Awesome Fundraiser Poster by Holly Shoemaker....

Thanks HOLLY SHOEMAKER for the AWESOME poster....I'm hoping it brings in lots of donations and take me over the top... I still have quite a ways to go for fundraising!!!

I'm sure this will help!

I have AMAZING friends!

Last night I witnessed a "pay it forward" event like none other....

Sweet, sweet Jodi had a bike accident several weeks ago....I was heartbroken for her...AND for her bike (I know, I know...its a bike, right?)...But her bike is the twin of my bike and both of us have not had them very long.  Her bike was pretty messed up....

Last night at our bar-b-que...we were able to surprise Jodi with a fully restore, fully paid for bike!  (It wasn't my idea - but I LOVED the idea)....What an incredible moment...

But also...what a GREAT time, what a special time...this Team Z West has together!  We are friends, we are confidents, we are acquaintances, who all come together EASILY because of the sport of triathlon...and because we see more in each other than just the sport!

Thank you guys for being there for me...for each other....

That's all!...I'm just very grateful for your friendships.........

So Freaking Tired! 48 miles on the bike, 3 miles open water swim.....= TIRED

I'm so tired that this will be short. It was a great weekend.  I was actually afraid to go to Culpeper to cycle...I was afraid of the hills...I decided to go when I realized I did not have another place to ride or another time to ride this week.  I also decided that I would just take it slowly to get the miles in.

It started out cold and windy but not as cold or windy or rainy or snowy as my friend were having it at Lake Placed - so it was all good.  The weather actually turned out perfect!  Sunny, a bit windy, but definitely not cold...PERFECT.

I took the hills as they came...surprising myself at climbing what once would have been an impossible climb for me.  Even though I was doing 2 or 3 miles an hour...I decided that the pain of muscle cramping did NOT outweighed the pain of falling over =) and so I continued....slowly, slowly....

The downhills were totally worth it!!  For all my friends who did 48, 64 or 70 or 96!  Kudos to you..Those hills are NO JOKE!

Sunday's swim was a success too...b/c I learned some things...

1. I can swim...and I can swim comfortably in my wet suit now

2. I need to go to swim practice, b/c even though I can swim, 3 miles was TOUGH!

3. No more swims in my Team Z onesie!! OUCH...it chaffs... (so I guess I won't need the lipo after all...just a new suit!)

4. Team Z rocks!

I decided NOT to run today b/c my muscles were still kind of twitchy from yesterday...I will try to run tomorrow before work.  I'm so thankful this is recovery week!!! If this is the build for a 1/2 Ironman!!  OMG...i'm dreading, but excited to push myself for the Ironman builds (I may regret I said that!!!)

One other thing...my house if FINALLY being painted, repaired and otherwise spiffed up.  NOT the best week for it b/c of work...but I'll take it..Excited to see the finished product.!

The frustration of a calf that won't heal...b/c I have no idea what is wrong with it.....

Rather than whine...I'm just gonna say it once...I'm REALLY, really frustrated with my calf and not knowing what the issue is.....I have rested, stretched, and used it...gotten a massage, ART and more resting and stretching...It no longer twitches just by walking or going up and down stairs, but it won't let me get past one freaking mile........

I was so incredibly tired today too...is it the heat...the humidity.....still responding to the gluten "fest" i had last week that caused the migraine....I don't know...I just know that its WAY too early to be feeling this fatigued.

Work is stressing me out too....not enough babies..too many babies...sick babies....cranky staff....ugh..I love my job..I love when I'm there, but I sure hate getting there!!  These next few weeks will be another test in mental /physical toughness of another kind...One that I may need to get used too as our work schedules change....3 days a week of work plus call for the next 3 or 4 weeks...I know, I know...for those who work 3 regularly, or 5 days a week....it doesn't seem like much...but 13 hours nights, 3 x week really cuts into any good quality training time.  I do go to the gym on my training days even If I have worked the night before..and I get through the workout...but its not really a quality workout....and then...i'm tired for two days....I must figure this out though b/c its only going to (not get worse) but be MORE like this......I am going back to day shifts for awhile.....so this should help....

Now i'm just musing...really...things are going well..i'm able to ride and swim.....(but I will admit i'm a bit lucy goosey on the swim haha)...and the run will come again...at least I can continue walking.....even when the calf hurts....

Nothing profound here..just ramblings...talking myself out of being frustrated...being grateful for what I can do..and realizing that I have time to worry about my leg...

Riding in the Rain!

Yesterday's ride was my longest ride (since I did 100 miles on a mountain bike PC (pre - convent). We did 2 laps of 33 miles so the second time I around I knew what I was getting myself into.  Nokesville is really a very nice ride except...well...NOKESVILLE folks...LOVE their trucks!!!  And they love to rev them up while they are passing you at breakneck speed!!!  No worries, though...we all did well.

I had such great partners in crime yesterday, Eric, Mairead, Carol and Lucy road with me, while we had Lisa waiting for us at the park if we should need anything.

I will admit, during the first 6-10 miles of the road I was a new kind of miserable.  There wasn't a dry spot on my body. The rain was coming down so hard I couldn't see.  I had to take off my glasses but that led to water getting sprayed into my face. If you rode too close to the person in front of you, the "plume" of water coming off their bike tire landed directly in your

lap....ah well...here's where the mental toughness drill comes in.  I totally was trying to talk myself INTO and OUT of riding the second loop.  But dang it...all this training is actually paying off and at the end of the first loop, although I was soaked and cold and I could not really feel my feet, I definitely had another 33 miles in me....so out we went again.

Thanks to Eric and Lucy, the second loop "seemed" faster than the first although the trusty Garmin said were were slightly slower.  Lucy and I are blaming that on the Nokesville Day parade....we had to ride VERY slowly the last mile or so in order to avoid all the people who weren't really paying any attention to where they were going..

And of course, by the time we finished....the rain stopped.

It was another great training ride. For me, though, it seems to be more about outside temperature than actual rain.  I love riding in 60 degree weather...Florida is NOT going to be 60 degrees (unless the "global warming" trend keeps up). Personally, I'm praying for a cold front!

OK..haha..two posts in one day....well, I just figured out how to post this on FB by copying the link and I had forgotten what I had named the link...thegiftisinthejourney...

so...it IS what it IS..and THAT is a GIFT!!!  What a precious gift it is to be able to physically accomplish these things no matter the speed....with bumps along the way and with GREAT friends....this is NOT about winning..but about doing something I (we) never thought we could accomplish..

Thanks for being there with me..walking/running/crawling/swimming/biking by my side...thanks for allowing me to swim/bike/run/crawl/bike by your side too!!!  Its the journey!! and I AM grateful!!  Thanks for reminding me!

Post Aqua Bike blues

Ok..so this wasn't my best weekend.  I felt totally unorganized and a bit stressed about the swim and the rain...I really didn't want to ride in the rain.  I am a good swimmer...but I'm not a fast swimmer...I know that...I don't panic in the water....but I don't kick either..haha...I can't decided if its the wet suit, the swells (they weren't that big), my sighting or that I'm just NOT a great OWSwimmer.....sigh...and then...there's the bike....I really thought I would be better this time...new bike, working hard...but I can't seem to get out of that 15mph range....the hills still get me every time..and my quads and hammies start almost from the beginning bothering me.....I obviously didn't eat enough on the bike...well, eating is a relative term b/c I don't eat on the bike..but i didn't drink enough..though I never felt really thirsty....I guess the good thing is that even though I was happy that I didn't have to run when I was done..it thought maybe I "could" run, which is an improvement.

I guess I'm just mad at myself for not losing enough weight...not being FAST at anything...frustrating and beginning to really worry about Florida.

I was beginning to see great improvement, if not in speed, then in endurance with my run until my calf started acting up.  It actually feels pretty good today as does my foot so I will try and run a bit tonight...and maybe stay for boot camp...we'll see.

I think, really, that I set too high of a goal for myself...at least for the bike...i don't even figure the math out in my head..i just think about what I WANT to do..and then think I can do it...but really..that would be an improvement of OVER 5mph..and that's pretty much not gonna happen.

I'm really nervous about the flat bike too.  My time in aero is painful..hoping I can work on those muscles in my neck....bi weekly massages will just have to be on my "to do" list as will the chiropractor....love my chiropractor..haha..she's the only one I rust to adjust my neck!!!

ok, enough bemoaning the weekend.....I don't have another tri until the Half in Williamsburg...until then...swim on....swim on...and work on the bike....must....get....on....the....trainer...in...aero.....