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My Journey (triathlon)

Today I Will...

Encourage individuals to participate in their lives
through learning, experience, and thinking big,
to change their world, their life, their future.

My Path (run)

Hi. My name is Stephanie: Ironman 70.3 wannabe. Competitive by nature, strong-willed by genes and driven by time, I have developed this magnanimous passion for more. More than what I have, more than what I am, more than who I can be.

Being a risk taker with the attitude: “just do it” led me to this point. I am here as a mother, teacher, wife and individual. I knew I wanted to tackle the challenge of an Ironman 70.3 even before it was mentioned. Striving for a high level of excellence is a daily goal as I model for my children and students the ability to possess and choose the necessary skills leading to success.

It’s common to think that “one can’t do”, when all reality, “anyone can do”. Achieving any level of success requires an “I can” attitude. I get up at 4:00 in the morning to exercise because I can, not because I have to. On this premise,

I run…because I can.
I bike…because I can.
I swim…because I can.
I want to be a triathlete…because I can.
I want to encourage others…because I can…so they can.

My life goal is to be an endurance
athlete with a balanced life.

My Cadence (bike)

My Plan of Action (POA) with fierce resolve is to:

• Complete an Ironman 70.3 in 2008.
  
• Be a model of discipline to the feat of a challenge.
• Spread the “I can” attitude.
• Encourage and coach the youth about what “can” be.
• Maximize the time I set aside for training.
• Make every moment with my family magnanimous in quality
  
• Dedicate any accomplishment and success to my family.

My Stroke (swim)

A weekend is forever to a hungry child as he/she waits for the most nutritious meal they will receive that day: school lunch. This hungry child will tend to experience difficulty in the classroom as their mind is not on learning, but on when they get to eat. To help fight this hunger, the Lincoln Food Bank has distributed over 600 backpacks each week to children in need. Each backpack is filled with enough food to provide 5-10 meals. The cost of a backpack is $150 a year. A lot less than what I will pay to compete in an Ironman 70.3 event.

To make difference, involving people from young to old, I am currently in the process of planning a bike ride promoting donations to the area Backpack Program. The ride will consist of various distances including a “wee ride” so children can participate to support their peers. My current goal is to raise enough funds to support 100 backpacks going home with children each week to feed their family. Timeline for the ride is in the Fall of 2008.

I am a "can do" thinker, "can do" doer, "can do" believer in all. I dare you to watch this video: 212 Degrees and start believing in what you can do too!

Agua

This is what (part) I'm drinking today ~ 1L. Do I need to put a roll of t.p. next to it? LOL







am workout: 5 mile run (8 fartleks - 2 min ea)

28 Days....

For a period of 28 days I am giving up the following:

• creamer for my morning coffee - omg how I love my morning coffee; I'm crying already, all black.
  
• soda - I usually don't even drink one a day, but it sounded good to give up
• ice cream - I LOVE ice cream! it is nothing for me to down a 1/2 gallon in less than 2 days! can you say ~ oink oink
• sweets - I'm a sweet freak! cake, cinnamon rolls, licorice, dots, sour cherry balls, etc.
  

Why? you ask...well... I'm working my a$$ off training for a 1/2 marathon and a couple of triathlons, plus I just want to look d*mn good in my clothes. I'm pushing the seams a little, could be because I'm lifting 4 days a week, however, it's just a plain good idea to get back to a healthy "me".

I'm adding more of the following to my daily routine:

• water
• water
• water

Lately I just haven't been drinking enough water. Y? have no clue. Just because I guess.

So here I go...wish me luck, cheer me on, root for me I'll keep you posted. My 28 days start tomorrow - May 12, 2008.

am workout = weights: triceps, shoulders, chest
pm workout = 10 min easy run, 20 min tempo run, 10 min easy run

Got energy?

pm workout: weights - legs, back, biceps; 45 min spin - hill sprints

Don't Ask

Imagine my surprise when I looked down and noticed my running apparel didn't match. hmmmm Result of the time change? too much sleep? not enough sleep? YIKES!






workout = 10 mile run

Workout Day

Sleep: slept in until 7:30 - felt soooooo good!
Hot Tub: 15 min after protein drink after workout - even better than sleepin' in.
Graduate Work: Chapter 4 done! Chapter 5 and part of 6 to go.
House Work: 4 peeps laundry - many stinky loads!
Dinner: grilled chicken, stir-fried veggies

Bloody Maria
1.5 oz tequila
2 oz tomato juice
Dash of tobasco sauce, worchestershire & lemon











a.m. workout = 60 min spin
p.m. workout = 3.37 mile run - average pace=8:43

Check this out...

How awesome is this? Kudos kudos kudos

Marathon hopeful, 101-year-old, training hard

a.m workout: weights - chest & shoulders

Story Book

Can you narrate?

"Getting Things Done"

I came across this post while perusing info on 43 Folders.

So you sprint from fire to fire, praying you haven’t forgotten anything, sapped of anything like creativity or even the basic human flexibility to adapt your own schedule to the needs of your friends, your family or yourself. Your “stuff” has taken over your brain like a virus now, dragging down every process it touches and rendering you spent and virtually useless. Sound familiar?

So how does Getting Things Done work? 43 Folders offers a quick version:

1. identify all the stuff in your life that isn’t in the right place (close all open loops)
2. get rid of the stuff that isn’t yours or you don’t need right now
3. create a right place that you trust and that supports your working style and values
4. put your stuff in the right place, consistently
5. do your stuff in a way that honors your time, your energy, and the context of any given moment
6. iterate and refactor mercilessly

Go check it out. I dare you to simplify your life somehow, someway...today. I'll keep you posted on how its working for me. Now go workout! :)

a.m. workout: 30 minute tempo run; weights - legs and back
p.m. workout: swim 2000 yds

Ramblings

As I was sitting on the edge of the tub shaving my legs - double workouts tomorrow, can't be looking hairy - and a bazillion thoughts running through my head (this is a usual process for me) I stop at one thought: Why am I doing all this?

It all boils down to this: It's never to late to be what you might have been.

I developed a sense of athleticism my freshman year in high school. I ended up with a collegiate scholarship to a private college to play basketball. Always wanting to be better and better, I never worked beyond "my" best. I know that might not make sense to you, but I knew in my heart what I needed to do, but my brain didn't quite implement the fact that it had to follow. So, I was never more than "my" best - the result of the efforts of what I was doling out at the time.

I ended up quitting the team after two years and have regretted it ever since. I didn't take the opportunity I had to prove to myself that I could do what it is I had in my heart to do.

I laid low for many years with that "athlete" still lurking in my midst. I played volleyball, pick-up basketball, did some biking - actually quite a bit of biking and a few other things, like running, but never quite got the nerve to attempt to excel again for fear that I would let myself down.

This fear led to waiting. So, I waited. Waited for what I'm not sure. I think I thought just one day out of the blue, I would all of a sudden be this great athlete that I had always wanted to be. I then went stagnant. For 5 years I did nothing but walk. Then frustration set in. I had two kiddos in tow in addition to a few pounds. All I could do was work, parent and walk. I walked because I was frustrated that I couldn't do anything else. I was frustrated it was difficult for me to spend the time necessary to be an endurance athlete.

Then one day I took a spin class. I walked out of the spin room, sweaty from head to toe wondering what it was that just happened. Unbelievable. I really wasn't sure what I just did or if I really wanted to go back. But, I went back. I went back because it was the drive and the intensity of this phenomenal force that was waiting to be revived in my soul. All it took was one crank of the fly wheel.

Soon, all I was doing was spinning. I loved the intensity of each workout. So much so that now all I wanted to do was be an instructor. So, I became a spinning certified instructor. I spun and spun and spun for 3 years, then one day I decided to run again. No more walking. I was going to run and spin.

Fabufantistico! The urge was back to be that athlete.

Early last summer, on a whim - where the whim came from I don't have a clue - but I competed in a mountain-bike event. I had just come off of running the 1/2 marathon and of course I was still spinning and I had a new road bike that I started to rack up the miles with, so I thought what the heck. I had nothing to lose, but a little pride, but at 39 I was mature enough to handle it.

All geared up we pre-rode the course. Nothing but a riot. Race time came and my game plan was to just finish. I hung back, not knowing what to expect, nor wanting to hold anybody back in the event I was super slow. So here I am, oblivious to what happened next. The gun blew and we were off. Being the competitor that I am, I cranked my pedals as hard as I could go, but I had placed myself so far back, I had a lot of people to pass before entering the single-track area. To make a long story short, I took 2nd. IF, I had started the race with no fears, I have no doubt I would've took 1st. Needless to say I made that my challenge.

I did several MTB races last summer and respectively took 1st and 2nd. I loved the thrill of the ride, the challenge of the track and found in me, a piece of an athlete I always wanted to become.

The frustration, the walks, the spinning and the race all have led me to where I am right now in my journey of being "that athlete". Like I stated above, it's never to late to be what you might have been. I'm here and it's not too late and I strive to be.

I am now in the leg of my journey to "tri to be".

Zeroed Out

Zeroing in on this much-desired passion of mine has lent itself to creating a disciplined avoidance of any and all other responsibilites.

I really, really don't want to (with a lot of "but I's"):

• work - but I need $$$ to pay for the tri's
  
• clean - but I need clean dishes to eat my healthy food off of
  
• do laundry - but I need clean workout clothes
  
• shop for groceries - but I need to eat
  
• finish my research paper - but I graduate May 18
  

Right now I would rather:

• train
  
• sleep
  
• eat "clean"
  
• polish workout plan
  
• train some more
  
• shop for workout clothes
  
• sleep some more
  
• train again
  
• research tris on the web
  
• blog
  
• train, yet...some more
  

So, I've created 10 FOCUS POINTS for the week.

1. Feed the dog.
2. Pluck eyebrows (husbands)
3. Shave.
4. Oooh over hubbys muscles (instead of mine)
5. Feed the kids something other than cereal, poptarts & leftovers.
6. Work on research paper instead of playing with the Garmin.
7. Wash dress clothes FIRST instead of workout clothes.
8. Have a martini instead of a protein drink. (OK, after the protein drink)
9. Buy hubby boxers instead of underarmor (for me of course).
10. Tell family I LOVE them! (Sherpa's in training)