Wallis Sands Tri

Some photos from the Wallis Sands Triathlon.

Sprint Tri

On June 8th, Kathleen and some of her friends competed in the Greater Nashua Sprint Triathlon.  For the third year in a row, it was the first triathlon of the season for Kathleen and she did great.  She ran down some of the women that passed her during the bike and ended up third in her age group.  It was a blazing hot day, so she really rocked it!!

Getting screamed at by teammates near the finish = kicking it up a notch.  Check out that back!! 

Kathleen wondered why none of the photographers were interested in taking her photo when she got her award....apparently Scott Brown, who won his age group, was a great attraction!!

The Tri crew.

Quechee

What better way to recover from a Half IronMan than hanging out with friends and hiking in beautiful Quechee, Vermont?

70.3

Last weekend, Kathleen competed in her first Half IronMan Triathlon and she did so awesome! For those of you that don't know, a Half IronMan is made up of three legs - a 1.2 mile swim, 56 miles on the bike, followed by 13.1 miles of running (a half marathon).  Kathleen finished first (!!) in her age group and 94th overall, with a kick-ass time of 6:43:34.5!  I wish that I could give a further break down of each leg, but Back40Timing had an epic fail at Mascomaman and her overall time is the best I can do.  Below are some pictures of her amazing day!

Boston Strong

As most of you know, Kathleen ran the Boston Marathon a few weeks ago.  She pushed through the grueling course and finished with the perfect time - 3:57:42 - a qualifier for 2014.  And then, just as she was receiving her medal, the first explosion went off.  I can't imagine what she went through - but if it was anything like our family went through during those few, frantic moments when we couldn't reach her, it was sheer hell.
A few days after the marathon, the Boston Globe linked to this really great blog post, written by a runner from New Hampshire.  He detailed his marathon experience, the emotions related to the bombing, and talking to his son about what had happened.  It was very moving.  About a week later, my sister forwarded the same blog to me - she knows the writer, they are part of the same running club, and the person he wrote about arriving at the Four Seasons, crying and fearful, was here.  You can read the blog here.
A few weeks ago, Kathleen returned to Boston to pay her respects to the victims and obtain some closure for herself.

Capitol City Tri

On August 5th, Kathleen competed in the Inaugural Capitol City Triathlon.  She finished 53rd out of more than 100 competitors (male and female) and her time of 1:33:52 was good enough for first place in her age group!!

Here she is on the podium, managing not to fall off.

Greater Nashua Sprint Triathlon

On Sunday, June 10th, Kathleen and some of her friends participated in the Greater Nashua Sprint Triathlon.  Kathleen finished 153rd overall, out of 382 finishers, but she was 5th in her age group and the 41st female finisher, out of a total of 180!!  Woot!!!  Great job Kathleen!!!!

Boston!

On Monday, Kathleen successfully completed her first ever Boston Marathon.  And by successfully, I mean not only did she cross the finish line, but she did it standing upright and without a visit to a medic (during or after the race).  On a race day with record breaking temperatures, this was an unbelievable accomplishment.  Although I wasn't there, I think that this article is probably a good representation of what it was like for a good runner to be in a race like this.  Congratulations Kathleen!!!

The Athletes' Village! 

Before the race - staying cool in the shade. 

This is what it's all about!

Marathon Monday

Ready to head into the heat of the city and all of the excitement of the Boston Marathon!!!!

Eat Our Dust

Over the weekend, Kathleen and a bunch of her running friends participated in the Renegade Playground Challenge, a "race" that takes place on a 5K course that is filled with obstacles.  Below are some photos from the challenge and a video made by the father of one of her teammates.  It is so clear from the photos and pictures that everyone had a blast!

Post race 

Obstacles 

Kathleen and Danielle

BQ

On May 21st, Kathleen ran the Zions Bank Odgen Marathon in Utah.  The course was stunningly beautiful and the conditions were pretty close to perfect - as was Kathleen.  All of her conditioning and training finally paid off as she ran a 3:58:32, which was good enough to qualify for the 2012 Boston Marathon!

The finish line. 

Sunday Run

Last Sunday, Kathleen and I ran together - my long run day, her easy day.  We did 6 1/2 miles before breakfast and when we finished, Mom was there to greet us, trying out her new digital camera.

RTB Pool Party

Annual Reach the Beach pool party is really about the diving board...clearly!!

14 mile Muddy Moose trail run

As most of you know, my running friends are some of my closest and dearest friends. A recent email suggested a 14 mile trail race and the word Fun was in the email. The problem with this run was that there was no 'trail' to speak of, it was 80 degrees and 100% humidty, unbelievable rock climbing, small lakes, and oh, lets not forget the mud...hence the muddy moose. This picture does not do it justice!! Oh...it was fun alright!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Mike and Michelle Leonard hosted the annual Thanksgiving Day run!

Running, chatting and sharing breakfast with friends is a great way to start the holiday season!

Alliance Against Cancer 5K

This weekend, Athletic Alliance held its first ever road race, in support of Lee's father David and his battle with cancer. I ran with Maureen, to keep her company and to keep her on pace with her goal time. The race was a successful fundraiser and Athletic Alliance hopes to make it an annual event.

Maureen, Joyce, Kathleen and Peter
Kathleen and Maureen
Heading to the finish
Snacking with Emily

Great Bay Half Marathon

On April 6, 2008, I ran the Great Bay Half Marathon with Danielle, Karen and Kristen. It was Karen's first half marathon (which she finished in a time of 2:01.33 - great job Karen!) and it was great to see her finish. I love running with these women - we always have such a fun time together. Click here for more pictures from that day.

Reach the Beach

Last fall, I ran in the Reach the Beach Relay with some of my closest friends in the world. Over the course of two days, we spent A LOT of time together - running, driving, eating and trying to sleep. We finished the Relay and best of all, we had a really awesome time together! You can see more pictures from our Reach the Beach weekend here.