See You at the Finish Line

2010 in review/Goals for 2011

2011-01-04T11:44:00.009-06:00

3/14/10 - St. Patty's Day 5-K (cool, windy)

26:32 (8:34 mile pace)

228/596 total runners

2/9 in age group

3/21/10 -Shamrock Shuffle (Chicago)

45:15 (w/ knee injury)

8393/25559 total runners

2692/14043 females

21/203 in age group

3/28/10 - Ocean Drive Marathon, Cape May County, NJ

4:45 finish (knee very sore)

5/01/10 - Illinois Full Marathon, Champaign

Only completed 13 miles of race, accompanied friend to hospital

6/26/10 - Seattle Marathon, Seattle, WA

4:43 finish (hilly course and lots of concrete)

2306/4080 total runners

928/2019 females

11/59 in age group

7/03/10 - Sea to Shining Sea Bike Ride

28 mile ride from Canton to Pekin

7/04/10 - Park to Park 5 Mile

44:00 finish

264/576 total runners

72/246 females

1/7 in age group

7/06/10 - Sea to Shining Sea Bike Ride

65 miles from Bloomington to Champaign

7/11/10 - Missoula, MT Marathon

4:34

798 overall

303/582 females

9th in age group

7/18/10 - Biking with Beanzie, DeKalb, IL

50 mile ride

7/20/10 - Sea to Shining Sea Bike Ride

Ride through Washington D.C. to Arlington Cemetery

7/21/10 - Sea to Shining Sea Bike Ride

Washington D.C. to Fredricksburg

Very hilly, hot

60 miles

7/22/10 - Sea to Shining Sea Bike Ride

Fredricksburg to Richmond, VA

Still hilly & hot

65 miles

7/23/10 - Sea to Shining Sea Bike Ride

Richmond, VA to Yorktown

Approx. 60 miles

7/24/10 - Sea to Shining Sea Bike Ride

70 miles from Yorktown to Virginia Beach

105 actual temp, 113 heat index

8/21/10 - Mahomet 1/2 Marathon

2:04 (very hot & humid)

170/366 total runners

1st in age group

10/17/10 - Newport, RI Marathon

4:28 (breezy & hilly course)

642/1009 total runners

228/444 females

15/44 in age group

10/30/10 - Screaming Pumpkin Marathon

@ night through cemetery (very dark & hilly)

Goals/Races for 2011

1/08/11 - Jackson, Mississippi Marathon

1/23/11 - Elk Grove Village Indoor Sprint Triathlon

2/20/11 - Austin, Texas Marathon

4/02/11 - Lincoln 1/2 Marathon, Springfield

4/10/11 - Chicago Shamrock Shuffle 5 mile

4/30/11 - Illinois Marathon, Champaign, IL

5/15/11 - Wilmington, Delaware Marathon

6/04/11 - Tri-Shark Sprint Triathlon

6/19/11 - Cutting Edge 1/2 Classic, Effingham, IL

7/16/11 - Evergreen Lake Olympic Distance Triathlon

7/17/11 - Biking with Beanzie Ride

9/03/11 - Great Illini Challenge 1/2 Iron Distance Triathlon

10/??/11 - Portland, Maine Marathon (?)

10/15/11 - Hartford, CT Marathon (?)

10/??/11 - Marine Corps Marathon

Where have I been lately?

2010-08-16T11:41:00.007-05:00

The picture above was taken in Washington D.C. I am pictured next to Ambassador Jerry Bremer (1st ambassador to Iraq) who was one of the S2SS riders.

June 26th - Seattle Marathon (hilly & last 17 miles were concrete).
4:43 finish time
2306/4080 total runners
928/2019 total females
11th/59 in age group

My time was certainly not stellar, but I had quite a few things on my t0-do-list post marathon. We hiked part of Mt. Ranier, drove the Whistler Village in British Columbia, where we went on a 5-zip line experience. The 4th zip line was 20 stories up in the air, 2000 ft long and 55 mph! Whee! Our stay in Whistler Village also included a couple of runs in the beautiful forested area of Whistler Mountain, sightings of bears, and wonderful food!

July 3rd - Rode from Canton to Pekin with the Sea to Shining Sea riders (disabled veterans riding from San Francisco beginning on May 22nd to Virginia Beach on July 24th). Check out the website S2SSbikeride.org for bios of these amazing veterans/athletes.

July 4th - Park to Park 5 mile race (very hot & humid)
44 minutes
264/576 total runners
72/246 total females
1/7 in age group

July 6th - Rode from Bloomington to Champaign (approx 65 mi) with S2SS riders.

July 11th - Missoula, Montana Marathon - very hilly marathon, hot day (90 in pm)
4:34 finish time
798/1301 total runners
303/582 females
9th in age group

July 18th - Biking with Beanzie Ride in DeKalb (very hot - mid 90's), 50 miles

July 20th - flew to Washington D.C. to join last 5 days of S2SS ride. Rode 20 miles through Arlington National Cemetery, Tomb of Unknown Soldier

July 21st - 60 miles from D.C. to Fredricksburg, VA (very hot & hilly ride)

July 22nd - 70 miles from Fredricksburg to Richmond, VA (still hilly & getting hotter)

July 23rd - 70 miles from Richmond to Yorktown, VA (extreme heat/humidity - over 100)

July 24th - final 70-mile leg into Virginia Beach. Air temperature 105, heat index 113+

Engage the Core

2010-03-09T12:05:00.007-06:00

My husband gave me a "Bosu ball" (balance trainer) as a belated Valentine's gift. I had mentioned that I would like to have one, and he picked up on the hint.

Today I did my first complete Bosu workout. Not only was it a great workout, but I found a rather fascinating correlation between the Bosu ball and my coaching practice. Both focus on balance.

The instruction booklet includes this description, written by the inventor, David Weck:

"Achieving better physiological balance can act as a catalyst toward transforming your sense of balance into a state of mind as well. The only thing that is certain about life is change. Nothing is static - on the athletic field, in school, at home, or in the office, your ability to improvise and adjust to the ever changing set of given circumstances has an enormous impact on your degree of personal fulfillment."

So, I hopped on the Bosu ball to complete the 10 exercises. There was no option other than to be focused on the present moment.

Much of my work as a Life Coach focuses on compelling purpose - continually bringing my clients back to their core - what is most important, what is it that awakens them and allows them to live life full out? If your core is not engaged, life will not be as fulfilling. Engaging the core and maintaining balance are necessary to obtain your full potential.

So, what happens if you start to lose your balance while on the Bosu ball?

1) If you start to lose your balance, sometimes you can take a moment, focus, readjust, and get yourself centered again, staying on the ball.

2) Sometimes you aren't able to stay on the ball, but you are able to safely step off. This gives you an opportunity to step back on the ball again, with renewed focus and balance. (Or, you could choose not to get back on again, waiting for another day.)

3) The last possibility is that you completely lose your balance and fall off the ball.

Just like in life.

2010 Race Schedule

2010-01-29T10:45:00.007-06:00

It's probably time to start thinking about my race schedule for 2010. Here is the tentative schedule:

Sunday, March 21st - Shamrock Shuffle (Chicago) 8-K
Sunday, March 28th - Ocean Drive Marathon (Cape May County, NJ)
Saturday, April 3rd - Lincoln Memorial 1/2 Marathon (Springfield, IL)
Saturday, May 1st - Illinois Marathon (Champaign, IL)
Saturday, May 8th - Indy Mini Half Marathon (Indianapolis, IN)
Saturday, June 12th - Viborg, SD Marathon or, Mattoon Olympic Distance Triathlon
Saturday, June 26th - Seattle Marathon (Seattle, WA)
Sunday, July 4th - Park to Park 5 Mile
Sunday, July 11th - Missoula, MT Marathon ??
Saturday, July 17th - Evergreen Olympic Distance Triathlon
Saturday, July 31st - Steelhead 1/2 Ironman Triathlon
Saturday, August 22nd - Pigman 1/2 Iron Distance Triathlon
Sunday, October 3nd - Portland, Maine Marathon
Sunday, November 14th - Outer Banks Marathon, Outer Banks, NC

2009 Race Reflections

2010-01-04T14:25:00.010-06:00

Photo above taken 10/22/09 - Maddox just released from hospital with H1N1, I'm starting to get it when this photo was taken. How can such a sweet little baby boy, get me so sick?

January highlights:

1/10-1/11 Goofy Challenge - 1/2 marathon on Sat. (2:05), full marathon next day on Sun. (4:49)

Returned to pool workouts

Returned to indoor trainer rides

Returned to Yoga Wednesdays

February highlights:

First grandson Maddox arrived on Feb. 10th

Ran in lots of snow

Foot injury (tenosynovitis)

Continued pool workouts and trainer rides

March highlights:

Granddaughter Ella turned 3 on March 2nd

Training hard for Boston Marathon (ran hills in early morning in Downs)

Continued pool workouts, trainer rides, Yoga Wednesdays

April highlights:

4/04 Ran Springfield 1/2 marathon (2:00:42), 2nd place in age group, 128th out of 479 females

Granddaughter Nora arrived on April 6th

4/11 Ran Illinois 1/2 marathon in Champaign (2:01:03), 3rd in age group, 546 out of 2095 females

Granddaughter Madison's 4th birthday on April 15th

4/20 Ran the Boston Marathon (4:36) on 4/20

May highlights:

5/02 Ran Indy 1/2 marathon (1:58), 28th in age group (723), 2121 out of 15,890 total females

Outdoor bike rides resume

Outdoor swims resume

June highlights:

6/06 Tri-Shark Triathlon (Sprint distance), 3rd place in age group

First long outdoor ride (Interplanetary Ride) 60 miles

Hamstring injury while doing yard work

July highlights:

Hamstring injury took me out of the 4th of July Park to Park 5 mile race

70 mile outdoor ride, 105 mile ride (Biking with Beanzie), 80 mile ride (Tour de DeWitt)

Saw lots of corn on long bike rides

August highlights:

70 mile bike ride (Mendota Sweet Corn Festival Ride)

68 mile bike ride (Mahomet C-U Across the Prairie)

Madison (WI) Open Water Swim 1.2 miles, 3rd place in age group

September highlights:

9/11 Patriot's Run (Marathon) in Olathe, Kansas - in memory of 9/11, noon start, 90 degrees, 1st female overall

Ran with lots of aphids most of the month - yuk!

Training for St. George, Utah Marathon - lots of hill training

October highlights:

10/03 St. George, Utah Marathon (4:11), Boston qualifying time, 17th in age group (111)

Hiking in Zion National Park & Bryce Canyon

Trainer rides resume

Maddox in hospital with H1N1 on 10/19

I get H1N1 on 10/21 and spend the next 3 weeks sick

November highlights:

11/01 Ran the Manchester, NH Marathon while still sick, dropped out at the 1/2, walked back to hotel, decided to jump back in, finished 28.2 miles in 5:05. Felt terrible, but finished.

Ran Thanksgiving Day 3 mile Turkey Trot (1st in age group)

Began group indoor trainer rides, return to weight training, P90x, Yoga Wednesday

December highlights:

Lots of focus on weight training, group indoor trainer rides

Enjoying Christmas with grandchildren

Sledding with Ella & Madison

Marathons completed in 35 states. 65 total marathons. Goal date for completing marathons in all 50 states, plus DC - end of 2011.

St. George Marathon Race Report

2009-10-14T09:11:00.006-05:00

Finish time: 4:11:14 (Boston qualifying time)
Overall place: 2991/5636
Gender place: 1062/2473
Division place: 17/111

This was my second time running the St. George Marathon. The weather was certainly better this year. It was quite chilly at the start. My pre-race preparations did not go exactly as I would have liked. The porta-potty line we chose to stand in took almost 1/2 hour to move through. This allowed just barely enough time to run over to the gear check area, remove my warm-up clothes, and get in the start corral. I prefer to have a calmer pre-race experience.

I decided to run with the 4:15 hour pace group, led by Jodi (male runner who had paced the same group last year). I did make some changes in my race strategy. Last year I pulled ahead of the group on the big hill (Veyo Canyon). This year because of my hamstring injury which had been bothering me since July, I decided to take it easier on the uphills. I knew that running uphill might strain my hamstring, so I wanted to run smart.

When I reached Mile 16, I remembered how miserable I was at that point in last year's race. Due to the cold, wind and rain, I was almost hypothermic at that point and my race goal was definitely in jeopardy. This year, although my training was not as solid, I knew that I was feeling better than last year. I decided to stick with the pace group until Mile 20 and then pull ahead if I was feeling good.

I did exactly that. Although my quads were feeling the effects of the downhills, I knew I could run that last 6 miles hard. I knew I had plenty of cushion to make the Boston qualifying time, so I just focused on how many people I could pass in those remaining miles. No one passed me during the last 6 miles of the race.

Biking & Babies

2009-08-12T09:50:00.004-05:00

In between long bike rides and other Ironman related training, I've also been spending time with my four grandchildren. The picture above is of Ella (age 3) and Nora (age 4 months). During my last two organized bike tours I got lost due to poor road markings and maps. When I'm with my grandchildren, I'm never lost. I know exactly where I am and it's always exactly where I want to be. They are truly a delight! Ella can certainly pedal her Big Wheel at a furious pace. I think she might be able to out ride me in a few years. I look forward to bike adventures with all of my grandchildren.

Here are the details of my most recent rides - The Tour DeWitt (Clinton, IL) and Mendota Sweet Corn Festival Ride (Mendota, IL). I certainly am seeing a lot of the rural countryside of Illinois. Illinois has a lot of corn and beans!

The Tour DeWitt ride (July 25th) had a few logistical problems. The course map was very small and had no road names or numbers on it. Eventually after noticing we were circling back around Clinton Lake rather than heading in the proper direction, we realized we were off the course. The map was so poor there was really no way to figure out how to get back on course. So, we called the sag wagon number provided on the map. Within about 10 minutes, one of the ride organizers arrived to transport us back to where we got off course. He apologized for the delay in getting to us - first he had to pick up another lost rider and then he had to go mark the turn which had not been marked properly. After we began riding again, we quickly noticed all the road markings had been redone. Now instead of the little tiny arrows in dark green (very difficult to see on the dark pavement), the new markings were much larger and in neon green.

The day was still long due to a very stiff headwind on the entire ride back. In addition, the rest stops had no Gatorade, only Country Time Lemonade. This might sound refreshing to a spectator, but for runners or cyclists, Gatorade is a necessity especially in heat and humidity. There were no sources of salt at the rest stops - no pretzels, no trail mix, etc. Luckily I did have some Endurolyte tablets and those helped save the day. One of our fellow cyclists suggested black arrows for next year's ride to give the cyclists a great challenge.

The post-ride lunch was pretty good and the free massage was wonderful! At the end of the day I had ridden 80 miles with a lot of it into strong winds.

The next organized ride was the Mendota Sweet Corn Festival Ride (August 8th). The ride started at the Mendota Community Hospital and offered three different routes, each circling back to the hospital for access to additional fluids and food. The ride organizers suggested doing the 42 mile loop first because it was the hilliest and the return was into a headwind most of the time. As we started riding, the course appeared to be very well marked, with large arrows well in advance of the turns, arrows right at the corners and a template marking with ears of corn marking the turns as well. After about 5-6 miles of riding we were comfortable enough with the course markings that we stopped referring to our maps. That turned out to be a mistake when we eventually bumped into roads without any markings at all. After referring to our maps, we realized that we were again lost and off course. This time, however, because the maps were good we were able to get ourselves back on course and finish the loop within a 1/2 mile of the 42 mile distance. Getting back on course did involve riding about 4 miles on a fairly busy rural highway and a brush with a large semi truck who came far too close for comfort. Due to the windy conditions, our bikes were really buffeted as he came flying by us at a speed well over the speed limit. And no, he certainly did not give us the 3-feet as required by law now in Illinois.

My riding partner decided 42 miles was enough. The weather conditions were extraordinarily challenging. The temperatures were expected to be in the mid-90's with a heat index of over 100, a strong winds. We were already feeling the effects of the heat, humidity, hills and strong wind. I decided to go out for another loop, choosing the 25-mile loop option.

My partner graciously offered to wait for me until I returned. As she waited, she noticed the sky getting darker. Yes, I did encounter rain, but no thunder or lightning, so it was ok. Then she noticed an ambulance pull into the hospital with a husband and wife cyclist. They had been on the 25-mile loop, and encountered an aggressive dog. Apparently the wife ran into her husband as he tried to come up with a strategy for dealing with the dog. Both riders and the dog were involved in the crash. The dog fared better than the two riders, as it trotted off. Two more cyclists came back in from the 25-mile loop with reports of encountering this dog. Needless to say, my riding partner was quite concerned.

I returned safely. I never did see the dog. At the end of this 25 mile loop (with a add on of 3 miles) I finished the day with 70 miles in very challenging conditions. It was enough to call it a day. I also knew that the next morning's schedule called for an 11-mile run, a swim, and my favorite activity of more time with grandchildren.

Biking with Beanzie

2009-07-20T14:45:00.002-05:00

On Sunday I completed 105 miles of riding during the "Biking with Beanzie" organized bike ride. The ride started at the DeKalb High School and offered course options of 23, 46, 64 or 105 miles. The 105 mile route took us through Lake Shabbona State Park and the Lee County windmill farm. It also took us over many gently rolling hills. I've learned that gently rolling in cycling terms has about as much credibility as marathon courses that are described as fast and flat.

A couple of highlights from the ride: I purchased two adorable little rubber ducks (one for Madison and one for Ella) with the Beanzie beanie hat w/ propeller on top of their heads. I figured it would be good luck to carry these lucky ducks with me on the ride, so they went into the bag under my seat. Poor little ducks had to pedal those little legs like crazy!

Each participant also received a lovely bright pink shirt with the "Biking with Beanzie" logo in neon green. You can't miss me in that shirt.

At the first rest stop, I put my sunglasses on top of my helmet (which remained on my head), so that I could refill my fluid bottles. As Renee and I started riding again, I commented on how much brighter it seemed to be. I was thinking that the overcast skies were beginning to open up a bit. About 1 mile down the road I realized the sky was brighter, because, well the sky was brighter without my sunglasses. Just then a female came riding alongside of me and reported that my sunglasses had flown off the top of my helmet. I was about to turn around to go fetch them, when she said another rider was bringing them up to me. And sure enough, there he was, sunglasses in hand and passed off to me. I felt like I had a Team Car with me like the riders in the Tour de France.

And then, the peleton went flying by me. Ah yes, just like the Tour de France.

I also learned that a scenic tour through a state park means HILLS. Scenic? Yes. Flat? No!

After we exited the state park, we eventually faced a decision-making point. We could either turn right for the 46 or 64 mile routes, or go straight for the 105 mile course. We elected to go for the century ride. Game on!

One of the sections (between rest stops) was particularly difficult. It seemed to be one series of hills after another. Each turn would bring the hopeful anticipation that this new road would not be so hilly. Each turn greeted us with even more gently rolling hills. We were very glad to have that section over with and start heading back towards DeKalb.

On to the important information - SNACKS! Primarily I ate bagels with PB and jelly, with a few handfuls of trail mix and a few chips (for the salt). I tried to primarily eat the food I had with me on my bike, and just refill my bottles with Gatorade and water.

At our second to last rest stop we were at approximately mile 86. We were closing in on the 90 mile mark, but 100+ miles still seemed very far away. It didn't help to see a male rider declare that he was done for the day. We watched as he put his bike in the back of the pickup truck, and settled in the passenger seat for a ride back to the high school. There was only one thing to do - get back on those bikes and start riding.

My treat to myself after completing the ride? Starbuck's of course! Followed by a 2 hour drive home. It was a good day and a very well organized ride. I'll be back next year.

What's Most Important is Invisible

2009-07-08T08:36:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I found myself drawn into part of Michael Jackson's memorial service. I didn't expect to find myself engaged in watching it, but I was captured first by Brooke Shield's eulogy. She talked about the commonality she and Michael had as a result of being performers at a very young age. She talked about how they shared the experience of needing to be mature, focused, and constantly perform well. During the moments they spent together as friends (apparently they also dated for a short time) they most enjoyed laughing, being silly and not be so adult for a brief respite from their life as a performer.

Then Brooke shared a quote from the children's book "The Little Prince". I know I've read that book before although I don't recall being enthralled by it. The quote she shared was quite profound: "Eyes are blind. You have to look with the heart. What's most important is invisible."

It All Depends on Your Perspective

2009-06-04T11:22:00.003-05:00

I happened to take my 4-year old granddaughter, Madison, to Barnes & Noble yesterday to look at books. I have had a special fondness for children's books since my college children's literature class. I'm amazed at the lessons children's books can teach us. This book is no exception.

So, what did you see when you first looked at this book cover? A duck? Or, a rabbit? Myself? I saw a rabbit, of course, because that's what it is! Once you open up this book, you are immediately drawn into a friendly debate over which animal it is. There are two perspectives, one on the left-hand side of the book and one on the right-hand side of the book. Each perspective - the "duck perspective" and the "rabbit perspective" have data to support their viewpoint.

After all, the duck is starting to eat a piece of bread (located on the left-hand margin of the left page). The rabbit is starting to eat a carrot (located on the right-hand margin of the right page). The duck is clearly shown moving through the swamp grass, while the rabbit is clearly shown sitting in the grass of the field. The duck is making quacking sounds, while the rabbit is twitching its nose and sniffing the air. The duck is quite obviously flying, while the rabbit is quite obviously hopping.

Each side has enough data to support a fairly convincing argument. When I first started reading the book, I initially saw the carrot and overlooked the piece of bread. Once I saw the piece of bread, it did open up the possibility in my mind that it could be a duck. Naturally I continued looking for more data to support my original contention.

How often do we do this? We can be so attached to our view of things, our view of what is true, that it can actually obscure our vision of what else is true. In doing this, we might be living in a world of rabbits and missing all the ducks that are to be found as well.

Out of curiosity, which one did you see? I still think it is a rabbit! Madison thought it was a duck. You decide.

Where have I been? Stopping to hear the music and smell the flowers.

2009-05-19T08:29:00.008-05:00

My last post was on February 26th. Since that time many wonderful events have taken place. Our first grandson, Maddox, was born on February 10th (just a couple of weeks prior to that post). That began a series of very special occasions. I wrote a blog posting in my head many times. However, my heart was elsewhere. These pictures are really all that is needed to tell the story, but here are a few details.

Ella's 3 year birthday was celebrated on March 2nd.

Our daughter Lisa's best friend Lindsay's grandma died ("Grandma Helen" was the kind of grandma everyone should be blessed to have).

One of my best friend's father died unexpectedly from a heart attack (on a beautiful Sunday morning after going to church and out to breakfast).

I ran the hilly Springfield 1/2 Marathon.

Finish time 2:00:42
2/22 in age division
442/986 total runners
128/488 females

Ella welcomed a new little baby sister, Nora Grace, on April 6th.

I ran the Champaign 1/2 Marathon.

Finish time 2:01:03
3/72 in age division
1467/3755 total runners
546/2095 females

Madison's 4 year birthday was celebrated on April 15th

I ran the Boston Marathon (the competition is a little stiffer in Boston) on April 20th. Howard was, as usual, a wonderful support person AND he ran the Boston 5-K the day before the marathon. He also has a really cool Boston Marathon medal and shirt.

Finish time 4;36:17
220/294 in age division
20,254 overall place
8000 out of all females

April 26th - we attended the dedication for Nora Grace Gummerman at her church. Big sister, Ella, joined Nora, Mommy and Daddy on stage for the dedication.

I ran the Indianapolis 1/2 Marathon on May 2nd.

Finish time 1:58:41
28/723 in age division
7890/30,273 total runners
2121/15,890 females

The week of May 3rd-May 12th was spent enjoying Kristin & Adam's week-long visit from Vermont. Highlights included a road trip to Lisa & Gary's house in Chatham (to see Ella and new baby Nora), going to the Children's Discovery Museum with Madison, a train ride to Springfield to the Lincoln Museum, enjoying "eyeball ice cream" with the girls, attending a performance of Urinetown (Kristin was in this show in Vermont), and surviving the "family photo" experience. Adam captured some beautiful shots, both posed and candid, of our large family.

On May 17th Maddox Paul Schweizer was baptized at St. John's Lutheran Church. (Big sister, Madison, held the candle and did not burn down the church or catch anything on fire.)

As I reflect upon the events of the last three months, I am even more aware of the importance of stopping to smell the flowers, to enjoy the most precious things in my life. During these last three months there were two deaths and two births. There were two birthdays to celebrate. The most precious moments of our lives are happening right now - we just need to slow down enough to notice them.

If I happen to not post for another three months, I know certain things will happen. I will laugh and play with Madison and Ella. We'll share stories, sidewalk chalk, playing at water parks and eating eyeball ice cream. I will hold little Maddox (14 lbs at 3 months) and enjoy his smiles and giggles. I will hold beautiful little Nora (now 6 weeks old) and enjoy both her sweet nature and her amazing alertness. I'll swim, ride and run a little. I might even race a little. But most of all, I'll enjoy the beautiful music of life that my family makes.

Stop and Hear the Music

2009-02-26T11:26:00.008-06:00

My husband forwarded the following article to me a few days ago. He verified its authenticity on "Snopes", as he often receives e-mails that are not true. This is a true story that was featured in the Washington Post in 2007. The message is powerful.

"A man sat at a Metro subway station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any other recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the finest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Three days earlier, Bell had played to a full house at Boston's Symphony Hall, where fairly good seats went for $100. But on this day, he collected just $32.17 for his efforts, contributed by a mere 27 of the 1,070 passing travelers. Only seven people stopped to listen, and just one of them recognized the performer.

This is a true story. Washington Post writer, Gene Weingarten, enlisted the help of violin virtuoso, Joshua Bell, in conducting this social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. Joshua Bell played incognito in the L'Enfant Plaza station of the subway line in Washington, DC. on the morning of January 12, 2007.

The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate or inconvenient hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in the unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experiment could be: If we do not have the moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world play the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?"

The Washington Post won a Pulitzer in the feature writing category for this April 2007 article. You can read the full aricle by going to this link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

Or view the video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnOPu0_YWhw

Are you going to take the time to read the article or listen to the music?

Lessons From a Newborn Baby

2009-02-17T12:12:00.002-06:00

All 10 lbs and 3 oz of baby boy arrived on February 10th around 6:30 AM. Since his arrival, I've been thinking about what Maddox is already teaching me and what I would like to teach him. Here are my thoughts so far.

Lessons from Maddox:

Life is precious
We all need to feel loved and secure
Anything is possible if we pick ourselves up after we fall down (a baby keeps trying, after repeated failures, to take those first steps)
The world is full of wonderful new things if we take the time to notice them
A smile (even if it's just gas) can brighten someone's day
Being healthy is not something to take for granted
The best things in life are worth waiting for
Laughter and play are important even when you're a grownup

Lessons I hope to teach Maddox:

Reading opens up your mind and your heart and also opens up a whole world to you
You can change the world by even the small things that you do - smiling at someone, singing a song, reading a book, saying thank you....
It's important to stay true to yourself, to live an authentic life
People may forget what you said or what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel
Being active is important for you and those who love you, take care of your body
Be willing to challenge yourself physically and mentally
Imagination is where dreams begin
Be bold
Treat others the way you would like to be treated
Learning continues over your entire lifetime, be willing to be both a teacher and a student

Punxsutawney Phil and "Bouncing Baby Groundhog"

2009-02-04T08:46:00.005-06:00

This morning when I headed out for my 5.5 mile run, the temperature was 1 degree with a windchill of -17 degrees. I hold this cute furry creature responsible!

Monday, February 2nd was Groundhog's Day. Punxsutawney Phil reportedly saw his shadow, which means six more weeks of winter. I didn't realize that there is a Punxsutawney Groundhog club. Groundhog.org is the official site of the Punxsutawney groundhog club. I found the following fun facts about groundhogs:

Fun Facts About Groundhogs
The average groundhog is 20 inches long and normally weighs from 12 to 15 pounds.

Punxsutawney Phil weighs about 20 pounds and is 22 inches long.

Groundhogs are covered with coarse grayish hairs (fur) tipped with brown or sometimes dull red. They have short ears, a short tail, short legs, and are surprisingly quick. Their jaws are exceptionally strong.

A groundhog's diet consists of lots of greens, fruits, and vegetables and very little water. Most of their liquids come from dewy leaves.

A groundhog can whistle when it is alarmed. Groundhogs also whistle in the spring when they begin courting.

Insects do not bother groundhogs and germs pretty much leave them alone. They are resistant to the plagues that periodically wipe out large numbers of wild animals. One reason for this is their cleanliness.

Groundhogs are one of the few animals that really hibernate. Hibernation is not just a deep sleep. It is actually a deep coma, where the body temperature drops to a few degrees above freezing, the heart barely beats, the blood scarcely flows, and breathing nearly stops.

Young Groundhogs are usually born in mid-April or May, and by July they are able to go out on their own. The size of the litter is 4 to 9. A baby groundhog is called a kit or a cub.

A groundhog's life span is normally 6 to 8 years. Phil receives a drink of a magical punch every summer during the annual Groundhog Picnic, which gives him 7 more years of life. I'd like to find out more about this magical punch! I will also need to find out where the annual Groundhog Picnic is held.

You might wonder why I am especially interested in Groundhog's Day this year. Our daughter, Lauren, is expecting a baby any day. The official due date is February 7th. For Lauren, and the rest of us, the due date is not arriving fast enough.

Therefore, I've concluded that this baby looked out on Feb. 2nd, saw his shadow, and decided not to come out until spring arrives six weeks from now. We might have a "bouncing baby groundhog" rather than a bouncing baby boy.

Man on Wire

2009-02-03T13:30:00.005-06:00

"Movie and a Winter Trainer Ride" has begun again. From time to time, I will blog about a movie I've watched while on the trainer. This past Sunday I chose the movie "Man on Wire". It is an Academy Award-nominated 2008 documentary film based on Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center.

One of the first parts of the movie that struck me was when Philippe first developed his dream of the high-wire walk between the Twin Towers. The Twin Towers weren't even built yet. He saw a picture of the project in a magazine while waiting at a dentist office. He tore the picture out of the magazine and left the office. That was the beginning of his dream. His dream was based on something that wasn't even reality yet. That didn't matter to Philippe. His passion was enough to sustain his dream until it was possible to take place in reality.

The documentary was fascinating to watch in terms of how he planned everything. Rather than have wind be a reason not to walk, he planned for that possible obstacle. Philippe had members of his team bounce up and down while pulling on his practice wire to simulate windy conditions.

When Philippe actually began the walk across the wire, one of his team members (who was interviewed in the documentary) stated that he expected Philippe to take time to be sure everything was as it should be. Instead, Philippe knew as soon as he stepped on the wire that he would be successful. He was confident. He didn't let fear or self doubts get in his way.

I guess we're all on a wire in one way or another. In case you are looking for another source of inspiration for overcoming obstacles, here is a video that my good friend AJ posted on her blog. After viewing this, it is hard to have a good excuse for not trying regardless of how insurmountable the obstacle might seem.

http://www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html

Time for a Little Warmth - in the form of a new babies!

2009-01-26T08:54:00.003-06:00

This is a picture of my two granddaughters, Madison (age 3 1/2) and Ella (age 2 1/2), taken shortly before Christmas. Those are our excited faces! We are waiting.... and waiting.... and waiting for two new little babies. Madison is waiting for a little brother who is expected to arrive any day (official due date of Feb. 7th). Ella is waiting for either a little sister or brother who is expected to arrive on April 4th.

Winter in central Illinois has seemed especially cold, windy, snowy and icy so far. I've had my share of cold weather outside runs. I did a 4-mile run on Jan. 15th in 7" of new snow, -7 degree air temperature, with -31 degree wind chill. This past Saturday was an 11-mile run with an air temperature of 2 degrees and wind chill of -17. Enough. I'm ready to stay inside an cuddle a new baby! New babies have a way of warming your heart even if it is still winter in Illinois.

So.... Maddox and Baby Gummerman (wait about 8 weeks), Grandma is waiting and ready for both of you to get here.

Walt Disney World Marathon

2009-01-13T11:41:00.004-06:00

Half Marathon Results:
Finish time - 2:05
2555 overall out of 12,434 overall participants
866 out of 7181 females
20th out of 365 in age group

Marathon Results:
Finish time - 4:49
5926 overall out of 14,927 overall participants
2107 out of 7134 females
26th out of 193 in age group

4th overall out of Goofy Challenge participants in my age group. Full race report coming later.

The biggest challenges about the back-to-back races?

Getting up at 2:15 AM both mornings in order to meet the TNT team to catch the shuttle buses.
Tired feet and legs from walking around the Disney theme parks the day before and the day of the races.
The blister on my right foot which began on Saturday and progressively worsened on Sunday. I knew it was not a good thing when I could see the blood seeping through the top of my running shoe during the marathon. The top of my right foot (tendons) had been bothering me on both days.

The biggest motivators during the marathon?

Running with other Goofy Challenge runners who all helped motivate one another.
Passing runners during the marathon who were not doing the Goofy Marathon.
Wearing the TNT purple singlet and remembering how lucky I am to be healthy enough to run.

Definition of Grace

2009-01-05T10:27:00.002-06:00

We attended Saturday evening church this past weekend, as we often do. The sermon was about grace. One description of the meaning of grace caught our attention - "God's grace is based on the fact that there is nothing we can do that will make God love us less and there is nothing we can do that will make God love us more. God's love is a constant and a given, no matter what."

After pondering this over the past few days, it occurs to me that we don't do such a good job with demonstrating grace to those around us. As much as we might claim that our love is unconditional, constant and unwavering, the amount of love we feel for those in our lives does seem to flucuate from time to time.

I'm curious to know how our behavior, words and actions might be different if we are in one of those moments where we've never loved that person more vs. one of those moments where we are questioning our feelings.

Maybe a great New Year's resolution is to show more grace to those around me. Like many New Year's resolutions that fail, this isn't likely to succeed without a clear vision of specifically what that will look like. How will I know if I am showing more grace? How will those around me know? What will I be doing? Or not doing? What will those around be notice that is different?
I think I'm going to need a lot of God's grace with this one.

CNN Heroes of 2008

2008-12-30T08:29:00.007-06:00

My husband and I recently watched CNN's Heroes of 2008 on television. While all of the stories and the top 10 heroes were inspiring, one story in particular resonated with me. It is the story of a runner by the name of Anne Mahlum. The question she asked of herself; "Why am I running past these guys?", made me realize that we all run past things on a daily basis that we could choose to get involved with or make a difference. Here is Anne's story:

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- At 5 a.m. on any given day, Anne Mahlum could be found running the dark streets of Philadelphia -- with homeless men cheering her on as she passed their shelter. But one morning last spring, she stopped in her tracks.

"Running really is a metaphor for life," Anne Mahlum says. "You just have to take it one step at a time."

"Why am I running past these guys?" recalls Mahlum, 27. "I'm moving my life forward every day -- and these guys are standing in the same spot." Instead of continuing to pass them by, the veteran marathoner sprang into action so they could join her.

She contacted the shelter, got donations of running gear, and in July 2007 the "Back On My Feet" running club hit the streets. The first day, Mahlum led nine shelter residents in a mile-long run. Today, Back on My Feet has teams in three Philadelphia shelters, including 54 homeless members and more than 250 volunteers. The group has logged more than 5,000 miles.

Requirements for shelter residents to join are simple -- they must live in an affiliated facility and be clean and sober for 30 days. Members receive new shoes and running clothes, and teams run together three times a week between 5:30 and 6 a.m. The runners are diverse -- doctors, janitors, students and shelter residents -- but such distinctions aren't apparent.

"All you can tell is who's the fastest," says Mahlum. "You can't tell who's homeless and who's not." For Mahlum and others, Back On My Feet is more than a running club.

I could just file this away in my memory as a nice, compelling story. If Anne's story is indeed compelling, what am I compelled to do? How might I go about taking that one step at a time that Anne refers to in her story? That one step would begin with noticing what I do "run past" on a daily basis. How might I make a difference? What will that action step look like?

There are certainly many people in our society who are constantly passed by. What if we all decided to do things differently? What if we actually answered the question; "Who me?" or "When, now?" with a resounding "Yes!".

http://backonmyfeet.org/main/index.html

Reflective or Radiant

2008-12-23T07:12:00.004-06:00

A couple of days ago I read the following description of two types of people:

Reflective - people who take things in
Radiant - people who beam light out

Since the Christmas season is filled with shiny things, this thought captured my attention. Wouldn't it be wonderful to do both?

1) Your outward behavior is a direct reflection of the state your inner being
2) The people you tend to surround yourself with are a reflection of you
3) People may forget what you said or did, but they will always remember how you made them feel.

Christmas time seems to be a perfect time to reflect on what's most important and then let that shine to those around us.

Now on to a more serious topic. Do you like tinsel? I, for one, do not care for tinsel on the tree. Being a person who prefers things to be orderly, tinsel simply does not cooperate. Tinsel is not orderly! It manages to follow you everywhere, stuck to your clothing with static electricity. Naturally you find stray pieces of tinsel long after Christmas is over.

Maybe tinsel is trying to remind us of something important. Something to do with being both reflective and radiant in our lives.

Merry Christmas!

For those wondering about how tinsel came to be added to a Christmas tree....

The addition of tinsel as decoration comes from a legend about a poor old woman who was unable to provide decorations for her children's Christmas tree. During the night, spiders lodged in the tree and covered it with their webs. The Christ Child, seeing this, realized that the woman would be sad to see her surprise spoiled. He turned the spider webs into silver, and the next morning the poor family was dazzled by the brilliant "tinsel" that shone on the tree.

Tinsel was invented in Germany around 1610. At that time real silver was used, and machines were invented which pulled the silver out into the wafer thin strips. Though it was durable, it tarnished easily, so some attempt was made to make tinsel with lead and tin. This proved too heavy and breakable, so silver was actually used until the mid 20th century. Today, the tinsel we use is made generally of plastic.

Are You a Spotted Zebra or a Striped Zebra?

2008-12-16T08:16:00.003-06:00

In my continued reading of the presentations at the ICF (International Coach Federation) conference in Montreal, I came across the following description of a zebra:

"A spotted zebra is an individual who has discovered there is more to who they are than the stripes they were born with or have acquired, such as limiting beliefs or comfort zones."

State of the Union

2008-12-15T08:33:00.006-06:00

This is the time of year that I usually have my coaching clients reflect on the current year and consider what they want the new year to look like. Imagine if you were standing at a podium about to deliver a "State of the Union" address about the "state of your life". The audience members? Everyone and everything that makes up your life - your family, friends, finances, health, level of energy/fitness, amount of sleep you get each night, personal/spiritual growth, contribution and making a difference in the world...

Then imagine that a representative from each of these areas of your life is standing in the audience, notepad in hand, hastily jotting down your current view along with your promises for the new year.

I happened to be reading a review of the International Coach Federation conference which was held in Montreal. One of the speakers was Peter Senge from MIT. He was looking at the reasons behind the high mortality rate of corporations and identified the following four components of lasting companies:

1) Identity - who we are transcends what we do
2) Tolerance - described as being open to not knowing
3) Fiscal conservatism
4) Sensitivity to environment

As I read this, it occurred to me those four components are not just found in long lasting companies. When you consider the qualities of people you most respect and enjoy being around, you will probably discover they are mindful of these four things.

There is a quote that says; "People may forget what you did or said, but they will always remember how you made them feel". WHO are you as you move through your world? What feeling do you leave behind that speaks louder than anything you say or do?

How tolerant are you? Are you open to not knowing? Or are you holding so tightly to the right answer, your opinion, or your view of how things are, that you can't see things another way?

I would take fiscal conservatism a step farther. Where do you spend not just your money, but also your time? Do you spend wisely? Are you overdrawn? Do you continually allow others to make a withdrawal from your bank account until you are depleted? (Saying "yes" to others all the time, rather than choosing to say "no".) Are you guilty of the same behavior yourself? How often do you make a deposit in your own savings account? (Getting extra sleep, taking care of yourself, creating some quiet time for yourself, eating healthy, getting some exercise, walking outside, deep breathing, etc.) Or, perhaps you are making continual withdrawals from someone else's account?

How sensitive are you to the environment around you? This not only includes being mindful of living green literally, but living green figuratively. Have you cleaned up after your own messes? Do you leave your family, your relationships, a gathering of friends, or a conversation in a better place than it was when you arrived? If you were truly an environmentalist in your work and personal life, what things would you be doing? Not doing? What would people notice?

Are you sensitive to (and aware of) the impact you have on the people in your life? Is it the impact you want to have? If your sensitivity allows you to answer "no" to this question, what behavior or action will allow you to self-correct and get back on track?

Mountain Home for Kenya Marathon

2008-11-17T08:41:00.008-06:00

Race Results:
Time 4:41:00
24th overall (out of 52)
7th overall female
1st in age group

The take-away from this race is: Do not run a marathon that has the word "mountain" in its name. There were 60 runners registered for the race including two handcyclists. On race morning only 52 runners finished and 2 handcyclists. I'm not sure if the other 6 elected not to run because of the weather conditions or if they failed to finish.

The weather conditions made it difficult to decide what to wear. I took a stack of clothing options in the car to the race start so that I could change last minute. Ultimately I chose shorts, 2 long-sleeve technical shirts, a wind vest, a fleece headband and gloves. The temperature was around 39 degrees with strong winds (18 sustained, 30 mph gusts). The windchill probably never got out of the low 30's. We encountered a bit of sleet, which was fortunately short-lived, just to make it fun.

The hills were unbelievably challenging. One of the runners (who ran a 3:21) had this to say about the course:

"I have a lot of rolling hills in southern Michigan where I live," he said, "but they're not this bad. There were a couple in opportune places, though. If I have time the day before, I'll go out and drive a course and get a feel for it. I'm really glad I didn't drive this course, because if I'd have known how hilly it would be, I would've been unmotivated from the very beginning."

Diana and I did drive the course the evening before. We were glad that we did because it gave us a good idea of what we were in for on marathon morning. I found it helpful to know where the hilliest sections were and especially what the last 6 miles looked like. Miles 22, 23 and 24 each had a significant hill. Fortunately the large Rottweiler (about the size of a small cow) which was checking out the course (around mile 8) as we were driving the course, was nowhere to be seen on race day. We had the feeling he was scouting out the course and trying to remember the best spot for picking off runners during last year's marathon.

The first half went well - my legs did not feel tired from the long drive the day before like they had at the Marshall Marathon 13 days ago. However, around mile 16 I started to feel the hills and my pace slowed. The wind and cold, combined with the fatigue from running so many hills was beginning to take its toll. For me, getting cold is a very big problem. Once I get that cold I have trouble maintaining my pace.

Between mile 24 and 25 I was playing cat and mouse with two female runners. They would pull ahead of me, and the I would pull ahead of them. I thought one of them looked to be in my age group, so at mile 25 I pulled away from them determined to finish ahead. I resisted the temptation to look back and see how close they were. I did not want them to know I was concerned or that I was tired. It turned out to be a good strategy as one of them was in my age group. She finished 29 seconds behind me for 2nd in the age group.

I must have looked very cold to the finish line volunteers because they quickly found a blanket from the medical area to wrap around me. They were not handing blankets out to all the finishers, so I'm sure my shivering was a clue as to how cold I was.

The post-race food included 7 or 8 choices of soup - vegetable beef, a curried "something", chicken noodle, 2 kinds of chili, minestrone, ham & bean to name a few. The soup tasted wonderful and helped warm me up. I had trouble carrying my bowl of soup because I was still shivering so the soup was spilling over the sides.

After our post-race meal, we headed back to the hotel, took quick showers and hit the road for our 8 hour drive home. The trip home was long, but uneventful. We stopped in Rolla, MO at an Applebee's for dinner, and had a Snickers ice cream bar for a treat later on.

Surprisingly on Sunday morning I was not very sore - very tired overall, but not sore. I did manage to get on the bike for 25 minutes for a little light spinning.

*A big shoutout to my husband Howard who announced on Sunday morning; "Marathons are over for the year, time to start Ironman training". Thank you Coach!

Marshall University Marathon Race Report

2008-11-05T15:38:00.006-06:00

Time: 4:15:44 (Boston qualifying time)
Overall place: 175/342 total runners
Age group place: 3rd
Place among all females: 40/127

Weather conditions:
90% humidity at race start
Approx 48-50 degrees at start (the website shows 42 at start, not sure how they came up with that since the Weather Channel in our hotel showed 46 degrees for Huntington 2 hours before race start).
It warmed up very quickly, bright sun, probably around 70 by the end of the race

Cons:
*"Free" pasta dinner the night before had a lengthy line (they ran out of spaghetti and had to cook more). It was just ok - paper plate with small portion of spaghetti w/ sauce (no meat in sauce), slice of bread and small lettuce salad
*Since we registered late we weren't eligible for the choice of fleece or technical shirt. We got a long-sleeve cotton T-shirt. All the shirts were missing the date of the marathon. (The race director sent out an e-mail informing us of that)
*The roads were not great - lots of potholes, slanted roads and rough railroad track crossings
*Very few spectators along the course, but it was a small marathon so I was not surprised
*No timing mat at the start - I started back by Diana (I often will run with her for the first bit to warm up) and then realized I had just lost 30-40 seconds due to no mat at the start line
*No clocks or timing mats on the course except at Mile 13 (that was odd, because it wasn't at 13.1 as you would expect)
*Course was a little confusing in a couple of places with arrows on the ground to direct you
*No extras along the course, except for pretzels (no bananas, oranges, gummie bears, or gels of any kind)
*Very steep ramp into the stadium (so steep it really wasn't runable at all)
*Finish line had pizza (didn't look appealing because it was hot outside, the pizza looked greasy), cookies, bagels, but nothing salty like chips

Pros:
*Plenty of fluids on the course
*Running on the crushed limestone path in the park was nice and offered shade - nice relief as miles 13-20 were in the open and very sunny
*Portions of the course where you could see other runners (ahead or behind of you) were nice
*During last mile, they handed out flowers in memory of plane crash victims which you could place in the memorial fountain
*Running the football into the end zone was really cool!
*The awards for age groups were beautiful! I received a handblown Blenko glass buffalo (Thundering Herd)
*Very cool medal - similar to Flying Pig medal with the 3-D effect (front of buffalo and then the back of the buffalo with his tail)
*There truly weren't any hills to speak of, so even though this was in West Virginia, hills were not a factor

It Was a Dark & Cold & Spooky Morning

2008-10-22T08:28:00.006-05:00

Well, it must be true. Winter must be on its way. This morning I got up at 5:00 AM to run my 6-mile hill course out in Downs. It was dark, cold (40 degrees) and windy. I started running shortly after 5:30 and soon spotted a pair of bright yellow eyes staring at me along the roadside. I'm not sure exactly what animal those eyes belonged to - I'm guessing they belonged to a cat, but I will say the eyes were high enough up that it was a large one. I continued running along and heard many noises. I believe most of them were falling hedge apples from the Hawthorne trees. It's funny how your imagination can play with you when running alone in the country in the dark. It still wasn't light when I completed my run and returned to the safety and warmth of my car.

It might be a good time for an update on my upcoming races:

Sunday, Nov. 2nd - Marshall University Marathon (Huntington, West Virginia)

I'll need to practice my football carries for the finish line photo.

"The highlight is to run through Marshall University campus on their way to a goal-line finish in Marshall Football Stadium. Footballs will be available to carry in the final 100 yards if desired!

We have a limited amount of flowers that are handed out as you enter campus (at Old Main on Hal Greer Blvd. and 4th Avenue, just beyond the 25 mile mark). This is a memorial for the plane crash victims from November 14th, 1970 (for which the movie We are Marshall was made). Those taking the flower are asked to put this in a basket 200 yards away at Memorial Fountain."

Sunday, Nov. 9th - Jingle Bell 5K (Bloomington)

Sunday, Nov. 23rd - Gobbler Grind Marathon (Overland Park, Kansas)

Thursday, Nov. 27th - Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot (Bloomington)

Sunday, December 7th - Frostbite Festival 10 Mile (Springfield)

Sat./Sun. Jan. 10 & 11th - Goofy Challenge (1/2 marathon Sat., full marathon Sun.)

Monday, April 20th - Boston Marathon

My Very Own Sir Edmund Hillary

2008-10-16T09:01:00.012-05:00

Our two days after the St. George Marathon were spent hiking in Zion National Park. Sunday we took it a little easier because I was pretty sore - especially my quads, which made hiking downhill painful. We did hike all day long, finishing our last hiking route (western part of the park) around 6:00 PM.

Monday was to be our more strenuous hiking day. We were well-prepared with a lunch of peanut butter sandwiches, trail mix, energy bars, apples and plenty of water. Unfortunately for me, Monday morning I had even more difficulty coming down the stairs at our condo due to incredibly sore quads. I'm not sure if the hiking on Sunday lessened the soreness or increased it. None the less, I had a full day of hiking ahead of me. I was determined not to whine - whimper maybe, but not all out whining.

Our first hike was the 2.5 mile hike "up canyon" (5 miles round trip). As we started this hike up the rock face of the mountain, we could see tiny little people moving along the mountainside. Surely we weren't going to be where those people were? Or were we? The trail was wide enough to not be too scary - just enough room for someone coming down to pass by. It was narrow enough to be somewhat scary at the steep drop off sections. The climb was pretty strenuous, especially the section called "Walter's Wiggles" - a series of 21 switchbacks up the mountain to our destination of Scout's Landing.

At this point, there was the option to continue on to the ultimate destination of Angel's Landing shown in the picture above. This climb includes steep drop offs on both sides (a mere 800 and 1200 ft or so), with chains provided in some, but not all, sections of the climb. I tried climbing a small portion of it, turned around to test the quads (for coming back down) and quickly ascertained this was not the time for me to attempt the climb.

After looking at what I thought was the climb, I did not want my husband, Howard to climb it. Although I know he has great balance, no fear of heights, I was concerned about the strenuous nature of the climb to the summit and the fact that it was unforgiving in terms of making a mistake. A mistake could mean falling off the mountain.

Of course he went anyway. Little did I know that the most challenging part of the climb was hidden from our view. You can see it well in the photo. Yup, he climbed up that! And, most importantly, down that! Yikes!

He returned safely and then took my sister up to the "false summit" section - by the tree in the photo. Great! Now I had both my husband and my sister on the mountainside. The climb up went well. Shelley took a look at where the real summit was and decided it was a perfect time to come down. She had conquered a lot of fear to climb this first section. Howard proved to be a very patient co-climber, telling her where to place her hand or foot and providing a "security hand" when they were on a section without the chain.

All appeared to be going well on the way down, until a girl slipped and nearly fell off the mountain. Howard said he could hear the sound of her backpack and body scraping along the rocks as she let go of the chain, slid off the path, and dropped onto a ledge about 3 ft below. Beyond that ledge? Absolutely nothing except about 1500 ft of free fall. Fortunately she was able, with her boyfriend's help, to scramble back up on the trail. Howard was only a couple of climbers away from the girl, so he had a pretty good view of what had happened.

I was very happy when my two climbers returned safely! Now all we had to do was hike down the same 2.5 miles. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! It was starting to get rather warm and we were thankful we were headed down, rather than up.

I give Howard all the credit in the world for tackling that climb to Angel's Landing. The photo does not do justice to just how scary and difficult that climb was. I would like to attempt the false summit when I'm not sore from a marathon. I'm guessing the true summit at Angel's Landing would remain out of my reach. I also give my sister, Shelley, all the credit in the world. She does have a fear of heights, or at least a desire to have her feet firmly on the ground, and her balance is not great. She had to let go of fear and step into trust in order to make that climb.

As Sir Edmund Hillary said; "It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves". Howard and Shelley both accomplished exactly that.

After that we hiked several other routes - all of them spectacular in their beauty. On our very last hike of the day we had the pleasure of seeing a tarantula! Although, I am not fond of spiders, it surprisingly was not scary to see the tarantula outdoors. After all, it was in its natural environment, it seemed perfectly normal and rather unintimidating. Not that I would want to see one in our house!

We'd love to go back to Zion National Park. It was truly a beautiful place.

"The explorers of the past were great men and we should honour them. But let us not forget that their spirit lives on. It is still not hard to find a man who will adventure for the sake of a dream or one who will search, for the pleasure of searching, not for what he may find."

~Sir Edmund Hillary

Boston.... One Thousand One, One Thousand Two.... No Boston

2008-10-09T13:52:00.014-05:00

Before the St. George, Utah marathon, a good friend reassured me that it doesn't rain in Utah, and it tends not to have the kind of wind we have in central Illinois. AJ also told me that she had yet to see a tarantula in the outdoors of Utah. My experience in Utah was about to disprove all three of these "stats".

When I stepped outside of our condo in St. George on race morning, I was surprised to find it was sprinkling. I quickly ran back inside to grab my Boston marathon hat. Once at the marathon finish area, all of the runners boarded buses for the trek 26.2 miles up the canyon. The rain began to fall harder and the wind picked up. The temperature also dropped from the warm 72 degrees in St. George to probably 20 (or more) degrees cooler at the start area. Since there was no shelter from the rain, most of us tried to stay warm and dry using whatever we could (a mylar blanket from a previous marathon for me).

Once the race began, we had to reluctantly toss aside throw-away layers, garbage bags and mylar blankets in order to run. By mile 2 I told myself this would most likely not be a day for a Boston Marathon qualifying time. Even though I let go of my firm grip/attachment exactly what my race would look like, I did not let go of my pace. I decided to just run what I could run.

I was running with the 4:15 pace group. Our pace group leader said that we would be running fairly even splits except at the "big hill" called Veyo hill at Mile 7. We would be slowing down on the 4 mile section from mile 7-11. I pulled ahead of the pace group around Mile 5. I was running well within myself, and thought this would provide a nice cushion on the hills if I needed it.

I was surprised to see how big "the hill" was when I first saw what was in front of me. We don't have hills like that in Illinois. I was surprised when I arrived at Mile 11 without the 4:15 pace group catching up to me. Apparently I am a better hill runner than I thought. My five weeks of hill training paid off. This gave me time for a much needed porta-potty stop. When I stepped out of the porta-potty, being tempted to stay in the warmth it provided, I saw the 4:15 pace group which had just passed by while I was inside.

I was greeted at Mile 16 by my own cheering section consisting of my husband, Howard and my sister, Shelley, both nicely outfitted in rain ponchos. I pulled over alongside of them and told them I was doing ok, but freezing. Once I continued running they agreed that I looked so cold, they doubted I would be able to get my goal time.

I was truly suffering from the cold, the rain and the constant headwind on this point-to-point course. I stopped twice at a Bengay/massage station between Mile 13 and Mile 22. My leg muscles were so cold, I knew I had to find some way to stay warm. Even though this cost me a couple of minutes, I knew without doing something I would only slow down.

By Mile 22 I was surprised to look at my watch, do some quick math calculations and realize I could still get the Boston Marathon qualifying time. I was going to have to hustle to do it and the next four miles were really going to hurt. I put my head down, ran hard down the remaining downhills and went for it.

As I came into the finish line area, I heard Howard and Shelley cheering for me. I only gave them a quick glance and a "I think I made it" as I ran for the finish. I stopped my watch. It showed 4:15:58 - one second within the qualifying time I needed (you have the extra 59 seconds, so unless it ticked over to 4:16, I got the time).

Shelley and Howard actually didn't think I did have the time because of already seeing the 4:15 pace leader come in. However, they didn't know exactly when I crossed the start line or how much he came in under 4:15 (4:14:30). We had to wait until we could verify my finish time online much later that evening.

My time? 4:15:57! Two seconds to spare. Boston here I come!

It's Inevitable

2008-09-23T14:56:00.005-05:00

"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable. " ~ Christopher Reeve

Like many people, when I first watched Ironman on television it seemed like an impossible dream. Gradually it moved to improbable - how could a person who had never clipped into a road bike, never done any open water swimming, never participated in sports growing up, complete an Ironman?

This Ironman dream is not something I am willing to walk away from. It's not something I'm willing to leave undone. Since the word "willing" just showed up in the last two sentences, I believe it is time to summon the will, to step fully into my Ironman dream.

I have a wonderful "Iron Grandma" sweatshirt given to me by two of my daughters for my 2007 Ironman attempt (a knee injury 10 days out from race day kept me from completing the bike portion , although I did get through that scary 2.4 mile swim with 2000 friends in the mass start). It has my two beautiful granddaughters names embroidered on it - Ella & Madison. Now two more grandchildren will be here before Ironman 2009 and their names will be embroidered on that sweatshirt as well. Perhaps my sweatshirt was waiting for 2 more names.

It is time to let go of the fear and step into trusting in my self and the training.

Who says a grandma necessarily smells like fresh-baked cookies, old soap, and hairspray? This grandma is perfectly ok with smelling like lake water, Gatorade and, at times, sweat.

I now know that there will be times (many of them most likely) when I'm not sure I can do this. In those moments I can choose to believe in those people around me who do believe I can complete Ironman 2009. Those moments of doubt will pass.

I know what to focus on in my training this year - more weight training in the winter to gain strength, continue yoga (1x per week) throughout the entire training to prevent injury, lots of time in the pool and on the bike.

Get outside on the bike earlier in the season.

Remember to appreciate my friends and especially my family who are supporting me. Ironman is not an individual sport. Once I signed up to participate, my entire family has signed up along with me. I couldn't do it without each one of you. Thank you. I will make you proud. It's inevitable.

Ironman Wisconsin 2009 Participant

2008-09-22T13:43:00.002-05:00

After lengthy discussion with my family, I have decided to sign up for Ironman Wisconsin (affectionately known as IM-Moo) 2009. The online application was completed and "submit" button was clicked on. Training will officially begin after the Disney Goofy Challenge in January.

Good Enough is Not Good Enough

2008-09-22T13:08:00.003-05:00

Autism 5-K Race (Sunday)
Time: 26:35 (distance 3.29 miles)
Pace: 8:03 per mile
2nd female overall/54 total females (30 seconds behind overall female winner)
1st in age group
16th/97 total runners

Saturday's training schedule called for a 20-mile run. I was still feeling the effects of running in Hurricane Ike, the 6-mile hill workout on Wednesday morning and the race pace run on Thursday evening. Most of the run went along just fine. I was running by myself for almost the entire run. I had one more 5-mile section to complete when I came back into the Amtrak Station. I told Howard (my husband) that I was thinking 19 miles might be "good enough". He replied; "Good enough is not good enough". Of course those words stuck with me. And naturally I completed the entire 20 miles not a mere "good enough" 19 miles.

We all have (and need) those people around us who encourage us to stretch more, challenge ourselves more, or reach higher than we may be considering in the moment. A question I might have considered on Saturday morning, would have been:

"If I knew obtaining a Boston Marathon qualifying time depended on completing 20 training miles rather than 19 miles, which would I choose?"

Now all that's left to do is to get that time.

One additional note - I followed up Saturday's 20-miler with a 5-K race on Sunday. To my surprise I was able to run fairly hard. I placed 1st in my age group and what I believe was a pretty good pace. (I don't know for certain what my time was yet. The distance was long according to the race organizers - 3.3 miles rather than 3.1 and the official results have not been posted yet.) This is encouraging to be able to run fast the day after a long run. I've done three road races this summer (Park to Park 5 mile, Dog Days 5-K and the Autism 5-K this Saturday), placing 1st in my age group each time.

So, thank you Howard for challenging me to do more.

Running With Ike - Part Three

2008-09-15T11:51:00.002-05:00

Final Results:
10 mile time - 1:40:33 (10:03 mile pace)
Age group place - 6/51
Overall place - 1470/2977

Humorous sights/noticings along the way:

The man at the hotel who stepped outside and stuck his outreached hand out to check the rain status. Here's a clue - if it is coming down in sheets, you probably don't need to reach your hand out to check if it is raining.
The woman who came back inside the lobby area and announced; "I just don't think this is me". (In regards to whether or not to run the race.)
The man running with a large golf umbrella (closed) - what exactly was he planning to do with that?
The fact that after drinking my cup of water, I politely dumped the excess on the pavement, so as not to splash anyone around me. I realized the absurdity of that after the first couple of water stations.
Most of the mile marker signs that were blown over or blown completely away. There was really no way of determining where you were on the course.
The volunteers offering "hurricane water", or "Sports Ike", or "rain water"
The porta-potties that were blown over (I hope no one was inside at the time)
The amazing number of runners heading back out on the course after crossing the finish line, determined to get some extra miles in
The cheery spectators along the course - especially those holding up signs for their athlete, with the writing washing off the posters
The incredible spirit of the volunteers who did not have the advantage of moving to stay warm
The comraderie of the runners - we all had the attitude of "we're in this together"

Running With Ike - Part Two

2008-09-15T11:05:00.002-05:00

So, we stood at the start line with the wind howling, trees bending over, signs blowing over and waited for the start. And waited. And waited. My rain jacket was no longer keeping the rain out. Rain came in through the neck area and through the vents in the sides of the jacket. I began to shiver. The shivering continued. 10 minutes went by. 15 minutes passed and still no start. People began to leave and walk to their cars in the parking lot. The rest of us stayed huddled together, shivering and noticing the conditions were deteriorating, not improving. Finally after a 25 minute delay, the race was underway! We were just glad to be moving with hopes of warming up.

It was a very difficult race. At one point I nearly blew off the race course. I blew right into a man on my left. I apologized for hitting him and he grabbed my shirt, saying; "I was afraid you were going to blow away". Running over the suspension bridge over the Mississippi River was a tad scary. It was quite windy on the top of the bridge.

By mile 7 or 8, conditions had actually improved a bit. The rain had let up, it was still very windy, but at least it was better than the first hour of running. I decided I could complete the full marathon. So, I maintained a comfortable pace (not that any of this race was comfortable), that I felt I could keep for all 26.2 miles. Pushing into the wind had taken its toll already.

At mile 9, we began to see runners coming from the opposite direction saying the race had been called for everyone. Everyone would finish at mile 10. Really? Now, I wished I had known that, because I would have run faster. I ran hard that last mile. Once at the finish line, I looked around for friends or family. I couldn't find anyone, so I decided to go back out on the race course looking for Carolyn and Danny. I ran the opposite direction for 3 miles. Along the way, I told volunteers at the water stops (who did not know the race had been called) to please let runners know about the official call of the race.

I ran back to the suspension bridge (up to the center of it for a better look for my friends), and then turned around and ran back to the finish. So, I managed to get a 16 mile run out of the day. It's probably the most difficult 16 miles I have ever run.

Once through the finish area again (still not able to locate anyone), I made my way to the food tables and the gear check. The entire area was flooded. The ground was covered with water and/or mud. Most people were slogging through with their shoes on. I decided to wade through the mud and water barefoot. After all, my feet were already cold and wet. At least I wouldn't add mud to my shoes.

I found my way to the shuttle bus and hopped on board with all the other muddy, cold and wet runners. The shuttle buses took us back to the start area parking lot. As the bus began driving, it passed by 3 runners. The bus driver opened the door and asked if they needed a ride. They replied; "No, our car is down there". Down where? We all peered out the bus windows. All we saw was a very large tree which had fallen. Oh! And a very smashed car underneath. Now that's a bad day.

Once back at the start area, I wasn't sure where to pick up the hotel shuttle bus from there. The parking lot was flooded in many parts. Many of the racers appeared to be disoriented, looking for their bearings. I was doing the same, when much to my delight, Howard and Shelley pulled up in the car. I was never so happy to be in the safety of a warm car!

As we left the parking lot, they pointed out the cars with water up past the wheel base, and the one car submerged in water up to the windows. Apparently, the car was unable to distinquish pavement from a grassy area because of the rain. Once off the solid pavement, the car quickly sank into the rising water. The driver appeared to have escaped through the driver's side window.

Here is what the race directors put on the official website this morning (Monday, day after the race):

"When the event started, we had every intention of allowing everyone to complete the entire distance. Both courses were runnable and we believed given the latest weather reports that they would continue to be so. Unfortunately, the combination of (1) the storm dropping over 5" of rain (as compared to the 3" that had been expected) and (2) much of that rain falling immediately before the start of the race (in part due to the delay that resulted because the police were understandably late getting to their positions because they were busy working a multitude of traffic accidents) caused a flash flood that swamped a long stretch of the north section of our course just minutes before the first runners were to arrive.

When we received the reports of the flash flooding approximately 30 minutes into the race, we immediately responded by safely altering the course to avoid the flooded area. We wish we could have re-routed to another 13.1 mile course, but for many reasons that was not a viable option. We apologize for not effectively communicating the mid-race course change to you via our aid station volunteers, but the storm knocked out our radio communications, leaving many of them ill-informed, as well. To make matters worse, our finish line sound system was also put out of commission by the storm, so information could not be effectively delivered post-race, either.

As for the marathon course, we received word soon after the flooding report that the wind and rain had caused two large branches to fall onto and across our course - obviously a dangerous situation. In addition, the medical station on the south end of the marathon course could not operate effectively in the dangerous conditions. As a result, we felt we had to stop all of our competitors at 10 miles."

Running With Ike - Part One

2008-09-15T10:44:00.004-05:00

I was awakened about 3:50 AM on Sunday morning to the sound of heavy rain. Very heavy rain. Torrential rain. It was hard to ignore the sound of the rain and wind and simply go back to sleep, even though my alarm was not set to go off until 5:15. Eventually at 4:45 AM my sister Shelley and I got up. We threw on some clothes and went down to the breakfast area at our hotel. (The hotel was very accommodating and started breakfast @ 4:00 AM for the runners.) There were a few other runners drinking coffee and eating a light breakfast while looking out at the tropical storm going on outside.

We went back upstairs and checked the Weather Channel. Hmmm.... The radar showed a beautiful depiction of the eye of Hurricane Ike (now considered a tropical storm) wrapping around the St. Charles/St. Louis area. We were actually in the eye of the storm as it moved up and across from Texas. Foreboding to say the least.

By 6:15 AM, Howard, Shelley and I were in the lobby looking outside at the continuing storm. Fortunately there was no thunder or lightning. We stepped outside to evaluate the conditions. It was surprisingly cool - the temps had dropped from 74 degrees to around 64 degrees. With the heavy rain and strong winds it felt very cold!

I made a quick trip back to the room to get a cycling rain jacket. When I came back to the lobby, people started to straggle back into the lobby. Some had ventured out intending to run to the start (less than 1/2 mile away), some had already gone to the start on the shuttle bus and decided to return and some had just stepped outside briefly. Many were deciding not to run. Some of the runners who had actually gone to the start area, came back with reports of ankle deep water. I stepped outside again and decided I would at least head to the start.

I did another quick check of my clothing options. If I actually had to run in my plastic rain jacket, I knew it would chafe my bare arms terribly. So, I went back up to the room for a second time to get a long sleeve technical running shirt. Now I was ready. Was I ready to run in a tropical storm? I was about to find out.

Shelley and Howard decided not to run. So, with a quick goodbye, I boarded the shuttle bus. Once on the shuttle bus, it became apparent that we were in the middle of a tropical storm. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. I waded through the ankle deep water to deposit my gear check bag (containing dry clothes for after the race) and joined some friends in the start area.

Because the visibility was so poor, it was difficult to judge how many people were lined up. It was far less than the 5,000 originally signed up for the 1/2 marathon and full marathon. For the most part the group seemed to consist of die-hard runners, experienced runners, with a sprinkling of some first-timers.

After singing of the National Anthem, we prepared to start our adventure.

Lessons From a Turtle

2008-09-12T16:48:00.003-05:00

Sunday is the Lewis & Clark Marathon in St. Charles, MO. The weather forecast calls for heavy rain - the remenants of hurricane Ike. Running a marathon in a heavy downpour is not the most enjoyable thing, Shoes and socks become saturated with water, blisters tend to form, and the finish line can seem even further away than usual.

I'm still planning on running the marathon even if the weather is as bad as forecasted. The weather may change my goals a bit, but I still plan on running.

Today was an interesting day to stumble across an article written by a runner heading out the door for a run in rather miserable rainy weather. She contemplated turning around and returning home when the rain picked up almost as soon as she started running. However, a slow-moving turtle managed to convince her of the importance of continuing the journey. She first encountered him trying to cross from one side of the road to the other on her trip out. When she returned back along the path on the trip home, she was surprised to see him just about to complete his daunting journey from one side of the road to the other. Below is the story of "Pete" (the name bestowed on this snapping turtle by the runner):

"Even though for my turtle the unknown was not the sea, but a lake, his destination was unknown just the same. Suddenly, instead of seeing his crossing of the road as a mundane task, I recognized it for what it was: a small adventure within a larger one. I realized that every moment, every day, is a journey within a journey within a journey. No challenge is so insignificant that it adds not to the grand masterpiece of our lives. Embracing the adventure of each road we must cross, we keep our eyes focused on that wonderful, mysterious beyond.

That afternoon, I realized that in my silly petulance, I had flippantly tossed aside the adventure of my run and missed the beauty of simply crossing the road. As I left Pete the Turtle to continue his journey across the miles, I pushed a strand of wet hair from my face and headed back home."

30 Days

2008-08-27T08:26:00.003-05:00

This morning I saw a news story about a young woman who had a benign tumor pressing against her brain stem. The surgery required to save her life, would mean total loss of hearing. So, she spent 30 days creating vivid memories of the most special sounds around her. She recorded video of herself enjoying the sound of the ocean waves, listening to her favorite song on her Ipod, playing with her dog, conversations with her family, etc.

There are so many beautiful sounds that we take for granted as we hear them throughout our day - the sound of children laughing, birds chirping, leaves rustling in the wind, music and the voices of the people we love.

This particular story was especially timely given a medical scare that my twin sister had over the weekend. She went to her regular eye exam on Saturday. The ophthalmologist noticed three small holes in her retina (of her good eye) and referred her to a retinal specialist. This was even more worrisome since the problem was in her good eye. Her vision is quite poor in the other eye already. Retinal holes or tears increase the risk of a retinal detachment. That can lead to total vision loss if medical treatment isn't obtained quickly.

The next couple of days were very stressful. The news is good. The retinal specialist did not see any need for treatment (such as surgery to prevent retinal detachment). On Saturday morning she merely had a routine eye exam on her daily schedule. From that moment on, until her eye exam with the retinal specialist was completed Tuesday afternoon, the gift of vision and what it might be like to lose it was on all of our minds.

What sounds would you most want to hear if you only had 30 days left to hear them?
What sights would you most want to see if you only had 30 days left to see them?
What favorite foods would you most want to taste if you only had 30 days left to see them?
Who are the people you would most like to have one last meaningful conversation with if you only had 30 days to do so?

Race Report - Tale of Two Perspectives

2008-08-25T09:43:00.004-05:00

Saturday was the Railsplitter Triathlon in Petersburg. The short version is that I decided to call it a day after the swim due to back pain. I've been battling an SI joint injury for the last month. Going into the race I was hopeful that I had recovered significantly to complete this tri. I based this on a 17-mile run the previous Saturday (at a good pace), followed by just short of a 40-mile ride the next day (on Sunday) and an 1800 open water swim on Wednesday evening. I also tossed in a 3/4 mile recovery swim, a 5 mile run, a 4 mile run and a 6.5 mile run during the week. Perhaps that was too much to throw into the pre-race week?

I have two versions of my sad tale.

Is the sun coming up or is the sun going down?
"Pity party", table for one

Version one comes from a wonderful competitor by the name of Lou. After my decision to drop out of the race, we stood on the corner near the transition area. This gave us a nice view of the bikes coming into transition and the runners heading out on the run course. The runners would also pass by this same corner again as they made a turn taking them the remaining couple of miles to the finish.

Lou is a 77-year young triathlete who competes at local triathlons. On this day he was racing the sprint distance. As he approached the water stop at the corner, he had a smile on his face and cheerfully asked the volunteers; "Is the sun coming up or going down?". They replied that the sun was indeed still going up, to which he replied; "Oh good, I wasn't sure!".

What a great attitude! Lou isn't fast any more, but he has the respect of all who watch him race. Often he is last, but not always. (Today he was not the last one to finish the sprint distance. Lou is probably 45-50 years older than the two athletes who did finish last in the sprint.) It's easy to see that Lou isn't focusing on what once was, he instead is clearly focusing on what is. He is out there racing, competing, and enjoying the day - whatever the day happens to bring.

Now that I've written about Lou's attitude, I am somewhat reticent to share version two.

Version two - "Pity Party", table for one

Immediately after I dropped out of the race, I naturally was disappointed. However, I pushed that disappointment aside and was determined to cheer for my friends who were racing. AJ came into transition after the bike portion looking strong and happy. Erin and Melissa followed behind her by perhaps about 7-10 minutes. (Results are not posted on-line yet, so I don't know the exact times.) Erin and Melissa were riding together and both managed a smile along with a "Boy, was that bike course hilly!". Once all three of them were out on the run, Howard and I headed to what we thought was about Mile 6 of the 7 mile run course (for the long tri course). Erin came running by first, looking very strong, followed by AJ and then Melissa. After all 3 had passed, we moved to the final corner heading into the finish line. Erin finished looking just as strong on the run at the end as she had at the beginning. AJ and Melissa were now running together - which was nice to see that they had paired up to help each other. The run course turned out to be .8 longer than it was supposed to be. That had to be more than a little challenging to the athletes on such a hot and humid day.

All three won awards in their age groups. I was genuinely pleased for all of them. I was also aware of what a difficult race this was. Both the bike and run courses were hilly. The weather was fairly typical for late August - hot and humid.

So, when did I ask for the "Pity Party" - table for one? It didn't really hit me until Sunday morning. 2007 has not been a good triathlon season for me. The reality that this was my last triathlon (with a DNF) for the season, hit me very hard on Sunday morning.

I had just finished a 10-mile run at approx. 8.5 minute mile pace. Even though it was a good run, my tight back served as a constant reminder of the DNF the day before. I tried to make sense of it all. I have trained hard all summer, completing 105 workouts (34 swim workouts or approx. 40 miles, 26 bike workouts or approx. 600 miles, and 45 run workouts or approx. 263 miles) since June 1st. It's very hard to accept the fact that after all that training, I have not seen any favorable results in the form of triathlon finish times this season.

What would Lou have to say about all of this? He would probably say leave what happened in this summer's triathlon races in the past, let the sun go down on the stinging disappointment and trust that the sun is still coming up today. Next season might just be the sunniest season of them all.

P.S. The interesting thing about hosting a pity party, is that you really do only need a table for one. Generally people aren't too interested in the feeling sorry for yourself party. Once again I'm reminded of my good friend Andy who has two favorite sayings:

"Get out of the bitter barn and play in the hay." "Get off your huffy bike and turn that smile upside down."

Lessons From the Olympics

2008-08-20T08:14:00.003-05:00

I haven't written anything for my blog for quite some time now. The reason? I've been watching the Olympics. Beginning with the Opening Ceremonies, I realized there would be valuable lessons to be found. I told myself to make mental notes of what I learned as the Olympic events began.

One of the things that was discussed during the opening ceremonies was the significance of water in the Chinese culture. The Chinese consider that a life well-lived has the elements of water - flow, calm, ease and taking the path of least resistance. I can't help but notice how many times our lives do not resemble water. That might give a new meaning to importance of staying hydrated.

During one of the spectacular parts of the ceremony, precise circles were formed without any markings on the floor to guide the performers. This was accomplished because each performer had a keen awareness of exactly where they were and where their neighbor was on the floor. I believe we could all benefit by increasing our awareness of where we are in this moment of our life and where our neighbor is in relationship to us.

Deena Kastor (US women's marathoner) was asked about the sacrifices she has made over the years preparing and training for the Olympics. She calmly replied back that she preferred to think of it as choices she has made rather than sacrifices. Often I think we get caught up in thinking of our training in a negative way - "I have to run this morning", rather than "I get to run this morning". We actually always have a choice. We also have a choice in how we view the things ahead of us. We can view them as tasks, chores, more to-do lists, or we can view them as opportunities and choices.

Dara Torres (US 41-year old swimmer) showed incredible sportsmanship when she stopped her own mental preparation immediately before one of her events, to instead go over and inform an official that another competitor had a problem with her suit and needed extra time to come on the pool deck. Dara could have been focused entirely on her own race. Instead, she wanted to race to be started with fairness to all competitors, allowing the other swimmer to compete. She showed incredible grace in the bright smile she had at the end of her races regardless of how she placed. She also was quick to offer a heart-felt congratulations and "Good job" to her fellow competitors. You could tell she was genuinely happy for the other athletes.

I was also struck by Michael Phelps struggle with ADHD as a child. He had difficulty in the classroom and was bullied by other children. Children with ADD or ADHD are easily distracted by the things in their environment. Michael's mom described how the pool lane provided a calming environment. It was free from distractions. It consisted of the black line at the bottom of the pool and the wall at each end. This clean environment provided a place where Michael could focus, be calm and tap into his talent. All of us could probably benefit from finding our own version of a clean environment on a regular basis.

There have been so many inspirational stories and athletic performances during this Olympics. I thought I would have a long list of mini lessons from watching. Now I find it is hard to separate them out from such an amazing series of athletic performances.

I have been reminded of the importance of "heart". Many times the Gold Medal winner has not been the favorite, but instead the athlete with the most heart, the athlete who wanted redemption from a previous Olympic experience that did not go as they had hoped.

Steelhead 1/2 Ironman Decision

2008-08-04T09:41:00.003-05:00

The photo above is of Lake Michigan on race morning. Notice the waves!

I have to admit that I was still questioning my decision not to race the Steelhead 1/2 Ironman on Saturday morning. I looked at my watch often throughout the morning and afternoon, estimating where I would be on the race course. I thought about the friends I have who were in Benton Harbor for the race.

As far as I could tell the weather forecast from earlier in the week, calling for temps in the mid 90's with high humidity, had modified. It appeared to be an almost perfect weather day - with temps in the low 80's. The water temperature had gradually risen over the past 10 days from a low of 51 degrees to about 74 degrees. The lake conditions on Friday evening were good, with calm water and waves of 0-1 ft. Lake Michigan doesn't get much better than that.

So, as we headed to my sister's house in Elk Grove Village for the weekend, my head was still wistfully thinking about the race. My back still hurts - I haven't been on the bike in a week, the couple of swims that I have done have been very short (1/2 mile or less) and bothered my back. Sitting hurts. I have to watch how I move in order to protect my back.

I did still get some cycling experience over the weekend. It came in the form of spectating, however, not competing. The "Tour de Elk Grove" took place Friday-Sunday. We watched the pro cyclist road race (150-k) Saturday afternoon, which consisted of ten loops in Schaumburg and then the ride to the finish from Schaumburg to Elk Grove Village. Tyler Hamilton (former teammate of Lance Armstrong) was among the riders. On Sunday, we watch the Cat 1/2 criterium race.

Once back home, we had an opportunity to check the results of the Steelhead 1/2 Ironman. The swim portion of the race was cancelled due to 4-6 ft waves, swells and especially due to the very strong undertow. Apparently even the kayaaks were having difficulty getting out into the water without being pulled under.

So, the race became a duathlon, with a 2-mile run, a 56-mile bike and the 13.1 mile run. This would not have given me the practice I wanted with the 3 elements of triathlon and the corresponding transitions. It would not have allowed me to improve on my 1/2 Ironman time since it was not officially a true 1/2 Ironman.

I'm still hoping to be able to race the triathlon on Aug. 23rd and staying open to the possibility of a 1/2 Ironman yet this fall. I'll keep you posted.

No Finish Line This Time

2008-08-01T09:01:00.002-05:00

I've made my final decision about the Steelhead 1/2 Ironman race - I won't be racing. I was hopeful that my back injury was resolving after a massage on Tuesday afternoon. The massage therapist was very good and seemed to be quite familiar with SI joint injuries. The relief, however, was short lived. My back tightened up again by later that evening and was really flared up by Wednesday evening.

I know I could complete each of the three events individually. I also know that stringing the 1.2 mile swim, the 56 mile bike and the 13.1 mile run together, one after the other, would not be possible with my current injury.

I've talked with my coach and he agrees that rest is most important to allow the injury to settle down. I'm hoping to be able to do the "Railsplitter Triathlon" on Aug. 23rd. The distance is a bit longer than the traditional Olympic Distance Tri, with a 1 mile swim, a 36 mile bike and a 7 mile run. I can still register for that race up until Aug. 21st, which allows me time to evaluate my recovery progress.

Even though it is very frustrating to be hurt after training so diligently all summer, it does give me a renewed appreciation for being able to participate in athletics. I don't regret the time and effort I put into following my training schedule, even though I didn't make it to the start line of the Steelhead 1/2 Ironman. I know it is not wasted time. It has helped to give me additional experience and strength for future races.

I already have a motivation for my next race - I watched the ABC television special on celebrating the life of Randy Pausch. He talks about the final score sometimes turning out differently than you had hoped or expected.... and he says that is ok when you know you left everything you had on the field.

I plan to do my next race in memory of Randy Pausch. Along the way, I plan to incorporate some of the lessons he shared in his Last Lecture series... paying attention to whether I'm racing as an "Eeyore or a Tigger", what I do about the "brick walls" I encounter along the race course and looking for the "next best part of the day" that might still show up between the start and the finish.

On the Fence

2008-07-29T15:07:00.002-05:00

The Steelhead 1/2 Ironman in Benton Harbor, Michigan is this Saturday. This is supposed to be my "A" race, along with the St. George, Utah Marathon in October.

My low back has been tight for a couple of weeks now. Nothing too serious, just something I've been aware of especially while swimming or cycling. About two weeks ago during an open water swim, it began to hurt much worse almost immediately as I started swimming. I had planned to swim 3 loops of the 600 yd. course @ the Miller Park lake. That was quickly changed to 1 loop, and even that was challenging. I found myself trying to compensate for the pain while I was swimming. I kept trying to find a comfortable position while swimming. This was changing my swim stroke pretty dramatically and I'm sure it didn't look pretty.

I tried another open water swim on Friday morning, hoping that I could add on a little distance. It did feel better initially, but quickly tightened up as I reached about 1/4 mile. This time I was able to go about 800 yds rather than the 600 yds I swam on Wednesday evening. Still not close to 1/2 Ironman distance of 1.2 miles, however.

Saturday morning I did get in a pretty decent 13 mile run at a fairly good pace. My back felt ok while I was running - tight, but not really an issue while running. Later in the evening it began to feel worse, however.

My two resident (visiting for the weekend) physical therapists, our daughter Lisa & her husband Gary, both diagnosed the problem as "SI joint". Gary did a PT treatment on my back and it did feel better afterwards.

Sunday I hoped to get in a 3 hour ride or approx. 45-50 miles. It started out ok, but after about 1.5 hours on the bike, the pedal stroke especially when recruiting my hamstrings and glutes pulled on my sore back more and more. I cut the ride short to around 40 miles. Could I ride another 16 miles? Yes. Can I ride another 16 miles after a 1.2 mile swim, and then follow it up with a 13.1 mile run? I don't know.

So, I'm sitting on the fence trying to decide. I just returned from a massage and that seems to have provided some relief. I've been icing and taking Motrin. I plan to do a swim @ Miller Park tomorrow evening and see how that goes. I'll make a decision by Thursday evening, obviously since we are scheduled to leave for Michigan on Friday.

In the meantime, I'll be weighing the pros and cons.

What Question Would Randy Pausch Have For You?

2008-07-25T13:47:00.003-05:00

This morning as I checked my e-mail, I tried to access the homepage of Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon University professor dying of pancreatic cancer. Professor Pausch, who had delivered "The Last Lecture" at Carnegie Mellon University, and later turned that lecture into a book with the same title, had not posted an update on his website since June 26th. This morning when I checked for an update on his health status I was unable to access his homepage. With a sinking feeling in my heart, I intuitively knew what this meant.

A short time ago I received an e-mail from my (former) brother-in-law, Ed saying simply; "Randy Pausch has died". I sat in stunned silence staring at my computer screen trying to process the impact of this news. Apparently Randy Pausch had died around the same time that I was attempting to check his homepage.

While I obviously did not know Randy Pausch personally, I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to know him through his lectures, his website, the TV specials about his life and most importantly his writing. The impact and legacy which he left the world is profound.

The following excerpt is taken from a May 3rd Wall Street Journal article written by Jeffrey Zaslow about Randy Pausch and his final farewell:

"Randy is thrilled that so many people are finding his lecture beneficial, and he hopes the book also will be a meaningful legacy for him. Still, all along, he kept reminding me that he was reaching into his heart, offering his life lessons, mostly to address an audience of three. "I'm attempting to put myself in a bottle that will one day wash up on the beach for my children," he said."

We all have the opportunity to put our legacy in a bottle that will wash up on the shores of the lives of those around us (our family, friends and even those who don't know us personally). What will you put in your bottle? Who is your audience?

What question would Randy Pausch have for you right now, in this moment, today?

If you would like to read more about Randy Pausch, you may find the following articles of interest:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120951287174854465.html?mod=ITPWSJ_20
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Story?id=4614281

I also encourage you to take the time to watch his "Last Lecture" if you haven't seen it yet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Cleaning the "Gunk" Off

2008-07-23T07:59:00.004-05:00

Monday afternoon I was scheduled to do an easy recovery ride. Although it was very hot (around 91) in the mid-afternoon, it seemed like a nice day to ride. I have a route (headed east out of town into the country - site of the previously mentioned Mama bird attack) that I use for shorter rides. The distance varies between 15 and 20 miles, depending on where I turn around.

As I started riding, I noticed how much tar and oil was on the surface of the road. The glistening black tar was enjoying the bright sunshine and warm temperatures. My tires quickly became coated with the tar and oil. My speed which had started out at about 18 mph, dropped to around 15 mph, which I thought might be due to wind or fatigue from Saturday's race. So, I continued to ride to my turn around point at about 8 miles east of town.

I turned around (now into a headwind) and noticed my speed was continuing to drop. About 3 miles from my destination, I discovered new chip rock laid down on the sticky, tar-slickened road. Those little rocks stuck to my tires like nuts to an ice cream cone. My skinny little road bike tires soon resembled mountain bike tires because they had so much tar and rocks stuck to them.

This presented more than a minor problem. It was almost impossible to ride faster than 8 mph. I did not want to shift to another gear out of fear that one of the many rocks flying around would happen to land in my chain. I considered calling home for a ride, but that would only mean one of our cars would have to encounter the same tar and rocks. I considered taking an alternate route, but the traffic was beginning to pick up with the end of the work day. Cutting over to a different road would take me on more heavily traveled roads. I was also concerned about the status of my bike - a flat or other mechanical problem wouldn't be unlikely.

Eventually I made it back. It was one of the most frustrating, tiring rides I have ever done. The clean up of my bike took about an hour once I was back home. My husband helped with the clean-up - amazed at what a mess I had created. First he used a plastic ruler to scrape some of the tar off the tires. Next we used wd-40 and some scrubbing with a rag to clean more of the tar off. Finally the entire bike had a nice wash.

I've considered the take-away from this experience. I remember reading in one of my coaching books (Even Eagles Need a Push by David McNally) about the process of "dry docking" a boat and similarly "dry docking" ourselves. Boats are taken out of the water periodically in order for the hull to be cleaned. Over time, various forms of debris accumulate on the hull, slowing the boat down because of the increased resistance in the water.

Each of us has debris which accumulates layer upon layer over the true essence of who we are. The debris comes in the form of our past experiences, self-limiting beliefs, negative self talk, assumptions and opinions of other people, set backs, and a host of emotions.

Emotions such as anger, resentment, a sense of entitlement, jealousy, frustration create a sticky surface on our frame. As we travel down the road of life and encounter rocks (obstacles in our path), they stick to us rather than falling off. The resistance is increased and we find ourselves slowing down even more. It can become almost impossible to keep moving forward along the road.

What is the solution? Certainly it would be wonderful if we never encountered any sticky tar in the road. The truth is that we all encounter it and wind up with tar on our tires. Until the repair and cleaning work is done, unnecessary resistance holds us back from using our full potential. We all need to spend some time in "dry dock" periodically. It's useful to scrape off the gunk that doesn't serve us.

Also on the topic of oil, I found this other excerpt from Even Eagles Need a Push:

"A positive attitude is like the oil in an engine. It is the lubricant that enables the mind's creative, solution-oriented power to respond to your command. A negative attitude drains the mind of this essential lubricant, freezing and shutting it down. A positive attitude sees a problem as an opportunity, a difficulty as a challenge. A negative attitude does the opposite and is the prescription for defeat."

I guess the oil and tar had a lot to teach me during Monday's ride. Now if I can just remember the lesson when the going gets tough.

Evergreen Tri Race Report - Facing Your Fears

2008-07-21T07:22:00.006-05:00

I have two main concerns going into a triathlon:

Breathing difficulty (asthma) during the swim especially - hot, humid conditions create problems for me
Rain-slickened roads (especially after witnessing the horrific crash at Naperville)

Here's a portion of the Pantagraph article printed on Sunday following the race:

Rhodes led from wire to wire, winning the International distance division in 1 hour, 55.4 minutes and 40 seconds. The weather posed some additional challenges to Rhodes and the other athletes throughout the muddy, soggy race.

The effects of the weather were visible during the bike portion.“I was pretty cautious coming into the turns,” Rhodes said. “Everyone had to take it a little careful in the corners. It’s better to lose 10 seconds than sliding out and losing a minute or more.”

For others, the weather-related issues were present from start to finish.“It’s a really tough day,” said Elizabeth Ott, 30, of Naperville. “It was really hard just with the weather. Honestly, I want to say it made it one of the hardest triathlons I’ve ever done.“

I was talking with some of the other top girls, and we all said that we noticed we had a hard time breathing today. The air was really heavy. It made it a hard time to catch your breath.”

As we headed out to Lake Evergreen at 5:30 AM, it was pretty evident that bad weather was on the way. My husband scanned the horizon and optimistically suggested it was looking better as we got closer. I did manage to get my transition area set up and make a bathroom trip before the downpour began. I eventually sat in the car with my wetsuit 1/2 on, contemplating what the day would bring.

The swim started on time because thankfully there was no lightning. My breathing, however, did not start on time. Even though I used my inhaler just before getting out of the car and heading to the beach area, it took about 10-15 minutes before I could breathe well enough to get into a proper swim stroke.

Bike? What bike? Where is it? Yup, I ran past my bike. The landmark I had selected to cue me as to where my bike was (2 rows past the "Bike Out" writing on the pavement) would have worked well if there had only been one of those writings. I lost at least 2 minutes trying to figure out where my bike was located. True, it shouldn't have been that hard because there weren't all that many bikes remaining in the transition area.

I clipped in easily and without incident - always nice on slick pavement, and headed out on the bike course. About 5 miles into the 25 mile ride, the storm hit. I, of course, was headed into the storm and the accompanying wind. There was some discussion as to whether we actually had hail or just very hard-hitting rain pelting us. I thought it was hail. It felt like hail. It was raining so hard it was difficult to see the road. My sunglasses were filled with water. My shoes were filled with water.

About 7-8 miles into the ride, I was headed up a slight incline just before a left-hand turn. )Since this was an out and back course, I had already been seeing the front riders on their way back in to the bike finish.) I saw him (one of the faster riders) preparing to take the right turn. He was going so fast that I told myself; "He'll never make that corner". And he didn't. His rear tire slid out from under him and he slid across the pavement.

Luckily the two riders behind him managed to avoid him. I unclipped quickly as it was happening, unsure how close to me he might slide. Once I was safely past the accident, one of the course workers asked if I was ok. I replied; "yes". The answer was really "no".

I rode for a bit longer until I was out of the view of the course volunteers and then I stopped alongside the road. The image of the Naperville crash came rushing back. I questioned what I was doing. Why was I out here in this storm, riding a road bike on thin little tires on slick roads? Two triathlons and witnessing two crashes firsthand.... is there a message in this?

I considered my options. Stop and then what? Wait here in the storm until someone comes along? Walk my bike back to the corner with the volunteers and tell them I'm done? So, I did what I had to do. Finally after about 5 minutes, I got back on my bike and started riding. I took it easy on the corners and the sections of road with a lot of standing water.

Once I reached the bike turn around, I had the wind at my back. The rain continued to come down hard, but at least I was headed back. I managed to ride between 18-22 mph in some sections on the way back (compared to my 11-14 mph on the way out). I even started to feel more confident riding of the extremely slick road.

T2 went better than my first transition. Of course, everything was soaked, so it was still slow, but I started out on the run fairly quickly. As I headed out, I went by my family... Madison (age 3) and Ella (age 2) were gleefully standing underneath their parent's umbrellas cheering me on. They were not phased by the weather at all. (Their parents, Lauren & Kirk, Lisa & Gary, on the other hand looked quite wet and miserable.) Uplifted by the the sounds of "Go Grandma, Go!", I began the run.

I told myself as I began running that part of the triathlon is my sport of choice. I can run. I love to run. And so I did. I even had fun during the run. My husband and the Team in Training group were volunteering at the Mile 1 (and Mile 5) water stop, so it was nice to have my own personal fan club as I went by both times.

As I ran into the finish area, I was greeted by the cheers of my family and also quite a few friends. It felt so good to have overcome (or at least managed) my fears and complete this triathlon. Today I was a "completer" and not a "competitor" and that was good enough.

3 triathlons this season. All 3 with bad weather. Steelhead 1/2 Ironman is in 2 weeks. Any bets on the weather?

Evergreen Olympic Tri Results:

Swim (.93 mile): 44:04

T1 (Saturday as my husband later said): 4:56

Bike (24.8 miles): 1:41

T2: 2:09

Run (6.2 miles): 59:44

Total: 3:32 (2007 time was 3:17)

The Power of Language

2008-07-18T09:54:00.004-05:00

Last Saturday evening was a local 5-K run called Dog Days. As usual it was very hot and humid, so the name was fitting. A group of us decided to run this race at more or less the last minute, not deciding until about 4:30 to run the 6:00 PM race.

During the drive to the race I was telling myself two things:
1) I'm not a good heat and humidity runner.
2) I'm not an evening runner (I much prefer the early morning hours for running).

I did manage to place 1st in my age group with an 8:25 mile pace over the rolling hills of the 5-K course. I knew it wasn't my best run, but I was ok with the results.

Were either of the two statements I had been telling myself useful in any way? It's interesting how the mind believes what we tell it - in fact, I would suggest that when we really believe our own perspective or version of a given situation, our brains can't tell the difference from reality.

A better way of stating those two perspectives might have been:
1) I prefer to run in cool temperatures and with conditioning I'm becoming a better heat & humidity runner all the time.
2) I prefer to run in the early morning hours, and my evening running pace is still strong enough to keep up with many runners.

We can get ourselves in even more trouble with absolute words such as "never", "always", or
even dramatic wording such as "I'm starving", "This hot weather is killing me", or "I'm dying to get out of here". Even self-deprecating phrases such as "I'm an idiot" are harmful to our psyche.

We may not have control over events in our life, situations we face, or challenges (whether they are ones we seek out such as athletics, or ones that show up on the doorstep of our lives unexpectedly). We do have control over the language we choose to use. It's wise to be mindful of the language we choose to use because our brain just may believe it as if it is real.

Listen to the language you are using - both your "outside voice" (spoken to the rest of the world) and your "inside voice" (spoken inside of your own head). It's your story to tell. Are you telling the version you want to be real?

Deleted Chapters of Your Life

2008-07-16T17:24:00.008-05:00

Today I was trying to add a photo to my blog posting on the Naperville Women's Triathlon. Inadvertently while trying to change the layout of the photo, I deleted the entire post. This really bothered me.Then I tried to determine exactly why it bothered me so much.

After all, I had in many ways been trying to delete the Naperville Tri from my memory ever since the race. I wanted to erase the image of the young woman crashing on her bike. I wanted to erase the the unanswered questions that continue to nag at me as to whether she recovered from her injuries. I wanted to erase the wondering about her family - if they were there, or if she had young children.

Now almost a full month after that triathlon, my original impressions and thoughts are gone. That may be fitting since I have my next triathlon this weekend. It is an Olympic distance tri - a .93 mile swim, 40k (24.8 miles) bike, and a 10k (6.2 mile) run. I'd like to improve on my time from last year, even though I am not as well trained. I'm hoping improvements in the swim and cycling technique will make that possible.

It is supposed to be very hot (90 degrees) and I would guess - windy. My second goal, besides improving on my last year's time of 3:17:23, is to finish feeling strong. I actually felt like I finished each discipline of the Naperville Tri feeling fairly good. I've included the photos (hopefully without deleting this post) for you to judge for yourself.

It's Useful to Sight Every Once in Awhile

2008-07-11T09:50:00.002-05:00

This morning I had the opportunity to do an hour-long open water swim. It was a beautiful morning, already about 76 degrees with a breeze. My friend Diana graciously offered to kayak alongside for me, even though she has a very hectic schedule. I've only done one other open water swim at Lake Bloomington this season.

Today's goal was to swim 30 minutes out (some chop to the water) and 30 minutes back. I was actually surprised how quickly I swam on the way out given my limited open water swimming this summer. I went fairly straight on the way out, picking my head up to sight on a regular basis.

On the way back I started to get tired. I wanted to be done. So, I just put my head down and kept swimming. Good plan, except for one thing.... Was I headed in the right direction? No. If you haven't done any open water swimming, I can tell you that the best approach is to swim straight - the shortest distance between two points is straight. Fortunately I did not go off course very far before I remembered to pick my head up and sight.

What I took away from that moment of learning, was the importance of sighting especially when we get tired. Putting our head down and going for it may not be the most effective way to reach the intended outcome. It is useful to pick our heads up and make sure we are still on course. Has anything shifted or changed?

I finished the return trip in just a little over 30 minutes - not bad considering I had a little stop for a leaking goggle issue. I hope to get another couple of hour-long open water swims before the Steelhead 1/2 Ironman on August 3rd. Today's swim helped me feel more confident and prepared for the 1.2 mile swim in Lake Michigan.

It's been a long training "week", with my last complete rest day July 3rd. Since then I've done one 5 mile race (with a return 5 mile run back to the start), one 7-mile run, 2 pool swims, 3 rides (one 2-hour trainer ride, and two 22-mile shorter outdoor rides), one track workout, and 2 easy 4-mile runs and today's open water swim.

Tomorrow is the Pedaling for Kicks Ride. It's supposed to be quite warm and breezy. Breezy around here can often mean windy. I'm planning to do the 50-mile ride, which should put me about at the 3-hour ride on my training schedule. I hope to start riding by 6:00 AM, so that I will be finished before it gets too hot.

Sunday calls for a 2-hour long run, and a swim (which I plan to do at Lake Bloomington again). I believe Monday would be a perfect rest day!

True to My Word

2008-07-09T08:16:00.002-05:00

As this morning dawned, it meant it was time for my 5:30 AM track workout. I didn't feel like doing it. For some reason I did not sleep well last night. I was very restless all night long, tossing and turning and unable to fall into a deep sleep. I didn't have anything on my mind. I wasn't overtired. I just couldn't sleep.

I diligently put on my running clothes and drove to the track, hopeful that I would feel more like running once I got there. I did my warm up mile and still felt less than enthused about running repeat 800's. So, I told myself that I would continue my workout until someone else showed up on the track. Then I would complete just one more 800. Someone always shows up at some point during my workout. Surely someone would show up before I completed all six of my 800 repeats.

After Repeat 1, I scanned the parking lot and area surrounding the track - no one yet. Repeat 2? No one yet, but surely they are on their way. Repeat 3? Not yet. Repeat 4? You've got to be kidding... someone is always here by now.

Five 800's later, still just me on the track. It was very warm and humid. I was tempted to stop early even though I was alone on the track. Who would know? Then, in an odd way, I realized that "no one showing up" forced me to "show up". I had a choice to quit or be true to my word.

Most of us are pretty good about following through on our word to other people. We like to think others can count on us to be true to our word. We like to believe those around us consider us to have integrity - our actions and words are true. That's the easy part.

How about the things we say to ourselves inside of our own heads? Are we as true to those statements as we are to what we say out loud to other people? I've heard it said that you should never promise something (even something seemingly very small or insignificant) unless you are sure you can deliver.

All of us know of someone who we can count on to not be on time, to not complete tasks as promised, to not show up when they said they would. So, we begin to count on not counting on them (and their word). Here's the truth.... Not only do we all know someone like that, we all are that someone at certain times and in certain situations.

I actually believe it is just important that we follow through on those things we say in the privacy of our own heads. Each time we do so, we are more in integrity with ourselves. Each time we do so, we begin to count on ourselves and believe in our own word.

So, thank you to everyone who did not show up on the track today! By doing so, you helped me show up for myself.

Park to Park (to Park) Race Report

2008-07-07T09:54:00.004-05:00

Typically the weather at race start for the 5 mile Park to Park race is very warm (often already approaching 80 degrees) and quite humid. This year we were greeted with cool temperatures (58-60 degrees) at the start, relatively low humidity and light winds. So all of the usual excuses for not running well went immediately out the window.

I had two strategies for the race - one was to run it hard (with a goal to beat my last Park to Park time of 42:30 run in 2004), the second strategy was to run it fairly hard, but not so hard that I wouldn't feel like running back the other direction. The race goes from Miller Park in Bloomington to Fairview Park in Normal. I've never run back the other direction, although I know many runners do that in order to pick up their cars.

I ultimately decided to run 8:30 pace (which would match the 2004 time), and then run back to Miller Park with Terry (the Team in Training coach). Two disadvantages to this plan - it would mean skipping the post-race treat of ice cream (runners get to select a free ice cream treat from the ice cream truck) and it would mean running back with Terry. Terry ran a 32-minute Park to Park. I'll save you the math calculation and let you know that is 6:30 mile pace.

I ran a 42:42 which is 8:32 mile pace and placed 1st (out of 20) in my age group. As a parting gift I received a lovely mug which I would be happy to give to any interested person. Words really can't describe the beauty of this mug.

I did run back the other direction and felt pretty good. We ran at my pace, not Terry's. 8:30 mile pace for Terry is very, very easy. So basically I ran both directions at about the same pace.

Keeping my next two goal races (Evergreen Olympic Tri and Steelhead 1/2 Ironman) in mind, I did manage to sandwich three other workouts in my holiday weekend. I managed a 7-mile run on Saturday morning, a 3/4 mile swim on Sunday morning, and a 1 1/2 hour bike mid-afternoon Sunday with temperatures in the upper 80 - 90 range.

The reason I had the word sandwich in italics was because most of my holiday weekend involved the cross-training activity of eating. Friday's lunch consisted of fried cheese curds (delicious) accompanied by a mixed green salad and a salmon sandwich with roasted red peppers and goat cheese. Friday's dinner consisted snacks and assorted buffet foods from a 4th of July picnic at a friend's house, followed by the obligatory popcorn while watching the fireworks. A surprise greeted us at Fairview Park - free pie! Baker's Square was giving out free slices of pie. Yum. This was the first time our two granddaughters (Ella age 2 and Madison age 3) had gone to the fireworks. They loved them!

After a short night's sleep because of neighborhood fireworks continuing well into the night, Saturday morning arrived. 7:00 AM seemed way too early to be getting up for a run, but we all managed to do it. Another opportunity to run and another day to enjoy food and good company.

Saturday morning's run was followed by a leisurely stroll around the Farmer's Market while sipping coffee. We moved at such a slow pace around the market, it would have been difficult for the casual observer to believe the three of us (Howard, my sister and I) had actually taken a running step that morning. Lunch was a healthy brown rice, black beans, steamed broccoli and slices of red and yellow peppers. Before you get too impressed, know that our Saturday afternoon found us at a local winery.

We sat outside on a beautiful afternoon, sipping wine, eating cheese & crackers, a fresh fruit medley of raspberries, cantaloupe, and green grapes, and looking out at the vineyard. We followed this with an all-American cookout of hamburgers and grilled zucchini, and ice cream at a local ice cream place with our two granddaughters.

Sunday morning began with coffee and quiche at our favorite coffee place, followed by lunch at a local Mexican restaurant. (I told you I got a lot of cross training in this weekend.) Believe it or not, after all that leisure activity, I did manage to get on my bike Sunday afternoon and ride for 90 minutes. The mama bird still comes after me every time I ride by her territory, but I'm ready for her now.

All in all, it was a wonderful 4th of July weekend! We included many of the favorite American pastimes - fireworks, apple pie, cookout and time with family. We didn't play baseball.

Release Your Inner Masterpiece

2008-07-02T09:12:00.002-05:00

I happened to read an excerpt from a book and found it fascinating. Now I need to get the book. The book entitled "The Michelangelo Method ~ Release Your Inner Masterpiece & Create an Extraordinary Life", is written by Ken Schuman & Ron Paxton.

The authors recount how Michelangelo carved the David from a block of stone so damaged that his contemporaries considered it ruined. Michelangelo considered his job to be chipping away and clearing away what was not needed in order to find what was waiting inside.

The premise of the book seems to be that we each have our own masterpiece to sculpt and create - it is the life that we are meant to live. It's inside waiting for each of us. Our job is to chip away and clear away all that is not needed (fears, beliefs imposed on us by others, self-limiting patterns of thought and behavior) and discover the beauty waiting on the inside. We won't find this on the outside of ourselves - we won't find it in what and who others think we should be. We won't find our own masterpiece in external elements. We can't be who we are meant to be if we are just pretending.

Training progress/update

2008-06-30T15:21:00.003-05:00

This past week was a challenging week of training. My week included:

2 open water swims (each about 3/4 of a mile),
3 outdoor pool swims,
3 bike rides,
1 track workout (repeat 800's),
1 easy recovery run, and
1 tough 11-mile long run.

And I managed to balance that with a weekend filled with family activities. Our son Brent and his girlfriend Callie came home on Friday evening and left late afternoon Sunday. So my "cross training" family activities consisted of going to the Farmer's Market on Saturday, getting coffee at our favorite downtown coffee place, driving to Springfield for our daughter Lisa's birthday, playing with granddaughters, playing bocce ball, lots of eating, driving home Saturday night, more coffee on Sunday morning, washing cars (I was the window cleaner), and generally hanging out.

This week is even more challenging in terms of training and balancing the family activities with the 4th of July. The schedule includes:
4 bike rides (including the 3-hour ride I did today which I moved from Sunday, and a 4-hour ride scheduled for this coming Sunday, and 2 shorter mid-week rides),
5 swims including one 3350 yd pool swim and one 3600 pool swim, 2 open water swims, and 1 recovery swim,
5 run workouts including 1 track workout (repeat 800's again), 1 race (Park to Park 5 mile on the 4th of July), 1 long run (2-hour run on Saturday, following the race on Friday), and 1 brick (30-minute run immediately following the 4-hour ride on Sunday).

Our daughter Lisa, her husband Gary and our 2-year old granddaughter Ella will be arriving Thursday night. My sister will be arriving around lunch time on the 4th. We'll also be spending time with our daughter Lauren, her husband Kirk and our 3-year old granddaughter Madison.

As I was riding my long ride this afternoon, I was getting tired, I was riding back into a fairly strong headwind (as usual). I started to think about the female triathlete at the Naperville Triathlon who crashed on her bike. I had hoped to have some news about her condition. I have not been able to find any information on her, although most people who witnessed the crash and have some medical background seem to believe at the very least she suffered a significant brain injury. The last time she was on a bike, it took her away from her family - hopefully only for a short period of time while she recovers, but possibly forever.

This reminds me of just how important it is to balance training and family - to find the appropriate amount of time spent training that will allow me to be trained well enough to race safely, and yet to keep my priorities in the proper order.

Thinking of that young woman also reminded me of what a gift it is to be able to ride along on the open road, on a beautiful day, and to most importantly arrive safely back home to my family.

Appreciate Smooth Road When You Have It ~ be grateful for the bumps as well - that's where the learning is

2008-06-24T17:15:00.003-05:00

This afternoon I headed out for what was supposed to be an hour long ride. I was looking forward to the ride because there was very little wind (unusual for central Illinois afternoons), low humidity, and pleasant temperatures. For my weekday rides, I usually head east on a country road. There isn't a lot of traffic, although it does tend to pick up during the after work hour.

It didn't take long to realize this ride was not going as I had expected. There was a nice layer of fresh chip rock on the pavement. For those of you who have not attempted to ride a bike on that, it is a bit like riding on marbles. I was tempted to scrap the ride altogether. I had been looking forward to a nice quick little ride - not much wind, plenty of opportunity to ride fast.

I decided to stick with the ride and turn it into an hour long bike handling skills ride. I rode 30 minutes out. I knew it wouldn't be any faster riding back into town because of the chip rock. It certainly couldn't be any worse, could it? After all, I was getting accustomed to handling the bike in the deep gravel.

Well, the answer is that it could get worse. Hello, headwind. Not a strong wind, but when added with the already difficult to navigate road conditions, I found my legs getting quite tired. It couldn't get worse than this, could it?

Of course, you know the answer. Yes, it could. The post-work traffic had begun to pick up since it was now 4:30 PM. That meant that cars were headed home. They, in fact, were in a hurry to get home and not at all concerned about flying by me going the opposite direction. This meant rocks were flying right at me. I got pelted on my shoulders and took a couple of good zingers to the chest. Quite a few of the rocks bounced off my helmet and sunglasses, so I was glad to have those areas protected. And I was soon covered with dust from head to toe. It couldn't get worse than this, could it?

Tell that to the bird. I heard a squawking overhead - quite loud, in fact. And then I felt a hard blow to the top of my helmet. It took a minute for me to realize what was happening. The bird was actually dive-bombing me. Now I had to handle the bike on the chip rock, into the wind, pelted by rocks from passing cars and try to stay upright while the angry bird tried to take me out. He took 3 more dive-bomb attempts before moving onto more exciting prey.

I eventually made it back to my car. I came away with a renewed appreciation for smooth road to ride on and an equal appreciation for the bumps. The learning happens as a result of the bumps. The times when the ride, or life, isn't going as smoothly as expected, may well be the time when you learn the most about riding, or about life.

"Don't look back. We ain't going that direction." ~ John Wayne

2008-06-18T08:45:00.003-05:00

Today is Wednesday. Wednesday mornings are my track workout days. This morning I felt less than motivated to face those repeat 800's. I felt very tired yesterday from my long swim in the morning and the evening run. Added to the fatigue was the lingering headache caused perhaps by my swim goggles being too tight during my swim. So basically, you could say I was internally whining to myself about the speed workout.

And then I saw her - a young college girl was running on the track in front of me. As I passed her (yes, I did pass her), I read the quote on the back of her shirt. "Don't look back. We ain't going that direction." At first it made me laugh and as I thought about it, I realized John Wayne's words are very wise.

It really doesn't serve me that well to dwell on yesterday's training. last year's training and level of conditioning, or past races. The direction to be looking is forward. A quick glance back is useful to gain information, but after that it is time to get on the horse and ride forward. I don't think cowboys looked back very often- perhaps a quick look over the shoulder to be certain no one was chasing after them. Too much looking back could prove to be a very costly move. Looking back slows down the forward momentum.

I completed my workout and am noticing significant improvements in my times. This was only my fifth speed workout, so I can expect to see continued improvement over the next several weeks. I plan to continue the track workouts through the third week of September in preparation for the St. George, Utah Marathon on Oct. 4th. Perhaps the way to approach these future track workouts is like John Wayne - look in the direction of the goal.

Back on the Open Road

2008-06-16T08:45:00.003-05:00

This past Saturday was the Red Cross Ride & Stride. Cyclists could choose routes of 35 miles, 65 miles or 100 miles. Given the spring weather we have experienced, I knew I was not ready for the 100 mile ride. I also knew 35 miles was too short. This left the 65-mile route which I knew might be a stretch. My long rides have been on the trainer, with the longest ride of about 2 1/2 hours in length. I have done about 5-6 outdoor rides, but they have only been about 20 miles in length. What a difference a year can make! Last year I did the 100-mile route and I noted in my training log that the weather was very, very hot.

The good news? It was a beautiful day to ride. Low humidity, only a light breeze and temperatures in the mid-70's to low-80's during the ride. The 65-mile route went from the Tipton Trail area to Morraine View Park (Dawson Lake), to LeRoy, to Downs and back to Tipton Trail.

The bad news? My right quad started cramping up after about 35 miles. I've been having issues with my right knee (medial side), especially on hills - whether riding or running. After riding some of the hills in the Morraine View Park area, I could tell things are still not right with that right knee. Since only my right quad was cramping up, I'm sure it is related to the knee. My left quad felt fine.

More good news? I continued on for a total of 55 miles (Downs), before having my own personal sag wagon pick me up. Thanks Howard. At least I was able to get in a 50+ mile ride for the first time this season. I've already gone the distance that I need to ride for the 1/2 Ironman in August.

I have to admit that ride took a lot out of me. I felt pretty tired the remainder of the day on Saturday and was still feeling the fatigue on Sunday. It is discouraging to know that last year I did my first 100-mile ride at this point in the season.

Today I have an appointment at the Sports Enhancement Center to get my knee checked out. I am hopeful that some physical therapy will solve the problem.

One positive side benefit of the knee problem is that I've been doing a lot more swimming over the past couple of weeks. I've had some wonderful outdoor swims early in the morning at State Farm Park. Generally there have only been one or two other swimmers in the pool while I'm swimming. It is so peaceful in the early morning with the sun just rising higher in the sky and reflecting off the water. The water temperature has been perfect and the chlorine is very tolerable, unlike the 4-Seasons lap pool. I hope to do all of my swimming outdoors from now on.

It's Safe to Go Back in the Water

2008-06-12T08:37:00.002-05:00

Last night I attended my first open water swim practice (held in a small lake at a local park). Last year at this time I had probably done at least ten open water swims.

My wetsuit has actually been in water two times this season. The first time? The couple of hours it spent floating in our bathtub, soaking up moisture. (This is recommended prior to putting your wetsuit on for the first time in the new season. The wetsuit tends to dry out over the winter and is more likely to tear as you put in on for the first time if it hasn't been pre-soaked. It seems as though the pre-soak opens up the pores of the wetsuit and makes it more flexible.)

The second time my wetsuit got wet this season? My wetsuit did successfully make it to the transition area of last weekend's Tri-Shark Classic Sprint Triathlon. Draped over the bike rack along with my goggles, the wetsuit was ready to start the swim. I don't think I was as ready as my wetsuit. I hadn't pre-soaked. In other words, I had not yet been in the open water. I wasn't feeling particularly open to the idea of getting back in the open water. I wasn't feeling particularly flexible with my mental approach to my first open water swim taking place in a race. Just one week after running a marathon I was tired.

As it turned out, neither my wetsuit or I, had the opportunity to get in the lake. Thunder, lightning and torrential downpours of rain led to several start delays and the eventual cancellation of the swim portion altogether.

The race was changed to a duathlon - a 1.55 mile run, the planned 13-mile bike course, and another 1.55 mile run. I decided to run the first leg and then make a decision regarding whether to continue with the bike and second run portion. This was not an easy decision and one that I still question.

Reasons not to continue:

My right knee has been tweaky (medical term) since the Thursday evening before the Sunburst Marathon. In fact, on that very easy little recovery run, my knee was bothering me enough that I limped through the first 1/2 mile. Only after I picked up the turn-over and warmed up, was I able, eventually, to run with a normal stride.
The knee bothered me during the first couple of miles of the marathon, got better during the middle part, and then bothered me again during the final miles.
That marathon was only one week prior to Tri-Shark - not really much recovery time
My two goal races for the year are the Steelhead 1/2 Ironman in August and the St. George, Utah Marathon in October. I'm not willing to compromise either of those races.
The pavement was still quite wet from the rain which would require caution on corners and some slowing down overall.
The portion of the tri I most need to practice is the swim - especially to gauge my progress over the winter months of training.

Reasons to continue:

Everyone else is (actually about 100 people left for one reason or another once the delays started).
I could place in my age group (and would have since only 2 other females in my age group competed).
Consider it a training day, not a race day.
Get a sense of where I am with regards to the bike training over the winter.
Earn the T-shirt

Things I have to admit to myself whether I want to or not:

I have a knee problem that is not resolved yet and need to get it checked out (I have an appointment next Monday).
I am getting older so it is even more important to take care of injuries early on.
After watching about 12 wipe-outs on the bike (primarily in the transition area, hitting the increasingly wet and muddy timing mat), I'm aware I can't afford a spill on the bike. What might just be road rash or soreness for a few days to a younger competitor, could take me out of my goal races.
My bike handling skills are not up to the level they were at the end of last year's season. Our spring weather has taken a toll on the number of outdoor rides I've been able to do. I have not ridden in the rain yet this season. Doing so in a race, with a sore knee, doesn't seem like the best plan.

Take-aways for next year:

Pre-soak! Not just my wetsuit. Pre-soaking for myself consists of getting in the open water prior to the first race, riding the bike course several times before the first race, and mentally feeling open and ready to race.
"Everyone else is" has always been a poor reason to do something. At a certain point, you need to be able to hear and then listen to that inner voice that is saying something else.

Take-aways for the next race (Naperville Women's Tri):

I've pre-soaked! I completed two loops (600 yds each) during my open water swim last night. I managed to go straight to each buoy. Even when I picked up my head to sight the next buoy, I was amazed to see I was right where I was supposed to be. This tells me that I have evened my stroke out, I'm no longer pulling more with the right arm than the left. I felt very comfortable in the water right away.
The water was actually a bit choppy because of the wind and I still had no problems with sighting, swimming straight or fatigue.
Next week I plan to return and complete 3 loops of the course.
My swim time for the 600 yd course was at least 1 minute faster than last year.
I will have the knee checked out before the race, so I'll know exactly what I'm dealing with.
Already I'm noticing improvement with icing, Motrin, PT exercises that I've used in the past.
Pre-soaking for me consists of mental preparation so that I'm flexible enough to face whatever the race day conditions might be.

Race Report Postscript

2008-06-06T11:19:00.004-05:00

It has occurred to me that I left out a very important piece of my race report of the Sunburst Marathon. Gratitude.

Here are a few of the things I am most grateful for before, during and after the marathon:

Before:

Safe travels to South Bend, Indiana
A very nice, quiet corner hotel room - thanks to my husband (my personal travel agent)
A delicious dinner which I carried out from a little jazz restaurant/bar called Trios, located just a couple of blocks from my hotel
After viewing (on the Weather Channel) a very large and dangerous storm cell approaching our daughter & son-in-law's home in Chatham, Illinois and calling to alert them - the storm skirted around their town
Listening to the thunderstorms and rain during the night

During:

A 6:00 AM race start which allowed runners to finish earlier in the morning
The ample fluid stops - 24 stops over the course
The volunteers and police officers who kept the course safe for all of us
The three families of geese, 3 mother geese each followed by their goslings?, who crossed the road in front of us, while both cars and runners stopped to allow their safe passage
Having the physical capability to run in such extreme weather conditions
The cheering and support provided by the spectators who were very aware of the challenging race conditions and encouraged us to keep moving forward
Friends and family who kept me in their thoughts and prayers while I was running

After:

The ice-cold towel given to each finisher
The Popsicle that was the perfect post-race treat
The fruitcup - red grapes, cantaloupe, watermelon (which required more work than the typical basket of mushy 1/2 pieces of banana often found at the finish)
Being able to run 26.2 miles, in tough weather conditions, and feel well enough to shower, checkout of my hotel and start driving (feeling well enough to shower, checkout of a hotel and drive a car is something that some people would love to be able to do)
Safe travels to my sister's house
Talking on the phone to my 3-year old granddaughter, Madison, as I was leaving the hotel

As I look at the list above, I feel as though it is incomplete. Those of us who run marathons regularly are so accustomed to running, that we can take much of that experience for granted. We are so lucky to be able to run, to enjoy 26.2 miles of the outdoors, to have volunteers and spectators take time out of their Saturday morning to support and encourage us, to have a group of people in a community to work all year to provide us with a venue to run a marathon.....

So, thank you!

Race Report - Sunburst Marathon

2008-06-05T11:21:00.007-05:00

The Sunburst Marathon in South Bend, Indiana took place at 6:00 AM on Saturday, May 31st. There were numerous thunderstorms during the day on Friday which continued well into the night. This created a perfect recipe for 100% humidity at race start. The temperature at the start line was 70 degrees, so it was clear it was going to be a tough day for marathoning.

Cons:

High humidity
Warm temps
Breezy
Cotton T-shirt (same shirt for those doing the 5K, 10K, half marathon and family 5k fitness walk - why did I do the full 26.2? Oh yeah, to get the state of Indiana)
Tacky medal (even though it was the 25th anniversary)
Lots of turns on the course and quite a bit of concrete
Tweaky knee post-race
Got stuck in terrible traffic going through the city (of Chicago) on the way to my sister's (my hamstrings really appreciated that).

Pros:

Finished on the 50 yd. line of the Notre Dame football field (really cool)
Got the state of Indiana (state # 30 for me, marathon # 56)
Saw a friend who was running (I didn't know he was going to be there) collect state #50
Received a ride back to the start line (rather than waiting 1 1/2 hours for a shuttle bus) with a fellow marathoner and her husband (thank you Ken & Deb!)
The above ride was in a brand new Mustang convertible
Post-race Popsicles (very refreshing)
Post-race fruit cup (watermelon, red grapes, cantaloupe)
Drove from South Bend to visit my sister for the weekend
Went to the Arlington Heights Art Festival on Saturday (beautiful artwork)
Went to the Botanical Gardens on Sunday (gorgeous)
Had a delightful swim on Sunday morning in an outdoor lap pool

What if your life were a running shoe?

2008-05-22T11:19:00.006-05:00

Running shoes are often categorized in terms of their cushioning, flexibility and responsiveness. Runner's World magazine regularly features new running shoes in the various categories, so you can select the shoe that best meets your individual needs. It occurs to me that we can use these same categories in other areas of our lives.

Motion-control shoes are designed for runners (often over-pronators) who need plenty of support and durability. Overpronators have excessive foot motion, the arch tends to collapse inward too much, increasing the risk of injury.

Stability shoes are designed for runners who need a combination of good support and cushioning.
Cushioned shoes are designed for runners (typically biomechanically efficient runners) who need a minimum amount of support and maximum cushioning. Underpronators (supinators) tend to have a high arch, which can result in too much shock traveling through your body, since your arch doesn't collapse enough to absorb it.

Performance shoes are recommended either for racing or, if you're biomechanically efficient, for training. They are generally lighter.

If a shoe is too soft, it may lack durability. In general, more cushioned shoes tend to be less responsive. Responsiveness of a shoe relates to how smoothly a shoe moves with your foot from heel strike to toe-off.

If a shoe is too firm, it might not provide enough protection, making a runner susceptible to injury.

If your life were a running shoe, what type would currently suit you best?

Do you need more motion-control? Are you an over-pronator in various areas of your life such as work? Before reaching the "collapse" point, additional support might be needed.

Are you perhaps like many of us and need a combination of both motion-control and cushioning? If that is the case, what does stability consist of for you?

It is useful to take a look at your larger life in terms of biomechanics. There may be areas where you know you have weaknesses that make you more likely to suffer an injury. Being proactive about those "biomechanically weaker" areas, could consist of adding more motion-control, stability or cushion.

In which areas of your life are you already efficient and ready to race? What's your next event?

Comfortably Hard

2008-05-14T08:50:00.004-05:00

Track workouts are supposed to feel "comfortably hard". That's an interesting way of phrasing it, because repeats on the track actually take you out of your comfort zone and push you. Sometimes track workouts are anything but comfortable. Usually they are hard and sometimes they are really hard. However, approached with the right attitude, they truly are comfortably hard - hard enough to know you are doing the work. The comfortable part? By the time the goal race arrives, the track workouts allow you to step up to the starting line comfortable in knowing that you are prepared.

This morning at 5:32 AM I stepped onto the Illinois Wesleyan University track for my first speed workout of the season. I haven't done speed workouts on the track for two years, because of my focus on Ironman training. This year, however, in addition to the 1/2 Ironman event in August, I am running the St. George, Utah marathon in October. I have two goals for that marathon - the first is to obtain a Boston Marathon Qualifying time and the second is to run a sub-4 hour marathon. Both of those are realistic and attainable goals. And both will involve some hard work.

When I qualified for Boston before (2004 Boston), I spent countless hours on the IWU track during the summer before my fall marathon to qualify. I typically did speed workouts twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I loved those workouts - especially when they were finished. I always felt like a "real runner" once I stepped onto that track.

This morning was a misty, drizzle-filled morning. I wasn't sure what kind of shape I'm in, or if I would be able to complete the workout my coach provided. The workout called for a 2-mile warm-up, followed by 6 x 800 (1/2 mile) repeats with 2 minutes rest (jogging) in between. The goal is to run each of the 800's at approximately the same pace. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I ran each repeat about 10-15 seconds faster than my workout called for and my pace didn't vary more than 4-5 seconds per repeat.

I did my cool-down and left the track feeling tired but happy. It feels good to be back on the track. It feels good to begin the work to obtain the goals I have for this year's running.

If you are reading this and are not a runner, you may be wondering what, if anything, this has to do with you. Everything! One area to explore the "comfortably hard" workout is in a track workout. What other areas of your life are you holding back? Going at a pace that feels comfortable, or perhaps, even complacent. Where is the place you could step up the pace and push beyond your normal pace?

Six Degrees of Inspiration

2008-05-12T11:29:00.001-05:00

Today I find myself thinking about inspiration, living "strong" and making a difference in both small and large ways.

Tomorrow, May 13th, is LIVESTRONG Day. LIVESTRONG Day is Lance Armstrong Foundation's one-day initiative to raise awareness and funds for the cancer fight.

You probably have heard of "Six Degrees of Separation" - the theory that we are all connected to one another. Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that, if a person is one step away from each person he or she knows and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people he or she knows, then everyone is an average of six "steps" away from each person on Earth.

Applying "Six Degrees of Separation" to the disease of cancer, it is certainly true that within 6 steps away from us, we each know someone who currently has cancer. Within 6 steps away from us, do we each know someone who is doing something to make a difference, someone who is doing something to find a cure? Are we that "someone"?

I happened to come across the term "Six Degrees of Inspiration" on one of my coaching forums. It takes the concept of "Six Degrees of Separation" one step further by noticing the direct and indirect impact we can have on one another. We can inspire one another by our actions.

Somewhat like the Butterfly Effect (which describes and demonstrates how an action as small as a butterfly flapping its wings can have a major impact on the world weather patterns), both the seemingly insignificant and significant actions we take can inspire others.

As we move through our lives, we may not realize the inspirational impact we are having on others, both those who know us and those who don't know us personally, but are watching, none the less, and noticing what we're about.

Lance Armstrong's Foundation is certainly inspirational. Almost everyone has either seen, or worn, one of the LIVESTRONG yellow baller bands. Not only did the yellow wristband idea (for both cancer awareness and fundraising efforts) catch on for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, other causes soon began to use the wristbands as well.

The following taken from Lance Armstrong's blog says it well:

"In essence, they show each of us that we can be active citizens, we can be proud of our life’s work, and each of us in our own very personal way can support the betterment of society. It is the essence of the word “community.” We are all part of something bigger. And we can band together to impact our world."

One of the posters at the 2008 Boston Marathon, which Lance Armstrong ran in a time of 2:50, showed pictures of Lance running along with the following:

"Whatever your 100% looks like, give it!"

How can our own individual 100% (whatever that is for each of us) support the betterment of society, impact community and allow us to be part of something bigger? When we do that, we are living strong.

If you knew that how you are living your life, the actions you take, the words you say to others, the choices you make, the causes you support, would impact people "Six Degrees of Separation" away, would you do anything differently?

What would you most like to inspire other people to do?

Race Report - Lincoln Marathon

2008-05-08T11:21:00.000-05:00

My morning started out earlier than the 5:00 AM time I had planned. My hotel room was one of those adjoining rooms (with connecting doors, so that two rooms can become one) and as a result probably not as sound-proof as a regular room. My next door neighbors were a family with two young children. From the sound of things, as they tried to get the little ones settled down for the night, there was a toddler and a baby. Finally around 10:30 PM, the parents were successful in getting things quiet. I could hear almost every word through the door and knew they really were trying to quiet their children down for the night.

At 3:30 AM, the littlest one was up crying. This continued until about 4:30, giving me only another 1/2 hour or so before my scheduled wake-up time. At least I had plenty of time to get ready. I could also tell that one of the parents in the room next door was running as the entire family seemed to be up and going between 5:00 - 5:30.

My breakfast consisted of coffee, Gatorade, Multi-Grain Cheerios (not my first choice, but apparently they no longer make Team Cheerios which are less sugary), part of a plain bagel and 1/2 of a Cliff bar.

I left the room around 6:15 for the approximately 1 mile walk to the start. The temperature was a nice brisk 39 degrees. The wind was a bit breezy, but not too bad.

Before I knew it, it was time to find my place in the starting corral and the gun (sounded like a cannon) went off. The start was on the campus of the University of Nebraska, by the old coliseum. My first mile or two I was very aware that I felt dizzy - or at least that my head felt foggy. Perhaps this was due to the lack of sleep, because after the first couple of miles that sensation thankfully went away.

Some of you may know that I typically miss things along a marathon race course, such as the Alamo during the San Antonio Marathon. I am getting better at noticing things around me. As usual I missed some points of interest, such as the State Capital. However, I did notice somethings as I ran along.

The race course description mentioned two significant hills - one just past Mile 9 and one at Mile 20. I did notice the hill at Mile 9 - it was a tough one. I also noticed the hill at Mile 2 and the hill at Mile 5, neither of which were mentioned in the course description. I did not notice any antelope in Antelope Park (near the 20-mile mark), so I'm not sure if there is any connection with the name of the park and the animal.

My plan for this marathon was to run conservatively for a couple of reasons. First of all, this was the least trained I've ever gone into a marathon. Driving over the day before, left me a bit under-hydrated (I didn't want to make a 7 1/2 hour drive even longer by frequent pit stops) and a little under stretched out. Sitting in a car for that long the day before a marathon is not ideal.
The biggest factor for my conservative race approach was the fact that I did not want to risk running so hard that I either felt too wiped out or too sick to drive myself home.

My plan was to try to run even splits, although I knew my training would ultimately end before the race did. Sure enough, even though I ran the first 1/2 of the race a good 7-8 minutes slower than I usually run the first 13 miles of a marathon, I could not maintain the same pace for the entire race.

This marathon was challenging in that most of the 6,000 participants were only running the 1/2 marathon, which meant the course was lined with spectators saying things like; "You're almost there", or "Only two more miles to go". Those statements were true if you were a 1/2 marathoner. Shortly before Mile 13, there was a right hand turn for the 1/2 marathon finish and a straight ahead for the full marathoners. I felt as though almost everyone was turning. Most, in fact, were turning. Only 1200 of the 6000 runners were doing the full marathon. I told myself that at least now I wouldn't hear any more of those comments until they were actually true. Of course anyone who has ever run a marathon knows that inaccurate comments such as "You're almost there", or "It's all downhill from here", or "You're looking good", make up the spectator dialogue along the entire race course.

From Mile 13 - Mile 19 I tried to prepare myself mentally for the big hill at Mile 20. Even though the morning had started out quite cool, the temperature was quickly rising and with the cloudless blue sky, there was little relief from the sun. Here is the description of the area around Mile 20 from the marathon course literature:

"Holmes Park - A great place to picnic and watch the race as runners approach "the wall" at the 20 mile mark. The climb up the dam to the park on Normal Blvd. may be the toughest stretch of the race."

As I was running along near this section I happened to hear a group of bugler's playing and then the spectators and some of the runners themselves yelling "charge". There seemed to be quite a bit of fanfare around this. Hmm.... is it possible that I have already run "the hill". As I rounded a traffic cone and crossed the chip timing mat at Mile 20, I asked a fellow runner who seemed very familiar with the course, if we had already conquered the hill. He said; "Didn't you notice that big hill that we just ran up?" (Obviously he hadn't heard of my reputation for missing the obvious during marathons.) I cheerfully responded, I wasn't sure if that was it or not, but I felt really good knowing I had just run up the toughest part of the race.

I really did feel pretty good all the way into the finish. The most challenging part of those last 6 miles, was the last .2 miles. The pavement into the final stretch was in very poor condition. It was a combination of uneven bricks, potholes, and attempts to repair potholes that were even worse than the potholes themselves. On already fatigued leg muscles, it made any attempt to run hard to the finish line an impossibility. I found myself instead paying attention to running as carefully as necessary to avoid injury or a fall.

The finish line did not provide the usual Mylar blanket. There was, however, a nice surprise waiting for the female runners. The volunteers were handing out beautiful long-stemmed red roses. These were not your usual limp second-rate roses that are often handed out in mass at various events. These were beautiful florist-grade roses. The marathon medal itself was not particularly noteworthy, but it was proof of a successful finish so that's good enough.

At first, I politely declined my rose, letting the volunteer know that I would be traveling and therefore the rose would not hold up during the long trip home. I thought perhaps someone else could take it home, even if it was a volunteer after all the runners had received their roses. She said with a bright smile on her face; "Then just enjoy it while you can, honey".

That got my attention. She was absolutely right. It was about that moment. Here I was so quick to pass on the opportunity to breath the delightful aroma of that rose. Those are the moments of our lives. And so I carefully carried that rose with me during the mile walk back to the hotel, breathing in the scent as I walked along. The sun was shining, it was a glorious day, I now have the state of Nebraska crossed off my 50 states marathon list and I had money in my pocket for a Starbuck's just 3 blocks from my hotel.

Unlike the Tucson Marathon a number of years earlier, I didn't feel a sense of loss that no one was there to congratulate me at the finish line. I felt proud of myself that I had taken on the challenge of this marathon even though I could have easily made enough excuses to bail out on the idea.

I will say the trip home crossing the state of Iowa was very, very long! My quads are still sore 4 days later and I have yet to run. Typically I run within 2 days of a marathon. The recovery process seems to be a bit delayed following my 8-hour drive home immediately following the marathon. I literally was in the car driving within 40 minutes of getting back to my hotel room.

Next marathon? Indiana on May 31st. At least I can say I've done a 20-mile training run.

Pre-race Prep

2008-05-06T09:18:00.000-05:00

Ultimately, as most of you would have guessed, I decided to go to Lincoln to run the marathon. I haven't traveled by myself to run a marathon since I ran the Tucson, Arizona marathon. Typically I have either friends or family accompanying me to races.

The memories of that trip (Tucson) still linger - flight delayed out of Bloomington for 6 hours due to fog, a series of missed flight connections, not hydrating properly, and eating a soggy slice of pizza at 9:30 PM for my pre-race carbo-loading. The race had its moments of bleakness as well. My "gear" was stolen out of my gear-check bag (something that rarely happens at races), the mile markers were not well marked and the temperature during the race rose very quickly. I felt about as lonely as the occasional tumbleweed along the roadside when I crossed the finish line and realized the only one to say "well done" to me, was well.... me.

The first positive part of the trip to Lincoln? No fog. The only delay in getting out of town was the long line in the Starbuck's drive thru. So far, so good.

Frequently before marathons I take along some motivational/inspirational materials. This can be in the form of music, books, favorite quotes, etc.

For this marathon my mental preparation came from three seemingly different sources which turned out to have much in common.

Music: Phantom of the Opera CD which I listened to during the drive

Book: Rand Pausch's book "The Last Lecture"

Movie: The Bucket List

Music
I'll start with Phantom of the Opera. I love the music - it makes my heart soar to listen to it. I think that is important to consider. When is the last time you felt your heart soar? I particularly like the song "The Music of the Night". I believe that song has a wonderful message in the lyrics:

"Let your spirit start to soar and you'll live as you've never lived before."

One of the places where my spirit soars is when I'm running. It's not so much about the act of running, it is about the being of running.

Book
I have already viewed two of Randy Pausch's lecture videos - "The Last Lecture" and "Time Management". The book entitled "The Last Lecture" includes portions of both of those lectures. In the introduction of the book, Randy Pausch says the following:

"These lectures [Last Lectures] are routinely videotaped. I knew what I was doing that day. Under the ruse of giving an academic lecture, I was trying to put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children. If I were a painter, I would have painted for them. If I were a musician, I would have composed music. But I am a lecturer. So I lectured.

I lectured about the joy of life, about how much I appreciated life, even with so little of my own left. I talked about honesty, integrity, gratitude and other things I hold dear...."

Interesting for each of us to consider whether or not we have children. If we put ourselves in a bottle to wash up on the beach for someone to pick up, what is the message they will find inside?

What I love about this description is the fact that simply be being who we are, we can leave that message. As a runner, what is the message I leave for those around me - my beautiful granddaughters, my coaching clients, or even people who don't know me personally?

The second part of the book that struck me was "The First Penguin Award". At the end of each semester Dr. Pausch would present one team of his students with a stuffed penguin. It was given to the team that took the biggest risk and suffered the most glorious failure. Based on the notion that when penguins are about to jump into the water that might contain predators, someone has to be the first penguin, Dr. Pausch encouraged his students to take that bold jump. What's the upside if the jump doesn't go so well, or doesn't turn out as planned? He says it this way:

"Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted. It is a reminder that failure is not just acceptable, it's often essential."

What a great reason to have the courage to be a penguin!

Movie
I decided to treat myself to a "pay for view" movie in my hotel room. I watched the Bucket List with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nickolson. Even though this movie received mixed reviews, I found quite a bit to take away from it. It is about the story of two men, Carter Chambers, a blue collar mechanic, played by Morgan Freeman and Edward Cole, a billionaire hospital magnate, who have both been diagnosed with less than a year to live.

Carter begins writing a bucket list which consists of items at the feeling level - intangible, "being" types of things. Carter explains to Edward that his "Bucket List" is a list of things to do before he "kicks the bucket". His list includes such items as "laugh until I cry", "do something good for a complete stranger", "witness something truly majestic".

Edward decides the list needs more fun and adventure. He begins to add things from the doing level such as ski diving, climbing the pyramids, going on an African safari.

The items on Edward's list are more grandiose, they require such things as money and time. The items on Carter's list may not require much time or money. In order to view something majestic, it may be as simple as walking out the back door and viewing the sunrise.

Two very different approaches. One about adventure and doing. The other about feeling and being.

I actually already have such a list. It's probably heavier on the adventure, doing, action verb side of things. A great balance, I believe, would be to have a balanced amount of each. Perhaps that is the key to living a good life. Or the key to running a good marathon.

One of the quotes from the movie that I liked is:

"You measure yourself by the people who measure themselves by you." I believe that is where the balance comes about. Certainly success can be measured by the "doing" part of a person's life. However, the more profound impact happens when someone is successful in both how he or she does their life and gives equally attention to the being part of their life.

Carter also tells Edward about two questions that God might ask as a person is about to enter heaven.

1) Have you found joy in your life?
2) Have you brought joy to others?

In order to be able to answer "yes" to both questions, we must be willing to do both the adventure, doing, action verb items and be willing to be there for others.

Now I think I'm ready to run tomorrow morning.

Race report is still coming. :)

On the Fence... Indiana or Nebraska

2008-05-05T12:17:00.000-05:00

I had a decision to make about whether to run the Indy 1/2 Marathon on Saturday, May 3rd or the Lincoln, Nebraska Marathon on Sunday, May 4th. My decision making continued up until the very last day that on-line registration was open (Monday, April 28th).

Pro (for running Indy):
1) I love this 1/2 marathon and can generally get a fast time.
2) Many of the Team in Training group, including Howard, are running Indy.
3) I'm actually trained to run a 1/2 marathon.
4) It would be easier and more fun.

Con (Indy):
1) I wouldn't be able to visit Howard's dad in the hospital the day before his release following hip replacement surgery.
2) I wouldn't have an official finish time (borrowing a friend's bib number who is injured)

Pro (for running Nebraska):
1) This would give me another state (29).
2) It sounds like a great marathon (based on Marathon Guide comments).
3) I think I can run it smart enough to finish and avoid injury.
4) I'll have Nebraska scratched off the list and I won't have to drive across Iowa again.

Con (Nebraska)
1) I'm not adequately trained (long run of 16-17 miles, limited mileage over the last month due to being sick and then in New York for 1 week). This is the least trained I've ever gone into a marathon.
2) I will have to drive by myself - Diana is injured, so I have no travel companion. It is at least a 7-hour drive.
3) I have to drive through Iowa to get there.
4) I have to drive through Iowa to get home.

As Howard said to a friend who happened to inquire about my decision; "Knowing Sherry what do you think she chose?"

Nebraska here I come. Iowa please pass by quickly.

Race report is coming.

Why Can't We Just Be?

2008-05-01T12:17:00.001-05:00

This morning I happened to read a blog posting written by Kristin Armstrong. She was writing the blog as a result of taking one full week off from running after she competed in the Boston Marathon. She describes having "the talk" with her relationship partner, which in this case is running. It is very well written and I encourage you to take the time to read it.

The link is:

http://milemarkers.runnersworld.com/2008/04/the-talk.html

She writes that it might be time to start seeing other people such as yoga or pilates. She considers the possibility of the toll it takes to always be such a serious couple (describing herself and her partner - running), contemplating where they are going next or what the future holds. She ends that with the question; "Why can't we just be?"

It made me laugh when I read her description of having "the talk" with her relationship with running - assuring "running" that it wasn't about him, it was about her needing a break, needing to do things differently.

I have a good friend who recently had a chance to go on a trail run in the mountains. He described looking out across a meadow, seeing snow-covered mountains and then stopping for ten minutes to appreciate his life, the gift that he can run, the view, his friends, and his family.

After reading her article, it occurred to me that it might be useful for us to have "the talk" with anything that we spend a large majority of our time in relationship with. For some, it could be work. For others, it could be an endless to-do-list. For many of us, it might be worrying. It could even be watching television. Does the television looking back at you get more of your time than other things or people in your life?

Or perhaps, "the talk" might be one that you have with refined sugar, processed foods, high fat foods or alcohol. The seeing "other people" might consist of seeing more veggies or whole grains. I can hear the conversation now:

"I know that our relationship (refined sugar) has been in place a long time. I know how much you look forward our time together, to giving me that "sugar high" followed by the inevitable "sugar low". I know that you have enjoyed the additional time you get to spend with me in the form of extra body fat. But, it is time for me to see new people in the form of green leafy vegetables.

Now I'm going to add a video into this conversation. You may wonder how the blog posting written by Kristin Armstrong and a video lecture on time management relate. I happen to think they have quite a bit in common.

Yesterday I happened to watch Randy Pausch's video of a lecture he gave at the University of Virginia on time management. You may be familiar with his "Last Lecture" presentation given at Carnegie Mellon Univeristy. Although that lecture has received a great deal of media attention and publicity, Randy Pausch says he is most proud of his lecture on time management.

He starts his speech out by saying that as a man dying of pancreatic cancer, he needs to be an expert on time management because he has a very limited amount of time left. He suggests that although many people may have a household budget, very few of us have a "time budget". We as a society have not elevated time to the same level as money. It certainly is true that if we lose money, we can always obtain more. When we waste minutes or hours of our lives, we can never get that time back again. Where are we spending our time? What are we in relationship with?

I especially liked his thoughts on doing the things right vs. doing the right thing. He says that it is so much more important to do the right things adequately than to do the wrong things beautifully.

I'm guessing that Randy Pausch would take Kristin Armstrong's article one more step. He might inquire as to whether we are choosing to spend our time on being in relationship with the things and the people that matter most.

How Solid is My Commitment?

2008-04-30T08:09:00.000-05:00

This morning I headed out for my usual early morning Wednesday run. As I ran along, it occurred to me that I ran last night and failed to follow through on my commitment to pick up at least three pieces of trailside litter. It totally escaped my mind.

I thought about my options. I could start fresh again today. I could make-up for last evening's missed collection. In terms of athletic training, generally the philosophy is not to try to make up for missed training sessions. This, however, is different. Those three pieces of uncollected trash do matter to the environment. And it also leaves this uneasy feeling inside of me - I know the choices I make around this have to do with just how committed am I really to following through on this promise.

As I am mulling all of this around in my brain, I ultimately decide to pick up six pieces of litter this morning - three for last night and three for today. That allows me to feel in integrity with myself and the promise I made to my fellow trailmate.

I thought you might be interested in exactly what I picked up this morning.

1) An empty Idaho Potato plastic bag
2) A dryer fabric softener sheet
3) A kleenex - eew
4) An empty plastic wrapper from "Hot & Spicy Crunchy Nuggets" - not sure what that is
5) An empty diet Pepsi can
6) A lunch sack still containing the remains of a partially eaten lunch of 1/2 sandwich, a piece of foil that the sandwich was wrapped in, 2 packages of unopened crackers (does all of that count as more than one item?)

I should also mention that as I turned around at the 1/2 point of my run, after already collecting and depositing three pieces of trash, I spotted him just up ahead. Yup, sure enough - there he was, running along and collecting litter as he went. I ran past him with a cheery "hello", now mindful that I was the "scout". He would be following behind and would notice the pieces of litter that I failed to pick up. I was extra vigilant - determined to have to trail up to his high standard of pristine and litter-free. That very fact was the reason I had to pick up that lunch sack. It was bulky, heavy, rather soggy and less than convenient to carry along to the trail end. But I knew that he would pick it up no matter what.

Feeling pretty good about my environmental efforts, I left the trail and ran along the sidewalks back to where my car was parked. And I noticed something. Trash. Lots of it. Scattered here and there. Would my trailmate stop his collecting efforts just because he left the trail? I doubt it. While I didn't pick up any of those pieces of trash on the way back to my car, I have decided that when I am out and about, if I see some trash I will pick it up and throw it away.

One benefit of scanning the trailside, is that I also noticed many things that I would have ordinarily run by without a glance. Did you know that there are yellow tulips planted about every 100 yds in one section of the trail? There was also a very vocal woodpecker that seemed to be "thumping me along side of the head" (kind of like the V-8 commercial) with his loud hammering on the tree trunk, when I nearly ran by a piece of trash.

All of this got me thinking. When we make a commitment to something or someone, is it a solid commitment? Or a partial commitment - only when we remember, when it's convenient, or when nothing else gets in the way?

Earth Day Eye Opener

2008-04-23T15:08:00.000-05:00

This morning I was running on the Constitution Trail about 5:30 AM, when I came across an older man that I frequently encounter on the trail. Typically he is slowly walking along, carrying a small plastic garbage bag, gathering assorted trash from the trailside and depositing it into the garbage bag. No piece of trash is too small to escape his careful scanning of the ground - paper cups, discarded plastic bottles, small bits of paper or plastic, cigarette butts, he indiscriminately picks up each and every item that he encounters. Generally I murmur a pleasant "Good morning" and thank him for his diligent environmental efforts. He keeps the trail beautiful for all of us who enjoy it on a regular basis.

And then I go along my way, rationalizing to myself that I am running, whereas he is walking. Naturally he has the time to pick up trash as he goes along. I also convince myself that it gives him something to do while he is out walking. After all, he's not going that fast. He's just walking.

Something interesting happened this morning. He was running. His pace was much faster than I would have expected. He was moving right along. And then.... he suddenly veered off in pursuit of an almost overlooked piece of trash. Then I noticed that both of his hands were filled with the pieces of trailside litter he had collected during his run.

As I pulled up alongside him, I said my usual "Good morning", thanked him for his unwavering care for the environment. And then I told him that I intended to collect at least three pieces of litter every time I run on the trail. I also told him that I would challenge other runners I know to do the same. Three small pieces of litter - that won't slow us down much. It won't take that long.

Off I scurried down the trail towards the road that would take me back to my car. As I ran along, I quickly spotted and picked up my promised three pieces of trash. Lesson #1 - try not to select a 32 oz. empty glass bottle as one of the items - it becomes quite heavy rather quickly. I suppose it also might not have been the safest option to carry a glass bottle while running. Most of all I know that neither of those two things would have entered the mind of my environmentalist friend - he would have quietly gone about doing what he does to take care of our earth.

I wondered to myself what his thoughts were regarding yesterday (April 22nd) which was Earth Day. He celebrates Earth Day each and every day. We should all do the same.

I'll let you know how my promise comes along. Will I eventually forget my promise? Will it become too burdensome? Too much trouble?

If you happen to see me out and about running on the trail and if I don't already have three pieces of litter in my hands, ask me about it. Hopefully, my answer is either that I have already collected and deposited my three items in a trash can, or I've just started my run.

We all live on this earth. We can all do our small part.

Rejuvenation in the Adirondack Mountains

2008-04-18T11:05:00.000-05:00

I'm back from the Bigger Game Train the Trainer training in Silver Bay, New York. What an amazing experience! I learned so much, met some wonderful people and enjoyed the beautiful retreat setting. Lake George is a beautiful lake. The day that I arrived (Monday, April 7th) the lake was still completely frozen. Two days before I left the ice had "gone out" as the locals call it. This is apparently a very special event to witness. It marks the transition from winter to spring. Somehow it seems fitting for those of us attending this week-long course. We all, each in our own way, are transitioning into something different and hopefully more impactful.

Here are some of the things I learned during my trip:

1) Don't park under trees if you visit Sydney, Australia! Huntsman spiders are known to drop from the trees and make their way into vehicles parked underneath the trees. Another good tip if you must park under a tree - don't leave your windows cracked open unless you want an unexpected visitor while you are driving. Apparently these spiders, which can get quite large, are the cause of many car accidents. We had three Australians in our class that shared this "good to know" information.

2) Thai food is really good! When I arrived at the Albany airport, I rented a car and drove to Burlington, Vermont to visit our daughter and son-in-law. Kristin had play rehearsal (Annie), so she left within 30 minutes of my arrival. Adam and I went to a Thai restaurant for a wonderful dinner.

3) I can make a delicious orzo pasta salad. Kristin and I spent Monday morning and afternoon together. We went to one of my favorite little restaurants in Burlington for lunch. I ordered a grill chicken and orzo pasta salad. Kristin and I talked about what the ingredients were and I was able to successfully replicate it at home. After lunch with Kristin I drove back to Silver Bay (I had passed by the retreat center on my way from the airport to Vermont) to join my classmates for dinner Monday evening.

4) Running in the Silver Bay area is much hillier than in Illinois! This was a great opportunity to let go of covering any certain distance at any certain pace and simply enjoy running.

5) I really love the Bigger Game model and how it can be used effectively in any context of life. It is an innovation model that allows us to step into our full potential. The recipient of expression of full potential? The world.

6) We can all benefit from "stepping to the right of our left hemisphere". (More on this in a future posting.) On the first day we watched an amazing video about a neuro-anatomist (in other words a brain scientist), who had a stroke and decided while having the stroke to learn about her brain from the inside out. The video is about 20 minutes long. It is fascinating from a medical standpoint and powerful from a how to live your life perspective.

Jill Taylor says the following about her experience:

"How many brain scientists have been able to study the brain from the inside out? I've gotten as much out of this experience of losing my left mind as I have in my entire academic career." ~ Jill Bolte Taylor

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/229

7) The difference between a maze and a labyrinth. A maze is designed to get you lost, while a labyrinth is designed to help you find yourself. On Thursday evening we had the opportunity to walk through a labyrinth right alongside of Lake George. Four of us walked through the labyrinth while Sarah (wife of BruceTamlyn, the Pastor of the YMCA retreat center there at Silver Bay) sat beneath a tree playing a wooden flute. After walking the labyrinth, it occurred to me that is exactly what draws me to the Bigger Game model. Especially when you are feeling stuck, the Bigger Game gameboard allows you to find where you are and then, how to move forward.

8) If we let go of "performing and/or achievement" we open ourselves up to greater learning. On the very first day of class, Rick Tamlyn (co-founder of the Bigger Game) said the following; "You all have an "A" already. The application (rigorous application process) was your final exam." What a gift that was to each of us. Rather than being focused on how we looked, performed, and demonstrated our skills, we were encouraged to soak up the learning.... even to fail spectacularly!

9) Unplugging is a great way to plug into what is really important. I don't miss not having TV, e-mail, or phones. That's right, there were no TV's, no computers unless you elected to bring your own laptop, and no cell phone service. (Actually we discovered on the second to last day that cell phones did work if you stood directly underneath the flagpole on a higher elevation part of the YMCA campus.) I did make a call home, standing beneath the flagpole - in the rain, on Friday morning.

The evening hours after dinner were filled with walks outside, breathing fresh air, talking with new friends, reading before bed and being still. By the way, there was also a "no alcohol" rule in place at this retreat. Once all the outside noise was eliminated, and with no alcohol to alter perception, what resulted was being fully in the present moment - the "be here, now" experience. We need more of that in our lives I believe.

When I arrived at the Albany airport everything felt so loud and so bright. The technology seemed especially intrusive. Perhaps that is why it has taken so long for me to return to writing a post for this blog. I encourage you to "unplug" for a day (or more) and notice how much more alive you feel.

Ego

2008-04-04T07:24:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm still sick. It is very hard for me to give up racing the Springfield 1/2 Marathon tomorrow. Exactly why is that? Is it ego? Look at me.... I'm racing a 1/2 marathon! While it wasn't one of my key races of the year, I was looking forward to seeing what I could do. I had a goal time (beating last year's time) for this hilly course. Even more opportunity for ego to shine - I can run 13.1 miles over hills and run it faster than last year.

Of course, if I run it feeling the way I do, my time will be less than impressive. So, perhaps choosing not to run is just as ego-based as choosing to run. Am I making the decision not to run out of ego or out of wisdom?

Wisdom, let's go with that (as my granddaughter Madison says). Wisdom tells me that I am getting worse, not better. Wisdom tells me that I have a very important course (Bigger Game Train the Trainer) this week in New York. In order to bring my "A" game to the course, it will be important to be healthy. The course is an important next level in my profession.

Sometimes we need to be willing to let go of something now, in order to support something bigger that awaits us. Sometimes we have to be willing to let go of our ego.

P.S. I have a doctor's appointment at 11:15 this morning. I'll let you know what I find out.

Update - bacterial bronchitis is the diagnosis. I now have antibiotics to help me get over this. I guess I'll have to continue to be in acceptance mode because I'm certainly not enjoying being sick or enthusiastic about it.

Acceptance

2008-04-02T13:39:00.000-05:00

I'm sick! What started out as a slight scratchy throat on Monday night/Tuesday morning, what I hoped was merely weather-related sinus stuff, apparently is the real deal - sickness. More than likely it is a viral bug. Very few athletes are good about acceptance when it comes to illness or injury. Typically I tend to move rather quickly out of awareness and acceptance into denial.

This time, however, I decided to do things differently - in part from my reading of Eckhart Tolle's book "A New Earth". Eckhart describes "awakened doing" as the alignment of your outer purpose--what you do--with your inner purpose--awakening and staying awake. He uses three modalities to describe the ways in which you can align your your consciousness so that it is not what you do, but how you do what you do that becomes the primary focus.

The three modalities are acceptance, enjoyment, and enthusiasm. Eckhart says the following: "You need to be vigilant to make sure that one of them operates whenever you are engaged in doing anything at all--from the most simple task to the most complex. If you are not in the state of either acceptance, enjoyment, or enthusiasm, look closely and you will find that you are creating suffering for yourself and others."

It's pretty clear that I don't enjoy being sick. I'm not enthusiastic about being sick. So that leaves the modality of acceptance for me to step into while I recover. Thinking about it, I must acknowledge that I have brought suffering upon myself or others by my stubborn refusal to accept injury or illness.

Here's how acceptance has looked so far this week:

Monday - I accepted that I was

a) either tired from the weekend, or b) coming down with something. I elected to skip all of my workouts on Monday (the morning swim and the evening ride on the trainer).

Tuesday - accepted (with some degree of reluctance) that I was, in fact, probably getting sick.
I decided that to do my Monday interval swim workout with the 10 x50 yd repeats @ VO2 Max pace, 3 x200 yd repeats @ INT AT pace, 300 yds of kicking drills, etc. was not a wise plan.

I opted instead to do my Thursday swim workout (longer, slower repeats of 500 yds @ EXT AT pace with no particular attempt to hit my times for those repeats). I just settled into swimming at a pace where my body did not feel like it was exerting too much. Much to my surprise I hit the times for the two 500's only a few seconds off pace. Let me see if I have this right, I swam easier/slower which resulted in almost as fast as my regular 500 yd pace. Hmmm... And I enjoyed this swim workout even though I'm sick and it wasn't the scheduled workout.

Tuesday evening - I accepted that I wasn't feeling well enough to run outside with my training partners. I skipped the run entirely and had a nice warm bowl of soup instead. I enjoyed the soup. I wasn't enthusiastic about the soup, but I enjoyed it. The warmth felt soothing on my throat.

Wednesday morning - I called my running partner at 5:00 AM to say I would not be meeting her. I settled back in under the warm covers, and after some coughing, managing to drift back to sleep for a bit. I enjoyed the warmth and the taking care of myself.

I slipped slightly out of "acceptance mode" into "envy mode" when I read AJ's blog about her great brick workout this morning. I found myself wishing that I could have had that experience of a great workout this morning.

Then I realized that acceptance of being sick is what allows me to experience the other two areas Eckhart mentions - enjoyment and enthusiasm. Part of what reminds me of how much I enjoy my training and sports (marathons or triathlons) and how enthusiastic I am about participating, is a taste of what it is to not be able to participate, even if only for a few days.

A new level of acceptance awaits me. I'm ok with being sick for two days. I can accept being sick for two days. Tomorrow is the third day. I have a 1/2 marathon scheduled for Saturday.

Are you wearing "negativity" goggles?

2008-04-01T09:12:00.001-05:00

This past weekend I went to visit my sister, Shelley, in Elk Grove Village (Chicago suburb). It was a good visit. It doesn't really matter what we do, we always enjoy spending time together. Saturday afternoon and evening were filled with good food, a little shopping (really just looking, no purchasing), watching a movie, and just hanging out.

Sunday morning I planned to do a swim at her workout club, while she did a cardio workout. The morning was cold, damp, and drizzle pelted us as we headed inside. Not exactly enough to inspire me to want to get into the "cold" pool and swim. I decided to get in and give it a try, dreading it all the way from the locker room to the pool area.

To my surprise, I had a wonderful swim. The water temperature was just right - not too cold, not too warm. The pool was filled with just the right number of people - not too few, not too many. We each had our own lane and there were a couple of open lanes available. The water was perfect as well - not too much chlorine. There was some music playing in the background, again just right - not too loud and not so soft I couldn't hear it. It was one of the most enjoyable swim workouts I've had in a long time.

I could have so easily missed this swim if I had allowed my negative mindset to impact the choice I made to swim or not. Even wearing my "negativity" goggles, I managed to get a clearer picture of my swim that morning. Imagine if I had entered the pool wearing "positivity" goggles. Then, I'm guessing, my good swim might have been even better.

The workout was followed by a nice warm shower, coffee at a local Starbuck's while sitting in front of a fireplace, and lunch. Sounds like a perfect time for a nap! Or.... a two hour drive home.

Once home, I had a 30-minute client call, followed by a scheduled 1 hour ride on the trainer. The 60 minute ride was to be a EXT END (83-86% of maximum HR), which is not always easy to maintain. I'm still on the learning curve of cycling. It is easy for me to run for a long time at a high HR zone, much more difficult for me to do that on a bike. Luckily I had borrowed a CD from my sister for the trip home. The music was energizing as I drove home, so I decided to listen to it while riding.

I found myself pedaling through 1:07 minutes with no problems maintaining that HR. What was I listening to? The Doors Scattered Sun CD. In case you wondered, "Light My Fire", "Riders on the Storm", "Break on Through" and "Not to Touch the Earth" are all over 7 minutes long. And, they are great songs to ride to.

The CD comes with a little booklet about the Doors and Jim Morrison in particular. I find myself drawn to Jim Morrison's music. The booklet describes Jim Morrison has being strongly drawn to poetry, literature, mysticism, religion, psychology and philosophy. Apparently one of his favorite philosophers was Friedrich Nietzsche and his favorite writers included Blake, Rimbaud and Byron. Perhaps that is exactly what draws me to his music.

Once again I was given a lesson in the importance of mindset. A friend of ours often would use the phrase; "Get off your Huffy bike". It made us laugh every time he would say it. And it is so true. We have choice as to whether we stay angry (on the Huffy bike), dread a workout vs. look forward to it,or any other mindset we elect to camp out in.

"This story just felt so hungry..."

2008-03-25T08:22:00.000-05:00

Sean Penn directed the movie "Into the Wild", a project he worked on for nearly a decade. He was quoted as saying; "This story just felt so hungry to be made into a movie". Even though there were roadblocks (obtaining the movie rights) along the way, he also said; "I always felt, one way or another, it was going to happen".

So what is it, in my life or your life, that feels so hungry that it can't not happen? What is it that even knowing there will be obstacles and roadblocks along the way, that we no will happen? That we know must happen?

Into the Wild was inspired by the true story of Christopher McCandless. Christopher was an Emory University graduate who set out on a quest to Alaska. He traveled across the United States from West Virginia searching for a meaningful and authentic life. Abandoning his money, possessions, family and a conventional lifestyle, he moved from state to state with the ultimate "North" destination as his guiding star.

Along the way he meets many interesting people, including Ron Franz, an aging widower. Ron has a small workshop where he does leather work. He teaches Christopher how to do leather engraving. One of the scenes that I found striking was the one where Christopher shows Ron the belt he has engraved. The engraving chronicles his travels, depicting the various places he has been from the grain fields of South Dakota, the Grand Canyon, the Colorado River, etc.

That got me to thinking about what I would engrave on a similar belt. Where are the most defining places I've been - the places that have made me who I am today, left a lasting impact in terms of their beauty...? What events of my life, both the difficult ones and the peak moments, would I choose to represent on the leather?

One of the quotes from the movie that captured my attention was when Christopher said to Ron; "The core of man's spirit comes from new experiences". Another one was a quote by Henry David Thoreau that seemed to impact Christopher's philosophy of life; "Rather than love, then money, than fame, give me truth".

Eckhart Tolle says it this way in his book "A New Earth":

"Space consciousness represents not only freedom from ego, but also from dependency on the things of this world, from materialism and materiality. It is the spiritual dimension which alone can give transcendent and true meaning to this world.

The sound track of the movie, especially the instrumental songs, also moved me. It reminded me of a CD I picked up while traveling to the Burlington, Vermont marathon several years ago. My friend Diana and I listened to what we referred to as our "traveling music" as we drove through the Green Mountains.

So there is this yearning for traveling, for new experiences, new sights, freedom from conventionality that is within me. Perhaps that is why the movie appealed to me so much. A quote by Tolstoy used in the movie says it like this:

"I have lived through much and now I think I have found what is needed for happiness. A quiet, secluded life in the country with the possibility of being useful to people..."

(In case you haven't figured it out, Into the Wild was the movie I watched this past weekend while riding my bike on the trainer.)

Found

2008-03-24T11:56:00.000-05:00

You might be wondering what movies I have been watching during my long rides on the trainer. On Sunday, March 16th I watched the movie "August Rush". This movie is about a young musical prodigy who is trying to find his parents. He has spent his life in an orphanage and at the prospect of being moved to another facility decides to "follow the music" to find his parents. I loved many things about this movie. As the young boy moves through the busy streets of New York City, he hears music in the everyday sounds of the city. He composes the fluttering of the flags, the rattling of a plastic bottle rolling along the pavement and other sounds of the city, into music in his head. So one can hear "noise" or "music" depending on their perspective. Depending on how you choose to listen it can sound like chaos or beautiful music.

Along the way, the boy encounters a man who encourages his quest to develop his musical abilities and holds him back at the same time. He does ask a profound question, when he asks the boy what he wants to be. The boy responds; "Found". That line really struck me. I believe that is all that any of us really want. We want to be found.

I've started reading Eckhart Tolle's book "A New Earth". He talks about the difference between form-based attention and formless attention. In the context of parenting he describes form-based attention on one's child as the focus on doing or evaluating in some way. He gives examples of this - "Have you done your homework? Eat your dinner. Tidy up your room. Brush your teeth. Do this. Stop doing this. Hurry up and get ready."

It's not that he believes form-based attention isn't necessary. He states that there is a place and a time for it. He goes on to say that if form-based attention is the only component of the relationship between parent and child, the most vital dimension (being) is missing. He refers to "formless attention" as the alertness, the stillness, the listening, the looking... the being present with your child.

As Tolle describes it:

"The longing for love that is in every child is the longing to be recognized, not on the level of form (doing), but on the level of Being. If the parents honor only the human dimension of the child, but neglect the Being, the child will sense that the relationship is unfulfilled, that something absolutely vital is missing, and there will be a buildup of pain in the child and sometimes unconscious resentment towards the parents. "Why don't you recognize me?"

For me the formula looks like this:

Recognized (at the being level) = Found.

When I consider what Tolle is writing about, it occurs to me that form-based attention focus within a relationship vs. formless attention within a relationship is equally important in any relationship. It is what allows us to be found.

The Difference One Word Can Make

2008-03-24T11:23:00.000-05:00

Ah yes, I seem to be in a pattern here. Posting on my blog several times a week and then disappearing for a week or ten days. I could ask myself if this theme is running through any other areas of my life - showing up and then disappearing. However, rather than focus on that question, I'll let you know what I have been up to lately.

In my last posting, I talked about Horton the Elephant. I actually decided to draw on Horton the Elephant for a recent presentation. I was asked to speak to a group of "offenders" at a women's prison. I find this choice of wording interesting. Although I didn't ask the reason for the use of the word offender rather than inmate or prisoner, I have come up with my own theory. Inmate or prisoner implies something we have done to the person - we have imprisoned you. It puts accountability on those who carry out the sentence, rather than placing it on the "offender". Offender, on the other hand, places the responsibility on the individual who has committed the offense.

Even though this seems like a small thing, it really got me thinking. The use of one word instead of another word seems to have a significant impact. My guess is that we all fall into the trap of using words that move us away from accountability rather than closer to it. Example? The word "try". I will "try" to ______. Already the implication is that it most likely won't happen. Another example is the word "hope". I "hope" I will _______. Again, this implies less than optimal confidence in the outcome.

With that observation, I'll continue with my story.

I would be speaking to a group of approximately 75-100 women. The group would consist of women with less than one year remaining of their sentence, to women with up to 19 years remaining. The education level and age would vary greatly as well.

I spent a lot of time considering what I might say to these women that would give everyone something they could apply to their life regardless of their situation. The more I thought about it, the more daunting the task seemed to be. Then I decided it was time to just quit thinking.

Generally when I give a speech or a presentation I draw upon what has occurred during the week leading up to my talk. I find that life has a way of giving me something that ties in quite nicely. In this case it was Horton the Elephant.

I took a stuffed Horton the Elephant and the book to read. I began my speech by asking the women who they recalled from recent speakers that impacted them and why. The responses were very insightful and articulate. I then produced Horton from my canvas bag, and propped him up on the front of the podium. I asked if any of the speakers had brought in a stuffed animal and a children's book yet. No one had, so my idea at least was original.

I was prepared to go with the flow and change directions at any point along the way. I didn't even know if I would read the entire story. As it turned out, I alternated reading a bit of the story, interspersing the life coaching content of my speech, and then returning back to the story.
The approach seemed to work well. I can't really know what the impact of my presentation was on the group. I know the group left an impact on me.

I left with the realization that the prison population is a growing and forgotten segment of the population. And, these are some amazing individuals. Like the tiny voice that Horton the Elephant heard on that tiny speck of dust, these women have voices that long to be heard. Maybe that is a large part of the reason why they are where they are. At the time when they most needed to be heard, no one was listening. I would guess that after a certain length of time when the voice becomes still or worse yet, hardened.

What is our responsibility? If we use our Horton the Elephant ears, what voices might we hear calling out?

Horton Hears a Who

2008-03-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter won't mind." ~ Dr. Seuss

I happened to be watching American Idol on Wednesday evening, when the cameras showed Jim Carrey sitting in the audience. What made him stand out from the crowd, other than the fact he is a celebrity, was the fact he was wearing an elephant costume. Obviously this was to promote his new movie coming out - "Horton Hears a Who". What I loved about the way he sat in the audience was how completely at ease he was, with his huge elephant feet sticking out in the aisle, his elephant ears bumping into the person next to him... I love the joyful energy he exudes. It seems to me that he is perfectly ok being exactly who he is, wherever he is, regardless of what others might think. He sat there holding the pink clover flower in case he needed to hear what the speck of dust had to say.

I want to go see "Horton Hears a Who", partly to take my two granddaughters to see it, but just as importantly because I want to see it. Horton the Elephant may have some lessons for all of us - lessons about the importance of listening. Horton hears a voice on that very small speck of dust. He keeps that speck of dust safe by placing it gently on a clover. Horton soon discovers that there may be people living on that tiny speck of dust. Horton believes that a person is a person no matter how small.

In the story, it takes one last voice - the voice of a little girl named Jo-Jo in order for the voices of the people of Whoville to be heard. One small voice makes the difference.

One of my favorite books is "Let Your Life Speak" by Parker J. Palmer. He talks about the importance of listening,referring specifically for the voice of vocation. (I think Horton would have been very good at this since he heard the voices of the Who people on that very tiny speck of dust.)

I love the question Parker Palmer poses - Is the life I am living the same life that wants to live in me?

"Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you."

Palmer's philosophy is that vocation does not come from willfulness, but rather from listening. The word vocation actually comes from the Latin word for "voice". Vocation is different from a goal a person has for their career. It has to do with listening for the calling from the voice within each of us. It is not about what we do. It is about who we are.

Parker adds the following:

"Vocation at its deepest level is "This is something I can't not do, for reasons I'm unable to explain to anyone else and don't fully understand myself, but that are nonetheless compelling."

If you were to listen to that tiny speck of dust on that pink clover, what would it be whispering about your life to you?

Go Out on a Limb - That's Where the Fruit Is!

2008-03-11T11:14:00.000-05:00

Those who know me well know that I've always wanted a treehouse. One of my coaching clients, who did not know this fact about me, sent me a card with the following message on it:

"Dream big," she said. "For example, I dream of one day building myself a grand treehouse to live in, and having flowers and chocolate brought up every morning. Anything can happen you know."

I'm not sure what it is exactly that intrigues me so much about a treehouse. Part of it has to do with the climbing up and looking at things from a new perspective. Part of it has to do with escaping conventionalism - perfectly sane people don't live in treehouses do they?

There are two intentions I am putting out into the world as I write this.

1) I want to stay in a treehouse. I happen to know there are "treehouse" hotels that you can stay in. This, of course, will be a precursor to having my very own tree house someday.

Some treehouse hotel options include Waipi'o Treehouse Hotel on the Big Island in Hawaii, the Cedar Creek Treehouse near Mt. Ranier National Park, or the Treehouse Lodge in Thailand's Khao Sok National Park.

2) I want to go on a zip line through the trees. I am somewhat (truth be told - a lot) afraid of heights, especially when my feet are not firmly planted on something while I'm up there. So.... I know that I would be afraid on a high ropes course or about to go down a zip line.

(Did you happen to catch the self-limiting word in the above sentence? I "would" be afraid.... That implies that if I actually did it, but that it is unlikely that I will. Let's change that sentence to read; "I know I will be afraid on a high ropes course or about to go down a zip line". That implies I am going to do it! And I am.)

I can't think of anything more freeing. Possibly these two intentions happen at the same time - staying in the treehouse and having access to a zip line or high ropes course.

So I've gone out on a limb and announced one of my big dreams. What big dream do you have inside of you that others don't know about yet? What wild and crazy idea would you love to live out?

Bringing big dreams into reality requires more than just having the dream. It requires action steps. Do any of you who might be reading this happen to have access to a treehouse? Just in case you don't, I am committing to bring this dream into reality by the end of 2008. Time to start researching viable options...

What did you do for Progression Day?

2008-03-11T10:47:00.000-05:00

*First a note - I have not published a post for over 10 days. That is not to say I haven't been writing. I have, in fact, written three blog postings. I've written them in my head - where I do all of my writing before it turns up on paper or a computer screen. The titles of the three postings are:

What did you do for Progression Day? (Publishing date in my head - March 4th)
Go out on a limb - that's where the fruit is! (Publishing date in my head - March March 7th)
What if you lost everything and everyone that is important to you? (Publishing date - today)

I have wonderful Life Coaching clients. One of my clients in particular is searching for how she might inspire others. She inspired me today. She inspired me to take the time to move the ideas/thoughts from my head and publish them for others to read. It's easy to get caught up in thinking my writing is something I do only for myself. It allows me to gain clarity, process my thoughts, reflect and remind myself of what is important. This client happened to mention that she had read something from one of my blog postings and had been thinking about the message.

Hmmm.... What if part of my message or purpose is to help other's find their own message, purpose, voice? What if by my publishing my ideas and thoughts, I inspire others to do the same? A special thank you today to the one who inspired me to get writing this week.

My sister is a physical therapist. Two weekends ago she shared a physical therapist joke. (It's the first time she has done that - who knew there were jokes for her field?) She asked what I was doing on Tuesday. Tuesday? I searched my memory for the significance of Tuesday. I came up empty - no one's birthday, not a holiday.... What was she talking about? She replied; "You know, for Progression Day". Progression Day? I'll bite. What is Progression Day?

March 4th (Get it? March forth.) Physical therapists are very focused on progression in their patients. Her joke conveyed to me that our career paths are not that unalike. We are both in the business of progression.

So on that note, how did you celebrate Progression Day? What ideas, thoughts, or new behavior patterns did you move forth? What idea keeps tapping you on the shoulder, hoping you'll finally do something about it? What's the mission that just won't leave you alone?

There is a message inside of you. It may be hiding away in the corner of you. Imagine a closet that is full of all the stuff you've accumulated over the years. You may have to dig and dig through it to find the treasure that is there in the corner.

I like this quote:

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." ~ Joseph Campbell

So March "4th" into the life that is waiting for you. And if you've already marched forth - congratulations. Keep on marching.

Leap Year!

2008-02-29T11:31:00.000-06:00

It's Leap Year, so we have the gift of an extra day today. Every four years a day is added to the calendar - except for years divisible by 100 but not by 400. Leap year is a structure that allows us to keep the seasons in sync and prevents the drifting of Spring over decades from the end of March to the beginning of March. It keeps the calendar time clock that we live by running smoothly.

If I have this right, it means that Pope Gregory XIII (who came up with the leap year plan in 1582), recognized the importance of adding structures to keep things balance and in sync. He sounds like a man ahead of his time. Perhaps he would have made a great life coach.

What if we each were able to recognize when we are "drifting" out of balance? What if we become more aware of when we are out of sync with our body clock? What if we each took a bold action step to compensate for imbalance? How might you do that for yourself?

I'm thinking that putting a structure in place for myself once every four years, except for years divisible by 100 or 400, is not going to be enough. (Luckily we don't have to worry about that divisible by 100, but not by 400 again until the year 2100.) However, that means that I would only have an opportunity to re-set the thermostat in four years. In four years I will have been using a lot of extra energy to run things full blast.

What is my version of a leap year structure? What helps me to keep the clock I live by in sync and in balance? In what ways do I start drifting away from the things that are most important?

Who knew there was so much to think about on this date of February 29th?

One final question - How are you going to spend the gift of an extra day today? Spend it wisely because you won't get another one until the year 2012.

The Ultimate Gift

2008-02-25T16:19:00.000-06:00

For those of you readers who have followed my blog long enough to know that Sundays involve a long ride on the trainer, you may be wondering what movie I watched this past weekend. I watched "The Ultimate Gift" which is based upon the best-selling novel by Jim Stovall. The story is based upon a young man (played by Drew Fuller) who embarks on a journey to claim his inheritance from his wealthy grandfather (played by James Garner). The grandfather gives the grandson twelve tasks, which he calls gifts, to complete. The gifts include the following:

1) The gift of work
2) The gift of money
3) The gift of friends
4) The gift of learning
5) The gift of problems
6) The gift of family
7) The gift of laughter
8) The gift of dreams
9) The gift of giving
10) The gift of gratitude
11) The gift of a day
12) The gift of love

One of these resonates with me in particular - the gift of a day. Perhaps you have heard the song by Chris Rice entitled "Life Means so Much". Part of the lyrics are as follows:

"Every day is a journal page.
Every man holds a quill and pen.
There's plenty of room fro writing in all we do & believe & think.

Every day is a bank account.
Time is our currency.
No one is rich, nobody is poor.
We get 24 hours each.
So, how are you going to spend?
Will you invest or squander?
Try to get ahead or help someone who is under?"

Each day we are all writing our story, making an entry in our journal. How we choose to spend the moments of our day reflect who we are and what is most important. Or at least, that is the way it is supposed to be if we are living the perfect day.

Did I invest wisely today? Or did I squander my day away on unimportant things?

In the special features portion of the DVD, Jim Stovall (author of The Ultimate Gift) says; "the meaning of life is to find our gift and the purpose of our life is to give it away".

What is your gift?
How are you giving it away?

If no one reads it, does it still have an impact?

2008-02-22T10:48:00.000-06:00

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, does it still make a noise? As I was writing a recent posting for my blog, I wondered what the impact might be if no one reads it. Even if no one reads it, I believe it does have an impact. If nothing else, it allows me to contemplate some of the ideas in my head and "publish them" in the written word form.

I have a good friend, and fellow coach, who talks about the importance of "publishing" your ideas, intentions and goals - stating them out loud for others to hear. This increases the level of commitment from the realm of intention to the realm of action. Once I have had the courage to dare to say it out loud, there is an accountability piece that automatically follows. It is about being in integrity with one's self. Am I true to my own word?

What are the ideas or dreams that you haven't dared to publish yet? Doesn't the world deserve to know about them?

Perhaps there is an author in all of us. We all are writing our life story each day by the choices we make, the actions we take, and the words we say out loud. How is your life story coming along? What is it that might have the readers (those around us or even the world) on the edge of their seats, waiting to see what happens next?

So my challenge to any of you might be reading this blog posting - leave a comment and "publish" one of your ideas or dreams. If there are no comments, I'll assume no one was reading and I'll still know there has been an impact.

Signed, Just one tree in the forest (by the way, one of my nicknames is "Tree Girl")

"Because I can"

2008-02-20T15:19:00.000-06:00

I have two short stories for you today. I know you might be thinking to yourself; "her stories are never short".

Our weather here in the midwest has been challenging this winter. The cold temperatures, dreary skies, snow and ice are becoming tiresome for most people. The other morning my husband was getting ready for work on yet another very cold day. He said he would much prefer to stay in bed (where it is nice and warm) than to go outside. I replied; "That's interesting because I'm sure Cyndie would much prefer to go outside than to stay in bed.

For those of you who may not have been following my blog recently, Cyndie is my husband's cousin's wife. She has now been in the ICU for a full two weeks following a serious car accident. The circumstances that have so radically changed her life were out of her control. The accident was not her fault. Thinking about how much she would love to be able to get out of that hospital bed and venture out into the cold midwest weather, certainly gives another perspective.

On most Wednesday mornings I meet a runner friend at 5:30 AM to run a 6-mile loop around the neighborhood by her house. This morning she called shortly after 5:00 to say that she was sick and would not be running. Hmmmm.... the wind is coming out of the north at 19 mph. The temperature is 6 degrees with a wind chill well below zero. A perfect opportunity for me to skip the run.

And then I thought about Cyndie. Cyndie would love to run. Her ankle was badly shattered in the accident, her pelvis was broken, among other things. For Cyndie, the ability to run six miles is not part of her current reality. As another good runner friend of mine put it (when asked why she runs); "Because I can".

So I ran this morning. It was cold. Very cold. It was windy. It was dark. It was snowing. It was a beautiful morning to run because I can.

"Shower Uppers"

2008-02-18T13:57:00.000-06:00

As a life coach part of my mission is to help my clients "show up" big in the world - to show up as big as they really are, even if they have forgotten for the moment, or have not believed in their own ability to do so up until now.

Good intentions alone are not enough. Actions alone are not enough either, when unaccompanied by a compelling purpose - the "why bother" part of things. When you put those two things together then you have created something powerful. For example, I intend to complete Ironman Wisconsin 2009 within the cut-off time. I know the "why bother" part of the action follow-through. That compelling purpose and clarity bring the intention and actions together to create my desired outcome.

Laura Whitworth was one of the co-founders of the Coaches Training Institute. She died last February after a two year battle with lung cancer. I only met Laura one time - at a regional coaching conference. Even then, I didn't actually meet her one on one. I was in the audience as she gave a keynote speech. I was immediately struck by her powerful presence and the impact she created in the room.

Laura kept a blog during the course of her illness. Sometimes her postings were about her illness and the treatments she was going through. Always her postings were about challenging those of us who were reading to live intentional, powerful and impactful lives. The following excerpt is taken from a posting Laura made in her blog a little over a year ago:

"As it turns out I have my own certain sense of what the term ‘show up’ means. Surprise. (-; My definition of what it is to ‘show up’, may differ from yours, so I want to warn you ahead of time that I am going to speak emphatically and decisively about ‘showing up.’ I’m going to borrow from others, and I am going to push for us to align around the importance of distinguishing this concept. Please stand by your definition of what it is to ‘show up’ and take in my input as food for thought. To ‘show up’ means to ACT. To ‘show up’ is a verb, it is an action verb, it requires intention and an act of WILL. ‘Showing up’ is Action. Not thinking about, wishing, hoping, accidents, pretending, or talking about. To ‘show up’ is visible. It can be seen in the world by others. By you. If you should even pause to look, cause most often you don’t. You are already moving. To ‘show up’ is something we choose. AND it is a way of life. We choose to ‘show up’ for this or that, and we choose to ‘not show up’ for that and those. And still, there is in each of us a ‘shower upper.’ Some of us show up a lot. Some of us a little. Some hardly at all. And some of us don’t have the distinction, to ‘show up,’ so are unable to access the power when we are and when we are not ‘showing up.’

...Now here is something very important to say here -- there is NO requirement that one has to ‘show up.’ There is no HAVE to. As a matter of fact if we think we HAVE to ‘show up’ at anytime or anywhere, then we have lost what it is to ‘show up.’ Try this on: One piece of evidence of someone who ‘shows up’ comes when that someone says (or acts) “no, I will not be ‘showing up’ for xxx.?” “I will ‘show up’ for yyyy.” Or, “I’ll let you know what I will show up for when I am clear about that myself.”

Because to ‘show up’ is a stand, a stake, it is the intention that you couple with the act of will. Both the intention and the action are required to ‘show up.’ And we cannot authentically choose to ‘show up’ for everything. As a matter of fact, if we try to ‘show up’ for everything then maybe we are simply trying to be pleasers instead of people who have chosen to ‘show up’ in life." (End of excerpt)

I love the distinction Laura makes about choice. We can choose to show up or to not show up. When the "not showing up" for something is intentional, that choice in and of itself is actually showing up authentically as we want to be.

Laura gives us a way to measure whether or not we are showing up. For the data lovers among us, she provides a method of measurement. Is it visible - can our "showing up" be seen by others? Is it observable by the world?

It reminds me a little of the Henry David Thoreau quote:

"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." ~ Henry David Thoreau

Start with the castles in the sky part. What's your intention? Imagine your dreams, from the smallest of dreams to the really big dream... What's the bold adventure?

Then start the building process, the action part, so that your dream is not just a mirage, only seen by you, but not by others. Begin with a blueprint and then one action step at a time, brick by brick bring your vision into reality.

Welcome to the world of "shower uppers".

If you would like to read more of Laura Whitworth's writing, you can find it at:

http://laurawhitworth.blogspot.com/

There are no Ordinary Moments

2008-02-15T10:39:00.000-06:00

My husband's cousin's wife was in a serious car accident eleven days ago. The day, I would assume, started out much like any other day. She was on her way to work when she was hit head on by another car. At that moment her life changed. Life has changed for those around her too, as her family struggles to deal with the aftermath of the accident - long hours in the ICU, doctors, consultations, optimistic signs, setbacks, worry and overwhelming fatigue.

The only moment we really have for certain is this moment. This moment now. We squander away so many moments as we move mindlessly through our day. Can you name three of the most special moments you've had so far today? How about yesterday?

I lost a very good friend to leukemia about a year and a half ago. During one of our last conversations together she talked about the effort it required for her to first sit up in the morning. The process of moving herself to an upright position was exhausting. It took her almost 15 minutes to accomplish this task. Her message was clear - there are so many things we take for granted.... the ability to sit up, the ability to breath, the ability to run.

There is a zen buddist (I believe) exercise that poses the question; "What if this were the first time or last time to do something?"

Young children are so delightful to watch. They are excited about the first time they see something or experience something. And they are just as excited about it all over again tomorrow.

Our granddaughter Madison took us into her bedroom to show us her new Brio train table set-up. The first time she escorted us into her bedroom to show us, she was so excited as she exclaimed; "Cool, awesome". The next time we visited, she grabbed our hands just as excitedly and took us to view the train set again with another; "Cool, awesome". She continues to take us hand by hand to view this remarkable thing everytime we visit.

I'd like to think I can keep this perspective in mind. The truth is that it will gradually fade away, until the moment when life changes everything.

If you could say a prayer for Cyndie in this moment, that would be; "Cool, awesome".

Perfection, victory, invulnerability

2008-02-11T11:18:00.000-06:00

So, I watched the Peaceful Warrior again yesterday while doing my bike workout on the trainer. I wanted to catch some of the phrases that particularly stood out for me. It is a little difficult to write down phrases while riding at 86% of your maximum heart rate. And of course, you have the whole sweat dripping on the paper challenge - which tends to smear the ink.

The following is what I can decipher from my ink smeared piece of paper with the sloppy handwriting:

The quote I would like to explore today is; "Being a warrior is not about perfection or victory or invulnerability. It is about absolute vulnerability.

Huh? In the world of athletics, the focus is generally about precisely those things. Running the perfect race. Obtaining victory at the finish line. Being invulnerable by avoiding injury.

There just may be an assumption to challenge in my way of thinking. Have my previous athletic goals come about as a result of perfection, victory and invulnerability? Or, have those three things actually gotten in my way?

Time to have a close encounter with the "if I really tell the truth" mirror. The truth that is reflected back to me is that being too focused on perfection, victory and invulnerability has very much been in the way.

Focusing on perfection tends to lead us to focusing on doing things as well as another person. It takes us to that "if only... I could be as good as that person" way of thinking. When I'm doing that, I'm moving further away from my goals, rather than closer to them.

Focusing on victory may have a very narrow focus. Victory may be defined as reaching a specific time goal, achieving a breakthrough in training, finishing an event, beating someone else... The greater victory may be believing in myself especially when the time goal doesn't happen, the training has a plateau or setback, or where I finish in the overall results.

Focusing on invulnerability keeps me from admitting to myself the very things that are getting in my way. To admit the vulnerabilities requires that I own my imperfections. Perfection is not obtainable.

The really scary place? I'm comfortable in the athletic world. It's much easier to accept and own how focusing on perfection, victory and invulnerability get in my way in the world of athletics. How does it get in my way in my personal life? In my relationships?

I think I'll ponder that while I go do my bike workout... :)

Are you listening?

2008-02-08T08:26:00.000-06:00

I found the following quote on one of my coaching forums:

..."When we listen, we offer with our attention an opportunity for wholeness. Our listening creates a sanctuary for the homeless parts within another person." ~ Rachel Naomi Remen MD

It's not so much that we want our problems to be fixed, as it is that we want to be heard - we want someone to really listen. How often do we really listen? My guess is that we do a pretty good job convincing ourselves we are good listeners, but we can all improve our listening skills.

And then....

We can start to listen to our own inner voice. What about the homeless parts inside of ourselves?

Imagine being angry, upset, sad or afraid. Being able to talk to someone who does listen, allows us to find a safe place to park that feeling - a parking lot of sorts. After talking it through, being listened to, the anger, sadness or fear can be safely parked in the sanctuary of another's willingness to listen.

So try this as an experiment - the next time someone around you is complaining, listen for the request or the fear that is underneath the complaint. Perhaps you can provide a sanctuary for that individual - for their homeless parts.

The next time you find yourself complaining, ask yourself what the unstated request or unexpressed fear is beneath your own complaint. Then consider who might provide a sanctuary for you. How might you create a sanctuary for yourself? What things or places bring you a sense of calm, a chance to replenish or renew?

Oops - Forgot to take out the Trash

2008-02-05T13:33:00.000-06:00

Last night we had heavy rain and thunderstorms. It was also garbage night. Since the weather was not conducive to hauling the garbage cans down the driveway, we forgot until this morning. I should add that my husband is almost always the one to take the trash out to the curb. I'm typically the one who rounds it up from the various locations inside the house, but I rarely if ever, take it down the driveway and to the curb. That may be more than a coincidence.

This past Sunday I watched the movie "Peaceful Warrior" while riding my bike indoors on the trainer. The movie is similar to "Karate Kid" in that there is a student and a master. The master is there to teach the student what he needs to learn about himself and the pursuit of his goals.

One of the things Socrates (the master) talks about is the importance of "taking out the trash". The trash refers to the junk that clutters up our minds and gets in our way of moving forward. Typically trash comes from thinking either about the past (previous failures, experiences, voices of other people) or the future (what if...). Worry is rooted in thinking about the past or the future. Taking out the trash allows us to be fully present in this moment - now.

Before I began my pool workout today, I decided to take out the trash first. I let go of my self-limiting perceptions of my swim ability, the awareness that my technical skills are not quite there yet.... I let go of the worry about the future - the next 60 minutes or so of future (how would I ever manage to get through those 10 repeat 50 yds @ VO2 max pace, how would I recover enough to then tackle the 5 repeat 100's and the 400 yds of kicking) and the future of tomorrow, the next few months (will I ever become a skilled swimmer?).

I just started swimming. Every time the trash would start to enter my mind, I would take it out and set it on the pool deck. After all, I could always pick it up again after my workout if I really wanted to.

Not taking out the trash gets in my way. There isn't a sanitation collection service to come and take out my trash for me. I have to be aware it is piling up and then haul it out to the curb myself.

Now if I can just remember....

No Kidding - Stepping Over the Line

2008-02-04T13:29:00.000-06:00

Excuses - we all find them handy to use at times. What are the stories we tell ourselves? Are we such good storytellers that we then actually believe the story? I consider myself to be a pretty good storyteller. I'm also fairly trustworthy, so I'm even more likely to believe my own story!

I'd been telling myself that I intuitively know when I am in my target heart rate zone when training on my bike or running. I know because I can gauge my perceived effort. I also told myself I could not afford to buy a new heart rate monitor, especially since I was getting along fine without one. I also told myself that I already train hard. I've run 53 marathons. I know what hard effort feels like. I don't need a heart rate monitor to tell me that. Or do I?

This Christmas I asked for a heart rate monitor from my husband. He got me one! Then the heart rate monitor sat unopened on my dresser. I almost felt like it was watching me each time I would pass by, wondering when I would step over the line and commit.

Time for some new creative storytelling. I told myself I was too busy to read the instruction booklet in order to figure out how to set the appropriate target zones. I will get around to it eventually, when I have some free time.

Here's the reality - I already have the time if I'm really committed to it.

It's time to be called into action. Am I ready to hear the call? I've done a great job of not hearing the call before. I had an old heart rate monitor with a dead battery. My triathlon coach diligently sent me training schedules last year with all the numbers for my target heart rate zones nicely calculated for me to follow.

I followed the workouts. I didn't know if I was training hard enough, because I chose not to worry about the lack of heart rate monitoring. In other words, I wasn't totally committed to achieving my goals. I didn't give myself every opportunity for success. I was my own "self-limiter".

Today I stepped over the line. Today I committed to my goals for 2008.

Today I took read the heart rate monitor instruction booklet. I figured out how to use it, which buttons to push and how to input my target heart rate zones...

and then I got on the trainer to do my first bike workout wearing my heart rate monitor. It feels good. I'll see you at the finish line.