70.3 Race Day

To continue the saga of my first Half Ironman....

Another self portrait - this time it is race day

Sarah and I smiling with nervousness. It's game day!

Time to panic. My swim cap rips in half and we are screaming to Julian to try and help me find another one! Arrgghh!! Good news - we find some random spectators who just HAPPEN to have an extra blue cap in their bag - the same one as my wave. Big sigh of relief.

Where's Waldo? My head looks weird in a swim cap. I'll blame the squished ponytail.

Chaos in the water! I did okay - I would have done much better except like a lemming I followed the people in front of me. They went the wrong way because the buoy wasn't big enough. I should have looked up more. On the bright side, I now know I can swim 2000 meters in open water.

Michael transitions from the swim. Pretend this is me since all our fabulous fans were busy with other people so there aren't too many photos of me. Also, Michael is much smoother than I am and fun to watch.

He can run without shoes on. They are on the bike. I'm not that talented.

Michael at the back. If this was me, there would be a lot less bikes in the way, that's for sure....

Proof that I made it out of the water! Julian catches me as I roll back into transition. A solid ride with 3 hours on the bike.

Proof that I ran too! Not too sure why my arm is all funky but I blame the last 13 miles on my poor form. Finish! Finish! Finish! Finish! Final time was just under 6 hours. I think 5:53:00-ish. Yeah, I could have gone faster. I'm smiling because there are people I know at the finish though. I also cried at the finish. But don't tell anyone.

The group at the finish. You can ignore the guy on the right in the black - my fault for being chatty with him and he joined our group photo. Everyone else in red is a friend - Sarah, me, Guy, Michael, Tom, Louise and Simon.

And that's the race from Spain. More photos soon since I have to share the post-race festivities. (They are censored of course)

70.3 Pre-Race

A Half Ironman distance is 70.3 total miles. For some reason I signed up to swim, bike and run that far. On the bright side, it was in Spain....

Tom, Michael and I take a self portrait after we arrive in Calella.

Michael and I by the beach just below the lighthouse. The lighthouse seriously ends up being the best beacon ever due to the fact that when you saw it on the bike course, you knew you were FINALLY about to be done with the headwind.

We get together for a pre-race swim to check out the sea. Sarah, Julian, Michael, me and Tom. It's a good thing we did because I was so freaked out it took me two times to get in the water. It was like the perfect storm the waves were so big. I kept telling myself how great it was that I didn't tell anyone I was doing the race because they were not going to know that I dropped out the day before due to being a big chicken. But, the gang was patient with me- especially Tom who talked me back into the water for another go.

The pedestrian walkway in Calella. Home to 90% of the restaurants and shops.

One of our favorite past times along the pedestrian walk way was pre-race eating. Oh yeah.

and more pre-race eating. I really don't think you get the scale of these pieces of cake. That's why everyone has their cameras out. So when you ask 'why did I do a half ironman?'. That answer is 'I love to eat'.

Something unfamiliar in the States, the single bed hotel room. I kept hitting my elbow on the wall and waking myself up. Doh!

After putting the bikes together, Sarah and I take them out for a spin to make sure they actually work. And yes, my arms are that skinny now. All this cardio training doesn't make time for the gym these days. It isn't like my brother used to call me Chicken Arms for nothing...

And while taking pictures of the lovely scenery, it turns out this was a nude beach. And the people were old. We didn't linger.

So after the bike passes the safety check, it's off to rack it the night before. There were about 1600 participants in the event.

And here is my trusty Trek - all ready!

At the pre-race pasta dinner, Tom claps along to the music. I'm sure he's really going to love the fact that I put this picture in here.

And lastly, the water is FINALLY calm. Let's hope it is like that in the morning.... To Be Continued....

Land of the Lost

I found where Tucker has been hiding all the tennis balls.

There are a total of 5 hidden under the hall table.

I promise Spain pics to be organized this weekend. After I get some work done. Yes, I am that far behind.

One Year Down....

I don't believe it myself but I've now been in the UK for one full year. Crazy. I'm not quite sure where this year has gone but looking back at some blog photos, I think I've done a pretty good job exploring so far.

But, no time to reflect just yet. I've got loads of work to do and some Barcelona and Italy pics to organize. As for the photo above, it's a good picture of my new routine. Steak, ale and stilton pie with veg at the pub and my dog begging on my knee. The comforts of home....

A Night At The Races

Horse racing in England is big. Huge. The Grand National, Ascot, Triple Crown - they are into it all over here. So I went to the local races for an evening of excitement and betting. (Apologies in advance for the photos - it was quite bright and I could never be sure if the picture turned out)

First off, there is tailgating. Pull up the car, set up at the picnic tables and voila! you are getting ready for the races.

My friend Jo and I toast with some birthday champagne to really get us in the betting mood. (It was a bit windy which is why my hair is flying all over the place)

The horses also run on grass. It is very cool - and you get to be very close. I'm pretty sure you can't get this close in the States but here, you can hear them thundering down the field and get hit with clods of dirt as they fly by. Here you can see the field coming and going.

And here is where the horses used to be and you can see the dirt still in the air. They were much faster than my camera. Jo was the skilled one for the day. She picked the winner in the first 3 races, too bad she only bet on one of them!

Anyway, these pictures don't do the evening justice but trust me that horse racing is quite popular here. I'm hoping to get tickets to Ascot so you might see horses and big funny hats here in the future. Also, pics from the Half Ironman and Italy/Switzerland still to come...

Another Year Wiser?

I'd like to think that I'm another year wiser but looking back on a few things, I'm starting to doubt that. What I am however, is officially another year older. I won't go into all my recent reflection (I almost wrote 'deep' reflection and that made me laugh) as my birthday tends to be a time when I reflect on the year and try to figure out what my next year will bring. On top of that, I try to determine what kind of person I am going to be - will I keep looking back? Will I move forward? Or am I on some crazy sideways path the might even bring me right back to where I started from? (See why I almost used the word deep?) In any case, it is a time to celebrate and try and have a little fun with MY day. So - I'm off to Italy tomorrow as a present to myself. :o)

Speaking of presents, my English friends came over the other night and presented me with a very fitting gift. A proper kettle! I think it might be more for them than for me since they were tired of popping round or staying for dinner and then being denied their tea. No more! They'll turn me into a right Brit soon......

Barcelona...Sort Of

So I've been talking for awhile that I had a trip planned to Barcelona. That wasn't exactly true.. I did fly in and out of the Barcelona airport. But I really went to Spain to compete in a Half Ironman in a town called Calella (I survived by the way). I did go to Barcelona however, those pictures are below. However they are a wee bit scarce due to the amount of time I spent at the beach or freaking out about my race. I have a few more race/beach photos then city pictures. So - those will come next as soon as I steal a few from some of the best race spectators ever! Read on...

Sarah (who competed) and her boyfriend Julian (best race support ever) changed hotels after the race. This is what happens when you have to carry your bike everywhere with you.

The Cathedral in the center of Barcelona. Built in Roman times it is one of the oldest structures in the city.

Lots of pedestrian friendly places to walk and shop

A wonderful square off Las Ramblas, the main pedestrian thoroughfare. It was a great place to rest with a fountain in the middle and cafes lining the perimeter.

Michael and Tom (fellow competitors and appearing in previous posts) get us a table in the corner. The tapas was yummy!

The statue honoring Christopher Columbus, having been sent abroad with money from Spain's Queen Isabel.

The Barcelona harbor - I loved the contrast of the boats in the foreground with the European buildings in the background.

Billed as the most beautiful church in Barcelona, it has the largest and oldest circular rose window. I love the cafes at the base so that you may just sit with a glass and admire it.


Sarah and Julian check out my new favorite store.

Very narrow streets - you could jump from one balcony to the other!

Las Ramblas - filled with more people and street performers than you could believe. It actually made me nervous that I was going to be pick pocketed so I didn't linger long. Barcelona is known for having your valuables relieved of your possession.

Me being a dork at Park Guell. One of Gaudi's (the modernist architect) main creations.


The columns amazed me how they were built and continue to hold strong today without the help of modern technology.



Tom helps just in case it might fall.
A fanciful lizard guarding the entrance to the park.

Tiled art on the ceiling of what was meant to be an open air market (columns below)





Originally designed as a market, now a resting area out of the sun!

Another Gaudi design still under construction after 100 years! The cathedral is built to hold 13,000 worshippers.

Tom and I (with my crooked hat) in front of the Cathedral.

So ends the Barcelona portion - pics from Calella and the race soon. Except I'm off to Italy on Wednesday so there might be a slight delay ... :o) Ciao!