The Hat-Trick!

For those of you who do not follow hockey, a hat trick is when one player scores 3 goals in one game. Well I call what Coach Keena did a hat-trick. After the Lubbock race they throw a big party with food and awards. We waited around because we were hungry and Keena was hopeful to get a spot to the World Championships. After some good eats and good entertainment it was time for the awards. Keena waited patiently as they started with the guys. When all the dust settled she had claimed her spot and completed the hat-trick. She will now be competing in all three World Championship events later this year.

September will be the Olympic distance World Championships held in Budapest, Hungary.

October will be the Ironman distance World Championships held in Kona, Hawaii.

November will be the Ironman 70.3 distance World Championships held in Clearwater, Florida.

Congrats Keena, job well done! www.coachkeena.com

We drove off into the night and made it home safely.... 14 hours and a motel 6 later.

Lubbock Texas Run

This was a challenging run. And I have to say that this was the most challenging half of the year so far. The reason I say this is because the bike had 8 climbs and the run had 3 climbs. Combine this with the heat and the run.... tough course.

I felt good coming off the bike as I didn't push or race it. I went out at a smooth pace and just chilled through the first half of this run. It was an out and back run on the road. My legs started to get heavy with about 3 miles to go and I decided to shut it was down to not risk soreness or injury. I had nothing to prove this race and just wanted to cross the finish line. I saw Keena at the top of the main climb and she didn't look like she was having fun at all. Her goal for the day was to claim a spot at the 70.3 world championships. I crossed the line and felt just fine. Went into the medic tent and snagged a couple bags of ice and threw them on my legs. I knew with a 14 hour drive ahead of me I had to start the recovery process quickly.

I went over tho the finishers food area and what a spread, the best yet! Finally watermelon and NO pizza. I also found a few boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts and pounded a jelly filled one. Best donut I have ever had. I headed to the massage tent and got right in. As the massage was wrapping up I heard what I thought was Keena's name by the announcer. I headed to the finish shoot and no Keena. I checked transition and medical, no Keena. I continued to search for an hour, no Keena. I went and checked with the EMS and they said no Keena. I checked the results and she had indeed finished. I could not figure this out. After an hour an a half I found her shaking in the medic tent hooked up to 2 IV bags. I didn't recognize her with her hair all pulled up sporting glasses and a hat. At one point I was standing 3 feet from her talking to the medic.... duh! Turns out her body shut down on the run and she willed herself to the finish. I am amazed at what the body will do. She later told me that a girl passed out right beside her 100 feet from the finish line. Crazy chicks!

We gathered all our things and headed to find Keena some ice cream, the cure all food. Shockingly Keena perked right up after a nice bowl of the good stuff (couldn't have been the 2 bags of fluid).

James 1:54:10

Keena 1:55:36

Total Times

James 5:06:50

Keena 5:16:57

TLubbock Texas Bike

After a smooth transition I headed out onto the bike course. The winds had picked up (shocking) and I was ready for a steady challenging 56 mile ride. This course had 8 challenging hills and as predicted by the bike tech my bike would not shift. So I left it in the big chain ring the whole time. I enjoyed this challenging ride and just kept a steady pace. With about 10 miles to go I noticed my knee position to not be favorable and I was loosing power. I looked at my seat post and noticed it had dropped over 2 inches putting me in a poor position. Again there was nothing I could do about it and just finished the race the best I could. To make matters worse the last long stretch was dead into the wind.

James 2:39:50

Keena 2:47:40

Race #8 Lubbock Texas

Woke up nice an early and this time we camped right beside transition. We had plenty of time to get our things ready as we didn't have to drive to the race site. I was super relaxed today and had no expectations for the days events. My simple goals were to swim hard and chill out the rest of the day. I knew this was a hard course and I didn't need to stress my body any more than needed. Simple goal; cross the finish line and hopefully before coach Keena (he he).

The water temp was right at the maximum temperature to allow wetsuits and right at the last minute they allowed the field to use wetsuits. My wave went of early and I swam hard. I felt really good in the water and swam a personal best of 29:30, joining the sub 30 min club. Keena was super happy with my swim result and hers as well.

James - 29:30

Keena - 30:38

Check in and bike issues...

June 26th. One more sleep till race day. I am still excited to race despite my schedule. This is a good thing. Woke up today with half the bug bites I thought I would have. It was a super hot sleep under the stars until about 3 in the morning when it finally started to cool down. Keena and I chowed on some Rokitfuel and fruit for breakfast then headed out for our final workouts before the race. We spun for 30 minutes, ran for 20 and swam a portion of the swim course. On the ride I could not get my bike to shift from the low ring to the big ring, but we had all day to take the bike to the expo and get it worked on. I was struggling through the first few minutes of the ride and couldn't figure out why the ride was so easy for Keena and why I was sweating like a fool. After some more bike examination I discovered that the front brake was toed in and rubbing hard. Good thing I figured this out just 5 minutes into the ride and before race day. This must be the reason they tell you to ride your bike the day before the race.

We packed up our sleeping bags and gear and headed to race check in. Check in was

routine and then I took my bike to the techs. They worked on it for over an hour and finally gave up and told me that it was most likely not going to shift on race day. They say that this was because of the Q Ring that I have on it.... gonna get that switched out first thing when I get home.

I couldn't do anything about the shifting issue at this point and

simply made the decision to be ok with it and bike the 8 hill climbs in the big ring. The afternoon was filled with 2 movies and hydrating. The day ended at the Texas Road House. Figured we were in Texas and should eat there. Back to the lake for the night and last minute race prep. Visualize the finish......

Guiness Book of World Records

It's official. Guinness has recognized my quest as an official attempt to break the current world record called 'Most Ironman 70.3 races completed in a year' I guess it is a good thing I qualified for worlds as the current record is 20.... and I am now doing 21. Which means I will be breaking the World record on November 13 2010 in Clearwater Florida. Anyone want to come and celebrate.....? But let's not forget the bigger reason we are doing this quest is to help and change lives, so please share my message and donate a few bucks.... I'm excited for it all!

Are you too cool to hug?

My mom sent this to me and it made me smile. Every time I come home from a race weekend my girls rush to the door and throw their arms around me yelling "daddy daddy". This moment alone makes it worth doing this project. This video mades me think of those moments when they give the young kids a hug. Just thought I would share. Tomorrow you will get the race updates from Texas. Had an awesome time there!

14.5 hours later...

Finally made it to Texas after a 14 1/2 hours of driving. The drive went by pretty quick. We missed check in but we have all day tomorrow to get that done. We headed up to the race site which is located Buffalo Springs Lake and found a perfect spot to throw down sleeping bags for the night. The day temp today was 97 degrees.... barf! Should be a cooker on Sunday.

New Addition To The Team

The Tri and Give a Dam team would like to welcome the crew from Hornet Juice. These guys and gals have been incredible in helping me with my race nutrition. I have DuB Nutrition to give me needed energy and muscle recovery. I use ASEA daily to helps each and everyone of my cells to be happy. Prolytes gives me the electrolytes my body needs and now I have the fuel I need to race with.

Introducing HORNET JUICE.

Hornet Juice is a powdered amino acid sports drink that replicates the amino acids produced by the Japanese Giant Hornet. Sounds weird but this 'cocktail' of amino acids allows these huge bugs to fly for extended distances and burn up fat rather than glucose. Studies have proven that it works for humans too. The team from Hornet Juice even offer a 'no questions asked' money back guarantee. If you've tried HJ and you don't notice any difference in your training, they'll refund your money.

I must note that none of these companies pay me to use their products. I use them and love them because they are dam awesome! Headed out to Lubbock Texas at 5 am today. Looking to just cruise on Sundays race as I have not had the best recovery from Boise. Hayden at Muscle Works beat the crap out of me to try and get me ready for this 8th event.... only 13 more;)

See y'all in Texas-

Can I say that about my mom?

My mom is so bad ass..... can I say that? Cause she is. She called me yesterday and asked me how long it would take her to swim 500 meters.... I asked why and she said;

"Because I'm signing up for a sprint triathlon."

My mother is 60, grandmother of 12 and is gonna smoke it. Go mom!

Wise words from my coach

My coach sends out encouraging words every week and this weeks I really enjoyed and wanted to share them with you.

"Seeing how MOST of us are getting a little older(ok...totally just YOU guys, cause I am still 21 and totally NOT feeling any effects of aging).... I thought I would talk about some motivating issues for us athletes over the age of 30...

It is estimated that starting around the age of 30 we lose about a half-pound of muscle every year. With that muscle loss, our metabolic rate will also decline.

Less muscle also means less strength and power.

Flexibility is also reduced and injuries become more likely because the water content of our tendons decreases as we age. This makes our tissues stiffer and less able to tolerate stress.

Cardiac function is reduced and the heart muscle becomes less able to propel large quantities of blood quickly to the body.

This also reduces our stroke volume (the amount of blood ejected with each heartbeat).
Metabolically, aerobic enzymes appear to decline with age, lowering aerobic capacity and VO2 max declines about 10 percent per decade.

Sounds terrible, huh! Are you motivated?

Well....

Those are the statistics for THE GENERAL POPULATION!

Here is the really Good News:

YOU ARE NOT THE GENERAL POPULATION!!

Did you know that neither muscle mass or the subsequent loss of function is inevitable with aging?!

Many of the changes I just listed above result more from LACK OF USE than from just simple aging.

That means:

All of the above losses can be minimized or even REVERSED with proper cardiovascular and strength training.

By exercising and controlling energy intake (yep...that means...food), older athletes can maintain the same body-fat levels as much younger athletes.

Exercise helps the body maintain its ability to deliver and use oxygen efficiently.

Muscle size and strength can be improved at ANY age with proper strength training.

And...I recently read an article in which a study was conducted that showed exercise made you SMARTER because it stimulated the brain....(healthy and smart....how much better does it get?)

(much of this information is from Chris Charmichaels book: "Food for Fitness")

OK...so, we know it can be hard to maintain a steady, consistent training schedule. Life is busy!

You all have to juggle family, careers, social life, church and civic duties...and somehow manage to fit in time to train.

BUT, the rewards are worth the effort!

If you can keep your body and mind healthy, you will be more capable and tolerant of life stresses...it makes everything else in your life better.

So, make the commitment to keep going! Even when life is crazy. Don't let your consistent exercise and healthy nutrition fall apart...you will reap tremendous benefits by taking care of your body...after all...it's the ONLY one you will get (and replacement parts are hard to come by!)

Some quick NUTRITION reminders to go with this:

Carbohydrates: Make sure they are high quality foods that bring the highest amount of vitamins and minerals, fiber and phytochemicals. Don't eat the JUNK carbs! They do you no good and fill you with empty calories that won't refuel or recharge your body.

Protein: Protein intake needs to increase slightly as we get older, so be sure to eat high-quality protein rich foods!

Fats: Pretty simple....eat GOOD fats high in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids: fish, flaxseed, walnuts, almonds. Use monounsaturated oils (olive oil and canola) instead of polyunsaturated (safflower and sunflower oils) and saturated fats (lard, margarine, butter).

Fiber: Aim for around 25-30 grams of fiber intake EVERY day! Most Americans don't even get half that amount.

WATER! Don't forget your WATER! Not including your intake when you are training...you should aim for 96 oz. of good clean water...every day!

Finally...Don't be mean to yourself!

You want to be moving every day and eating healthy because it makes you HAPPY! Find something that you love to do and DO IT (whether that is trail running, triathlons, rollerblading, mountain biking, yoga, swimming, etc.).

It doesn't matter as long as you are a better, happier person for the effort. You definitely don't have to be GOOD at it! So what if you are a terrible swimmer (or whatever you choose to do).

If you love it and feel challenged and alive while you are doing it...that is what matters!

This is such a great privilege for us to be able to live in such a wonderful place and time that we can enjoy the tremendous lifestyle that we have!

Don't condemn yourself or say mean things to yourself because you make a mistake or choose a poor food. Just focus on what you are doing well!

If you have a bad food day, just determine that you will try to make better choices the next day.

If you haven't been training or exercising, that's ok. Just determine that you are going to start NOW to do something active that helps your body to be healthier and makes your life a better one to be living (after all...it IS the only one you get)!

After YEARS of training HUNDREDS of people...I have found that the BEST way to keep your motivation and focus positive is to put a goal out there for yourself.

Which is why I am such a huge fan of races and events!

They are an external motivator that has a deadline for you to prepare for. Whether you choose an event that is a 5k walk or an Ironman...it doesn't matter as long as it motivates and inspires you!

So...(just like I harrassed you last week)...GET SIGNED UP FOR SOMETHING!

Just by knowing that you have something solid and maybe a little scary out there in front of you, will help you to get out of bed and do what you need to do to get ready!

When you know you are going to be doing something challenging, you are more motivated to do things that might seem hard at the time. But, the more you do it...the easier it gets!

All of a sudden you start thinking of yourself as an athlete...not just as some schmuck trying to make it through the day. Your approach to your choices changes...it's now a focus on taking care of your maginificent machine!

You don't WANT to eat that junk, because you know it will affect your next run or yoga session or swim.

Your perspective changes from "I have to eat right and exercise...ugh..." to a new perspective of "I WANT to eat right and exercise because I love how I feel and am excited for....(whatever your event is!)"

You know what is happening?....You are now RESPECTING your body cause you see how amazing it is!

Pretty Dang Cool!

And...YOU CAN DO IT!"

You gotta love her! Thank you Keena.

New Friends and Meaningful Moments

When I was Boise several people came up to me and wished me well on the day and with Delta. I guess that little video got passed around a bit. I am grateful for the people who are donating and following my efforts. Justin Anderson was one of those guys and I was touched by the thoughtful e-mail he sent me.

"It was nice meeting you up there in Boise, and congratulations on your finish! Pretty impressive stuff in those wind conditions. I've followed your blog for a while now, and want you to know we're out here...following and donating. As a fellow triathlete, I'm ashamed at how frequently I take this precious resource for granted. I rarely think twice when jumping into a heated lap pool, or dumping water down my face during a race. Hard to imagine having to make special efforts just to have enough water to live each day. Anyway, here's a pic we took at T2. Well wishes for good health and success on your continuing journey. Take care!

Justin Anderson"

What a STUD - thank you Justin!

This entire week I also had the privilledge to attend the Young Living convention and volunteer at the D. Gary Young foundation booth. I got to speak to many people about our cause and a lot of money was raised. Young living has already donated enough money to build a dam and I have high hopes that we will be building another one in the near future with their name on it. This is a picture of me working it at the booth, I loved every minute of it! Thank you to the D. Gary Young Foundation and all the staff at Young Living.

My new Ellsworth Bike

Just wanted to post a quick video of my Brand New Ellsworth bike. The crew down at Ellsworth took care of all my needs after Delta made quick work of my bike. I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out and can't wait to race in Texas on it!

http://www.ellsworthbikes.com/bikes/road/coefficient/

The Crabby Louie

Ok better late than never but here is the Burger Video from Hawaii. This bad boy is called the Crabby Louie. This was a delicious treat (as they all are) Tomorrow chef Garen will be preparing another burger surprise!

World Championship Qualifying Race

Swim - 33:32 Bike - 2:40:28 Run - 1:40:39 Finish - 4:58:26

The Swim - I headed out on the swim and had my best swim of the year. I knew I had had a good swim when I only had a 150 meters to go when the fast swimmers from the pack behind me passed me. Yahoo! After another speedy transition (which by the way I owe to my friend Jess, when I first stated tris he told me to transition like I stole something) I was off to a very windy bike ride.

The Bike - This was the windiest ride I have ever been on. The head wind was ruthless and if you did not come prepared with a strong mental game this wind would surely be the end of you. It was a simple out and back course with a few tangents and a few good climbs. During certain sections of this ride I found my self digging going 15 mph into the wind and on other sections 28 mph hardly putting forth any effort. The side winds were relentless and my bike almost took flight on more than one occasion due to my disk wheel. The only incident we had on the bike course was when the camera crew got rear ended.... luckily they were in a suburban... the other car wasn't so lucky.
The Run- This was a unique run experience for me. Our swim wave was 3rd in the water and the two age groups ahead of us were men and woman 60-64. I passed these age groups in the water and the start of the bike. By the time I reached the 2 loop run I basically had the course to my self for the first lap. I didn't see anyone until 3 of the men pro athletes passed me on their second lap. It felt like a training run except for all the attention I got at the aid stations. Everyone wanted me to take what they were handing out, it was like a competition. I continued to feel great as I rounded for my second lap. I was energized after seeing my team mates and the effort they were putting out.

I charged down the finish line with my most exciting finish yet! I knew my placing was good but didn't realize till much later that I had indeed qualified for the 70.2 World Championships to be help on November 13th in Clearwater Florida. I ended up 4th in my division.

We had the whole Tri and Give a Dam team up there and a huge congrats goes out to the following individuals.
Kyle Woodruff -

39:01

2:44:59

1:50:46

5:21:24

John Rose

35:44

2:46:51

2:15:02

5:44:23

Kyle Quist

44:05

3:17:00

2:12:09

6:22:02

Ryan Whiting

34:40

3:31:43

2:35:34

6:50:19

Eric Rose

38:22

3:26:04

2:56:38

7:09:38

This was the first 70.3 events for all of them except Kyle W. John Rose told me he hated me moments after he crossed the finish line but has since committed to another race with me in Lake Stevens later this summer. Can you say bit by the "ironman bug"

Kyle Quist had an adventure after crossing the finish line. He now has a little more sympathy for my IV experience in St Croix. Way to gut it out Kyle, we are all proud of you!

The day wrapped up with an award ceremony and world championship allocation. Congrats to fellow Utah athlete and training partner Nichole Bechsted who also qualified for Worlds. We all met afterwards for some much need nutrition (that wasn't in the form of goo) at PF Changes and celebrated over some wonderful dishes! What a hell of a trip, the best yet!

Can you tell I'm excited. What a day! Thank you for all the support and donations. Together we are doing this!! Thank you.

Race Day in Boise

The race start time is Boise is unique and the only one of it's kind on the 70.3 circuit. The race gun was set to go off at 2 pm. So we had the luxury of sleeping in and unlike other events there was zero sense of urgency to get to T1 and get ready. We enjoyed the hotel breakfast, gathered our things and headed to downtown Boise to place our things in T2. We relaxed a bit, and grabbed a sub (which was strange) before heading up to Lucky Peak Reservoir and do our final last minute race prep.

My friend Jess Brereton was super gracious and let me use his Felt DA while my Ellsworth bike was getting the final paint touches done to it. When I put my disk wheel on the bike (the only rear wheel I brought) I noticed that the brake was rubbing.... I took it to bike tech and they said the brakes were as loose as they could be and to fix the brake pads we would have to take off the crank. Then he told me he didn't have time to do that and handed me my bike.... 56 miles with a brake rubbing is a bad idea... just ask my good friend Heath Thurston. It looks like I was headed out on the course with no back break.

The energy was electric as all the athletes headed down to the water start. The weather at the reservoir was perfect and the crew was ready to go. In this picture racing for the Give a Dam Project from left to right is Eric Rose, Kyle Quist, Kyle Woodruff, James Lawrence, John Rose and Ryan Whiting. Go team! A big thank you to DUB Nutrition and Big John Rose who bought the uni's for us!

Boise 70.3 and what a weekend it was!

I have been looking forward to this trip for some time. Why you ask? Because I don't have to go by myself. Boise is close enough to drive to so many of my friends and fellow triathletes partake in this event. The trip started with my roof rack not fitting on Kyle Quist's Suburban. We looked around, calculated how many eagle scouts were in the group and figured we had the skills to tie it down. Risky at first glance but upon completion we concluded that this rack of bikes wasn't going anywhere.
The van was filled with excitement as this would be the first 70.3 event for Kyle Quist and Ryan Whiting. I was equally excited for them and also had a good feeling about my race. Kyle Woodruff was with us hoping to beat his time earlier this year in California. Kyle W. is training for IRONMAN Louisville later this year. We had Rob Schopke and Parker Cross there with us taking video footage for the pilot for our TV series and documentary.
We rolled into Boise with a few hours to spare and get check in. The head media girl was on us instantly as the camera crew followed me through the check in process. She was super nice and arranged for us to get our media credentials and grant us access to certain parts of the race. Check in was smooth and we headed up to Lucky Peak to put our bikes in T1 and go for a quick pre race swim. The water was FREEZING and concern set in for race day conditions.

We ended the day at Cheese Cake Cafe and scolded Kyle for his choise to order double chocolate cheese cake. He buckled due to the pressure and stashed it in the hotel fridge to be enjoyed after the race.

Ancient Sand Markings

Golf Course Run

Hawaii 70.3 Run - 1:47:53

Within the first mile I caught Belinda and we ran the first 8 miles of this beautiful rolling hills course. Belinda proved too much for me as she pulled away and disappeared into the distance. The company was great while it lasted. I fell apart a little during the last few miles of this but

ended up finishing up strong. I mustered up 5:09:05 and am very happy with the end result given the near fatal crash on the bike.

After the race I finally enjoyed some good post race food.... a cheese burger. I have been tired of the only offering being cardboard pizza. How about some fresh fruit people, this is Hawaii. After the race we just relaxed and enjoyed a specialty salad made by Colleen. Yum!

The next day was made up of seeing the local sites and historical land marks. The black lava rock formations were interesting to see as they were natural caves for the natives. I could not imagine living in black rocky caves.... I guess I'm a little bit soft.

I ended up down at the race start for the Ironman

World Championships, checked out the swim start and visualized how the finish would look and one day me running down the finish shoot.

As I was walking down the street I passed a tattoo shop and couldn't resist the urge to get my ironman tattoo... what better place than the birth place of ironman.....

Winds Winds and Near Death

Bike 2:40:35

This was a crazy bike ride experience for me.

One; Because it was in the Hawaii and everything I wanted it to be.

Two; Because I almost crashed, could have died, certainly would have ended my season - but I didn't.

This up and down course had incredible views and "as seen on TV" swirling winds. I made it safely to the turn around and hoped the rumors of a

head wind both directions was one thing I didn't get to experience here in Hawaii. We did indeed have a tail wind but there were still the random side gusts. As I passed amateur racer Belinda from Australia traveling 31.8 miles an hour, a huge gust of wind blew me clear into the shoulder and right over a raised night reflector. My bike took flight and the gods of Hawaii was the only reason I didn't go down. As soon as my wheels touched the bike had such

forward motion that the bike self corrected completely straightening the bike out. The adjustment was so violent that my left foot came unclipped and my body slammed down onto the top tube of the bike. Belinda screamed and could not figure out how I didn't go down. I finished the rest of the bike ride with my heart in my throat and was passed on every downhill for the rest of this ride. Trust me when I say I was happy to be done with this ride despite it's history and beauty.

Hawaii 70.3 race day Swim - 36:22

I'm in Boise right now and between me and the other 2 married guys here we have 14 kids. Despite the 2pm start here in Boise we are all up with our internal clocks and don't have much to do. So I will try to catch up on the blog.... I need to get better at this!

(this is me still in hawaii....)

Woke up and ate a quick breakfast and headed to the race site. The winds were up but the water was fairly calm. I was excited to be involved in my first mass start. Everyone was all gather along the shore line not wanting to be in the water when the gun goes off.... I though the opposite, head out to the buoy where only the fast swimmer were hanging out. The cannon fires and I let the fast swimmer go and voila - clear open water for me.

Swim 36:22 This swim was awesome!! Clear water all the way to the ocean floor. Armed in just a speed suit I tried to slice through the water. As you can see by my swim time... I failed. But I felt great and swam as hard as I could! I forgot to put on body glide and my neck got cut up just a bit. Quick smooth transition and I'm off on the bike - Bring on the wind!

The Big Island and macthing bike cases

OK, so I know it is Wednesday and I was hoping to have the Hawaii update up by now... but I have been super busy with the whole "Screw Delta" campaign (which was just suppose to be a fun video that landed on some pretty big websites - more on this later.) Here we go-

ALOHA! I arrived in Hawaii on the Big Island and was greeted by Colleen and Carvel- my kind hosts for the weekend. They greeted me with a cool Lei and a hug. I quickly grabbed my bike and headed to dinner. They treated me to OUTBACK which I love and true to form it was delicious!

I woke up very early (3:30am) because it was 5:30 am in Utah and the time I usually wake up to go train. I tossed around for a few hours then went downstairs to an awesome prepared breakfast - thank you Carvel! This was shaping up to be a great trip.

After breakfast I opened up my bike case to assemble my bike and oops it wasn't my bike. My heart quickly jumped into my throat and panic set in. I called my coach as I knew she would know exactly what to do, she always does. She suggested I call they race director and they would be able to help me locate the guy who was missing his bike. After a few stressful hours we located him, located my bike (still at the airport) and got the whole situation sorted out. Sorry Connor Hughes from Australia.

Found the host hotel and got all checked in for the race. Colleen and Carvel were very patient and carted me everywhere I needed to go. After we had everything all set to go my hosts took me on a scenic car ride around the island. The big island is very diverse and has many different types of landscape, each of them very pretty.

A homemade spaghetti dinner and off to bed for some much needed rest before race day.

Incredible Pictures and Amazing Thanks!!

I am super excited to post the pictures and experiences I had in Hawaii on my blog but I just have to post this first. This is why I am doing this project. These pictures were so exciting to me I couldn't contain myself as I was overrun with emotion. I am attaching pictures of the Dam we recently build over in Africa. Please continue to donate as lives are being affected and changed. Thank you so much for everyone who has already donated. JUST AWESOME!!

I am also attaching a letter of appreciating from the government there to Ron Hatfield, founder of In Our Own Quiet Way.

#6 Hawaii 70.3

Race #6 of 20 is tomorrow morning in Hawaii. I can't wait. The energy here is electric.... I have a pretty funny story (well it's funny now) about my bike that I an excited to share with you all. Good luck to all my peeps back home doing THE SALEM SPRINT! Now we rest.....

Tires and Tracks

With two weeks of down time from racing (I know that doesn't seem like much) I wanted to get in some good quality training. Starting in July my fitness will really be put to the test with eight 70.3 races in seven weeks including a back to back Saturday Sunday race weekend ending in my home town of Calgary, Canada. I had some great experiences with friends and family and have enjoyed my time at home. Solo runs on the railroad tracks and long rides with friends were just a few of the highlights. Flat tires and good laughs were part of a four hour ride I did with Jess and Tyrell. On our way to Tyrell's house I flatted twice and ended up calling him for a ride back to his place. Not knowing he had loaned out his truck he decided to pick us up in his old jeep with an attached trailer. This made for a bumpy yet successful ride!

Thank you Carol Tuttle

When I was sitting in the Orlando airport waiting to fly home after the race a few weeks ago I bumped into a Facebook friend that I'd never actually met before. We started chatting and realized we knew some of the same people and had some similar interests. Carol is an amazing woman and is a pioneer in Energy Profiling. Check out her website HERE.

She was kind enough to send me her new book "It's just my nature" which I have started reading. She also made a very kind donation to the Tri and Give a Dam project. Thank you so much Carol Tuttle.