Hello friends and family,

I'm settled here in Las Vegas and have the first day of bike camp under my belt. I am here with my triathlon team, Mile High Multisport, 13 of us total. What a great group of people and we rented a huge house in Henderson. Weather is upper 70's/low 80's, although pretty windy so far. Rode yesterday 50 miles and then ran 4. Today is 60 miles and we already swam. Swim was with a Las Vegas Masters group in a beautiful heated outdoor pool. When we started it was completely dark and as we swam, we got to see the sun come up...absolutely gorgegous! What nice folks to welcome us to their group! Pool is HUGE and saline water, which is a far cry from our poisonous pool back at ACC (all of us got sick last week from the chemicals being way too high)...lol!

We are biking through Lake Mead Park which is beautiful. Lots of water, hills and sun! Yeah baby! Also, really nice road surface...all asphault and fast. Yesterday the Las Vegas Tri Club was racing, so we had lots of company. Today it should be pretty quiet with all of you peeps back at work...God I love being on vacation!

After my ride and run yesterday, I wound down with some sun/pool time...it was low to mid 80's here and I got in a short nap. What a perfect day! If this is how the pros train, sign me up! Where's my sponsor??? Someone? Anyone?? ha ha ha!

Oh, did I mention having a latte after swim today, and then a big plate of pancakes and fruit?? LIVIN' LARGE AND LOVING IT!!!!

Hello friends and family,

Went to Movement University yesterday and learned some great, useful stuff! Jessie Stensfield, who was an Olypian and pro athlete taught the course and it was a full day of learning best technique and form for swim, bike and run. Much of what she spoke about my great coach, Kathy Alfino, had already taught me, but I came away with some great tools and was able to "fix" some things that were plaguing me...like, right hamstring pain during biking and running, as well as right knee pain during biking. Plus, my right shoulder always seems weaker than the left and wears out quicker. That darn right side!!!! lol.

Anyway, come to find out even though my core muscles are strong, I wasn't engaging them in the right way to anchor my limbs which allows them to do what they need to do freely. Also, I learned to use my gluteous muscles more (yes, my butt muslces) which counter-balances my core. I did both yesterday during my two hour run and today during my 3-hour bike (in the hurricane we had outside!) and boy did it work. No hamstring or knee pain! But, I can tell that my glutes aren't as in-shape as they need to be because they are SO sore now!!!! Know anyone that can help me with alleviating the pain?? ha ha ha! So I consider Movement U a success and a day well-spent.

I had some challenges this weekend with time and being able to get my workouts in. Family stuff and such. All good stuff and I had made commitments to be with people I cared about, but when push came to shove and I really wanted to rest more, that meant to get my workout in, I would've had to flake out on my peeps. Not wanting to do that, I kept all commitments, got all of my workouts in and am going to bed earlier than I have in quite a while. Going to Movement U made me realize how truly important sleep is and that I have been depriving myself in that area to get seemingly important things done. Jessie said that if you know how much sleep your body needs naturally, then you don't need to set an alarm to get up. Instead, set an alarm exactly that amount of time before you have to get up, to indicate your bed time. What a great idea! So, that's what I'm doing. Also, give yourself a little buffer to wrap things up, deal with unforseen things and to get to sleep. So, I need 7 hours of sleep and will start getting ready for bed at 8pm, so that I can be in bed, going to sleep at 9. That means I can wake up at 4:30 to start my workouts.

Also, I realized (again, for the 100th time!) that the difference between a recreational and pro athlete is that pros do their workouts when they don't feel like it or it's not ideal conditions. Recreational athletes take advantage of excuses to stop them. My good friend and former Ironman Pro Athlete, Brandon del Campo taught me this, and for it, I am forever grateful! Try it on for size yourself, in whatever part of your life it applies.

Hello friends,

I have the best friends in the entire world. I know you might think you do, but, no, it's me for sure! Here's why. We celebrated my friend Marge's birthday Friday night and yesterday and what does she do? Brings me an Iron Queen tank top in RED (yes, my favorite color and the one I wear to race) from a recent pilates conference she attended! I've attached a picture because you will get used to seeing it a lot this summer...She and my BFF Crystal put their heads together and got it for me because they knew I would love it and they support my Ironman-Kona pursuit at every step. Crystal is even going to Cambridge, MD with me in June for my first qualifying race of this season!

As I wrote yesterday, I took Chrissie out for a ride today and we had a blast! It was warm, albeit a bit windy, but we didn't mind. Just soooooo great being outside instead of on the trainer in the basement watching a Spinnervals video. Don't get me wrong, Coach Troy! (Troy Jacobsen, official Ironman coach and producer of Spinnervals training videos...perhaps the best for training) Just can't beat being outside in the fresh air with the other million peeps doing the same! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mile-High-Multisport/158876137463408

Check out my daily/weekly workouts on this very site under Log if you want to see what and how I am doing...I am at approx. 13 hours per week and building, getting ready for Bike Camp in Las Vegas with Mile High Multisport (my coaches team) http://www.milehighmultisport.com/, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mile-High-Multisport/158876137463408

at the end of March. BRING IT ON!!!! Can't wait to get into some HOT weather!!! We will spend a week at a rented house in Henderson, swimming, biking and running for some fantastic early season training...there will be really strong athletes there, so I will have to bring my skills at a high level, but I am feeling strong! WATCH OUT!!!

Oh, also signed up for "Movement U" next Saturday...check it out as it sounds really cool! http://www.gojessi.com/movementu/ If she can help me move better, I'm all for it!!! I will let you know how it goes and what it's like...it's a whole day in Broomfield and I'm excited to see what she does with us.

Well, that's it for this week. Remember: Success is not owned. It is rented, and the rent is due every day. :-)

Hello Friends,

Last weekend I went to the Bicycle Village Blowout Tent Sale with my sister and two of her friends. I was looking to buy a race helmet and replace my 15 year old mountain bike helmet I had been using. As they say, "Seek and You Shall Find", which was true in my case. I found a fantastic helmet that is light as a feather and was instantly comfortable. I have uploaded a photo of it, even though mine is white, so it will be nice and cool for racing in hot weather; my favorite! I am going to take it out for it's maiden voyage tomorrow, since the weather is so nice and Chrissie (my tri bike's name) can't wait to get out!!! Yes, I named her after the current Kona champion, Chrissie Wellington...http://www.chrissiewellington.org/latest-news/chrissie-wellington-wins-third-successive-ironman-world-championship/

On Tuesday of this week, I attended a presentation by an author named Rory Vaden about his new book called, Take the Stairs. What a phenomenal book and presentation! The book is about achieving your potential and why people fall short. Great information about how we make decisions and can use our mind to harness our full potential. Rory is from Colorado and is traveling the country city by city, 3 days at a time, to share the information in his book. He wrote it to try and help young people after seeing all of the teen bullying and suicides, but it is applicable to everyone. He donates money from his tour to a local kids' charity, which is really cool. Check out his book:

It is an easy, quick read http://www.buytakethestairs.com/ and maybe you will start taking the stairs and reach your potential...

My Dream

Growing up, I remember always watching the Ironman television coverage from Kona, HI. I remember distinctly when Julie Moss competed and had so many problems, but drug herself with her arms even when her legs would no longer move. (She had some other problems, but we won’t go into that here..check it out for yourself in the Ironman archives, for more details). Dave Scott and Mark Allen, the famous rivals…the other thing I remember from watching the coverage, is that I would always be moved to tears by the sheer inspiration and achievement of it.

Fast forward to 2010. I was a real estate consultant with my own team, Service Perfection, working at a Keller Williams office in Denver. At the suggestion of my team leader, I decided to take a revolutionary Keller Williams Master class called BOLD. BOLD stands for Business Objectives, Life by Design. The rumors about the class were daunting…make a huge number of contacts per week and change the entire complexion of your business. I was scared and excited.

Turns out, BOLD was more about changing mind-set and removing limiting beliefs, and also blending highly refined systems for lead generation, follow up and listing leverage. Meeting one day per week, and having many requirements to meet, I would be kicked out if I failed to meet any one of the requirements, 3 times. The class cost $800, so I had to graduate and build my business! We were challenged to make 100 contacts per week and even further challenged to make 100 contacts in one day. Right then, I decided I would be the first to make them in one day. That weekend, I went door to door in my neighborhood with my BOLD folder and scripts and even my Camelbak and made my 100 contacts, which took the entire day, because to have a contact, you have to actually talk to someone; you can’t just leave something at their door or leave a voice message on the phone.

I went back to class the following Monday and announced that I had made 100 contacts in one day and got cheers from the class and was the only one that did it. I was to receive a pin that said BOLD 100, and because they didn’t expect anyone to do it so quickly, they didn’t have the pins yet!

Through the rest of the class, I learned to remove my limiting beliefs about my abilities. I was doing things I had previously been scared to do, thought I couldn’t do, or didn’t have time to do. I learned that I could achieve far more in less time, and could reach very high goals that I once thought impossible.

Just as BOLD finished, I began to read a book that was casually suggested to me; Born to Run. It is the story of the author’s journey to understand his own running, the best runners in the world (the Tarahumar tribe from the Copper Canyons in Mexico) and the history of man and how we are actually all meant to be runners from our evolution and how we could catch food. An absolutely fascinating read! Also discussed in the book is the Leadville 100, which is a 100 mile race (both foot and mountain bike) in Leadville, CO.

As I finished the book, I couldn’t wait to share it with my friend Dan Blankenship, who had been consistently increasing his running and was looking like he was going to get into ultras. When I brought up the book, he said he had already had the pleasure of reading it, which was the catalyst for him to start pursuing ultra-distance running. Wow! I was elated! How very cool! He then suggested I help him and several others “pace” at the Leadville 100 the following month. A bunch of excuses came out of my mouth because I felt like I would be an impostor “pacing” someone at such a race. But, thank goodness Dan kept after me; I finally realized that I had nothing to lose and everything to gain as well as seeing many people from the book, including the author as he was filming a movie.

So, I told Dan that I would participate, but didn’t want the longest leg. He said ok, and later I found out I was assigned not only the longest leg, but the leg at the end. This meant I would get to take the runner to the finish line. I thought there had been a mistake. How could they want me to do it, since I had never been there before, or “paced” anyone? I verified it and found it was correct. I was dumbfounded and immediately felt pressure to do well. Dan explained that when I would start “pacing” the runner, he would have already completed 87 miles, so he wouldn’t be running much and if so, would not be fast. I was expected to be more of a Sherpa, keep him on the course, awake and get him to the finish.

The runner’s name was Chris Labbe. He and his brother Andrew were both running and our entire group was pacing both of them. Their dad, Greg, had an old house in Leadville and was putting all of us up as a thank you for helping his sons. He was also pacing and helping.

The race came and wow, what an experience! I could write another book on it alone. I got to see the absolute iron will of human beings that believe in what they are doing and how training and preparation can make all the difference. I also got to others who were achieving even greater feats (Leadman achievement) as well as the people from the book and the author. The race was at the end of August and after it was over, I wasn’t sure what to do. It felt like I was looking for the next thing, but didn’t know what it was.

Then I remembered watching the Kona coverage year after year, growing up. I remembered thinking how much I felt a connection to Kona and the race and course, but subconsciously had told myself that I wasn’t an elite athlete, so how could I expect to compete? I suddenly realized that I was the only one holding myself back from pursuing that dream. No one else was telling me I couldn’t do it! After about two weeks, I decided to pursue my dream of competing in Kona.

I began by just verbalizing to people. I also had no real idea of how to get there. As I was verbalizing to some friends at dinner, they said that their cousin had done it and had a great coach. They asked if I had one, to which my surprising answer was no. They recommended two coaches, both of whom I called right away. One was a husband and wife team called Mile High Multisport, both of whom had competed in Kona several times and had sent many athletes there as well. Come to find out, this was a very important thing. Its one thing to get yourself to Kona and quite another to get others there.

They were the obvious choice, and I happily hired them. They lived in Highlands Ranch, so I was fairly close, which made it easy to begin the process of meeting with my coach, Kathy Alfino, and acquire the equipment and information needed to start. Oh, and yes, the training! One of the reasons I hired Kathy was because she supplied a daily workout (at this site) so I knew exactly what to do. She had also been racing for 28 years, so she had plenty of experience to draw upon, and she was #3 in the world at age 50! Pretty darn impressive!

I also met with other friends, one of whom had been trying to qualify for Kona for 10 years. I admit, I was a bit naïve and conceited, but they gave me great insight about what it was like to train to get there. Here is what it takes: Only several of the 50 qualifying Ironman races throughout the world during the year have “Kona slots”. This means that to get one, you have to finish top 3 or so in your age group, which goes in groups of 4 years ( mine is 40-44, the most popular).  There is also a lottery where you can get two entries and if you get in, you must complete a full Ironman before Kona in October to prove you can do it. What I later found out was that over 90,000 people try to get 1,900 spots at Kona every year, so I had my work cut out for me!  

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