The last few entries in my blog have been pretty philosophical, so I don't want to burden and whine.
Training is going really well with two monster swims and some smoking good runs and bikes. I am getting a little antsy about the bike as it's serious winter here and I can't get out on the road until all the ice is gone. I keep watching the weather channel in hopes that it will miraculously show me that by wednesday the snow will melt and I can put on my warm suit, take Violet (my bike) out onto the Henday for a 3 hour tilt, and I will feel a little more confident about riding 90km in NO in 5 weeks.. even a few long rides would make me feel WAY more comfortable.
Even though I have been running in the sub zero weather, I feel confident for my run because I know that shorts will be nice......
The really good news is I think that Best Buy Sports has finally sent my wetsuit after 7 months of promises....... PLEASE let that be my parcel!!
Rob, hope you're reading this after Hockey Day in Canada, yes, I'm doing well and ready to rock New Orleans!
Swim, bike, run, laugh, cheer and celebrate!
Wheels
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
water water everywhere
Today I did the longest swim I have ever done in my life... thinking my coach was on crack, I trundled down to the pool and completed the entire workout... 4200M... count 'em yes, more than an Ironman swim! I also have one even longer on Friday, so this could be a very productive swim week! My running is coming back in leaps and bounds, and I think my cycling is pretty fair, though it's hard to tell sweating on a trainer. Mark will either kill me or make me Iron-tough! If the mental toughness is there, and I am sure it is, New Orleans should be a race to remember in a good way! I promise to take lots of photos and post some of my racing that hopefully Donna and Paul will take, and have a finish photo to share.
Swim, bike, run, laugh, enjoy your friends and celebrate life!
Michele
Swim, bike, run, laugh, enjoy your friends and celebrate life!
Michele
Sunday, February 15, 2009
giving back
Yesterday I did something I haven't done in a while, and have never really done with a totally open and selfless heart. I volunteered at the Canadian Birkebeiner ski race, and must have run 20K up and down a hill encouraging and cheering people on. That was my weekly run! I am sore in a few weird places, but it is a great feeling to know that you were there at 47.8 km of a 55 km race and people smiled because you got them up a hill and on their way to the next stop.
New Orleans update: Donna and I are now on the same flight from Denver to NO, and from NO to Chicago on the way back... and the week in between will be fun! I hope she takes lots of pics and lends me her camera to down load them or I get a REALLY big bonus and get a nice little one of my own. Looking forward to jazz and blues (will be thinking of you, Rob) a paddlewheeler ride (thinking of Mark Twain) and the rest of the hoopla..... that's for Donna and me!
Training is going well, I am smiling, my old friends are shocked at my happy thin self, and life is sunny..
Swim, bike, run, laugh, cheer, celebrate...... living well is the best revenge!
Michele
New Orleans update: Donna and I are now on the same flight from Denver to NO, and from NO to Chicago on the way back... and the week in between will be fun! I hope she takes lots of pics and lends me her camera to down load them or I get a REALLY big bonus and get a nice little one of my own. Looking forward to jazz and blues (will be thinking of you, Rob) a paddlewheeler ride (thinking of Mark Twain) and the rest of the hoopla..... that's for Donna and me!
Training is going well, I am smiling, my old friends are shocked at my happy thin self, and life is sunny..
Swim, bike, run, laugh, cheer, celebrate...... living well is the best revenge!
Michele
Thursday, February 12, 2009
booking.... check!
Whew! I now have my entry confirmed and my flight booked.... my new job here at work tires me out and sometimes dragging myself through training is exactly that.... but I do love the racing and training.... so up I get, running I go, pedalling in my living room and swimming long satisfying workouts!
My best friend in the entire world is going with me, she has never seen me race..... we have different ways of getting there, but the important thing is sharing this week and this race with her.... I am sure she will have some pics to share!
I am 30 lbs lighter, but still have 17 to go to be where I want to be.... I feel great now but know where my best racing is done. I am also SO looking forward to seeing my friends from the States, Paul can't race because of a torn rotator cuff, but his humour will have Donna in stitches watching the race while his wife and I slug it out on the flats!
No trip to New Orleans would be complete without some Jazz, some Jambalaya and a trip on a paddlewheeler.... then relax, put up the feet and go to the pasta load, then Sunday April 5.... RACE DAY!!! After the race, windup dinner and awards (not worried about a victory speech at this point, just composing myself after finishing and not drooling).... and on the last day, a trip to the French Quarter for dinner, coincidentally on my other friends birthday.... and she's French! lol
I am so thankful to have the opportunity to put myself back out there.... thanks to my friends, my coach, and my new belief that what I want to do counts most...... Swim, bike, run, hug your friends, celebrate and cheer them on!
Life is good....
Michele
My best friend in the entire world is going with me, she has never seen me race..... we have different ways of getting there, but the important thing is sharing this week and this race with her.... I am sure she will have some pics to share!
I am 30 lbs lighter, but still have 17 to go to be where I want to be.... I feel great now but know where my best racing is done. I am also SO looking forward to seeing my friends from the States, Paul can't race because of a torn rotator cuff, but his humour will have Donna in stitches watching the race while his wife and I slug it out on the flats!
No trip to New Orleans would be complete without some Jazz, some Jambalaya and a trip on a paddlewheeler.... then relax, put up the feet and go to the pasta load, then Sunday April 5.... RACE DAY!!! After the race, windup dinner and awards (not worried about a victory speech at this point, just composing myself after finishing and not drooling).... and on the last day, a trip to the French Quarter for dinner, coincidentally on my other friends birthday.... and she's French! lol
I am so thankful to have the opportunity to put myself back out there.... thanks to my friends, my coach, and my new belief that what I want to do counts most...... Swim, bike, run, hug your friends, celebrate and cheer them on!
Life is good....
Michele
Friday, February 6, 2009
forward ho!
This entry will probably not have much to do with triathlon, and everything to do with the reason I do what I do.
As most know, my 2008 was, in a word, brutal.... horrific..... devastating..... starting in NZ with someone trying to tell me I was worthless, to a hypothermic DNF and Ironman, I spiralled down to a point I thought I would never be able to crawl out of. Martin Luther King used to say "I have been to the mountaintop".... well, I have been to the exact opposite end of that mountaintop..... the darkest pit you can imagine, culminating with the passing of my dog in August. I guess I could have stayed in that dark hole and been a professional victim, but if anyone can say anything about me, I am tough as nails... independent, tough, stubborn.... but lots of good stuff too.
To make a long story short, I trashed my rear view mirror.... 2008 was only a learning experience and a test to make me a better person. Only forward looking from now on. That in itself was a big hurdle.... when you have people in your life who have poisoned your outlook, made you doubt yourself, your abilities and your worth, you get to the fork in the road.... either continue down the pity path, or choose to shed your hate, anger, and fear, and above all, forgive yourself for being human and move on. I have shed my hate, anger and fear, and am doing a damn fine job of forgiving myself for picking all the wrong people to share my life. I don't have to forgive them.... that would be a bonus for them if I did.....they obviously never cared enough for me to actually deserve what I have to offer, so the proper thing to say is "NEXT"....
Crawling out of that pit and into the sunshine of my own life is like a second chance.... never to be taken lightly. I am again strong, tough and ready to rock New Orleans..... I am training with an open heart and a love for movement and racing.
I realize that the training I am doing, the 3.5 hr rides, the 90 minute runs and the monster swims are nothing compared to putting back the pieces of the shattered life I had..... I am not whole, but there is nothing missing that isn't on the horizon.... therefore, I look forward only..... nothing worth having is easy..... that is such a platitude, but the truest one I have ever known or experienced. I don't have to settle for last years stale Easter Bunny with the half chewed ears when there is Bernard Callibaut in life.... my work, my team, my friends, my sport..... it can all be the best chocolate I choose it to be...
Swim, bike, run, laugh, celebrate and cheer...... life is good
Michele
As most know, my 2008 was, in a word, brutal.... horrific..... devastating..... starting in NZ with someone trying to tell me I was worthless, to a hypothermic DNF and Ironman, I spiralled down to a point I thought I would never be able to crawl out of. Martin Luther King used to say "I have been to the mountaintop".... well, I have been to the exact opposite end of that mountaintop..... the darkest pit you can imagine, culminating with the passing of my dog in August. I guess I could have stayed in that dark hole and been a professional victim, but if anyone can say anything about me, I am tough as nails... independent, tough, stubborn.... but lots of good stuff too.
To make a long story short, I trashed my rear view mirror.... 2008 was only a learning experience and a test to make me a better person. Only forward looking from now on. That in itself was a big hurdle.... when you have people in your life who have poisoned your outlook, made you doubt yourself, your abilities and your worth, you get to the fork in the road.... either continue down the pity path, or choose to shed your hate, anger, and fear, and above all, forgive yourself for being human and move on. I have shed my hate, anger and fear, and am doing a damn fine job of forgiving myself for picking all the wrong people to share my life. I don't have to forgive them.... that would be a bonus for them if I did.....they obviously never cared enough for me to actually deserve what I have to offer, so the proper thing to say is "NEXT"....
Crawling out of that pit and into the sunshine of my own life is like a second chance.... never to be taken lightly. I am again strong, tough and ready to rock New Orleans..... I am training with an open heart and a love for movement and racing.
I realize that the training I am doing, the 3.5 hr rides, the 90 minute runs and the monster swims are nothing compared to putting back the pieces of the shattered life I had..... I am not whole, but there is nothing missing that isn't on the horizon.... therefore, I look forward only..... nothing worth having is easy..... that is such a platitude, but the truest one I have ever known or experienced. I don't have to settle for last years stale Easter Bunny with the half chewed ears when there is Bernard Callibaut in life.... my work, my team, my friends, my sport..... it can all be the best chocolate I choose it to be...
Swim, bike, run, laugh, celebrate and cheer...... life is good
Michele
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