Wonderful News from Judy!!!

Our dear friend, honoree, trustee and Ironwoman Lesley Mansford met with her oncologist this morning for her 6-month checkup. She was given a perfect report and, in fact, her counts are down from her last visit.

Here's to Lesley's good health and our continued mission to find a cure. Go Team !!! Here's a photo of Mary, Lesley and I during the 2004 WF practice weekend.

Graduation

Graduation has come and gone. I can't believe three years of grad school at Michigan went by so fast. I will greatly miss the close friends and the community of Ann Arbor. I never would have imagined that I'd have two masters degrees. There are so many opportunities that await my future. I can only imagine the places I will go and the dreams and accomplishments that await me!

Wildflower 2007

The Wildflower Half Ironman on Saturday, May 5th was the most difficult of the 4 years that I have raced this course. WF is my favorite event because of the beauty of the California hills, the festival experience and the fabulous friends to share it with. Saturday was an absolutely gorgeous day, but the headwinds of 20+ mph were brutal.

During the first half of the 1.2 mile swim I felt like a dolphin riding through the waves, but in the second half the waves were against us which made each stroke very tough. Usually there is a sailboat at the swim turnaround. I didn't see a sailboat, but I saw a large power boat so I kept swimming. All of a sudden I heard a kayaker yelling "turn, turn, turn". I looked up confused and realized that I had swum at least 50 meters past the last mark. I shook my head and laughed at myself when I saw 30 people passing me on the inside of the mark, a sailor's worst mistake. I ended up having my longest swim time, which I attribute to the conditions and my lack of paying attention.

The coveted 56 mile bike course consists of rolling hills for the first 20 miles, a long flat middle section and steep climbs at the end. With my new bike, I was nervous because of the fall I took two weeks prior and because I'm still getting used to the quick responsiveness of a tri bike. I missed my "granny gear" (third chain ring) which usually allows me to fly up hills and fly pass the competition. But this was a training race to get used to my new bike, the Red Fox, and I know that in the next two months of training we'll be able to become much faster on the hills. I couldn't believe how strong the wind was. There were times when I was in my lowest gears and pedaling down hill. How is that possible?

I swear, they have added more hills on the 13.1 mile run course!!! Training in Michigan all winter in the snow running hill repeats in the Arb still does not prepare me for the hills on the trail run at WF. I walked most of the hills in the first half and then turned the power on for the second half of the run. My average time does not show how fast I was actually running the last half of the run. I know my training for Ironman is going well, since the run is a true fitness level test.

I played the day conservatively, I got my PR on the course but I'm still convinced I can get faster. Next year, I will push the pedal to the floor and definitely break 7 hours!

Wildflower is a reunion of old friends and a welcoming of new friends. This year was a first for many who have already declared that they will return next year. It was such a thrill to see Meg, Carrie and Kevin on the course! Kevin Kinkor has been at every WF finish line for me, and I can't wait to be at the finish line for him at Ironman this year! Special thanks to our Team Z sponsors: Timex, Zym and Trek!

Having taken advantage of WF recovery week, my Ironman training is now in full throttle. This coming weekend my training consists of two swims, a 100+ bike and a 15 mile run.