KONA FUNDRAISING

What else can I say...

I've got the physical and mental parts of Ironman Hawaii under complete control.   It's the financial part I struggle with....

So FUNDRAISING.....here I go!

First, I would like to thank the following for their very generous donations in helping me get the the starting line at Kona healthy and happy without feeling the burden of thousands of dollars in credit card bills looming.

ZOOT SPORTS www.zootsports.com

Mr. Doyle Coatney

Mr. Pierre V. Miller / Patrick Miller LLC  www.patrickmillerlaw.com

Mr. W. Thomas Ballantine

Boudreaux's Jewelers  www.boudreauxsjewelers.com

Don's Seafood Hut, Covington  www.donsseafoodonline.com

Franco's athletic Club, Mandeville www.myfrancos.com

Ripp's On the Lake Seafood Restaraunt, Mandeville

The Broken Egg Cafe, Mandeville
Money Hill Golf and Country Club

Mrs. Holly Shaffer

Bedding Plus, Covington www.beddingplusmattress.com
The Louisiana Marathon www.thelouisianamarathon.com
The Gulf Coast Half Marathon www.gulfcoasthalf.com

Varsity Sports, Mandeville  www.varsityrunning.com

Mizuno Running www.mizunousa.com
nolarunning.com
Cameron M. Mary
Maple Street Bakery, Abita Springs, LA

Mrs. Nancie R. Munn
Copeland's Restaraunt

Zea's restaraunt, Covington www.zearestaurants.com
Tchopitoulas Barathon
Crescent City Classic 10k
Hollywood Casino, Bay St. Louis, MS
Champagne Beverage

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BUY A SQUARE OR DONATE IN ANY WAY, PLEASE CONTACT ME AT
igettodothisblog@outlook.com
and make arrangements with me :)

"POOL" STYLE RAFFLE #1

100 SQUARES AT $20 EACH. 

5 LUCKY WINNERS WILL WIN A PRIZE VALUED AROUND $300.00!

There will be 10 numbers randomly drawn across and down. 

#1 - PRIZE PACK #1 - $250.00 FRANCO'S ATHLETIC CLUB GIFT CARD - INCLUDING OSPA
PLUS $30.00 Maple Street Bakery Gift Card

#2 - PRIZE PACK #2 - BOUDREAUX'S JEWELERS - BLACK FRESHWATER PEARL NECKLACE (value $250.00) 
PLUS  $25.00 Ripp's Gift Card

#3 - PRIZE PACK #3 - DON'S SEAFOOD HUT GIFT BASKET INCLUDING 12 @ BUY ONE/GET ONE FREE ENTREE'S
PLUS 2 FREE EPIC BUFFET PASSES - HOLLYWOOD CASINO, BAY ST. LOUIS

#4 - PRIZE PACK #4 - GOLF FOR 4 TCHEFUNCTE COUNTRY CLUB, Covington 
PLUS $25.00 Ripp's Gift Card

#5 - PRIZE PACK #5 - GOLF FOR 4 MONEY HILL, Abita Springs 
PLUS $25.00 Ripp's Gift Card

#6-#10 - NO PRIZE

"POOL" STYLE RAFFLE #2

100 SQUARES AT $20 EACH.

10 LUCKY WINNERS WILL WIN THE FOLLOWING PRIZES!!

There will be 10 numbers randomly drawn across and down.

#1 - 1  pair ZOOT SHOES www.zootsports.com 
PLUS $25.00 Broken Egg Cafe Gift Card
AND $25.00 Ripp's Gift Card

#2 - 1 pair ZOOT SHOES www.zootsports.com 
PLUS $25.00 Broken Egg Cafe Gift Card
AND $30.00 Maple Street bakery Gift Card
#3 - 1 pair of Mizuno shoes from Varsity Sports Mandeville
PLUS $25.00 Broken Egg Cafe Gift Card

#4 - 1 pair Mizuno Shoes from Varsity Sports Mandeville
PLUS $25.00 Broken Egg Cafe Gift Card

#5 - 2013 Louisiana Marathon or 1/2 Marathon Entry and Commerative Poster
PLUS $25.00 Broken Egg Cafe Gift Card

#6 - Bedding Plus Primaloft Pillow Pack (2 Queen &1 King)  
PLUS $50.00 Broken Egg Cafe Gift Card

#7 - Race Entries - 1 entry to the 2012 Middendorf's Manchac 10 miler or 5k
AND 2 entries to the 2013 TCHOPITOULAS BARATHON
PLUS $25.00 Copeland's Gift Card

#8 - Race Enrty - 1 entry to the 2013 Louisiana Riverfront 1/2 Marathon or 5k 
PLUS $30.00 Zea's Gift Card
AND $25.00 Broken Egg Cafe Gift Card

#9 - Race Entry - 1 entry to the 2012 Gulf Coast 1/2 Marathon 
PLUS $50.00 Ripp's Gift Card AND
$25.00 Copelands Gift card

#10 - 2 Race Entries to the 2013 Crescent City 10k 
PLUS $50.00 Ripps Gift Card 
$25.00 Copelands Gift Card

SANDESTIN TRI

Another week under my belt.

I am starting to feel some of the aches and pains associated with Ironman training  -- other than the left foot issue I had when I started up.  It's a funny thing... I seem to forget about the left foot when my right hip aches and right heel stings and burns!!  I am pretty sure it's all about tight muscles, at least the heel/plantar fasciatis is for sure.  The hip is still a mystery, but I am hoping it is just some allignment issues over the period of time I have been running since my Boston Marathon injury.  Whatever the cause, I am constantly managing the aches and pains, making sure I roll through them carefully so they don't tun into something bigger and untimately stop me. 

This is the dance of endurance training.  We all do it and it's a slippery slope. The main goal is to get to the starting line healthy and ready to go.  It becomes a lot more difficult the older we get, but it's all doable so long as you pay attention and fork out the $ for the appropiate thearipies...like massage.

So, this weekend brings me back to Destin for the Sandestin Triathlon.  (do I hear an "aw shucks"?  LOL, maybe not) This is by far one of my all time favorite races - fun, sun, beach, drinks, and good times...the race is just a good excuse to come back to the beach and take part in a crazy post race pool party.

Dinner at Stinky's

We arrived Thursday, grabbed and awesome (and let me repeat this - it was AWESOME) grilled chicken sandwich at Maguire's then it was time to get checked in and hit the beach for a 2.5k swim in the Gulf of Mexico.  The water was absolutely gorgeous - calm and not too cold, LOTS of fish, a little seaweed, and a few stingrays.  It's  pretty cool to see these guys cruising along the sandy bottom...

After an awesome dinner and and a few drinks at Stinky's on 30A it was time for a dip in the hot tub then off to bed.  Finally a chance to get some good sleep to cure what seems to be a bout of insomnia over the past few days....I slept for 10 hours.  ahhhhh

Friday morning.... Nicole and Deb took off for a ride and I decided to stay back as today, get this, is a DAY OFF!!!!!  LMAO!  My legs are so tired, I have been looking forward to this day for a while.   I was able to get some work done while they were gone, but it wasn't long before we made our way to the beach again...only to be run off by major rain storms after an hour or two.  So, what else is there to do in Destin when it rains?  Shopping at the Outlet mall of course - so that's where we headed, apparently along with everyone else in Destin..  It was a good way to move my legs around, and they did feel sooo much better after walking around for a few hours..

After that, it was off to packet pick up, then a chill dinner and a saints game on the tube.  I was pretty bummed to see how the Saints played, but in their defense - it is still preseason, so I'll give them a break.  I still didn't like it.

The Race:

I woke up early and got situated as normal and we all got set up nice and early before the mad rush of newbies and late comers hit the scene.  Nothing really crazy happened except this one guy tried to put his transition spot on top of and in front of mine right as transition was closing....what a mess, but it all got smoothed over, and we were off to the beautiful Gulf waters for the swim start.

TOP 3 FEMALE'S
SANDESTIN TRIATHLON 2012

I was in the 4th wave with all of the other 40-44 year old men and women - this race lumps us all together which can become a bit brutal at the swim start, but I have learned by now where to place myself and who to avoid.  The start was crazy- guys running and jumping all over the place - I just rolled in calm and ez, thinking to myself "I'll let them all blow up, then when they are exhausted, I'll cruise by them later.  As usual, that played out beautifully.  By the first turn, I was with 2 other guys, then not soon after that, it was just me in my green cap cruising along.  Such an awesome swim, the water was cool, calm, and we could see the bottom the entire way!  By the time I rolled into the beach I was feeling pretty warmed up and ready to go.  I knew I would have to ride pretty fast if I was gonna win this race again at 41, especially since my run would no doubt suffer with my tired legs.  So I was up the beach, into transition, and off with a smooth transition and onto what seemed to be a ridiculously fast bike.  The first thing I thought was "oh no....this tail wind I have now is gonna suck on the way in...lol"  I had a strong bike, and the head wind on the way in wasn't bad at all.  I managed pretty well, got into T2 smoothly and off to the run in a jiffy.  All I can say is I felt like crap on the run.  I felt heavy and slow...but my splits suprised me, so I just kept the effort up.   In this race you can never tell who is ahead or behind because there are fast people embedded in every wave.  So, you just need to go all out and get to the finish and hope it was good enough...  When I got to the finish, my initial thoughts were that I was 2nd or 3rd....

I felt that rotten.  But when the results were posted, I saw this 41 year old chic was on top again!  Another year in the Sandestin Tri Roll!  It was good enough.  Now it was time to collect my stuff, head to the room, change into my bikini, make a stiff drink, and hit the pool party for awards and FUN!

NOBODY KNOWS WHERE WE GOT
THE WHALE

All I can say is that the pool party never disappoints, the pictures say enough.  I managed to miss the mayhem on the beach after the pool, which is probably a good thing.  I think we were all cooked by 2 or 3 pm - back in the condo in bed!  Let the hangover begin!!  LOL!!  Do you remember college and your 20's when you could drink like that and bounce right back?  This is ridiculas...



Later that day, Mel and Rob showed up with pictures and video from the pool and beach that had us rolling in our headaches at the mayhem.. Oh what fun when you can be silly stupid with friends and enjoy laughing at yourself!!

Needless to say, that evening was low key.  I was up early for a bike ride in the rain along 30A.  I entertained the idea of not going since the weather was sooo bad, but I needed to get my blood flowing, and I couldn't sleep, so i went.  Made another friend along 30A about 25miles in, we rode in the rain for another 25 miles and I was glad to have the company in such bad weather.  Thanks Ryker for the ride!   He is training for his first Ironman In Florida in November!  Hard to believe I did my first Ironman there way back in 2003.

After the ride, the girls had everything packed up and ready - so we were off to breakfast at The Donut Hole then hitting the road for home.  Still have a headache, but also still laughing about the fun...

BACK TO IT.  8 WEEKS TO KONA.  TIME TO HAMMER DOWN.

Weekend in Destin

 CHANGE OF PACE, sort of..
So I got to escape to Destin last weekend with Deb for a little fun in the sun...and, of course, training.  We got there Friday, hit the beach with a few cocktails and just took in the sound of the waves and beautiful day.  It was awesome to get away, but as usual, an easy friday and a drink or two can only mean one thing....a headache, and a very LONG Saturday and Sunday!

Saturday, I was up early for my long ride.  I took off as soon as the sun cam up and headed down 30A through Seaside, Grayton Beach, Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach and up to Hwy 98 to Panama City Beach.  It was there I hooked up with another cyclist named Fred who was headed out for some hill work on the bridge on Hwy 79.  I was familiar with this bridge as I have ridden it hundreds of times between all of the Ironman Florida races, Gulf Coast Tri's, and just training days in florida...so I decided to tag along for some hill intervals to spice some things up.  after up and down 5 or 6 times, we were headed back and got to chit chat a bit and made our way back down 30A to Seaside where  Fred headed home to tend to family matters while I hept on looking for Debra who finally rolled out of bed and got moving.  Once we met up, we went to the Farmers market in Seaside to hunt down this granola Fred told me about - and OMG, it was AWESOME.  VERONICA'S HEALTH CRUNCH ...I had a few samples of her granola, and sampled my way through the rest of the market - just enough to get fueled up for the rest of my miles and a solid run off the bike. I got to run the 4 mile Sandestin Tri race course, this time at noon instead of at 7 or 8 am like in the race itself - and oh boy, was it hot.  But a great run nonetheless - faster than I imagined it would be.

After that, it was into my suit, pack for the beach, and get an open water swim in.  It was a little rough out there with the wind, and kinda technical swimming around all the people in the water - I think everyone and their brother were in Destin last weekend!  lol...  I saw TONS of big fish - I mean even REDFISH along the shore!

It wasnt long after our swim that a quick deck change was in order and voila, margharita in hand, time to chill....finally relaxin on the beach by 2pm.  ahhhhhhh

That night, we headed to Bud & Allys for dinner - but I didn't even make the sunset as one glass of wine did me in at that point, and the morning brought a long run and another open water swim, so we headed back to sandestin, and off to bed.  My run the next morning was little to be desired, but in the books regardless.  I was glad to get it done, had an awesome swim in some calmer waters and a little bit of beach time before it was time for lunch and check out.                             Time to head home already...poo

11, 10, 9 weeks and counting...

9 WEEKS TO KONA

I love recovery.  As a matter of fact, I thnk I am super focused on getting to each recovery day/ period in order to get me through some of the harder days. I get to do other stuff on recovery days (like blog, cook, clean, shop), and it gives me a necessary mental and physical break to prepare for whats coming up.

The past few weeks of training have gone well.  I have had the opportunity to go to Florida a couple of times for some training and a change of scene, and I am so thankful for that.  Sometimes, the same ol ride through the redneck backroads of Louisiana can get a little old...so the change was welcomed. 

It's a little funny though...no matter where you go, and how much you can change the scenery, some tings never change.  There are angry people in this world, and many of them happen to drive cars and trucks and don't want you on their road - on a bike or running.  I have certainly come across my fair share of "haters" in my life - the most personally hurtful ones are those who pose as friends at first, then procede to throw you under the bus when you start to see what's going on and respond...but, like many people I try to emulate, I have learned to manage those people, keep my distance, and realize that is not my issue, it's theirs.  All I can do about them is pray for their poor souls.  BUT, more importantly, the "haters" that scare me the most are the ones driving and feel a sense of power over another person simply because they hold an advantage over an exposed human being in their crosshairs.

And it doesn't matter where you are, these people exist everywhere.  Even in sunny Florida.  A few weeks ago, I had a near miss with an 18-wheeler in Port Charlotte, who I happened to follow into his place of business to ask him what his intentions were...lol. Guess what?  He was from Brooklyn, he was abrasive, and told me I was lucky he didn't just hit me.  Oh, and he mentioned that if he did, I'd be dead.  And he seemed ok with that.  He told me I didn't belong on the road, even if it is the law.  My life has no value to him.  That was hard to hear, and by the end of our conversation, I do think he actually heard himself speaking (yelling actually) and seemed a little remorseful for being such an idiot.  He did apologize to me after all....

Then there were some angry folks along 30A in Destin/Seaside who were pretty peeved I was riding on the road and not on the "bike path" which was full of sand and cracks and people walking and cruise riding.  Most people understand, but I think the majority of people just don't think about things throughly, and live in their own ignorance.  I mean, I ride 20+ mph usually - do you want someone riding a bike at that speed creeping up on you and your kid strolling along with earphones and your kid on a bike with training wheels?  I think not.  And sand, well, that's not a good thing either!  I don't want to crash, but I don't want to cause one either. 

To continue on my rant - I was running in Beau Chene back home just yesterday when I actually was assulted with a car driving at me (I was all the way to the side of the road, running into oncoming 20mph residential traffic).  The older woman who was a bit large was waving her hand like she was shewing me off the (HER) road - like I was supposed to run on the lawns on the homes in the neighborhood.  God help me with this one.  Anyone who knows Beau Chene knows there is plenty of room for cars and a runner on these roads.  But this woman was pissed at more than me, but taking it out on me.  I felt sorry for the passenger in the car - what I can only assume was her husband, and old man who has had to deal with this poor, angry, depressed, overweight and unhealthy woman his whole life. 

I am not sure why I think about these incidences so much.  Sometimes I get mad about it, but then I realize again, it's not me, it's them.  I feel sorry for those people.  Especially since I think I might have been one of them if I didn't figure it out so many years ago.  It's up to them to open their eyes and change for the better.  I thank God He helped me open my eyes.  Maybe I think about it because I am GRATEFUL to God for protecting me all these years while I have become a target for so many "haters".  Grateful that I am not one of them.  Grateful that he opened my eyes to see the RIGHT road  - the path to get me back on track.  Grateful for the many many blessings he has bestowed on me.  Grateful to have such a great family and some great strong friends and role models.  Grateful for helping me to keep my thoughts positive even when things may be going a way I don't understand.  Grateful for His provisions. Grateful that I can do what I do.  Grateful that I was able to unleash the athlete within and accomplish what many years ago seemed impossible.

Just Grateful. 

I may not have a lot, but I have everything I need.