Dancing under a Red light (trust me, It's not what you think)

See this guy? Yeah, his twin was on the street corner in Provo yesterday.

As I approached the red light I see this guy all dressed up, fedora and everything, holding a cardboard sign that read,

"THIS IS 4 U. I JUST LOVE TO DANCE. Tips Appreciated."

Sure enough, the light hit red, traffic stopped, he tossed his sign back over his shoulder and ROCKED OUT to his head phones! I'm talking the worm, kicks, splits, jazz squares....

IT WAS AWESOME!

The light turned green. He bowed. I gave a couple honks and handed him a dollar bill out the window.

What great entertainment at a red light!! I could get used to this! It DEFINITELY brightened my day.

Here's a hint to all those panhandlers out there (especially in SLC)... show us what you got!!

Take Two

We are going to try this all again, that's right... another sprint triathlon!!

I just registered for this puppy.

http://www.ustrisports.com/FallFinale.html

It's run in typical order this time -- swim first, then bike, then run.

This will provide some interesting challenges, like what to wear in the pool (I'm thinking of necessary bra support for the run, but do I really want all of that to get wet during the swim??). How about hopping on a bike wet? Running after being on a bike for 12 miles? All these normal transition questions that happen in triathlons that have the swim first (unlike my last triathlon that mercifully had the swim last).

I'm excited. I get to push a bit harder and work on a few things that I knew I wanted to improve on from last time. I know now that I can finish this, so now I know I can push harder.

I don't think the hills will be as intense this time as they were last time. Although, I know now that I can rock hills. I found out last week that my gears were set up opposite of how I thought they were and I have nine more "easy" gears that I didn't know I had. Can you believe I did those hills last time without my nine easiest gears?!?! Ughh, well, at least I know I have them now!

I thought I would only get one go at a sprint tri this year, so to get a second try before the summer quits on us will be awesome.

I met a new friend last time and she is the one that told me about this triathlon... so here is to new friends and conquering new challenges!! Like we keep telling each other, WE CAN ROCK THIS!!

Now, back to that hard training schedule that I thought I could put away for a bit. :)

My Sprint Triathlon!!

It started with a 5k (3.1 mile) run. I did fairly well considering there were a few hills and I wasn't really pushing it too hard because I knew I had this.... The 12 mile bike!!

Pops was an awesome coach on the bike course. He talked me through some really hard hills and was encouraging and supportive when I needed it the most.

Transition to the swim!

Running to the finish line!

My Pops was awesome. He has always been a great supporter of mine and today was no different!

Mom came to cheer for me through the swim. At the end of every lap they would give me encouraging words, it was so motivating!

Here is the pic I've been dreaming of! I DID IT!

This lady actually turned around on the bike course to come coach me on a hill. This is what I love about these races, everyone is so encouraging and motivating!!

Thanks for all the support you guys!! (including you Abby, thanks for being behind the camera and taking all these awesome pics!)

And it's over. Time for a huge salad lunch and an awesome post-event massage!

Now THIS is the face of a proud girl. I trained my butt off and I DID IT!!

Official times: 2 hours 15 minutes 45 seconds

3.1 km run: 49:27 minutes

run/bike transition: 3:54 minutes

12 mile bike: 1:05:48 hours

bike/swim transition: 1:56 minutes

400 meter swim: 14:43 minutes

I felt suprisingly awesome. I was tired, sure... but I finished everything strong! There are a few things that I want to improve on, but isn't that part of these things!?!?! Someone asked me afterwards if I was going to do another one, I promptly replied, "OF COURSE!"

Whenever someone asks me about my sprint tri, I smile from ear to ear. I think that's a great sign. This was such an incredible experiance for me. To realize that in 6 months I went from not being able to run 2 minutes to finishing a sprint triathlon. I AM DAMN PROUD OF MYSELF.

This has been an incredible year, one that I dedicated to me, promising myself that this year I would take care of me. Well, I have, and it feels wonderful. I've done things that I didn't know I could do... and the awesome part is that I'm going to keep doing them.

Burning the candle at both ends

I've been busy lately, REALLY busy. I knew getting into this fall that I would be working 7 days a week consistently. I knew that I would be at both of my jobs most days. I knew that it would be hard.

But let me tell you, falling asleep last night at 9:18pm was heavenly. Yes, I'm aware it was a Saturday night, but sometimes that is what the perfect Saturday night is made of.... especially when your Friday night included staying out till 2:35 am and then waking up at 7:00 am to work all day.

I slept like a rock and now I have the sleep hangover to prove it. But ya know, it was soooo worth it.