Happy Holidays!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everybody!
It is currently the last day of 2005...sunny and warm in Florida...I just came home from swim practice and now getting ready for a long bike ride followed by a short run.
The second half of December was a lot of fun. I spent more time with my family, biking with my dad and swimming with my mom. On Dec. 18th, my dad and I rode our bikes from the house in DeLand to the UF pool in Gainesville!! According to both our odometers, it was 102.3 miles...according to our bodies, it was raining and windy for 6 1/2 hours! I'm glad that my dad did the ride with me because I think I would have given up because I was so wet, numb and cold...but we motivated each other to get to Gainesville! We rode directly to the UF pool (because Dustin was at swim practice) and took scalding hot shower in the locker rooms, I was attempting to get some feeling back into my toes. When practice was over, Dustin drove us out-to-dinner at his favorite restaurant, Hops, and then we relaxed at his house and watched a movie.
The next morning, after Dustin and I headed to Gator swim practice, Dad got back on his bike and started riding another 102 miles home...he was getting tired and cold so Mom picked him up at mile 60 with some hot cocoa! As for me...I actually finished one Christmas Training practice, took a nap, ate lunch, and then went back for another in the afternoon! Both practices on Monday were over 9000y/m (I don't think I've swam that far in 6 months). Dustin and I saw Harry Potter 4 in the theaters that night...and prepared for the last practice on Tuesday morning.
Coach Troy told the distance group on Monday night what our Tuesday morning set was. We got to sleep in an extra hour but when we got in the pool, we swam straight for 1 1/2 hours: 500 warm up, 3000 with a band, 2000 swim, 1000 kick, 500 all out for time! I can still go under 5 minutes!! 4:57!!! I had a great time with the team for 3 practices...but I was also very glad to pack up my bag and leave! I've done my 4.5 years as a UF swimmer...from now on it's all voluntary and has to be fun!
I drove Dustin's car home (while he fell asleep in the other seat). That was my main reason to go to Gainesville: so Dustin wouldn't fall asleep behind the wheel! It was all 4 McLarty's at home again...long time since that last happened...and I think it will be even longer until it happens again! The Christmas Break was filled with fun times...we went 'last minute' shopping at the mall on the 23rd...played family games, watched movies...celebrated Christmas with our Aunt and Grandma on the 25th...went canoeing on the 26th down a really twisty river on a beautifully sunny Florida day...swam a few times after Christmas with the DBS team...and then it was time to pack Dustin's car up and say 'bye' because he had to be back in Gainesville for practice on the morning of the 29th. I miss you DUSTER BUSTER!!
Now I'm alone at home, have only child syndrome.
After practice on Friday morning, I went into Downtown DeLand to get a physical for the Volusia County Lifeguards...I have to be on record as an 'official' lifeguard to participate in the World Championships...I passed the urine screening for drugs, I could read the bottom line of the eye chart, my lung capacity was off the charts, I think I heard all the beeps in my ears, my blood was sent off for tests, I have to call back and report the size of the bump on my arm for TB testing...in the end, I think my results are passable:)
After the physical, I drove my Grandmother's car down to Cocoa Beach to spend the afternoon with my aunt and grandma. We talked, went shopping, I went for a jog in a new location, we ate dinner, watched a movie, talked some more and then went to sleep. In the morning, after a fast breakfast, I drove myself and my grandmother back home...with a 2 hour stop in Port Orange so that I could do swim practice. My swim practice was i bit fun because after 1 hour of swimming, I left the team lanes and went to practice the events for the lifeguard world champs.
I finally got to try swimming with the manikin, towing the rescue buoy, and timed a 200meter swim with obstacles. It's all a LOT harder than I thought ...meaning I've got to get some more practice time before we head to Australia!
That's about it for my last days in 2005...tonight (after I train for 4 more hours) we are going to paddle around Lake Winnemessette at night and look at all the light decorations people have on their docks!
Have a safe and happy New Year...see you all in 2006!

Here I am in Tempe, at the Ironkids National Championships, with a big group of athletes who drove all the way from Mexico to race...they all had a great time and took home quite a few medals!

These are our new cats (Pumpkin and Momma Cat aka Fluffy)...I love to spend time playing with then because I don't have any pets in Colorado!

There I am with all the awesome Ironkids race staff...I can't thank them enough for allowing me to be a part of Ironkids again...now that I'm too old to race, I can give back to the future of this wonderful sport!

IronKids National Champs in Tempe, Arizona

After my short visit to Colorado Springs...I spent a few days at home, training and relaxing...and then I was off to the airport again. This time my trip was to Tempe, Arizona (second time I've traveled there in 2005). It was the weekend of the Ironkids National Championships...and I was invited to talk to the kids, help out with the race, and hand out awards.
After sitting at the gate for an extra 45 minutes in Orlando, we finally made it to the Phoenix airport. I had missed my ride so I got a taxi and some sketchy directions from Tom (the race director) to meet the staff at dinner. I sure was glad that I wasn't late to that dinner! It was at one of the nicest steak & seafood restaurants I have ever been to...it was Sara Lee's present to the Ironkids staff at the end of the race season. We pigged out on some of the most amazing food I've ever had...of course the filet I ate was heaven on a plate and I took everyone's word that the seafood was amazing.
We got back to the hotel around 1am and I was just glad to finally lie down and get some sleep...my day had started 20 hours earlier with swim practice in Daytona. The next morning (Saturday) I was at the race site helping set up the last minute details for packet pick-up and orientation. It was a busy day running around...of course I loved every minute of it and I try to learn as much as I can so that I might one day run my own races! We had about 70 kids pick up packets...I made sure all the new racers could swim...we got the transition set up for the early morning race...and then the staff and myself grabbed some food, went shopping, and relaxed.
The park where the race was held was very beautiful...a nice lake, lots of trails, a pool, playgrounds, etc. On Monday, after the race, I went for a jog from the hotel and ended up running around the park (which I didn't get to see very much of while I was working in the registration and pool area!). Annmarie, one of the Ironkids staff and a new friend of mine, went to highschool in the area and said they ran lots of cross country meets in the park (see why I liked running in it?!:)
On Sunday morning, following a 6am wakeup...I was back at the park to help out with anything that needed help on race morning. I liked being in the transition area when all the families show up to answer any questions. I love getting the questions...because I'm sure one of the McLarty family asked that exact question at one point in time during our Ironkids career! It actually ended up being very cold on the race morning so I kept telling parents to hurry and get their kids inside the pool area to keep warm...it was a lovely 80 degrees in there.
The race went very smooth...as it always does...and I was honored to give out the national championship medals and trophies at the awards ceremony. All the kids were still cold from the race but they loved getting their medals! After the awards, nothing exciting to write about, unless you want to read about all the cleanup and tear down and packing that went on?! The girls went shopping again...I made myself window shop thank goodness! And then, after the Monday morning run that I mentioned already, I was on a plane back to Florida.
It was sad to hear some of the problems that the Ironkids races might be having in the future...Sara Lee (the bakery company) is pulling the Ironkids bread product from their line of food and might not financially support the race in the future. I had a great suggestion: contact Lance Armstrong (the most famous former Ironkid) and warn him that his kids might not have the opportunity to do the amazing race series that he grew up on! It could be the "Armstrong Ironkids" triathlon series...just another one of my many brilliant ideas! Haha...but seriously, I'm going to contact the Armstrong foundation and see what happens...wish me (and Ironkids) luck!

2 days of pure POWDER

I skied for two days in 20+ inches of powder at Monarch Mountain. It was fantastic!! There were very few people on the mountain this early in the season (and because of the snow storm).
I was so proud of how well I was skiing...no falls! I stayed on the greens for half of the first day, and then I ventured onto the blues. By the end of the day, with only a few stops for hot chocolate and a hamburger...I was pretty sore and ready to relax. I drove back down the mountain, checked into my room for the night and then drove across the street to the local hot-springs-pool. I was soooo warm and nice on all my aching body parts...I swam about 30 minutes in the lap-swim section and then relaxed in the hotter water section.
After a shower, I drove to the historic downtown section of Salida (the city I was staying in) and found a family-run bistro to have dinner at. After I stuffed myself on bread, salad, and chicken Parmesan...I headed back to get some well deserved sleep before day 2!
I woke up on Saturday to the sun streaming from behind the curtians! I was so excited because I thought I was going to get a sunny day of skiing...unfortunatly, up the road and up the mountain 20 minutes the weather was on a whole different page: still snowing! But I was used to it and the fresh powder that I was skiing in made it all worth it! My mom offered me an early Christmas present: she would buy me some time with a ski instructor to work on my technique. I took her up on the offer and started out the morning by meeting Bob. Bob was about 80 years old and could barely keep up with me on the slopes. But he did have experience and was able to give me the technique tips that I was looking for. We worked on riding on the edges of my skies, turning in powder, quick turns, etc. It was a nice lesson and I had some ski company for the first few runs of the day.
I skied some more runs, stopped for lunch, skied some more...and then decided that I was about ready to call it a day and get started on the drive home. It was only 2:30pm when I loaded into the car (I could have skied for another hour) but I realized about 3 hours later that leaving early was one of the best decisions I made all weekend!
The first hourish of the drive back to Colorado Springs was okay...sunny, clear, few cars on the road. But then, about midway home, it started to get very dark and I entered the snow storm that was blasting COS. Driving in a snow storm is a very scary thing...I don't like it at all! My knuckles were white on the steering wheel, my windsheild was covered in dirty snow and the wipers were doing the crappiest job ever. I was STRESSING! The best part of the drive was when I got right behind a snowplow for a few miles...I relaxed about half way.
Around 6pm I made it back to the OTC in one piece, just in time for dinner:). It was good to see all my friends...of course I rubbed in the fact that they missed out on AMAZING skiing conditions...but mainly I just relaxed and hung out.
Sunday was my last whole day at the OTC until 2006...I did some laundry, washed my car, refilled the windsheild fluid, watched TV, played on the computer, went to see Harry Potter 4 with Jess...normal OTC activities! Washing the car was important because of all the salt, snow, and dirt that I drove through. I wanted to make sure it was not going to turn into a heap of rust while I was in Florida. I drove from the car-wash back to my parking spot at about 10 mph so that nothing would splash up!:)
Monday morning I did swim practice with the team (the team consisted of Jaz, Jess and I) grabbed some breakfast, and then packed up and got a ride to the airport. Another flight...I'm getting the feeling that I spend a lot of time on airplnes lately!

Early Season SNOW SKIING!

After giving my presentations on Thursday, I was free to head to the mountains! I did my last bit of research on Thursday night about what mountain I wanted to ski at, where I was going to stay, how long I was going, the driving directions, etc. The internet sure is great for getting like 10 things accomplished in one place!
I chose Monarch Mountain for going to ski. 2 people recommended this place to me and said it was close, cheap, and not crowded. After I looked online, I decided I liked Monarch for my first attempt to ski in 5 years. I also found a cheap place to spend the night that was only 10 minutes from the ski area.
Anyways, it was Thursday night and I headed out to dinner with a few friends from the OTC. We went to the Melting Pot, a very nice fondue restaurant that I've always wanted to try. For dinner we ordered the cheese and chocolate selection. First we had 3 different melted cheeses to dip apples, bread, and veggies in. Then we had 3 different chocolate blends to dip fruit, cake, and marshmallows in. It was all sooo yummy...keep me away from the Melting Pot in the future!
Of course our 'party' lasted late into the night, I had to excuse myself around 11:30pm so that I could get some sleep before waking up at 6:00am to start driving to Monarch.
I'm glad I got an early start in the AM...the roads were empty and the driving was easy, only 2 or 3 roads from COS to the actual mountain. As I was in the last stretch up to the ski area...it was snowing and there was lots of snow on the road...this was my first official 'driving in the snow' experience! It was VERY scary as my car slid in one direction and then another...but I maintained some control and made it into the parking lot right at the ski lifts opened.
First place to go was the rental store. Picked up some skis and poles. Second place was the lift tickets. Picked up a ticket for 2 days. Third was the store because I needed a neck and face warmer because it was a cold and snowy day. Fourth was the actual ski lift where I managed to remember what to do, got on with out falling, made it to the top and looked down the mountain in preparation for my first run! Story continued later...dinner now:)

My Open Water Presentations

I gave 2 presentations on Open Water swimming for Triathlons on Thursday. One was focused on the ITU style 1500 meters and the second was focused on half and whole Ironman distance swims (1-2.4 miles). I had some fun powerpoint presentations prepared with all the information I could think of. My mom's cousin Larry sent me a funny 30 second video of open water swimming and I opened both lectures by showing it. It was nice to have an 'ice-breaker'!
There were only 5 coaches in each lecture and that made it very easy to have more discussion and less lecturing. We talked about training methods, how to turn around buoys, equipment, mental preparation, and lots of other stuff. The time ran out in both my presentations before I got to the last of my slides...but I was confident that each person learned something new or different and that was my main goal.
Alan Ley, the USAT person in charge of the coaching clinics, complimented me afterwards and mentioned asking me to speak at other clinics. (Of course I told him I would be honored!)
I'm just glad for the speaking practice...you can't have too much practice...and I look forward to my next opportunity!