Week 21 was spent trying to recover from the race in San Juan early in the week and then back to big training late in the week. It worked well to get some easy and short workouts in early in the week because Super Mom was out of town on travel for work so I had both kids to pick up and entertain through the week. This task is quite exhausting...possibly more exhausting than the regular training. To add to the task, Owen was sick on Tuesday and Wednesday so I had to stay home from school with him both days. I was feeling really sore early in the week but pretty good by Wednesday and more or less back to normal by Thursday. I put in a big weekend with some outdoor rides. Unfortunately it is still really cold and windy here in Iowa. On my ride Saturday it was under 30 degrees with the wind chill factored in. I rode 40 miles after running 15 miles with my good buddy Randy Bill who was in town for the weekend. Randy is a 2:22 marathon runner who I ran with in collage at Augustana. I had some help keeping my hands warm on the bike ride with some awesome new gloves I got from Healthy Habits on Friday. I have also begun to work with a swim coach. Stacey Zapolski has coached youth swimmers for a long time and agreed to take me under her wing for a while. I was thrilled she agreed to help me with my stroke and I learned a lot in our first meeting. Stacey even coached olympic swimmer Aaron Piersall and his professional triathlete sister when they were young. Sunday was a tough day of training. I swam for 1 hr. 15 minutes in the morning and then did a 60 mile ride in the afternoon with a 7 mile brick run to follow. I nearly bonked on the run which had me a little worried about an Ironman that is only 6 weeks away. I'll have to make sure I'm taking in plenty of calories and that I pace myself cautiously on the bike.
This past October my oldest brother, Jason, was nearly killed in a car accident. He lost his left arm in the accident but miraculously lived through it without any other life threatening injuries. When I saw the pictures of his car I knew God had a plan for Jason when He kept him alive on that October day. When I saw him the day after the accident he was still not awake but as I stood next to his bed in the ER room I told him I expected to see him do another triathlon someday. He had taken up triathlon 2 years ago as a way to live a more healthy lifestyle while setting a positive example for
his kids. I was so proud of the work he had done. Jason nodded his head from the hospital bed with his eyes still closed. I am so proud to report that Jason is back on the bike, in the pool, and out on the roads training for the 2011 season. He is going to race a small triathlon in Newton, Iowa on May 14th and even though it's the week after Ironman I am super excited to race alongside him to help celebrate his recovery and life. I'm equally excited to report that my 2 other brothers have decided if Jason can do this sport with 1 arm that they can also do it. They have both been training extremely hard and I couldn't be more proud of them. They are getting into better shape than they've been in such a long period of time. Jason was fitted for a prosthetic arm that he uses when he rides the bike. The arm helps him balance his weight on the bike. He was super excited to get outside last week for the first time on his new bike. He has been fixed up with a bike that has the shifters and brakes all on the right side so he can activate them with his arm. He is proof that life is full of possibilities. In my journey I hope to inspire others to believe that things once thought impossible are not. With enough hard work and a big enough dream obstacles that once seemed insurmountable can be conquered. My brother Jason is inpsiring me every time I hear of the workouts he is doing to prepare for his return to triathlon. I couldn't be more proud. Thanks for reading! DREAM BIG!!
This past October my oldest brother, Jason, was nearly killed in a car accident. He lost his left arm in the accident but miraculously lived through it without any other life threatening injuries. When I saw the pictures of his car I knew God had a plan for Jason when He kept him alive on that October day. When I saw him the day after the accident he was still not awake but as I stood next to his bed in the ER room I told him I expected to see him do another triathlon someday. He had taken up triathlon 2 years ago as a way to live a more healthy lifestyle while setting a positive example for 
his kids. I was so proud of the work he had done. Jason nodded his head from the hospital bed with his eyes still closed. I am so proud to report that Jason is back on the bike, in the pool, and out on the roads training for the 2011 season. He is going to race a small triathlon in Newton, Iowa on May 14th and even though it's the week after Ironman I am super excited to race alongside him to help celebrate his recovery and life. I'm equally excited to report that my 2 other brothers have decided if Jason can do this sport with 1 arm that they can also do it. They have both been training extremely hard and I couldn't be more proud of them. They are getting into better shape than they've been in such a long period of time. Jason was fitted for a prosthetic arm that he uses when he rides the bike. The arm helps him balance his weight on the bike. He was super excited to get outside last week for the first time on his new bike. He has been fixed up with a bike that has the shifters and brakes all on the right side so he can activate them with his arm. He is proof that life is full of possibilities. In my journey I hope to inspire others to believe that things once thought impossible are not. With enough hard work and a big enough dream obstacles that once seemed insurmountable can be conquered. My brother Jason is inpsiring me every time I hear of the workouts he is doing to prepare for his return to triathlon. I couldn't be more proud. Thanks for reading! DREAM BIG!!
1 comment:
Every post is a constant reminder to challenge ourselves and push outside the level of comfort. I had lost some motivation to stay in shape and reading this post gives me motivation to refocus and get back on track. Thanks for your posts and keep up the great work. You are a role model for many of us who doubt what we can really achieve.
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