Conservation of Energy: Half Ironman and Ballroom Dance in ONE day!

I've prepared for this weekend the whole summer of 2008-- running every afternoon and ballroom dancing every morning! Here is the quick recap...!

Half Ironman
Repeating the feat of last year, I completed another Half Ironman! This is crossing the finish line after 6.5 hours of consistent exertion! I finished almost a half hour ahead of my time from last year. :)

I finished the 1.2 mile swim in 52 min. (4.55min/100m), a 56 mile bike in 3 hrs. 13 min (17.4mph), and the 13.2 mile run in 2 hrs. 13 min (10.25 min/mile). I took 1st place in the Athena category, and received a framed "First Place" certificate-- my new pride and joy!

This is right after the finish line, and collapsing on the ground with my best friend and running buddy-- the one and only Tiff!!!!!

Repeating the support given last year, Tiff came and ran the half marathon portion with me. She chatted (when she had the breath) as much as she could to distract me from the pain, and I quoted poetry back to her :). Despite all odds, it WORKED, and I owe my finish to her!

Unbeknown to me was Tiff's real sacrifice-- she'd forgotten her socks, and ran sockless the whole way! We compared blisters on Sunday as we tagged around in flip flops-- no sunday heels for us!

Ballroom Dancing (BYU Summer Dancesport)
I got to my apartment from the Half Ironman at 2:27 pm, and had my first performace starting exactly at 2:51 pm. I don't think I've ever showered, slicked my hair, applied makeup and donned nylons, and run so quickly in my life! I walked into the venue 6 minutes before we walked on stage! (again... thanks Tiff!)

My first competition was a Jive, a Latin dance. My partner and I took 6th place, and received a little pink ribbon. My next competition was 3 hours later, so I went home and stretched out a bit, then fixed my hair and makeup :). Mom, Tiff, Mel, and Tommy came to watch in the evening... thanks!
Here are two clips from some of our competitive dancing. We made the quarter final round in Pre-champ, which is a pretty big deal for dancers of only one year :)!! The first clip is the Rumba, coined the "Dance of Love," and the second is the Cha Cha.

Fun things to notice: , I jerk my head up to look my partner in the face, and we smacked heads. Although it doesn't look too bad on the video, I have a goose bump the size of a quarter, and couldn't put on makeup the next day. Without realizing it, I apologized with the characteristic, "I'm so sorry!" while still trying to smile and look romantic. I was trying not to laugh.

In this dance, I go down into the splits, but was so tired, my partner literally had to pull me up off the floor. He said later, "I've never felt your body go so limp before!"

Overall, I feel blessed to do so many of the things I love! Although sore and a bit dazed even two days later, I would do it all again in a heart beat! I LOVE life!