Camp HTFU Pictures! Part 1

Hey there Sportsfans! Yup - I'm alive and well... Well, after a serious (and I mean serious) deep tissue massage, my body has decided to morph into some kind of sweaty, tired, and exhausted monster. So, here I am, on the bed, a fat grey cat by my side, wonderful husband on the other, CNN election polls rolling in, and getting ready to upload camp pictures. I hope you guys enjoy them...

We knew things would go well with a street name like this. Beautiful downtown Greenville, SC. (Ssshhhhhhh! Don't let the secret out - it's a wonderful place! We don't want too many people there!)

My posse:Mary, Jen, Ashley, Liz, Lesie. Friday afternoon, post swim and pre ride. After a stop at Carolina Triathlon (GREAT TRI STORE!!!) and another great coffee shop, we were set for a semi-long brick. To the bikes!

(And just how exactly do you fit 6 bikes and 6 women into 1 passenger van dubbed "Big Momma"?): You let Mary Eggers pack the car!
Brilliant! Nice job Mary!

Saturday morning, we were up bright and early - enjoying breakfast, blogs, good company, Veema, Yoga, and lots of laughs!

Ashley's wonderful livingroom - AND, the MOST COMFORTABLE COUCH IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! It was Mary's bed - so she got it by default. But we fought over it (good natured, of course!) all weekend. Note Jen and Liz in the corner with the laptops - the ONLY spot we could get the random internet feed. (FYI)

Leslie's beautiful smile! Note Jen in the corner, busy on the computer, Liz grinning close by, and the back of Ashley's head (for all you single guys out there - she's on the market, and beautiful! Just check out the back of her head - beautiful hair! AND, she's nice, to boot!). The coffee table was filled with triathlon and running magazines, and usually bowls upon bowls of oatmeal. AND cups of coffee. Yeah - we consumed lots of coffee.

Mary's Downward Dog. Or at least that what we think she's doing. Otherwise she might be demonstrating a new and innovative way of cleaning the floor. "Ouch! My back!"

Coach Jen on the computer, checking up on her athletes, and Mary laughing with coffee. Two great gals who I feel lucky to have in my corner.

Smiles all around: Ashley on the chair, and Leslie on the floor. If you look closely, you'll see a bottle of the infamous Veema on the coffee table behind an empty bowl of oatmeal. Good stuff!

Liz on the computer. NOW I know what she looks like when she writes her blog. I was especially amused at her shirt: 140.6 miles of sustained pain. Good stuff. Especially that I've got my first IM in 8 weeks or so... gulp.

Lederhosen Liz. "The hills are alive, with the sound of mu-sic!" Somewhere in Switzerland, a Mountain is missing its "Fraulein". Priceless.

Liz, Jen, Marit, Mary, Ashley, Leslie. Camp HTFU posing before the epic day of hills. If you can't bring the mountain to you, bring yourself to the mountain. And we did.

The Mountains were beautiful and loomed large on the horizon. I know it's not Colorado or Nevada, but to a Florida Flatlander like myself, any hill looks large. It was breathtaking and beautiful. This was just one of many I was lucky enough to experience.

Coach Jennifer Harrison - the most amazing Coach out there, powering her way to the top of Panther Mountain. Note the plastic baggie in the upper corner of the shot (see - I DO use them - all the time!). I couldn't get my camera out fast enough before she exploded to the top.

Panther Peak Pictures (1600 feet of climbing in 2 miles. Grade of 15-20%. Crazy, hard, stupid, incredible. Life altering.)

Bikes resting on the top. Mine, Jen's, and Matt's. Dustan was probably still riding circles around the three of us. He made it up in 20 minutes, while the rest of us huffed up around 30. Time for him to enjoy tea and biscuits. An incredible biker, amazing guy, and great person. I learned so much from him on Saturday, watching him ride, trying to hang onto his wheel. Thanks for the Panther Dustan. Jen, Matt, and I are proud to be "de-virginized." Next up: Ashley! (as long as she has the right gearing. The girl is hard core, but her bike and its 11-23 gearing refused to go. But her legs are strong, her mind is determined, and her heart is pure. In 12 days she'll climb the Panther. Go Ashley GO!)

Views from the peak:


Jen and Marit, top of the world. (It just felt like it!) Panther Peak, SC. Do we still have our legs? We think we left them on the hill, along with Jen's skin from her hands (gripping her bike so hard), and Marit's breakfast (it came up). Can't wait to do it again.

Somewhere in North Carolina. FYI - we crossed the SC state line and ended up in NC. Didn't realize it at the time, until descending at 40 mph, I caught a glimps of a "Welcome to South Carolina" sign. Huh. Go figure. At least I think it was North Carolina...Liz, Jen, Ashley at the top of a big-ass hill.
Liz: "Hi guys! Where have you been? I've been waiting! I almost rode loops around the parking lot with the girl in the pink bike behind me!"
Ashley: "Rock ON! I knew I should have gone to the Kid Rock concert last night! Do you think he would let me be a groupie? That, or else I could be the newest member of KISS."
Jen: "Ouch! My ass! Can you reach up there and see if I forgot anything? I think I left half of it on the last climb!"

Saturday night at dinner. We went to a great restaurant in downtown Greenville - can't remember the name of it. It was loud. It was boisterous. And they accepted 6 smelly, spandex-clad ladies. Food was good! AND, apparently my camera has quite a bright flash.

Leslie (blinded by the flash), Jen, and Ashley.

Holy Bright Flash Batman! Mary, Marit, and Liz.

Let's try that again...
Well - almost better. Mary looks as though she's working really hard, Marit is used to the blinding flash (as it's her stupid camera), and Liz can't even face the light. That's okay - we all experienced "the light" earlier in the day on the mountains...

Sunday morning: cool, crisp, early, and Paris Montain awaits! Camp HTFU ladies are raring to go (even though they all make fun of Marit for carrying a camelback, 3 gels, salt tabs, camera, map, and other odd assortmet of stuff). The pictures were worth it, though.

Ashley, demonstrating how sore she really is. She didn't have us fooled though - as she took off UP the mountain, bounding up past roots and rocks. I should know - I had the distinct pleasure of trying to keep up with her and our speedy elf the entire time. Her incredible ultra-runner friend, Mike, is in the background. I didn't realize it at the time, but the previous day he had raced a 1/2 marathon trail run (and WON his AG). He is preparing for Western States Ultra - an incredible runner, great guy, and dashingly handsome to boot. I felt lucky to meet him, to have him hang out with the Camp HTFU ladies.

Superstar! Mary, showing us all how its done - sporting a skirt, fuelbelt, and fantastic smile.

Marit, pre-run (minus the camera, gels, salt, map, camera, kitchen sink, etc.). Found that I really really enjoyed arm warmers. Wore them all weekend on the bike - might as well on the run, right? Notice the sneak attack from one Ashley Long... very Tabbitha-esque...

"The future is so bright, these ladies need shades!" Marit and Ashley, the young whipper-snappers of Camp HTFU.

Alright-Part 1 completed. Part 2 on the way tomorrow!