Thursday, May 24, 2007 (photo: Big long carp!)
Open Water Swim at Mallard Point in G-town

Ken and I have successfully swam to the dam and back (1.5 miles) 2xs now. Bring on the 2.4 mile swim for the Ironman! Well - not yet-we will work next week on adding another mile to our 1.5.


I am really really fast going out and coming back when I am swimming in Rick and Sallie's cove.
Because there are BIG LONG carp. 3-5 feet! I can see them from their yard, I can see them from their dock, but I do not see them when I swim fast in the cove because I keep my eyes closed!


And I say under the water "go away carppies, go away". Susan told me to say my favorite cuss word underwater when I get panicky, but since it is a short word she told me to say "halleluiah", but "go away carppies" is working too!





post note - Libby went back to Lemons Mill Road and picked up the kitten. It had crossed the street and was in the stone fence. Danny and her took some of the stones away to get the kitten.

Tour de France – May 19, 2007

(photos: Evan's Orchard, Sonic fuel, Bourbon Co. sight)
It is not July yet, but we did the annual Tour de France this past Saturday.
Last year we did the Tour de Evans (61 miles) because the weather was bad. This year there was not a cloud in the sky – beautiful blue sky. After a 10 mile run, I met up with Libby in front of Keeneland and we traveled out to Versailles to meet Ken. Our route was to go to Paris from Versailles and then back. Around 70 from Versailles to Paris and back, but Ken added on some extra miles and Libby and I just followed him. Well actually on this tour – Ken now had Libby to talk to while they both waited on me. Thanks Libby! I know he gets lonely while he waits on me. There were numerous cyclist and triathletes on the roads and we enjoyed visiting with several of them. I especially enjoyed the 2 guys in Midway!
On the way to Paris we stopped at numerous eateries, Libby had packed food and we ate her food, too. We ate at the Spindletop Mobile Home Park(trailer park) diner on Lisle Road inGeorgetown KY. Pimento cheese sandwiches!
Then off to Evans Orchard for Apple Cider and Orange slushes. And a chocolate covered strawberry for me from the owner, Kevan Evans. This place has the best fried peach and apple pies you have ever had in your mouth!
We saw beautiful scenery in all the counties we rode in – Woodford, Scott, Fayette and Bourbon.
In Paris we ate at Sonic and had tater tots, onion rings and I ate Ken’s fries. After poppin some Advil Back and Body pain pills from the CVS by Sonic, we started back to Versailles, this time we bypassed the eateries so we could get back before dark! Only one long break was to check on a kitten that Libby heard in the TALL grass beside Lemon’s Mill Road. She has good hearing! or it is because she is such a kind, loving spirit and loves animals. I on the other hand can smell a hamburger miles away!Kitten was ok as it bounded away from all of us trying to rescue it. Maybe its Mother had just weaned it or its Mother was out getting a nice mouse for it. Anyway it would not have fit into our Bento boxes. We had a great ride and I felt more confident after it was over about the bike portion of the Ironman than I have before. Libby gave us some good tips about eating every hour, making sure we had ibuprofen in our special needs bag. After we saw Ken take off on a run, Libby and I headed back to Nicholasville and Lexington. It was another great training day!

(photos: Team in Training (TNT)Michelle and Jacky at water stop, Wallace Station eatery, Switzer Bridge and other bridge where feet took a dip under it)

Saturday May 12, 2007

If It was easy there wouldn’t be any point now would there.

(Above statement from another triathlete)

And it is not easy, the 3 discipline training, yet Ken and I keep doing it. Is this the point? All friends, family and foes are shaking their heads at us and saying the word "crazy." ARE WE? Probably.

This Saturday found me running 14 miles with the TNT running group. They are SO much fun, but I was called an "evil" coach because I told them they could not listen to their IPods until we had finished running hilly Bowman's Mill Road. This maneuver helped as it slowed the fast ones down since it made us all converse. It was a great run! Hot and Humid, but successful!

Ken had already compiled 28 miles when he met me at Falling Springs around 11:30 for a quick pump up my tires and a bathroom stop. We rode until about 1:30 and stopped at Wallace Station for a delicious chicken salad sandwich and black bean/corn salad. We rode another 60 miles in Woodford, Franklin and Fayette Co. stopping to cool our feet off in Elkhorn creek under the Switzer covered bridge and our usual stop for a cool drink in Midway in front of the Black Tulip where the owner filled my water bottle up and added ICE. Funniest moment all day was after giving Ken some GU, he commented that it tasted like Shrek's snot! OMG - it did! Not that either of us has ever tasted snot, but when he said this, I knew exactly what he meant.

We met a couple from Brazil (living in Lexington now) that told us about a relay run held in the city of Fortaleza. (next athletic goal?) where they run some of it on the beach. SIGN me up!

It was hot all day (upper 80s) and when we stopped and got off our bikes for pee breaks or Mt. Dew breaks, or Ken waiting on me breaks-we turned into balls of sweat.

Cars - trucks-what can I say - they just don't look for us and there were a couple of them that wanted to cut the corners and take us out in the process. There was a cute couple on a tandem bike and a truck was going to pass them, but I was in the way! I said "HEY" and they thought I was being friendly to them and they smiled at me and then they heard the rest of my sentence, "MF truck-don't pass!" and they looked shocked. I hope they realized I was trying to save lives there! Otherwise they think I am a crazy lady, well we have established that in the beginning of this blog entry!

This coming Saturday - we will be riding 100 miles.

(photos-chicken leg, Seven Creeks, Midway, sunburn)

Training training training- who knew how much time this would take up in our lives, but Ken and I are BUSY training everyday – well we get Mondays off!

Our bike rides are increasing in mileage. Due to my coaching of the Team in Training group on Saturday, Ken and I have to ride separately sometimes. It gets lonely. I don’t get to look at his cute cakes. Or stop in Midway for a Mountain Dew and PB&J sandwich. Well I can, but it is not as much fun. Last Sunday we got to cycle together and it was SO windy that within a couple of miles we felt battered and bruised. We had a nice ride to Shore Acres, which was one of the first rides we did the very first year we started this cycling. That year as we flew down the long hill to the river, I thought I was going to die – I was going so fast and braked the entire way. Then when we got to the bottom I flagged down a lady and asked her if there was another way out – I did not want to go back up the hill, but “no” was her reply and I started up the hill. I kept hearing a THUMP THUMP sound and finally figured out it was my heart beating loud! But this trip – did not break as much, got about 40 MPH and did not think I was going to die. Knew I had to climb back up and felt fine about it. After a bad start up the hill and telling Ken I would see him at the top, I had to clip out and go back down the hill to get a better gear. Up Up this Shore Acres hill goes, and I made it and never did hear my heart. I did see visions of chicken legs because Edward had called and said he would meet us at his house with some food from church. Well he plays the organ and piano for a black church and I just knew there was some chicken in that food grouping. I got to the top, found Ken at Edwards house and Ken broke the bad news “no Edward arriving with food”. He had changed his mind. So I had to eat a PB&J sandwich instead. I called Edward a big fat liar for the second time on Shore Acres because last time he had told us that the area around his house was FLAT!

We then rode down seven creeks road, where the creek crosses the road – yes yes 7 times!
The water was up and algae was slippery so we had to unclip and walk our bikes across the streams. Very beautiful area! Then we got back into the wind and decided after 35 miles which seemed like 70 miles, we would go back to Falling Springs Recreation Center and do the rest of the miles on the spin bike, which was so nice! The wind is hard to pedal into and then when it is a cross wind and moves your bike as you ride – well let’s just say – I was cussing and praying.

A couple of weeks ago, Ken did the Falling Springs Heart and Sole Triathlon and after running a few miles with the TNT group, I met him for a bike ride. It was a nice sunny day as you can see from the sunburn lines on Ken's back! Gosh we have fun!!!