Training Day

Good day of training today with an 8 mile run and a hour and twenty minutes of riding. Tomorrow is a long ride - looking at a couple of hours.

Heard about Ironman Coeur d Alene from a friend of mine today. He had a good race in very difficult conditions. A lot of rain and wind on the run. Chop on the swim and wind on the ride. But Marco perservered and he is once again, an Ironman. Congratulations, Ironman Marco.

Also, I have celebrated the completion of a Half Ironman with a friend from Boston. Marianne just finished 70.3 miles under her own power in the last week. What an accomplishment - wait to go Marianne. Next year....Ironman. You go girl!

I stand amazed at what men and women can do when they strike a goal - create a plan - and execute on that plan. I am really looking forward to Arizona....but much work to be done between now and then. About 147 days of work.....thanks for all your support.

See you at the finish line.

Happy Father's Day

Good day to all the dads out there. I hope all your Father's Day dreams come true.

A big training weekend. Started on Friday with a long swim, 2000 continuous and then a few hundred more for fun. Then on to Saturday morning with cycle (spin) class. It was anaerobic intervals so a great workout. We also had a substitute teacher who was certfying instructors so she was killing us all. Then I rode for another 30 minutes and wrapped it up with another hour of intervals with our normal instructor for the 10am class. All total - about 2 hours and 45 minutes of intervals and my legs are toast and my bike it sitting in a big puddle of sweat. Then today I woke up and hit the road for a run....it was about 80 degrees at the start so not too bad but it was terribly humid and windy. In other words, a tough 8 miles on tired legs. Glad to finish.

Congratulations go out to Marianne who finished her first Half Ironman yesterday up in the northeastern US - great job!!! Another friend is getting ready to be a guide for a blind triathlete at a race in Canada. Check out his site if you want to donate to the cancer hospital they are racing for....http://pmhf3.akaraisin.com/pledge/Participant/Home.aspx?seid=2094&mid=9&pid=131467&se=1

Again, happy Father's Day and good luck to all our friends at Ironman Coeur d Alene.

See you at the finish line.

Early Morning Training

Got up early this morning and hit the 5:30 spin class. Really felt good to get to work and know after work I could go straight home. Can roll right by the gym after work....sweet. However, I think I may do it again tomorrow. A little sleepy during the day but I liked getting it done early.

A Swedding

That is not a typo....if you were in Ft Worth, TX over this past weekend, you know what a swedding is....it is an outdoor matrimonial event held from 6:30pm until midnight in a sweltering, oven like swamp of humidity. To say I was drenched with sweat within 2 minutes would NOT be an exaggeration. It was probably the nastiest humid night I have EVER felt in my life.

It was dubbed a "swedding" by the groom, the next morning at the outdoor brunch. His words were "thanks for coming to my swedding". Note to self: think twice before attending outdoor weddings in June in Texas. Man it was hot but it was a beautiful wedding.

Now it is back to training...

See you at the finish line.

Big Training Weekend....and a new agent

A big weekend of training. Not really a big one on the plan but I really had a fun weekend. Friday night I went and swam after work - not really long but pretty intense for almost 30 minutes and then rushed upstairs at the gym to a Pilates class. I really need some core work so this is one way I will get it and it is mentally much easier for me than weights. Saturday morning it was up early to get to spin class - it was "hills" so it could be as tough as you wanted it and then I went ahead and rode the 30 minutes between classes and rode the second class as well - all told it was 2 hours 55 minutes of riding so it was a good ride. Then capped the weekend today with a hour and 15 minute run. I feel really good especially considering the humidity and decent wind this morning. The temp was okay but the air was thick.

The new agent - the spin instructor yesterday announced to the class that I was doing Ironman AZ this year and raising money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. She even passed out the cards I had made to make people aware and to give them the website address to donate. (If you need it, just let me know....hint...hint...or if you want some cards to pass out just let me know). So "D" - you are my new agent...thanks for the announcement and all of your encouragement. Hopefully I will get some new readers as a result of your efforts. As you all know, I am compiling a list of people currently battling cancer as well as a list of those who have lost the battle to carry with me on race day. If you have a friend or loved one who has dealt with this disease, I would love to have them along for inspiration - their battle has been a lot more difficult than mine. Please send their names to left.right.repeat@gmail.com and I will add them to the list. I would be honored.

Also, if you are reading this, feel free to tell everyone you know about it.

See you at the finish line.

LiveStrong - first goal

Today, I went over $1000 in fundraising for the Lance Armstrong Foundation in conjunction with Ironman Arizona. Hopefully I will make my goal of $5000. If you are interested in helping out just let me know and I will send you a link.

See you at the finish line.