Beth and Yanti's Newest Manatees - FULL (Page 32)

i'm sure some of the seasoned bikers will have some good advice for you, the only point of reference i have to offer, is that i know i didn't do the full distance before my first 1/2 mary, and i did just fine

- you might want to see if you could plan it out.  maybe figure out what the minimum distance you feel you need to be able to complete and feel comfortable doing the rest.  i'm not sure that it translates, but for the 1/2 mary training, my longest distance was 75% of the race distance

so, maybe set a target and plan your training to build up to at least that distance between now and the race

just a thought

Happy Sunday Manatees!

Congrats to all the racers out there!  Be sure to let us know when you post your RR, so we can all enjoy reading them



Stacie - I hope the squirrley's stayed away!

Amy - congrats on your first tri of the season!

Sam - I hope your race went well today

Art - that is certainly how your legs feel after a brick!  i think it actually has an origin - i'm trying to find it   i'm glad the fall was nothing more serious than a bit of wounded pride

Lynn - don't you dare swim for Bill, even if he asks nice .  i hope you had fun volunteerting and had an awesome ride!

Bill - did you get your swim in?

Lauren - thank you for your generousity with the group!!!

Cathy - i hope you have a great time at the beach!

Sharie - hope the track meet was a great success

Carole - so sorry you've been under the weather - take care and i hope you feel better soon!

TODAY WAS A GRAND AFFAIR.

read all about it in my race report.

i *heart* triathlons.

thawing out and feelin' fine.

its a BACK AT IT WEEK FOR ME.

no rest for weary and challenged-driven.    [well, maybe i a little resting....just enough to recover, but then....]

stacieb

Amy and Stacie...what great RRs!!!!   LOVED reading them.    For some reason it makes me feel more confident when I read them....especially when it is a fellow Manatee that I "know" and have followed your training.    Yikes on the cold and wind, Stacie!   I don't think mine will be cold - actually I am worried about TOO hot, but that Wyoming wind can howl.

The track meet was fun - although really, really cold on prelim day, Friday.    I think it was about 40* with 20mph winds by the time ds ran the 400m.   He ended up 11th in that, 9th in the 200m (just missing a chance to go to State by 4/10ths of a sec) and was 4th in the 100m!   So off we go to State Track this coming weekend!   WOO HOO!    He improved his 100m time by a whole second!    He is already looking forward to next year when they will move down a division in the state rankings and he will be a Senior!

Went for a nice swim this morning.   First time I have done the full 500m race distance in one continuous swim.  It felt good to know I could do it all together and feel that I will be in good shape by race day.   I may not be super fast, but I know I will be able to actually do it.  

Have been pampering my body a bit and trying to let it catch up with me again.    I think it is paying off  and hope this week I will be back to more hours/miles of training.  

Stacie????

I've looked everywhere for you RR and I can't find it! Is it in the race report section?

Lauren

Consider that a warning! LOL! I'm happy to be back - I missed my Manatees! ;-)

The parental unit left this morning at 7:00 - my bad, I assumed they had a ferry reservation for today (it is a holiday Monday here) as I had told them weeks ago they needed to book their ferry to AND from the Island from the Mainland ... but I didn't think of double-checking until yesterday morning - 9:00 I ask what time their ferry is, I get "oooohhhh we think we'll just get up and see how the day goes, how we feel in the morning, how early we get up ..." (little child-like land-lubber voice) ... ummm ... NO! ... MUST BOOK FERRY! So 9:30 am yesterday I get online only to find out that the latest ferry I can get them on today is 9:00 am ... the 11, 1, and so on, are all booked solid. Oops. My bad for not checking sooner. To get on the 9:00 ferry they had to leave the house at 7:00. Eek.

Living on an island is idyllic at the worst of times - the scenery, the nature, the ocean the mountains the rainforest .. breathtaking. BUT - the downfall of living on an island is the inability to get OFF the island. Damm tourist season. ;-)

Alas - they are gone and are happily encamped in a Holiday Inn on the Mainland for the night, starting their 4000 km journey back home tomorrow ... and I must spend the next few days/weeks reaquainting myself with sanity and sobriety.

I had a crappy childhood - this may be TMI, but it's who I am - I was abused as a kid (physically, emotionally, and sexually) by the alcoholic men in my life .. most of my high school friends died before graduation (about 15 of them, by suicide, overdose, and murder, in that order) ... I grew up on an Indian Reserve (I'm 1/2 white 1/2 Cree) I know alcoholism, abuse, poverty, illiteracy, etc, well ... my education was a joke .. my teachers were a joke .. my family was a joke .. needless to say - when I left home at 17 I was improving my chances - even though I was on the streets of the "big city" off and on until I was 20 or so I had a better chance at survival than I did at home.

I fought my way up, mostly by waitressing and saving my tips - bought my first house at 25, started my Law Enforcement career at 26 .. started counselling at 27 ..
I put myself through 6 years of University ... I'm STILL going to school - I can't get enough ...

I'm good now - a touch of PTSD and a real strong aversion to racism, violence, and profanity ... but really I'm quite surprised I'm able to get by in "normal" life considering where I come from. ;-)

BUT .. whenever my parents come to visit, I feel it takes me weeks if not a month or two to get back to STABLE. They bring with them the past - the fear and the pain and humiliation and the immediacy of how much my life hurt me back then.

If I believed in hell, I'd be going there - but I will never truly 100% be able to move on and forward, as long as my parents are in my life.

ENOUGH of my venting. ;-)

I'm back. And let's pretend this past week never happened ... and I'm only moving forward from here.

THANK YOU MANATEES! I Love You All.
Tonight I am enjoying a glass of good wine, and I've ordered Indian food ... and I'm going to chill out on the couch, drink my wine, eat my food, in the silence of MY home ... and try to get back to normal.

THANK YOU SOOOOOOO much Manatees for you words of encouragement and support through this past week. It means so much to me.

tr

TR - I just want to say...I do understand at least part of your journey and I thank you for the "TMI".    I feel privileged to be walking this path with you!   Enjoy the wine and the food and the quiet and the peace of YOUR home!

I'd like to share a poem with all of you that I wrote trying to win a Specialized Ruby Comp (I thought it interesting that I ended up with a Specialized Ruby Comp, though not through the contest)

Out of darkness, into light
Leaving shame, guilt behind
Past events don't define,
     they refine.
Come Sister, Come Friend, walk with me into the wind!

Reclaim the You once stolen,
Set aside fear.
Beauty restored, true image embraced,
     stop surviving, thrive!
Come Sister, Come Friend, run with me into the wind!

Strengthen body, mind, spirit,
Stand firm, believe!
Tried, tested, renewed ~
    A true Iron Woman!
Come Sister, Come Friend, ride with me into the wind!

Sharie - that poem is AMAZING! ... wow - it is just exceptional ... it pulls out words and feelings and phrases that just .. yeah .. mean so much. ;-)

If it's ok by you - I'd like to print it out so I can reference it when I'm having a low day. It's very inspirational.

And again - maybe TMI for some people - but it's sometimes amazing what happens when you open up to people. I will NOW never be embarrased about my abuse (although I was the past decade or so) as I'm finding incredible allies in the most unexpected of places. And - why lie about what happened?!?! It is what it is and I am who I am - nothing I can say or do will change that.

It took a lot of work, but I'm really happy with who and where and what I am, now. And a big part of that, is triathlete.

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SHARIE.  how beautiful and so fitting. i sat and read and got chills.  serious chills.

TR.  thanks for opening up about your story.  its your journey, and it what has made who you are today.  nothing much to say other than i think you are ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT.  and you are a SURVIVOR,  lots of people have experienced simliar situations and have not go on to live a fulfilled life.  but you are carving one out for yourself.  and that takes heart and determination and courage and strength.

your story/your journey is sacred.  thank you for sharing w me/us.

<palmtopalm>
stacieb

LAUREN.  how nice of you to ask...

the RR is posted on my LOG.

HAPPY READING!
stacie

TR - most certainly you can print it out!   Like I said, I have walked the walk, too, although with some different circumstances and I refused to face it until much later in life than you.   I agree with you wholeheartedly about opening up, speaking the truth and embracing the total and complete YOU!

I am also now at a place where I am happy with who I am - triathlete included!  But I still have a few issues with where I am as I alluded to in an earlier post about my dh and marriage.   However, even in that, I chose to THRIVE rather than just survive! 

Thanks to the others for the affirming comments on the poem.  You are all the greatest!

Sharie

Stacie, what a great RR. I hope my triathlon is half as successful as yours! Seems like we have a ton of natural swimmers in this group. I hope you guys can rub off on me.

TR, I'm glad the rents left and you survived. What a really amazing life story you have. You must be made of very stern stuff to have built the life you have now.

And a little update about me. I finally saw an orthopedic surgeon. He is worried that it is my ACL, but there are some other things going on. Apparently on the x-rays, my arthritis has gotten more invasive and is causing general pain, along w/ a bone spur near my kneecap. I also have some "shredding" behind my patellar and he wants to have a looksee and clean up some debris in my knee before deciding about my ACL.

He thinks a scope next month would be beneficial, but is willing to put it off until after my triathlon. A backstory about my knee I may not have mentioned is that I had an ACL reconstruction about 15 yrs ago. He thinks it is shaky now, but discourages another repair and hopes I can manage w/ PT.

Anyways, I have been swimming (if you can call it that!) 3 days a week, working w. my TI coach (I love him!) and have been adding biking back in gradually. Running, for now....is still out.  But I've been feeling super happy and motivated and pleased w/ the training I am able to do.

Lauren

Hey, Manatees!

I've been busy for a few days. Amy & Stacie, congrats on your awesome races. I knew you'd do great!

TR, I have a lot of admiration for you. You're a strong person and capable of doing anything you want. Glad you survived the 'rents.

Sharie, have you always been a poet?

Hello to everyone else & happy training!

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Lynn, as far as that swim in the cove......  !!   Would I ever love to do that!  Have a great swim.

Instead I am headed out momentarily to the neighbor's branding.   The boys have been there since 6am, but I had to make a rhubarb crisp for dessert before I left.   I truly prefer working in the corral than in the kitchen, but at this branding I stay in the kitchen with my friend because she doesn't like the corral work.  

Also, she is a cyclist and is training to go on this incredible 5 day bike ride through the WY mountains, so after we feed the crew and clean up, we are going for a ride together.   This will be my first ever ride with someone...actually my first ever training anything with someone!   Looking forward to it.

Cathy - every once in awhile, I am inspired toward poetry, but it isn't something I do on a regular basis.  I like to push creativity now and again...they say it keeps a person young to make the brain cells do new things!

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Hi Manatees! 

Great stuff as usual!

Stacie and Amy - great races and great reports!  Congrats to both of you 

Sharie - glad to hear you're pampering yourself - always a good thing.  Thank you also for sharing your poem, TR said it best - it's Amazing!

TR - thank you for sharing your story, I along with the other manatees am honored to know you and admire your courage!

Lauren - thanks for the update on your knee! I hope the surgery helps

Cathy - good to see you! 

Lynn - send me a ticket - and I'll join you on that swim!

Bill - 7.6 miles uphill, that sounds like a ton of fun (not so much

Hey there Manatees

a little update from me....

as Lynn mentioned, i'm dealing with an injury  

i've been sort of struggling with it to be honest

it happened on the best run i've ever had - it was a 5 mile run, i was on mile 4 and bam - all the sudden i felt pain in my left ankle - even with the last mile being kind of gimpy, i still beat my best time on that run by 5 min

i'm not sure what i did, i'ts not broken - got the x-rays tonight, i have an appt with the ortho tomorrow

i've been swimming a ton, which of course is my love - but i was really learning to love to run

it's so strange to me to drive by people that are running and wish it was me