Elements of Erin 337

We are off to Penticton today. I am feeling excited and getting more nervous but basically OK still. All my training is done. I rode 80kms on Saturday and ran 60mins on Sunday. Now it really is just a few more short training sessions away to IMC! The weather forecast has changed since my previous update. It is now looking more like 33-35C on Sunday. No problem...I have trained in hotter. :-) All my lists have been made and my stuff is packed. Now all that is left is a few days of festivities and the BIG DAY! For anyone who would be interested in following the race, you can log into www.ironman.com on Sunday at 7am PST for coverage. My number is 2396. Happy training and racing everyone.

Last night I was killing time before picking Jamieson up from day camp at London Drugs when I made the most amazing discovery. I was thinking about painting my nails for the big IMC day to match my SAA uniform. It has been a long time since I thought about nail polish. With all my training and early morning swimming, I barely have time to do my hair let alone get a manicure or pedicure. This crazy shade of HOT PINK spoke to me from the shelf. I picked up the bottle and turned it over to reveal the name of the colour. The name of this shade is: Believe it, Do it!

Check out August 30th. Looks like it should be a good day for Ironman Canada!

My number is: 2396

McLean Creek IMC ride Aug 15 2009 Originally uploaded by erinlesleylee So on Saturday, I rode the WHOLE Ironman Canada course. It was an amazing experience that I survived and lived to run after. The day started at Lake Okanagan at 6am for a 6:10am swim start. After setting up my bike and transition gear, I was in the water for my 500m swim. The morning was very cool (10C) but he lake was relatively warm. After the quick 10min swim, I was out of water, out of my wetsuit and getting ready for my bike ride. Because the temperatures were so cold I put on a vest and arm warmers. Quite a difference from the 35C temperatures of 2 weeks ago. Once out on my bike and through town, I settled in my long solo ride. Although I was riding with the Impact Coaching group, no one was really at the same level as me so they passed me early in the ride and I was pretty much on my own the whole way. Impact did provide a SAG wagon at a few key locations where I filled up with water and Gatorade bu...

Wow, it all seems really REAL now... The Impact Multisport supported 180km ride in Penticton is on Saturday. If you are in the area, come out and cheer me on. No, it is not race day but I could use all the support I can get. This is what I received from my coach regarding the ride. Serious stuff. Hi Team, For those of you doing Ironman Canada, you have a 180km supported ride on your program this Saturday. For most, there will be a swim beforehand, and the Transition from swim to bike should be short. We will provide bike racks (and will transport your ‘wet-gear’ bags for later pickup) for your quick transition to the ride portion. Re: Support – We will provide most of what is available at the Ironman Aid Stations: Bananas, Cookies, Gatorade, Water, Ice, Gels (Hammergels), gummi bears and jelly beans in 25g (carb) servings. Although not available on race day, we will provide cold Coke after 120k (as if you were to have it in your special needs bag, on race day). In addition, we will hav...

Finn Slough Originally uploaded by erinlesleylee With my IMC training winding down, I thought I would share one of my super secret cycling routes with the world. Ok, it really isn't super secret. On any given evening or weekend day, you can see as many as 20+ riders on this route. Richmond BC is on a river delta and is extremely flat as a result. Great for riding but not so great when you need to train for a hilly course. Hope you enjoy some of the photos in this collection. I never get bored of riding this route. Happy Training!

Flip flops Originally uploaded by erinlesleylee On the long weekend in Penticton, my flip flops went on a bit of adventure without me. We finished our long bike ride on the IMC course at the Lake Skaha beach park. Tim packing up the X-Terra with all my gear when I asked Tim for my flip flops. I saw him grab them from the back then get in to the driver seat for our long drive up to the Apex Condo we rented. My feet were tired and I sitting with the AC on my barefeet was a very good feeling. About 40 minutes later we arrived at the condo and I asked Tim where he put my flip flops. It was then that he realized that he had set them on the bumper of the X-Terra then driven off! I was too tired to really be upset and actually found the situation quite funny. Except that we were now 40 minutes out of town and I only had my bike shoes or runners to wear for the rest of the weekend. No worries, there is a Wal-Mart in Penticton that will have a cheap pair I can pick up. After we clean...

On July 30th I had a scheduling dilemma. I needed to be at an SAA meeting in the evening and also ride 40kms. The weather in Richmond had been extremely hot (35C+) during this week with no rain for weeks. That's when I had the bright idea to ride to work and back. The distance is just shy of 60kms round trip so I was sure Coach K would approve of the extra KMs broken up into two halves. My route is very flat with only one bridge to cross and a bike lane for almost 100% of the ride. The ride to work was wonderful. The temperature was still cool and traffic was relatively light. The way home was much hotter and had more traffic but I had nothing but time to get home. Each way I managed in just over an hour for a round trip of 2 hours and 16mins and just under 60kms. Great way to fit it all in. Happy Training!

Who ever thought I would say that 125kms is a recovery ride??!! Tomorrow's route. Care to join? White Rock Park & Ride 125km Find more Bike Rides in Surrey, British Columbia

IMC 2009 Training Penticton Aug 2nd 010 Originally uploaded by erinlesleylee Not too many photos from this weekend. Tim was too busy preparing gels, PowerBars and Gatorade to also be the official photographer. The weather was HOT and the training was tough but we all made it.

Pictures to come... 166kms on the bike on Sunday followed by a 2km swim/2hour run on Monday. Great way to spend a long weekend! Thanks to Colin, Cory, Fay and Marius for the company. Special thanks to TIM for driving the whole IMC course to provide support for us and random cyclist in trouble. It was a hot one! 40C (104F) at the max. Yikes! We stayed hydrated and had the 70 empty Gatorade and water bottles to prove it. Yes, we recycled them at Save On Foods and collected our $3.50 for the effort. :-)