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Showing posts from October 7, 2007

Night before Ironman World Championships

Bike check-in was exciting! The line went quickly but you had to go through so many people in order to actually make it in the transition area. First there was the helmet check, then the bag check (bike and run bags), then the bar ends, brakes and anything else. It was so cool to have spectators around for the bike check. There was a white fence surrounding the athletes from the crowd and before we got into the transition area there were "counters" for all the websites to see who has the official bike count for the Ironman. I had a couple pics of my bike (she's worthy of it!) and I was proud to be accompanying seduza into the transition area. After I got into transition, I ran into my parents and my mom walked me to my rack. I'm so lucky to have a blood-related volunteer. Hehe. After placing my rear back tire into the wooden rack I dropped off my bags. My bike placement is in the very back of the transition area but that's ok. We all have to go the same way. I re-...

Day before Ironman World Championships

Well, the time has come. It is now time to officially start freaking out!!! The energy is buiding on this island and you can tell people are getting into a zone. Thursday morning was the underpants run and since i am a virgin to this race, I caught just the end of the run. however, I did get a pic with Sarah Reinstein who is such an inspiration. I cried when I saw her finish the Ironman in 2005 as a single leg above the knee amputee. This year I will be cheering on Scott Rigsby who is a double below the knee amputee. MY parents have been volunteering like crazy and I hardly see them. Maybe they are trying to avoid me and my stressing-out episodes but they are really enjoying being part of the action! Not only are my parents my #1 fans but they really enjoy being at triathons. Of course my mom thinks this race is a little too big for her. She likes races with around 100 people. I guess 1800 athletes, 5000 volunteers and over 20,000 spectators is a bit much for her. The carbo dinner was ...

Meet my Ironman friends!

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSRHtke3NF9GNphNiOIK1TQwLsPegoGqyhl0KBR3ep5NkRvwgyF-LJ3lR3IjQVVrQF2H-lQ4yh4ElBLz_mJKPw2d7cQZMUKBC1aUyelxx3PBDqzOgJskD5uIEMz_2-_1l405KgDEKPY40/s1600-h/October+9+019.JPG"> You may have heard of some of my friends....Natasha Badman, Dave Scott, Kate Major, Michelle Jones and Sister Madonna. I had such a great time at the parade tonight. It all started when I ran into Natasha in the host hotel. I was heading to the bathroom and there she was. All the pro's are so nice! I also saw Sarah Reinstein but I didn't get a pic with her. The parade was lots of fun and i will post a link to those pics soon. The athlete village was open and it was just jammed packed with vendors, partners and other sponsors. It was then when I was getting picture happy. Of course it is so much better when you just bump into the pros and you don't have to wait in line. More pics! http://www.flickr.com/photos/11883136@N03/sets/721...

Good morning from Kona!

Just a couple shots from outside my condo this morning. Slept-in until 5am and felt refreshed after 9 hours of sleeping. Still a little off from Kona time but I've got a couple more days to get adjusted to the 6 hours. Last night I did nothing and yesterday afternoon I did nothing. It was great! Just watch TV, iced and heated and played around on the computer. Cooked a nice dinner before a litte more tv watching and called it a night. It was really good to just veg out and forget about the race. I woke up this morning and my leg was just a bit sore. It is not getting any worse and each day it gets better. It actually feels a lot better when I have my cycling shorts on (compression helps) and running shoes on. I think my leg just wants to run! No pain pills since Sat after the flight so I am happy that the celebrex is doing its job. I know I keep talking about the "pain" that I am in, but I am such a wuss when it comes to pain. I don't hurt when I train (a big differen...

Kona Day 1

I'm officially here. I'm unpacked, I've had a taste of the water and I've riden the Queen K. I kinda ran (yep-I can kinda run, more like a shuffle) around our parking lot and shopped along Ali drive. Yes-I know I am an Ironman athlete but I look like everyone else. Pro's I saw today- Norman Stadler at the pier before my swim this morning and I think I saw Michelle biking and Kate Major running. This morning my dad ran the PATH fun run. Well, it was supposed to be fun but he thought it was a bit competitive to be fun. In order for my dad to say he raced in kona, he decided to push it for a 5K. Congrats to my dad-what a runner he is!!! With a fast time of 27 minutes and a 2nd place age group finish, my dad walked away with a hand-made medal and Kona coffee as an award. I'm so proud of my dad!!! My mom did her share of walking since she accompanied me to the pier so I could drop off my gear as I swam and she walked back to the race to watch my dad start. The swim w...

I'm in KONA!!!!

This is just crazy. I mean, absolutely crazy!! Just in case you were wondering about the hip, I feel better and I can kinda run. Actually, running slow is a lot easier than walking due to the shortening of my gait if I "run". So, looks like I will have to dig really deep to finish this race with my "healing" injury...or, just don't walk! Ok-now to the exciting stuff. Who cares about the hip when I am in Kona! Let me talk about my long trip here. The flight left early (7:40am) so therefore, my family, luggage and bike needed to get to the airport super early. I was up at 4:40 am and we were heading to the airport and I just couldn't believe that 12 hours earlier I was packing up my bike for a last minute decision to go to Kona. I saw a couple Ironman people on my first flight to Arizona but it wasn't until I arrived in Phoenix that I was overwhelmed and just amazed by the number of athletes. I felt sorry for the vacationers on the Kona flight cause with a...