Monday, November 16, 2009

Luminaria 5k

We're going to do the luminaria run in Cave Creek, AZ on December 5th. I'm really looking forward to it for a couple of reasons. First of all, I've always wanted to see the luminaria display at the Desert Botanical Gardens, and never have. And secondly, it's the evening before our one-year anniversary. It will be nice to do this as a couple. A perfect example of who we are together.

The race ends with bowls of chili and Indian fry bread. Then Cave Creek lights up their Christmas tree in front of the crowd of finishers. Should be a great Christmas-y night, even without snow.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Next race?

I definitely want to do this again. It was a great experience, and I love that there are three different events. Just when your shoulders burn and you think you can't swim anymore it's time to start the bike ride. And just as your ass gets tired of the saddle, you're back in the transition area getting ready for a run. My original plan was to train for the PF Chang's Rock n' Roll marathon in January (the half-marathon category) but after having completed this sprint-tri, I'd really rather do another one or two of these races. Also, I don't seem to have the time to get in as much running as I need for the half-marathon.

I'm still undecided, but I think the Sprint Tri in Havasu, AZ will be my next race. Their website is horrible, but here are the details. Here's an idea.... if you do web-design, why not trade your work for your entry fees plus hotel room for the race? Most of these race sites are horrible!

UBBC Newsletter

Here's what Richelle had to say about the race. I have to agree, I would have never been able to stay on track with my goal without the support of the people around me. Thanks to everyone at UBBC!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Thank-you UBBC.


I am so grateful to Richelle Melde at UBBC for pushing us all to our potential with this race. She believed in me when I didn't believe in myself, and I never would have done this race without her encouragement. Teena, Laura S. and Kim were great training partners, they went through all of this with me. The hard work, the fear of failure, and the sweet taste of success. We did it! Our first sprint triathlon! :)

A strong finish.

Bike to run transition



I've heard this is a difficult transition to make, but it went smoothly for me. Maybe because I competed in the sprint category and the bike ride was only 10 miles. That's not far at all. Also, I didn't need to change shoes/socks at this transition because I don't have a bike with clip-in pedals.

The Swim





This was the most difficult part of the race. One, it was cold water. Two, it was open water. The swim was just north of the dam in Parker, AZ so we had to deal with the current in the river. The long-distance swimmers had the advantage of swimming downstream, however the sprint-distance swimmers (my group) had to go across the river and back. Towards the end of the 600 meters I had definitely drifted further downstream than I needed to be and had to swim hard to get back on track.

Exhaustion, and elation.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Body Marking



First group photo of the day. We had just set up our bikes in the transition area, and then answered the loudspeaker call to get our "body marking" done before the swim starts. It was an exciting moment... the realization that we were really going to race.

Friday, November 6, 2009

My name in lights.

They finally changed it from Linda to Laura.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Wetsuits

Today after school I met the boot-camp girls at Tribe to get fitted for our wetsuits. We all took sleeveless ('cept for the other Laura) and we had a lot of fun in the shop trying to get in and out of them. It is especially difficult to get the crotch in the "just right" spot before pulling the rest of the suit on.

After we all had the right fit on our tri-suits and wet suits, we walked next door (yes in the wetsuits... we looked like robbers!) to 24-hour fitness to do a transition clinic. We swam for 20 minutes, then ran to our transition area to put on our running shoes, then ran through the gym to the stationary bikes. Once on the bikes Richelle put us through some hill training, when we finished we ran through the gym to hit the treadmills upstairs. We were the only people running in the gym, and we were wearing wet tri-suits so there was a lot of stares. I felt like a bit of a stud. I actually felt proud of what I was doing. Good feeling.

Three days till the race....