Balancing It All

Thoughts.....

2010-12-09T15:42:00.000-05:00

So I decided that today would be the day that I finished my blog on being a coach. You see over the past year, I have been exposed to another side of athletes, a side that I am not a big fan of.

If you have been following my blog for any amount of time you know that I have been a runner for most of my life and a coach since 2004. You may also have noticed from pictures I have posted, I am not built like Deena Kastor. Like many people I have struggled with eating issues, weight issues and health issues for the greater part of my life. However, I did not until recently think that what my current size was or was not did not effect my ability to be a good coach. Kind of delusional I guess.

I started my marathon journey in 1995 with Team in Training in Charlotte, North Carolina. So it seemed quite fitting that I would start my coaching career with Team in Training. In 2004, I took the leap. Disney Marathon 2005 would be the first finish line I crossed as a coach, albeit an assistant coach, but a coach. While all my marathon finishes have been super emotional there is nothing like crossing the finish line with a first time marathoner and experiencing the emotions they have as they reach their goal. I was hooked and I realized that coaching was my passion.

Fast forward to 2008, and I am now coaching Marathons and Triathlons for Team in Training. At this point, I had decided I wanted to pursue coaching as a job as well. Beyond Endurance was founded. My philosophy in regards to coaching is and always has been helping someone to achieve something that they had always dreamed about but never felt possible.

Now there are many people out there that do not believe if you finish a race with a pace slower than 10minute miles, you are not racing. In the minds of these people - these athletes are not runners much less athletes. Well I disagree. As soon as a person makes a decision to complete an endurance event, whatever the distance, they become an athlete. Will they go to the Olympics no probably not but their accomplishment is no less amazing or extraordinary.

Back to me now - after a divorce, cancer and several person struggles - my weight changes as my mood does. I am not skinny, I won't ever be. Does that make me less of a coach? I don't think so. I think your ability to coach begins with your ability to listen. Once you can understand what the goals of your athlete are then you can help them to achieve their goals.

It is very hard for me to not get frustrated when I hear people saying that unless you have been there you cannot coach it. Well I have crossed the finish line in over 35 marathons, I have completed more half marathons and 10k's that I can count. I have complete the Goofy Challenge 3 times, completed 2 Half Ironman races, numerous sprint and Olympic triathlons and attempted an Ironman. I have coached 15 seasons of TNT participants and had 100% of my teams cross the finish line at their half marathon, marathon and triathlon. Most of my athletes were first timers when they came out but many of them are repeat offenders now.

I am also the Triathlon Coach at the Lake Nona Y. In the 8 months since I arrived, the program has changed, I think for the better. Many of my athletes have completed distances they did not think they could do and all of them have accomplished their goals. We have brought home many age group awards and are looking forward to the new year.

So back to my original comments - You don't have to look like Deena Kastor or run as fast as Chrissie Wellington to be an athlete or a coach.

All you need is PASSION. Passion for your sport, passion for job and a passion for life. Everything else is just a bonus.

When I cross the finish line at my Ironman it won't be in under 10 hours, It might not be in under 14 hours but will that make my accomplishment any less? Heck no, I will still be an Ironman.

So if you think you cannot do something you cannot but if you think you can, YOU WILL and I can help you get there.

Talk to you soon!
Coach Beth

All I Can Say Is I Am Sorry - It Has Been A While......

2010-12-08T21:48:00.000-05:00

Wow, I am not sure where to start. I had many goals for 2010, I have hit some of them and not hit some others. While I know this year is not quite over, for some reason the past few days have been very retrospective for me. For sure I have been slack, slack, slack on posting to my blog. If everyone had my password, you would see that I have started several posts but left them unfinished. Why? Not sure. Some days, I think because I don't want to admit the truth, some days because I am not sure I want everyone to know what I am thinking, other days there was a distraction from a child, or a phone call or an email. At any rate, for many reasons, there are posts unfinished.

I haven't completely taken a break from blog-land, I try to check all of the blogs I follow as frequently as I can. Thanks to everyone who has been doing a great job of updating their blogs so I have some wonderful online friends to read about. Let me see if I can catch you up on everything that has been going on this year. I might repeat some notes or comments from a previous update, but I really want to check off my list.

Coaching - At the beginning of the year, I had mentioned that I was focused on growing my coaching knowledge and coaching business. In order to do that, I needed to complete several coaching certifications and training classes. What that meant for me as an athlete was this was not the year to race much, my budget had to be directed towards achieving my goals.

1. USA Track and Field Level 1 Certified Coach - Done
2. Team in Training Tier 2 Triathlon Coach Certification - Done
3. Road Runner's Clubs of America Certified Coach - Done
4. USA Triathlon Level 1 Certified Coach - Done

I am still in the process of finishing my USA Cycling Level 3 Coaching Certification and my USA Swimming Coaching Certification. I am hoping to complete the exams for both of these before the end of the year. Wish me luck. As far as racing goes, I completed a few half marathons and a couple of triathlons. Nothing super exciting but like I said this year was the goal of growing my business.

I was hired here in Florida to coach the Lake Nona YMCA's Tri Team Vortex. We are 80 members strong. This was a new experience for me. While I have been coaching since 2004, this was the first time I had taken over a program that had been previously coached by another coach. As I was learning about my team, I also had to prove myself as a leader and a coach and a person who accomplishes what she sets out to do.
After an amazing first season, our team came away with many, many firsts, many great accomplishments and many great rewards. I think as a team we have grown and come together as a bigger family and I am looking forward to an even bigger 2011. Currently we are planning our racing season but we have some exciting races on tap:

1. Melbourne & Beaches Music Marathon, 1/2 Marathon
2. Wildman Triathlon
3. St. Anthony's Triathlon
4. Pineapple Man Triathlon
5. The Nation's Triathlon
6. MiamiMan Half Iron and Olympic Triathlon

This list is by no means all inclusive. As a team we are still defining our goals for the next year. We are definitely going to add some new events - long distance open water swims, century rides and the Warrior Dash. It is going to be a crazy ride. If you would like to join us, COME ON! :-)

I am continuing to coach Team in Training and on that front, I had a great St Anthony's / TriMiami season and an equally awesome Nation's Triathlon season. We had a 100% success rate of completers at all three races. How awesome is that. This was my first year as a coach for The Nation's Triathlon. What an amazing event. I had the best time with my team in DC. As I mentioned above, this race is already on the list for my YMCA team and of course for TNT in 2011. Depending on my coaching schedule, I would love to race this race one day. I am currently coaching the 2011 St. Anthony's Triathlon team we are 22 strong and charging towards our goals. I am also working with our local chapter to create a 70.3 team. Our goal is Ironman 70.3 Augusta. I will keep you posted.

I was interviewed for a local magazine and an article was published about triathlons and me. :-) Here is a link if you want to take a second to read: Triathlons: Do you have what it takes? I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed taking part in the creation of the article.

My daughters both tested for the next level of their black belts and have joined the leadership team at their school. I am so proud of them and I will post more on their exploits and accomplishments in a different blog because I am a proud mom and there is way to much to tell.

Well that is it for this post. I have much more to write so talk to you again soon!

XOXOX,
E

Monkey Butt

2010-06-23T15:44:00.002-04:00

Save My Butt Giveaway!

Awesome Giveaway!

2010-06-13T23:44:00.000-04:00

I would LOVE LOVE to win this giveaway!

Awesome Giveaway

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

2010-05-11T11:41:00.000-04:00

Well it is time for another status check.

Princess Half - DONE
RRCA Coaching Certification - DONE
ING Georgia Half - DONE

My Team in Training Teams had 100% success rate and complete either St Anthony's Triathlon and the TriMiami Triathlon and raised over $65k to fund the battle against blood cancers. Way to go! Purple Power rocks!

Kelsie and Hannah raced at St Anthony's and did great! They are going to race IronKids this weekend over at Ft Wilderness so I will have to update you on that.

I am in the USAT Level 1 coach certification class this weekend and the Nation's Triathlon season starts this weekend as well. So I will have to put another update in for that later next week.

I am the head coach for the Lake Nona Triathlon Team, Team Vortex. We have 78 people on the team, I have probably met half of them so far. There are a core group that comes out to most all practices and several others do the onezie twozie attendance.

Two of my Beyond Endurance clients are racing this weekend at the 70.3. It is going to be a crazy weekend!

I cannot wait!

TTYL,
Beth

Catching Up

2010-04-22T12:58:00.002-04:00

Once again I have to apologize for being a slack blogger. As most of my friends and family know, I squeeze 36 hours into a 24 hour day. Between being a mom, working full-time, coaching two teams and several personal clients, I don't have any time left in the day.

But yesterday, I HAD to make some more time. After a 6am coaching session with Team Vortex, a quick shower and a race across town to the Florida Hospital Cancer Center, I was able to be part of something AMAZING!

The really blurry picture above is a picture of me and several of the past and present Team in Training Members. I am on the left with the crown on. Sorry the picture is so bad, the purpose was not. One of my athletes from the 2009 TriMiami Triathlon team is in the hospital. His name is Doug Oxendine, he has CML. Today April 22nd, 2010 is his day zero. Doug is getting a bone marrow transplant today. He needs this to save his life. So today is the first day of the rest of his life, his new "Birth Day."

Doug is a personal hero of mine for lots of reasons. He was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, CML, in the fall of 2007. He was immediately placed on a drug called Gleevac and went into remission. Since his diagnosis, he has completed several Century (100mile) bike rides, a hike through the Grand Canyon, a Sprint Triathlon and a Half Marathon. In the Fall of 2009 while training for another Century ride, Doug found out that his Leukemia had mutated and he was no longer in remission. He was placed on another drug called Sprycell. But because of his age (39) and because his Leukemia has mutated once, the doctors said he needed a bone marrow transplant. Doug has not let that get him down, completing the Princess Half Marathon in March with TNT. I was there when he crossed the finish line.

In order to have a bone marrow transplant, you have to be admitted into the hospital a week in advance. You are given extremely high doses of chemotherapy to kill your entire immune system so that your body won't reject the transplant. More drugs and chemicals than a person should ever have to stand. Can you even imagine? I cannot.

Coach Clint, another coach with TNT, contacted me about getting a group of Doug's teammates together for a "visit". I am sure you are thinking there is no way we could actually visit Doug and you are correct. But Doug has a window that over looks the heli-pad. So Coach Clint had a great idea. We would dress in our PURPLE best and come to the area beside the heli-pad, call the nurses and have them let Doug know that we were downstairs. Kimberly our most awesome staff member brought some paper and markers. Letters were written on the papers. When Doug appeared in the window, we each held our respective letters. I was holding the "E" and the "B". The letters when all put together spelled "We Love You! BillyGoat." BillyGoat is Doug's nickname and we figured a perfect name for someone who can kick Cancer right in the ASS!

To say that I was moved to tears does not do justice to the feelings that washed over my body as I held up my letters. I was covered in goosebumps and crying like a newborn. For those very few minutes we all channeled every bit of our "Purple Power" and sent it up to Doug for the very tough battle ahead. I called Doug on the phone and we all told him how much we loved him and his family. The visit came to an end way to quickly and I had to resume my regular life and head into the office. It is extremely hard to focus on my job when I know that dear friends are in so much pain. What I have also failed to mention is that Doug is a husband and a father. Nancy is Doug's most amazing wife and also a friend. What she and their two children are going through is beyond all of my imagination. How does a father and a husband make a decision to have a treatment to save his life that literally could itself be a death sentence?

This weekend and next weekend, I am taking my TNT teams to the St Anthony's Triathlon and the TriMiami triathlon. I will be cheering my team through their respective races, knowing that I have helped even just a little bit to destroy our enemy Cancer.

If you think Cancer won't touch you, you are wrong. Going to the races with me on my teams are a survivor, an athlete in remission and another athlete who finished chemotherapy for his leukemia less that 7 months ago. There are only 14 people on my team total. Does that make it more real?

If you have time after reading this blog, take five minutes and pray for everyone. People are dealing with so many things that are threatening our lives cancer is just one of these enemies. Love the life you have and love the people in your life.

I will leave you with this last thought.

I swim, I bike, I run, I TRI because I CAN. I do this for those WHO CANNOT!

With much love,
Beth

Ramblings on a Sunday Night

2010-02-21T21:33:00.000-05:00

I haven't blogged in a while. Seems like every time I post, that is what I say, "I haven't blogged in a while."

Hmm....seems to be a theme. A friend told me once that as human beings we cannot do everything. Some things have to slide. Well I guess blogging, house cleaning, and grocery shopping are all falling by the wayside.

We are getting homework done, school , karate, triathlon, chorus and leadership team practices attended by the kids. I am getting training schedules written, workouts coached, tests taken, and work done but that is about it. My training schedule is well just a schedule. Not a whole lot is getting accomplished.

For 2010 my accomplishments so far are:
I passed my USATF coach certification and exam and am now a Level 1 Certified Coach.
TNT Tri 2010 kicked off the new season and we have a great new team with 19 people who are raising money to complete the St Anthony's Triathlon or the TriMiami Triathlon.

What is on my list:
I am registered for RRCA coach certification on March 19th and 20th.
I am registered for USAT Level 1 coach certification in May.
I am registered for the Princess 1/2 Marathon on March 7th and the ING Georgia 1/2 Marathon on March 21st.

So it looks like I am on the beginning end of my accomplishments but I think I know where I am headed.

I might have some exciting news soon! I promise I will keep you posted.

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

That Guy or That Girl

2009-12-15T15:33:00.000-05:00

I read this again this morning and I loved it just as much as the first time I read it so I had to put it on my blog!

That Guy. You know him. He can also be That Girl, and often is.

It is that guy (or girl) who you see at every race. He's at every one. Everywhere in the country.

He is always more tan than you are. He is usually a good bit thinner too. His calves have those mysterious vertical striations that define each individual muscle; as if to say, "I have spent hours training each individual muscle in each calf- each individual muscle fiber in fact."

He/she has triathlon clothing that is super cool that you've never seen before. You have no idea where it came from. If you were to ask him- if you mustered up the courage to approach him- you would get some vague answer like, "Ahh, well, I know Dave McGillicutty at Sweetass Trisports and he got these samples, prototypes really, that he….. blah, blah, blah…." And you just wanted to know where you could buy a pair of those cool trishorts he has. Maybe they would make your ass look like Michalangelo chiseled it too. Prolly not though.

So this guy (or girl): His bike is clean. It is also weird. It has parts you think you may have seen in a magazine and, is that what carbon fiber looks like? Half the stuff he has, no, all of it, is stuff you've either only seen in magazines or never even heard of.

He's wearing sunglasses. But he didn't buy them. They just kind of "got there". He drives a special car just for doing what he's doing now: Getting ready for a ride, a run, a swim workout or the triathlon you're at now. He has stickers all over it.

You know when he talks about "Hawaii" he isn't talking about the state as a vacation destination, but rather, an event that you've only seen on TV. He is either talking about getting into it, having already gotten in, or why his last race there wasn't as good as it should have been. It had something to do with some chemical in his body you've never heard of. "Too much polychondrotineospandoplasm in my maldochondriacts during the last ten miles of the run. I should have know better." Yeah, an obvious mistake for someone like that guy (girl). Another thing that guy knows that you don't. Polywhat in his maldowho?

So you get to the race and there is that guy. Setting up all his stuff in the transition area like he's done probably a thousand times before, or so it seems.

And that guy is the reason why so many people are afraid to give this sport (and many others) a try. Because you know you are not That Guy (or girl) and they will look at you and think "Oh, another novice athlete…." And maybe you are embarrassed by that. I know I have been.

That guy is experienced, dedicated, accomplished, fit, knowledgeable, well versed and respected in the sport. You are a beginner. So you are at the bottom of the food chain here. You may be the big woman or man at work and at home. But here you feel like the first day of kindergarten and you don't even know where the bathroom is but you have to go. It's been a long time since you felt like that.

And you'll feel embarrassed in front of that guy.

Consider this though: You are that guy. You are that girl. Don't understand? Let me explain.

On the hypothetical morning we're describing you got up early, loaded up whatever bike you have (the old mountain bike you've had since you were 16, that old ten speed from college, whatever), put the gear you scrapped together in your car and went to the race. You stood there in your sweats and registered, set up your transition area as best you could.

Welcome to the show my friend. You are walking the walk.

You made that monumental leap off the couch and into the realm of That Guy. And now you, to millions and millions and millions of people- you are That Guy.

The next time you go to work when the conversation comes up about what you did Sunday morning you will say, "Oh, ahh, well I did this little triathlon, my first one, I'm not really any good, I was nearly last…."

But to the people at work, and your family, and your friends, and everyone else not there on Sunday morning (and some that were…) you are That Guy. The guy who does those endurance races. Who works out all the time (even if you don't). Who eats right (even though you don't).

Pretty soon it will get around work, what you did Sunday morning, and someone will ask you, "Hey, ahh, have you ever done that one in Hawaii?"

And then you answer, "Oh, Hawaii, no, I'm not that good. I've never done Hawaii…" And to you now it is just "Hawaii". You are That Guy. To someone out there you are That Guy.

Everyone has That Guy. He's better, faster, smarter, luckier. The interesting thing about That Guy is, to someone- you are that guy. No matter who you are, there will be That Guy. Don't let him bother you.

Do what you do. Remember, to someone, you are that guy.

Thoughts

2009-12-07T14:46:00.002-05:00

So December is always a weird time of year for me especially since I moved to Florida. It never feels like holiday season because it is so warm here. Case and point it is 80 degrees today. For the past 5 Christmases, the girls have not been with me. The reason of course is that I have to work and they are out of school for at least 2 weeks. This year, I THINK, they are going to be with me. That means I actually have to get the house into the Christmas spirit.

To be honest, I have not put up a tree in a long time. There is no reason to have one when the girls are gone plus it makes me sadder if the tree is up and they are not here. I was thinking a lot last night instead of sleeping about how things have really changed since I was the girls' age. Growing up Thanksgiving and Christmas were about family. While we spent most holidays with relatives on my Mom's side, we did see my Dad's family some as well. We had huge Thanksgiving dinners with left overs for days. Christmas was all about dressing up, bringing out the good china and spending time with family.

Now that I am older and a mom, I wonder what happened to those traditions. My sister, brothers and parents don't get together very often. We certainly don't spend holidays together. The last time the majority of my family was together for a holiday was Thanksgiving of 2003. So besides the fact that I have to work over the holidays, I feel guilty when the girls are with me because it is just us, the Three Musketeers, on Christmas day. I want them to have the same family centered holidays that I had. But the reality is that is not an option. For some reason, my family does not really care to spend holidays together anymore. Plus we are spread literally across the country. Most of the time one or the other of us is fighting with another one or the other of us. So I let the girls go to their dad's each year. I know that this way they will have the huge family get togethers like I had as a kid and a young adult.

I know that family size does not make tradition and that we have our own traditions. Sometimes I just feel like the girls are missing out on one of the better things in life by it being the three of us all the time.

I think this year, Frick, Frack and I need to make traditions of our own.

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

2009-12-02T11:13:00.002-05:00

So everyone keeps texting and emailing to find out what my future plans are. Will I attempt another Ironman? Will I take some time off from training?

To be honest, I am not 100% sure of what the future holds. I know that I WILL attempt another Ironman. I know that I am taking some time off, mostly because I am tired but I am not stopping training entirely.

What are my goals going forward?
1. Complete several coaching certifications.
2. Continue coaching for Team in Training.
3. Start working with Girls on the Run.
4. Lose some weight. (What is new right?)

So do I have a schedule of what I am thinking about for the new year? Sure. Is anything definite? Nope not at all.

I am coaching the Spring/Summer Triathlon teams for Team in Training. These events are:
1. St Anthony's Triathlon on April 25th
2. Tri Miami Triathlon on May 2nd (the new dates are not posted but I am estimating based on 2009.)
Kick-off for these seasons is Jan 30th at 10am. For more information you can go to the local TNT site.

Coaching Certifications:
1. USATF Level 1 Cert - Charlotte NC Jan 8th - 10th
2. USAT Level 1 Cert - Charlotte NC Feb 19th - 21st or Orlando May 14th - 16th.
3. RRCA Coach Cert - Atlanta March 19th and 20th.

I would like to be at a minimum a mentor for Girls On The Run. At some point I would love to open a branch of the program on my side of town.

Of course I have to continue to do some races just for me. Possibilities for 2010 are:
1. Tour De Cure 100mile Bike Ride Feb 28th
2. Princess 1/2 Marathon March 7th
3. Wildman Oly Tri Mar 14th
4. ING Georgia 1/2 Marathon Mar 21st
5. Great Clermont Oly Tri Mar 28th
6. Florida IM 70.3 Disney May 16th
7. Moss Park Tri Oly July 18th
8. Fall Tri Festival Oly Aug 22
9. IMLOO Louisville Kentucky Aug 29th
8. Volunteer at IMWI Sept 12th to register for 2011
9. Wine and Dine 1/2 Marathon Disney Oct 2nd
10. NYC Marathon Nov 7th

There are many others on my wish list. So far the only definite events are the Tour De Cure and the Princess 1/2. I have entered the NYC Marathon lottery as well but there are no guarantees there at all.

I am definitely going to continue coaching private clients as well and an pushing forward with Beyond Endurance on a daily basis.

Of course I still have my day job with Oracle and am still working on my Advocare business, although I have to admit I did not focus on Advocare when I was in the final months of Ironman training so I have to restart my focus there as well.

I will let you guys know if I think of anything else. :-)

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

IT IS ABOUT TIME!

2009-12-02T10:49:00.003-05:00

Well I finally have gotten up enough courage to try to blog again. When I first started blogging over a year ago, I was writing new entries almost daily or at least weekly. This past year however, I have been so overwhelmed with stuff that blogging has not been on my list. I am not sure why because writing the blog seems to be cathartic most days.

At any rate to catch everyone up quickly, It is now December 2009. I did not cross the finish line at IMFL. I will talk more about that later. Kelsie my oldest daughter is now a black belt. Hannah is testing soon for Red and will be testing for Black buy summer of 2010.

So what happened at IMFL? To be 100% honest, I am not sure. Until the end of August my training was going amazingly well. I was doing much better in the water and on the bike than I had ever done. Something happened when the kids returned from their summer trip. Life Happened. Kelsie started a new school and had to be up at 6am and on the bus by 6:40. That meant Hannah would be alone if I was out training. She did not want to be alone. I can understand that. So I tried to adjust my work schedule to accommodate both of their school schedules and my training needs. This was a mess. :-) I am thankful that my employer allowed me to have the flexible schedule but I am not sure if it helped or hindered.

Love to all!
Beth

Why I Do What I Do?

2009-08-13T11:47:00.002-04:00

Everyone always asks me why I coach, why I train, why I run, why I swim, why I bike, why I get up at 4am every day. Well here is why. This was passed on to me from a friend but it sums it all up very nicely!

WHY we TRI (Triathlon), RUN or WALK or CYCLE?
. . .The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. We have invested more than $600 million in research since 1949 - over $71 million in 2008 - specifically targeting Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma. Last year alone, LLS made 6.3 million contacts with patients, caregivers and health care professionals. We are running for Team in Training and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's. Our mission is to find a cure for Leukemia, Lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and Myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families. We are raising money to help find a cure and help support patients and their families dealing with blood cancers.

Here are ten of the infinite reasons why we continue to put ourselves through hours of strenuous training every week...

We Run, We Walk, We Cycle, We Tri...because every four minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer.

We Run, We Walk, We Cycle, We Tri...because every ten minutes someone dies from a blood cancer.

We Run, We Walk, We Cycle, We Tri...because hearing the stories of our honored teammates helps us realize that the pain we experience is nothing compared to what they endure for months or years.

We Run, We Walk, We Cycle, We Tri...because anyone battling a blood cancer would rather train and complete a half / full marathon / triathlon (or Ironman) than to go through another chemo treatment!

We Run, We Walk, We Cycle, We Tri...to honor those we know and don't know who are living with a blood cancer or have lost the battle.

We Run, We Walk, We Cycle, We Tri...because every mile we run, walk, swim or cycle and every dollar raised makes a difference in someone's life.

We Run, We Walk, We Cycle, We Tri...so that a child or an adult with cancer can have another birthday!

We Run, We Walk, We Cycle, We Tri...so that another parent or family does not have to hear the words: "I am sorry I have to tell you that ...."

We Run, We Walk, We Cycle, We Tri...because every day The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is making advances in blood cancer research, educating the world, and improving the quality of life for blood cancer patients.

We Run, We Walk, We Cycle, We Tri...because in some small way, we're helping to save a life!

All I can say is that I am SO THANKFUL that I CAN RUN, WALK, CYCLE and TRI!

I love you my friends!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

What Will You Do With The Chances You Are Given?

2009-06-05T16:19:00.005-04:00

Well, I have started several different blogs and then gotten distracted and never finished them. When I go back and read them, whatever mood I was in then is not the mood I am in now and therefore I have not published them.

Lots of things have been going on, what is new with me. I always have several too many irons on the fire. Or at least that is what everyone tells me. This is nothing different than at any other point in my life, since I was very little I have always taken on lots of tasks. Or maybe too many tasks. For some reason, I can focus better when I have too much to do. Otherwise I flounder. Or maybe I just think that. And really it is just an illusion. Like when that famous illusionist made the boeing 747 disappear. The plane was there the whole time, we just thought it was not.

Hence the similarity to my life, I think that I am perfectly balancing everything but in reality, I am leaning one way and then another way and then another way. My team is constantly razzing me about being Coach Momma Beth. And I always tell them I am who I am and I cannot change which leads me to the point of this blog.

"What will you do with the chances you are given?"

When I was little, I wanted to grow up and be the president of the United States, then I wanted to be a Lawyer and then a singer and so on and so on. Always in those wishes, I wanted to have a house, a car and all the material things that Americans seem to want.

Now these days, I really don't care if I drive a Mercedes or a Ford. I don't need a giant house, actually I don't want the responsibility. Besides how do I rationalize the desire for some huge house with the fact that there are so many many people don't have any sort of shelter or transportation. Don't get me wrong, I do like nice things but the point would be that I don't NEED them.

to be continued.......

Wow It Has Been A Long Time

2009-04-28T16:42:00.003-04:00

Well I have not blogged since Michael Vinecki died. Why? Not really sure to be honest. For one, I have not really had any time to do laundry much less organize my thoughts.

The past few weeks have been crazy. Monday nights are swim practice with TNT. If Coach Bill is there he coaches and I get to swim, well that works unless K&H are swimming and then I have to make sure they don't drown. Tuesdays have been run practice, coach meetings, Bon Voyage etc. Wed am, I am at Lucky's to swim by 6:30am. Thursdays I am doing a bike ride from Advanced Cycles by 6:30am and then after work the kids have a weekly doctor appointment. Fridays I try to get in another swim at Lucky's and then have to get everything ready for the group training on Saturday morning. On Saturdays, the team does some sort of brick and then I add some extra mileage if I don't have to be somewhere with K&H. Sundays are always a long ride whether I am on the trainer or outside.

If I tell you my house is beyond gross, that I have not done all of the laundry in my house in months, I only wash what is needed when it is needed will that gross all of you out? LOL

At any rate things have been crazy. If I go backwards, last night was the last swim practice for the TNT TriMiami team. I have to say it is bittersweet at the very least. I will be letting all of my baby birds leave the nest on Sunday. I am so proud of them! They will all rock.

Wildman Updates, My Amazing Team, Mom Stuff

2009-03-18T10:17:00.008-04:00

Hello Everyone! What an amazing week! I hope all of you are doing well. This past weekend, several of my team as well as my daughters crossed over to the "dark side" and became triathletes! WOW! Impressed is all I can say.

On Saturday March 14th, instead of practice, my team competed in the 4th Annual Wildman Triathlon Series. We had competitors in the WildChild race, the MyFirstTri race and the Sprint race. And believe it or not, several of them placed in their age divisions! Amazing isn't it?

If you look at the picture above, you can see some nervousness on their faces. This I can understand as the Wildman race was my first ever race as well. There is a major difference between attending Tri practice and participating in a race, even when the race is just a practice. Everybody showed up early just as I and the race director Z Buttar had requested. This way they had time to get everything setup and then check and double check as my training partner Missey would say. Good news this time, most everyone showed up with everything I had requested on my list so they were prepared. I did my best to check everyone's transition area and make sure it was ok. This was also going to be Kelsie and Hannah's first full tri as well. They have done several duathlons, an aqua-run and practice triathlons in the pool. This would be the first open water swim for them as well as most of my team. And always prepared Coach Beth became the "bad" mom when we realized I forgot the kids goggles.

Now having mentioned the water, I feel like I should tell you that the lake a Moss Park is a bit hard to see in. To be completely honest, the water is the color of Diet Coke or Tea so for the most part you cannot see didley when you are swimming in the water. This is certainly a change from swimming in the pool where you have lane lines and markers. I warned the team but until you are actually in the water, it is hard to truly understand what someone is telling you. Everyone did their run warm-up and stretched before the race. The swim was done in waves so the team was all spread out through the different waves.

David and Gabe started in the first wave the Men's Sprint. Missey, Geni, Kate and Brandi were in the second wave the Women's Sprint. Once all of the Sprint competitors had passed the second bouy, the life guards moved the bouys in and the MyFirstTri started. Doug, Ryan and Kim were in the men's wave followed by Toni and Hope in the women's wave. I forgot to mention that our great friends from Advanced Pro Cycles had set up a tent to help with race day bike issues and Jose, the owner, along with his son Jose, were also competing in the MyFirstTri as well. Finally after all of the MyFirstTri competitors passed the second bouy, the lifeguards again moved the bouys and it was time for the WildChild race. There were about 20 kids out there. Kelsie was not too nervous but Hannah was terrified. Hannah had a bit of a panic attack but after some help from the lifeguards, she exited the water and was able to continue on. Kelsie was fine and she moved forward with the race.

All and all everyone had an amazing day!

Michael VInecki Passed Today

2009-03-12T11:46:00.005-04:00

Everyone,

It is with great sadness that I pass on the news that Michael Vinecki lost his battle to prostate cancer this morning. For those of you who read my blog, you know that the Vinecki Family touched my family in a very deep way.

Kelsie, Hannah and I met Winter and her family at the Athletes For a Cure Triathlon last September. At the time Winter was 9 years old and had raised over $30,000 for Prostate Cancer research. By January she had raised over $100,000. She is an amazing inspiration to both myself and my daughters.

Kelsie and Hannah joined Team Winter and have so far done two races in honor of Team Winter. They will be doing a Triathlon this weekend as well.

People - if this is not a wake-up call to those of you not already involved in the fight against cancer, NOW IS THE TIME. Cancer touches everyone. It has touched me personally and most people I know. Any help; whether it be with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Prostate Cancer Foundation, the LIVESTRONG Foundation, the American Cancer Society, or the the Race for A Cure, will help to move research forward and find a cure for this dreaded disease.

As a mom I truly realize how precious each day is. Today was the last day that Winter and her brothers were able to spend with their dad. I know that they would have given anything to change that. Please don't let today be the last day that someone you know spends with their family.

If you want to know how you can help, please email me directly and I can give you the links to all of the foundations that help in the battle against these dreaded diseases.

For now, My thoughts and prayers are with the Vinecki's.

Elizabeth

Cold Again

2009-03-01T14:43:00.005-05:00

Well it has been a couple of weeks since I blogged. Things have been a bit crazy trying to get organized. This is the first year that I have coached a spring season. Of course I work Mon-Fri 8:30 -17:30. Then on Mon-Tues after work and on Sat morning I am coaching my tri team practices. Mondays are the easiest nights since Coach Bill is the swim coach and I usually can get into the pool and workout. Of course Kelsie and Hannah come to alot of practices but they are training now as well so most nights they workout. They completed a Duathlon On Valentine's Day and are going to compete in a Triathlon on March 14th which is 2 days before Kelsie's 11th birthday. My time flies.

On Thursday nights, Hannah has her doctor's appointments. These will be weekly for a while as we see how things go. Thanks everyone for the support and prayers. It really means alot. It is really hard as a mother to know your child is hurting inside and not be able to fix what is wrong. For those of you that don't know, Hannah is having some issues expressing her emotions since she returned from her Dad's house over the holidays. What this means is that she is angry more than she ever has been but is not sure how to talk about it. Of course being her mom, I am the recipient of most of her outbursts. Because of this I am taking her to a counselor who is trying to help her work through this. Hopefully and God willing we can make it through this as a family.

On top of all this, I am still working towards my goal of becoming an Ironman, this means I have to work my training into my crazy schedule as well. I am doing ok in this regard but I really need to step it up a level. I would love to be working a bit harder but it will come in time. Thanks Coach Bill and Team Hendryx for all of the help. I have one more week of my prep phase and then the workouts will start getting increasing harder. Coach Bill is doing a great job of accomodating my schedule. I have a feeling my trainer and I will become really good friends again. I am sure I will also be doing alot of running on the treadmill after the girls are asleep at night. St. Anthony's Trathlon is 8 weeks away and I certainly feel like I am not ready. But I know with Coach Bill's help I will get there. Also my training partner in crime for IMFL, Missey, is home again so I know we will start doing some workouts together soon!

In addition, I am really working on moving forward with my Advocare business. I just returned from Success School. WOW it was amazing. I met so many awesome people with exceptional stories. I know that where I want to be moving forward is growing my Advocare business and spending more time coaching. Success school really shows you that you can dream, plan and achieve your goals. By the last day, I was so emotionally overwhelmed that I cried during the last speaker. I will write a seperate blog about Success School later.

But I do want to mention that Advocare has a new product called Slim. I am so excited about it! The product helps with weightloss, appetite control and energy levels. I have joined Advocare's SlimPact Challenge and will keep you posted on my progress with weightloss. If you want to read more about Slim and the SlimPact Challenge please go visit my microsite https://www.advocare.com/0807148/.

Well I guess that is all for today. Hope everyone is doing great! Talk to you again soon.

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Week 1

2009-02-05T12:08:00.001-05:00

Hey Everyone!

This week is week 1 for lots of things.
1. Week 1 for the new TNT season. This season I am training a team for the TriMiami Triathlon.
2. Week 1 for my official IMFL training with Team Hendryx.
3. Week 1 for my new diet.
4. Week 1 for the Nth time trying to get in a steady routine with my Advocare products.
5. Week 1 for my new business builder plan.

How am I doing so far?

Well the TNT kick-off was great. I have 16 people on my team that span every level of experience from someone who has not exercised in a while to an Ironman. While I am nervous, I know this is going to be a great season. Our first practice was Monday night. It was a swim workout in the pouring rain. What a great start! Tuesday night we had our first group run. The participants completed either a 2 or 3 mile run and then we headed over to Fleet Feet for a clinic presented by the owners Stacey and Eric Bartos. This weekend is our first group ride. I am very excited.

How is my Ironman training going then you ask? Well I have been able to do two gym workouts and one short run of 3miles since Coach Bill sent my workouts to me on Sunday. UGH... I have to get my schedule better organized. Not exactly what Coach Bill had in mind. Coach Bill said I am in the prep phase which is to build a strong muscular base and make sure my shoulder is healed. I have not got into the pool yet. To be honest I am scared. I am afraid I won't be able to swim with my shoulder and that would just kill me. Yes, Coach Bill, I will get into the pool before Sunday. I promise.

Diets, ugh, we all hate them. However when you are training for an Ironman and you suddenly stop working out, your body kind of goes a little bit wacko. So yes I have gained weight. Wow that sucks seeing it in print. However it is the truth. I have gained weight. I know that starting a regular training routine will help but I want to jump start my metabolism and maybe get a few extra pounds off in the beginning. No fad diets for me. I am trying to make healthier choices, stop eating out so much (which by the way is a losing battle since I am never home) and finally take my Advocare supplements with more regularity.

Which leads me to my Advocare supplements. I seem to be on track on work days. Weekends or holidays however, I forget to take them when I am supposed to. So I have to try harder.

Off to Success School on Feb 20th. I know this will give me the motiovation and a huge push to work harder at building my business. I want to have a successful plan B!! You can view my microsite here: http://www.AdvoCare.com/0807148. I love the products and I know they are changing my life.

Hmm what else has been going on? Well Kelsie competed in the Oration finals at her school. While she did not make the top 3 and move on to the next level, she did make the top 6. Hopefully I can figure out how to post a link to the video so everyone can see the AWESOME speech she gave about Winter Vinecki. Kelsie is also testing for her Red Belt this weekend so I will try and post some pictures of that as well.

Hannah has been having a bit of a harder time since she returned to Florida from the Holiday break. I am not sure if she is upset over something that happened or upset because she has more rules here than in NC. We are working through this so if you can keep us in your prayers and send positive Karma, we can use all the help we can get.

Both kids want to race in the Kids Winter Duathlon in Clermont at Lake Louisa State Park next weekend on Valentine's Day. It is a 1/4 mile run 3 mile bike finished with a 1/4 mile run. Hopefully we can make it out there for this race. They got their new running shoes at the clinic on Tuesday night and are really excited to get the season started.

Well I guess that is it for today. I will blog again soon!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Quote for Today:

“Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice. But for those who love, time is eternity."
Henry Van Dyke

Kids In Their Team Winter Shirts!

2009-01-30T16:40:00.003-05:00

Here are the girls in their shirts. Thanks Dawn and Winter! Kelsie is so excited for her speech next week.

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Girls and Their New Glasses

2009-01-28T11:21:00.003-05:00

Time to focus

2009-01-23T21:25:00.002-05:00

Hey Everyone,

Well so much for my New Year's Resolution to start blogging regularly again. Kelsie was sick this week and Hannah well let's just say she was a handful. Hopefully I can get into a better routine soon.

My new Team in Training season kicks off on Jan 31st. It is not too late to sign up. I will be coaching athletes to complete either a Sprint or Olympic Triathlon or an Olympic Duathlon. The event we will be training for is the TriMiami Triathlon on May 3rd. If you would like to join this amazing team, post a comment or send me a PM and I will get the information to you as soon as possible.

On other news, Kelsie finally got her wish and is getting glasses. As most of you know, she cried last year for three hours after her eye appointment when the doctor told her she had 20/20 vision. This year, he said she has a minor minor minor correction in her right eye. Since I have vision insurance, I let her select glasses. Both Hannah and Kelsie will get them this week. I will post new pictures when they do.

As far as me, I am fine. Trying to get on a set schedule so I can get my training done. On my calendar are the following events:

Wildman Triathlon
Disney Princess Half Marathon
St Anthony's Triathlon
Ironman 70.3 Augusta
Ironman Florida

Obviously I need to get a marathon in there somewhere but I have yet to figure out which one. Any suggestions? Remember I hate the heat. LOL.

Well I am off to get the kids to bed and get my gear ready for the morning. Talk to everyone soon.

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

My Daughter Keslie

2009-01-17T21:56:00.002-05:00

I am so excited to write this post. In the state of Florida, 5th graders are required to write a speech and compete in an oration contest. The topic this year is "A Person Who Has Touched Many Lives." On Wednesday, Kelsie was selected as one of the 9 finalists in her school to move on to the Level 1 contest. She will present her speech on Feb 5th. I am so proud of her for many reasons.

Kelsie appears on the surface to be very outgoing and social. When she was first given the assignment, she told me that she would present a speech for her class but she even if she was chosen to move on with the contest she did not want to. I told her to focus on writing her speech and we would cross that bridge if and when we got to it.

Kelsie did not tell me at first who she had chosen to write her speech about. She said she wanted to surprise me. The night before she was to give the speech for the first time, I was finally allowed to read what she had written. I figured she had written the speech about one of her grandparents or someone she had learned about in school. I was wrong. She wrote her speech about Winter Vinecki.

If you have read my blog in the past, you will already know who Winter Vinecki is. However for those of you who are reading this for the first time, Winter is a 10 year old girl who completed the Athletes for Cure Triathlon at Walt Disney World last September. This is an Olympic distance triathon which consists of a .9 mile swim followed by a 25 mile bike ride and finished up with a 6.2 mile run. If completing the race was not amazing enough, Winter was racing in honor of her Dad who had been diagnosed with Prostate cancer a few months before. As of race morning, she had raised over $31,000 and I think as of this blog, her fundraising has crossed over the $100,000.00 mark. After completing the race, Winter and her family were gracious enough to sign autographs and this is where Kelsie met Winter.

I had written in my blog about how seeing Winter start the race and then run across the finish line changed both my life and the life of my two daughters, Kelsie and Hannah. As you all know, I race and coach for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program. Kelsie and Hannah have been my biggest supporters and cheerleaders since they were born. They come to practices, help my team fundraise and provide moral support and encouragement on the race course for the participants.

The day of the AFAC triathlon Kelsie, Hannah and I cheered Winter and her mother along the race course. As they ran across the finish line into the waiting arms of their family we were all cheering and crying harder than we ever had before. After the race, I wrote in my blog how seeing Winter had impacted our lives as well as how my daughters see the world and their place in it. Both of my daughters have vowed to complete a triathlon this year as part of Team Winter and are so excited to move forward to reaching this goal. They are going to compete in the Meek and Mighty Triathlon at the St Anthony Triathlon in April of this year.

At any rate back to the speech. Kelsie wrote an amazing speech about Winter and how she had been inspired by Winter. She talked about how Winter's determination and focus spurred the same in Kelsie. I was so proud of her that night. I could not wait to hear how she did in class.

After 3 days of speeches, the kids were sent home for Christmas break and Kelsie went to her dad's house for the holiday. A few days before the kids were to return back to school for the new year, I received an email from Kelsie's homeroom teacher stating that Kelsie had been picked as one of the 6 children in her class to move on in the contest but she had told her teacher she did not want to move on. Her teacher asked me to talk to Kelsie. She said that Kelsie had written an great speech and she hoped that Kelsie would decide to continue on.

When Kelsie came back home from her Dad's house, we talked about the speech. She told me she had been thinking about it over the break and what Winter would do if she was in Kelsie's situation. Kelsie said that Winter would not be scared, and even if she was scared she would give the speech anyways. Kelsie said she had decided to ask her teacher if she could continue with the oration contest. To tell you that I am so proud of her is a moot point. To tell you I was crying that night when I went to sleep is the understatement.

Kelsie went back to school after the break and presented her speech to the entire 5th grade. On Wednesday, they announced over the school PA system the 9 finalist that had been selected to move on. KELSIE WAS ONE OF THE NINE!!

I am so proud of you Kelsie! I love you! I will be there on February 5th to hear your speech. You are a winner!

I also want to thank Winter and her family again! You are all amazing and such an inspiration to my family! Thank you for coming into our lives!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

P.S. As I completed this blog, I wanted to post an update on Winter and her mom, Dawn's facebook page. When I went to Dawn's page, I saw that she had updated the blog about Winter's father, Michael. As I write this addendum to my blog, it is with a sad and heavy heart. Michael found out that he has metastasis (spread of his cancer) not only to the liver but the lungs and lymph nodes as well. He has decided to continue his fight against this horrible disease with the hope that even if the treatment does not cure his cancer, that the clinical trial he is joining will help find a cure for those that are diagnosed in the future.

On January 31st, I will start coaching a new season with Team in Training. We will be training to complete the Tri Miami Triathlon on May 3rd. While these amazing people are raising money to fight the battle against blood cancers, I know that the money they raise to fund the research will progress the fight against all cancers not just blood cancers. Every dollar counts!

Michael, you and your family will be on my mind as I help my team move forward on their journey. I will pray for you as you continue on your journey and for your family as well. My journey to the become an Ironman has taken on new meaning this year.

Thank you again!
Elizabeth

New Year! New Beginnings!

2009-01-06T14:23:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone! I hope each of you had a wonderful holiday season and your wishes and resolutions all come true.

Sorry I have not blogged in months. After I broke my shoulder, I just could not get up the energy. I am sorry.

Good news however, I am back! LOL. I will start by posting some of my resolutions.

1. Be good to myself and my daughters.
2. Get rid of the "box."
3. Get my Advocare business on the path to where I want it to be.
4. Begin my training plan for the IMFL '09.
5. Be a good mother, friend and coach.

There are many more resolutions but I will start with these.

The new TNT season kicks off on Jan 31st. My IMFL training officially starts on Feb 01st. So lets get the ball rolling.

Happy New Year!

IRONMAN (old entry from 11/04)

2008-11-04T10:21:00.003-05:00

Well it has been forever since I have blogged. I have to say that sometimes life just gets in the way of what we want to do and what we have to do.

This past weekend was Ironman Florida. The weekend was an AMAZING, bittersweet, awe-inspiring event. Because I was unable to race due to my broken wing, I decided to volunteer. I am glad that I made that decision.

Reality Check - Warning you might need tissue!

2008-09-22T12:58:00.007-04:00

This weekend my friends Missey and Rick raced in the Athletes for a Cure Triathlon at Fort Wilderness on Walt Disney World Property. Rick set a new PR by 20 minutes and Missey had a great training race. She had specific Heart Rates and zones she had to maintain and did so with flying colors! It was awesome to see my friends race and for a moment I had another pity party for myself while walking over to the race start. However it only lasted a moment.

The Athletes for a Cure Triathlon was the innaugral event to raise money for the fight against prostate cancer. Athletes from all over the world competed while raising money to fight cancer. As you all know I coach for Team in Training and have been either a participant or a coach with TNT for over 10 years. Fighting cancer is near and dear to my heart.

So at any rate, as I was standing at the starting line with my friends and feeling just a little sorry for myself, I saw this child, a nine year old named Winter Vinecki, walk up to the swim start. She was with her mom and as she walked to the start I wondered what was going on. They were in front of wave 1. Wave 1 is the wave where all of the elite and professionals athletes start. The announcer asked us all to sing the national anthem, the horn sounded and mother and daughter started to swim.

I need to interject here that it was just after 7am, the sun had barely risen and there was fog over the lake, watching them swim out into the foggy water was just mind boggling. As I watched them swim, I noticed a man with three boys standing inside the start area as well, watching these two swim off. While I tried to figure out what as going on, I saw that the man had a urostomy bag on his leg. Suddenly the lights came on. This man was somehow related to this child and he had prostate cancer. Just as the fog was lifting from my head, the announcer started to explain the story. Here is what he said.

In May of this year Michael Vinecki, husband and father of 4 was diagnosed with a very agressive form of prostate cancer. His nine year old daughter, Winter, decided she wanted to help and decided to contact the AFACTri to register. Team Winter was formed. Her goal was to raise $10,000 in for cancer research. In the end she raised $31,000. What an amazing feat! And now she was competing in a Olympic Distance Triathlon.

For everyone that is not a Tri-geek like me, the distances are a .9mile swim, followed by a 24 mile bike ride finshed up with a 6.2 mile run. It was incomprehensible to me that a 9 year old would finish the race much less even want to start. Just amazing. I saw Winter and her mother finish the swim in just over 50 minutes. Then I saw them leave on their bikes. I did not see them again until the were running to the finish line. Winter was running with a past Ironman World Champion, Karen Smeyers, past Olympic Distance World Champion, Simon Lessing and her mother.

Winter crossed the finish line in 3:59. I was crying, my daughters were crying. Everyone was screaming and cheering. In my life I have never seen anything so amazing!!! Michael and the boys were waiting just across the finish line where they were handing out medals!

Shortly after this, Winter was signing autographs with two world champion triathletes, Simon Lessing and Karen Smeyers. My daughters and I went over to meet her. What an inspiration to our family! We all have racing hats signed by this amazing child! If you would like to read more about her story, please review this article. You can also keep up with the family by reading their blog or signing the guestbook.

My daughters are ready to start training to battle cancer. They have even promised to be nicer to each other and quit fighting. Wow! We will see how long that lasts. Even if they fight with each other tonight, I know that seeing Winter and her family has made a lasting impression on me and my family.

God Bless you Winter to sharing your family's story with my family. Good luck. My prayers are with your father and your entire family as they continue on this difficult journey. Thank you for doing what you are doing to raise awareness and fight this terrible disease called Cancer.

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

MRI RESULTS = NO IRONMAN FL 2008

2008-09-09T18:40:00.005-04:00

Well folks, I just returned from the doctor's office. Would you like the good news or the bad news first? Personally I want to hear the bad news first and the good news second so I can focus on the good news. It is interesting to me that the title of my blog is "The Journey Has Just Begun." No truer words have been spoken to me lately.

Bad News: I have a nondisplaced fracture of my humerus bone (Translation: broken arm) and I won't be doing Ironman Florida with Missey this year.

Good News: I don't have to have surgery and this is nothing that time and some physical therapy can't heel. Also, I can be in Panama City cheering Missey on and supporting her on November 1st! This will also give me more time to design my custom Ironman tattoo.

How do I feel? Well of course I am not happy. Completing the Ironman is a life goal of mine. I am very disappointed and honestly a bit depressed. I know this is a relatively minor problem. I am not dying, I will get better and I can try again next year. I know all of these things and I believe them. I just need my five minutes to cry and get over it. My friend Missey says that everyone gets 24 hours after an upset to have a pity party for themselves. After 24hours, you have to shut up and move on. So my 24 hours started at 4pm today. I know after a good night's rest, I will feel better, I will be able to face this disappointment with a smile on my face and set my goals for moving forward.

I think this quote by Robert Kiyosaki sums everything up nicely:

“The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.”

I will move forward. I will complete the Ironman. It won't be on November 1st, 2008 but I will complete it. Ironman Florida 2009 watch out! Here I come......

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

My Shoulder

2008-09-09T12:36:00.002-04:00

As I write this post, I realize that in the grand scheme of things, a shoulder injury is not the worst thing that can happen to someone. But right now for me, I am devastated.

During my half marathon in Va Beach, somewhere between mile 1 and 2, I tripped and fell. I am not sure if someone stepped in front of me or if I tripped over an invisible crack but I crash landed. I knew as I was falling to get my arms out of the way so I would not break my wrists. However I never thought I would land literally in my arm pit. When I got up after falling I did not realize that my shoulder was injured. It was not until a few minutes later, trying to re-attach all of my water bottles and watch, that I realized I had done something to my shoulder. I could no longer move my left arm. Now I was freaked out.

I decided to continue running as the nearest first aid tent was mile 3. I stuck my hand in my running bra, sorry folks no pictures of that although they would be funny, and pushed on. YES, YES, I know I should have stopped and been transported to the finish line but you guys know me I am stubborn. So I kept going. My sister and I had started the race but I had sent her on. I knew this would slow me down and I did not want to ruin her race. Good thing I did as she set a PR!

I made it to mile 3 and went to the first aid tent. Of course the paramedics wanted me to stop. Of course I said NO! So they put my arm in a sling, made me sign a paper saying I refused transport and off I went. Let me tell you this was not any fast race. I was moving in a forward direction. I called my coach and left him a voice mail. I was very glad he did not pick up because I knew he would say stop and I was not going to do that.

I ran/walked until mile 5 where I had to stop at the medical tent again. The way my arm was wrapped, was not helping and I was getting chaffed around my neck. They re-wrapped my arm, tied some gauze around my shoulder, put an ice-pack on as well and after signing the refusal of transport again, off I went. This time I made it to mile 8 before I needed the first aid again. The paramedics at this stop helped adjust my arm and at this stop I did not need to sign another form. Thank goodness.

At this point it had been about 2.5 hours since I started the race and I knew that I was not going to set a pr, so I just did the best I could. Thanks to the help of my friends Missey, Debbie and Joy, I made it to the finish line in 3:29 and some change. Definitely not my best race but I finished. The whole crew running for my birthday finished as well. Kimberly set a new PR by 45 minutes! AWESOME.

Now I just have to find out what my injury is and what it means for the Ironman.

Wish me luck!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Virginia Beach 1/2 Marathon

2008-09-09T12:25:00.003-04:00

For my 40th birthday, some friends and I decided to head up to Virginia Beach to run the Rock and Roll 1/2 Marathon on Labor Day weekend.

Talk about an embarrassing weekend! Enjoy the photos.

Dinner at Aldo's the night before the race! YUMMY!

Dinner after the race. Notice the sling on my arm?

Yes Ms Coordinated fell at mile 1. Not sure what I tripped over but my shoulder is all messed up. More in a later post.

I just wanted to post some pictures and say thank you to all of my AMAZING friends.

Missey - Thank you so much for organizing this trip!
Debbie - Thanks for helping and decorating and running the last mile with me.
Joy - Thanks for everything the night before the flight and for the totally embarrassing crown of peanuts on the flight.
Aimee - Thanks, Sis!
Jackie - Thank you so much for being part of my "crew"
Sandi - Thanks for drying my back
Alan and Kim - Thanks for coming and taking such lovely pictures on the flight.
Kelly and Bob - Thank you for coming, thank you for packing my clothes for me.

I love you all!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Quote of the Day 8/28

2008-08-28T15:59:00.001-04:00

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorius triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt

Reflections On My Birthday!

2008-08-26T10:32:00.005-04:00

Here is an awesome quote that I thought was very appropriate considering the contemplative mood I am in today.

"Dying is fairly easy. Little choice is involved. Living well is much more of a challenge. We have choices every moment, and we have to live with the results of our decisions."
- JackIsIn from Rules of Thumb

Today as I cross another generation boundary into my 40's, I am reflecting on where I have been, what I have done and where I still have left to go. To be honest, I don't really feel like I am 40. I am sure that everyone says that, but I am serious. I really don't feel like 40 years have passed since I took my first breath and I certainly don't feel like I have accomplished everything I was put on this Earth to do.

I was going to write a blog the other day entitled "Holey Smoke I am Pregnant!" But LIFE as usual has a way of interrupting my plans. NO! for anyone who is wondering, I am NOT pregnant. I am however an emotional wreck. What I have realized is that training for the Ironman (or not training for the Ironman as has been the case for me lately) is a very very emotional process. Much to my surprise exactly like being pregnant.

Every day brings us options and challenges. Some days, we get the luxury of making a choice other days, the decision is made for us. Last week, my kids came home after 7 weeks of Mom vacation and it was back to the real world for me. I did not realize until I had them in my arms just how much I missed them! It was honestly excruciatingly painful seeing them again, seeing how much they had grown and changed as well as what I had missed over the summer while they were visiting their Dad and his family. I understand that I am extremely lucky that my kids are able to spend several weeks during the summer with their father which gives me a much needed break from being a single mom but do regret I missed some milestones in their lives. Like their trip to see the Jonas Brother's concert, and the first time they were able to ride their ripsticks without help.

It is funny what you miss when they are gone. The morning hugs and kisses when I wake them up, hearing them say Mom I love you and I missed you so much. It is also extremely funny what you DON'T miss when they are gone. Mom, you are the worst Mom ever, It is not fair, she has more than I have, Don't touch me you have cooties......

At any rate, getting the girls back has been a drama filled challenge. The first day of school was Monday, August 18th. The first bad weather day was Tuesday, August 19th. Thanks to the Tropical Storm Faye the rain and possibilities of high winds school was out. So the kids and I were home all day stuck in the house. Back to school for Wednesday and Thursday and then out again on Friday due to the storm. By the end of the week I was pulling my hair out. I had missed several workouts, and was frustrated about that. The kids had not left the house in days so they were getting on my last nerve.

I am scared, very scared. Now is the prime time for my Ironman training program and I cannot get all of my training done. I am so happy my kids are home with me again. I am angry because being a mom is limiting my ability to train. I am angry at myself for being mad about not being able to train. I am sad because I should be over the moon happy that my kids are home, not upset that I cannot train. See I told you I am pregnant! Not being able to train prevents me from having an outlet for all of these emotions, not being able to train causes alot of these emotions. What to do?

I spent a long time on the phone with Coach Bill the other night. The reality of the situation is that I am a single mom with limited options as far as training goes. I am NOT training to win, I am training to finish with a smile on my face. I have to take my training one day at a time and do the best I can. That is all I can do. There will be days where I will miss my workouts because I need to stay home and be a mom. There will be days when I have crappy workouts because I am a mom. BUT... the MOST IMPORTANT thing is that I AM A MOM! When I cross the finish line on November 1st, 2008 and I WILL cross the finish line, my daughters will be waiting there for me! They are my biggest cheerleaders and I could not do this without them!

I am pasting my quote of the day in here again for reinforcement:

"Dying is fairly easy. Little choice is involved. Living well is much more of a challenge. We have choices every moment, and we have to live with the results of our decisions."
- JackIsIn from Rules of Thumb

We make choices every day. Some days our choices are the right choices and some days they are not. What matters most is how we live with the decisions that we make. Completing the Ironman will be very painful for me. I know that but the decision I made to become a mom is going to be worth every bit of that pain. My daughters will learn from me that they can do anything they want. They can be anything they want to be. Yes there are sacrifices I have to make, a faster time, a less painful journey, but when I cross that finish line and run into their arms...

EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED WILL BE WORTH EVERY STEP!

I love you Kelsie and Hannah! Thank you for allowing me to be your Mom!

Have a great day my friends!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Quote of the Day 8/12/-8

2008-08-12T16:52:00.001-04:00

"You can quit, and no one will care if you do. But you will always know."
~John Collins, Ironman founder~

Terlits and Tribulations

2008-08-11T14:47:00.004-04:00

Wow it has been forever since I have written a blog. Sorry to all my fans! HAHA! I have been crazy busy and just have not had time. However today I decided that I need to catch everyone up on what has been happening with me.

It is Monday, August 11th. My 40th birthday is August 26th. I cannot believe that I am almost 40. Time flies when you are having fun! I am going to run the Virginia Beach Rock and Roll Half Marathon on August 31st to celebrate my birthday. Yes I know why run 13.1 miles to celebrate my birthday? Well just to say I can and I did? To spend some quality time with my closest friends? To get back to my running roots? Well I say Yes to all of the above. It is going to be a blast. I don't think the race is sold out yet, so if you are not doing anything Labor Day weekend, sign up and run/walk with us!

What else has been going on with me? Well I am still training for the Ironman. Everyday is a challenge. Some days are a step or two forward and other days are a step or two back. Recently there have been many days when I question both a.) my sanity and b.) what I was thinking when I signed up to run this race. I vacillate between knowing I can finish albeit slowly and thinking there is no way in Hades I will ever get to the finish line. This weekend was one of the latter days.

The "Iron" crew headed to Panama City Beach for what was supposed to be a race simulation long bike ride and run with a little open water ocean swimming thrown in. Well as par for the course for me lately, I was completely nervous and had a terrible ride. I did not make the distance I wanted to make and could not keep any food down. Great start to my training weekend. On top of everything else that was occurring and not occurring that morning, I had a great experience at the first pit stop.

For those of you that have known me for a few years, I have a redneck magnet somewhere inside my body. As a matter of fact, if there is a redneck within twenty miles of me, they will find me and ask me out. Forget waiting on Brad Pitt. LOL. My dream guy apparently likes to drink Milwaukee's Best from a brown paper bag on Saturday morning at 9am. So while stopped at the BP pit stop, and while puking my guts up, I was asked on a date! Oh well, I must be a closet redneck and not even know it. Either that or I have a sign that says - "Please ask me out I am desperate!" written on my forehead.

On Sunday, I did not even attempt to run, my stomach was still sour from the day before. I decided that I would just get in some swimming instead. Rick and I got dressed and made our way down to the beach. Guess what the first thing that we saw upon stepping into the ocean? A JELLYFISH. This was no little stinger either. It had to be 8-10 inches long. Of course I freaked out! Rick being much calmer than I told me not to worry it was probably just a one-off and to go ahead and swim. Well so much for that idea. By the time we made it out to the third buoy, we had seen quite a few jellyfish, one that was at least 4 feet long. At the buoy, Rick made the executive decision to swim back to the shore and cut our distance short. While I was a bit disappointed, he was right to do that because no sooner than I had started swimming in, I felt a sharp sting to my wrist and a couple of feet later one to my knee. Yes FOLKS! I had been stung. What luck I tell you. I swam to shore as fast as I could and got out of the water. We quick went to the hot tub and to get a bit of relief to my stings and NO RICK DID NOT PEE ON ME! Although I have heard this is a great remedy, I was not in the mood to be pee'ed on.

After a quick soak we made our way back to the hotel room, showered packed and headed out to begin the drive back to Orlando. We all were exhausted. None of us more so that my partner in crime, Missey. For some reason she seemed to think she was still on her bike and was driving down the bike lane on the side of the road. Of course I had to give her a hard time which ended up backfiring on me as she pulled over at the first gas station and handed me the keys. Yup! I just teased my way into driving back to Orlando. Woo-Hoo!

Since we were stopped, I decided to make a quick run to the bathroom. Of course Missey had to give me a hard time and ask me if I needed a "terlit"? This I have since found out, means Toilet in Redneck. LOL. "Terlit" became the new joke for the next 200 miles or so. Needless to say, Missey had better watch her back this Christmas. You never know what might end up under the Christmas tree if she is lucky and I am so inclined.

Of course paybacks are hell and for the next couple of hours every time I passed a semi-truck I had Debbie roll down her window and make the universal sign for truckers to HONK. Missey was MORTIFIED. We were laughing HYSTERICALLY. It was awesome. A perfectly good Range Rover loaded to the gills with expensive bikes and bike equipment getting semi-trucks to honk at us. I am not sure that any of us will ever forget this trip home. Can a Range Rover driver be a redneck? LOL.

My daughters come home this weekend and school starts on Monday. I have missed them dearly and cannot wait to see them but WOW another thing to juggle. Some days I have no idea how I can do it all! Thankfully their grandparents have done most of the pre-school shopping and I will just have to pick up and few odds and ends. I will post pictures when they get back so you all can see how big they have grown while they were gone.

Wish me luck this week as I continue on my journey! I will keep you all posted. Hopefully a little more frequently than I have been able to do lately.

Take Care!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Quote of the Day

2008-07-30T15:49:00.001-04:00

`Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who are we to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so other people won`t feel insecure around you... And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.`...Nelson Mandella, 1994

Missing My Training Partner

2008-07-25T16:48:00.005-04:00

This weekend Missey is in San Diego. So for the second weekend in a row, I will be training alone. YUK. The reality is that Missey and I are two completely different athletes and that even when we train together, we are not really right beside each other. But there is something reassuring about knowing that she is out there with me on the trail. I know I am not alone and someone will come looking for me if I don't show back up at the car.

Last weekend, our schedules were completely opposite, she had a Lactate Threshold test and I had a long ride so we were not able to sync up. This weekend she is doing her training in beautiful San Diego while I am heading over to Lake Minneola in Clermont to train with the Central Florida Triathlon team. Now I realize that I won't be alone but I have only ridden with a couple of the CFT members once in the past and that time I was with Missey also. The only person I will know is Coach Hector, who is also Missey's coach and the one who invited me out to ride.

Invited, lol, that is an interesting description. I had actually emailed him to get the UCF route since I was planning on riding alone or with Karen and I needed directions. His response to my email was "Call Me!" So of course I called. Coach Hector said that I needed to plan on being at Lake Minneola in time for a 6:30 start. He did not even offer directions for the UCF ride. So tomorrow at 6:30 I will be at Lake Minneola. I am scared not to show up. Don't want to face the rath of Coach Hector. However I have heard a nasty rumor that we are riding Sugarloaf!

This is a picture from the bottom looking up! I AM TERRIFIED!!!!! I will post when I am done and let you know how it goes. Wish me luck!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Randy Pausch Died Today

2008-07-25T16:38:00.003-04:00

If you have never heard about Randy Pausch you are missing out. The Carnegie Mellon professor and author of "The Last Lecture" passed today of pancreatic cancer. I watched his lecture when he was a guest on Oprah. I laughed and cried along with every member of the audience.

If you have not had a chance to watch the video of his "last lecture" please click on this link. It will change your life. You can also go to his personal website for additional videos and information.

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Live Like You Were Dying In Honor of Lucy

2008-07-18T15:38:00.004-04:00

Tim McGraw sings a song entitled "Live Like You Were Dying." As I get older, I think more about the "To Do List" that I want to complete before I die. Today, this song takes on a new meaning.

I belong to an online community called Beginner Triathlete, BT. This community has tips and tricks, forums, race reports, gear reviews. Essentially anything that a newbie getting into triathlons for the first time or someone that is just trying to get better at their even would need. One of the greatest things about this community is all of the support you receive from people that you have never met.

One of these amazing people was Christine aka "Lucy". She passed away from a brain hemorrhage on Monday and left behind a husband and two boys. When the members of BT first heard that Lucy was in the hospital with what appeared to be a brain tumor, a call went out on the forums for prayers and support. Immediately the forum was flooded with well wishes, prayers and offers of help. Many of the posters like myself had never met Lucy, but had been the recipient of her support and well wishes. The forum became a place to post all of the things Lucy had done to help each of us.

Back in May I had completed my first Ironman 70.3 here in Orlando. Although I thought at the time I was prepared, when I finished what ended up being the worst run of my life, I was very discouraged about continuing my training towards the Ironman. I decided to post a race report on BT so that maybe just maybe someone else had an experience like mine and would post as well so we could commiserate. The second person to add comments to my race report was Lucy. Here is what she said:

"It was brutal out there . . . I think we ALL wanted to just stop, sit in an ice trough and then go running in the many shady running spots that we weren't routed through!!

Excellent way to tough it out tho...and who knows when the added mental strength from making it through this horrible run will help you out in another, more important 'A' race?

Thanks for hanging around to cheer on the last few of us stumbling through!! If I remember correctly, I think I high-fived you just before I finished?"

Even though I don't remember seeing Lucy, she remembered me. She posted on my race report to tell me what a great job I had done just finishing. And as I read the posts from other members who had been touched in similar ways, I started to cry. I wish I remembered meeting Lucy. I wish I could do something to help. Over the rest of the weekend, every time I had a chance, I logged onto the computer to check for updates. I was praying for the best realizing that the worst was yet to come. On Monday, Lucy died.

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow all over America, other BT members are running a virtual 5k to honor Lucy. The local running store in her town held a 5k in her honor, Hit the Trails XC Classic. All of the proceeds are going to Lucy's family. Many of the members of BT registered for this race even though they live hundreds of miles away, just to support the family.

Tomorrow I have a 13 mile training run. The first 5k of this run will be for Lucy. I know she will be there with me just as she was with all of us on BT. The rest of the run, I am sure will be spent checking off my "To Do List."

I want to thank you Lucy for making me remember that how you live you life is important. Thank you for reminding me that we don't know which day will be our last and we should appreciate what we have been given, what we have accomplished and what we have the ability to do. I am so thankful that I am healthy enough to train for an Ironman. I am so thankful that my daughters, my family and all of my friends are there to support me and lastly I am thankful that I have my "friends" on BT who support me as well.

I think that Pericles says it best, "What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others."

Christine has left behind a legacy of support and accomplishment that her family can be proud of! My only wish is that I leave behind a legacy as wonderful as hers.

This weekend no matter what you are doing whether it is spending time with family and friends or training or just relaxing, Live like you were dying in honor of Christine!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Inspiration from Sarah

2008-07-16T17:20:00.003-04:00

Here are some inspirational quotes that I read on Sarah's blog. Her blog is linked to mine so you can read them in her motivation section as well. Thank you Sarah!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain
I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. -Red from Shawshank Redemption
Our biggest challenge isn’t someone else. It’s the ache in your lungs. The burning in your legs. And that voice in your head that yells “CAN’T,” but you don’t listen. You just push harder. And then you hear that voice whisper, “can” and you discover that the person you thought you were is no match for the person you really are.
The reason you want every single thing that you want, is because you think you will feel really good when you get there. But, if you don't feel really good on your way to there, you can't get there. You have to be satisfied with what-is while you're reaching for more.

For My Friends - A Frog's Tale

2008-07-16T09:55:00.003-04:00

Once upon a time there was a bunch of tiny frogs....who arranged a RUNNING competition.

The GOAL was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants.The race began.... Honestly, No one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower.

You could hear statements such as:
'Oh, WAY too difficult!!'
'They will NEVER make it to the top.'
Or: 'Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!'

The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one....
Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher..
The crowd continued to yell, 'It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!'
More tiny frogs got tired and gave up....
But ONE continued higher and higher and higher....
This one wouldn't give up!

At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top! THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it? A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal?

It turned out....
That the winner was DEAF!!!!

The wisdom of this story is:
NEVER listen to other people's tendencies to be negative or pessimistic....
BECAUSE they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you -- the ones you have in your heart!
ALWAYS think of the power words have.
BECAUSE everything you hear and read will affect your actions!

"There's life and death in the power of the tongue." - Proverbs 18:21.

Therefore:
always: BE....POSITIVE!
above all: BE DEAF when people tell YOU that you cannot fulfill your dreams!
and think: God and I CAN do this!

Most people walk in and out of your life......but FRIENDS leave footprints in your heart.

If you fall down 10 times,
Stand up 10 times.

Have a great day my friends!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Banjo Music Anyone

2008-07-15T09:02:00.007-04:00

Ok I just have to blog about my ride this past Sunday. But of course I will need to tell you why I was riding on Sunday instead of running.

To make a long story very short, I crashed and landed completely on my head during my 60 mile ride last weekend so I never completed it. I spent most of this past week recovering and completing adjusted workouts. Coach Bill was awesome and sent me a workout each day to make sure I was not having and headaches or dizziness.

My workouts from Thursday to Sunday were supposed to be:
Thursday - Swim 2000 at Lucky's Lake /Bike 2 hours
Friday - Bike 2 hours
Saturday - Bike 30 miles run 4 miles
Sunday - Run 13 miles, swim 1500

I did everything Coach Bill asked EXCEPT on Sunday, I decided I needed to complete the 60 mile bike workout from the week before instead of running. Yes I know Bill is the coach and I should be listening to him. However there was the little insecure voice in my head saying: "You need to ride or you will not be able to do the Ironman."

I decided it was in my best self-interest to ride. Please note I said best self interest not best interest. I loaded up my bike and headed over to Missey's house. She wanted to ride the General James A Van Fleet State trail because it was 29.5 miles in one direction with little to no road crossings, completely flat with a lot of wind. This of course closely matches the IMFL course so I was thrilled. Well maybe not thrilled but definitely up for the challenge. Too bad my legs did not agree with me. LOL! More on that later. This trail runs from Mabel, Florida to Polk City, Florida and there is nothing out there to distract you from your riding. I mean nothing......

We headed out to the trail. Ok just so you guys know, I have never seen the movie Deliverance but I have heard the banjo music that is the signature tune from the movie. When we turned off Highway 50 onto the dirt road leading to the trail, I could have swore I heard banjos. I was even more convinced I was hearing them when we pulled into the parking lot and realized we were the only two people there. Other than the sound of the wind blowing and our own voices and the banjos in the background, we were completely alone. Or so I thought.

We had not been pedaling more than 3 or 4 miles when a deer ran across the trail in front of us. Next we saw a family of turkeys, a few squirrels (one of whom had a death wish), a turtle, several lizards and a rabbit who tried to hop along with us. This caused me to start singing "Here comes Peter Cottontail hopping down the bunny trail." I told you I was not in my right mind. I could not get that song out of my head for the next 5 or 6 miles much to Missey's chagrin. Poor thing, I cannot sing on key to save my life and it is no where near Easter. Although, the bunny did have a white tail.

We stopped every 10 miles to take some gels and if we were lucky refill our water bottles. This trail only had 3 water faucets on its entire length. If you are going to ride and run here, you have got to carry all of your required essentials. This is good and bad. Since there are no distractions, you can really focus on your riding. But since there are no distractions, you also can focus on what hurts. Which for me is not necessarily a good thing.

We made it to the mile 29 turn around with smiles on our faces. We had been exchanging the lead back and forth and had kept up a great pace somewhere between 15 and 17 miles per hour. At one point Missey even threw in a mile long sprint at about 20 miles an hour. I thought I was going to shoot her. We took our pictures with the mile marker and headed back out. We had to get back to our car. Trust me there is no public transportation out here.

On the way back I started feeling the long ride, as well as the fact this was the fourth day straight I had been on my bike, in my hips. At some points the pain was horrible. But I just kept pedaling. Missey was having cramps in her right foot so she was behind me a bit. I was alone. I knew I was in trouble when I started having a conversation with the lizards on the side of the trail. For some reason I was PISSED that they kept passing me. However had I been in my right mind I would have realized, it was not the same lizard. Insert the sound of banjos here .....

About mile 55, Mr Turkey and his entire family of cutlets decided to cross the road in front of my bike. Mr Turkey was quite offended when I started yelling at them to get out of the way. I was only going about 15 miles per hour at this point but still having to slam on the brakes or run over a bunch of turkeys did not sound like a great option. Remember my crash the week before was the entire reason I was doing this ride. I was not going to hit the ground again.

After having safely navigated through the turkey road block, I tried to speed back up. I wanted to be done. My hips however, had other ideas. At this point, I felt as if there were two hot pokers one in each hip just twisting and turning. No matter how I adjusted my position on the bike, I could not relieve any of the pain. So I decided I would stop. Not sure what I was thinking. Remember, bike or no bike I was still 5 miles from the car and the only way to get home was get to the car. I tried to stretch but short of laying flat out on the ground nothing was helping. I got back on my bike and started to pedal again. I made it to mile 56. I had to stop and stretch.

This scenario played itself out over each remaining mile until the finish. I rode a bit. Stopped my bike, stretched, yelled at the lizards passing me and then remembering I was out in the middle of nowhere, jumped back on my bike before I was another casualty from Deliverance. I know at this point 5 miles does not seem like a lot but for me it was FOREVER.

I was never so relieved to see the car in my life. As soon as I got to the car, I got off my bike and laid out on the top of a picnic table stretching my hips until Missey arrived a few minutes later. I was quite frustrated with my hips and my performance at the end but I know that I have to just keep on training.

We loaded up our bikes and gear and started the drive back to Orlando. I can tell you I have never been so glad to see traffic as I was on Sunday afternoon. After some lunch and a nap, I started to feel more like myself just tired.

Of course being the good Catholic girl I am, I had to tell Coach Bill the truth about what I had done. And of course being the good Coach he is, he had to tell me that I had over done my training and I should be listening to him. Thanks Coach Bill I promise I will listen to you from now on.

Here is my training schedule for this week.

Monday - Bike 2 hours in small ring spinning my legs out.
Tuesday - Swim 2000. Run 5 miles do not do a brick.
Wednesday - Track workout
Thursday - Swim/bike brick
Friday - Rest day or if I feel great run 5 miles.
Saturday - 13 mile run
Sunday - 65 mile bike/3 mile run.

Anyone want to join me?

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Girl's Weekend

2008-07-08T17:05:00.004-04:00

Dinner on Sat night, Just the girls at the Palm's in the Hard Rock Hotel.

Dinner with the girls plus Rick on Friday the 4th.

Thank you Missey for this weekend! Even though I crash landed on my head and screwed up our long bike, the rest of the weekend was amazing!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Can One Person Do It All?

2008-07-08T16:30:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone! The question of the day is:

Can one person do it all?

My friend and IMFL partner in crime wrote a very good blog on this today. Instead of posting comments to her blog, I decided to blog about this as well.

How do we accomplish everything on our to-do list? Is this day and age, we all have many many commitments: A significant other, children, jobs, homes, fitness goals, possibly a desire to give something back to our communities. For me personally, I am a single mom of two daughters. I work a full-time job as a Principal Support Engineer for Oracle USA. I am training for the IMFL and normally from July through January, I am a marathon coach for Central Florida's Team in Training program. This year because I am training for the Ironman, I have taken a season off and will coach the Spring program for TNT which starts the end of January.

On a daily basis, I have to decide what I can accomplish and what I have to let slide. There is never enough time to complete everything and I have learned that you just have to let some things go. In my case, it is cleaning my house. Yes I know, GROSS! However at the end of the day, I cannot quit being a mom, quit my job or stop training if I want to complete the Ironman. There are many nights I am getting up every hour to change laundry and once the clothes are clean they usually sit on the back of the couch until they are worn. Rarely do they make it into the closet or the dresser that they belong in. Do I iron my clothes? Never...LOL

Many nights, one or both of my daughters wakes up crying and I have to calm them down. So sleeping longer than three hours in a stretch is something that I hold dear. I am lucky right now because my daughters are visiting their dad so I don't have to feel guilty about getting a sitter for them so I can train. Or not being able to take them to every birthday party or school outing that they would like for me to attend. I do get to sleep three hours straight unless I am doing laundry, But coming home to an empty house at night quickly reminds me of how much I miss them. And when they get home in a couple of weeks, the guilt of training and having a full-time job will return.

Am I overwhelmed? Yes of course quite frequently I am. Some times I wish I had a significant other who could share the responsibilities with me but then I realize I would feel guilty if I left my spouse for extended training. So at the end of the day it is a half dozen of one and a half dozen of the other.

I think for everyone out there, not just those people training for an endurance event, you have to think of your life as a bunch of options. At the end of the day, are you a good spouse, parent, friend, employee and most importantly do you take care of yourself? If you can say YES, then you have accomplished it all. So what if there are dishes in the sink or the bed is not made. I personally cannot say Yes every time a friend wants me to do something. I frequently don't return phone calls in a timely manner. I have to chose training over sleeping. My days off are for training or races. Sometimes on a Sunday, I disappear, I sleep on and off all day just trying to play catch up. My friends worry about me on days like those. But know I am ok. I just need a break. HOWEVER, I love my family and friends and if anyone of them needs help, I would drop everything all they need to do is ask.

Is my house a mess? YES! Are there dirty dishes in the sink? YES! Are there clothes on my couch? YES! Is my bed made? NO! Do I care? NO!

After work I am off to the YMCA for a 2200 yard swim. Once I am done with that, I will grab a quick bite to eat. When I get home, I might unpack from this weekend. I might not. Who knows. Tomorrow the routine starts again.

To all of my loved ones! I have not disappeared. I am still here. If it takes me a few days to respond don't worry, I am just slammed. If you need anything just ask. I will listen.

Oh and if you know a good cheap house cleaning service, let me know!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Pictures from Key West

2008-07-02T16:03:00.003-04:00

Here are a couple of pictures of the gang in Key West. Enjoy! Of course I have on a baseball cap!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Nerves of Steel

2008-07-02T15:55:00.002-04:00

17 weeks left until IMFL. I am terrified. I am not sure what has sparked this increase in fear. I guess the fact that the day of reckoning is getting closer.

This past weekend, I really did not feel good on my bike ride but my average pace was faster than it had been the week before. Last week I had a terrible cold. The week before I had thrown up during a speed workout. I hope that all of these things are not going to affect my overall fitness.

I posted my workouts for this week and I will give you an update after the end of the week to let you know if this was a better week for me.

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

New Nickname

2008-07-02T15:29:00.004-04:00

Well you guys know me I cannot ever be without a funny story.

So as everyone knows, I am new to this biking thing. So when I bought my bike, the wonderful people at Orange Cycle helped me to get all of the accessories and equipment that I would need. Along with a bike and helmet, a rider needs spare tubes, electrical tape, C02 cartridges, chain lube etc. Well being the excited newbie that I am, I try to bring everything I need with me every time I ride. I have a very large saddlebag with all of this equipment in it. Needless to say everyone laughs at me when I am riding. I am certainly not aerodynamic.

In one of my older posts I mentioned that one weekend I had trouble making a decision on whether to run the ING Georgia Marathon or head to New Smyrna beach for a friend's birthday. In the end, I went to the beach. Everyone was bringing their bikes to get a long ride in. So after I left work on Friday, I ran home and packed really quick. Then headed over to the beach.

Well in my frantic packing of course I left a few things out of my travel bag. I had forgotten toothpaste but I had packed chain lube. I had forgotten my toothbrush but I had packed chain lube. I had forgotten underwear but I had packed chain lube. This was quite the joke all weekend since I was so prepared to ride my bike but not for anything else.

Anyways to get back to the point of this blog, I went to Orange Cycle last Saturday to pay for my layaway. I had a new and better bike helmet on layaway. As Tjice was entering the amount in the computer, he started laughing. I could not figure out what was so funny until he handed me my receipt. Across the top of the receipt it says:

CREPEAU, BETH (CHAIN LUBE)

Lord help! I almost pee'ed my pants. Tjice said what the #@$# does Chain Lube mean? I explained the story and then everyone at the counter was laughing at me. I had no idea how Orange Cycle had heard the story and then put the nickname in the computer so I called Missey and left her a message.

Missey called me back later that night. Once I relayed the story to her, she was laughing so hard I thought she was going to pass out. Of course she had told the story to Darren at before he moved away. So I am sure as a lovely parting gift, Darren had given me a new nickname.

So IMFL look out!!! BETH "CHAIN LUBE" CREPEAU is on the way! LOL!

XOXOX
Elizabeth aka Chain Lube

Weekend Update - New FIT FLOPS

2008-06-29T19:42:00.004-04:00

I hope everyone had a great weekend. My weekend was well, the usual for me with busy with oops I should have known better. Long bike ride on Saturday and then a Sprint Tri at Baldwin Park on Sunday morning.

Most everyone knows I was sick last week after returning from Key West so my training last week was a bit compromised. I had a scheduled rest day for Friday before a busy weekend so I decided I would not try and make up and workouts I would take the day off to be well prepared. However being the "SMART" girl that I am, I decided to wear my new FIT FLOPS.

Not sure if you guys have heard of those. However these are new flip flops on the market that are supposed to give you an awesome butt and leg workout while you wear them. So ignoring the disclaimer to work your way up to a full day in these shoes, I decided to put them on at 7:30am and not bring another pair of shoes with me to change in to, I took them off at midnight. At the time, I felt tired but thought it was just late and so I packed my gear for the Saturday morning ride and set my alarm for 5:30 am. Off to sleepy night night I went.

Well you guys know me, I could have punched myself in the forehead when I got on my bike on Saturday morning. OMG! Tired quads, Tired glutes....WOW! I was suprised. So needless to say, I had to really suck it up and push myself on the bike. However I finished 30 miles in 2:05. So tired or not I was proud of my time!

Note to self: DO NOT WEAR FIT FLOPS ON REST DAYS!

Having said that, I do think you get a workout in them and I will continue to wear mine. Probably not for 17 hours straight and probably not the day before a long run or bike! Everyone should get a pair and YES they make them for men!

After the ride, I went to Baldwin Park to pick up my packet for the race on Sunday and then to Orange Cycle to pay on my lay-a-way. More on this in the next blog.

Sunday morning, off to Baldwin Park for a sprint tri. I had registered for this before Coach Bill started helping me with my schedule so he and I agreed I could still do the event. Even if the distance was short for my current training.

I was a bit tired this morning so I think I was more nervous. However I got to the race and Sandi was there to cheer Missey and myself on. We spoke to her coach, Hector who gave us some great tips and off to the swim start we went.

I had a great swim! It was supposed to be 750 yards. However since I cannot swim in a straight line to save my life, I think I ended up swimming about 1000 yards based on my current swim times and what time I came out of the water.

Swim: 23:51
Transition 1: 1:38 - MUCH BETTER THAN IRONMAN

I got on my bike and started riding. My legs were definitely tired but I was willing to suck it up. This was a 5 loop bike course with some very sharp corners. I have to admit I was a bit scared but I have to get over my fear of corners. So off we went. It was very crowded and the faster people where whizzing by me. Wow they are awesome. Lap 1 was good. Lap 2 was good. Lap three all of a sudden I here pssssssssssst! Flat tire about half way around lap3. Crap. That sucks! I had to quick get my bike out of the road so I would not cause a crash. I had spare tubes and tire tools with me but it takes me so long to change the tire that the race would have been over before I could have changed the tire. So I decided to walk it in. As I walked the half a mile or so to the transition area in my bike shoes, I passed a biker walking holding his pedal in his had, another couple of bikers with flat tires and one guy with a flat tire and bent rim. Obviously I was not the only one!

I called Coach Bill and left him a message. He sent me an email that said Yup! It happens to all of us. Chalk it up to a great swim and good bike until I had the flat and move on.

Workouts this week:
Monday: 100 minutes on the trainer at a consistent pace.
Tuesday: Swim long 3000 meters, middle 1000 using pool bouy.
Wednesday: Track workout followed by core workout
Thursday: REST (NO FIT FLOPS)
Friday: Bike 60 miles keeping heartrate around the 135 level. Add some hills if possible.
Saturday: Run 12 miles
Sunday: 60-75 minute recovery ride spinning legs in the small chain ring in the front the entire time.

Happy Training!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

WAY TO GO K!

2008-06-29T19:32:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to give a shoutout to one of my best friends Kelly. She completed her first sprint triathlon last weekend with almost no training. Yes she is pulling a "Beth." She did absolutely amazing! She finished in 1:47:06 which is an AWESOME time!

I have to say that Kelly is so funny. We talk all the time and I knew she was registered but had not had much time to train. Can you say:
1. Just got back from six weeks in California because her brother had emergency brain surgery.
2. Her job is in Charlotte, NC. Her husband is in Chicago, Il. Her school is in Minnesota!
3. She has had a calf injury and has been trying to recover from that.

Let me just say that I have to give Kelly props for even thinking about completing the event. You know my I just go for it. Yes I am a nut. But Kelly is smarter than me and actually tries to train well for her events. So after a couple of conversations with me, we decided she should try to do the tri, LOL, as a training and if she needed to stop after any of the events, she would and not feel guilty about it.

Well so much for that needing to stop. She had a great race. Have I mentioned that before?
Swim: 15:10
Transition 1: 6:22
Bike: 51:03
Transition 2: 3:16
Run: 31:18

Awesome Job K!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

ps. When are you going to sign up for an Ironman?

Congrats to the Ironman Coeur d'Alene Finishers!

2008-06-23T16:22:00.002-04:00

Congrats to my friends Hector Torres and Colleen Wilson for their amazing finishes at the Ironman Coeur d"Alene yesterday 6/22/08. You guys ROCK!

Congrats to all of this years finishers!

Can you say I am terrified again of what I have gotten myself into!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

I am a posting SLACKER and Congrats to Rick!

2008-06-23T15:43:00.003-04:00

Well I have to apologize yet again for not posting in a while. I seem to do a good job for a couple of days and then off into the twilight zone I go. This time I think I have a bit of an excuse. LOL

On Wednesday night, after track practice, I headed home to pack. I had to fly to Key West after work on Thursday as Rick was going to compete in the 12.5 mile Swim Around Key West on Friday morning and I had been asked to be part of his support crew in the kayak after one of the crew had to back out.

After a few delays, a pretty harrowing flight out of Orlando to Miami, a $26 Mojito in the Miami airport, Joy and I arrived in Key West. Missey picked us up at the airport and we went to the hotel to prepare for the swim on Friday. Rick was nervous but I think he held it together pretty well. We had to be at the beach by 7:15 am the next morning for final instructions and then the race started at 8:30.

After tossing and turning all night, we awoke to a gorgeous day. We loaded up the car and headed to the beach. They kayak arrived about 7:45 so we packed everything we would need to keep Rick hydrated and fed as well as food and water for ourselves. We then covered Rick head to toe in zinc oxide to prevent him from burning during the long swim and boarded the kayak. The first wave of swimmers were off at 8:30.

Paddling the kayak was not as hard as I thought. It was definitely not easy but not the worst thing in the world. Rick is a great swimmer, so Missey and I had our hands full keeping up with him. We made it to mile 8, Rick was in first place. However we got there so fast that the race organizers had not placed the buoy. This sucked for us as we could not see the next channel and ended up about a half mile off course. As we were trying to get our bearings, we noticed a jet ski pulling the buoy out to the 8 mile mark. We repositioned ourselves and made it back to the course. However Rick was passed by the first relay team swimmer. This sucked as he wanted to be the first done but he was still the first single swimmer.

We kept going. I was in charge of monitoring the timing between Rick's nutrition breaks. Missey was in charge of directions and keeping Rick from burning. Rick was passed by one more person, the first female single swimmer at about Mile 10.5. This was not her first rodeo so she had not gotten off track like we had and I am sure probably felt better at that point than Rick.

For those of you that have run Virginia Beach, the finish to the swim was very much like the RNR 1/2 at Va Beach. There are 10 telephone poles in a line in the water with a yellow buoy at the end. Very similar to the run where you have to make your way down the boardwalk block by block to the finish line. Sometimes it felt like we were never going to get there.

After 5 hours 41 minutes, Rick finished his swim! He was the first male single swimmer to finish but because he wears a snorkel for medical reasons, he was not allowed to win a trophy. He did however get a finisher's medal which by the way is totally awesome. I have to say I was glad to be on dry land. I was covered in sunscreen, salt water and starving when we finished.

Joy was at the finish in the water cheering Rick in and had thankfully brought the car to pick us up! After some awesome watermelon we all went to the hotel to shower and celebrate Rick's awesome finish!

I have to say that although it was fun albeit hard to paddle the kayak, I don't think I ever would like to be support crew for this event again. BUT..... I think maybe one year I would like to swim it. Yes I know I am crazy!

Congratulations again Rick! You were awesome. Thanks Missey for making the kayak trip bearable. Thanks Joy for being there just when we needed you both at the hotel and the finish line. And finally thank you Debbie for coming down and making us laugh when we all were so exhausted!

I cannot wait until our next adventure!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Food

2008-06-18T16:09:00.003-04:00

Well I have to admit I don't know everything. :-) Can you believe that? Saturday morning was my weekly long ride. This week I was scheduled to ride 40 miles. I got up early, I had packed all of my stuff the night before and headed over to West Orange Trail to meet up with the "crew" for the bike ride.

Normally I eat instant oatmeal and a banana before I ride or run. That is about 300 calories. This morning I decided to eat one of those new Power Bar Smoothie Bars - the Citrus flavor. Well you guys know me and my taste buds. I made it through half of the bar and I was DONE with a capital D. Not a good start to my nutrition day.

I have found that I can drink the new G2 without getting an upset stomach. However there are not enough calories in the G2. I am terrified about the nutrition part of the Ironman. Everyone says this is the 4th discipline in tri's. I know I don't eat enough when I am biking which causes issues when I start to run.

To make a long story short. This was the first time I had worn my heart rate monitor. At the end of the ride, the display showed I had burned 2600 calories. I had only taken in 450. Obviously no where near enough.

I am taking to Coach Bill about this and reading everything I can get my hands on. Hopefully I will be able to find a solution.

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Changing a Tire

2008-06-13T16:05:00.003-04:00

Ok so I have to admit another first......

On Sunday while out on our ride Missey had a flat. This was at about mile 17 of our ride. Can you say oh crap.? Nothing like the blind leading the blind. Well to make matters worse it was her rear tire which of course has the cassette attached. She had been talking for a few miles about the fact it had been five years since her last flat. God was smiling down on us that day and obviously in a bit of a feisty mood so next thing we hear is WSSSSSHHHHHH! Nothing like Karma right Missey?

So here we stop. It is 90 degrees outside. We of course have on a lot of black. And where we stopped was at a road crossing with no shade. We got off the bikes, took out the tire tools and the spare tube and CO2 cartridge. Started working on the flat. Got the tire off. Now covered in grease we tried to use the tire tools that Missey had with her. They were too small. So I pulled out my really super CUTE pink ones which match my bike and tried again. HA HA to those of you who laughed at my pink tire tools. They do work!

After about 15mins we were able to separate the tire from the rim and pull out the tube. A mere 10 minutes later we had the new tube in place and tried to inflate it with the CO2. Yeah well that did not work. We about froze off Missey's ring finger. LOL! There went one cartridge. Thankfully I had a couple more. We hooked up the second one and inflated the tire. Now we could see the hole where the glass had punctured the rubber. YUCK.

We spent the next 10 minutes putting the tire back on. After 30 minutes in the sun we were ready to go. So we packed everything back up, got on our bikes and started to pedal. As we got moving we suddenly realized that we were in the shade. WOW!! how amazing is that? If we had just walked our bikes across the road 30 minutes before, we could have changed the tire in the shade. Lord help! Like I said, nothing like the blind leading the blind.

So yes I guess when I have to be, I can be a bit of a grease monkey. But please don't tell all of the nice people that pump my gas for me. ;-) And yes I know I still rode off my bike trainer on Monday night. I plead the 5th!

Happy Training!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Week of Firsts

2008-06-13T14:20:00.003-04:00

Well it has been one of those weeks. There have been many firsts this week for me. Enjoy!

On Monday, I was doing my bike workout which consisted of hard intervals with matching slower recovery intervals. On my 3 minute hard interval, my bike shot off of the trainer and I crashed into my entertainment center. I did not get hurt and more importantly I did not hurt my bike. I was laughing so hard I really could not cry. So I guess it is a good thing I did not hurt myself as I would have never known. Arabella, my dog, must have thought it was pretty funny as well, as she started barking and running around in circles. Needless to say, this ended my workout for the night. I was not about to try getting back into the trainer. Not because I was scared of the trainer but because I did not want to crash into the entertainment center again. Obviously I had not connected the bike to the trainer correctly. I am not mechanically inclined, I don't even pump gas!

On Wednesday, I went to my first Team Hendryx Miamiman practice. This was supposed to be a speed workout at the Maitland Middle School track. I arrived on time, barely, we all warmed up and started our speed intervals on the track. On our third interval, sound familiar, lightning started coming right on top of us. Coach Sean blew his whistle and had us go under the shelter at the side of the school. At this point since our running was cut short, Coach Bill and Coach Sean decided we should do some lunges, and then some more lunges and some more lunges. WOW my ABS are weak! Gotta work on that. But practice was fun! Even if it was a bit short. While we were waiting for the storm to let up so we could go to our cars, I told Coach Bill and some other teammates about the crash. Everyone laughed, Coach Bill said maybe I should not tell that story often.

On Thursday morning, I went to Lucky's Lake for my first open water swim there. I had wanted to come out before but Lucky only opens his house at 6:30 am during the week and I had the kids. So today was my "lucky" day. I got up at 5:00 am. No I do not like mornings, got dressed, loaded up the car and headed to Lucky's Lake. When I arrived there were about 6 other people there including my friends Joy, Missey and Rick. Rick was planning on doing 10 crossings which would equal just over 6 miles. He is preparing for the swim around Key West. Missey paddled a kayak beside him to prepare as she is going to be his crew in the water when he does the swim next week.

At any rate, I walked out into the water and started my swim across the lake. The swim over and back is a total of 1000meters if you swim in a straight line. Well you guys know me, straight lines have never really been my forte no matter what the sport. I run crooked, bike all over the road and apparently I swim around in circles. I tell you guys, either I am extremely strong on my right side (NOT) or I cannot sight worth a crap (possibly) or swim like I am drunk (probably). Actually I could see fine, I just cannot swim where I was looking. Every time I looked up to sight I was going in some other direction that was not headed towards the correct dock on either side. At one point I actually crashed into Rick. Of course we are blaming him cause he never sights at all since he wears a snorkel. Love ya Rick!

When I talked to Coach Bill last night, I told him that I had to have swum an extra 500 meters, I saw everyone else's dock and pretty much the entire center of the lake. Good think the Lake Cane Monster was not hungry cause I was surely swimming alone. :-) Once I finished my swim, I was able to sign the Wall of Fame and get my patch for my first crossing. It is a great patch. It has an alligator head on it with bloody teeth and says "AQUATICA Enter The Food Chain 1K Swim." Nothing like positive motivation I say.

Well I guess that is it for today! I will blog again soon!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Crazy Font Issues

2008-06-05T14:25:00.002-04:00

My apologies. I have no idea what happened in my post below. But the font changes all over the place. I set the entire entry to one font. But obviously I have some hidden control characters in there causing a ruckkus!

I think it is time to head out for a run. What do you guys think?

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

P.S. use the potty before you head out......

Back At It

2008-06-05T12:11:00.004-04:00

Well last night I put the girls on a plane to go see their dad and his family for a few weeks. I have to say in the days leading up to their departure I was not sure I could survive another day as a single mom. But I made it! Thanks for all of the support! They boarded the plane alive and in one piece. Kelsie was super excited. Hannah said she was excited but seemed very subdued. I know there is a part of her that wants to stay here but she would never tell Kelsie that.

Time for me to hit the training schedule hard. For those of you that have been around me for the two and half weeks since the Ironman 70.3, you know that between the girls' schedule and my exhaustion from the race, my training has been a little lacking. I took the first week off after the race except for a 30 minute spin on my bike. The second week I ran twice and road my bike once for a grand total of 18 miles between the three workouts. Can you say SLACKER? I met with Coach Bill and Team Hendryx on Saturday. That was fun but I have to tell you there were times during the meeting that I wondered if I should just do the Miamiman 1/2 Iron distance race. HA HA

Coach Bill sent out my workout for this week on Sunday afternoon. Here it is:

**add your lunch run of 3-5 miles to any day you want
Monday 6/2 – bike – indoor trainer – 10 minutes warm up (60-70% effort), 2 minute hard, 2 easy, 4 min hard, 2 easy, 6 min hard, 3 easy, 6 hard, 6 easy, 4 hard, 2 easy, 2 hard, 2 easy, 10 min cool down – should be about 70 minutes

Tues – swim – 200 warm up, 5x300 with 1 minute rest after each 300, 200 cool down (1900 total) try to work on form and technique

Weds – bike – indoor trainer – 10 minute warm up, one leg pedaling – alternate legs every minute until you have done 5 reps – 30 minutes steady pedaling, repeat one legged again – 10 minute cool down – should be about 70 minutes

Thurs – swim – 100 warm up, 50 kick, 100 pull, 50 kick, 100 pull, 50 kick, 100 pull – rest 2 minutes – 800 straight swim – try to keep every 800 at the same pace, 100 cool down (1450 total)

Friday – rest day

Saturday – group run – 7:30a at Fleet Feet – 6 miles – steady

Sunday – 35 miles steady

So I should warn you guys he did preface the email letting me know that since this was going to be a crazy week for me with the girls, if I missed a workout or two not to stress. Well today is Thursday, Bill don't kill me but all I have done this week so far are the two bike workouts....And I think I am going to do and Ironman on Nov. 1st.

Tonight I am going to get in the pool for the first time since the open water swim at the 70.3. I actually am excited but at the same time I am nervous. I know I have not lost all of my ability to swim but I do feel a bit out of it. I will let you guys know how it goes.

Oh and one more thing! I want to thank everyone that has been emailing and posting comments on my blog about my 70.3 finish. I appreciate all of the support. However,

I AM NOT GOING TO PEE ON MY BIKE!

If I was in contention for an age group spot or a podium spot (ROFLMAO). I would definitely consider it. But since I am a MOP'er usually and at the 70.3 at least on the run leg, I was a BOP'er, I will stop and use the porta-potty.

To any of my fellow running/triathlon friends, if you are peeing on yourself during any portion of your events, PLEASE PLEASE don't tell me I don't want to know.

Happy Training!
Elizabeth

My Athletic Daughters

2008-06-03T17:13:00.005-04:00

Here are Kelsie and Hannah finishing their events the Kids' Splash and Dash at the Florida Ironman 70.3. My super kids! I am so proud of them!

Photos from Florida 70.3

2008-05-20T16:42:00.004-04:00

Finished the Florida Ironman 70.3!

2008-05-20T15:46:00.003-04:00

WOW! I did it! I finished my first half Ironman! What an experience to say the least. To be honest I was not even sure I was going to be able to start. However thanks to a friend, I was able to confirm my entry and pick up my packet on Friday afternoon.

To say that I was intimidated would be an understatement. When I arrived at packet pick-up, hundreds of triathletes were in line to get their packets and none of them looked to be as scared as I was. I know I was not the only first time Half Ironman at the race it just felt like it.

Packet pick-up was relatively easy and went without a hitch. I received my chip and cap and the race numbers I would need for the bike and run and I was done. Off to the expo. Have I said I love EXPO's? I love looking at all of the merchandise, actually buying it is kind of fun as well. However this time I resisted. I have a fear of buying any merchandise when I have not completed the event. So I resisted all urges to buy out the place and made it safely back to my car.

Now I am nervous. LOL! I had done the all the distances in training but this was a race. Well for me it was just supposed to be a training day but you could not tell that to my brain. I kept having visions of forgetting how to swim, crashing on the bike and getting lost on the run. Just what I needed for pre-race motivation.

Since Missey was also racing this weekend, we checked into the Wilderness Lodge hotel with all of our support crew, the kids, all of our gear. You would have thought were were going on a safari. Friday night we all dressed up and went to Timpano's ChopHouse to celebrate Vi Auld's birthday. It was great fun and took some of the worry about the event away.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early as my daughters as well as Rick's daughter Jessica were going to compete in the kids splash and dash. We went over to the race site, registered all of the girls and then set up their transition area. They were so cute. All excited!

Hannah's age group was the second group to go, she just took off. It was funny watching her swim/run through the water. Out onto the sand and up to transition where she put on her race number and shoes, off on the run. Back down to the water for Kelsie's age group start. She swam and ran her way through the water as well. Then up the sand and into transition. After putting on her race number and shoes she was off on the run. I ran over to the finish line just in time to see Hannah getting her picture made as she finished the run. Shortly after Kelsie came across the line. They both loved the race and asked when they were going to be able to do the next one. YEAH!! I think I have champions in the making. We waiting for Jessica to finish her run and then we were off to the pool for a day of swimming and sunning.

By dusk, I was beyond nervous and scared about the race the next day. In my mind I felt like I could finish but there is always some doubt especially when the race is over 70 miles. I switched rooms to be with Missey the night before the race and attempted to get my race gear together. Our bikes were already over at the transition area. All I needed to do was pack my race bag and I could go to sleep. HAHAHAHA!

After packing and repacking I finally laid down about 10pm. I tossed and turned most of the night but I think I was able to get a couple of hours of sleep. Wake up call at 4am. Took a quick shower, ate some oatmeal and grabbed my stuff to head out.

As I walked the mile and a half to the race start, all kinds of fear and questions were running through my mind. I pushed everything out of my head as best as I could. Entered the transition area and laid out my stuff. I put air in my bike tires, my fluid and food on my bike, laid out my shoes and socks, hat and glasses and went to body marking.

Body marking is the fun part where people get to write your race number and age on your body in permanent marker since you cannot wear race numbers on the swim. After this was done and everyone could see I was 39, I headed down to the beach to wait for my wave to start.

Here are the times I wanted to finish each event in.

Swim 1:00:00
Bike 3:30:00
Run 3:00:00

Here is what actually happened.....

The swim went better than expected. I was out of the water in 51:42. WOW I was shocked and really happy. I knew I would not finish any faster as I am just not a great swimmer yet but I was very happy with this swim time. I ran up to transition with a smile on my face. I put on my bike gear and headed out. T1 time 6:31 OOPS! I need to work on that.

The bike course was fun. There were lots of straight aways where you could get speed up but there were also rolling hills and some sharp turns. And to make things worse, there was rain! I have never ridden my bike in the rain so I slowed down quite a bit to make sure I did not crash, I saw people sliding all over the place in front of me. I was drinking and eating pretty well I thought. I was able to do the bottle exchange without crashing which was awesome since I had never practiced that. I did have to stop at mile 35 to use the bathroom. Hindsight that was a mistake. It was raining and it took me over 10 minutes to get my tri-suit back on. Lovely. The rain quit after a few miles and the sun came out. Other than slowing down to get on and off of a sidewalk, the rest of the ride was pretty fun. However it according to my GPS, it was 57.2 miles long instead of 56. Final bike time 3:51:51. If you subtract out the bathroom stop and the extra distance, I was not too far off my original goal. In to transition only to find that all my gear was soaked of course from the rain. Switched socks and shoes, grabbed my hat and fuel belt and I was off on the run. Okay I was walking out of transition but atleast I was moving in a forward direction. T2 time 5:25. Yep need to work on that as well.

I don't even know where to start. The run if you want to call it that, I would say shuffle myself was a cross between the Bataan Death March and a long run inside a Sauna. I alternated running and walking but I was certainly doing more walking than running. My whole crew was cheering me on but I just did not feel like I had it in me. Hindsight being 20/20, I realize now that I had not eaten enough on the bike and was starting the run quite low on energy. As I went along the course, I noticed everyone was alternating running and walking and everyone was having a hard time. There were aid stations every mile. I stopped at each one taking sponges, ice, gatorade, cola and whatever they offered just to make it another step forward.

I have to be honest with you guys. The first lap of the three lap run course was almost my undoing. I really did not want to go on. There were several times I wanted to quit. On that note, Thank you Hector Torres and Mike Auld. If it were not for the two of you, I can honestly say I would have quit. You both had some great advice and it kept me moving. Thank you Debbie, Karen, Sandi and Vi for cheering me on. I don't know what I would have done without you there. Thank you Joy and Rick for entertaining Kelsie and Hannah during the race, if you had not done this for me I would not have been able to even do the race in the first place.

On the second and third laps I found my groove. That is not to say I was moving fast but at least I was not wanting to quit. I knew I was going to finish and I did. Final run time 3:37:41. Final overall time 8:33:09. Yes I know I might have the slowest finish time in the record books but I did finish.

Will I do this again? Of course!!! In some very sadistic way I loved it. I actually have already forgotten how bad the run hurt. Must be that same selective memory that makes you forget the pain of childbirth so you will have another child. There are 23 weeks until the IMFL and yes I have a lot of work to do. But I will do it and I will be at the starting line on November 1st 2008!

Thank you to my awesome support crew! Thank you to my awesome coaches! Congratulations Missey on another great finish!

Ironman Florida here I come!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Sportsmanship is still alive!

2008-05-01T15:45:00.006-04:00

I read an news article on NBC Sports today. Here is the link: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24392612/

At the conference championships, a player hit the first home run of her career ever. Not only was it a home run but it went over the fence. As she was trying to tag first base, she blew her knee out and collapsed. The first base coach stated that if anyone on her team helped her, she would be called out. The umpire stated they could send in a pinch runner but then the hit would only be a single. That is when the most amazing selfless thing happened. The first baseman, who herself is the state home run career leader, asked if she could help her. Remember this is the player from the opposing team. The umpire said there was no rule against it. So this first baseman and her shortstop came over, put one of the injured players arms around each of their necks and carried her around so she could tag the rest of the bases and then to home plate. This was the winning run and the girls who carried the injured player around the bases were part of a team that was now eliminated from the play-offs. As she crossed home plate her team was crying. The first baseman said later, “In the end, it is not about winning and losing so much, It was about this girl. She hit it over the fence and was in pain, and she deserved a home run.”

As I read the story today, it brought tears to my eyes thinking about the girl who injured herself and the two girls that sacrificed their game for the good of someone else. These days stories like this are almost non-existent. Parents are being ejected from games for being too aggressive. Kids are taught to win at all costs. We live in a fast-food society where the most important thing is our own selfish happiness. If we don't like it give it back. If they won't take it back sue. If we don't win put up a fight and if that does not work sue.

As a mom myself with two girls who would rather be shopping for themselves, I know how hard it is to balance the desire for your child to be the best with the ability to teach them how to be selfless and put others' needs first or at least equal to their own. In competition I want my kids to be the winners but more so I want them to come away knowing that even if they have lost they played their best and the effort not the outcome is what matters.

I am a runner and now most recently a triathlete. Those sports in and of themselves are selfish sports. You are out there alone and it is your physical and mental efforts that will get you across the finish line. For this very reason, I joined Team in Training over 11 years ago. I wanted to be able to give back to those people who could not run a marathon or bike or swim. For those people who lost their battles to cancer. Now I am a coach and when I am at an event, I cross the finish line last. It does not matter how long it takes, I am out on the course until my last person crosses the finish line and then and only then do I cross myself.

I don't do this because I want to be seen as some sort of martyr, or a hero. I am a coach and I care because I can. Because I want everyone else to know what it feels like to be a winner. And for me, being able crossing the finish line of whatever race you start whether it is physical or mental makes you a winner in my book.

So I congratulate those women! Thank you for being a positive role model for my daughters.

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Triathlete = Sushi????

2008-04-30T16:58:00.003-04:00

Ok here is the question of the day.....

Does becoming a triathlete cause a person to crave sushi? Is all of the time in the water turning me into a cannibalistic fish?

Strange I know but for the past couple of months I have been craving sushi like crazy. I cannot seem to get enough of the raw fish. My favorite sushi is either the spicy tuna roll, Maguro tuna, and Mexican Rolls. Of course I am constantly asking all of my friends if they would like to go have sushi. I never used to crave sushi like this so I am thinking that all of the swimming has something to do with this desire.

I know that after I run a marathon, I always crave cheeseburgers, not the McDonald's kind but the kind you would make on the grill yourself. So now I crave sushi. What will I crave riding the bike?

This is going to be one crazy post race meal....Sushi Appetizer, Cheeseburger entree and ???? Any suggestions.......

I think it is time to go get some sushi!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

St. Anthony's Triathlon in one word....WOW!

2008-04-28T14:28:00.005-04:00

What a weekend! I went to the St. Anthony's Triathlon in St. Pete to cheer on some friends! All I can say is WOW! Amazing! I cannot wait until registration opens for 2009. Which by the way is Dec 1, 2008. I will be signed up as soon as it opens.

I drove down to St. Pete Beach with little Debbie on Friday night after work. Driving through town we saw bicycles everywhere. We made it to the hotel about 9:30pm. Unloaded the car and grabbed a bite to eat. Saturday was going to be a crazy busy day.

We woke up bright and early at 6:45am on Saturday morning as we needed to be in St Pete by 8:30 for the open water swim. Team in Training had set up the open water swim on part of the race swim course for their participants to get in a last minute training swim the day before the race. My friends told me I should come and get in the water with them. I had yet to do an ocean swim so I was very nervous as we drove up to the pier. My nerves certainly did not calm down as walked down to the water and saw the waves and mass of TNT swimmers. However I knew I had to face my fears and get into the water. After all my Ironman swim will be in the ocean in November.

Karen and Missey got into the water with me and we walked out and started to swim. Our plan was to get to the first buoy, turn around and come back. Karen was swimming in front of me and Missey was swimming to my side. Thank goodness, as I had no idea how to swim against the waves. I made it out to the first buoy with quite a bit of encouragement. Once there we treaded water for a couple of minutes as I had swallowed a bit of (OK... a lot of) the ocean on the way out. They asked if I was ready to turn back. I told them no I wanted to continue. Apparently salt water makes you crazy. So we swam out to the second buoy. This time common sense had returned and I agreed to swim back to the shore.

Once back on shore they were both congratulating me, I must have looked scared to death as Karen said ok now get a drink and we are going back in for a second swim. I agreed, again... salt water makes you crazy. I took a drink from our awesome support crew Debbie and headed back down the beach to the water. We sent Missey out on her swim as we knew she had to get some distance in. Karen had been swimming before we arrived so she was done with her distance and offered to swim with me. As we walked into the water, Karen hugged me and said, "I have two pieces of advice for you. 1. Become one with the water and 2. Push your head down, squeeze and lift your butt." We started to swim. This time, I did not fight the water and current. I actually enjoyed the swim. We only swam out to the first buoy and back but I really feel like I did much better the second time. When we exited the water I was ecstatic and bummed at the same time. Ecstatic because I had done a swim in the ocean and bummed because I was not going to do the event with them the next day.

We waited for Missey to exit the water not knowing she had to help another TNT participant who got a bit nervous on her swim and panicked in the water. After a few minutes Missey found us and told us what was going on, we left the beach, quick put on bike gear and headed out on a twenty minute ride. OOPS! We forgot the Meek and Mighty triathlon was going on so we kept getting re-routed.

After an easy 25 minutes on the bike, we returned to the beach to listen to Dave Scott, 6 time Ironman World Champion give last minute tips and answer questions from the TNT participants. That was so awesome. He is actually really funny and a great informational resource. I had my picture made with him and I will post it when I get a copy of it.

After the talk and after Missey and Debbie completed a 20 minute recovery run, we were off to the expo. Rick needed to pick up his packet and everyone needed to rack their bikes in bike transition. WOW! what an expo. I love the marathon race expos so I knew I would love the triathlon ones as well. I met Sister Madonna Buder and Scott Rigsby. I had my picture made with Sister Madonna. I will post that one as well when I get a copy of it. If you don't know who they are, Sister Madonna is the oldest women to ever complete the Ironman World Championship in Kona. She has also completed over 200 triathlons and as well as many marathons. She is an amazing inspiration. Scott Rigsby is the first double below the knee amputee to complete an Ironman. Like I stated two amazing people.

After a long day we headed back to the hotel to rest everyone was competing in the race the next day. We decided, thanks Debbie, to take a nice relaxing paddle boat ride around the hotel. That was a workout. I don't think any of us will be doing that again the night before a race. Thank goodness I did not have to race on Sunday my legs felt like led when we were done. LOL, just kidding Debbie but it really was harder than any of us thought.

We were supposed to meet Karen, her mom and some of her friends back in town for dinner but just as we got back to the room, another one of our friends called and said she was on her way to town. We called Karen and left her a message telling her we would miss dinner but see her in the morning at the race start. We also found out at this time there was no late checkout so we would have to check out of the room at 5:15 am on our way to the race but it turns out this was the best thing. More on that later.

Race morning! Another early day. The alarm went off at 4:30 am. Woo-Hoo I love mornings! I can tell you I was a bit bummed that I was not doing the race. I finished packing, called the valet and ordered all of the cars. I loaded up and headed down to put all of our gear into the cars. While I was waiting on the valet, I noticed a small group of TNT'ers that looked a bit nervous. On my second trip down, one of them walked up and said "Are you going to the race?" I said sure am what is up. She quickly told me they were from the NYC chapter and had decided to skip the bus transportation at 4am to the start in order to get an extra hour of sleep. They had reserved a car which had not shown up. She wanted to know if there was any way we could drive them over. There were 10 of them, thankfully we had four cars. I said load up and let's go. We crammed their gear in with ours, divided everyone into the cars and we were on our way.

We arrived at the race at 6am. Perfect timing. Missey, Rick and our band of TNT'ers jumped out and headed to race transition to do their final race prep. The rest of us took the cars and parked them just in time to see the U.S Army parachutists jump out of helicopters with the American Flag. The gun went off and the pro's hit the water. Missey and Rick met us at the cars and we walked down to the beach. What a site. There were about 4000 triathletes on the beach waiting for their wave to be called. Every five minutes a wave went off. We stayed on the beach until Karen's wave went off at 8:40 and then headed to the water exit. We missed Rick getting out of the water as his wave went off at 7:25 and he is a really fast swimmer. However we saw everyone else get out of the water and onto their bikes.

Our group divided up. Mike and Vi went over to the run course, Steve went to the bike in, Debbie was at the bike transition outside the fence but near Missey's rack. Kim and I were at the finish line which was also the run out. We played telephone tag and kept each other posted as to where everyone was on the course. Each of us taking pictures as our friends passed.

Here are their results! Holey Smoke they are AMAZING. Can I say that again? THEY ARE AMAZING! In alphabetical order:

Karen Cowden 3:06:43 - This was her first Olympic Distance Event!!
Melissa Daly 3:56:12 - A NEW PERSONAL RECORD by over 10 minutes!
Rick Stafford 3:09:18 - This was his first triathlon since the IMFL in Nov '07 and with no training.
Ron Hitzel 3:25:45 - Only his second triathlon ever and a Personal Record as well.

To say that I am in awe is an understatement!! There are no words to express how proud of each of them I am!

I also want to say congrats to the Central Florida Tri Team peeps who competed this weekend, Coach Sean from Team Hendryx, who had an amazing time. Bill, one of my ex-marathon trainees also with Central Florida Tri who had an amazing swim but a blowout at mile 11 on the bike course, Michelle, Karen's friend and all of the rest of the 3500+ finishers this year! I cannot wait to be part of the group next year.

And to that end, Missey reserved rooms for us at the Hilton near the race start for next year! This is definitely not a race I want to miss again.

Anyone want to try a tri?

Can't wait for my next race. I think I am crazy. LOL!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

P.S.
Missey - I read your blog and like I said yesterday, "Greatness takes time!" You are one awesome lady and don't you ever forget it.

Karen - I need more swimming lessons. One day I would like to grow up and swim like you!

Rick - What can I even say. You are an one heck of an athlete!

Kim, What is going to be your first race?

Debbie - You look amazing!

Steve - I have you in my thoughts! Good luck!

Mike and Vi - It was awesome being part of the "crew" again with you both. Glad I finally met Scooter.

Ponder This!

2008-04-25T16:25:00.007-04:00

"The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be." Socrates

WOW! I have a dear friend who thinks everyone is dishonest and pretending to be something they are not. I usually argue with him about it but I wonder if he is not closer to being right than I am willing to admit.

Everyone pretends. Pretending is actually encouraged when we are children to stimulate our imagination. When we grow up, can we tell the difference between what is real and what is not in our lives? Who in our lives is just trying to take something from us and who actually cares.

I think everyone has fantasies of where they would like their lives to be or who they would like to be. What happens when you take that fantasy too seriously and it becomes your reality? It is like walking on the edge of a razor. If you are not perfectly balanced, you will slice your foot open.

I told my dear friend a long time ago I was not like anyone else he would meet as I really and truly try to be honest and be real and just be who I am but sometimes I wonder if I am capable of doing that forever or if one day I will succumb to the pull to be like everyone else and lose myself. Or will I never find anyone that would appreciate me for who I am and not try to get something or take something from me.

I guess the reason all of this is coming to my mind is that when I get together with my friends or when I complete a race I wish I had someone to share it with. Someone that appreciated me for being different and loved to be part of my life. I am not sure what the grand plan for my life is but sometimes I would just like a clue.

For those of you who are in my inner circle, I hope you know how much you mean to me and how grateful I am to have you in my life. My life has been made richer knowing you. Thank you for being my friends actually you are my family! Thank you for being real!

Have a great weekend everyone!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Latest Updates

2008-04-25T15:51:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone!

Sorry I have been so remiss in posting this week. It has been one of those weeks. The kids have had a crazy week, work has been busy and of course I am trying to train for the IMFL.

I did get some great training in. I swam 3100 yards on Tuesday night! WOW almost two miles. I have figured out that I don't really like swimming when I start swimming but after 10 minutes or so when I am warmed up, I love it. That is not to say I am fast or even a good swimmer for that matter but once I am going I can swim and swim and swim. LOL well maybe swim for a while but you get the point.

On Wednesday night I was going to to a run and a bike but Steve ended up inviting everyone over for dinner. Out the window went exercise. We had a great dinner. Steve grilled filet mignon, Karen made a fresh salad and we cracked open a bottle of Yellow Tail Shiraz. I love that wine. Two glasses later and I knew I was not going to be running or biking so I took the day as a rest day.

Thursday night I was supposed to do a 30 min run followed by an easy 1500 yard swim. I ran the thirty minutes on the treadmill at the Y and then quick changed for a jump in the pool. Of course my life being what it is, I was trying to help a friend with their swimming. Yes I know I am a newbie, but Karen had given me some drills which I was passing on. I finished my 1500 yards in 33 minutes but my friend still had quite a bit to go. Therefore I swam most of their workout as well with them to help them get it done. All in all I think I did somewhere between 2000 and 2500 yards. I quit counting after an hour in the pool. I made it home about 10:30 and crashed exhausted.

After work tonight, I am going to head to St Pete Beach. Karen, Missey, Rick and Ron as well as some other people I know are competing in the 25th annual St. Anthony's Triathlon on Sunday. And as this is the season opener for most professionals, the Ironman World Champion, Chris "Macca" McCormack will be there competing along with a host of other amazing pro's, Craig Alexander, Faris Al Sultan, Samantha McGlone. It is going to be one heck of an event to watch. I am so excited! I cannot wait to get on the road.

Tomorrow morning is an open water swim on the swim course which I am going to join in. Then at 9:30 the 5 time Ironman World Champ Dave Scott is giving a lecture. There is a huge expo with all kinds of vendors from Orbea, to Oakley to Her Sports to Timex. It is going to be awesome.

I am going to try and ride the bike course as well. Hopefully get in a few miles. Sunday will be spent running around from place to place trying to see all my friends on the race course. Next year this event is on my MUST DO - List!

Well I hope you all have a great weekend! I will post again after I have everyones' results.

Take Care!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Amazing Women's Finish At The Boston Marathon

2008-04-21T17:28:00.002-04:00

WOW!!! Did anyone besides me watch the Boston Marathon today? I had the live coverage streaming on my pc. The women's finish was a nail bitter. Dire Tune from Ethiopia outkicked Alevtina Biktimirova in the last 400 meters to finish first by only 2 seconds!! Amazing. These two women raced their hearts out. It was awesome.

In the men's race Robert Cheruiyot took off and left the rest of the men's elite field before HeartBreak Hill to win his fourth Boston race. He was just shy of beating the course record he set in 2006.

It is awesome to see runners with that much natural ability. But is just as awesome to see the last finisher cross the finish line. No matter whether you finish first or last, you get the same medal. I love the tradition at the Ironman races, the male and female winners come out to cheer the last finisher across and then place their medals on their necks.

I will never win a marathon or an Ironman, well win in the strictest definition of the word, but every time I cross the finish line I win in my mind. I win for all the people that will never be able to cross the finish line. I win for myself. I win for everyone else that decides to just take the first step outside to start exercising because they know I finished my race. Just knowing what I have accomplished on my own feet with my own inner strength is satisfaction enough! Try it you might like it!

Take Care!

XOXOX
Elizabeth

....Wasted Weekend?

2008-04-21T16:50:00.004-04:00

Hey there everyone! I hope you had a great weekend! Mine was kind of sucky but then it only shows how much you need to listen to your body.

On Friday I sent out the most awesome quote to all of my friends as inspiration for the tough training weekend ahead:

"I am building a fire and everyday I train I add more fuel....at just the right moment, I light the match." Mia Hamm

I was totally stoked and ready to get some serious miles on the bike. Training plan for the weekend:

Saturday: Long Swim
Warm-up: 300 yards
1st Set: 4 x 400 steady pace 1min rest
2nd Set: 2 x 200 steady pace 30 sec rest
3rd set: 6 x 100 1min rest
Cool Down: 200 yards easy stretching out

Sunday: Long Ride then Run (BRICK)
4hours on the bike
40min run

What I actually did:

Saturday:
8.5 miles easy on the bike
1000 yard swim

Sunday: nothing

I woke up early Saturday ready to swim, took the kids to their friend's soccer game so that I could get the workout done, stopped off at the grocery store and then went home to pack up my workout gear. As I started packing I realized my head was a bit tingly which for me means that I might be getting a migraine. I decided to lay down for just a bit to see if I could ward the migraine off at the pass. Wishful thinking on my part....

I woke up a little after 1pm. Agreed to meet Karen, Missey and Steve at the trail for a bike ride then do my long swim. Loaded up, headed to the trail and got onto the bike. We road for a leisurely 8.5 miles and then had a smoothie from the Y snack bar. As I was sitting there I realized the migraine I had tried to head of was coming on full force. However I was determined not to let it get me down. I changed into my suit and headed out to the pool.

I had every intention of swimming the entire workout. However, after about 4 laps I was getting dizzy. I kept going but soon I was unable to turn my head to breathe without getting nauseous. S*^#@! I really wanted to get this workout done. At 1000 yards I had to call it quits. Although Karen said my form looked much better I was just not able to swim anymore. I was out of the pool.

Sunday morning the alarm went off at 5am. I had been up all night throwing up. I sent a text to Missey and Karen and crawled into the bed. My head felt like someone was stabbing me repeatedly with a hot poker! There was no way I could drive to the trail, much less ride and run. I could barely move.

Can you say frustrated? I know my body was telling me something, not quite sure what it was other than this was not my weekend. I ended up spending pretty much all day Sunday in the bed. I woke up this morning feeling some better. My head is numb but there is a dull ache where I felt the poker jabbing me. I was going to try and swim but I think I will just do a run tonight and swim tomorrow. Obviously I am not 18 anymore. LOL....

This week's schedule:
Monday: Run 6-8 miles
Tuesday: Long Swim
Wednesday: Bike 2 hours, Run 30 mins
Thursday: Long Swim
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Bike Run Brick then drive to St. Pete.
Sunday: Cheer for Karen, Missey, Rick and Captain Ron as they compete in the 25th Annual St. Anthony's Triathlon. Of course it helps that the Ironman world champion, Chris "Macca" McCormick, is competing. I will consider this my recovery "run" since I will be all over the place trying to see everyone.

Hopefully this week I will be able to "light my match!"

XOXOX
Elizabeth

You Know You Are An Experienced Triathlete When....

2008-04-18T16:59:00.002-04:00

You know you are an experienced triathlete when.....

1. You show up at packet pick-up 20 minutes before the race starts.
2. The race officials say there is no more room on the bike rack so you use a hole and a tree to rack your bike and set up your transition area.
3. The first thing you pull out of your tri bag to set up your transition area is the bra you took off when you put on your tri outfit.

Yes all of those things happened to me last night and NO they really don't make me a very experienced triathlete. However they do make for a good blog.

I am registered for the Lake Louisa Sprint Triathlon series. There are six events, one each month through September. I registered for them just for the transition practice which I need. These races are the low key no bells and whistles kind of race to use for training. There are not any race numbers, body marking is optional and the turn-around buoy in the lake is an alligator raft.

The race was scheduled to start at 6pm with packet pick-up opening at 5pm. I left work around 4:15, picked up the kids and was off. One of my co-workers who I am training for a half marathon, Richard was going with me to do his first tri. Here is where the hysteria started.

Richard put his bike on my bike rack. Being the naive trusting person I am, I did not make sure that he strapped it on correctly. So no sooner than I have gotten on the expressway than I noticed in the rear view mirror that his bike was hanging on by one strap only and appeared ready to take flight. I quickly pulled over on the side of the expressway and Richard adjusted the bike this time making sure the straps were tight. On the road again.....

We reach Clermont at about 5pm. Good time considering traffic was heavy. The girls were in the back talking about being hungry but I figured if I ignored them they would forget about everything when we got to the tri....What was I thinking. After passing a couple of fast food restaurants and gas stations, Richard said "Are you going to get the girls some food?" I was like no , I was planning on letting them wait. After all I knew I would be done with the race in under an hour and figured I would stop then to feed them. Well Richard had to potty so I agreed to stop. Of course the girls had to get out as well. So I went through the drive through, grabbed some happy meals and pulled around to wait. Much to my surprise the girls were out of the bathroom and into the car before Richard. Hmm does someone have a nervouse stomach? LOL
Richard came out eventually, on the road again.....

We arrived and parked at 5:35. We still had to pick up our packets, rack our bikes, set out transition gear and make it to the beach before the race start. I got out of the car and immediately went to packet pick-up. I am in race mode now. No time for dilly-dallying. Richard's wife met us out there so he went over to her for a chat. I quick grabbed my packet, ran back to the car telling Richard we had to hurry up. Thank goodness I had the forethought to change into my tri outfit before I drove over to Clermont.

I grabbed my transition bag out of the truck, my helmet and bike and was ready to head to the bike transition to rack my bike. Meanwhile, Richard was filling his bike bottles......Again this is his first race and I am in race mode so I have to be honest and say I should have been nicer and more helpful but I was worried about not making the swim start.

I get Richard and his gear to follow me, we head into transition. The race official says there is no more room on the racks for bikes just park your bike on the side. Well that would be all well and good but I don't have a kickstand. So I found a tree with a border around it and leaned my bike on that. I laid down my mat opened the bag and grabbed my bra. Lord knows what I was planning to do with that. I turned beet red and then quick stuffed it back into the bag. Took out my bike gear, running gear, grabbed the kids and said "Let's get to the beach." Guess what, Richard was not ready. Poor guy. Next time I need to give him more than 15mins time for sure. At least Tina, his wife was there to help him. We finished getting him setup and ran over to the beach just in time to see the professionals start. Next went the men, Richard was off. I had another minute to wait before my start so I looked out at the first couple of waves. To my surprise, they were running through the water. The lake was only ankle deep no way to swim. OH NO! I am supposed to get out of the water with fresh legs.

Now I am off. The water was remarkable warm or so I thought. Since it was only ankle deep at this point the sun had warmed it up. As we closed in on the alligator raft, the water was about knee level and now it was freezing. I got completely in the water and tried to swim but my hands were hitting the sand at the bottom of the lake and people were running around me. I stood up and decided to run the rest of the way in.

Out of the water, across the beach, up the boardwalk and down the road to the bike transition. Quick looked over to see Richard putting on his helmet and heading out onto the bike course. I put on my helmet, bike shoes, gloves and off I went. Out of the transition onto the bike course, mounted the bike. Clipped my left foot into the pedal and pushed down on the right foot. No go. The right shoe would not clip in. Wow the night is getting better! I just started hammering away on the bike obviously with my left leg doing most of the work but I did not want to quit.

The bike course was full of rolling hills. Now those of you who know me know I am terrified of hills and have never completed a workout or race that had hill on the bike without walking some part of it either because I could not change to a low enough gear or because the bike slowed to a stop and I had to walk. WELL TONIGHT WAS MY NIGHT!! I made up all the hills and even passed people as well. Of course a couple of people passed me but nothing like before.

As I was on the return leg of the bike I caught up to and passed Richard. As I was going by I said "You aren't going to let me beat you are you?" :-) Of course I was just giving him a hard time. I headed back into transition and racked my bike. Bike shoes switched to run shoes and off on the run. Can you just say screaming left quad and hamstring. Normally my legs are a bit wobbly and I need to adjust from the bike to the run but this was bad. My left leg was screaming stop and my right leg was like WOW I get to do something. It took me until the halfway point to be able to synchronize my legs. I turned around and headed back.

As I was heading back, I passed Richard on his way out. "Did you not pick the cone up and bring it back with you?" He asks. I just laughed, grabbed his water bottle took and swig and said get moving. I turned and completed my run.

I forgot to turn my watch off of course but I know I was 3 minutes ahead of the clock so the distance took me about 54 minutes! Yeah! Richard came across the line in 1:01. Awesome job!

I so cannot wait until my next event! Doing a long swim and a long, hilly bike this weekend! Wish me luck!

XOXOX,
Elizabeth

Swim, Swim, Swim

2008-04-17T15:37:00.002-04:00

The more I swim the more I like swimming. Of course the more I swim the more I need to swim. On Tuesday I completed a workout totally 2700 yards. It was only supposed to be 2600 but this time I added wrong. I was totally tired when I finished but the feeling was a good tired not a bad tired.

I like swimming which shocks me to say. Of course I am not really sure how my form is doing and I know I need to swim faster to have a decent time in the IMFL but I am trying. Which is much more than I can say about the bike.

I AM TERRIFIED! I can run all day and not worry about getting hit by a car or falling or anything else. As soon as I get on the bike and get clipped in I start panicking. What a lovely feeling - trying to muscle through miles on the bike and feeling like I am going to have a heart attack the whole time. I have read all of these articles about becoming one with the bike. How the heck to I become one with the bike.

I have purchased and installed clip on aerobars. These are so that I can get in a better more aerodynamic position on the bike which will help me conserve energy and go faster. HAHAHA that is laughable. The aerobars don't have gears or brakes. So for a person that likes to be in control this is even less control than before.

I know, I know sometimes one cannot always be in control and just have to go with it. But the thought of "going with it" over the top of someone else or crashing again while clipped in just does not thrill me. However schedule an hour run or a 2600 yard swim and I am totally excited.

Speaking of running, I met Missey on Monday night at the Downtown Y for a short hour run. I was so happy just going out that night. It was cool for Orlando, I would say mid 60's and perfect just to run and run. I think I could have run for hours that night. I love running in cool weather for some reason I just zone out and run in a way that to me seems effortless.

Of course I am sure that what I look like in reality is not so pretty.

Well off to my super-sprint tri

XOXOX
Elizabeth

Half Iron Distance? Required or Not?

2008-04-14T12:17:00.003-04:00

As the days pass I and I get closer to the IMFL, I am wondering more and more which half iron distance race that I should do. I really want my first to be an IRON branded race which really limits my choices. Another limiting factor is that many of the Ironman 70.3 races here in the United States are sold out.

I have completed a Super-Sprint distance and a sprint distance triathlon. I have two olympic distance races on my calendar but I have not yet picked a half iron distance. Well I did pick one, the IMFL 70.3 at Disney in May, but I procrastinated and did not register before the race sold out. I am a bit scared to jump from an OLY race to a Full Ironman.

Looking on the Ironman website, here are my choices:

Kansas 6/15/08
Buffalo Springs Lake, Texas 6/29/08
Lake Stevens, Washington 07/06/08
Rhode Island 07/13/08
Vineman, California 07/20/08
Steelhead, Benton Harbor Michigan 08/02/08

I am a bit limited that I need to complete the race this summer as the kids will be with their father so that helps with logistics. Vineman is BRUTAL and definitely not one I would want to do for my first 70.3. Any opinions will help. I am thinking that Rhode Island is the one to do. The weather should not be too bad and it is only 1 hour from Boston so I can have a bit of fun when I am done. That is if I can still walk. HAHA!

Well back to work!

XOXOX
Elizabeth

Happy Monday!

2008-04-14T12:05:00.002-04:00

I hope that everyone had a great weekend! Mine was pretty good. I got in a great training session on Saturday with Karen. Sunday was a wash. I cleaned my house all day (I am still not finished) so that was a workout in itself.

Which leads me to my question of the day. Can anyone do it all? Lately it has become more apparent to me that there is no way I can do everything and train for the Ironman, something has to give. So of course the easiest thing is housework. I mean I hate cleaning the house anyways so now I have an excuse, actually several excuses.
1. I have to train.
2. I just got done training and I need food/shower/nap.
3. Kelsie and Hannah need help with homework, need to go somewhere.
4. The dog needs to be walked and the animals fed.

So on and So on. But you get the idea. I can always find a reason not to clean the house. Training for the Ironman just makes it easier to justify the mess. Finally this weekend I could not stand it it anymore and on Sunday I decided to clean. Oh my goodness. I cleaned all day and still did not make it in the door of my bedroom or to my bathroom. I actually was up until 3am doing laundry. Is there anything more hysterical. I am more tired this morning than I was after Saturday's BRICK workout.

XOXOX
Elizabeth

I Think I Like Swimming

2008-04-11T11:52:00.002-04:00

Happy Friday!

I had an epiphany last night while I was completing my swim workout. I actually like swimming! WOW that is hard to admit, especially to all of my hardcore running friends. I am a runner and probably to most people I would even be considered a die-hard runner. I have been running since I was twelve. My first 50 yard dash during field day and I was addicted. I ran track and cross-country all though middle school, high school and college. Any time I have had an injury and been unable to run I have been devastated.

At any rate many, many miles and many marathons later, as you all know I have decided to do a triathlon and not just any triathlon, the Ironman. The swim has always terrified me. I am in awe of anyone that can swim correctly using the right stroke moving through the pool effortlessly. It is beautiful to watch. I had quite a rough day yesterday and as I was driving to the pool, I realized how excited I was to go swim. I really wanted to get in the pool and pound out the yards. Like I said before it was an epiphany. Swimming still is not effortless for me but I do enjoy the challenge now.

My workout last night was awesome.
300 yard warm-up
8 x 50 arm paddles
8 x 50 kicks
4 x 100 tempo
4 x 50 sprint
4 x 50 arm paddles
4 x 50 kicks
2 x 100 tempo
2 x 50 sprint
200 yard cool-down

2600 yards later and boy was I tired. My arms were bricks and I was starving but the funny thing was that my legs were ok. I probably could have gone and run a couple of miles but it was late and I needed to get the kids home and into bed.

This weekend I need to get on the bike and get a good long ride in the saddle. I am thinking I will bike 30-40 miles tomorrow and then do a run. This is called a brick workout. Then on Sunday another run of 4-6 miles as well. Those two workouts should leave me good and worn-out. Of course I need to fit in a swim. I was hoping to go to Lucky's Lake but I have the girls with me. We shall see.

Until next time!

XOXOXOX
Elizabeth

Tri #2 Done

2008-04-08T13:43:00.002-04:00

Well I went out and completed another triathlon. This was the super-sprint triathlon which was part of the 25th Annual Great Clermont Triathlon weekend. Remember, right now I am not completing these events to try and win or even be competitive. I am just completing these events for the experience. I have to say that I was not any less nervous this weekend than I was for my previous race. I think I might have actually been more nervous! I am not really sure why. All I know is that when the announcer asked my name, I said that I was "Beth from Orlando and I think I am going to puke."

Maybe I should back up and start from the beginning. I have been able to get in some really awesome swim training. The bike training has not been too bad however I have had 3 flat tires in two weeks. I have really not been able to find the time to run. So last week, the kids were at their dad's for spring break, I thought I would be able to get in a really hard week of training. Well that did not happen. First, I had a bike flat only two miles into a long bike ride, then I had way to much "happy" in my happy hour. So by Friday night I was seriously scared of what Saturday morning would hold.

I spent the night over at Missey's house to save time in the morning. It was pouring the rain and all I could think was that I could not ride my bike in the rain as I would crash. Yes boys and girls I am terrified to crash. We went to bed at 11pm in order to wake up at 5am. I tossed and turned all night. For those of you that know me well, you already know I don't sleep much the night before the event. Missey woke me up shortly after 5am. Not that I was really asleep but I was trying really hard to pretend I was or at least convince my brain I was alseep. I got up and got dressed. We had packed our transition bags the night before. We loaded the bikes on the bike racks and headed out, of course stopping at the closest 7-eleven for Missey to get a Diet Coke.

At this point my stomach was burning. I needed to eat my breakfast but I knew that anything I swallowed would come right back up. So I let the cliff bar lay in my lap as I tried to come up with a great reason not to complete the event. We made it out to Lake Minneola by 6am. There were very few people there at this point. We checked in, grabbed our gear bags and went to body marking. After getting my age and race number written in permanent marker all over my arms and legs, I went to rack my bike and set out my transition area. So far so good. My stomach is still burning but I have not puked yet so maybe just maybe I can make it through this.

For those of you that don't know, a super sprint tri is much shorter than the distance I completed at my first tri in Moss Park. The swim is only 200 yards, the bike just over 8 miles and finally a short 2 mile run up to the finish. I have no idea why I was so worried, well maybe I do. A week of crappy training and day two of a major tequila hangover. ( No wonder I was green.)

After getting all setup in the transition area, we walked over to the beach to check the water temperature. It was much warmer than I expected! Yeah! I won't be gasping for air. The announcements started and we began lining up. This race start was a bit different as it was going to be a time trial start. All of the tri starts I have seen were either mass starts or wave starts. This one was an individual start where they announce your name and where you are from as you enter the water. For some reason, Missey thought we needed to be close to the front. So one after another the racers enter the water and then it is my turn. The announcer turns to me and asks my name, I reply "Beth from Orlando and I think I am going to puke." This made him smile and much to my chagrin and embarrassment he says into the microphone, "This is Beth from Orlando and she says she is going to Puke! Everyone behind her watch out!" I quick glanced over my shoulder and saw every expression from disgust to amusement on the triathletes faces.

Damn it was time to getting going. I ran out into the water (it was very shallow) to the point I could start swimming and started doing my somewhat awkward version of the freestyle. Believe it or not I was actually passing people! I was thinking to myself WOW - this is awesome! Hahahahaha! Little did I know.

I finished the swim, ran out of the water and over into bike transition. I quick wiped off my feet and put on my helmet and bike shoes, grabbed the bike and I was off. Well maybe it was not that fast. More like I spent over 4 minutes in the bike transition and then I was off. I got to the pavement and mounted my bike. WOW - the bike course starts on a steep uphill. I pedaled as hard as I could and just kept going. I really thought I was doing great until Missey passed me on the bike course like I was in a parking place. DAMN! Was I even moving?????

I pedaled and pedaled. The bike course was full of rolling hills. My quads were screaming! My hands were numb from pushing down on the handlebars. Again comes the thought - what was I thinking! But I kept moving. I got to the last hill before the run transition. I could see the end of the bike course. Now if I could just get to the top of the hill. I am trying as hard as I can to get to the top. My bike is just slowing and slowing down. One after another racers are passing me on the hill. A man on a mountain bike with aerobars passed me just as my bike was slowing to a complete stop. Luckily for me I was only 5 feet from the top of the hill and I was able to unclip before the bike fell over. I ran my bike up the last 5 feet and jumped back on. Ok maybe I slowly climbed back on but you get the point.

I bike into the run transition, racked my bike and changed my shoes, grabbed my cap and started off on the run. About 100 yards into the run, it suddenly hit me that I was STARVING and that I had never eaten breakfast. Well that explains why I just gave out at the end of the bike and why my legs were shaking so much. Time to reach deep and get whatever resources I can to make it through the run. Good thing I was not doing this race for time. I know better than to try and complete any event without adequate nutrition. I am running along and suddenly I see Missey ahead of me. She completes the turnaround at mile 1 and heads back in my direction, cheering for me. I suck it up and keep going. At this point I have terrible cramps. Hmm wonder why - let's see no food maybe. I guess the old saying is true, "Everyone has to learn the hard way." Thank goodness this was not the Ironman. I guess that is the point of completing these shorter distance races so that one can get the kinks worked out.

I caught up with Missey and ran a bit with her and then went on. She is recovering from a knee injury and I did not want to hamper her recovery by running with her. We have very different stride lengths. So after making sure she was ok I ran on. And yes I owed her one for passing me on the bike. LOL! Just kidding Missey!

Low and behold the finish line is in sight! I cross the finish line! Yeah! I did it! Believe it or not I am completely stoked and now I think possibly addicted! I cannot wait to "tri" it again! Tonight I am off to the pool for a long swim and possibly a run.

So anyone want to "tri a threesome?"

XOXOXOX
Elizabeth

Does My Coach Lie To Me?

2008-03-26T15:19:00.007-04:00

Well I had a heck of a swim workout last night. My coach, Karen, emailed my workout to me yesterday. This is what the email said:

I would suggest the following workout for you with your swim session.

Warm-up: 200 yards free style (do not stop in between)

1st set: 5 x 50's with 20 sec. rest

(This means do a 50 yard freestyle and take a 20 second rest after it before you begin the next one. Do five of these in a row).

2nd set: 200 yd. pull

3rd set: 200 yd. kick

4th/5th sets: Repeat 2nd and 3rd set

6th set: 5 x 50's with 20 sec. rest

Cool down: 300 yards free style ( slow down each 100 yards)

Stretch set: 50 yards backstroke

Total yards: 1600 yards

Now I am not sure about you guys, but I just printed out the workout without really reading it and headed to the pool. I got into the pool and started the workout thinking I was going to be just short of a mile and should I do a bit extra to get a mile done just to see if I can do it. (Yes I know I am crazy! Yes I am nervous about the 2.4 mile swim I will have to complete at the IMFL.)

At any rate, about halfway through the first 200yd pull set, the lifeguard came over and asked me if I could move to the indoor pool. I was swimming in the outdoor pool where the masters' swim class is due to the fact that the indoor pool didn't have any lanes. So I said sure. I moved indoors and hopped into one of the lap lanes. It took me a couple of minutes to get back into the groove so while I was getting my thoughts together I decided to do a bit of mental math to see how many yards I had completed and how many were left and amazingly I realized that my Coach had incorrectly added the number of yards I would be completing! Holy Smoke the total was really 1850 yards!

So of course when Coach Karen came in to check on me I told her that she lied to me about my swim. She just laughed and said shut up and swim, I am the coach. I almost choked on the pool laughing as I had said pretty much the same thing on Sunday during a training run. On Sunday I was running with a few friends that I am coaching. On the way back, one of my peeps, Richard said "Wait I thought I was doing a 30 minute recovery run!" I said nope we are running 3 miles quit whining and run. His comment to me was that I had lied. I responded that I could lie because I was the coach! LOL!

This just makes me laugh but I think it is true. Sometimes our coaches, myself included, don't exactly tell our peeps what they are going to end up doing so our trainees don't stress or worry about it and end up not being able to complete the workout. Sometimes, as in the case with Coach Karen and my swim, we just add wrong. It is awesome to see the look of joy and accomplishment on a person's face when they realize that they have just completed something they never thought they could.

Yes I completed the 1850 yards. I am not sure how long it actually took me time wise, since I had to switch pools and all, so next time I will definitely have to time my workout. Only 1.3 miles additional swimming to complete Ironman swim distance.

I am pretty proud of myself for completing the distance. Honestly I never thought I could swim two hundred yards much less 1850. It is not pretty but I get it done. As John Bingham says, " I am slow, I know it. Get over it"

I will leave you with the quote of the day that was on the pool wall last night at the YMCA. It kind of sums up what I have been feeling lately.

"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished but by what you should have accomplished with your ability." John Wooden

XOXOX
Elizabeth

Having A Rough Week

2008-03-25T16:41:00.006-04:00

Some days and not often, I have days where I just want to move to some Caribbean Island and drink rum for the rest of my life. This would be one of those days and I am on my second day of this mood in a row.

My kids are leaving for Spring Break on Thursday. They are going to their Dad's house. Normally I am sad when they leave but for some reason this time I am actually excited. Don't get me wrong, I will miss them but I really need a break. I am not sure why I am so frustrated right now but I sure want some alone time. One of my friends, Flemming, says I may have post event depression. I have never thought about that but he could be right. All of the excitement leading to the event is over. I have done my first Triathlon. Incidentally his blog is linked to mine if you are interested.

All of my friends are asking me what is the first thing I am going to do after the kids leave? I am honestly not sure. I cannot decide if I want to go take a nap, have a drink, do an extra long workout. Who knows....I definitely need some alone time. There is also the ING Georgia Marathon on Sunday. I am currently planning on running the Half there. Of course to add to the dilemma, it is also one of my close friend's birthdays. There is a HUGE weekend planned at the beach to celebrate. Of course there is no way to do it all so I have to make a decision. I know, I know - party at the beach. What is the dilemma? I love to run and it relaxes me. I love my friends and the beach will relax me. Of course I could just hide in my house alone - haven't been alone in months.....

Am I being selfish? Part of me really thinks so. During the part of the year when I am not actively coaching, I always feel like I need to be doing more for people who are less fortunate than me. I had joined Team in Training this season for the Rock and Roll Marathon in San Diego but I have been so busy I have not started fund raising. This means I either don't re commit or I need to give a personal donation of about $500.00 to continue forward. Not sure what I am going to do there either.

Oh well back to reality!

XOXOX
Elizabeth

The Dark Side

2008-03-18T16:32:00.004-04:00

Well I have crossed over to the dark side! At least that is what all my triathlete friends say. I have crossed the bridge from being a Marathoner to a Triathlete. While I am not 100% sure that I am completely convinced that triathlons are for me I am trying to bring some other friends over to the "dark side."

Ironmen say that the marathon is just a cool down workout for them so I know I am not quite the Ironman yet.

I think I am going to go run the ING Georgia Half Marathon on March 30th in Atlanta. I need to get back to my running roots. I am missing the long runs that I have not done due to the swim and bike training I have added in. It will be a nice break.

After that, I think I am going to complete the sprint distance event at the Great Clermont Tri. This course will be hilly so that will be very interesting.

Gotta Run!

Have a great day!

XOXOX
Elizabeth

I AM A TRIATHLETE!

2008-03-18T15:14:00.002-04:00

I DID IT!!!!!

I have finished my first sprint distance triathlon. WOW! What an experience! The whole event was AWESOME. I was so scared I could not think straight but I finished the entire race in a respectable 1:52.

The night before the race I met some of the other first time triathletes for dinner. I had pizza which I figured out the next day was not such a good idea before a swim. Well at least not my first swim. It was pouring the rain outside and I was a nervous wreck. Of course it did not help that the race director changed the bike course at 6pm the night before the race either.

After dinner I went home to pack my gear and get to bed early. Ha! What was I thinking. After packing everything in my house except the bathroom sink, I fell into the bed. Sleep was not going to come however I was just too scared. As I watched each hour pass on the clock, I wondered what I was thinking.

The alarm went off at 5am. I got out of bed, put on my tri suit and loaded my car. It was still damp outside and a bit chilly but I like running in the cold so I was not worried. What was I thinking? As I drove into Moss Park, I saw all of the experienced triathletes milling around looking oh so prepared. I thought about turning around but I decided well what is the worst that could happen? I parked my car and headed over to the transition area to set my stuff out.

As the time inched closer to the race start of 8am the butterflies in my stomach became Japanese Zero pilots dive bombing Pearl Harbor. I walked to the swim start and put my feet in the water. HOLY CRAP! The water was 69 degrees. No I did not have a wet suit on. There were very few competitors wearing wet suits so I decided I did not want to look like a chicken. Next time I am opting for looking like a chicken and being warm.

3 - 2 - 1 the race started and we are off. My swim coach Karen came out to swim with me not as a race participant but just to make sure I as able to finish. THANKS SO MUCH KAREN! For the first part of the swim, I was so cold I could not catch my breath so I rolled over on my back and did the back stroke just to keep moving. Suddenly I was at the first bouy. WOW I can do this!! I kept swimming and after about 25 minutes I was getting out of the water and onto the beach.

What you might ask was the first thing I heard after exiting the water - GO COACH BETH! A few of my runners that I had coached during this past WDW Marathon season had come to cheer me on! I think this was just the incentive I needed to get past my fear and get the run to transition done and get my bike gear on.

I put on my shoes and bike helmet, gloves etc and walked my bike through the grass and sand to the road and hopped on. Once again Karen was waiting for me. She would ride the bike course with me to help me with anything I needed. The first few miles were tough. I was still freezing from the swim, dripping wet and getting comfortable on the bike. So my speed was a bit slow at 15 mph but I was getting the mileage done. After about 6 miles I started to warm up and get more comfortable. I was able to maintain a 17-18 min per mile pace through the end. I still haven't figured out the eating and drinking on the bike. It will take some more practice so I was a bit thirsty and hungry when I headed into T2.

I changed from my bike gear to my run gear as quickly as I could. My watch said 1:19 and I was off on the run. Just under a 5k left and I would be done with my first triathlon!!!!

I crossed the finish line at 1:52 and some change with a big smile on my face. I DID IT!

Now off to find the next race!

XOXOX Elizabeth

I think I can I think I can I think I can

2008-03-12T10:17:00.002-04:00

Well the big day for my first sprint triathlon is coming up on Saturday. I cannot tell at this point if I am nervous, terrified or just in shock. The good news is, I have done two swims that were longer than the swim leg of the upcoming race. My swim last night was done without stopping. Of course I had the usual malfunctions, water in my goggles, swallowing the entire pool, unable to get the fins off. My coach, Karen, had put out several toys or tools for me to grab and use to be able to keep swimming. I had prior to last night been taking 30 sec breaks every two laps or 100 yards. Last night if I had a 5 second break after 4 or 5 laps that would have been a long break. So I finished the distance. I know I can make it the complete distance on Saturday. Now I just have to be able to get out of the water, take off my wet suit and get on the bike before everyone else has finished the race. :-)

Which leads me to wet suits. What in the world was God thinking when wet suits were invented. He must have gotten a good belly laugh. Apparently there are several kinds of wet suits but for a tri, one needs a slick wet suit to decrease resistance in the water. My Coach Missey let me have one of hers which I picked up on Saturday. When she gave it to me she said, make sure you lube up before you put it on. I was like "lube up"? She said yes, spray some pam on your body or use some oil but get lubed. Well in my mind the thought of rubbing myself with cooking oil like a giant turkey did not seem very appealing. Therefore, I made the executive decision to just put the wet suit on without any lubrication.

Surprisingly the wet suit went on with relative ease. I was thinking to myself what is all the talk about turning my body into a greased pig? This was easy or so I thought. I walked around the house for a few minutes just to get the feel of the wet suit and then decided I needed to take the suit off and cook dinner for the girls. I really wasn't too worried about this part as I had such an easy time getting it on, I figured what the heck it should slide right off. Well that did NOT happen. After ten minutes of struggling, I was finally able to get my arms out, another ten minutes and I had the suit down to my waist, ten to fifteen minutes more and I had slid it over my thighs and onto my calves. Twenty minutes later, I had my left leg out BUT my right leg was stuck. There was no amount of pulling, tugging or pushing I could do to get this thing off my leg. It was as if the suit was magnetic or had suctioned itself to my leg.

Well the girls were frustrated because it was after 8pm at this point and they had not had dinner. I decided the only thing I could do would be to walk into the kitchen with the wet suit still on my leg, dragging the rest behind me. For the next thirty minutes, I cooked dinner, walked around the house doing some cleanup feeling like I was dragging a dead body around with me. The kids were laughing hysterically, the dog and cat were both chasing me and attacking the wet suit. I definitely should have created some sort of video and sent in to America's Funniest Home Videos. I think I would have won. Finally I had all I could take and I was determined to get this wet suit off. I sat down on the floor. I had both kids grab the ends of the suit and start pulling. From the top of my calf I was pushing with all of my strength, the wet suit finally popped off my leg. WHEW! I was glad. But then I realized......I don't have an hour to transition from the swim leg to the bike leg of the race. If it takes me that long, I am afraid the race will be finished before I ever get on the bike.

So at this point the question is: Too wear a wet suit and be warm or to skip the wet suit and deal with the cold water? This will not be an issue at the IMFL as there are actually wet suit removers, volunteers who stand after the swim exit specifically to get you out of your wet suit before you get to bike transition. They don't have these volunteers at any other distance.

Hmmm! Something else to think about before the weekend!

Have a great day!
XOXOX
Elizabeth

Ok I did it!

2008-03-05T13:32:00.005-05:00

Quote for today "I guess it comes down to a simple choice really. Get busy living or get busy dying!" -The Shawshank Redemption

So I finally got into the pool. Let me tell you I was terrified. It is not an easy thing to go from being the coach to the pupil. I have been avoiding the swim like you would not believe. However one of my dearest friends and an Ironman 70.3 Finisher Melissa told me it was time to get over it. I met her on Monday night at the Downtown YMCA for some "lessons." Another friend of ours who is also a swim instructor, Karen, met us there. Melissa of course had her own workout to do so she was already in the water by the time I had changed into my swimsuit. To say I had butterflies is the understatement. I don't think I have been this scared of anything since I had my first child.

When you are a coach, you are the authority. I do not by any means think that I know everything about running or that I don't have much more to learn but I do feel confident in my ability to complete the distance. When you are the pupil, at least in my case, I am just waiting to fail. I am scared to say the least and sometimes I let that fear get the best of me.

At any rate, I got into the water and Karen said - "Ok do a 4 lap warm-up." I started laughing. You see I could not even figure out how to get my swim cap on. After a few pretty funny attempts and some rubber slapping on my forehead, I finally got the cap on and I started doing my version of the freestyle. After a couple of laps she had me put on swim fins. Apparently I need to lift and squeeze my butt. In a few short yards, my quads were burning but I kept going. 13 laps later (650 yards) my arms and legs were shaking and I was totally out of breath.

I HAD DONE IT! Completed my first swim. I have to say I am proud of myself but still terrified of the swim portion of the triathlon. I definitely need to get back into the pool especially considering I have a sprint triathlon next weekend. I certainly am not the fastest or the most proficient swimmer in the pool but I was able to move in a forward direction. I hope it will be easier to get back in the water.

It has definitely been a few days of complete reality check. I had also done a bike workout on Saturday with Missey and the Orlando Tri team in Clermont. When I asked if I could join her on the bike, I didn't realize that they were going to do a hill workout. I had to get off the bike on two of the hills and walk the bike to the top. I could not get the bike in a low enough gear to be able to keep moving in a forward direction. Gravity was winning the contest. As a runner I LOVE hills and enjoy running hill repeats. However as a biker, the hills WON!

I know that there are many more months of training and hopefully gaining the knowledge and incite to overcome my fears before the IMFL. I want to hear my name as I cross the finish line in Panama City - "Elizabeth Crepeau, You ARE an IRONMAN!"

Am I Crazy?

2008-02-27T16:22:00.002-05:00

Sorry I have not been able to blog for a couple of days. I had the terrible horrible stomach flu. Honestly I did not get out of bed for 3 days. It has been a really long time, years to be exact, since I have been this sick. YUK YUK YUK!

At any rate, here are today's thoughts. Several people have told me over the past few days that I am absolutely crazy for taking on the challenge of completing an Ironman since I have never completed any distance in a triathlon. Here are my comments:
1. Always reach for the clouds.
2. You never know if you don't try
OK, OK I sound like a record from the 70's but seriously I never been one of those people that gives much thought to whether or not I can do something I just assume I can. Have I ever failed? Certainly but then I just try again.

So the Ironman is November 1st. I have exactly 247 days until I have to be ready. Could I run a marathon tomorrow? Yes. Could I bike 112 miles tomorrow? Probably not. The longest I have ridden so far is 50 miles and one additional 2.5 hour ride. Can I swim 2.4 miles? DEFINITELY NOT! Am I scared? Yes. Will that stop me? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

I think as long as I have a challenge I am alive. Take away challenges and what have you got? Status Quo. I think that we were put here for a purpose greater than just being or living the Status Quo. I think we need to exceed our own expectations of what we can do and who we are as a person, a friend, a companion, a parent.

So here I am. I am signed up, paid up and starting on an incredible journey. I know I will be able to cross the finish line. What will I learn on the way? Stay Tuned!

XOXOXOX
Elizabeth

Miami 2008

2008-02-22T13:41:00.003-05:00

Here are some photos from the 2008 ING Miami Half Marathon. Enjoy!

My First Blog

2008-02-22T13:26:00.003-05:00

Well I have decided to blog. I have been thinking about this for a while and one of my close friends finally convinced me that I need to create a blog. I was torn because I couldn't figure out what to include in this blog. So here is what I decided.

My life - Borning - Not usually
Hysterical - Mostly
Busy - Always

My Coaching - I coach for Team in Training which is the Endurance Training/Fundraising arm of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I love coaching and being able to share my experiences with others.

My journey to the Ironman - I am not sure if I will make it. Ok positive attitude! I WILL MAKE IT ACROSS THE FINISH LINE IN THE TIME ALLOWED!

Please let me know what you think.

Elizabeth