Experior and Slornow's Spring/Summer Mentor Group-CLOSED (Page 93)

x2.  Great results for both you and Rene.

Now, our IMAZ friends have got some inspiration!

Yes, IM build is probably the toughest on everyone.  I'm not doing IM next year, partly for that reason.

Careful with the yardwork, though.  That can be pretty rough on your body, especially as you are probably pretty beat up right now and of course the point of taper is to recover from that.

Hello everyone-nothing too exciting happening here. Just training and working. Looking forward to seeing Jason and Jimmy crush it at IMAZ. I really enjoy tracking folks through the day and seeing how things are going. Great way to participate without the needless stress of all that training

Randy

Does it mean you can't swim?  Because if it does, I might have to try it too.

Jason-Ouch! Hope you heal up quickly. How does your wife feel about scars?

Randy

x2

Surprisingly, I had a pretty good swim today. Limited time but wanted to get in the pool since I'm traveling some this week. No real plan..just got in and started swimming. Didn't push it just kept it easy and it  actually felt easy. Usually, even easy swimming feels like work to me. Didn't worry about time just swam. Finished with some pull buoy work. Nice relaxing "workout".

Now I'm in Tallahassee for NCAA XC South Regionals tomorrow. Last race of the season for Gil. Roll Tide!

Randy

Sending good vibes his way for a quick race!  What distance is he running?

I managed to hurt myself the other day.  Seems to be a calf strain.  I don't think it's serious, but I'm doubting I'll race this weekend (as planned -- just a tune-up race).

Yeah, I can find soooo many other things to do when it's time to clean the house...isn't it time for that bike ride???

Speaking of that, went for a quick ride yesterday and got my first flat while riding. I ran right into a bolt on the side of the road, went flat immediately! Unfortunately, I didn't have a spare on anything on my bike, but I wasn't very far from the house, so the wife came and got me. I got a new tire, and a spare!, so I'm going to try again today

Had to go to a funeral today. Father of one of my daughter's good friends. Nice guy, a runner, very active in his church and always there supporting his girls' activities. 53 years old. Saw he and his wife just over a week ago and we were talking running and maybe some races we might do locally. I didnt see him very often since the girls go to different schools but he always seemed happy.  He killed himself on Wednesday. Married with daughters 21, 17 and 10.  Never would have suspected it. Just hard to get my mind around this sort of thing. My daughter's friend (17) gave a beautiful eulogy about her father...all very upbeat about his positive influence in her life.  Apparently, he had lost his job about a month ago.  I just can't imagine putting my family through something like that.  You just never really know how someone is truly doing emotionally unless they outwardly express it. The whole thing has really put my wife in a funk...me too..but more wondering how someone that clearly cared about his family could commit suicide.  Not relevant in anyway to triathlon but just trying to figure this out. I'm fine.  Sad for what happened for this family but more wondering why than anything else.

Randy

Randy--I hopped in to see what was going on, and am deeply saddened to hear about the loss to the community. I actually do read that as being triathlon-related, at least in my opinion. 

Over the last year, including June 2011, I experienced some of the most life changing events one could go through. At the time, I questioned the 'Why Me' in the event. One thing that was constant at the time was triathlon, and how much I loved them. Mind you, at the time I wasn't even signed up for Augusta 70.3 (I was about to when the key 'event' occurred), and was only doing the local sprint triathlons. After the event occurred, my mom urged me to sign-up, and move forward. It was honestly the best support I could of had. Moving forward, I was supposed to of gotten married on November 5, 2011. However, as the events unfolded, I was at Ironman Florida 2011 volunteering, which in turn led me to being able to embark on the most amazing journey of my life, the journey to IMFL 2012. I can't even verbalize what the journey towards 140.6 meant to me. I was undergoing huge changes in my personal life, and was unsure as to what direction my life would eventually take. Yet, in the path I found the person that honestly completes me (she literally feel into my lap), as well as a career that I am excited to embark on. 

Triathlon has kept me healthy, sane, and strong (both physically and mentally). Triathlon turned me into the top graduate from my Master's degree program, as the lifestyle has taught me to use every possible segment of time in the most efficient manner.

Most importantly, triathlon has taught me a few simple life lessons. The easiest one is as simple as this; too often we are blinded by the end result of a task. For so long it was the case with my long runs and long bikes, then I realized how much amazing scenery I was passing in the meantime. I had to open my eyes, and take a look around or all of these memories will just pass you by. Such is the case in life as well. I've learn to appreciate the little things in life, whether it is the crisp air in the beginning of a long run, or the feeling of the sun on a long bike session (even better, the feeling of a tailwind), it's about the little details in life that makes it all worth it. 

Sorry for the overly emotional post, but I was saddened by the news that Randy shared. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Nick-nice post. I agree with you. Triathlon or running for that matter provides emotional as well as physical benefits. A long ride or run is a great time to sort out thoughts or work through problems.  I think that is one thing that surprises me about this death. John was a long time runner. Not that endurance sports are a cure all but the perseverance and willingness to push ourselves through races and hard workouts creates a certain amount of mental toughness. You never know what demons a person struggles against. This one was just a shocker for me.

On a happier note. My daughter's cross country team won the Alabama State 3A Championship today. WOO HOO! Dorothy likes to run but doesn't deal with the stress of racing well.  She was not in their top 7 so did not race today but as one of 3 seniors has provided leadership through the season.  She loves her team and was excited about going to State.  Dorothy constantly laments that Gil got all the "running genes"  and that she is Woody to Gil's Buzz (Toy Story reference). So happy for her to be a part of such a good day after she has mourned for her friend's loss over the last few days.

On another sad note....Bama lost. Deserved to lose last Saturday but hoping for another miracle today.   

Randy