Disney Land 1/2 Marathon

A few of the Ladies gave me a gift of a life time. They Treated me to a Half Marathon and a day at Disneyland. Yes I said treat. I was very worried about my running. So they added a bit of pressure, they signed me up for the 1/2 marathon at Disney and asked me not to get mad. I didn't just more worried if I could do this. The training started in may. a 5k or a 10k once a week with some speed drills.

well I did something to my ankle and it took me off running for two months, talking about pressure and frustration. I started running again at the end of July, because I have to get ready. The longest distance that I ran before the 1/2 was a 10k that's 6.2 miles. Yes I know I'm not ready but my time is up and its 9/4 time to travel to Disney.... We picked up our packets and I have an uneasy stomach and I did voice my concerns because now, I'm informed that I have to run this in 3:30.. I really scared now because my fastest 1/2 has been 3:45 min....

All of the ladies were being helpful. Julie sent me a email stating if you find that you are not going to make the cut off, just have fun and take pictures of all the characters. the last email of the night was from Sara L. all she said was you can do anything for 15 min. I read this and went to bed.

This was the best advice for me. I woke up with that thought in my head and she was right.. I can do anything for 15 min..so I added a bit of pressure on myself, I set my goal for a 13 min mile. and you know I did it until mile 10, I lost focus and my body started to talk to me, it was hurting LOUD. I listen a bit and continued on.

This was the Fastest 1/2 marathon Ive ever done 3:06:50. I felt good.

but the Icing on the day was Disney land. Ive never been there before and what a great time, the funnel cakes, the rides and the fireworks at the end of the night made the run worth it.

Thank you Julie Boles, Deb O and Teena V for treating me to a Gift of a life time.

August is over.....

Well Ive done it again.. I havent logged in a while so I though that I would give you my states for the month of August. These miles were loged via All sport GPS, Daily miles and my training log.
Allsport GPS tracking:
Total Runs 2 = 7.81 miles in 1:52:06 Burning 933 Calories
Total Biks 13 = 269.46 miles in 1d 13:59:51 Burning 16568 Calories
Total runs 3 = 11.35 miles in 2:47:42 Burning 1341 Calories

Daily Miles
Total Swims 11 = 12.5 miles in 11:23:00 Burning 9200 calories
My training log
Total Runs 5 = 23.0 miles in 7:30:00 Burning unknown Calories

August was a fun training month. I was getting ready for the disneyland half marathon. so the running had to come up on the list of training. this isnt a bad thing because Im not a great or even a good runner, i get by. I have found a respect for running through this process. It hurts but only while Im running, soI do have something to look forward to when I stop.
Like climbing once you reach the top of the hill, there is that great down hill... Yes






.

A 10 Hour Day

This Past Sunday I had the perfect chance to do 2/3s of the Iron man.
I met with Liz at 5 am at Tempe Town Lake set out to Canyon Lake for a 2.4 mile swim followed by a 100 mile bike.
Well that was the plan.
I did achieve the swim in a great time.
I set out on the bike at 9 am, the first thing that hit me was I had choose to do a very hilly bike ride( I have a love hate for hills), whats up with that. climbing out from the boat dock at Canyon Lake is 20 miles up hill with a few down hills.
The second climb was Usury pass up King Kong. This wasn't that bad until Mr Wind Showed up. I put my feet down and said your kidding me a head wind.
The third climb was the b-line up to Shea,
on the way back down, You know it, I got a Flat. Back tire of course
I found that my legs were more tired than I thought, it was very hard to stand still to change the tire. I did manage to get it change as the SAG car pulled up( good they had a floor pump).
The Fourth climb was up Mc Dowell to Galvin parkway then out to Double tree. from there it was mostly flat or down hill,
well again that what I thought until I reached the Tempe Town Lake park
There are rollers on the bike path on the lake. I said Oh well Just do it...
I ran out of road at 90 miles. I was back at my truck.... The choice was to ride around the parking lot to get the 10 miles or called the ball. I call the ball at this point I was mentally done, I was back at the truck.

My nutrition was right on time, I cramped for about 10 miles, starting at mile 69 then they stopped at mile 81. Conclusion drink even more water. Total nutrition for the day: 6 gal of water, 4 peanut butter 1/2 sandwiches, ? pretzels and 3 bananas( yes I ate bananas). 1 bottle of Car bro pro thick mixture, 1 bottle of my mixture.

Thank You Liz for spending the entire day with me, I don't know how I could of done this without you.
Thank you Chrissy, for coming out and being a part of my journey.

Biking with the Bull Shifters


This morning's bike ride started at 5:30 am. We started out at 16 mph and advanced quickly to 18. I have got to learn how to warm up faster... talk about sucking wind for the first 4 miles... I had stated that my legs were burned out way before I reached the first hill. But, this time I made it up with out stopping!

Class Reunions

This past July I went back home to my 30Th class reunion, although it was fun seeing all of my friends from the past it also gave me a chance to see how far I have grown... My High School was a school of prestige. You had to carry a B avg a C avg would land you on probation and you could be sent back to your home school.. STIVERS PATTERSON COOPERATIVE HIGH SCHOOL this was the way out for a lot of the young people in Dayton, This school gave us the tools to be successful, This was a school that prepaid us for JOBS and College...Some of us looked at it as a way out, A way to survive. The education at our home school was good but in adequate in a lot of ways...
The Cooperative program was the only one in Dayton. And it was on the East side of town*.
we had standards to follow like
dressing 3/4 the time based on your field
GPA of a B or better
attendance missed 3 days sent back to your home school
in class 2 weeks and at work 2 weeks
going to school year round w/ only holiday breaks this was a real job
My freshmen year was at Stivers, this school held 1000 students. We had 6 base classes but we had to select 3 vocation. I selected medical Arts, Graphic Arts and DECA at the end of the year we had to choose major and a minor.
I started my 10 grade on Sept 9, 1997 and went to school for 3 years around the calendar until August 8,1980.
My major was Graphic Arts, I became a Press Operator. I learned how to set type, how to run a AB Dick Press. a Harrison Press, A Platen Press and an industrial Paper cutter.
Out of all the presses I loved the Platen press. It was almost like driving a stick. it had a foot break and a pull print arm.. My friend Rosie Deak and I were the fasted operators, we could run that press with the break off.. you had to remove a business card and replace a blank card with in seconds of each other or you would print on the mat. the key was a good rhythm. something like jumping double dutch rope.
My minor was Music. I went to college on a music scholarship.

I truly enjoyed my High School Years. Those years were the foundation of my life and I am still building on it today.

Five months to Ironman

When I started this journey, I stated, "Wow in 9 months I could have a baby", this was how I looked at the journey to Ironman. In a sense they are similar, The body will have to go through some major transformation in this process.
In the last 4 months I have lost some friends, but I have gained even more friends. I have hit the wall with my swimming, so I walked away for 2 weeks with, thought that I cant do this, but, when I went back. I found out that I can, I just have to stay focused and 'in that moment'.

I've learned to look at, what I'm asking my body to do and to look at what, I am giving it, to do it with. meaning proper sleep, good nutrition, and plenty of fluids along with enough recovery time.
I've learned that my swim will be off the day after a 100 mile bike ride or staying up at a 24 hr Mtn.bike event.
But In the month of June,
I've learned what it will take & how it feels to get out of my comfort Z on my bike.
I've learned that If I want to maintain a certain mph over a period of time with hills. I will have to surpass that avg by .6 mph. because I've also realized that I lose .3 mph on every hill climb. Therefore the down hill will play a very important part in this. Again I have to stay focused and 'in that Moment'.

Now with 5 months to go I have to transform this body a bit more, to become a better runner w/out injury.

I am still having fun in the moment.

A 101 mile bike ride On Independance Day 2010

What a way to celebrate this day. Joe and I set out at 4:30 am on this day with only one goal in mind, My goal was to complete this ride with an Avg of 15.0 mph, Joe stated that we would not stop until we reached 100 miles. Well we acheived both.




Joe and I talked, as we were riding. I told him about some of the rules that I will have to follow, and about the penalties that you can accomulate if you dont follow them. Like no drafting, falling back 4 bike lenghts once a rider over takes you, etc...
So as we were riding Joe stayed to the far left of me a good distance, ahead of me or he would fall back behind me. neither one of us drafted the entire ride. We had some head wind and cross wind but nothing to hard to ride with. Plus I like riding in the wind :)

The realization moment for me was the last 5 miles, we were riding at 17 mph and I felt great. I thought that I would feel anything but... GREAT.