Sunwarrior St George 70.3 Ironman relay team

This was such a FUN experience! Since I did Oceanside half-ironman and was signed up for Boulder Ironman the next month, I was happy to join a relay team for STG half-ironman. (I have an article I wrote about my team members at the end). I was SO excited for our team. Steve is a total STUD on a bike and Amber is the best runner we have here in St George. She was even in the Olympic trials a couple years ago! So needless to say, I felt honored to even be considered to be on the team.

SunWarrior has been a fun experience this year! I love the people we have on the team- very hard working, fun people.

Steve, me, Shawn and Shaneen

Amber is the sweetest! She gave these to Steve and I when we checked in!

Our team

I love the buzz before a race! Steve and Amber picked me up and we headed to the lake! I was ready to swim! I've been really consistent with swimming the last 3 years, so I'm finally feeling like a confident swimmer. I was ready to put it to the test!

We got Steve all setup in transition with his bike and they headed down to the swim start with me. It was so nice of them to stay and support me before and after I swam!

At the finish

Waiting at the finish line for friends/clients to finish

Oh, I love Tiffany. She's one of most fun clients. Her family always volunteers for the swim start and wetsuit stripping. She's so full of personality, I love seeing her early when the nerves are kicking in.

Whipping that wetsuit off

SO many bikes!!

The swim went really well for me. Steve was pretty intense about our team winning it, so I really wanted to hold up my end. He passed me a caffeinated GU before hand, which was a mistake before the swim. You already have nerves going like crazy, face in the water, and it made my heart beat a million miles for hour. Once I settled in a rhythm I felt great and pushed myself as hard as I could. At the last turn, I threw up just a little bit and kept on going. It was really weird, but I knew that I was giving it what I had. I was very happy with my 36 minute swim! I was hoping for under 40 so I was thrilled! 

The results were odd. Steve had a killer ride, until the end. We didn't see him when he should have came in. A few people came in saying they saw him on the side of the road. He finally called me, and with terrible service told me he'd been in a wreck and he cut out. I ran over to tell Amber and then ran up the street to see if I could find him and make sure he was okay. By the time I ran a mile up, I saw him coming past. I'm still not exactly sure what happened, but I think he's cockiness got the best of him- he didn't hydrate or do any nutrition so he cramped up real bad and had to stop. He still got a good time, but unfortunately cost us a placing finish. Amber ran an amazing half marathon on a tough course in the high heat, so I was super impressed with how we ended overall.

Aaron is so cute. He always hides cute little notes in my things that I find once I get to the race. This was in my wetsuit sleeve.

It was a really fun experience overall. It was frustrating to have Steve been careless on his end, but he still finished well and we were glad to have done it as a team. I waited at the finish for a few hours to see my client Carol come in. It was her first half ironman and at 62, it was pretty awesome she decided to do it! I was proud of her for accomplishing this amazing race!

Part of my agreement is to write articles for SunWarrior's health hub website. Here is the first article I wrote about this experience. 

WHY NOT TRI?!

Am I dreaming? I feel like pinching myself. How have I come this far that I’m even considered to be a part of this team? Dream big, set goals, overcome fear and DO it.

I’m participating in the St George 70.3 Ironman this year with two fellow Sunwarrior race team athletes. These aren’t just your average athletes. These two have been two of the most influential athletes to me since I moved to St. George four years ago. I am no stranger to triathlon, having done a few Olympics and plenty of sprint distances in a variety of states I’ve lived in. I used to attend a triathlon class up by Seattle every Tuesday, and along with other classmates, dream big dreams of an Ironman one day. I never really thought it’d become a reality.

Fast forward to my first year in St George. I’m sitting in the front row of Steve Olsen’s spin class on a December morning, completely motivated. In his class, he often plays clips of motivational speakers that brings a deeper reason for pushing your body to your limits. One of the clips talked about dreams not just happening, you have to MAKE them happen. Don’t wait, tackle it NOW. Steve set the stage and provided the atmosphere for me to dream big in that class. I came home, dropped on the chair by my husband and said, “I think I’m going to sign up for the Ironman next year,” amazed of what was coming out of my mouth.  I didn’t have a bike, a wetsuit, a tri suit, and hadn’t been swimming. I wanted to make my dreams happen, and that wouldn’t happen unless I make it happen by taking a chance. I signed up, thanks to Steve’s class giving me the push over the edge.  Years later, he’s never stopped motivating me during spin class.

Within the first year I moved here, I began hearing about his amazing Amber Green, who would win these races with such amazing time! I never saw or met her since I was always in the same races, somewhere way behind her. As a runner myself, I was star struck when I first met Amber. She was not only an amazing runner, but a mom of 3 boys (like myself), a humble and very sweet person with strong values and an amazing story of how she’s improved, overcome and succeeded in running. Watching her qualify for the Olympic trials and compete on such an amazing stage was incredible. She’s the type of athlete you love to cheer for. She’s inspired and motivated me to become a better runner, and most importantly, to be cheerful and optimistic.

Here I am, three years later with three 70.3 Ironman’s completed, one full Ironman done, podiumed a hand full of local triathlons, on the same team with the very athletes that gave me the motivation and inspiration to dream big enough to take action and go for it. I am forever grateful for the athletes on the Sunwarrior Race Team who show up, day after day, train and work towards their goals with such passion and discipline, while juggling daily life. 

I’m going to soak up these amazing moments this year racing with these two incredible athletes. I’m happy to be going into this race feeling healthy, mentally and physically. Thanks to Sunwarrior for providing top notch products to help me train day in and day out, and push myself to the level I want to be. If I am dreaming, I’m sure to find out once my face drops in that 60-degree water in beautiful Sand Hollow reservoir!

April 2017

We came back from camping Saturday afternoon to the easter bunny stopping by for an Easter egg hunt! The boys were SO excited and it was cute seeing Miles do it for the first time.

It was hard to keep him looking for more eggs once he realized there was candy in each egg!

It was a pretty weekend!

Easter Sunday

Miles asleep after lunch

Jaylen was HILARIOUS. He has been obsessed with the Nintendo Switch. It's way expensive and not something we'll be getting, so Jaylen took it into his own hands to create his own Nintendo Switch out of a cookie sheet, some rope and an old cardboard box. I got home from work to see his creation and he asked if I wanted to play on the Nintendo Switch with him. I sat down in between the boys, Jaylen handed me a controller and we started "playing." We sat there looking at this cookie sheet and the sound effects and the imagination of the boys was intense. I played along wondering how long the boys would keep this game of staring at the cookie sheet going.  I complained of my batteries going out, connection going out, and Jaylen fixed each concern with gusto. "Oh no! The lines must be crossed!!" It was literally like they believed we were playing THE Nintendo Switch.

Much to my surprise I finally sent a text to Aaron, who was sitting in the office, an HOUR later saying to save me from our boys who were mentally insane. It was pretty dang funny. We decided our kids were either geniuses for inventing their own game or really dumb to be able to sit there for hours staring at a cookie sheet.

I went to tuck Jaylen in to find his bed like this- he was all excited that he had his own TV in his room and laid down, held the cardboard remote that was taped to the back of the cookie sheet and just laid there staring at it. We got a good laugh from his silliness with this thing! The next day at school I was on my way to track practice and saw him walking home from school, with the cookie sheet hanging out of his backpack. It was too big to fit in. Apparently Aaron hadn't seen him leave with it and he took it with him so him and his friends could play the Nintendo during recess. Porter went along with it and I guess they "played" it for 3 recesses. So silly!

Lots of training bricks with my Sunwarrior partner, Shaneen! We have so many fun talks on these training rides and runs.  This particular one was all about supporting other women and realizing that there is enough "awesome" in the world for everyone. There is no need to tear each other down- strong women build each other up.

Our new Sunwarrior kits!

I feel official with our new kits!

Jaylen made a sign for the scout's booth at a YW fundraiser.

Lots of running with friends along the trails in St George. This is one of my favorite spots in the trail system.

We put Miles down for a nap and quickly realized he could crawl out of his pack n play. We found him behind the door, chilling like this.

I feel like we need to worry about Jaylen- haha

This cutie LOVES corn!

It was cute to see Miles all snuggled up and reading like his big brother Jaylen.

We had the worst babysitting experience EVER! We came home to our house looking like a bomb hit it. The 13 year old neighbor girl was making pots of caramel for popcorn. She had made 5 boxes of mac and cheese and all my 18 eggs were scrambled, and sitting out and crusty. There were dishes everywhere, oil dripping off the counter, popcorn all over the place and the front room had every game out and mixed around on the floor, along with marker all over the new couch from Miles not being watched. It was AWFUL!

Gavin had a good time playing soccer with our back door neighbor as the coach! He did a great job! Not super aggressive, but was much more into it than before!

Training rides with the Sunwarrior crew.

It was CRAZY windy, so we turned around and took a different route. Such a great group of athletes!

Diane Tracy spent HOURS helping me search for a new bike. Mine doesn't fit me properly, it's really heavy and not comfortable. We looked all over the KSL ads and after a few disappointments and crazy happenings with bikes, I finally found and settled on the Tarmac by Specialized. Diane sent me the listing and it was way out of my price range ($1800!!). She really liked it and thought it'd be worth a look. I went and checked it out and was honest with the lady that I was looking for a bike under $1000. She called back the next day and said she'd sell it to me for that. I was so excited! Diane has been so amazing helping me out with everything- I've learned so much. This bike fits me SO much better and is such a faster ride!

Aaron with all the YM and YW in our ward. He's an amazing YM president. The boys LOVE him. He takes some of them to play ball with him in the morning and is so involved in so many other ways.

Did I mention LOTS and LOTS of training this month?! It was starting to get warm training in the middle of the day while kids were at school!