Josse’s Half-Ironman RECAP (SHE IS AMAZING) and some things from our night!

I am BEYOND excited to share with you Josse’s race recap from her Half Ironman last Saturday.  We’ve run together for almost three years now and I just think she is the absolute greatest.  So stoked for her (and her sister’s) huge accomplishment!!   She sure has inspired me and I might have to join her on one of these races in a few years!

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Wowzers that was hard.  It was very windy and a long run course but I did it and finished… Go me.

I slept okay for a night before a race.  Woke up at 4:30, ate and loaded our stuff in the truck, drove the 30 mins over to Highline Lake State Park and got all of our stuff set up, used the bathroom about 10 times and before you knew it, we were getting our wetsuits on and heading to the water.  Eeeekkkk was I really doing this?  Thoughts of self doubt flooded my mind.  “Can I really do this? Am I going to be cold in my sleeveless wetsuit?  Can I swim straight?  How am I going to swim with all these people?  Will my wetsuit feel like it’s choking me like in practice?…. Deep breath…. Stop it.”  I told myself, ‘You’ve trained hard now get through this swim and you’ll be fine.  The gun went off and we were all off.  The swim went perfect, I couldn’t have asked for anything more.  I swam straight as an arrow, my wetsuit was not even a concern, I was not cold and it all felt so natural.  I loved it! Before I knew it, I was exiting the water and getting my wetsuit pulled off me.  Wow, that was amazing!!

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Swim time 35:24/ T1 time 6:29 (way too long but we did have what felt like a mile run up to the transition area, really only about .2 miles).

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Bike- got all my bike gear on, fueled and I was off.  The wind was starting to pick up more and we had bad wind 20-30 miles per hour at times and it was a constant head or cross-wind with an occasional tailwind but this made the rolling course seem even harder.  With 1411 feet of climbing over the 56 miles it wasn’t a really hard course but the wind made it brutal at times.  I took in fuel about every 40 minutes.  My sister made this sweet potato/apple purée with salted coconut butter and butter that I had as well as UCan and they worked splendid.  I felt good on the bike until the last 6 miles and then my quad began to cramp, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to run on it so I eased up on the bike and before I knew it I was back to the small fields surrounding the lake and back once again.  I did take about a 2 minute potty break around mile 40, I couldn’t hold it any longer.

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Bike time 3:11:17/ T2 2:17 getting faster:)

Run- now in all of my training I have always been able to run strong off the bike and although I wasn’t as fast as I would have liked, I did pass the entire time, not once was I passed.  They had changed the run course last minute so we had 2 out and back with quad killing downhill on the way out and super fatiguing uphill on the way back, just under 900 feet of climbing.  Plus, the course ended up almost 14.5 miles long which I knew it was going to be long when we got to the 1st turn around:/ that was upsetting.  The fun thing about this course and the bike course is I got to see my sister a bunch of times, as well as cheer on people going the other way.  My legs took about a mile to ease into running and then I felt great, while not as fast as I wanted but I felt good.  My stomach was feeling iffy but okay at this point.  Turn around #1—> the uphills were brutal, it was defiantly a speed zapper and I felt awful and my lung fatigue was unreal.  Got back from the turn around and I was feeling mad that this course was going to be long.  I was tired and didn’t want to run over 13.1 miles.  But I started to feel good again because it was downhill.  Still passing people and cheering on people going the other way.  During the last turn around I took my 2nd gel and it made me SICK! Oh my, I was nauseated and starting to get light-headed, it was warm out and I was worried.  My body sort of shut down but I made it through and only walked a tiny bit.  After climbing the last hill and looking across the dam to the finish line I wanted to cry.  I was so overcome with emotion and I knew my mom, son, brother-in-law and sister (who already finished) were there at the finish line.  I picked i t up and put on a super smile and ran up the grass hill to the finish.

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IT WAS AWESOME!!! 6:10:57 was my final time and I was 9th overall in the women’s and 2nd in my AG.  I wanted to come in under 6 but with the wind and long run course this was good.

(JANAE NOW—>  UM THAT IS AMAZING JOSSE.  AMAZING)

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And now I am stoked for her to recover and for us to start St. George Marathon training together.  CONGRATS JOSSE!!!

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***A little walk together in the afternoon and I have no idea where she gets the desire to take her video camera everywhere with her?

Side effects of your mom being a blogger.

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***A date night to our goto restaurant.

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***Salad bar fact —> use cucumbers for the perimeter of your plate to allow more salad to be added to your plate without falling off.

PS above man does not like cottage cheese or hard boiled eggs so I don’t know how I feel about that.

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***3 breadsticks for two people.  I like those odds.

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Brooke’s three facial expressions that all happened within 2 minutes of each other.

***Surprised.

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***Tired.

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***Beyond happy about everything in life.

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Who has done a triathlon before?  What was your experience??  What’s your strongest and weakest part out of the swim, bike and run?

What foods do you have ZERO interest in?  Anyone else not like hard-boiled eggs or cottage cheese?

Have a road bike?  How often do you ride it?

Do you prefer hilly courses or flat courses?  Do you like the switch up of things with hills or to keep it flat and smooth?

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67 comments

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Congrats, Josse – you’re a machine!

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Your friend is amazing! Congrats Josse for such an awesome race. Do you think you’ll do it again?

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Yes I definitely will! I loved the training and was able to handle a high load with no injury.

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Josse is amazing!! She’s so inspiring, it must be nice to have such accomplished friends to train with :)

I have to agree with your boyfriend – hard boiled eggs and cottage cheese are definitely not in my like list! I can’t get over the texture of cottage cheese and hard boiled eggs just feel so plain to me. I do like them in things though, like cut up in a salad – delicious!

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That’s amazing! Congratulations Josse!

I’m also not a fan of hard boiled eggs or cottage cheese. It’s the texture of the eggs and the smell of the cottage cheese. I can’t do it. I’m also not a fan of black olives, beets, mayo or mustard. That’s about it though.

Flat courses are a nice treat, but I kinda like a course that has some rolling hills. It makes it more interesting!

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Congrats Josse!!! You are amazing!!!! I would love to do a triathlon someday!

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Congrats, Josse! Awesome accomplishment!

Food I have zero interest in: Potatoes! … Although I love french fries or sweet potatoes in any form.

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Such a cute cucumber tip! That’s a good looking salad!

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Way to go, Josse! That’s so awesome!! I did a sprint triathlon once, and I will never do one again. Swimming is definitely NOT my thing.

Honestly, I love running hills. I don’t always appreciate them during races, but I love to work them in to some of my training runs.

I have ZERO interest in fish or really anything that lives in the water. It grosses me out!!

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Congratulations Josse! Impressive :)
I did one sprint triathlon last August, and I did pretty well being it my first tri. As soon as I got out of water, I felt relaxed and I knew the bike and run were going to be a treat :) It was super-fun!
Swimming is my weakest part, definitely, because for me training in pool or in ocean is not as convenient as running (where you just need to put on your running shoes and go) nor as cycling (where you need to head out on bike and that’s it pretty much). Since then, I ran a half marathon and a marathon, but I’m thinking it’s about time for a tri ;)

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Way to go Josse! That’s awesome! I’ve always wanted to do that, but I can’t swim. Pathetically can’t swim. I used to bike a lot back home in San Diego, but now that we’re in Charleston, there’s NO place to bike. I’m hoping when we move I’ll get the opportunity again, because when I’m not running, I live on my spin bike.
Food with zero interest? Milk. Never been a fan.

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I took lessons a long time ago and trained with a masters swim class to get better. You can learn?

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Ahh I live in Columbia!! It’s so cool to see people who live in SC!

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what an awesome job! I couldn’t even imagine doing that. Let alone training for it without getting wildly injured. I’ll never understand these tri people haha. I wish I could do it, but swimming and biking are in no way shape or form my forte. on the other hand, a triathlon of running, carelessly dancing, and eating nachos is something I would gladly sign up for.

food I have zero interest in: fruit. all of it besides apples, pears, bananas, and mangos. if it has seeds or is squishy, it is a harddddd pass from me haha.

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Congrats Josse! What a strong race and amazing accomplishment!
I’m not a huge fan of cottage cheese or black olives.
I love flat for the half but a few rolling hills for the marathon to engage different muscles.

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Congrats Josse! This is amazing!!! And I’m not only talking about the race, I’m talking about all the training that goes with it! I did two duathlons (run-bike-run) in the past and LOVED it! But I have a hard time fitting all this training in my current work-mommy schedule… Maybe when little guy is old enough to train with me ;-) I’m with your guy on hard boiled eggs, but I do love my cottage cheese!

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Loved this post! I am training for my first half IRONMAN in 2 months so this was so informative for me.

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Congrats Josse, that is truly amazing. I’ve never done a tri but I have done a run-swim-run. Half ironmans are a completely different ball game though. Nice job on what sounds like a brutal day.

I don’t like cucumbers or pickles. Strange since they are basically the NJ state food.

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That was so inspiring to read! What an amazing accomplishment. Way to go, Josse!

Uh oh…I have no interest in cottage cheese either. I’ll take the hard boiled eggs though!

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Congrats Josse!! That is amazing. I hope you keep doing these and go for a full Iron Man down the road!! If I could swim at all, I would definitely go for at least a half-Iron Man. Looking like an awesome experience! That cucumber tip is wonderful. Always in need for salad tips! I’ve never really tried cottage cheese to be honest.

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Congrats Josse!!! So amazing!! I have only completed a Tri as part of team. I can bike and run but I cannot swim to save my life. I’m always amazing at people who can actually do the whole thing by themselves! Woot! I used to road bike all the time but sort of fell of the wagon. My poor bike is on a trainer and I use it when I can’t run. I don’t like eggs or cottage cheese but I’m a vegan so there’s that! As far as races, the hillier the better.

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A food I have ZERO interest in???? Hmmmm, that one made me think and the only thing I can come up with is: Jalapeños…no thank you, Not One, Nope!

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Congrats Josse!!
I would love to do a triathlon but I cannot swim for the life of me. I can doggy paddle and that’s about it.
I do not like cottage cheese. The consistency makes me feel sick.
I have a road bike and a mountain bike and I ride at least once a week over the summer. It’s so much fun and a good change from running!

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Fish. I hate seafood of all kinds. It just all taste the same and that taste is called ew.
And anything with curry in it. That came from when I was pregnant with my first and got invited to go to Bombay house. I threw up at the restaurant and refuse to ever go there (or any other Indian for place) again.

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WOW Josse is incredible! I did a mini triathlon two years ago, and I am returning to the same event this July to do the Olympic distance course! I am SCARED! My strong suit has always been the run, but I’m coming off a running injury so who knows! Swimming is the hardest for me. I’d LOVE to do a 1/2 Ironman someday soon, I’m not sure about the full though!

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Congrats Josse!!! Seriously?! You are a rockstar, so strong!

In other news, I prefer hilly courses and have no interest in asparagus or cheesecake. Or, those two, combined.

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WOW congrats!! That sound so hard!! As for the cottage cheese my bf says the same… i love it tho!

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So so inspirational! Congrats Josse!! I hope to someday complete a half ironman, I am training for the olympic distance in July!

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I’ve done one Tri and it was a beginner friendly women’s only one. It was 300 meters in the ocean, 10 mile bike and 5k run. I did fairly well considering I don’t know how to swim. Lol. I did the doggie paddle and basically had a panic attack for the 300 meters swim. I don’t think I’ll be doing any more unless I learn how to swim properly :)

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CONGRATS Josse!! You are amazing! Such a huge accomplishment, and a fantastic time!! :)

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I love triathlons!! I got hooked last summer after needing a much needed break from running. My tri club is very active so once weather gets warm, we have group rides 3 times a week anyone can join. I’m slowly improving in each, but I would say the run is my weakest leg (hehe). Flat sounds great in theory, but I’ve learned hills help break up the monotony and make it more fun!!

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Congratulations to Josse! So awesome!

I have never done a tri but thinking about it maybe *someday* swimming would definitely be my weak point and I am still fearful of riding in traffic/in a race…so there’s that. I only have a cheapo mountain bike I bought at target like 12 years ago, so far though it has served my purposes well.

Hills are not my friend. We did a very hilly 4 mile trail run on saturday that was brutal. :/ We want to do it again next year though so more hill training for me.

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I so have a Tri on my bucket list… but I hate swimming & I’m a slow biker. so there’s that ;)
I love cottage cheese but never had it on a salad. ALL THE CUCUMBERS!! :) I love the perimeter idea though

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Congrats, Josse! I’ve never done a tri, and love your recap. The swim makes me the most nervous. Even growing up on the water, open-water swimming isn’t something where I have a lot of experience.

I’m a broken Southerner: I do not like hardboiled eggs, and by extension, deviled eggs. Cottage cheese with fruit is one of my faves, though!

I like a smooth flat course some days, but in a race, I need turns or hills to keep my eye on the prize and help with pacing.

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Congratulations to Josse!! I am doing a sprint triathlon in less than 2 weeks! I have done the same triathlon two times previously, and would like to beat my last time. I have also done 1 Olympic distance triathlon in San Francisco. Man, the Bay is COLD! :) I would love to do a half-ironman one day, but right now it’s too hard to do the longer distance training with two little ones (ages 4 and 1). I would love to hear how Josse fit in all of the training, as I didn’t realize she had a son until reading this recap! Maybe when my boys are a little older… My least favorite part of the triathlon is jumping into cold water. I really hate that part. The run is probably my strongest, but I enjoy the biking as well. I have a road bike and do the longer training rides, but more often than not I will be on it pulling a trailer with my boys around town :) I figure that is good training, too, because I feel SO fast without the trailer and some of it is mental!

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Jill it is quite the time commitment, I have 3 kids with my oldest being in a wheelchair. It is hard when they are little but mine are all in school so I am able to get good sleep and train when they are in school. I also teach spin so that helped. I absolutely loved the training though.

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What an exciting recap to read! And I would seriously RAGE if I had to run an extra 1.4 miles on top of a whole half marathon.

I’ve done 1 sprint triathlon before and I LOVED it! I do have a road bike already, so luckily my start up costs were low. I’m not exactly great at any of the 3 sports, but I’m good at all of them. I actually won my age group in my very first tri! I’m starting to train for a tri…not sure if I’ll complete it yet, but I’m training anyways, because the training is so fun. The bike is probably my favorite portion overall, so I can’t wait to get back into riding as the weather warms up.

And no cottage cheese for me. I can’t even bring myself to try it. The concept of the chunk texture freaks me out.

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I have never done a triathlon so I find those who can, amazing!!! I don’t like cottage cheese or hard boiled eggs either!

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Josse’s Mom must be tickled to have two physical princesses for daughters.

Cottage Cheese? No thanks. Hardboiled Eggs? No problem.

I’ve had some success with hills in the past and some failures. I LOVE passing people on hills – sorry folks. I need to get on it though because if I win the entry lottery I’m planning on running Big Sur next April.

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I have done a sprint triathlon. I LOVED it. The swim was my weakest part… for my next one I do (for sure someday) I need to practice in open water so I don’t panic like I did during my triathlon last time…

I have a road bike but it is 3 hours south of me back at my parents. I just moved into an apartment though that has a bike storage room so next time I am down visiting I am for sure picking it up.

And, I like a good mix of hills and flat. Flat courses get so boring, I truly enjoy the up and downs because it keeps things fresh in my mind. I can’t just stare straight down the road that never ends and think about how much I hurt. I think this is one reason I am more partial to trail running. :)

BTW – you two are adorable together. Congrats again!

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Congratulations Josse!! Wow, you are amazing!!! My husband is a triathlete and I know what goes into the trainings (masters swim, bike group, running weekly). He does sprint tri’s and we are flatlanders. So your recap makes it even more amazing. I really like your writing style, it was almost as if we were there with you, turn by turn. There are so many tricks to get transition times down such as start taking off the wetsuit right after you get out of the water so it won’t take so long in transition. But, even taking 6 minutes, your time was amazing. Thanks for posting a recap!!

For all of those people who don’t like to swim, many races offer a bike and run option (duathlon I believe). My husband wants to do a relay sprint triathlon on Father’s Day with me. I am not sure about it yet. He is a super fast runner and I am slow. A friend of ours is doing his first duathlon (run, bike, run) That day. We are excited for him.

Brooke with her video camera = priceless!!!

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I’ve never done a triatholon but I felt some of Josse’s emotions while reading her recap from previous runs I’ve done. Congrats Josse!!

I just started loving cottage cheese (whipped cottage cheese is my fave!), it is so good on top of spaghetti and sauce! And I love boiled eggs, especially topped with a little dijon mustard (Deconstructed devil egg for on the go!)

One food I cannot do but wish I could eat is sardines! Their nutritional value is amazing but *gag*. I’ve tried prepping them like a tuna salad but I could not get past the fact that I was eating the skin and bones…and the fishy taste is over whelming. I try them ever few years just incase my taste buds change but no-go for now.

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Reading this post got me extra motivated for the sprint triathalon I’m doing next month! I did a sprint triathalon last summer and I loved it swimming is my favorite part.

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I hated cottage cheese growing up and randomly gave it a try a few months ago and am HOOKED. Love using it as a vehicle for tons of fruits, veggies & dressing, or just plain. Yum!

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Eeeeh! I decided to go the Ultra route as opposed to the Tri route. But, now everyone is making Tri’s sound like sooooo much fun (and a lot of hard work).

Maybe I’ll look into trying a Tri after my December Ultra… :)

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That race recap made me exhausted! Amazing!
I have zero interest in Lima beans, bean salads, and potato salads. No thanks.
I prefer hilly courses with some flats throughout. I want hills on the first few miles especially because those miles are always so hard anyway so I convince myself that it’s hard because it’s hilly and it’s going to get easier once I hit the flats. Works every time.

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Congratulations Josse! That is seriously awesome. I hope to do some type of triathlon one day!!
I think the hardest part for me would be the swimming. I would definitely need practice.
What a great idea with the cucumbers! I’ll have to try that at my next salad bar.

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I did a tri last year and loved it! I’ve dragged my sister into doing it with me and we’re doing it in about 2 1/2 months! I’m a strong swimmer and probably weakest on the running, which I’m working on. I also need to work on my bike hill climbing… it holds me back. sigh.

My husband will NOT eat cottage cheese and he is also not a fan of boiled eggs which is my favorite way to have them! What’s up with these guys?

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Congratulations on the great run, Josse! What a fun race it sounds like. You and your beau look like you fit together. I love seeing all of the pictures. :) Except, I’m with you… how does he not like cottage cheese or hardboiled eggs?

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That’s pretty AMAZING indeed !!! Wow ! Hope I can do a triathlon one day it seems so fun :) !

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Congratulations Josse! What a terrific accomplishment! I hope you will convince Janae to do one with you so she will document the training for us to follow. :o)

I would love to try a tri. However, I can’t even tread water, even after taking swim lessons twice. Ha. But I am not giving up. For now, I love pool running for marathon training.

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Way to go, Josse! What a crazy hard race – 20 to 30mph winds is no joke. And then the hilly run to finish things off? You should be so so so proud of your time! Congrats to your sis too.

My husband and I have gotten into cycle touring the last couple of years (such a fun way to travel!) so I have a touring bike (like a road bike, but heavier and more upright comfortable positioning). I use it to commute to work too. I’d love to get a lightweight road bike too (keeping my eyes out for a used one) just for fun rides so I can keep up with my speedy friends.

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Congratulations Josse! I am in awe of anyone who can do triathlons and you do it all so well.

Cottage cheese no thank you.

But I love eggs. LOVE them.

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I hate cottage cheese! My husband is a big fan, I just don’t understand! Just the way it looks turns me off. Love hard boiled eggs though!
I’ve thought about training for a triathlon, I love swimming and running. The biking scares me though. I’ve seen lots of crashes and I think I’d be really scared of going to fast on downhill portions. Josse did an amazing job, so inspiring!

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Congrats Josse!!!! Racing in wind is not easy! my goodness! It’s been fun “seeing” you pop in on HRG!

Tri’s are my love-I started at age 14 with sprint and Olympic distances then after watching some epic Ironman finishes on TV I knew I had to do one. I finally did two of them after my 3rd baby. I have a classic photo after IM Canada where I am sitting on a bench in the finish corral breastfeeding. My parents handed her over the fence. I swear she probably got raspberry hammergel flavored breast milk!!! The swim is my favorite part.

No jalepenos or green peppers on salad-they make every other ingredient taste like them. Selfish veggies.

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Most people don’t get it, but I have ZERO interest in baked goods…especially pastry and cake. Bleh. But give me ice cream or a chuck of chocolate 24/7 and I’m happy!!

And for me, cottage cheese is one of my FAVORITE foods. When I buy it, it gets eating RIGHT AWAY. No control whatsoever. lol

When I bike, it’s purely for transportation.

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I felt like the queen of the world after I finished my first sprint tri – like i could do ANYTHING! I was most scared of the swim, but had no problems. Got passed a TON on the bike, but then looked stronger than others on the run. Not surprising single i’m a runner not a biker or swimmer! I’ve only done Sprints, so i can’t even imagine the iron!

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Way to go, Josse!!! Racing against the wind almost takes more mental effort than anything else. It can suck the life out of you. I try and train on windy days so I can learn to cope better (because I don’t cope well with wind).

I have done a couple 70.3s and am currently training for my first Ironman! The swim is the hardest part for me, but once I jump on the bike and head into the run, I feel great. I’m just not a swimmer and I don’t rally enjoy swimming. Two out of three ain’t bad though. :) I definitely prefer hills because it switches things up and allows me to recover on the downhill.

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Congratulations, Josse! That’s amazing. I don’t think the swim would be my strong point at all.

I will eat cottage cheese on occasion but I could live without it. My husband hates hard boiled eggs, avocado, nuts and cottage cheese. The way I feel about that: more for me! Not having to share my avocado? priceless!

I do have a bike and I love it. I do not trust drivers in my area so I don’t ride as much as I’d like. (I’ve been hit by a car once and had 2 near misses – all of which I was a pedestrian for and had the right-of-way).

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Way to go Josse! You are so awesome! Do you think you’ll do a full IM at some point? That’s my long (long long) range goal. I’ve done 5 triathlons and I really enjoy them. I’ll never podium but I enjoy the challenge.

I could live on hard boiled eggs so I thing your bf is a little crazy but that’s okay. All the best people I know are a little crazy. I have absolutely no interest in jerky which is too smelly and too chewy for my taste.

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My answer as of know is no. I really really enjoyed the half and the training but that was my limit. But I also love a challenge so maybe when I’m old.

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I totally know this triathlon because it’s super close to where I grew up/went to high school! Once I saw that name of the state park I knew. It made me happy to see :) Congrats to Josse on her AMAZING race!

I’ve always wanted to do a triathlon! Swimming is actually my best area, as I was a swimming in HS. I don’t have a bike for training though, so that’s a bummer.

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So glad to read this Josse! You are tough. Next stop, full IM (heehee)! See you soon xx

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That is amazing recap!! I would never do an ironman………….I can run and I can ride my cruiser bike, but no real racing bike or swim. (Actually, the half ironman in Chattanooga had an unfortunate athlete death on the swim portion…………seems a healthy man’s heart gave out…………scary!)
I don’t like cottage cheese………..but I love hard boiled eggs!
I don’t mind hills, but hills + wind…………no thank you!

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JOSSE!!!!!!!!!!!! DANG GIRL! Congrats!!!!

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WAY TO GO JOSSE! you killed it!!

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