Would love to hear some of your “you know… when…” moments!

New Roads is on the other side of the Mississippi River, about a 45 minute drive away. I woke up early to eat some breakfast (one egg scrambled with brown rice) and drink a bit of coffee and to make some last minute decisions about what to wear before heading out. It was a bit of a chilly morning, so I threw on my parka–love my parka! During the drive I began to contemplate why I was doing this today and then the sun began to rise over the “river” and my thoughts were silenced. It was beautiful! My picture does not even begin to do it justice, but I had to try and capture the colors. Getting out of bed before the rest of the world has its privileges, and this is one of them!

Did all the normal pre-race stuff–get chip, rack bike, set up transition and chat with other racers. It was a small field with only about 100 people racing and of those only about 20 women. Heard chatter about the water being 63 degrees–oh boy! Pulled on my wetsuit and walked over to the start and slowly walked down to the water’s edge to wade in. Glad I did, because it really was cold and I needed every minute I had to get used to the water. Got in over my head to try and get the shock over with and continued to do that several times before the start of our wave. And then we were off. I started at the front of the wave and fought thru a little congestion at the beginning  but eventually the pack thinned out. At some point things went numb so I was no longer thinking about the cold. Rounded the third buoy and low and behold found a couple people to draft off of–swimming in someone else bubbles is so much fun!

Out of the water and on to to transition. I have to admit I wasn’t in as much of a hurry as I should have been, but my T1 time was actually not that bad. Hopped on the bike, geared down to get up the hill, warmed up my legs and it was on. Got in my big chain ring and pushed it on the bike. It was at this point that I realized that I had stopped my Garmin instead of lapping it when I left transition–oh well. If that’s the worst thing to go wrong, it was going to be a good day. While the roads were better than last year, there was a lot of wind on the course and a road crew putting in new mailboxes on the road. Could feel it in my quads early on. But I was out to have a fun race, so I enjoyed the scenery–it really is a pretty place to race. Reset my Garmin on the way back into town so I had something to give me feedback on the run. Racked my bike in transition changed into my Newtons and it was time to run.

We all know how much I struggle with running, but I have been putting a lot of effort into run training this season and I wanted to see how it was paying off. Running off the bike just hurts, plain and simple, and you just have to run thru the pain. I started to get feeling back in my toes that had gone numb in the swim and stayed that way on the bike which made my footstrike feel a bit weird. At mile one, I looked down at my garmin to see that I had run a 10 something mile–I was pleasantly surprised! I just kept running. Slowed a little that second mile, but when I hit 2 miles I turned on the speed (or what I call speed) and clocked a sub 10 minute mile for the third mile (that has never happened in a race before!). The last little bit of the course is down a hill and then to the finish line, so gravity helped me pick up some more speed. My official run time was 33:19–2 minutes faster than last year and not too far from my stand alone 5K PR.

All in all it was a good day! Finished at 2:01:49 with a Personal Best on the run and on the course.

Next up is Gulf Coast Triathlon on May 11…

I tried running again 5 years ago (had previously tried a couple times before) and this time I was determined to make it work. At first it was just down the block, then I worked up to a 2 mile loop in my neighborhood, and then ran my first 5K and a year and later a half marathon. Despite covering all of these distances, I have always been a slow runner–even my fast is pretty slow. But of course I would like to get faster and in all honesty I have gotten faster, but there is much more room to grow there.

Some runners will tell you that they only have one speed. And while I know that you should have more than one speed, for a while during this round of training, I had fallen into the trap of just running one speed. As my coach put it, I was running in the grey. He reminded me that I need to have more than one speed and made sure to point out that there should be a difference between my slow and my fast. To help me understand that, he has been giving me paces to hit and not exceed on my runs. While it has been a challenge to pull back on the long runs and to reign things in when I am feeling good, I can honestly say that I feel a whole lot better at the end of a run and am recovering a lot faster while at the same time getting to push myself on intervals beyond my comfort zone. It’s exciting to see the progress in training and I am excited to get out to a race to see what happens when I put it all together.

I still struggle to call myself a runner–I have some goals set that I hope to attain this year that will help me justify the runner name. At the same time, I completely embrace the label of triathlete–running is best when done after a swim and a bike ride.

What lessons are you learning in your training?

This whole Ironman thing was kind of freaking me out for a while. Don’t misunderstand, this is my year to do my first full iron distance race, but since you plan for it so far in advance it can become all consuming. Having to sign up for the race a full year out, you could really count down the weeks and days until the race…and I did for a while, until I read a blog post on some triathlon blog (that I cannot seem to recall so if you know which one I am talking about please let me know) that advised people not to spend their mental energy on Ironman training until you get closer to the race. So much in the sport of triathlon is tied to mental strength and fitness. Their logic made sense and it really has helped me to focus on the here and now. I still freak out a bit when I get tired and start to struggle on a 5K run thinking all the while that come November I will need to be running a whole lot more, but then I remember that November is a long time away and I am able to let it go.

So then what am I focusing on now? Right now my mind is focused on putting in quality training for my first big race, Gulf Coast Triathlon, in May. My race schedule is pretty bare bones at the moment. I have only registered for 3 races: Gulf Coast on May 11 (a half iron distance race), Augusta 70.3 on September 29, and Ironman Florida on November 2. I am thinking about adding a sprint or two and an olympic if I can find one that falls at the right time on the calendar. Training has been going well for the most part (I’ll explain that statement in a future post so come back soon.) I joined a new team this year (shout out to Freshjunkie Racing) so I have been adjusting to a new coach, new schedule and new pool. All in all I am very happy about my decision to make the change. I do miss the ladies that I have trained with for the past several years, but it was the right time and the right choice for me.

Someone asked me yesterday how my training was going and my response was that I feel like I am learning new lessons everyday–really it’s amazing how much I am learning! Come back soon to hear about some of those lessons.

Being that my day job is in the nonprofit world, I love it when a nonprofit puts on a fundraising activity that directly ties back to their mission–a bike ride to raise money for bikes. If you would like to know more about Wheels to Succeed and the awesome work they are doing in our community, check them out at wheelstosucceed.org or facebook.com/WheelsToSucceed.

Last week was a long week of training, so capping off the week with a fun ride for a good cause was just what I needed to help me appreciate the journey that I am on. During long weeks of training, I have found myself sometimes just getting the workouts done to check them off and not taking the time to reflect on what I am doing, to see the progress I have made, or to enjoy the experience. Getting outside on a different route with new people and seeing the kids enjoying their bikes this weekend all helped me to get back to a space where I can again find the joy in the journey.

I would love to hear how you deal with the weeks where training becomes more of a chore than something you get to do. Are you signed up for any upcoming charity rides or runs?

Both of my parents have always been involved in the community. Growing up, Dad was on the school board and Mom was on the PTO. They both worked together to coach soccer teams–one would be on the field and the other would make sure snacks were taken care of. Speaking of snacks, I remember the year that our garage became the storage unit for the Girl Scout cookies for my sister’s troop because my mom volunteered to lead the cookie sales. When these memories come to mind, it’s easy for me to understand who I have become. I’m lucky to have had such great examples of giving back in my life.

I saw this awesome sign when I visited an agency in town today. Such a great and easy way to show your volunteers just how important they are to your organization. What made it more poignant was that the staff reserved parking was farther away from the building than the volunteer parking. Kudos to this organization!

What are other easy ways to make a statement to your volunteers about their importance to your organization?

The Power of 9 Awards Luncheon has always been near and dear to my heart as I love to hear the stories of people volunteering in our community. These stories are about change–not just about the ways that volunteers are changing our community for the better, but about how volunteers are changed thru the act of service.

My own life story speaks to the change that happens when one volunteers.

One of my first volunteer positions was working with the local United Way in Lake County, Illinois on volunteer projects and their youth advisory board just as Emerald does with us at our United Way.

As a college student, my perspective was broadened through volunteer service trips throughout the Southeast and even into Mexico. My early experiences as a volunteer instilled within me an ethic of service.

Seven and a half years ago, my life was forever changed when I came to Baton Rouge to volunteer in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It was not a hard decision for me at all—there was a need and I was available to help, so that’s what I did. A month later I was offered a job managing volunteers doing just what I had done, coming in from out of state to help in the relief and recovery efforts. It was at that point that I really came to understand how volunteering can change someone’s life.

In my own life, volunteering opened my eyes to needs, it compelled me to move, I changed careers… But the story of change and transformation in my life through volunteering does not have an end—it is an ongoing story that continues to write itself as I seek out places to invest my time.

This story is not unique to my own life—you, too, can experience the power of volunteering.

Anne Frank is quoted as saying: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” I believe that is true. And the volunteers that we honored today are living that out in their stories. And for that I say thank you. Thank you for the dinners cooked, the phone calls made, the patients seen, the girls running, the many visits here and there…all done because of a conscious choice to serve.

I want to once again thank Capital One Bank and WAFB-TV for making this awards program possible, not only today, but throughout the year to allow us to highlight great stories of volunteer service in our community.

We could not do it without them and it’s a partnership we deeply value.

Donna, a special thank you for your commitment to this program and your involvement ALL year long.

If you know of a volunteer who is worthy of the Power of 9 Honors award, please share their story with us. We have provided you with a nomination form in your program. You can also find an online form to nominate a volunteer on our website.

I want to take a moment to say thank you to ALL the volunteers in the room today. Our community is a better place because of you. If you are still looking for a place to give of your time and talents, please know that we at the volunteer center and United Way are more than happy to help you. As you have seen volunteering can be you, it can be your family, your social club or your workplace. It can be large, it can be small, but it doesn’t have to wait.

Thank you.

In order to get this t-shirt, I spent several hours volunteering in one of the penalty tents on the bike course for Ironman Florida. It was a blast and a great way to see the race. Got to see everyone pass our tent before heading back to transition where we hung out and watched the pros and the front half of the age groupers come in to T2.

I was 99% sure I was going to sign up for the race for 2013, but as a back of the packer I needed to see what it would be like to be racing the clock to midnight. Standing at the finish chute cheering on folks finishing who had given it their all for over 16 hours was pretty amazing! The stands were full and the pros had come back out to cheer in the last finishers. It was then that I found that extra 1% of courage.

The following morning I got in a line with a bunch of other people (thousands of them) who also had this same free shirt and we all signed up for the race next year. And that begins my journey to Ironman Florida 2013–and it started with a free yellow t-shirt!

With our registration we received a white color run t-shirt, a white color run bandana, a race number and a color packet. The whole idea is that you wear white and by the end of the race your clothes are filled with color. In reality your entire body is full of color–hair, face, clothes, ears, toes (yes, it gets in between your toes!) and more.

So what was it like? Well first off, there was a whole lot of walking going on for something with run in the title. Not judging at all, but it made it a bit more difficult for those of us who wanted to run–turned into a bit of an obstacle course having to run around folks and thru the grass. (Most of the course was on a two lane road and my suggestions to the race organizers would be to have a walking lane and a running lane–when run is in the title you expect to be able to run.) Every kilometer there was a color station where they would douse you with a different colored which was basically dyed flour.

Here’s a video of us going thru the yellow station. Note: if you get dizzy easily, you may not want to watch this.

At the finish line they had a stage from which they were playing some fun music. About every 20 minutes they would have a countdown and everyone that had color packets would release them into the air. It was pretty cool. We were close to the stage in the middle in the throng of people so for a couple minutes following the release the air was filled with color. It was very cool. I am pretty sure it was cool to watch from the outside as well.

All in all it was a fun time and if you are looking for a fun, silly run/walk go ahead and sign up. If you want to PR or run a 5K, you will want to skip it.