First off this week, I have a request for all of you to take a few minutes TODAY to call someone you care about. Not text, email, or DM, CALL them. Facetime and Zoom are fine, too. Admittedly, I rarely call people these days because everyone is so BUSY, and I feel guilty interrupting anyone's time and attention, but about two weeks ago I broke that cycle and called one of my best friends who I hadn’t talked to in months, and it was wonderful! I think we were laughing about four seconds into the call, which was exactly what I needed, plus it was refreshing to have a conversation that didn’t involve auto-correct. I appreciate an aptly placed emoji, but nothing beats the sound of voices you care about, so let’s live the lyrics of our favorite Stevie Wonder song today, and make that call to someone special.
In triathlon news, I am just under three weeks away from my Iron(WO)man event, Taryn’s Iron Journey From The Valley to the Sea, and this is a very important phase in my preparation, (both physically and logistically), i.e it’s “GO Time!” for the final BIG training sessions, and for dialing in all of the major and minor details that will make the event a memory to cherish for years to come.
The racer and her Dad at the finish line venue. October, 2020.
On a related note, I had the opportunity to be a part of another fundraiser this past weekend, the Challenged Athlete Foundation’s “Ironmanish” event in San Diego. My friend, teammate, and accomplished triathlete, Lynne Fiedler signed up to raise $3,000 for the event, (which she did), and I offered to join her to serve as an epic training day, and to spend time with the people behind such a wonderful organization.
Lynne Fiedler modeling the awesome kit given away for the event.
Therefore, on Saturday morning Lynne and I joined forty or so other CAF fundraising participants in swimming slightly over 1 mile off La Jolla Shore, riding over 131 miles from La Jolla to Dana Point and back, and then running our own DIY 6 mile run course, (nearly all in the dark), which added up to just shy of 140.6 miles, AKA the Ironman distance. Hence the name, Ironman-ish.
Suiting up before the swim in the "Transition" area at Kellogg Park in La Jolla.
The swim was amazing.
I hadn’t swum in the ocean since late February, so I was a little nervous, but it was spectacular. Also, in a brilliant move for my mental health, I did not wear my watch, so I have no idea what my time was, (it was NOT a race), but I felt great, and I think I swam okay.
Next up was many, many miles riding on “Big Red” up and down the coast. I enjoyed nearly every pedal stroke, (except for the ones along the heavily trafficked beach cities in dense fog after we hit the Century mark), but it was mostly rigorous fun; my favorite kind.:)
Our shiny Dimond bikes enjoying a quick rest just outside of Camp Pendleton at the half-wayish mark.
The ride took MUCH longer than I expected. Since it was an open and unmarked course, the delays were not surprising, (about 10,000 stoplights, some mapping misfires, and a handful of pit stops), but regardless of our later than planned arrival into the transition area, (nine hours total in the saddle), Lynne and I headed out for the run upbeat and feeling good.
Instantly, we took a wrong turn. *Please see DIY run course above.* Nevertheless, we were energized the entire six miles, and finished the race in solid spirits.
Lynne and I soaked and happy after finishing our loooong day of adventuring in San Diego.
The CAF raised nearly $800,000 for event with funds raised by participants combined with a matching gift. INCREDIBLE! It was such an inspiring experience, and I am very proud that I had the chance to be a part of it. Thank you, Lynne!! And it was a BLAST to feel those almost race vibes again.
Running in the Whole Foods parking lot after returning home on Sunday just because.
Now is the time to focus and fully immerse into the final weeks for my “race” prep. To echo what I wrote a few weeks ago, I am not going for a Personal Best time, that would be nearly impossible on an open course, (stoplights, traffic, etc.), but I am going for my Personal Best effort. I am not going to hold anything back on November 8th, which will be a mental challenge more than anything else, because I won’t be in the typical race setting with crowds and competition to help push through the hard moments, it will just be me.
I can’t wait.
If you would like to DONATE to my solo DIY iron(WO)man event's fundraiser for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, please CLICK HERE:
Finally, in exciting writing news, I interviewed the founders of Smashfest Queen, Hillary Biscay and Michele Landry, for the recent edition of the Smashfest Diaries which you can read by clicking HERE:
The talented and tenacious Queens of Smash, Hillary Biscay and Michele Landry.
The song choice this week is a riveting and haunting live performance of a classic tune from The Cranberries, “Zombie,” performed by Postmodern Jukebox featuring Maiya Sykes. Enjoy.:)