Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Camping, CAMP

It will feel so nice to sleep in my bed tonight....

On Saturday, I did the Lake Logan Triathlon in Canton, NC. Gorgeous site, perfect weather, and fun course - albeit lacking some lake water (the pictures are priceless - coming soon with a race report). Gail killed the ladies division (and almost all of the men, actually), it was GREAT to finally meet Bri & Marty Gaal (Congrats on a strong 2nd Bri!), and see so many tri-friends. Awesome job:
-Chris Smutzer
-Eric Mitchell
-Dustan Barber
-Julie Spitzer
-Kristen & Mike Klepfer
-Beth Rusch
-Jimmy & Heather Brehm

**Thanks to my sister, Sarah, who camped out with me at the race site on Friday night. That's right, we threw up a tent about 100 yards from the finish line. Nothing like waking up, unzipping the tent, and walking your bike over to transition ;)
**Also, thank you to our camping neighbors: the Smutzer Family. They were livin' large in their tow-behind camper... and were nice enough to share a pasta dinner. Chris, Set Up Events should be proud to see our dedication to the SCTS team and the events they produce. We are Hardcore.
**Thank you Mom & Dad for coming over to cheer me on! Mom, although you're teeny-tiny... you are the ONE spectator/cheerleader I can always pick out. And Dad, thanks for using the infamous Doug Long whistle. I always know when you're in the crowd.

Like I said, more on the race later.
But, in case you're into checking results... please know this: the swim was over a 1/2 mile away from the transition area. Due to drought, they're siphoning water from Lake Logan. We actually ended up with 3 transitions. Swim, T1: put on running shoes, run .7 of a mile; T2: strip wetsuit, get bike equip, ride; T3: run, finish.

Since then, I've been at MDA Summer Camp. Swimming, fishing, watching power soccer (an adaptive sport for kids in power wheelchairs), canoeing, singing campfire songs & making s'mores, arts & crafts, and hanging out with the kids. An amazing experience for sure - the perfect work fuel.

But, like I said - it's back to my bed tonight. Ah.

6 comments:

Eric said...

I can't wait to see the pics! I'm honored to be on your tri-friends list! Maybe next year the Mitchell's will bring the pop-up camper and join the camping fun. I bet Smutzer can cook some pasta, baby!

Meredith said...

ashley, back in blogville I see!?!?!? Good to hear...glad the camping, CAMP was fun......its nice to get away from the daily grind and be reminded of the joy you can bring to others...

Keep racing hard....

Eileen Swanson said...

Oh, camping can be super fun!! Glad you had a great time....welcome back to blog land, HA!

E

Sally said...

Congrats HONEY. You did GREAT. I was so pleased to be able to watch a race in person. And I'm so glad to be back hooked into the internet..... love keeping up with all your friends and fellow bloggers.

GREAT Going.

with love,
Mom

Marit C-L said...

Oh Ashley - I LOVE your Mom's comments :) Looking forward to meeting her in person. !!!! Hey - great job on the race! Yes, camping is great - glad that the Lake Logan Swamp Monster didn't bear his ugly fangs. It's always fun... but I get creeped out pretty easily. Just something icky about leaving the tent in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. Watch out for bugs and other critters! Can't wait to read the RR. :)

G-Man said...

Ashley - had fun this morning catching up on your blog...your trip to NY had me reminiscing about trips I took with my best friend when I was "young" - non-stop fun with no time wasted sleeping.

Congrats on Lake Logan and I'm looking forward to the Greenville Sprint and after-party (well, I'm really looking forward to the after-party)

G