May 11 - May 22

May 22: Steve, Connor and I did the Incline (http://www.inclineclub.com/incline/) this morning for our pre 24-hour-travel-day workout. The Incline is still my favorite training workout of all and if Tracker could talk, I’m sure he would concur. As we drive there, he can tell when we get close and his excitement level (and whining and yipping) rise to volumes that Bose headphones wouldn’t block out. Steve takes off, practically running up the Incline while Connor and I take it one step at a time and take turns talking about what hurts the most. We estimated today that there are about 1600 steps to the top. The best part is reaching French Creek and watching Tracker drink and bathe in the cool mountain stream water, then running the 4 miles down Barr Trail.We leave for Australia today! Everyone is looking forward to spending 3 weeks on the Australia Gold Coast. I’m not sure everyone in the family is looking forward to 3 weeks together in an RV, but we’ll make the most of it. I am surprise CBS didn’t contact us yet to see if they could do a reality TV show of us.

May 21: Then are days when your training doesn’t go according to your plan. Today was one of them. Woke up tired, and out just plain out of sorts. The decision point was: go to the gym anyway, or stay home and eat everything in sight and fall back into bed, call in sick, and eat my way through a couple of pints of Ben and Jerry’s. I did make it to the gym and had a very intense workout that included 10 minutes of the spinning bike pedals carrying my feet around in circles and then, exhausted, crawling to the treadmill and walking at a snail’s pace for 10 minutes. The intensity of my workout was so overwhelming that I had to go home and replenish the calories I burned by eating an incredibly large breakfast.

May 18th: It was a good training week. Some weeks work and everything comes together.

May 11: Back in the (bike) saddle again to do the Fountain loop again with Steve, Kathy and Diane; the same ride that instigated the worst bike ride ever. I have a new helmet (always buy a new helmet when you smash yours after unexpected contact with the ground). This likely accounts for the incredible speed I was cycling at today. I finished the loop in 3:03 today, shaving off a whopping 12 minutes off last week’s ride (last week’s time didn’t include the time spent on the ground. I had the presence of mind to pause my Garmin after I gained consciousness.)One of the most enjoyable things about training and doing these events is the cool people you meet. We met Kathy through the Pike’s Peak Triathlon club. She was diagnosed with MS in September of ’07. She used to do tris, but her MS affects her running; she drags one foot slightly and can’t maintain her gait and balance when running, so she is sticking to the bike and training for the MS150. I met Diane for the first time today; a 55 year old grandmother of 2 who does triathlons. Both women kick butt on the bike! Which brings me to one of the things I mentally struggle with in my training and participation in these events: I’m tired of being the slowest person I train with! Either I have to get stronger and faster or find slower training partners!May 10: Connor and I did the MS walk this morning while Steve served as the official walk event photographer. It was chilly and windy again today; causing us to curse this year’s Colorado weather for the 1000th time (Connor had 4 of 6 track meets cancelled due to snow this Spring!).