Late Blogger - Late Bloomer

Well, I am a late blogger as this race was “last” weekend but I guess I was a late bloomer too (ha ha). Anyway, it was the State 10k Championships which happened to be close to my home so when my sponsor K-Swiss requested I go – it fit as a perfect training run so I was off to the race.

My legs were tired and heavy but I went out at a 5:46 mile and paid for it as I got passed and passed. I was the first female and 10k State Champion but I wished I had ran faster, but hey – I guess that’s why they call it “training” / Anyway the photographer (Robert Petrillo ) got some great shots. Thanks so much Robert !!

Support Team Tony !!

A good friend and local hero here in Sarasota Florida to many Tony McEachern will soon begin his annual fundraising walk - the "Walk of Life" Please take a moment to read a little about Tony and his upcoming adventure.

WHAT EXACTLY IS THE WALK of LIFE?

After having lost 95% of his left peripheral vision and losing the ability to comfortably ride a bike but still a competitive athlete, Tony McEachern was not content to let his spirit fade away. He chose to celebrate his life and reinforce to others that they could too, no matter what particular challenges they faced in their life.

"On April 25th, 6 years after my diagnosis, I will begin a 750 mile, 35 day long journey with families, friends and doctors at The Annual 5k Angel's Among Us Fundraiser held at Duke University Medical Center. I will then continue on my Walk of Life all the way back home to Sarasota, Florida.

My goal is two-fold: First, I plan to raise $100,000 for The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke to whom I'm indebted to for my life, in the hope that it will enable them to do for others what they have done for me. My second goal is to meet more people, to share my adventure, and to learn about theirs. Hopefully, you too will join me along the way and take the Walk of Life"

Tony has teamed up with TRAKKERS GPS so that everyone can follow his daily progress. Be sure to visit www.teamtony.org/ to share in his journey !!

Thanks for all you do Tony - We Love You !!!

Georgia Gap Rides

Today our main goal was to cover the six Georgia Gaps over 11,463 feet of climbing. This Florida girl couldn’t wait!! We had some early morning fuel thanks to Tracy’s scones (yummy).Tracy, Frank and I then left the cabin early and traveled to the small town of Dahlonega (figured we should start a little closer to the climbs).

The first Gap – Neels Gap – the climb was approximately steep !! Wow not what I am used to, next was up Jack’s Gap with an extra climb to Brastown Bald. Frank rocked up this and Tracy and I followed some five minutes back. This is one steep climb and not easy on a tri-bike
(I actually liked the climb more than the descent).

Onto the next Gap – we had a screaming and very long descent (we discussed that next time we would do the route in reverse so we could climb this one) it was a seriously long way down. We hit the next Gap starting the climb and hoping it would be like the downhill we just did but we only climber some 10 minutes and were there – what kind of Gap is this, how funny – we were disappointed it was so short.

Looking at our directions we knew which way to go but were not sure of what Gap we were on but as we started climbing and climbing and climbing it was apparent we were on Hogs Pen as we knew it was the longest – not to mention very steep (17% grade at points). It was awesome hitting the switchbacks and going up, up and up some more. Every once in a while I could see Franks red jersey up ahead and Tracy behind as she kept stopping at all the scenic points for photos (these pictures are all hers – thanks Tracy!!) The temperature proved interesting as well as it was hot when we were climbing and chilly going down ! I didn’t like stopping – just wanted to get to the top.

We would have these slight flat areas and a few twisty descents and I would wonder if we were at the top part hoping we were but on the other hand being glad when the climb continued. This is making me strong !! Frank actually thought he was at the top once and put on his arms and vest !! But each time we all made it up another Gap we would celebrate and EAT !!!

Rope Nazi

Ok – here in the deep woods of Georgia there are not a lot of places to swim as the open water is still too cold. I have been working hard at my swim and didn’t want to lose anything or at the very least just wanted to maintain my level of fitness. The only pool we found anywhere near us had no lane lines and a rope half way, separating the shallow end from the deep end (make sense at the little buggers need to know where it gets deep) BUT… what about when there is one kid in a floatie and two teenagers in the corner. Well “NO WAY” says the rope Nazi!! I talked to the mom with the little kid and she is ok with us taking down the rope and the teenagers understand its deep on one end – can we please take it out? NO WAY

So here are some photos of me swimming over the rope each time down


Here it comes !!


Up and Over



Dont catch the feet.......

Ouch my toes !!!!!

Errrr…… FRUSTRATION !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok – everyone is out of the pool so I take the rope half way out so I can swim without going under and over but within 10 minutes the ROPE NAZI was back in making me put it up – some people love what little control they can yield :)

Fun at Anderson Creek - Georgia

Wow – what a great few days this has been with my family, we have all had just the greatest time!! We spent most of our days hiking the back woods with our kids and enjoying the beauty and serenity of Anderson Creek and the Georgia Mountains. What a terrific place and well kept secret this is. Each day has included a long hike through the woods down to a very quaint picnic area down by the fresh water creek. We built a camp fire while the kids played kickball, football and threw rocks in the creek. They are also took on the adults in a mean game of horseshoes!! Great memories and a very fun Easter

Thanks Borrego Family !!!

Today my sister and her kids are arriving from Virginia, she has three kids as well and my three can’t wait to play with their cousins. We plan on spending the next few days hiking the vast trails here and enjoying a break from our typical go – go – go life!! To that end I need to extend a special THANK YOU to the Borrego family for allowing us the opportunity to use their home for the week. Anthony (age 14) and his family live just south of us in Bradenton and he is a new client of mine. He is an athletic STUD!! A multisport star who is getting into Triathlon and is fast as lightning running, he just threw up a 4:23 mile at his latest track event and he is a Tennis Star!! Not to mention the fact that he is one of the nicest and most polite young men I have ever met. A big shout out to his parents Roy and Karen for that, they are a terrific Christian Family and we are so excited to be working together. Thanks Again Borrego Family – YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!!!!

On to Georgia !!

We were very much looking forward to the next leg of our Spring Break trip to the Georgia Mountains, (although no one loves the long car rides). We split up the ride and after leaving New Orleans stayed in Montgomery Alabama for the night and let the kids blow off a little steam.

The following day we made the final push to the Mountains with a brief stop in Atlanta. While in Atlanta we spent the afternoon with Morgan Clark the new owner of All3Sports. She is such a great person and we are so psyched that they are working with us for the Rev3 Triathlon. Morgan and I did a swim together while Todd and the kids played hoops, then we all had lunch and headed over to All3Sports offices for a tour of the facility and some Rev3 planning time. It was really a fun afternoon, what a great setup they have!! Thanks Morgan for the hospitality – you guys are the best!!!!

From there it was off to the mountains. Before hitting the back roads to the cabin we stopped off for groceries for the week. Ok you will have to check out the photo, the car was absolutely packed to begin with considering all the gear we had and there was nowhere for all the goods.I ended up cramming in the back seat with the kids and the groceries rode shotgun with Todd.

By the time we reached our destination of Anderson Creek it was dark and let me tell you there are very few lights out in the Georgia woods. To complicate matters it began to snow!!! Are you kidding me – snow? We couldn’t believe it but it just added to the adventure and the kids thought it was pretty funny. I made a fire while Todd and the boys unpacked the car – we warmed up and settled in for a cozy night’s sleep.

New Orleans

Cool Kids at the Mall


Dont mess with these guys


Easter Bunny Time - (They loved this :) NOT

Myself, Chris, Stu, Linsey, Desiree

After a lengthy journey we are here in New Orleans. As we drove around to get an understanding of where we were and the race venue itself we couldn’t help but be struck with the existing devastation from the hurricanes a few years ago. It turned out to be a great lesson for my kids as we drove by rows of boarded up/ deserted houses simply destroyed by the floods. You realize truly how lucky you are when you see this firsthand how other people must live on a daily basis, no fault of their own.

We made our way down to the water where the race would begin. A storm was moving in and had obviously stirred up the water a bit. We ran across some dead birds and empty beer cans, my twelve year old son looked at me and said – no way you should swim in that mom !! Time to find a pool for today’s practice swim. It turned out to be good advice as the skies down poured within fifteen minutes with an incredibly hard rain.

On Friday I did an interview with Zipp, a zipp cast actually hosted by Stu of simplystu.com / what a great guy!! Anyway it was myself, Desiree Ficker, Linsey Corbin and Chris McDonald. We had a great time and I always love the opportunity to do things for my sponsors, should be a fun interview – look for it on zipp.com

From the interview most pros went back to their Hotels and put their feet up. For me it was off to the local mall for some shopping and fun with Todd and the kids. I made my kids sit on the Easter Bunny’s lap with me – they were less than enthused but hey you gotta have a little fun no matter what the age. From there we hit the stores, my kids got a kick out of trying on Hats, shades at the Buckle – cool store, lots of fun.