post race travels

After my race, Jake and I took off on a long road trip to South Dakota to visit my mom's side of the family (grandma, 4 aunts/uncles, and lots of cousins). We visited 9 states in all (AZ, NV, UT, ID, MT, WA, SD, ND, WY) and drove over 4,000 miles...What a trip!



Trampoline fun with Willa


Auntie Chuck's b-day present from last year



Picking strawberries for jelly with Aunt Mae, Becky, and Grandma



30 quarts of strawberries!

What can I say- I was craving meat (1lb cheeseburger)...after burning over 12,000 calories on the Ironman, I needed to replenish.

Uncle Dave in Mt. Rushmore

Aunt Barb & Beth in Mt. Rushmore

Picking Washington's nose :)

The presidents

Devil's Tower

MTB in Ogden- tough at elevation

Driving...lots of landscapes and clouds

Top of Powder Mtn (without snow, of course)

MTB Powder Mtn, Utah...elevation kills

Riding in Brian Head, UT...it was awesome! I will be returning to check out more trails.

Showering off - after a long ride.

13 hrs of pure joy!

As many of you know, I completed my 1st Ironman race this June, along with my friend Drew. It was quite the experience, not only the race, but the training, traveling, and mental preparation was extensive. I somehow arrived in one piece and ready for the ultimate physical test. Here are a few pics to share the story.

I had the best support crew ever! My best friend- Jen, boyfriend- Jake, and my dad and bro were all there to cheer me on.

Swimming with 2000 people is an awesome experience...you should try it sometime!

Support crew in action- They worked hard all day too!

The bike ride was my favorite part of the race.

Everything was sooo green and beautiful!

Oh the joys of running...my 1st marathon was pretty brutal...im still sore and it's been 4 weeks. If you look close, you can see my support crew in action!

Crossing the finish line at the 13 hr mark was a dream come true. It had rained on me for the past 3 hrs and it was so cold, I couldn't keep my legs warm. I was exhausted, freezing, and my legs felt like they could snap at any moment. Why would anyone do this to themselves???

Triumphant ride to the car from my bro...love him!!

Warmth at last! It was a big mistake to take a warm bath right after the race, but I was frozen to the core. I should've taken an icebath to reduce swelling, but I couldn't get over the freezing water. Again, my support crew in action, as Jake massages my feet. Good plug for Ensure as well, it was my source of extra calories throughout my training and a great recovery drink!

Ironman bound

After months of training, I can't believe it's time to race! I'm excited and anxious for the upcoming weekend of torture that I have subjected myself to. Mostly excited to be outside during the summer solstice and riding my new machine. Jake and I are currently en route to the Tetons (my fav) and Yellowstone and will be in Missoula by Wednesday 6/17.














You can follow me online during the race at ironmanlive.com (just look up my last name).

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and encouragement, I couldn't be here today without you!

Cleaning toilets in paradise

We just started summer in paradise! It's beautiful weather here in San Clemente, CA during the summer. Not too hot and not too cold...it's about 70 degrees year round. We fill our days with surfin', biking, running, and lots of eating :)

We have more friends...and roommates than ever before! There is always a houseguest to feed and hangout with. We also have a permanent roommate for the summer as Brandon is here studying (and surfing) for med school. He is quite the cook and the girls are all trying to pick up a few tricks in the kitchen. There are great meals and lots of dishes. Jen has become the master baker with her muffins making a name for themselves. So that leaves Shelly and I to do the housework and make money to support the jobless :) Oh, and we have the guys to help us clean the toilets! Stop by when you can to enjoy paradise with us...

So cool!

I was out sunset surfin last night with Jen and the coolest thing happened...we saw dolphins, which is very common where we surf.

A few minutes later I caught this nice size wave and as I was dropping into the wave a dolphin was in the wave coming at me. It was so close that I could've reached out and grabbed its' fin. It was surfin the wave that I was on, only it was going the opposite way. I thought for a moment that it might knock me off my board and just then it crossed all the way underneath my board. I had my mouth wide open as I was completely shocked! I've never seen that or heard of it happening but last night I surfed with the dolphins!

Ketchup

Here are a few pics of recent adventures!

Teaching Jen's siblings to surf in paradise.

They were amazing little groms with a lot of potential!

(it must be all of the snowboarding)

Out having fun and celebrating Jen's B-day! The big 28 :)

We found a Mooooose!!!

We also found paradise! Powder Mountain baby :)



















Ski fence owned by legendary skier...forgot his name, but super cool guy that lives in Park City

Tagged!

Ok, sorry I haven't updated my blog in a while...a lot has gone on and I will try and get you up to speed here shortly, but the post today is in response to my friend Missy. She "tagged" me and I am supposed to say 7 random things about myself...here goes:

1- I just moved to San Clemente with 2 close friends and live about 6 blocks from the beach. I absolutely love it! Here is a picture of my new home:

2- I hate finger nail files! I can't stand having my nails filed or listening to others file their nails. Just thinking about it right now is making my stomach turn. It's like nails on a chalk board I guess.

3- I really want a dog! A clone of my friend's dogs, Maverick or Alta. They are awesome dogs who love the outdoors as much as I do. They camp, run, go on mtb trips, snowboard trips...just great dogs with awesome personalities.

4- I really want to visit New Zealand, Patagonia, Whistler, and Banff some day soon.

5- Wow...this is really hard! I love eyes...yes, I love people's eyes. They say so much without saying a word. I especially love how unique we are all created and that there are so many different shades of brown, blue, hazel, green....

6- I enjoy doing bike maintenance. Random huh? I love working on my or other people's bikes...I don't know what it is about it but I can get lost in the garage for hours working on bikes. I should take a class to further my mechanical skills

7- I don't drink coffee or beer. I have nothing against anyone who does but I just really can't acquire the taste for either. Sad huh? I guess God didn't give me those tastebuds :) I prefer to drink green liquids...