Fun Appearance This Weekend!

Cooking with Amanda Episode 1: Yummy Broccoli

South African Safari

So here are the pics of the rest of the animals. I gotta say the Giraffes are my favorite! So in South Africa, the "Big 5" refers to Africa's greatest wildlife: lion, leopard, buffalo, rhinocerous, and elephant. While we didn't see all five of the big 5, we got to see 3 of them (elephant, lion, buffalo) and plenty of other interesting animals!

Congrats!

HUGE Shout Out to my athletes....what a way to kick off the 2011 season!

Ironman 70.3 Galveston: John=1st place AG, Going to Las Vegas!!!

Ironman 70.3 New Orleans: Traci=1st place AG, Going to Las Vegas!!!
Marilyn=7th place AG

Caveman Triathon: Talbot=1st AG

Lions!

Click on the Lion to see Slideshow. 

While in South Africa, Randy and I visited a Lion Park. It was amazing to see these huge animals in their natural environment. They were pretty much laying around being lazy in the afternoon sun, however Randy coaxed one to stand up. While he was doing that, I was on the other side of the park befriending a female lion. All but one of the females were hiding back in some shade, but there was one off to the side, right in front of the electrical wire separating us. I decided to lay down on the ground directly in front of her to get a good pic. Now remember, this was the day after Ironman....so my legs were not working properly... Anyways, I am looking this lion straight in the eye, thinking, "Wow, this is awesome!" Then I decide since she's being so friendly, maybe I could get her to stand up for me. As I'm talking to her, I noticed she tucked her hind legs up behind her. Sweet, she's gonna stand up! Then before I knew it, she was lunging straight towards me! I have never been so scared in my life!!!! I was scrambling all around since the electircal wire had become invisible to my eyes...and I couldn't manage to stand up on my legs because they hurt so bad. I am sure it was quite the site, hopefully Miss Lion got a good laugh out of it. I quickly got over my fear and within 20min, Randy and I were in with the 1yr old Lion Cubs!!! We got to pet them and see them up close and personal. They didn't seem too interested in us though! What an awesome adventure!!!

Amanda's Ironman South Africa Race Recap

Coffee Talk with Amanda Episode 5: How Big Was That Swim Bag?

STEVENS PLACES FIFTH IN IRONMAN SOUTH AFRICA

PORT ELIZABETH, SOUTH AFRICA—Professional triathlete Amanda Stevens placed 5^th in the Spec-Saver’s Ironman South Africa triathlon on Sunday April 10, 2011.  Beginning at 7 a.m. South African time, Amanda finished in 9 hours, 24 minutes, and 17 seconds.

          The race consisted of a 3.8km swim around Hobie Beach, a 180km cycle, and a 42.2km run.  Amanda led the women in the swimming portion of the event.  She was first out of the water with a time of 48:55 and first to transition onto the bike.  During the bike sequence Amanda held close within the top 3 spots.  Amanda started the running sequence in 3^rd place but later fell to 5^th, where she finished behind Chrissie Wellington, Rachael Joyce, Diana Riesler, and Sylvia Felt

When asked about the race, Amanda said, “What a fantastic day!  To be able to race in South Africa in such a phenomenally supported race was like non-other.  The crowds were lining the entire course and cheering all day long.  The competition was outstanding and the girls really made me work hard today!  It was fun to mix it up with the top women in the sport and finish in the top 5.  I am looking forward to visiting the lion and elephant parks before heading back home to the good ole USA!”

Amanda’s competitor Chrissie Wellington broke the course record by 42 minutes and 36 seconds with a time of 8:33:56.  Champion of the men’s division, Raynard Tissinks, also broke the course record by approximately 12 minutes.

For more information check out http://live.ironmanlive.com/Event/Spec-Savers_Ironman_South_Africa.  

It's Race Time!

Follow Amanda @dramandastevens on Twitter to see live updates of today's race!!

The Bike...

For those of you wondering, here it is!  My pride and joy and  my best friend for 1/3 of the race: MY BIKE!!

This year I am riding the wonderful BLUE Triad SL!  Blue improved the aerodynamics with the utilization of SFT2 tube shapes, added a new front end design, and helped improve my time on the biking portion of the race!  I can't wait to see how this baby performs in Ironman South Africa, which is only 15 hours away!  Better go get ready!

Interested in more BLUE bikes?  http://www.rideblue.com/index.php

Preparation for Ironman South Africa

Hey guys!

It's bedtime here in South Africa, but I thought I would give a shout out to my favorite people before I get some much needed rest!  Today I had the honor of joining some of the top triathletes in the world for a press conference at The Beach Hotel.

There was lots of talk about how exciting this race will be because of all the competition!  There are 1,745 athletes competing for the top 30 places in order to go to Kona later this year for the world championships. I am going to compete to my fullest potential and give this race everything I've got.  After months of training I am more than ready to compete Sunday.

I hope you all will join me as a race this Sunday at 4 a.m. (American CST time) in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

 To get up-to date information, follow me on Twitter @dramandastevens or on my Facebook fanpage at www.facebook.com/docamanda. For other info on the race check out http://www.triangle.cc/event/default.asp?MicroSiteID=2

Amanda Talks South Africa

Ironman South Africa- April 10th!

For more information on my upcoming race follow us on Twitter @DrAmandaStevens or on my Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/docamanda.

Also check out http://www.triangle.cc/event/default.asp?MicroSiteID=2 for other race information. :)

Contest Results/ Coffee Talk with Amanda Episode 4: PowerBar Favorites

A HUGE thank you to all of you who voted, retweeted, and shared for me last week!!  I placed 6th so I will not be going to the next round, but I am confident now that I do have the BEST fans! :)
Instead of posting another link for voting this morning, I am going to share a new video with you!
Here is Coffee Talk with Amanda Episode 4. Enjoy!

Last day of the contest!!

The polls for the Face of Fitness Contest close tonight at midnight!  I fell again to fifth place so let's vote as much as possible! Here's the last link: http://photos.fitnessmagazine.com/face-of-fitness-contest/13/2011/5

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to keep up with the updates! :)  Thanks guys!

Coffee Talk with Amanda Episode 3: Quick Questions

4th Place with 2 Days Left!

HELP! I fell another place...now #4. Please vote and Share. Remember you can vote once per day per each browser (yep that's right, each browser on your computer...Mozilla, Explorer, ect) and each device (smartphone, cell phone, tablet, laptop...) THANKS so much for all the votes this far! Here is Saturday's link.
http://photos.fitnessmagazine.com/face-of-fitness-contest/13/2011/4

I Need Your Help!

Yikes!  Yesterday after the polls closed we found out we moved back into 3rd place, this is not the desired outcome!  Perhaps you all could do me a favor and vote from all your electronics today as well as share the link with all your friends!  Just 2 days left, we got this ya'll! :)

Vote here: http://photos.fitnessmagazine.com/face-of-fitness-contest/13/2011/3

Twitter: @DrAmandaStevens
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DocAmanda

Thanks! :)