Rain again!

What is it with St. Anthony's and bad weather? Last year the water was horrible. They were pulling people out and one person even died! This year the forecast is for rain, which means the ocean will be rough! Unbelievable! Like we didn't suffer enough two weeks ago in Clermont. I guess its only going to make us stronger. Other than the weather I'm looking forward to this race. I think it will be fun. The course shouldn't be hard, its pretty flat.
Pray for good weather on Sunday!

Unbelievable!

Yesterdays race was unbelievable in so many ways!! First of all the day started off bad. Brian and I had a miss communication about what time I was going to be at his house. So he was still asleep when I arrived. It wasn't a big deal though we were at the race in plenty of time. Then stupid me froze my water bottles the night before, luckily they were ok by race time. Then I forgot my USAT card in the car once we got to the race. But once I was in the transition area everything settled down for a little while. That is until I got on the bike! First I dropped my chain because my gears were stuck, then the wind started blowing, then it started raining incredibly hard, along with the rain came lightning, then came two flat tires!! The wind was so strong I thought was going to be knocked off my bike. At some points I couldn't even see in front of me the rain was coming down so hard. Our stuff in the transition area was basically in a lake. I don't think I have ever been so dirty in my whole life. I had grease, mud, grass and everything else all over me! I didn't even put my hat on to go running, it had junk all in it. So my hair was everywhere, those pictures are going to be keepers! :) Thank goodness Brian handed me a pair of dry socks before I went out on the run.

Needless to say if you look at my bike time it looks like I had a 12.4 MPH pace, it took me 3 hours! My swim was really good though. I came in 1st in my age group and 10th out of all the women. On the bike I came in last! hahah.....It took me at least 40mins to replace my first tire and then I just rode on my 2nd flat for about 2 miles. I didn't have a 2nd spare and I knew the transition area wasn't too far away. I took my bike into the shop today and my rim is fine, they also said that my gears are just hard to shift and thats basically the way it's going to be. (I think they are just tired of me coming in every couple of weeks for the same problem! My thumbs just aren't strong enough :) ) I had a good run though. I kept a 9:01 pace. The total mileage of the race was 1.2 mile swim, 36 mile bike and 9.3 mile run. I was disappointed with my results on the bike but over all considering the circumstances I'm pretty excited about the results.
It can't get any worse than that!

Training Update

Training is going well. I'm really enjoying it. Brian and I have finally gotten back into the routine of swimming together. I almost caught up to him yesterday, I was in arms length all the way until the last 25 meters! When it was my turn to be the rabbit he let me swim about 3/4 of a lap before he started. If we had swam more than a 300, I wouldn't of been able to keep up the pace. He definitely makes me faster!
This morning Tracy, Alex and I went out to Buckhill and did a brick workout. I think I'm ready for the Clermont race on Sunday. Its by far the longest race I've ever done but for some reason I'm not worried. I keep telling myself it's just a training day. It shall be interesting! Pray that it doesn't rain! It's not fun or safe to be riding in the rain.

Restore Orlando update: Thank you so much for your continuous support in helping our community. Currently you have helped me raise $1,500!

Ironman

Hey did you guys know that I have a famous boyfriend?! Not only does he get Desire Ficker (professional triathelet) to email me but he's also in Triathlete magazine on page 20! :)

Don't get too excited he just sent in an email, but there was a little bit of attitude flung in there. We didn't know he was going to be published so it was fun to be flipping through and find his comment.

So I guess I won't be getting the Ironman tattoo anytime soon!

Its Hot Outside!

I thought it would be a good idea if I started running in the middle of the day considering that by the time I get to the running leg of the race it will be about noon or later. I've gone running about this time of the day three times now. Other than the sketchy men on the trail, the first time was fine. The second time, it was so hot! My friend Heather and I were on the trail for an 1:20 mins. We stopped three times!!! The last time we just never started up again. We both carried water and I had a little Hammer gel mixed into to mine but it was no help. I started getting goose bumps, and we were both more tired than we should of been. So round three... I was on my own again. I brought more water with me this time, but with Heed and I took my gel before I ran. I didn't get goose bumps this time but my heart rate on the way back was through the roof, and my stomach was cramping. At first I just started walking to get my heart rate down. It didn't take more than a minute it get it down so then I started running again. (Thank goodness for heart rate monitors, a great training tool!) It wasn't until I got to the black asphalt road that I thought I was going to die from the heat. I guess I should do repeats on that road to get ready for the lava fields I will be running through. Its a good thing I have a couple of months to get used to this heat. I don't think the heat has ever effected me like this before. I live in Florida, I need to suck it up, I should be better prepared for this kinda of stuff than others coming from up north. If you see me running while your driving down the road throw me so water!

Have you ever ridden you bike 56 miles? Have you ever been on your bike and its been so windy that you have to lean to stay up? Have you ever gone 44miles on your bike without talking to anyone? Have you ever tried to read a map while riding your bike? Have you ever met a guy named Skip in the middle of no where? Have you ever had water handed to you outside a truck window when your both going about 15 MPH, then after emptying the water into your own bottle trying to throw the empty bottle back into a truck window without falling off your bike or running into something?
Well all these things happened to me yesterday. Yesterday was the first time I had completed 56 miles. I wasn't really worried about it because I did 50 just fine a couple of weeks ago. I just didn't know that on this ride I was going to be mainly by myself. After about mile 9 I got dropped by the fast people and I left behind the other people. I couldn't see anyone I knew, nor did I know where I was going. Thanks to my helpful boyfriend, I had a map! A small laminated one that I could stick in the pocket of my shirt for easy retrieval. It wasn't always the easiest thing to read though. At one point during our ride we were on a major highway that had exits on it. Not a good place to read a map! You better be holding on after a big semi passes, talk about wind!
Our coach was driving around in his truck making sure we were all still alive but it wasn't very often I would see him. There was about 8 of us spread out all over. Pat (coach)does a great job encouraging us and letting us know what we need to do next. Such as drink! That's something I guess I wasn't doing enough of. I felt great most of the ride. There was a point about mile 30 that I knew two of the biggest "mountains" were coming up very soon and I almost had a mental breakdown. Instead of a breakdown I rewarded myself with some shot blocks, very similar to gummy bears but they are filled with carbs and electrolytes, without the sugar. All was good at mile 40 when the "mountains" where in my past. Then at mile 44 life got even better! I saw a biker in the far distance. I pushed and pulled as hard as I could to get to him. I was ready to draft for a while. This man was wonderful. I pulled for a while then he pulled and then we rode side by side and talked for about 5 miles or so. If I didn't have him I don't know what I would of done. I was getting a little lonely out there by myself. When I left him I only had five miles to go. At that point I could of done anything, I was so pumped!
I ran a little bit after the ride but not long enough so in a few minutes I'm going to go run 8 miles with my friend Heather. She's amazing, I enjoy running with her because she always pushes me to the next level!
Restore Orlando update! Currently you guys have helped me raise $751!! I'm so excited to see how God is going to use this money! Thank you so much for your prayers and support!