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!