Overcome and give back

We all have a story, something that didn't go right, something that wasn't easy.  Being bullied, being told we couldn't do it, we weren't good enough, the stories vary widely, but we all have one.

Tonight USA did a special where Pro football players could give back to kids going through the same things that they did.  What an emotional and inspirational show.  Yeah yeah, I know I'm a SAP and these things (and much less) definitely get to me!  That being said, how cool is it to have a pro football player walk in and tell you, "I was where you are, and this is how I'm going to help get you out."

We all have that opportunity, to give what we can from our experience, be an inspiration to others and live every day to its fullest.  We made it through our trials and struggles, not only did we make it out, we are a success story!

USA, props to you, and I hope that your special inspired people everywhere, gave parents ideas on how to help their own kids, kids the power to be strong, and for all of us to reach out in whatever way we can!

This solidifies why I race and train, to give back, to raise money for St. Jude's and hopefully to inspire people to show that you can do it!  Busy? Injured? Carrying around more weight than the typical "athlete"- to the point that you aren't really considered an athlete anymore?  I pray that this blog, my journey, my struggle, and my persistence reaches beyond my own training, and touches or inspires someone else.

What can you do?  Start by sharing this blog, or donating to my cause, I would be forever greatful!

Check out my donation page here

This is a picture of my father and I at our first triathlon together, the trail of inspiration will likely never be solved in this instance, but I'm pretty sure I can do this because he inspired me first! :)

High School

Remember the high school swim team? Track or cross country?  Softball, baseball, football, soccer?  Whatever sport it is that you participated in- you remember how it made you feel?  The practices, the meets and games- and bottom line- how incredible you were at it?!  At the time, we didn't think much of it, we strove for more, wanted to be faster, better.  We looked up at the college athletes, the pros, the Olympians, and we dreamed of more.  The truth is, we were awesome!  Most of us better than than we would ever be again.  A few got better in college, and even less than that went on to continue improving.  All of us, every one, took it for granted. :)

That realization struck me tonight as I finished out an hour long run.  In the last minutes of my treadmill trudge, I cranked up the speed to see what I could do.  I let it go until 8.6 mph, a point where my turnover was far faster than usual.  I could have probably gone faster, but didn't want to hurt myself because I was sure I would have face planted on the treadmill.  As I was moving, I tried to figure out how quick I was going, and got a general idea and thought, "wait, I'm going faster than that- I have to be..."  I scrolled through my options and hit pace:  that's right, your math is correct, 6:58 minute miles... and I did it for a whopping two minutes.  HA!  In high school, I ran a sub 6 minute mile, it wasn't under by much, but it was under 6 minutes.  Now, I ran 2 minutes at a slower pace and was so impressed with myself!  HA! (again) :)

Every day, we need to look at ourselves and give a compliment, because we're good, damn good, at what we do.  Have we been better?  Probably, but that being said, we are good because of what we do, not how fast we do it or what place we come in.  Look at any comparisons that you may hold, and giggle, but then continue to strive for the best.  You can admire the pro's, dream of being on Olympian, but in the meantime, keep going, keep doing what you do, because in this moment, and every other, you are awesome at what you do.

Poor Choices

This morning, taking today as my one day off for the week seemed like a great idea.  Tonight as I am plotting out my remaining workouts, not so great.  I work a double tomorrow, and have grocery shopping/birthday/work on Saturday... yeah, would have made a lot more sense to take one of those days off!

The reality is, we make a choice in the moment, and we carry that with us, so maybe next week I will learn that its better to stick to my schedule.  Tomorrow and Saturday may be a little rough though so bear with me.  Thankfully my brick is done for the week, so a long ride and a long run and I'll wrap it all up and move on to the next week.

Good choice?  Drinking more water, what a difference that that has made.  One thing I can recommend to everyone.

Good choice?  Packing lunches, salads, yogurt, etc.  Eating better and feeling better because of it.

Good choice?  Waking up early- I feel much better when I wake up early and head for bed early.  Thanks to OnDemand, no reason to stay up late watching silly TV shows.

All in all, mostly good, complicated by one crummy, I'll live :)

The day is full of choices, good, bad or seemingly neither, we live, learn and make it until tomorrow.  What choice did you make today that you are bound to learn from? :)

Oh and one more thing, I watched this video (Grandma Dancing), loved it, cracked up, and learned from it.  Dance... always, no matter who is watching.

My Training Partners

So I would be an idiot to not give props to those that make the day to day possible for me.  My support system, those that believe in me, those that are with me for workouts, and those that keep me accountable for what I am doing.

My hubby, who gently reminds me about workouts and time frames, and who genuinely is interested in how my workouts went and will listen until his ears bleed about the details and plans.  Who has made it to every race save one, and has sworn he will never miss another because it broke his heart to not be there.  What a guy!  Seriously don't know how I would do it without him!

Then I have those friends who train, in some way shape or form, for running, biking, and tri races of all distances.  Your workouts inspire me and give me something to strive for.  You all add something to my life and my training, and for that I will be forever grateful.  Whether you are far away or in the same town, the idea of training together at 5am, the stories of your workouts, and your dreams for the upcoming season, it brings a sense of warmth, camaraderie and teamwork to some lonely cold mornings.  

Then last but certainly not least are my true training partners, they were with me during this morning's brick workout.

 

Before the workout

 

View from my aerobars- only two still hanging out

 

View from the treadmill- Mack begging me "Please mom- can't we do this outside?!"

In all seriousness, thank you to all of you, for all of your support, for believing in me and helping me through this incredible learning experience.

If you are interested in getting more involved, I would love to hear about your workouts- would be happy to make virtual or even real training dates with you.  I am also looking to do a half ironman around the end of March/beginning of April.  There is nothing around here at that time of year, so I will have to set up a pool swim and then a ride and run, I would love company for any or all legs, or whatever you would like!

Also, I would love if you would be a partner in hope with me and St. Jude.  Even the smallest donation matters, makes a difference and means the world to me.  If you can't at this point, I certainly understand, but if you could share my link, pass the word, help me make a difference in the life of a child with cancer!

http://heroes.stjude.org/krisironmantexas

Thank you to all of my training partners, in every facet you help me get a little closer to my dream!

 

 

 

Winter Snow

I jumped into this Ironman with both feet in nice fall weather, and without really thinking about the reality of training in my living room.  Ha!  What a joke! :)

I don't live in Southern California (still a bit jealous of the people I know who do!), and so that means that winter bike rides are out, and that an outdoor run requires a hefty coat for the cold, and a hefty set of balls (I mean guts...) for the slippery slushy roads and the drivers who don't pay attention.

Props to those people who are out in the weather, I'll stick to my living/dining room set-up.

This morning I plugged out a 45 minute run before heading to the OR.  To be honest, it put me in the perfect mindset, and two days in a row of good early morning workouts are starting to feel like a routine. :)  Tomorrow, a transition workout- my first in a while, and my first trainer/treadmill transition run, ought to be interesting!

I have read books where people did all of their training inside, have you?  How did you do it?  Were you successful?  Praying that this works, an also, for an early spring and road sweep! :)

Nothing like a Monday

Monday is a state of mind, a figment of your imagination.  It is another day, yes, the end of your weekend, but all the same, another day, with as many possibilities as any other day.  Sure, you may be committed to a solid 8/10/12/16 hours in the office, in the car, or on the project, but it really is just what you make it. 

This morning, my state of mind was not where it should be, but as I slid into my cycle shoes, and stuck my earphones in, I settled into a pattern, a rhythm.  Suddenly, it wasn't Monday morning, it was a sweet ride, my legs were burning, I was warm, and my cadence was 90-100.  (Those who have ever pedaled with me know that this is a feat!  Usually I sacrifice cadence for pure power out of each stroke).  I banged my workout in and hit the shower and the office with a renewed purpose and spirit- what a way to start a Monday! :)

Hope yours was half as good!

Just in case your were considering donating to my cause- here is the link to do so. 

http://fundraising.stjude.org/goto/krisironmantexas

Be a Hero for a child!  Sponsor 5 days of my training with $5.  Every little bit makes a difference.  

Just keep swimming

Well the past week brought more excitement and less training than I ever thought possible.  That's right ladies and gentlemen, I admit, I fell off the horse.

The first nearly three weeks of 2014 have been a bit of a roller coaster.  The truth is though that I forgot how to deal with stress- it's not by sleeping in, or vegging in front of the TV, or pouting and complaining- it is by hitting the pool, the trainer or the treadmill.  Don't make excuses, just go and get it all out.

I will get to ironman, I will finish ironman, but my road there is obviously not going to be the most traditional.  :).

I have laid out this next week, and have my workouts scheduled, making them non-optional.  I am also going to blog everyday to hold myself accountable for my workouts.

In addition to this I continue to fundraise for St. Jude's and I am so grateful for the donations thus far.  Thank you for believing in me, I won't let you down!

Today's workout, an hour on the treadmill.  I probably could have run outside, but the reality is that I needed a little motivational push so I plugged in and ran while I watched the NBC coverage of Kona (thank you YouTube).  While I have seen this repeatedly, it never fails to inspire, and given the fact that it is 62 minutes long, it is just about perfect for that hour on the treadmill.

It makes me think and dream about the possibilities, Rachel Joyce, a lawyer turned professional athlete, former champions, people dreaming of being champion, many people just dreaming of finishing.  Football MVP's who have never run more than a mile.  Heartbreak, hope, success, but never failure.  I think in a race of this sort, failure is not even a possibility, you can be heartbroken, injured, and not make a cutoff- but you did not fail.  You tried, you achieved so much and learned so much about yourself on the path.

With less than four months until my race, I begin to wonder what my race day will look like.  I will not allow myself to be underprepared, I will be ready, that much I know.  But what will I strive for?  A time? Or just a finish?  Sitting here now thinking about it, I imagine that I will strive to finish.  It makes the entire process much more enjoyable, and any sort of time feel like an achievement, but as I get closer, I imagine I will begin to get a better sense of a time I think I can accomplish.  No matter what, I remember that this is my first Ironman and not matter my finishing time, it will be a PR.  So for now, I'll just keep chugging along.

Everything tastes better in a wine glass

Happy New Year!  Incredible how one simple day can inspire the turning over of a leaf, the starting anew, and start so many on their way towards dreams and goals.  Ahhhh, resolutions- I don't know anyone who hasn't at least once in their life set a goal or made a resolution at the start of a new year.  My goal has been in process since October, but a new year certainly provides extra incentive to buckle down and get moving.

I doubled up today, getting in two runs.  Both felt very good, although I was definitely stronger on the first run than the second.  One thing I need to focus on doing better is hydrating myself.  I suspect that this is why I am having a difficult time managing my heartrate in the later day workouts.  Perhaps this could be a resolution. :)

This, however, is indeed what inspired the title of this post.  Tonight after dinner I needed water, I knew it, but it was the last thing that I wanted- would have preferred a margarita, the country time lemonade that hubby was sipping on, anything.  I had a hard time talking myself into it, but then poured ice water into my flip-flop wine glass- and waaalaa!  I sucked down that first glass and am well into my next.  I think things just taste better out of a wine glass.  Have you had the mashed potato bar yet?  I had heard of this, on pinterest of course as I was planning the wedding, but had never partaken until a few months ago when we were invited to the hospital's gala.  Everyone at the table had a wine glass or a martini glass with potatoes in them- and soon I did too.  And somehow, they were some of the best mashed potatoes I have ever had.  I'm beginning to notice a pattern-  this will need further investigation I think. :)

More importantly than all of these ridiculous ramblings is that I need to renew my dedication to raising money for St. Jude's.  I have allowed it to go by the wayside in an effort to not pester those that I love.  That being said, this is a cause that I believe in, and I hope that you will donate to this incredible group and help these kids and their families who are fighting a bigger fight than anyone of us could probably imagine.  What could their resolution possibly be?  Stay positive I imagine is among the biggest resolutions- as I imagine not much else matters.  Make your resolution to make a difference in someone's life.  Whether it is by making a donation, a random act of kindness, volunteering your time to a worthy cause- help someone who is struggling.

Here is my page:   http://fundraising.stjude.org/goto/krisironmantexas

I know that resolutions often involve stopping doing something or losing something, this time, do something more.  Consider supporting this cause, or another (I won't hold it against you).  Thanks for considering everyone!  Good luck on the remainder of your resolutions!

Mine by the way
1) complete Ironman Texas
2) Swear less
3) Be able to hold a five minute plank
4) Try and develop some sort of schedule for keeping the house clean- without having to pay someone
5) Remember what is most important in life, spend less time plugged in, and more time with family and friends- giving them my full attention and not drifting off into the land of phones, computers, etc
6) Give back and do random acts of kindness frequently- nothing makes me feel better!