I Dreamed

Last night I dreamed I was running. I was light and airy and ran about 5 miles. It was heaven. I so much want to be there now, but it will come in time.

"and that's all I have to say about that" - FG

Great Contest at Wil's Site

Check this out! Maybe you can compete for second place, cuz I'm taking first!

The TTW Off-Season Shape-Up Challenge

New Blog and Limited Posting

My posting will be sporadic for the next few weeks as my work schedule is hectic, my training is intense (for me anyway), I'm going to elk camp, and I am going to try to get that new blog set up! So I may only post once or twice before heading to Arizona at the most (I think), but I will still be reading your blogs!

The new blog will be here sometime today I hope, right now there are some technical difficulties : Our Shared Journey

Today's thought - Nothing tastes as good as thin feels!

Gearing Up for SOMA!

October 28th will be my longest tri yet, the SOMA Quarterman in Tempe AZ (where I will get to meet more cool bloggers and see some I already know). It will be race #5 for the year, which is my goal. One race for each decade of my life since I turned 50 this year.

The distance is just that, a 1/4 Ironman: .6 mile swim, 28 miles for the bike, and a 6 mile run (walk). I am very excited as I have been looking forward to this one for about a year. Well except the cold water, since I am not in a wet suit yet there will be major shrinkage! Pete of course has laid out a very good warm up for me to acclimate to the water the day of the race.

Pete has laid out my training plan and I am really looking forward to it! He even accounted for my elk hunting trip two weeks before the race (bike and trainer are going with me to elk camp).

My weight today was 386, down 3 pounds from last week! I'll take that!
Here is my workout schedule for the next two weeks, I am looking forward to training and dropping some more weight. My goal is to be down to at least 371 by the time I leave for Tempe which would put me at the 100 pound lost mark! I WILL EAT FOR FUEL, NOT FUN OR MEDICATION!

Monday 9/24 Swim 2300 Done (300 warm up, 1500 straight through alternating 50 T-pace with 50 easy, 500 cool down. It was a great workout!)
Tuesday 9/25 Bike 1:10:00 (cadence work), 1 hour weights
Wednesday 9/26 Swim 1600
Thursday 9/27 Bike 1:00:00 hills, 1 hour weights
Friday 9/28 - Swim 1600
Saturday 9/29 -- Brick: bike 1:30:00 then walk 15 minutes
Sunday 9/30 - Walk 1:30:00 rolling hills
Monday 10/1 - Swim 1550, walk 1:00:00
Tuesday 10/2 - Bike 1:00:00 trainer high resistance, weight train 1 hour
Wednesday 10/3 - Bike: 1:35:00 intervals
Thursday 10/4 - Weights 1 hour, walk 1:00:00
Friday 10/5 - Swim 1900
Saturday 10/6 - Brick: walk 00:30:00/bike 2:00:00/walk 00:30:00
Sunday 10/7 Walk 1:45:00, swim 1700

I sit on my butt all day in front of a computer, so I will get plenty of rest. I am also going to get to bed early and get some extra sleep!

Take care,
Duane

Saturday - Good and Bad, Mostly Good.

Went for my bike ride and rode 25 miles. The first time I have ever gone that far. Did 20 miles once but usually nothing over 15! I'm not too sore (yet), tomorrow morning should be interesting as I have a 1:30:00 walk scheduled.

During my bike ride I rode up to the newly dedicated Columbine memorial (my oldest daughter Becca goes to school there). It was a very sobering experience, very moving. It took awhile to get back into a biking mode.

My shoulder was so sore after my last two workouts that I went to see Dr Marci, a PT who is also coached by Pete. She examined me and then performed dry needling on my shoulder - ouch! Then she had me do some moves and evaluated which muscles are engaging and told me I am not using my lats and triceps in my stroke, but that my traps, shoulders, and rhomboids are doing all the work (my lats and tri do not get sore after swimming but those other muscles sure do!). So, I now know what I need to do, I just have to learn to do it. As strong as my back and triceps are, I should get stronger pulls and gain some good speed! And yes Wendy, I will be good about doing my shoulder stabilizer exercises!

Yesterday I went for a Life Coaching session with Traci Brown. We dug into some very deep isissues and patterns revolving around my eating disorder (ED). It will be interesting to see what comes of it.

Worked today, am working tomorrow (Sunday) and straight through next Saturday. By then I will be feeling like Forest Gump - "I'm tired, I think I'll go home now".

Todays thought for the day - When looking at food and deciding whether or not to eat it, I will ask myself - "Is that food good enough and healthy enough to put in my triathlete body?"

Thought for the Day

Today's thought - What can I use (other than food) to make me feel good now?

This weekend: 12 mile bike tomorrow and 1:30 walk on Sunday, then 2300 swim on Monday which will include a 1500 straight swim, I am looking forward to that one!
My shoulder is sore from the last two swim sessions, going to try a dry needles treatment and start back on my rotator cuff strengthening exercises and be consistent with them!

Today's highlighted blggers are: Pete ( my coach) who is new to blogging, and Meggan Ann, one of my faves!

More to come on the new blog soon, promise!

Have a great weekend!

Faster

I did a 500 yd TT swim yesterday, my time was 13:50. My 500 yd TT in July was 16:20!

Today I will be abstinent.

Today's thought for the day: " To establish true self-esteem we must concentrate on our successes and forget about the failures and the negatives in our lives."
--- Denis Waitley

Today I am focusing forward on what I will become, not backwards on any failures which stops my forward progress, and does me no good. - - me

Have a great day! Luv ya!

Accountability

My weight - 389, back where it was a year ago after having gone up to about 414 over the winter. By this time next week I will bust that number! I had a really great week except for Saturday when I went off the wagon, I was unprepared with my eating plan and it was a very sad day so I went for the creamy stuff. When I'm stressed, I tend to go for the salty/crunchy stuff, but the emotional days are creamy. Hmm! Identifying what type of food I want to medicate with may just help me identify and deal with whatever is causing me distress!

But just for today, I am back on. I have almost decided on a name for the new blog - "A Shared Journey" or "Our Shared Journey" (Thanks Jenny!) If you are going to be part of our support team, please vote on which one! Thanks!

Today's thought for the day: Gratitude is an essential component of a life that's filled with joy and meaning and richness. Whenever I choose gratitude, it always makes life better. (Ralph Marston)

Harvest Moon

Today I volunteered at the Harvest Moon/Crescent Moon Triathlon. That was fun and I just had to do my share, small though it was. But . . .

. . . you know me! I'm either getting really emotional about something or I'm meeting very cool people! Saw Iron Eric and Roman, then one tri-blogger I have been waiting a long time to meet -Cody the Clydesdale from New Mexico!

So without further ado, here is Cody, Coach Pete (he coaches both of us) and moi:


I also had the great pleasure of meeting TriTurtle and her husband Greg, incredibly nice people! She finished her first 1/2 IM under very tough conditions! Way to go! Here she is with husband Greg and her father.


I got to seeTea again! She also finished her first 1/2 IM and got to finish the race with her great husband Mike and her two sons:

Here are Tea and Laurie together, they both got hammered out on the course by one hellacious rain storm with a lot of lightening bolts! It was pretty hairy!:


Pete won the masters division:


And finally, Pete tracked down two famous Tri stars (the Lovatos) who spent about 15 minutes with Cody and I. They were very nice and it was so cool to talk with them! Amanda won the womens's race! Michael is prepping for Kona, I hope he takes it! He even gave Cody a shout out on his blog! Now how cool is that!





A very nice day!

A Very Sad day for One of Us

Courtney has lost a very dear friend, please give her tribute to him a read. Take tissue :-(

I'm thinking about a new second blog

Since I really need to focus on my eating/food issues, and since so many of us have this issue, I am thinking about starting a second blog. It will be designed for use by those of us that need it, to support each other in our daily battle in this area. There would be daily meditations, tips, reviews on books that deal with our issues, and maybe a forum where we can talk.

It will have a public area where we can discuss things and I'm thinking maybe a private area for members only where we can share and discuss our battles and successes in anonymity discretion and privacy.

All religions and viewpoints, no flaming, only positive support and encouragement allowed.

Ideas and suggestions welcomed! If any of you would be interested, please e-mail me and let me know (dkn747@yahoo,com).

Race Update

First off, congrats to all the IM WI finishers and particpants!

The race #s are in for the Tri-Glenwood:

Here are the numbers:



So a faster swim, no penalty, only 5:43 shaved off the bike but the brutal headwind made a huge difference. If I had that wind last year I don't know if I would have finished the bike. Faster transitions and 4:11 shaved off the walk, for a total time of 24:04 shaved off. I am very happy with that!

A couple more photos courtesy of Stronger (Thank you!)

Tri-Glenwood Race Report

First off, I really must thank Coach Pete and my Personal Trainer Jess for having me so ready for this race! Luv you guys!

I don't have my numbers yet, but I had a great day! This is triathlon #5 completed! Who would have thought? Before I get to the report, I have to share that I got to see Stronger again who came to support me, and her two beautiful kids! They are so cute! And she is so sweet!



I also got to meet Nancy Stevens, a blind triathlete who I think just won her third or fourth World Championship! Very inspirational! She is inspiring other blind people to get into triahtlon and has started a Tri It Camp for blind women athletes and sighted guides!


Nancy Reinisch (sorry if I spelled it wrong) was her guide to today and is a cancer survivor. She is such a great lady and inspired me last year as she finished TriGlenwood while she was undergoing treatment for her cancer! Luv ya Nancy!


Last but not least, I had the pleasure of meeting Elayne! Check out her blog, especially if you are a dog lover!


We headed out from Denver Friday afternoon and got to Glenwood Springs. I just love the western slope of Colorado! Here are a few pics for your enjoyment:




Check out this ride that was at our motel:


Steve, Margie, and Noel came up from Colorado Springs, thanks guys!


We went up the mountain in a tram and the kids and Steve/Margie/Diane all road this mountain coaster and Margie even rode the bull:






Here's the pool just before sunrise, it's 150 yards long! 7 lengths for the swim (825 meters):



Getting ready:


Swimming (I think I got done in time and didn't take a penalty but I'm not sure yet (I think I did 24 something for 825 meters and didn't stop once, turn over on my back or switch strokes, just kept on chugging! I am extremely happy with my swim today!



Here is myself (front right) and my friend Shauna, a first time triathlete heading out on the bike. Yay Shuana! I stopped my watch accidentally and knocked the sensor to my Cateye off so I don't know my time. I do know that the last half was brutel due to the head wind coming down the canyon, I'm thinking my time was the same as last year but with the wind I consider it a great victory and a stonger bike! I would have given anything for drops or aerobars as I was a huge sail sitting upright!



Coming back in on the bike (Shauna smoked me!)



Heading out on the run (walk), I'm still smiling! I think I shaved some time off the walk but I still need to wait for the results to get posted. My feet felt fine and I actually had one orthotic from the PT and one from the Sports guy in my shoes and the combo seemed to really do the trick! It was a beautiful Colorado day, just a hint of crisp fall air. The run course goes along the river and I was just in awe of the beauty and the fact I am able to still be aliove and do these things! I was very grateful!



Here's Shauna coming into the finish and right after we high' fived on my way out:




Nicole and Jamie also did their first triathlon today and I hope to have more pics up in the next day or so as soon as Corrie gets them sent (Good job Corrie!).
Jess and Eric smoked the course again and it was a pleasure to hang with all these nice people and their friends and family.

No finish line photo yet but here is Cindy who puts on one heck of a race! She is sweet and does an incredible job (as does Nancy, Paul, and all the others!)



I'm bummed cuz I can't get the live video feed from IronmanLive! Argh! I'll just keep on tracking!

Heading for Glenwood!

If you haven't yet, please go check out and congratulate Mark who has become a triathlete! Way to go Mark! Very inspiring! He has been very supportive of me, thanks Mark!

We're out of here in a couple of hours heading to Glenwood Springs for my fourth Tri this summer and a repeat of my very first one last year. I'm excited yet I'm also nervous. I know what to expect, but I still just want to finish. My feet are a little sore but I think I will be okay. Stronger is coming to watch me race and I will get to meet fellow blogger Elayne! I am excited so see them both!

My weight today is 389, what is what it was last year at this point. I am back on the road!

Just got back from lunch with my best friend Joe who I have known since I was 14, and another really great friend Chris. We used to hang in junior and senior high and had a band called the Interstate Blues Band ( I won't show photos of the Interstate signs we chopped down for our logo, too incriminating!). Not much of a band, but we had so much fun and must have driven Joe's mom and the neighbors crazy! We went through a lot of stuff together and had so much fun (the stolen milk truck, multiple moonings, camping, hunting, and as Brewer and Shipley would say, we were "one toke over the line" most of the time, but we came through it pretty well!) So here we are, myself, Chris and Joe back in the early 70's. Damn, I was pretty babe-a-licious!

New Triathlete!

Please go check out and congratulate Mark who has become a triathlete! Way to go Mark! Very inspiring!

Last Post for a week - busy, busy, busy!

First I want to wish luck to Tri-Dummy, TriShannon and Im Able as they prepare for their first Ironman in Wisconsin next Sunday! And good luck to the RaceAthlete IM contenders too!

The same day they are all becoming Ironmen, I will be repeating my first Triathon I did, the TriGlennwood. Of course my main goal is to finish! But I would like to make the swim cutoff without the 5 minute penalty, I would like to chop 15-20 minutes off the bike too.

I worked all day today, will be working tomorrow and Monday too! So I may not post again until I have my race report next Sunday night (as I watch the IM Moo broadcast on my PC!) Should be a great weekend!

Oh yes, my weight is 391. (accountability)

Have a great week everyone!
Duane

Gratitude - Yesterday's Post

Your encouragement is very overwhelming.
I am truly grateful for all of you!

D