Please vote for Kristen

I recently got an email from an old friend. Her name is Camille. Camille and I played AAU Basketball together in high school. She and I were great friends. I was always so blessed to have Camille by my side because she and I shared the same values. I always knew that there would be someone else with me on road trips and during games and practices who loved the Lord like I do.

Camille has a friend. Her name is Kristen, and they have been friends since childhood. Kristen is a mother of 9 children between the ages of 2 and 14. Yes. I said 9. Not only that but after watching her husband compete in a triathalon, she has decided to train for one herself.

I undersand that bug. Loyal blog followers may remember that I did a sprint triathalon with my best friend Kristi in 2010. I was hoping to do another one soon after but then God surprised us with Abigail and a Base that doesn't have a pool but a few months of the year. Either way, I definitely know I will run/bike/swim another in the future. I am really hoping our pool in the Azores will afford me the chance. 

Kristen has done a few small triathlons, but now she has another goal. She’s trying to win a spot to participate in the Kona Ironman. This is the granddaddy of all Ironmans. You have to qualify to get in or win a lottery spot. You can't just go. Kristi's husband Lee qualified and participated in the Kona. A huge accomplishment. And now Kristen wants to win a spot. So Kristen created a 90 second video and entered it in the “Kona Inspired” contest. 

From those who have entered, 8 winners will get to participate in the Ironman in Hawaii.  Fifty percent of the judging comes from public voting. If Kristen wins, she will swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26.2 miles within 17 hours. Unbelievable.

I especially loved Kristen's message when I watched her entry video. Here she is training for an ironman with nine children! She is swimming laps while pushing her baby in a floaty. They are biking and running as a family. None of us can make excuses and her message is loud and clear. She wants to inspire mothers to exercise with their children, and to do things as a family. In her own words she says, "My goal is to inspire mothers around the world to exercise with their families, so they can be strong and overcome life's challenges together."

This is a message that has become especially close to my heart as of late. My life is very busy. Exercising is very difficult. So I have made it a point to get out with my children everyday and do something active. Even if it is running around in circles on the lawn. I am so encouraged and inspired by Kristen's message and want to help share it.

To vote for Kristen, all you have to do is click here. You can watch her 90 second video and/or look to the left for a box that says “Vote for this” with a heart. Click the heart. That's it. You don't have to download any applications or login or register or anything.

Would you not only vote but consider linking to my blog entry so that you can help spread the word as well. Let's get this lady a spot in Kona!

More tri's

So proud of my best buddy Kristi. She and her husband Lee participated in a triathlon in Santa Fe yesterday. Kristi did well especially considering she has been nursing a foot injury and has really only been biking and swimming in preparation. And Lee. Well that Lee. He won the whole thing!

I'm really praying that my feet continue to improve. Kristi and I are hoping that sometime in 2011 when JB and I make a return trip to the States, Kris and I can find a triathlon to do together somewhere.

There are also a bunch of them in Turkey that I am trying to talk her into as well!

Kristi and I talked yesterday from my vacation site. For those of you that I do talk to on the phone regularly (which isn't a lot of people since I am not a big phone person), I wanted to let you all know that I will be able to talk while in Turkey. We will definitely have SKYPE and are also looking into something with Vonage. We have decided, for now at least, to wait until we get there to work out the details. We just don't feel like trying to figure out anything else that we don't have to before we leave.

It is what it is

Had my appointment with the foot doctor today who said that I do, indeed, have a stress fracture. He did an ultrasound. He said I have to be in the boot for four weeks. He said at the end of that time I can reevaluate. He made me sad.

He did make me happy when he said that while I can't run, I can swim to my heart's delight! He also said that I could stationary bike with the boot on. I am not sure whether I would do that, but I do think I will return to swimming as soon as I can.

Is this good timing? No. It's hot. We are moving. We are packing. We are organizing. But, it is what it is.

Triathlon anyone?

I have talked to three people since I returned from New Mexico and did my triathlon who are going to do a race of their own. Becky is going to do a half-marathon. My friend Joy is seriously considering doing some sort of triathlon. And now I just read that an old friend from high school, Lisa, is going to train for a triathlon as well. Is there anyone else that I have missed?

Seriously, ANYONE can do this. Really. It is not as intimidating as it sounds. There is a great website called Trifind.com where you can pick your state and find where the races are near you. There are short races, long races, and races that leave out one or more of the elements.

Let me know if you are planning or even thinking about doing one of these. I'd love to hear about it!

Results posted!

The official race results from our triathlon were posted (finally!) today.

Kristi and I were amongst 15 other participants in our age bracket (women ages 30-34). She finished 7th and I finished 11th. Kristi's final time was 1:35. Mine was better than I thought! 1:41. The best woman in our class finished in 1:21. The last woman in our class finished in 1:47. So I was right in the middle of things. The fastest woman to finish the race was 25 years old. She did it in 1:13.

Kristi and I both did the run (4.1 miles instead of 3.1) miles in about 39 minutes. This is under 10 minute miles which I am extremely happy with considering that we thought it was only going to be 3.1 miles. I thought I could the 3.1 in about 9 minute miles so to just add a few minutes to my time is satisfying.

Kristi did much better on the bike than I did. She finished in 41:25. I did it in 48:10. I was second to the last in bike time so this is obviously the area I need the most improvement in.

Our swim was close to the same. 12:58 for Kristi and 13:23 for me. As far as the swim was concerned, I don't felt like it was much about swimming as it was about just getting through the gauntlet!

I would be happy with whatever my time was, but it is nice to see that I am right in the middle of the participants and sort of where I should be for my age group!

As for my next race, it may have to wait a bit. My foot is not quite right. I'm not sure I would be ready by mid-May. There is another race on Base a few weeks after that, but it is already closed. Oh well. We'll see when I can do another one. Either way, I think JB and I would like to try and do it together.

Thanks for everyone who encouraged and cheered for me. And especially thanks to Kristi! What a fantastic memory the two of us can share. I'm so proud of her and so proud to be her friend.

Hugs all around!

As exhilarating as it was to run a traithlon, it was equally exhilarating to have my little boys in my arms. Isaac, Elijah, Papa and Grama Di greeted me at the airport after yet another uneventful travel day. (I love Southwest!).

The captain on one of the flights attempted to board our flight faster by coming on the speaker and telling us about a phone call that he had just received. "My wife just called me," he began. "She told me that mother-in-law is trying to get through security and make this flight. So if you would all would take your seats as soon as possible, we'll be able to make sure that doesn't happen."

Good laughs. And a great airline. How does a carrier charge so little, give you free baggage check-in, and have such great customer service?

But that isn't what I meant to write about.

Squatting down to hug those two little men felt as good as running the triathlon. They saw me across the baggage area and came running. Isaac with his little bow legs and Elijah getting distracted by this and that on the way there. "Oh, there's my Mommy. And there's some gum on the floor. Not sure what I would rather see."

I had brought a couple of truck books, and both boys, upon receiving their gifts, plopped down on the middle of the airport floor to read a book.

It was comforting to watch as Elijah happily rode in father's arms back to the van while Isaac walked alongside Grama Di. While they were happy to see me, they had obviously been well loved and had grown a stronger bond with not only my parents with Grama K. who watched them on Friday and Monday.

I had the time of my life. That weekend in Santa Fe is one I will never forget. Getting to run a triathlon was a proud for moment for me. But getting to do it with Kristi made it all the more memorable. It was a perfect "mom-break" for me, and I returned home rejuvenated and quite sore. Both Kristi and I are quite sore and according to Lee, tomorrow will be even worse. I am having trouble walking the stairs at my parents house thank to some way sore quads.

There is now a video of race highlights online, and while the official results haven't yet been posted, we did get an email informing us that the run was ONE MILE longer than it was supposed to be. ONE MILE?! One mile in a 3.1 mile run is quite a distance. No wonder Kristi and I were struggling through the run.

I have a few more days here (including some time with Joan, who has been in Germany, mid-week) before returning to northern Florida. The Lord is in the small things as Mom K. has decided to make the long drive back with me. How wonderful to not have to do those 10-11 hours by myself.

For now, some rest and some time with my boys. No exercising tomorrow. Tuesday? We'll see. I'm already eyeing another triathlon in Fort Walton Beach in May. I think I've caught the bug! ;)

Coyote Carrera Complete!

The Coyote Carrera Triathlon has concluded and Kristi and I finished it! Our goal was to finish in under 2 hours. Kristi did it around 1 hour and 35 minutes. I did it in 1:45. These times are even more impressive (for us) because the run turned out to be closer to 4 miles! It was supposed to be a 3.1 mile run, 12.4 mile bike, and 400meter swim. For some reason, and we still aren't sure why, the course for the run was set up incorrectly and we actually did somewhere closer to 4 miles. This may not seem like much, but it probably tacked on about 8-9 minutes to our times.

Anyways, pictures are more fun, so before I get carried way with words, let me back up and start the day with you when we started it. Too early!

Check out the mini basketball hoop in the background. Can you tell by this photo that it is about 5:00 in the morning. We look a bit tired. This is right before our breakfast and car loading. It was about a 1 hour drive from Kristi's house in Santa Fe to the race in Albuquerque.

Lee came a bit later with the camera and the kids. Kristi and I got to the race site at about 6:45 and began preparing ourselves, our bikes, and our stuff, for the race. When Lee got there closer to race time, he snapped this shot of us.

Here is super-Dad before the race with Kristi. Not only did he manage 3 kiddos and a camera during the race, but the stroller broke halfway through the day. I can't say enough about Lee's help. He'll downplay it, but I seriously do not think I would have been able to do this for the first time without his help. He is quite the triathlon veteran.

Here are Kristi and I showing off our numbers. They write your number on each arm and on one leg. On the other leg they write your age. Kristi was obviously thinking about something else when they asked her her age. She told them 30! Try 33 Kristi. Mine still says 32, but only for a few more weeks. I also think I am going to have these numbers written on me for quite some time. They aren't going anywhere anytime soon!

Here are Kristi and I at the starting line. Somehow we ended up in the front with all the intense race people. We didn't stay there for long!

Here is another picture of the first wave of participants. The race had two waves of people. The first group included Kristi and me. The second group started ten minutes later. This is the only thing about the triathlon that I wasn't crazy about. You could finish first but not actually be the winner! You also, really have no idea how you did in your age groups until later. We will wait for them to post the results on the website to see how we finished and what our official time was.

Here is Kristi finishing the run. Doesn't she look fantastic! The run was very hard for both of us. I think elevation did factor into it for me a bit. But I think a bigger issue was the fact that we paced for a 3.1 mile race and did about a mile more. That felt like so much! We stayed together for much of the run. (I am in the yellow vest behind Kristi.)

Here I am about to end the run and go into the transition area to get on my bike. (Well Lee's bike but my bike for this race.)

Here is Kristi in the transition area. While she got there before me, I ended up leaving a bit before her as I didn't have to change my shoes. Kristi wore bike shoes. I didn't. I have learned the importance of the bike shoes as I struggled with cramps in my feet during the second part of the bike.

Here is Kristi looking awesome on the bike! While Lee didn't get a picture of me on the bike, I must admit that I did much better on it than I thought I would. The hardest part for me was not knowing how to pace myself. There weren't markers up and as a result, I had no idea if I had done 5 miles or 10. I know distance in running from doing it so much but don't know biking. I passed Kristi when she made the loop to head back, and she told me I was doing great. I realized she was right when I looped only about 20 seconds later. I wasn't actually that far behind her.

All right. The swim. It was INSANITY! You had to do one lap up and back and then go to the next lane. There were so many people. You were getting kicked and pushed and just banged around. There were so many waves, I couldn't even attempt to work on my breathing.

Even worse than the beating though was my foot cramping. I had some bad cramps in the water and had to stop a few times (like in the picture) to get the cramps out of my feet.

Me swimming. Breathing to the side was next to impossible for me due to all the waves and fear of getting socked in the nose.

Another picture of the swim. Yikes! This was definitely the scariest part of the race.

Kristi bringing it in!

Kristi right after she finished, about ten minutes in front of me! She is in such great shape now. I am so blessed she encouraged me to do this as I am in great shape now too.

Here I am just after finishing the swim. Kristi and I braided each other's hair in the morning. Having it in the two braids was fantastic.

I am including this picture as proof that Elijah got his eye shutting technique from me! Ha!

Done!!!!!!

Friends forever!

In warm clothes! It was cold when we started (about 41.) And I think by race end, it was only about 50 degrees. The pool was heated but once you got out, it was cold!!!

After the race we had brunch with a couple and their children, friends of Lee and Kristi, who came to cheer us on during the race. Then we headed back, rested and showered, and Kristi and I went out for a dinner and dessert time with just us girls.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much fun I had today. It is a memory that I will hold close for the rest of my life. I am so blessed to have been able to do this with such a fantastic friend. And to have her husband help us not feel completely lost. I definitely plan to do this again and soon. And I think JB is going to do it with me. I think I have found my post-basketball activity. I just can't run that far. But when you divide the exercise between three activities, it is reasonable and not to boring or long. I loved it!

If you are even contemplating doing this, PLEASE consider it. There were many people who were novices like us. Many people were decades older than us or obviously not in the best of shape but they did it anyway! Anyone, really, can do this. The attitude is one of encouragement and support and just pride for being there. There are some intense racers, but the majority of people were just like Kristi and me. There to have a good time.

I had the time of my life. Tomorrow I will fly home and see my boys, refreshed and blessed. Thanks Lee and Kristi for time of my life. Truly the only thing that could have made it better was to have my husband and sons here with me. What a weekend! What a day! What fun!

And a HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE for all you encouragement, comments, support, and prayers! You are wonderful. If I don't tell you individually, please take this as my thank you!

We did it!

Race Day!

Slept badly. Way nervous. Kristi too.

So excited to be doing this. So blessed to be doing this with one of my very best friends in the whole wide world. So fortunate that her husband Lee knows all about these things and can help us.

Eating now. Leaving soon!

Not sure the last time I was this nervous about an athletic event.

Stay tuned!

P.S. Oh and I talked to God today. He said it was okay we skipped church to run this race. But he told me to tell the rest of you to go! :)

Pre-Race Day

Today Lee took Kristi and I out and gave me a quick 101 on how to ride a bike. Well, I know how to ride a bike but all the gears and the brakes and those types of things, that, I am clueless about.

Lee has been so wonderful. He spent nearly the entire day working on our bikes and helping get us ready for the race. And he and Kristi have been preparing long before I came into town as well. He does Ironman races (and actually wins them!) so he is a pro at these things.

We will leave the house at 5:30 tomorrow morning for the one hour drive to Albuquerque. Our race is at 8am. Many poor pictures and details to come. The weather looks like it is going to cooperate. The elevation, well, that is still to be determined.

I am so excited to do this with Kristi! I am so much less nervous with her and Lee showing me the ropes. Yipeeee! Race day is almost here.

Friendship

Here I am with Logan (5), Raylee (3), and Ryan (20 months). I had a fantastic day of flying yesterday. I so enjoyed just listening to praise music on my Ipod and reading the day away. My first flight was a quick 30 minute flight to Orlando and then I had a nearly four hour flight into Albuquerque where Kristi picked me up. I returned to her house to a fantastic salad and fruit dinner (perfect after a day of travelling) made my Lee. I also got to spend some time with Kristi's three wonderful children, whom we all think look more like me than Kristi.

Rya is so similar to Elijah in personality which is so fun to see. Actually, I can't even put into words how wonderful it is to be with Kristi and her family. While I miss my boys, I am so enjoying getting this opportunity to be with this family before we leave for Turkey in a few months.

5,500 feet!

Woke up this morning with a dry nose and sore throat. Slept a bit restless. As I way lying in bed in Lee & Kristi's little "casita", I started thinking. What is the elevation here? Elevation will dry out your nose and your throat and cause sleep not to come as easily.

I showered, changed, and walked over to the house where Lee was riding his stationary bike and Kristi and the kids were watching Chuggington.

My first question upon walking through the door was this one: "Hey guys! What's the elevation here?"

It was a simple enough question that caused Lee and Kristi instantly shared a knowing glance. It was at that moment that I knew I had been duped.

"Yeah," Kristi said, snuggling up closer with Ryan to avoid my tense stare. "We wondered when you were going to ask about this."

5,500 feet!

That's the answer for you.

How could I not remember this when I agreed to do this triathlon.

"We didn't think it would do any good to tell you," Kristi said, her sly smirk hidden behind Ryan's juice cup. That sly smirk I know all too well.

"Yeah," Lee chimed in. "And it least the race is in Albuquerque. Santa Fe is over 7,000 feet."

Of that brings me great comfort.

So I've been training in, like, negative altitude. And they live in, like, not even close to negative altitude.

Extra prayers required. A lot of extra prayers.

Here we go.

Email from Kristi

This morning I opened up my email to find the following message from Kristi.

Well.... it is snowing the ground is covered and it 30's! It is suppose to be low 70's on Sunday. I hope so!!

Here was my reply to Kristi:

SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are you CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What the heck?!?!?!!?

I emailed her back again to ask her if the pool was indoors. Thank the Lord it is. The water should be 80. I was having some major shivering attacks thinking about jumping into pool water when the temperature outside was 30.

Then I checked the weather. Kristi was being generous. It says a high of 63. Yikes! Doesn't Kristi know I have defrosted? I'm no longer a Minnesotan in even the slightest sense.

I am leaving in just a few hours. I cannot wait. Please pray for safety and health for me and my boys.

The next time you hear from me I will be in New Mexico.

Triathlon update

I have two more work-out days before my triathlon. I have tomorrow. I travel Friday. Then I have Saturday. And then on Sunday. I race.

Race isn't quit the word. I am going to participate. I am really not going to race anyone but myself.

My parents' community pool is a 25m pool. I have come to find out that if you train on a 50m pool, as I did at Eglin, you'll be amazed at how good you feel when you drop down to a lower level. Way true. Swimming in a 25m pool feels fantastic! There was a soon-to-be FSU swim team member at the pool life guarding for me the other day. He watched me swim after I disucssed my race with him and then asked who gave me lessons. No one of course. That's why I look like a moron. But according to this swimmer, I did not look like a moron. He said that I was actually pretty good in the water, especially for being self-taught. He said, and I quote, "I've seen worse swimmers who have taken professional lessons."

I think that was a compliment.

Anyways, I can now swim the 400m (16 laps on a 25m pool) without stopping for more than a second or two at the side. I do not do a flip-turn even though the lifeguard tried to talk me into learning. I just need to compete in this race before I try to do anything fancy.

While I once loathed the days I had to swim, I now look forward to my time in the pool. I find it refreshing and relaxing and something different to do. Kristi's husband told me that I would find myself getting in shape fastest from the swim. That is way true. While it can take me months to build up to a three mile run, I have built up my swim in just a few weeks.

On Monday I did a 2 mile run, 5 mile bike, and 400m swim thanks to my parents who watched the boys for me. I did the 2 mile run in 16 minutes. Eight minute miles! This is quite impressive for me as I am often much closer to 9 or 10 minute miles. I did the 5 mile bike in approximately 20 minutes. I did the 400m straight in somewhere around 10-12 minutes I believe. I was very happy with this performance and feel that I am actually going to not make a total fool of myself on Sunday.

I like not making a fool of myself by the way.

While I do not think I will ever do races much longer than this one, I am loving training for the sprint! I am, honestly, in the best shape I have been in since playing college basketball. That was over one decade ago.

My body, however, is a bit sore. I actually did not exercise today. The reason was two-fold. I did a run yesterday with the boys in the jogger. So today was supposed to be a swim or bike, and unfortunately, I did not have a moment when I wasn't with the boys to do this. Secondly, my body is a wee bit tired. My lower back especially. Pretty sore. I am hopeful that the day off will help me recuperate a bit before Sunday.

I am so excited to see Kristi, have a bit of some girl time, and do this race with her. Honestly there is no one I would rather do this with. I can't wait!

"Mini" Sprint Triathlon

Today I did some running (2 miles), biking (8 miles), and swimming (300meters). This isn't quite as much as I will be doing just over a week from now, but it was still great to do the three back-to-back to let me see how I will do when I do the race.

My parents live in a wonderful community that has a work-out center and 25meter pool. (It also has a theater and ballroom and shuffle boards and tennis courts and racquetball and canasta classes and a host of other things that I wouldn't really think of doing but are there nonetheless.) I was able to run on the treadmill, jump on a bike, and then drive over to the pool.

Firstly let me say that a 25meter pool (which is what my race will be in) was tons easier than the 50meter pool I swim at back at Eglin. Something about not being able to stop for double-the-distance just feels so much harder.

Secondly let me say that I feel like I found my calling. Just running is kind of boring to me now. Being able to switch it up is so much more fun. And swimming feels so good. I am really excited about my triathlon and also excited about my exercise future being able to incorporate all three of these activities.

Countown to race: ten days!

Crunch time

Woke up this morning to a lovely email from my buddy Kristi. Actually it was an email from her husband Lee, forwarded to me. Apparently the next two weeks are quite crucial in our training. Lee wrote:

By the way, you are now in CRUNCH Time on training. This week and next week should be hard and you should be tired. You can gain fitness for the next two weeks. The last week will be a time to cut it back a little and to absorb the training. So in other words: train your butt off!

Well Lee is right. Today was hard. And I was tired. I swam a total of 400m in the pool. That's 8 laps. And that's how far our swim will be on race day. I can't do it without stopping yet. And that isn't with pairing a run AND a bike with it. Today's swim was supposed to be in the form of 2 x 50, 1 x 250, and 1 x 50. However, I am really not strong enough swimming to swim five straight laps so a slight break when I touched the wall each time was in order.

Each email I receive from Kristi makes me appear quite the slouch. I am doing what is on our training guide. Kristi is doing that and then some. She has always been this way. Once she gets her mind set on something, there is no deviation allowed from the Kristi! In my case, I am stubborn too ... but not as stubborn as Kristi.

I am so looking forward to spending a few days with Kristi and the race. What I am not looking forward to are the days leading up to Friday of this week. There is sooooo much to do to get ready for three weeks away from Base. We'll be in Orlando for nearly a week, we'll be in South Florida for two weeks, and I'll be in New Mexico for part of that.

I also have to get Scrubs to dog camp on Friday. I called Pat, the woman who runs the camp he attends. I told her that I was worried about his feet, but she told me that she'd take care of him even if he had the injuries still. Poor Scrubs! He hasn't really gotten up at all since this happened yesterday. He has only gone to the bathroom one time (this morning.) However, he did get up onto his bed today which meant he could put a tad bit of pressure on the feet. A good sign. I still feel lousy, but I know I didn't do it on purpose.

There is also soooo much to do before we move to Turkey in just over three months. That coupled with this "vacation" has left me just a wee bit stressed out. I am trying to remember the words I am learning in our current Bible Study. We have been reminded to ask ourselves "What IS" and not "What IF" in an attempt to stop the worry that can plague our hearts.

What IS right now is that there is a lot to do. But much of what I feel stressed about are things I can't do anything about at this moment. So I need to live in the IS and not the IF.

The IS right now is a screaming Elijah. Gotta run!

Swimming ... is ... hard!

Seriously. I think swimming may be the hardest sport that there is.

Today I did just as Lee wrote it up.

I did:

• 1 lap (50 meters)
• 1 lap
• 2 laps (100 meters)
• 1 lap

And then I thought my arms might just fall off! Seriously. That doesn't seem like very far does it? I mean I run way farther than that. But holy cow it is hard. I think the swim is definitely going to be the most challenging part of the triathlon.

Kristi had a good day. Today was her "flex" day. Every other day we'll be doing the same things but I can't swim on Sunday because the pool isn't open. So I flip-flopped my days. Kristi ran for 20 minutes and also biked for 25 minutes and did an elliptical machine. Go Kris!

First spin class ever

Yesterday I attended my very first "spin class." For those of you not familiar with these classes, there is a basically a room full of stationary bikes. You get on one and the instructor takes you on an imaginary ride up some very steep hills.

JB watched the boys and gave me some "alone time" to go work-out and then go browse the BX. Coupled with the fact that we got a date night on Saturday evening (finally used our Tradewinds gift certificate Ray and Gabbi) and I am feeling like I can tackle one more week of this single parent thing.

When I walked into class I saw Suzy (who led my "Moms in Motion" class when I was pregnant with Elijah) at the helm. Way cool! But then I remembered how hard she worked us and my excitement dropped about fifty levels.

She helped me to get set up on a bike and put me next to a guy who does triathlons and even teaches spin classes himself. She also told me I should get some spin shoes. It's my first day Suzy! C'mon! Let me see if I can even DO this bike thing before I go buy shoes.

I haven't been on a bike since the few times JB and I went riding in Minnesota. Before that, I don't know WHEN the last time was I was on a bike. Needless to say, this was a good way to start since crashing a stationary bike is next to impossible. (Although if there was a way to do it, I'm sure I would be the one to figure it out.)

The end result? Well, I really liked the class. Kristi had told me that she has been attending them and that she really enjoys them. While I was a bit thrown off by the fact that they turned off the lights and turned on strobe lighting, I eventually grew accustomed to that and was happy no one could really see what I was doing.

I was excited that I managed to actually pedal for one hour straight. I think that is a good thing. And in the end I got a fantastic work-out, a very sore hind end, and a great distaste for the word "hover" which encourages you to stay just above your seat while your quads nearly fall off.

I'm not sure how often I'll get to go to the classes. I may be doing more stationary biking with my borrowed machine at my house due to the fact that I have to secure childcare to go. But if I can, I'd love to go again!

Day one done. Today? The pool! Gulp!

Training begins!

Today begins our training for the triathlon. Here is our schedule for the upcoming week.

• March 21 (Sun) – Off / flex
• March 22 (Mon) –Swim 250 yards – 2 X 50, 1 X 100 & 1 X 50
• March 23 (Tues) – Run 20 mins
• March 24 (Wed) – Bike 45 mins
• March 25 (Thur) – Swim 350 yards – 2 X 50, 2 X 100, 4 X 25
• March 26 (Fri) – Off / Make up day (Optional run 20 min)
• March 27 (Sat) – Run 15 mins & Bike 30 mins (Brick-bike right after run)

Flex means you can do anything you want. So I am going to go to a spin class at our Base gym. Kristi loves spin classes. I've never been. We'll see how it goes.

Kristi swam yesterday. Here's her report:

"I just read the blog! gulp!!! I went and swam today. I did 300 yards but there were a lot of breaks. Man swimming isn't easy. Since we are now registered and you wrote about on your blog we have to do it!!! It'll be fun. Funny maybe too."

No turning back now. Here we go!

To see all my posts about the triathlon I am doing with my best buddy Kristi, click here.

Sprint triathlon here we come!

Did you know you spell triathlon without an "a" after an "h". I don't think I did. But now I do.

That's because I am going to do one.

I have been considering trying to do a shorter triathlon for many months now. And earlier this week I got an email from my buddy Kristi in New Mexico. I am going to visit her in April. And there just happens to be a sprint triathlon we can run together that weekend.

So, I agreed to do it with Kristi on one condition. She had to agree to chart her progress so that we can follow both HER progress and MY progress on the blog. She promises emails that I can put on the blog keeping us all up-to-date on how her training is going in New Mexico along side mine in Florida.

First a cooking contest and now triathlon training. What could be better?

Kristi's husband Lee is a big-time triathlon runner. He has even won races not just run them as we plan to do. He does the long ones too. He's awesome.

I'm not.

But I'm going to do it nonetheless.

So, here is the information on the triathlon we are doing. It's called the Coyote Carrera Triathlon and it will be run along the Rio Grande river. It is on Sunday, April 25. That means we have about 5 weeks to get ready for this thing. Lee just sent us a training guide telling us what we had to do each day.

I guess the rest is up to me.

We plan to run it together and just have a great time encouraging each other the whole way.

The race is set for a 3.1 mile run, a 12.4 mile bike, and a 1/4 mile swim (8 laps in a 50 meter pool).

Kristi feels pretty comfortable with the bike part since she's been doing spinning classes. I feel good about the run part because I have been running. Neither of us feel comfortable with the swim part, but we figure, it's in the pool. If we get tired, we can hang onto the side for a few seconds or minutes ... or hours. I swam four lengths of the pool for my scuba certification. That doesn't sound like a lot, but it really was! This time I have to do eight after biking and running.

I checked into the facilities here on Base. I can swim from 8am until 6pm any day. I can do spin classes on numerous days. I think I am also going to borrow my friend Sarah's stationary bike and get my own bike ready to use as well.

Updates to follow! Stay tuned!

P.S. Yes I know the fonts changed on this blog. What a mess! I don't feel like going into HTML code to edit it and the regular changes aren't taking effect, so oh well.