And, the rest of the European adventure...

I don’t even know where to begin this blog.  There are nearly 1000 pictures and hundreds of interesting stories to tell, but who really wants to endure those stories.  So, instead, I am opting to give you little nuggets of my trip, interspersed with my interesting workout routines.  I heard this morning that some people don’t even bother to bring their running gear with them on vacation because then it might not qualify as a vacation, but as someone who was once 196 lbs, I find that continuing my routine on vacation is rather critical and often incredibly rewarding.

I left off with that last blog post from Barcelona having just completed an 8.25 mile run along the beach.  Here's a shot of the beach in Barcelona – notice that because of the 1992 Olympics, there is sculptured artwork everywhere – even along the beaches.

Not exactly sure what the art structure is behind me, but its there...8.25 miles complete!

Once we left Barcelona we had a day at Sea before hitting the shores of southern Italy and I managed to take a less-than-incredible spin class from probably the hottest spin instructor I have ever seen.  I think they employ these chiseled 25 year olds to give us something else to think about while we laugh our way through the less-than-difficult workouts they’ve designed.  Steve would have been disgusted with the stylings of this young man, but at least we all enjoyed the view.  I did ask the striking spin-guy about the running track on Deck 7, inquiring about the length of one lap.  “1/4 mile – so four laps is a mile,” he told me.  Look, he can do math, too!
As soon as the spin class ended, I opted to push out a few miles on the running track so that I would at least get one real workout for the day.  The track was horrible – it was a loop on one side of Deck 7 with the view of the sea/land obstructed by all of the lifeboats.  Not to mention, it was right off the main kitchen area, so there were sweltering hot spots and cold spots, and nary a breeze.  Alas.  I pulled 3 miles in 29:52 and was utterly disgusted with my pace.
However, Tuesday morning, just before docking in Naples, I pushed out another 4 miles to see if I could better myself, but only managed a lousy 39:53.  I was beginning to get discouraged.  As I walked to the end of the track to cool down I saw a small sign that read “1 km = 2.3 laps; 1 mile = 3.8 laps”.  Holy crap – my pace wasn’t as bad as I thought.  I ran up the 6 flights of stairs to my mother (the math major) and said, “Ma, quick – 1 is to 3.8 as X is to 16?”  Turns out, it’s more like 4.25 miles, so my attitude improved measurably within minutes.  (That’s a 9:23 pace, if you’re curious).

Naples was lovely – look, here are some amazing shots of Pompeii.  I think what I liked best about the ruins was the attachment to wine and the male anatomy.  Turns out they really appreciated the penis – as all signs pointed to their houses of prostitution (with frescos depicting interesting sexual positions and sculptures of the penis everywhere).  I don’t remember any of this penis-stuff from the last time I visited Pompeii – however, if memory serves, I was 8 years old and my parents likely chose to keep it PG.

Really?!  A penis above the door to the brothel was REALLY necessary?

One of the more modest Frescos inside the brothel.

Literally, the penis directory, so that you would know which direction to the whores.

And the business district of Pompeii -- with loads of bars!

Really the highlight of the trip to southern Italy was the Amalfi Coast and the views of Positano.  Here – words needn’t be added, if you ask me.  

Breath taking!

Bill and Me

Pam and Bruce!

The following morning before docking in Rome, I pushed out another run on Deck 7, determined to better myself (now that I know its 4.25 miles, not merely 4).  Sure enough, 39:20 and felt great after.
Rome is Rome.  I think there are FAR too many people visiting this ancient city for anyone to truly enjoy themselves.  However, by the second day I realized the Italian (language) from my childhood was still quite good and I was happy to attempt to use it all over the place.  The Coliseum was probably the highlight of the day for me – as I imagined the place crazy with spectators and gladiators thousands of years ago.  All you can see now are the catacombs which laid beneath the surface back then, but its really an incredible site.  Also, if you’ve ever seen the movie “Jumper” you might remember the cool fight scene in the catacombs.
  

Standing super close to the exterior of the Coliseum.

Inside

The catacombs beneath the surface...of course the surface is gone.

Naturally, one cannot go to Rome without spending chunks of time in the Vatican City.  The Basilica and Museum/Sistine Chapel are absolutely breath-taking.  However, with all the poverty around the Vatican City, its tough to walk through the halls of the Vatican knowing that I am surrounded by marble and gold – everywhere.

The ceiling (and a view of the wall to wall people) inside the Vatican Museum.

More looking up in the Vatican Museum

The Center of the Vatican City -- right where the mass is delivered.

Our last day in Italy was in Pisa and Florence (Florence being my favorite of all Italian cities).  However, once again the sites were overcrowded with people.  Pisa is always still a wonder – this tall, slanting structure is literally in the middle of NOTHING – fields and fields of nothing.  You can see if for miles because its literally the only thing around.

Yep, there's always THAT guy in Pisa!

Me and Bill - in Pisa (not that you can tell, or anything)

After Pisa, our mumbling tour-guide took us to Florence, where he quickly realized there were too many people on the tour for him to manage, so he simply ignored ½ of us and asked if any of us just wanted to do our own thing and meet back at the Duomo 3 hours later.  Yep, we opted out and did our own thing – which meant the Academia, Il Duomo and the beautiful market of San Lorenzo was ours.  When we met back at Il Duomo hours later, our tour guide was half in the bag and lost 8 of us en route to the bus.  You have to know, however, that the sites of Florence are still incredible – see the pics!!  Our tour guide however was less than impressive.  My family was fortunate that mom and I speak and understand Italian fairly fluently.  We got along just fine.  I do feel bad for many on that tour, though.

The Trevi Fountain -- and I attempted to cut out all of the people below, so you cant actually see the water.

Bill, Pam, Bruce, Mom and Me -- outside Il Duomo

Side of Il Duomo and the Basilica of Florence.  Hints of Gothic and Arab influences.  (and the crowds)

The next morning we were tendered into Cannes, France.  AND, as luck would have it, it was the last weekend of the Film Festival.  The place was CRAZY with fans attempting to get a glance at a star.  We saw helicopter after helicopter land on the beach and whisk away celebrities, but never got close enough to see who they were.  My mom was REALLY hopeful to get a marriage proposal from Sean Connery, so we were on the look-out the entire day, but he never appeared.  Poor mom – maybe next year.  The only thing I wanted to do in Cannes was go to the beach and swim in the Mediterranean, since it was the first opportunity to do so.  All of the stops in Italy had been ports of trade, as opposed to beaches – so of course I wanted to swim.  Fortunately, mom and Bill were willing to have lunch at a beachside restaurant where I could swim off their private area.  There were even changing rooms in the restaurant – how very cool!

We took a train ride around Cannes -- well, everyone in Cannes did.

Me, in the Med -- it was 60 degrees and VERY salty!

Our last day of the trip was in Marseilles, France.  I managed to squeeze in one last run on the ship before we went on our tour and pulled a 38:47 (yep, a 9:07 pace and I was on cloud 9).  Marceilles was by far the best day of the trip, if you asked me.  We had an amazing private tour that simply included the 5 of us.  We went to the Aix En Provence area and enjoyed a hour at their street market with vendors galore – everything from fabrics to artistic jewelry and an entire section of fresh foods: fruits,veggies, cheese and meat!  We toured Cezanne’s studio and inspiration-grounds and then our guide (Silvio) brought us to an amazing winery where we sampled a dozen whites, rose’s and reds.  It was an incredible afternoon.  The tour ended with a downtown view of Marceilles and a mountain top view from the Notre Dam de la Guarde where you could see all of Marceilles and its surrounding communities from the church.  

Me in Cezanne's Garden

The vineyards were everywhere!

As were the poppy fields!

Our wine adventure!

Getting our lesson!

Enjoying our wines!

Notre Dam de la Guarde

Looking out at Marceilles from Notre Dam

It was an amazing way to end our trip!  I’ll admit, the 17 hour flight day (yesterday) was no fun at all, but at least I had Bill at my side and movies to watch.
As a gift upon my return, Matt agreed to head out for a 5am ride with me this morning.  I have no idea if I slept at all, last night, but it had been 2 weeks since I really rode a bike and nearly a month since my last ride with Matt (or Jim or Jacqui), so I was thrilled to have some company.  And, as usual, Matt wrecked me on our 20 miles and turned me to dust on our last hill.  (Utter and complete embarrassment, my friends!)  Oh, its good to be back with my favorite people, again – even if they make me look weak.

And, it wouldn't be a MerLesson without a pic from today, right?!

To add insult to injury, I went to my gym right after the difficult ride and hopped in the pool with my heavy legs.  I barely eeked out 1000 meters, but I can tell you that I feel whole again.
I just want to take a moment to thank my mom, Uncle Bruce, Aunt Pam and Bill for putting up with me on this trip.  Sometimes I turn into a child around my mom and family – I just hope they know that I love them very much and am thrilled we all had the chance to make this trip happen!  Success!  

Barcelona...

I have so much to say and a mere 50 minutes to tell the tale. Needless to say, that's nowhere near enough time to chunk out this blog. First, allow me to say that all of my commands on the blog are in Spanish - and as good as my Spanish is, I have no idea if the font or spacing will be correct in this issue. Its likely to just be a large wall of words when done. So please forgive the inconsistency, if there is one. Also, it appears as if it's not going to catch any typos (due in large part to the language issue), so this is simply another opportunity for me to beg forgiveness. This trip began early on Tuesday morning. I had been feverishly packing on Monday night, and trying to get my wits about me, when a text came through from Matt asking what time I was planning to run before hopping on the plane for NYC. "6 miles, 5am!" I responded. And, as the best of friends tend to do when they know they're not going to see you for another 10+ days... They show up at 445am with a speedy 6 mile send off. The thing I love most about my workouts with Matt, as I am sure he knows, is that he pushes me to go harder and faster. I PR'ed that Tueday morning by 24 seconds. Thanks, Matt. After a dreadful two hour delay at the Phoenix airport, I was in NYC with my Aunt Lynne and Cousin Dan by 730pm, that evening. I had lost the entire day. However, we had a fantastic meal in Jersey and even better conversation! Lynne and I met my Mom's fligh on Wednesday around 2pm and the three of us dilly dallied around Queens for a few hours before mom and I got plunked off at JFK for the actual flight across the ocean. All I could think about was how much I wanted to avoid the horrendous day of flying and just be in Europe, but mom and I managed to entertain ourselves at JFk until they permitted us to board. (A note about me...I can sleep anywhere. Lying, sitting, curled in a ball, on the floor, in the tub and, YES, ON A PLANE...the mere suggestion of sleep makes me drowsy. Mom? Not so much...so I am hopeful she's forgiven me for the occasional snaps at her on this trip...as I have forgiven her for her pissy-ness aboard the flight to Spain.) That being said, we arrive in Barcelona, Spain in the middle of the afternoon on Thursday. Ahhhh...it was a beautiful moment. I cannot describe to you in this blog how spectacular it smelled when we got off the plane and into the cab. Everything smelled like sea water and greenery. It was gorgeous and lovely. As we checked into our hotel, the guy at the front desk informed us that we were as special as we had hoped and would have executive privileges during our stay. This meant a 20th floor sea-view with an open bar whenever we felt like it! SWEET! Hustling up to our room, we did indeed have a spectacular view and I was immediately jonesing for a run on the beach! (After spending hours on some random wifi last night moving pics from my phone to my iPad, the damn site won't allow me to upload from my photos, after all. So, imagine a 20th floor view of the Mediterranean Sea with the sun bursting through the clouds and onto the brisk, windy beach...then, imagine me all wind blown and sweaty after heading out for a 4.5 mile run, as soon as we got to our rooms!) Go it? Good! Ok, so after feeling accomplished from my run, I walked into the hotel lobby only to find mom sitting and chatting with my fabulous Aunt Pam and Uncle Bruce! They both lurched up to hug and greet me, but I didn't allow them to get doused in my sweat and stench, so we waited until after my shower and before dinner. But, what a great way to greet Spain! The beach is gorgeous! The following day the four of us headed out for a day on the town. We rode one of those double decker buses like all the best tourists do and hopped off at the first opportunity to ride a cable car to the top of the mountain so that we could look down on the beautiful city. Perhaps one day you will have the opportunity to see these pics, too...'cause I have them, they're just being held hostage by the incompatibility of my iPad and google! Sigh. Continuing our bus tour, we wandered through town and all the narrow streets of shops. It was incredible and silly, nothing like what we see in any of the cities in the states. The gothic architecture, the narrow streets, shops of every kind and tourists EVERYWHERE with maps and cameras. It was a sight! Since I didn't run on Friday morning, by Saturday I had quite the itch! And knowing I am heading to San Diego in another two weeksto help Anne push out her 1st Rock n Roll 1/2 marathon, I thought I ought to try to get an 8 mile run in before we headed out for our day of sightseeing. The winds on the beach we triple what they were on Thursday, but I endured and 8.25 miles later, I was ready for my day on the town. My pace was 9:25 and considering the winds, I remain really happy with it. After the run, the four of us headed out to what is called the Sagrada Familia - a Catholic Church that continues to be built. I cannot describe just how incredible this place was. You'll need to google it because it's continually changing and growing. If I had more time, I would share the emotions of imagining it's original architect (Gaudi) and his plans for its future. Imagine knowing that you would not be able to complete your vision in your lifetime, but that you have faith in those following you and you know it will be done, one day. They say 2026 it should be complete. I would like to come back. The rest of the day we shopped, watched Flamenco and had another super late dinner (ya know, when in Barcelone...eat at 10pm). And this morning I awakened to a smidge of sun and pool temps around 65 degrees. But, yes, I jumped in and swam and swam and swam. It was only cold for the first 45 seconds, but it felt amazing to push out a solid morning swim for the first time in a week. After I got out, I asked the astounded pool guy what the length of the pool was. "24 meters," he responded. Damn...40 meters short of 1000! I should have stayed in for another lap! Ok, mom's itching to get to the ship. I have no idea when I can blog again. My apologies for the absence of pics, but I will add them later...I promise!

Post-Tri Doldrums!

There are no great stories of triathlons or experiences with friends on long rides – this blog reverts back to the days before I realized what an incredible community of endurance athletes I consider myself a part of.  (Yeah, crappy grammar – get over it.)

As with all major accomplishments, I found myself in a bit of a stupor, this week.  I had finished my second of two triathlons and marathon training won’t begin until July – so I found myself wondering what exactly I should be doing to keep myself in shape for my future ventures. 

As Monday rolled around, I got right back in the pool – pushing out 2000 meters and realizing I was capable of so much more.  By Tuesday morning, I had my running shoes on and was out the door for a 6+ mile run pulling sub-9’s for the last two miles.  And, just like all Wednesday mornings, I was in the company of a VERY competitive spin class with Steve.  The woman seated next to me was clearly nervous, even commenting about the way all of the class members “looked”.  As the class ended, she looked at me in utter despair – “you do this every week?! …on purpose?!”  I smiled and told her I knew I would see her again – because once you’ve endured Steve, no one compares.

After a shorter swim on Thursday, I decided to take Friday morning off.  My Informed Improvement team was putting on a ridiculous game show at the college for our End of Year Brunch – and a few of us agreed to arrive at 7am to set up.  And, of course, taking the morning off was wise because our commencement ceremonies began at 8pm, that evening – so you do the math.  I think several of us were on campus for well over 16 hours.  I looked at my phone as I entered my house on Friday night – 11:50pm and WAY passed my bedtime.

Brian and Craig - just before the Game Show!

Craig post-game-show and pre-commencement -- I <3 him without the facial hair!

Like clockwork, though, I rolled over shortly after 5am on Saturday morning debating whether or not I could muster some solid hill work for 7-8 miles.  And, after a quick cup of coffee, I put my running shoes on and headed out the door.  This workout is one of my favorites – its literally 2 miles at a slight decline and then a 3.5 mile climb toward South Mountain.  The descent on this run is REALLY short, comparatively – a mere 7/10ths of a mile down.  BUT, it feels awesome when you hit the top and realize your accomplishment.  I had a lot to consider as I made my ascent: the end of the semester, my quickly approaching trip to Europe and training plans for my future tri’s and marathons.  This simply meant I was distracted and completely unaware that I was able to keep a solid 9:25 pace for the entire run.  It wasn’t until I hit the end that I even thought to glance at my watch.  I may have squealed a little as I approached the end.  I was so excited to tell my friends that I completely forgot to take a post-run picture.  Lame, I know.

Before I could commit to ride my bike this weekend, I knew I needed to change out the tube on my front tire.  And, if you’ve been following my blog long enough, you’ll know that this was something I was not excited about, nor confident that I could even handle on my own.  I watched Jacqui change hers the evening before the Tri, but again, I have been fortunate enough never to have a blow-out on a ride or have any issues with my bike.   After 5 months of solid riding, the front tire was simply not holding air as well as it could and I knew I shouldn’t head out on it Sunday morning without a new tube.

I took the front tire off the frame and brought it into the living room where my friend Kris watched (and listened – since you know I was incapable of remaining drama-swear-free).  I got the old tube out within a couple of minutes, but getting the new tube in place and the tire back on the rim was NOT happening with any ease.  I struggled to get those last few inches on the rim and it ROYALLY pissed me off!  I must have looked at the tire for ten minutes thinking it was never going to happen and that I was going to be that schlub who walks into the bike shop on Sunday morning with just the tire and rim, sobbing about my lack of hand strength.  BUT, as luck would have it (and enough frustrated adrenalin), I managed to get the tire back in the rim, the rim back on the frame of the bike and then filled the sucker with air.  

Visualize my hell -- it was JUST that 5 inches that gave me grief!

Needless to say, I slept poorly on Saturday night – awakening several times from dreams of blow-outs or flat tires on my solo ride.  SERIOUSLY!  

So, when the 5am hour came, I got out of bed, had my usual cup of joe, and crept into the garage to see if the front tire had held air overnight.  (Silly, I know.)  I touched the back tire first – ‘cause I wanted a comparison – and then the front.  Low and behold, it was as firm as could be!  YES!  I had really done it. 

The true test came as I got myself out on the ride.  And, after sending several “Happy Mother’s Day” texts, I was headed out for another tough hill workout.  I had done the majority of this route with friends in the past, but this was going to be the first time I attempted all 26 miles on my own.  I was feeling good and ready for more hills. 

I watched my bike computer the whole ride – every mile.  I was, for the first time in my life, maintaining speeds in the 18-19 range for well over 10 miles.  And, by the way, there is simply nothing cooler than seeing your bike computer clock over 30 mph on the backside of a HUGE hill – especially when the front was something like 12 mph.  I felt really good on all of the hills – the long and the short.  I was committed to working on my form, getting out of the saddle when times got tough and passing as many men on their rides as I could find.  (3, today – but NO one passed me!)  I have to note, that I say “men” only because I RARELY see women out riding.  And, given that today is Mother’s Day, I am sure that had something to do with the fact that there was not one on my entire ride. 

I remembered my post-ride pic, though!

My hilly ride, this morning -- I would have put timing data had I not forgotten to turn off my watch (for 2 hours).

I felt accomplished.  My AVS was still in the mid-17’s, but with all the hill work, I was really much prouder of this effort than even the effort in the triathlon the week prior.  In fact, the first time I did a similar route with my friends, I think our AVS was something like 15.4.  So, I can see marked improvement and I am thrilled!
Ok, so I am off to NYC, Spain, Italy and France on Tuesday.  Hopefully, I find time to blog while enjoying my vacation – but if not, enjoy the respite (wink).  

Olympic Triathlon - check!

Back in late November, one of my work-teams (the Informed Improvement Team, aka “ii”) discussed the idea of doing something ridiculous together.  I was training for a marathon at the time and Matt and Jim were training for a century (bike ride).  And, naturally, I had been expressing a desire to do something new; so, Matt and I concocted the idea of several of us completing a triathlon – together.  Jim was game, right away, and it took very little arm twisting to get Jacqui to chime in.  When we brought the idea to the rest of the team (8 of us in total), we got one more to agree – Brian.  Five out of eight team members was not a bad start.  We recruited from the outside, too – and eventually added, Jacqui’s husband, Aaron (who was my coach at the last tri), John and Jared.  The final team name was to be “My ii” – with the idea getting healthier as a work group.

This morning – the eight of us competed in the Rio Salado Triathlon in Tempe, Arizona.  Only three of us were brave enough to do the full Olympic length (Mer, Jac and Brian) – and the remaining five took on the Sprint distance (which, as you know from my blog several weeks ago, is no small endeavor AT ALL!).

Assuming the three of you who read my blog, read the one about the Sprint Tri three weeks ago, you know how it went and how I panicked severely in the water.  Well, as a result of that, I was deathly afraid of the Olympic distance (twice the Sprint).  And you should also know that the Triathlon sponsors were threatening NOT to allow us to wear our wetsuits due to warm waters.  As a result, I was an absolute MESS the day before the Tri.  I think Matt and I walked the campus twice, yesterday, and Jim counseled me in his office at least once.  

Day Before the Tri -- setting up!

However, we were all in this together – Brian, Matt, Jacqui, Jim and I from the ii team and the three additions of Jared, John and Aaron.  We all met the evening prior at the Triathlon Bike Drop Off and walked the transition areas, looking at maps and discussing our anxieties.  As we made our way to the lake entrance, the head swim-guy was setting up.  “Nope, no wetsuits guys, sorry.  We don’t want anyone to overheat – it’s going to be a VERY hot by the time you get off your bike.”  Several of us sunk, thinking about the natural buoyancy of the wetsuit and how much “safer” we all feel in it.

But, we all left one another and hoped for a good night’s sleep.

I slept poorly.  I awakened at 10:30pm and again at 1:30am thinking about the swim without the wetsuit.  So, when the alarm went off at 4:15am, I was jolted awake and none-too-pleased!  By 5am I was packed and ready to go.  I put my swimsuit on and took a look at myself in the mirror.  “I guess I look better than I did three months ago.” I thought.  But, the anxiety of the lacking wetsuit had certainly consumed me.  I did pack the wetsuit – hoping the lake temps might have dropped – I mean there was a lovely breeze the night before.

As I approached the transition area around 5:30am, I could see Matt in the distance standing not far from my bike.  The first words out of his mouth were literally the greatest words I had ever heard, “they just announced – wetsuit legal!”  I grabbed my phone and texted Jacqui, threw my bucket over the fence to Matt and ran-skipped to the entrance of the transition area and hugged Matt the moment I reached him.  “We won’t die!” I told him!  At that point, nothing could bother me.  Matt graciously put air in my tires before I landed and informed me that my front tire was once again around 50 lbs.  THAT was a little stressful, since I had JUST put air in the damn tires the morning before.  But, I could deal with that – it was wetsuit legal, after all.

The rest of the team members made their way to the transition area, as well all readied ourselves for our Tri’s.  And, even though the Triathlon peeps announced that there would be a delay at the start, none of us cared – it was wet-suit legal!  Instead of the first heat starting at 6:30am – the race began at 7:06am.  I was in the second to last heat – that’s where women who will be 40 by the end of the year and are completing the Olympic distance were relegated to start – at the end.  I don’t think we started our swim until nearly 7:30am.  

Matt, Mer and Jim -- just before putting our wetsuits on!

As our heat’s horn blew, we were off.  I stayed in the middle of the pack at the beginning, hoping to not lose it and begin to panic, but everything seemed to work itself out.  I was moving well and my breathing was completely under control.  I began to pass orange cap after orange cap (my heat) and just made my way through the water with relative ease.  As I approached the ½ way mark, I began to pass Silver and Blue caps (the prior two heats) and I still felt good.  At no point did I panic.  However, much to my friend, D’s, credit – he suggested I sing “happy birthday” to myself in the beginning.  It works when I have nightmares, so why not.  I did exactly that – but only for about 300 meters, the point at which I realized I had these 1500 meters down!

A strong swim finish - Anne got this great shot of me!

I was out of the water before I knew it and racing off to my first transition (T1).  I passed Anne with her camera and my awesome massage therapist, Lisa, who were there to cheer us on!

Once I had all of my gear on, I headed out of the transition area with my bike – ready to begin my 25 mile trek through Tempe, AZ.  The one thing I noticed on this race (as opposed to the last Tri) was that I was the ONLY person who had their running shoes in the baskets on their bike.  EVERYone else had shoes and clips.  And, no one wants to be passed by “running-shoe-girl”, but sadly for many their shoes and clips were no match.  (smile)  I thought it would take me an hour and 45 minutes to complete the course, so imagine how pleased I was when I looked down and saw that I would hit under 1:30.  For all the twists and turns of this race – I was REALLY pleased with my ride.  However, I made a fatal error during T1, I failed to take any electrolytes – and by the time I hit the transition area with my bike (T2), I was pretty depleted. 

Almost 1/2 way through the bike portion - and out of the saddle.

I <3 that Anne caught Dennis in this shot taking his own pics!

Matt, Jim, Anne, Dennis and Kris were all standing by my transition spot to tell me to hurry my a** up!  I was utterly humiliated changing from bike shorts to run shorts in front of all of my favorite people.  But, whatever – it’s a tri, I guess I have to suck that one up!  Matt and Jim had finished their races shortly before – it was so nice to see them smiling and helping to support me.

I was out the transition gate before I knew what was happening.  “Running – I got this,” I thought.  About a ½ mile into the 10K, my tummy was talking to my head.  The mixture of Jet Blackberry Gu, two Advil and a bunch of water, was NOT going to stay.  I tried to keep it down, but by the time I reached the first water stop, I tossed it all.  I was mortified and tried not to let anyone see my tears.  I grabbed some Gatorade and mixed it with water to try to get something back in my system.  However, I had to walk to keep my head and tummy in check.  The Gatorade helped.

By the first mile marker, I was back on my feet and running with the rest.  But, this meant I was going to have to stop at every water station to get more Gatorade and water.  Brian caught up to me around mile 2 and was a welcome sight, but I encouraged him not to wait for me as we hit the next water station.  I just didn’t want to get sick, again – and definitely not in front of a member of the team!  The temps were in the 80’s and the sun was beating down on all of us.  I am sure it was not a great recipe for a solid run, even without the upset stomach.

As I rounded the 5K mark, I saw Anne, Dennis and Kris, again – and shortly thereafter Matt and Jim.  I trudged through those last 3+ miles making sure to continue to stop for Gatorade and water.  The system worked and I was able to finish – but it was my worst 10K in history.  I appreciated Matt’s comment as I lamented my crappy run – “well, it’s not like you didn’t just complete a 1500 meter swim and a 25 mile ride prior to the 10K, Mer.”  I guess that’s true.  It’s simply disappointing when you know your run is your best event – always!

As I crossed the finish line I could see Matt and Jim standing, waiting.  The song on the loud speaker was The Black Eyed Peas “I got a feelin’” – a song you never tire of when completing a triathlon.  I raised my hands high and smiled at the two of them as I crossed – it was a great feeling to be done.  And, I already know that tonight’s gonna be a good night.

Jim and Matt -- I could see them through the finish line!

Ladies and Gentlemen!

L-R: Jared, Mer, Brian, Jim, Jacqui, Aaron and Matt

The cheering section!  Anne and Kris!