Drawbridges, Evergreen Trees, Hills and Coffee Shops

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The title of this blog comes from the three features of the Northwest landscape that I noticed the most. I am staying out in Seattle, WA for the Lake Stevens 70.3 race on Sunday. This is my first time out here and it is beeeeeautiful! I am staying with the family of a friend and they have been great in making me feel welcome in their home!

The landscape is covered with trees. Most of which, are tall evergreens that tower over the houses. In fact, there are so many that at times, you wouldn't even know you are in the middle of a major city.

I have only been here about 24hrs, but I thought I would give you an idea of what I have seen thus far. The area of town that I am in is VERY hilly. I am not talking about Midwest hills, I am talking about hills that are a half mile in length and have a grade of 20-25%. It is a good thing that it doesn't snow here very often, because you could not get around.

A few other unique features of the area include coffee Shops EVERYWHERE (yes Starbucks started here, but there are a million others to choose from) and drawbridges that can significantly impact your ability to be punctual.

I am sure most of you thought I was going to mention rain somewhere in this blog, but believe it or not, there is NO (that is right, ZERO) chance of rain in the next week. WOW! I guess this is the healing time for those that easily get depressed from the rainy, sunless weather.

+++++++++++++++++

As for the race on Sunday, I am headed up to check out the bike course this afternoon. I have heard that it is challenging and I will report back my thoughts before the race. I am anxious to get out there and test my mid season fitness. Training has been rolling along really well and even though Ironman Wisconsin is priority number one, I hope that I can put together a good day on Sunday!

More to come...

BB

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