Head for the hills....

......unless you live in south Louisiana. You see, we ain't got no hills. This has its benefits, but at times like these it also has some drawbacks.

Drawback #1- The Mississippi River is a very large river. From time to time it likes to explore the area outside of its banks. I assume it's a tribute(ary) to Lewis and Clark or Hernando DeSoto. Either way, it likes to leave its mark on things. That mark being lots and lots of water. As i am sure that we have all heard about the river, levees, spillways and communities being flooded ,I will skip ahead..

...skipping.......

...skipping.....

...so for those of you living near the areas being flooded, beware of snakes, alligators, bears, and wild boar that are being diplaced. And for swamp people who are also easily startled and just as dangerous.

Drawback #2-  I am supposed to be doing some cycling in a mountainous part of Virginia in July and there is nowhere to train for this down here. Sure there are some places about 45 minutes away that have "rolling hills", but these are what the British announcer that calls the Tour de France refers to as "tickles" as they are certainly not real "hills'.

I am trying to find ways to simulate hills but my options are limited. There are certainly no natural features and I really dislike riding on a trainer. A few months ago I found a perfect 10 story parking garage to climb but you never know when the security guard is gonna be there to kick you out, and I try not to be a trouble maker.

So, if you have any ideas or suggestions for a flatlander like me, feel free to share.

Sadie de Mayo- year 5

Happy Adoption day to my beautiful sweet angel of a puppy dog, Sadie!!! 5 years ago today I brought her home. She has grown 70 lbs since then. From her pink nose, to the floppy ears, to the white tip on her tails she is the seetest and most beautiful dog i've ever seen.

She is my best friend. That's right my best friend is a dog, and i'm OK with that.
Thanks to Beatrice(Sadie), these have been the best 5 years of my life.

NOLA 70.3

2 weeks ago I participated in the Ochsner New Orleans Ironman 70.3. I was really excited to compete in this event, my first attempt at this distance. 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, 13.1 mile run. I was super excited that it was to take place in New Orleans, one of my hometowns. Even better, a lot of it went through New Orleans East(aka: the old neighborhood). I felt like I had a homefield advantage and that all my family gone before me would be there to guide me by spirit. I knew i would not be defeated that day.

Saturday i picked up my race packet and checked in my bike. My bike was definitely on the low end of the financial spectrum in the field. Even so, I felt pretty uncomfortable leaving Betty White(yes, that's the name of my bike. also sometimes called the prancing unicorn or ragin bull). Luckily, she was there waitning for me when I arrived Sunday morning.

As I was walking into the transition setup area I heard rumblings in the crowd that the swim was being cancelled due to bad conditions on Lake Pontchartrain. These rumors were confirmed by the voice on the loud speaker. My heart immediately sank(or is it sunk?). I felt defeated before I even started. I thought about it for a while and decided to change my outlook. It's better to choose on the side of safety than have a competitor or safety patrol volunteer be injured, or worse....

All i could do was compete in the race set before me, and thats what I did. My plan was to average a little over 16 mph on the bike ride. I averaged 18.1 and finished in 3 hours and 5 minutes. Thats about 25-30 minutes faster than I had planned. The ride was tough though. The first half of the ride was almost directly into the wind. As the route was along or near the lake there was very little to break the breeze. I kept telling myself just to keep pedalling and get to the turn around. It was like riding in a wind tunnel. But, I survived and reached the turnaround. I jetted back to the transition area and was super excited when i realized what my time was.

I got throught transition pretty quick and got out on the run. I felt like the run would be my weakest area. I trained pretty hard for the swim and bike, but knew I could have trained harder for the run. I passed a lot of people on the bike and i quickly began to see some of those people pass me on the run. It didn't hurt my pride. I was happy for those people. But, I had a plan and iIwas going to stick to it: find a comfortable pace and keep rollin'.

I found my groove and just kept going, running the entire 13.1, except for a couple powerade stops that I walked through because I feared I would spill orange powerade on my new shoes(that makes more sense if you know the love affair I have with my running shoes). I never doubted that I would finish and did finish the run in 2hrs 55mins., about 10 mins faster than i anticipated.

All together I finished in 6hrs and 5 minutes.

The time in the picture is off because I started an hiur after the pros.

I was very pleased with the way it turned out. But, as much as I want to say I completed a 70.3(miles) the fact is I only did 69.1. I couldn't bring my self to buy a shirt or even a sticker for my car. Don't worry, I'll get that badge of honor next year, and I'll get it even faster. My preparation has already begun.

Team Pegasus 2011 was formed as Mom and Tom came out for support me in this endeavor, as did Kelley and her Dad who drove down from Ohio. There were also lots of early morning texts from my Dad offering encouragement. Thanks to you all.

Special Thanks to:
Kelley-  For being the most supportive and encouraging GF ever, and for being an excellent nutritionist.
Mom and Tom- for your tireless support of my crazy ideas and for your knowledge of the NOLA back streets.
The Commander, Kelley's Dad- for letting me ride my bike in your garage during the Christmas holidays, and for driving 16 hours just to see me(because I know it had nothing to do with your grandsons 1st birthday)
Steve, My Brother- for being encouraging in my training and always making me feel like I am Awesome.
Steven,  "The Freight Train" -my excellent cycling partner. Thanks for pushing me on our training rides and for doing all the talking on our runs.
Heidi, "Wildcat Safety Coordinator"- for amusing me on those long bike rides and making sure we had safe routes to ride on.
Dad- for being there at my race last may and for your early morning race day texts, a good boost of confidence.
Sadie& Lily- Great running partners, and Brady too.
Bent Rim Bicycle Club- Roll Tide!!!
and finally...

Emile Zatopek, "The Human Locomotive"(also known as the man in the little picture frame)1952, Helsinki, 3 gold medals. Unstoppable!!!