- Finished summer class and left my job at the end of July..
- Sold my house about 2 weeks after I put it up for sale..
- Had a solid month to train for Ironman 70.3 World Championships due to waiting for my foot to heal (Currently I am having a knee issue and the foot is not 100%). I am not 100%, maybe 75%.
- Threw away, donated to Goodwill, and sold almost all of my belongings.
- Rented an apartment in Eugene, OR about half a mile from campus.. 1417 Olive Street Apt. 2.
- Had a couple going away parties and said bye to my friends and family.
- Drove my cycling training route and took memorable pictures with my new Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera. I will definitely miss this view over the Pungo Ferry Bridge as well as the farm roads on which I trained.
I packed everything I could into my car.
My back wheels are actually up under the car body there is so much weight. Its crazy how most of the items weighing down my car are things like tools, books, baseball cards.. items that I never use or look at, but for some reason I must have?
- (About a hundred other things too)
Now my journey really beings...
I drove straight from Virginia Beach to the farm in Keysville, VA to spend some time and train with a couple friends. I did my last bike ride in VA of 85 miles the next morning on September 1st and it would also be my last ride until I got to Las Vegas.
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| This was taken that night during a full moon. Pretty insane... its a freaking deer cloud! |
Sunday morning, September 2nd, I left Charlottesville to start on my drive to the first stop of my journey in Hays, KS to visit my aunt, uncle and their 4 kids. My goal was to drive until I got tired, but no less than 14 hours. I made it to Topeka, KS after almost 16 hours of driving. This would be my first time back in Kansas after almost 15 years. The highlight of the drive was probably West Virginia, driving along the river and through the mountains. Traffic was almost non existent the entire way with an exception of St Luis, MO. My miles per gallon was terrible with the additional 1,000 lbs or whatever in my car. Usually I get 31-32 mpg highway and I was getting about 23-24 mpg but the high speeds and mountain driving had a hand in it too. My Mazda3 is quite beast though, I have been very impressed with it handling this demanding drive so far.
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| US-15 West Virginia |
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I stayed in Hays until Wednesday morning. I got to catch up with my uncle who I used to see all the time when I lived in KS, but haven't seen in 8 years or so and got to meet all their kids who I hadn't seen yet. All of their kids are more or less saved from China. We had a really good time. I also indulged a little and got some much needed rest.. mind and body.
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| Suzie, Coleen, Me, Matty, and little Danny |
I also took in the beauty of the open horizons and enormous skies.
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| Endless rolling fields. I ran down this chalk road and had to just stop and appreciate the 360 degree views. |
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I departed Hays, KS Wednesday morning, Sept 5th, and drove to Arches National Park in Moab, UT. It took about 11 hours to get there. The drive through the rest of Kansas and half of Colorado was the peak of boringness. But at least I had these cool windmill farms to look at.
At the rate I was traveling west I was almost gaining an hour a day with the time change. This was very important on Wednesday because I had time before it got too dark to see the famous "Delicate Arch" upon arriving to Arches National Park that evening. The hike to it was longer than expected right after an 11 hour drive, but the arch was magnificent!
Thursday morning, September 6th, I did another hike in the Arches NP to the "Window" arches. The hikes in Arches National Park are pretty easy and the views are insane.
After spending the morning at Arches I made my way down to Bryce Canyon National Park. I took a scenic detour which was well worth it. I did come very close to running out of gas as there are no stations to be found in through the valley. I really lucked out and found an RV park with one pump. I did have the thought I would need to pull off one of my bikes and bike to a gas station. Anyways, I arrived in Bryce Canyon that evening and went straight to the hikes. After getting off the populated rim trail there was not a soul to be found and I hiked up and up around the canyon.
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| This is a view from the trail of the white stripe along the red rocks. |
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| I found these little windows through the rocks I thought were cool. That would be a cool waterfall Im looking at and wanting to jump under it was so hot. |
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| I'm not in Kansas anymore. |
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| I had a cabin near Bryce Canyon that allowed me to see all the mountains. The view of the stars here was incredible, I don't think I've ever seen so many. |
Unfortunately I could not spend Friday morning, September 7, exploring Bryce canyon and had to move on to Las Vegas. The drive was beautiful until I got near Vegas. The traffic here is really frustrating especially after driving 4 or 5 hours. But I got to my hotel, which I will be at until Monday, and it is nice, clean, and quiet.
I'll write about the race and how I'm feeling for it post race. All I'll say about it is that these hot, dry, elevated conditions and course will be a real challenge for me to perform like I want, but all I'll be thinking about is how hard I've trained over the year, injuries aside, and race smart and block out pain. You can follow the race here http://www.myworldwebcams.com/sports/ironman_70.3_world_championship.html or here http://live.ironman.com/
It's been a whirlwind of a trip so far!!!
If you have not received my dropbox link with my pictures from the trip so far you can email me and I'll send it to you.
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