Musselman Half Iron Tri: July 11, 2010

Kim and Kirsten, post-race, notice the empty transition area...

I LOVE this race and highly recommend it to anyone considering a half-iron triathlon distance! It's an outstanding, well-organized, family oriented, FUN race. The bike course is flat and fast, the run has challenging hills, and the swim is in beautiful Seneca Lake. This was my second time to participate in this race. They also have a mini-mussel which is the sprint distance, a micro-mussel which is some kind of comical tricycle race, and the Kid's Mussel which is awesome to watch!

My assigned spot in transition, when you register they ask you to give them motivational slogans and they put them on your sticker at your spot in transition. Mine says "I love this stuff! Ride it like you stole it! Never give up!" Of course I only had time to read that before the race started! I love the idea though. :)

My Race:

The SWIM felt great, my goggles were a bit fogged so I felt like I had to work harder to stay on course but it was decent. I finished the 1.2 miles in 37:28, about 30 seconds faster then last year. Yay! Then it was out of the lake, a run down the path to transition while getting my arms out of the wetsuit and into biking shoes/socks, helmet, gloves and sunglasses. Did I forget anything? No! Out of T1 in 2:55, a huge improvement for me!

My spot in the transition area with everything set exactly the way I wanted it, you should see the mess it becomes as the race progresses. :)

My BIKE computer wasn't working immediately when I started at the mount line, nice. I stopped (can you believe it?) to try and fix the sensor on my front wheel which had gotten knocked out of place. Of course I couldn't fix it and I'm ultra dependent on watching my speed and time to know how hard to push and when to take in nutrition. Well, I couldn't fix it and didn't want to waste precious time so off I pedaled deciding to ride totally on feel, what choice did I have? Honestly, it was good for me even though I took a little while mentally to get over it while I was riding! I love the bike course, it's awesome, fast, you can really fly! We had a head wind for the first 14 miles so perceived effort was up but I kept pushing. Then it was a fabulous tail wind! I saw all kinds of people passing me while drafting (against the rules), a few people blocking (also against the rules and quite annoying when you want/need to pass them!!) and it was incredibly gratifying to watch the official motorcycle pull up beside people and take down their numbers to apply penalties. Yes! I loved that and it made me even more cautious to not accidentally break any rules myself. I finished the 56 miles in 3:07:36 with an 18.0 avg. speed.

Pre-race transition area with athletes setting gear for their races.

Into transition, my legs were tired when I walked/jogged my bike to my spot. Quick change of shoes and shedding of bike gear, grabbed my water bottle and I was off! T2 about 20 seconds slower than last year in 2:52. The RUN was so hot and hilly, I completely struggled through the course in full sun with little shade. (Yes, I still love this race!) Spectators were out in their yards with hoses spraying us and I ran through every one of them! I sponged cold ice water all over my face, neck, arms and poured water over my head. I took in several Gu gel packs and drank water. I would have loved some gatorade, the course had Heed, which I don't care for, such a snob! I also would have done well to take in salt tablets. About a mile from the finish I passed my friends cheering me in and felt so bad I almost cried! In fact, I did cry a little. I was so HAPPY to cross the finish in line in 2:18:38 for 13.1 miles, even though it was 14 minutes slower than my run last year! Uggh! So, I ended up with a total time of 6:09:29 which was only 7 minutes slower than my overall time last year. It could have been much worse if I hadn't improved in other parts but it could have been so much better if I could have run better. But it is what it is! I'm thankful to have completed the race and it was frankly the best I could run on that day. :)

The LOOT: We got arm warmers, gloves, a nice long-sleeved tech shirt (made from recycled material), and a finishing eco-friendly water bottle and finishing medal which is a chainring. (basically a recycled bike part) This race really goes all out to be environmentally conscious.

There's the "stuff" and Kim made the awesome keepsake clipboard as a surprise!

Place in the Race: I got 22nd out of 53 in my age group of 35-39 year olds. I came in 423 out of 794 overall. I do wish I had run better, running is supposed to my "thing," I remember when I used to pass everyone on the run in tri's, not that day! Life goes on, I'm learning to be thankful that I can have health and fitness to do these things that I love, and appreciate that God gives me the desire and ability to do it, regardless of finishing times. It's for his glory anyway that we're even on this earth. And so as the verse says in Col. 3:23 "And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not to men." So I will do it with all my heart and be thankful and happy that I can!

PICTURES: My great friend and training partner, Kim, went through this whole weekend as well, and also our friend Scott, who is married to another marathon training friend of mine. The three of us traveled together in Kim's awesome triathlon Dodge minivan with automatic doors on all sides and room for THREE bikes PLUS all of our STUFF! It's amazing, see pics below... We went to packet pick-up, painted the "Wall of Mussel," went to the pre-race meeting and then met Scott's family for dinner out and all stayed at Scott's family's lake cottage before heading out to the race the next morning. Kim and Scott both had great races and Scott completed his second ever tri and first half-iron distance.

The Van: Lots of stuff and 3 bikes, count 'em!

Athletes painting the mural and their names.

Closer view of the mural...

The three of us in front of the "Wall of Mussel."

Pre-Race shot of Kim and I.

You can add the years on to the wall every time you come back and race. Fun idea!

At a Glance...

Officially I have survived 18 weeks of Ironman training! It started out with an 8 week base phase followed by an 8 week build phase, and now I am in the second week of the 4 weeks of the peak training phase. After that, the long-awaited taper leading to race day. So, peak phase is all that the name implies. Here is what this previous week of training entailed:

Monday, July 12:

Rest day (This was the day after the half-iron Musselman Triathlon)

Tuesday, July 13:

Swim 2,900 yards

(pool workout including warm up, drills, moderate and threshold intervals, kicking and cooldown)

Bike 1 hr. 40 min.

(27 miles, 15.9 avg--slower then usual due to still recovering from the race)

Wednesday, July 14:

Swim 2,900 yards

(pool workout with warm up, drills, moderate and VO2 max intervals, speed intervals, kicking and cool down)

Bike 1 hr. 30 min.

(23.5 miles, 15.9 avg---still in recovery mode...)

Thursday, July 15:

Run speedwork 6 x 800 m repeats, 5 mile total run distance

Open Water Swim (3 loops in Canandaigua Lake, first swim with no wetsuit this season and it felt great, IM Lousiville will not be wetsuit legal due to warm water temps so I must practice in open water without a wetsuit.)

(1 loop equals slightly less then a mile, plan called for 3700 yards so I guess/estimated at the lake, must have been around 2.5 miles??)

Friday, July 16:

Run 6 miles

Bike 2 hours

(30 miles, 15.0 avg)

Saturday, July 17:

Long Run 16 miles (hot and humid!)

Sunday, July 18:

Long Bike 5 hr. 15 min. (76 miles in the wind and lots of climbing made for a slower pace)

Run 4 miles (immediately following bike workout)

Next week is quite similar to this week, there is usually a Brick workout each week but this week was slightly modified due to the race on Sunday. My bike workouts are usually supposed to be at moderate intensity, one on a hilly course and one high intensity bike workout. I just didn't have speed this week mainly because of racing on Sunday. I can feel fatigue settling in and that is normal.

Nutrition during workouts: I've been tweaking nutrition on my long bike ride days to try and figure out my race day plan. Today I burned 3300 plus calories on the bike and 400 on the run! That's a lot of calories to keep up with so I can keep going on the long workout. Race day will be an even longer time on the bike followed by 26.2 miles of running, nutrition is the most important factor to plan. Currently I'm leaning towards a 4 hour bottle of perpetuem on the bike plus a couple packs of GU chomps plus 3 or 4 mini Clif bars. (100 calories each and easy to consume) For the run I"ll likely stick with straight gels and water/gatorade because that was all I could tolerate last time and it seemed to do the trick. I'm no expert and basically just figuring it out as I go along. :)

My training plan: Following Matt Fitzgerald's Triathlon Level 4 Ironman Plan. (love his training book/plan)

Coming Soon: Pictures and a full race report from the Musselman Half Iron Tri on July 11. It was a fun race, hard run, I improved in everything except the run but I blame the heat and sun! I'm just full of excuses in this post...forgive me!

Shout-Out: to several training partners... Sandy and Kim for open water swims and bike rides from time to time, FF running groups for long runs, and the biggest and bestest shout-out of all to COLIN for biking with me on the long endurance rides. He's a strong cyclist and patiently waits for me at turns, he also plans our routes. :) Thank You! I'm lucky he's training for the Highlander, a 125 mile bike ride in September so he needs these long workouts too.

June 13: Diabetes 101 Mile Bike Ride

Ironman training has taken over my life, this is week 17, leaving little time for blogging, my apologies for this late post about the fun yet wet and rainy bike ride for Diabetes this past month. Tour de Cure goes on in many major cities and I was privileged to get to participate in the Rochester ride. Thank you to everyone who donated to this important cause and made the ride possible.

My friend Sandy convinced me to join her team for this ride and the two of us set out to reach our goals. She and I have logged many training miles together, both running and biking, and have even gotten a few swim workouts in together! Her first Ironman will be this coming November! I promise to get a pic of us posted here at some point. :) Also happened upon another friend, Scott, at the start of the ride. Sandy, Scott and I set out together in the pack of over 1,000 riders in the drizzly morning weather.

The course was great, many roads that I have biked previously and a fair amount of new ones. The three of us were averaging in the high 17's for the first 25 miles or so and it felt great to be out there riding and chatting away. We stopped at the first aid station for a restroom break and to re-fill bottles on our bikes. This is really just a ride, not a race, no pressure, just a nice long endurance workout and each individual can control their own pace. There are aid stations all throughout so it is fully supported, a wonderful perk! After the first aid station the three of us separated a bit but met up at the stop around 34 miles. So we started off together again. Scott and I ended up pulling ahead and drafting behind this group of cyclists, my first drafting experience. (Drafting is illegal in triathlons earning you an ugly time penalty and your main focus is to keep at least 3 bike lengths between yourself and the rider ahead of you....) ANYWAY, back to the drafting, wow! It was so much fun, we were completely speeding along in the mid-20's with no effort. It was a great ride that went on for a good 20 minutes. Then we were back to riding on our own.

Around 60ish miles the rain had changed from drizzly to a heavy mist and amazingly WET! We were soaked, our glasses were fogged up and stopping just made you cold. I've never seen so many flat tires in a ride, they were everywhere. Scott ended up with a flat a little past mid-way through. (quickly fixed with a new tube) Around 70ish miles the course looped around Lake Conesus which was quite beautiful and gradually the misty rain subsided. I ended up stopping at 4 aid stations along the course and they were all well-stocked. But I rode with perpetuem, gatorade and water and had some GU chomps so didn't really need anything. (except the restrooms!) Perpetuem is made by Hammer and is my preference for long training rides. It has calories, carbs, protein and even a little fat and keeps my energy levels up, makes a huge difference for me on the bike. Nutrition and fueling your body is so important on these long endurance days. I did take in a Luna bar at one of the stops. (They had everything-sandwiches, Clif bars and much more...) I like perpetuem because it's easy on the gastro-intestinal track and seems to do the trick for me.

By 90 miles we were on the home stretch and a road that I ride all the time. Strangely my legs were so TIRED! Ha! But at that point I just wanted to get to the end. My left knee hurt every pedal stroke for some weird reason and I was ready to get off the bike seat! There was a fabulous downhill and a matching uphill climb, good times. :) I was so happy to roll through the finish at 101.27 miles, 6:04:38 for my time (not including stops), 16.7 average mph, and max speed of 38.4 mph.

Here is a picture of my bike racked on the car after pulling back into my driveway at home and a shot of my "tattoed" leg courtesy of my bike chain. The bike needed a good cleaning after an attack of rain and road grit, just what you feel like doing when you get home after a long ride, but I did it!

By the way, the day after this 101 mile bike ride I rested from workouts and my knee pain is completely gone, never came back. I think it was just a short aggravation from the miles that day. whew!!!

Stay tuned...in just two days I have the Musselman Half-Iron Tri in Geneva, NY. It's a great race, I got to do it last year too! I don't know that I can better my time this year, but it's sure to be a fun day and my friend Kim and I can't wait to get there and do it again! Scott is doing it too, his first half-iron tri! A story to come but I make no promises as to how quickly I will tell it! :)

June 6: Keuka Sprint Tri

Crashing thunder and streaks of lightning accompanied the sound of my alarm clock at 4:15 AM on race morning. Great, the opening triathlon of the season was going to be in a downpour, I couldn't wait to get to transition to set up my gear. (insert sarcasm...) But I got up, ate oatmeal, got dressed, grabbed my pre-packed bags and hit the road, along with the pounding rain. Fortunately, I racked my back the night before so it was already loaded and I always get everything I need for the tri packed and ready the night before the race.

By the time I got to the race site, the rain had slowed to a drizzle. Steph and I met up and walked to check in to get our numbers, timing chips, and swim caps. Then it was off to set up our gear in transition, we had to be all set, completely ready, and out of transition by 7:15 AM. I was more excited for Steph to experience her first triathlon then I was about my own race. That was a good thing because the rain was not my preferred weather condition, LOL.

I aired up my bike tires and put on my backpack with all my STUFF and walked to transition. I laid everything out and covered my socks, bike shoes, running shoes and towel with a plastic bag so they would stay dry until I needed them. I even put a plastic bag over my helmet to keep it dry during the swim. Then it was off to get body marked, get my wetsuit on, and wait for the start.

Amazingly, it stopped raining! Steph and hung out chatting and watching the Olympic Tri participants swim their loop in the lake. It was gorgeous, calm water, so very peaceful. We had fun watching and killing time until our sprint distance wave starts. Hers was at 8:30 and mine at 8:35, since we were in different age groups.

It was actually fun to line up with all the women in my age group. Everyone was chatting, voicing their nerves, encouraging each other. It was inspiring to see them, some mentioning their kids, lots of them strong athletic women who were likely to have outstanding races! I missed my friend Kim, who I usually do tri's with, she had a conflict this weekend. But we always start in the same wave and get to stand there together waiting to SWIM!

the SWIM: And we were off, even though this is my 10th triathlon, I forgot what the first few moments are like in the triathlon swim. Everyone scrambles to find their pace and position to get to the first buoy. (often you get kicked, pushed, and grabbed, although surprisingly, not today!) This is when I work my nerves out, push out the anxiety, and find my own rhythm. Once I got around the first buoy and away from the crowd, I felt better and much more comfortable. I just swam along to the second buoy, then the third and then it was time to head in toward the finish. The water was 71 degrees, practically 10 degrees warmer then last year's race and not in the least bit cold. I got to that last little stretch and suddenly something sharp was poking my underarm, ouch! Don't think about it, just keep swimming! ouch again! I finally had to reach in the neck of my wetsuit and pull whatever "it" was up to the front of my suit so it wouldn't poke me anymore. I was afraid it was my timing chip so I didn't discard it and toss it into the water. It was, wait for it....my energy gel!!!!! It had come out of my shirt pocket somehow, and worked it's way up my suit, it was a sharp painful little sucker, but funny!

Transition 1 and the BIKE: I went as fast as I can, like always, which ends up not being very fast, like always. But I really do try. I got out of my wetsuit into my bike gear and onto the bike! Then I was off on the bike and flying as fast as I could possibly go. Immediately I took in an energy gel while I started the opening stretch. I tried to stay in as high of a gear as possible for the whole time, sometimes in my top most gear and pedaling as hard as I could. Other times, I shifted down for a slight incline but tried to keep a strong steady cadence, not grinding and pushing on the pedals, but smooth circular pedaling. I have much to learn on the bike, but I'm trying. The sprint was an out and back course, very simple, the road isn't the greatest but it was a little better than last year, due to some patching. I have to say, I managed to pass a lot of people and no one passed me, crazy. However, I'm in one of the last wave starts so that makes sense. Into the bike finish...

Transition 2 and the RUN: I'm always much faster in T2 going from bike to run, but still slower than my fellow competitors! I ripped off my bike stuff and jumped into my running shoes, grabbed my water bottle and out to the run course. By the way, it still is not raining and the sun has just come out. I took off, feeling fatigue in my legs but pushing through. I could tell I was not moving as fast as I did on the run last year when I somehow managed to run sub-8 minute miles for the whole thing. But you just do what you can do on any given day and there it is. My first mile was 7:55, 10 to 20 seconds slower then last year's miles but I just kept moving. My eyes were constantly scanning the on-coming runners for Steph and there she was, already on her way in after the turn around! We cheered each other on and kept on going. I hit the turn around, woo hoo! Second mile was 8:13, no problem just keep the pace, I saw my friend Karin and she yelled "Go Kirsten!" She was competing the Olympic distance and doing great as always. My third mile was 8:16 and then a surprise, my friend Melissa was yelling my name from up ahead which made me pick up the pace for the finish. She has done this for me in at least 4 races and I love it! I didn't even know she would be there that day.

The FINISH: I crossed the line in 1:30:08, turns out it was about a minute faster than last year, I'll take it! Even more of a bonus, I actually got THIRD in my age group! I was ecstatic about that! Even though one of the amazing power houses in my age group was an overall winner which allowed me to place, I'll take it! I was slower on the swim than last year, faster in T1 than last year, faster on the bike than last year, same in T2, and slower on the run than last year. It all comes out to slightly faster than 2009, so again, I'll take it, with a placque to boot for the memory. Wow, a great day!

And Steph wrapped up her first triathlon by placing second in her age group with an overall finish of 1:27:47! Of course we hung out to get our awards.

My final splits for the day were:

Half Mile SWIM 17:19

T1 3:17 (guys, I've NEVER gotten under 4 minutes here!)

20K BIKE 42:08, average pace 19.7 mph, max speed 33.8

T2 1:42

5K Run 26:12 (my Garmin said an 8:06 pace for 3.26 miles, but race results say 8:27)

Overall 1:30:08

Most of the girls in my age group can get through T1 in under two minutes, how do you get a wetsuit off that fast?? I think next time I'm putting wet feet straight into my socks and shoes, no more towel drying...Yeah, I'm sure that's the secret. ha ha!

This was our FAILED attempt at a self portrait and we thought it was too hilarious to delete...

May 5: Pink Ribbon Race With MOM

Me and Mom, Pre-Race

"Want to come run a Breast Cancer 5K race on Mother's Day?" Several months prior to this fun Mother's Day 5K race, open to only women, I posed that exact question to my Mom, who had been running a mile or so at a time. Well, that got the ball rolling! Before I knew it, my 59 years young Mom was diligently following the training plan I emailed to her. Not only that, she even went out and bought a pair of running shoes, it seems her previous sneakers were not specialized to running, and oh yeah, they were FIVE YEARS OLD! We all know THAT is a travesty in the running world! (No offense Mom, I love you!!!)

In the following weeks we had many chats about her training completed first on a treadmill, and then in the neighborhood before she landed on her favorite training spot-the cushioned track at the local high school. It was a milestone to reach each new training distance and her program was a mixture of walking and running days with run mileage gradually increasing. By race day she had completed the 3 mile distance twice and was ready to go.

True to the form of Rochester weather, we had quite an unpredictable weekend. The day before the race it was a chilly 50 degrees accompanied by wind and rain. This resulted in discussions of race day attire and weather speculation. Sunday morning, "Happy Mother's Day" and don't let a little snow scare you!! Yes! You read correctly, we woke up to snow flurries and temps in the 30's---brrrrr!!!

We drove off to the race site and met a big group of women ready to chase breast cancer down in 3.1 miles, the weather couldn't stop us! Besides, the flurries were gone, leaving us with nothing more then cool temps and a little wind. (I didn't say it was ideal or anything...) Mom got to meet several of my running friends and Dad bundled up to stand the weather as a spectator.

Mom and I planned to run our own separate paces and when the gun went off were out and running! There was a rough head wind for the first mile-plus of the out and back course along Lake Ontario, which was tough physically and mentally. But soon we reached the loop turn around and started passing other runners still on their way out. I immediately began searching for my Mom in the crowd. I was running as hard as I could, which was proving not hard enough, my mile splits weren't quite fast enough for my normal 5K race times. I kept trying to reach the women ahead of me and was determined not to get passed by the women behind me. That was a success at least! I saw Mom, we cheered each other on and high-fived! I met my Dad at the finish line in 22:24 then I grabbed some water and walked out to wait for Mom.

Shortly she came running a strong pace approaching the last turn to head in to the finish! She looked great, had stripped her jacket because it was too warm and was running faster then she had predicted! I was so proud of her looking so great on the run! In 37:20 she crossed the finish line, a far cry from her expected 45:00. What a great pace!

I'm happy to announce that she is keeping up with her running, not wanting to lose the consistency she has gained, and plans to run another 5K race sometime this summer! Yay Mom!

My Parents trying to stay warm pre-race...

another one of me and Mom...

April 25: Flower City Half Marathon

Another 13.1 mile race in the books. I honestly don't know how many half-marathons I've run, a lot, at any rate. This was the premier year for this awesome race in Rochester, New York. I must say it was a huge success! The course was excellent, just the right amount of challenge, great route, good crowd support, fabulous volunteers, and the event organization was amazing all around. The finish felt like a marathon and they treated all the participants like rock stars, there was even live music at the finish! (and a couple places along the course...)

Rain was the dismal forecast for race day weather so I was completely dreading it the night before the race. However, I chatted with my friend Amy who was running her very first half marathon and I got excited and motivated for the morning run! It was so much fun to hash it all out with her before hand and look forward to her first race at that distance! To make things even better, I woke up to temps near 50 and no rain!

Amy and I made our way to the start and lined up with the 1:50 pace leader. We decided to start out with him and just see how the day went for us, never planning to run together, but just to start together. A light misty rain did start but it was perfectly fine, actually felt good. I was completely comfortable in a running tank and skirt. I was surprised at how great I felt on the run because just two days before I had run a miserable 4 miles with IT band pain. But on race day it was like that had never happened!

We hit our first hill at mile 6 or 7 and I fell off the pace group. The course wound through the city, and then a section through the beautiful Mount Hope Cemetery for miles 7 through 9 basically had rolling hills before flattening out again for the final segment of the run. I determined to keep the pace group in sight with the hopes of possibly catching back up to them. Our pace leader was great, Ultra-Runner-Bill was nice and steady on our 8:23 pace, and had an ultra run himself the following weekend where he would run for 24 hours straight hoping to cover 108 miles-wow!

So back to the moment, I had fallen off the group and just when I thought I was not going to catch up, I picked it up and ran a 7:44 mile and was back with them. Amy was ahead of the group and in sight, she was running strong! I knew she would have an awesome race, she is a natural runner and just easily settled into her pace. Gradually I lost complete sight of her as she moved ahead of our pace group.

By the end of the cemetery section, I was feeling tired and Bill gave me some words that stayed with me to the finish line. He said "Your body is strong, you've trained for this! Your mind is weak and wants to quit and give up. Tell your mind to SHUT UP, you'll talk later. You can do anything for 30 minutes." He was completely RIGHT! This was purely mental! Of course I could do this! And I did. I made it to the end in 1:50:31. My Garmin read 13.2 miles at an 8:20 pace. Not a PR, but definitely the best I could do on that given day. You get out what you put in, I put no speed work in and that's what I got. :) I'm happy with it. Maybe next year I can beat my time from this year. I loved this race and can't wait to run it again!

My friend Amy? She ran a 1:46! Super race for her, she got 9th in her age group and I got 10th in mine. There were over 100 in each of our groups, not a bad day for either of us! I have a feeling she'll be even faster next year.

A ton of my friends and running partners ran this race and we all loved it. Can't wait for next year! Kudos to the Rochester Fleet Feet team for putting on an outstanding event!

Heat Wave

My Grandfather, two sisters, sis-in-law, and TEN nieces and nephews!

A week before this pic, my Grandfather spent 5 days straight SKIING!!!!

He's 83 years old-WOW!!!

Last weekend with my family in PA was a fabulous couple of days! We had lots of fun and cute kiddo's running around, spent a day at a park for a picnic, watched my parents renew their wedding vows after 38 years, and enjoyed precious time together. I managed to fit in a hilly 10 mile long run on that chilly Saturday morning. God has blessed me with wonderful family for which I am incredibly thankful!

This weekend our NY temps climbed to 84 degrees two days in a row! I made the most of it-biking 44 miles with two amazing girlfriends on Friday followed by a 30 minute run. Then Saturday I ran 12 miles on a gorgeous sunny and warm morning follwed by a 23 mile bike ride, both with great friends. IM training is going great and I still love it just as much as I did last summer. I've completed three weeks of my training plan, 21 to go! Obviously I'm only at the beginning, barely, but loving it all. I'm getting two workouts a day and one rest day every week. Generally swimming 3 times a week, biking 3 times, running 3 times, and one brick workout a week. (bike/run = brick)

I did suffer a heat/dehydration headache after the long bike ride and short run on Friday. It lasted all night AND I woke up with it the next morning. Then I ran 12 miles, with a headache still, came home to a recoverite smoothie and got ready for the bike ride. I would have skipped the bike but had committed to ride with some friends who were biking for the first time and I didn't want to back out on them. (Plus I knew I would be okay.) It ended up being fine, my headache was practically gone by the end of the ride and went away completely after I ate and showered. Our temps jumped from 50's and 60's to mid-80's which is why I think the headache came on-not heat acclimated yet, but I survived. I did take tylenol and ibuprofen throughout but they didn't work!

Week Totals: Swimming 6000 yards, Biking 110 miles, Running 26 miles (wimpy running!!! not like marathon 50 mile weeks!)

Finally, here is a pic of me and my siblings taken on our family weekend, lined up oldest to youngest, yep, I'm the old lady at 35. LOL! I love my sisters and bro!

Kirsten, Kellee, Kendra, Nathan, Lindsay

(Can you find nephew Jacob peeking from behind? hee hee!!!)