This is not about a list or a bucket.

I feel like a complete hypocrite. I said one thing and then promptly did another. OK, maybe not so promptly, this is me we are talking about after all, however In any case I made a plan for the year and then abandoned it before Spring had sprung.

Which as a side note, Mother Nature is really late to the party this year. For real Mama N - get a watch!

What is this all about? Well, I had said not so long ago that I wanted complete flirtation without commitment this year. Running, triathlon, whatever. Short short and short.

Add a couple of weeks of running happiness, swimming zen, and ordering my new triathlon bike to the timeline, and that brings us to today. Far from a fling straight to engagement situation.

I am now in training for Detroit Marathon, 2011. Short? Nope. Fast? Nope. This will mark my official return to marathon.

I am also signed up for a few other races beyond Detroit, as well as beyond the marathon distance - 39.3, 26.2, 50k and possibly a 50 miler in August. However, and this is a big however, that 50 miler may not be a good choice this year as I have another big race on tap 2012.

More on that in a bit.

This year I am also doing 5 sprint Triathlons (maybe an Oly if I can find one to squeeze in), and 2 sprint duathlons. I decided to make up for a skimpy 2010 roster by doing a few additional races. And I just purchased the new Trek SpeedConcept 7.0 WSD (OMG!) so I am itching to get some time in the saddle.

And that I certainly will.

My goal for 2011 is to get to Detroit strong, healthy, and happy. I found and embraced zen at Welland last year and have not let go. No matter how fast or slow I run it, it will be a huge PR for me. The PR is going to be there, it will be up to me to make it a PB.

See - a PR is a personal record. the best time in which you finish a particular distance. My 5K PR is 30 and change, my Half Marathon PR is 2:34 and change, however these are not my PB's, my personal bests.

To me a PR is the A-personality need to track metric of the sport. It is universal. everyone can identify quickly your PR and websites which track results such as Athlinks will tell you you r best worst and average times for each distance you have ever raced in all sports.

Great!

Oh, except that the attainment of a PR is not necessarily your personal best. For me a personal best time is one in which I was feeling strong and happy and really enjoyed the run.

So, my PB for the half marathon? 3 hours and change. Why? Because I was skipping and running and having a BLAST with some amazing running friends, wearing tutus and tiaras and crazy striped knee socks.

Yes - far from a PR but by far a PB.

And this is what it has turned out to be. The girl who almost cried the first time she ran 4 miles straight through, to the girl who runs half marathons for fun without training or a second thought - and most likely in some form of costume with knee-highs and tulle involved.

See, everything I do has nothing to do with bucket lists. I do no tbeleive in bucket lists, what I do believe in is that anyone can do whatever it is they want to do in life. Just set the goal and put in the WORK.

This is the rebirth of a runner, and the birth of a confident triathlete who has found and refuses to let go of zen racing.



I have reopened my second blog, the one I started in 2010 when Mike gave me the green flag for Ironman Florida. I wasn't quite ready then to put in the work and make it happen. I am ready now.

When I decided to do Ironman, I decided to go to the forums and have all of the Ironmen out there tell me the one piece of advice they wish that someone would have told them when they set out on their journeys. I am keeping track of all of the advice that I am receiving, as well as all of the training and lessons learned I will be compiling along the way. Since this is something so specific and will be just one day out of thousands in my lifetime, I decided to keep it in a separate blog.

This blog, the one you are reading right now, is the big picture of my transformation from overweight smoker to happy, healthy Jenniferlyn and will stay unspecific to a particular event. Should you want to see how the journey is coming along - feel free to visit the other page!


Have a great weekend - HAPPY EASTER - and I shall be more attentive to the blogs now that I have some sort of goals beyond not setting any.


So today walk away reminding yourself to never say never!

- RedZone, Jenniferlyn

Forget the Ring, I Want A Fling!

Lately, I have been feeling more like a flirt and less like an athlete. A mile here or there is still a mile in the books of health, however this year I am not looking for a huge commitment. Nope, I am not looking for a "ring". I am looking for a "fling"!

Road: Hey there, long time no see!
Me: Oh my goodness, look at you! You look so flat and new! Have you had work done?
Road; *giggles* Oh my, no! Well, I have been taking better care of myself. I am trying to give up salt and being so hot to cold all the time. And what about you? Do I see some new muscles there?
Me: *blushes* Why yes, you do!
Road: You know, we really should catch up! I miss you!
Me: Oh yeah.. sure! I um, I have some things though with a bike, then this thing with the pool later, and of course lunch with CrossFit and then the rock climbing with... um yeah. Totally we will make it happen. We WILL make it happen! Gotta run... err.. gotta go! School work is calling, you know how that goes! *muwah* toodles dear!

This is the first time that I have had absolutely nothing to train for. No big "A" race looming in the horizon, or a big plan to direct me how to get there. Now that I have no race commitments, I get to flirt with every and anything that interests me.


Those of you who know me know that this is a huge deal for me. 2011 is proving to be the year of restraint. I have some cool goals for the future, but they will just have to wait. Did I mention that I am not one for waiting? Yeah. This is going to be a year!

Those who know me know that I used to be am a "follow-the-plan-to-the-letter-then-freak-out-when-things-go-awry-in-life-because-they-always-do-than-goodness-that-I-always-have -a-back-up-if-not-tertiary-plan-awaiting-for-implementation-in-the-wings" type of gal. It must be the girl scout in me. Or the fact that I am very Type A.

*cough*

Going back for my Masters this year is putting all aspirations of endurance racing on hold. This is actually fine by me as I have never had a year that I allowed myself to just go out there and knock out some smaller distances with purpose. Somewhere in my head I am not doing anything unless I am doing it for hours at a time. With all of that endurance focus, I never had a chance to allow myself to enjoy other things. Rock climbing, rowing, CrossFit. These are all new to me and things that I am incorporating into my fitness regime.

I guess I can look at 2011 as the year that I am training for my Masters graduation ceremony. My plan? Complete my last 5 classes (woot!) and walk down that isle mid-December, move my tassel over to the other side and maybe even throw a cap in the air for fun.

Post-graduation my endurance life can resume but it will have a different purpose.

I do this because I love this, and I want to help other people do this as well. Well, not necessarily THIS, but the figurative "this" - the thing that they never thought that they could do.

I want to help someone get to the finish line of something.
I want to help someone to the start of something.
I want to help people get over their fears of failure and realize that A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G is possible if they put their minds to it.

Good days, bad days. As long as some part of the day was spent trying to make forward motion it counts.

I guess similar to how some people live off of trying to prove something to others, I live off of empowering others to do what they love. I am passionate about the things I love.

The one thing I walked away from at Welland was the feeling of zen in racing. I have held onto this feeling and realize that that is why I do this. When you propel yourself 70.3 miles with nothing but a smile on your face the size of Texas, you know that you have found happiness.

While some days that smile way turn a bit upside down, I am grateful for every moment I am blessed with living. ;o)


So here is to the year of no plans other than having fun, going short and fast, and enjoying every moment of the journey to a well rounded me.


Peace, love and running,

RedZone
2011 MBA graduate in training

Gillyweed not needed.

Last night we hit the pool. And I did it.

I swam freestyle! I got the breathing down comfortably enough so I can do laps conistently. I can swim.. and breathe. I am so geeked! And I did not have to resort to any gillyweed antics either. ;)

So I did it. After 3 weeks of practicing in my spare time, in heated pools on the Pacific coast of Mexico, to not so heated pool at the local (where ever that may be) Ballys, to the goose-poo infested waters of Kent Lake (NAAAST). I am a swimmer of the freestyle persuasion.

I never thought that I would learn how to perform that one stroke properly. And now I am swimming just like the other lappers in the pool. That is one huge step forward to me.

This is not about endurance right now. It is about intervals. Baby steps. Learning proper technique. Getting comfortable doing drills working one particular phase of a stroke, versus the past 4 years of just going out there and hitting the road for as long as I can sustain. That is the hardesst thing for me - I am endurance minded. 10 miles straight through is my target for running. How can I work towards 10 sets of 2x25's with 10 second rests in the pool? This is a whole new mindset for me.

I now have to have three completely different mentalities. For running, for biking, and for swimming. This now means that I have to condition my body for all three sports. Running and biking are complimentary muscle groups, so I have a leg up (pardon the pun) on those conditioning aspects as I already am training my entire muscle groups in the legs to help keep away injuries, etc.

Swimming is completely new to me. My, how exhausted you get in the pool just going back and forth 25 yards at a time! I now know that I have the base I need in order to build a better stronger Jenniferlyn. I have all three elements of the tri now.

I am a triathlete in training. No more wishing, hoping, quasi-freaking out over my decision to switch up formats. I am happy and confident in this decision. It feels natural to me. Natural for a few reasons.

The decision to move from full time runner to trithlete was not made overnight. It has taken years to get to this point, and my running is what has sparked this progression.

I started running due to an interest in health and loosing weight. Getting into better shape all around. I never intended my running hobby to end up as such a huge part of who I am but, as in all things, I have learned some lessons while running which made me to want to push myself further. This decision did not translate directly into the desire for triathlons. It just made me want to learn how to better fuel myself, how to better cross-train, and how to get into a true state of health.

It is on this journey to all around health that my cross-training by cycling has sparked an interest in total cross-training. Swimming completes that circle for me. It just so happens that these three elements are those of the triathlon.

At the start of this year, Mike and I decided to do some duathlons together (run/bike/run). Somehow swimming found its way into the regimine, and we decided why not go all the way? And hence a triathlete was born.

My journey's focus has not changed... as this journey is all about growth. Growth as a runner. Growth s a biker. Growth as a swimmer. Growth as person. Growth as a HEALTHY person.

I have ADD of the training sort, so this is going to be perfect - three options for training. Three completely different things to work at. Three different sports to grow in.

I always knew that at some point along the way on my journey I would be at the point where my growth would push me to another level. In the beginning I thought that growth would be to a faster running pace. Now I see that my journey is taking me to take my heath a lot more serious.

No more late night antics. I am excited to get back on track and start on this lifestyle change. I always used training as an excuse to go to bed early or not be out on the town every single weekend. Now I know that it just is not me. I actually like running with the waking world first thing in the morning. I like swimming endless laps in the pool at the end of a long day. I like hopping on the bike and going for a nice 10-20 mile ride for fun on the weekends. Does this mean that I am now anti-social? Absolutely not. Life is all about balance. I think now I am equipped with the mindset necessary for that balance.

Now I realize that rest = strength. Rest is just as important to your body during training as getting in the miles or laps are. Do I feel weak for resting? Not this time. I feel refreshed. Now I am a little antsy. I need to get back out there and perform to my fullest each and every day.

~~~~~~~~~

So I leave you with this thought for the weekend.

In the journey of life, sometimes where you thgought you were heading is not the case at all. You are growing as a person. While the journey continues, sometimes a quick detour becomes the new path. Sometimes it is a better path for you to take. Sometimes it is not. Either way, once you come to that crossroad and chose a direction, just know that your journey will lead you to new place. Unchartered. All yours to claim and explore.

The desitnation is not nearly as important as the journey you take to get there, because it is on this journey that you reap the most rewards and failures. It is on the journey you grow.

~})i({~

Forward Motion

I was talking to a co-worker friend of mine today, and she told me that one of her other running friends will be in Chicago this year (for the marathon) trying to qualify for Boston. He told her that if he makes it to Boston, next year he is doing an Ironman.

When you put your mind and body into it, you can do anything. I am a firm believer in that!


I wish that I had his gumption. I have to say - that is a special sort of someone. Not thin, not fast, not anything but freaking determined and with a LOT of dedication! Talk about the ultimate sacrifice. But from what I hear, when you finish and they call your name followed by "YOU are an Ironman" nothing feels better in the world.

I wish my friend's friend so much luck, and I hope that in 2008 he becomes an Ironman! How awesome.

I think that the satisfaction from finishing such a feat is that you are rewarded for all of the long days of training. You work hard, do without certain things, get in the best shape you possibly can, and go for it. You make your body do something that you never relly thought possible. You grow as a person. You really find inner strength and courage. You test yourself.

Personally, I will never earn the title of Ironman. I say that with all honesty. It is a title for someone else to earn. Someone who strives for that next big thing to do, or someone who truly enjoys training hours on end, pushing their bodies to those extremes. Either way, they EARN that title.

It is a long, wonderful yet sometimes scary journey to IM. I just never will have it in me. I struggle with 26.2 miles of running... and I definitely struggle with training! I just know that I cannot handle the job of training for that race. I honetly wish I did. But, I will leave that title to all of you true Iron willed people who remain my inspiration to push on. To push forward.

The awesome thing, is that this sport weeds out the phoneys. Ironmen are NEVER people who do it simply for the fact that they want recognition. Those people do not have the heart, dedication, or preserverance to put in the blood sweat and tears it takes to become one of the IM elite. I respect every IM out there. You all rock my socks and really have character to push on. I love that!


For me, the tri is something I have been afraid of only due to one aspect. Sucking. (You thought that I was going to say "swimmming" didn't you? Yeah, I can be unpredictable!) I suck as a runner. I suck as a biker. I really suck as a swimmer. Why oh why can I not do well one of the three? Must I be doomed to suck at every freaking sport (volleyball and soccer aside). The answer is NO.

I will not always suck, but I am a beginner in this sport. And you all must start somewhere. Would I be a complete loser to quote Harry Potter? Nope? OK then - as Harry put it so correctly - "Even the best wizards started off here where we are now. In school. Learning this." That is how I feel. I am on a long journey. I am taking my time, and someday will reap the rewards of all of my hard work.

Those reward? Finishing the race knowing that I just grew a little bit more as a person.

So I leave you with this thought - Work hard for what you enjoy doing. If you are feeling down, or if you are thinking that you do not have it in you - take a step back and look at the big picture.

You DO have it in you. The first step is believing that. The second is putting your mind to it, and do not let any little set-backs stop you from making forward motion. In the end it is what makes us move forward that counts.

No one ever crossed the finish line looking backwards.

So to all of my running friends, my non-running friends, my tri-friends, and of course those iron willed IM peeps - keep on looking forward out there! The view is SO much better.

~})i({~
RunnerGirl is gaining forward motion.