Posted by Rebecca:
Last Saturday a friend and I finished our first Olympic distance triathlon. It was a female only race in Lake Las Vegas. The night before the race we “carbo loaded” on pasta and then walked around the Ritz Carlton Las Vegas resort village to check out the transition areas and went to a pre race information clinic. I saw several women who were going through the course on their bikes and run and it made me more nervous. There were some very intense women there. I still don’t know if they were hard core competitors or just freaked out about doing their first Olympic distance triathlon. There was no way I was going to do the race course more than once!
The morning was cool but temperatures quickly climbed into the high 90s as the race progressed. This course was difficult due to all of the hills. WOW! Easily half of the course was up hill, and I mean steep hills! Not only did we have to circle the 2 same hills 4 times on the bike, we had to climb them on the run as well! My quads felt hot on the second hill….I knew I was in trouble, but actually I think I held my own, I passed many people and was only passed by a few. During the bike, my chain came off trying to shift up yet another steep hill. I also missed two turn offs……I guess after the 550 sprint competitors were finished, no one wanted to stick around for the remaining 50 Olympic competitors? I was alone the last 2 laps on my bike and much of my run. I actually passed quite a few people on the run!!! That is an accomplishment, since I usually get passed by the entire competition. I guess the difference in this race is the distance, my cardio is strong and it was more of endurance than speed for me this time.
Several interesting events happened for me this race: 1. I did well in the water (i.e. I didn’t freak out in the open water). I actually felt great! I think my new DeSoto wetsuit helped. 2. Though I usually do great on the bike I suffered in this race. I can’t decide if I didn’t rest my legs enough before the race, or if I didn’t train hills hard enough before, most likely a combination of both. 3. I did well on the run. I never, never, never do well on the run!!! It took me 2 miles and a walk up a steep hill to finally get my legs back under me. The last 3 miles I felt great and had positive thoughts even! Usually when my girlfriend and I compete in races, our swim is fairly close, I get ahead of her on the bike and then she catches up to me on the run and I try to keep up with her until the end. This year I got to cheer for her as she came across the finish line. When she did cross the finish line we hugged each other and cried because we were so amazed we finished! I look forward to my next race..
The Maze section of Canyonlands National Park is amazing. Incredible. We had a campground reserved at the Maze Overlook over this past weekend and could not believe the landscape.
To get to the campsite it took almost 8 hours of driving from Salt Lake (3 to the turnoff, 2 to the ranger station, 3 to the campground). The Armada had to have its mud flaps and running boards taken off for 
the high clearance road (good thing) prior to the trip. The Flint trail was a challenging and bumpy drive, the deep red red sandstone cliffs towered high above and the deep pitted canyons looked like a endless maze of nonesense. Although I was enthralled with the view, the ride in was a bit long and bumpy with three small children and the
campground was perched on top of a 50 foot cliff, which made us a bit nervous with such small children. The Armada is no worse for the wear (having that said, the next time I go to the Maze I would probably want to take an Xterra, 4Runner, or Wrangler).
On the way home we stopped off at Goblin Valley to let the kids get out of the car and run rampant for an afternoon. Goblin Valley has to be one of the best places on earth for kids. They get to run around, climb and explore the endless gnome shaped rock formations. It was the highlight of their trip.
