On my way to XTERRA Forest Drive in South Dakota, I made a quick stop off at Mount Rushmore. I snapped a few shots and checked out the museum. Rather than just putting together a boring slide show that fades from one shot to the next, I had an idea for a fun collage. Let me know what you think…

If you are looking for some kick a$$ mountain biking with epic views, sweet single track, and more fun than a barrel of monkeys, then you need to head to Crested Butte, CO. I was there in the beginning of July and took the helmet cam out on a few rides.

As I sit here trying to recap my race at Roth, I can’t figure out how to put into words the wonderful time I had. The countryside was beautiful, and I can’t forget the people that live there, they are triathlon! I picked this race for many reasons.  The first is I set a goal this year to race an Ironman, and to race it well.  To do this I felt like I needed to do a race that was more then just a 3-hour plane ride away, and something that would test me, not just physically, but mentally as well, with traveling to a different country.

The other reason was that I had friends that have been doing this race for the past few years, and could not stop talking about it (I totally understand now) So my good friend, Chris McDonald AKA “Big Sexy” pulled some strings and got me into the event. Thanks again Big Sexy! 

 Now picture this: they estimate that over 100,000 folks come out to watch this race. I can’t recall a single point in the race when I didn’t see spectators out cheering.  We have all seen the Tour de France when they are climbing some big mountain stage, and the fans are lining the streets yelling and running next to the cyclists, right? Well now that’s what you get when you ride the Solarer berg at Roth.  Not just once! But twice I got to ride my bike up that hill with 8000 screaming fans and guys in jester suits chasing me up the hill. I have never had goose bumps like that before.

The fans were cheering with just as much force on the run.  They had us ran in and out of a few small towns where I found more fans drinking beer and yelling you’re name.

Now at one point I recall thinking that this race was going by very quickly for and ironman Race. With so much to look at and smile about it was hard not to feel that way   then the hurt in my legs at mile 20 of the run stopped that train of thought quickly.    

As I entered the last few miles of the run, the course put us in the downtown area of Roth, running on the cobblestone streets, past old historic buildings.  As I approached the finish line, I could hear the roar of the fans in the grand stands. I hit the red carpet that is about 700 meters long to the finish line, and was handed a bouquet of flower to run in with. As I made my last turn down the red carpet with high fives from all the kids on the side lines, I could see the finish line. It was there that I saw my friend and training partner on the other side of the tape with a big smile, and open arms, yelling ”Denny!”  As I cross she tells me how well that I did, and how happy she is that I finally came and did the race. Then she turns to me and tells me that she chicked me once again.  Thanks Chrissie!   

Big thanks go out to my friends that made this a race I will never forget, and thanks to Timex for your unwavering support.

Thanks,

Denny

The big training for KONA is surely starting. Here is one of my favorite routes that is a great proving ground: mountain roads, little traffic, and leg burning climbs! These climbs are not the longest nor the steepest in Colorado but they really wear on you.

This is a really nice feature of Training Peaks that allows you to plan your route and have extensive knowledge on what lies ahead. After the ride I easily synced my global trainer from my powertap data for analysis.

Really easy to correspond the course route to the power profile. You can see my power trail off after about 4hrs of riding. A little bit of work to do yet.

This morning I was supposed to be writing up my race report from the Chisago Lakes Half Ironman, but I was a DNS for the race. Amazing how the body can go from feeling fine to sick as a dog in a matter of hours. I was really looking forward to racing and had been feeling good about my training. I was hoping to get in one more race prior to IM Wisconsin but no such luck. Now, I am trying hard not to obsess about how long the sickness will last and how much training (and fitness) I will lose. With less than 7 weeks to go to IMMoo, I really cannot afford to sit out for too long due to an illness. But, for now, it’s lots of sleep, a lot of hot tea, and no training.

But, the weekend was not entirely wasted, and I do get to share one race report…my youngest daughter, Hanna, completed her first, and as she tells me post-race, her ONLY, triathlon. On Saturday morning, we accompanied Hanna to the Chisago Lakes Kid Triathlon. I was so proud of Hanna for giving it a ‘tri’ and well, I am still holding out hope that she will learn to love the sport.

I detect a smile here in the photo even though as she ran by me she said that she hated this sport. Of course, post-race she told me that she is a girly-girl and that she was going to stick with cheerleading. Hmm…I’m not finished with this one yet!