Well, here I am in Hawaii.  Enjoying the beautiful island and the warm temperatures - it was getting cold in Northern California.  It snowed the day before I left.

In six days I have the hard job of cheering on the athletes from the sidelines, but I don’t mind too much.

At Ironman Louisville my pedal come off my bike at mile 107.5 I couldn’t find it, so I pedaled the rest of the way with one leg.  I couldn’t help but laugh the entire way into transition.  I am still not sure how a pedal comes off a bike.  It probably cost me two places in my age-group and an entry into Ironman Hawaii. 

Then two weeks ago someone loved my Women’s Specific Design Trek Equinox so much that they broke into my house and stole my bike, my Bontrager Aeolus race wheels, and another set a race wheels. 

So, I conclude I was not meant to race at Ironman Hawaii and that is just fine by me - I needed a vacation anyway.

Day 1:

I ran into my teammate Alex - he looks fit and ready to go!  Good luck Alex!

I think I saw Tamara riding her bike on Queen K Highway, but I’m not too sure, she was going too fast for me to verify the sighting.

I also ran into Carole, I am pretty sure she has had better days, but that is a story she will have to tell you.  Get well soon, girl!

Here is just one more finishing shot of Kona….

  
I am now two weeks and three days out from my first Ironman race. My entire racing and training season has been focused on Ironman Louisville. This weekend was my last tune-up race and it will forever more be a memorable one. 
Here is a list of my key 2007 races up to this point:

• Oceanside 70.3 – A beautiful race in California in late March with a swim in the harbor, a rolling bike course and a run along the beachside front. I used this race specifically to gauge my early-season level of fitness. What I learned during that race: a new bike needs a little more breaking in before I race on it. www.ironmancalifornia.com
• Wildflower – My yearly tradition, this is the only race I have ran every year since I started racing triathlon. I love the hilly challenge this race has to offer. I again used this race to gauge my level of fitness and to have fun. I had a great run that day and was happy how I finished overall. www.tricalifonia.com
• Prestige Triathlon – This is a small, unknown race in southeast British Columbia but worth the trip! It is a half-Ironman distance race on the edge of the beautiful Rocky Mountains. The views are spectacular! The race director is very experienced in triathlon and knows how to put on a great race. He is also the only race director I know that gives you his home number before the race if you have any questions or problems. My goal for this race: Ironman race pace for the swim and bike. I accomplished my goals and stayed under control until the run.  www.rmevents.com

Vineman 70.3
 
Over the last five months I have been contemplating what my limits are. I have been racing competitively since the age of 10. In all those races I have never felt like I have pushed it to my absolute limits. Since I started doing triathlons three years ago I have been even more conservative because of my unfamiliarity with the swimming and biking portions of the race. So on Sunday, June 22, I decided to throw it all down and give it my all. What did I have to lose? 
 
On the beautiful foggy morning I had my typical swim, but on the bike I rode like the wind. At least for most of it. I averaged between 21 and 22 miles per hour for the first 40+ miles and felt great (although my Timex Bodylink was telling the truth – I was pushing my limits). It wasn’t long after that point that I fell apart. The next 16 miles took me over an hour to complete, ouch! The run started out well and I thought I might survive this race in pretty good shape, but by mile six I knew I was in trouble. By mile 10 I was shuffling, drinking flat Coke, swallowing apricots without chewing and looking for a shady spot to throw up. I was laughing by the time I finished and I had a great big smile on my face because I did something I had never done before – pushed it to my ultimate limits and learned how to blow up in a race.  www.vineman.com
 
I now know I am mentally ready for Ironman Louisville. All my questions have been answered.

Last weekend I decided to include a sprint race into my training plan, mainly because it was located less than 20 miles from my home. I love those types of races because you can roll out of bed on race morning at a reasonable hour, eat some food, race and be back home by the afternoon. Plus, you are usually racing with some friends.

 
In the past I have found small local races in a rural setting to have unusual elements of surprise including, but not limited to, costumes, shotguns, beer on the course and the occasional naked person or persons. I usually love these idiosyncrasies, but this race included an unusual element that almost made me pack up my bike and head home before the race even started.

 
As I was standing in the water ready for the race to begin, the race director informed us about the unusual elements to this particular race. He warned us that upon finishing the race we should check our socks for ticks. I thought to myself, I can handle ticks.

 
The next warning the race director gave was about rattlesnakes on the run course. He referred to the lead runners as the “sacrificial lambs” because the pounding of their feet would (hopefully) scare the rattlesnakes away for the rest of us.

 
That was when I thought it might just be better for me to leave right then, but I have only dropped out of one race in my entire life (due to health concerns) and rattlesnakes weren’t going to stop me now.

 
Despite having raced at Wildflower the week before I felt great during the entire race. I was the second woman out of the water, and at the turnaround I was happy to find myself behind only 15 men. I thought, Yes! I won’t be one of the sacrificial lambs!
               
On the run I found myself jumping at every little movement in the grass, but luckily no rattlesnakes. I cruised into a nice finish – first women, 12^th overall – and I only had one tick.

 
I also received a great compliment at the finish line from a dad who told me, “You just inspired my 13-year-old daughter to race a triathlon.”

At the Timex training camp I had the pleasure of meeting Anne from Spenco®, who introduced me to the Spenco® Ironman™ cycling gloves, which are designed to help reduce numbness in the hands while riding, with the Shock-Tek™ patented grove in the padding.

I work as a physical therapist, and one of my co-workers asked for advice on reducing the numbness in her hands while riding her bike, specifically for the median nerve or “carpal-tunnel” type pain. My co-worker is also a physical therapist and knows about proper bike positioning and keeping the weight off her hands while riding, but that didn’t seem to reduce the numbness completely. So, I lent her my Spenco® Ironman™ cycling gloves. She returned back from riding this weekend and asked where she could buy a pair. The gloves had alleviated her numbness completely for her one-hour rides and reduced it by ~75% for her longer rides. 

Also, last week I had the pleasure of taking a ride in my brand-new Cold-Snap™ MTB series cycling gloves, also produced by Spenco®. I was very excited about riding in the gloves because of the silicone grip dots that allow for maximum control and their fleece lining for the added warmth. My first ride in the gloves was on a cold and rainy training day. Although, my last pair of gloves kept my hands warm and dry in the rain, I always felt like my hands could slide right off the handle bars if I hit the unsuspecting pothole in the road. The Cold-Snap™ gloves took all those fears away with those silicone dots and kept my hands warm during the entire ride. These gloves also have Shock-Tek™ patented grove in the padding to help prevent numbness in the hands. What a great bonus!

Thanks Anne!!

Yesterday I got one of the strangest compliments I’ve ever received. 

I was just about to jump into the pool for my afternoon workout when the girl in the next lane looked over and asked, “Emily, do you do other sports besides swimming?”

I said, “I do triathlons, so I bike and run also.”

Her immediate response was, “I knew you couldn’t have gotten that butt from just swimming. I guess I’ll have to start riding my bike.”

Nevertheless, this made me chuckle throughout the entire swim workout. I guess I don’t have the “runner’s butt” anymore.