[insert McDonald’s jingle here]
Maybe it’s the recent string of Sunny days, the successful kick off to my tri season, the banner day I had at the office, or simply the fact that I just finished Video Skype’ing with Kerry (who’s in London), but I am bursting at the seams, and joy is oozing out.
Consider yourself warned: If you have difficulty enjoying other people’s bubbly happiness, and random musings, PLEASE MOVE ON. There are plenty of great blogs listed on the right of the page and I’d certainly hate to add any additional grief to someone’s day.
It was such a beautiful weekend here in the Twin Cities. A little chilly and windy at times, but most importantly the sun was out! The Gear West Duathlon has been a long standing race favorite in the area, and this year was no exception. Temps were in the low 50s at the start, but it didn’t take long to get warmed up with the enthusiasm among us. We have such a wonderful tri community here in the Twin Cities which makes every race feel like a party for me!!
As expected, the first run was painful and I came into T1 in 2nd place, I moved smoothly through Transition and managed to get out on my bike in the lead. I hammered hard from the start knowing it was critical for me to get the job done on the bike. With the wind, I was struggling to find good rhythm, however, I keep hammering. Still expecting Marlo to come flying by me…I made the final turn towards t2 but didn’t see anyone. This was the first time I thought that I could actually win the race. I flew through T2 (3rd fastest including the pro men) and started the 2nd run. Although Marlo is known to pull off amazing run splits; I figured she was not performing at full strength if I was still in the lead! I held my position though the finish and captured my first GW DU Victory (I had a nice chat with Marlo post race and she mentioned that she’s suffering with a high Hamstring injury-Poor thing-she is so unbelievably talented and I hope she gets back to form soon).
I was so wonderful to see Jeremy Sartain at the race on Sunday. Jeremy (my fellow Team MN representative from Best of the US) had a VERY serious motorcycle accident about a month ago. This was such a terrible tragedy for Jeremy. He had been training so hard, had a full race schedule in place and had qualified for the 2008 Ironman World Championships. With the severity of his injuries, he will not be racing this year; however he will channel his energy into recovery with the goal of returning to racing in 2009. If anyone can do it, it’s Jeremy (and Marit C-L), and I wish nothing but the best for him and Jenny. Jeremy is yet another reminder that our ability to race, train and be active is truly a gift…I’ve been working hard to BE PRESENT, FILTER THE NOISE, and to truly appreciate every moment.
Today was a Banner Day at the office. Just one of those days, when everything worked and good ideas where streaming. Indeed when you work in the Technology Group, more specifically the Data Warehousing division of a large financial institution, these days are far and few between. In an attempt to keep the remaining readers awake, I’ll keep the details to myself (actually against corporate policy to blog about work) so I’ll leave it at that…I was a GREAT day at the office.
Video Skype-Awesome!! With Kerry in London for a few days, communication with my hubby is limited. Luckily during international travel we typically connect via Skype phone, but tonight, as our phone conversation continued we realized we were both in front of a mac computer. Needless to say (Kerry is the epitome of GEEK Tech guy), we quickly installed Skype on our machines and before long, we were Video Skyping!! I know I’m probably way behind the times on this one, but regardless, it was great see Kerry and share the great moments of the day…We’ve been married for almost 6 years now, yet each and every time I see him, I still get that warm fuzzy happiness. (You’re the best honey-See you soon).
To cap a wonderful day, I had a chance to venture out on my Mtn bike tonight. I love my bike (all pick cables and pink Chris King headset) however, with my focus on road cycling, I haven’t taken the time to use my fat tires. Since the 2006 Xterra World Champs in Maui, I can probably count the # of rides on that bike with one hand (that race left scars, both literally and figuratively). I’d like to announce that the scars have now healed, and I expect it will be a different story this year-I had a delightful ride through Lebanon Park, and I can’t wait until next time (no XTERRA in the plans though).
Tomorrow night-Another Black Dog 7.2 mile TT. I can feel the burn already!!
OK-I’m running out of hours in the day…I’m off to bed. I’ll add photos later.
