Arizona

Luke and I just returned from a great vacation in Arizona. We went there because Luke qualified to represent Vermont in the Best of the US Triathlon and used the rest of our time there for a much need vacation. We spent time in Tempe, Sedona, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. The picture posted is of me mountain biking in the Oak Creek Canyon in Sedona, AZ. Mountain biking out west is much different from the East Coast. The trail was mostly on slick rock which despite it's name it is very grippy.
I have not been training and have barely been exercising. The off season is always a struggle but I am back to running and still planning on doing a 1/2 marathon in 2 weeks.

Fall Running Weekend

This past weekend had to be one of the most beautiful fall days I have ever seen living in Vermont. Not a cloud in the sky with temps in the 60's. I was lucky to have the weekend off and spent it biking and running in a local trail race. Mt. Mansfield school (http://www.mmwa.org/) was hosting a 5 mile trail run on the cross country ski trails. I was expecting hills but also expecting the trail to be fairly groomed and smooth. I was wrong! Big time. The first 3 miles were straight up! The trails were muddy for the most part. The tricky part being that with all the leaves on the ground you had no idea when it was muddy. Several times I sunk straight down into the mushy ground. Still the worst part was the downhill. Rocks were everywhere; again hard to see with all the leaves. I crashed going down hearing my ankle pop. Owwwwww!!! It really hurt, but I pulled it together and was able to keep running. This was very traumatizing because I have been babying my feet due to the plantar fasciatis and my weak ankles. Hopefully this will toughen my feet up.

So it has been almost a full week of running. I can feel my body becoming used to it again. I am feeling pretty motivated to keep it up until the roads are covered in snow. Knowing that I have less than one year until Wisconsin has also made getting out there a lot easier. My next upcoming event will be a 1/2 marathon (13.1miles) in Shelburne, Vt. I have done this race before and it is a beautiful course. Until then!

Journey to Ironman Wisconsin

I have come one step closer to completeing my goal of finishing an Ironman. I am registered for Ironman Wisconsin 2009. It is less than 1 year away and I am so excited to begin this journey. This blog is to keep all of my friends and family informed on the training and races that will lead me to finishing IM Wisconsin. As of now, it is off-season. I finished up yesterday with an olympic tri at Lobsterman in Freeport, Maine. It was a great race! The next few months will consist of swimming, cycling until snow and than cross-country skiing. I will also be working on rehabing my foot and getting it strong for running.

Race Season 2008

The 2008 Racing Season will be starting within a few weeks. The following are the races I have chosen to compete in this year.

3/9 - Florida's Great Escape (sprint)

6/1 - The Swimming Hole Tri (sprint, swim is in a pool)

6/7 - Mooseman Tri (olympic)

6/22 - Vermont Sun Sprint

7/13- Musselman Tri (half)*****************

8/2 8-mile Lake Champlain Swim (NY to VT)

8/18 Urban Epic Olympic Tri

9/15 Lobsterman Olympic Tri, Maine

9/28 Lake Henelopen (Sprint, Delaware)