Going Out With A Bang...

I knew this weekend was going to be busy, and it surpassed my wildest expectations. I'm finding that Ironman training is not only an exercise in training, but it requires extreme everything..

Extreme communication with your spouse, family, co-workers etc.
Extreme training / time (well, that's a given)

Extreme eating (a sport that I have yet to conquer but am enjoying trying)

Extreme PLANNING (this may be the most important one of all!)

At some point, you realize your social life is about to be extinct due to all of these things (mostly the training / time) so you have to just accept it. I have six weeks of very long, hard training ahead of me and I know I have reached that time. Social life - I'll miss you, but not before I give you a proper farewell.. enter.. this weekend!

The goal was to drive to Clarion on Friday night, wake up on Saturday to run the Autumn Leaf Festival 10k at 9:00am the next morning and then drive back to Pittsburgh to ride my bike for a few hours and be about 30 minutes away for a wedding at 4:00pm. You do the math.. it was going to be tight.

Everything went pretty smoothly. The weather for the 10k was perfect and I had many friends to see who were also running! That part was really fun!!
It was also a race where people were paying tribute to our service men by wearing their names on their shirts. I made this shirt on Friday night while staying late at my office just to make sure I could wear it on Saturday. Judd is the little Brother of a very good friend, and he's in Afghanistan as we speak. We're thinking of you Judd and we are very proud of you!!
The race itself was fast and furious. I enjoyed it immensely! My legs even felt great which was a nice surprise coming off a fairly sizeable week of training. I came through the first mile in 6:03.. yikes Kim! A little fast!! I calmed down from there and it didn't really start to hurt, hurt until mile 4.5 which I think is how these things go. I was thankful to have some other men around me to push me to go harder.
I haven't run a 10k in so long (plus with NO speed work) so I didn't know what to expect. I was hoping to break 40 and low and behold, I went 38:35, so I was very very happy! Plus I collected a little $ which never hurts when you are paying to travel / race for 8+ triathlons a year!
Thanks to everyone who volunteered and to those who came out to represent someone in our Military. I enjoyed hearing some of the stories behind people's shirts!

Needless to say, I started to run behind at some point, and I never really caught up. I felt like I was going to fall asleep on the way to Pittsburgh and at some point my 2-3 hour bike became an hour spin-the-legs-out-so-you-don't-die-tomorrow bike. I hopped off at 2:30 and was aiming to be ready by 3:15... Um.. didn't happen. Kyle was late too, so it was a double whammy.

We made it to the wedding just in time to have to "not so sneak" beside the bridesmaids.

It was 3:59pm.. it was beautiful and it was precisely on time, much to our dismay!!

Lisa looked so wonderful. My cousin Brian also looked very nice in his suit.

The weather was perfect so that helped set up a great day!

The barn was decorated with cute little lights everywhere!

I felt like I was in a fairytale!

In PA, we roll with a cookie table. I'm not sure if you have these other places too, but let me tell you.. you start out with thinking you will "just have one or two" and you come back to your seat with like 6 or more. They ALL look so good (and they were!).

I had a chance to see so many friends and family. It was awesome. My Aunt Dena has had a rough year after being diagnosed with cancer. Talk about an amazing role model.. she has had the best attitude of anyone I have ever met. She inspires me and makes me want to just cry every time I see how positive she is about beating this disease. Her last scan showed everything looked good after months and months of chemo. One more big treatment and she'll be "in remission" for good!! LOVE YOU SO MUCH Aunt Dena.. what a great evening with you!

The tables were simple and elegant!!

My Uncle Mike!

Erol, Laurie, Kyle and I were at a table together and we had so much fun!

The cousins giving a toast together with Dena!! To happiness and health!

Then it was time.. Napoleon Dynamite, you may have met your match..

If you didn't know before, you know now - I LOVE to dance.. It's like unleashing some sort of gene I must have been born with, but that only comes out after 3 glasses of Merlot. Of course, so does my cousin Jessica's husband Chad. Can you tell?

Other things I don't do well with when I am having a few glasses of the good grapes is challenges. At some point it became apparent that Erol wanted to challenge me to a pull up contest. Unfortunately, I must have forgot that:

A. Pull ups are hard!!

B. Pull ups are harder wearing a cocktail dress

C. You should really practice pull ups if you want to try and do them.. especially if you are doing them in public

D. My dress was really short.. no XX moments.. but dang close.

So I made 4. Erol made 12. Lost that battle. I told him if he wanted to do a quick 5k that would probably sort things out :) However, he declined (and I was thankful.. not sure that would have worked out after the 10k earlier that day).

After partying / dancing / having fun like a rock star Saturday night, I felt like someone had beat my legs with a baseball bat on Sunday morning. Hence, that will be the end of my little "I can do all things along with training" escapade.

I'm going to miss my social life until Nov. 28th, but I think it will be worth it. At least I went out with a bang!!

Ain't Nothin Gonna Break My Stride

Did you ever notice that some people just want to bring you down? I'm not sure if it's because they're jealous, or just don't like it when people are different, but they seem to just want to make your life harder on purpose.

I had one of those weeks that just never seemed to end.. start to finish! As hard as I tried to stay positive, put a smile on my face and be thankful for everything.. it seems like crap just kept flying out of no where.... hitting me upside the head, knockin me down on my hiney.

That's ok I said.. dusted myself off, stood my ground...

Then DUCK.. here it comes again.

Needless to say, I know I'm pretty lucky. Many things in my life are going awesome. However, I will just never understand some people's need to "put you in your place" (or at least that's what I think they are saying in there mind).

I know my lifestyle is not normal. I prefer it that way. During the off season, I'll make it about 4 days before going.. seriously! You people watch this much TV all the time - I feel like my brain is fried! I just don't like TV.. not one of my things.

As much as I complain about it sometimes, I LOVE my life. I love getting up early, testing myself day in and day out, learning about my limits, teaching myself how to suffer to be a better athlete. I don't think I could change who I was if my life depended on it at this point!! I have a great life, wonderful family & friends (many of whom are shown in this post to remind me how much I love them!!) and a wonderful support group around me!!

When I have a week like this one I say several things to myself, starting with:

1. You can do this Kim! you've trained for Ironman before in 2008, and you'll do it again.

2. Balance.. it's hard to maintain right now, but just do the best you can. Eat well, sleep well, work to the best of your ability and don't worry about the rest.

3. Be Yourself. This is who you are, don't let people try to make you into something you are NOT. We all make choices, maybe you don't have the same priorities as everyone else and that is fine. Me personally, I work (and I work plenty hard) to live my life the way I want. Work is not my life. I will not be made to feel bad about that.

4. Be Thankful.. This is an amazing opportunity, to train for an event like this.. many people would love to do it - don't waste it.. give it everything you can (while still keeping your life as together as possible)

5. Love yourself... no one can love you, if you don't love yourself.

6. Know your limits.. if things get to be too much, and one more thing is just going to push you over the edge, stop, take a breath and cut something out (insert wedding, social event, charity planning etc.). Make good decisions for yourself and your family.

7. Don't give up.. Things are going to get hard, and then, they are going to get even harder. You are going to get tired, and run down and you won't know which way is up.. but this is what you live for..this is what you enjoy and you DO IT BECAUSE YOU LOVE IT. Even in those times, I still love it.. the process, the journey to the starting line.

8. Rely on those around you.. ask for help when you need it. Don't be afraid to say things are getting crazy.

9. Let Negativity ROLL off your back.. You don't need it, and it won't define you.. let people be the way they want to be.. you choose who you are and how you handle their bad attitudes and thoughts.

10. Have a dream.. All of this crazy training and racing started with a dream.. and it's a big one let me tell you.. and I am not about to give it up unless I truly feel my life is supposed to be headed another direction. They will have to pry it from my lifeless dead hand if that is what it takes.... because it's not stopping as long as I'm on this earth and feel that God is with me, watching me, blessing me and helping me to achieve it. Sometimes it's like climbing this huge mountain. You can't see the top yet, but you have the faith to know that beyond the clouds and fog, it's up there. When you finally make your ascent, it will be even more amazing that you had ever imagined.

Those are my crazy thoughts for this week. I know that was a little heavy - sorry! I just had to get it off my chest! I hope it helps you as you go along your way. Know that many of us training and racing are going through the same things and we can help each other along the way. What a great thought.

Thanks for listening....

The good news is I will be running a 10k tomorrow for a "hero" named Judd Jack who is over in Afghanistan fighting for our country. It's our local 5k/10k so although I won't have anyone going with me to support, I'm sure I'll see many many people that I know which will be fun.

After that, it will be a quick bike ride, and on to my cousins wedding which I am very excited to see all my family! Yippeee for good things!!

OH - and I had a "coaching moment" this week that I thought I would share - hope this helps someone out there who needs it!

Sometimes becoming a better athlete is not only about the big picture, it's about all the little things we do.. stretching, rolling (make sure I talk to you about getting a roller - you need one!), drinking enough water, icing, sleeping and eating for healthy & recovery. Yes, it's about the workouts, but it's about all the other stuff too. You just do you best that day, each day and it all adds up to prepare you for the race. We are a work in progress my dear! So, no worries. You are "learning" to become GREAT! It isn't an overnight process. However, when you are standing on that starting line, and you think of all the amazing workouts you have completed, and all the things you've sacrificed to get there, you will know in your heart that you are ready to do very very well.

Have a great weekend everyone - Over and out..

Updates & Hitting Myself Where it Hurts

Rev 3 Cedar Point Half Ironman - Beth & Kim post race

Well, you just can't help but smile at a picture like this right (except for that lady beside us who is like staring us down)! I love how one arm is like still on Kyle, and the other is around Beth - GROUP HUG! Thanks to OJS for the picture (that I stole off your blog but I didn't think you would mind!).

My shorts were all jacked up by this point. They look like a micro mini compared to Beths! O well. Whatever... at that point you're usually so hot, so sweaty and so tired you could just care less!

THE UPDATE is as follows:

• Training this weekend was really really good. I rode with Jocelyn and Rich on Saturday and got in quite a few miles, and then it was off to a quick transition run. None of that was very amazing, but the timeline afterward was pretty impressive (for a girl and all). I ended the run at 1:08pm, was in the car at 1:10pm, drove to the gas station convenience store to get four bags of ice and a Naked Juice Protein Shake at 1:15pm, returned and was in the ice bath by 1:25pm (while drinking protein shake & eating reheated pasta from a plastic container), out by 1:40pm and still made a 2:00pm haircut! One thing triathlon training equals - EFFICIENCY! SHA-ZAM!

• Sunday it was an 7:00am wake up call to do the KDKA 1020am Kuhn's Cooking Hour with Rob Pratte! It is always fun to talk about nutrition, healthy eating and exercise with Rob & Joe from Kuhns. We discussed the meaning of Fuel Your Passion Sports Nutrition Counseling & Endurance Coaching, and my upcoming Ironman as well. Even better, was later that day they were talking to Ryan about DMD. Check out the link here http://kdka.cbslocal.com/2010/09/19/rob-talks-with-ryan-ballou/#more-8475 to the actual broadcast! Great job Ryan! Congrats to the Ballou Skies Team who had some great performances and even an overall win (Jeremy) at the Portage Lakes Triathlon in Ohio!

Great job to Jeremy, Kevin & Ty!

• Sunday's long run was done from 11:00am - 1:00pm, talk about hot! Well, comparatively not as hot, but it felt pretty hot to me! My legs were falling apart a little the last hour, but I was glad I got it done and kept my heart rate in check. Pretty soon I'll only be WISHING I had a 2 hour run on the schedule :)

• The weekend goes too fast. It's seriously over in a minute. Not cool!

• Great weekend for racing! Congrats to those at Syracuse 70.3! I saw some really stellar results and the Pittsburgh crew did VERY well! Way to go!

• Friday evenings are getting even more and more exciting, let me tell you. Last Friday I swam with the Masters Swim team at Swickley, and then had a video analysis done by Leah at Liquid Lifestyles swimming. The good news is, my body position and catch are really good. The bad news is I'm doing some really funky stuff (that has been going on SINCE THE SPRING) with my hand before I catch and I'm crossing the midline with my right arm when it enters the water.. GRRR.. So my new mantra is "I WILL work on technical aspects of my swim, I WILL break 30 mins in a half ironman soon - I WILL!"

• Ironman training is really getting into full swing and I realized that things I now get to do are: see more sunrises, see more sunsets, really get to know my training partners, as well as, the feel of my bike seat after the 4 hr mark. Things I don't get to do as much are: stay up late, dry my hair for work on a regular basis, sleep in, drink too much wine, save money, call people as much. I am busier, later for work, more tired, and more hungry that I've been in months.. and that is just about where I should be I guess.

• There is a stink bug epidemic in Pittsburgh, and let me tell you, I am NOT happy about it!

Other than that, when I'm not doing a good job at some aspect of training and health that I know is important, I've got to make a change. As many of us know, we don't really make a change about our lives easily sometimes. We have to be, well, prompted, by something. For instance, some people don't feel they need to loose weight until they see a picture of themselves at a certain angle and they don't like it, or they have a ____ (insert - wedding, class reunion etc. etc.). I'm the same as everyone else - dietitian or not, old habits die hard (and I get occasionally get lazy!).

The thing I am doing crappy at lately is a no brainer - I'm not drinking enough water. Seriously, I'm a sports nutritionist.. are you kidding me Kim??! Not enough water. Yes, I said it, my name is Kim and I'm not drinking enough water. HAPPY!?

So, each day I will record how many 24oz bottles I drink and each day I will not be allowed to drink my glass of red wine at night unless I reach my goals. We all need something to motivate us, well, there's mine. After enough days of kicking myself for working out so hard and then doing something so stupid like realizing I haven't used the bathroom in like 3 hours.. I've had it. Something has got to give. So here we go - my new rule to myself. Hit myself where it hurts! No sense in doing all this awesome training, and then ruining it by dehydrating all day!

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Go ME, It's Your Birthday!!

Ok.. so it was a few days ago actually (September 14th!), but it is still my Birthday WEEK as far as I am concerned and you just have to keep the celebration going right?!

I had a really great day on Tuesday and I have to say, Facebook has it's ups and downs, but all in all, it's pretty cool to have about a 100 of your friends say Happy Birthday via Facebook! There were so many shout outs from there. It was really sweet and made me feel AWESOME! Thanks everyone!

I ended up traveling home to take care of some things and switch cars with Kyle so mine could go get a little tune up. Now I will be driving a Toyota Tacoma for the next week or so.. little girl, big truck! Getting into it with a pencil skirt on this AM - not working out so great!

I have to say, I'm still floating on cloud nine about the race on Sunday. It just feels so good to have all that training "translate" to racing (as Amanda Lavoto taught me to say).

I thought about a few more highlights from the day and some little things I thought went well or helped me, and some things that I would like to work on.

So far, I think my list is:

1. I need to swim at least 4 times per week, maybe more. I really want to start seeing my pool swimming "translate" to racing and I think this is part of the key! I have to swim with masters consistently and often. I also need to get another video analysis for my coach and I to analyze.

2. I need a new wetsuit. Mine is about 5 years old, and I do think that would help. It won't "MAKE" me a better swimmer, but it could help a little! I think it's time!

3. I would love to get a power meter for my bike, but until then, I want to increase my power to improve my speed on the bike. I've been doing a lot more strength workouts this year than I have ever done and I think it might we working.

4. Massage does wonders. I got one on Thursday night and I felt so great during the race. My neck and back especially. I can honestly say if I could afford one per week, I would definitely do it (who wouldn't), but until then, I will hope to get at least two per month.

5. I do need to work on some running biomechanics from my pictures. I can tell there are a few things that a bit off. I mean, I'm still really happy with my run, but there is always room for improvement and I'm trusting Coach Justin to help me get there!

As a little tip, some things I thought about during the run just for those who are also always learning and sharing!

My little lines to myself -

• Forward lean! Make sure you think about it and do it slightly. So many people are running entirely too upright!

• Fast Feet! Your cadence should be about the same as biking - 90 one foot strikes per minute (or 15 per 10 seconds).

• Alternating water & sports drink (this works well for me, but you certainly have to try this on your own) at each aid station

• Finally, cue up "YOUR GO TO TUNE" this REALLY helped me on Sunday. It really depends on what mood I'm in to what I cue up, but it must have a faster beat that I am used to running with for me to be able to continue the "fast feet" movement. I sing it in my mind and it helps me to take the focus away from the pain and turn it to something that makes me smile and reminds me how much I love what I am doing at THAT moment. Sometimes in training I try to imagine myself running this or that song and feeling a certain way (always positive & good mental images) and then I try to replicate it during the race!
  
  I think it helps!

Here was my song for Sunday! Hope you all are having a spectacular week. It's off to a business meeting at Mortons Steakhouse for me tonight!

OH and I wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone who wrote such nice things to me about Sunday. What a group! You guys make me feel so good and I hope I can only do a little something for you all to say thanks in the same way someday!! YOU ROCK!

A Rush Of Blood.. To The Heart - Rev 3 Cedar Point

Do you ever feel like you are right where you are supposed to be? Like your heart is filled with so much happiness and joy it might just spill over....well...It's a pretty rare feeling, but when it does happen, it's pretty darn cool. I had one of those weekends at Rev 3 at Cedar Point's Half Ironman this weekend. The week before, once my body was finally done trying to fight off some virus, I was able to really relax and enjoy a small tiny little taper! I felt calm and relaxed. Best of all, I felt excited and ready to test myself at the half ironman distance again. I didn't feel any pressure to get some place or some time. I didn't even look up who was racing, I just decided to only worry about my heart rate, my nutrition and my pacing. Nothing else.

On top of it, I had a partner in crime with me, Kyle, so that was really fun. We celebrated five years of being married on Friday and then traveled to Cedar Point (a short three hour drive from Pittsburgh) to the race venue. Let me tell you something..

Rev 3 knows how to get it done. These people are ON top of it. Everything from start to finish was first class, easy, efficient and fun! Thanks Rev 3!!

I checked in my bike on a very windy overcast Saturday and we had a quiet dinner. It was perfect pre-race! I was hoping the wind calmed down a little on Sunday though. It was pretty rough out there on the water on Saturday. I didn't swim, but that's just what I heard!

The Full Rev waves were going off at 7:30am, and the Half Rev ladies weren't until 8:40 (really late for a half ironman!). I thought about sleeping in, but once the first door slammed in the morning at our hotel, I was up and awake - 5:00am. Time to race! Transition was dark!

Finally I met up with some friends - Rich & Jim are from my YMCA and were also doing the half ironman. It's so fun to see familiar faces out there racing. I love it!

Then the women lined up, and it was time to roll. I lined up in the second row right behind Beth. If I ever can swim 30 minutes then I guess I will line up in the front. Either that, or I should just force myself to do it.

Not a fan of the running start, especially when the water was SO shallow we had to run for like 30 seconds before we could dive in!! It seemed to take forever!

It was choppy out in the lake, but not terrible. I got a tad bit nauseous from the up and down of the waves and people all around me, but I just tried to focus on good form and making it to the beach!

Finally, I was there and running out - swim time 34 minutesish (not my best, but what can you do)!

The bike was a nice rolling course through the fields of corn and some little towns. I really enjoyed the bike course, it was just hilly enough to keep it honest and it also had some false flats. With the wind, it was a little tough at times, but I had a few girls around me to go back and forth with and that kept things moving along.

The time passed pretty quickly on the bike and my nutrition was spot on! I was feeling great - cadence ended up being 91 and my heart rate was behaving as well. I was hoping when I got off the bike my legs would be there for the FIRST time this season in a half. Thank the Lord (literally, I'm thanking him), they were. I was so grateful. Final bike time: 2:34

Out of transition I couldn't wipe the grin off my face. I was running with another girl for a mile or so, but I kept looking at my Garmin. I was thinking "6:45, 6:50 pace - is this too fast??" My heart rate was good so I just went with it!

I'm smiling to big here because Kyle went and hit amongst the aid station workers and told them all to "cheer for Kim" so I had my own personal fan crew at mile four! It was awesome to be coming up and hearing your name yelled by everyone! Thanks K!

It started to get tough around miles 9-13, but I think that's true no matter where you are in a a half ironman run - great day or not so great day. The weather was PERFECT for running, and the course was generally flat so that made for a fast course. The volunteers were just awesome, so encouraging and even the other racers who were coming the other direction were cheering for me and I was attempting to cheer back at them!! It really made for an exciting day. Every man that I came alongside running said "great job" or "looking strong," after so many times this season of NOT feeling that way, I was almost overwhelmed with joy to be having this type of day. I wanted to stop and tell them how hard it had been feeling like my run just didn't seem to come together, or that if they were having a hard day.. don't worry, it will come around! I didn't have the remote energy to do so, so I left it at a "You too & thanks!" At this point I had passed many girls and had been getting updates from Oscar, Beth's husband, and Kyle. I knew I was in second and about 2-3 minutes down on Beth. If she was running the way I knew she can, I probably wouldn't be catching her today!

We saw each other a few times and cheered and I was so thankful that we are the type of athletes that can race together and support each other. She is a class act, and I have always respected her so much for her amazing attitude, as well as, her talent! So, if someone had to take home the win besides me... well, I'm really glad it was her!! Way to go Beth!

Coming up the finish line I was so overwhelmed! It was the day I had been waiting for - a 15 minute PR and a final time of somewhere around 4:45-4:46 (there is some debate about this, but whatever, it's somewhere in there). I tried to make the Ballou Skies heart with my hands, but I was just overcome with so many emotions I couldn't really do it!

Two college cross country teammates after the race - 1 and 2, a pretty great day if you ask me!

My friend Rich (in his all muscle tri suit) had a great race too and I was SO proud of him!! He, like me, has sort of been waiting for it so I was just elated to see it happen! Way to go Rich!

They even had ice baths! Which I did partake in! Coach - are you proud??

Then I didn't have access to a shower so we came up with this plan.. I'm pretty sure the ladies who were taking tickets right there had never seen a girl use soap & shampoo to take a shower right there. It was COLD! I was so happy to be clean though!

Beth, Me and Anna - first three ladies in the half

A HUGE thanks to Kyle for supporting me before the race, during the race (hence, all these amazing pictures), and for just being a great husband. I couldn't ask for more...

It was so wonderful to be able to represent Ballou Skies once again.. Ryan.. We DID it.. we freakin did it!

I look happy, but I am really just showing off my "rollercoaster" face to come. With two free tickets to the race included we just couldn't pass up the chance to ride! I made it on three of the four coasters. Even the green one.. so I thought that was pretty good after racing 70.3 miles! It was a blast!

All in all, it was just an awesome weekend and one that I will not soon forget. Congrats to everyone who raced this weekend at IM Wisconson and Rev 3!! Sure, it's nice to cross the line a little faster than I ever have and all, but it doesn't change why I do it. I was emailing back and forth to a friend who just did his first Ironman this past weekend - Congrats Steve - and we were talking about racing and what it means to each of us. Somewhere in that email, I wrote this..

"I guess I relate all of my training / racing to life and how you look at things. Maybe most people will never understand why "we" do what we do, but I honestly do think, with balance and moderation, it makes us better people, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers etc. when we can dig deep and it reveals parts of our character and the "why" of our lives than any other time. When you're out there in so much pain, it really peels away the onion of your soul and helps you understand much of what Christ must have gone through and I think its the time I feel closest to him in those moments.. I laugh, I cry, I'm thankful, I'm alive, I'm open to anything, I'm praying..and sometimes I'm just quieting my mind, listening to if he has something to say that I just can't hear any other time. It's a very spiritual experience for me when I race, and I guess that's why I keep coming back!! If it helps me, and inspires a few people, and I meet even MORE awesome people through doing it, it can't be bad right!!"

A huge thank you to the big man upstairs for allowing me to be healthy enough to do this and use my talents for his work, Kyle, my family, friends and all of you on Facebook & the Blog who lift me up and make me feel so good!! Thanks to Ballou Skies for letting me be a part of this team doing so much good work to help boys with MD, Top Gear bike shop, Super Donut, Powerbar, Findley Business Solutions, and my coach, Justin, with Vangard Triathlon. You have all been a part of my journey and I couldn't do this without you. Thank you for everything!

Practice Makes Permanent

My favorite coach in high school, my cross county coach, was also my choir teacher. This may seem insignificant to some people, but lets just say the two things I did MOST while I was in high school were 1. Run & 2. Sing. I was part of every special choir, select choir, musical (you're looking at Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz mind you :), and even regional choir. I actually "competed" in singing. If you didn't think there was such a thing - well let me be the first to tell you - there is. Think Glee - just without the extreme dance numbers and celebrity type songs!! For regional chorus, the goal was always to try and become "first chair," also known as, the best of all those who tried out. You would walk into a room with your songs prepared, judges were sitting there with their back to you, and they would give you ONE note from a pitch pipe. This was your cue, you started and sang acapella (meaning without any accompaniment or background music). You were graded on pitch, tone, accurateness of length of each note, breath control, everything.

My choir director / cross country coach and I spent a LOT of time together (heck, I even dated his son for a few years!). He knew me very well and would practice with me for days on end before a big meet or the regional choir tryouts. I would mess up, it was "do it again" not in a scolding way, but just in a "let's get it right!" kind of way!!

When people would say the old adage "well, you know - practice makes perfect!" he would say, actually, "practice makes permanent." Unless you are going to practice to perfection, you might as well not do it.

I've always thought of that saying and how it applies to different areas of my life. It seems to me, if you are going to just do something to say you did it, well, that's fine and all, but I really want every time to be the very best it can be. Some days, I'm running on six hours of sleep, in some random city for work, with none of my usual workout equipment or routines and the best I can do might be get in a good 40 minute run. Other times, I will find a YMCA, map quest to it by foot, run to it in the middle of the night and swim by myself for 4000 yards. It just depends, I give it the best I can on that day.

It's the days that build into weeks, the weeks that build into months and the months of consistent effort that make us the athletes we are on race day.

This weekend, I'm very excited I get to practice "racing" It's time to practice the nutrition plan, practice pacing, practice heart rates and practice a positive mental attitude NO MATTER WHAT. If I could do only one thing perfect - it would be that last thing. I want to practice that to the utmost of my ability. If I can get that ONE thing right.. well, the rest will just take care of itself. I know how to race, I've been racing most of my life. The mind is a terrible thing to waste (on negative thoughts).

Or as the commercials used to say "This is your mind"

now "This is your mind on negative thinking" (or I guess they said drugs, but close)!

I wish those racing in Ironman Wisconsin (Charisa, my friend Jerry & everyone else) the very best of luck. To those of you racing alongside me in Rev 3 - Beth, Rich, Steve, David, Jim & anyone I might have missed - Have a Day out there as my good friend Lauren told me in Hawaii... have a day!!

Be safe & please say a prayer for those racing that the wind will be at their back, and that we will all finish some perfect practice this weekend. I leave you with this thought -

’sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you are behind. the race is long, and in the end, it is only with yourself.’