It's been awhile

      Alot has happened recently, but to make sure that this doesn't get too long, I'll just hit some of the highlights.  To start, yesterday was the last day of teacher work week at school.  That means I'm officially done for the summer...yay!!! I am looking forward to some extra free time.  The thing I am most looking forward to is spending some time with my sisters and their families, I don't get to do that enough.
      Training has been going good.  The biggest thing right now is getting reacclimated to the heat.  It's amazing how much the sun drains you.  I have to be more cognizant of how much I'm drinking and I have to put in a little more thought when it comes to planning when I'm going to do my training sessions. I was able to get some new pedals for my bike which I was pretty excited about.  I had a little bit of a frustrating time getting them "broken in" but it was worth it...I love them. 
       A few weeks ago, I was able to help out at one of Multisport Performance Institute's day camps.  It was a pretty full day, from 7am-3pm, where we covered everything.  The day included an open water swim, a bike ride with some intervals thrown in, some really good lectures on everything from wellness, to recovery and nutrition, and ended with a short run.  I had a lot of fun and got alot out of it myself.  Something I would really recommend for any locals who are getting into the sport.
      One pretty exciting thing that happened earlier this week was I got my first sponsorship check.  My sponsor was the Santa Rosa Island Triathlon (SRITRI).  Part of their mission is to support young triathletes as they try to develop their talents and when I told them about my upcoming championship races, they jumped at the chance to help out...too cool.  The SRITRI was actually the first triathlon I ever did and I have done it every year since then.  It's local which is great, but it is also one of the nicest venues and one of the most well organized races that I have been a part of.  I can't wait to race it this year and Matt has also committed to doing it.  It'll be his first, can't wait.  I can't thank them enough for their support.

Receiving the check

      
         My next race is a week from tomorrow in Fairhope, AL, so be looking for the race report not long after.  I have also added a tool where you can subscribe to my blog if you want.  There is a box in the upper right corner where you enter in your email address and you'll be notified each time I post something new.  Hope everyone enjoys their holiday weekend! Oh yeah, and I have to mention, it's Matt's last weekend in his twenties. He turns 30 on the 31st...getting old huh :-)