Vacation!

We loved Seattle in February 2007 for our anniversary trip, so we decided to head back for 2008, but this time in the summer. I had signed up for a litte Half Ironman, which took up a good chunk of our time in the middle of the trip, but Ted was glad that he was able to get a spot on a fishing charter the day after my race! He is a creature of habit, so we enjoyed revisiting our favorite restaurant, Chandler's, where he had some great Crab! It was beautiful eating there, the weather was about 70ish and we sat out on the patio enjoying the great view of the water and boats going by. Ted was able to fish with our same guide from last trip, and he enjoyed that quite a bit. I personally enjoyed the Salmon that he caught and grilled for me on the night of our return! :) For those of you that know about Ted's grilling, know that I am definitely spoiled when it comes to getting good meals from his passion as a grillmeister! I was pretty good before the race about trying to eat pretty well and keep my alcohol consumption to a minimum. But, the day after the race we enjoyed a nice patio meal consisting of popcorn "fried" shrimp, chicken strips, french fries, and my favorite beer, "blue moon." It was nice to kick back and enjoy "the day after!" But, I must say my stomach did not feel so great after that meal, but it tasted great!

Lake Stevens 70.3 Half Ironman! July 6, 2008

I completed my 2nd Half Ironman this past Sunday near Seattle, WA at Lake Stevens. All in all it was a great experience and a challenging race for me. The scenery was beautiful and the hills were abundant! Thanks to the kind listening ears/emails of some friends and my coach, I have now finally stopped obsessing over the many minute details of the race and I won't bore you with them all here. I consider myself more of a runner by experience, so this whole long distance tri thing is a whole different game for me. It is a different form of mental focus that I am still learning. I was a little freaked about the thought of having to complete double the distances for the Full Ironman in just about two months after finishing this challenging race, but as the days pass, I am forgetting the struggles and just focusing on training one day at a time for that "double"distance race coming up! I'm "Going for Gavin" as he fights Cancer month after month, I hope to endure just one day of hardship and complete an Ironman!

As for this Lake Stevens Race, I swam 1.2 miles, biked 56, and ran a half marathon. My overall time was 5:26, which was faster than my last Half race in Orlando in 2006, so that was a good thing! I made this goal and signed up way back in January, so it is definitely great to have completed it! Now onto training for the Full - Yikes!!!

My own "Mini Retreat"

June 20-21st Some people like to get away every once and awhile and enjoy a little retreat. Well, I had my own sort of mini-retreat in June as I attended "Triathlon Camp" in Oklahoma. To me it seemed like a great idea to help get me prepared for my upcoming Half Ironman and to enjoy some nice time away in a cabin along with some good time in the great outdoors with other fellow triathletes. Well, I quickly realized that this whole concept was a little strange as I tried to explain it when first requesting time off at work, then to other friends. You should see the funny faces people made, when I mentioned "Triathlon Camp!!" I still remember a text message I received from my good buddy Janice, that said something like, "I did not know you were headed off to triathlon camp, you are such a NERD!" Anyway, it was some great riding, lake swimming, and a little running. I hung out with the Fit2Train group, and I was glad to find out that although I was amongst some very "hard core" athletes who are competitive about their triathlons, they were also a great group who knew how to mix in some good "clean" fun and not get too uptight about the ins and outs of proper training, nutrition, etc. I especially enjoyed indulging in some high calorie snacks and beverages with them post-workouts. (Braums, Burgers, Beer, etc.) I had started getting a little burned out with my training in early June, and this little weekend getaway came at a great time for me. I am a pretty big NERD, so I enjoyed staying in a cabin by myself, cooking my own chocolate chip pancakes, obsessing over my triathlon gear/bike, cliff bars, gus, etc., and talking alot of "Tri" talk with other Triathlon enthusiasts! We covered two 60 mile rides, two long lake swims, and a 10 mile run....what else could you ask for a "mini-retreat"??

Wine Party for Gavin

June 14, 2008 We had a great time at the Wine party for Gavin. I posted the note from evite below, mostly to remind myself to continuously pray and remember Gavin and the Smith family as I continue to train for various races and prepare for my first ever Ironman! Thanks to all of you that were able to come to the event and/or donate! It was greatly appreciated! The address is listed below if anyone else would like to donate to the Medical Fund for Gavin!

SUMMER WINE BENEFIT FOR GAVIN Please join us for an evening of wine to raise money for The Gavin Smith Medical Fund.

My friends, Stacie & Jeff, and their sweet little Gavin are fighting hard to Cure Gavin's cancer. As many of you know, the last few months have been extremely tough for their family. I'm in the midst of training for an Ironman and I feel my training is a way for me to remember the Smith family and all of the trials and tribulations they are going through... So I am dedicating my efforts to Gavin. I told Stacie it is like they are having to make it through an Ironman and Many Marathons each and every day with all the daily challenges that Gavin has to endure.. I am blessed that I have time and my good health to train for these big events, and any minor pain that I experience along the journey is nothing at all compared to living in the world of Cancer.... I am inspired each and every day by Gavin and all that he has endured and battled, he is one tough litte fighter, and I pray that he can fight and win this battle! So in my races these next few months, I'm gonna keep "Going for Gavin"

So, Join me for a Night to Raise our Glasses to a Cure and Victory for Gavin! Feel Free to Invite Your Friends!**All proceeds from this event will benefit the Gavin Smith Medical Fund If you are unable to come but would like to donate to Gavin's cause,

mail a check to:

Gavin Smith Medical Fund

Bank of AmericaTX 2-551-01-014023

Cedar Springs RoadDallas, Texas 75219

Chris Graduated!

May 25, 2008 Well, as you know, I like to sometimes fit as many events as possible in the span of one day in my sometimes crazy life. My triathlon choice in Austin was strategically located to allow me to also make it just in time to my brother's graduation from Austin Presbyterian Seminary. So, after finishing the tri, I quickly showered, changed into a dress, and even Heels! (Later, I was regretting the heels decision) I headed off with my mother to attend his graduation ceremonies and festivities. Very proud of my big bro! Way to go Chris!

Long Time No Blog

It's July now...crazy how time flies. My life has slowed a little this week after a nice relaxing vacation to Seattle along with the completion of a Half Ironman, so I am going to attempt to recap some of the important moments in the past few months of the Martins!

May 25, 2008 - I completed the Cap Tex Tri in Austin and had great fun hanging out and sharing the race experience with my training buddy Robin. I had not done an Olympic tri in over two years, so it was a little nerve racking. It was great experience though and overall a fun day. I had a great bike that day, the fastest ever clocked in a race for me. The run was tough, a little side cramping...or maybe alot...but I thought about Gavin and I tried to push on through! I clocked 2:36 that day, which was about 15 minutes faster than my Cap Tex tri 3 years ago with the same course. In 2005, I did a little pre-race waterskiing and hanging out in the sun for 3 days straight with buddies, but for 2008, I decided to forgo the prerace water ski trip, so I guess that was a good decision!

As I wrote before my marathon, I have decided to try and dedicate all of my racing efforts to my friend Stacie's son, Gavin, who is battling cancer. I happened to visit Stacie at Children's for a while the Friday before leaving town for Austin for the race. It was very inspiring to quickly be reminded of their current life circumstances and the daily battles they were fighting. It was good timing for me. During the race, when I had those stomach issues and started to walk during the run, I quickly remembered how much stomach trauma poor little Gavin had been through with all the chemo, etc. I knew my suffering was pretty minor in comparison, and I was able to get running again as I thought about it. I remembered I was gonna keep "Going for Gavin!" Overall it was a fun day! My mom took the shots for me, it was great having her there! I may have lost a little time as I made sure to wave each and every time I saw her like a total cheese ball, but it was great to have her as a fan! My running shot is pretty glamorous if you take a close look... you could possibly use that for blackmailing purposes...