What Now....

I wanted to post today because I will be out of town for a few days at my brothers wedding in New York. I am not yet completely plugged in as I should be able to post wherever I am but I do plan to get a lap top this summer. Yes, my work year is coming to a close (lucky me!) and I get to go up to the mountains for most of the summer (lucky me!). It is actually a bit hard on my training and it gets lonely because I really have to train alone for the most part. However......that brings me to the fact that the tri club now does an annual trip up to my place for a weekend of training...we ride, swim, and run (and mess around a lot) in beautiful Modoc County. It is way north east in the corner of the state near Oregon and Nevada. I believe this year it will be the weekend of July 11th.

So it looks like I will have a few days off for the wedding and be back here on Monday. Till then!

Back on the Road.........

I realize I have been negligent in posting entries. I got side tracked by some serious family issues. Normally no matter how bad things get my training has come first. Not because I am such a great athlete but because it is my best stress reliever. So I am very gald to be back at it.

Well June will be here soon and the more serious training will begin to be ready for worlds. I have chosen these days to ride my bike alone for the most part to avoid aggravating my injuries. It has been going well and I have been pleasantly surprised that my riding is still going pretty well. My swim training has been great and it is the one thing I am feeling very confident about. I have barely run at all for three months and that is the part that has me worried. But I will keep building up slowly and do the best I can.

The Womens Tri Club had a great trip to Mt. Lassen yesterday (Memorial Day). We were able to ride up over the summit and down the other side a bit till we hit the wall of snow. It was a beautiful day and we all had a lot of fun. It was great to see some of the newer women to the group out on this ride. I know everyone had a great sense of accomplishment.

Looks like now we will be moving into some of the early races and right now I am on a relay team for Pacific Crest which is at the end of June in Bend Oregon. Pacific Crest is a great endurance weekend with lots of events to get involved in. We have been going up there as team for the last few years competing in the half iron man distance, the olympic distance, and the duathlon. I have done the half iron man there 3 times and really enjoyed it. So I am very happy to get to do the swim for a relay team made up of me, Kim Agur (bike), and Reene Fiack (run). The bike ride for the half ironman is over Mt. Bachelor...it is truly one of the most beautiful venues for triathlon. Till next time......

The Road Seems Even Longer......

Well, the raffle is over. I have enough money to go to Australia and my ducks are all lining up. Or so it seems. I have been dealing with injury since December and since then I make a few steps forward and many back. I keep saying if I didn't have worlds coming up I could just take a year to heal. I have done that before and although it is hard it actually has many benefits. I think the hardest thing is dealing with the mental hardship about it. Training, excercising, working out, whatever you call it is also how I cope with my life in general. I was always active as a child and I just found my way back to it. I saw that getting out and moving...especially outside cleared up a lot of my issues and it has been my friend for life.

Well, I love a challenge and I guess this is a challenge too. How do I stay positive and focused on my goal? That is what I will be working on this summer more than anything.

And the Winners Are........................

Ok the moment we have all been waiting for.....Here is the list of winners and their prizes:

1. Bev George: designer watches
2. Jeanne O' Regan: a pair of Outlaw tickets and a bottle of wine from Odyssey Winery
3. Margaret Bomberg: a bottle of wine from Odyssey Winery
4. Jen Haffner:a pair of Outlaw tickets
5. Linda Zimbelman: jewlery from MaryKay Inserra
6. Linda Simmons: a three month membership to Chico Sports Club
7. Leslie Johnson: a pair of Outlaw tickets
8. Jeanine Castaldo: Massage from Janine Rood
9. Bonny Hamilton: one of a kind bag from Toba Walters
10. Mavis McGillis: a pair of Outlaw tickets
11. Maryann Bachus: free entry to 2010 City of Gold Triathlon
12. MaryKay Inserra: jewlery by Natalie
13. Ted Schwartz: pair of Outlaw tickets
14. Ruben Heredia: Astrology Reading by KozMcKev
15. Melanie Glick: a three month membership to Chico Sports Club
16. Mavis McGillis: a pair of outlaw tivkets and a water bottle
17. Patti Dart: A bike helmet and a water bottle from North Rim
18. Dave Shockley: Fused Glass Jewlery by Kathy Hill
19. Paul Wellin: 5 hour house cleaning from As Good As it Gets
20. Jeanne Forman: a pair of Outlaw tickets and a water bottle
21. Kathy Hill: Jewlery from MaryKay Inserra
22. Tanya Heinrich: Foot Reflexology by Karyl Clark
23. Todd Ramsden: pair of Outlaw tickets and a water bottle
24. Johnica Love: loaf of home made bread from Sheri Simons
25. Patty Moriarity: Jewlery by Natalie
26. Johnica Love: pair of Outlaw tickets and a water bottle
27. Patti Dart: Massage from Jean Louise Green
28. Linda Zimbelman: loaf of homemade bread from Sheri Simons
29. Katie Boerner: Jewlery by Natalie
30. Camille Panaghetti: pair of Outlaw tickets and a water bottle
31. Rebekah Ahrende: loaf of homemade bread from Sheri Simons
32. Wilbur: Jewlery by Natalie

AND THE GRAND PRIZE WENT TO JOE SANDERS: 42" Plasma Flat Screen TV!!

Congratulations to all the winners!!!!!!

Many thanks again to all who participated...the raffle was a huge success!!!!!

Keep checking in here to find out how the Women's Tri Club is progressing!!!

Raffle Update.........

Once again the drawing for the big raffle is tomorrow Saturday, May 9th at Chico Sports Club at 4pm....I will be there at 3:30 selling tickets up until 4pm when the drawing will begin promptly. You do not need to be present to win. If you win a prize you will be called and I will give directions to come pick up your prize.

There will be a complete list of winners and their prizes posted here on Monday May,11th.

Good Luck!!! Thank you to all who have helped make this fundraiser a success!!

Raffle Update.........

Ok...the Raffle Fundraiser for the World Championships is nearing the big day of the drawing!

Drawing: Saturday, May 9th at 4pm at Chico Sports Club 260c Cohasset Rd. in the deli area.

Witnesses: Chico Sports Club staff

Order of Prizes:
1. Designer watches
2. pair of Outlaw tickets
3. Bottle of Wine from Odyssey Winery
4. pair of Outlaw tickets
5. Jewlery from MaryKay Inserra
6. One three month membership to Chico Sports Club
7. pair of Outlaw tickets
8. Massage by Janine Rood
9. One of a kind bag from Toba Walters
10. pair of Outlaw tickets
11. Entry to 2010 city of Gold Triathlon
12.Jewlery from Natlaie
13. pair of Outlaw tickets
14. Astrology Reading from KozMcKev
15. One three month membership to Chico Sports Club
16. pair of Outlaw tickets and a water bottle
17. Womans bike helmet and water bottle from North Rim
18. Fused Glass Jewelry from Kathy Hill
19. 5 hour house cleaning from As Good As It Gets Housecleaning
20. pair of Outlaw tickets and a water bottle
21. Jewlery from MaryKay Inserra
22.Foot Reflexology from Karyl Clark
23. pair of Outlaw tickets and a water bottle
24. Loaf of homemade bread from Sheri Simons
25. Jewlery from Natalie
26. pair of Outlaw tickets and a water bottle
27. Massage from Jean Louise Green
28. Loaf of homemade bread from Sheri Simons
29. Jewlery from Natalie
30. pair of Outlaw tickets and a water bottle
31. Loaf of homemade bread from Sheri Simons
32. Jewlery from Natalie

And the Grand Prize: 42" Plasma Flat Screen TV from Panasonic!!!!!!!!!!!

You do not have to be present to win!
Winners will be called !!

Thank you all for your support and making this happen!!

The raffle has been a success!!!!!

Hope to see some of you on Saturday!!

The Women Part 2........

So I have told you who the first group of women are who are going to Australia. The second group are the women who have set themselves up to qualify at the National Sprint Championships in July. If they place in the top of their age groups they will qualify for the World Triathlon Sprint Championships in Australia.

The next group of women looking to qualify are Sue Kamrar, Darlene Henderson, Joanne Gilchrest, Kim Agur, Reene Fiack and Anne Yates. Any of you reading this and know I have this wrong..please post a comment and correct me. I think I need a whole new blog to sing the praises of this group of women. For now though I will briefly tell you a bit about them. I will put there age groups in brackets. I also might have some of this wrong so...... Sue (45-50) is a superb swimmer with a very unique stroke...she has worked very hard this last year to become a top contender on the bike. Darlene (55-60) is a very strong and steady athlete who has completed more than one marathon. Kim (55-60) is a monster on the bike...truly the fastest and strongest woman on a bike..she is fairly new to triathlon but we know she will do well. Joanne(35-40) is an accomplished runner who has competed very well in two Boston Marathons. She has become incredibly strong on the bike wearing us all out when we ride with her! Reene(45-50) ...what can I say...Reene is one of the most inspiring, strong and accomplished athletes in our group. She has had an overall win at a Half-Ironman race and is the first in our group to complete a Full Ironman race. I could devote a whole page to her!! Anne(55-60) is also a superb swimmer who is very strong on the bike and run. She continues to grow and excel in triathlon.

Ok now that I have sung everyones praises and made it seem as if we are a group of superwomen I will tell you that one thing we all have in common is a continued drive to overcome adversity. There is not a woman mentioned here who does not deal with a myriad of life issues from just plain age to injuries, other health issues, family and job issues...all of it.

In my next post I will talk about some of that as it is a huge part of training and being part of triathlon .

Who Are the Women?

As I said in my first post there are 5 other women besides me who qualified for Australia this year. First is Margaret Bomberg who has been a member of the tri club as long as I have and has already competed in two other world championships. She is now competing in the 70-75 age group and continues to be an inspiration to us all. Then there is Maryann Bachus who has also competed in a world championship. She has grown incredibly as an athlete over the last few years. She is competing in the 60-65 age group. Next is Susan Clavey who is competing in the 65-70 age group. She has also come a long way as an athlete and inspires us "youngsters" to keep going. The next two are my competetion in my age group 50-55...me being the youngest of the group! They are Teresa Kludt and Elizabeth Brent both incredibly tough women and difficult to beat. I have to run my hardest to get by Teresa...she really makes me work hard and I both curse and bless her for that!!

So as you can we are a group of mature women who enjoy training and pushing ourselves and each other to be the best we can be. We as a group have shattered some of the myths of old age and what women can accomplish. And we are just the ones going to worlds at the moment....the tri group has many more accomplished women in these age groups which will be the subject of my next post.....until then!