I went for a 12 mile bike ride with Brandon but first had to repair both of my tires because they were flat from the Utah Half Ironman. It took about an hour to repair and then we were on our way. Not even a mile into the ride my front tire blew again! This makes 5 flat tires the last 3 times I have rode my bike. It is starting to get annoying not to mention expensive. After yet another flat tire fix we were on our way again and luckily no more flats for either of us.

Medium Pace Bike 11 miles up to Payson and back Time:35:10 – Cal: 469 – HR avg: 167 – HR max: 180- Rate: 8.5

Once I got back home I pulled some weeds and was also able to get Mark Monfredi to come running with me. We did an easy 5k on course 1.

Medium Run 5k on course 1. Time:24:37 – Cal: 371 – HR avg: 180 – HR max: 196 - Rate:7 Pace: 7:55

I woke up early on Saturday and drove to Scofield for the 2008 Scofield Triathlon. I had heard it was an awesome race so I pretty excited to see what everyone was raving about.

The swim started off perfect. Not too many racers which means I only got kicked in the head a couple of times and the water was amazing. I felt good throughout the mile swim even though I hadn’t swam laps in a month or so. The swim was a double loop around the buoys and I did my first lap (half mile) in just under 14 minutes. The second lap took about 15 minutes to finish so I ended up with around 29 minutes for the mile swim. I was pretty stoked because 29 minutes is a PR for me. I averaged 1:40 per 100 meters which is not too shabby for a mile swim.

The first transition was pretty slow because I couldn’t get my biking gloves on. I really need to work on my transitions. The bike started out great except about 3 miles into the course some guy drove up next to me and told me I was going the wrong way. I ended up going about 5.5 miles off course and decided to just try to convert it into 25 miles instead of biting the bullet and going 31 miles because of the mistake. Also, my leg was cramping up so I didn’t want to go the extra mileage. After telling a race judge I turned my bike around at almost the right point and actually ended up going a little bit longer than I needed to. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to place so I wasn’t too worried. The rest of the bike went great and I ended up with a 1:17 split time.

The run started pretty bad as it usually does. The worst part was the first 200 meters which had a crazy incline. My legs already felt like jello so it just made them feel even worse. The weird thing is that not only did they feel like jello but also big heavy stumps at the same time. It took about 2 miles for my legs to feel normal but after that I felt good. The last half of the 10k felt great even though I wasn’t going to fast. The funny thing is I always question in my head why I run these triathlons during the run portions. It always seems to hurt the most during the run so I just try to forget the pain and think about how good it will feel when it’s all over. I can only imagine how much it will hurt when I do my first full Ironman.

The last .2 miles of the 6.2 were probably the longest I have ever run. I swear it was an extra mile. I saw a lady biffed it hard right in front of me with only .1 miles to go. Her body just completely gave out and she landed pretty hard on the pavement. Thankfully there was a lot of people there to help her including some encouragement from us racers.

It felt so good to finally be done. I finished with an official time of 2:52:33 which is a PR for me. It would have been better if I hadn’t gone the wrong way on the bike but I was satisfied with my performance. I found out later that If I would of ran the sprint distance I would have ended up 2nd overall in my age group for sure with a good chance at taking first. Oh well, maybe next time I will be smart run the shorter distance. I also got to see my good friend Mike Merrell at the race which was a nice surprise. It was his first tri and he did awesome! I highly recommend the Scofield Triathlon for anyone that wants to race it.

Today was one of the best workout days ever.

To start it off my neighbor Merri and I ran the first annual Best Buddies 5k. Everyone else on the block bummed out so It was just us and we represented well. Merri was the 3rd girl finisher and 7th overall and I was 3rd in my age group and 11th or 12th overall. Around the 1 mile marker the front of the pack and the rest of runners split up. A police officer that was supposed to guide everyone directed the front of the pack the wrong way and I was the first of the rest of the runners that made the correct turn. It was pretty sweet for me because I was in the lead for about 10 seconds until an ex-BYU cross country girl flew past me. Merri ended up running more than 4 miles because she stayed with the front of the group that went the wrong way. I ended up with somewhere around 22:50 for my 5k and luckily Merri had her new gps watch (check out her blog to see it) because she was able to get a time for her 5k even though she ran longer.

At night I rode my bike up the mountain and had an awesome ride. I was surprised because it has been almost a month since the last time I took my quintana roo for a spin. My legs felt great and the ride was perfect. I was feeling so good that when I got home I ran another 3 or so miles and pulled out a 23:45 5k. It was awesome to say the least. For me it is pretty rare to feel smoking good after a training session but tonight was great.

Top 3 best training sessions in no particular order
– Saturday night 7/12/2008 bike ride up the mountain and 5k night run (2nd workout of the day)
– Wasatch back 6.4 mile night run (2nd workout of the relay and the day)
– March 20 something 2008 short night run.

I think I am starting to see a pattern. Looks like the 2nd workout of the day at night is the best time for me to have awesome workouts.

Tammy and Merri (our Neighbor) have decided that they want to qualify for the 2009 Boston Marathon. The great thing is that with their current times in smaller runs they would both qualify with time to spare… given they can keep up their current pace.

So, I have decided that I would also like to qualify for and run in the Boston Marathon. My problem is that with my current times I would need to improve a lot to make it. The qualifying times for women are significantly longer than the mens. For example, Tammy and Merri would need to finish with a 3:40 or under to qualify. In contrast I would need to finish with a 3:10 marathon or better.

So, I am making a goal right now that I will qualify for the 2010 Boston Marathon. For more information about qualifying you can go to the actual site at http://www.bostonmarathon.org/BostonMarathon/Qualifying.asp

Below is what I would need to be able to run to qualify and my current best times. Looks like I really need to up the intensity!

Ran an easy 5.5 miles to start out the running week. I have been at scout camp so I havn’t had a good workout since last Saturday when Tammy kicked my butt by almost a minute in the 4th of July Freedom Run.

I really need to start getting back into my training full go. I have been slacking the last 3 weeks especially with biking and swimming. My next tri is going to be slooowwww if I don’t start pushing it again.

Slow & Short Hills Run 5.5 mile Spanish Fork Loop Time: 45.19 – Cal: 624 – HR avg: 171 – HR max: 191- Rate: 6.5 Pace: 8:14