Elements of Erin 337

I know that 2012 is not yet over but I took the time to look back at my December 2011 post and review my Resolutions for 2012.   Here is a link to the post. Now, the list of Resolutions.  Red are the ones I didn't achieve and green were the ones I achieved.  Looks like a 50/50 split. 12 New Year Resolutions for 2012 (AKA To Do List) 1.   Race at least once a month   By March I had fallen of this wagon.   2.   Start strength training and remain consistent   I was told not to work on strength for my shoulder until it was stronger and then I just never started this one. 3.   Take care of my Supraspinatus Tendonitis - Saw a Sports Med Dr. and had physio.  Ongoing strength and stretching for this one. 4.   Perfect my Half Marathon and run a 1:50 by the end of 2012   My final Half Marathon of 2012 was Bellingham Bay in a time of 1:57:42 5.   Swim, bike and run at least once every week - ...

Have you planned or even thought about your 2013 racing season?  I have always been someone who planned my life at least a year in advance.  Iron distance triathlon doesn't leave you much time to be spontaneous either.  Most events require you to train for a year let alone the fact you need to sign up for them a year in advance. So, here is what I have registered for in 2013.  In print and in real life, I have planned and #EPIC year! March 24, 2013 Olympic Distance Triathlon Lavaman Waikoloa, Big Island Hawaii   May 4, 2013 70.3 or Half Ironman Distance Triathlon St. George 70.3, St. George, Utah August 25, 2013 Iron Distance Triathlon Challenge Penticton Which races have you registered for in 2013? Happy Training!

In March we took a family trip to Spain for spring break.  The primary reason for this trip was to attend football (soccer) matches in Madrid and Barcelona.  As a family, we researched this trip A LOT and found A LOT of very cool things to do in the cities we visited (Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona).  One of those cool things was a destination bike shop in Barcelona. We set aside one afternoon to head out to the shop.  Not having rented a car, we studied the train routes and schedules and determined it was about 30 mins outside of Barcelona in El Prat del Llobergat.   After missing our first train by about 2 minutes, we had to wait another 30 minutes for the next train.  This was the first of our missed connections and confusion for this journey.  Once we arrived at the train station closest to the shop, we still had about a 20 minute walk to the shop.  It is an industrial area so there were no taxis to be found.  The whole time we w...

Bad Ass Rain Rider is the persona I take on when I am riding home after dark in the rain from work.  I like to grit my teeth and picture my ponytail flying behind me as I fly by the traffic on my bike.  I can also hear the people in their cars sitting in traffic who say "Why would anyone ride in the rain?" and "Look at that crazy cyclist riding after dark AND LOOK, it is a girl!"  Or maybe there is a cyclist who chose to drive that day because of the rain who is thinking "That is one Bad Ass Rain Rider Chic".   This is how I envision myself looking Oh the crazy thoughts that keep me occupied as I ride my 40km return route to and from Vancouver to Richmond.   In all seriousness, riding after dark in the rain was not as scary as I thought it might be.  The truth is, if you are riding in the city, it is never really dark.  You can always see where you are going and the bike route between Richmond and Vancouver is world class. Lighting and ...

Brenda sent me a few more photos from our adventure in St. George, Utah last night so I thought I would share them.   You can see the whole album on Flickr HERE . Here are a few more of the highlights:  A bit blurry but you can tell the theme of the day is FUN! Typical road during the ride.  Rural and a bit bumpy but the view makes up for it Smile never left my face all day A fellow participant from Utah also stopped to admire the view and take our picture.   Utah is a very friendly state Last rest stop of 4 on the 100km route  Grabbing a Bonk Breaker from my back pocket In the last 5kms of the ride we took a turn on to the off road bike path.   This section of the bike path goes through a driving range.  FOUR! Post event Mexican Feast A walk in the water park in the centre of town to cool down the feet post ride Checking to see if I am tall enough to ride the Carousel at the park.  ...

Last Saturday, I was in St. George, Utah for Spin Geeks Tour de St. George .  I signed up for the St. George 70.3 in 2013 and wanted to check out the town and terrain before May next year. Once again, it wasn't difficult to convince Brenda to come with me.   St. George is an easy 2 hour drive from Las Vegas.  You may not be aware, but Las Vegas is on of the cheapest places to rent a car.  For under $200, I rented a Jeep Liberty (more than big enough for 2 bikes and gear for 2 women) for 5 days. The road ahead about 30 mins from St. George on Hwy 15 Red Rock Bicycle Company was one of the event sponsor and the location of package pick up.  When we arrived in town, went to check it out.  The bike shop is a good size with both road and mountain bikes and gear. Me Thumbs Up Brenda Thumbs Up Event morning the weather was chilly but still warm enough for just a jersey and bike shorts.  Most of the locals wer...

Back in August, Tim , Ellen and I took a trip up to Penticton BC to volunteer for the 30th Anniversary of Ironman Canada.   Days before we were set to travel to the Okanagan, it was announced that this would be the final year of Ironman Canada in Penticton.  A new race organization called Challenge Family would be taking over the race in the years to come.   Initially, Ellen and I were both a little sad.  Part of our motivation for volunteering was to get 'front of the line' sign up for the 2013 Ironman.  This will be my 3rd iron distance race and Ellen is signing up for the 1st time.   This sadness didn't last long.   The opportunity to take part in the inaugural North American Challenge Family event was just to exciting to be sad about Ironman leaving.  Since then, Ironman Canada has announced that it will be moving to Whistler, BC. When Ironman Canada was in progress, we took off for a 100km ride of our own o...