Vancouver Half Iron RR

I have a bad habit of making the same mistakes over and over at races. I'm not sure exactly what it is - maybe the early wake-up call (seriously, 4am is REtarded!), maybe the chaos the night before (last night it was 3 new pet sitting dogs, Sam & Scott staying over, and the partying 60 year-olds upstairs).

Fortunately, I also learn from every race. One of the most important pieces to a good race, even as a spectathlete, is your nutrition plan. I learned that Safeway Peanut Butter cookies are SUPERB race nutrition. Thanks Mac! I'm taking them to Kona with me for sure. If Homeland Security has a problem with that, they can kiss my Canadian ass. I have a job to do out there and proper nutrition is crucial to my success!

As I previously suspected, the Half is my happy distance. Long enough to get use out of my endurance, but short enough that you still have a lot of day left to enjoy with friends and you don't feel completely broken after.

Bree rocked her day coming in second to Magali. Every time we saw her we cheered and got a BIG smile & a "hi guys" from her. It was awesome to see her racing so well. I was cheering for Magali too and on her last loop she looked over and asked, "where's Bree?". Because of the way the course was set-up we weren't really sure at the point, but she had it in the bag. That girl is so strong. Amazing!

Sam pr'd on the day and had the most memorable quotes. One on the bike that I will not repeat (it's not in her RR so I'll leave it alone) and on the run, "I really have to poop". Ah yes, I know that feeling all too well. I guess we can forgive her for running a dismal 1:26 half. ;)

Kyle got chick'd by Sam. He will never live that down - from either of us! But he did have a rough run and it was good to see him bounce back from a shitty patch. While his race wasn't ideal, he finished, didn't end up in the med tent AND pr'd the distance. You can't really complain about that. Except for getting chick'd by Sam. That's just terrible. :D

After the race, we all hung out at awards.Mac, Me, Sam, Bree, Bree's friend from the Island

(I think Kyle was getting his ART done)

It's always nice to be able to hang out with the tri friends, but this weekend was especially awesome. I might get to see Bree once a year if I make the Kona trip, but this year will be two. I feel spoiled. Mac & Kyle live in the Seattle area, but I still never see them. And Sam lives on Vancouver Island now, which is fairly close but the ferries are hella expensive.

Alright. This post is plenty long, isn't it? I have some pretty major news coming up in the next couple days so stay tuned!

Crack kills

And if you're so inclined, watch the other videos from the guy too. His brother is a nut! Greatest line from another video "I will kill you and eat your first born child!!". Awesome.
(Thank you Khai, Paulo & Clinty)

Vancouver Half RR to come!

The pups

Ok. I'm a little slow on this (especially since they've already left), but here are the two pups I had staying with me last week. Photos are at a minimum, but I'll have more fun shots from their next visit - 9 days in August!

Koda chillin on the back of the couch
And coyly asking for belly rubs
Bella pooped out after a running around at the park

When Bella snags the back of the couch spot...
...Koda reverts to her bed.

Muttnik

Home for a week?

I seriously can't believe I've been home from CDA this long. Time flew when I was there, and strangely has gone very quickly since I got back. I say strangely because I've been in a MAJOR funk since I got home.

Hanging out with so many GREAT people in CDA made me realize how much I'm lacking at home. Going out for a ride with Marit a couple days before the race was the easiest ride I've ever been on - because I was with someone! I've never done a non-solo ride. That's right. I'm always alone. Then just hanging out with so many like-minded people (who are also just fun and rad in their own rights) was fantastic.

I've made some extremely meaningful friendships in the last year and a half or so (even just since CDA!) and I WISH I lived near some of these people. I don't, but I can live with that... for now. I've also made some not so great friendships (even just since CDA), but they can go straight to hell. Yep, I said it.

Now what have I been doing since I got home? Training! Yep, I know it's hard to believe. But you don't want to hear about my training because everyone talks about their training. B-O-R-I-N-G.

I've also been walking dogs (yes, yes... pics of them to come!) and have a couple pups coming to live with me for a few days later this week. I promise pics of them too.

Side note: Allow me this moment to complain about weight loss/weight gain. I ate anything I wanted to in CDA and didn't train (although that all day no food fest on race day was somethin...). Came home: gain of .4lbs. Considering how much affection IHOP received from me and the beer I was forced to drink, I'd say that's pretty damn awesome. Now I'm home and training again and eating pretty good, nothing happening. Come on! Go away fat! Argh.

CDA RR

Unfortunately I'm disappointed with my first race of the season. My legs didn't move as fast as I needed them to and I wasn't properly hydrated or get enough nutrition. Fortunately, I didn't bonk til fairly late in the evening. It was the wine. I had a glass before I got dinner. Rookie mistake and I'm not a rookie. I'm looking forward to redeeming myself in Kona where it really counts.

Race day was pretty crazy. I'll sum up my people:
Ian (the super stud): 9:20, 1st in AG, 3rd AGer OA, 14thOA AND a course record for 25-29! WHO IS THIS GUY?!? Not mentioned in his RR is that he actually got to tell the guy in his AG that he already had his Kona slot and it would be rolling down. Pretty awesome.
Marit: 10:49, 2nd in AG (already going to Kona, of course). After a lot of emotion before the race, she just rocked it. It was a long, hard year for her and she deserves every amazing thing that comes her way!
Tasha: 16:44 and AWESOME for getting to that finish line! FUCK CANCER!
ADC: DNF after 1st loop on the bike and then hung out with me! :D
Rob: 10:54 and didn't shit his pants! (ummm... right? hehe)
Kerrie: 10:42, 1st in AG & GOING TO KONA!!! I could not be happier for her after this long shitty year.
Dave: 14:22 and quite possibly the happiest guy on the course :)
Stew (the hometown boy!!): 12:05 and a 30min PR from IMC just last year. AND injured!

I really want to mention my friend Miranda (who should really update her damn blog!) too. I got to see Miranda a couple of times on the bike and she looked good. Then I saw her in the first mile or so of the run. I was SO excited to see her and cheer so when she got to me I yelled, "Miranda, you're awesome, I...", but I didn't get to finish the thought. She looked up at me as I was yelling and started to bawl her eyes out. Of course, I immediately started to cry for her.
Miranda ended her day with a 6:36 marathon. I know she should have stopped because there was no reason to do that to herself, but that's not Miranda. She will give everything she's got for everything she does. That is one of the things that makes her amazing. I'm looking forward to seeing her again at IMC where she's getting a HUGE hug from me. Hopefully she'll make pre-race dinner again too cuz last year's was awesome :)

In keeping with trying to keep my posts short(er), I'll leave it at that for race day. As of right now, Ian and Marit are the only two with their RR's up. Go take a look and tell them how awesome they are!!

Home from CDA

I'm exhausted. Mentally and physically.

I came home to this card tonight

(sorry it's blurry... if you click on it, it should be legible)

I had been talking to Susan at the vet about "trapping" Kitty Kitterson to bring her in and get her checked out (and also the possible spay, if not already done). I went in a couple times trying to figure out the best way to do it since she was a finicky girl. Unfortunately, my last visit was to tell her that Kitty had been hit by a car.

Coming home to this card warmed my heart and ripped it out all in one swoop. There are very few cards that I keep, but this one will stay with me forever and (as much as it made me cry, and is again now) was just what I needed tonight.

So much to say about CDA race day and the day after, as well as my AWFUL drive home, but I'm pooped. Might take a few days.

The race has started!

Well I thought I was more nervous than the athletes about how I would do today as a spectathlete, until a crying athlete knocked at my door last night. I'll leave her story to her blog, but I'm so happy I could be there for her. That few minutes made the 7 hour drive completely worth it. I have yet to figure out what will make that long drive home worth it (besides coming home to the cute faces of my girls, of course).

So the race is on and there's so many people I'm zipping around trying to cheer for . Hopefully my race plan is solid ;). I did get a DELICIOUS homemade dinner to help with my pre-race nutrition last night (thanks Mikelson's!!!).

Here's who's out there (and their race number if you want to track them):
Ian: 430
Marit: 2059
Tasha: 2403
ADC: 2139 (and husband Shaun: 621)
Rob: 1055
Kerrie: 2313 (and husband GG: 903)
Dave: 608
Stew (the hometown boy!!): 533

And then there's the spectathlete entourage of Molly, Meredith, MacBeth, and Kyle (Mac & Kyle are going for their own ride during the bike though).

Unfortunately, I'm not iphone equipped so I can't do mobile updates via facebook all day. Frankly, I'm glad cuz I've got A LOT on my plate already :)

**If I've missed anyone, I'm SO SORRY! I did my best here**