Quick update: I finished the STOKR century last weekend on a blown and thoroughly patched tire. The makeshift patch held for 40 miles!
My next event kinda snuck up on me. I am doing the Got The Nerve? Triathlon tomorrow! Its a sprint distance and it’s my first triathlon! I am nervous but excited!
The STOKR (Scenic Tour of the Kootenai River) is a two day bike tour in Libby, MT. Uncle Steve lives in Libby and has done the STOKR in the past so this year he invited me to come get STOKERed with him and my cousin Ashley. We are planning to do the first day (98 miles) and then see how we feel about doing the second day (45 miles).
This is a destination ride with beautiful views and great support so people come from all over to be a part of it (apparently there is a pie rest stop with a bunch of different flavors of home-made pies!). However the STOKR is limited to 400 riders. We had to submit an application several months ago and luckily we were picked in the lottery.
Here is the first day.
As you can see RideWithGPS.com says it is 95 miles with 5,191 feet of climbing (we are going to have to do a few laps around the block to get a full century). It’s going to be a very challenging ride. That’s why I have been hard at work preparing for it. I have been focusing on the trike with Coach Rebecca and this weekend I did one final test of the legs with 40 miles yesterday with the West Chester Cycling Club (WCCC) and 50 miles and 4,000 feet of climbing today to benefit the Pennsylvania Center for Adaptive Sports (PCAS). The test was a success! Bring on the STOKR!
Today was my first event of the year. I did the swim portion of the Upper Main Line YMCA Triathlon. I have been training pretty hard for this swim so it was rewarding to finish. I have completed the distance in a workout but it is always more exciting in a “competition” setting. I did the tri with two Team FARA teammates Evelyn and Felicia. Ev was on the bike and Felicia ran.
We were not there to set any records, just to have a good time. This seemed to be the general sentiment at the event, there were lots of families and everyone was cheering each other on, it was a great atmosphere for my first swim.
We were placed into waves based on our estimated 1/4 mile swim time. Mine was 14 minutes so we started in wave 21 at about 11am. There were 6 lanes and 12 people per wave so we each shared a lane with a fellow athlete.
It was my first time in a 50 meter pool so the first lap seemed forever long! I kept looking for the little string of flags to signal that the end of the pool is near and it finally came at long last! Before the start Coach Rebecca told me that I might get say 3 laps in and start thinking about how much farther I had to go; she said to just stay in the moment and think about what I have to do at that very moment…high elbows, watch the crossover, breathe. I got three laps in and I did just what she thought I might; I started thinking about the fact that I had 6 laps to go, so I redirected my thinking…high elbows, watch the crossover, breath. Before I knew it there were only three laps left! Piece of cake! Then at the beginning of my next lap I heard someone yell “last lap!” I had lost count while I was staying in the moment and I was 100 meters off! So I dug deep and finished strong!
Evelyn and Felicia owned the road today and brought home a solid finish for the team! Nice work ladies! We celebrated with a team lunch, mmmboy!
We all had a great experience today thanks to a very well organized event and wonderful volunteers!
