Triing For Everything

Happy Ending

2009-11-20T00:58:00.000-05:00

Happy Ending

2009-11-19T17:42:00.001-05:00

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PnT6fOkhWyg/Smfa0gGhDzI/AAAAAAAABz8/BAweS5dIBCc/s1600-h/3747620025_21e47ae06f.jpg

Yet another fabulous comment about the Great One

2009-11-12T09:50:00.003-05:00

Shallowest president ever. A farce inside a tragedy wrapped in a fiasco.

This is just an incredible WOW!

2009-10-29T05:02:00.002-04:00

COMBO a collaborative animation by Blu and David Ellis (2 times loop) from blu on Vimeo.

Saw a great line about Obama today

2009-10-26T10:44:00.002-04:00

Obama, the idiot the left accused G.W. Bush of being

MIne aren't this inventive, but do play in the toilet water

2009-09-22T18:53:00.000-04:00

And another one missing

2009-09-09T06:19:00.000-04:00

I looked for a scholarship by pbwusa.org and found this instead:

Unfortunately the BPW Foundation Board of Trustees suspended the Career Advancement Scholarships for the 2009-2010 year because of the economic down turn. While recognizing the importance of these scholarships and BPW Foundation’s commitment to the program, there were simply insufficient funds available. This is only a suspension of the program and the Board hopes to resume it as financial markets improve.

My new Mac

2009-08-23T21:49:00.005-04:00

I love my new mac.

Last week, despite a UPS and a surge protector, the old iMac was fried and fricasseed when the yard was struck by lightning. The hard drive went hinkey and the video was entirely gone. Ben at MacDoctor saved the day and was able to recover the harddrive after much effort, but the computer was done for.

I can't be without a computer. I spoke with Ben who suggested the MacBook Pro, but after working with Mom's MacBook and the itty bitty 13" screen, I wanted to scream. It was just too small. I can't imagine using that all the time. Instead I decided on the iMac 20" from Small Dog Electronics, with a 4 gig RAM upgrade and the AppleCare. After it arrived, I took it back to Ben and he made it all right, putting a disk image of the old hard drive on the new one. I placed that on the 500 GB external and will dig through that while I pull what I need off it.

I am eligible for education discount and Apple had the buy a Mac, get an iPod Touch for free, but I already have a Touch. I'm waiting for the new ones to come out, but until then, what I have is fine.

I've watched several movies on it and Netflix, and it is wonderful. The 13" would just have been horrible.

A little disappointed, but way excited

2009-08-22T08:50:00.005-04:00

I had the UCF orientation yesterday and I know my guardian angel at UCF, Ms. Carol Anne Pohl, had told me I would likely be a transient student because of the lateness in registration, when it happened I was still a little disappointed.

This semester I have a lone class at Brevard Community College online, a lone class at Valencia Community College, though I am wait-listed for another one and hoping I get that one otherwise things are really going to be difficult in two semesters and one two-credit class at UCF in engineering economics. Currently I have 10 credits for certain and potentially another 4, but if the wait-listed chemistry doesn't come through, then I will take CADD as a filler to get to the full-time status I need.

In other news, I heard from Dr. Gonzalez, of the International Engineering minor program. I am meeting with him on Monday the 31st of August in the morning. I'd ike to see what he has to say about me working out an African or Middle Eastern program within the confines of the existing program. It'd be a lot of work, but it would be mine and made for me. We'll see what he has to say and for that I am WAY excited.

The VA is another adventure. As soon as I'm done with this post, I'll connect the scanner and scan the acceptance letter to UCF and the graduation audit. I'll also write a letter to Hollie explaining what has happened so far, what I expect to happen and the current schedule I have paid for. I am getting kind of frustrated with the VA. I feel like I already paid for this schooling with the loss of my eye, but I have to pay for it again because of the bureaucracy.

Incredible

2009-08-18T10:20:00.004-04:00

This morning I received an email from Valencia. It said sorry after reviewing your records, you didn't graduate. Now I had been working with a woman all summer long who was on top of things who had told me the week previously all was fine. I sent a short note back telling Mr Edwin Sanchez to check his records as they were missing something.

Almost immediately I got an email saying they were wrong and all was fine. I am incredulous that they don't have a system to prevent something like this from happening. This mistake could have changed the outcome for graduation, college admissions, living arrangements, financial aid, etc. Clearly this was a significant error.

Not as bad as the UC San Diego error, but still pretty bad.

EDIT: 8/21 When I was at the orientation this afternoon, there were four other people who also received this letter. This was apparently a wide-spread mistake of colossal proportions.

Trade for the Cat

2009-05-26T16:02:00.015-04:00

What a ride

2009-03-22T10:39:00.000-04:00

I found this on stumbleupon and loved it.

Try, try again

2008-06-24T09:18:00.004-04:00

I started running again today. I really do love to run and workout, but working almost fulltime and going to school full-time leaves me little time for sleep and laundry, let alone running. I am just really going to have to make the time though. I am at 186 and want to be down to 120 by the time of the half iron in October.

I will be running that race so help me.

Here was the route for today's run.

Week One Couch to 5K toward Old Longwood
Find more Runs in Longwood, FloridaThe plan is to do this 5 times and then move onto the next week. If that means I run the route twice in a day, then I move on that much faster. That is not the plan though.

As for school, I have algebra and accounting. I don't care for either, but both are a requirement to move on so get them done, do them well and move on.

I'm 42 today

2008-05-20T12:21:00.003-04:00

Boy, had you asked me ten years ago if I'd reach 42, I would have thought unlikely.

I didn't start thinking more than a year out for about three years after the cancer first showed up. I thought logically I would live, but emotionally, I just wasn't there. Eleven years later I'm fine.

Now I do everything I can to encourage others to be vigilant, but be positive. I too was given the "you're gonna die" speech by everyone from every place I called, visited and consulted with. I'm still here.

Mom and Carl came to work this morning and gave me a FABULOUS bouquet. It has the most gorgeous colors. The daisies are a florescent orange, with bright, deep pink carnations and fuschia somethings. It is just incredible and so, so wild with color.

I called VCC this morning as well. I signed up for the one accounting class last Thursday with no problems, but was wait-listed for the math class. I thought there was a delay of some sort because the registration site showed two spots available. By Friday there were four spots available and by Monday a 5th, but the wait-list kept growing from six to 14 as of this morning. I called registration and got the same apathetic kid as last week and was referred to the Math Department. Diane Vargus emailed someone and the log jam broke wide open. The she called to let me know. But I was already online and signing up when she called, so...

I am officially registered for both the financial accounting and college algebra beginning June 17 and ending July 28. It is seven weeks or 25 classes. It is highly compressed and will require a heck of a lot of time, but I'm convinced. I have to get A's to bring up the GPA to get into the construction management school at UF. I also need to get the GPA up to qualify for some scholarships.

Enough. A fairly good day and one I was particularly certain I would see eleven years ago.

It Happened Again

2008-04-29T10:17:00.002-04:00

I took a part-time job at a large home improvement center. I signed up to work 15 to 20 hours a week. It's been more like 25 to 30 hours a week. This week I was scheduled to only work Saturday and Sunday for a total of 12 hours. Of course closing by yourself makes that impossible, but I had about 15 hours between the two days and wasn't scheduled to be back at work until Saturday, May 3 at 11 am.

No such luck. Daniel called last night and left a message asking me to work Wednesday and Thursday, 6 to close. I tried to call him last night to confirm, but couldn't get him to answer so called in this morning. Joe answered and asked if I would work tonight too.

So my week of 12 hours scheduled goes to 24 hours scheduled, which really means 27 hours or so because you can't do returns when you are working by yourself during the day.

It also means I can't run tonight as I had planned, can't get sneakers, dog food nor basic groceries as I had planned and can't color my hair which I MUST do.

My first bike ride of the season

2008-04-29T03:23:00.004-04:00

I saw the new Cross Seminole trail route posted on the Chain Gang blog in the Sentinel. I knew something was coming, but I didn't realize it was so close to being done.

I rode it tonight. It was drizzling and cool, but great riding weather. I hadn't been riding at all this year and had a blast. I really love bike riding.

Here was the route. My bike computer said it was 11.39 miles while mapmyride.com said it was 10.85 miles. I'm not sure which is right, but one of them is off by a half mile or 5% in 10 miles. Not good, but OK for now.

Cross Seminole 427 to Crossing to Lake Mary Blvd and back
Find more Bike Rides in Longwood, Florida

I've got to get some more saddle time in before the 20th, but three days in a row exercising and loving it. The weight should start coming off a little.

I cleaned out most of the crap in the fridge tonight which leaves almost nothing. I have to get to Walmart tonight for some more dog food, sneakers and food, but will buy just grab and eat stuff like sandwich meat and cheese.

I always forget how much fun I have working out. And how good I feel. It's this ability to exercise that makes me hesitant to move to a snowy climate. I love that I can go outside at any time of the year and do something.

Enough. I have to get up in an hour and a half to go for a run.

Day 2, Week 1

2008-04-27T10:17:00.003-04:00

I worked last night and got out late, like 10:45ish, which got me home about 11. That is just too late. I ate and went to bed. I wanted to get up early, but getting to bed that late just throws everything off.

I have to be at work today at noon, so other than my run, not much else is going to happen in terms of exercise today.

I did run this morning and took almost 32 seconds off my time. That is really, really incredible. Slowly the weight will come off with breakthroughs like that. I was also windy this morning. I need to remember the sun screen too. It is getting pretty warm out there and the sun is up and out.

Here was the route. Same as yesterday, but I was at the 427 crossing at the 30 minute mark which is FABULOUS!!. I'd love to be back at my 10 minute miles again, but all things in good time.

427/General Hutchinson
Find more Runs in Longwood, Florida

The Plan is Off to a Good Start

2008-04-26T09:22:00.003-04:00

I set up a little matrix for the next 14 weeks. I'd like to get as much credit card debt paid off as I can barring any further critter injuries/illnesses. Between Ellie Mae and Zepheriah, it was an expensive 4 months. Ellie Mae was $1800 and Zepheriah was $1200. It's slowly coming down, but I want to be in school by August if there is any way possible.

I also need to work on the list of stuff to do, like contact the credit union for student loans, figure out what to do about the air conditioning and hall bath, get the house in shape for a roommate, come up with a reasonable budget, track down Patrick, get the house in my name and myriad other things, but I have begun.

I started listening to the Success podcasts and they are good. I need to read the book daily, but two days into the plan, I'm doing well. I paid all the bills except for the phone bill, but that's not posted yet. I bought some pasta the store last night as well as some chicken. Start getting the pasta & veggie stuff for meals, throw in some fruit and bread for fiber and that's cheap eats for the time being.

I ran this morning. All the way to the corner. I was tired, but felt good. I really do love running. The weight isn't moving, but with the new eating plan, I should be OK. I need to make a plan to watch the DVD for swimming and get to the pool.

I am exciting as my life is making progress.

Here was today's route.

I'm off to the Altamonte Lowe's to buy a ladder. Ours didn't have any left, but for $69, I can't beat it. I'm also hoping Best Rental will call with news that the pole saw came back. If, not, there's always next weekend, but I'd really prefer to get it done this weekend.

427 General Hutchinson
Find more Runs in Longwood, Florida

My run for Saturday

2008-04-19T13:02:00.002-04:00

I am slowly getting acclimated to the heat. I have a sprint on June 22 and I'd like to get below 1.5 hours for that one. Todays run was in 834 degree weather, mainly in the sun. I felt good, now get some of this weight off.

Here's my route. Each time it's getting slightly longer.

427/General Hutchinson

Last Sunday's run

2008-04-19T09:11:00.000-04:00

427/General hutchinson

First run in a while

2008-04-12T11:19:00.002-04:00

I ran for the first time in a while. I also ran in the heat. I feel it, but just in terms of sunscreen, nit heat stroke. I also ran a different route rather than through the neighborhood. I am beyond excited that the trail is that close to me. I can't wait for that to open.

I haven't made my training schedule, but need to get the calendar out to reevaluate. I have the half on October 18th. That means a 1.2 miles swim. I'm OK on th bieka nd run, but the swim is another story. I need to get to a schedule together, emphasize the swimming, fit in the biking and make time for the runs.

Everytime I run I remember how much I love it. I really do love to run.

Enough. Get a shower, grab something to eat and off to Lowes.

New Route

2008-04-12T11:14:00.002-04:00

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/fl/longwood/1021309492"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;427/Genral Hutchinson&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyrun.com/find-run/united-states/fl/longwood"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Runs in Longwood, Florida&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Aggravating

2007-12-04T06:42:00.000-05:00

I hate being unprepared. I mean really hate it.

I had a meeting last night, the second Breast Cancer meetup and got home about 9:30. I hadn't slept well the night before so went to bed early. A big mistake.

I woke up and started to get dressed to run, but couldn't find a long sleeve shirt so grabbed a way, way to hot sweatshirt, didn't have my hair in a pony tail, forgot to set my watch to track the time and was late getting out the door. It was just starting out to be a crappy, crappy run.

I did it backwards starting with loops down Grant and Pelican and then around the cemetery for a total of 2.16 miles with a 13.43 pace.

I like running early, early. No one is up and moving, the air is mine, the roads are mine, only the occasional kitty is out to say hello. I prefer to be out the door by 4:30 and home by 6. That gives me about 6 miles. This morning was a chore and not much fun. Tonight I'll make sure my iPod is loaded and charged, I have a long-sleeve shirt, my watch is set, ponytail holders at the ready and then the run tomorrow will be a good one.

OUC Half Marathon

2007-12-01T15:10:00.000-05:00

That was today. It was a good race, but I wasn't aware you had to run on cobblestones for 3 to 4 miles. My knees started hurting within the first 500 yards. I'm glad I did it, but if they always hold it on the cobbles, I'll pass on this race. I'd like to keep running for another 35 years and desrroying my knees with a poor choice of substrate isn't going to allow that to happen.

I didn't run as fast as I wanted to, but I did finish it. I need to come up with a better plan for organization. Runnign with my keys, my iPod and the timer makes for full hands. I think I just need a way to stash the keys. I need to keep resetting the timer and listening to podcasts makes carrying the iPod a requirement.

I won't run tomorrow, but will make it a point to go for a bike ride. I also have to mow the lawn before it overtakes the house.

Tomorrow I also have to firm up the running/training schedule for the marathon. According to the countdown it's 78 days away. I just need to come up with a training schedule for the whole year. The olympic tri in Clermont is sometime in April and the half iron at Disney is the 18th of May.

I'm Back

2007-11-15T20:21:00.000-05:00

I am back to running. I took a week off just because I didn't feel like running and then got in the habit not to run. I'm always amazed how much better I feel after running and why sometimes I seem to forget that even though sometimes running is boring, the after running feeling isn't.

I had to run tonight because Zepheriah gets her final heartworm checkup tonight. I'm also going to get Lantana's nails trimmed. I love that the vet is open at midnight. It clearly fits my schedule much better.

I also got good news yesterday. I had applied at Lowes and heard back this week I am hired for the plumbing department. I am just happy I got a second job. Need to save some money to get back to school full-time.

As for running, I have the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning, the OUC Half Marathon on December 1, the Breast Cancer Marathon in Jacksonville on February 17. I was scheduled to do a 10 miler last week, but never did. I ran 2.5 miles on Tuesday night, 5.25 miles tonight, will run again Friday night and then do a 12 miler on Saturday morning. I haven't been keeping a running schedule, but the goal is to run 5 days a week.

It's late and I'm tired. Off to bed

It's been a while, but I did it

2007-10-16T19:05:00.000-04:00

I ran five miles this morning. Well, not quite five miles, but according to mapmyrun,com, it was 4.97 miles. It was the modified week 4 of the Couch to 5K program. I do the first warm-up, then do the runs 2.5 times and then walked home. I felt OK at the end. I had a slight twinge in my hip, but nothing major.

Every street in the neighborhood down to the cemetry
Find more Runs in Longwood, Florida

I'll run again Wednesday morning. I'd like to take Wednesday off, but because Zepheriah has a vet appointment at 10:20 Wednesday night, I know it's going to be a late night and I won't get enough sleep if I want to run Thursday morning. Tomorrow is just the four miler though.

I had my first update with Linda from the Orlando Sentinel today. I hope she gets the part in there about the cancer. It so so important that people know inflammatory breast cancer exists. Shoot, that's half the battle.

I have the calendars for several running programs, but now I need to make my own calendar of training both for the marathon and the tri winter training. I need to make that a priority for this weekend.

Start Again

2007-10-15T19:28:00.000-04:00

I finally got around to making my event list for next year. My A races for 2008 are the breast cancer marathon in February in Jacksonville, the half-iron at Disney on May 18 (happy almost 42nd to me !!) and the Florida Challenge 70.3 in Clermont in October. I have one B race picked out so far, an olympic in April out in Clermont called the 25th Annual Great Clermont Triathlon. I'd like at least one more olympic distance in August or so just to get ready for the final half iron in October. The event calendars aren't updated for 2008 yet, but I'm sure I'll find something.

I ordered the Non-Runners Marathon Trainer again. It hasn't arrived yet, but I looked at the index. Week one is running four days, 3,4,3 and the long one this week is five. I am bumping that slightly by running 4, 5, 4, and 6 this week because I was already doing the four miles and don't care to go backwards to move forward.

I'm heading out. I weighed this weekend and was up to 192 and change. I am now at 189. This should be a heck of a lot easier when I'm 80 pounds lighter.

Clearly that wasn't good.

2007-08-22T19:19:00.000-04:00

Well the tri I was training for, the Urban Epic, was a disaster.

I was not anywhere near trained enough for it. I don't think the actually swimming was the problem, but the wetsuit. I had only put on the wetsuit for the first time the night before. Actually the first time I'd ever put on a wetsuit was about 9 hours before the race. Then I put it on backwards. Then I realized how chafed I was going to be after swimming, despite the bodyglide, then I had to walk 100 feet on the gravel (sharp shards of black shale-like rocks), then another 100 feet on broken clam and mussels shells and then into 59.5 degree water in the Casco Bay of Maine where you had to wade for 700 yards over the clam beds because the water was so shallow (like mid-thigh), that you couldn't swim. A week later I still have a serious gash on the ball of my left foot.

I take responsibility for not being trained enough for ocean current swimming, but as someone said to me, were you supposed to walk on crushed glass to prepare for the clam beds?

This race was a disaster. I haven't posted a post-race report on Beginner Triathlete because I am still so angry about the race. You know that old saying, If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. Actually the starting island. Mackworth Island, was very pretty, but that's about all I have nice to say. I have done a dozen triathlons put on by at least four different race directors. Nothing, and I mean nothing, has even approached how bad this race was. Not even the dozens of road races I have been to put on by dozens of race directors.

The links for directions on the website came up with a 404 error. They had multiple errors for the enry list, they were still making course changes three days before the race, they made transition equipment changes two days before the race, they threatened disqualification if you wore shoes to the walk over the crushed clam shells, the meeting the evening before the race had no handouts, but the race director referred to course hazards like we had all grown up in Portland, the water current was advertised as existing, but a 2 knot current was what was mentioned, not the 5 knot current we found race morning. Hills with a 12% grade with an S curve switchback and a pothole in the middle is unacceptable (why warn us before the race, just send a crew to fix it) and the race director was just too proud of himself.

There were so many other problems. The Portland Convention and Visitors Bureau forgot the maps to get to town and show the course, there is no quick way to Portland from Melvin Village so it was two hours muddling through unmarked towns, there was no signage for the race anywhere in town, there were no where near enough volunteers, there was no water at the swim start, at the transition area, in fact as near as I could tell, the first water was at the half-way point of the bike with a bottle exchange.

I am disappointed in myself that I didn't finish, but more angry that this was the quality of race I spent my money on.

Training progress

2007-07-21T07:45:00.000-04:00

I haven't been posting about the training, just updating the breakingthetape stuff, which does show up on the right. I did a run/walk this morning. It is just so hot. I need to make a training schedule today and plan these things better. I can't just get up and come up with a plan as I'm walking out the door. I think I would do better that way.

I would also have my water set, my HRM together and neck cooler wet and ready.

Today is just another day to start over.

I retrieved my "Slow, Fat Triathlete" book from Jan and glanced through that. I also looked up the swim training stuff. I'll see if the swim store up the street has that. I know I just need to run more. The swim is a definitely problem. I need to get the total immersion dvd today and start implementing that. I can do the distance, but not when it takes me a minute a lap. I will be outside the time limit.

On the good side, I saw the Galloway website said doing three ten minues runs to make up for the heat is just as good as one thirty minute run unless you are supposed to do the long run. I will run again tonight to get in six miles. I just can't do the 85 degree heat.

Off to get a drink, make up the deposit slips and get in a bike ride.

More later.

And I thought I was doing so well

2007-06-03T17:22:00.000-04:00

I went out to the West Orange Trail today. I love that place. It is 19 miles from the Buddhist Temple to Killarney Station. I saw when I went out there today, the flyover over 436 is finished. I'll have to ride back that way. The problem is you have to ride through a REALLY bad section of Apopka to get to the very start of the trail. I mean so bad there used to be the outline of a body from a murder victim on the trail kind of bad. I don't need to go to the trailhead that much.

I did my first brick of the season. I didn't run the whole way. I was tired after about 15 minutes, it was 85 degrees, winds gusting to 20 pmh and I didn't have any fluids. I really need to get a new bladder for my camelback. I did run/walk for 57 minutes though which is the longest I've done that in that kind of heat. I am definitely going to have to train for that if I want to do the half-iron.

I did run/walk a little more than five miles and then immediately did an out and back for a 38 mile ride. When I started the ride, I measured how far the run was and it came back as 6.12 miles. I knew that wasn't right, so I started looking for markings from trailhead to trailhead. At the end of the ride my mileage read 44.44 miles and I knew the ride was about 38. I figured when the battery died back in April on my computer, the thing wasn't set for my wheel size. I was bummed. I thought I had done a 60 mile ride a couple of weeks ago and it turned out to be only 51 miles. As soon as I was done I went straight to Locomotion and got that adjusted.

I felt fine today, no soreness or anything. I really need to make up my training calendar this week to get ready for Maine and see if Clermont is even remotely possible in October. I just keep telling myself you aren't going to win it, just finish it.

Well That Was Different

2007-06-02T13:15:00.000-04:00

I've run in the rain before. I don't run in thunderstorms with lightning because that will get you killed, but I'll run in a gentle drizzle. All night it rained. I don't know how much, but I'm thinking about two inches. It gave us a gentle soaking which we needed. There shouldn't be a huge amount of runoff like we get with the torrential downpours.

After I got out there though, the rain increased. It was really pouring. I felt like a hardcore athlete. At one point it was raining so hard I was having a hard time seeing. I need to get a baseball cap to keep the rain out of my eyes. I had my iPod wrapped in a shopping bag. I ran in a t-shirt and shorts which when I got home were dripping like I had jumped in the shower.

I did a different route as well. I mapped it on mapmyrun and it was 3.15 miles. I didn't run all of that, but I'm getting closer to running the whole thing. Tomorrow early am I'm going to head out to the West Orange Trail and do a brick. I'll just shoot for the 25 minutes without stopping and then ride out to the Killarney Station. I think it's about a 40 mile round trip. I'll shoot for 18 mile per hour average.

I'm still riding my Marin hybrid. Since I shattered my wrist last Thanksgiving, it has healed, but I'm still not ready to use my Felt with the aero bars. It hurts to rest my weight on my forearm for longer than a couple of minutes. And after that fall, I'm not eager to take a spill with the clip-on pedals. My surgeon considers my wrist his work of art and would not be happy if I screwed it up.

June 1, and already Tropical Storm Barry

2007-06-02T00:34:00.000-04:00

I work in construction and the weather plays a major role in our schedule. I am generally pretty up on what is supposed to happen. I knew we had the potential for a storm, but it was downplayed by my local station on the early morning broadcast. So when I finally got home tonight after work, I was surprised to see the storm had intensified and was now named.

Tropical Storm Barry is supposed to be fairly mild through Orlando with some nice rain and some minor winds, but nothing worse that our standard summer thunderstorms, maybe just last a little longer. Gosh I hope so. We so need the rain.

I'm In

2007-06-01T01:00:00.000-04:00

This summer I am heading to New Hampshire for a partial family reunion. I only made the decision to go last week and started looking at races up there. Initially I wanted to do the sprint tri called the Timberman which is apparently a local favorite. Unfortunately it was already full. I continued to search and found the Tri-Maine triathlon called the Urban-Epic.

This will be a HUGE step for me in my triathlon history. There are a number of firsts. It is an international or Olympic distance which is a 1.5K swim, a 40K bike ride and a 10K run. I have no problem with the bike. I've ridden that distance countless times, though I'll be doing this on a borrowed bike. I am in week seven of the couch to 5K running program currently and have been on week seven for two weeks now. This is just me getting back into running. I've run many 10K, but not in the last few years. I haven't even begun training for the swim. The other thing which is HUGE. I mean breathtakingly huge, is swimming in the ocean.

I can't tell you how scary that is for me. I've been in the US Army, I've been through combat training, I'll jump out of airplanes, I'll repel off mountains, I've owned several snakes, will save spiders (from my Mother and my cats) and move them to safer quarters outside, l love rodents of all types, have owned and loved many a rat and I truly can't think of anything that I am physically afraid of. Except the water. I have no problem swimming in pools. I am a good swimmer. I don't look like I'm drowning while I swim. My technique is good, my strokes well-placed, but that is in in the safety of a pool. Where nothing is out to eat me.

I live in Central Florida. Just north of Orlando. We have alligators (which is also our state reptile), cottonmouth water moccasins, lots of other water snakes which aren't venomous, but still very scary to see swimming along, turtles of all sorts including the snapping turtle and chicken turtle, both of which have a nasty bite capable of removing a finger and rogue monitor 4-foot lizards. And we have these little ameobas that swim up your nose into your brain and can kill you within a week. And that's only the freshwater hazards.

The closest beach to me is Cocoa Beach, about an hour away. That is the shark attack capital of the world. No, I mean it. More people have been bitten at Cocoa Beach than anywhere else in the whole world. Now, no one's been killed, but I don't want to be bitten or eaten. I also saw Jaws when I was nine. It was 1975 and we were at the New Jersey shore. I can say I have been back in the ocean over my knees exactly never since then.

These fears may be irrational and illogical, but they sure as heck are real. Now I have done races in fresh water and as long as I was with a bunch of other swimmers, the fear was manageable. I figured I just had to not be the last person in the water. The critters in the fresh water would have been scared off by the mass of swimmers, but this Maine tri is different. From the Epic-Tri website:

"The Urban/EPIC will start from the decks of a Cianbro barge anchored in the middle of Casco Bay. Athletes will be brought to the barge on two Casco Bay Lines Ferries. They will then jump from the barge and finish 1 mile away at East End Beach, completing one of the most spectacular swims in the world."

And all this fun in water that averages a warm 60 degrees. OK, so the final first in all this is the thing that is going to make me look like a tasty seal. In 60 degree water you need a wetsuit. Now, I don't own a wetsuit. In Florida you may have one race a year that even allows a wetsuit, but generally the water just isn't cold enough to allow a wetsuit under USTA rules. But in Maine, a wetsuit is required so I don't develop hypothermia. The really big downside of wearing a wetsuit is that you look like a seal to any passing wildlife like sharks or whales. A big tasty seal snack. I feel sick just thinking about it. Onward!

Why tri?

2007-05-19T23:35:00.000-04:00

I did my first triathlon three years ago on a spur of the moment decision. I was not in shape, hadn't run in several years, didn't even own a bike and while I could swim, hadn't done so since I was a child.

I went to my local bike shop, plunked down $400 for a Marin hybrid, bought a helmet at Walmart, dug out my swim suit and worn-out running shoes and showed up the morning of the race with exactly no training. It was the Danskin triathlon at Disney in May of 2004.

I had entered under the Team Survivor banner. This is a triathlon only for women, that has a special program for cancer survivors. I am a 10 year survivor of a rare breast cancer called Inflammatory Breast Cancer. I'll tell you more about that later.

I showed up for the triathlon with no training, no experience, terrified of gators, and found my new love.