Off seaon...

Yes, we are still here and still training. We have entered the off season, so plans are less structured. I will begin cycle camp on Monday. This program will take me to a new level on the bike. I am way excited. I have been running 3 days per week, swimming 2 times and weights 1-2 times. Its nice to do "what feels good," without a rigid-mapped-out plan.

Justin is healing well and has been kicking butt in the pool and on the spin bike. He just ordered a bike trainer (to use during Sunday football). He plans to ride for 2+hours on it each Sunday!

We have registered for Boise 70.3! That will be in June 2010- stay tuned for that crazy adventure.

Happy off season,

Michelle

P.S. We have earned our right to eat all the turkey and holiday goodies- this is the best thing about being a triathlete. I love food!

Michelle says...one down one to go!

I didn't get any pictures from race day, I'm so bummed but I did take this one. I hung my finishers medal with my final time sticker at the bottom of my garage stairs. It will remind me every time I head out to train how hard work pays off.

I did it! i qualified for Boston with 1 min. 17 seconds to spare. My final time was 3.49.43. I was surprised considering at mile 23 I totally bonked. Runners were flying past me and I wanted to do nothing more than stop. I hurt sooooo bad. I started the race a little ahead of my goal pace 8.23 so I was able to "sand-bag" 2 minutes. These precious 2 minutes were the cushion I needed at mile 23 when my pace slowed down to (I'm guessing) 9.30 min. pe mile. As for the course-stunning, volunteers-first class, weather-superb! I couldn't ask for more. Well, I guess a 3.20 would have been nice. I did wake up feeling great and thought that I'd love to blow my goal (3.40) out of the water but I am happy meeting my goal. I stayed with the 3.40 pace team up until mile 23 when my pace fell. There were 7000 racers and 5700 finishers. I came upon a good-looking guy at mile 16 and felt bad that he was walking. I knew he was an A plus racer and was capable of a much faster finish time. I was proud that he didn't get a DNF on his racing resume. Soooo Justin- you can BQ next year- Boston will still be there in 2011 and so will I. We do things together!



Happy recovery-



Michelle

Justin says...

We've all heard those three words of encouragement - "Break a leg". As you can tell from my prevous posts this is pretty da$% relevent to me right now...and I'm not happy about it. Ten months of planning, preparing, training, and it comes down to the fact that my leg is still far from 100%. I've run 1 mile in the past five weeks. So do I plan on running the marathon? Hell yes I do!

I mean, why not? Last race of the season, leg is feeling "better", insert lame incoherent reason here, etc. It makes perfect sense for me to give it a shot. Yes, I hear you...I'm like the alcoholic justifying why he needs just one more drink at the bar. I'm sorry, I just can't help myself. I'm addicted to the race day atmosphere. I love it, I crave it, I need it...would someone please get the bottle away from the crazy drunk guy?!

I know...I know...it's pure craziness, but I'm determined to get through this. What doesn't kill us will only set the healing process back another 8 weeks, or something like that.

So to all you crazy people like me, a little piece of advice. Get another round, it's last call...err wait...good luck on your next race. Do as I do and "Break a leg".

Go get em Michelle. Next stop...BOSTON.

5 days to go! Michelle says...

Less than a week until all of my training, resting, eating, thinking, planning and obsessing will come to a conclusion. Will or will I not Boston qualify? I feel so good. I am going to try and keep a positive attitude all week, sleep well, eat healthy and try to find an outlet for all of this extra energy from not training so much. This is my A++ race. I want to make 3.40 more than I ever thought possible. It looks like the weather should be ideal (mid-low 50's? in the morning and not too hot by mid-morning). I have my outfit picked out and nutrition plan. As you can see, my son Ty is also all about nutrition! This is where I found him one morning. Help yourself son!

Systems ready for launch!

Michelle

Michelle says.... swim,run,bike, run? What the?

Well, I'm sad to say that the triathlon season has ended here in Utah. The weather will be turning cold here in a few weeks so my final triathlon was the Inaugural Daybreak Olympic triathlon on Saturday. It was a great race except that the open water swim portion was cancelled due to 3 cases of roundworm reported in the area. Part of me wanted to risk it and swim in the lake but then I really thought about it and decided I didn't want worms in my butt. The race directors were as disappointed as the racers so they made a "make-shift" swim in a private pool 1 mile from transition. We swam 75 meters (3 laps) then ran 1 mile before we mounted our bikes. The bike route took us up 2 large hills before turning down a hill and cruising to turn-around at 11.5 miles. What comes up must come down though, so it was back up the hill we just came down and once up to the top it was smooth sailing back to transition. Once my shoes were on it was onto the run (again) this time 2 laps around Roundworm...I mean Daybreak lake. My legs weighed a ton and I just couldn't get them to turn-over fast enough. I passed a few women in the Olympic race and was pleased at that, thinking I may have a top 3 age-group placing. Justin was there to cheer me on when I crossed the finish line in 2.12.49 which gave me a 6th woman overall and 1st in my age group! Not bad, not bad! Of course I'm a bit greedy and want a top-three overall but I'm not too disappointed with my performance.

Goodbye tri's (for the season),

Michelle

Justin says...Stressed out - literally

Well it's finally time to get back on the saddle. I figured I'd take 4-6 weeks off of training just before the last A race of the year - St. George marathon (3:10 goal). Why you may ask? It's simple...my fitness was at such a high level I decided training was not needed. I'm sure I can simply roll out of bed and cruise to a sub 3 hour marathon. Easy as pie, right?

Yeah, right. I wish this was by choice...you might have thought I was clinically insane with that training plan, but at least I'd have been able to run around my padded room. Instead, I can't even manage to run down the hall right now. I think someone mentioned something about a drunken horse?

If you haven't guessed it, somehow, I've managed find a way to give myself a stress fracture in my lower left leg. Oh yeah, that's right, I'm out of action for 4-8 weeks, and St. George was only 5 weeks away at the time of the injury. PERFECT TIMING. Kiss that 3:10 goal goodbye...I'll be lucky to even finish.

Needless to say, I'm none too pleased right about now. At least the NFL season has begun to take my mind off of the lack of training I'm doing. Maybe I can be like the New England Patriots in week 1 against the Bills, and pull out a miracle. That's my only chance in St. George...

I'd write more, but I'm too busy stressing about how the he$# I'm going to keep from snapping this leg at mile 12. Man that last 14.2 will be a long way to walk...

Good luck Michelle...cheer me on at the finish line!

Michelle says...

Ahhhhh......I finished my last 20 miler. It felt pretty good. My left foot has plantar faceitis which is annoying but I think I can run through it. My nutrition strategy has been working great. I drink a-little-bit-often to stave off dehydration. I have been drinking gatorade at all of my "aid stations" and carrying H20 with me and sipping often. No more gels/gus! I may pop a underolytes pill of a few sport beans but nothing big. I'm doing my stomach a favor by having the substance already broken down into liquid form.

Time to taper,

Michelle

Michelle says..4weeks to go!

We are coming up on St. George so fast. Justin would love to halt the race for a few extra weeks. He is still down with a stress fracture with small signs of improvement. He is quite bummed out but still holding out hope. He changed his next triathlon from an Olympic distance to a sprint distance in hopes that he will be able to run 3 miles. As for my training, I'm feeling more and more confident. I have one final 20 miler this Saturday and then I will begin to taper. My 15 miles this past Saturday was great. It rained on my for 5 of the miles which made me smile and kept me cool. My nutrition seems to be working out okay. I will try again this weekend with just gatorade, water and shot-blocks.

Get better Just!

Michelle

Michelle says...the good, the bad, and the broken!

My Dear Jutin has a stress fracture! He's limping around the house like a drunk horse. He is absolutely distraught about the whole matter. The Doc said it was caused to "overuse, which is common in runners." Yeah for him. He should be back in the saddle 3-6 weeks. We do have a B race coming up in 3 weeks (Daybreak Olympic triathlon) that he will hopefully be able to do. It has been bitter-sweet for me. I have been doing enough training for the both of us. This past Saturday I completed a 20 miler, followed by a 23 mile bike ride with a friend and then went hiking with the family (4 miles) on Sunday. Ohhh and did I mention that I get to do most of the running around the house, chasing kids, fetching this and that, and so on? I know I would not trade places with Justin for anything. It sucks to be side-lined. This will be a test for both of us.

Happy healing Honey,

Michelle

Michelle says.... its good to be back!

My first week back into training! It feels great. I have missed my track workouts and swimming intervals. I'm getting so excited for St. George! I need to figure out my nutrition strategy. This weekends 20 miler should help. I am going to meticulously plan every mile! When I eat, what I eat, what I drink etc.

Never puke again,

Michelle

Michelle says...

Ahhhh...... my legs still work! Well after 4 days of sleeping 10 hours, eating everything in sight, and sitting on my you-know-what, I am ready to get back in the pool, saddle and pound the pavement. Like taper week, the week after a race is the same-rest, rest rest. I am really bad at rest (just ask Justin). I love to train constantly. The only thing that gets me to rest is knowing that I could get faster by doing so. I will be ready to hit-it-hard come Monday! I can't wait.

St. George Marathon here I come!

Happy training (and resting)

We did it!! But not without some drama...

The Utah Half Triathlon Entry Fee's = $280


Wetsuit Purchase/Rental = $200


Gym membership fee's = $1000


Getting our asses kicked by mother nature for 70 miles = PRICELESS!





You've gotta love this picture of Michelle. It sums up how I assume everybody felt after finishing this race...and I quote, "Holy sh&*, am I done yet? Excuse me, where is the bathroom, so I can puke my guts out?" Man oh man, what a race...





We've all heard those stories that seem just a little to dramatic to be true. You know, the one where your grandparents had to walk ten miles to school with no shoes. Up hill both ways in six inches of snow...blah blah blah. Yeah whatever, I was born at night, but not last night. Well, we now have our own version of this story! You decide how much of it to believe...





Let me begin by telling you that Michelle and I are a couple of tough cookies. Rain, sleet, snow, does not deter us from our training. (That or we're on the verge of going postal...forgive the pun.) Seriously though, we do 99% of our cardio training outdoors. It doesn't matter if there is 6 inches of snow on the ground and a 20 mile training run awaits, we're out there trudging along. Well I thought we were tough, until this Saturday.





It all started so peacefully. Awake at 4:45 AM, on the road by 5:15. Weather was calm and clear. It looked like a beautiful day for a race. Living in Utah though, if you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes and it'll change. Had we only known then we could have faked an injury, called in sick, called in dead, whatever.





After setting up our transition area, getting the body markings (which we both still have days later), and standing in line for the porta potties, we were pumped and ready for the swim. (By the way, let me mention, there is nothing worse than a pre-race porta potty. I'm so glad I'm a guy, yuck!) As we begin to walk to the swim area, not even 10 seconds after leaving transition, the wind starts to pick up. Not too big of a deal, at least there is no lightening, right? Still pumped for the swim....whimper! By the time we get to the swim start, the wind is howling, at least 80 MPH. Okay maybe only 20-30 MPH, but bad enough to wreak havoc on the swim buoys. So much so that we couldn't start the swim. The wait begins...second whimper.





15 minutes...oh boy. Watching the wind blowing, white caps start showing in the swim course. With my swim skills it was like showing a little kid a horror movie, and then asking them to sleep in the basement alone that same night. Ain't happening...





30 minutes...are you kidding me. I had totally pumped myself up for this 1.2 mile swim, and now waiting 30 minutes in the cold wind was more than I could take....double whimper.





The swim begins...





Finally, after a 40 minute wait, we are instructed that there is enough time for 1 loop of the two mile course. In total maybe 3/4 of a mile. I mustered up enough of my strength to convince myself it wouldn't be that bad. Big mistake. About three minutes into the swim, I'm going strong. Front middle of the pack swimming strong. I go to take a breath right at the same time one of the waves decides to crash down on my head. I know, I'm not a strong swimmer, but I'm not dumb enough to breathe while my head is still underwater...at least not usually. Oops...that hurt. Okay, time to regroup, I can do this. Just need to get my composure, flop onto my back for a little regroup. Bam...next wave smashes me. Now I'm ticked...can't swim in this crappy water, can't float on my back, how the he$% am I going to survive this swim? Ahh...I realize we're in Utah Lake. Shallow enough in certain spots to walk. Must find shallow water. Much to my relief, I find a small shallow spot. I know what you're thinking...sorry to disappoint, but no I'm not too proud to walk during a swim. Anything to survive. Yet another strong swim...outta the water in 223rd place, out of 258 participants. But at least I'm alive. On to T1.





Pull the wetsuit off, socks, shoes, and helmet on. Grab the bike, and look who it is...Michelle. She started 10 minutes after me, and she's almost passed me already...brutal. Oh well, at least I'm not floating like that dead carp near the swim entrance. Grab the bike and I'm off...wait a second, my right calf is completely cramped up, the da%$ swim strikes again. Ugh!



No time to waste, 56 miles of peaceful asphalt ahead. Peaceful? I guess if you were one of those people who chase tornado's for a living you might have considered this bike peaceful. Forty mile an hour winds the entire time. Of course, riding into the wind the entire time. C'mon - what do you mean you don't believe that? Okay, fine...we did have that little stretch into the side wind. In all seriousness, the wind was whipping the entire ride. Although shorter than the Tour De Park City, this ride was 10 times tougher. I remember laughing to myself several times during the ride..."What the he$% am I doing? This is craziness." To top things off, as we turned North to head back to the race hub, we caught a glimpse of the "Storm of the Century" that was causing all this havoc. I'm talking about the biggest, blackest, nastiest looking storm I've seen in a long time. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that we were riding our bikes right into the teeth of this sucker. I can only imagine this is how the soldiers in the Civil War felt as they were heading into battle. You can see the enemy and you basically just run right into the middle of the scrum. Sounds appealing, huh?

Well, of course this race wouldn't have been complete without the rain. With about 10 miles to go, we finally hit the rain. By this time, everybody looked absolutely drained. Fighting the wind had just sucked the life out of us. On a scale of 1 to 10, had I been asked to rate myself, I would have given myself a 2. Not good considering I wasn't off the bike yet and still had a half marathon to run. Things were looking bleak, not to mention I was completely out of food, water, and gatorade. Big mistake...and on top of it all, I was soaked to the bone, and cold. Yes, cold in August...in Utah. Oh well, at least I can put on a nice pair of dry shoes for the run. Oh sh*%, my shoes are in the transition area, completely exposed! They're drenched too...

Somehow I managed to limp my way in on the bike...got a little burst of energy seeing some family at the transition area. Grabbed some food for the run and was off. For all you seasoned racers, you've all heard the warnings...DO NOT TRY ANYTHING NEW ON RACE DAY!!! Well, that's exactly what I did...and it was great! Of course, nobody has said I'm the sharpest knive in the drawer. Plus, I'm getting older and my hearing isn't that good anymore, just ask Michelle. What was that? Did someone say something? Huh, oh well...back to the story.

The run for me was actually the most enjoyable part of the race. I ate a 12 course meal...bananas, pretzels, Nilla wafers, gummy bears, M&M's, granola bars, it was great. After having been wiped on the bike, my body responded well to the fuel and I ran a strong race 1 hr 41 minutes. Not a PR, but a good run regardless. The run course was odd...to say the least. Someone described it as a spider. Run out for a leg, come back to the middle, run out to another leg, come back to the middle for two loops. It was actually refreshing, as we were able to see friends and family several times and that is HUGE for moral. The highlight of the run though, came about 5 miles in. A guy was about 200 hundred yards in front of me, but I was closing fast. Suddenly, I see a stream of water shooting to the right...what the he&*? This dude is peeing mid-run. He didn't even slow down! Amazing...I'm just glad I was still behind him. Yikes.

All in all, after a shaky swim, I was able to ride and run strongly and finish in 27th place overall. Breaking the 5 hour mark by 45 seconds. Although the swim was cut short, I think the wind and rain made up for it. The race director made an attempt at humor before the swim began, and I quote, "The two lap swim isn't important, you're going to get more wet on the bike and run." HA HA HA...shut up! Boy was he right.

Michelle was strong as usual. 19th female overall, 5 hours 30 minutes...and looking stunning as she came across the finish line. She's one sexy triathlete. Nice job babe!

So there you have it. Our first 70.3...or or 69.8, whatever! I'll leave you with this...I've now done four triathlons this year. The first had rain and temps in the forty's, the second had rain and wind, the third was unseasonably HOT, and the Utah Half...see above for weather description. MOTHER NATURE HATES TRIATHLON. LOL...at least the ones I choose to do!

Tri and Run a little this week. You'll feel much better, don't let the above scare you. We can't wait for our next race.

The dreaded taper! Michelle says....

Justin in the kitchen. Look closely those are garden tomatoes which he used to make homemade pizza sauce! Very healthy, immune-boosting and delicious! Love the apron Honey!

I really have a hard time tapering for a big race. I feel lazy and a little sluggish. I heard somewhere that during a taper you are more likely to get a cold (knock on wood). I've been lucky this season to not have contracted any colds or the flu (knock on wood again). I attribute it all to training and eating right. During training your immune system is working very efficiently. I also believe that you are constantly "flushing" toxins out of your body during a hard sessions. Combine that with taking in a ton of fluid (h20) and its no wonder why athletes are less likely to get sick (K on W). So there you have it. I hate to taper for the above listed reasons. Two days to go!! I'll try not to worry myself sick!

Tour de Park City- Michelle says...

Here we are after the ride. A trip on a gondola to a concert to celebrate 7 years together!

Ages and ages hence three roads diverged into Jeremy Ranch and cyclists took the one with the dead end. Although the tour took...well... a detour to start, it did turn out to be an enjoyable ride. We had perfect weather. The morning was a little chilly but once you started riding you warmed right up. We are so lucky to live minutes away from absolute stunning scenery. After our first 10 miles we headed out of town and towards the Jordanelle reservoir overlook which was a slight climb to our first refuel station. After that we headed into Francis. Talk about farm country! Cows, horses, barns and fields everywhere. Absolutely gorgeous! We then began our slight climb toward Wolfe Creek Pass. The scenery turned into a small, winding road with a creek bubbling next to us. We could see large pines in the background and an occasional cabin sprinkled about the greenery. Now this tour is considered one of the toughest because of the elevation change. Up (no pun intended) until this point it was an easy ride. We began our accent up Mount Everest ooops... I mean Wolfe Creek Pass. This was a 12 mile climb with the last 6 at 90 degree vertical. We made it to the second aid station with the feeling of an Olympian crossing the finish line. Only, we were at 50 miles which meant 50 more to go.

After refueling we sped down the canyon at 35mph with bugs hitting us with such force that I now know what a windshield feels like. It leveled off and now we enjoyed some flat roads and more farm country. I just love small towns. Kamas is one of them. They have cute little diners, and dairy freezes. It took me back in time to when life was more simple. Before Blackberrys, I-Phones and video games. We saw kids out playing baseball and riding their bikes. It was kind of weird. We approached our final fuel stop and loaded up on more power bars, PB an Js, rice crispy treats and topped off our water bottles. (Since we are mainly runners it is very odd to us that you get to stop for 5-10 minutes and stuff your face. You would never do this in a marathon. If you did it would take you 10 hours to finish and you would poop your pants.)

Anyways, we left our all-you-can-eat buffet and headed out onto a flat road with our climbs behind us or so we thought. A piece of advice for new riders: never talk to another rider who has done this same ride before. I did just that and found out that we had another mountain to climb with not one but two peaks!! Yahoo! I really wasn't too sore at this point but we were approaching 6 hours in the saddle and my butt bones were a little achy and I was tired of sitting. This is where you need that mental strength they talk about. We just kept plugging along. Then the wind came to make out climb even more challenging.

When my cyclometer read 90 miles. I was done. Where was the finish!? We were now climbing on the highway! Did we take a wrong turn (again)? We were being passed by those crazy peleton groups who were completing the 170 mile tour. I tried to join them but they were going 25mph and I felt like a champion at 12mph. The finish came in a very unclimatic manner. Unlike marathons where you get a finishers metal, free food, more grab-bag goodies and such, we were welcomed by food, bikes, and jerseys all...... for purchase! O'well. What an experience! We needed to get used to 100 miles in the saddle if and when we conquer an Ironman.

Happy Anniversary Jus!

Justin says...

Spudman Recap

I guess I should start with an apology. In my last post I took a stab at some humor involving a rock...you know, I swim like a rock...blah blah blah. Boy did I pick on the wrong group to pick on. So here goes...

"I'm sorry for saying I swim like a rock. It's absolutely false. In fact, based on my experience in the Spudman, I'd have to say any rock would swim quite a bit better than I ever will." That being said, let me explain my apology. Before I do though, a small tangent...who decided swimming would be the first leg of a triathlon? I can think of many, many events that would be more appealing...pie eating contest, competitive snorkeling, fencing, chess, etc. Just my opinion, but these are much safer bets.

and now, back to the story...

After one of the most epic of swims ever...I'm cruising along in 578th place. As I choke my way out of the water, BAM, my toe gets obliterated by a rock.. Coincidence? I think not! Did I mention how much I love swimming?

After limping my way through the first transition area, my wet and blood sock and all, I head out on to the bike. I've never felt so many eyes on me during the bike ride...they were everywhere. Get it...potato, eyes, LOL. I know, I know...lame one, but how often can you get in a good potato joke these days. By the way, isn't the peleton supposed to be at the Tour De France right now? Who'd of thought we'd have spotted one in Idaho. So much for the no drafting rules. Creeping into the top 100 after the bike.

My apologies to the poor saps who crashed on that da*$ shoe in the second transition area. Remind me to tighten up that clip? Oops...

Finally onto run. Ahh the run...what a run. Nothing like a hot, flat, dry, shadeless desert to make the run hard as he*%. Again, the eyes were penetrating...sorry, I couldn't resist. Definitely not a PR, but good enough to get me into the top 50 overall (42/1346 finishers). I'll get over the fact that I got passed on the run by FIVE runners...sometime this winter.

All in all, it was a great race. Congrats to my beautiful wife on her great finish (19th woman finisher)!

Way to go E.L., I won't let anyone know about the snoring episode, it's our little secret!

If the Spudman didn't team me anything else, it left me with a new triathlon saying...

"ROCK ON!"

Spudman

Before (with E.L) and after with Justin

Michelle says...

Spudman was like that song "Hurt so good." The swim was great except for the fact that me and E.L. were in the 5th wave which set us up for a 90 degree run. I was out of the water in 16.56 which was way better than I'd expected. Of course it was a down stream swim so I won't get too excited about my next Olympic triathlon. When I got out of the water I felt like I weighed a ton! I just kept thinking "get this wetsuit off of me!" I ran as best as I could while yanking my cap and goggles off (2.13min for T2) and then onto the bike. The course could not have been any flatter. All I have to say about that is there is not a shortage of potatos in this world. Everywhere, everywhere there was nothin' but potato fields. Well there was a farmer who yelled "welcum' to Idaho!" So this race was deffinetly not USAT- talk about drafting! I never thought I would hear the word "Peleton" in a tri. There were no officials out on the course so if you rode your mo-ped it would have been just fine. I finished the bike in 1.08.44 (not bad for 24.8 miles), got my running shoes on in (.54 sec. #1 time for the women>>>yahoooo). Then... the run. Talk about hot! I ran so slow (50.11) 10k! OUCH. I was very dissapointed at that but I am just glad I survived the heat. I dumped h20 over my head, ran through sprinklers anything to keep me cool. I was way thirsty so I must have been a little dehydrated so I just told myself to not stop and that I was almost there. Crossing the finish line was spectacular! I gave it my final push as they said my name. After that I drank like 3 bottles of water, 1 chocolate milk, 1 gatorade and a partidge in a pear tree>>>>just kidding. It was a great race, I just wanted a top 3 age group finish, instead I took 7th out of 110 in my group. I guess God is keeping me humble. Now I am even more motivated to train harder and get faster!!!

Justin says...

Well, since this is my first ever attempt at this "blog" thing, let me start by talking about some of the other "firsts" I've experienced this year. Where to begin...

How about spandex. Are you kidding me? I thought this sh*% was gone in the 80's, but alas here I am wearing spandex again! The scary thing is that it's almost a daily occurrence anymore.

Tour De France - zzz...zzz...zzz. That's what I used to think. I'm totally addicted. In fact, I never thought I'd be a roadie, but here I am leaving the house at 5:30 AM to "squeeze" in 50 miles before work. 50 miles? By the way, what the he*% am I doing awake at 5:30 in the morning?

Swimming laps. Seriously, could anything be more boring? I mean, we're talking about swimming? It's kind of like AI talking about "practice". "Swimming...we're talking about swimming". I was once told, "...you swim like The Rock". I say, "Really...I didn't know he was a good swimmer". He says..."No...not like The Rock, like A ROCK!" You catch my drift...I'd rather be golfing.

Again, what am I awake at 5:30 in the morning?

Body glide - what is this stuff? I found out in a quick hurry. It's amazing how water seems to wash all the oils off your body when you swim. I found some very interesting places to chafe that I'd rather not relive.

But in all seriousness...what a good time we're having! We've run several marathons, and afterward I've always felt burnt. So tired of just logging mile after mile. And I love to run...

Triathlon, on the other hand, has been completely refreshing. It's almost as if there isn't enough time to get burned out, there is just too much to do.

By the way, it helps to have someone to enjoy the new adventures with. From our first 5K to our first Ironman..."We do things together." Or so I've been told...

Michelle says...

It's getting darker earlier. I got a small taste of fall this morning. Sure, its 95 degrees out today but when I woke at 5:30 it was still dark. This makes it that much harder to wake up and train. I love the long, hot days of summer, when you feel that the day will never end. Race season is half way over and we still have our two "A" races (St. George Marathon and Utah Half Tri). I need to live in the moment and try not to think too far ahead. Although, Vineman Ironman is looking good!! I mean who wouldn't want to spend their 8 year anniversary doing an Ironman with their Love? Plus, it's in Sonoma one of our favorite places!

Here we go...

I never thought that I would ever do a blog. Then again I never thought that I would run a marathon, do a triathlon, or attempt to qualify for Boston. I guess I have changed. At least I have become more open to trying new things, challenging my mind, body, and embracing technology.

I love to train. Whether it be for a short race, long distance or anything in between. This past year it has become my obsession. I cannot seem to get enough! From gear, races, podcasts, to anything and everything related to triathlon. I am on a mission now to complete my first Ironman next fall.I won't be doing this alone but with my best friend, (also known as my husband) Justin. We have been running/training/racing together since we met 9 years ago. We have come along way. Since then we have completed 5ks, 10ks, 15ks, half-marathons, full marathons, sprint triathlons and we will be doing our first Olympic triathlon this weekend. For our anniversary (August 2nd) we will be riding our first Century tour together (Tour de Park City). We are also registered for our first 70.3 triathlon on August 15. Whats left to do? IRONMAN! This blog will be record of our journey to the finish line of an Ironman and more.