Sunday, May 23, 2010

Two months later..........

WOW, I was so eager to keep people up to date with my training and I didn't deliver. Well, the good thing is, the training has been going very well. I have kept up the training and I am now 4 weeks away from the Minuteman Triathlon on June 19th. Early mornings have been filled with protein smoothies and then a swim, run or bike to Pingree. I have been "hitting" all my times and am progressing along. The terrific news is that my bike has been re-furbed by Salem Cycle and it was all I hoped for.

They put on new wheels (Alex rimes, Tiagra hubs, and Maxxis tires), a new cassette and a 44 chain ring on the front. The best news is that it took 4 lbs off the bike and that in and of itself means a faster ride. I am now able to get a lot more out of my ride not spending so much time pedaling like a hamster in a wheel in a cage.

The best evidence of that is from the two rides I did with Team Comp. Last Saturday we did a 35 mile ride up and around the north shore. I was able to stay with the main group for most of the ride and I didn't feel like they were waiting for me at every rest stop.

The more rewarding ride was just yesterday. Along with the rest of my team, I rode with "Jen's Comprehensive Riders" and as a team we raised close to $4000 for the American Diabetes Association. It was a 65 mile (more than 100km) ride from Gloucester around Cape Ann, down through Beverly Farms, up through Ipswich and then back to Gloucester. Again, I had a great ride. I was able to stay with the group and we all rode in together at the end for an emotional end to a great morning. The best news for me is that the ride was more than a 1/2 Ironman distance ride (56 miles) and I felt great at the end. I am here Sunday morning ready to go for a swim later today. It's an amazing feeling when you KNOW you can do it. I think we might be doing a team swim up in Boxford at Stiles Pond.

I have got inspiration and strength from so many places along the way. I remember about 2 weeks ago I was supposed to do a 58 min run and I had "banked" extra time on the bike, so I knew I could shorten my run and was thinking about stopping after 30 minutes. The thought of Owen then popped into my mind. He has been doing a great job these last few weeks in the pool swimming without the aid of a "swim bubble". Part of my job has been trying to help him deal with some fear and worry of sinking. I have said to him, "You can do it Owen, I am here if you need me". He has been such a trooper about it. Well, when I felt about packing it in early last week, Owen popped into my mind and I thought, if he can do it and push through his fear, I know I can as well. Well, those last 20 minutes on the run, were pretty emotional for me, as I thought about Owen and the strength I get from him. And from Sue as well. Knowing how amazing a mother she is, really helps me keep going. She has been MORE than supportive for me. I love her SO MUCH and need her more than she knows. I tell her this as often as I can, and I am sure at times, she thinks they are just words, but that is so far from the truth.

We had a great team BBQ yesterday after the ride. Sue and Owen came along and it was a relaxing time for all. I actually made a birthday cake for Sue. Three others (Alice, Taylor, and Bill) were able to help with the candles since their birthdays were all around the same time.

There were no other children there but Owen did a great job playing on the swing set and then of course he "held court" a few times keeping some of the adults entertained them with "tails" *wink* of our cats. The one nice thing about parties after a race or ride is that very few are too interested in going all night long. Patrick and Denise put on a nice spread and it was nice debriefing with others about the ride that day.

Both Sue and I have enjoyed watching Owen with baseball this year. We just got back from his game. He is enjoying it a lot and he has a great team of kids. There is a WIDE range of ability on the team. Owen is learning how to catch and throw and his hitting is improving each week,