El Tour de Tucson - November 19, 2011

Packing our bikes to head down to Tucson.

Picking up our packets at the Expo.

Getting ready the night before in our room.

Rhonda and Jodi

Showing our team name on the back of our jerseys.

Rhonda, Rachel, Sheryl

The starting line for the 111 mile had 4,000 cyclist.  They were as far ahead of you and behind you as you could see.

The first of two washes that we had to carry our bikes across.  This was about 1/4 mile and the 2nd one was around 1/2 mile.  This part of the race completely trashed my cletes.

Jodi, Rhonda and Sheryl at one of the snack/bathroom stations.

Me

Jodi and Andrea

Rhonda and Rachel (who is pretty funny and goofy)

Another aid station where we had our bikes checked.  The roads were incredibly rough and our bikes were taking a beating.

Sheryl, Rhonda, Andrea, Jodi, Rachel



We finished the race with huge smiles on our faces.  We had to do a lot of zig zagging around people to keep our pack of five together for the whole race but we managed to cross the finish line all together.  What an amazing time with incredible women that I'm so blessed to call my friends.  You girls are the best!
Andrea, Jodi, Rachel, Sheryl, Rhonda

When we weren't racing we were shopping, eating out and we also went to see Breaking Dawn on the opening weekend. 

Rachel, Andrea, Jodi, Rhonda

A beautiful little house that Rachel would like to call her own. 

Another fabulous race weekend with amazing friends. 

Training Completed

  In training for El Tour De Tucson,  we have have ridden until our legs can ride no more, been chased by a few dogs that luckily didn't take the chase too serious,  taken a few early early morning moonlight rides, fought the wind, basked in the sun and continued riding through the light rain as well as the freezing cold and hot weather. We have laughed until we nearly crashed and climbed hills bigger than we thought possible.   We have biked for hours and ended with lunch out in full bike gear and helmet heads.  We have all learned to change our tires and use our co2 cartridges to fill the new tube up.  I have personally crashed more than once due to not being able to unclip quickly enough but angels were watching over me each time as well as Rachel being there to take my foot out of my shoe when I couldn't unclip.  I have to say, this has been the best couple of months training with these women and now we have done all we can to train for our bike race next week.  This week is the hardest in training for me and that is because now it's time to try to taper.  I don't love to taper but I'm really feeling the exhaustion from how hard I have pushed myself over the last year and I think I would do well to take the advice of many smart people and relax (at least a little) this last week. 

 Rachel, Rhonda, Jodi, Sheryl (Andrea taking the picture) on a midweek 50 mile ride.

 Rhonda, Jodi, Andrea, Rachel, Sheryl on a Saturday morning 80 ride to Fountain Hills with 4 others.  A freezing morning to start off but a beautiful day by the time we finished.

 Rachel, Sheryl, Rhonda, Jodi and Andrea trying to squeeze into a self-portrait.

Unfortunately Andrea got sick this last week or more of heavy final training and she and Jodi were not able to complete the 100 mile training ride with us.  We missed them greatly but the three of us were able to get out and get that last long ride in.  We were pretty stoked to do our first century ride and we can't wait until El Tour De Tucson next week.  So grateful for husbands that support us and take care of kids while we get to be out experiencing so much. 

Rides, Rides and more Rides

Training for Tour de Tucson

October 2011

Our cycling group has grown and we are training for the Tour de Tucson in November.  In the last month we jumped from our longest ride being 50 miles, to 65, then 71 and then 85.  We plan to get in at least one 100 mile ride in before the tour which is 111 miles.  Unlike training for a marathon, I can still walk without limping as long as I don't crash.  While ultimately cycling is much more dangerous than running, it is much easier on my body. I still love running, no doubt about it.  I've just had to cut back due to so many injuries.  Currently nursing achilles tendenosis but I can still run, just not more than about 8 or 9 miles at a time.  For now, cycling has taken over our Saturdays and we are having an amazing time seeing sights we wouldn't otherwise see.  We watch the sunrise over the mountains, see wild horses cross the roads, hear the coyotes howling to one another, and see other small animals on a regular basis.  We see other packs of cycling groups which is always fun and we are getting better at drafting as we increase our milage. 

 

Rachel and I about to go down "King Kong".   Depending on the wind, we get up to 35 mph going down this hill.  Getting back up is another story.

Sheryl and I on our 85 mile ride where we took Bush Hwy to the Beeline, over to Fountain Hills where we looped around a bit and back home.  There are five girls doing the Tour but we don't always all manage to get out together due to schedules.  Rachel, Sheryl and I did the 85 miles.   We are eager to hopefully all do the 100 mile training ride together. 

Rachel and I on going from Bush Highway to the Beeline. 

 Above: 30 mile ride in Fountain Hills. 

Matt, Sheryl, Sam, Rhonda, Andrea, Marla, Rachel

 Below: 50 mile ride in Fountain Hills

Rhonda, Sam, Sheryl, Andrea, Tiffany

 Andrea and Jodi

I am pretty stinkin excited about the Tour de Tucson and the fun experiences it will bring.

San Diego Triathlon

My First Triathlon - San Diego - Sept 17, 2011

I had the best weekend with these 3 amazing girls that I met through my swim class. 

  It is no easy job getting into those wet suits but I was sure happy to have it on in the cold San Diego Bay where we swam. I got no sleeves because I was worried I would be too restricted with them.  Then it was so cold when we got there that I worried I would freeze without them.  But once I got in the water and moving, I was glad I chose to go sleeveless.  Swimming almost a mile in the bay was an incredible (yet salty) experience.

Kari, Lori, Megan and myself before the start of the race.

 That is the bay behind us, after we finished the race.

We swam 1500 meters, biked just over 24 miles through some big hills and ran 6.4 miles (it was supposed to be 6.2 miles).  My legs are always fried when transitioning from biking to running so that was the toughest part for me.  We also weren't allowed to use headphones for any of the race and I always run with headphones so I did miss my tunes when I was running.

Lori and Kari were quite the pros at getting this bike rack and the bikes on and off.  We were pretty cozy in our little hotel room with 4 girls, our bikes and all of our gear. 

We really had such a great weekend. We had fabulous dinners, walked around San Diego (still being able to walk is a plus for a triathlon vs. a marathon...at least the olympic distance), went to a movie, relaxed in the jacuzi and got a big ole ice cream which I reserve for race days only.  I am really enjoying these girl's race trips and recharging my mom batteries.  So grateful to Mike for keeping things in order back at home and giving me the opportunity to get out and live.  :)

Cycling

After injuring my hip training for the Utah Valley marathon, I started riding my mountain bike and swimming to keep up my endurance while I couldn't run. And while I hate that I so often get injured, that injury has led me into the triathlon world that is so much easier on my body. I've always loved to ride and swim so it wasn't that I was doing something brand new but these sports have become more of a focus for me than just casual riding or swimming. Mike asked me if I wanted some really nice jewelery for our 20 year anniversary in May. And while nice jewelery is great, I really wanted a road bike so I could start training for a triathlon. So he took me shopping and we ended up getting a much nicer bike than I had anticipated. The first couple of weeks I rode alone, getting braver and braver about riding on the roads and out into the mountains and lake areas.  Now I have quite a few friends that are riding as well and we are having a blast.Bush Highway and the Usery area is one of our common riding areas. The beauty is really awesome early in the morning as the sun comes up.

We also ventured out to Fountain Hills for our first 50 mile ride. That was a gorgeous ride with rolling hills and beautiful scenery.

Here are a few of the people that I have been riding with.

Matt, Sam, Sheryl, Rhonda, Andrea, Angie

Utah Valley Marathon

We stopped at Hertz when we landed in Salt Lake City to rent a regular ole car for our trip and ended up with this sweet little convertible instead. Little did we realize that driving a convertible is not exactly the same as the mini vans that we are used to. After a little trial and error, Marla was driving this baby like she'd been doing it all her life. We will always be grateful to the girl at Big O Tires that taught us about the "gangster swag" art of driving this low profile car. We had a great time driving this over the next several days with the top down through the cool crisp air.

After training, injuries and back to training, I completed my first full 26.2 mile marathon. Below are pictures from not only the gorgeous marathon but also five of the most fun days I could have asked for. I was lucky to share this experience with these wonderful friends.

Rhonda, Sheryl, Marla - waiting to start the race. It was a bit nippy but not as cold as I thought it may be. We started around 6,000 feet elevation and we could definately feel the altitude when we ran.

Marla was coordinated enough to run and take pictures at the same time so all pictures from the actual race are from her. Our first 6-7 miles were along a beautiful road with farms and green for miles. Above is Provo Canyon where we ran past rivers and waterfalls.

This is one of many aid stations with powerade and water. Some also had gu, oranges and bananas. I tried to refill my bottles as quickly as possible and get moving on my way.




Sheryl and Sam coming through the tunnel.

Elated to have finished the marathon.

Sam, Sheryl, Marla, Rhonda

Love the medal they gave us. I didn't know what to expect from a marathon but it was definiately harder than I thought it would be. I felt great for the first 16 or 17 miles but the rest of the race I felt a bit dizzy and out of it. I just kept trying to put one foot in front of the other to the end. I've heard about hitting a wall at mile 22 and I hit it for sure and just had tunnel vision trying to get to the end. I hoped for a time of about 4 hours but those last 6 miles or so I slowed way down and ended up finishing in 4:08. Close to goal but not close enough which is a good reason to try again. I've already been searching for the next good race and have a few possibilities in mind.


Marla and I flew up to UT on Thursday and had the opportunity to see many places. One place we stopped was a great little bakery that a friend had recommended. We bought enough to last a few days. This is us enjoying a few bites after our pre-race run the day before.
It was quite the yummy dessert.

We spent our first day in Salt Lake City touring a lot of church buildings and Temple Square. This is the roof of the conference building where there are amazing gardens.

We stayed out WAY past my bedtime and visited the beautiful Salt Lake Temple.

This is also the top of the conference building.

The day after the marathon we toured Provo Canyon by car and a little by foot. I was hobbling like an old lady but it was too gorgeous to pass up seeing. This is on our way to Bridal Veil Falls.

This was our first day in Utah. We visited Ensign Peak and hiked to the top where the wind was pretty wild.

We felt like we might blow away from the strong winds. Check out our hair.

It was so nice having my own personal tour guide (thanks Marla!). She took me to "This is the Place". We didn't get to tour the whole place but I got a glimpse of what is there and some super yummy carmels.

We tried to go to this running store but it was closed.

We really liked the sign in the front though, especially since we were still seriously feeling the pain from the race.

These are out of order - this is back to Bridal Veil Falls. We had this beautiful view when we passed the falls during the race. The green was so lush compared to what we see in AZ.

There was more snow this year which left the river running high.

I love the sounds of running water.

Bridal Veil Falls - so beautiful!

We met back up with Sheryl and Sam at Sundance. Another amazing view and the weather was perfect. A little crisp air that was clean and smelled so good.

Have I ever mentioned I don't like to fly?

It was worth it for such a fun trip though.

This was the first big trip I've ever had away from my kids and it was much needed. I missed them but boy did I enjoy a little peace and quiet. It gave me a chance to charge my batteries and be a better mom (sometimes) as well as reach a personal goal. I will cherish this trip forever!