You’ve Got Mail

12 Oct 2012 2 Comments

by jnkmiles.org in Cool Stuff Tags: , , ,

And just in time for Kona!

Yesterday, my son brought in the mail and the daily smorgasbord of UPS boxes (when you live just north of hell, in BFE,  you really do order almost everything online)….

The daily delivery brought us:

  • Oil for the boat (a must…AquaDoc is a lil’ picky about what he puts in his vessel)
  • a new case for someone’s cell phone (not mine….???)
  • grape EFS (can’t go without my ‘lytes here in hell….kinnda hot and all)

and lastly….

AIYEE!!!!!!

I am not exaggerating when I tell you I went directly to the bedroom and devoured the ENTIRE thing in a few hours.

Simply WON-DER-FUL!

It is a truly fascinating look into the day-to-day life and musings of Craig Alexander.

If you were not a fan before (and I can’t imagine WHO you may be, but….), you certainly will be by the last page.

Every single page has multiple black and white photographs which have been perfectly woven into the autobiography itself

I honestly don’t have any real “favorites” when it comes to the pro field. I don’t root “against” one athlete in favor of another. I respect each and every one of them for their abilities, sacrifices, and extremely hard work.

That being said…..

Don’t be surprised, tomorrow, if you catch me cheering Craig Alexander all the way to the finish line.

Some things just can’t be helped! ;)

Race Happy, My Friends!

Friday Find: Cleaning House

24 Aug 2012 7 Comments

by jnkmiles.org in Cool Stuff Tags: , , ,

Do you save your race bibs?

Around here we do….

ALL of them!!

And since 2 of us typically race each event, those bad boys add up quickly!

Which brings me to summer clean out…..

We finally decided to purge our closet of ALL race bibs.

But I was a little conflicted about just throwing them to the curb without a second thought.

A lot went into earning those bibs….hours of training, mental perseverance, and just flat-out hard work got us to the expos and allowed us to simply put on those bibs….

Earning the finishers medal is a whole different story and those puppies aren’t going ahh-neee-where anytime soon!!

But besides the effort and dedication involved, many of these of races have special meaning…..the 1st half-marathon, the 1st 70.3, the 1st DNF (kiddin’..heh :) )!

And some are simply too damn cool looking to just toss in the garbage…

What to do??? What to do???

Enter the fantastic folks at GoneForARun.com.

Scan your bibs, email them, and a week or so later…..

1st timers…

1st 70.3

AquaDocs 1st half-marathon….1:50 with virtually no training….love to hate him!

Stone Coasters!!!!

How fabulous is that!!!!

I will say, we did have to spray them with a coat of polyurethane to add a protective layer to them, but these things are AWESOME!!!!

A great way to preserve the memories and you can finally pitch that pile of bibs and gain a collection or racing memorabilia worthy for the coffee table!!!

I think we’ll be doing this at the end of each racing season from now on!!!

This summer has been highly productive and I’ve found lots of cool things that I’ll share with y’all in the coming weeks!!

I REALLY think you’re gonna like what I’ve found!!!

Until then…..

Ride Happy, My Friends!

The Third Time’s A Charm

10 May 2012 11 Comments

by jnkmiles.org in Cool Stuff, General BS Tags: , , , , ,

I have finally found my little slice of heaven…

I have been through so many bike saddles I should open up shop and start a demo business. Just this past year alone I have sampled and REJECTED:

I don’t know WHO the hell sits on this thing…it was pure and evil torture in my opinion

About 2 years ago I discovered ISM (Idea Saddle Modification). Most of my issues are with the nose of the seat while in the drops/aero, so I’ve always believed one of their models was going to be my answer…

The Adamo Road saddle has been my “go to” saddle from that moment forward. While it was wh-ayyyyyyyy better than the 1st (unnamed) one, it still wasn’t “right”.

Oh I could ride for a few hours, but I knew later that night and well into the next day something had been…uh, down there for a while :)

Which led me to experiment…

OK, the fact that it’s uber badass was what REALLY led me to the Adamo Race saddle here, but I also had high hopes that the more narrow channels would be just what I needed. A saddle can be badass racked, but the RIDER has to be able to follow that up with some skills….and that’s not gonna happen if said rider is miserably uncomfortable.

I was very VERY sad to retire this to the storage bin. :(

I was back on the Adamo Road saddle and making do when I purchased my tri bike. It was the opinion of my fitter that my seat choice was incredibly wrong.

Hey, I’m always up for any suggestions!!

That led to this being thrown in with the QR purchase….

The Cobb V-Flow Plus is a very specific seat for/to me. I CAN ride it on my tri bike for about 25-30 miles before I start to get antsy….that need to shift positions and begin thinking about ending the ride. I can’t ride with it on my road bike for more than 10 miles before that same process starts.

I had just about given up and resigned myself to a certain level of discomfort…

and not riding consecutive days in order to…errr….facilitate soft tissue healing.

I elected to use the ISM Adamo Road saddle for my 70.3 and sure enough I was miserable uncomfortable on the return trip to T2. I was up and down out of the aero bars, standing, shifting positions….doing anything I could think of to simply make it back and get off that bike. I ended up riding the last 1/4 of the race upright (along the seawall mind you…ie in the wind) in hopes of just maintaining whatever comfort I could.

When I got back to Mississippi I emailed ISM.

What I needed was something in-between the Adamo Road and Adamo Race. The Road had the comfort, but the channels were too wide and the Race had the channel fit, but the seat was harder than anything I’d ever experienced in my life….and Lord knows I tried for months to get use to it!

I knew they HAD to have an answer that would be better than the suggestion of my LBS…which was to simply cinch the channels together with plastic to make the Adamo Road seat a bit more narrow…OUCH!

And of course, they did….

About 2 weeks ago UPS arrives.

My husband’s groans could be heard around the country as I opened my package which contained…SURPRISE…… ANOTHER saddle. :)

I promised him, “This time it’s gonna be different…this one is gonna work!”

Enter….

Yesterday I FINALLY found out that comfort CAN and DOES exist on a bike.

The ISM Prologue is a seat made in heaven. It feels like someone took a mold of my ass and then made ME a saddle.

Now, I was a little skeptical at 1st. I got on and it felt a little too hard, but as I got going and warmed up it was as if it warmed up with me and then conformed TO me. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you, I rode the entire 33 miles in the aerobars and ONLY came up because outside factors warranted my doing so.

The more I rode, the more amazed I became…

Later in day, hours later, there was no residual soreness/tenderness…no feeling of violation…no dread of having to get back on and ride again…

Today is the same story. I have no signs or signals to remind me that I rode 90 minutes yesterday AND if it wasn’t for my ongoing ITB/knee/overdoing it syndrome I would be back out there right now, but I’m holding off until tomorrow….chomping at the bit to do it all again mind you!! ;)

The ISM Prologue is a definite blend of the Adamo Road and Race saddle. The best of the 2 in my opinion. The seat was comfortable, yet firm at the same time. The narrow channels finally allowed me to peddle efficiently as I wasn’t worried about creating a saddle sore after 45 mins of work. There was also a slight “nose down” tilt to the seat which, I found, aided in smoother and more efficient peddling. Normally, I work pretty hard to keep my seat level so I’m NOT tilted down AT ALL, because I tend to feel the need to keep scooting back. That wasn’t the case here. It worked and it did so perfectly.

To say I’m thrilled and relieved is an understatement.

If you’re having a hard time finding that perfect seat, as I was, I encourage you to call ISM. They’re not cheap, but you will spend a small fortune blowing through cheap ones trying to find the one that works.

You can visit their website and then shoot them an email or give em’ a call. They have superb customer service. Also, TriSports has a bike seat demo program for ISM as we all as many other seats so you can try before you buy…ANY brand!!

This process is so personal and subjective. Just because I love (or hate) a particular seat doesn’t mean that’s going to be the case for you. Each and every seat I’ve tried over the past 3 years (no lie, 11 total) have been on the recommendation of someone else until I asked ISM for help.

Now, I just need to figure out how to get that skull and butterfly design transferred to my NEW seat….

Then…it would be PERFECT!!

Ride Happy, My Friends!

Say Hello To My Little Friend!

02 Mar 2012 22 Comments

by jnkmiles.org in Cool Stuff, General BS Tags: , , ,

It’s been a long time coming.

A lot of research, questions, and data to study…

and then there was the quest itself….

Finally the search was over….

Last weekend, we made the 3hr drive to Lafayette, Louisiana to visit Precision Bikes. Mark Miller owns the shop and is quite possibly the best fitter in the region.

And I’m not the ONLY one who thinks so!! Check out this link!

Case in point, my husband has been uncomfortable on The Green Hornet since its arrival. He has been refitted 3 times locally with no success.

Mark had him cozy and ready to nap in about 10 minutes.

No computers, no fancy measurements. Sure he can do all that, but he doesn’t need to. It’s all done with his eyes and hands. That and he actually LISTENS to the person riding the bike!

Technology at its finest!

As for me…well I knew who was going to fit me, I just needed the equipment.

I should’ve known to START here instead of finishing here…..

The Illicito.

I’ve been looking at these bikes for over a year and while I love my Cervelo road bike I REALLY wanted a Quintana Roo. I just couldn’t find one locally to get on and test ride. I needed to see if I liked how it felt as much as I thought I would.

As luck would have it, Mark had several in his shop and the Illicito was the “one”.

There is definitely a steep learning curve. I’ve been out twice, this week, for a total of about 55 miles. I’ve already crashed once and had a few near misses. The position is way more aggressive (obviously) and that means handling is paramount. It’s incredibly windy right now and while that’s great for Galveston prep, it’s making for somewhat hazardous riding.

Each day gets a little easier. For now, the goal is to layoff the trainer and stay outside to get more familiar with the bike and how it rides. The endurance part of my 70.3 training is done. I’m comfortable riding for hours, but now I have to get comfortable doing so on a different beast…

The QR is definitely all the marketing folks make it out to be….

Its stiff, responsive, smooth, and just plain fast without having to work at it.

Kinnda nice for a change.

One of the questions I asked Mark was exactly HOW much faster is someone on a tri bike vs a road bike. See, I’ve always been a strong believer in the, “it’s the engine not the machine” philosophy.

His reply, “Lots!”

Very scientific.

He did warn me though…..I really wouldn’t see that difference for a while as I need time to get accustomed to the bike.

After riding these past two days, I now know EXACTLY what he means!

Ride Happy, My Friends!

Fabulous Friday

10 Feb 2012 8 Comments

by jnkmiles.org in Cool Stuff, General BS Tags: , , , ,

Yes it is Friday!

The weekend has finally arrived.

And while that is indeed pretty fabulous it is not what this post is about….

This is about a certain ITEM that I’ve recently been made aware of, that I would really like to scoop up for myself…

It’s no secret that I want a tri bike…

I’m not convinced it’ll make me any faster, as I am a full believer in the “it’s the engine not the car” philosophy.

However, I’m also of the opinion that there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with having a nice ride while putting forth some hard work out on there on the road!

Check out the custom number by Betty Designs:

I do love all things Betty!

Perhaps a gift to myself after Galveston! ;)

Ride Happy, My Friends!

The Short List: Holiday Edition

19 Dec 2011 12 Comments

by jnkmiles.org in Cool Stuff, General BS Tags: , , , , , , ,

6 days till Christmas.

Is everybody ready?

I hope so, but incase you’re like me and need a few last-minute items, I’ve put together a short list of my fall favorites to give y’all few ideas….just incase!

These can ALL be found online (remember where I live?? no shopping in hell, but we do have internet!). I’m guessing there are great deals to be had right now as well, so even if you’re done with everyone ELSE on your list, perhaps you may want to pick up a little “happy” for yourself! :)

Rundies http://www.oiselle.com/shop/rundies

Yes friends, these are day-of-the-week underwear. I am not at all ashamed to say that I ADORE these. And BTW, that is not my ass…although I wish it were! I ordered true to size and they’ve done well in the dryer.

Punk Rock Racing T’s http://www.punkrockracing.com/

This is one spicy company. They are full of piss and vinegar and I love em’! They make some awesome t-shirts and cycling apparel. Namely an awesome HTFU Swim, Bike, Run t-shirt. They have several others as well…and yeah I own em’ all and every one of them ROCKS! They run true to size.

Tough Chik Apparel  http://toughchik.com/

Another fun line, but this is just for the ladies. They have great shirts for all 3 disciplines and for the tri itself. They have cycling kits and tri kits as well, awesome hats, visors and accessories. Head over there and check them out if you haven’t done so yet. These fabulous ladies are also in the process of creating a “Tough Chik” team, so click on the link, read all about it and see if it’s something you and/or someone you know might be interested in doing. As for the clothing line, I find they run small so order the next size up if you want to utilize the dryer.

SkinCeuticals Sport UV Defense http://www.skinceuticals.com/

I have a really hard time finding sunscreen that will not make me look like a teenage boy going through puberty. As a result I’ve gone without for too many years and am dealing with melasma all over my face. Since deciding to finally do something about it, I have no choice and I’ve HAD to find protection that works and that won’t break me out. THIS IS THE TICKET!! It contains transparent zinc oxide as well as other active sunscreens to aid in the protection of the sun’s rays. It has an SPF of 45 and it stays put through even the hottest and most humid of conditions. Of course it’s waterproof and sweatproof as well, but I reapply in T1. It’s not Coppertone cheap at $37.00/tube, but it works and keeps my face happy!

Wigwam Ironman Thunder Pro Low-Cut Sock http://www.rei.com/

I am weird picky about my socks. Aren’t we all? Well these are the best. They are cushy, but not bulky and no annoying arch support. If you like the arch support, these won’t make you happy so take note. Wigwam makes a boatload of socks, but these are the only ones I really like. I have a big foot and can’t fit in the ladies variety so I order the mens. They fit the same, I just end up with no color choices. I wish sock manufacturers would realize some of us girls have REALLY big feet!! How big you may ask???….well, my new Brooks are a size 12. I am no petite flower!

ViewSport L/S Men’s Performance Shirt http://www.shopviewsport.com/

I ordered this for my husband to wear on his runs once the weather cooled and he gave it an A+. ViewSport, if you don’t know, makes sweat activated t-shirts. In other words, once you start to work up some heat, these nifty little phrases appear on the shirt. More importantly though is the shirt itself. It’s comfortable and roomy without being too big. Most of my husband’s performance shirts tend to be huge because he has to size up to accommodate the shoulders (think lots o’ swimming) otherwise it’s skin-tight and he refuses to wear it. This one fits, like Goldilocks would say…”just right!”

CarTowels http://www.amazon.com/

Just like the name says. These are towels for your car. When my husband got my Jeep he also purchased me this towel so I wouldn’t trash the seats, with my sweaty self, after a run or ride. Most of the time, I don’t leave from the house. I drive elsewhere and so I am a hot mess when I get back in to head home. This towel has a cut out that fits over the neck rest and is shaped for a car seat. It’s not thick like a beach or bath towel, it’s more like those super absorbent swim or car washing towels….but not the hard crunchy ones that need water to get soft. I love it. I honestly didn’t realize how MUCH I needed this until he gave it to me. Now we fight for it…so he will be gettin’ his own in a few days!!

Reflect Sports http://reflectsports.com/

You may be familiar with the oh so famous Hoo Ha Ride Glide to keep “girlie bits” happy on those long (and not so long) rides, but Reflect Sports ALSO market some damn awesome anti-chlorine products. This is fine, fine stuff that gets the pool stench out of your hair (conditions it nicely too!) and off your body so your friends and co-workers don’t begin to question your new choice of perfume!! No sense in offending the masses seeing how we aren’t really even “in season” yet.

So there ya’ have it.

I hope there’s something here you find new and insightful. None of these folks have asked me to review anything, it’s all stuff I’ve bought on my own accord and have just happened to fall in love with as well.

Maybe I should do a post on all the crap I’ve bought and ended up hating…

hmm…now there’s a thought!

Train Merrily, My Friends!

Birthdays and BikePorn

19 Sep 2011 12 Comments

by jnkmiles.org in Cool Stuff, General BS Tags: , , , ,

This weekend was a busy one as our son turned 14. Not busy like it use to be with Chuck-E Cheese parties and bringing 2 dozen cupcakes to school, but very busy in the sense that he doesn’t KNOW what he wants for his birthday anymore. This, in turn, leaves me running around town all week trying to find something super cool and still practical. It’s no easy task. Let me just say, I really can’t wait for Christmas!

Luckily I did recall that he and his friends have taken to posting anything and everything on YouTube as of late. While he does have video capabilities on his cell phone, it isn’t the fastest when trying to capture that humorous moment that simply must be uploaded and shared with the world.

Thank Goodness he never follows me when I’m out on a ride!!

Ultimately, we settled on this Kodak Playsport Camcorder. The gift which solves every teenage boys filming needs. It’s waterproof up to 10ft, shockproof, allows for 1080 HD filming and also takes HD still photos. Pretty damn cool and most importantly a HUGE success!!

The Darth Vader cake also provided loads of weekend entertainment as BoyGenius performed a lobotomy with a LightSaber hoping to sharpen his Jedi skills a bit. :)

 

 IN OTHER NEWS……

 

Y’all may have heard that Lola recently went in for a pair of racing wheels. While she was there she also got a seat change and some bar tape. I FINALLY reclaimed her on Saturday and she is looking hot! You can see WonderDawg down there checking her out!

I certainly couldn’t leave AquaDoc out of all of this fun and excitement. He’s been itching for a tri/TT bike all year and has looked at a few used models here and there, but he’s always very wishy-washy when it comes time to purchase anything.

While he was in Atlanta, last week, I got word that a friend of a friend was selling their Fuji D6.

The time to act was upon us me. The price was simply too good to let go. I figured if he didn’t want it, I’d ride it!

So after 3 days of secretive phone calls, sneaking around between here and NOLA, and then rushing out at the last second to take possession, I finally got the bike home in time to surprise him.

He was ecstatic! There’s not a chance in hell of me taking ownership, of this bike, anytime soon!

Meet The Green Hornet

As luck would have it, rain has moved in so no riding as of yet, but soon…very soon!!

Hope y’all had an equally enjoyable and productive weekend.

 

Ride Happy, My Friends!

Three-fer Thursday

15 Sep 2011 2 Comments

by jnkmiles.org in Cool Stuff Tags: , , , ,

The thing about me is that when it comes to training paraphernalia, I will try anything once. If it works, fabulous. If not, it goes into the basket for another fellow athlete to try and maybe it’ll do for them what it didn’t do for me.

As a result, I have tons of swim/bike/run gizzmos and gadgets. I have even more on my ever growing birthday and Christmas wish list. And, quite frankly, you would be simply frightened if you saw my amazon.com shopping cart!!

Right now I’m partial to a few so I’m going to enlighten y’all incase you haven’t seen or tried these fine items as of yet.

I am in total and complete love with my 2XU compression pants. I was first introduced to them when training for my first half marathon. I couldn’t get DOWN the stairs (oh yeah… you know that feeling!!) after my long runs and since our house is elevated 30 ft off the ground this was a huge dilemma. These compression pants had me back in working order within 12-15 hours.  During tri season, I wear them on recovery days or when my legs feel like someone has taken a sledgehammer and beat my hamstrings to within an inch of their lifespan. Now I know a lot of people don’t believe in the science behind compression garments, but what I do know is this: My husband prescribes TED hose all day long to his patients for their venous/vascular leg issues. Its been around for a long time and obviously works for folks with decreased or poor venous function. Compression pants, especially a good pair, are pretty close to TED hose (as well as a pair of Spanx for that matter). My theory is better blood flow= better waste removal from the muscles= better recovery. If nothing else, they feel damn good and my legs feel fresh after wearing them. That alone makes this a winning item in my book. If you haven’t tried a pair of full pants yet, you really need to get a good pair. You’ll be hooked!

Speaking of recovery, this little gadget isn’t your ordinary foam roller. This bad boy is made of EVA foam, and is brought to you by the folks over at Trigger Point. It is designed to withstand more pressure than traditional foam rollers and it’s also much smaller at about 13 inches long which makes it a perfect travel companion.  There are 3 zones, identified by the different “grid” patterns, designed to put varying levels of pressure on your body. One is designed to feel like fingertips, one like a forearm/palm and one like your fingers and thumb. I can not even begin to tell you how much this has helped work out the knots and kinks in my hamstrings and glutes this season. I honestly do not believe I would be able to run and/or cycle without my little friend here. He is a true lifesaver!!

Lastly is this little number I picked up online last week designed by the folks at Trix Gear. They have some of the coolest triathlon inspired apparel on the market today. I own 3-4 of their shirts including this latest purchase. They are cozy, fit great, and hold up well in the wash with all the other training laundry. Check out their website and pick up some gear for fall!!

Hopefully one of these three items have sparked your interest. If you decide to try something, let me know if you love it as much as I do.

If not, have no fear…there’s much more where this came from!!

Until then…

 

Ride Happy, My Friends!

Friday Find

12 Aug 2011 1 Comment

by jnkmiles.org in Cool Stuff Tags: , , , ,

OH MY……. it has been a long time since I brought y’all a super cool item that I’ve located.

Well I promise to not keep my finds so secretive in the future. What can I say, I get busy bitching about the heat and such and things slip my mind.

But as I see fall on the horizon (don’t you…come on now…see it out there??!!), I want to show you this awesome long sleeve T-shirt I found over at See Jane Run.

First, if you haven’t been there…go (RUN!) now. They have some of the greatest running/fitness apparel I have come across in a long time.

They also have a pretty great “mantra” and those are very important as all of y’all who keep up with things around here know.

So here’s the little number I bought in order to be properly prepared when fall comes rushing in….

The shirt is a very soft lavender by Oiselle.

The front has the phrase “There is a little bit of Jane in all of Us” printed across it and the back has the mantra I mentioned above.

It’s such a well proportioned shirt. It’s a female cut, but it is not tightly fitted. I normally order an XL in any shirt that looks to be one of those skin-tight numbers and I was able to go with a large and will have no fears when it enters dryer land.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also ordered a bag because….well I could. I love bags much to my husband’s disappointment. I tend to pick one up any and every chance I get and this was no exception.

Hey, you never know when you’ll need an extra place to stow the bike shoes, helmet or swim gear. It never fits in bag…EVER!!

 

Now these are just two of the many many items that they have over at seejanerun.com .

 

You really need to head over and take a look for yourself or should you be a guy, simply share your wealth of new knowledge with the ladies in your life. :)

I promise there is something for everyone here and probably something your neighbors won’t have yet to boot!

Y’all have an awesome weekend!!

Train Happy, My Friends!

Back To Reality

07 Jun 2011 6 Comments

by jnkmiles.org in Cool Stuff, General BS Tags: , , ,

Once a year I take a week or so off and really recharge. Last week was that week.

The combination of everyday stressors (work, house, family) plus training really start to take a toll. I doubt many of us realize how hard we push to get through the weeks, but it definitely has an effect on health, training and performance.

When we left for Aruba, I had just finished Iron Girl New Orleans and had tweaked a muscle in my hip just prior to the race.

One of my vacation goals was to read Sage Roundtree’s, The Athlete’s Guide to Recovery. I know I have a HUGE problem with training at too high of an intensity and after months of doing this I end up hurt and exhausted. So this was step 1 in creating my new training block.

It is a great book for everyone, not just triathletes. It covers every aspect of recovery and regeneration from water/hydration to the ways in which to incorporate active recovery into your harder interval/tempo sessions. It also touches on supplements, compression gear, EMS, and of course yoga. It really helped me write my training plan for my next race in July.

As far as the rest of the trip it was very relaxing and JUST what the Dr. ordered :)  .

We did manage a run on our 2nd day there, but my legs felt like bricks as we ran up the mountain and my husband runs at a pace that I could only keep up with in my dreams! So it wound up more like me running a mile or so, then stopping to walk while screaming at the haze of yellow sneakers far ahead to slowwwww down and wait up. I just know if I could run topless, like he does, it would make all the difference, but it is what it is! Obviously, my body needed more rest.

This is outside our villa where we ran. Not bad, even if your forced to walk!

This place is full of cyclist too. They were riding all day up out in front here. We actually watched a 40k race Saturday morning with teams from Aruba, Curacao, and Venezuela. AquaDoc walked up to the start/finish and chatted up some folks and actually spoke to the girl who finished 1st for the women. She had this cool pink helmet and I’d been watching her ride in front of the villa all week. She said there are ony 3 women on the ENTIRE island that cycle. ONLY THREE! Pretty good odds, eh?

We rented some mountain bikes for the week and I gave “off-roading” a shot. I quickly decided I will not be entering any Xterra events in the near future. My husband kindly refused helmets and I, in turn, refused to ride…WTF, who doesn’t wear helmets??? So he went back and got them and then I proceeded to walk my mountain bike down the boulder-like gravel path. If you have not been on one of these things, they are really HEAVY. I have  a whole new respect for those folks in the fat tire division. I doubt I could rack these things as I tore up my leg with the crank just trying to pick it up off the ground. We made it back to the road, but then we were faced with winds from hell. The kite-surfing guys told us winds in Aruba are sustained at 30 knots and gust higher. These islanders all ride old, beat up road bikes with NO aerobars and NO special wheelsets. And they average about 23-25 mph. Man, if they had technology on their side they would be crazy fast.

This was the extent of my open water swimming!  I’m getting some ab work in as well so bonus points for me!!

I snorkeled a few times as well (not as much as the kids who were on a quest to find Dory and Nemo) and we had every intention of logging some miles in sea, but that time simply got filled with better stuff.

And based on how I feel now, upon my return, I think it was a week well spent.

BUT…I never forget what looms in the future….always thinking…

I think I settled on Galveston 70.3 on April 1, 2012… I just love that it is on April Fools Day! AquaDoc is still trying to wrap his mind around it, but I have confidence he’ll get there  AND

There is a sprint and olympic tri in Aruba every July. Mark your calendars! And train on HILLS and into a 30-40 knot headwind!! Oh, pack your bike too!

 Train Happy, My Friends!

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