Road to The Ironman Part 7: Wisconsin Brick Adventure

This weekend I went to Madison, Wisconsin with several of my Ironman training team mates. We joined a total of 80 people to learn the ins and outs of Ironman Wisconsin. The object of the weekend for me was to get some experience on the actual race course and learn what I would be up against come Sept. 13th. The weekend was extremely difficult and valuable for me.

Saturday- Open Water Swim in Lake Monona- 1 mile
After last weeks open water experience, I rented a sleeveless wet suit and focused on learning to swim in a straight line. It went well. The lake was DISGUSTING with seaweed growing all the way to the surface, it was like trying to swim through a forest.

Then it was off to Fireman's Park in Verona where we set off for an 80 mile bike ride. Everyone talks about how difficult riding several hours is and how the hills in Wisconsin are ridiculous. No one prepares you for the spectrum of emotions you feel- from pure joy and beauty, to the thrill of going 47 miles per hour down a hill, to the pain and solitude you endure. I was the very last person of all 80 participants to complete the course, but I still finished in around 7 hours.

After a quick shower (and a gas station bought double cheeseburger) I was thrilled to head over to Reed-O's house for a Rhythm and Booms party. It was so refreshing to hang out with the EGR boys and listen to their hilariously unique conversations and light some good old fashion fireworks. I miss being around that crew an am looking forward to seeing them more this summer as I travel to Madison frequently. Smooth Dave has some great photos of the event on his blog. I would link it if I knew how.

Sunday-
We reviewed the transition area at Monona Terrace and then off for a
13 mile run. I did this run with Melissa and we ran very slow due to leg/knee pain. We ended up doing about 10-11 miles, but it was still great to get moving.
We ended the run by icing our knees in the hotel room and having some Sangria (at 9:30 am) and then off to breakfast at a restaurant called "The Old Fashioned" with Jen and Kathleen. I decided to honor my family by NOT having an old fashioned there.

Road to the Ironman Part 6: Olympic Distance Triathlon

This weekend I completed my first Olympic triathlon. (.93 mile swim, 24.6 mile bike, 6.2 mile run). Overall it was a great experience. I raced with two friends from UIC- Karin and Christina. The course was set in a few loops so I was able to see them both a few times. My dad, friend Andi and Jen came to cheer us on. It's amazing how seeing a familiar face can give you such a big pick me up during an event like this.

I made a lot of mistakes and learned a lot, but still managed to finish only 5 minutes slower than my goal time. I'm not speedy, but I've come a long way in one year.



The rest of the weekend was spent boating, lounging, and having fun with friends and family at the lake. I wish I could do that more.

Playing Hookie

Last week Friday Amanda and I took off work early to head to Wrigley Field for my first Cubs game of the year. After a stressful week at work, nothing was better than a sunny day, a cold beer and watching the Cubs. The highlight of the game was when Milton Bradley (insert name joke here) lost count of how many outs there were and gave up two runs by throwing the ball into the stands. Ouch.

My Coach

One of my coaches, Liz has her own blog. This month she featured my Ironman Training team. Check out June's feature athlete article. You might recognize someone's name :)

http://multisportmastery.blogspot.com/2009/06/junes-featured-athlete.html

Jay Leno

My friend of mine invited me to a hospital fundraiser in Indiana on Saturday night. It was really fun getting dressed up, having good food/wine and watching a live auction. Then we had second row seats to listen to Jay Leno- who by the way was surprisingly hilarious.
One joke that stood out was about a Catholic priest trying to pick up ladies in confession:
"Hey baby, come here often"
"Hey baby, want to give something up for lent"
"Hey baby, I put the lick in Catholic"

Sick. Seriously, sick.

Photo from my iphone- unless someone can find my camera charger this may become a habit.

Former Roomates- Now Training Partners?

This weekend I have to work on Sunday while the rest of my Ironman training group will be riding together in a race called "Utter Century." So I needed to do a 4+ hour bike ride today. I was worried about doing it alone, but luckily Amanda volunteered to join. Most of you know Amanda was my roommate for more than 6 years. She is also racing in her very first triathlon next weekend in Naperville. Last night we met for happy hour at Wells, walked to a few bike shops to find her some racing gear, before gorging ourselves on a pretty spectacular Cuban meal.

We met again at 6:45 this morning to start out on the long ride. We rode the North Trail which is a beautiful trail in the forest preserves on the north branch of the Chicago River. The trail starts near Devon and ends at the Chicago Botanical Gardens.
Amanda rode with me for 40 MILES!! Pretty impressive for her longest ride ever. It made the ride so much more fun. I'm lucky that I've met cool people through my training group to ride with, but I'm thrilled to also have someone as close to me as Amanda to train with. Hopefully she will love her first race and become hooked like me!

Now it's off to Indiana for a fundraiser and to see Jay Leno. Too bad my camera is broken. I know you'd all love to see some Jay Leno shots.

DDW 2009

"The worlds largest gathering physicians and researchers in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy, and gastrointestinal surgery," is currently being held at McCormick Center in Chicago. I was "lucky" enough to score a poster presentation at the event. I wasnt really that excited about it until I was there today. It was pretty amazing being a part of such a huge event. My medical school friend Shawn, who is now at University of Wisconsin-Madison, surprised me by deciding to drive in at the last minute. We spent the day bouncing in and out of lectures that interested us. There were a huge number of biotech and pharmaceutical companies with exhibits too, so I enjoyed chatting with them and getting a free pen here or there!!

I'm looking forward to going back tomorrow!