Irongirl Escapade

It all began in April. Maria received an email about the Aflac Irongirl Triathlon.  She rushed to show Laurie and they immediately signed up.  It was the thrill of competing in an intense event which would involve a 1/4 mile swim, 17.2 mile bike ride and a 5k run that inspired them both to participate.  Maria was especially excited about the bike ride because she rides her bike everywhere.  So the training was to begin.  It was a 10 week training program.  It started with the biking and running.  When the pools opened the swimming started.  The swimming was by far the most difficult part of the training.  At first Maria and Laurie both struggled but as time went by they grew more confident in their aquatic abilities.  After training for the entire summer it was finally race day.  All the gear was ready to go and off to Boulder we traveled.  We attended a barbecue at their host family's house.  Then it was time to get some shut eye before the big race.  Race day was upon us.  The nervousness of the day for both of us was the quarter mile swim.  Just looking at the open water was intimidating.  We checked our bikes in and unloaded everything at the transition zones.  We were one of the last heats to go so we had plenty of chances to watch the start of the open water swim.  It was like watching a group of sharks attacking a school of fish.  All the swimmers were jumping on top of each other and kicking everyone. If we weren't afraid before it was worse now. 

Attack of the sharks!

We were particularly excited about being marked

We each had different experiences which we will share.  

Maria's Experience:
It was one minutes before the gun went off to start the swim.  At this time all my brain was thinking was please let me get through the swim as quick as possible.  Bang... I was off, running with high knees into the water  and then it was time to dive under.  As soon as I went under all I felt was many legs kicking me like a whale's tale slamming against the water.  The wetsuit began tightening up around my neck and I felt like I was going to suffocate. I almost called the lifeguard over cause I thought I was going to drowned.  All I kept thinking was I trained for 3 months and this is how I'm swimming. I swam the doggy paddle the whole time because it was too difficult to swim under the water.  I finally made it to the shore and I couldn't have been happier. Land ho!!

I hit the sand running to the transition zone to get on my bike.   At this point I was pretty far behind and I knew I had to make up time fast.  Once I was dressed and ready to go I jumped on my bike and off I went.

I had a speedometer on my bike so I was tracking my speed. I was averaging between 17-22 miles per hour.  It was exhilarating passing people. The bike was by far my best leg of the race.  At the end of the ride I got off my bike and started the 5k run. 

As soon as I started running my legs felt like lead. It was difficult to run but I made it through.  When I reached the finish, I couldn't have been happier.  Although I was in a tremendous amount of pain; I retrieved some ice to help my aching muscles.  Now it was time to look for Laurie.

Laurie's Experience:

My race was quite different, but I would echo a lot of the things Maria said about the swim.  Absolutely terrible!  I went into sheer survival mode as I doggy paddled the whole loop too.  My goal was to continue breathing, slowly move forward, and not get kicked by too many people although I kicked a considerable number myself.  Sand under my feet never felt so good. 

I happily made my jog to the bike transition.  Little did I know the swim was only the first of my complications.  I went to strip my wetsuit off and I thought it was never going to come off.  It was stuck on my ankle!  Frustration building only made it worse, but I had to laugh. 

It finally came off and I jumped on the bike to take off...wrong!  The chain immediately fell off.  Two very nice men jumped right on the scene to fix it and send me on my way.  Great, I'm off right?! 

That's one of the nice men who assisted with bike and saw me off!

 Wrong, something feels terribly wrong about my bike.  The pedals were SO hard to push.  I was forcing the bike to go downhill.  This went on for 4 miles until I couldn't stand it any more.  You see, I had taken my bike into a bike shop the night before to fix my flat tire that I discovered just before the trip up to Boulder.  "The Chad" so kindly fixed the tire and failed to put it back on correctly.  I think only by the power of prayer, I was able to jump off my bike, randomly mess with a few things on the back tire, and it was good to go.  From there, other than the fact that I was miles behind everyone, the race was great.  The scenery was beautiful, weather great, and I was able to just enjoy a pleasant bike ride around Boulder. 

What can you do?  Just run it off!

 The run was definitely my leg of the race!  After all the frustration of the first 2 legs, I let it all out on the run.  This race definitely confirmed that I am much more of a runner.  All in all it was a great experience and I learned a lot. 

It was great to celebrate with Maria at the finish and enjoy the most elaborate post-race meal I've ever had. 

We're triathletes!

The race was all about the duck.  Instead of a starting gun they used "3, 2, 1, AFLAC!"

And so fittingly, Maria happened to get a Mango drink at the end.  And you thought mango wasn't going to be involved in this escapade! :)

Aaah, mango, you show up even we don't expect it!

Mt. Harvard Escapade

It's time for one of those exciting adventures again.  We decided to attempt something we had never done before...hike a 14er!!!  Mt. Harvard was our mountain of choice.  Little did we know it is one of the more difficult mountains to scale in Colorado.  Will we be able to summit?  Read on to find out!

We began the morning bright and early to avoid any nasty afternoon weather.  We documented that we were there and we were off!

The morning started off pretty chilly.  Laurie's hands were so numb that they were useless.  Thankfully Maria was doing a little better and could still take pictures and work the zippers on our bags. 

A desperate attempt to get some warmth in the fingers

 Nothing was going to stop us though.  We were determined to reach the top!  We trekked through the trees and then through the valley.

What a landscape!

Finally the top was in view!

The peak is the far left highest point on the range.

After crossing the valley we came upon the rocks.  Being the first-timers that we were, we weren't sure where to go from there.  Luckily a very nice father-son duo came up just in time to explain to us the cairns.  Cairns are these wonderful little piles of rocks that strategically lead you up the mountain.  You hike from cairn to cairn all the way to the top!

A very nicely built cairn

As the day went on the clouds got a little worrisome.  They just kept growing and growing, but thankfully they never caused any problems.  They were certainly the topic of discussion with all the other hikers we happened upon.

 

Our little  marmot friend was an exciting find towards the top.

 

After about 4 1/2 hours of hiking the 7 mile trail, we reached 14,420 feet.  What a view!  It was gorgeous up there and you could see for miles.

No Mango Escapade would be complete without a mango.  Yes, we actually cut and ate a mango at the very peak of Mt. Harvard.  I bet not many can say they've done that!

After a refueling at the top and taking in the amazing scenery, it was time to head back down.  It seemed to go on and on.  We found ways to entertain ourselves though...

Maria brought a trusty knife to protect us, but we decided maybe she could grab us a fish to eat from the stream.

  And finally we reached the end.  Mt. Harvard Escapade accomplished!!!

We're out!