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Friday, September 26, 2014

Help us race for a reason in 2015!!
In 2015 Chris and I will be racing for a reason, and hope to raise money for The James Fund for Neuroblastoma Research.
More information to come!


Monday, September 8, 2014






WOW!!!  Has it really been a little over 3 weeks since Ironman Tremblant!!!?? ( and I am just getting
time to write this blog post now??! ) How did I even find the time to train for Ironman is beyond me!!

Tremblant is AMAZING! We had a great race and the scenery is post card beautiful!

Here is a re-cap of how our day unfolded:

Swim: 
We awoke at 4:45 am to head down and hand over special needs bags/pump tires/ and put our nutrition on the bike. It had been pouring rain for days so we were happy to awake to no rain. 
The nice part of renting a condo so close to the swim start was we could head back to 
our condo and start getting our wetsuit on there.
Chris's swim wave started at about 6:45 and I was in the last wave at 7am.
I was happy I found Lisa/my training partner among the hundreds of people on the beach. 
We wished each other a great race and off we went.
The water was cool but not too cold.  However the waves were insane and the current kept throwing me off course. It was most definitely the longest swim of my life!! The water and air temperature was fairly cold and I felt my calves tighten when I started walking/jogging through transition. Not good news!
my swim time 1:36
Chris 1:25

Bike:
The bike course was simply stunning. Beautiful views and the roads were in perfect condition. The roads were recently paved and the street cleaners did an amazing job before the race removing any stones/debris . It was two loops, lots of climbs but some really fun, fast downhills!
I was worried I would pull my calf muscle on the bike like I did in Ironman Louisville. ( I shifted into the wrong gear on a sudden steep climb ) After cycling for hours brain fatigue is not uncommon!
I had a perfect bike, things couldn't have been better. 
I felt my calf tighten up on the bike and was a little concerned on how it would react on the run.
My game plan on the bike was to get off the bike as fast as possible! At least before the wind picks up on highway 117. It's been said that on the second loop the wind can get quite strong.
( it was actually quite strong going out on 117 on both loops)
I also wanted to get off the bike as fast as possible before the rain started. I didn't want to be flying down the hills/switchbacks on Lac Superior in the rain. Yikes!!
I was praying the rain would hold off on the bike and as soon as I stepped foot into the transition tent  the skies opened up and it POURED !!!!!!!!!
I had a perfect bike, things couldn't have been better.  I took 30 minutes off my bike time from Ironman Louisville on a much tougher course so I was happy with that.
Bike time:6:45

Run:

The run course was really nice, hilly but nice.I wasn't expecting THAT many hills!
I felt my calf strained on the run but it wasn't too bad. Chris was struggling a little on the run anyway with his achilles tendon that he tore last year. 
It poured a bit later on in the run but luckily we were sheltered a bit from the trees on a pathway.
It was great to see Lisa and Shawn out on the course looking happy as can be!
The run course was two loops and after the first loop it was incredible to see my family and a gorgeous rainbow all at the same time. Our family and our kids helped us get through the race with their big smiles and cheers.The volunteers were a big help as well helping with all our needs.
I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate our 10 year anniversary crossing the finish line hand in hand with my best friend. We did it!!!!!
Run time: 5 hours
Finish time: 13:38

(Now off to more physio for my strained calf muscle!)

Chris is going to post his race report on Wednesday. ( don't hold your breathe ;)
(hehe)



Paddle boarding in Tremblant
The bikes all racked

Athletes Banquet



The view from our condo




The look of fear in my brothers face ( far left ) as he anticipates his first Ironman!!

A soggy bike check-in 

Organized chaos-Bike and run bags

The swim course. I think I swam it twice ! ( haha)







OH MY goodness the Scandinavian Spa in Mont Tremblant was out of this world amazing!!!!




Saturday, August 16, 2014




It's hard to believe it's the night before Ironman! 
The rain has not let up much since we've arrived but the forecast is calling for sunshine tomorrow!!
Focus, plan, and organizing has been consuming most of the days leading up to the race.
It will be exciting to cross the finish line with my husband. A great way to celebrate our 10 year anniversary since Ironman is much like marriage. To quote my training partner "Marriage is just like Ironman, it takes planning, dedication, hard work and commitment and it's an absolute joy to get to the end together. " So true!
Hoping and praying for a safe race tomorrow and to enjoy the day with the support of our family and friends!!!





Friday, August 1, 2014



Well maybe not my new race bike but I do love cruising on my uber cool Santa Fe bike! I just need a basket on the front and a set of Flo wheels!

I had a great ride up in cottage county, followed by a 20 minute run off the bike on the beach.
Since we are in taper mode my long ride was a short 75km.
It was a great change of scenery to cycle up at the cottage, although I missed my training partner!

With all this spare time I was able to finally wash my bike and even get a weight workout in.

At the end of the day, no matter how busy things get, there is ALWAYS time for 'hammock time!!!' :)






A clean bike!








 Happy to be done for the day!

Chris got in a 10km run while the family biked  alongside and cheered him on.



Free time!!!

My happy place!!

Tuesday, July 29, 2014



Yeah!! Last long run before taper time! It was a WINDY 25km run. The day before a tornado touched down in the town next to us.  We were still feeling the after effects of the storm with strong wind gusts all day.
 I enjoyed the view from the sandy beach but the swim was going to have to wait!









~Road 150km followed by a 20 minute run off the bike~


To say we were looking forward to our last long ride before taper is an understatement!!!
It's hard to believe Ironman Tremblant is only 18 days away but we are more than ready for race day to be here.  After many long 7 hour rides, week after week, we are starting to mentally and physically feel the toll of it all.
Let's just say we are starting to get a little grumpy! We have become so in tune with our bike that the any slight change can be VERY annoying! Let's just hope we can work out any kinks before race day.

We stopped at a beautiful bridge in the country for some reflection, prayer and discussed our hopes and plans for race day.  We agreed it's not about the finish time, but rather our main goal is to enjoy the day and finish healthy and happy!
( or rather ...survive... those climbs in Tremblant are a killer! )







Thursday, July 24, 2014



It's been great to get some open water swims in since it's waaay different than swimming in a pool!
Especially since we'll be swimming this Ironman in a wetsuit so it has been good practice to swim in our wetsuits.
The water lately has been quite choppy. White cap choppy!
 I got in a few 70 minute swims. Besides seeing one fish, the swims have felt long and uneventful!



Thursday, July 10, 2014

Today's long ride was a near perfect ride. The weather could not have been any better for cycling. Not much wind,it was overcast and not too hot.
We found some new beautiful quiet roads in the country to keep things interesting.

Both Lisa and I tried some new items for fuel. Lisa brought along pretzels along with her power gels and power bar  gel blasts. ( she loved the pretzels ) I brought a power bar ( which was awesome) and power bar gels, waffle honey cookies and a couple baked potatoes. An ex-pro cyclist that I know who is in his 70's used to cycle professionally in Europe.  He said all the cyclists used to eat baked potatoes on the bike for carbs. I thought I would give it a try because the sweet/sticky/goey stuff gets tiring after awhile.
The potatoe was not that appetizing, however we did have a good ride, so who knows. I might not give up on it yet!

Our water stops consisted of a gas station, a church/cemetery with no luck, a community centre, and our usual  Home Hardware stop.  I took the opportunity to stretch at Home Hardware. When Lisa came out of the store  I was lying flat on my back, I think she thought I had died. Who knew lying on the pavement and stretching could feel so good!

As always Lisa and I had many laughs. If we are not laughing at ourselves we are laughing at each other! Thank goodness for laughter, it makes all of this so much more enjoyable and manageable.

A BBQ at Lisa's along with an incredible soak in the hot tub was much needed.
As I type this with tired legs and watch stage 6 of the Tour de France, I can't help but think it is so much easier watching OTHER people cycle !!

The home stretch is near!!












This is a common occurrence with Lisa and I. We should really just make this a permanent tattoo.

How many cyclists does it take to remove a SpeedFill bottle...two of course!!

High fives to 160km done!!

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