Does this kind of stuff happen to other people?

Instead of riding in the burbs (due to Britt forgetting the bike rack in mom's car), we ventured out to find a new route. North Branch Trail - here we come...

The North Branch Trail is a 20 mile path located north of the city in a forest preserve. It took us 10 miles (45 minutes) through the streets of Chicago to reach the trail. For the most part we were moving along well, except for Britt having some minor chain issues. 29 miles into the ride, we stopped twice to fiddle with the chain. Over the next mile, Britt tried to make sure everything was working properly. The chain became a lesser issue when her entire PEDAL fell off. The first attempt to fix it, Kirstin put the pedals parallel to one another. The second attempt the pedal fell off after a couple rotations. 30 miles away from home, we knew we weren't cycling back. Unfortunately, we didn't know where we were either, nor did other cyclist from the area. And to top it off, we had limited cell service (GO SPRINT).

We walked & pedaled with one foot to the nearest metra station (over 3 miles). Waited over an hour and 1/2 for the metra train (of course train was late due to technical difficulty). 6 hours & 45 minutes later, we're finally home.

Bacteria-filled Saturday

Our alarms were set for 5 a.m. but we snoozed until 6 a.m. We spent 2 hours running along lakeshore path. We cycled down to Ohio Street Beach. It wasn't until we squeezed into our wetsuit that we were told the beach was closed. The reason: high levels of bacteria. The solution: we traveled 1/2 mile north to Oak Street Beach. Does a 1/2 mile make a difference...we'll let you know if we come down with any side effects. Our 2 mile swim was incredibly wavy - the conditions were more conducive to surfing than swimming.

Upon returning home, frustration set in. Our refrigerator wasn't working. We called the apartment's emergency number & our maintenance man. We were told nothing could happen until Tuesday. It takes so long for our apartment management to respond to emergencies. The solution: drink.

Well, we're off to grab a few drinks & carbo-load for tomorrows 4 hour bike & 1 hour run.

bib number 895

Kirstin is happy to report that she did not receive any penalties while racer 895 drafted off of her throughout the bike. Unfortunately, he received 2 penalties. USAT officials are tough!

Spirit of Racine - Race Recap

Alarms went off at 3:45am to wake us up. We drove over 60 miles to reach Racine. Mom met us at the transition at 6:30. Then, we walked over a mile to the swim start. Due to visibility issues, the race was postponed an hour until 8:00.

SWIM - 1.2 miles
Lake Michigan was 55 degrees (FREEZING). Our faces and feet felt like they were going to freeze off. But the wetsuit helped keep our core warm, and peeing in them beforehand didn't hurt either.

BIKE - 56 miles
We've never experienced an aid station on our bikes before; so, we rode past the first one. Volunteers hand out water, sport drinks & gel as cyclists ride by and grab what they need. At the second aid station, we successfully grabbed sport drinks and water. The last station, Brittany tried to grab a gel. After 2 failed attempts she rode on without any gel. A cyclist rode by and said "that didn't work out so well." The USAT officials were out in force. Racer #895 kept drafting off of Kirstin (even when the officials were right next to us on their motorcycles). We're still trying to figure if we got 4 minute penalties. Regardless, we shared tons of laughs and inappropriate comments on the bike.

RUN - 13 miles
The course was two 6.05 mile loops. It was hot & sunny! We saw the same people over & over. Kirstin "bonked" (as Jaime worded it) on the run. At no point did she feel strong. She couldn't get a pace and needed to walk part of it. Britt, on the other hand, felt great and strong. Being the sister and teammate she is, she waited for Kirstin in order to finish together. Her estimated time sacrifice...+20 minutes.

OUR TIME: 5:49.(and some milliseconds)

Our Learning's:
* Wear black spandex (& correct fitting)...or butt cracks show.

* Hydration system - the yellow netting must be properly placed. This keeps the fluid inside the bottle and not from splashing all over your face. Unfortunately, Brittany lost hers about 8 miles into the ride. Kirstin felt like she was in a pool.

* Most supporters (especially when drinking) think we're twins and will strongly debate us about it. While we do like similar since we're sisters, the matching oufits definitely confuse people.

70.3ers

We finished! We are officially 70.3ers. As for now, we're exhausted, sun burnt and grateful for no technical promblems & the massive support along the way! This entry will be followed by a more complete race recap, because we know you want to know & we also want to remember this accomplishment!

Sue L. - great seeing you! The pre-race laughts calmed our nerves.

We greatly appreciate:
Mom - for coming, watching, cheering & supporting us for the entire day. Your enthusiasm and nervousness are contagious. For making and debuting an amazingly, beautiful Ironman Wisconsin flag. We'll post a pic shortly.
Jaime & Kaylei - thanks for your fun sign, loud cheers & driving to multiple spots.
Attempting Ironman - your encouraging words!
CTCers (along the route) - for the thumbs ups, smiles, and waves along the way!
Volunteers - risking lost limbs to serve us drinks & gels.
Supporters - being there!

Post-race follow-up
After the 1/2 Ironman, we made a gas stop. Surprise! My car wouldn't start...of course. Kirstin asked a fellow triathlete (pumping gas) to jump us. Thankfully, he agreed to help but wasn't so excited to do so. He waited as we unloaded the car and took off the bikes in order to get the jumper cables. On a positive note, we had stalled at a gas station versus a random spot in Racine.

As we pulled out of the gas station, I stopped at the light. Kirstin yelled for me to keep revving my engine, but in my stress and frustration, I couldn't do it quick enough. My car died again. Several cars (full of men) offered to help push us into the parking lot across from the gas station. Nice...the "girl" card was blatant. Kirstin did help push for part of the way, and let's just say, it is not that difficult. In any event, it was nice for those guys to help.

Not sure what to do next, we shook our heads and laughed at the situation. Ugh...we just want to get out of the sun and into the shower. Another man approached us asking if we needed help. We thought...um...yeah...but we've had two other group of man already help us. Until he mentioned he was a mechanic. HELLO! He worked on my car for about 45 minutes claiming rotten cables and a dirty battery was to blame. His pointer "REV your engine all the way home." All the way home, all I heard was Kirstin yelling "REV!" We are so very thankful to him fixing the battery which allowed us to get home from a very long day.

It was a very long day, but we are now 70.3ers! :) And, our journey continues...

70.3 here we come!

Today begins the daunting task of packing up all our triathlon equipment & mentally preparing ourselves for 70.3 miles. In regard to the massive amount of tri gear, I think moving apartments may be less stressful. It's unreal the amount of equipment needed to participate in this multisport.

Our weekend plan -
Saturday: packet pickup & racking our bikes
Sunday: FINISH!!

Jaime (who is unable to join us because of a bike accident...that damn limo)...this one's for you!

no matter what

A few years back, the pastor of our church resolved to run..."no matter what." Running became his priority regardless of weather, time, commitments, emotions & other solid excuses. His mantra has been a good motivator; but, occasionally we do allow "uncontrollable forces" to reduce our mileage.

5 am this morning, we were loaded up on the street ready to bike. Frustrated with the thunder, lightening & light rain we determined it wasn't safe. We climbed back into our beds and waited until our brunch date with our mom, brother & sisters. Then, the girls went to a store to create individualized purses.

By afternoon, the weather cleared up & we were on our way! We ran on the lakefront for 2 hours, rode our mountain bikes, and swam 1 mile in Lake Michigan (sporting our wetsuits).

Now, we're home. It's time to kick back with a beer, junk food and a movie. Maybe that is negating our hard work, but so be it! What a great day.

Our Learnings:
Don't grocery shop after nearly 5 hours of working out. We bought 4 cartons of light ice cream, diet pop & 2 bags of baked chips (we're carbo loading for tomorrow's 4 1/2 hour ride & 1 hour run).

We did it...NO MATTER WHAT!

learning is painful

This morning's plan: bike (1 hour) run (50 minutes)! Yes, a brick.
This morning's problem: a flat tire.

22 minutes into our ride, Kirstin's back tire went flat. Kirstin quickly dissembled her back tire (removed the skewer, popped the wheel off, & took off the tire and tube). She laid out her fancy tools that were contained within her saddle bag. We consider ourselves resourceful; therefore, we thought "how difficult is it to change a flat tire." Britt even spent time watching youtube's "How to Change a Bike Tire." But from this point (bike broken apart & tools spread out) - we were clueless. Numerous runners and cyclist offered assistance but we graciously declined. Finally, a cyclist returned to help since it appeared we weren't making any progress. Unfortunately, he was late to work so he called over his friend & handed over this daunting task. His poor friend was stuck! And for us, it was quite a humiliating experience. We were unsure how to use our equipment & went overboard with dissembling the bike (example - removing the skewer isn't necessary). After using his CO2 tool and cartridge & him putting on the tire & wasting his time - we were on our way. Returning home, we scraped up our pride and mustered the "umph" to go for a 40 minute run.

Our current plan: practice changing a tire & practice using our fancy equipment.

Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers.