Elements of Erin 337

Yesterday I rode 105 miles (169kms) in the Tour de Whatcom .  This is a very popular and well organized event.  The route was hilly for the first half then mostly flat through farmland for the second half.  The route had 5 rest stops fully stocked with water, fruit, candy, and amazing volunteers. Showered in Sun

P6074957 , a photo by erinlesleylee on Flickr. Look out, they are everywhere.

Riding Back to Osoyoos from Cawston , a photo by erinlesleylee on Flickr. On July 10th, 2011 I raced the Desert Half Ironman in Osoyoos, BC. My family was not able to make the trip with me so I did a solo weekend in Osoyoos. Special thanks to the SAA members who cooked me a fantastic pre-race dinner and Barb (@Kelownagurl) and her family for adopting me on race day. Thanks to both groups, I have some photos of myself on race day. In general, this is a very hilly course on the bike and a relatively flat run. The weather was perfect given that Osoyoos can be 40C at this time of year. Final time: 6:42:34 (the women started 7minutes after the men)

I have been thinking a lot about the 'why' of things lately. I feel like I have lost a bit of motivation in all aspects of my life.  Why am I spending so much of my time training for Ironman again?  I already did it once.  What will doing it faster prove?  Why does it matter? "We follow those who lead, not for them but for ourselves."   I am not trying to sell a product or start a movement, but I do feel I have a message.  Doing it all is possible, but you just need to know why you are doing it get people to get on the train with you.

Tonight I enjoyed my first Whitecaps FC game with my son.  We have season tickets but this is the first game I have attended.  Pretty spectacular start to the match with banners fireworks! The sun was shining and it was actually warm, unlike Saturday's game that was postponed due to rain.  The only disappointment was the game ending 2 - 1 for Manchester City.  :-( Soccer has the most interesting people watching by far.  Such a great diverse group of ethnicity, ages and people. 

So I am pretty lucky to have this great community outdoor pool right across the street from my house.   From the May 24th long weekend until the end of August, this 25m pool is open.   Admission is just under $5 for adults.  Although it is not as big and fancy as Kits Pool, there is certainly something to be said for walking across the street to swim. No battling for a swim lane and no worries about parking.   2000m = 35 mins Easy :-)

One of those days.   Our plans to do The Grouse Grind and the Whitecaps FC game were rained out.  Opted to stay in and watch a moving on NetFlix then go for a great dinner at Gudrun . Not a bad day.

RT0029_22258 , a photo by erinlesleylee on Flickr. So back on May 31st I turned the BIG 40 and my amazing family surprised me with a fabulous trip to Kona, Hawaii. But not just to sit on the beach and relax, no that would be too easy. I learned that, not only were we going to Hawaii, but also that I would be racing the Hawaii 70.3 Sweet! Needless to say, Hawaii is pretty hot compared to Vancouver, BC. The swim was a magical non wetsuit swim, the bike was windy and hilly like you hear about and the run was hot and humid. All in all, an wonderful trip and an awesome surprise.