Adventures with an Average Ironmom

Out of the three sports of triathlon, the run is by far my favorite and the easiest to train for. Putting on a pair of shoes and heading out the door is way easier than deciding where to swim or bike, what gear to bring, and how to best keep from getting hurt. The wear and tear on the body is greater, but it also tones and conditions best too. Before moving to Hawaii the most running I had done was for soccer, track team, and for fun runs like Race for the Cure. I had never run or walked more than a 5k at once unless it was on a hike. While training for my first Lavaman in 2008 I ran on a treadmill 6.2 miles one time before the race. Since I had never tried running before I had no idea how much I would enjoy it. I decided to enter the Kona Half Marathon and have participated in that event 3 times, two when the race was on Alii Dr. on the Ironman course before having the boys, and one 2015 in Waikoloa. I decided to go big when I turned 26 training for and running in the Portland Mar...

I still can't believe I rode 100 miles on my bike yesterday. I never in a million years thought I would ever ride a bike for 7 hours straight. It was extremely challenging, and something I will never forget. I'm on a mission, and it had to happen. So when I woke up yesterday at 4:30am with the opportunity I've been waiting weeks for, I went for it. And I didn't stop until 100. A 100 mile ride on Queen Kaahumanu Hwy is daunting on any day. The sun is hot, the winds push you all over the road and the traffic is not only fast, but unpredictable too. Everything is loud. Cars and trucks rushing by are loud, the wind is loud. So loud you can't hear your bike, which is unnerving because you are constantly shifting and trying to avoid debris like nails, glass, and roadkill. The shoulder is uneven, and with the sun just up over the mountain by the time I got on the road at 6:10am, I could see every bubble in the asphalt, with their shadows marking up the shoulder. No wonde...

Now I know what people mean when they say "the struggle is real". Ironmom training is hard. I was hanging in there, with my workouts going pretty much according to plan, but the last few weeks have been quite challenging. The first bump in the road came after my glorious 91 mile bike ride July 24. My friend Dot followed me from NELHA all the way to Hawi and back. We left about 8:45am and didn't get back until around late afternoon. It took me 6 hours, 2 minutes and although it was hot, windy, rained, and intense with traffic I felt great. I was ready to ride further or run, but I had to get back to the family. I had also swam 2.4 in the pool in 93 minutes and had a good run  that week. After the ride I noticed a crack forming in the fork of Baby Blue. As I looked closer I read the sticker on the fork. I showed the crack to Oliver and he suggested I take it in to BikeWorks to get it inspected. Perhaps there was a warranty to replace it, since it looked like more than...