As promised...Pictures of paradise!

Man, I love my job!

Me kayaking

Finish line build out

Macca's helmet!

Athlete gear bags

Transition area...I wonder how many thousands of dollars worth of bikes is all there...

Me at the Aloha reception

The adorable Hawaiian girls that greeted us with leis at the Aloha reception

Eye candy for the triathlete...Yes, the first unveiling since Interbike of the Cervelo P4

Natascha Badmann at the Parade of Nations, all smiles as usual

Near Outrigger Hotel where we saw sea turtles while snorkeling

Paradise!

Fresh, hand-made leis from a local farmers market.

Fresh pineapple at the farmers market

The view from Lava Java

Beautiful tree near swim start

Me (figure in the stream of sunlight) about to do the swim course.

Another view of the swim start

View from the swim start...again.

Statues at the Kona airport.

Time to play!

Sunday, October 12 and Monday, October 13, 2008

 Hint:  Read the 4 or 5 other posts below this one first to read about my Kona trip in chronological order:)  I promise I'll add pics later.  My camera is not cooperating!

After our hard work for the past 2 weeks we were rewarded with 1 ½ days to relax and enjoy the time we had left on the Big Island.  I went kayaking for the first time and had a blast!  The icing on the cake was being surrounded by a large group of probably 40 or so dolphins!  They were jumping and flipping all around us.  It was amazing!  Sorry, no pics of Flipper and the gang, my camera battery conveniently chose to die.

 

I also got the chance to paddle board, where you stand on a board larger than a surfboard and paddle with an ore.  It was pretty difficult, and I fell numerous times, but I still had fun.

 

The last fun activity I got to try was snorkeling, another first for me.  The waters of Hawaii truly are surreal.  It’s so clear and clean.   We were able to see not only colorful schools of tropical fish, but also giant sea turtles!  I kept thinking about the turtles from “Finding Nemo.”

 

I was definitely glad that we had a chance to have some fun doing non-triathlon related activities.  I still can’t believe I had the opportunity to experience the Ironman World Championship.  If you’d like to get an idea of what I experienced you can check out the edited NBC broadcast that will air on December 13, 2008 from 2:30-4pm EST.

 

Race Day!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

 

My morning started at early.  VERY early.  By 4am I was dressed and ready to go for the long, but exciting day ahead.  With the help of my friend Starbucks double shot caffeine + energy

 drink I was ready for some carpe diem action!

 

At 5:30am the VIP suite opened up to all of special people donning the coveted VIP wristband.  Breakfast was served while everyone was staking claim to a seat where they could see one of the two flat screen TVs showing the live coverage of the race.

 

About 45 minutes before the start of the race an armed forces airplane dropped two Navy Seals with parachutes into the Pacific below.  One of the parachuters was interest story David Goggins, a Navy Seal who prior to this had only done an Ultraman (an event that trumps the Ironman in terms of distance).  He and his fellow Seal swam from their dropping point back to shore, where they would later join the rest of the age groupers for the start of the race.

 

At this time we closed up shop for a little over an hour and herded the VIPs over to the pier to view the mass swim start.  The

 view was spectacular with 1,700 athletes bobbing in the ocean, their bright green swim caps making them look like buoys floating in the water.  The sound of Mike Reilly’s voice booming over the speakers wishing the athletes luck and promising to see them at the finish, and the helicopters swarming overhead for the media footage overwhelmed me with excitement.  After the singing of the national anthem, the cannon went off, and the day (less than 9 hours for the pros, but as many as 17 hours for others) began.

 

Like a raging stampede of wild horses, 1,700 bodies surged through the Pacific waters.  What a sight to behold!

About 30 minutes after the swim start we led the VIPs back to the suite where they could watch the swim action on television.  Throughout the day many people came in and out of the suite taking breaks from the relentless heat outdoors.  It was nice to get to watch the race on the television as it unfolded because of the great views, but I did miss being out on the actual course cheering the athletes on.  The majority of the day was spent catering to the guests and replenishing food and drinks.

 

Late in the afternoon we closed down the suite for the day and headed to the finish line, where the 140.6-mile journey ends.  We were down there early enough to watch last year’s male runner up “Crowie” (Craig Alexander) of Australia take 1^st for the men, and defending female champ Chrissie Wellington of Great Britain take 1^st for the women. 

 Thanks to our all access wristbands, we were able to be down by the finish line with a front row view.  As athlete after athlete stepped across the line and as the phrase “YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!” echoed down Ali’I it just kept getting better and better.  Of course, the most exciting time of the day was between 9pm and midnight, when the crowd’s energy is all that gets the last finishers home.  And we were all there, even the pros and other age group athletes who had finished long before stood with the crowd cheering on the last finishers.

 

I think that what makes the last hour of this event so incredible is the raw emotion and determination of the athletes that you witness.  We’re talking regular men and women… attorneys, doctors, teachers, soldiers, mothers, cancer-survivors, challenged athletes…all covering the same 140.6 miles is less than 17 hours.  At no other event have I so genuinely cheered complete strangers on.  This wasn’t like “Go Yankees!” or “Yeah Lakers!”  No, this was something more.  “Human” is really the best word to describe the experience.  It really is a testament to what amazing things people can accomplish with hard work, dedication and a support system.  When you see 70-something-year-olds shuffling across the line or hand cycle athletes with no legs that have literally covered 140.6 miles using ONLY THEIR ARMS, the Ironman mantra rings true, “Anything is possible.”

And that was my Kona experience.

 

Thursday, October 9, 2008

 

Today was another day in the VIP suite.  We had many more famous faces lounge and talk in the suite throughout the day.

 

The highlight of the day was by far the welcome dinner, or “Aloha.”  The backdrop of the large main stage featured 3 big screens that displayed vibrant images of torch-spinning Hawaiian men and the sound of intense, heart-pounding music accompanied by cinematic narration.  It truly was an amazing performance.  After revealing the race’s most interesting statistics (52 countries represented, youngest athlete 18, oldest 79, etc) we were treated to a special 30^th anniversary video produced by the WTC’s own Peter Henning, which showed the progression of the Hawaii Ironman over the years.  Let’s just say that my eyes weren’t exactly dry by the end. 

Star Struck

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

 

Today was the official opening of the VIP hospitality suite.  We executed everything as planned and had a smooth day.  I had several of the “Pinch me.  I can’t believe this is happening-moments” seeing all of the stars, at least in the world of triathlon anyway.  Some of the celebs included Ironman legends Paula Newby-Fraser and Dave Scott; the voice of Ironman, Mike Reilly; ’07 champs Chrissie Wellington and Macca (Chris McCormack); Kona course record holder Luc Van Leirde; the founders of Ironman John and Judy Collins; original 1978 Ironman finishers Dave Orlowski and Tom Knoll; double amputee Ironman finisher Scott Rigsby; father-son team Dick and Rick Hoyt, and many others.  Let’s just say I felt very privileged to get to see them in person.  Overall, it was a great day!

Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea, joy to you and me.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

I apologize for the lack of pictures in this post and the few others to follow.  I'll put them up as soon as I can.  I'm dealing with a stubborn camera.  Grrr...

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I woke up fewer times this morning before it was actually time to get up.  I met up with two of the other WTC staff for a swim on the swim course.  It was hard to believe that I was swimming in the very spot that I have seen televised on the NBC special each December, where the athletes become part of the “human blender” of the mass swim start.

 

Not all of the course buoys were up yet, but there were still enough up for a good workout.  The water was a cool, refreshing temperature and the current at some places was strong enough that I felt like I was stationary, despite the constant motion of my arms and legs.  The water was crystal clear, enabling me to see the rocky bottom of the ocean and the colorful schools of fish that would occasionally swim by.  It was absolutely beautiful!

 

After our swim we headed to breakfast and then got ready for the day.  I will say that while it’s usually hard to get out of a comfy bed to workout I would venture to say that a beautiful beach as a morning playground is great motivation!

 

Today’s main task was to stuff the 900 VIP bags with all of the goodies provided by partners.  As monotonous as it sounds, we were able to keep ourselves entertained in the process so it wasn’t that bad.  For lunch, we walked over to a place called Lava Java, where we had a spectacular view of the ocean.  After our break we tackled the bags again and 900 bags later we were done for the day!

Aloha from the Big Island!

Friday, October 3, 2008

Like clockwork I awoke at 2:00a.m. With a 6-hour time lag behind the eastern time zone, I opened my eyes without the aid of an alarm clock, and I remembered where I was...Hawaii. Yes,

cue the classic Hawaiian scene- crystal clear Pacific waves crashing against jet black lava rocks, palm trees rustling in the light ocean breeze, the chill tune of a Jack Johnson song in the background...just like the movies, only better. Better because of the reason I am here. I am blessed enough to get to witness what is known as the world's toughest endurance event. A test of the human body, mind and spirit.  A race against a 17-hr clock, a battle against the doubts

 and fears conjured by oneself.

"Swim 2.4 miles. Bike 112 miles. Run 26.2 miles. Brag for the rest of your life."

- Commander John Collins.

This is the Ironman!

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I woke again at 3am. Then 4am. Then 5am. By 6am I was up and dressed ready for an early morning run. As I left the lovely (maybe back in the 80's) King Kamehameha Beach Hotel, a.k.a. the King Kam, the sun was rising above the water line in the distance casting light orange rays upon the steeple of the frequently-photographed St. Peter's Church. Behind the church stood a fog-enveloped, or "vog-enveloped" rather (volcano + fog), mountain scattered with houses.

And so my early morning run down Ali'i Drive began...Ali'i, the same road that father-son team Hoyt has traveled, father pushing handicapped son for all 140.6 miles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GziL6UiGvY&feature=related; the same road that courageous Julie Moss, on hands and knees, crawled to her inspirational finish broadcast on ABC's Wide World of Sports http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRB1p89k7_I; the same road that double amputee Scott Rigsby ran on to his superhero-esque bicep-flexing finish in 2007 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqg-2bHjjN4; the same road where every October http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EokseUskyDI a few brave souls conquer 140.6 miles of brutal winds and torturous heat to hear amidst the roaring crowd those four magical words that make the journey worthwhile, "YOU-ARE-AN-IRONMAN!!!"

Yes, I was running on THAT Ali'i.

On my run I passed rows of small shops, restaurants and hotels all highlighted by dozens of species of lush, tropical flowers and plants.  I passed opening where the ocean spray shot high into the air like lava erupting from the nearby volcanoes.  It was pretty much heaven on earth.

At the close of my hour-long run I stopped by the seawall near the hotel at the official start of the Ironman swim course and finish of the run course.

The sun had fully risen by this time so there were plenty of athletes out for a morning swim.  The average body fat percentage of those entering the water was probably around 7%.  I'm not exaggerating!  Everyone there earned their slot to Kona, so it was no surprise at how toned and fit they all were.  That's kind of what happens when you train hours upon hours and miles upon miles each week.  Strong, lean arms and back from thousands of yards of swimming, six-pack (sometimes eight pack) abs from yoga and a strict diet, sinewy quads (no chicken legs here) from hundreds of miles of cycling, and sculpted calves from countless runs...truly Ironmen and women!

Well, after getting ready for work and eating a hearty breakfast I headed to the VIP hospitality suite, my new home for the next 2 weeks.  The day was spent organizing stacks and stacks of boxes that contained the contents of the swag bags we are going to assemble for 900 VIPs.

We also did some decorating of the space with furniture and plants.  By the end of the day the room was looking more like a VIP suite than an out-dated hotel conference room.

After a full day's work our crew headed to Huggo's on the Rocks for dinner.  It was outside with tents as the ceiling and sand as the floor.  We enjoyed our food and enjoyed the entertainment even more.  Three local girls sporting hideously cheesy 80's-style tops and leggings took to the stage with their rendition of old songs.  We watched from our table as the tunes slowly took hold of several diners, giving them the urge to get up and dance (move awkwardly or drunkenly to the music rather).  Regardless of how bad it looked, they sure were having fun.  By the time I got back to my hotel I was toast.  Day 1 on the Big Island was complete, and what a great one it was!  

Jet Laaaaaaaag!

Wow!  It's been awhile since I last posted.  Well, I've finally recovered from my recent travels to the Bluegrass State for Ironman Louisville and to Seattle for an Iron Girl 5k/10k.  So, my week in Louisville was filled with VIP swag bag stuffing, playing chauffeur to and from the airport, mingling with our sponsor reps, manning the USAT check-in area, playing caterer to a host of starving massage and medical volunteers, lifting, carrying, and hoisting various things, and enjoying each leg of the race from the best seats in the house!  Seeing the drama unfold on the course only made me more eager to begin my own Ironman journey, which I am forecasting for 2010.  All in all the race went very smoothly and with minimal problems, which tells you how hard we all worked.  I was pooped when we got back to FL and only had 3 days back in the office until I repacked and headed out to Seattle for Iron Girl.  This being only a running race instead of a triathlon, there was far less work to be done.  I was in charge of coordinating the expo, which was a success.  The race ended up setting a new record for participants in an Iron Girl event:  over 2700 female athletes ranging from 5 to 77 years old!  It was a great experience overall.  The weather spoiled me, as it was a brisk 55 in the early morning and only got to a high of about 70 with sunny skies and a cool breeze.  Absolutely perfect.  We were lucky enough to get to go down to Pike St. Market where the famous salmon-throwing occurs, and also visited the original Starbucks.  Our hotel had a nice view of the space needle, but sadly enough, I didn't happen to run into McDreamy:(  I also had a great first experience at dinner one night.  I had my first taste of fresh, succulent crab at the Crab Pot.  Man, what a treat!  Luckily after these back to back trips I was given a day off to recover.  Now I've got about a week in the office and then it's off to Bloomington, MN, home to the Mall of America, for the Iron Girl Bloomington Duathlon (run, bike, run).  Well, that's all for now!

Kona, here I come!

Well, it's official.  I'm going to Kona, Hawaii this Oct. for 2 weeks for the 2008 Ford Ironman World Championships!  And I get to go to the following races as well, so here are the travel dates:

Aug. 31- Louisville, KY Ironman (leave on the 25th, return on the 1st)

Sept. 7- Seattle, WA Iron Girl 10k/5k (leave on the 5th, return on the 8th)

Sept. 21- Bloomington, MN Iron Girl Duathlon (leave on the 19th, return on the 21st)

Oct. 11- Kona, Hawaii Ironman World Championship (leave on the 2nd, return on the 14th)

Nov. 8- Clearwater, FL 2008 Foster Grant 70.3 World Championship

I'm most likely put up a post-trip recap when I return from each trip.

So, I'm psyched about all of the traveling I'll be doing here soon.  Aside from work I've been really training hard, as I have my first race in over 3 months.  I'm suffering from withdrawal.  I'll be doing a sprint triathlon in Tarpon Springs on Aug. 9th and then hitting it hard for the Longleaf Olympic Triathlon in New Port Richey on Oct. 19th, where I'll try to redeem myself from Collegiate Nationals.

So, those are the updates.  Everything is going great, and I'm still enjoying every minute of it.

One month down...

Wow, I can't believe I've been here for a month already!  Work is still going well, staying busy with the multiple projects.  Training is going well, even though I don't have any races set in stone.  I actually got a bike fit, something I should've done way too long ago, and found a much more comfortable, efficient set up.  

I found a church that I'm pretty satisfied with that's only about 15 minutes away.  I'm still looking for a good mid-week worship/Bible study with people my age.  The one in Tampa was good, but too far away.  So the search continues...

No other updates really.  I'm flying out of Tampa on Friday morning into Lexington to be a bridesmaid in my friends' Tim and Leah's wedding.  It'll be nice to see a handful of some of my closest college friends.  That weekend will be exhausting, but fun.

That's it for now.  I know, I'm boring.  

I could get used to this...

Well, everything is still looking up for me.  I still thoroughly enjoy work and am glad to have been given my second task list to get started on.  It's awesome how they give us a little direction then let us take the ball and run with it.  

Aside from work life is good in general as well.  My training has been more consistent than it has in a long time and I'm enjoying it more because there's such beautiful places to swim, bike, and run down here.  There's something about the sound of waves crashing and the fresh smell of salt in the air that takes the hate out of the love/hate relationship that I have with running.  I'm also slowly getting more and more comfortable with my bike and getting in the aero position.  There's actually a renowned trail that I'm going to check out this weekend.  It's the Suncoast Trail...a 41-mile (one way) no traffic paved trail.  So that should be fun.

I still have to get used to swimming in any outdoor pool or water source here given that it feels like bath water and tempts me to go without a swim cap.  There definitely won't be any need for my nice Blue Seventy wetsuit any time soon.

Aside from work and triathlon in general, I went down to south Tampa with Stephen yesterday to check out this praise and worship service for post-college singles.  The music was great and the speaker was even better.  The only drawback is that the church is a 50-minute drive away from where we live.  I'm trying out yet another church in Clearwater this weekend so we'll see how my church search ends up.

That's pretty much the scoop for now.  Nothing drastically new or different.  Well, until next time...

When it rains, it pours...

I'm just now getting to my weekend recap...tells you how busy/tired I've been.  I'm still trying to adjust to the full day work schedule followed by some kind of training.  Anyway, this weekend was pretty good despite the moments of torrential downpours that I experienced.  

Saturday morning I got up at 5am and drove down to St. Petersburg for a group bike ride and swim.  I went with a girl from work and one of her friends, and we stuck with the hardcore Mad Dog Tri team for their "warmup" and then forged our own path.  It started raining during the ride, but we kept going and ended up doing about 40 miles.  The ride was gorgeous, with the ocean just yards away from us at most times.  However, when we were done, we looked like we had played around at the beach instead of riding because we were covered in sand.  Then we hit the pool for about an hour, just as a line of nasty storm clouds were rolling in.  My ride back home was really scary.  I'm not used to driving in such horrible rain.  Everything just turns white and you really don't have any depth perception. Anyway, I made it back to Palm Harbor with no incident, and picked up a couple of movies for Stephen Ray and I watch during the rainy day.  The rest of my day was really relaxing, just chilling and watching movies.  

I'm trying to find a good church to attend around here so this weekend was also round 1 of the search.  So on Saturday night I drove to Clearwater to go to a contemporary service.  It was nice, but I still have a few other options to check out.  I don't know if it's worth the drive.

So Sunday I got up and drove to a church to the north, in New Port Richey.  As soon as I got on 19 the clouds opened up and the rain came pouring down again.  I had to go about 35 in a 55 zone because it was so hard to see anything.  I got scared b/c I was just going along and all of the sudden my car came to an abrupt stop.  I looked around and realized I had driven right into a flooded lane...like a foot and half of water.  All of the rain water was collected right in this specific pocket and I had managed to drive right into it.  I figured it was bad, but I held on the gas to where my speedometer read about 40, but I was crawling at about 10 b/c it was so deep.  I pulled out of it thought, luckily without having flooded the engine.  With all of the rain I had missed my turn and didn't realize so I kept driving north looking at every intersection and gave up when it said I was past Port Richey and approaching another town.  I turned back around and finally the rain calmed down enough to where I could see the signs decently.  I found the turnoff to the church, and found out that even if I had made my turn earlier I would've been late for service b/c it started at 10 when I thought the website said 11.  Now that I know where it is I'm going to give that church a 2nd go next Sunday.  Sheesh, what an adventure!

I went ahead and signed up for a gym that's exactly a 5k (3.1 miles ) from our condo.  The road to it has a sidewalk so I'll be making Mondays my run to the gym do Body Flow and run back days.  I tried it yesterday and it was tough, but definitely a good training workout.

So, today was another day in the office...My supervisors got back from a race in Del Mar, CA and will only be in for another day before leaving for Atlanta.  Today was spent doing data entry on that race so my neck's definitely feeling it after 8 hours typing on a computer.  But, no complaints...it's all part of the job.  I'm still enjoying my work and just trying to find a healthy balance when it comes to triathlon.  I mean, I'm working on triathlon stuff from 9-5 M-F and then coming home and training for triathlon.  I just don't want to get burnt out on the sport so I'm hoping to find another outlet of some kind...something relaxing and enjoyable where I can meet some new people.   It's still a little weird having come here not knowing a soul, but I guess that's part of growing up.

Well, that should do it for now.  Until next time...

One week in the bag...

As much as I'm enjoying every bit of my work, I'm extremely happy the weekend is finally here!  Today I continued my work on marketing outreach and expo stuff for the remaining Iron Girl races.  The intern supervisors, Joanna and Jessica, took all 4 of us out to lunch today at this cute little cafe called Sinful Bites Cafe...what a name!  The food was surprisingly healthy for a place whose entire menu has meal items with the word "sin" in them.  It's amazing just how quickly an 8-hour work day goes when you're really busy with interesting things to do.  Everyday I remain thankful at this wonderful opportunity.

Well, I've got to get to bed early tonight because I'm meeting Ann, a current IM employee that actually just finished her internship in the term before me and got on full-time, early tomorrow morning.  We're going to St. Pete to meet up with a cycling group for a beautiful ride close to the ocean, followed by a swim in a local pool.  Then I'm going to Sand Key beach to bask in the sun for the remainder of the day.  I'm also thinking about checking out this Sat. night praise and worship service at a church down in Clearwater later on.  So, tomorrow will be full of fun things to do.

Let the weekend begin!

"Go for an exercise break instead of a coffee break."

...So reads the sign posted above the coffee pot in our break room.  Everything about this internship is SO me!  I woke up this morning earlier than I know I will for the remainder of my time here...first day jitters.  The drive to work is only about 5 miles so it's not bad at all.  It's amazing that a company with such large-scale operations has an office that is tucked in the corner of a cataracts and eye surgery building, a very large one though.  At first I thought this was a random place for the company, but it all came together when I read that Dr. Gills, the main eye doctor at the facility, is the owner of the World Triathlon Corporation and the founder of the Ironman Foundation.  That also explains the "Dr. Gills" whose condo we are living in, as we found out the other day when inquiring about sending and receiving mail from the condo.

Anyway, as I entered the Ironman portion of the building my eyes lit up as the entry hall was covered in IM paraphernalia, along with a bookcase showing their 14 Emmy Awards for Edited Sports Special and such.  We were shown to our intern office where 3 of us will work, while Stephen Ray will be in a separate office.  We each have our own cubicle to customize as we please.  We each have our own phone with our own extension as well, so we all set up our voice mails.  I felt so professional :)Tomorrow our individual laptops will be ready for our use.

Since the intern supervisor was working on something she gave us a huge stack of documents and said, "Well, start reading up on all of this material until I'm ready to give you the tour and make all of the introductions."  Then she left us alone to mull over everything.  It made me think of a movie scene where a lowly intern gets bombarded with stacks and stacks of files of boring material to go through.  But for me, this was like leisure reading time!  Our "reading materials" consisted of past IM media guides and official race programs filled with photos, quotes, highlights, statistics, results, personal stories, company history, etc of various IM events.  It was the first interesting thing in a long time that I can remember being told to read by someone.  I'm used to reading dry textbooks with bold vocabulary words.  In other words, good bedtime reading material.  So, it was actually enjoyable for me to read all this stuff.

We got a grand tour of the office and met everyone.  Just as I had anticipated, the vast majority of the staff is VERY young and VERY active!  I think 6 of the people we were introduced to today are former interns, and can't be much older than me.  It was not uncommon to peer into someone's office and see a bike hanging on the wall or tennis shoes lying about or stacks of Powerbars and bottled water.   The sign above the coffee pot was what really did it for me though, "Go for an exercise break instead of a coffee break."  Classic.  

We did a little bit of mindless packet preparation for the upcoming Atlanta Iron Girl race (women's only triathlon), but it was okay b/c it gave Jen and I a chance to get to know Bryan, one of the other interns.  He's actually still in school and is getting credit for the internship.  After that we each went our separate ways to meet with our individual supervisors.  My current supervisor is Nicole, one of the past interns.  I'll be working with her on several Iron Girl projects, the first of which is helping hire a local person as a volunteer coordinator for the Bloomington, MN race in Sept.  She said they discussed the fact that they may just have me take on that position by myself.  Also, we'll be working on the expos for several upcoming races.  I'll be managing the vendor accounts and communication and also helping with marketing to vendors in the cities of the races to bring in more products, services, and people related to triathlon, or health and fitness in general.  Also, she said I'll probably go to a few Iron Girl races to manage the expos on site!  There is also a complimentary post-race breakfast cafe at each race.  So I'll also be coordinating the catering and helping them research all of their local options to find the best deal and then overseeing it on race day.

There are several other projects that we'll cover, but that's what she wants me to start with.  I'll also be doing a few things for Ironman as well.  I don't know what I'll have to do as of yet, and there's the possibility that I'll be working exclusively with Iron Girl, which is a bummer, but she did say that if I want more projects with Ironman and want to be more involved with that brand then that's more than fine.  Any other areas of interest are apparently up for grabs.  I would actually like to at least learn if not actually work on some things with PR, b/c what my roommate Jen gets to do seems awesome!  She's in charge of editing current and designing/writing/developing new media guides and race programs.  So she'll get to work with Photoshop and other software to produce any print media.  I know that Bryan's major is in hospitality management, but he left earlier than us without being given his assignment b/c his supervisor was out.  So, it's pretty awesome that we get so much responsibility and work so quickly!  I'm totally ready to work though! 

B/c our computers weren't ready they sent us home really early...the first and last time I'm sure.  They told us that before we begin our individual assignments tomorrow all of us, and a whole bunch of the other staff will have to camp out in the conference room and do an assembly line for 800 race bags.  Judy, the lady who told us this, also said that it'll be a good time to talk and meet some of the other staff since we'll all be "sharing the misery," as she put it.  But she said we get a pizza party when we're done, so that's cool.

Oh, and before we left they gave us IM bags full of goodies!  I got a Timex IM watch, an IM mesh running hat, IM cycling socks, an IM keychain lanyard, a luggage tag, and we get shirts tomorrow!  Hooray for free stuff!

So, my first day overall was great.  I got the good vibes from the environment and staff that I was hoping for.  I really think I'm going to love this!  

Then, since we had no "homework" and I had all afternoon free I decided to go to the beach again.  I ran along that causeway with the water on both sides of me.  It was so hot though that I did sprint intervals instead of a steady run.  The scenery though sure did make the heat more bearable!  My reward was getting to wade in the warm ocean water afterward.  I managed to get a few shades darker.  A few hours later I went back to the condo and decided to scope out the pools at the resort.  Apparently we do have free access to all of them except for the one right next to us.  I found a 25 yard pool that actually had lane buoys and there was only a few old ladies doing water aerobics...no rowdy kids!  It's open from dawn til dusk everyday so I've found my new swimming spot.  I went ahead and put some lap time in since it's been about 2 weeks since I've done any swimming.  Jen's checking out an Olympic sized pool in Clearwater that her friends go to for 5am Masters swimming, but I don't think it's worth the gas money, and a 6am workout is the earliest I'm willing to do.  I'll stick to the free 25-yarder...it's the same length I had to use back at the Preston Center anyway, so it's more than fine.

So it looks like this Friday night Jen, some of her Tri-Gator friends, and I will be doing a 5k in Clearwater.  The race is on 60, which is called Coast to Bay or something like that and stretches over the water..the same bridge we biked over a few days ago.  The incline's pretty steep, but then you get to run downhill, so it should be a fun, cheap race.

Well, that should do it for today.  Until tomorrow...  

Pics of my crib

Here are pics of my condo that Caitlin took with her camera before her and mom left.

Da BEACH!

So, I finally got the acorn, or the ocean rather.  The local guy we biked with yesterday gave me directions to the closest public access beach, which is about 10 minutes away!  The beach is called Honeymoon Island, and it's also a state park.  I had to cross this long causeway that stretched over the bay and in the process found my next running route.  Alongside this bridge is access on both sides to park your car and do some fishing or swimming or jet skiing, and it has a nice path set aside for cyclists and one for runners as well.  I can't wait to run on that thing with water on both sides and the cityscape visible in the distance.

Upon crossing this bridge you enter into the island, which is covered in beautiful trees and flowers.  There is a nature trail that I may have to check out next time.  Anyway, I found a stretch of beach, laid out my blanket and starting soaking up what sun I could get (it was a cloudy unfortunately).  The sand is white, like in Destin, and the water is clear, a given, since it's so close to Clearwater.  I spent about 3 1/2 hours out there not really going to sleep, but thinking rather.  I was starting to get a little nervous about starting work tomorrow.  Oh well, that's natural.  I just have to keep my nervousness from interfering with the first impression I'll be making.  I just have to let the passion and excitement override the butterflies in my stomach and I should be okay.  

So, my time at the beach was nice.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures, b/c I seem to have misplaced my camera!  I know, a huge loss, especially now!  I'm hoping I find it ASAP!  I've missed so many good photo ops already!  Anyway, I didn't get much of a tan, but I've still got plenty of time for that.  Then I got my errands done and went ahead and got a checking account set up and made a quick run to the Wal-Mart that I found really close to our resort.  I guess I'd forgotten that not all Wal-Marts are supercenters.  This one was more like the size of K-Mart and didn't have much for a food selection, so I guess Publix wins.

When I got back I decided to go for a run despite the intensely humid air.  I ran around the resort grounds for about 45 minutes, enjoying the beautiful scenery, and arrived back at my condo completely soaked in sweat.  My humidity tolerance has a long way to go!

I'm taking it easy tonight and getting my clothes all ready and ironed and packing my lunch for at work. I feel like I'm getting ready for the first day of school!  I'll probably read some more of the book I'm currently into, The Alchemist (the first leisure reading I've done since pre-college), which by the way is really good!  I think it fits perfectly with what I'm experiencing right now- trying to figure out where I'm going and what I'm doing and why.  It's very wisdom-infused.  If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.  I'm glad that the author has several more books so I have several to look forward to.  After that I'll hit the sack early and hope I can get a good night's sleep despite my nervousness.

Alrighty, until tomorrow...

It still hasn't sunk in...

Sorry it took so long for me to write again.  So, wow, I've got a lot to recap on.  I'd suggest getting something to drink or a snack, maybe even take a bathroom break.  Let's start off with the trip itself.  For those of you, like my sister and mother, who suffer from the incredibly unfortunate disorder of being directionally challenged, and to you poor souls who have suffered at the mercy of these individuals, I feel for you.  

So, the whole point of having company on my drive to FL was to always have one alert person driving, while another awake passenger would remain awake to keep the driver company and to navigate, while the 3rd person would sleep in the back until it was their turn at the wheel.    Well, let's just say that my nice little plan didn't work out like it had in my head.  My mom started off behind the wheel with Caitlin in the passenger's seat, and I decided to be the first one to get some sleep before it would be my turn.  So, the directions are simple- hit up 74 East all the way to Indy then catch 65 South to BG, which is where we were spending the first night.  Well, I wake up to the sound of the car coming to a stop to find that we are approaching a gas station.  I looked at the gauge- we still have 2/3 a tank.  Just as I wondered why we were stopping Caitlin turns around in her seat and says,  "Ok, don't get mad, but..."  HOLD IT!  Any member of my family knows that's not a good way to start a conversation when it's with me.  She should have said, "Don't yell TOO loud, but..."  Anyway, the rest of her sentence was ," We made a wrong turn."  I let my contacts refocus and I glanced at the green road sign just ahead.  It read "Cedar Rapids -->, Des Moines <--."  Then my good 'ole song and dance began.  Wow, we were practically at the IL/IA border.  Um, I'm pretty sure KY is in the exact OPPOSITE direction!  So, after my rant we all cooled down again and we made the trip BACK to Peoria.  The other thing anyone close knows about me is it takes awhile for my jets to cool, and even then, I'm in no laughing mood.  However, Mom and Caitlin are the complete opposite and can let it roll off their shoulders and be merry and gleeful 2 seconds later.  While I was still mentioning the fact that we just wasted a bunch of gas, the other 2 were already cracking jokes.  "Wouldn't that be funny if we passed Dad going back to work when we go through Peoria?" asked Caitlin.  "What would we do?"  "We'd wave," replied my mom.  Then they continued laughing and I let out a head-shaking "Oh my gosh."  So, basically my plan of sleep had been ruined.  From that point on there was no way in Hades I was going to let my eyes close.  I mean, that part of the trip was the familiar part!  If I went asleep again I feared we'd end up in Canada.  So, the first day's drive was a little tense (understatement of the year).  Nevertheless, we DID EVENTUALLY end up in BG, KY.  What a day!  Just so you know all is now forgiven.  I still love my directionally challenged mother and sister.  I'm thinkin' GPS systems for Christmas.

DRIVING DAY 2: We left Friday morning from BG at 5am so we could get through Nashville early enough to miss morning traffic.  Mom was still driving, but this time I was the navigator.  This day was much less eventful, and luckily no wrong turns were made.  We were on the road for about 11 hours and we spent the night at a hotel about  2 hr 30 min from our destination.

ARRIVAL DAY:  We got on the road at about 8 am and pulled into my new place of residence a little before 11.  Our jaws dropped when we pulled into the golf resort.  It looked like I was gonna be high rollin' during my time in FL.  Caitlin said, "It reminds me of 'The Hills'" that TV show with the rich kids in CA that I refer to as "pretty white kids with problems."  Then we proceeded past the security gate and entered the more "modest" looking complexes, which is where I'd really be living.  Despite its early 90's color scheme it's very nice and quite spacious.  Perhaps the most appealing element of the condo is the ginormous "Ironman" wall hanging...in our living room!  There was a bike set up in the living room too, which I assumed was the guy intern's, but apparently it was just left there for our enjoyment.  In addition to the freaking awesome Ironman wall hanging thingy was a decor consisting of a helmet hanging on a nail in the wall, as well as an Ironman 30th anniversary coffee table book.  I saw all of this and knew right away this was home.  Every other place I've lived at my space has looked like a bike shop anyway, just ask any of my former roommates :)  I got all unpacked and settled in while Mom did her notorious clean sweep of the house.  Some things never change, huh?  Neither of my other roommates had arrived so we headed out to buy some groceries.  There are Publixes at practically every corner here, which blows because they are so dang expensive.  As much as I detest Wal-Mart's ambience I am a fan of their "Always low prices.  Always."  I was determined to find one.  They've gotta have one somewhere...  Anyway, we got back with the groceries and still no roommates, so we decided to try to go to the beach.   I drove AND read the local map we bought (unsafe, I know, but cut me some slack, I was with 2 self-proclaimed directionally challenged individuals).  Every little road that appeared to lead straight to the beach would randomly end too soon.  I felt like that little squirrel from "Ice Age," who just simply wants his acorn.  Nothing more.  Yet, he fights and fights and never gets it.  Well, all I wanted was the beach, and it just seemed like we weren't gonna get there.  We got all excited when I found this road that really wasn't a road, I just saw sand and drove that way.  It was really deep and it was almost like a cruel joke with all the sand but no water.  We eventually approached an orange sign that said the road was blocked off.  Mom and Caitlin wanted to give up, but I insisted we keep trying.  I mean, it was RIGHT there!  We eventually drove through this RITZY neighborhood that I don't know why it wasn't gated.  Caitlin has pictures of the proof.  We drove around this cul-da-sac and there it was, behind the row of houses, the OCEAN!  Too bad it was private access only, so dipping our feet in the waves was a no.  I was kind of bummed, but I still have plenty of time here to go to the beach.  When we came back to the house the girl roommate, Jennifer, had arrived.  We hit it off pretty well.  I mean, knowing our one common thread of triathlon is all I need to know to start a conversation.  She just graduated from UF and is actually from France, so that's cool that we share a passion for international travel.  She's also a hardcore triathlete with 6 year under her belt, so I'm really excited to learn a lot from her and to train with her b/c her coach, yes, she's good enough to have a coach, gave her a training plan to follow while she's down here.  I'm gonna be like Grace Adler in the episode of Will of Grace where she "steals" exercise by following around this lady and her personal trainer and just mimicking everything he tells the other lady to do.lol  Anyway, it'll be nice to always have a training parter, you know, someone who doesn't think it's weird to wake up as the sun is rising to go for a run, or to hop on your bike and pull a nice 40-miler, or to do laps in the pool instead of laying out next to it.  Yes, this whole thing is just too perfect.

FATHERS' DAY- Hooray for all the lecturing-giving, let's play catch, kiss you on the forehead dads!  So, I saw my mom and sister off to the airport this morning bright and early, and got word of their safe arrival in Peoria.  I don't think my dad or Lexi (our dog) could be happier!  I came back to the condo and went out for a bike ride with Jen.  She has some local friends that she knows from UF Tri-Gators.  I was a little intimidated at first b/c the other girl was a junior national champion and an U 23 national champion.  I felt like such a novice (her bike was AMAZING by the way), but I kept up!  So, we went for about a 40 mile ride on the Pinellas Trail.   A couple of times when we were riding along a palm tree lined road with the ocean a stone's throw away I had the same way that I had back in Chile when we were in Pucon riding horses with a snow-covered volcano in the background, when I was in Spain watching a young boy fend off a raging bull at a bull fight, and when I was standing in the Sistine Chapel looking up at Michaelangelo's masterpiece.  "Wow, this is AMAZING!"  I can't believe this is happening!   Every day I grow more and more grateful that I have been given this opportunity to learn, to grow, to explore, and to discover.  Alex, the girl we rode with was telling me that she knows the internship is competitive b/c she knows so many UF students that try and fail to get it.  I'm so blessed to have this experience, and I vow to never take it for granted.

So as I sit here in the golf resort club house (we don't have internet in our condo...yet) I'm still at awe that I am here and that I am about to embark on this amazing experience.  I'll keep you updated on all the details.  Since we don't start work til Tuesday, I'm thinking tomorrow will be...the beach!?  Until next time...

Dotting my i's and crossing my t's...

Today was spent finishing up packing and stuffing everything into my little Honda.  I had to lay my black garment bag open across the top of everything else in the trunk.  It's really full and made me laugh as I was closing the trunk because it really looks like a body bag!  

I made my family a thank you card just to let them know I appreciate their constant support and encouragement with everything and for letting me "follow my dreams" (cue Disney music).  I know it's going to be hard on my parents to go so far away, but they still have Caitlin :)  But seriously, I'll miss them all.

Honestly, that's all I really did today.  I'll be hitting the sack pretty early tonight so we can get on the road early tomorrow.  Then FL, here we come!

Mall Madness!

Today was a day filled with mixed emotions...everything from sadness to excitement.  What monumental event could have caused such a wide spectrum of emotions one asks?  A shopping trip.  Yes, unfortunately the day had come for me to bid farewell to my beloved t-shirts, jeans, and flip-flops that had so faithfully clothed me throughout my college years and trade them in for "grown up" attire for my internship.  Usually shopping isn't my thing, except of course unless it's at an athletic apparel store or sporting goods store or bike shop or something.  In that case, I'm like a kid in a candy store, saliva and all.

Anyway, after several hours of browsing through rack upon rack of clothing and making multiple trips into the changing room (I totally think a max of 8 articles of clothing per trip is bogus), my mom and I shuffled out to the car bearing garbagebag-esque masses of clothing.  Mission accomplished!  I now have a nice wardrobe of "business casual" clothing, as well as a few "fierce" dresses.  Yes, dresses, as in plural.  I NEVER wear dresses!

So that was all pretty exciting.  The rest of my day consisted of getting my car ready for the 1,200 mile drive my mom, sister, and I will be tackling come Thursday.  The preparation included an oil change, a tire rotation, and not one, but two carwashes.  Ok, so I had a coupon for a full service car wash and I decided it would probably be considerate to those who had to do the rest of my tune up if I went ahead and got the car cleaned beforehand (its first in honestly about 10 months...since I left for school last fall).  And cue Dad cringing.  So I got it all cleaned and ready to go for the auto workers.  After all the work was done I went out to my car and realized it was wet.  I looked at the receipt and saw a checked box reading, "Completed complimentary car wash."  Alrighty then, I have a SUPER clean car now.   

The only other thing that happened today was that I got an e-mail from Jessica, a staff member from Ironman, giving me the full names (Facebook-search friendly) and e-mail addresses of the other interns as I had previously requested.  There's one other girl, and 2 other guys.  I thought there was only 3 of us, but apparently there's 4, one of which is local so he's not living with us.  I feel like in a few ways this process is much like that of my study abroad experiences...You know, having to meet and live with total strangers in a new place doing new and different things.  Oh wait, maybe that's the "Real World."  Anyway, being a veteran at studying abroad, I decided to do like I always do and get some contact info before the first face-to-face introduction.  I plan to e-mail them later and just get some basic info about them to break the ice.  Of course I already requested for them to "be my friend" on Facebook.  It's scary that in this day and age you can simply "friend someone" and then the profile stalking begins.  I keep thinking that high school reunions will be almost pointless in years to come.  I mean face it, we all know we go to those things just to find out the details of everyone's success or lack thereof, not because we actually want to see them again, right?  With Facebook, I can tell you that I know more now about some people that I went to high school with than I did when I sat right next to them in class.  Crazy!

So anyway, I hope they respond and don't think I'm weird for contacting them before I know them.  And that pretty much concludes the day.  The end. 

Drum roll please...

Ok, so I must admit it-  I'm a blog virgin.  I have finally succumbed to the growing trend of publicly displaying personal info for all the world to see.  Basically, I'm doing this not only for friends and family to keep up with what I'm doing and what's going on in my life (as if anyone cares, right?  Well, you'd be surprised), but also as a way for me to keep track of everything too.

Well, the most up-to-date news is that I'm a recent graduate of Western Kentucky University.  Go Tops!  Yes, I somehow managed to get a degree in Management with a concentration in International Business along with a 2nd major in Spanish and a minor in Economics on the 4-year track (plus 2 summer study abroad sessions)  Whew!  What a mouthful!  In case you don't already know, as both my undergrad degree and the title of my blog suggest, I'm an overachiever, a "but it could be better"- always going the extra mile- kind of person.  I suffer from the all-exclusive "Type AAA"personality, whose symptoms include relentless pursuit of perfection in not one, not two, but multiple areas.  If the sport of triathlon doesn't perfectly embody that concept then I don't know what does.  It's not good enough to JUST swim, or JUST bike, or JUST run.  No, I want to do it all.  I guess I don't understand the concept of doing something half-heartedly.  I mean, if you decide to do something, go all out!

Anyway, I decided that I needed a break from the academic world for a bit even though it's all I've ever really known til now.  I kick butt and take names at school (yes, ever since that one day back in Mrs. Clark's 4th grade class I vowed to get that Eagle's Perch Award, and by golly I held that 4.0 until I had that college diploma in my hand), but it's time I take a break from the memorize-regurgitate-forget cycle and get a taste of the real working world.  Sounds scary, but I'm always up for a challenge.   

Well, last summer I was surfing the net and stumbled upon some graduate programs in sports business.  Sports- something I've always loved and participated in, and business- something that I was getting a college degree for.  It didn't take much for me to put 2 and 2 together (yeah, I actually started out as a Math major, ridiculous, huh?) to see that this would be the route for me.  I then started browsing the Ironman website.  For those of you who don't know, or who haven't talked to me in the past year, the Ironman is a triathlon consisting of a 2.4 mile open water swim, 112 mile bike, and full marathon (26.2 miles), for a grand total of 140.6 miles to be completed in under 17 hours.  Yeah, hardcore!  Right up my alley!  Anyway, I searched the site because last year was my first year of triathlon.  It's my newest passion.  Well, a year later, and here I am, packing for a 5-month internship with the World Triathlon Corporation in Tarpon Springs, FL!  I'm so excited to get a taste of marketing, public relations, event and hospitality management, sponsorships, and endorsements all applied to the wonderful sport of triathlon, while living minutes from the beach.  Doesn't get much sweeter!

So this will be the beginning of the next chapter of my life.  I know I'll learn a lot, grow a lot, and maybe change a little, but at the root of it all I think I'll be better.