Elements of Erin 337

Notice anything interesting about my 5km splits for my Las Vegas 5km run? Even though the 1st km was all downhill, I knew I was in trouble when I checked my Garmin 405 to see a 4:20 km time. As you can see, the rest of my kms were quite a bit slower. Any good advice out there for how to properly pace myself for my next 5km?

Miss USA 2009 Kristen Dalton Originally uploaded by erinlesleylee Well, we were back in Vegas for another fun filled weekend. This trip we made our way out to the Summerlin area for a local 5km run to support the Nevada Cancer Institute. The run was hosted by the Las Vegas Four Seasons Hotel and was a first class event. The weather was warmer than we are used to and the air was super dry but we both managed to place in our age groups. Tim was 2nd and I was 1st! After the run, we had our photo taken with Kristen Dalton the current Miss USA.

Last year, when the Kona Ironman Lottery was made available, I said "I would NEVER do an Ironman in Kona. It would be too windy and too hot!" Friends thought I was crazy as they filled out the lottery forms on-line and provided their credit card numbers for the lottery fee. I have watched Kona coverage on-line for many years thought it looked way to tough. I have been to Kona and know first hand how windy The Big Island is. No thank you! Fast forward to today...I entered the Kona Lottery. $90 US and a few bits of information later, I now have 2 ballots in the lottery. There are 50 available lottery spots for International entries. For full Kona Lottery details click here . After watching the Kona Championships on Universal Sport for most of last Saturday, I was sold. Having now completed an Ironman, I know how tough it is...but I also know how rewarding it is. I still have my plan of Ironman Canada 2011 but thought I would put my ballots in the Kona box. Who knows...

This kid hates shopping. Unless of course you keep yourself occupied by taking funny photos while trying on various hats. :-)

I sent this statement out the the Twitter world last week... "Life was easier when I was training for Ironman" Most people that replied were surprised although some understood. Here is the explanation for that statement. When I was training for Ironman I had no time for socializing with friends, I didn't feel guilty about not cleaning up around the house, I didn't feel guilty about not cooking dinner, I didn't need to take Jamieson to soccer, x-country or the orthodontist. The school PAC understood if I missed a meeting or could not commit to taking on a special project. I missed family functions, my nephews birthdays and various other family get togethers. My friends and especially my family understood that my Ironman goal came first. I was selfish in my goal and no one EVER complained about it. They all supported me in this crazy journey and were just as excited as I was about it. All I had to do was work, eat well, sleep well and train. Fast forward to today. I...

Check out my latest very cool find. This cup was featured a few weeks ago on the NotCot blog and I had to have one...OK, I bought two. A grey with pink and a beige with turquoise one. Here is that what the Keep Cup website has to say about this fun and functional product... "Disposable paper cups are not recyclable.The paper cup is made from a composite of materials: kraft bleached paper sprayed with a polyethylene coating. Paper cups are often impregnated with toxic dyes which make them difficult to recycle. The plastic lining in disposable paper cups means they are not recyclable." Yuck! Why would you ever use a paper cup again? Click on the photo below to check out their website. The best part is that they are from Australia. That means a great price for the product and low shipping fees to Canada!

JML x-country 12th place Originally uploaded by erinlesleylee Yesterday Jamieson came 12th in his Age Group in a 2.1km Cross Country event at Crescent Park in South Surrey. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful location. Let's see/hear how Jamieson feels about his race...