St. Simons Island

Been a while since I posted anything as we've been traveling for baby showers and work - figured it was time for an update. The past 4 days we were down near Brunswick, GA on St. Simons Island for a work conference. Of all the conferences that you can chooose to go to, this one is probably the best since it is right on the beach and has a bunch of activities that allowed me to burn off some of my energy.

There was an educational bike tour planned as part of the conference, so we all brought bikes this time around. Knowing that the bike tour probably couldn't be considered actual exercise, I went for a road ride around the island beforehand. Quite a lot of traffic and not the best environment for training. Oh wait, I'm not supposed to be "training" anyways...less bike riding, more kegels, right?

Anyways, there were a lot of bike paths - mostly wide sidewalks - but they were more suited to the 8 mph beach cruiser type cyclists. Chris later told me he saw all the tri-geeks out doing laps up and down the causeway bridge into Brunswick - the biggest "hill" in the area.

On Tuesday morning there was a 5k run, which I waffled about doing since my previous run was fairly slow and uncomfortable. I figured I'd give it a go and just run until it didn't feel so good and then just fast walk the rest. I guess running first thing in the morning before eating or drinking anything helped take some weight off, as I had a great run (for someone of my circumference) and averaged 7:20 per mile, for a final time of 22:49. Sure it was over 2 minutes slower than usual, but considering I expected 8 minute miles as a best case scenario, I was pretty excited. I did have to run fast though to get back to the hotel bathroom before I peed myself, so I guess I was fairly motivated.

Later that afternoon we had a volleyball tournament where we've been the runner-up the past two years. Well, for some strange reason, we were able to pull out the win this year. Perhaps it was because I played less agressive at the net and focused on passing the ball to my much taller teammates. Or maybe the other team was thrown off by my belly, thinking IT was the volleyball and missed the real one when it came to their side of the court.

Some pics from the race finish. Although he finished about 2 minutes ahead of me, Chris, being a nice guy, came back to run the last 20 feet with me. And yes, they thought it was necessary to pin two race numbers on me...



As always, thank goodness for black clothing and head-on photography...