June 10: Down but not Out

It's hard to believe a week has slipped by since my last entry. It's probably because I haven't had much new to report, though there have been a couple highlights.

Highlight #1: Wednesday, after a long and frustrating day at work, I went to the pool and ended up swimming. And swimming. And swimming. I had forgotten my "assignment" on what do to, given to me by my coach, so I just figured I'd swim until I got tired. I ended up swimming 100 laps in the pool (far surpassing my personal best of 84), which equated to a mile and a half. (Did I say I had a frustrating day at work??) A few of my friends have wondered how I could even swim that far. Well, I owe that one (again) to my TNT coach, Ann, and my online mentor, Rich. They have worked with me on my technique, and it's amazing how the right technique makes the task of long-distance swimming so much easier. I was able to get all 100 laps (including 6 using the kickboard and an occasional 30 second rest here and there) all done in an hour and 10 minutes.

Highlight #2: I joined the West Side team on Saturday for the team bike practice at Hines Drive. Saturday was "Invite a Friend" day, so my longtime college friend, Angelika, joined me. I learned that she was a TNT alumni, participating back in 1998 in a century ride (a 100 mile bike ride) for the very same cause that I'm supporting now. It was great to see her, as well as the West Side TNT team.

The training that day was a lot of fun. We biked 19 miles, and then ran 2.5. (I had better luck with this brick, but probably because of the 15 minute transition break...) During the biking, there was a cycling time trial going on, just as you would see if you watch the Tour de France. It was so cool! We were on the same route as these guys, and it really put things into perspective on how much I can improve. They were FAST!

My big breakthrough that day, as silly as it sounds, was that I was able to take a drink of water while peddling my bike. I can hear you laughing now, but for me, that is HARD! I was pretty excited, and let everyone know it!

A special THANK YOU to those of you who have emailed me this last week to ask if I was okay (being that it had been a while since I made an entry). I'm doing GREAT, my shin splints are GONE, and other than a slight tweek of the back that I got adjusted this morning, all is well!!!!!

This week is going to be a bit rough for me to train, mainly because Gary is out of town and it's hard to watch the kids and run (on the treadmill) or bike (on a trainer) when they are home. I'm looking forward to getting back into training, full speed ahead, when he returns!

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Check out my fundraising progress at:
http://www.active.com/donate/tntmi/DunCAN

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