Danskin 2008 Chicagoland Triathlon

I am an awesome swimmer.
I am an awesome cyclist.
I am an awesome runner.
I am a triathlete.

This will be my mantra for the next 11 weeks as I prepare for race day, July 13. I will swim a 1/2 mile in Lake Andrea.
Then I will Bike 12.4 miles. And then I will run 3.1 miles.

After spending the weekend with my IronFriends, Aleece and Ryan, I am ready to go! And a motivational talk from Sally Edwards tonight...well that just sealed the deal.

http://www.heartzones.com/about/bios/sally_edwards.php

1. Flagstaff, AZ, USA


2. New Orleans, LA, USA


3. Bruges, Belgium


4. Sedona, AZ, USA


5. Lake Tahoe, CA, USA


6. Lihue, HI, USA


7. London, England


8. Mexico City, Mexico


9. Denver, CO, USA


10. Las Vegas, NV, USA


11. Paris, France


12. San Diego, CA, USA


13. New York City, NY, USA


14. Salt Lake City, UT, USA

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Sorrow and Joy

The chronic winter blues that I see and feel all around me, drew me to this passage in a book I haven't looked at in many years, The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran.

Then a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.
And he answered:
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.
Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.”
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.
Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.

Step, bump, step, bump bump...

I almost fell out of my chair laughing at this this morning.... and that is no easy task for a Wednesday morning at work.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=d-Op-rbE658

Is it still February?

How can the shortest month feel like the longest?  How can it POSSIBLY STILL be February?And why do they have to give us an extra day in February of all months in leap years?  How about an extra July day? And why isn't February 29th a holiday?  Shouldn't this be a day off work??

 How can we have sooo much winter left after all this winter we've already had?  I want out.  I'm tired of being cold and tense and indoors.  I want to be outside cutting my grass, planting my garden, laying on the beach, walking Cosmo... anything but watching TV, mindlessly staring at my computer, or sitting on the couch for hours on end without moving a single muscle.  Damn this winter.  Dammit.