Who knew KS had mountains?

THE SWIM:
My first open water swim is behind me - thank god! I had just a slight freak-out, nothing too major. I felt confident that Patti was prepared to save my life if I were suddenly pulled under by the Shawnee Mission Anaconda. There was sand between my toes, not mud. There were other swimmers who seemed as uncomfortable as me. No one touched me, no one yelled at me "off course". No one really came near me now that I think of it ??? Anyway, this one is behind me!! I feel much more relaxed. I am ready for the next open water swim and kind of looking forward to it.

THE BIKE:
Ok Ladies & Coach - On my BMX bike, which weighs at least as much as I do, and has tires almost as wide as the ones on my car. And all of your snazzy new bikes with the bells and the rear view mirrors and the water- bottle holders (show offs) - we knocked out 9.39 miles in 53 minutes. Our average speed was a little over 10 mph probably due to all of those F- ing hills. Our top speed was 31.7 mph, going down those F-ing hills. We burned 815 calories, not including the swim. I think we all did GREAT! I'm anxious to see how fast we are on the Smithville course. I think we'll fly!!

TRI it '09...we did!

Patti, our talented graphic designer, has created our triathlon jerseys! The front will say, "TRI it '09..." and the back will be this graphic saying "...We Did!"

Brilliant!! Look for Team TRI It on August 1, 2009!! Booyah!

People do this for FUN!?

Yesterday Patti, Coach Sosa and I did the 2009 Kansas City Fountain Tour- 25 miles, beginning at the River Market, winding our down to Mission, KS and back again. Let me just say, there was much more praying going on than fountain viewing. Patti continues to tell me I did well, but there were moments I seriously felt I was going to faint, crash and burn- ending my short lived bicycle dream.

The beginning was an adrenaline rush! Two hundred bicyclists hit the roads of Kansas City at 7:30 am sharp- we were off! However, as we rode my thighs began to BURN, my clothes clung to me with massive amounts of sweat, my breathing grew heavy, my hands grew stiff and my butt- oh my poor, poor bum- I move gingerly about the office today. I couldn't help but be impressed by bicyclists 3x my age, speeding past me! I'd like to say they had a better bike, a more defined appropriate road bike, which is probably true but they also were in damn good shape.

Although there were moments I questioned by ability to pull through, I sit here this afternoon and can proudly feel accomplished. I thought of my mom a lot, of Nancy and of my close friends who have supported me so strongly these last few weeks. I tried to think of their words and faces and know they were rooting me on. It really just goes to show that you can do anything you put your mind to- it might not be easy, but you can do it. Patti, who I should just start calling "crazy co-worker" has now nearly convinced me to do the MS-150 at the end of September. Two days. 180 miles. Need I say more?

I have a feeling I'll be signed up by the end of the week...hey, I like a good challenge!

Don't Tell Barb

Practice, practice, practice….not only will it get you to Carnegie Hall it will also, hopefully, keep you from drowning in Smithville Lake. Coach Sosa, Amy and I did a TRIal run (ha, get it) on Saturday at Smithville. We found the same places to swim, bike and run on that we will on the 1st. All went well, except for one minor freakout – the water! Now Barb, it’s too late to back out but I gotta say it was tougher that I thought it would be. So the message today is, open water swims – do it often and with lots of people around you. An excerpt from my sister after a foot from the shore “why are you not in??? take my hand, take my hand”

So, Coach Sosa (Matt really needed a role in all this training) will be out on Saturday, July 11 with the Sevylor 9000** complete with new paddles and a flotation device and the GPS to guide our next swim. Plan to meet at Paradise Point/Sailboat Cove in Smithville at 9 a.m. We can try to bang out all three events if you want, otherwise we can swim and take a leisurely bike on the roads. It’s a great route, the 10 miles will fly by. Let me know if you can be there! Happy training!

p.s. Congrats to Hannie. She rode in her first group ride on Sunday and finished strong after loggin 25miles!!

**Matt’s inflatable boat, also known as our safety craft, and I’m not kidding here.

I'm very proud of Hannah. It sounds like her workouts are going very well. I only hope (and pray) that soon I will be blogging about my progress in a positive way too. So far, this picture is a perfect example of what's happening with my workouts. I tried my first brick workout tonight - not pretty!

Charley Horse Cures

These last few days I've been increasing my running and even accomplished my first "brick". What's a brick you ask? It's when you train in two different disciplines in the same workout. For example, I biked 3.5 miles to Macken Park, ran a mile and then biked home. Your legs essentially feel like bricks after the bike and while you're running (I know- you're questioning my sanity at this point). The idea is to get your body used to this feeling so that on race day, it's not a shock. My brick and runs have felt awesome though! I'm all the more encouraged and empowered to do this triathlon!!

The only downside: Charley Horses...in the middle of the night...pain, pain, painful!

It started with the right calf and has spread now to the left. Awesome. I'm downing water like it's my job, although I know I could be even better with it. The odd thing is I've been trying to eat a banana a day- advice from my former spin instructor David at Scott Fitness- so I don't think they are a result of lacking potassium. I do think my calf muscles are not used to all this running and essentially freaking out. All you avid blog readers out there, got any ideas??

FYI

In the German speaking world it is commonly known as a Pferdekuss (horse's kiss), while in Denmark it is known as a trælår (wooden thigh), in Norway is referred to a lårhøne (thigh hen), and in Sweden lårkaka (thigh cake). In Portugal, it is known as a paralítica, roughly translated to "paralyzer."

Kickin' it on the Katy Trail

Katy Trail State Park is a recreation rail trail that runs 225 miles (362 km) in the right-of-way of the former Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad. The trail, widely known as the Katy Trail, is a Missouri state park and one of the longest Rails-to-trails in the United States. Sections of the Katy are part of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and the American Discovery Trail. Most of the trail follows the northern bank of the Missouri River. The trail is open for use by hikers, joggers, and cyclists year-round, from sunrise to sunset.

My best friend Angela lives in St. Louis and while we both make the trek to visit each other several times a year, we thought meeting halfway for a weekend would be a fun idea. Here the Rocheport Weekend was born. Rocheport is a sleepy, adorable little town right along the Katy Trail. It boasts several cute art galleries and antique stores along with a small cafe, general store and the Les Bourgeois Winery (http://www.missouriwine.com/). It's a perfect weekend getaway, about 2 hours from both KC and St. Louis, where you can be surrounded by nature and all it has to offer. The bed and breakfasts are where it's at (we stayed at the School House) and if you do the "dorm" you have the flexibility of checking in and out at your convenience.

Ang and I met up at about noon on Saturday and hit the trail! Our orginal thought was to bike to Boonville, about 17 miles away. However, our stomachs got the best of us about a mile or two into it...plus we had both had a rough week and decided that it would be a better idea to bike over to the winery and check it out! So that's what we did. Four hours on the winery porch, overlooking the Missouri river with bottles of local Chardonel and Labelle white wine, fabulous fresh food and wonderful girly best friend conversation, the sun shining down- we were in heaven.

Although we didn't quite bike with the intensity we intended on, it was a great "break" for both of us. Ang is training for the San Francisco marathon in October and had even ran 7 miles before she hit the road that day! So okay, I guess I was the only one who really took a break. Either way, we both agreed we MUST do again and the next time we really would make it to Boonville. I recommend the Katy Trail and Rocheport to anyone that needs to get away from the city and indulge in Mother Nature. It's family friendly and pretty romantic too!


Bistro grub with the world's BEST margarita!














We'll be back Rocheport!!