Sunshine, PR's and not getting "chicked!"

The three stooges

First race of the season was yesterday in sunny St. George!  The weather was great; a little cold in the morning but warming up to 60 by the afternoon.  We got in early evening, had our ritualistic-Cafe-Rio-pre-race-dinner and hit the pillow at 10.  Justin brought down his bike and planned to ride part of the Ironman course after the race.  He was so excited after we checked into the hotel and found out that we had two beds in our room.  I thought for sure he was going to put his bike next to him in the bed and let me shiver alone.  He quickly said that he wanted me to have a good nights sleep without him wiggling around with his restless legs syndrome.  Whatever Just!!  The race didn't start until 9 so we had plenty of time in the morning for breakfast and getting ready.  We arrived at the Dixie Center with 45 minutes to wait.  Man was it cold!!!  We all huddled in the Dixie Center and pretended to ignore the announcement to head out to the starting line.  At 8:55 we finally got the message and toed the line with the other 1500 racers.

The course was fantastic!  So scenic and well-supported.  I just love this place.  It was mostly flat with one steep climb at mile 6 (which we had to climb twice) but we got to take a steep decent a mile later so it was worth it.  You could see where the Virgin River had swelled and washed out part of the trail. The red rock surroundings and blue sky kept a smile on my face.  I just wish it was a bit warmer (as always).  I held a steady pace most of the run and stuck with my goal of staying below an 8 minute mile.  It wasn't until mile 11 that I began to get passed by other runners.  I'm thinking these runners had a tube of NOS in their shorts or something because I was hurting and could not give anymore.  I was happy with my new PR of 1.42.16 (7.52 pace).

Not getting "chicked"

Justin on the other hand was smokin!  Not only did he set a PR of 1.21.57 but he was not "chicked" and finished 24th overall.  Way to go babes!  Our friend Brittany (who is part Kenyan) did great too; she finished ahead of me by a minute.  Nice job Britt!  We celebrated after the race with the other racers, chocolate milk and snacks galore.  It began to get a little warmer and Justin was ready to hit the IM course (yes, he is crazy and from another planet).  Brittany and I went shopping and out to lunch and picked Justin up 2 hours later.  He will have to tell you about the course.  He did say something about a wall?  Yeah, you can't really ride a bike up a wall but I'm guessing he did.

Anyways great race and can't wait for the next one!


PS-  Brittany,Trista and Rory and whoever else wants it; my Disappearing homemade Protein bar recipe!

1 cup PB
1 cup honey
1 cup oats
1 scoop whey protein powder (either chocolate or vanilla)
1/2 cup flax seed (if you have it)
chopped up dates, walnuts, coconut, sunflower seeds (however much you want or none at all)

Put everything in a saucepan over medium-low heat and stir until all mixed together.  Spread in an 8X8 pan; press down- sprinkle with chocolate chips if you want (press those into the mixture) and put in the fridge to harden.  Cut into squares and watch them disappear!

*I use organic everything with no added sugar.  Also, if the mixture seems to runny add more oats; too thick add more honey!


Have a great start of your racing season friends!