MightyMojoMentorGroup -- (Full House!) (Page 210)

Hey Gang!

I too have been watching Johanne's progress, but it's been a very dissapted day for me.  More on that later, tomorrow, when Johanne has SUCCESSFULLY CONQUERED IMAZ!!!!!

She was just about bang-on for her swim time, but i can't remember either her bike or her run hopes/predictions.  I think she;ll be very happy with the bike time, and as for the run -- she just keeps knocking off those miles!

TRINA -

Very glad to see you back here!  How are things in your pre-HIM world -- and your world in general?

All day I've been popping in to check on Johanne and my swim fit lady's progress.  Just now I've got a split screen watching the finish line but also watching their individual progress on the Athlete Tracker.

Johanne seems to be progressing nicely but my friend seems to have stopped somewhere mid run.  I hope she's OK.  So, like Thomas I just hit refresh and my friend is now past half way on her run.

Johanne is having an amazing race.   I was just looking at the live coverage and it is SO cool seeing everyone come through the finish line.   I can't believe how strong and fresh most of them look.      I just saw someone come through with a Team Energi suit on which is from Waterloo.         After my struggle in September I do have a hard time understanding how they can make it seem so easy to do. 

I'm going to miss Johanne's finish though.      Heading to bed.   Got hit with a stupid flu bug last Sunday night which put a big wrench into this week. 

At Redman I felt awful, barely moving, but for the 50 yards or so of the finishing shoot I straightened up and made a good run for the picture, even lifted my arms for a moment, then cratered and wondered around like a zombie until someone showed me a chair and gave me chicken broth-but for the finish I looked "fresh"

STEVE - Pre HIM world? Dunno....probably won't do another until late next year. My pre half marathon world is going well. I'm still slow, but training is going well and I'll be toeing the line in Dallas come December 9. Watching Johanne and the live IMAZ feed is really inspiring me to attempt a full distance some day...but as usual, I've got to lose weight first. (I've lost 8lbs since Redman...yay) 

My world in general could be a bit better, but I really have no complaints. Had to put my 89 year old grandma in a nursing home for rehab after she fell and broke her hip late October. It's almost a full time job making sure she gets the rehab she's there for, and that they keep her dry and clean as she can't ambulate to the toilet yet.

How are things going with you? Wrapped up your tri season and starting your running season, I presume?

That makes me feel better.    Have a good night.  

She's getting close!!!

I saw her cross the finish line at 14:37 but it was only just a fast glimpse.  She was smiling but too many other people were in the way.

Yes, I finished! I was hoping for a finish with the number 15 so i was thrilled to finish at 14:37. What a great day. We're back home, I had something to eat, showered and now heading off to bed soon. So fun to have you track me. I have a lot to say about this whole experience but it'll wait until another day.

Thanks for the support!

Johanne

JOHANNE -

Fabulous day, and those final three miles on the run seemed to have found you with a nice boost of energy - good pace, more akin to the first 13 miles than to the typically rough middle/late miles.  I hope it felt that way to you, too, that you were getting close to conquering the beast, and getting closer to being rewarded for those months of steadfastedly determined hard work, and getting closer to those coveted family embraces.  Let me guess --- a few irontears were shed??

I am very sorry that I wasn't able to track you as I had wished, but the day had a few, um, hitches to it; more on that later, i guess!  But I honestly and truly did think about you much during the course of the looooooooooooong day that ironman is, and am just so happy that you had a memorable day, and one with a number in the result that exceeded your hopes.  Cool beans!

More later!

STEVE,

How are you feeling these days?   You made a couple of comments about Sunday and some glitches in the day.   Everything OK?  

I finally said, enough is enough, and ran yesterday.   It felt SO good.       One of these days, I'm going to have to find the pool!

Having lunch with Harry Barnes and another tri friend today.   He is in the Guelph area for a couple of weeks. 

Are you ready for the snow?

I've had three consecutive days of good workouts this week and I'm hoping to keep it going for a few more days.  But, I'm still struggling to work running into my schedule.  I'm keen to run but I just seem to have too many other distractions. 

There seems to be a lot of sickness going around our area lately.  Our cycling class was down by 1/3 yesterday and even swim fit attendance has been down.  On the plus side we've had lots of room in the pool.

Johanne - I sure was excited for your IM and I found it really inspirational watching people crossing the finish line.  The lady I swim with had a problem in T1.  Apparently, she was hypothermic when she came out of the water so it took her almost :40 before she could get going again.  She said it was about 10 miles on the bike before she warmed up.  After that she had a fairly normal ride and run.  Looking forward to your report.

Steve?

This week: Monday rest/swim, Tue: 20 mile ride in the AM, 6.5 mile run later, Wed AM 12 mile run at 9:39/mm, Thu Am 4 mile run then travel to KS, Fri-5 mile run

Saturday's long run? 24, 20, 18 or "other"-help me decide

Sunday will be a travel day so probably my rest day

After this weekend I essentially begin a taper

Hey Gang!

As Anne noticed, I made a comment on Sunday about a "hitch" or two in my life, and I said that just to suggest there were reasons why i wasn't around much --- without siphoning any attention from JOHANNE and her day at IMAZ.  So.....

Accounting for time differences between here and Arizona, along about the day Johanne was waking up and getting ready to head to the race site.............I was running into a deer (and maybe a sceond one) enroute to Syracuse.  This happened about 6 a.m., and I came around a corner and one was in the road.......and i braked............and I saw it exit stage left --- but two more had come up onto the road.  Then the impact, and the airbag going off, and me coming to a halt.  The car  was still running, so i pulled ahead until I could come to an area where it was safe to pull over and phone Lynn. I noticed my lightw weren't too strong, so I flicked them to high -- and saw a big glow from the right, directly at the base of the windshield.  Yup, the hood was crumpled up.  I got the airbag scunched down to a bite-size piece, and told Lynn I was going to try to make it home, or at least to our garage in the village we live near.

I circled back, and realized that the steering wheel needed to be wrestled to get it to turn the car 90 degrees.  Uh-oh.  And although i was able to drive at a good clip and steer okay on gradually sweeping curves, every right-angle turn both ways required strong-arming.  Uh-oh!  The acccident happened only about 40km from home, and ZI made it back to the village just before the radiator started to steam.  Lynn picked me up, and that was that part of the episode.

The car is a 2007 (but bought new in '08) with over 300,000km, so its book value isn't much -- and the running estimate on repairs is now at $6200, so i think it will be a write-off.  Huge bummer, that -- but far better than if the deer had come through the windshield.  The crumple hodd also has a big dented area on it, so i think the deer made contact mid-hood and then bounced to the other lane -- where I had to drive around it as i headed back homw.  As for a second deer-hit, it turns out that most of the damage is at the right front, but the obvious dead deer was on the other side.  At the speed I was going (considerable) I find it hard to see that right side damage unless there was a second deer involved, and it may have been knocked into the ditch and I just didn't see it. 

So, I'm very, very lucky -- obviously.  This is my third accident since '95 that has left me with a totalled car, but that I have walked away from unscathed.  I had an awful rear-ending in '95, and then in '08 I had a car veer into my lane on a bridge and I had nowehere to go; that was pretty awful, too.  And now this.  We all know that cats have nine lives; how many do I have??

I will try to get active here real soon, just as soon as I get some of my mojo back.  Ain't much there right now!

Wow! That's bad stuff. Lots of close calls down here too

Phew!!!  I was getting concerned by your silence.  So glad you're okay.  People are afraid of bears, snakes, cougars, sharks etc but deer and moose are the really dangerous/deadly animals. And, as you say, you are lucky you weren't more seriously hurt.

As for restoring your Mojo we'll be sending some your way.

WOW.   I wasn't expecting that!   Really glad you are OK (mostly).   Take it easy, and talk to you soon.