An olympic race in Sardinia!

Holy brown cow that race was short and tough. A quick race recap the day before another race tomorrow!

Sardinia 11 Olympic race was upon me before I knew what was happening. A long flight across the seas from Brasil to catch up with Luke and my beloved Sardinia Tri Campers.

All things were amazing in Italy and I got to toe the line at one of my favorite races. Last Saturday turned out to be quite the race with over 25 pro's lining up. ITU/Olympic distance is NOT my specialty but I was keen for the punishment just 6 days post IM Brasil. I rinsed out the race kit and polished the trusty steed. I racked her and placed the recycled non pee Kwicky Blade Lites (clearly did not drink enough in IM B but thats another story) into the transition @ 12 pm. Race kick off was set for 2 pm. Bless the Euro's and their afternoon races.

The race went as follows:

Swim ... awesome swim and came out 4th just behind some of the ITU chickas!!! Clearly this was going to be the days highlite.

T1... mmmm may have to work on this one as got passed in T1 for 5th place due to being so slow.

Bike... Out on the rollers I was feeling fine. As we entered the hills I felt the sting of IM bite me in the ass but managed to hang on and ride quite well. That is until the descents. Ha I was comical with my TT bike and my 808 front wheel but who gave a crap if those ITU chicks where eating time into me as I Nanna'ered my way down the windy mountain (mental note work on descending) I was having a blast and I was in Sardinia for gods sake.

Smashed it back over the rollers into town and came off the bike exactly where I started ... in 5th SCORE!!!

T2... once again I did my Ironman transition. Minus the socks of course. Not amazing one might say medium.

Run... Mental strength came to me in a whole new way. I have never been in any triathlon in the history of my triathlon adventures and not gotten passed on the run. However today was not going to be like any other day. Top 5 got paid and come hell and high water I was going to finish in the top 5.

The run was horribly hilly but the old diesel IM engine got going and I did my 10 kms with a grimace on my face but a desire to succeed in my heart. I ran like I stole something and got across that bloody up hill finishline in 5th. Wahoo winner winner chicken dinner. I managed to sit down on the side of the road and spewed my lunchtime carrots everywhere to everyones horror. Not my finest moment but I had a grin a mile wide. Who knew pain could be so fun when it only lasts a few hours.

Lukey and I walked my tired ass home to Villasimus and talked about how many espresso's my massive 100 euro pay check would buy.

I know what you all are thinking... why bother for 100 euro's but it's not about the size of the pay check. It's about the size of the heart and the size of the fight in the girl. On this day I was the richest one out there, a prize fighter and I made myself proud to know I did my absolute best. Carrots and all.

Another day is coming to the end here in Italy and tomorrow is the 70.3 Pescara race. Heck I have lost my mind but how much fun is insanity!!!

Stay tuned

Memphis x

Big Girl Pants

Well time fly's when you are having fun. Going into Brazil I had 4 full weeks under new coach Siri and 1 week in Texas watching Lukey but still training and one week taper.

I knew I was swimming well and running well but I had no idea how the old bike would go post ribs and crash. Turns out the day was comical to say the least but I learnt more about myself and my ability to push than ever before.

Here is the days recap.

Swim : 58 mins. Sounds great, was good but absolutely bloody terrifying. For the first time in a race I was scared shitless! I got the bejesus kicked out of me and I honestly thought "Oh crap I am going to drown" Some not so chiverous (spelling) gentlemen decided to pull me down and nearly drown me but I decided that this was not how the Memphis Story was going to end.

I gathered my composure, grew a pair and got going.

I ran through transition like a woman possessed. I jumped on the trusty Scott steed and bolted out of the gates. For all of about 1 mile. I could not believe that after 2 years of nothing suddenly the ass cramps were back full force. Within 2 mins I was lying on the ground screaming my lungs out in pain. My ass had locked up (stop laughing) and I could not peddle a stroke. I stretched and cursed and watched a million people go by. I prayed to someone I don't even believe in and begged that they went away. After what seemed like eternity I got back on the bike and rode off ... for another mile. Repeat above paragraph but add more expletives.

Take 3 ..... I actually got going this time and rode off gently. Positive mind positive thoughts. I hate to think how long I was groveling on the road side for.

I managed to ride the next 70kms with no problems. Siri had told me to be diligent with food and drink and take care of myself out there and the day will be mine. MMMMM easier said than done but I took this thought with me all day. "I am grateful to be here. I love my bike. I am loving this day" It actually worked as even when I stopped for the last time with cramps I kept my mind in a happy place and did not let it get to me.

Not even as I was pulling out onto the road and the peloton of riders came past did I get upset. Not even as this idiot draft marshal stopped me to hand me a penalty did I loose my cool. I did point out that if everyone was passing me as I had bearly started peddling I was clearly not the one who should get stung. I took it like a man and refrained from unleashing some seriously abusive Portuguese.

I finished the ride in 5.21. This will not be my official time as my Garmin does an auto stop thing. I shudder to think what it actually was on the clock.

Into the penalty tent for me. 5 long painful mins. My oh my. Big girl pants and positive thoughts. I was about to unleash my best run ever. Nothing was going to get me down. I was grateful to be here.

We all know my long hideous history with running. I suck lets be honest. Well I did until I changed my attitude and started to love running. I know I hear you all sniggering and thinking "Yeah right" but I actually do love running now. So I strapped on the K-Swiss's and bolted out the T2 tent.

4.50's to 5.05's all the way through lap 1 (19kms). Up and down the giant wall of a hill which I had decided I would walk prior to the race. It is freaking monstrously steep. Come race day however I said "Screw you wall of a hill" I ran the whole dang thing with the words of Siri ringing in my ears. I got to the point from last year where I blew to smithereens and charged on with a smile. I am loving IM Brazil right now.

2 small 10km laps to go. I could feel the body giving way slowly to the cramps but the mind was rock solid. 2 x 10kms just aint that far I kept saying. My calves were screaming for me to stop and stretch but I was honestly too scared to walk. One step of walking only leeds to two steps so the Big Girl Pants were pulled up and I kept on running in this weird wonky way. "Dont stop! Dont walk!" "Push harder" "Run faster." These were my mantra's. I had not worked my ass off in Kona for a month to be walking. Those days were behind me.

In the end I hobbled my way through the next 10 kms. The last 10kms were a bit of a blur as I just kept smashing myself. Clearly I was getting slower but in my head I was trying harder than ever before. I did a few 5.15 kms in the last lap but slowed due to more quad and ass cramps for the final 4 kms. My finish time was 10.37.

Officially the day was a disaster but in the past if the day was a disaster then I finish in 11 and a half hours. This goes to show that even when everything goes wrong we can always endure more than we think we can and we can salvage something from the giant mess.

I know that in spite all the cramping and mental road blocks I actually won the battle. I did not win a prize or prize money but I won the right to hold my head high. It was not the greatest day but dam it as it was not the worst. I found that I have a mental strength back that I feel like I lost a long time ago. One of my objectives of training with Siri is to regain the fighter within. Racing changed after an incident a few years back and I know that until this weekend I have been too frightened to hurt myself again. I am so fired up to get out there again. Pain is my friend again. Mental strength is not something that shows up on race day, it's something you practice in training.

I am sitting in an airport on my way to meet Luke and I feel as though I have reclaimed the fire with in. I am proud of my efforts over the weekend. I am not scared to fail any more. I want to be a better athlete. I will be. This race has shown me that the old me is back. Big Girl Pants are for fighters.

Stay tuned

Memphis x

When life gives you lemons ... make lemonade!

Since my last blog months ago there has been a life overhaul. Somewhere in April I turned 30 something. For my birthday I bought myself a present. A coach. Not just a best friend whom loves me and has helped me write my own programs (Belinda you are the best friend a girl could ask for) but a real full time nazi!!! Jokes, my new coach is no nazi but she is a wealth of knowledge and so passionate she instantly rocks your world. She has had me on her plan for the last 5 weeks and my god I had no idea I could work this hard and feel so good.

Siri has an amazing squad out of Borrego Springs and Santa Monica CA. A bunch of my friend are with her and we are a perfect fit. Even though I just spent the last month in Kona with Lukey I got more out of my training and myself than I ever imagined.

The ribs have healed and I am fit as. I am so looking forward to Brazil. I will fly down to South America with the other BFF Hillary Biscay on Monday. However before this happens there is a little race called IM Texas to watch.

Husband and super duper tri trooper Luke has a massive race on Sat. I will be virtual spectator and live twitter'er (is that a word) all day long.

Drop by his live site www.lukemckenzie.com/live to see all the action

Stay tuned

Memphis x

Crashing

Well sadly I totaled the beginning of my season by having a pretty bad wreck. 3 weeks ago on Saturday I came down hard. I broke 2 ribs and did some pretty bad deep tissue damage. I won't complain though as I thought at the time I broke my pelvis so it could have been worse, much worse. I am getting better by the day but sitting on the sideline for the first 3 races I had planned for the year sucks rotten eggs.

IM NZ had to be canned, as with Abu Dhabi and Puerto Rico 70.3. It of course is no use crying over spilled milk so I have picked myself up and flown everywhere to support the hubby. I have weaseled my way into better seats on silly long haul flights to the best of my ability. I have cheered for my friends in 2 of the gnarliest conditioned races so far this year. (if I was going to miss out at least the races were horrible rain @ IM NZ and scorching hot sun @ Abu Dhabi.)

The saddest part of this all was the total destruction of my beautiful Scott Contessa. I had to throw her out after she was smashed to smithereens. I do have the greatest sponsor in the world and they have sent me out a new one to our next training camp. Also I can now say that the helmet needs replacing as it did a great job of protecting the noggin but cracked open on the ground and is now completely useless .

As the scabs fall off and the pain diminishes I am reminded yet again of how lucky I am to do this. I have the greatest life in this community of triathlon and am more than ever so grateful to be out here every day following my dreams.

I will be back.... slow and steady but back for IM Brazil.

Stay tuned
Memphis x

News for the NY

WWow how time has flown. I could regress and look back over the last few months and tell you stories of what's been going on but most of you have seen my Twitter or Facebook so I wont bore you with the re hashing of Christmas / NY / Jan floods and Perth adventures.

Let me just summarize by saying by the time I got to training in the last week of November I was in for some trouble. I had to pay the piper. The off season/wedding extravaganza was in forced due to Luke's injury and man o man did we get FAT!

Fast forward to today Feb 10th and I am just 4 weeks out from the beginning of a new season. I am very excited. First up will be IM NZ. Have not been back for a few years and am excited to go see the land of the long white cloud again. Straight after I race there it is off to the wonderous new land of Abu Dhabi for Lukey. I have entered the half race but I am not sure how I will pull up post IM so we will see. Also just one week after Abu Dhabi we jet over to San Juan 70.3. I have always wanted to visit Puerto Rico. My dear friend Enid lives there so I will even have a mini cheer squad.

My business ABM Sports Management is doing great. I have a bunch of new athletes and it is all very exciting. First up to race will be Jessica Jacobs. She is my super mum extraodionaire, an ex army officer who will be racing in a marathon this weekend.

A whole bunch of ABM athletes will be packing up and going to Abu Dhabi. Luke McKenzie , Belinda Granger , Jess Jacobs and Paul Matthews are all going. I can not believe how quickly this season has come around. Very exciting stuff with the new WTC points system.

I will keep you all posted of this seasons adventures and hopefully we will have some super exciting news re the show soon.

Stay tuned

Memphis x

Bad Memphis but happy Memphis!

Cruzin' in Kona on my Scott Sub 10!

Out in the saddle on the Queen K!

On the Queen K with Bridesmaid Alice who was also racing.

Getting ready for the big day!!!

A sneaky champers before the ceremony with my girls!

Bridesmaids Alice and Summer!

The wedding party!

Girls getting girly!

Jimmy and memphis get hitched!

Well what a busy month.

After a broken wheel @ 30kms in IMW I had to abandon my race. I was really bummed but I went back out and cheered on all my friends. It was great to see fellow K-Swisser's Joe Gambles and Gina Crawford take down the wins. I also had the chance to hang with BFF Hillary Biscay. I had a stopover in Chicago and that meant one thing. A massive box of Chicago mix popcorn. Post race Matty Lieto, Maki , Hillary and I smashed that thing.

Only a week later and I was off to Cancun to a half IM race. I was entered and fired up but could barely walk with a slice in my foot. I entered, I finished but hell it was not pretty. I finished in a terrible time but dam it I started so I was glad to finish. Lukey on the other hand had a blinder and finished 2nd to the other Luke, Luke Bell. In a blink of the eye we jumped on the plane and headed to Kona to prepare for 2 of the biggest days of the year. First for Lukey was the Ironman. I was going to chase the race by spotting for the lead women. Then on the Tuesday following the race we would be getting married.

With 10 days to go disaster struck and Luke could not walk. He was in bed for two days with cronic back pain and was not even able to sit up. Slowly over the next few days we came to the sad realization that he would not be lining up this year. He was shattered. There were tears but then he realized that he something bigger to look forward to. The Wedding.

Race day came and went and my god what a day it turned out to be. As everyone by now should know it was a double Aussie win with Macca and Rinsta taking the top spots. Chrissy pulled out before the start with illness and showed everyone that in the end she is in fact human. Luke got a chance to ride around in the lead control car and leant more than he ever imagined. My other 2 athletes Belinda and Kate had a great but not super day. Both were just happy to be out there and enjoyed the Hawaiian atmosphere.

All the family had arrived and we were fired up to celebrate in a way you can only imagine. We partied like rockstars and had a blast. With everyone coming from far and wide. People from Perth, Sydney, England and the USA. I have added some pictures to commemorate what a great day it was. A small group of us headed to Vegas to continue the party for 4 more days.

Finally we are home. Back in our little apartment and man it feels good. Sadly my bike is missing and I am gaining, gaining around the middle that is. I am looking forward to a long hot summer of hard training here in Noosa with all the family. Belinda and Juzzy are building the GAC (Granger Aquatic Centre) in their back yard. I know where I will be.

I will post some great pictures of the Great Aussie Summer Adventures.

Stay tuned

Memphis x

Cows and Corn.

Ironman Wisconsin is here. I am in a fabulous homestay with Bethany Collins. She is adorable and has a bit of a menagerie. She has 1 dog and 2 cats. They are fantastic. I love them and they come and sleep with me in the spare room. I am of course covered in fur.

Another high lite of this trip is that I will be racing with BFF Hillary Biscay. YEAH!!! She is completing the triple like a wild woman. Challenge Copenhagen, Ironman Louisville, Ironman Wisconsin. HECK.

Madison WI is beautiful. Very country. Cows and corn everywhere. I went for a ride of the bike loop the other day and took some of these shots. With only 2 more sleeps I am ready to go. Sans Lukey of course. He is in Bend still training up a storm for Hawaii which is only 4 weeks away.

Stay tuned

Memphis x

Only 4 more sleeps.

Only 4 more sleeps till I pack up and abandon Luke. I am off on a "solo" adventure to IM Wisconsin. Well I am not sure how solo it actually is when you are meeting up with BFF Hillary and Mr Cat. Not to mention the K-Swiss crew and Guy Crawford but you get my drift. This will be the first race in ages I am off to on my own.

Before I go I must pack up all the ludicrous amounts of stuff I have collected here and put / send and pack it all into whatever categories I deem suitable. I will also hold one last dinner.... Luke, Matty Lieto and Conrad are going to be sitting down to a good old Aussie Lamb roast.

Now one does not like to brag but in this case I will. I am a fabulous cook. Quite frankly lamb is my specialty and I will be pulling out all the stops when I whip up this amazing last meal. I will take some happy snaps of said meat when I make it but in the mean time it is Tuesday so not only do I have to go shopping for all the trimmings but I also have to squeeze in the final sessions before I head out of here.

Stand by to be amazing....

Memphis x

Bend .... How I love you.

Well it is now 3 weeks till IM Wisconsin and I am training the house down. I have been in the proverbial box on numerous occasions. What box you ask? The agony box, the hurt locker or the House of Pain. All are basically the same place.

The training here is amazing but it is quite the lonely road as I do everything myself. Well kind of. I go to the pool with the boys but don't swim in their lane for obvious reasons. I do the same sets it just take me a little longer. I run my long runs out on the trails at the same time as them only I have to run longer. And a little slower. My friend is my MP3 player and I have spent a small fortune on downloads of late. The Dead Weather keeps me rocking along and my mind of the mountain lions that have been recently reported in the area.

My long rides are the same as Lukey's but once again we ride separately but on the same routes. I have managed to make friends with some cool people at the gas station @ Prineville. They think I am crazy and find it funny that I ride 112 miles all by myself. Luke always reaches the gas station before me and the bloke there takes delight in telling me how far ahead he is. And how many chocolate milks he drank.

All in all this place makes you both physically and mentally strong. It will remain to be seen if it makes me fast. One can only hope so.

I am meeting back up with BFF Hillary Biscay and her better half Mr Cat (Maiki Twilsik) in IM Wisconsin and am super excited to see what kind of cheering antics our GCM will get up too. He has a lot to live up to after Hills and I donned the bikini's in Lake Placid. See previous Blog.

With the final push towards IM I thought I would send out a huge thank you to all the amazing sponsors we have. The have sent us out so much stuff so that we can work our butts off out here.

K-Swiss for all the amazing shoes we get to run in. Sorry I am a klutz and tear up a pair every other week as I stack it out on the trails. Also for all the super cool clothes I get to train in day in day out.

Powerbar for all the delicious treats that save my life frequently.

Scott for the fastest dam bike EVER. And the super rad matching kit. If a girl must wear Lycra then a girl should match.

Smith Optics for all the pairs of sunnies I try my best not to drop or loose. I am pretty sure I can also thank you guys for wrinkle prevention.

Zipp, 3T and Sram your stuff makes us go super fast while being super comfortable. You can't believe how much my ass appreciates that @ the end of a 6 hour ride.

Blue 70 you keep me warm when the water is cold and up here on the mountain that is actually alot. You also make me fast when I need it the most.

IM Lake Placid, Mr Cat and promises kept.

Hillary waiting for Mr Cat.

Are you going our way?

If you zoom in our butt cheeks say "GO CAT"

So I felt as though I should write a blog in dedication to a promise made and a promise kept. Once upon a time Miss Hillary rang Memphis and suggested that when we were in Lake Placid supporting our friends Mr Cat and Kate B we should spice things up a little. Hills suggested we cheer in bikini's. "OK I am in." was the reply. Now this sound all good and well but one must take into account a few variables. First Lake Placid is not know for it's sunshine and heat on race day. More like torrential down pour and sideways rain. Clearly this was going to be a chili day. Second I had just spent 6 week in active recovery and on a European eating extravaganza. I was most certainly NOT bikini ready but a promise is a promise. You can not let your best friends down over a bit too much cheese and wine.

I was a spotter for the women's race and was escorted around LP by motorcycle rider Jim :) Thanks Jim. Out on the run I caught up with Hills and we applied the body art in the form of a magic marker. The messages of support were appreciated by not only Mr Cat but all the boys on the course. Actually some of the girls loved it also. At one stage the race coverage lost all stats as most of the spotters had abandoned the race to come see the bikini aid station.

In the end Mr Cat was not to win but man he had the best cheer squad out there.

Hillary I never break a promise and we had a whole lot of fun doing it so anytime anywhere I am your girl. Next stop IM Wisconsin.

Stay tuned

Memphis x

Europe 2010

I loved riding here. It was so beautiful. Valle du Jour.

The day Lance fell and lost his chance at the tour.

The lead boys about 2km into a 15km climb.

The beautiful lake we ran around every day in Valle du Jour.

Chris Horner our local Bendite.

The early morning was filled with people trying to get a glimpse of Lance.

Memphis found a Frenchie friend.

Our hotel. Quite charming really.

I have no idea how I put 3 kgs on during this trip.

At the top of the climb the jumbo TV was awesome.
A gift for JJ.
After climbing all morning we deserved this burger.

Dear Blog

Dear Blog,

Once again I seem to have abandoned you. This usually happens when I travel too much and train heavily. In this case it is both. Since we last hung out I have been to more countries than I care to remember and have swam,rode and run more that I can recall.

I will do my best to bring you up to date.

Post Morocco we headed back to Spain. Spain to London to see my bff Clare and her man. Stopped off at the Glastonbury festival. Returned to Spain said a sad goodbye to the Marbella crew :( and headed to Italy France and Switzerland for work.

There was a load of training and some Tour du France action. Cadel slapped his race number on my ass. I thought I was going to be able to help him to victory but disaster struck the next day and he crashed. As did Lance. The fairy tale was over for this year. But I have a memento that is now stuck on the front of our wedding planner book ha ha ha. I am not your average bride.

Valley du Jour was awesome. I burnt off loads of the calories I ate in Italy. I fell in love with Italy all over again and pestered Jimmy to let me buy a vineyard. Sadly he did not approve. Apparently we don't have enough money just yet ha ha ha. A villa in Tuscany is not in our budget....but one day he said.

Post Scott Switzerland and 3t Italy adventures we headed back to the trusty old "Turtle". A small oversight on our part was leaving the old girl in Florida. A 3 day world class road trip followed. I think we broke the world land speed record for a Ford Econoline.

We arrived in our mountain home of Bend and I have never been so happy to unpack the suitcase. However before I knew it the hand luggage was re packed and I shot over to NYC for IM Lake Placid. My girl Kate Bevilaqua came 4th and qualified for Kona. No one deserved it out there like her. She has been traveling the long road back from a horrible injury. Not once have I heard her whinge or cry. She just kept fighting her way back and got just rewards with a Kona slot. Welcome back from Siberia love muffin.

I came across a bit of a glitch in NYC and missed my flight and Jimmy's birthday. He was not a happy camper but quickly forgave me after I spoilt him rotten on my late return.

Now I am just 5 and a half short weeks out from IM Wisconsin and boy I am excited. I have been loving the massive rides and trail runs here in Bend. Not to mention the 50 mt outdoor pool. YAY. Memphis is home sweet home.

On other amazing news Best Girl Hillary Biscay got engaged to Maiki "Mr Cat" Twelsik. Well done kids well done.

Kristian and Charlotte Manietta are knocked up and are having what I predict to be the worlds cutest baby. I have already picked out a nickname for him/her. I will call their child "Lofty" for I have no doubt that he/she will be of great height.

Well that's it for now but I will post some pictures of these adventures very soon.

Stay tuned

Memphis x

Morocco

On our day off post X Challenge we headed to Morocco for the day. It was beautiful and interesting and super full on all at once. After hopping off the super speedy ferry we meet up with Abdul our taxi driver/tour guide for the day. He was a lovely man that live in Tanger his whole life. He spoke 5 languages and knew all there was to know about Morocco. Well the North anyways.

He showed us around Tanger and told us the history. Then he drove us to Assilah a beautiful seaside town. I absolutely loved Assilah. We stopped for lunch and I had a fish tanjine. The spice was amazing.

After lunch we strolled the streets and took 1000 photos. Here are a few.

Overlooking the city of Tanger.

The ladies of the alleys of Assilah.

Look left look right but dont forget to look up. A colorful roof top garden.

Painted doors are every where in here.

Out of the old city and into the streets for a market feel.
Sitting down for fish tanjine.
Another beautiful door.
And another.

This dude parks cars on the side of his other job. Over at Scott he is Monty's Boss.

Moroccan bread oven.

This mosque was built in 1355.

A box of kittens in the street that I wanted to bring home. Clearly I was not allowed.

Sunset over Tanger.

Luke enjoying the sunshine and some hummus.

After Assilah we travelled back to Tanger. Tanger is an amazing place but really full on. In a way going to Tanger is like going to Baja Mexico. Yes you are in Morocco but quite frankly it is not real Morocco. I would have loved to travel to Marrakech but sadly it was too far south. We just did not have time.

Would I recommend you go to Tanger? Yes I would but I would not stay there long. Half a day is more than enough. Get out and see more of the real Morocco.

Now we are back in Marbella and back to training hard.

Stay tuned

Memphis x

Training in Spain.

So with Scarlet dead and Lukey put to the sidelines Lu and I headed for the hills. On our bikes of course. Our fearless leader Gaston took us out for a fantastic ride up into the mountains and through a town called Ojen. I did not have the camera as I did not want a sulking Jimmy back at home. The ride was amazing and beautiful and we sweated up and down for 3 hours or so. I don't want to know how many meters of climbing... too many to think about.

The running here is awesome too. Lu and I have been belting up and down the waterfront on this perfect running path. It is only about 9 kms long all up but plenty long enough for us. Up back up and back... you get the picture. Lu is training for IM Regansburg. I am pushing her. She and I are the perfect pace together as I am just getting back some long miles and she is keen to run a sub 4 hour marathon. After a 15km session on Wed and a swim/bike combo Thursday we headed off to Tarifa. The idea was to help set up the X Challenge race that both she and her partner Jamie run. Somewhere in the days leading up we all decided that it would be a grand idea if I entered. HECK !!!!!

My previous mountain bike riding is as follows.

Once 14 years ago I rode a MB and hated it. Once last summer I rode down hill in Sun Valley Idaho and nearly killed myself but loved it. Since then I rode to the shops once to get OJ for the salad dressing but thats it. By Saturday I was on Jamie's bike in Lu's shoes and practicing on the SUPER EXTREME course.

Sunday I rode to the race start and that was my preparation. I know what you all are thinking.... OMG she is going to die.

The race started @ 10 am (gotta love the euros) and it was 1500mt swim. I swam well and came out 8th or 9th overall. This was my shining moment in the race ha ha ha. Off on the bike and I managed to crash in the first 10 mins but not badly at all so up and off again. I was passed by 1 girl straight away and she was uber good. I was not going to be seeing her anytime soon. I was having a blast and just doing my MEMPHIS thing. I am happy to report that I did not fall off again. However loads of people went flying past me as I ride like a grandma on the descents.

Lap 1 went by with out too much incident and I ate my gels like a good long course girl does. I figured before the race start that this might take a while so I packed a small buffet in my pockets.

Strangely I did not realize that it was 2 loops so when I got to the right hand finish turn I tried to insist in english that I was done and the volunteers tried to explain in spanish that I was in fact NOT done and had to loop around again....holy crapola. Ok I was in over my head but I was having a great time so around again I went.

Lap 2 was really fun as this long course girl came into her own. I passed half the field back. For 3 reasons.

Reason 1 : Everyone out there did not know how hard this course was as it was the first year and no one packed food so people were bonking left right and centre. I had 4 gels and a packet of chews so I was like the cat that got the cream. Stuff you " MR Fly by me like I was standing still on the downhills." Who's hungry now?

Reason 2 : Clearly everyone does not do 180kms on their mountain bike in a race so this odd distance of 45km (normally 30 in Xterra) was more than they had trained for. Love a good pair of IM legs.

Reason 3 ; My arms were so sore I could no longer put the brakes on so I went down the hills 3 times as fast on the second lap. I like to think I was a work in progress and was learning on the job.

Sadly 5kms from the end of the bike leg my wonderful adventure ended. My bike broke and I was out of the race. But the good news was that I had climbed back into 4th place so I felt awesome and would do it all again tomorrow.

I hitched a lift with the red cross sand dune buggy back to town. I had the best day trying something completely new and exciting.

Tarifa is an awesome place and we had a wonderful few days racing, training and god help Luke .....shopping! I picked up some fantastic gifts for my girlfriends and we walked around like a super tourist taking pictures of all the amazing buildings.

After packing everything up Luke and I decided to spend the next day in Morocco. I will have to write a whole new blog for that adventure. In the mean time here are some pictures of my awesome X Challenge Tarifa race and Spain in general.

Stay tuned

Memphis x

Walking through the streets of Tarifa

The entry to the old city. Very lovely really :)
MMMM Tapas!

The old castle near our house.

The view from our roof. That's Morocco over there.

Post run happiness.

Out with Kaya and Tricky for a sunset run.

The run turn around on Sunday.
Jimmy running much faster than moi.
Out for a ride on the new Scott named after our friend LU.... Luciana.

Jimmy and Luciana heading up the hill.
One side of the beach is the Med...

And the other is the Atlantic.

Memphis is actually in a bit of a panic really.

Memphis talking a big game at the front of the start line.

Awesome swimming Memphis.

Ejecting the wetsuit.

Having a bit of a chat with the camera guy... Jimmy.

The finishline that never was for poor Memphis.

The wine was calling post race.