Race info!

Aloha! I'm so sorry I haven't written since the race. I've been overwhelmed with pain, fun and feeling tired. I have to start out by telling you that it is absolutely beautiful here! Everything from the sky and the birds to the grass and the lizards are vibrant in color.

So race day came and went. It was an amazing experience that is quickly leaving my memory. I wish I could forever remember what it was like in the swim. I don't even think I was really paying attention to what I was suppose to be doing, my head was so far in the water looking at the coral and fish. I did swim the fastest I've ever swam before though. (Thanks to my swim coach!) The bike was fun too! I know I was smiling almost the whole way. I said to a few people as they passed me..."Isn't this so much fun?" Although it was a lot of fun the bike was still really painful. The wind was blowing and there weren't any flat roads. It was up and down, up and down the whole 56miles. I did hit a wall( in triathlon terms that means I didn't feel well) at 2 hours and 45mins. I wasn't eating enough and didn't have enough salt in me. As soon as I took my endurolytes (basically salt pills) I felt much better. When the bike was over I ran through the transition, put my bike away, threw on running shoes, had a volunteer put sunscreen on me and was on my way to finish the race with a 13.1 mile run. The run was pretty brutal. My knees were already killing me from the bike and running didn't help. The run was also up and down, through a golf course, beach and on the road. There isn't much different from the weather in Orlando and the weather here in Kona, it hot! The main difference is there isn't any shade in Hawaii. I have blisters on my back now. I applied sunscreen twice so there wasn't much more I could do. I was in so much pain and so tired that I just wanted to finish. I just kept telling myself that I just had to run until the next water/food station. They were posted every mile. I walked and refueled every mile, I would of died if I didn't. I even stopped to go to the bathroom. My teammates were giving me a hard time telling me I should of peed on myself. I still want to believe that only the pros do that but I guess that's not true. :)

My over all time was 6 hours and 20mins! 35mins on the swim, 3:18 bike and 2:20 run...something like that. That's 10mins faster than my goal!!! I'm really excited. After the race I was in a ton of pain. My knees felt like they were going to fall off, I thought for sure they were going be the size of grapefruits. Within a few hours my knee pain left and by the next morning I found pain in a lot more places. Today I feel great! I'm ready for another workout.

The day after the race we went to the Four Seasons Resorts spa. It was amazing! We were there hanging out at their beach, getting massages and spending time in the hot tub for about 7 hours! The next day I felt so much better! We spent Monday at the beach and the evening at a luau with my parents. Today we went on a cruise that took us snorkeling and then spent the afternoon walking around Kona. Tomorrow we are traveling two hours to the Volcano National Park and then through Hilo and up through the northern part of the Island. Thursday we still haven't figured out what we are going to do but I'm sure it will be fun whatever it is.

I love the people that I'm traveling with. They have been wonderful. We all get along great and enjoy doing the same things so it has made traveling easy. My parents also came to Hawaii. It was great to have them there on race day. I hate not having people there to cheer for you on race day. Its hard to race that way. My parents also had a hard, long day of sitting in the sun. They took some great pictures that I hope to have posted soon.

We leave Hawaii Thursday night and if all goes as planned we will land in Orlando Friday afternoon.

Overall my time here in Hawaii has been amazing. I couldn't ask for a better trip. I can't wait to see where and what size of race I do next! Mahalo (thank you in Hawaiian) for all your support and prayers. You made my race so much easier!

The race is almost here!

Its here! Tomorrow is the day! To everyone else that is reading this its already Saturday but for me its only 8:27pm on Friday. Bed time is arriving quickly, the mood is quite! Unbelievably I'm not feeling that nervous...yet! We packed all our running gear and handed it over our bike stuff in is another bag which is with us now but we hand that over tomorrow morning when we get there and the volunteers will give it to us when we get out of the swim. The cool this is we get stamped in the morning! I've never been stamped. It makes me feel important and accomplished...heheh :)
I'm so excited for tomorrow! You know what I think I'm the most excited about?? Seeing all the wildlife on the side of the road. We've already seen goats, a wild turkey, strange looking birds and a ferret. Tell me where else you see things like that? You all know I love animals so what better place for me. Not to mention even in other races my number one prayer on the bike is "God let me see an animal just so I can smile at something because I'm having a really hard time." I can't wait!
My goal for this race no longer has a time limit. I just want to finish. I think this has helped my nerves alot. This is just going to be a fun race. I'm in Hawaii!
I love you, your support has been amazing! I've truly enjoyed receiving text messages and phone calls from all of you it means alot! Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers!
Ok good night all.......stay tuned!
Love yah ~amy

The 1st race update!

The day isn't starting out well! I'm packed and ready to go waiting at the airport for my flight. Supposedly there is bad weather in Dallas, so I'll plane has been delayed 2 hours and 5 mins. That gives us 15 mins to get from one gate to another. We might get stuck at the airport in LAX but that would be ok. We would still have two days until race day. Trying to be positive! :)

Only 5 days left!!!

Well it has been brought to my attention that the last several days...ok maybe weeks, I have been a bit on the negative side about going to Hawaii. Although its no excuse I am scared to death of this race. The vacation part has even begun to enter into my mind yet. All I can think about is that 5 mile incline on the bike where we go from 0 to 600 feet above sea level! Not to mention the wind. I think I've seen too many videos about the full Ironman that has me freaked out. Besides that I have become very competitive and I would like to break the 6 hr 30 min time. I know this isn't going to happen in this terrain, nor am I going to win this race. My training is over and I just need to go out there and have fun with it! My goal for this week is to stay positive, smile and enjoy the scenery that God has given me too look at while I'm out there! Oh yeh and have fun! Sorry to all those who have been the brunt of all my negative thinking lately! Its all gone starting right now! :) 5 days left whaooo!

Restore Kids

I wanted to show you some pictures of the precious kids that you have helped in the past several months. A couple of days ago they graduated from Kindergarten and K4.
Currently you all have helped me raise $3132.45 for these kids! Way To Go!

Disney 70.3

I was a spectator for the first time today since I've been involved with the sport of triathlon. What a different feeling that was! I was excited for my friends before the race and then once everyone started getting on there bikes I became a little nervous for them. I was thinking that ther was going to be SOOOO much time for us to kill while my friends where on their 56 mile bike ride, but that wasn't the case at all. It went by so quickly. Of course the pro's were already out on the run by the time we got a quick bite to eat and walked to the run course. The pros are amazing! Watching them run is the coolest thing. They have the quickest feet!

This 70.3 race was out at Disney witch most people think would be great. And for the most part today it was ok for us. But then again I wasn't racing so I don't know what the athletes thought about it. My favorite part about the race today was where we stood for the run. We were in a shaded area that we could see people on both sides. Athletes going out and in. It was a three loop course so we were able to see everyone several times. It was great. I'm sure it was very encouraging for the runners too.
The thing I didn't like about Disney was that it took us a billion years to get back to our cars. In the morning we had to park in a Disney parking lot and be shuttled over to the race start. Then when we left for some reason the bus drivers were very confused and dropped us off one place made us get on another bus and then that bus driver pulled into an empty parking lot across the street from where everyone parked. Then once he figured out where we wanted to go he went around the block to get there instead of just going across the street. OH and of course he then had to circle the parking lot once for us!!!!! ahhhhhh we could of crawled faster than that. But now we are all home with food in our bellies feeling much better. Disney is just not athlete/spectator friendly. Its all about their guest and their magical experience. Thats all well and good but if they are going to put on this production then things need to change. They need to think about the months of training people put into this not including the amount of money. The athletes deserve better. I don't understand why USAT keeps having races there.
Shauna, Heather and Tish you guys did great today! It was so fun watching you race and cheering you on! I wish I could say I was done with my race!

Restore/Disney

Restore Orlando had their graduation for the Future Hope of Promise School last night. It was the sweetest thing! Those kids are precious. They were all dressed up in their church clothes. Most of them in purple, I guess I missed the memo. I wish I had a picture of Avery! He was in a purple plaid suit with purple shoes. He ROCKED! The kids sang a few songs, diplomas where handed out and then there was cake and punch for everyone to enjoy. It was great to see most of their parents last night. There isn't always a lot of parent participation down there so when ever they show up its a blessing. About 5 of the kids will be coming back next year for kindergarten and the others who were in kindergarten will be going to a different school for 1st grade.

Only 11 more days until lift off! Thirteen until race day. Tomorrow 3 of my friends will be participating in the Disney 70.3. Part of me wishes that I was competing too. I'm burnt out, I'm done training. I still don't feel very confident on the bike but there isn't much I can do now. I'm excited to spend 7 hours in the sun tomorrow watching my friends. For real, I am! We've been training so hard together for so long it will be fun to see them compete. I haven't been a spectator in about 2 years. This will be different for me. The whole transition thing will be different tomorrow so I'm glad we get to see it happen before we have to experience it.
Good luck you guys!