the big three-oh!

Happy Birthday to me! The dawned early when I woke and couldn't sleep. This started a few weeks ago after our first 2+ h marathon prep-run. That time it was my legs that woke me from slumber with a deep, aching soreness. It happened the next week, too, after a longer run, and once more the night after Ironman AZ. Last night, I am not sure what woke me, but it was a racing mind that kept me awake for more than two hours. I was frustrated, I knew I needed sleep. I did get a lot of planning done for today and this weekend though!

I'll post my race report from the Ironman later today, but in the meanwhile, I need to catch up on our adventures since crossing that finish line.

Sunday we finished, took our time getting food, massage, and rounding up all of our gear. Back at Debbie and Brian's house (my aunt and uncle, our wonderful hosts) we showered, talked with Sunny and Debbie filled my Dad in on how our day went, we checked results (I was 6th in my age group) and then hit the sack.

Monday, we loaded the car, headed down to the awards banquet and race expo area, got our finisher certs, waited for the Kona roll-down (no luck, only 2 in my age group and the 2nd went to the 3rd place finisher), checked out the merchanidise for sale, and found our special needs bags - yeah! The awards were in the sun, so very hot, but we met some neat people from Huston and a nice, fast guy from Longmont, CO (small world!). Then we started our drive. North Eastern AZ is very beautiful. The saguaros gave way to pine as we headed up, up, up to Flagstaff, then came the canyons and beautiful rock layers. We were hoping to make it to Moab, UT, but stopped about an hour south in Monticello, UT for the night. All was well, until dinner, when I ordered the Wolrds Grossest Hamburger (I think the boiled it, it was swollen, large, and spongy....NOT grilled). I was still pretty spent, though, and didn't realize how awful it was until I had eaten almost the whole thing. I think I am laying off beef for a week or so while this memory fades.

Tuesday we woke early and pressed on. The goal was to get breakfast in Moab and maybe hit Arches National Park. Once in Moab, we realized that good coffee and a shared, day-old cinnamon roll were all we needed. We picked up some free literature on the two national parks surrounding Moab, but decided we would skip stopping in either this trip and keep on towards home (we HAVE to go back, it is so beautiful there). We rolled into Boulder around 2pm and proceeded to unpack the car, sort through all the dirty clothes and start some laundry, and get as much tidying done as we could before heading to Tri-Massage for an hour each, then on to Mtn. Sun for dinner.

Wed was back to work, followed by an abbreviated Masters swim in the snow.

Thursday we were up and out of the house early. Eric had a 7am Lasik appointment and I was his driver to get home. I then headed to work for a busy, busy day while he stayed home and rested. Around lunch, Eric's Dad, Arvid, and his dad's girlfriend, Bonnie, arrived. They are visiting for the weekend from Minneapolis. By the time I got home from work, they had the new Ikea furniture assembled. We had some good chats last night and cooked up some yummy stir fry for dinner.

....and that brings us to today, my 30th birthday. Looking back at the rest of the week (especially Sunday and the Ironman) today seems a lot less important. Eric surprised me with two awesome presents already: a Craft cycling/skiing jacket and a Craft hoodie, yeah! The best present, though is another year, another chance to grow and challenge myself athletically and as a person. That, and I am ready to age-up.......wave starts with the 29-and-under crowd were starting to get to me....again, that will have to wait for another post......