Ironman Louisville update

1) Judy Weller is an Iron(wo)man. Yippee! I am sooooo happy for her. I talked to her today and she is very happy too. Her quads are a little sore (no kidding?) but she's very happy with her finish.
2) Mark Carey is going to Kona October 10. 4th overall amateur and 2nd in his age group. Talked to him, too. He's got just 6 weeks! He said he'll recover, maintain his fitness and then do it all again. Way to go, Mark! Excellent race.

Later!

Whaddup?

My hydrangeas are in full bloom. They're beautiful. Soon the blooms will turn copper/peach. They dry really well. Love 'em.

Today I decided that after I got the RTC newsletter done and shipped off to the printer that I'd treat myself to a bike ride. It was a beautiful day. So I rode 51 miles and I felt great. My ride: I was going to ride my 42 mile loop through Salem Corners, Byron, Pine Island, Douglas but when I got north of Byron I decided to go west, into the wind, on county road 16 toward Mantorville/Wasioja. I went back into Mantorville on highway 57 and toodled around town a little bit. Haven't been there in years. Last time I was there they still had the wooden sidewalks. It appears those have been replaced with concrete now. But it's still a cute little town -- kind of a step back in time. I stopped in a couple of antique shops and went into the chocolate shop--just browsing!!

I've sent the newsletter to the webmaster for posting on the RTC website, so look for that soon. It'll arrive in your mailboxes later in the week. It's a couple days late this month ... sorry. It's been a busy one.

Tomorrow we're having a Rochester Half Marathon post-mortem at 6:00 pm at Paradise Pete's. There are some things to tweak but overall I think it was a positive.

I called Betsy a couple of times today regarding Judy Weller's Ironman, her first, today in Louisville. The first time I called she'd finished the swim and was on the bike. At the time of the second call she was running the marathon. I just checked Mark Carey's result: 9:27:19 58:33 for the 2.4 mile swim, 5:18:49 for the 112 mile bike and 3:04:23 for the marathon. Way to go, Mark!! I just checked and he's second in the male 35-39 age group out of 453 and there are 8 male Kona spots from Louisville ... :-)

Note: The Mayo Open 5K Cross Country race is September 17 NOT September 10 as published on the RTC calendars printed last year.

The boys' birthdays are in September and Matt's Cold Stone Creamery free Like It Creation coupon arrived via email. You can sign up online -- one for each member of the family. :-)

I think I'll keep this post short and sweet. :-)

Good night, all!!

The Run of my Life

I had a "runner's high" this morning. I still have it. I don't want to let go ...

The day dawned cool. 46 degrees here at home. That called for some warmer clothing than is traditionally called for in late August. Arm warmers and gloves.

60-70 runners showed up in the RAC parking lot for a little "Tour de Douglas".

Our course was north on the Douglas Trail until you'd had enough ... and then back. The turnaround was marked at 10 miles.

So, a 20-miler was the deal-e-o for today. I was a bit concerned that my run-swim-run-lift-run-bike 37 miles workout of yesterday might have left my legs too fatigued for a good run today. But I was going to give it my best shot.

I ran the early miles with Dan, Eric and Trevor. Dan is still trying to talk me into doing a 1/2 Ironman at Square Lake in a couple of weeks. I'm trying to convince him that the event would be shut down by the time I'd come crawling out of the water. He doesn't buy it. :-)

There were some new faces (to me anyway!) this morning. Below are B.J. and Aaron. I ran a few miles with the third one of the bunch, Steve, but I neglected to get his picture. :-( He's originally from Canada (you could still hear it in the inflection in his voice) and is training for his first marathon, TCM. These guys played hockey, both amateur and pro.

I find it so interesting to find out people's stories ... how they came to be runners. How they came to training for a marathon. They ran very well.

Anyway, for some reason I felt strong today. Maybe it was the excellent water stops ...

the fruit really hit the spot. THANK YOU to those of you who spent your morning to be of service to us runners. We really appreciate it. Two bathroom breaks and a re-tying of my right shoe and then I hit the turnaround, ready to head back to the RAC. The NW wind would now be at our backs, though the trail did provide some nice shelter from the stiff breeze. I was just in a groove. Mile 19 was 8:33. And I didn't have any leg cramps. At 20.25 miles I was back at the RAC, feeling great, where Dan was waiting for some of my green beans.

And cookies. (BTW: The cookies of Thursday's post were a hit. A keeper recipe for sure.)

I wanted to do a few more miles. I like to get in a few 20+ mile runs in if possible and the weather was so cooperative today. So I did the loop around county 22/7th St NW/Industrial Dr. which is about 2.5 miles. Mile 22 was 8:32. Went back out to the west one more time. Going up the little hill on county 22 at mile 23 I was doing 7:36 pace. I was just loving this. Totally into it. At 24.24 miles I glanced at my GPS. 7:22 pace. Wow. This has NEVER happened before. No cramps. Feeling strong. Wanted to keep going (but knew I should quit). Got back to the RAC with 24.56 miles in 3:22.21. And I was stopping to take photos, talking at the water stops, ... I could have walked 1.6 miles at about 28 minute pace and gotten a BQ. I was psyched. Just flying high. My best long run ever. I am sooooooooooo pleased. :-) I could never understand how anyone could ever even consider racing a marathon. For me it's always been a matter of survival. I'm beginning to understand ...

Well, that's probably more than you wanted to know about my morning run. I'll move on.

When I got home, I called Judy Weller who's in Louisville for her inaugural Ironman tomorrow morning. I am so excited for her. She said she's nervous now. She'd just dropped all her stuff at the transition point. It's all very real now. Tomorrow, she will be an Ironman! I couldn't be more proud of her for her dedication to her training and all the strides she's made this year in her events. She'd seen Mark Carey down there, too. He's hoping to qualify for Kona. Good luck, you guys! Have fun! Betsy will have Judy's phone tomorrow so I'll be calling for updates.

Shaun Palmer told me this morning that I ranked sixth in the TriMinnesota points standings in my age group. Woo hoo!! Guess I should have done a couple more TriMinnesota triathlons. Next year!!

CLIF is giving away a box of CLIF shots a day for the next 30 days. All you have to do is fill out a little form and you're entered. Here's the link.

I went to see the movie Julie & Julia late this afternoon with my friend Julie and her friend Chris who just arrived this afternoon from Colorado Springs. By bike! 800 miles, ridden by herself, most nights spent camping. Whew!! Very nice gal. We enjoyed the movie immensely. (I somehow managed to nod off a couple of times ... so sleepy ... and it was dark and quiet.) Enjoyed it enough to possibly see it again. Meryl Streep totally nailed the Julia Child persona.

Here's a seasonal recipe for those with basil, green beans and potatoes from the garden. I don't remember from whence it came. :-) Most likely Cooking Light. Pesto is normally high in calories and fat. This recipe isn't. Note: it quickly discolors when exposed to air. Cover the surface with plastic wrap until serving time.

Green Beans and Potatoes Tossed with Pesto

2 c. loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 oz.) grated fresh parmesan cheese
1/4 c. fatfree, less-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp. pine nuts
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly grated ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/4 pounds red potatoes, each cut into 6 wedges

Combine first 8 ingredients ina food processor; process until smooth.
Bring water to a boil ina large saucepan. Add green beans, and cook 4 minutes or until tender. Remove beans from pan with a slotted spoon, and place in a large bowl. Add potatoes to pan, and cook 6 minutes or until tender. Drain. Add pesto and potatoes to beans, and toss to coat.

Good night!!

Run, Swim, Run, Lift, Run, Bike!!

Yes, it's true. That's what I did today. Ran down to the Soldier's Field pool, where I found all 6 lanes were occupied by at least 2 people each. I talked to the coach for a bit and he said the water was 86 degrees. Yeow!! That's really warm. So, that being the case and not wanting to slow anyone down as they'd have to now swim loops, I decided to head to the Y instead. So I swam there for an hour. Then lifted. Then ran home + 1 mile. This afternoon I rode 37 miles on the bike. I swear, that bike feels like it's being held together by a wish and a prayer! Today, bottom bracket troubles, and a squeaky pedal, but I got the miles in and didn't have to call for a ride. :-) The bike computer bracket cracked when I put it in the car last weekend for the tri so that's held together by duct tape. And there are still occasional shifting issues. Kirby and I have made a date for bike shopping on Monday afternoon. I'm keeping this one!! I hadn't eaten lunch before I left, and I got home at 3:30. I was starving. So I had a concoction that I really like: yogurt (fat free vanilla bean), a sliced peach and a handful of Honey Bunches of Oats. Really hit the spot and was enough to tide me over to supper.


I spotted another snake on this bike ride. I don't know my snakes. And I don't like snakes. This one had a diamond pattern. Yuck. Double yuck.

Three state records were set at the Rochester Half Marathon last Saturday:

• McKenzie Holt, age 13 from St. Cloud, with a 1;34:26
• Michael Torchia, age 21 from Rochester, with a 1:08:24
• Jared Mondry, age 67 from Minneapolis, with a 1:26:53

Way to go, runners!!

Here are the photos from the TriRochester social gathering yesterday evening at Glynner's Pub. We talked triathlon, of course!, mainly swimming. And Chris Koch mentioned that he and Rob Mitchell are heavy into training for the Superior Trail 100 mile race in September.

Here's a picture of my oldest son Eric and his friends in Vegas a couple of weeks ago. Eric is in the front kind of bending down, vest on. He's got a really nice group of friends.

Today they're in WI golfing. It's an annual outing. His friend Mark, second from the right in the photo, has a grandpa that owns the Kwik Trip franchise. He treats them all to a round of golf and a steak dinner at his house each summer. They always have a good time. And they've always had nice weather, as they did today.

Correction from yesterday's post: it was Tom Woo that waved, not John Dinusson. :-) Tom and his son Alex are running the Victory 10K on Labor Day in the Cities as well. We're going to car pool. :-)

The Midwest Tandem (bicycle) Rally is taking place in Rochester Sept. 4 thru 7 and they need volunteers. Click on this link to volunteer. Click on this link for more info.

The RTC is looking for a new membership chair. Duties include keeping a current membership roster, notifying members of membership renewals, mailing new member packets, keeping your friendly newsletter editor (me!) up-to-date on new member names, etc. If you're interested in this position, email president@rochestertrackclub.com

P.K. said she saw me on TV yesterday, Channel 6. Must have been this Mayo Clinic Medical Edge story being played again.

I got an email with a link to a recipe called Buckeye Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake from King Arthur Flour.

If you're a p-butter/chocolate fan, this one looks like it's to die for!! Here's a link to the blog with lots of photos. (This photo is from King Arthur Flour, a favorite site of mine. Great recipes, great tools, great ingredeints.)

I made the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies from yesterday's post this evening. They're very good. They will hit the spot after the 20-miler tomorrow morning.

We again have a surplus of green beans. I'll bring them to the morning run to give away. They were snapped up in a flash a couple of weeks ago.

Cheers!!

Thursday's Thoughts

Another beautiful summer day. What a wonderful summer this has been. Unless you're a bean plant or corn stalk. They need some heat. But I must say it's been wonderful for running.

This morning I did my 5 mile tempo run. Splits: 6:50 6:45 6:40 6:43 6:41 With a warm-up and cool down I got in 11.34 miles. a good workout. I think I have a little bit of a cold--a slightly runny nose, sneezy yesterday, but it's not affecting me too much I don't think. My alarm went off at 4:45 but in the blink of an eye it was already 5:41. I need more sleep... Chatted with Marie Boyd this morning in the final 1/4 mile of my run. We talked speedwork, tempo runs, and turning 50. There will be one year where we're not in the same age group. YES!! :-) Someone honked and waved at me on the highway 52 Frontage Road. I think it was John Dinusson! Spotted shortly after that was Bruce Johnson. Today he was again riding a bike and talking on a cell phone, but this time he was using no hands so he could wave. That's talent.

I need to pull together the newsletter ASAP. If you have something to submit, please do. I think this will be a relatively small issue of RTC News. Not many stories this month.

Here'a YouTube video about Mike Torchia's orphan fund-raising adventure:


The Garmin 310XT is now available at Running Room Tempting. Keeps a 20-hour charge, which would be great! Good for triathletes, too.

There's a name the movie contest for an upcoming Dick Beardsley movie. First prize is a $150 New Balance gift card. I submitted a couple of entries.

Last night, my Yack and Snack friends got together for our annual salad supper ...

at Mary's house. We had a delicious selection of salads: fruit pizza, cole slaw, "that Ramen noodle salad" x 2, pasta salad, spinach and strawberry salad, peaches & bing cherries in a balsamic vinegar sauce (really good), picked cukes, peppers and onions, and my concoction of greens/chicken/onion/blueberries/peaches/pecans with a raspberry vinaigrette along with a selection of breads from Great Harvest.

The sunset last night was just spectacular.

Nancy decided she should take my picture in front of it. :-)



Here's a recipe passed along by Lorraine Benike. It's from Epicurious . Lorraine says it's delicious and they ate them every day on their recent Colorado hiking adventure. I've not tried it yet, but it certainly sounds delicious. I don't think you can go wrong with oatmeal, chocolate and peanut butter!! Maybe I'll make them for the Saturday long run at the RAC, scheduled for 18-20 miles this week.

Jose's Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

You can view the complete recipe online at: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/11797

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 large eggs
a 12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, grated

In a food processor pulse 1 cup oats until ground fine. In a large bowl stir together ground oats, remaining 1/2 cup whole oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy and beat in vanilla and peanut butter. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and gradually beat in flour mixture. Add chocolate chips and grated chocolate, beating just until combined. Chill cookie dough, covered, at least 2 hours and up to 1 week.

Preheat oven to 325F.

Form rounded tablespoons of dough into balls and arrange about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten balls slightly.

Bake cookies in batches in middle of oven 15 minutes, or until just pale golden. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes and transfer to racks to cool completely.

Tomorrow I'll post photos of tonight's TriRochester social get-together at Glynner's. It was fun--I think I counted 18 noses. :-) Also a fun photo of my son Eric and his best buds in Vegas. It's a great photo. Tomorrow AM, I'm back in the pool. Hope to get a bike ride in as well.

Thought for the day: "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

Toodles.

Back to It

Back to a normal post. :-) I'll post a slideshow of the triathlon tomorrow. It's already getting late.
A P.R. of sorts: 221 hits on my blog for Monday. My previous P.R. was 219. Thanks for stopping by!!

Good luck to Mark Carey and Judy Weller who will be participating in Ironman Louisville this weekend!

I am now officially registered for TC10 on October 4, one of my favorite races. Thank you to Peg Arnold and Running Room for the promotion/drawing that got me in. I am VERY excited to run this race. 10 miles is a good distance for me, and it's so much fun to run it and then get cleaned up and watch the marathon. Can't wait!!

From Bill Nevala: The 4th Annual Treadman Duathlon is on and growing by the day. We are now up to 110 participants pre-registered and that will no doubt climb as we near race day. We have a need for volunteers for this event. The race starts at 8:30 a.m. in Pine Island. We need volunteers for Race Day Registration/Check In, Finish Line, Water Stops, and Course Marshals. We also could use a lead vehicle and trail vehicle. If you can help us on Saturday Sept 5th, please let us know asap. Thank You, Bill and Wendy Nevala 507-269-3591 or wnevala@yahoo.com

Today's workout: speedwork, as has become de rigueur on Tuesdays. But today, the radar looked a bit ominous as did the NW skies. But the animated map on wunderground.com indicated that the storm was just going to miss Rochester, moving toward the NE. So I headed out to run my 1/4s, minus my tunes just in case the skies opened up. The air was thick with humidity. Very sticky morning.

I did manage to escape rain until the last couple of miles. Warmed up for 2 miles then started running the 1/4s on 2nd St SW, starting at county 22 and heading east. Splits: 1:32 1:30 1:29 1:29 1:27 1:28 1:28 1:28 1:29 1:27 They felt more difficult today. I'm guessing it was a combination of things: The tri on Sunday and the heavy air. Felt like I was sucking wind at the end of just about every one. But I got 'em done. :-) Then since I got an early start I had time for a nice l-o-n-g cooldown and ended up with a 15.38 mile run. From 2nd St, headed over to Kwik Trip on Civic Center Drive for some nice cold water and then to Great Harvest for a slice of cinnamon chip bread. I was hungry. A good workout.

Kind of a quiet morning due to the weather. The only runner that I knew was Marie Boyd, spotted while I was on my way to work.

Julie Murray did this pen and ink drawing for/of me from the Rochesterfest Triathlon. It's got so much detail. I love it! Thank you, Jules!

Got some sweet corn at HyVee yesterday. It was phenomenal. The best corn I've had this summer. That and a spinach salad and turkey burger and I was good to go.


Wednesday evening: My Yack 'n Snack group is getting together for our annual salad supper. Everyone brings a salad to share. The hostess provides bread, beverage and dessert. It's lots of fun, and delicious.

Thursday evening: TriRochester social gathering at Glynner's Pub. From Mike Ewen: Glynner's Pub, August 27th at 6:00pm. Feel free to bring spouses, significant others, friends, kids, etc... Come out and enjoy a great selection of cold brews, good food, and of course good conversation among club members! This gathering is open to all club members and non-club members, maybe you're interested in learning what the club is about and meeting some people with interests in multi-sport... Come, ask questions, and socialize with us!

I think this Joe Heller cartoon is VERY funny!!

Time to wrap this up and get to bed. I think I still am suffering from a sleep deficeit.

Within the last couple of days, a friend of mine was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, stage 3. This is the third friend who's gotten this diagnosis. I am so sad, so scared for him. He has a real fight ahead.

All of our days are numbered. We just don't know the number. That being the case, make the most of each day. Live each one to the fullest, as if, and in case, it's your last. Tell those you love that you love them. Don't leave for tomorrow what you can accomplish, enjoy, experience today. Just in case ...

If Today Was Your Last Day (Nickelback)

My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had, if today was your last day?
What if, what if, if today was your last day?

Against the grain should be a way of life
What's worth the price is always worth the fight
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
So live like you're never living twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life

If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars
Regardless of who you are

So do whatever it takes
'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life
Let nothing stand in your way
'Cause the hands of time are never on your side

And would you call those friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
And would you find that one you're dreaming of
Swear up and down to God above
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?

Lakes Country Tri, redux

On Sunday I participated in the Lakes Country Triathlon in Baxter, MN ... most likely the last tri for me for the year. I'll analyze each section of the tri and give you the lowdown.

Swim: 20:43

The venue for the event was the shore of a very picturesque lake.

The swim was 1/2 mile, which was to be my longest open water swim yet. And ... I was very nervous about it. The course was 3 sides of a rectangle, with buoys on the left. I breathe on the right. This was not an ideal situation for me! Suffice it to say, had I worn a GPS I think this is what a map of my swim route would have looked like:

I was all over the place. I don't swim straight, that's for sure! And part of the reason is most likely that I was always breathing on one side. I'm working on breathing on the left, but didn't feel comfortable doing that on Sunday, so zig-zag it was. Suffice it to say, I bet I swam .6 miles instead of .5! And I had to stop several times on the third side of the rectangle and ask the people in the kayaks where to go as we were swimming into the sun and I couldn't see a thing. (I forgot to bring my tinted goggles.)

If it were a perfect world, I'd be Sawra Maurer (from Rochester, left below, with hubby Matt) ...

who had the second fastest swim of ANYONE on Sunday, including the guys! Way to go, Sawra!! She's an excellent triathlete.

T1: 2:50

Well, I was glad to get out of the water and pulled down my zipper, took off my goggles and cap on the run up the beach to the parking lot. When I reached my bike, I sat down and started trying to pull off my wet suit. I had difficulty. For some reason, the last 6" of the legs just didn't want to slip over my feet. So it was slow. And I'm not very practiced at it. Something to work on for next season to be sure.

Bike: 50:52 (20.4 mph for 17.3 miles)

Very happy with this result. The bike course was pretty flat. Just a few small inclines. There were a couple of rough sections on the roads, and a couple miles on a busy highway, but overall it was a good course. Not too many turns. After the slow swim I was frustrated and ready to hammer on the bike--my 30-year old bike and my running shoes!! (I HAVE to get a new bike. Soon. Just have to find the time to shop and research them.) About mile 5 I took a drink of water and lost my water bottle while trying to put it back into the cage. Bummer. Now I had no water for 12 miles and I lost my favorite LUABC Caribou Coffee water bottle. :-(

The good thing about being in wave 6 (the last wave--middle-aged women) and a slow swimmer ... there were LOTS and LOTS of people to chase and catch on the bike and run! And catch them I did. No one passed me on the bike. Fun, fun, fun!!

T2: 0:40

Fast. But that's because I didn't have to switch shoes. When I wear my cleated shoes, this will slow down. Not much to comment on. I just racked my bike, doffed my helmet, grabbed a bottle of Propel and was off on the run.

Run: 27:30 (7:04 pace for 3.9 miles)

Very pleased with this. Again, there were lots of people to chase down and I didn't get passed.

I seriously thought I was running closer to 8 minute pace. This felt very comfortable and I was very surprised at the average pace. Felt great at the finish!

Overall time: 1:42:33
Age group: 4/15
Women: 29/118
Overall: 126/332

And friends from Rochester:

(the Ewen's) ...

and Shaun Palmer.

And there were cookies for one and all, of course!!

I'd recommend this tri to anyone and would certainly participate again myself.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. :-)

Rochester Half Marathon Photos

Tom Woo photos

and

IRunForFun (available for purchase)

Rochester Half Marathon

Saturday, August 22: Race day dawned sunny, cool and still. A runner's and a race director's dream. Jean, Jen and I were down at the hotel at 5:15 AM to get set-up. After registration was ready to go, I was off to the finish line area to shovel the acorns and goose poop off the end of the sidewalk. NOT a race director's dream. :-) But someone had to do it!

Registration was brisk. We had a total of 861 runners registered for the two events. At about 7:30 AM I was furiously entering last-minute registrations, dealing with doubly-assigned chip numbers, talking to my son on the cell phone coaching him through clock setup at the one mile point, trying to explain to a runner who "couldn't run without her music" that headphones weren't allowed and stressing out about getting the starter's gun to the start line by 8:00. A LITTLE BIT STRESSFUL. But everything got done (thank you Jen for entering the last few runners into the spreadsheet) and the runners were off.

Then it was time to dash around to the aid stations to get the Gatorade banners and table skirting displayed and photographed per our Gatorade sponsorship agreement. There was time to snap a few photos and cheer for the runners.

Before I knew it, the half marathoners were finishing. Mike Torchia won the race in a scorching 1:08:24 which K.C. said beat the course record on the old course, which was flatter. Many people ran very well ... including Rick Hlebain who ran a 1:29 P.R. :-) In the 5K, Tom Woo beat his goal of 18:00 by running a 17:53. Indeed, it was a good morning for many.

A huge thank you to the many volunteers who made the races possible. We couldn't have done it without you. We had a great team working on this event. Thank you Jen Woodford, Kevin Torgerson, K.C. Reed, Dave Morrill, Wally Arnold, Sonja Kranz, Judy Weller, Larry Pederson, Lin Gentling. And a REALLY huge thank you to Jean Murray who put in so much time making this event successful. It required lots of logistics, volunteer coordination, communication ... and Jean was at the center of all that.

Thank you to our sponsors: Subaru, Clements Chevrolet, Bread Baker Company, Think Bank, Running Room, Gatorade, Fuel Belt, Northgate Chiropractic, David W. VanDerHeyden, Alvin Benike, HyVee, Holiday Inn Express.

After the finish line area was taken down, I dashed home to shower and then left for St. Cloud for Sunday's Lakes Country Triathlon. I had dinner on Saturday at Granity City Food & Brewery with friends from the St. Cloud River Runners, including ...

Paul Ford, Denise Baxter, Kathy Carlson, Bonnie, Kayla and Ron Stock, Rick Hlebain and Tim Miles. We had good food, lots of laughs, and a very nice evening.

Which will lead to tomorrow's post ... more on the Lakes Country Triathlon.

Until tomorrow ...

Brainerd Spotted®:LAKES COUNTRY TRIATHLON

Brainerd Spotted®:LAKES COUNTRY TRIATHLON

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Lakes Country Tri

My Results:

Age group result: 4/15
Swim (1/2 mile): 20:43 :-( (Zig-zagged all over the place. But I survived)
T1: 2:50 :-( (Trouble getting the wetsuit off.)
Bike (17.3 miles): 50:52 (avg speed 20.4 mph)
T2: 0:40
Run: (3.9 miles): 27:30 (pace 7:04)
Overall time: 1:42:33

Lakes Country Triathlon results. Really wasn't up for this event as I was very tired (2 hours sleep the night before) and almost backed out when I was standing in the water waiting for the swim. But I'm glad I did it. Also participating was my ever-present cheerleader, Shaun Palmer. :-)

And my St. Cloud River Runner buddies: Amy, whose birthday is today, and

Denise and Kathy. We rode up together.

More tomorrow. I'm VERY tired. :-) (Thank you Arvid for sharing your photos!)

Good night.