The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

So this was my biggest week to date ... 14 hours of training! 95 miles on the bike, 19 miles running ,and over 7000 yards in the pool. My distances on the bike and run are a few miles shy of what I'll be doing on race day, and I will be THRILLED if I finish the race in 14 hours.

The good news is that I bought a new bike (thanks Uncle Dick!) It's a 2006 Trek 5200, all carbon with Ultegra components. I was able to get all of the accessories -- pedals, shoes, aero bars, computer -- with my gift certificate to B & L Bikes in San Diego. This was my fundraising prize from CAF. It's all pretty sweet. I did a 70 mile ride yesterday. There are a few minor adjustments that need to be made, but overall I am very pleased. Yee Haw!!

I had to work Saturday morning at 9:00 so I got up at 4:30 to run my 10 miles. It was dark and a little chilly, but I always do my week day runs in the morning ... it's such a beautiful, peaceful time, and I see the same people and we say hello. Well, none of the regulars were out this early on a Saturday. In fact, not too many people were out at all. A few blocks from my house, I see a guy leaning against the wall of a fancy hotel. He was wearing jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. I thought maybe he worked at the hotel and said "good morning." Just as he replied "good morning" I realized what he was doing ... he was masturbating! Good God! Don't you have anywhere private to do that! Needless to say, I picked up the pace. The rest of the run was uneventful.

Time to go to work. Thanks for reading.

Well, I'm another week closer to my goal! Last week was a good one, and I do feel rested even though Saturday's workout was pretty tough. We did a 50 mile bike ride that was mostly flat but with a few good hills in Palos Verdes. The temps were well into the 80s though, and it rarely gets that hot here even during the summer. I did my best to stay hydrated and felt good. I did a 40 minute run right off the bike. The first 10 minutes are always so hard. I was not breaking any speed records, but I felt like I could have kept at it for a while more. So that's a good thing.

Sunday was a 2k timed swim to keep track of our progress. I have gotten better but still have a lot of work to do. Conveniently enough, this week is a swim week. We will continue with hill repeats on the bike and run, AND we will also build up our swim yardage. Yippee Skippee!! I have added a link to my workout log so you can check up on me.

There is also a link to my fundraising page. If you haven't yet done so, please make a donation today! 75% of your money goes directly to patient resources and research. The other 25% helps with my training and travel to the race. I did Saturday's workout with our honored teammate, Maria. She was diagnosed with Non-Hodgin's Lymphoma in 1998. Today she is strong and healthy and training for an Ironman!! Your donations really do make a difference! You can also help by spreading the word ... Forward my info to family and friends. Thanks!

Rest Week

This week begins a rest week, and boy do I need it. Last week was a hard effort. I put in 75 miles on the bike, ran 21 miles, and swam 6600 yards ... that's about 13 hours of training. Saturday the rain held off, and we had a beautiful ride in Malibu. We went up and up and up Latigo and down Mulholland. I had never been there before and it was just so beautiful and peaceful. The views of the canyons and of the Pacific were breathtaking, pun intended.

Here's my schedule for this week:

Monday-
rest

Tuesday-
1:00 run (easy)
1:00 coached swim

Wednesday-
1:30 bike (easy)

Thursday-
:40 trainer
:30 run

Friday-
rest

Saturday-
3:00 bike
1:00 run right off the bike

Sunday
2k swim

Thanks for reading!

It's About Time

Welcome to my Blog!
I know I'm a bit behind the times, but here I go into the blogging world. So, my big race, IronMan Coeur d'Alene, is just 4 months away, and I have been training since November. I would have started a Blog sooner, but I've been a little busy. This post should catch you up.

In October I received a postcard from TNT announcing their schedule. I was aware of their marathon training programs, but since I had already run 6 marathons I almost threw the card away. Before I did that though, I said, "The only way I'd join TNT is if they were training for an Ironman," thinking that there was NO way they would be. I opened it up, and there it was .... my destiny ... IronTEAM! I signed up on October 14th. This was a BIG decision.

On October 19th doctors found a tumor on my Mom's lung. Three months later my Mom passed away. This was HUGE. She was my greatest cheerleader. She came to every softball and soccer game when I was a kid. She was at my very first triathlon, and she thought I could WIN!! The death of my mother has rocked my world.

My training has kept me sane, my teammates have been a great support, and fundraising for such a worthy cause has given me purpose at a time I might otherwise have felt lost. Speaking of which, I have fundraising deadline looming ... I need to have $4200 raised by March 2nd. I need $1800 more to make that goal. If you can, please donate today! And spread the word. Please and thank you!