Ironman... the long and winding road

Ironman Arizona

2007-04-20T11:16:00.001-07:00

Hi All!!

I bet you are wondering if I finished the race or not??

Well, let me take you back to the morning of the 15th of April, 2007.

The night before, I really did not sleep, I just basically laid in bed and waited for 4am to approach. I had packed the night before, so I knew that all I would have to do is get dressed, eat (egg sandwich on wheat) and put my camera in the car. This is what I did when I "awoke". (how can you wake when you really have not been sleeping?!?) I also got a phone call from my boyfriend wondering if I was a wake hehehe... Of course I am.

At 4:30am, we headed down to the race start. Wetsuit in hand and ready for whatever awaited me for the day.

At the race start, I put some last minute things in my gear bags for the bike and run and then put water bottles on my bike and orange Gatorade (this is what they were using on the bike course, so I just went with what would be there) in my profile bottle that was on my aerobars.

Next, I went to the restroom, tried to rest, but there were people waiting in line :)! I then went to get my wetsuit on. Now, the wetsuit I rented ( from TRIBE multisport in Scottsdale, thank you!!) and was hoping that it was going to get me through the race. I put on my bodyglide and on went the suit. (I made sure to lather up my neck, because the suit rubs there.)

After the wetsuit was on I headed to the race entry for the water. I waited for about 10 minutes and then I dove into the water and swam about 200 yards to the start.

The Water:

68 degrees (2 degrees colder then the 2 prior days) But somehow, felt like a great temp. Last year I got in and my breath went away.

As I floated in the water this year, I was a little worried because I had not swam as much as I would have like to and I did not swim over the 2 miles as I had last year.

When the canon went off, everyone started to move forward through the water. I got into my rhythm and made sure to watch my breathing. I fully expected the thrashing and flailing, the kick in the face, the people swimming over you trying to drowned you. This year, that was not the case. People were very courteous and actually stopped to go around you or found the open space to swim by.

While swimming, I tried to stop only when necessary. I would pick my head up to make sure that I was still on course and to see where I was in the swim. When I was at the half way mark, I felt pretty good, I made sure to think about my breathing and keeping it steady, I also visualized my bike and run. I was trying to put it out there, that there was a lot more to get done in the day.

When I was swimming I also was trying not to drink the water. (A race was canceled a few months back, because of the water!!)

As I was 2/3 of the way done, I thought about how last year my arms felt some tingling, how I felt tired and I wondered if this year I would have as much trouble getting out of the water as last. But this year, I a lot more energy and I as I approached the stairs, I found my self able to pull myself up and out of the water and walk up the stairs, I was pretty happy with this. There was no weighted feeling and I then proceeded to the strippers/peelers (as they like to call them) to take off my wetsuit!

As I walked to the transition area, there were people just sprinting by and I wondered why was everyone running? (I know why!) :) It is not like we don't have a 138.2 more miles to go and whether you run or not they will still be there. Me on the other hand, I like to walk because it gets my legs moving, less chance of falling while sprinting to the transition area and I can reflect on the things to come.

At the transition I got my bike bag, went to the restroom and then changed. I had a very nice volunteer who got all my stuff out and insisted that I sit where the towel was so that I could wipe my feet off. As I got my bike stuff on, the volunteer was rushing, and I told her, I am in no hurry :). After I was ready to go, I got up and was out to get the sunscreen on. I had already put some on, but I figured more could not hurt and would only help! As I walked towards my bike PB&H (honey) in had, I saw my sister and my boyfriend who were cheering me on! I through up my hands -- see phot hehehe...

noticed I have not eaten my sandwich yet!

I walked to my bike and there are people that hand you your bike. My person, looked at my bike and I told him, yes that is my POS, it is vintage ;). After getting my bike, I headed to the mount line, I took my time as others once a gain sprinted by. I had a sandwich to eat and besides, there is 112 miles to go.

As I mounted my bike, I noticed that the shorts that I had chosen to wear for the race, were still wet from the water... :( not a good sign. I took off riding and the more I went, the colder my thighs were becoming. They really ached. My shorts must have been at freezing temp, for now my thighs were burning from the cold. I was hoping that this would end soon.

Out on the course, I noticed the wind had picked up. I am not a fan of wind, so I was hoping that it would just blow over! :0)

When I was about 2 miles in, I thought that I should be drinking and that in about 10 minutes I should be eating (I brought, 10 Carb-booms, gatorade, peanut butter filled pretzels, nuts and fruit and the other 1/2 of my PB&H. I made it a point to think, have you eaten or drunk anything yet? I like to eat about every 20 to 30 minutes and drink small sips about every 10.

During the first lap before the turn around, I noticed the wind was at my back and it was not a pretty wind at that. It was gusting too. I stopped at the first aid station to use the restroom. After that, it would be a while before the turn around. Boy, was did I wishing that there was no turn around. The wind was a killer. It had to be blowing at 20 mph, with big gusts. The turn around, is down hill, have you ever felt like you had to climb down hill to get anywhere?? Well if you have not, this was the day. I thought to myself, it would be nice to just pull over and not go on! But then I thought, what a wimp. There is no DNF. (I also read the quote on my hand, for me it is a tradition to put motivational quotes on my hands to read during the race, that is supposedly from the man who started the Ironman... :"You can quit and they don't care, but you will always know!!" I have never quit a race, or not finished!! Why start now??) I was just hoping for the turn around that was with the wind, when will I make it there?? Unfortunately, not for a long time.

With each lap, the wind got progressively worse. The second lap, I haul butt with the wind and and tried not to fight to much against it.

One thing that I noticed on this ride, was that there were people crashing everywhere . One person crashed 4 bike lengths in front of me and I thought 'what the heck happened there?' and I hope she is ok. She looked a little beat up, but she would survive. Then immediately after that crash, I came up on another lady who was on the ground!! :(

As I got to the turn around again, I thought that I was going to be blown over. The winds must now be at least 25 with gusts in the 30s!! This might be an exaggeration, but if it is, it is not by much! Once again, I was fighting to go down hill!! This time, I was dodging stuff blowing in the road and tumble weeds that I swear had radar. Again it would take me forever to get to the turn around in town so that I could do my last lap and you know I was praying for that lap to come, so that I could get off this course!!

I finally was on my last and as I was hauling A$$ again with the wind, I start to shout encouragement to those that were riding into the wind! Although I would be there in about a half hour, I just wanted them to know that I was rooting for them and to not give up!! Got a lot of smiles and that was very awesome! As I was doing this, I saw my sisters and I rode by and said Hi to my lovely sisters, they kinda missed me but started to cheer me on as I was by them! :0)

Now, as I headed towards the finish of the bike, once again, wind every where, blowing dust and tumble weeds, empty bottles blowing! It was Crazy.

As I got back into town, I was SOOO happy to get off the bike. I was beat up from the ride and the wind. I felt like I had biked well over 112 and now I had my marathon to complete. My visualization was shrinking, because I know that it took me a hell of a long time on the bike and I was really disappointed with that, even though I had survived. In my mind, I knew that had there been no wind, I would have made a faster time this year.

As I left the transition area, I was beat. I saw the time clock and I was thinking I have 7 hours left. By the way that I feel now, am I going to make it in 7 hours?? I wanted to cry and almost did. I did not think about crying because of the distance that I had to go, but the fact that I did not know if I would have enough time. (oh, did I mention that I did not have a bike computer or a watch??)

One thing that I would like to mention before I talk about the laps, is the people that were there yelling for perfect strangers! Cheering us on. Thank you all. It is really awesome to hear someone yell your name, tell you that you are doing it, that you are truly amazing for just even trying!

While on the first lap, I tried to run for a little bit and then walk, but I just did not have it in me. I decided, to eat, drink and walk as fast as I could. I sat there and thought about the wind in my face and the people going by and I read some of the motivational quotes ("Never look down on anyone unless you are helping them up!!" This quote was on the course last year and it was here this year too) that they put along the way. I think that the first lap mentally was the hardest. It was a time factor that was getting to me. But I thought if I could make 4 miles an hour, I would make it! But then, during the whole first lap, I had to stop at every restroom. I think that all the liquid on the bike was catching up to me. I thought that this is cutting into my time!!

As I went across the bridge to start my second lap, I saw my boyfriend and son and sister. I smiled and thought they are here for me and I do not want to disappoint anyone, (which I would not be, only myself!!) As I proceeded along, I felt as though I was getting a bit stronger, like I had settled in and finally was warmed up. I decided to run a little bit more and make sure to keep eating and drinking, this course has little rollers on it and is not bad at all. It was getting darker and as it got darker, I wondered what time it was. I did not ask, because if I did not know, then I would think that I need to keep the pace up and not have time to take a breather. As I went by my boyfriend I told him that I was not sure that I was going to make it! He asked if He could walk with me and I told him that it was not allowed, but he could walk near me. As I approached the special needs area, I was a little dismayed, because I was pressed for time and they had packed up the bags!! I was upset, because this was digging into precious minutes that I needed so that they could find my bag!! WTF?? Please do not get me wrong, I love the volunteers, but whose decision was it to pack up when not everyone has been by yet? After getting my bag and putting on my fresh pair of socks and chewing some gum, I was off. I had picked up the pace and I was telling my BF that I was not sure that I was going to make it. I had about 11 more miles to go and he NEVER doubting that I could do this said "you have got this, you have 3 and 1/2 hours for those 11 miles! you have got this."

I kept this in mind as I approached my last lap. On this lap, I was definitely stronger and I ran more then I walked! I also talked to people and spouted encouragement to those that passed me or I passed :) One guy named Jason, told me that he had to walk for fear if he ran, he would fall down! Jason told me that we had 1:45 left and I just wanted to jump up and down!! I had about 5.4 miles to go! I do hear my name being called! I next came across a lady at about mile 22 who had passed me in the beginning, she told me that I was definitely looking better and stronger then her. I thanked her and told her that she was not looking too bad herself. I told her that we were going to make it and that there is time!!

I just kept moving forward one foot in front of the other. As I got about 2 miles from the finish, I noticed a 71 year old man running in front of me! How inspirational is that?? I hope to be where he is when I am that old. I thought, I am going to make it. This man is kicking my ass and I am going to make it!

I finally made it to the bridge, where on the other side waiting for me was my son and boyfriend! We ran through the arch together as we heard Mike Riley say, Kathi... You are an Ironman!

140.6 miles later, I am a 2X Ironman Arizona finisher.

The next day, I heard stories about people crashing, one guy got hit by a road sign and t cut his leg, arm and dented his new bike.

We heard that this year had the highest drop out rate and that 25% of the pros did not finish.

Thank you to all my friends and family who supported me and showed up to cheer me on! I truly appreciate you all and you all ROCK!!

Shout out to my amazing Boyfriend

2007-04-20T11:11:00.000-07:00

Hello all, after my shout, I will give a race report.

This is to my amazing Boyfriend, I just want you to all know that he gave up a lot to get me to and through the Ironman this year (and last)! He made sure that I had everything that I needed, supported me and got everything up and running so that I could make it to the finish line. He sat and cheered me on through the whole race and ran through the finish line at the end. :0) It was truly wonderful and I am truly blessed. I love you Shane. :)

Kathi

Time has Flown

2007-04-05T22:07:00.000-07:00

Wow, time has really flown, 10 days to race day!!

Of course I have not been here in a while, but believe me, I have been putting in the miles! I am lacking a bit in the "running" part, but I am hoping that I will still make it.

I have not done as much as I would like to have before this race, but I guess that is what illness does to you. So you get things done with what you have left! :)

That said, I am a bit worried that I will not make it to the finish line. I am worried because I have never entered a race that I did not finish and I do not want this one to be the first. I will give it my all though.

The last 2 weeks before the race, I am in PHX. I have ridden the course once and it looks good. There are a little bit of hills and I go slow up them, but that is ok!! I have also swam in a pool that is soooo hot that I dehydrate everytime that I swim in it. Lastly, I have been walking down the green belt with my mother and sister. I walked down the green belt yesterday to the bike shop and got a sweet deal on a pair of speedplay pedals!! After walking yesterday, I have been having pains in my heels and in the side of my shine bone. For my heels, I think that there is not enough coushin in my shoes. In my shin, I don't think that it is shin splints. I have an old injury there from my mountain bike. I was riding down a small dirt hill when my wheel gave out because of the dirt. The bike promptly snapped back and hit me in my shin bone. I had a huge welt there and I could not stand on it for 2 days. I guess the best way to describe it is for those of you who have broken a bone, it is the ache that you feel when the weather changes. It is pretty sore, so I am thinking about packing medical tape in my special needs bag on the run, so that I can tape it if need be.

My bib number is out, it is #2256!(thanks to RoboRanch for notifying me of this at weendure.com!!) So you all can go to Ironmanlive.com and watch my progress if you like! I really need all the good vibes that I can get!

So, I just want to say that this is probably the last post for a while, because my mother's computer is sooooo slow and she has dial-up :( !!

Well wishes to you all and I hope that on April 15th, I will hear "Kathi Moore, You are an Ironman (or woman in my case!) for a second time!!"

Workout today was good.

2007-03-11T20:12:00.002-07:00

The other day I tried to post, but I was not able to. There was something wrong with Blogger, but not sure what it was.

So lately, I have been trying to put positive thoughts into makin the IM :)! I am not as prepared, but I have been putting in a lot of little miles here and there. I am still gettin out at 4am and hiking or wash walkin. The wash walking really seems to help build my legs and my endurance.

I have been riding and just trying to build up speed. Not that I am going to be speedy in the IM or anything, I just have to make sure that I pace myself.

Today I rode 55+ miles and it was a good ride. I went with 3 other people and that was very nice, because I usually ride a lone. Company makes the time and mileage go faster. After I rode, I got to eat! Yay eating is a great thing.

Later in the day, we went to the new trisports.com store. I got new aerobars for my new bike!! Which I was really hoping to have for my race, but I really do not see that happening. I would have to have it within the next 4 days, because I would like to have a month to get used to it and make sure that fit is right and everything is workin! But since it is only primed, I do not see that happening :(. So old bike, here come the aerobars...

Tonight, I went to the park with my sitter and we ran/walked 6 miles! We had a good time and it was a good run/walk!! Felt pretty good and could have kept going. I am hoping to get in at least a 13+ miler before the race. Now it is time for bed. I have a field trip to take the kids at school to tomorrow.

See ya all...

Damn those Presidents!! :)

2007-02-19T21:17:00.000-07:00

Today, I did not do much. I watched my friend's baby, washed the dishes and tried to go swimming. I say try, because I did go, but the pool was not open! :( This is why I say Damn those Presidents. The pool was not open because it is president's day! So I guess I will try again tomorrow, but tomorrow is a really long day for me, starting at 4am! Looking forward to some sleep in between workouts! Good day to you all tomorrow.

Catch-up

2007-02-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

Last week was a catch up week for my training. The week before last week, I was in NE and IA for my grandfather's funeral. He was a great man and well loved. He lived a full life and passed at the ripe ol' age of 98!!

On the trip, I had the pleasure of riding in a Ford Ranger with the little tiny seats in the back that fold down. There were 4 adults in this truck and I thought that my butt cramps were never going to go away! The only positive thing was that we were able to go!! My sister offered her AWD outback, which would have been way better then the truck, but no it was the truck that we had to take.

We spent 56 hours in a car 2 weeks ago, that is long enough for a while.

Last week, I rode a couple of times, did my wash walking and did not make it to the pool :(. I am hoping that this week, I will be able to get there. I am just over a mile in the pool, so I gotta get moving!!

One of my rides last week was a killer for me. It was an 80 miler and I was dying on it! There were a lot of ups on it, so I think that had something to do with it!!

Yesterday, I went on a ride with my boyfriend, and our friend Stephen. We rode 33.30 miles and it was a very windy ride. My groin muscle is hurting a bit, so I am going to make sure that I am aware of that this week!!

I hope you all have a great week and I will be back soon!! :)

Today.

2007-02-02T21:27:00.000-07:00

oh the vitamin pill rolled down the hill where a bunch of cyclists saw it.
The cyclists wanted to smash the pill with their wheels, but everyone missed it who sought it.

Today I rode 56.54 miles and it took 3:53:34.It was at least 10 degrees colder today too. It was the same route that I did on Monday, but this time I did not stop by my son's school, I rode home instead.

I wrote the vitamin saying, because while riding up Tangerine today, I saw the same vitamin pill that I had seen on Monday. I thought the above up and thought that I would write it down! I was thinking that the pill would have been gone by now because it rained! It was still there and hanging on :)!

I had a good ride. My ride was 5 minutes faster then Monday and 2 miles longer! This is because I rode harder up the hill and I pushed harder on the down hill. I was a little tired after it and I rested for a little bit. After about 2 and a half hours of being home, I went to the pool and swam 2100.

Hope all is well with everyone.

Oh, BTW, there are 2 new links on the left that goes to my friend's blogs. :) I put them there a couple of days ago. I just wanted to point them out just in case they were missed!

Option A or Option B? ... that is the question.

2007-01-31T19:23:00.000-07:00

So I have been thinking about my options for the Ironman.

Option A:

I withdraw and get part of my 450$ entry fee back. This would only amount to 150$ :(. (Right now, I feel like I am not at the point that I would like to be and that I could have been way better prepared if I had not gotten sick.)

Option B:

I suck it up and just go with the flow.
(Same thing happened last year and I still made it, with an 1:35:44 to spare)

Monday I went to the IMAZ site because I wanted to see about 'Option A' and when the deadline was. As I navigated through the site, I found the link for the withdrawal. To my surprise, it was not working (it will be up later on today!). I thought, how am I supposed to know what I would have to do to get my measly 150$ back. (at least it is something, right???)

After my ride (that I posted about earlier) I went back to the site and I told myself that this time if it is not there, it is a sign. (For me, things happen for a reason and sometimes those reasons may not be known immediately, but they are there.) Once again, you guessed it, the link did not work and I had no Option A to contemplate anymore.

For now, Option B is the answer.

I need new gloves, aerobars, bike and computer dang it :) !!

2007-01-30T12:36:00.000-07:00

I have not been here in a few days because I have been out hiking, swimming, or riding.

Sunday, I went on a 6 mile hike that has a part in it that is 1.7 miles of up and gains 1800 ft in that up! It was a hard hike and broke down the muscles in my legs. I was winded also on this hike.

Yesterday I went on my epic ride (well really not so epic, just like the way it sounds). It was a 54.36 mile ride that has a 12 mile hill when you get to mile 27. The hill is not that steep, it just goes on forever or so it seems.

During the ride I thought about a lot of things. I thought that my hands were hurting a little and I could feel my handle bar right through my gloves :( ! This is not a great feeling. I decided, I need new gloves because some padding would do nicely right about now. I next thought about the ride I was on. I was not sure how long it was going to be, but I put my mind to the route and was not going to deviate from it. The cars were great except one truck going by, that I thought was going to push me off the road. Every car/truck/RV that passed who gave me room, I told them thank you, come again.

As I rode onward, I was thinking that I have a gift cert that I need to use that would put aerobars on my bike. My race is coming and I want to be able to get use to using them again. I have a pair of syntace C2 that I used for my race last year. I think that I used them for only a month including the race (which I think consisted of 5 rides). Well come to find out, I really do not like them, they hinder me from using all of my handle bars. I did not like that one bit, so I have chosen to go back to the Air Stryke ones by profile that I used to have about 6 years ago. After thoughts of aerobars floated in my head, I started thinking, I really have to get my new intermittent bike up and running so that I could get used to that also! (and the aerobars should go on that bike instead of my old one!!)

Intermittent bike report --

My intermittent bike is now devoid of paint!! YAY!!(thank you, thank you to my kick a$$ boyfriend.) The next thing that will happen to it, is that it will be primed and then painted black. Where upon we will name it, have everyone write something on it with a paint pen, put it together and then christen it with a new ride.

Now we are down to why I thought that I need a new computer :) hehehe. I was thinking of all the stuff that I could be doing... (just think ripples now as you go off into dreamland)

There I was sitting at my PC, 50 gigs free and doing everyday normal tasks -- browsing the internet, using lightroom, playing games when all of the sudden blue screen of death! ( Now mind you, this is not the first time. My computer is an expensive POS, I mean coaster, that was recently formatted because it had 24 bytes in bad sector! :( ) Now everyday that I use it the blue screen of death comes back. It has nothing on it because I do not want to lose any of my work and nor do I boot it any longer, because pretty soon it will just not work! Dreamland part -- I thought if I have a new computer, I would be able to add more pictures to my blog, be able to process more of my photos faster, create new photos and just work that I need to do. I also then would not have to use my boyfriend's new Mac. Exit dreamland.

Report on dreamland! --

It looks like we will be getting a new Mac just for me, that I will be able to work on and do photo processing on! YAY. It might have a nice size screen also. I am really excited about this news. Just wish it would get here faster. Hehehe, but beggers cannot be choosers.

Side note --

I recently was also given a 300 gig external drive, that is supposed to be for my photos, but that had to be sent back, because you cannot write to the entire drive. :( .

Today, I went on another hike, it was a flat hike, thank god!! It was about 4.5 miles long. We took our time and enjoyed the rain as it fell. It was completely dark except for the light off in the distance, which btw looked awesome. I did have a light to use so that when we got to the rockier section, I could see what I was stepping on.

I am really tired today and am hoping to get a nap in!

Hopefully, everything that I need will be in reach soon :)! So, I will settle on the prospect of what maybe to come!

For now, have an awesome day...

Me and my trainer

2007-01-20T22:58:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been riding my trainer, Sometimes 2 times a day. The weather here has not been to favorable, but it has not been that bad either. For some reason the indoor decision has been the way to go for me.

Today I rode 2 times for a total of 1:55:00. It was/is not that hard, I really should switch to my rollers ;). I end up though putting in a movie and just watching it (that is why the trainer is the better option, hehehe easier to watch the movie). I find that action movies seem to make the time go by and I actually forget what I am doing. I hope soon to have a movie completed while riding the trainer!! Not up to an hour and a 1/2 or 2 yet.

Today I have been at weENDURE, looking at the home page to see where I fall in the activity for the week. I am hoping that I can stay in the top 5 each week. This means at least 8 and 1/2 hours a week of working out!! I know that I can do that.

Next week, I need to keep up with the trainer and swimming while starting to focus on my wash walking since my running (well run/walking/wash walking) is lacking. I have asked a friend of mine to train with me. I told him that I could workout 4am to 7am then 9am to 2:15, then 4:45pm to 10pm. He asked me if I know what 4am looks like??? I just laughed. I know that you are not able to see anything that early in the morning. He said that we could hike first, ride second and then wash walk at night. Not sure what days these will happen on, I will keep you updated! 'til then everyone have a great night!!

Working out again

2007-01-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

For the past couple days, I have been working out more! This is a really good thing, but it is crazy how tired you feel after the day is done.

I have ridden my trainer, ridden outdoors or swam the past 3 days. Yesterday, I rode my bike for 26.42 miles, swam an 800 (the swimming was 500 meters straight and then a 100 and then 200. Believe me, it really sux to stop swimmin and then start again! So my advice, don't stop hehehe) then rode the trainer for 40 mins and today, I woke up feeling like I had no energy, really tired, my upper/lower back hurt like anything and my arms had some ache too. I sat with a heating pad on my back in hopes that it would help. I think that it helped a little, but I know that the only real thing that will make it go away is more exercise! I have to get my body used to this again.

Tonight, my sister and I are going to go swimming and then I think that I will come home and ride the trainer. Hurting or not, it must be done.

The Ironman is multiple things in one day one right after the other, there is no room for I am tired or I can't. This is why when I am swimming, biking or running I think if this was the Ironman, I would have to keep going... bad day or not one stroke, one pedal, one foot in front of the other will get me there, keep pushing. And you know, it really does work.

Cold Weather!!

2007-01-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

My sister and I went out and rode 10 miles yesterday! It was 40 when we left and seemed to get colder as we were riding!! BBBRRR It was a good ride and we stopped by a new park that was just developed. it is a 55 acre park dedicated to Brandi Fenton. Brandi we read was a 13 year old girl whose life was cut short due to a car accident just before her 14th birthday. :( The park is beautiful and although I did not know this girl, I am sure that she is looking down on this park with great approval. At the park there are soccer fields, basketball courts, dog run areas, equestrian area and play areas. It definitely has a lot to offer and there is a plaque for Brandi, colorful tiles, a giving tree for people who have donated organs. It is really nice. After we saw the park, we rode home and had some hot tea to warm up!!!

Today my sister and I rode on a trainer and rollers (it was a lot colder today then yesterday, so we felt like the indoor option would be a good one). She volunteered to ride the rollers... :) So I had it easy today. We rode for 40 minutes and watched a movie while we did. The Incredibles :), it is a good movie, with a lot of action hehehe. Tomorrow I am sure we will beable to get some more trainer time in and maybe some swimming! Yay. More to come later.

92 days and counting!

2007-01-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

I have started my long road to the Ironman again with just 92 days left.

This week I was back on my bike! Yay. Seems like an eternity when really it has been a little over 2 months. I think that everytime you stop working out your body is at a loss, but your muscles never forget. My butt of course had for this week it was sore and I felt a little tight with aches here and there. All of this is to be expected, the pain goes away and you feel like you are finally accomplishing something!

I road 13 miles one day and then 24.12 the next. Today I rode on my trainer for 20 minutes. I had my boyfriend install my new sweet a$$ Brooks b18 Saddle in hopes that this will be the saddle that takes the pain in my leg away!! I used to ride the Brooks Finesse for 3+ years and then I just started to have pain :(. This for me was really sad, because I absolutely love that saddle and Brooks!

Today, I left messages with my friends that I would ride with every weekend to see if they are going to be riding anytime soon, because I have a lot of miles to make up and so little time to do it in. Dave, called me and said that he might be up for riding this weekend! (tomorrow is a bad day, because I have family in town, but he did mention Sunday, so that might be a possibility.) Dave is an awesome guy and an amazing bike builder too, here is his website Bohemian Bicycles

Oh and I almost forgot, I swam 500 meters a week ago...

Boy, when you stop swimming and then start again, it is really hard at first because your breathing is off. I really struggle for about the first week and then I find my rhythm. My sister thinks that I will be over a mile by the end of this month. Possibly, we will see. I hope to be racking up the miles in the pool soon, because I got a pass for the year and need to get my 50$ worth hehehe! (50$ is a real steal considering I used to pay 876$ a year for the Racquet Club and all I did there is swim) Plus we have some nice city pools.

93 days and counting... where will I be??? We will just have to wait and see.

Bill of Health

2006-12-19T15:23:00.000-07:00

So last week, I saw the Doctor and she told me that I am able to return to work the begininng of January. I now have 3 months to finish training hahaha!! Not sure that I will make it, there is 98 days and counting. I think that this week I will be giving my 2 week notice at work and then I am going to devote the time that I have left to getting the job done!

Time is flying and I am not having fun!!

2006-12-07T17:25:00.000-07:00

Recetly this seems to be the trend of me not posting!

I have greatly considered not making the Ironman this year, due to my illness that I have almost gotten over. My time is flying and I am not having fun!! I feel like my opportunity to do better this year is slowly drifting away. Being sick has taken almost 3 months out of my training and I think to myself "will I make it??" The answer inside of me is really unsure and unknowing.

I told my sister yesterday that I did not think that I would compete this year due to everything. She brought to my attention that I am in better shape then I was last year (which I do not know how that is, because last year was emergency surgery and this is 3 months of illnesses)and I have about the same amount of training time left as I did then! I know that it is possible, I made it last year. I know that if I were to devote every waking hour outside my job and life (hehehe won't have one when I do this) that I will be able to cross that finish line. I know though without the help of my friends and family I won't...

time to go recruiting!!

GABA Ride

2006-10-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

Today is Sunday and I had made plans to go with a friend of mine on a GABA ride. We met at 6:20am and then took off promptly at 6:30. When he told me what the route would be, I was not really looking forward to it, because I had done hills yesterday and this ride had a lot of hills in it also!! We made it 23 miles and then I told my friend that I had to turn around because of a bad cramp in my back. I think this was partly due to the fact that I have not been able to find a seat that is comfortable to ride. The seat that I am riding is off of my son's bike and it is really hurting. I used to ride a Brooks saddle and I still wish that I could! It is an awesome seat and I really loved it, but my nerve in my leg does not love it.

On the way home from our ride, it was funny because suddenly the cramp in my back was gone. I was really happy to be pain free there, now if I could just get rid of the pain elsewhere I would be set.

The ride over all was a good one and we ended up with 40 miles. ( I also rode 14 miles later in the day, to show my friend LeeAnne a route that she can ride to get to work.) All the miles to day would be 54 miles! Another big day in the saddle, just glad that it was a good one with no mishaps, just a pain in the butt because of the seat.

Three guys, a girl and our bikes :)

2006-10-01T14:17:00.000-07:00

Every weekend the riders on the rides are as follows: three guys, a girl and our bikes. On Saturdays, it is usually the same three guys that come out and promptly proceed to kick my a$$. Try though I might, I can never seem to get the best of them at speed, hill climbing or sprinting...

I had not been feeling well the week before the ride and I have not ridden in 2 weeks due to the fact that I have been out of town the past 2 weekends.

The first weekend, I was in IA attending my cousins wedding. He married a wonderful girl and it was a beautiful ceremony. The second weekend we (my boyfriend and some friends) went to Bisbee, AZ to relax because they had just finished their cycle of work that has been ongoing for the past year (and of course will continue on and on never ending :( )

As I rode up to meet the guys, I asked where we were going today?? Next all I heard was hills, hills, hills!! Then finally my mind wrapped around the idea of riding to Colossal Cave.

Colossal Cave is not a bad ride by any means. As we rode out there I started to sing to my friend Jerry the Roberta Flack song, of course modified... Killing me softly with this ride, because to get to the cave, it is mostly up hill and he was riding pretty fast. It was a fast that I did not want to go just yet. As we rode a long, the guys slowly began to leave me as we started to hit the hills. I was just slow and my legs felt heavy. I think that it is all really just a mental thing as to why I go slow. The reason why I say that it is a mental thing is because the hills seemed never ending, you could see them coming one after the other!! And when you thought that you had seen the last of them, you make a right turn onto a road called Pistol Hill RD which was another hill!! But yes alas, I know, what goes up must come down and this must be why I beat the guys up this hill. Well, one of the guys I just rode up to, but could have passed (but, they all waited for me to get there. And this hill was steeper then all the rest, but IT just didn't seem that bad. ) We then had a few miles of down hill and then again some more hills!! But at least after the last 4 hills, it was smooth sailing from there... Down hill woo whoo. I had waited all day for this and I was happy for it. 53 miles later we are at breakfast, enjoy good food and great company, my friends and my boyfriend.

In the art of speed, hill climbing and sprinting they can romp on me two fold, I wonder to myself, why am I a glutton for punishment?? One answer simply is Ironman is coming, another is that they are better then me (at all the above, but one thing I did not mention is endurance, this is one thing that they haven't gotten the best of me yet!!) and I need this.

The start of training for El Tour

2006-09-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

This past week, was a good one for getting into the saddle again. I was able to ride Wed, Fri, Sat and Sun. I was happy with the performance on Sat, because this week the guys did not kick my butt as bad as the week before. Hopefully this means that I will be kicking their butts soon (heeheehee). I was able to keep up with them for the most part during our 50 miler.

During the week, my friend asked if I wanted to meet up with GABA because they were starting the training rides for El Tour de Tucson. For those of you who do not know, El Tour is an awesome cycling event that attracts cyclists from all over the world. They are expecting 9,000 riders this year and most of them are signed up for the 109 miles. There are shorter distances also if distance is not your forte. Although I am slow, it is mine :) !! So on Sunday, my sister and I met up with Garry. We picked the 35 miler, because I had ridden 50 miles the day before and I thought that I would need a little rest.

Our ride had some flats (not tubes), down hill and small hill climbing. The hills were ok because what goes up must come down!! We had a good time except, I felt a little bad, because there was this girl that was cross chaining and for her bike this put a big angle on the chain. She was a strong rider, but really seemed to be laboring up the hills even though she was keeping up with the front riders. As I sat back and looked at her chain, I rode up to her and told her that I did not mean to be rude and that she was a strong ride however, she should really change the gearing that she was using. She just looked at me and said "THANKS". I sat back for a moment and then rode past her. As I caught up to the guys in front of me, I told them that I think I pissed off their friend. They asked me how I had done this?? I told them about the cross chaining and then all of the sudden, they busted up laughing?? :( They then proceeded to tell me that they have already told her several times about cross chaining, and she still does it.

As my friend caught up to me, I told him the story from earlier and he had told me that he has watched people with their shifting and you can learn a lot from that. My other friend told me on a ride recently, that I had made his cycling easier?? I did not know how, so I ask. He told me that he had sat behind me on a ride and watched me shift gears. He said that he mimicked what I did and it had/has made riding a lot easier for him! Yay, that is awesome I thought. Moral, you can teach a rider new tricks, they just have to be willing to learn.

Garry, my sister and I had a great ride. We ended up going 44.55 miles and it has been the fastest ride of the year so far for me. I told Garry, that I would like to ride with him on these rides, because I am doing the 109 and I need the mileage.

Hopefully this will be the start of some good training :)!!

Hope everyone is well and have an awesome week. I will be at a wedding in Iowa!!

Swim, ride, run, move!

BIG HOLLER :)

2006-09-12T21:46:00.000-07:00

This is a post to let you all know that Chris finished his first Ironman on September 10th!! He did Ironman Wisconsin. This was not an easy course... :) This was his first and he really trained hard and kicked some major butt. He battled rain, wind and cold weather and came out unscathed to post a killer time!!! Chris came in at a time of 14:53:27. If any of you would like to read about his journey, his blog is Becoming Ironman Congrats Chris, way to go!!

Into the Groove

2006-09-01T15:45:00.000-07:00

I think that I will finally be into the groove of training again. I have only 2 more trips and then that is it!! :) Yay. Last weekend I rode 37 miles with some guys that I know. They kicked my butt, but I hope that is not for long. We had a good ride and I was quite happy how I did considering I had not been able to ride in about 3 weeks. We took a new route that I had not taken before and I quite liked it. There were not a lot of cars and for part of it, you felt like you were on a quiet country road.

This week I went to a trade show for work, it was really exhausting. We worked 12 hours the first day, 11 the next and 10 the last one. We were not allowed to sit and had no chairs in our booth. I was really just tired, but my legs did not hurt like the rest of them!! Which was a good thing. My feet throbbed, because my shoes were old and no comfort to them :( . Although I was really tired, I made a point to get my butt to the pool and ended up swimming 500 meters on Tuesday and 700 on Wednesday.

My flight was delayed for 2+ hours, the first class bathroom was broken on arrival and they were given the choice of taking a different flight. They did not, the bathroom was fixed, but there was still a lingering smell, which ended up making me sick. As I got home, I promptly went to the bathroom and puked.

Today, I am feeling the effects of it all and I am just resting. I hope to be at the pool later on...

I do have to admit though it was a good trip and we all had fun. Just like I hope my training will become!!

The answer is coming soon...

2006-08-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

A thing that I noted to a friend today, is that my job is probably sick of me not being there. I told her that they will probably let me go soon, not because they do not like me, but because I have been sick a lot and I do not qualify for intermittent leave. But, I should really leave anyway. I have done the same job for almost 5 years, I have not moved up, or laterally. They will not put me in a different position, because I only work a few days a week. Which in some of the positions that they could put me in, it would not matter how many days I work.

I am going to start looking into photography courses, since it is something that I like to do and it is something that could be done while riding around town. Something outdoors, that is where I think I was meant to be or in at least a job, where you get to move. My job does none of that, I am stuck to a chair, I feel chained there. I am a log that never gets to roll.

Thing is though I am scared to let go. On the one hand, if I did, it would be like a weight was lifted and it would give me more time with family because I could get things done while they are out of the house for the day. Also, I could take care of the house, so that my boyfriend did not have to!! :) But on the other, I don't know if it is financially feasible. It costs a lot to have a camera :(. And my job pays really well. It is well above minimum wage. Not that I think that a minimum wage job is not a good thing!! It is and some of those jobs would be 10 times better then mine :)!!

The other thing that I contemplate time to time, is selling off my Star Wars collection so that I would not have to worry about the finances for a while. I must have over 800 unopened figures, bunch of micro machines, legos, puzzles, vehicles etc. And sometimes I think that would give us a cushion, so that when I do go, it would give me time to look for a job and not have to worry about much. (But all this is only a thought not a reality)

I know the answer is going to come soon, I just have to be ready to take the plunge!

They're goin in

2006-08-18T09:36:00.000-07:00

I have been battling with a stomach ailment for about 2 years now. It is very stressful, does not make me feel good and I have to worship the porcelain goddess at least a couple of times a month. I have been to the doctors many of times and they have given me a little diagnosis, but nothing has seem to take it all away, or manage it.

It seems that no matter what I eat, it does not make me feel right, it makes me feel sick. I am at the point were it seems that food is the enemy and all it wants to do is reek havoc on my body. This happened last year and I had little time to train, which I am now of the opinion that I am on the same course for this year!! It is a roller coaster ride and I want to get off!! But how do you do so when you do not know where the ride operator went??

I was yet again at the doctors yesterday, there is a wonderful FNP that is at my doctors. She is referring me to a specialist that she says has a way of finding things that no one else has found. I am optimistic!!

Well yesterday, one thing good that I was told, is I do not have any liver disease!! That I am sure I could have told you on my own!! :)

Today they are goin in (not literally). My FNP ordered a CAT scan. I am getting it to see if they can see anything wrong??? Why yes there is something wrong, even if you do NOT see it!!! I was given 2 giant bottles of Barium :(. One I drank last night and I thought that I was going to puke and gave me a severe headache, the other I have to drink 3 hours before I come in today. They told my boyfriend that I was not allowed to eat solid foods after the barium today (have you ever really thought about that word?? Barium? It reminds me of bury um!! 6 feet under why don't you ;) ) I found that a little ironic, but hey, they do not know food is my enemy and I have really not eaten in 7 days.

oh well, wish me luck ... LUCK hehehe :)

Could I please have a new stomach???

2006-08-13T20:31:00.000-07:00

I know, I know why is it that I do not keep this updated??

Lately, I have not been doing much, but I think about doing things :) !! Does that count? NO. I didn't think so!!

I have been sick twice, to MA again to pick up my son from camp, to the dentist, riding, running, and swimming (the last three, way less then I should be :( ).

This weekend we helped out at my son's school to get it ready for the new school year. He goes to a Waldorf school and it is like one big community that works together!! Great thing. I was really sick and we only stayed for 2 hours. I wanted to be out riding this weekend, but it just wasn't in the cards and the puking would have prevented that anyway.

Please oh please, could I have a new stomach??? I wish that I could trade it in. I have some stomach issues (believe me, I have seen more then one doctor and they have not helped) I am trying not to eat nightshades because I think they are making me sick, which is very sad because I love them!! I have decided to go back to my way special way of eatting. It really is not that special, but it really seemed to help my stomach. I would eat a shake in the morning and then a meal in the afternoon and then another shake in the evening. This seemed to help my stomach and made me feel better. I guess it was because there was less to digest.

Well, I am signing off for now, not feelin great right now, stomach hurts and does not feel great. I need a new one!! I wish that I had one.

Cactus Fruit

2006-07-30T21:50:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share a photo that I made today :)

IMG_04933 Hosted on Zooomr

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas???

2006-07-24T20:42:00.000-07:00

I still have not had a lot of time to work out, train or get in the training groove :(. This does not make me happy at all, in fact it makes me very unhappy. As I said in the last post, I was really sick with a head cold/sinus infection.

Well, that lasted all week and part of the next and then the next thing you know, I am in Vegas for a Birthday Party!! I thought that it was fun, but in the back of my mind, I was thinking I need to be training and should not be here.

The hotel that we stayed at, had a gym and I was really happy about that!! I was looking forward to using it. On Saturday, I made it a point to get up early so that I could go down to the gym. My mother woke up before us all and as we were getting ready to go to the gym, she entered our room and stated that it was $20.00 dollars!! What the heck is up with that? Unheard of, the cheap motel down the street has a gym and you know how much it costs to get in? Zip, nada, zilch!! Plus, my mother was hoping for a coffee maker, which usually you think would be standard in a hotel!! Not in this one, we called the front desk and the person that answered was really snottie and said "Coffee Maker, we don't have those!!" Ok, again the cheap motel down the street also has one. Another thing, is our bedding was torn and the bathtub was missing the coating and it was rusted and down to the metal.

The bathtub did not drain and when the handyman came in to fix it, he put the hair in the toilet and left it there. Did he not hear about flushing, does he not know what that is? It was disgusting and I could not believe that he did that!!

Friday night we went to dinner in Mandalay Bay, it was ok, but somewhere else would have been better. After that we went to a male review, American Storm. It was weak and the choreography cheesy. The guys could dance, but some were not in to it and when they were dancing together sometimes they were out of sync. The music also blew out your ear drums and the smoke machine left your throat hurting the next day!! :(

Saturday was a bit more relaxing and we got to sit by the pool. (after our 2 1/2 mile walk that is :) ) I was not feeling very well from the night before and did not stay there long. We ate and then went to the Wynn, were I lost money playing slots and then went home to get ready for dinner. We went to a Moroccan restaurant!! The food was great and too much of it... We did not go home hungry. There was 2 Belly Dancer also that really knew how to move their hips... I thought I don't think that mine would ever move like that. After dinner, finally, I get to go home (to the Hotel) and sleep. I have not really slept in 2 days and I might be able to get in some winks before the people get back from clubin (those people would be my sister's... we came on this weekend get-a-way, because it was my sister's friend's birthday!!) One of them breathes loud and I am a lite sleeper!! So sound, lights, music keps me awake.

Sunday, we got to go to the Bellagio, I did not know that they had Dale Chihuly glass on the ceiling, it was awesome!!

But, we were not there to see that! We went there to see the Ansel Adams exhibit!! What an amazing photographer he was. I am really into photography. Hopefully soon I will be able to quit my non-motivating, stifling, dead end job and focus on that and take classes. I would like to learn how to use PSCS2 better and my new camera that my awesome boyfriend and son got for me. It is a Canon 350D I do not really like taking pics of people, just landscape/nature/the city. Those would be my gig. Maybe one day, just not today...

So what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas and so can our hotel!! It is one place that I will never recommend or stay again!! Drum roll please for our hotel...

Sometimes life just gets in the way :0)

2006-07-13T07:45:00.000-07:00

So as of today, which is the 14th of July, I have not ridden, swam or ran in about 8 days :(. I have some goals that I want to accomplish, but I am finding more and more that sometimes life just gets in the way!!

Last Friday, I rode about 33.5 miles and then on Saturday I had to stay home to check in for a flight. A flight?? Yes a flight!! My son was going to camp and was supposed to have been gone that Monday, the 3rd of July; things just did not work out. Why you ask?? Well let me explain.

It was the 2nd of July, it was a hot one out, I really needed a lemonade, but I got some ice tea instead. My son was at a birthday party at a water park that my sister took him to. No doubt they were coolin off in all that refreshingly cold water and getting sun cancer at the same time (even with all the sun screen!!). The rays are a killer here. While I was waiting for them to return, I got a call that they were going to go by the store and get some dye to colour my sons hair. This is something that he has been wanting for a long time and this year I said that it was ok for the summer, because his school will have none of that.

My sister and son returned home his hair partly coloured with blonde highlights and she was going to add red ones now. It was a bright red and looked like it could almost fade to pink in the end. It looked cool and he was really excited and very very happy!!!

Now, enters the villain stage left...

That night, my son's grandmother and grandfather (he is not biological mind you, usually in my family, family is family no matter if you are related or not!!) came over to pick up for the flight that was the next day. We had all his stuff ready and when they came to the door there was a big TA- DO about his hair. His grandmother was shocked and wanted to know why we did it? I told her it was because he wanted it. Now the villain ummm I mean grandfather on the other hand was very pissed off and angry. He started running the bags to the car and interjecting comments as he went a long "I can't believe you dyed his hair, he is not going to look like that, it is awful etc etc". Finally when they were ready to go, the villain’s last comment was "I am NOT taking you to camp with your hair like that, I will shave your head before you go."

My son looked at me and I told him if you would like to go to camp your choices will be to shave your head or dye your hair. My son, almost in tears reluctantly left. Immediately, I called my sister to see if there was a way that we could get him to Mt Washington, MA? My sister works for an airline and they might fly there. After talking with her, I found that they flew to Boston and that we could drive him 150 miles to the camp from there. (Hallelujah -- just think of that with music and repeated a few times)

I called to his grandmother's home to see what the decision was on the hair. She, sounding upset said "the villain (she really did not say that, but that is all that I heard) will not take him unless he shaves his head and your son does not want to do anything with his hair." I told her "that is fine and I will be there in a few minutes to pick him up."

When I arrived at their home, there was steam coming out of my ears and laser beams projecting from my eyes. If I could have melted the S.O.B., I would have!! I just looked at my son's balling eyes and said let's go, we will get you to camp. The villain stated " hey man (first of all I am not a man), I have a right to my opinion and his hair, that was just the wrong thing to do (second of all you have a right to an opinion...) to his hair." I looked at him with glaring eyes and made it perfectly clear "you have no right to infringe your opinion on how his hair will or will not look or be. I am his mother and what I SAY goes!! I was furious!! Not because I was going to have to take my son to camp, but because of the villains ignorance, infringement, scarring and down right disregard for my son!!

Needless to say, that my son made it safely to camp!! He is happily swimming in the enormous and very beautiful lake there. I on the other hand did not come out unscathed :(. I ended up with a bad sinus infection/head cold. I am sure that the flight helped to incubate it. It has lasted all week, fighting me all the way. No bike in sight, no trail to run and not a pool to swim in, but today, that will change slowly... I am going for a short ride on a MTN bike I think that I will surprise my boyfriend and join him for lunch and then this evening I am swimming with a friend. I am still sick, but easy is good and vitamins help also.

You know sometimes life just gets in the way, but it is a good thing and this time I would not have wanted it any other way!!! Villain(s) beware...

The animals/bugs are going crazy...

2006-07-06T19:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I swam a 1700.

I did -- drill, swim, pull, kick for a 1,500
then 4x50 build (on the min)

It was a good swim, a little crazy, because it had just poured!! and there were bugs everywhere in the pool.

While I swam last night all of the sudden a blob went by me. It was about 7 inches long. I stopped swimmin, looked around and there is was, a frog (could have been a toad, it was pretty dark, so I could not really tell which one). I thought "this environment is really no good for you" (there was a lot of chlorine in the pool). I took him out of the pool. As I was going back to my lane, low and behold, a teeny tiny baby frog about an inch was on the lane line. I removed him from the pool and placed him near the sand. Did not want anyone to step on him, because it would have crushed the poor guy.

I continued to finish up my swim for the night :) without anymore adventure...

then, today at work, as I walked in, there was a millepede on the sidewalk, I thought this very odd, because I have never in the 5 years that I have been there seen one. I worked up until lunch and when I went to lunch, there was no millepede. Which was expected. I did not think that it would hangout on the sidewalk all day. As lunch came and went and the end of the day approach, my boyfriend came to take me home. He told me that on his way over, he saw millions (probably not that many, but a HECK!! of a lot... at least 1,000s) of millepedes walking about. He said that they all seemed to be heading north?? Why, we do not know. Then after about an hour waiting for me to be done with work, we went to the car. When we went outside, it now seemed that some of the millepedes were veering off and heading back south!!

I have never seen so many millepdes in my whole life and especially at work. I tell you, the animals and bugs are going crazy. Must be the fact that we have gotten a lot rain (which I am sure they are saying what is this wet stuff, as it is a rarity here :)!! )

Our 2 rides

2006-07-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday and today we went on 2 rides. They were short rides and it seems that our group is going to do well. The first ride was around the old neighborhoods where the houses have been redone and are lookin very beautiful. The one today, we went to see a man about a door :)!! My sister just had a security door done by Russ Mozingo. He is a brilliant metal crafter!! Check out his site... Arizona Metal Crafts . The door is awesome and she thinks that she might have a fence done also to go across her porch.

I think that we will continue to grow in our mileage and then get to a point where we are happy with hittin the pavement and goin 50 to 80 mile. In AZ we have to start early because dehydration and heat stroke are almost instant :) !!! Water is of the essence.

Our group I think communicates well and has a lot of fun. I am glad that we have started anew. I hope that everyone is well and has a happy 4th...

New riding group with a slow beginning!!

2006-07-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

Today we started a new ridin group. We used to have a cycling group at work with a bunch of riders. These riders while mostly respectful of one another, were mainly there for themselves. (not everyone, just a few...) It is the old saying "a few rotten apples spoil the whole barrel."

Our old group was not a cohesive one. Some would call it dysfunctional at best. There were people on a rides that would sprint ahead, fall back to the group, recover, and then sprint away again. All the while not helping to pull. Then there were those that would show up with an ipod and earphones. When asked to take them out or put them away, the answer was always "No"! Let me tell you, I do not want to ride with someone that is disrespectful of other riders. Then there were others who insisted on not stopping at stop signs. Now that is crazy, not only do we have the same laws as a car, we can also receive a ticket for blowing the stop sign.

A group of us decided this was not what we wanted to represent nor did we want to teach new cyclists bad habits.

Today was our first meeting :) !!

I woke up, jumped out of bed a little groggy and unsure of the time, I grabbed my phone and noticed I had missed the alarm. I then wonder at the time, as I did not want to be late! Fearing that I have overslept, I look at my phone and give a sigh of relief! It is only 5:30am. We do not have to meet everyone until 6:30!

I relaxed for a few and had some yogurt and then get ready for the days event ahead.

As my boyfriend, Shane and I ride over to the meeting place, I am thinking what a great thing this is going to be. A new group that is like minded.

As we ride up slowly to the ride start, there is one rider there. I am a little confused as to where(??) our fearless ride leader is? The guy who set this up, made this happen... Where the heck r u? I look at the guy that is already there, Alex, and he just says "I have done my lap around the build there is no one else here and this place does not open until 7:00am, I suggest meeting else where." He is concerned about not being able to have coffee or muffins... hehehehe

Shane and I ask Alex if he has heard from Jerry (a.k.a. Fearless ride leader)? NO, he has not. Shane and Alex decide that we must call him and give him grief!! My boyfriend leaves a message telling Jerry that he better be on his way, on the pot or in a casket(I am thinking that he is still in bed crashed out from the merriment from the night before!!). As we wait another 5 minutes, still not a peep from our fearless ride leader :( . Great now we have to think of a ride.

We all think of the vast possibilities and then go with the Rillito. The Rillito is the river path that runs along the Wash. It is a path for anyone and is well developed. It was a good choice.

The Rillito really keeps you on your toes, you find many perils: people to dodge, prairie dogs to avoid and lizards to skirt (there was one crazy(!!) lizard that ran between my tires all the while I was yelling "no do not go there!!")

While on the Rillito, our fearless leader decides to give us a call... he was not here with us and we all wanted to know why!! It was a girl. Wait a minute, a girl? What does that have to do with not being there? That was a Lame a$$ excuse and we let it be known!!! hehehehe we told him that he owed us and big, he was going to have to buy us all breakfast for the no show.

Our ride was a slow beginning, but in the end it was all good and so was breakfast!!

To ride or not to ride, that is the question.

2006-06-30T21:09:00.000-07:00

Today, I found out that a lot of the favorites for the Tour de France have been sent home by their teams. Last year (i think it was) everyone (the cyclists) was asked to sign a code of ethics and they (the cyclists) were to abide by them! Well, that is why today with the drug scandal coming out of Spain, approx 22 cyclists were sent a packin! They get paid to ride and to perform well!! So why not just ride??? It is a real bummer because what if these cyclists were just put on that list, there is no arbitration here, no questions asked, no full investigation yet, it is just go home :( !! So the answer for them is not to ride...

For me, I try and find the time to get out on my bike just to complete my Ironman again. Lately it has been really hectic and I have not been able to hit the pavement. When I do not have the time, now a days, I turn to the indoor trainer or rollers that can be sat on and I just ride to my hearts content. I pop in an awesome CD or movie and just pedal away. So the answer here is just ride!!

Sad day

2006-06-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

It is a sad day in the sport of cyclying today!!

Tour de France

All I want to know is WHY? and did they really do it?

Dude, that's my bike!

2006-06-29T13:32:00.000-07:00

While riding my cycling trainer today, I thought about a ride that I did recently with my boyfriend, Shane and a good friend of ours, Jerry. It is a funny story and I thought that I would share with you all.

During one of our cycling rides we stopped to get a smoothie. While baskin in the shade since that is hot comodity in AZ, a guy rides by and just stares down our friends bike. He then comes back by and rides up to Jerry's bike and looks it over. We all just look at him and think this guy really admires vintage bikes!?? Then all of the sudden out of his mouth comes "Dude, that's my bike". He proceeds to tell us that this is his bike and that he bought it in Germany when he was stationed there. He then tells us that his bike was stolen on the south side and this is his bike. Jerry tells the guy that he bought this bike on ebay and it was shipped he thinks from CA or NY (hehehe I know that is a big difference on where it could have come from, but at that moment he was not 100% sure!) , but he is welcome to look it over. The guy tells Jerry "no, it is your bike now, but that is my bike". The guy proceeds to ride away and leaves us with our smoothies.

MMMMMMM... I love smoothies.

As we finish our smoothies and ride off we discuss the "Dude that's my bike" incident and my friend Jerry says "who knows someone could have stolen the bike and then shipped it to CA or NY and then sold it on ebay, where I bought it and now it is in my possession", ya think?? NOT.

Jerry then decides, hhhmmm maybe my next bike will be named "Dude, that's my bike". He is not kidding. Hahahahaha

The odd thing about this story is that this samething happened to me when I was in NM. I was riding my Gary Fisher Joshua XO and this guy comes out of a shop and said that he swore the bike that I had was his. I told him that this could not possibly be, for I bought this bike in AZ and I still had the receipt for it, but still somehow the bike is his... ride away and quick!

I guess there are no Vintage Super Competion or Gary Fisher bikes anywhere else in the world!! Ya think??? NOT

As for my cycling trainer, I rode for an 1:35:00. As I spun and thought of the story I was glad that I have the friends that I do and then boyfriend that I have, they are all very special, make my life an adventure and help me on my quest.

The beginning

2006-06-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

I have always longed to do an Ironman, since I was 12 years old it has been my dream. I remember watching Julie Moss and Paula Newby-Fraser as they struggled across the finish line in Kona. I remember marveling at their strength, perseverance, and sheer will to keep going, I said to myself "one day, that WILL be me". Then at an olympic distance race, I think that it was in 1996, maybe 1997, I had the pleasure of meeting Sister Madonna Buder, she is the oldest woman to complete an IM at the age of 75!! I say to myself, there is still hope for me!

In April of 2005, I decided that I would finally compete in my first Ironman. Since it was in my own back yard, how could I pass it up? Ironman Arizona was in its second year and I figured that some of the kinks that would have been there the first year would have been ironed out by now.

I geared up for this race slowly, due to some unforseen medical issues. My base of training was not really there, but I thought this is an extension of something that I used to loved to do (sprints, olympic, half), but lost my passion for. I need to find it again and I need to hurry. I figured that my muscles did not forget, they were just on hiatus and the memory was still there.

As my training progressed, slowly, but surely another bump in the road presented itself. On november 30th, 2005, I had my gall bladder removed. I no longer trained, no longer worked, no longer did anything! For 2 months, I was down for the count. I thought "this is just a glitch and I can do it". People that I knew kept asking me "do you think it wise to compete now? Should you still keep going? do you think you will make it?" I told them "push, pull, crawl or tow my body to that finish line, one way or another, I am getting there".

On April 9th, 2006 I crossed that line. 15 hours, 24 minutes, 16 seconds later. I had done it, my dream completed.

So why the blog you ask?

Well, the race was a fulfillment of my dream. However, it was not what I expected. I expected to really suffer, I expected the mental anguish, the diminish of my soul. It was not there. Please do not get me wrong, it was not easy, yet it was not as hard as I expected. There were some pot holes along the way in the race... being without water for 10 miles on the bike, worshiping the asphalt goddess 2 times (a.k.a. blowing chunks) on the ride and wondering in the small recesses of my mind on the run, will I make it. I had not a watch nor did I ask the time of anyone. I just knew that I had been preparing for this moment since I was 12, I was 36 now. (I was a year behind schedule, I wanted to complete this by the time I was 35. What is one year, when you have been preparing a lifetime?) And it was not as I expected. It was easier and I am thankful for this. I thank the powers that be, and decided since I made it, I had to do it again. This time I wanted to document the progress of my training at weEndure and the new blog spot that I created. I have a new goal and it will be a long and winding road. I want to finish in under 15 hours. Hopefully this time, no bumps in the road and no pot holes in the race will get me there.

For now, this is the beginning... the end, well we will see on April 15th, 2007.

Thanks for coming a long for the ride.