Two in One House + Tour de Vic

I posted this picture on Facebook the other day.

I was surprised by how many comments I got – and not Facebook comments, but actual real live comments. Most were along the lines of: “You don’t really go through that many gels every week do you?” or “Is that really what you eat when you train?” or “How long does all that stuff last you?” etc. etc. etc.

Anyway, it got me to thinking about how much of this lovely “nutrition” Shane and I actually go through on a weekly basis. The short answer: A LOT!

With two people training for Ironman in the same house, man, the bills add up. See this post for an overview – now times all that by two! Yowza.

[Here is another fun article about two triathletes dwelling in the same house… I can definitely relate to about 99.9% of it, haha].

Not to mention the collection of water bottles we have amassed this year.


This is not even 1/3 of them. I should really just take this picture down.

We tend to let all the bottles pile up and then finally one of us will break down and clean them before our next big ride or training weekend.

Oh, and cleaning the house? Vacuuming? I’m not sure either one of us knows what that is anymore. Not really (okay, maybe sorta), but there are definitely things that get neglected during IM training, and well, vacuuming up the ridiculous amounts of dog hair the Rusty loses on a daily basis, is definitely one of those oft overlooked things.

I’m sure we’ll survive living in our own filth until the end of August, we just won’t be inviting any of our friends over anytime soon, haha.

Anyway, that was a bit of a tangent wasn’t it?

So, moving on…

This past weekend I did the 100km ride at the Tour de Victoria with my Dad. The weather turned out to be pretty much perfect (which was quite a surprise after the rain and wind that tortured the city on Friday and Saturday) and I had an absolute blast! I knew I would have fun, but I didn't expect to enjoy myself as much as I did.

Never having done a “mass participation cycling event” before, I didn’t really know what to expect. As we waited at the start line with the hundreds of other cyclists to begin, I found myself getting a little nervous. Not nervous about the route or riding 100k (I mean, that is pretty much a short ride at this point in the training cycle) but just nervous about being on the road with that many other people.

However, my worries were eased pretty quickly, as the varying speeds and abilities allowed all of us riders to spread out within what felt like a few minutes.

There is something pretty cool about doing a training ride and having no expectations other than to have fun. Also, cruising along on closed roads with hundreds of other people, with volunteers and spectators cheering you on at every corner, simply put - it's pretty rad.

Oh, and the little pack that formed along Lochside Drive and sucked me and the Pops along for a good 5-10k ~ awesome!

On top of that, I think my Dad is one of the best people to attend or participate in an endurance event with. As a spectator, he is an awesome cheerer. As a participant, you can’t help feed of his infectious spirit – thanking all the volunteers, hooting and hollering at anyone with a cowbell. It made the day that much better and I found myself smiling from ear to ear for the majority of the ride – even on the Munn’s Rd hill climb!

Fearing the dreaded Munn's Rd hill climb.
[Really, it wasn't so bad].

So, thanks Dad for a wonderful day and some great new memories. I'm so thankful to have gotten to share this day with you!