With runs, a bike ride, and THE swim
Lots of sweat and no tears -
Many miles and conquered fears
The Beast headed up on Thursday with her trusty sherpa Mike
The next morning they carb loaded - it was a pancake delight!
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| Blueberry pancakes are the bomb! |
On Friday STUR took off by herself for an airplane flight-
She came close to missing her trip to Burlington - what a fright!!
Zoning out with her phone planning for FABBA-
She quickly realized the crowd was gone - yabba dabba!
The doors had been closed but she was given a break-
Sprinted on the plane and sat in her seat for goodness' sake!
STUR then drove directly to a Green Mountain State lake -
She immediately found CBun and their yakers - piece of cake!
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| CBun with her trusty yaker, Robair! |
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| STUR with her trusty yaker, Sandy! |
Checked in and got her pink shirt and cap -
Very efficient- happened in a snap!
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| Epic event! |
STUR was too late for the lake boat tour -
But according to CBun's picture, it doesn't look like a bore
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| Nice view of the lake from the boat tour! |
She and CBun then checked into the Jay Village Inn-
Made it back to Lake Memphremagog in time for the pasta dinner - WIN!!
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| Welcome to Lake Memphremagog! |
But first there was time for the 60's themed swimmer promenade -
Andy and Jeff were also there to celebrate!
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| STUR with the Vermont hosts! |
But Rabbits and company were having trouble staying awake
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| Chocolate cake? Yum! |
Time to go back and hit the sack -
So the early morning alarm won't feel like an attack!
Saturday morning STEB headed to a pool
Not to swim though – she was volunteering. Cool!
To get there she had to walk a little path
From a church parking lot, natch!
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| This path was tricky in flip flops! |
The NVSL division 17 divisional meet was the place
STEB timed in lanes 3 and 1 in this case.
At one point she and her fellow timers got a triple
That meant a free lunch – what a thrill!
The host pool’s nickname was the Barracudas
But they had cute dolphins around… huh?
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| Barracuds or Dolphins? At least STEB could find the ladies room! |
Race morning was perfect if not a little chilly-
Good news is that it wasn't windy!
The Rabbits arrived on site and checked in with their yakers-
More good news- none of them were slackers!!
STUR was with Sandy and she was confident and strong-
She was so glad to have her along!
The Beast was with Jill- very experienced and fit-
As a kayaker she was definitely legit!
Next was Robair who took his job the most seriously
He did a great job for CBun all the Rabbits would agree!
Soon it was time for the 10 mile swimmers to go-
Next up was the 10k yakers show!
They preceded us out and soon they saw Robair's paddle cros
This helped CBun know that he was the boss!
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| Thanks for the signal, Robair! |
The Rabbits entered the water at exactly 8:30-
The water felt cold- but it's time to get down and dirty!
After a little bit of jostling STUR eventually found Sandy-
Her purple PFD and red kayak were really handy!
STUR learned quickly that the kayak guide is a wonderful thing-
Not having to sight made her heart sing.
STUR had a "feeding" every 20 minutes-
Their system worked perfectly- there would be no glitch :)
Sandy kept her on schedule and extremely motivated -
In JUST the right place she was always situated!
The only chop that occurred was when a boat would go by-
Happened once when she was peeing- she's not shy!
Swimming along STUR felt like a machine and unstoppable-
For 3 hours she didn't dawdle once as a rule!
Around mile 5 - STUR did notice a change-
She was feeling a bit sick- so very strange!
Sandy said she noticed a slower stoke rate-
STUR knew she could finish/ there'd be no debate!
But finally rounding the last buoy she got a bit of a boost-
She spotted Jill and the Beast on the loose!
The two training buddies finished within seconds of each other-
Getting up and out of the water was hard - oh brother!
The RD Phil told STUR she needed to go to the med tent-
She couldn't figure out why- was this guy bent?
He said she looked cold and STUR guessed he was right
As she immediately started to shiver- and her skin was bluish-white.
They wrapped her in blankets and told her to stay there-
As soon as her temp was normal she'd get out of their hair!
Before she knew it CBun was swimming to the end-
The Beast and STUR began to cheer for their friend!
They were all excited to receive their medal made of wood
And a rock from the lake- it's all good!
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| STUR was still a mite chilly here! |
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| Such a cool finisher's medal! |
Mike was there too as their faithful Sherpa dude-
If they didn't give him props that would be rude!
The lake was long and deep and wide
But they welcomed the yakers into their pride!
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| Yakers, yakers, everywhere! |
With Jill, Sandy, and the epic Robair-
They managed hours of freestyle without a care!
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| Very happy finishers!! |
The post swim party pig roast was yummy and a chance-
For the Robair to get up and dance!
CBun and STUR laughed themselves sick-
As they watched him vogue, twirl, and kick!
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| Ears at the ready! |
Then in a flash he disappeared into the night-
But they wouldn't let him go without a fight!
Found him eventually among the tent people-
After calling his name several times for real!
STUR and CBun enjoyed the band and a beer or two-
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| Post swim beer? YES! |
The "Hitmen" played a lot of oldies it's true!
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| Here are the Hitmen! |
Meanwhile after the swim meet STEB had to get ready for a show
Chicago at Jiffy Lube Live with NanWa – don’t you know?
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| Ready to rock! |
They were fantastic, as was the weather
STEB almost wished she had brought a sweater!
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| Nice to be in real seats for a change! |
KBun knocked out a 12 mile run on Saturday
Here is where she was when she was half way
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| This is a boost at the halfway point! |
Sunday morning before the dawn of morning
She met KBun and Jeff to drive to the Free State for some biking
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| Shadow selfie!! |
It was a nice supported ride on the IMMD course
And TriCycle & Ride was the support source!
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| Ready to roll! |
They barely got started and had to make a pit stop
KBun's new steed really rocks!
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| Patiently waiting for their riders! |
The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is where he kept his abode
At one point STEB reminded herself that the wind was her friend
But she did look forward to the wind coming to an end!
There was a bit of flooding along the way in the marsh
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| One of many flooded areas on the route! |
And it was nice of them to mark the ‘hill’, which wasn’t too harsh!
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| It was nice to know a hill was coming! |
STEB stopped after one 45 mile loop around
KBun and Jeff did an out and back – more wind was abound
Meanwhile STEB did a little brick then worked out a bit
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| This outdoor gym was cool! |
Then finished up that days burpee challenge – no time to sit
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| Under this tree STEB did her burpees |
On the way back home they stopped for some pizza
And amazingly there was absolutely no traffic – alleluia
On Sunday two Kingdom Swimmers had Andy and Jeff as Vermont guides -
So lucky, they took them to Canada to see the lake's other side!
First they took STUR and CBun to catch a glimpse of Lake Willoughby-
It had white caps on it that day - woo- whee!
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| A little choppy out there?! |
Another highlight was a house full of license plates -
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| Cool use of license plates! |
Even hopped over to visit New Hampshire – The Granite State!
The Kingdom Swim weekend was a huge success!
Will Team Rabbit return next year? What's your guess?
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