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!

Thanks!

A big thanks to everyone who has helped me raise money for Restore Orlando. The current total raised is $2,771.85! Thats amazing! I thank you and so does Restore!
I can't believe there are only 23 days left! I'm getting a little anxious and a bit done with this training stuff. I'm still having fun but its also becoming tiring. Today in the pool I was ready to quit in the middle of my workout. Brian quickly reminded me you can't quit in the middle of and Ironman, so what are you doing? Let me just tell you it was a good thing he was there because that workout would of be over with. Although the waves will be nothing I've ever experienced before I'm not so worried about the swim or the run. Its the bike that I'm very concerned with. The wind and the hills are not something we can reproduce here in Florida. We try to but Sugarloaf and Buckhill are probably nothing compared to what we are going to be facing in HI. Lots of prayers and a whole lot of positive thinking might be the only way I make it up those volcanoes!

St. Anthony's

What a great race! Its so beautiful in St. Pete! The weather was perfect this year. My only complain would be that the race is too big. My wave didn't start until 8:50. That's the time that I would normally only have about 30-60 mins left in a race! It got really hot on the run. I didn't prepare my body well enough for that. I thought I was drinking a lot on the bike but apparently not. I got really bad cramps in the very beginning of the run and they lasted what seemed like forever. Then I battled with goose bumps and heat. Not good, but some how even though I walked most of it I still ended up with a 10min pace.
The best part of the race was racing with my friends. I caught up with Brian's friend Dawn and my friend Tracy and we rode the whole way together. We probably should of been given a penalty but some how none of us get one. The motorcycle passed us so many times and just hovered over us forever! I thought for sure we were caught. It was hard not to draft or stay in packs there were so many people! There 124 girls in my age group alone. One of my other favorite parts was having my supportive boyfriend there! He's so good to me!

As of tomorrow I only have one month left! Today Brian and I watched part of the 2006 Hawaii Ironman on TV. He has it on Tivo so we fast forwarded to the bike part where the pro's are talking about how windy it is. You see can them struggling to stay on their bikes, the wind is so strong. I listened with tears in my eyes as Michelle Jones tells me to look out at the water and see if there are white caps before I go over one of the hills. If there are white caps that means that I'm in big trouble, its going to be really windy! If there aren't well then I'm told the Hawaiian God's are asleep! I want them to be asleep June 2, 2007! All day! I'm scared to death!