Much like Becky's last post, I recently have also been struggling with training a little bit. Mostly the running part. It's my least favorite of the disciplines that comprise triathlons and I've also been having some ankle/shin splint pain. I'll be home in St. Louis for a wedding in a few weeks and I plan to go back to the orthotic specialist that cast my first set a few years ago--hope to get everything worked out so I can go for a pain-free jog. The tri will be only a little more than a month away by then, but that's alright. I'm going to be in Europe (with Becky!) for about 3 weeks during the peak of my training and I am certain I won't keep up with the program. I'm ok with that. I'm still looking forward to getting out there and enjoying race day!

That being said, I do anticipate a super active July prior to the Europe trip. Becky is going to come and hang out for a few weeks leading up to our trip and we are going to rock Chicago's lakefront.

70 miles on the bike this week, with some cross training mixed in:

Tues= 8 mile bike
Wed= soccer game + 10 mile bike
Thurs= 1 hr of tennis
Fri= 19 mile bike + beach volleyball
Sat= 22 mile bike
Sun= 11 mile bike

I love summer!

I'm back in Chicago after spending some quality time with Beck in Ann Arbor. I was able to watch four great games while she coached, including a doubleheader against Northwestern on Sunday for the Big Ten conference lead. They split--each game was decided by one run--so Michigan and Northwestern will continue to battle for the title in their last remaining games. I've been a fan of the Michigan softball program ever since Becky transfered there and went on to win a National Championship... but being able to experience their games this weekend, enjoy the new beautiful stadium and get to know the fan base a little, I fell in love with the program. Women's college athletics at its very best!

We ate a lot of turkey subs from Subway ($5 footlongs!) and went on what can best be described as a rollerblade excursion. Becky bought new rollerblades and I brought mine along with me. First, we couldn't find the park that was recommended to us. Once we found it, there weren't any paths we could skate on. So we decided finally to just park and get rollerblading...we were on back roads and in random neighborhoods. It was the first time either one of us had rollerbladed in a long time; quite the adventure

I have two soccer games tonight (assuming we win our first game) for the championships. My mom is here visiting and we'll probably go for a bike ride on Thursday. I'll update with a post on how the games and the bike ride went.