This weekend one of our teammates particpated in the Buffalo Springs Lake 70.3 event.  This event consists of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run.  Kirstin Silberschlag swam, pedaled, and ran for just over five and a half hours, and came in 8th in her age bracket - way to go, Kirstin!  Click here to see photos from the event. Here's her account:

I was happy to be among the many finishers of the Buffalo Springs Lake Ironman 70.3 this past weekend.  This was my first "half-ironman" event, so I was a little apprehensive about the whole thing, but the many weeks training (especially all those miles on the bike with VeloValero) really paid off.  It is such an amazing experience to compete in an event with so many top athletes (this was an Ironman Hawaii qualifier, so on the course I saw athletes I've previously seen only on ESPN and OLN).  You also feel a bit like a professional athlete yourself on this course when the great volunteers all along the course make sure you have everything you need.  To me it was like having a pit crew: at stops along the way, volunteers would run alongside your bike and "hand-up" water bottles, Gatorade bottles, fruit, bars, gels, etc., so you don't even have to stop to refuel.   But perhaps more humbling than the top athletes and fancy bikes were the wheelchair athletes who completed the course as well; they are truly inspiring.  You'll hear that, as with any endurance event, that once you put in the miles training, it all comes down to mental toughness.  I can attest to that but I also think it boils down to lots of energy gels (preferably with caffeine) and a good theme song you can sing in your head for 5+ hours!!

Kirstin at the starting line of the 2006 Valero MS 150 Bike to the Beach