Ryan and Amber: Ultraman Hawaii and the Aftermath Part 1

So this is a very late race report, but I do have lots of really good excuses. It's been a busy month with lots of new changes in our lives. After the race Ryan and I finished up with 10 days of real honeymoon. Since we got home we've worked just about every day between the old and new jobs, and on our one off day we moved into our new house in Tahoe.

The race in a nutshell was more that I could have hoped for, but it hurt much more than usual. I guess there is a penalty for missing so many training days.

The swim 6.2 miles: I was fairly excited to start the swim this year. I'd been swimming well leading up to the race and was feeling comfortable in the water. Off we swam...... and swam and swam and swam. I have my swim crew (Karen and Don) blow the whistle every 20 minutes so that I stop and drink and take in some calories. I like my energy and hydration to be topped off because after we swim 6.2 miles we have a little 90 mile bike with about 8000 feet of climbing. I was feeling strong, but as I started to add up the time I could tell that I wasn't going to come in anywhere close to my previous races here. When I could see the coral at the bottom I noticed that all forward movement had stopped. The swim treadmill wasn't much fun, and I wanted out of the water. The current was kicking my butt and the wind and chop on top had me drinking or inhaling ocean water. I don't think I have ever been so happy to get out of the water before. Swim 3hr 31min

Off we went with such high expectations. I heard that paddle crews got to see a whale. No such luck for me, but I did swim through a pod of dolphins about halfway through.

Marty was the one out of the water this year in under 3 hours.

Ryan wondering what is taking me so long. Hey, I was checking out the dolphins.

Woohoo!!! Dry land. I think at the time I was thinking never agin, but 4 weeks later I'm thinking maybe.....

My pitt crew hard at work. Dad is dumping water over my head to clean off the salt water.

Bike day 1 90 miles: Day 1 bike is always a bit of a struggle for me and this year was no different. It's strange because I like riding up big hills, but the swim just knocks me out. I think what made this year so tough was the swim conditions and spending about 40 minutes longer in the water than I had planned. Coming out of the swim I didn't feel good. My tongue was swollen and felt like it was covered in carpet. I didn't feel bad, but it never felt like I could hammer on the bike. My crew was doing a great job of keeping me fueled and entertained. It was a real treat to have my dad and my husband crewing for me this year. The winds didn't pick up until around Ocean View, but I kind of enjoy them. The longer I ride and race the more I embrace the weather conditions. I tend to train in the elements whatever they are so race day when the wind kicks up it's kind of an advantage. I took it fairly conservative on the descent to Naalehu and began the 30 mile climb to Volcano. I was still riding in second behind Kathy Winkler and didn't seem to be making up any time. She was killing it! About 10 miles out from the finish I finally started feeling a little stronger. Bike 5hr 36min