Friday, October 16, 2009

It only took one Tri.....

My first triathlon is in the books and I had a great time. Here's my race report. We left Jackson at about 5:00 Friday afternoon and drove to Hattiesburg. As soon as we got into town, we picked up my race packet which contained my race numbers, wristband for food after the race and some other "swag". Then, we went to some friends' house who cooked a fantastic pre-race meal of steak, asparagus, potatoes, french bread, and salad. I wish we could have stayed at their house longer, but we were late leaving Jackson and I needed to get some sleep.

Saturday morning I got up at 4:45 so that I could get to the race site early to set up a tent for my family to sit under since t
he weather was going to be cool and rainy and I didn't want Amanda, my mom and the kids to be sitting out in the rain. I took a shower and got dressed and I got to the site at about 5:45. I was one of the first 15 people to arrive (including race workers and volunteers). I wanted to make sure to get the tent set up in a spot where my family could sit and see everything. The were definitely troopers for getting out in the weather to watch the race! I definitely had some awesome family support for the race!

The transition area opened at 6:30 and I began getting set up shortly thereafter. I checked my bike in and laid out a towel and went over the checklist of items that I got from some members of the triathlon team. I laid everything out according to when I would need it. Helmet, sunglasses, socks, and cycling shoes were laid out on my handlebars for the bike and running shoes and visor laid on the towel for the run. I covered all of it in plastic trash bags since it had already started to rain.

Once I got everything set up, I walked around the transition area and met a few MS Heat Triathlon Team members that I had not met, yet (all of them were really cool and encouraging and fun to talk with). I had planned on taking my bike for a short ride prior to the race to make sure everything was in working order, but that didn't pan out due to the rain. About that time was when Amanda, my mom and the kids arrived and I was glad to see them. After I talked to them for a bit, I went and got into the water to relax a little before the race and check out the water temperature. It was a steamy 84 degrees in the water, which meant no wetsuits. I just hung out there until race officials made us get out to line up for the start.

The start was a time
trial start. We lined up according to when we signed up for the race and everyone started 3 seconds apart. Since I signed up very early, my number was 26 out of nearly 400 people. So, I was close to the front of the line...maybe next year I will rethink that strategy (more on this later). So, as my time to start approached, I got pretty excited and my HR climbed up to about 150 bpm, not really ideal...especially since I knew it would only go up once I hit the water, but I reminded myself what Larry Creswell told me a few weeks ago, "don't pay attention to the heart rate monitor during the race, but it may provide you with some good information after the race."


Swim (1/3 mile)

I hit the water and quickly passed the two people who started right in front of me. It seemed like it took forever to get to the first buoy. I felt like I had settled into a good rythm by the time I got to the first buoy. I soon realized that I actually do swim straight without having a black line to follow on the bottom of the pool. That was a relief, so I just tried to maintain a good rythm at a comfortable pace and didn't do too much sighting once I figured out that I don't have a problem swimming straight. I passed a couple of more people on the way out to the turnaround. The turnaround was a little bit of a challenge because I was swimming right behind two people who started ahead of me who slowed down a lot while navigating the turn. Since I was slowed down so much here, I switched to a breast stroke/dog paddle sort of stroke and actually struck up a mini-conversation with someone sitting on a surfboard at the turnaround (just an acknowledgment and a thank you mostly and he returned some words on encouragement).

On the way back in, I maneuvered my way around the slower swimmers and shortly after I was passed by a faster swimmer. I snuck in behind the faster swimmer and took advantage of the draft for as long as I could. I actually got bored with the swim on the way back in, probably because all I could see was brown water. It was a huge relief to get back to the beach and know that my first triathlon swim was done. Looking back, though, I learned a few things during the swim. I learned, most importantly, that I can do it. I learned that I swim straight in calm water with no current.

Swim time- 12:40 (6th of 12 in my age gr
oup- would have been 10th of 71 in beginners)


Transition #1

I ran up the hill to the transition area and found my bike. Thank goodness for the red towel I put down under my bike which made it really easy to find my place in the transition area. I put on my socks, shoes, helmet and sunglasses and headed out on the bike. Overall, a decent T1, but missed goal of less than 2 minutes.

T1 time- 2:23









Bike (16.5 miles)

The bike didn't start out so well because I stopped about 1/2 mile into the ride because my bike computer would not read my cadence and my speedometer was telling me I was riding 30+ miles per hour. When I stopped the bike, everything looked like it was aligned correctly. I'm still not sure what caused the computer to act up...maybe rain or dirt on the sensors??? I also started out a little bit hesitant on the bike because I had never ridden in the rain before and I didn't know the course. The course was hilly, in fact, it seemed like it was all uphill. The hills were steep, rolling hills which I am not used to riding. It seemed like there was no time for recovery between climbs because the hills were short and steep. I had to ask some of the officials how far we had ridden a few times because my odometer wasn't working. Finally, about 13 miles into the ride, I got to a long downhill section which let me recover a little bit before the run. I noticed at about that point that my socks were soaking wet and I wasn't looking forwards to putting my wet feet in running shoes. I did get passed a lot on the bike. As I mentioned earlier, I had signed up early for the race, so there were really very few people that I was able to pass and those that I could pass were passed in the water. At times, it was pretty annoying that I was getting passed so much.

Bike Time: 59:23 (16.8 mph, 10th of 12 in my age group- would have been 41st of 71 in beginners)


Transition 2

T2 went very smoothly- shoe change and visor on. The wet socks weren't so bad!

T2 time- 1:58







Run
(3.1 miles)

The run felt OK at the beginning, but the second steep hill I got to dashed all hopes of me completing it without walking. I walked up most of the hills for the first mile of the run, but I don't think I walked any slower that I was running up the hills. The hills were much steeper than any I have run on to date, which was difficult considering I had just done a lot of climbing on the bike. Just after the one mile mark of the run, there was a long downhill section (about 1/2 mile) that allowed some "recovery" time. I ran all but about 100 to 150 yards of the last couple of miles and got a huge pickup once I turned a corner and a volunteer told us we were on the home stretch. I picked up the pace for that final stretch because I only had 4 minutes left to cross the finish line before my time goal of 1:50:00 passed. I was excited to round a curve and see the finish line with 2 minutes left before my goal. The last 100 yards was a cool feeling and even cooler was hugging my family after crossing the finish line.

Run time- 32:24 (10:48/mile, 12th of 12 in my age group- would have been 61st out of 71 in beginners)


Overall Time- 1:48:46 (12th of 12 in my age group- would have been 45th of 71 in beginners)

Overall, the race was a great time and I am very proud of the accomplishment. I realized after the race that Jenna Kate, my mom and Amanda had made me some posters and hung them up on the tent I had set up for them and I wish I had seen them during the race. They would have been a big boost, but just having them there rooting for me was a huge boost in itself.


Did I achieve the goals I set before the race?

Swim Goals
1. Swim straight and
don't waste energy- YES
2. Time under 11 minutes- NO (but only one person in my age group did this and he was the overall winner of the race)

Bike Goals
1. Conserve energy for the run- YES (as well as
could be expected considering the hills and was disciplined about backing off to conserve energy when needed)
2. Time under 57 minutes (17mph)- NO (0.2mph off of goal pace and missed time by 2:23, but pretty good considering I had no speedometer or cadence sensor usage)

Run Goals
1.
No walking- NO
2. 34 minute run time- YES (beat this goal by 1:36)

Transition Goals
1. Don't forget anything- Yes
2. Under 2 minutes transition time- NO in T1, YES in T2

Overall Race Goals
1. Have fun- HELL YES!
2. Finish under 1:50:00- YES (1:48:46 race time beat goal by 1:14)

That was it....my first triathlon. For all the other triathletes who read this, I know you're probably thinking back to your first race and remembering what a great experience it was. Well, I'll tell you, my experience was just a great. For those non-triathletes who read this, you should try it. One of the neat things I noticed was that you don't have to be an athlete to complete a triathlon. I saw everything from speedos to surfing trunks; top-of-the-line triathlon bikes to mountain bikes to cruising bikes you might see in your grandmother's garage; racing flats to barefoot runners (yes, I saw someone doing the race barefoot!). I saw people of all shapes and sizes. It's really very inspiring to see someone cross the finish line that weighs 250+ pounds. If you've thought about doing it, you should.

So, I really need to thank some people at this point.
  • My wife, Amanda, for putting up with this new "obsession" of mine. I know I talk too much about racing and training, but I appreciate her for putting up with me and my training. Maybe one day I'll be able to get out there racing with me.
  • My mom, for coming over to the race after work late Friday evening after a long day at work to cheer me on and help Amanda with the kids and encouraging me along the way- and my dad for being on the other end of the phone to congratulate me when I got done.
  • My kids, Jenna and Parker, for being good during the race so Amanda and mom didn't have to chase them in the rain.
  • Larry Creswell, Matt and Amanda Cassell, Scott Poag, Charlie Murray, and all of the other MS Heat Triathlon Team members who offered me great words of encouragement and advice which were essential to me completing the race while having fun.
  • Cain Clinkscales: for motivating me to get out of bed on the mornings when I really didn't feel like it.
  • Fallen soldiers: for the ultimate sacrifice and an unfortunate source of motivation.
  • And, everyone else who offered encouragement along the way, I appreciate you.
Well, that's it for race #1. Now, it's time to switch to full time runner for the next few months until the Walt Disney World Marathon on January 10th. The next couple of months are going to be rough, especially on those cold long runs, so keep the encouragement coming. It's going to be a huge undertaking to get this marathon thing done, but keep your ears open....there may be something even bigger on the horizon.


Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Race ready....

This will probably be my last blog before my first triathlon in Hattiesburg this Saturday- the Heritage Eagleman Triathlon. There may be some short updates before then, but this could be the last one.

For the most part, I feel like I am ready. I have put in the hours, the yardage, the miles and the sweat. I've awaken at 4AM multiple times a week for months. I don't know too many things I could have done differently...More hill work on the bike? Speed work on the run? I think those things may have helped me fare better in this particular race, but since I have a goal of going much longer in the future, I think I have done the right thing.

There will be a learning curve associated with doing these races. I'm sure I will forget something. A friend told me a funny story just a couple of ours ago about a funny experience he had in his first triathlon. He was approaching the end of the race and saw his family with about 100 yards from the finish and all of a sudden his son started yelling, "You still have your helmet on!" Basically, he had run a 5K (3.1 miles) without realizing he never took his helmet off when he got off of the bike. I'm sure funny things like this happen to a lot of beginners in triathlons and I look forward to sharing my funny moment(s) with my blog followers after the race.

So, below are my goals for the race:


Swim Goals:
  1. Swim straight and don't waste energy: This will be my first open water swim, so it's going to be a new experience swimming virtually blind and not being able to follow the black line on the bottom of the pool that I have been following for these months of training.
  2. Time under 11 minutes (if the distance is actually 1/3 mile): I have read that the swim in this race is actually a good bit longer than the 1/3 mile distance that it is supposed to be and last year's swim times reflect that. If it's a true 1/3 mile, I would like to swim it in 11 minutes, but just swimming efficiently and without wasting energy is goal #1.
Bike Goals:
  1. Conserve energy for the run: A friend, and someone I consider a mentor (although there are many), said the key to enjoying a race is saving enough energy to finish the run strong. I'm taking that advice.
  2. Time under 57 minutes (17mph): I heard it's a hilly ride.
Run Goals:
  1. No walking (even though my run resembles a walk): This is going to probably be the toughest of my goals for the race, but I'm going to try to stick to this one. As you can tell, all of the other primary goals for the other portion of the race are aimed at this goal.
  2. 34 minute run time (11 minutes/mile): I did a brick workout with a 13 mile bike and 2 mile run and was able to run 10 minute miles for 2 miles, so hopefully I will be able to run 11 minute miles after adding a swim and a few more miles on the bike.
Transition Goals
  1. Don't forget anything (like taking off my helmet).
  2. Transitions under 2 minutes each
Total Race Goals
  1. Have fun
  2. Finish under 1:50: This will be good enough for last place in my age group based on last year's times, but I don't care about that. I actually recently took myself out of the beginner category and threw myself into my age group just to see how I would fare...so, last place here I come!!!
So there they are, my goals in writing (or typing) on display. They are official.

After the race this weekend, I will be shifting to full marathon mode. I will run four days per week and ride my bike and swim one day per week each. I am looking forward to the long runs, but not really looking forward to the 4AM 6 and 8 mile runs on work days. I have trouble getting motivated to run on work mornings. I do, however, have some really great motivation in my charities and all of you awesome people that support and encourage me!

Children's Heart Foundation

Special Operations Warrior Foundation

Here's my final quote, which was borrowed from someone on my triathlon team forum. See you at the finish line! I'll post pictures next week!

"If you're still breathing, finish the race."

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

New Experiences

It's getting close to my first triathlon race day and I am getting very excited about it. I will leave Jackson next Friday and go to Hattiesburg for packet pick-up that evening. The race will be next Saturday morning at 8AM. I hope to finish the race in less than 2 hours. I wish I could say that a faster goal is likely, but my slothiness (yeah, I made that word up!) on the run cannot be overstated. I have had a few new and interesting experiences lately that I should share.

First, I did my first brick workout last week. For all of my "non-triathlete" friends, a brick is basically a simulation of a portion of the race involving two discliplines. My first brick workout was an 18.5 mile bike ride followed by a 1 mile run. It's an interesting feeling getting off of a bike and running immediately afterward. It didn't feel like I thought it would. I expectef heavy legs (as the name of the workout implies). My legs were more numb than anything else...they actually felt light. I had some trouble with my heart rate on the bike after a couple of hills, but overall, I averaged about 17.5 mph, which is great for me on a solo ride. My run was about 12 minutes, so about the norm for me (see, I told you I a "snail's pace" was giving me too much credit when describing how fast I run). Overall, it was a good experience. I will be doing another brick tomorrow, a 13 mile ride and 3 mile run, which is a little closer to the actual race distance.

The second new experience for me was a wetsuit swim. I recently bought a wetsuit to swim in because of a great promo offer. I got an offer for a $300 wetsuit for $99- an offer I couldn't turn down. So, in preparation for the race, I took the wetsuit to the pool to try out in case it would be legal to swim in it for the race (depends on the water temperature on race day). It was definitely a different experience swimming in a wetsuit. Someone told me it feels like you are in a canoe when you are swimming and I can't think of a better way to describe it. I know it's a hard concept to grasp, but when I started swimming I understood what they were talking about. I was much faster with the wetsuit while expending much less energy; in fact, I cut almost 2 minutes off of my best 800 yard swim time. It was a cool experience and I hope I get to wear it on race day.

Lastly, I ran just under 7 miles Saturday evening after I got off of work. It was a slow run and I may have walked a total of about a mile, but it was my first longer run of marathon training. I ran from my house to the other side of the causeway bridge on the reservoir and back. The sunset over the reservoir was great to watch and got my mind off of my aching legs. I felt good for most of the run, but got some pretty heavy legs at about mile 6 which didn't get better until midday the next day (can't wait to see how my 18 miler at the end of December makes me feel). It was a big accomplishment and I look forward to running 8 miles this coming weekend.

Anyway, those are a couple of the new experiences I have had lately getting ready for my race next week. This is my last week of the bigger workouts (relative term) before my race, then next week will be light workouts every day.

Looking forward to race day!

"Sometimes winning has nothing to do with being first across the finish line" -John Bingham

Friday, September 18, 2009

.....Uphill both ways.....

We've all heard the old saying. In fact, I bet your dad said it to you at least a thousand times when you were young. Most people write it off as fiction, an impossibility that defies the laws of physics. How can you start and stop at the same point and travel uphill when traveling both away from and toward that point? Well, I will attest to the fact that this is no impossibility and that we should all rethink that old saying. Maybe dad DID walk 10 miles to school in 10 feet of snow uphill both ways...OK, maybe the part about 10 miles to school in the snow is a bit far fetched; but, after my bike ride 2 days ago, I now believe that uphill both ways is a completely realistic possibility in my version of reality. No, I don't live the theoretical universe contained in the pages of a Stephen Hawking book. I am now a believer in the possibility of uphill both ways and if you let me take you on a bike ride, I'll bet I can make you a believer, too (well, at least those of you who are novice endurance athletes like myself).

The ride was the day before yesterday with a good friend and riding partner who is much more fit than I am. I pretty much knew within the first couple of miles that it was going to be a tough day. I had worked a 12-hour shift in Forest, MS two days before the ride (1 hour drive each way) and a 12-hour shift in Meridian, MS the day before the ride (1:50 minute drive each way). On top of that, I swam at 5am before driving to Meridian and I only ate once that day. So needless to say, I was behind on nutrition and sleep and could feel it in the first couple of miles.

So, back to the subject of defying the law of physics. I started wondering if we'd ever see downhill about 4 miles into the ride. It just seemed like I was spending a disproportionate amount of time climbing, but I guess that's to be expected since you get down the hill faster than you get up it. It always makes sense until you're actually on the bike doing the climbing. Then cam Kickapoo Hill, a beast of a hill that I knew was coming; but, I was not prepared for it. I'm never prepared for it the first time. I made it up Kickapoo Hill. My legs were fried by the time I reached the top, but I made it. On the backside of the hill I reached 33 miles per hour without pedaling. The whole time down I was thinking how much fun (or not) it was going to be coming back up this hill.

Coming back, I prepared myself for the climb back over that hill by letting my legs rest with an easy spin for a mile or so before the hill. I stayed seated for the first part of the climb and thought it was not so bad when I reached the top....or what I thought was the top. The hill levels out about halfway up, curves to the left and the hill starts again after about 30 yards of level ground. I did not notice that it leveled off on the way down. So, for the second half of the hill, I spent most of my time out of the saddle grinding away. Near the top my HR maxed out at 196bpm, which is above my theoretical Max HR of 187 (based on my age). Basically, my legs were toast, but I made it to the top. It's always a great accomplishment when I get to the top of one of these nasty hills. Maybe soon I'll go try to tackle the military park in Vicksburg.

The plans for this weekends workouts are up in the air. I'm going to be home with a sick little girl all weekend. Jenna has had fever for 24 hours now, so I will be home with she and Parker this weekend while Amanda goes out of town. Maybe I'll be able to fit in a group bike ride Sunday night.

"We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment." -Jim Rohn

Monday, September 7, 2009

Bring on the cool weather!!!

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." -Jim Ryun

I've done a really terrible job keeping the blog up recently, but let me assure you that I am doing a much better job keeping up with my workouts. In fact, waking up at 4 AM has, surprisingly, gotten a lot easier and the pre-sunrise workouts have gotten a lot more enjoyable as of late. I never thought I would ever say that!

One of the best things about doing this training so far, besides of course raising money for two great charities, is seeing the world in slow motion. Although I am riding hard on my bike, actually being out on the bike allows you to view the world through a different set of eyes. It slows everything down. Instead of seeing everything through a windshield at 50 mph, being out on the bike allows me to immerse myself in my surroundings and see things that I would not normally see sitting behind a steering wheel. I can't tell you how many times I've seen wildlife that I would not normally have noticed (although some of it is roadkill that I might rather I had not noticed). It happened again last Sunday when I went out for a ride with a friend of mine who was actually out on his first big ride (> 20 miles). I had just finished telling him how many times I had seen deer and other wildlife that I wouldn't normally have noticed. Not very long after I said this, I noticed some rustling in the woods on the side of the road and saw a doe step out towards the road. She just looked at us as we passed within 20 feet of her on our bikes. This is about the 5th or 6th time that has happened this summer, although this was the closest encounter (if you'll remember from a previous blog I had a deer run out in front of me). It's little things like this that can turn a tough workout into something completely different. In fact, I've considered trying to do some trail running so that I can experience the same kinds of things while running.

Overall, training is going very well right now. I was a bit concerned about a setback after being sick, but I am pretty far ahead of schedule and have, for the most part, abandoned my training plan when it comes to swimming and cycling distances. It's gotten to where those portions of the plan have gotten too easy. I still stick to my schedule in terms of what days I swim, bike and run; but, as far as time in the water and on the bike, my workouts are much farther, longer and faster than originally planned. I have stuck with the run part of the plan because, as those of you read this blog know, running is not a strength of mine and injury avoidance is a top priority.

So, here's where my progress has brought me.
1. My swim workouts in the 1200-1300 yard range and I have done 1000 yard (40 laps) straight swims twice. My first swim workout was 8 x 25 yards (one length) with about a minute rest between each lap. So, technically I can swim 40 times farther now than when I started.
2. On the bike, most of my rides are about 17 mph for 25-30 miles and can ride faster if I have someone else riding with me to push me harder. My first bike ride was about 2 miles. When I finished that ride, I was out of breath and, boy, did that seat hurt my butt. Now, it seems my bike rides are limited only by the amount of time I have to spare.
3. On the run, I won't say that I have made much progress in the way of speed and endurance yet. I've really just been trying to solidify my base before the marathon plan begins in order to avoid injury. My runs are typically in the 3-4 mile range.

Speaking of running, I will be switching over to marathon mode very soon - about 2 weeks in fact. I will not be running full time until after October 12th, but the marathon training plan officially starts on September 22nd - just under 2 weeks away. I'm getting pretty nervous about the program, especially the 20 mile run I have scheduled on December 19th. But, I've said it before on this blog, I chose to do the full marathon because it would not be easy. I just hope the fundraising picks up soon.

So, as far as the race schedule goes, my calendar looks like this.
October 10th....Heritage Eagleman Triathlon- Hattiesburg, MS
My first triathlon- 1/3 mile swim, 16.5 mile bike, 3 mile run
November 7......Monroe Parks and Recreation Half Marathon (13.1 miles)- Monroe, LA
My first half marathon
January 10........Walt Disney World Marathon (26.2 miles)- Orlando, FL
My first full marathon

So, that's my progress and my plan. I'm headed out for a run!



Visit these links if you're interested in donating to my charities

Children's Heart Foundation (Congenital Heart Defect Research)

Special Operations Warrior Foundation (College for Children of Special Operations Soldiers Killed in Combat)


Monday, August 31, 2009

Back from the dead.....

Well, the last week has not been a very productive training week by any stretch of the imagination. I started last week off on Monday with an AM swim (as usual) and Tuesday was a scheduled rest day. I didn't feel all that well on Wednesday morning when the alarm went off, so I skipped my Wednesday swim.

When I went to bed on Wednesday night, I told myself that if I felt well enough, I would go the the gym and do a treadmill run Thursday morning. So, when the alarm went off Thursday, I felt OK and I headed to the gym for a 25 minute treadmill run. I didn't feel 100% while I was running, but definitely better than the day before. Needless to say, at about 1:00 Thursday afternoon, I started feeling bad and at about 4:00 the fever came. It got up to about 102.5 that night. It felt like the flu, but a doctor's visit Friday morning confirmed it was not.

As a result, I made the decision to take the whole weekend off no matter how I was feeling.

I returned to the pool this morning and had a pretty good swim (12 x 100 yards at 1:50/100 pace with 00:30 rest per 100)....light intensity with plenty of rest considering I was coming off of some sick days. It felt sloppy at times, but it felt good to be back in the pool. I'm looking forward to a bike ride tomorrow.

For all of you have have already donated to my Walt Disney World Marathon fundraiser, you'll be happy to know that the official DAY 1 of my training for that race starts 3 weeks from today. I gave myself a harsh dose of reality earlier today by mapping exactly how far it is to run 18 miles, one of the longer training runs I will do in December (I will actually do a 20 miler, also). For those of you that live in Jackson, that's the distance from the front door of the hospital at UMC to Walmart in Flowood AND BACK!!! For those of you living in Monroe, if you were to leave running north from the end of Forsythe Extension where it meets Hwy. 165, 18 miles would be behind you about the time you got to the first gas station in Bastrop (or from Ray's Pege in Monroe to Calhoun). Reality definitely sets in once you look at it on a map. Anybody want to voluteer to stand at the finish with a beer during my training runs.

So, what can I say about this challenge before me? I welcome it. I look forward to raising money for congenital heart defect research in honor of Cain (and the other CHD children I have been hearing about lately from Cain's mom). I look forward to honoring our fallen Special Operations Warriors by raising money to send their children to college. I look forward to testing myself, both physically and mentally. There are times when I think I may have gotten myself in over my head. Then I can look at my son and daughter and realize that there are parents in this world who have lost a child to a heart defect and never get to experience the joy that I get when I walk into my house at night and both of my kids' faces light up with big smiles and Jenna Kate runs over yelling "DADDYYYYYYY" and gives me a big hug. There are children who have lost parents to war who deserve help with college...such a small sacrifice for you and I since their parent gave everything for us. Looking at it this way really puts into perspective why I am doing what I am. I'm not a runner! Never have been! In fact, I've always hated running and I might be the slowest runner you've ever seen. But, I have to do it for those kids!

If you can help me with my fundraiser, I would certainly appreciate it if you would just consider it. If not, please tell a friend. It doesn't take much. A lot of small donations go a long way!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Milestone this morning: first 1000 yard nonstop swim in 20:05.

"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win." -Sir Roger Bannister, first man to break the four minute mile
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