Sorry, it’s been a while since I have posted news on this blog. All of August rushed by in a blur as I was trying to deal with the loss of my beloved dog. I will post more on this when I can stomach it. It’s still raw and hard to hold back the tears. In addition, Graham’s apartment fell victim to a big fire which temporarily placed him into my house and added lots of hassles and issues to deal with. Add events and races on every weekend, and it becomes clear why I have neglected this blog.
First weekend of August: A trip to Manning Park to hike and relax. Glorious weather!
Second weekend of August: Rattlesnake Island Swim (3.1km open water swim in Peachland). I improved my previous best by about 3min so I was happy!
Third weekend of August: Kelowna Apple Triathlon! This is the event I work for all year as the Marketing Director (volunteer). So to see it all come together successfully is a big relief! We had a fantastic weekend hosting the National Championships. I got to race the Olympic distance on Sunday and came 6th which means I qualified for the World in New Zealand in 2012 (together with all my friends who wanted to qualify – might be a group trip to NZ next year!). I officiated on Saturday and Sunday for the Elite races which also ran without any incidents. Gorgeous weather, happy participants.
Fourth weekend in August: Ironman Canada weekend! After cycling from Peachland to Penticton (and up to Apex for good measure, followed by a brick run), we attended the officials meeting and stayed in Penticton for the night. It’s such an early start on Ironman day! Having access to all areas of the race means we can see our friends who were racing, cheering on James, Claire, Jo, Danita and others while in transition. Then it was off to the penalty tent at Yellow Lakes for the day, waiting for “drafters” and generally helping with encouragement and even just shade (it was a really really hot day!). Seeing Claire finish with a big smile on her face was the best moment of the day! Even Mark in the med tent had a good day with not too many serious cases …
The following weekend (Thu to Mon) was spent in Winthrop, playing farm at the Spitzmillers’, cycling, running and relaxing. I read this quote, which pretty much sums up my love for Winthrop: “There are no bad days in Winthrop!” So true! Can’t wait for the snow to hit to go back for xc skiing.
Now school has started again and I am enjoying my students at Okanagan College and UBCO. Races in Grand Coulee and Kamloops (trail race) will finish off September. Never a dull moment. Great trail runs up Myra for training (thanks Peter). 30 degrees every day for the past 5 weeks. What’s there not to like!