hmmmm...

what can i say...umm ouch? thats about all i can say. Bad swim...biked for a bit..good 5k run...."spinny legs" changed to "spinny head" drop 1:20 off pace in last 5k....that about sums it up. Got some sugar in me post race and i was good to go.. awesome day.. oh well. We do enough of these things that a bad day is bound to happen. At least it wasn't Hamburg! (knock on wood)...no pictures taken on this trip..wouldnt do much justice compared to Kitz last week. In London now waiting for our flight home. Few easy days including a trip to Van for an Ikea run to set up the new place. Can't wait to get settled and into a good routine again. Looking forward to this next training block before worlds! Thats all for now..here are some pics..



Transition set up




Swim course




Emma and I warm up



Pre start chit chat..only in the womens event ;)



Run pre bonk/explosion .. you can see those Oakley Half Jackets at the tail end of the group!



Simon with yet another solid performance!

some more pics

This one you have to click on...notice..Simons arms and legs, Brent, and beside Brent...my hands.. the question is..where is my head? Do i want to know? haha the joys of group sliding....



Start of famous ski run






Lauren and I chillin in the Mountains



ummmmm.........





Very safe.....



Went to grab a tube and found the legendary "man of the tubes" the Lochness of Kitzbuhel




Group sliding




Grey blob barely squeezing through the tunnel

WC # 7

Sooo world cup numero siete done and done. Not bad, not good. Found myself in yet another breakaway group of 8...only not with the 5 american girls needed. After 5.5 laps of disorganized riding and some good efforts in my legs, we were caught by a fairly large 2nd pack...dang... Got off the bike in good position running in the lead group of women for 2 laps of 4 when Kiyomi Niwata of Japan started to push the pace. I was at the back of the group so when a split happened a couple spots in front of me, I couldn't come back around the gap and ran in 8th for the rest of the run. Felt a little flat, feeling some fatigue in the legs from the ride but still satisfied overall. Only 55 seconds between 1st and 8th which is tight for the women. Watched a super exciting mens race. Sooo happy for Simon! I had butterflies exploding out of my tummy and was jumping up and down for the last 2.5k...well actually from the time he came out of the water 1st until the finish! So exciting. Strange.. I get nervous for our guys races and not for mine. :P Went out for some traditional european enchiladas for dinner... :P...sketch.. gelato...BED. First time I have slept through the night since I've been here. Today we did an easy swim and a killer waterslide session! Pictures of that from Joel on the way... 4 people in one inner tube...worth a picture! Then we got to go up the mountain in a gondola..it is spectacular! Sooo nice. This would be an awesome place for a summer camp. We are here until thursday and then it is off to the UK. Here are some more pictures from the trip (new goal inspiring by mom...take more pictures during travel!)





Top of Ski Hill



Simon rolling down ski hill (1000ft high)



Gondola trip down

European Vacation

Simon and I headed of to Austria last tuesday and were lucky enough to fly business class and had a smooth trip to Munich Airport where all we had to do was get a shuttle provided into Kitzbuhel. Not so easy...either they forgot us or we forgot to tell them we were coming...one of the 2! haha So after wandering around a bit we rented a car and said screw the race we are going to Paris on a European vaction. So we are here now in the penthouse at a very swanky hotel. Been to a few romantic french restaurants and enjoying France. We plan to head to Italy in the next coupe days. ha yea right! We did rent a car...we managed to drive our way into Austria..not knowing what country we were in and Simon stopping to "yak" every 10 mins. Never trust warm yogurt on a plane..We are here in Kitz at a cafe..it is beautiful here! The course is nice, the lake is the perfect temperature..all is good. It is pretty hot now but supposed to be chilly and rainy for the race. I'll update after the race..now its time to put the feet up! I'll leave you will some pictures of our way over...not too exciting..but they are pictures....



Simon and Pippa



Driving and navigating



Somewhere along the way...



Coach Joel

Bring Sean Home!

So...now that my wimpy aussie friends have left ;-) it's 38 degrees out! Swam at the lake this morning..no wetsuit..very nice. Some tough swimming the last couple days. 5k solid paddle work on monday, then 3x (3x200 desc 1-3 3x50 desc 1-3 150 ez) going 2:23, 2:20 and 2:19 for the fastest of each round. Good swim..need double espressos before swimming more often! ;) Then 3hr ride and 30 min run off the bike. Then this morning we did 2 broken big loops of Thetis. Just under 3k of solid effort. 4k total. Good swim...colin and i were fighting like brother and sister as per usual...love ya colin! haha these guys make it easier to swim with girls. Then went to visit Sean Marlow at the hospital. He is doing so well. (and he now looks just like craig mottram! haha not a bad thing!) He was giving plenty of thumbs up and was even blowing a few kisses :-) always one for the ladies. So it was great to see him and the newspapers were there to help us raise awareness and help raise some money so that sean can come home from the hospital. So I spent a bit of time in the sun this afternoon...then attempted a tready session straight away. 10min 2% 10.3 mph, 8 min 2% 10.4, 6 min 2% 10.5, 4 min 2% 10.6, 2 min 2% 10.7. Sounds not too bad on paper but when i got to the gym AP and Colin had just finished and told me their stories...it didnt sound to easy after that. I made it through the 10 and the 8 nicely then the tready handed it to me on the 6...made it but was dying in the sauna they called a gym. Attempted the 4 min but ended up doing it as 2x2 mins then the final 2 minuter to finish off the workout..tough. Then headed to the lake for a slushy and another swim...easy. Solid day. Here are some pictures of our visit with Sean...

Boring Stuff

After a rough week after Edmonton, I have finally regained some strength and I am back into some good training. We have had some good swim sessions especially in the lakes where we have begun to notice that all pace instructions (steady, build, tempo, threshold and all out) seem to mean "all out" haha. Had a good motor pacing workout with a new 2 lap PB. Today was a good brick. 3x2 laps of hilly Broadmead loop where Joel talked about the "X-treme" pace that was expected to be laid down and how we were to "feel free to do breakaways" haha I held on to the boys taking an average of 1-2 pulls per interval ;-) (Andrew can vouch for that!) Then we rode over to the Lochside trail where we did 6x1k. Good session all in all. Relaxed for a bit then down to my future neighborhood for another run at Beacon Hill and ice in the ocean. Thats right! I've got a new apartment! Dallas road...1 bdrm...very excited. Joel is also moving right near me on Dallas...lucky him ;) Done some shopping for the new place..athlete/interior designer! Not much new besides that...