Got to keep on Movin'

It has been a busy time, yea, I know, what else is new? No excuse for not writing here.

Things are good here in Mandy land - the 3rd Annual Nutmeg State Eco-Friendly Charity 1/2 Marathon and 10k is coming up fast on April 26 in Washington Depot. Check out EndureIT for more info.

The race was selected to be a part of the EarthRun Global Alliance of Eco-Friendly running races to be held on Earth Day. Pretty cool!

The event t-shirts and awards this year are better than ever and it's looking to be a rockin' day. If you are around and can volunteer, it would be spectacular!

In other news, bike racing has been off to a great start this season. The Bethel Spring Series brought out some MAJOR talent this year and rather than being a "training" series, it was a full-on hammer-fest race with many National Champs, Pros and Category 1 and 2 cyclists. To add to the difficulty, teams showed up in force, making for really dynamic (read: hard) races!

This year, at the urging of coach Eric, I opted to do the women's race and the men's Category 3/4 race. It has been fun and gives me a whole new appreciation of my Sam-boy who has done the 3/4 race and then the Pro-1,2,3 race each week. It's epic, that's for sure.

Each week, post races, I've been heading out for a recovery run, despite the recent stresses, the body is holding up well and my training is going great in preparation for St Croix, Ironman and before both of those, Battenkill-Roubaix bike race.

Feeling confident going into the races, especially with all the dirt-road riding, climbing and descending I've been doing out of my house. This week will bring even better prep with an invitation to ride with some of the super-fast Stage-1 Fusion Think riders on the Housatonic Hills course.

Lots of fun being had and I hope the same is true for all of you. This is why we do it, right? For fun?

Yesterday, after my races, I was sitting with some of the girls from other CRCA teams. They mentioned that I'm always happy when I'm racing. Part of my happiness in cycling comes from the fact that I'm relaxed, that there's no pressure. I like to do well and I'll do everything I can to do well, but my focus is Triathlon. Recently, I've been reminding myself of how enjoyable I find training and racing triathlon - I became addicted to it from the very start - the sense of community and comaraderie that you find at these events is unmatched. I've made so many friends out on the Ironman courses and I'm already getting excited to make new ones this year.

Happy Training!!