Kansas...

I am sitting in our van. I am sweating. It is very humid. Kansas has been very interesting. It is 9 o’clock and according the ranger a “bad storm” is coming. My thoughts are that if someone that lives here tells you it will be bad, it will be bad. My first experience in Kansas was with a State Trooper that feels threatened by North Korea and China. We also had a flat tire. Other than that, things have been pretty good here. Of course being a straight white male, most of the residents of Kansas have no reason to want to beat me up, yell slurs, or kill me. I guess I am lucky.

It rains a lot at night here in Kansas.

I saw Luke Bell and Chrissie Wellington win the Kansas 70.3. Chrissie is a fantastic ambassador to the sport. She stayed and gave age grouper their finisher medals. Then she signed autographs. She was seen mingling in the crowd, taking pictures with anyone that asked and, talking to everyone. Her speech was short and sweet. I hope that she wins Kona this year. Luke hung out for a bit, but then left before the awards ceremony. I wanted to say hello to Tim DeBoom, but he didn’t race as well as he wanted. He walked across the finish line, and as I approached him I heard him mumble some expletives and leave. I decided not to say hello. James Cotter was someone that I wanted to introduce myself to for a while. I was finally able to shake his hand and meet both him and his wife. I will be following his blog more regularly. Chris Tremonte swung by our booth and it was great to catch up with him for a bit. All these people are fantastic athletes. I am now hoping to race the Vineman 70.3. They have all inspired me. Nothing but my laziness has prevented me from having the chance to race.

We have been very fortunate with the weather in Kansas. There is usually some bad weather in the evening and mornings, but the days are nice. Humid and the temps are rising, but it is nice. Living in a van can be a strange experience. Showers are one of those things that can be different every time. In Texas, the showers were clean, hot, and nicer than my bathroom normally is. Here at Clinton Lake, the showers are pretty gross.

My little bit of heaven.

At least someone left some 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner in the shower. I will use someone else’s shampoo, shaving cream, conditioner, in a bottle, but never a bar of soap. I wouldn’t take it for myself though. I think that is wrong. However, the guy shaving (imagine a guy in small jean shorts, boots, ponytail, and no shirt) chained his device to the bench by my shower stall. I was nervous when I heard the chains. I still have no idea what the device is...

What is this?

I woke up this morning ready to train. My knee has been bothering me from driving so much, but I might just need to run more and strengthen it. Then I strained my back moving boxes arond in the trailer. I think that I am covered in bug bites, but the red itchy dots appear randomly and more often as the days go on. Mojdeh thinks I have some disease. We got a hotel after 5 nights if sleeping in the van during thunderstorms. This is luxury. We just bought tickets to Kona to watch (and volunteer) the Ironman World Championships.