I'm off...

Well, the time has come and I'm so excited. We're leaving today for Panama City Beach. We'll break the trip up today and tomorrow so we'll actually be at the condo by about noon tomorrow. Mom and dad will be there by then so we'll hang out with them tomorrow, do some food shopping, get checked in for the race and then grab some dinner. I'm just so ready to get the cleebration started! :)

So wish us luck and the next time I write... hopefully I will have some good news to share!

#2061 :)

Vegas Pictures

Alright, I finally have a chance to sit down and catch up on my blogging. As expected the last few days have gone really fast. I think Tuesday (the day we're leaving) will be here before I know it. I'm working on staying calm and being excited for the race. I think it's working... for the most part. I've been fine except for when we watched a replay of the 2007 IMFL last night and I cried like a baby. My poor hubby! :)

I promised pictures from the Pumpkinman. At T1 the day before, I got a picture of what transition in the middle of no where looks like! This was only half of the racks...We got there before the sun was up on Saturday morning. This was a pretty cool sunrise! I think Tom was a bit freaked out by the mountains he'd be climbing!

He had a great swim and looked good at T1. I knew he was ready for the hills! They were 8% grades... and the last one was 6 miles long!I didn't get a good picture of him running or finishing, but here's a good one of he and his teammate Matt. Way to go Team Type 1! You both did great!!!And yeah, I'm a tri geek and was pretty star struck watching this guy come in...I think the guy next to him with the ball cap and no shirt is funny. Bet he didn't know who he was standing by. We heard that Macca forgot his helmet and had to borrow one from a girl in his tri group. Hehehe - even pro's have off days! :)

So that was really the race weekend. This week we've been busy just getting things put away from Vegas, ready for PCB, finishing up workouts, getting work done (oh yeah... we own a company... gotta remember that some days!) and generally just being a little overwhelmed with things. I have lunch plans tomorrow and Saturday, plans with some friends Saturday night for the OSU/Penn State game (GO BUCKS!), and at some point, need to finish everything for our trip. I think the next few days are going to go fast.

Oh boy...

Quick update

We got back from Vegas last night late - like didn't get to bed until 3:00am late. It was a long day. Weekend was good - I'll post pictures and details when I have a minutes. Tom's race was awesome - he kicked ass. The course was a killer for Tom, but he still managed to come in 10th out of nearly 50 in his age group and run sub 8 minute miles for the entire 10k. Take that West Coasters! His teammate did awesome as well (came in 15th in the same age group) and we had a lot of fun hanging out with him and his girlfriend. I saw Macca and got a picture of him - he was racing in Tom's race (he beat Tom though, even with Tom's new bike! Can you believe that??? :)He only averaged 20mph on the bike if it gives you any idea of how long the 8% climbs were over the 24.8 miles! HA!)

We leave in a week for PCB. I'm starting to freak out a little. It's going to be a busy couple of days! Nuff said.

Bibs were assigned - I'm 2061, Tom's 103. How do they assign numbers because that's about as far away from each other as they get? Tom's so close to the pro's... lucky guy!

That's all for now...

I'm in love...

Alright, here she is...

And I just love her. I've named her Flicka. Have you ever seen the movie? It's about a wild house that only a little girl could tame. I thought that was fitting! She's a beaut! Dura Ace crank which is sooooo smooth, all carbon, Bontrager race wheels. I feel so good on her and she's going to do awesome at the Ironman, I can feel it! :) I have Tom's saddle on my bike right now (an Adamo ASI saddle - the funky ones without a nose). I rode on it yesterday for 80 miles and fell in love with it as well. I was having some...um... girl problems while in the aero position (um yeah, that's the only way I ride) and would like to someday have children - this solved it. I came home and ordered one immediately so Tom can have his back! Other than that, she's perfect, although I do have just a slight bit of wheel envy when it comes to Tom's bike. Wow, his is something special. Here's a picture (which doesn't do it ANY justice - and remember that's not his saddle, it's actually mine - he's such a good hubby!)...

So we ended up having a killer weekend in a slightly different order than we expected. Friday we went riding with Tom's mom and step dad (she's finally back on the bike after being hit by a car and just got the same bike as me and well... she's in love too!). We did a quick 42 minute 4.8 mile run and called it a day. Saturday we set out to do 100 on the new bikes, but Tom's aerobars were giving him some troubles. We called it a day at 50 and he spent the evening tweaking with his bike. Sunday we ran a 1:58 half marathon (yeah for another sub 2 under my belt) and then yesterday rode 80 miles and swam 1.2. I was exhausted last night! But it felt so good and my confidence is pretty strong right now.

This weekend we're heading to Vegas for Tom's Team Type 1 Triathlon Team debut (whew... that's a lot of T's). They are racing Pumpkinman on Saturday morning. I'm so excited to get away. We're staying at the Venetian (I go it comped again because I'm good like that!) so we'll have a good time. I'm thinking we'll spend more time at Lake Mead and Red Rock than in the casinos, but that's how we roll! :)

18 days and counting... I'm so excited! Numbers are being assigned on Thursday!!! I hope I get a good one that contains a lot of 5's!

Oh, and this is my 100th post! YIPPIE!

I've been MIA

Sorry that I haven't written in a while. There really aren't any excuses for not checking in... guess I'm just lazy! :)

Things are great here. The countdown is at like 23 days. YIKES! I'm so excited to go to the beach though and I'm really starting to look forward to the race. This is our last LOOOOONG workout weekend. We're doing a 2.4 mile swim tomorrow, a 100 mile bike ride Saturday and a half marathon Sunday. I think it'll re-boost my confidence and be a good sort of "end of the road" for me. I know I'll still have 2.5 weeks after that, but I'll make it.

Swam 2000 meters timed this past Tuesday and had a great swim. I love the new gym and felt awesome in the water. Of course I know that it'll be different in the gulf, but I felt like I was just gliding which was a nice feeling. We're hoping to get one more open water swim in before I head down there... if not, guess I'll get them Thursday and Friday before the race in the gulf.

A funny for you - so we are doing the Dayton River Corridor Classic 1/2 marathon on Sunday. It's an annual tradition for us - a great race, a great time of year in Ohio since the leaves are changing, a great post race celebration, etc. We're excited. So today I get the mail and there's an envelope addressed to each Tom and I. Inside is a letter that reads something to the effect of "Congratulations, you are one of 100 VIP's at this year's Dayton River Corridor Classic because you registered early. You get this Brooks running shirt and a discount at the local run shop, not to mention a reserved VIP starting spot up front if you wear the shirt." We laughed... what a bumble mess that's going to be having totally random 100 people starting at the front. We're not front of the pack people. hehehe... we'll pass on that "special" feature!

OH... and I got my new bike! I know, how is that not the first thing that I'm posting??? I've yet to ride it - but am hoping to get out tonight. It's in the shop being built and it's a beauty! Tom got his too and wow... that's about all that needs to be said. We'll post pictures when we get them back (probably tonight). I'm thinking of naming him Hank... like Hank the Tank, but I'm not going to chose a name until I ride him - you know, kind of like many women don't name their babies until they see them?

Oh my...

I'm having a little "oh shit" moment right now. My countdown on my Google homepage says 28 days until the Ironman. Oh... My...Goodness! How can that be? Wasn't it just June and I was doing my first sprint? Am I ready? Am I going to die? Oh... my... Goodness!!!

And then I snap out of it because there's no use worrying myself to death until at least the week of the race! :)

We joined Urban Active Fitness Centers today. Totally stoked by it. It's a really cool gym (10 million times better than the ghetto YMCA that we usually join - and I didn't see a single naked old lady in the locker room today which proves that it's better!) and we got a great deal on our membership since we locked in for 2 years. Now we just can't sell our house fast and move too far from the gym! :) I'm hoping my off season will be a little more enjoyable with all the new machines, cardio, classes, etc. that I can use!