Time to Catch Up!

It's been awhile since I've written..my apologies.  Moving back to NC for the summer and jumping right into training left little desirable time to write..so here I am back at it.

The two-ish weeks I've been back in Durham I've logged lots of miles and simply lost count...will get an estimate from Brian and then move forward with that.  It's been great getting back into the swing of things with my training partner again...even if it means he's still kicking my butt!  The capstone of these past few weeks was the Brunswick Forest Duathlon I was training for.  It was a cool little race down in Wilmington this past weekend.  I did not come close to the times I was hoping for but had a great time out there and was really glad both Brian and Dad could join me for it.  Also excited to have a surprise fan appearance by Meghan.  A few positive take aways: I posted my first ever solo ride over 20 mph avg., I did surprisingly well with my transitions, and I enjoyed the experience (despite puking on the last 1/2 mile of the second run).  Negatives?  Too many to list, but a few key lessons learned: I need to get better at pacing and training according to my heart rate (racing for roughly 1.5 hours at an average of 193 bpm is NOT healthy), be even more cautious with my nutrition, and just relax more on race day.

In all, I think I've found a good future hobby.  I've really enjoyed racing and training on the new bike Brian found for me and using the sweet tri gear Dad purchased for us.  I've got a few other tentative races on the schedule for the summer but now the main focus of soccer training kicks in (punny) for one last competitive season at CNU.  I've really enjoyed being back and catching up with the family, BD, and Mer.  Looking forward to also visiting more with Nana and Pops now that they are back in town.  Now with Tyler ending his academic year and the warm weather kicking in, I feel optimistic at the start of a new summer tour!