Change of Plans

Last weekend, my brother-in-law, Tommy, and his fiance, Sarah, got married on a beautiful fall day in Minnesota. Fortunately, the rain that had been sputtering off and on all week stopped on Saturday morning and the couple was able to share their vows in a magnificent outdoor ceremony. The fall colors were at it's peak and looked beautiful with the wedding party standing near the alter. Nate and I had a great time visiting with family and friends and as much as I love the bike trainer, we made the ultimate decision to forgo the Longhorn 70.3 the following weekend. Traveling to Texas the next weekend would make four weeks of travel in a row and frankly, we were ready for a travel break...especially since I am racing my final race of the 2009 next weekend in Marin County (just outside San Fran). That would have made it five weekends in a row, but I have to say it has been nice being home this weekend and not getting on an airplane.
We had the yo-yo'ing of temperatures this week and drastically different climates this weekend! Yesterday was a great training day, with temperatures up into the sixties, but today, I got to enjoy my run in the snow flurries! Yesterday, Nate and I participated in the Manitu Springs 5k...tough run! The first half of the run was mostly downhill and fast (yes, a 5:10 first mile), but the second half was uphill and into the wind....ouch! Not to mention, we are also racing at 6500ft above sea level. My goal was to be around 17:40, but once I saw the course I adjusted to just try to break 18:00...I ended up at 18:08...so a little short, but it was fun all and all. Nate entered the race to and beat me in our "competition" (he finished in 18:00). Although, I later beat him up a hill as we "raced" each other on our bikes up a sub 10 min climb.
This upcoming week is my official last week of "training" for the 2009 season. For the past week, I have kept training pretty relaxed and making up my own schedule. I am really looking forward to finishing the year with the Marin Triathlon. I hear the area is gorgeous and the triathlon is a "green" event. All the proceeds to the race are going to charity as well and the male and female race winner each get $5000 to donate to the charity of their choice. I am going to be speaking and signing autographs at the kids race the day before the event. More information can be found about the triathlon at: http://www.marintriathlon.com/.
Maybe the kids will be in their Halloween costumes!!
Have a thrilling upcoming Halloween---Sarah