Bonnie Crawford's Group - FULL (Page 7)

Nato - Great job on the ride!!!! If you can I'd definitely see someone about having your bike fit to you. As you continue to lose weight it's even more important because a properly fit bike makes riding so much more comfortable and can help relieve pressure on knees, wrists, back etc.

Julie - You can do it!!!! Hagg Lake is a great, fun and challenging course but it's fun because even though it's tougher than Blue Lake it's such an accomplishment when you finish. Are you still planning on Hawthorne Farms?

Sarah - You rock How are you feeling after your race?

I'm hanging in here (back on the road again). I'm pleased to report I've lost 13lbs in 13 weeks so something I'm doing is working. Hooray! I'm in a recovery week right now which is much needed with a massage tomorrow.

Kate - How are things? Are you still with us? Did you decide to do the Florida 1/2 IM?

Rachel/Carol - How are you, let us know how the training is coming?

Thank you so much to everyone for your support. You are so motivational and encouraging. I really need you as my neighborhood team is dwindling in number. After the duathlon, I may be the only triathlete still in the game!

Nate, I'm so glad you've found your desire to jump back in. I bet your daughter is loving her trailer rides! I am familiar with the aches and pains you mentioned. I try to practice some of my yoga principles on the bike; like your lower spine follows the reverse of your neck position. I frequently remind myself to keep my head down to reduce lower back strain. I have to make myself relax my shoulders and push them down and away from my ears. However it's kind of hard to ride palms up, middle finger touching the thumbs, eyes closed, and taking deep cleansing breaths.

Bonnie, I'm so impressed with your weight loss. I am trying to join you. The past few days have been good, but I'll wait until I've reached more of a long-term committment before I start throwing out any numbers. You are really doing something great to maintain your loses while traveling.

Julie, the only thing worse than not finishing is not starting! You can do it. I don't know anything about the Hagg Lake tri, but you can do it even if you haven't completed all of the distance in your training yet. You can float, coast, and walk all you need to, then only keep the good pictures. Ha.

Sarah

I've now been out 3 of the last 4 days...today I got to the 7 mile out mark and decided to keep going..I ran out of trail at 8 miles...turned around and took a detour through a park. I ended up going somewhere between 23 and 25 miles at a high intensity the whole way...I was out for about 95 minutes. it felt really good to do this. I did stop and buy a rear view mirror at the lbs today after my ride. I was on some of the roads on my way home and didn't like not knowing what traffic was doing behind me.

Exciting day !! I ordered my new bike and it will be here by the end of the week. I got the Specialized Dolce comp, it was great on the test ride.

Still plugging away at the swimming, I am doing a consistant 800m 3 days a week, but not getting any faster. I need to start working on getting some speed or the race will be over before I get out of the water.

Carol

WOW Nate. Setting out to do 7 miles and ending up past 20!! I'm so impressed I apparently can't write a complete sentence.

Carol you are going to love your bike. I can't wait for your first report. I'm with you on the speed thing. I was working on speed in the pool this morning. It is quite elusive.

Sarah

Bonnie-

I'm coaching softball and the Hagg Lake race is the only one I don't have a game conflict, and Blue Lake I'll be cheering on my husband, so........ I guess I'll have to go for the tough one. I'm hoping that the forecast for clearer weather on Sat. is correct and I can go out to ride the course.

Has anyone ever rented a wetsuit???

Happy Spring,
Julie

Julie - Yes, Athlete's Lounge in Hillsboro rents wetsuits and they are great to work with. I've rented from them then ended up buying a new version of what I rented. Let me know if you'd like to meet up sometime and ride Hagg Lake. I ride out there pretty frequently as it has great climbs to practice on for IM.

Nato - Congrats!!!! 20+ miles that is awesome, you've made so much progress!

Carol - I second Sarah, you will love the bike. WOO HOO!
One thing my coach had me do was speed work. Try swimming a 25 at 90% then rest for 30 seconds and swim easy the other 25. Rest a minute then go again at 90% down and easy back after a little rest. I found these intervals really helped me pick up my speed.

I'm in a recovery week right now so I'm enjoying shorter easier workouts. Of course it occurred to me last night while chatting with Stefan my massage therapist that I only have 2 recovery weeks left between now and the IM taper. ACK! I can't believe it's less than 3 months away.

Kate/Rachel - We miss you! Please check in

actually I intended on going 15, but an added 10 is pretty good...:D

Hi, everybody, I'm still here and impressed with everyone's accomplishments! I'm a litigator for the federal government ... the past month has been an absolute zoo getting ready for trials, trials, trials. Anyway, I finally took a week off and am at the airport headed for sunny Florida to do some serious training using my new coach's training plan. Still intent on completing Ironman Florida in November this year. My first olympic and half IM were scratched due to conflict with my trial calendars ... sucks but what are you going to do? I've been sorta/kinda keeping up with my training but this next week in FL will bring a big jump in my time on the road.

Got my tri bike all up and running. Bonnie, I got that steerer tube extender, and boy o boy is the bike fast! It's got 650 wheels which seems a little weird for somebody six feet tall like me, but I took it out for a 40 miler this Sunday (Beautiful day!) and averaged 17.5 mph without a whole lotta exertion, so I was pleased.

Still trying to get my nutrition together ... coach says to fill up on veggies. I've eaten so many daggone veggies that I've had a major case of gas for the past two weeks ... must be terribly annoying to have to come into my office ... poor secretary!!

So I'm committed and working at it. It's a process. No more all-out sprinting. Staying injury-free and still putting out the long slow distances is going to be my goal. Bonnie ... how is your June IM coming along?

Nate ... you are terrific! Do you have butt issues on the long ride, or have you got your saddle adjusted OK?

Take care everybody. I'll be checking in a lot this next week, with a whole long stretch of nothing to do but work out.

Kate

a while back I upgraded my saddle to a "wide load padded" model. I don't care so much about time, but comfort when riding.

I don't have much problems with the backside...what I do run into is numb hands and sore shoulders

walking/running sucks! I did a loop around the big block by our house. favoriterun.com lists it as 1.87 miles. I jogged about 1/3 of it and finished in about 28 minutes. my back and hip were killing me by the end. I'm feeling comfortable for the bike portion....I know I'll finish the swim okay, but this run may end up killing me...:D

Nate you will be ready for the run when race-day arrives. I pretended to be you yesterday and accidentally road my bike 22 miles -- my longest distance to date. I just kept attacking the next hill then eventually realized I wasn't familiar with the street signs any longer. Ha.

This week I am recommitting to strength training. It has been my lowest priority and I feel it's becoming a weakness. Pumping iron at the gym this morning felt good. Also, I'm using my short workouts to work on speed.

What is everyone else doing this week? Any new goals?

Sarah

Awesome job everyone!!!!

Nate - Just keep moving forward. You jog/walked nearly 2 miles that is so cool!!!! Keep it up you are doing great

Sarah - Way to go on accidentally riding 22 miles. Love it when that happens.

Kate/Julie - How are you both doing? Have you been able to enjoy spring yet?

Carol - How are you liking the new bike?

As for me today was an exciting day! I'm in USA Today's life section and they even have a picture of me on the cover of the whole paper. I'm beyond excited as you might imagine. It's been great motivation to keep moving towards my goal to know that millions of people would be seeing me in print.

Bonnie, I found your article and LOVE it. Congratulations. You deserve the recognition and you were well selected as an inspirational story. You look great on your bike with all of your race #'s behind you. Awesome!

Sarah

I love my new bike, it really helps to have a professional fit it for you. Haven't been training for the last few days, I hurt my back gardening and need to let things heal. I'm off to New York for 10 days to an Opera binge with my favorite brother, so the most I'll do there is miles of walking.
Carol

Bonnie,

I sent a link to the USA Today article to my endurance buddies. They said . . .

What an inspiring and motivating story!  Thanks for sharing it. Alice

Sarah,

Wow! Just wow. That's good stuff.

Carl

Bonnie,

Here's another

Wow. That’s cool!

I know this is unconventional, but I am very interested in contacting Bonnie Crawford. I work for a major television news magazine and we would love to speak with Ms. Crawford. I read her story in Monday's USA Today. I would love to hear from her. She can email me [email protected] or call me at 212-817-5407. Thank you!

Bonnie.......you go, girl!! I had read your personal blog, but my husband had not. Boy, was he impressed with your USA story, especially since he just ran his 1st half-ironman last year and knows how tough that is!!

As for me, I am really struggling with the whole running thing. That's why I SWAM in high school and didn't run track!! Anyway, I'm determined to not let it break me....I know I can do this. How's it go, "I think I can, I think I can." I met a gal (late 40's) who at 40 started running and has just qualified for the Boston Marathon. So if she can do that, then I (46 in June) can certainly run a 5K! At least "I think I can." Thanks for all the encouragement!

Julie

Julie - You can definitely do it! Have you tried a run/walk strategy at all? I do 4 min of running and 1 min of walking. This helps keep my legs from fatiguing too early and during the run portion I actually end up going faster than I would if I was running straight through.

Did you decide to do the Hawthorne Farms?

Sarah - Thanks for sending along your friends comments. Glad that they were inspired.

Nato - How's your bike riding coming along? Still having fun?

Kate - Are you still with us? When's your next race?

Rachel/Carol - How are things? Keep us posted on your first races!

Things have been busy here. I lost another 2lbs this week which surprised me and I did a killer workout today in the pouring rain so I got a lot of mental toughness points

Happy Easter (if you celebrate) everyone!

I rode the bike course for the 5/20 tri (@Hagg Lake) on Friday (a God kissed day, btw) w/hubbie, which was very challenging, but do-able. What I don't think I am ready for is running those same intense hills!!! Sooooooooo, I think I'll have to find someone to cover my May 5th softball game and enter the Farm tri, if I can still get in. The run is more level. Maybe Hagg Lake next year!??!! What a goal!

I hope you are all having a great spring training. May you all have many God kissed days!!

Julie <><

Bonnie I'm dying for an update. Are you impossibly famous now? Do you have a contract for a TV show? Are your personal appearances interrupting your workout schedule?

Your big event is merely weeks away!!

Julie you can do either of those tris or both if you chose to. Just because it's called a 'run' on the brochure doesn't mean you can't walk parts of it or all of it. My marathon friend was passed by speed-walkers! When the legs are wobbly I like running downhill and walking up.

I had my best run ever Saturday. I was spending the weekend in the mountainous region of Oklahoma . . . okay, tall hills. It was 35 degrees and I went out for my 53 minute run along a beautiful lake, up a small mountain, back down and out a long flat stretch. It was my first time to run anywhere near that long without walking. The temp kept me from getting overheated and thirsty and it was just a great day; God kissed perhaps. I completed 5.14 miles!

Now the training is much longer than my sprint distances. It is kind of hard to make myself swim for an hour when my 500m in the race should be over in 12 min. I just keep telling myself, "build endurance, build endurance, build endurance." Anyone else feel the same? Any inspirational advice?

Sarah

Thanks Sarah, I know you're right. I could hardly walk, tho, after those killer hills on the bike, so even just walking back up them would be painful. I tend to get a sciatic flare-up if I push too hard.

Inspiration: Just think of all the extra lean muscle cells you are creating and fat cells that are shrinking everytime you workout AND how easy that 12 min. swim will be for you during your race!!!

Julie

Hey Everyone!

Sorry for the delay in responding, life has been crazy.

Sarah - First off WOOOO HOOOO on the best run of your life. Congrats on that! You are so ready for your race

No I'm not wildly famous but I've been getting calls and emails from several places which has been interesting, I'll keep you posted if anything comes of it.

Kate - You still out there? How you doing?

Nate - How's the cycling coming along? Are you thinking about racing this summer? I know you CAN DO IT!!!!!!!

Julie - Awesome job on that bike ride. Hagg Lake is killer. 1400 ft of climbing from the turn off at Hwy 47 up to the park and then 1 loop around. Yowza! I've been riding it as training for CDA. Did you decide to do Hawthorne Farms?

Carol - Are you enjoying your new bike? How's Danskin training going?

Rachel - Still with us? Give us an update!

Exciting news from the training front for me yesterday Ran a 1/2 marathon as a "training run" and PR'd by 11 min. WOO HOO! Race Report is in that forum or my logs.

As we head towards the end of April I'd like to ask everyone to post their upcoming races. I check out your logs but it looks like many of you are using other methods for tracking which is cool but I know as a group we'd all love to cheer you on!!!!!

I'll start:

Hawthorne Farms Sprint - May 5
Coeur d'Alene 1/2 Marathon - May 27
Blue Lake Olympic - June 10
Ironman Couer d'Alene - June 24

Hi all, It sounds like everyone is doing great.
I tried out the new bike yesterday and loved it. So easy to ride after all those miles on a mountain bike.
The swimming is coming along, I tried your suggestion of doing some intervals, and was able to complete 800m today in 25min, which is a 3 min improvement in my time, so it looks like it works.
I don't have anything coming up, just the Port Angeles 1/2 marathon walk on June 10th, and the Danskin on August 19th.

The weight isn't coming off, so I decided to bite the bullet and started weight watchers today.
Carol