Trying Something New...

So, I'm taking an EMT-B class at DMACC. I guess I'm doing it for a few reasons:

1. I want to do it for my own knowledge and growth.

2. Never hurts to have it on a resume.

3. I like a challenge!

I started class at the end of August, and we take our state exam on December 1. It's 2 nights a week for 3 1/2 hours, plus four Saturdays for 7 1/2 hours each. So far I am really enjoying it. I've learned that I know a lot more than I thought, thanks to my ISU education and those couple of years working in cardiac rehab. I've also learned that there is a lot to learn, too!

Thankfully, they've thrown us right in to the hands-on stuff. I think that is the best way to learn. Next week, we start our clinicals. We'll spend a total of 20 hours at Mercy, Methodist, and Broadlawns. Then we'll do some ride alongs with the Des Moines Fire and Rescue.

I'm not sure that this is something I want to persue as a career, but it will never hurt me to have the knowledge and skills. On the other hand, I could love it!

It is working out very well with my job at DMACC; I can go to work during the day, take a little time for a run and dinner, then head straight to class. Getting home close to 11pm isn't great. but I can do it for a couple months.

The Girls Grow Up!

I haven't seen these two little monkeys since May, but it's been so much fun to watch them grow so big, even if it is through pictures...

I haven't seen them since May, but I've heard a rumor that they are coming back to Chicago in October, so you can bet I'll be making that trip!

Ironman Wisconsin Revisited

I headed back up to Madison again for the Ironman, but not to compete this time. I had a couple of friends competing, and I wanted to volunteer as a way to give back from all the help I got last year.

I met up with Terri on Friday night, and we headed to the Great Dane for dinner and to meet up with two of my college friends: Renae and Tom Scroggins. This would be Tom's first Ironman, and I know Renae was hoping to have a little help navigating Madison and the surrounding areas to cheer on her husband. We ended the evening with a trip to the Chocolate Factory for some ice cream - turtle sundae, I believe.

Saturday morning Terri and I drove up to Devil's Lake State Park for a triathlon clinic held by her friend, Cindi. We worked on transitions for quite some time (mine still need a little work), then headed out to ride the course (the Devil's Lake Triathlon was being held the following weekend). It was a PERFECT day for a ride, and the course was great, though hilly. After a quick transition run, we headed back to Madison.

Terri went out to the course to write some words of encouragement in sidewalk chalk, and I went in search of Roehr. Her friends from work just bought a condo about 2 blocks from the finish line, and I was lucky enough to be invited to stay there for the rest of the weekend. After a quick stop by the expo to look at grossly over-priced race merchandise, we went out for some great Italian food downtown. Then, of course, we went to the Chocolate Factory for more ice cream - caramel overload, I think was the name.

It was easy to fall asleep after all that food, and we knew it would be an early morning. We were up around 5-ish and walked a couple blocks to the swim. The weather was GORGEOUS! Perfect for race day. We reminisced about the horrible weather last year. Mostly we were very excited for this year's athletes, but deep down we were pretty jealous...

Roehr and I couldn't find a good place to watch the race outside, so we went inside Monona Terrace and watched out the windows. Not long into the swim, we needed to report to T1 - our volunteer post for the day. Basically, it involves helping the athletes get out of their swim clothes and into their bike clothes, then dealing with all the gear after they leave. I enjoyed being there as the pro women came through. They have next to nothing in their transition bags compared to the age groupers who brought everything but the kitchen sink. It was crazy for about 90 minutes, then it was all over.

On our way to meet Renae and go cheer on the cyclists, I ran into another friend, Tom Hamilton. He was supposed to be racing but woke up sick. I was pretty bummed for him. It's too bad that a whole year (or more) of training can basically go to waste if you have one bad day.

After a quick stop at Starbucks, we loaded up and headed to the top of the third big hill of the course. We ran into many fans from Des Moines. We were there for at least 3-4 hours before getting back downtown for the run.

The weather was still amazing, so being a fan was a lot of fun. We ate and made numerous trips to and from State Street and the finish line. Renae got to see a lot of Tom, and I got to cheer for a bunch of friends who were competing. It was fun to watch nearly everyone have great days - my friend Bob even PR'd by over an hour! And this was his fifth IM Wisconsin! He finally had a good weather day and took advantage of it!

(I had to take a picture of this guy. If you look carefully, he is wearing a cotton Faith Hill concert t-shirt. Not only was he one of the very few people who wore a non-technical fabric for a warm weather IM, but of all the shirts he owned, he picked the Faith Hill one... Other interesting clothing options I saw included a full (removeable) boot cast (I heard she biked and ran in it), running the marathon in Crocs, and running barefoot.)

As the night wore on, I hung out with Terri, her friend Cam, and her dad. Roehr went to the finish line to "catch" the finishers as the cross the line. We must have walked 10 miles all over the place to see everyone! One more trip to Starbucks (my second of the day and second of my lifetime) for beverages, then back down to State Street for, what else, ice cream! This time it was Ben & Jerry's Heath Bar Crunch!

Terri, Cam, and her dad left to go home at about 15:30:00 race time. I wanted to go home very badly at that time, too, but I thought that it might be bad karma to not stay and cheer on the finishers who finished at 16:30:00 (my finish time last year). I wandered back to the stands at the finish line and clapped and cheered and had a great time by myself thinking about last year and watching the clock approach midnight. I went home after the final athletes crossed the finish line, and my legs felt like I had just done an Ironman!

I awoke the next morning to rain, 50 degree temps, and wind... boy were they lucky!

Summer Revisited

With Labor Day being the unofficial end of summer, the time seems right for a recap of the summer's events...

Memorial Day Weekend - Tampa, Florida:
In January and February, I took the SCUBA certification class, but I still needed to do two certification dives. My options were to dive in Big Blue in Mason City in May (BRRR!!) or go dive somewhere else. I did NOT want to dive in an Iowa lake, so Laura and I decided to head to Florida and take care of it there. Laura was already going to Tampa for a conference the week after Memorial Day, so we just pushed the trip ahead a few days.

The plan was to arrive on Friday evening and dive on Saturday and Sunday mornings, then I would head home on Monday. The best laid plans... Laura's plane (we were on separate flights out of Des Moines) was delayed leaving DSM, missed her connection in Memphis (which happened to be the last flight out of Memphis that night), so she didn't get to Tampa until after my first dive was over. For reasons I still don't understand, she opted not to do her dives that weekend, but I finished my certification! And, we had a great time in Tampa, too!

June - Races and more races:
Dam to Dam is always one of my favorite races. It happens the first weekend in June and is the largest 20K race in the US. I ended up having a great race and PR'd. A really good way to start out the racing season.

Dam to Dam

The following weekend, I drove back up to Madison for the annual Ironman Epic Camp. This year the participation was sparse, but my good friend Terri had just moved to Madison, so we just turned it into a a fun time for the two of us. We rode 56 miles on Saturday and ran about 12 miles on Sunday. In between we ate some great food and just really enjoyed hanging out together.

Next up was the big event: the Hy-Vee Triathlon. It was one of the premier triathlons in the country this year and was held right in Des Moines. Besides the great age-group race, there were also ITU World Cup races for the pros that afternoon. This was roughly equal to having the Super Bowl in Des Moines. It was a VERY big deal. It was incredibly hot that day, and even the pros were going down. There is so much to tell about this great event, but the end result is that it went so well that next year the race will be an Olympic qualifier for Team USA! Too bad I'll be in Couer d'Alene...

My wave at the swim start of Hy-Vee

A couple pics of the Des Moines Tri Club after the race

Then, the following weekend was the Dutchman triathlon. Roehr was coming to town to participate, so I signed up at the last minute. A few days before the race, they announced that the water in the lake was too high (and contaminated) to swim in, so they changed it to a duathlon. The format was 5K run, 40K bike, and 10K run. I can honestly say it was one of the hardest races I've ever done. I was sore for a couple days after that. But, I did enjoy it enough to say I'll try another one next year!

The last weekend in June I didn't have to go anywhere or do anything (except lots of laundry to gear up for July!!

Fourth of July - the start of the travels:
Really, I didn't leave until the 5th of July, but whatever... I flew to San Diego for a conference for work. Let me just say that I loved San Diego! The weather is amazing and the part of town we were in was a ton of fun. The conference was great, and I managed to learn a lot, get some decent runs in, and eat lots of fish tacos!!

That Saturday, my good friend Danielle and her husband and 13 others from their church in Minnesota showed up in San Diego. I left the conference and joined up with them to prepare for our trip to Mexico the next day. There is a whole post on that trip, but let me just say again what a blessing to me it was to get to hang out with that amazing group of people and to serve that wonderful family in Mexico.

We spent a week in Mexico, then I came home to Iowa for some more serious laundry and more packing. Crystal came back to Iowa in the middle of that week and we set to packing for RAGBRAI. This was one of the best RAGBRAIs we've had yet - fun, relaxing, flat, you name it!

Again,the following week was spent cleaning, washing, drying, and re-packing again! The first weekend in August Crystal, Betsy, and I drove to Minneapolis to meet up with Sondra and Cara. The five of us (six, if you count baby Burkhart in Betsy's belly) climbed aboard a plane to South Carolina. We met up with Robin in Charleston and caravaned to Pawley's Island where Robin had rented a condo for the week. We spent four days going to the beach, reading books, shopping, eating, and generally trying to stay out of that oppressive heat and humidity! I'm a life-long Iowa girl, and I could not believe the heat and humidity of that place! Whoa!!

Crystal's Unofficial Bachelorette Party at the House of Blues

Back home in Iowa, we went to the State Fair on Thursday night (Gary Allan concert - VERY good!), Friday night (East-sider night), and again on Tuesday night (Dierks Bentley concert - also very good). It was another fun fair, but three nights was plenty for me.

Gary Allan

Sid and I at the Dierks Concert

No good pictures of Dierks on stage, but the truck was cool...

I finished my 2007 tri season with the 27th annual Big Creek Tri. It turned out to be a very hot day with most finishers' times a bit slower from last year. I can't be sure why no one thought of this earlier, but they had snow cones at the finish line this year. They were the perfect recovery treat right after crossing the finish line. So good, I had two! Another great way to recover after a hot race was in a tall, cold one. No, no beer at this event; the ice baths however looked quite refreshing!

Heading out for the run...

Post-race ice baths... ahh!

Since the fair ended, I have just been trying to get back in the swing of working again! This was a great summer - I got to travel so much and see so many great people and places, but it was exhausting, both physically and financially. I didn't do much of anything over Labor Day weekend and that was just fine with me!