Evondo's Group - CLOSED! (Page 64)

Oh YAY!  You better get those pics up on facebook as soon as you have them!

Is the date starting to feel like it's creeping up on you, or are you guys feeling ready?

Yay for bridal portraits!  Though I am guessing we'll have to wait until after the nuptuals to see them, I am sure they will be gorgeous!!!

Thanks ladies.  Yes - it will have to be after  Any tips I need to know about taking them?

I don't know about Eric but I am ready - as to if everything is done...not so much

Betsy - some thoughts on the portrait - Mine was a suprise for Ken, he had no idea and I didn't have a lot of cash.  I picked up a dozen light pink roses at Kroger, cut the stems, used a rubberband and viola - a gorgeous bouquet for like $15!  I actually like that it was different from the bouquet I used for the wedding.
This may sound silly but hold your bouquet low for pics and walking down the isle - so many times I see gals holding it right at their waist or higher and covering their pretty dress.  Do pics outside if weather permits.  Have fun!

Thanks Keri. Already got the bouquet but it wasn't too pricey.  (one of the reason I like daisies)  I'll have to try and remember to hold them low.  I'm actually taking them at the Old Governor's Mansion in BR so most will be inside (but it's beautiful).  Going to try and take a few out front if the weather permits as well.

Keri - You forgot to mention you forgot the portrait and had someone break into your house to bring it to the wedding.

Betsy - My advice is have other people help take care of everything and don't plan to take care of much yourself on your day.  This is WAY too much to think about on your special day.  Keri and I both did this wedding twice so we have a little experience here.  The day before you should be fine if you want to help decorate or set things up but not the day of the wedding.  I was in charge of picking up the flowers for my first wedding and forgot.  My first bride walked down the aisle with no flowers.  It may have set things going in the wrong direction from the start.  In reality, my first marriage was doomed from the beginning because my soul-mate was married to some other dork.  I found her years later.

haha...I think I remember Keri telling me that.  

Thanks Ken.  My plan was to not to anything that day but I can be a control freak at times so it's going to be hard.  I guess as long as I give the duties to someone I can trust, I should be fine.

Awh...such a sweet husband.  Brownie points earned on that one! 

A little Friday bike porn for everyone: http://triathlon.competitor.com/2010/01/photos/alberto-contador’s-specialized-shiv-time-trial-bike_6852

 

Regarding an earlier thread about what motivates you:  I'm finding that a great way to motivate yourself to go to the gym is to have a carpenter come to your house and demolish your bathroom.  If you're like me, you feel kinda creepy going to the gym JUST to take a shower, so you feel obliged to get in a workout as well.

On a related note, I know of a house for sale in Denver if anyone is interested.  It will have a remodeled bathroom any day now (hopefully).

If you're going to dream... mine as well dream big!

Nikki good to see the trainer is already in good use! I hope you like it as much as i did.Betsy, I didn't even know you and our fearless leader are engaged. Congrats and I agree with everyone else, let everyone help you as much as possible. I know most brides including my own want to control every aspect of their special day but the most import advice we got was to make sure you enjoy it, relax and let other people help because the day goes by so fast.I didn't know groupon was in other cities too (typical New Yorker mistake).Busy weekend for me this weekend. Off to get a "big boy" bed for my son. We're also getting our apt ready for sale so we're cleaning and having a stager come in to recommend a few things to make our apt more eye pleasing to everyone. We're checking out our new place and seeing how the demo is going. I'm also trying to finalize a presentation on a new fund idea so my business partner and I can submit it to our lawyers for a road show. Sunday I'm going to try to do a time trial on the bike, I hope I don't puke. Last time I did a TT, I did a "Betsy!"

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Tomorrow officially marks the start of my 12 week HIM plan for Lonestar. A lot of mixed emotions right now...nervous, anxious, a little scared...but most of all, excited and ready to cross that finish line on April 25! The last month has been base re-building and I feel ready to go. Some of the two-a-days will be tough with early wake up calls, but I'm hoping motivation and dedication will pull me through those pre-dawn hours.

I'm also "training" a noob in her journey to her first tri in the Lonestar sprint. I've adjusted my first sprint plan to fit her abilities, and it's interesting to see her going through everything for the first time and it's so similar to how I was feeling in my prep for my first tri a year ago.

Hope everyone is staying warm and getting good training in. Looking forward to hearing all the recaps on Monday.

Awesome!  Good luck with the two-a-days.  I'd bet good money you'll pull through them just fine.

Very cool.  You'll be ready in time, you seem to be motivated enough to do the training.

I'm also training a noob.  It is fun to watch them go through the journey.  I love turning people on to an active live style and I have seen some of my friends go through some major changes and consider myself oh so lucky to be part of that.  It's motivating for me as well.

One of my dogs had his birthday today.  I would say my partner went a tad bit overboard.  Um, can you say spoiled?






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What a cute dog!!!! My dog's birthday is on Tuesday and since I can't be home to see her I sent her a present. It's a little valentine's loofa dog and it arrived in the mail today so mom gave it to her a couple days early and she loves it! So I guess both our dogs are spoiled

Good Luck with the HIM training. I know you'll do great, you definitely seem to have the motivation for it!

Yay for you!

But Jinkies!  That means I only have 10 weeks until my Oly

It's quiet this weekend.  Is everybody training or recovering?

I planned to train yesterday but when I got to the gym found out the child watch closed in 15 minutes, nice!  So no work out for me. 

Not sure if the room spinning that I suffered through at 4am counts as any kind of training but I am feeling better now and hoping to get some real training in at some point.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.  I had an amazing training session yesterday.  I spent 4 hours working with a trainer on "resistance stretching."  I first heard about RS reading Dara Torres' book on her return to Olympic swimming.  Last fall, I attended a workshop in the city and had my first experience with it.  At the end of that session, I touched my toes for the first time in my adult life. Since then, I've worked resistance stretching into my regular training and think it can really make a difference on remaining injury free.  Yesterday, I had arranged for a training workshop for my local tri-club.  I was palms flat on the floor by the end of the morning.  (I'm 5'10 and have long legs....palms to the floor is huge.) 

If you're interested, check this out. 

http://www.innovativebodysolutions.com/olympic-athletes/dara-torres-stretching/stretch-like-dara.html

Thanks, everyone, for all of the encouragement. It's going to be a great journey.

Kim- lovin' the pic of the pooch. I can honestly say I'm surprised my other half hasn't done that for our Boston Terriers' birthdays in the past. Something tells me that pic just might be the tipping point of inspiration for Nik.

So, the first two-a-day is in the books, and so is January. I'm pleased with the numbers, especially since December was pretty lean.

January's totals:
Bike:	4h 50m 23s  - 60.6 Mi
Run:	6h 50m 02s  - 35.5 Mi
Swim:	5h 51m 49s  - 18650 Yd

Ok, no drainer tonight so here are my final numbers, along with Dec cause I am stoked with the numbers over Dec.  Consistancy paid off.  Ignore the misc. stuff, can't figure out how to delete it at the moment.  We only care about Run/Bike/Swim of course.

January's totals:
Bike:	13h 58m 40s  - 143.41 Mi
Run:	9h 14m 59s  - 58.42 Mi
Swim:	7h 00m  - 11850 M
Strength:	30m
Hiking:	5h 31m 30s
Stretching:	05m
Wii Fit:	50m
Yoga:	10m

December's totals:
Bike:	7h 06m 20s  - 16.69 Mi
Run:	6h 02m 24s  - 38.87 Mi
Swim:	2h 05m
Strength:	1h 25m
Snowshoeing:	2h 00m
Wii Fit:	40m

Great numbers Kim and Tif!

Something we did in my old group was monthly self-assessments, some people dreaded it but seemed to help keep focus.  So for those that want to post one just go through the good/bad about last month and what your focus for the next month will be. Here's mine...

Still having some trouble focusing with no main races coming up and the wedding on the horizon. For running I just need to keep my base mileage up at ~20-25mi/week. Core/PUs have been going well, can definitely tell the difference in my running/swimming because of it. Need to keep this up next month and going to start incorporating dips. February is the month of biking for me... I definitely need more mileage next month. Shooting for a minimum of 250mi and hopefully 1-2 long rides.

Thanks for sharing. I'm definitely looking into this, I have never been able to touch my toes in my entire life!

January's totals:
Bike:	10h 29m 15s  - 130.7 Mi
Run:	2h 04m 51s  - 9.95 Mi
Swim:	1h 20m  - 1350 Yd
Strength:	1h 00m
Elliptical Training:	25m

Happy with my bike time, all but 37ish miles is on the trainer but I know I need it and every little bit helps.
Still dealing with this IT Band issue so there's my excuse for the run sucking.
I need to get in the pool.  Our schedule is changing a bit right now so it looks like that is going to get easier.  February is going to be a big pool month

Not going to post my January totals as a wonderful sinus infection ruined my January. That being said I'm so excited to finally be back to feeling good again. I know running needs to be one of my main focuses this month as I have my 10K next month. The other big focus needs to be swimming and getting in the pool as often as I can. I need to work on my endurance in both of these.