12 hours I will reach my goal:

Get in the water on the morning of June 24th. If I'm in the water, it means that I trained smart, prepared properly, and stayed injury free.

It's been an amazing journey but I did not do it alone!

As I am swimming, biking and running tomorrow I'll be thinking about, praying for and remembering all of the wonderful friends and family near and far who have encouraged me along the way.

Whatever happens tomorrow I will do my best because in the words of the Steve Prefontaine:

To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift!

Ironman is Tomorrow!!!!

2007-06-23T17:08:00.001-07:00

Wow - time sure does fly when you're having fun :)

I got a really good night sleep and then had a very relaxing early breakfast with my husband. We talked, read the newspapers and just chilled. I had toast, 2 eggs and a piece of waffle.

After breakfast I met up with one of my BeginnerTriathlete buddies and we went for an easy 20 minute bike ride followed by a 10 minute run. Legs felt good but man it was windy outside.

I got cleaned up and then met all my amazing buddies for brunch. We had a wonderful time hanging out and I felt so blessed to have such great friends and family!

My dad and I went down and checked my bike in then I zipped back to the hotel to finish preparing my transition bags. They look awesome! I tied them with pink and green feather boas and they are very easy to find.

After some pictures of me dropping my bags off I headed back to the hotel for rest and relaxation.

I've spent the afternoon with my feet up watching my favorite inspirational movies (The Rookie and GI Jane). My bottles are ready for tomorrow and my alarm is set :)

The sun WILL come out tomorrow for my Ironman!!!!!

Ironman Race Week - Friday

2007-06-22T23:40:00.000-07:00

My husband arrived this evening!!!! HOORAY! My parents and several close friends arrived which was awesome to get some time with them.

Great meeting with Multiports Camper including a visit from the Future Men's IM CDA Winner Michael Lovato :)

After the Multisports meeting I went to swim. My plan was to swim 1 complete loop but unfortunately I didn't realize they actually closed the course at 10am which sucked cause I was only to like the 5th buoy before they made us all go back. :( So since I was the last swimmer there was this boat following me and I'm like HELLO, BOAT FUEL, bleck!!!!!

Ate a bad breakfast, got some GI issues and ended up just laying down. Finally made it to my massage and still felt pretty unsettled. Grrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!

I did what I know works which is GU20 and some bland stuff like crackers but I had a fabulous massage with Joanne and then went to our friend Larry and Cathy's in Spokane to do some laundry and mix all my bottles and make my frozen bags. It was very relaxing to spend a few hours there.

It was also very fortuitous. Anyone that's followed my training knows I eat all kinds of random things on the bike. One of my favorites is Taco Del Mar Tortilla Chips. Yummy!!!! Unfortunately I could not find any within an hour of Spokane or CDA so I was seriously bummed out cause I'd wanted to put some chips in my Special Needs bag. Well I'm driving to Larry and Cathy's and what do I see?????

WOOOOO HOOOOO - A brand new Taco Del Mar. Hallelejah!!!!

Headed back to town, visited with my friend Susan from the Weight Watchers group, picked up Siani and headed towards the Athlete Welcome dinner with my BT friends.

We had so much fun visiting with the Shannons (there are 3 in our group), Drew, Doug, Chad, Paul, Aki and Shannon's mom. You guys are all awesome!

Lots of speeches and then they bring the oldest and youngest competitors to the stage.

Next they're like now let's find out who our biggest loser is!

"If you've lost more than 10lbs stand up"

Of course I stand up and look around, there are maybe 30 people in a tent filled with at least 1500 athletes. What???????? Seriously. I'm a bit surprised honestly that there aren't more people.

"If you've lost more than 20lbs stay standing"

"30, 40, 50" with each # more people sit down and as I'm looking around I notice I'm the only woman standing so they are zooming in on me with the camera that's putting this on the Jumbotron and my table is going crazy :)

"60, 70, 80" at this point I'm laughing because I'm like man we are going to be here a LONG time if they are moving in 10lb increments but I'm smiling and waving because people are really cheering and clapping.

After 80lbs there are only 3 people left (me and 2 other guys) so Greg Welch calls us up to the stage and as I'm making my way toward the front people are like shaking my hand and saying way to go and congratulations and now people are giving us a standing ovation. OMG - this is very surreal.

Next thing I know I'm on the stage and Greg Welch is like "what's your name dear?" So he brings me to the podium and he's like "Bonnie, how much have you lost?" When I said "170lbs" there was like this collective gasp from the crowd and then it was just amazing. People were so genuinely supportive and clapping and cheering and I can't even describe it.

He asked me what motivated me to do the Ironman and I said something about growing up in Kona, starting to lose weight and doing the Danskin and then here I am at my 1st Ironman. Then he started laughing and was like "you spat me out". It took me a second to realize he meant that he weighed less than I lost. Too funny!

The next 2 guys had lost 100 and 130lbs so then Greg is like "Bonnie is our biggest loser
and we'd like to give her this basket filled with yummy Baker's Breakfast products" and then they give me the SWEET Ultra Deluxe Tanita scale that I was talking about yesterday. WOOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!

We all headed off the stage and an Ironman person asked me what my # was and then I got lots of hugs and handshakes as I went back to my seat. It was pretty cool.

After the Athlete meeting we headed to Spokane and celebrated my dad's birthday and visited with friends and my family but most importantly with my husband who I missed terribly.

Back at the hotel and got a great night sleep (7 whole hours with no tossing and turning) :)

At this time tomorrow I'll be doing the Ironman - AWESOME!!!!!!

Ironman Race Week - Thursday cont...

2007-06-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

Back from a lovely afternoon with my feet up watching talk shows, packing my various bags and relaxing. Thanks to my friend Tink for her suggestion to put a feather boa on my bags to make them easy to spot. All my bags now have pink and green boas :)

Siani and I went to the grocery store and loaded up on things like bananas, bottled water, bagels and the like. After the store I headed out for an easy bike ride of the run course. I did about 11 miles and then came back and hung out with my camp buddy Amanda. I felt good on the bike and just took it really easy and still ended up over 15MPH - WOO HOO!

We just got back from dinner with Andrew who is just the coolest and most down to earth guy. He gave Siani dating advice, we cracked each other up and just had a great time. Plus we had yummy chicken, mashed potatoes and broccolini.

Now I'm just relaxing and enjoying some quiet time watching The Office and getting ready to read or watch some of a movie while I do my stretching and prepare for a busy fun day tomorrow.

In 72 hours I will be on the run course of the Ironman!!!!!!

Ironman Race Week - Thursday

2007-06-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

Wow - what a day so far!!!!!

Couldn't sleep past 6am so I woke up and answered some emails, checked in with all my message boards and got ready for the day.

At 7am I met up with some of the guys from BeginnerTriathlete.com where I've been doing all my training. I had already met Andrew but I also got to meet Doug and Jared. They went swimming while I hung out and chatted with various people I knew. The water temp was supposedly 60 (Brrrrr.......) and I was waiting for some of the girls from camp to show up at 8:45am. The wind was really blowing so there were a lot of waves and I'm thinking ugh, that sucks but "suck it buttercup".

Got my wetsuit on and headed to the water with the girls. Once I got in it wasn't nearly as cold as I expected and my movement plus the pee in my wetsuit ;) helped me warm up pretty quickly. The waves just plain sucked. I worked on getting a rhythm so I wouldn't get huge mouthfuls of water on each breath and pretty soon I got it down but sighting was hard because of the waves and the small buoys. I swam out to the 4th buoy, cut across to the other side and swam back to shore. It actually worked out great because I was in the water for 24 minutes and did almost 1/2 the 1.2 mile loop.

Got my wetsuit off and chatted with some more people before Andrew called and wanted to hang out and do registration together. OMG! This is really happening.....

We filled out lots of forms, got weighed (official race weight 190 but the scale started at 2lbs, hey who's counting), then I sat down with a volunteer and got the bag. WOO HOO!!!!!

I got my official cool metallic bracelet, I checked my timing chip, got all my #s and bags, ordered some pictures and then headed back to the hotel for a shower.

Got a very sweet note from my best friend, rinsed my gear out and then headed down for breakfast, d'oh! It closed at 11am. So I got a salad and some bread and a chicken quesadilla. Big mistake, it was way too spicy :(

Note to self: If it *might* be spicy avoid it. Silly Leopard!

Headed down to the expo to pick up the few things I still needed (Body Glide, Reflective Tape and Chapsticks). Bought an adorable present for my nephew to be, a few bumper stickers, saw Joanne (my FAVORITE massage coordinator) and then a random stop....

Tanita was trying out the awesomely high tech scales that measure you for all kinds of things like body fat %, muscle mass, water weight, physique rating etc.

Hmmmm..... I'd been wanting to try one of these out and I'd been really curious what my body fat % was after IM training - AWESOME SURPRISE of the day!!!!!

Weight - 187.4lbs
Body Fat - 25.6%
Total Body Water - 52.3%
Muscle Mass - 132.4lbs
Physique Rating - 6
BMR - 1878
Metabolic Age - 24
Bone Mass - 7lb
Visceral Fat Rating - 3

OMG - ARE YOU KIDDING ME!????!!!!!!!

For my age Body Fat % between 21-33% is considered Healthy. Not Overfat, not Obese but Healthy!

WOO HOO!!!!!! I was so shocked. Even my Physique rating came back as Athlete (High Muscle Mass/Average Body Fat)

More later but for now I'm just chilling with my feet up and a bottle of GU20

Leopard Out!

Ironman Race Week - Wednesday

2007-06-21T06:15:00.000-07:00

WOO HOO!!!!! Today finally arrived after 6 months of waiting, I was leaving for Ironman.

Slept in and then packed the car before saying goodbye to my husband and heading to see Stefan for a massage. Delicious :)

After my massage I picked up my best friend Siani and we got her stuff loaded, had a yummy breakfast at our favorite place Biscuits then hit the road. Set my cruise control and the car practically drove itself. We talked then Siani took a nap while I sang along with my tunes. 1 pit stop for Starbucks, gas and the bathroom and we were on the road again.

I was feeling very happy and relaxed, hooray! I was on the road to my Ironman. I could hardly stop smiling. We drove through Spokane and entered Idaho. Cool! As we passed freeway exits I had timed my music so I'd be listening to the soundtrack from the Prince of Egypt when I arrive. Track 14 is a beautiful song about believing and never giving up hope. As I approached CDA it started playing. When I rounded the corner on the freeway and saw the sign "Coeur d'Alene - Next 5 exits" I started getting very choked up.

I'm listening to this beautiful song and entering the city that I believed I would get to one day. My hands started shaking and tears just fell. Here I was, finally driving into this city beliveing that I will cross the finish line. It was surreal and overwhelming.

We got settled at the GORGEOUS Coeur d'Alene Resort before meeting up with my online friend Andrew from Atlanta. We all went for a short easy 2 mile run on the first part of the marathon course and my legs felt great! I pointed out different important spots along the course since Andrew had never been here before. After our run we wandered around the empty village that was in the process of being built before finding we could go look at the bike racks!

Sweet!!!!! I found my rack and I think it's a great spot because it's close to the fence so I'll be able to see my support team when I'm getting my bike.

Had a yummy dinner, unpacked and stretched and then headed for bed.

As I mentioned a few posts ago I created a tank top to wear on the marathon course to celebrate the special people who've supported me on this journey. Here's a picture of it:
Thursday is a busy day filled with a swim, registration and seeing lots of my friends from various places. HOORAY! It's here and I'm ready!

Ironman Race Week - Tuesday

2007-06-19T21:12:00.000-07:00

After several emails about how epic my race report from Ironman might be I decided I should start recording my thoughts from each of the days leading up the event so I don't start forgetting things post-race.

So here goes :)

Today was my last day of work and what a fun day it was. I went out to coffee with my co-workers and we chilled out and talked for a while before heading back to the office for the 1st meeting of the day.

I answered some emails, sent my out of office email out with the details about where I was going and then got lots of emails back wishing me luck and all of that. Throughout the day people stopped by, IM'd and emailed me best wishes and luck and that made the day go so quickly.

I "listened" to GI Jane on my computer while I worked through emails and updating my calendar and stuff then I finished my master race schedule, said good-bye to my friends at the office and headed home.

Today was supposed to be a short bike and short run so I got suited up and headed out. I had been having some shifting issues so I was hoping after Sunday's visit to the bike shop they'd be fixed. ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not fixed. Finished my 20 minute ride (yeah, almost doesn't seem worth it to get on the bike for that) and decided I was just not happy/comfortable with the shifting issues so headed in full bike gear to the shop.

Turns out when I got my tune-up before Memorial Day my chain looked fine so they didn't replace it and now it was shot. A few adjustments and test rides and I think things are vastly better. Whew!

Put my running shoes on and headed out for a quick 15 minute run and then to pick up my husband and head home.

I'm almost done with my packing, laundry and checking things off my list so it's off to finish gathering things up and get some extra sleep before packing the car and getting a massage tomorrow morning :)

I'm so excited I can hardly stand it, although I will admit I'm now obsessing about the forecast and praying for no rain. A few weeks ago I was praying for temps lower than 90 now the temps are slated to be in the low 70s and I'm like come on sun! You can't win ;)

Athlete #2079

2007-06-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

(In my best Al Trautwig voice)

"Athlete #2079, she dares you to become one of them, to be more than just a #"

BIB NUMBER	LAST NAME	FIRST NAME	AGE	CITY	ST/PROV	COUNTRY	OCCUPATION
2079	CRAWFORD	BONNIE	30	BEAVERTON	OR	USA	CAT WRANGLER

I have a # and an Athlete Guide, lists and plans are made and the countdown is on.

I'll post the links to Ironman Live early next week :)

Blue Lake Recap - Going easy is hard!

2007-06-10T21:19:00.000-07:00

With IM CDA just 2 weeks away I decided to do a weekend of triathlon fun to get in my training time for the weekend but also to get an opportunity to mostly swim in a pack with other people.

Saturday I did the sprint relay with a co-worker's wife. She wanted to do the whole race but had some knee concerns after just starting to get back into shape. No problemo, I'll do the swim and we can walk the 5k.

I started right in the front of my wave on the swim and it was awesome. Got right into the mix and had a super awesome swim time of 17.08 for a 1/2 mile. WOO HOO! Carrie did great on the bike and we were off and running?!?! Turns out she can run just fine but tends to go to fast too soon and then her knee hurts. We did 3/1 intervals and finished the 5k in just about 12 min mile pace. Nice!

Sunday I was doing the Olympic. Very interesting you all say, wasn't Blue Lake Olympic where you kicked ass last summer. Yep that'd be the one. So of course in my head I'm like "hello, you're 2 weeks from an Ironman you should be smoking fast". Wrong answer! I knew that it would be very very bad to actually race or anything that resembled racing today so I went in with a very strict plan.

Go Naked, then go Easy.

What>!??!?@?#

No times, no bike computer, nothing to tell me how I was doing compared to last year. Wow! Scary!!!!! Of course going easy is self-explanatory.

Got set up, wetsuit on and headed to the water where I started chatting with a fellow Athena. About 2 minutes in she's like "are you Bonnie?" I didn't know her but apparently she's a fan and has lost weight herself and wants to do the Ironman someday. I was like "you go girl, that is awesome!!!!"

What a fun way to start the day :)

Got into the front again and planned to focus on finding feet and swimming smooth and straight. Done and done. Got on the feet of this girl in a red and black wetsuit and stayed with her for like 85% of the swim. I have no idea who she was but she rocked and is a very straight swimmer. Nice, smooth and very relaxed swim. No idea how good since we have no times yet but it felt great.

Out of the water and usually I'd be running about this hill and all the way into transition but I'm going easy so I walked the whole thing. It was pretty cool and a little misty out so I wore my long sleeved jersey over my sports bra.

Got onto my bike and hello Marine Drive Headwind. No problem, I'm going easy, down shifted til I was spinning easily and plugged along. At about the airport I have to pee really bad.

Hmmmm what to do???? I could just pee. I've done it before and it's no big deal but I'm like #($*%%&! - I don't want to get my seat bag, bike and bike shoes all dirty this close to IM. I hold it until the turnaround hoping for a portolet. No dice. Soooooooooo I did the next best thing :)

Hopped off my bike at the turnaround, ran behind the official race vehicle, pulled the shorts to the side and bingo I'm ready to bike again. Problem solved.

So now we're headed back to T2 and I'm thinking where's the tailwind. Nothing. Headwind/crosswind the whole way back. I felt like I was going so slow :( I was starting to get demoralized. It was weird, honestly it was one of the lowest emotional points I've had since I started IM training but I just talked to myself and told myself to stay present and focus on what I was doing today which was just an easy training day.

Got off my bike in T2 and walked the entire thing again. Vaseline, socks, shoes etc and decided to keep the jersey on even though it was starting to warm up and the sun was out. Heat training was sort of the idea but it was more because I didn't sunscreen anywhere other than my neck and I felt lazy.

Started my timer and headed out on the run course. Ack - I have to pee again!!!!!! You've gotta be kidding me. Ducked into a portolet at the start of the run course and then finally started with some actual running. Did 3/1 run walk intervals through the whole 10k. My legs felt great and I started passing people. Nice!

Only 2 people passed me the whole time which was awesome! I thanked the volunteers encouraged all those at the BOP and took my walk breaks til the finish :)

Official results aren't up yet so I only know it took me about 3 hours 31 minutes today. I know my bike was way slower and so were my transitions but it'll be interesting to see how the swim and run end up.

Overall it was a fun training day in preparation for the big dance just 2 weeks from today.

Bring it on!

Why am I doing the Ironman...

2007-05-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

During camp last month Paula Newby Fraser talked to us about mental training and one of her key points was understanding at your very core why you are doing the Ironman. There are a million reasons and everyone has a different one so she encouraged us to think about what our reason was.

I could think of many reasons why I wanted to do the Ironman:

Because I'd lost 171.4 lbs
Because I used to get winded walking up a flight of stairs
To prove to all the couch potatoes that anything is possible
To tackle a new challenge and see it through to the end
Because a ton of people thought it'd be impossible for me

The list could go on and on....

Over the weekend I learned that Jon Blais (aka Blazeman) lost his battle with ALS. For those of you who don't know Jon Blais was a hero among men but a lengend in the triathlon community. He finished the Hawaii Ironman in 2005 in spite of having virtually no use of one of his hands due to the effects of the disease. His trademark roll across the finish line became synonomous with courage and a fighting spirit. He returned to Kona in 2006 wheelchair bound but maintaining his positive outlook on life and spreading the message of hope to others.

He did the Ironman to spread a message of hope and to channel his spirit into an amazing challenge.

So why am I doing the Ironman....

While running a 1/2 marathon this weekend a friend and I were chatting about how we got into triathlon and I recalled my very first race. The Danskin Women's Triathlon in 2003. I entered the water on that morning unsure of whether I had what it took to finish the race. Unsure about whether I deserved to be there or call myself a triathlete. I swam, I biked and I walk/jogged my way through that first sprint with a sense of apprehension and a tremendous respect for what I was undertaking.

As I rounded the final corner on my way to the finish chute I saw my husband who'd been my #1 supporter as I prepared to do this event. He'd pumped my tires, encouraged me when I was questioning myself, gone on bike rides with me since I was afraid of being in traffic and a myriad of other things to cheer me on. So here I was jogging towards the finish line having not known whether I'd make it when I started the day and I see him and he's totally choked up which of course chokes me up because of the amazing sense of joy and appreciation I felt that he loved me so much that it would affect him like that to see me finish this thing.

So here I am running a 1/2 marathon after biking 117 miles and running 2.5 the day before in my final weekend of Ironman training and I'm telling this story to my friend and I start to tear up. I actually have to stop talking because I'm getting so emotional talking about seeing my husband as I finished my first ever triathlon.

I started that journey overweight and out of shape and totally lacking self confidence. I didn't know I could finish let alone that I would finish.

Ever since I crossed that finish line of the Danskin back in August of 2003 I knew one day I would do the Ironman. It was a foregone conclusion, something I just had to do. I knew deep down that I would be able to do the training and one day cross the finish line.

So why am I doing the Ironman?

Because 4 years ago an overweight, out of shape girl decided to do some swimming, biking and walking surrounded by others who didn't know what they were capable of doing when they started the journey.

Because people watch from the sidelines and think to themselves "I wish I could do that or be in that good of shape".

Because I have a husband who believed in me when I didn't believe in myself.

So again why am I doing the Ironman?

Because I can!

According to my training plan....

2007-05-20T19:37:00.000-07:00

I am becoming an endurance beast :)

With Ironman CDA just 5 weeks from today I have finished one of my hardest 2 weeks of training and what a week.

I was in Denver Monday through Wednesday on business which meant lots of stationary biking and treadmill time. I ended up doing bricks all 3 days and then once I landed back in Portland Wednesday afternoon I headed up to the lake for an open water swim.

Thursday - I did my longest run ever - 15.8 miles!!!!! I did 3/1 intervals and my nutrition was spot on.

Friday - I did an easy swim to stretch out my muscles then took the rest of the day to rest.

Saturday - I biked 100.6 miles with nearly 6000 ft of climbing and then followed that with a 2.5 mile transition run. It was cool and windy and a definite mental challenge because I was on my own for a long time. It was a great opportunity to focus on pacing and nutrition. My mantra for this hilly century was "Nice circles, Nice cadence". I finished the ride in 6 hours 43 minutes for just under a 15 MPH average.

Today was a relaxing morning with my husband and best friend and then an easy 1500 yd swim since I'll be back on the road again tomorrow.

Totals for the week were:

S: 5200.00 Yd (2h 12m 46s)
B: 135.53 Mi (8h 48m 28s)
R: 22.93 Mi (4h 53m 08s)

I can hardly believe that I'm about to start the final week of hard training. WOO HOO!!!!

Hill Seeker

2007-05-07T11:42:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! I'll go back and post a race report but I wanted to get a few of my thoughts down before I forgot them :)

Saturday was my 30th Birthday so to celebrate I did a local Sprint Triathlon. It was great fun and in spite of very little sleep the night before I finished strong and had a blast. One of my best friends had given me a tiara with 30 on it. I decided to put it on in T2 and run the 5k with it. WOO HOO! I got many compliments and really enjoyed the silliness it brought out.

After the race Saturday morning (again full race report to follow), my husband and I went out to lunch with my best friends, enjoyed delicious gourmet cupcakes from Saint Cupcake Bakery and then we went home and took a long nap. Later than night we went out with other friends and celebrated into the early hours of the morning. Whew! It was quite a day.

Sunday after only about 5.5 hours of sleep I relaxed around the house getting myself ready for a long day in the saddle. I was going to be a hill seeker. For those of you not in my head (ok that's pretty much everyone), I have a love - hate relationship with hills. For most of my cycling career I have avoided hills like the plague. Fast forward to winter of this year. I knew the IM course had hills (I had no idea at the time how many) so I printed the course elevation profile with the words I Love Climbing and posted it at my desk. I was going to love hills if it killed me.

So I had planned to do a 6 hour bike ride on Sunday with a 2.5 mile transition run. After riding the actual course in CDA last weekend I came home resolved to find every rolling hill I could and practice gearing, cornering and descending as much as possible. So I headed out....

Wow! Started with Murray Hill then headed up the Scholls Ferry Hill and over onto Roy Rogers which has a series of rollers, cut through some back roads which had some good rollers and then over onto a regular route I ride which is actually pretty flat for about 8 miles. It was this point in the ride that the fun started.

In order to find some new hills I decided to cut out the flat section towards Forest Grove and head for the hills. HOLY MACKERAL! I'm happily riding along reflecting on the awesomeness of just having 4 deer jump across the road in front of my bike when I come down this little roller and see the most ginormous long straight hill I've ever seen. OMG I thought, will I be able to make it up that beast without getting off and walking.

I shifted into my lowest gear and started counting pedal strokes. 1, 2, 3 etc all the way up to over 200 before making it to the top. Yes! I owned that hill :) Of course I was then greeted to ever more hills and then one of the fastest technical descents I've ever riden. WOOO HOOO!!!!

Be careful what you wish for right? From that lovely series of hills - Blooming Fern Hill Rd for any sadists reading in the PDX area, I rode out to Hagg Lake where I rode the loop once clockwise and once counter clockwise before heading for home.

Along the way I saw vineyard, fields of wildflowers, deer, cows, a lot of roadkill :( and a ton of other cyclists. It was a glorious day to be on the bike.

I think I may have been a little overhydrated given I had to stop 4 times for bathroom breaks. Yikes! At the 3.5 hour mark I did a pretend special needs stop so I got off my bike, stretched, refilled my bottles, ate my yummy 1/2 way mark treat (frozen peeps - delicious sugary goodness) and went to the bathroom. While there I decided I would reapply some BodyGlide cause I was feeling a bit of chafing. Note to self, do not apply BodyGlide from flimsy container in a portolet. The stick of BodyGlide popped out of it's holder right into the yuckiness. %*$&##. I was really needing that. Hmmm..... time to improvise. Chapstick works extremely well in emergency situations. Got all set, scraped the top layer of the chapstick off so it could be used again later and headed out.

Started really craving something salty at the 5 hour point and decided to stop off for a water refill and bathroom stop at my favorite Taco place - Taco del Mar. They have the yummiest crispiest saltiest tortilla chips. Ate a handful then put about 10 chips in my bento box and continued on.

Nutrition and Stop info below but total ride time was 6:31 which included:

Stop 1 - Water refill
Stop 2 - Water refill
Stop 3 - Bathroom
Stop 4 - Pretend SN (Water refill/bathroom/stretched/ate treat)
Stop 5 - Bathroom
Stop 6 - Water Refill/Bathroom/Tortilla Chips

Nutrition:

2 Uncrustables
4 GU
5 Peeps
2.5 Bottles w/CarboPro cocktail
20 Tortilla Chips

6 hours on the bike + 30 minutes of stops.

In the 6 hours I did 4475 ft of climbing and rode 90.8 miles with an average speed of 15.2

After my ride I hopped off the bike, did my transition and ran 2.5 miles. WOO HOO - it was a great weekend!

Ironman Camp Wrap-up

2007-04-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

There's so much to say to wrap up this awesome weekend but let me start with this:

THANK YOU MULTISPORTS TEAM!!!!!!!

Everyone working with you was wonderful, encouraging, friendly and so down to earth it was great to spend a weekend with you all.

Triathletes are so awesome and camp was a reflection of that. Of the 46 people at camp we had doctors, lawyers, moms, business people, older, younger, experienced and newbies and it was so fun to get to spend 3 days interacting with everyone.

To the ladies in my bike and running group - Thank you for being so fun and full of energy and enthusiasm. I loved getting to know you all and sharing our nervousness/excitement about what's to come. Becoming an Ironman with all of you is going to be awesome and I just know we'll all do great come race day.

Issac from Vertical Earth - You rock! I had a blast riding with you :) Thanks for all the tips on descending.

Steve Katai - Looking forward to reading your book. Thanks for continuing to spread the word about the sport. That's awesome.

Roch/Paul - You guys are amazing! I came into camp anxious about my training and how I was doing and you were both so wonderful and encouraging. I feel so much more at ease going into this next month. Thank you!

Driving home last night I was filled with a sense of appreciation and wonder as I crossed the Columbia River Gorge with the sun glistening off the water and a snowy Mt Hood in the back ground. It's amazing that I get to do the Ironman. I'm so lucky and blessed to be able to get out there and soak up all of these experiences and see beautiful places and meet truly awesome people.

One of my favorite songs from the Disney movie Brother Bear says it best:

"Tell everybody I'm on my way, new friends and new places to see. With blue skies ahead yes I'm on my way and there's nowhere else that I'd rather be. Tell everybody I'm on my way and I'm loving every step I take. With the sun beating down yes I'm on my way and I can't keep this smile off my face."

I can't wait for June 24!

Ironman Camp Day 3

2007-04-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

Today was an awesome day. I'm going to devote another post to the people and extra activities of camp but the focus of today was the run.

After a quick breakfast of bagels and bananas we headed out for the run course. We stood on the hill overlooking the beach and it was amazing to think we'll be there ready to swim 8 weeks from today.

Everyone had 2 hours to run so we headed out from the Run Out area and onto the course. There were about 6 of us running between an 11 and 12 minute mile pace so I stuck with that group. We ran along the short out and back and then headed up Northwest Blvd and started on the neighborhood section. The course basically winds through the lakefront neighborhoods with a nice downhill on the out part of the course and then once you get to the Centennial Trail we just headed along the lake on that. The course goes about 3 miles up the lake before turning around 1/2 way up a hill. Most of my group stopped at water stop to turn around but I kept on for another .5 mile or so before finally having to turn around :(

Ran back along the course and up that nice downhill from the beginning of the course then back down NW Blvd. Paul was watching for those of us at the end of the group and people were running down Sherman. That's a big no dice for me. I think Paul thought it was funny that I was that superstitious but the only time I want to run down Sherman is when I'm running across that finish line.

Headed back to the starting point and then did another mile section before stopping.

Tough to tell exactly but my running group did 10.6 so I'm estimating with the little extra I ran towards the turnaround and the little extra they ran at the end I probably did about 10.5

WOO HOO!!!! 12 minute miles on the Ironman course. Did my 4/1 run walk strategy and it was working great. Took GU20 in my fuel belt and sang songs in my head to keep me occupied since we were strongly encouraged by Paula to lose the headphones at this point in our training for the run.

After our run we headed back to the hotel for an awesome breakfast. My group (Joanna, Amanda, Zoe and Celeste) toasted our upcoming race and traded stories before zipping off to shower and then head back for the final talk of the day.

Paula talked to us about mental training and it was by far the best of all the talks during camp.

Key Takeaways:

1. Why are you are doing the Ironman?

Everyone has a story, a reason, a driver behind their pursuit of this crazy goal. It's crucial in the days and weeks ahead that each of us know deep down why we're doing it.

2. Manage Your Expectations!

The fewer expectations you put on yourself the better day you'll have. We have tons of pressure in our lives already, the last thing we need is to blow up because we're not going X pace or finishing in X time. Do your best and be prepared for anything.

3. Focus on the things you can control.

There's a lot you can't control on race day. Weather, your competition etc. Plan and focus your energy on things in your control like your nutrition, gear etc.

4. Stay Present!!!!!

The most important tip. Don't think ahead to how stressed you are about the run when you're biking. Focus on what you're doing right then. Stay within yourself.

After Paula's talk (which was awesome!!!), the whole crew came out and we all got prizes, schwag and some great photo ops.... picture of Michael Lovato in an amazingly funny Speedo coming soon :)

Watches, t-shirts, hats, GU, helmets, wetsuits and tons of other energy products. OMG it was awesome!!!!

Took some pictures, packed the room and raced to CDA for my massage. Loved getting the kinks out before heading out for the long drive home.

Gotta eat some dinner and do laundry so I'll post my wrap-up tomorrow but I had an AMAZING time at camp. It was fun, informative, I made tons of friends, got a great training weekend in on the course, tons of fun schwag and a good confidence builder heading into my final 5 weeks of key training.

If you're doing an Ironman, run don't walk to your local Multisports.com camp. Their whole team was so wonderful.

More tomorrow.

Ironman Camp Day 2

2007-04-28T16:01:00.000-07:00

Before I cover all the days details I've got to give a little background. Before signing up for IM CDA last June I came up to watch my friend Carole do her first IM and ride and swim on the course.

Going into the ride last year I was in 1/2 Ironman shape and I rode 1 - 56 mile loop in 3:33 feeling pretty good so for me this weekend was really all about today's ride because they had changed the bike course over the winter.

Got all showered last night and headed to bed about 11pm. Slept really well and got up around 5:50am for the long day ahead :)

Got sunscreened, dressed, filled my bottles and ate a banana before heading to the group breakfast. Unfortunately the restaurant wasn't prepared for 40 triathletes so it took a little while to get us all fed. I had my usual bagel with PB & J and a few sips of coffee and water.

My awesome group headed out at 7:15am with Issac our ride leader from the local bike shop Vertical Earth.

We started by riding nearly 10 miles into CDA on the Centennial Trail (which is GOREGEOUS!!!). Once we arrived at City Park I took note of our time and away we went for our IM Course loop.

We went pretty slow through town pointing out various landmarks to our group members from out of town, once across Sherman I totally spaced the course and since I was riding at the front of the group I ended up going about 2 miles off course. Steve Katai (who you might remember as the winner of the Everyman to Ironman contest a few years ago) was riding with our group so he came and redirected me. We rode together for a while out towards Higgens Point until we got to the climb where we came upon the slowest rider in our group who had dropped back. Steve hung back with him and I continued up the climb to catch the rest of the group. Not much has changed on this section although I felt really good and was keeping my cadence high. Turned around at the point and headed back to town for the new part of the course.

Once back in town we headed up Northwest Blvd through the residential area onto Government Way. This was a good relatively flat, fast part of the course and will be great for spectating. After heading past all the businesses on Government Way we turned on Kathleen and again great road surfact, pretty easy spinning and mostly residential.

It wasn't too long before we start heading up the mountains. I won't really recall all the roads but we started up the hills and OMG these are some hills.

This course is so breathtakingly beautiful. We were riding through pine forests with Hayden Lake on our right and the most spectacular views. The first 2 climbs were medium length and steady with super fast technical descents including hard rights where I definitely had to get out of the aerobars to avoid crashing. EEEEKKKORAMA!!!!!!

I was riding at the front of our group 95% of the time except on the steepest climbs where most would catch me and then I'd pass them on the descents. I seriously cannot say enough about the views and the scenery. It was too die for. Almost made the hills worth it.

Notice I said *almost*.

To Be Continued (Nap-o-rama time is over and I need to get back to Camp)

I wasn't paying close enough attention for turn by turn detail but I can tell you a few key observations I had:

There are a lot of hills. Not rollers but hills. For the middle 20 miles it's all up and down, up and down. None of the hills were worse than anything I train on at home but there were a lot more of them (18 in all).

Descending and cornering is key here. I'm not a fast climber, in fact I was the slowest climber in my group but weight is a benefit to me on the descents and I flew down them. Issac, our ride leader who's 6'6 and I rode down the hills together and I was able to keep up with him for the most part :) I lost a good amount of speed braking into the corners and not gearing well enough from the bottom of the hills so I can definitely improve on that.

Pacing yourself up each hill will be invaluable. 75% of the hills are straight so you climb to the top and as you descend you can see the long hill that starts at the bottom. Using the speed you build up on the descent and again gearing properly will help save time and effort.

The hills ended around mile 40 and we headed back down a relatively flat fast stretch near the high school and then before you knew it I was back on Government Way headed for the home stretch.

My legs overall felt pretty good and I could probably have done a 2nd loop (if forced) albeit a lot slower.

56 miles
3:44
15 MPH Average Speed
41 MPH Max Speed

After finishing the loop we headed back to the trail and to a 25 minute transition run. My legs felt good but dang it was a lot hotter than the rest of the day.

I have to say even though this course is tougher, it's so beautiful and peaceful and challenging that it will be awesome to say I finished IM CDA.

After a shower and some lunch with Paul and Michael Lovato (both so super nice!), I checked in on my message boards and tried out some of the cool new Newton Running shoes.

Tapering and swimming discussion followed while people chowed down on bars, Gatorade and generally relaxed after a tough day.

Triathletes are just such cool people that it's so fun to be here with everyone, make friends, swap stories and mingle with such a wealth of knowledge of this great sport.

After a busy day I'm feeling good. I was right where I wanted to be today, my nutrition was dialed in, I ate and drank well and I felt like I could have at least started on a 2nd loop. Mastering the gearing and the descending will help me immensely over the next 5 weeks of training and I'm looking forward to heading out here Memorial Day weekend to give the course another look.

So now I'm off to get my run stuff prepared and a few things packed for tomorrow. I'll have to summarize Day 3 in a short post before I hit the road so I'll end tonight by saying Ironman Camp is awesome. I'm having a blast, learning a lot and most importantly feeling confident about where I am and where I need to be.

8 weeks from tomorrow, I'll be in the water of Lake Coeur d'Alene :)

Ironman Camp Day 1

2007-04-27T21:07:00.000-07:00

I'm in triathlete heaven :)

As a major information junkie it turns out I'm extremely well informed and in many ways more prepared than at least 20% of the people here which totally blew me away.

Headed into CDA this morning for Starbucks and to buy a box of Uncrustables then got registered. Totally fun schwag including an Ironman bag, Multisports Visor, T-Shirt, water bottle, GU and various other things.

Lots of talent coaching the camp too. Heather Fuhr, Paul Huddle, Roch Frey, Paula Newby Fraser, Michael Lovato, Steve Katai, Jimmie Ricitello and a few others.

We introduced ourselves, and then broke into 2 groups for the swim.

I was in group 2 so we hug out for awhile before getting into our biking clothes and heading out to ride the 9 miles to the pool. It was so interesting to see what types of bikes were here and what kind of gear everyone had.

I made friends with several girls right away who were doing their first Ironman and so we rode together. There was a major headwind on the trail heading out and we were asked not to ride in our aerobars which basically made me like a windsock. I rode pretty close to the back of the group but felt pretty good in spite of the wind.

Got to the pool and changed into our swim gear. We all had caps with our names on it which was nice cause it helped me to learn peoples names. Got into the pool and divided into lanes based on our projected IM swim time. I got into the slowest lane but wasn't the slowest - WOO HOO!!!

We tried out these cool pace things that you put in your swim cap and they beep at you and you stroke off the beeps. I totally loved it! Will definitely be buying one. Did an easy warm up then a bunch of 50s to set our pace timers and see ourselves in the lane. I felt great and the interesting thing for me was that while I'm not fast I am completely consistent. I caught up to the person in front of me easily and just relaxed and sat on her feet. The first part of the workout helped me work on drafting which I am not that good at.

Started swimming sets of 400 then 4x100 intervals then 400 etc. Our lane did a few less yards then the first lane cause we were slower but all told I ended up with just under 3000 yards and felt great the whole time. Came out of the water, showered and got back on our bikes.

Headwind turned to a tailwind and negative split the way back.

After getting back into our street clothes, we spent the next few hours talking about nutrition, pre-race, during, after. What types of nutrition plans we were using (if we had one - a lot of people don't)? How many calories can we absorb per hour? Troubleshooting in the case of yarping and other GI issues.

Lots of fun and then we had a good dinner and got assigned into our biking groups for tomorrow. I'm in the first group but I suspect I'll either have a very relaxed ride with my group or decide to move up to the 2nd group since we are grouped into 6 groups based again on projected IM time. I projected between a 7 and 7.5 hour split so I'm in the 7.5 hour group. Based on today's ride we'll see but I think a lot of people seeded themselves agressively.

I'm having a ton of fun and getting to share information, experience and make new friends who are just as excited, nervous and crazy about Ironman as me.

Off to mix my bottles and get some sleep before a busy day tomorrow.

I'm sooooooo excited to finally see the new bike course. We're doing a 5 hour ride so they're expecting our group to do about 75 miles and at least one complete loop with some of the extra hills which I'm hoping we do.

More from camp tomorrow :)

Twas the night before Ironman Camp...

2007-04-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

... and all through the hotel not a triathlete was stirring not even Roch or Paul :)

Got to Post Falls, ID (about 10 min from Coeur d'Alene) for Ironman Camp today and can hardly believe the weekend has finally arrived.

Coming into camp I definitely have a lot of conflicted emotions. On the one hand I'm sooooo totally excited. I *GET* to spend the entire weekend swimming, biking and running alongside the best of the best in the very place where I will be toeing the line 8 weeks from Sunday. On the other hand there are those old demons that whisper "you're going to be the slowest person at camp, the fattest, etc etc".

Ironically I think my journey towards the starting line of the Ironman has made me care less about those whispers. Part of the reason I did the Danskin as my first triathlon was because I was guarenteed not to be the final finisher. There's no such guarentee at Ironman. In fact being the final finisher is celebrated at Ironman and the closer I get to lining up for the big day the less I care about what other people think.

When I look into the mirror I still see the fat girl. I see the girl that shouldn't be wearing spandex and even thinking about a crazy thing like Ironman nevermind actually training for it. But I'm here. It's like part of the Ironman journey for me is facing those demons and kicking their ass because I deserve to be on the starting line as much as the next person.

The more I train the more I realize that becoming an Ironman really is about the journey and not about the destination. It's about finding yourself and facing challenges. When I'm riding my bike in pouring rain or running towards the back of the pack I'm not thinking about whether I'm going to be the slowest or the fattest. I'm thinking about what I need to do to finish that workout and get to the next one.

Tomorrow I am not the fat girl or the slow girl.

Tomorrow I'm just an athlete on an adventure.

Bring it on :)

Today, I put some hay in the barn

2007-04-21T16:56:00.000-07:00

With Ironman just 8 weeks away, a friend of mine on BeginnerTriathlete.com said every workout he did between now and race day was putting hay in the barn that he could draw from during the race.

I love the analogy and it served me well today when I put my own hay in the barn.

After spending the week at altitude in Denver I came home to a surprising weigh in yesterday (down 3.4), an excellent evening with my husband and a good night of sleep so when I woke up to the sound of raindrops I was like "well it could be worse".

My plan today called for a 4 hour bike ride followed by a 30 minute transition run but I planned to go longer because with Ironman camp next week I really wanted to get closer to 5 hours done today.

I headed out into the rain wearing tri shorts, leggings, sleeveless jersey (on the off chance it got sunny), long sleeved jersey, rain jacket, beanie, socks and double gloves. In preparation for the hills in Coeur d'Alene I've been riding from my house out to Hagg Lake and then looping around the lake which is approx 1400 ft of climbing and then back. Today my goal was out, 2 loops around the lake and then back.

It was only misty with wet roads and I was doing ok until I got to the lake when the rain started getting worse. There were puddles everywhere and my legs and feet were soaked. I focused on drinking and eating since the weather wasn't conducive to either of those things and I knew I couldn't fall down on nutrition. By the time I finished around the lake for my first loop I knew I was in trouble because I couldn't feel my toes at all. I stopped for a water bottle refresh at this Fishing Shop outside of the park and the owner was so nice.

Dried my glasses and socks with paper towels and tried to soak up as much moisture as possible. Refilled my bottles, ate my Uncrustables (portable PB&J) and then bought a package of Turkey Jerky and ate a few pieces before hitting the portolet and heading back into the rain.

As I rode I just kept thinking about all the hay I was putting into my barn :) Finished the 2nd loop just 4 minutes slower than the first one and headed back towards home. I've heard a lot of people say that during the race when you hit a low you should ask yourself "what do I need?" and then take care of whatever the answer was. So as I'm riding into the wind, soaked to the bone with 20 miles to go til home I figured out that I needed to eat my chocolate covered cinnamon bears. So when I found a covered bus shelter I pulled into, got off my bike and ate my bears.

If you have never had a chocolate covered cinnamon bear RUN don't walk to Sweet's Candy. Preston's parents brought us some at Christmas and I was hooked, little did I know the company is in Utah and local stores only carry the sinful bears during the holidays. Hooray, Internet shopping!

Back on my bike after my bear break and I started thinking of checkpoints that I'd come to along the route home. First get to Hillsboro. Check. Then to the intersection where you get onto the road that takes you home. Check. You get the idea. Unfortunately as I pedaled along trying to stay aero so I wasn't like a giant windsock I really started to have to pee. With about 10 miles to go and nowhere easy to stop I was faced with a dilemma. Do I hold it and be miserable for the next 30-40 minutes or do I just go?

Since I was already soaked and my clothes and bike were going to get washed anyway (and I'm planning on doing this come race day) I decided just to go. The wild thing is not only did I feel better but it totally warmed up my leg and foot - an unexpected benefit.

Made it home and immediately hosed down my shoes and my bike, then took the hose to myself before making a beeline to the shower in my clothes so I could wash them off first before I put them in the laundry.

All told it was a great ride, my nutrition plan worked great and my legs felt awesome!

4:56.31
77.11 miles
15.6 MPH

Altitude Sucks!

2007-04-19T09:52:00.000-07:00

Just a quick message to share my thoughts on altitude. I am not a fan!

Spending the week here in Denver on business and finding getting my workouts done is tough. Way tougher than I expected. I've managed to workout every day but at a much slower pace than normal to keep my heart rate in check. I'm so glad I'm headed home tomorrow for some fun biking in the rain. WOO HOO!!!!!! At least we're at sea level.

Race for the Roses Half Marathon 4/2007

2007-04-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

April 15, 2007
Portland, OR
13.1m Run

Let me start with some background.

I'm currently training for Ironman Coeur d'Alene which is coming up in June. I've been logging miles according to my training plan since January and last week my plan called for a 2.5 hour run so I decided it was a good opportunity to run an organized race.

Pre-Race - Stayed out late with friends on Friday night after a busy week of work and training. Slept in Saturday morning and then immediately got started on my day. Now normally I'd not recount an entire day to you but indulge me because it cracks me up that I did so much on a day before running 13.1 miles.

Got dressed, ate a banana and some yogurt and went out for a 30 minute (2.5 mile run). Grabbed my stuff and headed out for a bunch of errands. Dropped some stuff at Goodwill, got my car's key fob reprogrammed at the dealership, had a Jamba Juice smoothie, went to the cycling shop to pick up GU20 and new cycling shoes, headed across town to pick up my race packet and got a NF latte and 1/2 a low fat muffin. Then back across town to buy some running socks at the running store and hit the pool. Swam 3000 yards (1.7 miles) then went grocery shopping and headed home.

Whew, long day but wait there's more :)

Had a quick dinner and then went to see the Portland Trailblazers basketball game. The Blazers won and we headed home where I got my gear ready for the early AM wake up the next day.

Race Day
Woke up at 5am, got dressed, checked the weather (no rain and low 50s), ate a PB & J and headed to the train station.

Took the train to the convention center and then walked around, got my fuel belt on, ate a banana, took some Tylenol and stretched.

While I'm doing this I'm thinking about Arizona. Why are you thinking about Arizona, you ask? Well today is Ironman Arizona and my friend Katherine (Tink short for Tinkerbell57) was racing it and it was her first Ironman. So while I'm standing on the starting line waiting to go for what I consider a pretty short run these days, my friend Tink is in the water getting ready to the Ironman. GOOOOOO TINK!!!!!!!

They start the countdown and I start my interval timer and get a little choked up because in 9 weeks I'll be in the water waiting to start my Ironman, I can't imagine how that feel but I was so excited and nervous for Tink. WOO HOO - I sent her some positive thoughts and then crossed the timing mat to start my run.

Since this was a training run my plan was very easy. I set my watch for 4/1 intervals so I would run 4 minutes and walk 1 min for the whole race. I also decided that since this was a training run and I tend to obsess over mile splits that I wouldn't take splits. I'd just follow my plan.

I was running in shorts, sports bra and tank top with a long sleeved running top over the top. My fuel belt was filled with GU20 (about 150 total) and my plan was to drink water at the aid stations, sip my GU20 and take a GU at mile 4,8, 12 and then some yummy Sport Beans at mile 10.

This will be a short race report because I worked my plan. Ran when I was supposed to, walked when I was supposed to and then a few times at aid stations to fill a bottle with water or suck down a GU. My legs felt great, there were actually people cheering and everyone was having fun!

The course had a long steady climb from mile 2-4 then a few more rollers at mile 7-8 and then for the most part it was flat. I took off the long sleeved top at mile 8 and just kept on running. At mile 12 I went to take my last GU and started getting tummy issues. Weird! I've never had problems before but I actually think I took in too many calories. Apparently I need to stick to about 200-250 for the run even though I do 300-350 on the bike. Okay, that's cool. Walked an extra minute to let my stomach settle and then picked up the pace a bit to crest the final hill and run it into the finish.

Finish Time - 2:35.45

That's an 11:53 minute mile average. Holy mackeral!!!! Legs felt great so I stretched, got a bottle of water and headed to the train to check in on Tink. Got some breakfast and did some more errands then spent the rest of the day tracking her progress on Ironmanlive.com

WOO HOO - She finished with 10 minutes to spare in spite of 30 MPH winds on the bike. Way to go Tink!!!!

I'm in my favorite paper!!!!

2007-04-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

Many of you who know me well, know that I've been on the road a lot over the years. One of the highlights of travel for me is getting USA Today every morning at my hotel. So imagine my excitement when I was selected to appear in that very paper. WOO HOO!!!!

USA Today is doing a series on people who've lost weight and kept it off. My story is in the Life section (the purple one) today (Monday April 2, 2007) and can also be found online at the links below:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2007-04-01-wlc-crawford_N.htm

There are additional photos after the 3rd paragraph including one very scary before picture.

This link shows my profile complete with exercise schedule and before and after photos etc

http://www.usatoday.com/news/graphics/07_wlc/weight_loss_profiles/flash.htm

As you might imagine I'm pretty excited about the whole thing.

Today Kicked Ass!

2007-03-17T16:29:00.000-07:00

There's no other way to say it. Some days you just have a great day and today was one of them. My plan called for a 3 hour ride followed by a 30 min run but I've felt like my plan was a little light on biking so I planned to up that to 3:30 if I felt good.

The forecast was cloudy but mid 50s to low 60s with showers late afternoon so I decided not to wait before heading out.

One of the big things I've been working on is a nutrition plan and last night while preparing everything for the ride today I felt like a mad scientist mixing potions :) Salt has been a big factor for me and I seem to have GI issues when I use the extra sodium products like PowerGel or Gatorade Endurance so I decided to go old school and just add 1/8 tsp of table salt to my bottles and see if I could stomach it.

With dry roads I took my tri bike off the trainer for her maiden voyage of the season and it was awesome! I rode from my house to Gaston then up to Hagg Lake and around the lake (1400ft of climbing) then back to my house.

The day started out cloudy and cool but after about the first hour the sun came out and it was gorgeous :) I got some new Zoot tri shorts with pockets and was looking forward to trying them outside the house in real world conditions. Other than some localized seat irritation later in the ride (note to self - more vaseline for mid-ride), my new shorts worked great and my nutrition plan kicked ass!

For breakfast I had:

1 Banana
2 slices Sprouted Wheat bread w/2 tbs Better N' Peanut Butter and 2 tbs Spreadable Fruit

Hour 1:
2 GU
1 Bottle GU20 w/300mg extra salt
1 Aero Bottle H20

Hour 2:
1 Bottle CarboPro Lemonade w/300 mg extra salt
1 GU
1 Aero Bottle H20

Hour 3+:
1 Uncrustables - The most amazing invention ever! White bread with creamy PB and strawberry jelly all formed into a circle with no crust. Totally portable and after 2.5 hours on the bike, so delicious :)
1 Bottle GU20
1 Aero Bottle H20
1 GU

I've finally figured out that I tend to get stressed out over speed and distance so I've just stopped looking at it all while riding. My bike computer is set to only show me actual riding time. I'd planned to go 3:30 but by the time I got around the lake and back home I'd ended up doing 3:41.32

After pulling into the garage I hopped off my bike for a transition run.

It took about 5:40 to get shoes and socks off, lube up my feet and put new socks and running shoes on. Then I stretched, got my Fuel Bottle of H20 and Sports Beans along with my hat, MP3 player and cell phone and I was off.

My legs felt great and I ended up doing 2.8 miles in 31.27 which for me is smoking (11.14 min mile).

Once I got back it was time for the big reveal as they say on TV. How many miles had I gone in 3:41? I was hoping for 55 given the climbing around the lake and knowing that my previous ride out to Gaston had taken about 2.5 hours and been 41 miles without the segment out and around the lake.

So imagine my suprise when I saw - 60.54 miles!!!!!

WOO HOO - That's a 16.3 mile average :)

I am so stoked!

Today was beautiful, my nutrition was spot on and I feel great. It was a confidence building day to be sure.

A Day in the Life of a Busy Leopard

2007-03-08T19:38:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm in the Base phase of my training my weekday and weekend workouts are ramping up. I don't really notice a bike ride on the weekend going from 3 to 4 hours or a run ramping up from 1.5 to 2 hours but when my weekday workouts start going from 60 minutes in a day to 180 minutes in a day, life can get a bit hectic :) I thought it'd be interesting to capture a typical day.

6am - Wake up, check work email, grab various bags packed the night before, eat banana and drive to the pool.

6:30am - Begin swim workout (2oo Warm Up, 2500 continuous, 200 Cool Down)

7:45am - Shower, drink bottle of GU20, eat a banana and drive like crazy to train

9am - Arrive at work

Between 9am and 6:30pm - Lots of meetings, phone calls, emails, running around and snacking on food from lunch bag. Only 8 Hershey's Kisses today :)

6:45pm - 4 mile run on Willamette River

7:45pm - Answer work emails, head to train for ride home

8:30pm - Grab chicken, rice and veggies for dinner

9:00pm - Hang out with husband, watch TV, pack bags for tomorrow

10:30pm - Stretch and get ready for bed

11pm - Sleep

Alphabet Swimming

2007-02-22T12:54:00.000-08:00

As I've started doing longer swims I've found it hard to count the laps without hitting the split button on my watch. A friend of mine recently ran her first marathon and she found it easier to pass the miles by going through the alphabet. One letter for every mile.

What a novel idea....

I started doing this to help me count laps during my longer intervals for example:

500yds = 10 laps
A to J

1500yds = 30 laps
A to Z then A to D

Initially I started off thinking of cities that started with a particular letter or foods or things but the more I swam the more I realized this was a perfect opportunity to think of inspirational words that I could call on later in my training.

Last night I did my longest swim ever - 3000 yds which is 1.7 miles or A through T three times :)

Here are some of my favorites from last nights swim:

A is for Accomplishment, Activity, Athletic
B is for Breathe, Bike, Bring it on!
C is for Choices, Challenge, Coeur d'Alene
D is for Drive, Dedication, Dilligence
E is for Energy, Enthusiasm, Excitement
F is for Family & Friends, Fun, Finish
G is for Goal, Great, Gift
H is for Hot, Happy, Healthy
I is for Imagination, Inspiration and of course Ironman
J is for Just Do it!
K is for Kick Ass :)
L is for Learn, Lead, Long
M is for Motivation, Midnight, Mantra
N is for Never Give Up
O is for Outstanding
P is for Preston, Persistance and Pride
Q is for Quality versus Quantity
R is for Rest, Recovery and Relaxation
S is for Strength, Sacrifice, Slow is smooth
T is for Trust your Training!

Salt Water Pools Rock!!!

2007-02-03T22:00:00.000-08:00

Chlorine has become my nemesis. Everything about it sucks my will to keep swimming. It tastes awful and it smells worse and no matter how hard I try I can smell and taste it for hours sometimes days after a swim. Blech!!!!

Tonight Preston went to the 24 Hour Fitness in Hillsboro to play basketball so I went there for my swim. Usually I go to the Beaverton location because it's closer to the train station.

Imagine my suprise when I got into the pool tonight and found no smell. Weird I thought, maybe they just don't use that much chlorine here. Once I started swimming I realized it was salt water and I was in heaven. My nose didn't get stuffed up, I wasn't gagging from the overpowering chemical scent and best of all I didn't have that gross chlorine taste in my mouth.

WOO HOO!!!! I had a great swim :)

Apparently all 24 Hour Fitness locations are supposed to be switching to the salt water although it seems at least my regular pool hasn't made the transition yet. In the meantime I will most definitely be switching pools.

Leopards do the Big Easy

2007-01-16T21:58:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm still alive. I know most of you are probably like what the heck happened to the Speed Leopard after her rainy, snowy Seattle 1/2 Marathon :)

I've literally hit the road....

3 trips to Louisiana in the last 4 weeks have left me little time for blogging but I have been enjoying the wild ride and I did manage to spend 5 days in New Orleans with my husband over New Year's which was AWESOME!

I can't say enough about our experience in this beautiful city but we can't wait to return. Check out the view from our hotel.

I had a business trip scheduled in Baton Rouge on January 2 so we decided since we'd never been to New Orleans pre-hurricane and we knew that they really needed tourists to return to the city and we were able to score tickets to see the Saints play in the Superdome it just seemed to good to pass up.

So we headed down to the Big Easy on a Wednesday and immediately started enjoying the place. Bourbon Street was crazy, fun and totally not what I expected but I did manage to pick up a lot of beads ;)

We went deep into the Bayou one day with a Cajun named Tom and we saw everything from nutria, racoons, alligator, herons to the catfish he hauled from one of his traps. I even got to hold one which was totally cool.

We got HOOKED on Beignets from Cafe du Monde (think globs of pastry deep fried and covered with mounds of powdered sugar) and ended up enjoying some every day. We tried Mufflettas, catfish, crawfish, soft shelled crabs and each place we went the food seemed to get better and better.

We didn't really see the parts of the city that were still destroyed post-Katrina but the effects of the hurricane still being felt across the region. The people were amazing and so welcoming.

On New Year's Eve we watched the Saints play the Carolina Panthers in the Superdome which yielded one of the most memorable moments of the trip for me. Jazz musician Kermit Ruffins was playing the national anthem on his trumpet and the people in the dome started singing along. It was extremely moving to think about all those Orleanians who'd just months earlier been abandoned in that same place singing about the greatness of our nation.

Even though the Saints lost, the star players ran the perimeter after the game and Preston got to high-five Reggie Bush which was pretty cool.

We jostled through the throngs of party goers on Bourbon Street which was a harrowing experience as beads came flying from all different directions and finally made it to the Mississippi River to watch the most amazing fireworks display.

It was a fantastic ending to a great vacation and we can't wait to return to this city which I've dubbed Disneyland for Adults :)

Seattle Half Marathon

2006-11-26T16:14:00.000-08:00

November 26, 2006
Seattle, WA
13.1m Run

The Seattle 1/2 Marathon was my first attempt ever at this distance back in 2003. I distinctly remember registering for the 1/2 walk because even though I was going to be wogging the race, I didn't want to be last in terms of time, silly me. As it turns out I would have been last in the run but I ended finishing just fine albeit with a finisher shirt that said 1/2 Marathon Walk instead of 1/2 Marathon Run.

After a few months of "active recovery", I'd kind of had this race in the back of my mind as fall began. Since I wasn't really training I just kept up my weekly 3 and 5 mile runs and then added a increasingly longer run on the weekends. I got several 6, 7 and 8 mile runs in and then 2 runs of about 8.6 miles but with less than 2 weeks til the race I just never got around to going beyond that.

Fast forward to the week before Thanksgiving, I hadn't really run all that much so I did a 5 miler on both Friday and Sunday and felt fine. Monday night I started coming down with something and by Tuesday I couldn't talk at all. ARGH!!!!!!!!!! Diagnosis: Laryngitis. No talking for at least 2 if not 3 days.

Those of you that know me can only imagine what a challenge this was. No phone calls, no meetings with co-workers, no talking to my husband, nothing. By Thanksgiving I was about crazy so thankfully my voice started to croak back. I made the decision Friday that I was feeling ok enough to at least walk 13.1 miles so I started getting ready for the weekend.

Unfortunately the forecast called for snow and 100% chance of precipitation on Sunday so things were not looking good. I went up Saturday, hit the expo to register and met up with Susan and Carole from my WW Tri-ers group (Puddyrat and Cjsews). We had a great dinner with their husbands (they were all running the full marathon, Susan and I were doing the 1/2) at the Old Spaghetti Factory. I had my traditional pre-race Ravioli, yum!

I laid all of my warmest, rain proof clothing out and prayed for sun.

Race Day
The sun was a no show and I woke up to constant rain and reports of snow in all of the surrounding Seattle suburbs. Oy vey! What on earth was I thinking. I connected with Laura (CatDoc) from the Tri-ers board and we stayed inside as long as possible. At about 7:20 we headed for the start which was just about 2 blocks from my hotel.

After a few minutes the masses started moving and we were off. I was totally geared up. I had a ball cap style hat (to keep the rain off my face), ear warmers, a face mask, long sleeved wicking shirt, rain jacket, garbage bag, tights, gloves and my fuel belt (filled with warm water). My mile 2 I'd discarded the garbage bag and face mask because I was just too warm.

Mile 1 - 12.00
Mile 2 - 12.35

I was running with Laura and her husband for a while but they were going a little faster than I'd planned so I told them to go ahead and run without me. Just after the 2 mile marker you get on the I-90 Express lane and that's always fun. I'd been running behind this guy for a couple minutes and since he didn't have headphones on I decided to comment on his fuel belt that (and I'm not exaggerating here) had like 8 or 9 bottles.

So we're pacing each other and I'm like "You've got a lot of water bottles there", he replies with something about this being his first race and he wanted to be prepared. I start asking about what prompted him to do the race and he asks me and somewhere in the abbreviated, why are we both soaking wet running 13 miles today, he says I look familiar and am I from Seattle. I'm like "no, I'm from Portland" All of the sudden, he's like "OMG, we met in Cannon Beach".

Lightbulb moment!

While Preston and I were at our favorite hotel over Labor Day weekend we met this really nice couple. We had several things in common with them and had a few great conversations but they lived in Seattle (which sucked for us since we thought they were very cool).

So here I am running along in the pouring rain with 15,000 people and I run into Shane!

What a small world, so we're running along and we're chatting about our races and goals and why we run and his wife Shell who's also on the course doing the 1/2 marathon walk and before you know it we're at mile 6.

Mile 3 - 12.47
Mile 4 - 12.24
Mile 5 - 13.32
Mile 6 - 12.47

After the 10k mark Shane and I start talking about our finish time. I'm kind of concerned that I may be holding him back but he says he's totally fine with our pace and "now we've got less to go then we've gone"

Mile 7 takes us up a long hill which I just heard has a 12% grade. Yikes! No wonder I walked it. Mile 8 and 9 have us heading into the Arboretum and we're still talking and running along. Somewhere in here a car is parked on a corner blasting the theme from Chariots of Fire and Shane and I both gave a WOO HOO to the car's owner. Love the musical inspiration!!! There were a number of hills but the time was passing so quickly and I was hardly noticing how totally wet and cold I was because I was so enjoying having a running partner.

Mile 7 - 12.54
Mile 8 - 13.38
Mile 9 - 12.27

About every mile or 2 we'd catch up with Laura and her husband. They'd be ahead of us on the uphills and we'd eventually catch them on the downhills. Once we hit mile 10 we knew we were on the home stretch. For the previous 2 hours Shane and I had been talking about how we both really wanted to finish under 3 hours and after we hit the 10 mile mark we knew we were going to do it.

Mile 10 - 14.03
Mile 11 - 11.18

I think they must have measured the miles a little close here because 10 was so long and 11 was pretty short but it was no matter to us. Just before mile 11 we saw the Space Needle and that was Shane's sign that we were really close. At this point I'm looking at my watch and I start to get psyched! I WOO HOO'd as we went under I-5 because not only were we going to finish under 3 hours but I could tell we were going to get in the 2:50 range.

At the 12 mile marker I was giddy because holy mackeral my legs felt fine, I had a great morning in spite of being soaked to the skin and I was on track for a PR.

Mile 12 - 12.38
Mile 13 - 12.23
Mile 13.1 - 1.21

We rounded the final corner and headed up the last hill which is a cruel reminder that we've just run nearly 13 miles. There's the Space Needle and the Stadium directly ahead.

WOO HOO - We hit the turf and sprinted the length of the football field and we were finished.

Final Time - 2:46.47

Are you kidding me!!!!! That is a 12.43 average. Of course I immediately figure out that I'm freezing and totally soaked but holy mackeral. 2:45 was like my dream time in perfect conditions.

Shane and I got our medals, took some pictures and a massage and then I headed to the hotel for the drive home and he went to watch his wife Shell finish her race (She did awesome by the way!)

I'm a little stiff but otherwise I feel great and my running confidence is increased which was the goal.

As an aside, I'm a fairly solo athlete. I like to do my own thing and I've struggled finding that perfect balance of someone who's my pace and can talk or just run along in silence. So today was absolutely awesome. Shane it was a pleasure running with you! Thanks for making the day go so well. Congrats to both you and Shell.

I didn't end up being a Snow Leopard this weekend but I think I earned the Speed Leopard title :)

This weekend I'm a Snow Leopard

2006-11-25T19:25:00.000-08:00

I know, I know. Where's the Speed Leopard been? I've been taking the fall off having fun with family and friends and exercising for the sheer joy of it. This could explain why I'm here in Seattle about to run 13.1 miles in the snow :)

I've been having fun running the last couple of months and the Seattle 1/2 Marathon holds special appeal to me as it was the first 1/2 Marathon I ever did back in November 2003. I was about 60lbs heavier and finished in 3:34.25. Looking back on that now I'm actually thoroughly impressed by that time.

I'm coming off a very long taper as I've been sick with laryngitis all week and have only today been able to start talking again. My major goal is to go under 3 hours but I'd really like to be in the 2:45-2:50 neighborhood.

I'll post a full race report tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm rested, happy, healthy, totally enjoying my new job (which isn't all that new anymore) and enjoying an active off season filled with lots of running and a bit of swimming and biking.

Stay tuned for more Speed Leopard adventures as it's not to long before my training for 2007 will begin :)

Gulf Coast Devestation Lingers

2006-09-12T08:40:00.000-07:00

So I've been travelling a little bit to some places in the country I've never been and had an interesting experience last night that I had to share.

Last week I was in Milwaukee, WI and this week was my first time in Alabama (Montgomery) and my co-worker and I decided to drive down to Biloxi, Mississippi to check out the gulf and so we could say we'd been to Mississippi since neither of us had ever been.

On the way we drove through rain storms like nothing I've ever experienced in Oregon. It was like a fire hose was being aimed directly from the sky onto our car. We're on a major interstate and traffic immediately came to a halt because you literally couldn't see beyond your own windshield. It was very scary. More so on the way home in the pitch black.

As we headed into Biloxi I was stunned by what I saw. The waterfront was deserted, buildings were just gone from their foundations, palm trees sheared off, debris everywhere, houses and buildings with the windows and doors completely missing. Apartments with spray painted messages like "Mom we're ok". As we drove further down the coast it only got worse.

With much of the media attention on the New Orleans area I was completely unprepared for what we saw. It looked like a war zone and we were there more than a year after the storm. There were a few casinos that were rebuilding but it looked like most of the construction was around debris removal rather than rebuilding.

We stopped to get gas and I asked the cashier if there was a good local place to eat and she said "No Maam, none of them's been rebuilt". I was like, "Wow, nothing local's open?" and she said nope.

A whole town and the only things rebuilt are large national chains like Outback and Ruby Tuesday.

We did walk down to the water and it was unbelievably warm. There was still quite a bit of debris in the water and the beautiful white sand beaches were littered with bits of glass and wood. Beautiful but destroyed.

I'm headed home today but I'm so glad I went to Mississippi because I wouldn't have believed that it was still so bad if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

Downtown Portland Rocks!

2006-08-04T17:50:00.000-07:00

I've been a bit behind on my blog updates but that's because I've been busy enjoying my new life in downtown Portland :)

Upon my return from Musselman I started a new job and it's been a relaxed whirlwind ever since.

I LOVE working downtown!!!!!! I have taken the train everyday which allows me time to read books, magazines or talk to my husband who I often ride the train with. I get to the train station by either walking the 1.2 miles from my house or biking to a station further down the line. A few times we've even biked all the way to the zoo which is completely uphill but makes for a great workout.

My new office is on the 8th floor and for the first time in the HISTORY of my working life I sit looking out a huge picture window. Not just at the side of a building but at a beautiful view of the Broadway bridge and river. WOO HOO!!!!

There are no cubicles here so everyone is right next to each other which has cut down on my personal calls and emails but so what, since I only work 8hrs a day (OMG, what a novel idea) I have more than enough time to take care of that after or before work :) I actually get to sleep til a reasonable time and I come to work at a reasonable time. I also don't have to spend time worrying about what I'm wearing. Why is that? Everyone in my office wears t-shirts, sandals, shorts pretty much everyday. It's awesome. I'm not super comfortable wearing shorts in general so I've taken to wearing my new Keen sandals, capris and a different color top or race t-shirt. Did I mention it's awesome?

There are like 4 Starbucks within walking distance and I've been able to have lunch with my husband, meet friends for dinner after work and even do errands at lunch because everything is so close.

My co-workers are all very nice and I'm starting to get the hang of my new job. It's a tremendous change going from a huge corporation to a smaller upstart but I'm loving the work/life balance encouraged here, the relaxed office environment (comfy couches instead of conference rooms and things like free coffee and BBQs).

As for my racing future it's still just that. In the future. Right now I'm loving riding my bike uphill, running for fun with friends on the river and trying to get my eating back under control. I figure there's plenty of time to decide what's next in the making of a Speed Leopard.

Musselman Half-Ironman 7/2006

2006-07-18T14:50:00.000-07:00

July 16, 2006
Geneva, NY
1.2 mile swim/ 56 mile bike/ 13.1 mile run

Each year our WWFC group selects a group race and this year it was the Musselman in upstate NY. We planned, trained and even made t-shirts and the next thing you knew we were gathered at our pre-race dinner on Friday night laughing and talking like we'd known each other forever (even if only via the internet).

Pre-Race
There's so much to say so I'll keep this brief but my LBS completely disassembled my aerobars which meant a headache for me on the other side since there weren't any markings on the horizontal pieces. Thankfully my husband was there to help me make on the fly adjustments. The news was actually broadcasting things like Danger Zone: How to beat Sunday's Heat which did not bode well for us racers but we stayed calm. We had a great evening Friday and then spent Saturday doing a variety of pre-race things like Packet Pick-up and Bike Check-in.

One of the cool things about Musselman was all of the activities for athletes. There was a pancake breakfast Saturday and a Pasta dinner Saturday night. Unfortunately the location of the pasta dinner wasn't air-conditioned so it was stiflingly hot and a lot of us left early although before we left we were introduced by Jeff the Race Director which was nice.

This year the writer who does Frazz (a triathlon friendly comic strip) was not only participating in the 1/2 IM but also speaking at the pasta dinner because of this he drew a special comic strip for the t-shirts. This was a nice idea but part of the reason I liked the idea of Musselman was because of the Zebra Mussel logo. Previous year's had shirts with Mussels swimming, biking, running, or signs indicating how far the Mussel was going. This year not only was there no Mussel there was also no mention of the distance which is a small silly thing but seriously people I want a shirt that says Musselman 1/2 Ironman.

Earlier in the day we had met Jane a newbie who was doing the 1/2 and had never done a triathlon before. Never ever, not even a sprint. Wow, I thought. That is hardcore. She had lots of questions about everything from transitions (she had no clue what they were) to race attire and nutrition. I quickly adopted her into our group and hoped she'd have a good race :)

After the dinner I went back to the hotel and packed all my gear, mixed my bottles, shaved my legs, relaxed, stretched and then we watched the requisite sports inspiration movie Stick It (it was the best we could do on Pay-Per-View). Went to sleep around 10:30pm.

Race Day
Woke up and quietly got dressed before heading to the lobby. Once there I got all my frozen bottles, ate 1.5 bagels with PB&J and drank a cup of coffee before meeting up with Mia, Carol J and Jody to head to the park. Once there I set up my transition area, get my timing chip, get body-marked and sunscreen and body glide like crazy. I see JM and I am psyched that she made it and is feeling better.

Jody, Teresa and I are in the same wave so we hang together while the bagpipers play and the national anthem is sung. I see my husband and give him a kiss, then he takes some pics and it's our turn to get into the water.

Swim
In order to get to the swim start we have to climb down these huge wooden stairs. Climb down wooden stairs in a wetsuit? All I'm thinking is I am so going to be the one that gets a splinter. So while I'm avoiding that I actually fall off the last step into the water on my ass. Nice!!! What a way to start. We gingerly walk to the swim start avoiding the zebra mussels. The water is about 76 (coming from the NW where the avg water temp has been about 63) and feels like bathwater. The horn sounds and we're off. I get jostled a lot in the first few buoys and I immediately notice that the water smells and tastes like crap. Ugh! Next thing I notice is how shallow it is. I can see the scary zebra mussels just below me and of course that makes me think crap I better not stop swimming cause they'll cut me. I try to find a rhythm but something is wrong. Between getting hit with waves and being jostled about I have trouble going more than 2 or 3 strokes before having to sight again. I just keep telling myself "Just Keep Swimming".

I round the first turn and see there are lots of people swimming off course. I try desperately to settle into a pace. The waves keep hitting me. ARGH!!!!!!! Now I'm getting frustrated cause I'm starting to feel nauseous and I'm like OMG am I actually getting motion sick from these waves?

Geesh! Finally, I make the last turn and I swim until I can't swim any longer. At this point I see that there is a long way to walk through the sand before you even get to the swim finish. I hit my watch and it show 51.56 which is about 8min slower than my 1.2 mile swim at Hagg Lake a few weeks ago. DANG IT!!!!!!!!!! I walk/jog up the shore and am briefly distracted by the sight of a fellow racer exiting the water in only "tighty-whiteys". Scary...... oh well more motivation to get moving into T1.

1.2 miles
Official Swim Time: 53.32
100 yd Pace: 2.36

T1 - 4.01
Once across the swim mats there's a long walk to the transition area and I hear my husband cheering for me which is awesome. I get my feet wiped off and into my bike shoes, helmet, glassed and gloves on and I am off to start my favorite part of the race :)

Bike
This is absolutely my strong suit. I had driven the course after getting into town and I'll admit I was a little concerned because of the rolling hills and the wind. I figured I would do ok as long as I remembered to spin up all the hills. The aid stations were going to be serving HEED as the sports drink which tasted like ass to me so I packed my own cocktail for the bike:

2 bottles with 2 scoops of CarboPro and 3 Endurolytes mixed with Crystal Light Lemonade

About 230 calories a piece and yummy! I had my aero bottle filled with water and my 2 bike bottles and then I was supplementing with a few GUs. I tried to maintain a strong cadence on the flats and repeated my mantra of "Be Consistently Fast". I passed a few people with flats and asked if they needed anything, silently thanking God that I wasn't in the same boat.

I rode past beautiful vineyards, farms, the lake and through many small towns. It really is a fantastic course. I got water at the first 2 aid stations. Just before the 1/2 way mark I see Carol J's boyfriend Scott which was awesome!!!!

I noticed that there weren't any portolets at either station and I knew I'd be faced with the ultimate dilemma.

Do I pee on the bike?

This is a question which 3 years ago I can't believe I'd say out loud let alone seriously consider. My tri friends and I had joked about this and my family who came out to cheer me on at my first 1/2 Ironman even had a saying "If you pee on your bike, you'll be whizzing your way to victory".

At about mile 30 I really had to go. ARGH!!!! I didn't want pee to get in my shoes. The bike is washable but I only have one pair of shoes. Even more critical than that I had sports drink in my bottles and all the water was in my aero bottle. Hmmmmmmmm............decisions, decisions.

I finally decided to do it and started focusing on the details of getting it done. I emptied the last few drops of sports drink and then sucked water from my aero bottle and after opening the top of my bike bottle proceeded to spit some in. I rinsed out the sticky sports drink then continued the transfer from the aero bottle to the bike bottle til my aero bottle was empty. Once the lid was back on I let it fly.

EEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKOOOOOOOORAAAAAAAAMMMMMMAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

I am whizzing on my beloved bike and it is going into my shoes. I'm laughing and shrieking out loud as I fly down the road doing about 19 MPH, hehe only in triathlon.

I rinse the best I can with what little water I have and turn the corner toward Special Needs. This is a pretty cool feature which I've never heard of at a 1/2 IM before. We were allowed to pack a bag that could be retrieved at mile 33. I hop off my bike and 2 volunteers come over to help me get myself situated. They fill my bike bottles with fresh water, I mix my cocktail, add new water to the aero bottle, wash myself off, pour a bottle over my head and down my back, say Thank You and I am off.

I'm past the half-way mark and I am starting to pick up speed. Sweet!!!! I sing to myself and then after finishing the 3rd bottle of sports drink I repeat the above and whiz again. This time it really gets into my shoes. Oy vey!

I thank the volunteers at each of the intersections, enjoy the view and keep pedaling strong, knowing that as each mile ticks past I am that much closer to 13.1 miles in the scorching sun. At each 10 mile mark I ask myself: "Are you happy? Are you hydrated? Are you ready to run?" Each time the answers were Yes, Yes and Yes!

I see Tink and Suzy's husband after the 50 mile mark and that gives me a boost. I soon turn the corner into the park and hop off my bike. WOO HOO!!! I am exactly on pace given the hills and the pit stop.

56 miles
Official Bike Time: 3:31.40
Official Average: 15.9 mph

T2 - 4.02
I see the Tri-ers and hear my husband cheering for me as I run in with my bike. I'm ready to run. I take off all the bike stuff, lube up my feet with vaseline, put my running shoes, race #, fuel belt and hat on and I am off and running. As I'm about to leave transition I see Jody just ahead of me and I'm like WOO HOO, Go Jody, figuring she'll leave me in the dust in just a few min.

Run
Headed out of transition and knew immediately I needed to pee and I wasn't hardcore enough to just go while running so I ducked into a portolet and then headed out. I could see Jody in the distance and she was using a walk/run strategy so I hoped I'd catch her and we'd be able to run together. Before I even hit the 1 mile mark I was already dying of hotness. I knew it was only going to get worse. I saw JM coming in on the back of a golf cart and felt so sad that her race had come to an end but she kicked ass on the swim and bike which is awesome!

ER was taking pictures at the mile 1 aid station and I managed a smile as I ran past. As soon as I hit the first aid station I was starting on what would become a routine as I went aid station to aid station.

3 cups of ice down the sports bra, 1 cup into my hat, a cup of water to drink, cold sponges to cool my face and one for down the back of my running tank.

Mile 2, same thing. Mile 3 is a bit slower as I take a GU and a few endurolytes. Mile 4 is a little hilly through the college and I chatted with several of the guys running near me. Jody is behind me at this point.

I am living for the ice and in between aid stations I am grabbing pieces out of my sports bra to suck on. Keeping cool is my #1 priority. I run as much as possible and only walk through the aid stations. This lasts to about mile 5 when it is starting to get even hotter and a lot more hilly.

Stupid mistake on my part but I didn't drive the run course or even really look it over before the race. I was much more focused on the bike. Eeeekkkkk! I should have known what was coming. This is a much more challenging run course than I had ever thought.

I keep up my slow jog reminding myself that perpetual forward motion is the key. I take another GU and drink GU20 from my fuel belt. There's a bongo drummer at mile 3 and at mile 5 there were 2 girls serenading us with their violins. People from the community were awesome!!!! Setting up sprinklers, spraying us with hoses, cheering us from their lawn chairs.

I thank all the volunteers for coming out but especially for being there on such a hot day. I remember how horrible it was to not have people at the final aid station on my previous race and I was sooooo thankful that these kind souls were out there for us Back of the Packers. As I jogged I chatted with guys around me who told me that I was motivating them to jog and not walk. Most people were walking at this point. I felt like I was on a death march.

We turn off the road after mile 7 and climb Heartrate Hill which is a rocky dirt path up a steep hill. There was a bongo drummer halfway up which was amusing. Jody is looking good and is way ahead on the hill. I try to keep her in sight as I walk the hill. This was my longest mile on the course taking just under 18 minutes to complete.

Just after the 8 mile mark I see Wendy, Jody's husband and my husband. WOO HOO!!!! What an awesome surprise :) They tell me I'm looking good and I just laugh. There's a long downhill section and I find myself wondering what ever happened to our adopted Tri-er Jane. I hadn't seen her on the swim or the bike. Next thing I know I hear running behind me. Let me say that again, not walking, not death march jogging but fresh all out running and there's Jane. She looks like she's out for a stroll. She's got to be running about 10 minute miles because she flys past me.

Wow, I spend the next .5 mile pondering how lucky it is that she could run like that. I figure being a local probably helped her adapt to the heat a bit better but still, major props to her for kicking ass.

Mile 9 takes us through the college again and I'm still jogging a long albeit slowly. As I head back into town I reward myself at Mile 10 with Jelly Belly Orange Sports Beans. Yummy!!!! They give me a boost and I jog past a few guys I'd been with the last 8 miles. At mile 11 I am starting to crack. I walk the whole aid station and then some. I know I'm almost done and I really want to be able to run the last mile. I ice, sponge, drink and eat some pretzels which taste awesome. I walk purposefully towards mile 12. I see Cindy and Kathleen on the patio of the Ramada and they cheer me on. It was great to see them and I was motivated to get moving towards that finish.

At last mile 12. I am completely soaked from head to toe due to the copious amounts of ice, water, sponges I've been using the whole run. My shoes are squishy from all the water. I've never ever felt so hot in my entire life. I am literally baking. I focus on perpetual forward motion, on all the training and effort I've put towards this race. I think about the training done no matter where in the world I was. I think about my husband who should always be my #1 priority and all the sacrifices he made while I put work and training over him much of this year. I had to finish this race so I could close this chapter and start a new one where my marriage and exercising for fun were the focus.

Each time I wanted to walk, I stop myself and keep moving forward. I talk to myself. You've run lots of miles Leopard, you can run this last one. Keep going. I can see the transition area and start seeing people. I am running now and then I see the finish chute and now I'm really running all the way through the finish and into a big hug from my husband :)

13.1 miles
Official Time: 3:10.06
Average Pace: 14.31 minutes per mile

Final Time - 7:43.21

Post Race
I was hot, hot, hot but I felt fine. I got some water and then did an interview with a local TV station on losing weight and training for this, the heat and all that. It was fun to see myself later that night on TV but I really just wanted to relax after the finish. I talked to the girls about their races which they all rocked and then got a donut and watched Teresa finish.

Overall this was a hard race. The water was choppy, the bike was more hilly than I expected and what can you say about running 13.1 hilly miles in temps over 95 in the shade. I didn't make my goal of a 3 hour 1/2 mary or an overall time of 7:30 but I did finish happy and healthy. My legs were a bit sore for the few days following the race but otherwise I went out to eat after the race with a bunch of the Tri-ers and felt fine.

------------------------
First - I would not have made it to this race or any race without the incredible support of my husband. This has been a horribly taxing year for us with long hours, constant travel and oh yeah the 1/2 Ironman training. I focused my attention on other things and as a result our relationship suffered. Thank you for sticking with me and being my rock through it all. I love you more than I can say!

Second - Just six months ago I was lamenting trying to walk a 15 min mile. Now I am finishing a 1/2 Ironman feeling great. Coach David you have been integral to my success. Your guidance, flexibility and mantras have shaped me into the athlete I am today. Thank you for everything. I couldn't have done it without you!

Third - WWFC Tri-ers you rock! It was awesome, wonderful and fun to have you all share in this race with me. You motivate me in new ways every day and you have become close friends. Thank you for reminding me that it's not the destination but the journey that's important.

Finally - I have been doing triathlon now for 4 years. It's not just a hobby, it's a passion but lately it's turned into somewhat of an obsession for me. It takes a lot of energy and focus to train for a long distance race like this so I've decided to take the next few months to focus on why I started doing triathlons in the first place. The joy of exercise. I'm going to focus on healthy eating and exercising for fun and see where I'm at both mentally and physically later in the year. I hope that journey leads me to Ironman but right now I'm leaving all my options open to see what my heart tells me is next in the Making of a Speed Leopard.

It's Mussel Time!

2006-07-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, tomorrow I love ya tomorrow, you're always a day away :)

Lots of fun and friendship here in Geneva as the WWFC gals hang out and enjoy the fun of all the pre-race activities.

It's going to be a scorcher tomorrow (mid-90s) so please pray for a fast tailwind and lots and lots of ice on course.

Look for a full race report tomorrow or Monday AM!

Mussel, Musselman, I want to be a Musselman...

2006-07-09T00:22:00.000-07:00

WOO HOO!!!! After months of planning and training it's almost time to race :)

Every year the awesome ladies from the Weight Watchers Triathlon group get together for a group race. One year we did the Chicago Triathlon (my first Oly), another they did a Danskin (I was on crutches and didn't get to go). This year we chose Musselman because it had a 1/2 Ironman and a Sprint distance so those that wanted to go long could. We also chose it because it's in a beautiful part of the country and is heralded as an excellent race with lots of cool amenities and great organization.

So our t-shirts have been ordered, the bib #s are up and I am raring to go. As I get packed and do my final tapering workouts I have been kicking around my goals for the race and decided I'd post them here so I have them written down :)

#1 - Finish the race
That's my goal for every race but ultimately and after the meltdown at my last 1/2 I'd like to be healthy and feel decent afterwards

#2 - Run the 1/2 marathon in under 3 hours
Running has typically been my weakest link between the knee, being a heavier athlete and the fact that I'm just kind of slow however thanks to the EXCELLENT training from Coach David this season my running has taken a giant leap forward. My long run was at a 12.30 pace which would put me around a 2:45 1/2 marathon so I should be able to meet this goal if I manage my bike well.

#3 - Finish faster than 7:30
I did my first 1/2 Ironman in 8:16 and felt like I'd been hit by an asteroid at the end. My goal is to finish in under 7:30 and feel good. I think this is achievable given my times in training. A lot will depend on race day conditions and nutrition but I definitely think I can do 7:30 :)

My Super Secret Goal will remain just that. Super and Secret but I do have one and if everything comes together and I have great conditions and am feeling fresh off the bike I will be going for it!!!

Otherwise my bike is on it's way and we will be too in just a few days!

I'm so ready to be 1/2 Iron again :)

Yarping at 17 MPH

2006-06-29T22:38:00.000-07:00

You know you're a triathlete when....

This is a fill in the blank the girls on the Weight Watchers board and I often joke about. However tonight I think I probably pushed the envelope on our little game.

It's been a very weird training week for me. Saturday I had a killer, hot 58 mile ride on the Ironman course. Sunday I spent "resting" which consisted of walking, standing, squatting and the like for 18hrs at the race. Monday I rested from that. Tuesday I did my longest run of 10.6 miles early in the morning and it was still 80 outside. Ugh! Wednesday I was going to do a speed swim but I felt kind of weird and off.

Today I have a fairly regular day although since I hadn't bought groceries I have to eat at the office. So I have an egg-white breakfast burrito, a granola bar and some banana in the morning, followed by a garden burger and some fries for lunch. At about 2pm I had a small orange and at 6pm I had a tall light Frappacino.

Suit up and I'm into the lake for 3 laps (just under 2000 yds total). I took in more lake water than I normally do and even though I had a good swim I got out feeling kind of weird. Hopped on my bike for a 30 min transition ride and again felt kind of weird. Nothing specific. About 8 minutes into my ride I accidentally swallow a bug. Okay most people who ride their bikes have done this, I certainly have. No big deal right?

WRONG!

I immediately started dry heaving which I think was triggered by the bug but probably do more to the lake water mixing with what little nutrition I had going on. Now keep in mind that at this point I'm still pedaling. All of the sudden I just yarped.

It wasn't a whole lot but it was enough that I got it on my aero pad and my shoe and of course the ground. $*%&, that sucks! First I have cycling shoes with blood on them from a bike accident and now I have shoes with barf. All I need now is to whiz my way to victory at my next race to complete the trifecta of body fluids.

Of course I had only partially filled my aero bottle and had no additional water so there was no way to wash off the barf. Then I came up with the idea of drinking from my aero bottle and spitting the water on my bike and shoe. It worked like a charm and my aero pad got cleaned off but I ran out of water before I could get all the barf off my shoe.

So all of this is happening and what...oh yeah I'm still pedaling. I rode to the turn-around and then slowly pedaled back to my car where I attempted to finish cleaning my shoe but I think the lovely mix of orange and frappacino is permanent.

I'm taking an extra rest day tomorrow in an effort to get my stomach back on track cause even though I was more amused than disturbed by the yarping I'd prefer it not happen again.

Ironman Bike Course - My Impressions

2006-06-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

Wow! My first impression of the Ironman bike course here in Coeur d'Alene is they don't call it an Ironman for nothing. What a beautiful and challenging course.

We started at the transition area and followed the course through downtown where I immediately would have been DQ'd for crossing the center yellow line on a sharp turn. EEEKKKKK!!!!

Note to self #1: Work on cornering

The course follows Coeur d'Alene drive along the lake where you get an absolutely beautiful view of the lake. There wasn't too much wind on the way out which was nice. After a few miles of fast flat riding, we started climbing up toward Higgens Point. I was slower than Susan on the climb but I just spun slowly up the hill and soon we'd reached the turn-around for the first section of the bike. WOO HOO!

Got a headwind heading back into town and had to stop quickly for a bathroom break and to refill water. Holy Mackerel it was hotter than heck and we'd only gone like 15 miles at this point. After passing back through town the course heads out on Highway 95 until Upriver Drive.
Having driven the course yesterday I knew it was time to drop down to my granny gear and start spinning. Up, up, up the road winds. Each time you think it's about to end, it turns a corner and keeps on going up. Did I mention you are climbing this whole time? The amazing thing here is that while you are suffering up this mountainside you are treated to amazing views! Without crashing it was possible to glance around and take in the stunning vista of the pine trees, the lake down below and the sounds and smells up in the forest. When the climb finally reached its apex Susan and I hopped off the bike to chalk Carole's # on the road :) Then you start a very fast, technical descent. I was hanging on for dear life as I rode the brakes all the way down. I think at one point I yelled "this is crazy".

Now we're on a few rollers riding along the river before hitting the bottom of the Riverview climb. We were just under 30 miles so Susan headed back via the river road so you could end at 35. I continued up Riverview Road and this is where my day litterally ground to a halt. As I'm about to start climbing the Riverview hill when I totally lose my chain. WHAT!!!!!!!!! It's a brand new bike I shouldn't be dropping chains. CRAPOLA.

I get off without tipping over which is a major feat since I need to work on my balance. I struggle for a few minutes before finally getting my chain back on but I can't get the bike to downshift into my climbing gear. You have got to be kidding me. It's 95 degrees outside and I am climbing a 1.5 mile long hill 3 gears above my granny gear. I pedal and pedal and curse the hill, curse the company who made my gears, curse the heat. I pretty much just used my frustration to fuel my climb because about halfway up the hill totally mashing my pedals my quads and back were screaming so I figured I might as well scream too :)

I finally made it to the top and was treated to a wicked descent which was extremely challenging with just me on the road so I can only imagine how tough it is during the race with tons of other cyclists out there. Yikes!

I rode past fields of wildflowers, Buffalo (there were even some baby Buffalo), Cows, Horses before winding my way back to the Centennial Trail. Wow! You actually ride across this river on a bike only bridge which is super cool but even more awesome is that you're actually crossing from Washington back to Idaho.

The bike course heads into a residential neighborhood before approaching the last and final climb on Poleline. Short and steep I can see how that hill would be a bitch at Mile 106 of the bike course. I managed to get my gearing correct and spun up it before descending for the last few miles on Seltice into Coeur d'Alene.

All told it took me 3:33 minutes riding at an effort of about 3 (other than the stupid climb in the wrong gear which was a 5). Total ride was 58 miles at an average speed of 16.3 MPH.
I plan to ride both loops in September because even though I was really pleased with my time for the 1 loop, those hills are going to suck on the second loop.

It's Official - I'm registered for Ironman

2006-06-26T21:54:00.000-07:00

WOO HOO!!!! After a blazingly hot weekend in Coeur d'Alene volunteering and checking out the Ironman course, I took the plunge and registered for 2007.

I'm so excited!!!

I'll post more about my weekend tomorrow but for now after several years losing weight and tackling a variety of triathlons I am ready to go for that legendary designation of Ironman.

Can you tell I am psyched for June 24, 2007?

:)

Texas is HOT!

2006-06-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

Geesh, I was hot when I got here yesterday but holy mackerel it is hotter than heck here even at 7am.

After my glorious training day Sunday I had a rest day conveniently scheduled to coincide with my travel to Dallas. Then today I had my long run scheduled. This of course meant packing all kinds of things to accomodate this training activity.

Being the planner that I am and anticipating that Texas would be hot I called ahead to discover that the hotel had an indoor running track. Sweet! I wouldn't have to run outside in the sun nor would I have to spend nearly 2 hours on a hamster wheel (aka treadmill for new readers). Well I didn't check hard enough because it turns out the indoor running track was 1/22nd of a mile which meant to do my 9 mile run would require 198 laps. OMG - There was no freakin way I was running 198 laps, I'd pass out from dizziness. Luckily they had an outdoor 1/4 mile jogging path so I decided I'd use that and just start really early to try to avoid the heat.

So I got all my gear prepared which is quite a process when you're away from home. Vaseline for the feet, check. Fresh battery for the MP3 player, check. Gu and Sport Beans, check. Bottles to mix my GU20, check. Fuel Belt, check. And the list goes on and on.

Woke up and had a bagel with some pb & j and then headed out. The sun was barely up but it was already much warmer than I am used to. I hit the gym for 10 min to warm up on the stationary bike and then headed out to the jogging path.

Thankfully it was very overcast and I rarely saw the sun but it was already about 77 at 7:30am when I started my first mile. I kept a good pace for the first 4 miles taking in water and nutrition right on schedule but around the 5.5 mile mark I started having some GI issues and had to make a pit stop. Ugh, the heat was taking it's toll. I took a few more Endurolytes (gel-caps with sodium and electrolytes) and continued on.

The back half of the loop was shaded which was lucky because my mile 7 the skies had cleared and it was sunny. The temp felt to be about the low 80s. I just focused on staying strong and running instead of walking and adjusted my pace a bit to accomodate for the heat/GI stuff.

Finally hit mile 9 and headed for another pit stop. UGH! All told it took me 1:53 min to finish the 9 miles which was just about exactly what I was expecting pace wise.

I headed back to my room where I filled a laundry bag with ice for an ice bath.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH - What sadistic athlete invented the ice bath I'd like to know??? It sucked initially but it felt so good after a while.

Tomorrow is a fun fast swim after I fly back from Dallas and then I'm off to Coeur d'Alene for Ironman weekend - WOO HOO!!!!

Musings on an Awesome Training Day

2006-06-18T22:09:00.000-07:00

After a very relaxing day with Preston yesterday, today brought a full training day. Our local triathlon club was hosting a timed open water swim at Hagg Lake and I was planning on swimming then doing a 2+ hr bike ride.

We couldn't do all of these events and races without the awesome volunteers so I decided today would be a good day to give back some of my time and volunteer at the event today.

I woke up at 6am, ate some pb & j and gathered up my gear to head for Hagg Lake which is about 25 minutes from my house so I headed out into the cold morning. I met up with some other volunteers at the lake and helped with registration for about an hour before I headed to get into my wetsuit.

Outside of races it is really hard to find an accurately measured open water swim course so it is awesome that the Gecko's (my local tri-club) put this event on. There was a 1/2 mile option as well as the 1.2 and 2.4 mile options. There were actually several people signed up to do the 1.2 and 2.4, holy mackerel!

In preparation for my 1/2 Ironman next month I was swimming the 1.2 mile course. I got suited up and into the water and it was cool but not icy which was a nice surprise. Everyone got lined up for the mass start and the horn sounded. I focused on keeping my stroke smooth and tried to glide as much as I could. Since all the buoys were orange I had some trouble sighting the next buoy which sucked cause I ended up meandering more than I would have liked. By the end of the swim my arms were getting a little bit tired but I feel certain with some more effort this winter I'll be ready for the 2.4 mile Ironman swim next summer. I absolutely love the wetsuit now. It's crazy how stressed I was before getting it about how well it would fit and would my stroke change as a result but I am seriously digging how comfortable I am in it :)

I got out of the water in 44.03 which was a great improvement over the 58 minute swim I did in my last 1/2 Ironman. As soon as I got out of the water I felt good and relaxed which was cool. I stood around and chatted with several people I knew including my coach who was swimming the 2.4. I grabbed a couple Oreos from the BBQ since I wouldn't be eating a burger before heading up to my hop on my bike.

Hagg Lake is widely considered a very challenging bike ride with lots of rollers and a few very long climbs. You have to climb several of the hills before hitting the highway and after a few long rollers I got to enjoy the backside of the longest climb. WOO HOO!!!! It is such a rush to fly down a huge hill like that. My top speed was 42.5 MPH, yikes!!!!!! I had to get out of the aerobars to tap the brakes because I was going so fast.

It was a beautiful day with a little bit of wind in each direction but my legs were feeling good and I pressed on trying to focus on taking on lots of fluids and I practiced eating Clif Shot Blocks while in the aerobars.

At the 35 mile mark I headed back towards the lake and up and down the long hills. At one point as I was cruising along through the forest I just had this awesome moment where I was like "I am soooooo happy and thankful that I am able to participate in a sport that lets me do cool things like swim in a clear cool lake and bike through this beautiful forest" WOO HOO!!!

I ended up with 44.5 miles for the day and my legs felt awesome.

I'm headed to Dallas tomorrow for a meeting and then it's off to Ironman Coeur d'Alene for the weekend where I'll be swimming and biking 1/2 the course, volunteering at the race, cheering on my very good friend Carole and what else ???????????

SIGNING MYSELF UP FOR 2007 - WOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's right people, this Speed Leopard is taking the plunge and laying down $450 of my hard earned dollars for the privilege of punishing my body for 140.6 miles next June.

Stay Tuned, the road to Ironman begins a week from tomorrow :)

Blue Lake Olympic Triathlon

2006-06-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

June 11, 2006
Troutdale, OR
.93m Swim, 25m Bike, 6.2m Run

Prior to deciding that I needed a "change" I was slated to have spent this last week in Europe. Oh my goodness am I happy I didn't go. I've had a very calm week. I've continued to try to map out what's next for me professionally. I had several great workouts in the past 7 days and I felt ready to go out and have fun. Of course being me I couldn't just leave it at that. So I started overanalyzing things which is just part of who I am. I figured out there were 3 other women in the Athena division with me meaning I'd only have to beat 1 to get an award. Sweet! By Wednesday though there were 6 total which meant I'd have to beat 3 people. Then I started looking at the times from last year and the year before. Hmmmmmmmmmmm there were a lot of fast people. In fact the slowest per minute mile pace in the last 2 races was like 13 minutes. I started to doubt myself.

Then I remembered that this was just a training day for me. On the advice of my coach I'd been riding and running at Blue Lake for the past 4 weekends. Last week I did a 50m bike followed up with a 5m run. I just had to trust my training.

Pre-Race

Spent the day alternating between total fun and relaxation and total frustration. Can I just tell you that I went to 5 stores looking for the Jelly Belly Sport Beans. I am totally hooked on these new Jelly Beans that have electrolytes in them but everyone was either out or had discontinued them. Ack! I didn't need to spend my whole afternoon looking for these things but I have been training with them and I had run completely out last week.

On the fun and relaxation front, Preston and I had met up with our friends for breakfast where we had yummy sweet potato pancakes. Then later in the evening we went to a party at my coach's house which was great fun because there were a lot of other triathletes there and it's always fun to talk shop :)

In honor of my first Olympic Triathlon (Chicago, 2004) I stuck to my routine and had cheese ravioli and watched Seabiscuit. I'd already gotten everything prepped for the next day and I finally settled into bed around 10:30pm after a pep-talk from Preston about how the only thing I needed to worry about at the race was where I would stop to pee. After many variations on that theme (including how I should whiz my way to victory) I fell asleep.

Race Day
I woke up 5 min before the alarm clock went off feeling refreshed and ready to go. The air was cool but the sky was clear and the forecast was for sun. I got dressed, mixed my bottles, ate my PB&J bagel and Preston and I headed out for the 25mile drive to the race site.

One really cool thing about today was that my two best friends were coming out to cheer me on. It would be like 2 worlds colliding as they had never met before but I was super excited for them to finally meet and that they were coming out to watch me race.

I got body-marked with #38 which coincidentally was also my race # at Hawthorne Farms. I got the end position on my rack which was awesome. Once I had everything laid out, I milled around, people watched, used the facilities and just soaked up the scene :) Before I knew it 7:30 had rolled around and it was time to suit up. Let me tell you if you don't already know how freaking difficult it is to pour a 200lb person into a skin-tight neoprene wetsuit. It's like an Olympic event just getting it on. I bodyglided myself up and probably blinded many of my fellow racers with my white stomach. Yep, that's right I was going for the shorts and sports bra ensemble under the wetsuit today.

Here's the explanation on this logic (since I know there are many new triathletes that visit my blog). For my first triathlon I wore cycling shorts with a swimsuit over the top as there weren't any triathlon suits that fit me at the time. After my first year I started wearing a XXL 1pc DeSoto triathlon suit which was awesome and I now have an XL one. But when you're doing a longer distance like a 1/2 Ironman for example it SUCKS to have to take all your different belts (race belt, fuel belt etc) off in order to use the facilities. So in anticipation of my upcoming 1/2 Ironman I decided to switch to the 2 pc race attire so I'd have easier access.

Swim
I was in wave 4 which consisted of relays, Clydesdales, Athenas and men aged 20-29. The buoys seemed pretty far away but I knew that my only goal was to come out of the water feeling completely fresh for the bike. I seeded myself at the back appreciative of the warmer water temp. It was crisp but definitely comfortable. The buzzer blew and we were off. I have been working on a rhythm for my swim stroke the last few weeks which I decided to use today. 4 strokes, breathe, 2 strokes, breathe. I hit the first buoy dead on which is shocking since I tend to drift when open water swimming :( The rest of the course was a straight long line to the final buoy and then into the shore. I felt smooth and strong as I glided past each buoy and I only got run over once by a dude doing the backstroke. Before I knew it I was sighting on the finish arch and wading through the seaweed towards the timing mats.

I knew I'd had a good swim because I felt great coming out of the water but a glance at my watch almost stopped me dead in my tracks. 26.05!!!!!!!!! Holy mackeral.

.93 miles
Official Swim Time: 26.05
100 yd Pace: 1.35

T1 - 4.32
The run from the swim was pretty long and once in transition I struggled a bit getting out of the wetsuit as I was trying to avoid ripping my timing chip off. Shoes, helmet and tanktop on and I was jog/walking my bike to the bike start.

Bike
I have to give huge props to Coach David here because he has had me riding on the Blue Lake course these past 4 weeks. I felt like the team with home court advantage. I was comfortable with every inch of this bike course. I started conservatively knowing that the wind on Marine Drive can be a bitch. But the wind never came. I pedaled on towards the Portland Airport past houses and streets I'd ridden by so many times before. Past the Red airport parking lot where my car has spent many a day as I jetted off on yet another business trip. I pondered how awesome it was that I could just be out here with 400 of my closest friends on a beautiful day like today. The mountain was out (for non-Portlanders that means Mt. Hood was totally visible) and the river was calm.

One of the foods I've been training with are these Panda rasberry sticks. They taste great and each one has about 100c. Since today was largely practice for my 1/2 Ironman I packed the sticks. Unfortunately the Pandas never really softened and it was like trying to chew a shoe so I promptly went to plan B which consisted of GU and Sport Beans. I passed and was passed. I tried to avoid unintentionally drafting. I repeated my race mantra "Be Consistently Fast" as I pedaled towards the turn-around. Once I reached it I turned on the jets. I still had no wind but now I was on the back stretch. I had 9 miles to get home and I made the most of them. My legs felt great. I was loose, having a blast and much of the return trip I was averaging 22MPH. Nice! I rounded the final corner and dismounted.

I had just finished the best bike ride I've ever had in a race. I could not believe my watch was showing just over an hour and forty five minutes had passed. You couldn't have slapped the grin off my face as I ran towards transition :)

25.51 miles
1:18.09
19mph Average on my computer
18.7mph Official Average

T2 - 3.00
Racked my bike and proceeded to put socks, shoes, race belt, fuel belt and hat on. I was ready to run.

Run
This is always the toughest part of the race for me. After knee surgery last summer I was frustrated and discouraged in my efforts to regain some of my running speed. In January I was working my tail off to walk a 15 minute mile. Then I hooked up with Coach David and after weeks of interval training I was running 13 minute miles for 30 minutes at a stretch. I'm now doing my long runs at about a 12:30 pace so I was hoping to do something in that range today.

I did my first mile in 11.20 and my legs were feeling good. It was starting to warm up and in spite of the shaded path we were running on I could see others were suffering the effects of the heat. I immediately took 2 Endurolytes in a hope to ward off cramping. I had a lot of confidence as I ran along because again I was totally familiar with this terrain. I had run this course in training and I recognized familiar landmarks as I ticked off the miles. I did Mile 2 in 11.59 and Mile 3 in 12.01.

By the time I hit the 5k turnaround I was pretty warm but still feeling great. I was also starting to pass people. WOO HOO!!! I was passing people on the run. Lots of people were starting to walk as the day began to take its toll. People were pouring water over their heads trying to cool off. No problems for me as I had specifically been doing my long runs on the warmest sunny days when possible in an effort to prepare myself for the July heat I would face at my 1/2 Ironman in New York. I just kept on running. I used my Fuel Belt for water and GU20 between aid stations and ate some Sport Beans before I finished mile 4 in 12.17. I could sense that I was getting close as I was turned from the path back into the park. Mile 5 took 12.34 and before I knew it I was winding my way along the lake past the Mile 6 marker where I was obviously starting to pick up the pace as I clocked an 11.40 and I knew I had just a short run to the finish line.

Ran past my friends and up a short hill (who the heck puts a finish line at the top of a hill $*%&) and there it was. The finish line. I sprinted across and looked at my watch in disbelief.

6.2 miles
1:14.46

Going into the race I had 3 goals:

1. Beat my Chicago Olympic time of 3:57
2. Have fun and stay in Zone 2
3. Break 3:30

My final time was 3:06.33 which was of course a new PR - WOOOO HOOOO!!!!!!!!!

I had taken more than 50 minutes off of my Chicago time. I was stunned. It was the perfect day. My legs felt great, I was a little sunburned but I was surrounded by lots of great friends (I even ran into a few old friends who I hadn't seen in quite some time) and I had erased any doubt that I had about my fitness going into my 1/2 Ironman.

I finished 5/6 in the Athena division where the women this year were smoking fast but I did achieve my goal of not finishing last in either the race or my division.

After the race Preston and I went to breakfast with our friends to celebrate the great day.

Post Race
As I finish this report I am still honestly in shock over my time. To cut 50 minutes at this distance is amazing. My confidence in my fitness is renewed and I know with absolute certainty that I am ready for my 1/2 Ironman next month.

It was a great way to spend a Sunday and I am so thankful that I get to participate in this sport. 2 years ago I had doubts that I could even finish this distance and today I'm plotting out how I will cut those 6+ minutes so I can break the 3 hour mark.

It was a perfect day :)

T-Shirt Sizing Comes Full Circle

2006-06-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

I can't recall if I've recounted this story so if you've read this before, bear with me.

3 years ago as I prepared for my very first triathlon I entered a relay. I wasn't sure I could do the whole race but I really wanted an up close and personal view of an event and I wanted to do the swim and bike portion for real (my first sprint triathlon was 3 weeks later).

At 285lbs I was pretty still pretty self-conscious about my weight and the fact that I was even attempting this kind of event. I showed up to pick up my packet containing my timing chip and race numbers and get my t-shirt.

The t-shirt. An outward symbol to anyone that saw me wearing it that I had done a triathlon. I desperately wanted that t-shirt. So it was a crushing blow to get to packet pick-up and be told they didn't have any t-shirts that were size XXL. :( I couldn't fit into an XL and they hadn't offered an XXL when I registered online. I mentioned this to the race director and she told me "she didn't know any triathletes that needed a size XXL"

WHAT???????????

I followed that comment with a "well you're looking at one" retort and they attempted to get an XXL t-shirt "from a volunteer".

I finished that relay, went on to finish my first triathlon and many others since. But I have not forgotten that comment. I have thick skin but for some people that might have ended their triathlon experience. That one negative comment.

Fast forward 3 years and Sunday I'm doing my 2nd Olympic distance race in preparation for my 2nd Half-Ironman. I picked up my packet and wouldn't you know I got a size large t-shirt.

WOOO HOOO!!!!! Size Large!

Triathletes come in all shapes and sizes and while I have a long memory I was pleased to see that size XXL t-shirts are now being offered :)

Catalyst for Change

2006-06-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

I continue to be thrilled with the response to the recent article about my weight loss and triathloning in the local paper last month. I've got emails from old friends, acquaintances and people who are struggling in their own fitness or weight journeys. Thank you for your feedback and sharing your stories, keep them coming :)

Change can be daunting. Often we toil away trying to get something, anything done. To achieve a goal, finish a task, meet a requirement or just stay the course. But if you always do what you always did you'll always get what you've always got.

Taking this to heart has kept me exercising and eating healthy (some days are better than others). It's given me the courage to believe that I could do anything (even an Ironman). Most recently I decided to take a step back in the interest of change.

For many following my adventures you're well aware of the crazy, some might say ridiculous work and travel schedule I've kept this year. As you might imagine when you work 60+ hours week in and week out, jet off to places near and far, the stress and go, go, go mentality has taken its toll on my family life and my weight/training goals.

In spite of this I was comfortable in my job and so I sucked it up and hoped it would get better. It didn't and after returning from yet another trip I decided it was time for change. I would move to a different department at my company or I would find a new company. It was cathartic to go to my office and completely empty my cubicle. After 4 years I had accumulated 7 bags worth of books, pictures, my race numbers, finisher medals, gym clothes and coffee mugs.

I met with my manager and took the leap of faith. I didn't have another job lined up but my health, happiness and marriage were more important. Right now it's a waiting game, apparently no one is particularly pleased that I want to leave the department but they are trying to move me into a different role rather than have me leave the company. Stay tuned for the end result.

In the meantime I am happy and feeling at peace with my decision to make a change. My announcement seems to be spurring some good things which will benefit the rest of my team so I'm happy about that, even though I will be sad to leave such a great group of people wherever I end up.

What doesn't kill you...

2006-06-02T14:52:00.000-07:00

they say makes you stronger. Mental toughness is definitely something that can be a struggle. For me it usually is brought on by adverse conditions. Cold, rain, wind etc. Now I'm sure many of you are laughing at this cause you're like "HELLO, you live in Oregon where it rains all the time".

Wednesday I had to do a 90 minute run and of course it was raining and after the hotel treadmill I decided I was not running inside if I could help it. Unfortunately I forgot my rain jacket which sucked but I gathered my mental toughness and set out. 7 miles later I was soaked but feeling very tough and definitely like rain on the run wouldn't slow me down come race day.

It was still raining on Thursday which would again put me to the test because Thursday is my open water swim and transition bike day. Yikes! I struggled into my wetsuit after looking at the misty water and tried to steel myself for the cold water. WOO BOY! I was not prepared for it. It was ice cold even in the wetsuit. BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did manage to swim 2 laps of the pond and then after chatting with some other triathletes I transitioned to my bike. Running in the rain is fine, even swimming in the rain is doable but I hate riding my bike in the rain. The roads are slippery, you have less stoping distance, you get all kind of road spray, ick!

Needless to say I got out and started riding and I ended up finding this cool paved trail which wound through this nature reserve. It was very peaceful, almost completely flat and I saw so many wild rabbits and birds. It was awesome! I came back covered in spray and muck, soaked to the bone but I was really happy I faced the rain :)

What is up with hotel workout rooms?

2006-05-22T21:23:00.000-07:00

Okay so I have a mini-rant here. I travel all over the world and the quality of workout facilities in many US hotels is crazy. It's no wonder we have an obesity epidemic. Between the donuts, biscuits and gravy they serve you at the breakfast, the least they could do is offer a nice facility to exercise in. Burn off a little stress, get healthier, stay in shape, or God forbid train for some event.

Yep, trying to train for a 1/2 Ironman triathlon while on the road is a challenge and then some but I'm plugging away, staying really positive and keeping my eye on the goal of the finish line in July. My coach David has been fantastic about adapting my training plan to fit my ever changing travel schedule and giving me lots of cool mantras and helpful guidance.

My favorite mantra: Be Consistently Fast but Avoid Peaks and Valleys of Speed is a close second :)

Anyway, so I'm in Florida for business work session and I have an 85 minute run on the schedule. The days at work will get longer as the week progresses so I decided tonight would be my best shot.

I headed to the workout facility and found a pitiful treadmill, no AC, no windows that opened, a TV that didn't work and weird smelling towels :( Nevertheless I set up my bottles of water, GU20, packs of Sport Beans and cranked up the tunes.

I love running outside, have I said that yet? Let me reiterate it. I love running outside. Being able to control my pace to what feels right rather than a number on a machine. Being able to feel the air on you, hearing the sounds of the city, even (pardon the grossness) being able to spit when you need to (ask a runner they'll explain). I endured and ran on and 85 minutes later I was dripping in sweat but happy I ran at a steady 12.30 minute mile pace for 6.8 miles and tomorrow is a rest day.

WOO HOO! Hotel gyms be damned, the Speed Leopard will not be kept down :)

New gear = New Fun!

2006-05-18T16:27:00.000-07:00

What a busy week this has been!

I'm psyched because I got tons of new gear last weekend which has been fun to try out. When I was preparing for my last 1/2 Ironman I didn't own a wetsuit (because I couldn't find one that fit), I didn't have a very good nutrition strategy, a fast aero bike, I didn't even have tri-shorts.

The biggest reason for all of this was size. When I started doing triathlon I was 285lbs. I couldn't find a tri-suit in my size, let alone a wetsuit. Even a fuelbelt wouldn't fit around my waist :(

But after a summer off due to surgery and some ass-kicking coaching from Coach David I am leaner, happier and ready to rock and roll with some sweet gear.

I discovered that due to huge hips I have (ironic since I won't be having any kids) it's hard to find a wetsuit because most suits for my weight are for 5'11 and taller guys with no hips. But Orca makes a great suit for short and stocky guys so I scored that.

When you're doing a 1/2 Ironman it's advantageous to have a 2 pc tri-suit because you will likely need to make a few "rest stops" and taking a 1 pc suit off when it's damp is a challenge. So I found some tri-shorts from TYR size XL. WOO HOO, a normal size.

Last summer I bought a Fuel Belt (for those not familiar with the lingo, it's the belt with the mini-bottles that runners wear during long runs to hold water, sports drink etc). So I got Size XL but when I tried it on this summer it was way to big. Awesome! I exchanged it for a Size L and it worked so well. I have the 4 bottle version and each bottle holds 7oz. I filled 2 bottles with water and 2 with GU20 sports drink. There's also a little pocket which holds GU or an energy bar or something.

So I'm geared out. I've got my new bike, new wetsuit, new shorts, new fuel belt, new coach and already WAY faster times this season. HOORAY!

************************************************************************************
I'm heading out Sunday for a week long business meeting but I'm doing a long brick Saturday before I leave and an 85 min treadmill run while I'm there.

I had an epiphany while I was doing my 75 min run earlier this week. I am doing my long runs without walking. None at all. I'm just consistently holding my pace. It never even occurred to me that I wasn't walking until I was reflecting on how my training had progressed these last few months. Early on, I was doing 5min at 4 MPH and 5 min at 5MPH and so on (gradually reducing my time at 4 and upping my time at 5). As 4 MPH is a walking pace for me I was getting walk breaks pretty consistently. About 6 weeks ago I started with a 30min continuous run and what do you know I'm now doing 75 min at a 12 min mile pace. I'm like a metronome, Amazing!

Stay Tuned for more Speed Leopard adventures from sunny Florida :)

My brush with local fame

2006-05-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, the following article appeared in the Living section of the Oregonian:

My workout - Once a size 34, she's now an athlete

Changes - Bonnie Crawford has lost 160 pounds through exercise and Weight Watchers

Who: Bonnie Crawford, 29, Beaverton

Stats: 5 feet 7 inches; 198 pounds

Private life: Born in California, Crawford came to Oregon to attend Lewis & Clark College. She works in product marketing for GE Security. She and her husband of eight years, Preston, have four cats.

Fitness past: Crawford has a family history of weight problems. While she was inspired by her husband's loss of 150 pounds, "What really tipped me over the edge was almost growing out of a size 34," Crawford says. "I didn't want to shop from catalogs."

From 358 pounds, she lost 150 pounds in two years and maintained the loss for 18 months before losing another 10. She did it all through exercise and Weight Watchers. She didn't think Weight Watchers would work, but losing nearly 10 pounds the first week was a huge boost. She added veggies to her diet. She added exercise. And she got hooked.

On New Year's Eve of 2002 she walked her first 5K, the First Run. She finished in an hour and two minutes, just ahead of a guy pushing his wife in a wheelchair. She went on to do more 5Ks and bike rides, longer walks, triathlons and a half Ironman.

Current workout: Monday: 30- to 45-minute swim. Tuesday: 20- to 30-minute fast run. Wednesday: 60- to 90-minute bike ride. Thursday: 20- to 30-minute fast swim. Friday: rest day. Saturday: 90-minute to three-hour bike ride. Sunday: 60- to 90- minute slow run.

Results? "I'm frustrated with myself for not doing it sooner. It's changed everything in my life for the better: job, confidence, friends. I now go anywhere without thinking twice about seat belts, airplane seats, small hotel bath towels." Crawford is now a size 16 and can stand inside one leg of her former jeans. "It's all mental," she says. "You can't do it for someone else."

Nutrition: The Crawfords don't cook. They eat takeout or food that can be heated up. Crawford eats 2,000 calories a day, including lots of broccoli and no red meat. A nutrition coach helped her lose the last 10 pounds.

Sample breakfast: nonfat yogurt, nonfat latte, banana. Morning snack: one ounce flavored almonds, two chocolate chip rice cakes. Lunch: organic frozen meal, salad with light dressing. Afternoon snack: fruit, Clif bar. Dinner: soy milk, vegetable soup, two pieces of whole grain bread, maybe more rice cakes. She sometimes has another latte and, during hard workouts, an energy drink or bar.

In the future? A half Ironman in July in New York and a whole Ironman in 2007. She'd like to lose another 20 pounds and have surgery to remove excess skin. She continues to attend weekly Weight Watchers meetings, and she offers online support to others through her Web site, www.speedleopard.com.

I've gotten great feedback and several new readers of SpeedLeopard.com which is wonderful. I love encouraging others to get to their own goals.

The funniest thing happened yesterday though. Lots of people from my office, the local bike shop and others who I hadn't heard from in ages called or emailed me about the article. The random thing though is someone at this bike shop on the other side of town from where I live saw me and asked "were you in the paper this week?" It was pretty crazy since it's not like I knew this guy or frequent that particular bike shop.

Hawthorne Farms Sprint Triathlon

2006-05-07T11:09:00.000-07:00

May 6, 2006
Hillsboro, OR
500yd Pool Swim, 13.2m Bike, 5k Run

After the crazy week I had I woke up on race morning feeling conflicted. I was tired and sore from my long week and I wondered if I'd be able to do well but at the same time I was super excited to test out my fitness that I'd spent the last 3 months building.

Preston had decided to do the Duathlon and I was doing the Triathlon so we got dressed, packed the bikes into the Element and headed out. It was pretty cool and cloudy out and I was glad I'd worn my sweats over my tri-suit. The race was point to point so first we headed to the Stadium which would serve as T2 and the finish line to drop our run gear off. It was at this point we discovered Preston had left his running shoes at home so I quickly set up my run transition and he jetted over to the start line to drop me and my bike off before he jumped on his bike and rode to the light rail train to zip home and get his shoes. I hoped I'd see him before we started but he only had about 45min before the race to get home and back.

I got body marked, set up my bike, checked out the transition area, chatted with my coach (who'd come to watch me and another client race which was cool), chatted with a bunch of girls who'd never done a triathlon before and then watched as they kicked off the race. Since this swim was done in a swimming pool we had submitted our 500yd swim time and then were seeded into waves and lanes. There were 4 people to a lane and 6 lanes to a wave. I was in wave 2.

Swim
I hopped into the lane and got my goggles on, chatted with my lane mates and then before I knew it we were starting. I was 2nd to go in my lane and knew this would be the most challenging part of the race for me as I almost always swam alone in a lane and was really concerned about crashing into someone or getting stuck behind someone slow. I swam well and got passed by the 4th guy in our lane who turned out to be the fastest. I passed the guy in front of me and then lapped the girl who'd been behind me. I felt good and didn't crash into anyone. I had estimated my swim time at 12.30 which was about what I was doing in the pool during my longer continuous swims. Imagine my suprise when I saw the kickboard indicating I had just one length to go and as I hopped out of the pool I saw my time was 10.22

Geesh I was really suprised. I ran to the timing mat and officially started T1

500yds
Official Swim Time: 10.40
100 yd Pace: 2.08

T1 - 1.59
Jog/walked to the bike racks where I put on my shoes, grabbed my helmet, sunglasses and gloves and was off.

Bike
It was about 50 degrees out and I was soaking wet, my fingers and toes were numb and I hadn't seen Preston before the race so I was hoping he'd made it. While I was in Texas I had mapquested the route but I really had no idea what the hills, road conditions etc would be like. I spun in a lower gear to establish a pace and settled in about 19MPH, then we started riding into the country and up some hills that I hadn't been expecting at all. We passed cows, horses and llamas which was cool but I was just thinking about the long windy road ahead of me. The first climb was long and gradual. The next 2 climbs were much shorter and steeper but the downhills were unbelivable. I had to break when I hit 38 MPH in the aerobars because wiping out was not part of my race plan :) I passed several riders on the course (all the people from wave 1 were out as well as some of the slower duathletes) and only got passed twice which made me happy. I drank some water and 1/2 a bottle of GU20 and just kept spinning as consistently as possible. Just before heading into the final turn I saw Preston on the 5k course. He was too far away to see me but I recognized his orange shirt so I was really happy to know he'd gotten to the race in time. As I dismounted I could see my watch was at an hour and a minute and I was like oh man that is crazy.

14 miles (on my speedometer)
49min
16.6 MPH average
38.1 fastest speed

T2 - 1.44
As I came off my bike I heard my best friend Karie and her husband Jeff cheering for me which was awesome. She told me Preston had been on the run for about 10min and I should go catch him. I slipped off my cycling shoes, rolled on my socks and running shoes, grabbed my hat and race belt and headed out.

Run
The run would be the most interesting part of the race for me. I had been running well these past few weeks and I was hopeful I'd see that improvement during the race. I headed out and just after the 1 mile mark I saw Preston on his way to the finish line. He was fast walking (which is almost the same speed as my running) and I met him at the center of the road and we high-fived as we ran past. WOO HOO! You go, pup! I kept running and took 1/2 a GU packet at just before the 2nd mile marker. At this point I knew that I was running about a 12min mile pace which was great for me especially after the hilly bike. I got some water and continued to push towards the finish line. I saw Karie and Jeff as I was heading down the final stretch as well as my coach David who was cheering me on :) I picked up the pace and ran onto the field and across the finish line.

3.2 miles
35.21
11.23 pace

Holy Mackeral!!!! Final Finish Time: 1:38.45

I won the Under 39 Athena Division ahead of 2 other women which is AWESOME!!!! I also improved my overall sprint time by at least 20 min (my fastest full sprint was 2:06 but it was a longer swim than this was).

Post Race
I visited with my coach, got lots of hugs and kisses from Preston who had finished his first race earlier. I'm really bummed I didn't get to see him finish but I am so proud of him for doing the race and now he's very excited to do a triathlon especially given his times (I only beat him on the bike by 1min and on the run by 6min and he was walking, geesh! He is speedy).

We got our stuff from both transition areas, I got a latte and then we went back to the race for the raffle. Good thing we did because I won a big jug of hammer gel and Preston won a solid oak bike stand that holds 2 bikes for your house or garage. Sweet!!! It's really nice and already in use.

Overall it was a great race and I am thrilled with my results especially given what I'd gone through in the days leading up to the race. Next up:

Blue Lake Olympic Triathlon for me and Blue Lake Sprint Triathlon for Preston :)

Setting the stage for my first race of the summer

2006-05-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

The triathlon season has officially started and I jumped in with both feet. Before my race report I have to give you some background on the crazy week I had prior to the race.

Wednesday May 3 - I spend most of the day traveling to Dallas for a big meeting the following day. I had some delicious tamales and got to relax in the hot tub but I was still up late working on my presentation.

Thursday May 4 - Have a great morning of meetings, eat the most AWESOME and AUTHENTIC mexican food I've ever had for lunch, head into another meeting and then a quick stop at the grassy knoll for my co-worker who's a major Kennedy conspiracy theorist. I'd never been so it was interesting to see. Head back to the airport to catch up on emails, voicemails and the like before jumping on a plane to San Antonio. After finally checking into the hotel at close to 9pm, my co-worker Steve and I went to get dinner and were tired and hungry so we just went to Dennys where we had french toast and milkshakes - YUM! At 11pm we started fine-tuning our presentation and didn't finish until close to 1:30am at which point the cable tv had gone out and we were in the midst of a massive thunder storm complete with torrential rain, thunder and lightening.

Friday May 5 - My birthday!!!! So I'm up at 6am after about 4 hours of sleep, ugh! Packed and off to Dennys again for breakfast and a review with the rest of the team of the presentation Steve and I had done the night before. We head to the meeting which turned out not to be what we were expecting and rendered this part of trip pointless. We debriefed and celebrated my birthday at the San Antonio Riverwalk which was cool to see. We also saw the Alamo but it was like 95 out and we were all wearing business suits. Double ugh! So I'm burning up, out walking around when I should be resting prior to my race, and in San Antonio instead of at home on my birthday. Crazy. We head to the airport, do some more catching up on emails and calls then head for the plane.

Due to a plane change we were going home via LAX and had gotten upgraded to first class from LAX to PDX which was going to be sweet! Seeing as this is my lucky day, we land in LA at 5:15pm at Gate 83 and our plane to Portland is departing from Gate 73 at 5:21pm. I just wanted to get home so I made a run for it. I ran as hard and fast as I could (given I was in a suit and carrying like a 30lb computer bag on my back). I actually had to slip my sandals off and run barefoot because I was running so fast that they were slipping off. I literally was 2 gates away when they announced this was the final boarding call to Portland. I felt like I was in a movie, I'm running towards the gate like "Wait, hold the plane". I made it in the nick of time and then proceeded to stall searching for my boarding pass, putting my shoes on etc in the hopes that my manager and Steve would catch up. They did and we all settled in for the flight.

I would definitely not recommend running through an airport going totally anaerobic the night before a race. Oy, my feet were killing me and I was tired but I really just wanted to get home. As it turns out the baggage handlers weren't as quick between the gates as we were and my luggage didn't arrive. Thankfully I was resting while I was on this trip because usually I pack my running shoes in my suitcase. OMG that would have been a disaster. I arranged for them to deliver my bag the next day and headed home.

I was greeted with beautiful tulips (my favorite flower) and a very sappy birthday card from Preston who clearly missed getting to spend my birthday with me :( I felt the same way. After a snack, a quick check of all my racing gear we set the alarm for 5:30am and headed to bed.

Whew, what a week and I haven't even raced yet.

Monster Cookie Metric Century

2006-04-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

April 30, 2006
Salem, OR
100k (62 miles)

First organized event of the season is always fun :) I had a delicious pre-birthday lunch with my best friend and spent the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying my rest day. Preston offered to drive me down to Salem which was awesome.

We left around 8am after I filled my bottles and got my sunscreen on. After torrential showers yesterday I was happy it had dried out and the skies were clear but it was pretty chilly so I opted for my long sleeved jersey. I kissed Preston goodbye and I was off. I have to admit I was definitely lonely because the first time I did this ride, I did it with Karie but with a new baby she's not quite back on the bike so I was off on my own.

The first 10 miles wind through the capital city of Salem and there were several pace lines that sped past while I dodged lots of mountain bikers and yahoos wearing headphones, weaving etc. I had to say "on your left" a lot and after a while I just stopped saying it cause people weren't paying attention anyway.

About 5 miles in an older guy on a mountain bike starts drafting off me and I'm like "uh hello dude, proceed at your own risk" because as anyone who's ridden with me knows, I'm a nervous rider when others are really close to me. So I dropped him and continued along until the first rest stop at mile 15. I hopped off my bike and quickly refilled my bottles, mixed some more GU20 and proceeded toward the turnaround.

The second 15 miles is where the majority of the hills are which I actually climbed faster than 3-6MPH (my usual hill speed) so that was good. Unfortunately because I wasn't riding alone I had to brake several times on the fast downhills because there were slower riders and it seemed dangerous to pass them at like 40 MPH in the aerobars. Did a few WOO HOOs for good measure as I went down the fastest descent. One thing I really tried to focus on was hydration and nutrition and I think I did pretty well. No stomach issues at all.

The turnaround was also the lunch stop but since there is no lunch stop during a 1/2 IM I figured that wouldn't really add to my experience. I did refill my bottles again, grabbed a cookie and stood in a really long line for the facilities before I was off again. At this point I had been riding for about an hour and 55 minutes and gone about 30 miles almost all of it into the wind. Fingers were crossed for a tailwind on the return trip.

The 3rd leg is always the hardest on the bike for me because you're not quite to the final leg and my body is usually starting to get sore and tired. This would be no exception as I started to have a lot of lower back soreness. I stretched, hydrated and happily picked up the speed as the wind had died down and I was easily spinning at about 18.5 MPH. Along the way I got lots of comments about what a nice bike I had and my aero set-up but most of the guys were flying along so it wasn't like a conversation starter. With about 10 miles to go I came upon a guy with a tri-bike who was also doing a lot of stretching. I asked him about his bike and we started chatting. Turned out we were about the same speed (I may have been able to go faster but it was nice to have company) so we paced each other, careful to ride parallel instead of drafting because we were both training for races where drafting isn't allowed.

The time passed quickly and we parted ways at the 3rd stop (mile 45) where I again hopped off my bike for a restroom break, bottle refill and another cookie. At this point I was keeping a good speed and I knew I had just 20 miles to the end plus it was starting to warm up so I picked up my cadence and focused on riding consistently. I checked my time at mile 56 (since this is where I'll be hopping off the bike during my 1/2 Ironman) and was pleased to see 3:19. Not bad considering the wind and hills.

Before I knew it I was back in town and looking for the car :) It was wonderful to have Preston there so he could grab my bike and take care of the drive home. We stopped at Red Robin for a garden burger and some steak fries, yum!

Total Ride: 64.66 miles
Total Time: 3:51.47
Top Speed: 37.8 MPH
Average Speed: 16.7 MPH

Not All Triathletes Are Alike...

2006-04-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

So I'm prepping yesterday for my long ride and I decide given my frustration with the aerobottle that I'd go to the bike shop and get a 2nd cage put on and look at Camelbacks. Now I've always thought people wearing Camelbacks during races were kind of dorky but I was going to set that aside in the interest of hydration and racing success.

I am getting my bike out of the Element (I drive an awesome Red Honda Element with custom plates that read TRI GRL) and this bike shop guy comes out and offers to help like I can't lift my super light bike or something. Anyway he starts talking about how that's a nice bike and where did I get it because he's the shop's tri guy etc. I was like that's cool. I got it here, maybe before you were working here. I head into the store with my bike and I explain what I'm looking for and he's like "you aren't actually going to wear that in a race are you?". I was so mad about his comment I totally put aside my perceived dorkiness factor and was like "yes I was thinking about it". In the meantime I'm getting my cage put on and he's telling me all about how he's trying to get a media slot for Ironman Florida.

Okay, I know about the media slots. So I say what's your story? Why do you deserve a coveted PR slot? Apparently he broke his leg in multiple places and was in the hospital 18months ago and couldn't walk. Now he's ready to do Ironman. Now this is going to sound mean but seriously dude there are soooooooooo many people out there who have come back from more major injuries than that and they don't try to get a PR slot. They just train and do the race. So I just looked at him and I was like huh, well good luck. Those slots are pretty competitive.

He then proceeded to talk to me about how I should get behind the seat cages instead of a Camelback and I'm like dude, you don't know me and there's no way I could get the bottles behind my seat, hello my butt's just a little bigger than your average triathlete. Next he starts talking about how I should switch my pedals to some that are faster and that was the breaking point for me.

NOT ALL TRIATHLETES WANT:

Faster, slicker pedals
$4000 bikes
Carbon bottle cages

and especially not after I asked this question:

How fast do you think you'll do IM Florida? He said 10:30 hours. Dude, hello, you are talking to someone who would kiss the ground at the finish line if the clock still reads 16:XX. You're thoughts on carbon cages and pedals are totally lost on me.

Lesson of the day: KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!!!!

In the end it was fine because I had a great ride all the way up to Hagg Lake which is really challenging and I determined that I definitely needed my lowest gear to get up the HUGE hill there. I did get sunburned but I also clocked a top speed of 40.4 MPH.

OMG - On a bike, with no brakes. Once I saw that number I started freaking out a bit and had to get out of my aerobars so I could brake a little bit. That is a scary speed on a bike.

Great run this morning - seems this Leopard is getting speedy after all. 4.4 miles at an average speed of under 12 min miles. WOO HOO!!!!

Leopards don't usually like water...

2006-04-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

This leopard definitely didn't like the water. Swimming was my least favorite of the 3 disciplines. I couldn't stand it. Could have been because it took planning. You had to pack your suit, towel etc. You couldn't just throw on your running shoes and fly out the door. It could have been because you have to take another shower to get the chlorine off. Or it could have just been that it wasn't my strength so therefore I hated it.

What's weird is I used to have a love relationship with swimming. Swimming was the first sport I participated in. I swam in high school on the varsity team. Through swimming I made great friends, got in the best shape of my life and learned that practice and discipline are great traits to take in other parts of life.

So why am I posting about this today. Well when I first started back in February with David (my coach) he said he wanted to make me love swimming, or at least hate it less. I'd heard that it was really smart to train your weakness but since I wasn't fond of swimming I never wanted to focus on it. So slowly but surely he's focused me on swimming. Improving my stroke, learning about rotation, getting more power and longer glide. I've swam in Hawaii, Shanghai, Vegas and here in Portland and today I had what many would call a breakthrough.

For the past 2 seasons I've averaged about a 1:21 per lap (50yd). In the past 2 months with David I've gotten that down to 1:15 per lap. Not bad, considering my first triathlon I was doing about 1:30 per lap.

Today I swam 1:00 per lap, not once, not twice but consistently over 10 laps. 500yds at 1:00 per lap pace. OMG!!!! I wasn't fatigued, I was a little winded after each lap but all in all I felt great after the workout and I swam every lap in 1:00.

This leopard could end up taking to water after all :)

Jumping Off the Hamster Wheel

2006-04-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

Spring is here and I'm moving off the hamster wheel (also known as treadmill) and out into the world - HOORAY!!!!

After a long winter inside staring at TVs and breathing recycled air I broke out of the gym and took my new running legs out for a test drive :)

After 6 weeks of working on getting comfortable with ratio workouts where I'm running at different speeds for different time periods, I decided yesterday was too beautiful a day to stay inside.

I'd been kind of skeptical on how well I'd be able to do trying to feel out a pace on the road without the feedback of the display on the treadmill telling me I was for sure going 5 MPH etc. Fortunately I ended up near a pond I used for training on my last 1/2 Ironman which I know is .33m around so I did the math for my workout and held my breath hoping I would just know how a 12min mile felt.

My workout today called for:

10min warm-up on the bike then 5 min @ 4MPH and 5 min @ 4.5MPH

After that I did 5 min @ 4MPH and then 6 min @ 5MPH three times followed by a 5 min cool down. I ended up running faster than the pace a few times which made me happy that I could do that although I did try to dial it back when I realized I was going to fast.

Today I'm taking my tri bike out for a ride from the office so we'll see how that goes what with traffic and all.

An Oasis in the Desert...

2006-04-08T18:09:00.000-07:00

After a long and tiring week which resulted in a grand total of 18hrs sleep over 4 days I found an oasis on Friday afternoon. It was about 75 degrees with clear and sunny skies and amazingly no wind. I had hoped to get to a pool somewhere and was happy to discover that just before I hopped on my plane I was able to swim for an hour in the hotel pool.

Most hotel pools are indoors and small, shaped weird or too hot or too cold so to find an outdoor pool, that was square, the perfect temperature and even had lines on the bottom was totally awesome. I had packed my suit into my computer bag and was able to make a quick change, spend an hour doing my workout in the warm sun before jumping back into my business clothes and heading home.

It was truly an oasis to have that one hour of sun and get a swim in.

It's 3am, do you know where your Marketing Team is?

2006-04-05T03:11:00.000-07:00

It's 3:12am and the show opens in less than 7 hours. The Product Management team is here trying to get over our booth traumatic stress disorder. We ate dinner at 11:30pm which sucked although I did get Broccoli and Sweet Potatoes which was fabulous. I'd forgetten how horrible working a tradeshow can be.

It's hard to imagine I managed tradeshows when I was over 300lbs. Yikes! I do feel good though because I got my workout in this afternoon. Off to finish the booth. Tomorrow (ie today) is going to be brutal. My product demo is questionable because their firewall is blocking external addresses. ACK!!!!!!!!!!

Keep your fingers crossed that I can get them to punch through the firewall :)

Sleepy leopard out.

Flying like a Fool

2006-04-01T17:05:00.000-08:00

I took my new bike off the trainer today and rode it on the road for the first time. It was AWESOME!!!! I felt like I was flying. On the flat road I was going 3-4 miles faster per hour than I did on my old bike and even into the wind I was maintaining 14MPH with relative ease.

I actually had to ask Preston several times to ride next to me and tell me what his speedometer said because I thought mine was playing an April Fool's joke on me. But it was giving me the straight scoop and I was indeed a Speed Leopard on my new ride :)

In spite of a little rain and a lot of wind, we did 20 miles and I never felt like I was pushing it. I felt good in the aerobars til the last 15 minutes or so when I had to stretch my back but otherwise I was on my new bike, wearing my new regular sized bib shorts (a huge accomplishment since I started out in a 4X cycling short 3 years ago) and enjoying the sunshine when it wasn't raining with my husband. Hooray!!! I even got comfortable getting my water bottle from my cage and being in aero with only one hand.

I now have to get back to work as I've been heads down since I returned from China preparing for a major tradeshow in Vegas on Tuesday.

Viva Las Vegas, until then I'm flying high :)

Any day is a good day for flowers :)

2006-03-28T11:53:00.000-08:00

My husband and I have an arrangement, we don't do holidays. Not Valentine's Day, Anniversary's or Birthdays, Christmas, Easter etc. The pressure to give bigger and more impressive gifts that's so pervasive in our society just got on our nerves so we decided to boycott.

We give each other cards and gifts all throughout the year but we don't do it because Hallmark or the jewelry store said we should we do it because we want to :)

So today out of the blue, I got flowers and a very sappy note delivered to my office which was really really nice and very suprising :)

I love flowers but our ferocious kittens (4 of them) love them too so it's pretty rare to have them in the house.

Anyway, it's March 28th and there's no holiday to celebrate other than that my husband was thinking of me and wanted to brighten my day. What an awesome guy!!!!

The journey home begins...

2006-03-25T18:17:00.000-08:00

It's been a really fascinating experience here in Shanghai. I'm about to head to the airport for the long trip home but I really (in spite of the turtle) have had a wonderful trip. From a business perspective it was very educational and eye-opening. From a personal perspective it was an adventure.

No matter where I am I always try to explore, seize the moment and make the most of my experience. Yesterday after spending a lot more time shopping and having lunch at a FANTASTIC Indian place with a co-worker of mine. I found my way into the actual market where fish, eels, turtles, chickens and who knows what else were waiting to be purchased for dinner. Just across the street was a KFC and a Nike Store. What a global society we live in.

So I'm off, it looks like I'll probably be back again in the next few months. Until then, leopard out!

Where oh where is the broccoli?

2006-03-21T14:23:00.000-08:00

It didn't even occur to me when I went out to get dinner last night until I sat down and had a fork and knife in front of me that I haven't used one since I arrived in Shanghai. Thanks to all the sushi Preston and I have been eating I've gotten great at chopsticks so I've been able to use them for every meal.

Since I was on my own for dinner and DESPERATE for anything resembling a vegetable (and not an animal) I went to Tony Roma's because I know they have broccoli with their meals. So after completing my 2nd workout of the day (it's Tuesday so that means swim drills and ratio run) I walked over with my book for a delicious broccoli feast.

Denied. Apparently even though they show pictures of broccoli on the plate on the menu, they don't actually have broccoli. Why do they show it in the picture then I wanted to know? "It looks very beautiful" Classic! All I wanted was some dang broccoli. I got a BBQ chicken salad and part of a baked potato along with a Coke Light since the iced tea could be questionable due to the whole tap water situation.

It was delicious and very relaxing to read my book and eat my salad but I wish I could have had some freakin broccoli.

Shanghai - A sea of sights and smells!

2006-03-19T04:31:00.000-08:00

Since I arrived last night in Shanghai it's been one adventure after another. I'm staying at a fabulous place. The JC Mandarin is a very western hotel complete with HUGE fitness center (all cardio machines have their own flat screen tv), little amenities like every toiletry you can imagine including a bathroom scale which can actually weigh you in pounds, a Starbucks just across the street and even little slippers in the closet.

So first let's talk Starbucks. Many people know I'm hooked on the 'bucks to the extent that I even got myself a gift card so I could keep track of my spending there :) Some of you also know how complex my latte or frappachino order can be, so I'm sure you'll find my experience at the Shanghai Starbucks amusing. First that there even is a Starbucks here is pretty crazy but in the course of my day I've actually already seen 3. They're beautiful and really blend in well with the architecture. They have identical drinks here and in the US except they are translated a little differently.

There is no word for sprinkles in Mandarain, which is a riot to me since they are a critical component to one of their main drinks and it literally took every employee who had any grasp of English to try to understand sprinkles before I gave up. They also don't have Splenda in China, or at least not at Starbucks. They did have Equal which tastes like crap in coffee, ah well live and learn.

After coffee and a low-fat muffin (see note about no Splenda, translation, blech) I met up with my co-worker Patrick and we set off to shop and see the sights.

Until you've been to Shanghai, you really can't comprehend just how massive it is and how brimming with humanity. People are everywhere, there were times when I didn't even feel like I was walking but rather gliding in the sea of people. Sights, smells and sounds bombard you from every direction and here in this huge city, personal space is a luxury. The city is absolutely beautiful as it blends old world China with new world commerce. Here are just a few of the sights:

We had lunch at one of the top restaurants in Shanghai where there were several pictures of global leaders (Clinton was a favorite) enjoying the fare. Smoking is rampant so that made lunch a little less enjoyable but OMG I did not expect what came next. Turtle is a delicacy here so we got that in addition to several other dishes. There are virtually no real fruits or vegetables (bamboo shoots do not count) on the menu so I ordered sauteeed cauliflower and hoped for the best. Note to self, they do not do much preparation in China with their food so when the "turtle" came out, all it was missing was it's head :( I tried a bite of meat to be polite but it was too much for me especially after swimming with the beautiful sea turtles in Hawaii last month on vacation. It wasn't until I was spooning some soup though that I just about lost it when I scooped up this turtle claw. Yikes!!!!!!
Otherwise, I've gotten extremely good at bargaining, marveled at how many US products are being knocked off in the underground markets and decided something I pretty much already knew which is I am not a fan of Chinese food.

So I'm off to bed with my first day of meetings tomorrow. Work here doesn't start til 10am and it ends at 6pm so who knows what the days will be like.

Kilometers and Coffee

2006-03-18T16:22:00.000-08:00

We are pretty antiquated in the US. Still using miles, inches etc to calculate distance. I can't think of a single other place that doesn't measure in kilometers, so it always throws me for a loop when I travel outside of the country and use the exercise equipment at the gym.

Hmmm so if a 10k = 6.2m and I'm supposed to do a ratio run between 4 and 5mph how fast is that in kilometers :) Keeps my mind occupied trying to the calculations while running and today as I was doing my Sunday morning ratio workout it occured to me that while the measurement system changes very little else does.

As I looked out the window at this amazing metropolis of 17 million people, I could watch CNN on the news, read the US News and World report magazine and then head to the Starbucks just across the street.

So I'm off to see how my Tall, Nonfat, 1 pump Cinnamon Dolce, 3 Splenda, Sprinkles on the Foam, Latte translates in Mandarin.

Ni hau from Shanghai

2006-03-18T07:11:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a wild trip so far. My phone works but it's $1.50 per minute :( Internet works, the room is fantastic and I'm on the 16th floor.

The flight to China was LONG and if you can beleive it we didn't get video screens in our seats like you do when you fly to EMEA. So I read books, magazines, watched a few movies, ate and rested. I'm going on 30hrs awake so it's night night for leopards.

But I'm safe, the fitness facility here is AWESOME!!!! Pool, weights, trainers, a lot of machines for biking and running. Sleeping pill is kicking in so I'm off to bed.

More to come.

Pure Motivation

2006-03-12T16:21:00.000-08:00

I'm reading a book right now that talks about finding your pure motivation. Not an event or a person but what ultimately when the deck is stacked against you, drives you toward your goal, whatever it may be. I used to think my motivation was to hear those magical words "You are an Ironman" as I crossed the finish line at the Ironman Triathlon. But what then? You only become an Ironman one time so if all your motivation is wrapped up in that one event (like a wedding or a class reunion) then what happens when the event has passed?

This got me thinking about what really drives me. What motivates me to make choices that keeps me driving toward my goal. For that matter what is my goal...

179.2

For many that's a random number for me it's weirdly symbolic. When I weigh 179.2 I will have also lost 179.2. Exactly half of myself. Yes, training for triathlons will help me reach that goal but at the end of the day when I've worked 12-14 hours and I'm tired and just want to spend time with my husband and watch TIVO, the thing that keeps me focused on my goal is this:

Self-Confidence

For many that know me this will probably seem a bit odd as I don't believe I exude a lack of self-confidence even when I was at my highest weight. I was always bubbly and happy, well liked and fun to be around. But deep down I lacked the self-confidence that I could achieve my goal. 179.2 is just a number but to me it's also a state of mind. When I'm at that goal I will have completely reshaped my life. Every pound lost and new accomplishment successfully completed gets me that much closer to that goal and at the end of the day everything is affected.

I'm more confident in my job, more comfortable talking with business leaders, giving presentations etc. I don't worry whether I'll fit in the chair at the conference table anymore. I'm more confident in my health. With just 17lbs to go I am healthier than I've been in years and feeling really strong and fit. I'm more confident about myself. I feel happier, sexier and more youthful than ever and it comes across in my attitude and my activities every day.

So as I inch ever closer to that goal, I try to keep in mind that 179.2 isn't the finish line. It's just the beginning and my pure motivation comes from trying to be the best me that I can, enjoying life to the fullest and striving to be an example to others to set their goals high and then work day by day towards achieving them.

If I can do it, anyone can!

New Coach, New Direction

2006-03-08T19:58:00.000-08:00

Spring, one of my favorite times of year. Things start to bloom and grow, the days get longer and there's more daylight. I actually noticed it was almost spring when I left my office this evening around 6:30pm and it was only just getting dark. Weird I thought although it could be due to the fact this was the earliest I've left in weeks (when there wasn't a dr appt or something).

Spring is the also the time I start plotting my training for the upcoming racing season. As I posted back in February I went into the sports lab and get thoroughly tested by David Renne of Advantage You Sports Consulting. After getting my results and discussing I decided to work with David this season. This is great for me because I'd always sort of known I wanted a coach just about a year out from Ironman. We charted my race calendar with everything centered around Musselman in Geneva, NY on July 16. My 2nd go at the 1/2 Ironman distance but this time I hoped to be much more fit and speedy.

After almost a week of training following my plan from David I think that is achievable. I've completed every workout thus far and given my best effort so maybe having someone help me plan and spell out exactly what to do is the key to helping me blossom as an athlete.

Now bring on the Daylight Savings :)

Onederland - The wait is over!

2006-03-03T22:15:00.000-08:00

It's hard to put into words what tonight means to me.

15 months, 65 weekly weigh-ins and 5lbs lost. Since finishing my 1/2 IM in October 2004 I'd lost over 150lbs. Back and forth every week between 208 and 201. A pound up, 1.5 down and on and on. Through increased exercise and immobility due to my knee surgery, through 65,000 miles of air travel last year. Multiple vacations, mountains of macadamia nuts in Hawaii and streets lined with chocolate shops in Belgium, I perservered.

Every week hoping my body would finally let go and move off the plateau. I switched between CORE and Flex, I counted calories, I worked with a trainer, I spent hours in the gym and yet the needle never moved. I was so close to going under 200 I could taste it and yet the 1 on the scale remained elusive.

For those of you not indoctrinated into Weight Watchers speak, Onederland denotes that point when your weight begins with the #1. For those of us that started in the 3s or 4s, getting to see a 2 on the scale means you've reached Twoterville. Silly names I know but I remember almost to the day when I went from being in the 300s to being in the 200s. I never ever in a million years thought I'd ever reach Onederland. When I started Weight Watchers back in September 2002, it was a stretch to hope that I'd get to 230 which was my original goal. That would mean I'd lost a whopping 128.4lbs and I thought there was no way that'd be possible.

Slowly but surely the weight came off, I kept going to meetings, I passed many milestones and stood in front of our group and told my story dozens of times while getting my 10% keychain, magnets for every 25lbs lost, a certificate for losing 100lbs. Each goal reached was more special than the last, in part because of the tremendous support from my group and my leader Bobbie.

15 months. I went down two dress sizes as I waited. I started dressing in clothes that fit and ironically people who saw me every day started asking me how much more weight I'd lost. "None", I'd reply but it was gratifying to see the changes in spite of the numbers on the scale.

People who know me know I hate mediocrity. I don't like to settle, and Onederland was no different. I didn't want to tiptoe in, I wanted to make a splash which is what makes tonight so sweet.

Last week I was 203.8 and it's been months since I've lost more than 2lbs in a week so while I was hoping I'd get there tonight I wasn't counting on it. When the numbers registered on the scale Bobbie shrieked, I shrieked and I immediately had to jump back on just to double check what I had seen.

198.2

Onederland, I was there.
5.6lbs lost this week for a grand total of 160.2

After handing out the 5 and 10lb stickers, giving Bravo stickers to those who had a story to tell, Bobbie came to me and said "she saved the best Bravo sticker for last because there are no magnets or stickers for what I'd accomplished". She asked me to share in front of the group and before I left my seat I was choking up. Tonight there were a lot of new people, people who'd started in the last 6 months and many who'd seen me transform over the last 3 years, cheering me on and keeping me accountable as I tackled each challenge in my journey towards a healthy life.

Through my tears I told my story, how frustrated I was over these past 15 months with being so close and yet not seeing results. I talked about how important perserverance was and how in spite of all the obstacles this last year I never once thought about giving up and not coming back. I hope I thanked them for their tremendous support but I was so overcome with emotion, it's a blur. There were a lot of tears and cheers from the group and even a few stories about how I'd impacted others in their journeys.

There was no magic bullet, I guess it was just time. Reshaping yourself takes dedication and perserverance because eventually we all run into our own plateaus and living with them, accepting the accomplishment of maintaining and never losing sight of how far you've come is what helped me stay the course.

15 months and the wait is over. I'm at a number I haven't seen since high school and never thought I'd see again.

I remember the starting line. I remember the incredible people who refer jokingly to themselves as Team Bonnie (Pup - I'd never have made it this far without your unwavering love and support). People that have helped me get to each mile marker, encouraging me and reminding me that it's not when or even whether you make it to the finish line, it's that you had what it takes to start running.

Onederland you've got a new resident :)

Vacation, What's that?

2006-03-03T09:32:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe it's been almost 2 weeks since we got back from our AWESOME vacation to Hawaii. We had an absolute blast and came back refreshed, happy and looking for our next adventure :) Of course I immediately went right back to crazy-busy work and have hardly had time to even sort through our pictures. But...................... I made the time and here are a few of my favorites:

So we had lots of new experiences: sea-kayaking, deep water snorkeling, sushi, whale-watching and lots of wonderful fun time together.

Aloha!

Why I've decided I might dabble in golf

2006-02-12T14:04:00.000-08:00

Being a woman in business comes with its challenges. Balancing family and work priorities, managing your household, blending into the corporate world around you without drawing attention to the fact that you're not "one of the guys".

Where am I going with this? Golf. For years I've always looked at golf as a silly sport. Boring and expensive, something wealthy business people did or seniors played when they retired. It occured to me a few months ago that for all my athletic activities I knew absolutely nothing about golf (my dominance on the Bullwinkle's Mini-Golf course doesn't count) and as I move into different roles in the corporate world I might find myself on a golf course with colleagues or other business associates. Not wanting to embarrass myself if such a time came Preston and I decided it would be fun (and educational) to go to the driving range and see how much I could learn :)

We headed towards the Kona Country Club and stopped along the way to take some pictures because the view is incredible. First we stopped at a bike shop and checked out some fun bike stuff and then we decided to hit the golf store next door to find out where we could hit some balls. Preston decided I should get a golf glove so I didn't get blisters so we both got gloves and headed for the links.

Turns out finding clubs at a driving range for 2 leftys is difficult so we rented some clubs and got 2 buckets of balls and we were in business. Let me first say that I underestimated golf. It's actually hard and confusing and after spending several hours on the putting green and driving range I'm no more confident than when I started but I do have an appreciation for the fact that it is a challenging game. I have relatively bad eye-hand coordination so remembering to keep my eye on the ball and not hit lots of air balls was easier said than done. Amazingly enough I did manage to hit a few great balls (my furthest went about 125yds) and my form wasn't too bad as evidenced by this photo.

We had a blast and now that we have golf gloves I suspect we will try to get to the driving range a few more times this summer although I doubt I'll see much improvement. So don't laugh if you see me on the golf course sometime :)

Decompressing

2006-02-10T12:41:00.000-08:00

It's amazing how you quickly you can go from being so busy you're making lists about lists and scheduling time with friends to talk on the phone in between meetings and project deadlines to sleeping in and soaking up the sun.

Vacation. Something everyone should take more advantage of :) We operate in such a go-go-go environment that even the weekends aren't truly a time for decompression or relaxation. I'm the type of person who usually takes a day here or there, a long weekend but rarely a truly long vacation. So I finally decided it was time to take the plunge.

2 weeks in Hawaii. Completely free, hey you can't get better than that right? After flying 65,000 miles last year on business and personal trips I had enough miles to cash in 2 RT tickets to Hawaii and enough hotel points to book a week at the Hilton Waikoloa Resort for a week. Since my parents live in Kona we'd spend a week with them then head to the hotel.

Traveling for pleasure and traveling for business are so starkly different it became comical. I breeze in and out of airports all around the country and am always taking or making calls in between flights or editing a presentation or trying to catch an extra hour of sleep that I actually found myself totally bored halfway into our flight to Kona.

Silliness is something I have in spades and since Preston was reading and I wasn't interested in the movie and had read all my magazines already I had to keep myself occupied so I started fishing :) Let me first say that it is a TRAVESTY that you can be on a plane for 6 hours and not be served a meal for free. Give me a break. We got 1 beverage service and they whizzed past with snack boxes but gave no announcement on price, contents or that this would be the only option available. So I finally was so hungry I got a snack box which contained among other things some cheese spread and a bag of goldfish.

I dumped all the goldfish out and started fishing using my plastic knife as a fishing pole and my cheese as bait. Hehe. Preston actually took a video of it with our camera which I will post later but here's a picture of the goldfish before it meets its untimely end :)

We've had lots of fun so far and are about to head out snorkeling. Here's a few pictures of the view from my parents deck and Preston goofing around:

I'm Officially a Lab Leopard

2006-02-05T17:27:00.000-08:00

I've been on a plateau for over a year. Up and down with the same 5lbs. I count calories, points, monitor my HR and try to get 5+ hours of exercise every week and I've stayed within spitting distance of Onederland (under 200lbs for those not in on the Weight Watchers terminology) but I haven't been able to break through. So I decided to turn my body over to science :)

We've all seen the commercials with the athletes in the sports labs running on the treadmill with the oxygen masks trying to pinpoint the exact point at which they're most efficient and become least fatigued. Words like Lactate Threshold and VO2 Max are thrown around. So when I found out we had a new sports lab in Beaverton I didn't hesitate.

For the past 6 months I've been recovering from knee surgery so running has been pretty much a non-starter. Last year pre-surgery I'd worked up to consistently running 12min miles but since the surgery I've struggled to walk faster than 15min miles. Needless to say I was a little worried about spending an hour + on the treadmill pushing my body to the limits but anything is better than another year at 202lbs.

When I arrived at the lab David (the owner of Advantage You Sports Training) went over all the protocols for the testing and I got suited up in a special HRM and my regular running attire. The testing would go as follows: Every 5 min I would get my blood drawn by a small lancet to the finger in order to measure the lactic acid quantities in my blood. I'd also be wearing a "snorkel" and nose clip for the duration of the test. The snorkel is basically like a huge mouthpiece that you fit inside your mouth which allows you to take in air from the room and then all of the air you breathe out is captured by a hose and run into a tank for analysis by a big computer station next to the treadmill. This analyzes things like how many calories do you burn during activity, what % of your calories are fat or carb calories and when are you working most efficiently (from an effort, speed and HR perspective).

Once we took a baseline blood draw (while I was resting) we started up the treadmill. It was very disorienting to wear this massive mouthpiece because it's heavy and you can't swallow so you drool a lot. My bigger problem was it was hard to look down and I am totally paranoid about tripping on the treadmill and flying off so I tend to glance at my feet from time to time. The room was completely silent except for the whir of the treadmill and the sound of my breathing. The test requires 5 min of exercise then the treadmill stops, my blood gets drawn and then the treadmill starts up again at the next speed. Each 5 min segment we would increase speed by .5 MPH.

Like I said earlier pre-surgery I was doing pretty well at about 5MPH so I was concerned given this test would have me starting at 3MPH then progressing every 5min all the way up to 6MPH at the end. I've never gone that fast in my life, let alone for 5min.

3MPH: This was easy, little to no effort and I was walking.

3.5MPH: Still walking and feeling easy even though my finger was hurting since it's hard to get blood from me because of my blood clot.

4MPH: Still walking and now it's fairly easy and I've been walking for 15min. Doing ok but drooling a little on myself (which is pretty common I guess).

4.5MPH: I'm jogging now and I'm feeling moderate. It's not hard but it's not easy either. 4 finger sticks by this point and my poor fingers are pretty sore.

5MPH: Since my knee surgery I've never gotten above 4.8MPH but this was still just moderate in terms of effort. It was weird, I mentally felt like it should be harder but I felt ok. Working but at about a 3.5 on a 5pt scale.

5.5MPH: I'm definitely running now as this is faster than I've ever gone before. Working really hard now and totally suprised that my legs are carrying me this fast. My mouth is soooooo dry and I am breathing hard and sweating a lot. During each phase David is encouraging me, "You're doing great, just 3 more minutes, can you make it?" Each phase I give him a thumbs up and keep pushing.

6MPH: This was going to be my last 5min section and as I started my legs and lungs were screaming at me but I kept running. I couldn't believe I was running a 10min mile pace. I definitely pushed myself to the limit to get through that 5min phase but when I'd gotten my last finger stick and finally got to drink some water it was worth it.

I haven't gotten my official results but at first glance we learned some really interesting things which I'd long suspected but now have some scientific data to back up.

#1 - I'm not eating enough. My RMR as measured yesterday was 2160, so to lose 1lb a week and adjust for my exercise I need to up my calorie intake (currently 1700) by 300 calories a day.

#2 - I have the ability to push myself a lot more than I do and it doesn't physically cost me that much. I produced the same amount of lactic acid between 4 and 4.5MPH but I nearly doubled my calorie burn by going from walking to jogging.

#3 - Apparently I have a lot of muscle mass because at my highest speed where I was producing the most lactic acid I produced more than most fit people. Which means I have the potential to start better using all those muscles.

We'll be totally reviewing all the detailed results and using the data to set training zones, put together a training plan and start working towards maximizing my weight loss and fitness results when I return from vacation but it was sooooo totally worth it because I'm closing in on having the tools to fine tune my training and hopefully start making some big progress.

Who knew I could run 6MPH anyway, I guess I'm more of a Speed Leopard than I thought :)

Could she be more adorable?

2006-02-02T19:30:00.000-08:00

So I'm biased (since Ruthie is the closest I've come to having a baby around) but when I got this picture today I was like OMG this is the cutest baby!!!

She looks so happy and healthy and her eyes are beautiful. Can't wait to meet her in person.

In the meantime it was a goregeous day here in Minnesota!

Ruthie Bee Enters the World

2006-02-01T19:31:00.000-08:00

Just had to capture my excitement for my best friend Karie who gave birth to a beautiful healthy girl this afternoon. Mom and baby are doing great and dad Jeff was "the most wonderful husband in the world" according to Karie who is recovering and bonding with little Ruthie.

I'll post pictures when I get them but I'll have to wait til Saturday to meet Ruthie as I'm in Minnesota on business, ack!

I'm as close to an auntie as I'll get for the time being and I'm super excited to start getting to know Ruthie and for Preston and I to be able to share in this new chapter of our friends lives :)

Congratulations to Karie and Jeff - WOO HOO!!!!

One Step Closer to Speed

2006-01-29T23:16:00.000-08:00

Miles and miles into the rain, up hills, down hills but almost always into the wind. During my 1/2 IM the wind sucked my will to live. I've been riding a Trek 1000 which wasn't really able to handle clip on aerobars so after 3 seasons of racing I took the plunge and bought a sweet aero ride which will hopefully speed me that much closer to the Ironman :)

My new bike is a Trek Equinox 7. It's sleek, aero and I'm upgrading the components to all Ultegra. I've been riding a triple for a while and I decided that rather than make the transition to a double so soon after knee surgery that I'd put a triple on my new bike and in the process upgrade from the 105 to the Ultegra. I was a little torn about getting the 7 because the 9 is red and red is my favorite color but I think I'm gonna have my 7 custom painted red and emblazoned with www.speedleopard.com

The craziest thing for me is that my balance is questionable to begin with so going to an aero set-up is going to be an adventure as I've never ridden on aerobars or shifted using the barend shifters so I'm planning on putting my new bike on the trainer for a month or two to start getting used to the angle and the shifting.

I'm super excited about my new ride because the bike is the area I'm the strongest and I've been doing it without the latest and greatest advantage of the aero position. Look out, this leopard is ready for some speed :)

Wogging a 15min mile

2006-01-26T09:45:00.000-08:00

When I started walking I was doing a 20min mile if I was lucky. I felt like I was on the verge of a coronary when I was finished but I could do a 20min mile. As I lost weight and got more active I gradually worked that down to around 14.

Last winter I decided to focus on running and improved all the way to under a 12 min mile. WOO HOO!!!! I was thrilled. Fast forward to June where I find myself on crutches for 6 weeks after having major knee surgery. :(

Carrying around the extra weight all those years was an issue but the increased running and speed definitely didn't help the knee. So I had drilling done to repair a bone defect and then tried to claw my way back to fitness through physical therapy and workouts. It's been a loooooooooooong 6 months but I think I'm turning a corner.

Wogging. It's my term for walk-jogging where you're moving fast but not really picking your feet up too much so it looks like you're jogging but you're really like shuffle walking. I've been working my way up to 3 miles at 18min miles without pain and around Christmas finally got there. Now I'm slowly racheting my way down :)

The pursuit of the sustainable 15 min mile. I can do a 15 min mile now while wogging without pain. I can even do a 14 min mile (albeit with a tiny bit of pain) but I have managed to hold the 15min mile pace for 2 miles so far.

I've decided that as I work towards distance and the completion of my 1/2 IM this summer and the full IM to follow that 15 min miles will stay my goal. Rather than try to get faster I will try to build distance and hold that pace. Being able to go further is the goal and the reality is I need to spend the time preparing my legs for going further rather than faster.

Go Long Speed Leopard!

The West Wing cast rocks!

2006-01-22T18:09:00.000-08:00

7 years ago when I heard there was going to be a show about life in the West Wing I was thrilled. I have my degree in Political Science. I worked in Washington, DC as an intern and I love TV dramas. I have watched every episode of the West Wing since and it has been and still is one of my all time favorite shows. So it seemed fitting that it would be that show that would be filming in the hotel I happen to be staying in while in LA for a meeting.

Several of my co-workers are also huge fans. We watched the crew set up in multiple locations throughout the day Friday. We got a glimpse of Jimmy Smits who's currently running for President as Congressman Matt Santos but most of those scenes were behind closed doors. We got to watch the cast doing rehearsal which was really interesting (it takes a lot of people to make a show happen).

Back in 2000 I had met Bradley Whitford at a campaign event for Al Gore. We chatted and he signed a cast photo I had. It is hanging in my office. So when I had the chance to chat with him again I seized the opportunity and we talked for a few minutes. I didn't bother him with another autograph or picture.

Later that evening we happened to see them shooting again and Brad was hanging with Janel Moloney who plays Donna Moss on the show. My friend Steve and I talked to them for a minute and then asked if we could take a picture. They said sure no problem and we were just talking about Portland and about the show when Janeane Garafalo showed up and she started talking with us and Brad and Janel. So we got a picture with her as well since I'm a fan of hers and Preston and I love her show with Sam on AirAmerica Radio.

The pictures as you can see are totally awesome!!!! We had a blast and everyone was really friendly. At 1am when I finally went to sleep they were still shooting. Busy, busy, busy. So today when I get the news that West Wing is being cancelled I'm saddened and dismayed because I love the show and I love the actors who've really set the bar high for TV Drama over the years. I think it's actually heightened the level of discourse in America around the political process even though many don't agree with the show or its views.

I'll be watching through the final episode this May hoping that Hollywood continues to put out shows that have great ensemble casts like this one.

You go POTUS!

Presidential Appearances...

2006-01-20T07:14:00.000-08:00

Hotel to the stars. That's where we're staying. So when I got here I was like yeah right, doesn't seem that awesome. Well last night it got a TON more awesome.

Turns out the cast of the West Wing will be here today filming!!!!!!! We are all very excited at the prospect of possibly running into them. WOO HOO. I am a huge fan especially since I used to intern at the Capital and have my degree in Political Science.

So stay tuned and I may have a Presidential sighting to report :)

Victory tastes like Golden Spoon

2006-01-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

After running more than 2 hours behind schedule I finally made it up to the boardroom for the big presentation. I thought it'd last 15-20m instead it took 45. How is this a good thing? The management team was really interested in the product I was pitching and there was all kinds of discussion about strategies etc. It was great! Our president was there as well which was a suprise for me as I've never presented in front of him for more than about 5min. I got unanimous approval for my project and then I literally made a run for it as my plane left in 90min and I was still 40min from the airport, eeeeekkkkk! I made the plane and tried to fully reflect on how well the pitch had gone.

I was hoping it'd be a 5 as I just started working on the project a little over a week ago and was unsure about how well I would be able to pitch it. From my perspective it was a 10. I couldn't be happier (although now I have a lot to do).

My reward for all of this was a relaxing evening with my sister, her husband and a friend of theirs laughing, talking and enjoying the deliciousness that is Golden Spoon.

What is Golden Spoon? It's fat-free frozen yogurt made with splenda that has 17 calories per ounce and comes in flavors like Heath Bar, Peanut Butter Cup and Coconut. Yummy!!!!! I got a small and was in heaven.

I'm off to the 'bucks for a latte and to send the good news to my project team before heading to the Sales Meeting.

The waiting is killing me...

2006-01-18T12:25:00.000-08:00

Ack! Big Presentation today to our Senior Leadership team so I'm understandably a little nervous. Flight to sales meeting is leaving in less than 3 hours and I haven't even started my pitch yet :(

The waiting is killing me! I just want to present and then hop on the plane and head to some sun. Luckily a co-worker just reminded me that my FAVORITE frozen yogurt in the world (which can only be found in the OC) Golden Spoon was there....geesh I'm so nervous I forgot about the low calorie deliciousness that is Golden Spoon. Crazy!

So I'm off to the Sales Meeting at Universal Studios til Monday with the gauntlet thrown down. For whatever reason I have done great on weight loss while at these meetings in the past. I'm not sure why other than heightened vigilance but I've seriously lost like 3-5lbs the last 3 meetings. I'm hovering near a HUGE milestone so I'm believing that the sales meeting vigilance will help push me over the top and I'll break through the plateau.

Diet Cherry Cokes here I come :)