Mandy Did Kona!

Ok, this is my tribute post to my bff Mandy who did her first 70.3 at the Ford Ironman 70.3 (formerly known as Honu) in Kona, HI two weekends ago.

For those of you who don't know Mandy... she's awesome.

About 3 and a half years ago, things got kind of crazy in my life, and so I got serious about running, so I could keep myself centered. I became competitive very quickly, and started placing in the top three overall at pretty much every race that I did - I was absolutely in love with the sport, but I still wanted something even more adventurous. I had an aquaintance named Tyler who was on the UNT Triathlon Team, and he gave me Mandy's phone number (she was a fellow team member at that time) so that I could have someone to show me the ropes. I called, and even though she couldn't remember my name for the first couple of weeks that we knew each other (if you know Mandy, you know that this isn't weird, it's just Mandy), we bonded very quickly, and next thing I knew I was going on weekly bike rides (followed by long evenings at the bar - hey, we were in college!), and running and swimming, with a whole new group of friends. Mandy and I sort of simultaneously headed up the team the next year, and the rest is history.

We've shared nights at the bar that we only kind of remember (it's just as well), hotel rooms in more states than I could EVER remember (though we were sober, I swear), t-shirts, trisuits, bikes and helmets, and of course lots of good times. If it weren't for Mandy, my life would probably be completely different today, and I would never even have met most of the people who end up reading this post. She is a total rock star and one of my very best friends, and I am so thankful that she is in my life and that she is now a (half) IRONMAN!

Mandy, I lovers you, for serious. Thanks for giving me my start.

Happy training everybody