Swim, bike, run - How Bad ASS can I be?

Day 148 of running and counting....                   How did this streak start, you ask?   One of the local running stores Capra   does a challenge every November – run 30 minutes every day for November - https://www.capra.run/pages/the-november-30x30 -   initially I thought about it and said no.   I was starting to train for my Ironman distance race in Spain for June 2019 and I have always believed that if I run more than   4x a week I will get an injury so it was going to be a hard pass.   However my brother-in-law had been running every day for over a year and seemed none the worse for it and well it was only 30 minutes each day.   So I thought well let’s give it a try and see how it goes plus there was PRIZES and not for how far or fast just for running and I LOVE prizes.   My streak actually started the streak on October 31 st because the club I run with   https://www.fac...

I know – I should post more often but being a Bad Ass is busy work – no really I have been busy. So I had mentioned that I did my very first ever swim meet in Feb.   I am not going to lie I was a little apprehensive as   I can swim forever but not at a “brisk” pace.   I was part of our Coast team that is made up of swimmers from our Masters club and well they all swim at a “brisk” pace and Coach Stewart put me on 2 relay teams. Well I am happy to say I had a fantastic time and loved every second of it.   The people we “raced” against came from all sorts of backgrounds and skill levels and the vibe was inclusive and lots of fun.   Coach Stewart was completely right just like a running race- I would encourage anyone to   do one just for the experience if nothing else.   I signed up for the   400 and 800 front as well as the 100 back.   I was then added to 2 relays teams   one I was front and one I was breaststroke.    I...

This post is a tribute to the original and founding member of the Shaunette's -  Chris Fretwell.   Chris passed away on February 15th at 11:37pm after a very prolonged battle with Breast Cancer.  She is survived by her 2 sons - my god sons and her chosen family which is larger than any one would ever expect.  This is a true testament to the amazing woman that my friend was. I met Chris at the X-spot during the weekly Sunday breakfast/brunch after run club on Sunday mornings.  She just appeared one Sunday morning and she fit in.  Honestly I did not really know much about her as I was in a faster pace group but she seemed friendly and she joined us at the restaurant every Sunday.  Fast forward to 2004 and I decided to train for my first full marathon and so did Chris.  For those that have run a marathon it is not easy, it is even harder if you are struggling with arthritis, stomach issues and well your lady bits are just being jerks but Chr...

So I have been thinking about what it means to be a bad ass   really thinking about it and what it means to me right now and why it is so important to me. Part of it is extending myself past my comfort zone – I used to do this all the time and then I stopped I let people get in my head and started to doubt myself – well no more.   I am entered in my first ever swim meet!!!   Crazy – at 50 years of age I am going to compete in a swim meet.   When Coach Stewart - https://coach-stewart.com/ - mentioned the swim meet I will be honest I thought hah- no way.   But to his credit he said why hah?   He said when you sign up for a half marathon or and Ironman are you planning on winning?   Um no.   He   said well this is the same thing – so I thought what the heck why not?   Put me in coach!   So I am registered to complete in 400 and 800 free and 100 back – if nothing else it will be an adventure! The run streak you ask?   - to...

I don't even know where to start so I decided a total reboot. New title for the blog, new colors and well I am obviously not new but I am going for a new perspective  or at the very least rediscovering who I am and what makes me a bad ass. For the last few years I have kind of lost myself - found reasons and excuses to not do things, I mean I was living and "racing" but I stopped pushing the envelope.  I started finding reasons to not do things, I put on a lot of weight,  and I just was not motivated. I thought that all was well  in my world  and then the poop hit the fan and my world was turned upside down and I have had to look at my self and all I believe and do some serious thinking about what matters to me and what I want in my life. So as part of year  50 on this planet I decided that I would do my 4th Iron distance race- June 15 in Northern Spain.  Part of that was to start running regularly again so I found a run club close to home i...

hey all So for the last few weeks I have been going to power cycling classes.  Every Wednesday I go between excitement and dread for most of the day - why because for 90 minutes I climb into the hurt locker and suffer. The dread is that these classes are incredibly hard and I am exhausted beyond exhausted at the end of each session.  The excitement is that I know how much stronger and hopefully faster I am getting from the workouts. Power cycling is a little different from Spin because you combine wattage and cadence in a controled manner.  Wattage is the torque at which you are turning the pedal. In class I am called fast legs - my  average cadence is 99 - 102 revolutions  per minute.  When I first got into cycling and training with the Zimich's they impressed upon us that cadence should always be 95 - 105 rpm.  High cadence is great for triathletes as you are using more cardio rather than muscle strength and thus when you get off the bike for...

Hey everyone We all know that exercise is great for a health: helps with weight management can help with aging help reverse medical concerns such as high blood pressure, etc help with positive attitude But sometimes that may not be enough.  It is about to get heavy but I feel that I need to talk about it and let you all know it is okay. As athletes sometimes it is incredibly hard for us to reach out for help or even admit that we need help. I think most people that know me will confirm that I am pretty a strong person mentally - you have to have a certain level of mental fortitude to do long distance endurance sports. I have always turned to exercise when things have gotten tough - it has been a solace and a panacea - when Blue was killed while it was incredibly hard to race the next day it also helped.  I know some people did not understand how can we were able to get up and race but Joe and I both knew that Blue loved to run and play so it seemed like the right t...