Today, we cycled part of the Ironman course. Two loops (80 miles total) through Verona - Mt. Horeb - Cross Plaines. It was a bit painful because we're still sore & recovering from the Dairyland Dare. After the first loop, we were taking a QUICK break (restroom, water bottle fill up & snacks). As we leisurely sat on picnic benches munching on trail mix, two triathletes rode by and yelled "Break time's over...let's go!" BUSTED...they totally called out on our lengthy rest. One thing we look forward to on the course is a cooler full of chilled water that this farmer puts out for cyclists. He doesn't request any money but rather wishes all cyclists a safe ride. What a sweet, encouraging, and refreshing gesture. We plan on sending a thank you card...hopefully, it makes it to him. We have become quite familiar with the farmlands of Southwestern Wisconsin. We are also all too familiar with the smell of road kill (chipmunks, mice, squirrels, deer, raccoons, snakes, and other unidentifiable animals). We're trying to convince McKinley to move; however, she's more urban than country.
We stayed true to our celebratory tradition...a large FROSTY & diet pop. Tomorrow, we volunteering at the world's largest triathlon - Chicago Accenture - with our Tri Club.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Our Triathlon Team
Pleasant Prairie Olympic Triathlon - Sunday, August 17 - Pleasant Prairie Wisconsin.
The swimmer! She was our team's first leg and swam .84 miles. Mom made some improvement from last year. This year, she didn't run into the water screaming, found her stroke quicker & kept conversations with the kayaking lifeguards to a minimum. Next year, with additional improvements, we think we have a shot at winning. Mom...We're proud of you & love having you as a teammate.
Kirstin - the biker! 24 miles, an impressive feat after yesterday's 130 mile HILLY ride outside of Madison.
Britt - the runner! 6.2 miles.
Our finishing photo. Look at those medals!
Next time, we're hoping to recruit our remaining family members. Kiara, Erik & Dad, you have one year. It's time to determine which portion of the triathlon you want to participate in, create a cute team name & train. We'll see you at the starting line!
Thanks Kiara! Your cheering helped us!
The swimmer! She was our team's first leg and swam .84 miles. Mom made some improvement from last year. This year, she didn't run into the water screaming, found her stroke quicker & kept conversations with the kayaking lifeguards to a minimum. Next year, with additional improvements, we think we have a shot at winning. Mom...We're proud of you & love having you as a teammate.
Kirstin - the biker! 24 miles, an impressive feat after yesterday's 130 mile HILLY ride outside of Madison.
Britt - the runner! 6.2 miles.
Our finishing photo. Look at those medals!
Next time, we're hoping to recruit our remaining family members. Kiara, Erik & Dad, you have one year. It's time to determine which portion of the triathlon you want to participate in, create a cute team name & train. We'll see you at the starting line!
Thanks Kiara! Your cheering helped us!
the dairyland dare
Saturday, we participated in The Dairyland Dare - a cycling challenge in Southwest Wisconsin. We took the dare and signed up for the 200K...124 miles. The ride took us 10 hours, not including the multiple rest stops & Kirstin's flat tire (at 112 miles). Along the way, we laughed with the other cyclists, lost our breath, and took in the beautiful scenery.
We met some cycling & training milestones:
*100 miles - a century
*112 miles - the ironman distance
*130 miles - the longest distance we've traveled on our bikes & the longest time we've been physically active
*3.9 mph incline (our slowest speed)
*42.2 mph descent down a "hill" (our fastest speed)
The course was 130 miles. Therefore, the total mileage we rode was 210K (yes 6 miles makes a difference). We thought we would be home by 8p.m. (latest). We didn't roll into the house until after midnight. Our 19 hour day was an unforgettable experience.
The Dairyland Dare aint't for the faint of heart! Like the website quotes: "we saddled up for one tough ride." It's probably one of the tougher things we've ever done. However, the event was well run & incredibly organized with incredible volunteers. We rank it one of the best we ever signed up for!!
We met some cycling & training milestones:
*100 miles - a century
*112 miles - the ironman distance
*130 miles - the longest distance we've traveled on our bikes & the longest time we've been physically active
*3.9 mph incline (our slowest speed)
*42.2 mph descent down a "hill" (our fastest speed)
The course was 130 miles. Therefore, the total mileage we rode was 210K (yes 6 miles makes a difference). We thought we would be home by 8p.m. (latest). We didn't roll into the house until after midnight. Our 19 hour day was an unforgettable experience.
The Dairyland Dare aint't for the faint of heart! Like the website quotes: "we saddled up for one tough ride." It's probably one of the tougher things we've ever done. However, the event was well run & incredibly organized with incredible volunteers. We rank it one of the best we ever signed up for!!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
good enough...
5 a.m. this morning, we drove to Verona (outside of Madison) to ride a portion of the Ironman course. Our triathlon club (CTC) & bike shop (Get a Grip) organized a 40 mile ride. Then, we did a 2nd lap. Total mileage - 80 miles - our longest ride to date. Oh my goodness...HILLS! We're pretty sure the first section is entirely uphill and had flashbacks to climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. The next section is nicknamed "the rollers." During one downhill descent, we reached 41.4 mphs. There were tons of triathletes riding & running alongside us. Beside tender knees, sunburnt skin and sore muscles we became familiar with the course...yeah! Then, we ran 45 minutes. While we thought we'd be home in the early afternoon, we didn't get back until 8 p.m. We celebrated with a large pop & a large chocolate frosty.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
a flat tire sabotages our morning ride
Monday, we woke up at 4:30. We ran for 2 hours & 45 minutes. The word which best describes Monday's morning run - BUGGY! Tuesday, we woke up at 5:00 with a goal to ride 2 hours. After the night's severe storms, trash (primarily broken glass) was scattered all along Lakeshore Path. While riding, Britt's back tire was punctured by a shard of glass. We successfully changed Britt's tire (yeah), this was our 3rd flat of the season. Our concern in regard to changing a tire is the amount of time it takes us and the teamwork we use. During the ironman, we must be self sufficient and change our own tire...YIKES!
Our Learnings:
>>After a storm, let the clean up crews remove debris from streets & paths before riding.
>>Our hand pump is hard & Britt's tire was only partially filled for the rest of the ride.
Tonight (Tuesday): we're doing an open-water swim. Wetsuit versus Swimsuit? Lake Michigan is warm. Do we wear our wetsuit? Yes, we need the practice. No, we don't need the hassle.
Our Learnings:
>>After a storm, let the clean up crews remove debris from streets & paths before riding.
>>Our hand pump is hard & Britt's tire was only partially filled for the rest of the ride.
Tonight (Tuesday): we're doing an open-water swim. Wetsuit versus Swimsuit? Lake Michigan is warm. Do we wear our wetsuit? Yes, we need the practice. No, we don't need the hassle.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
MUDDY
Today we participated in Muddy Buddy. The course covered 7.2 miles with 4 obstacles and a mud pit. We switched between mountain biking & running. The highlight: seeing and catching up with friends. The lowlight: the STINKY mud pit (we're positive horse poop was added for extra fun) that left us dirty & smelly. While we hosed off at the end, Costco customers must have enjoyed our pre-shower shopping trip.
As for our ironman training...we're hoping for a better week! Monday morning = 2:45 run. We'll keep you posted!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
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.
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.
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