Take Flight Triathlon

Oct. 4th at 7:30am - NOMAD Aquatic Center in Charlotte, NC - BE THERE!

TAKE FLIGHT TRIATHLON

250 yard swim

10 mile bike (be ready for those hills!!!)

5k run . . . . .

TONS OF FUN

MONEY RAISED BENEFITS Garrett's Wings

COOL LONG SLEEVE TECH T

GREAT VOLUNTEERS

YUMMY POST RACE FOOD

Register before August 10th to save a few $$$$!!

Got training questions? Email me!

Workout Week

What in the world does one do when training for an Ironman? This week my schedule (which is worked around kids and camps and birthdays)
Monday: 2 hour trainer ride - base miles
Tuesday: 1 hour strength / flexibility + 3600 yards swim (2 miles)
Wednesday: 1 hour run - speedwork
Thursday: 1:15 run - base miles + 3600 yards swim
Friday: 1 hour yoga / strength
Saturday: 3.5 hour bike
Sunday: 1:45 long run + 1 hour swim
Should be around 13 hours
I have a swim partner (Vicky) for my Tues. & Thurs. swims & a biking partner if I can find a sitter for Sat. so it should be a fun week!!

Giving Light

I was driving to a race site Sunday morning early. It was dark and overcaast outside. (it was 5 am afterall!!) The sections of 81/64 that I was driving had no street lights so the only light I had was my car headlights. I don't know if it was the hour or the stress of driving to time the race or the exhaustion of driving at 5am but that scene made me very introspective.
I think a lot of people live in darkness like that. I would imagine loosing one of my children would make a darkness fall over me like none I have ever known. How do you find the light to keep going? I think sometimes you have to rely on others to give you enough light to keep going until you can find your own. I hope that my training / racing and fundraising is givng that light to others. I want our picture project to give light to parents that have darkness closing in around them.
I get asked a lot why I do Ironman, how in the world I enjoy the training, how I find the time to train. Lots and lots of reasons but two very important reasons are that I have been given the gift of the ability to do this, I need to use that gift to inspire other to do something too. I also want to take this gift and use it for something bigger / greater than me. For me, Ironman is my way to honor Garrett and maybe give Renee and Scott a little light in a dark time.
Indoor trainer ride today & maybe a little swim!

Riding in the rain

One of the things I love about IM training is facing and overcoming fears. I have always been leary of riding in the rain. Rainy days I would just hop on the trainer and stay dry. Today Paul and I had a free morning w/ kids at Grandma & Grandpa's overnight. We woke up to cloudy skies but decided to risk it. Around mile 4 the drizzle started. By mile 8 or so it was all out rain. It rained pretty hard for a good 10 - 15 miles. We were wet and cold but sucked it up and got most of the ride done. We cut it about an hour short so I had to finish up a little bit on the trainer, but for the most part I sucked it up and got through and outside rainy ride with no problem. Now that's a little HTFU! 42 miles today, only another 70 miles to build : )

Our Motivation

This year we will be raising money for a specific project that Garrett's Wings is working on. Renee and I are working on a photography project for both Kids' Path and the local hospice in Harrisonburg. Right after Renee and Scott came home with Garrett a local photographer contacted them and offered to come and take pictures in their home of the family. These are some of the most beautiful photos I have ever seeen. My favorite:

I know these pictures are very important and precious to Renee and Scott. We wanted to use this gift that was given to Renee and Scott and share that with other families that are experiencing the loss of a child.

We will need to raise the money for camera equiptment, supplies, printing and maybe even some albums to give out. We are still working out whether we will ask professionals to volunteer their time or recruit other voulunteers that just are great at taking photos. We also still have to get the o-k from the hospices - that is a biggie!! Lots of great things to work on!

Today's workout: 1.5 hour bike w/ 3 min. threshold intervals, 3 min. recovery + 1 hour easy run

A new Race . . .

After a long move, lots of work and adjusting we are pretty settled in Harrisonburg. After getting settled I started to get a little itchy for a race. O-k, a LOT itchy for a race. My summer has been pretty consumed with house and kid stuff with not much time for training. SO, I decided a Nov. 7th irondistance race (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) is just what I need! Next order was to drag others into my sick training web. I recruited Renee to do the run portion and my husband Paul and Renee's husband Scott will do the swim and bike (still don't know which one will do which). So began 4 for Garrett.
Renee and I began our training on July 19th, Garrett's 4th birthday with a 7.5 mile run. We have a lot of mile to go!! Next blog . . . the photo project.