Building to Ironman Chattanooga...

The best friends ever!! Half way through my 112 mile bike ride Aug 2015

Wow, I guess I should have written sooner... A lot has been going on in my life, that it has been really hard to sit down and just write...The last time I wrote, the triathlon season was just beginning and I had just finished my two marathons...

Over the last few months, I have started training full time for Ironman Chattanooga... Yes, I am crazy, jumped on the crazy train and signed up in Sep to race my first Ironman... My husband got transferred to NAS Whiting Field to be the Executive Officer of the base in May, Donnie graduated from high school and we moved to Pace, FL (right outside of Pensacola).. Only I would do something like sign up for an IM when I knew I had to deal with moving and having my son leave.....

To be honest, the training has been my lifesaver, whenever I started to stress about training, moving or the thought of my son going to college, my training put things into perspective.. What a good feeling and to top it all off, I am now seeing the results of my training.. Yeah!!!!

This past weekend, I completed the hardest 70.3 race in Pell, City... The bike had over 3000 elevation and the run was the hottest, hilliest run ever.. Hardly, any shade and every half mile  on the run there was a climb up a hill.. no wonder Don didn't do this.. :) During this race, I thought, "Why am I killing myself.. I haven't improved at all, I am still walking the half marathon and the swim time was the same time I always had" Evil thoughts were running through my head and I was going to quit.. but I didn't. I kept seeing my teammates, who cheered me on and I kept moving forward!! I am so glad I did! Even though it was the hardest race, it was my best race..I had a 20 minute PR from Ironman 70.3 Muncie.. My consistent training, ignoring my evil twin and losing weight helped me with my PR.

Training has been hard, I still have my evil self telling me to wait until tomorrow, but I HAVE to ignore her..Seeing is believing...

This Speedy Turtle is now realizing that she will be able to finish Ironman Chattanooga and not hope to finish..

I need to always remember.. Perseverance, courage, commitment, consistency and Believing in Yourself is the secret...

I will try to keep everyone updated... I have some really heavy training weeks coming up and I will need to share...

Here is a gallery showing the results of the secret.. I am still amazed cause I still see myself as the person in 2010..

Keep on training!!
Eling aka Speedy Turtle....

2010 - my first Duathlon -  Los Locos

RRS 10K - Sep 2014

IM Muncie 70.3 - July 2014

Los Locos 2015

July 2015

Spring 2015

Yesterday, I went on a group bike ride and it was great. As I was riding and taking in the scenery, the group and my ability, I realized something.... being a part an athlete is not just about being able to do something, (swim, bike, run, etc...) it is a very mental game. Our group had a wide range of experience, yet we were all there enjoying the first ride of Spring and talking about getting ready for our next event. We all stayed together and rode our bikes.  Someone wrote on FB her thoughts "...Speedy Turtle is mindset not ability. It's all about being badass and taking everyone around you into badassery"  

Our Group of riders - Ironmen, newbies, half ironmen... 

This got me to thinking, what is triathlon all about and why am I doing this??? I am part of triathlon because no matter what group I have joined, everyone is encouraging and willing to be helpful and teach you what they  know or share their experience. This group of athletes support each other. My coach, a very experienced and ranked triathlete is the most inspirational person I know. If I am down, she is there to pick me up and get me back on track. My fellow Speedy Turtles do the same, other groups that I have joined on FB have been an inspiration too... We seem to want to help, inspire and have more people join the ranks of triathlon. 

Seeing this and seeing others inspire makes me realize, that Triathlon is for everyone:  slow, fast, good at one sport, or just good enough to finish all three sports during a race.. we are all there to encourage and cheer each other on..

So, I guess I would have to agree with the statement.... Being a Speedy Turtle is not about ability, but about  how you approach  the training, the race and the camaraderie... we do our best and encourage others to do the same... WE ARE BadASS and we will take everyone around us into badassery!!

Here is to Spring 2015 and the new triathlon season!!

My husband and I riding together!!!

Eling aka Speedy Turtle

Your new self...Just up ahead!!

Happy Birthday to me... Tonight is the eve of my birthday. I will be 45 and I have moved to the next age group for any triathlon race....

 I have been reflected all day on what has happened over the last year and wow what a year!...

It was a good year of training consistently, learning how to like myself and finally dropping weight.. At the beginning of last year, I had made a vow to start working on me... You know that is a really hard task. I spent time with counselors (mental and nutritional) and one of the things that had been blocking my weight loss was my mental health. I didn't like me. Over the past years, I avoided looking in the mirror  to see my whole body.. When I saw pictures of me, I didn't see how healthy I looked or that I had the scars of having a wonderful child, who is now going to college next year, or a wife to the best husband in the world who loves me no matter how I looked and called me his beautiful wife every day. No.. I would find all my flaws and focus on how I needed to improve my arms, my stomach, my butt and listen to the evil voices that I heard over the years... I was a hot crazy mess.... I have learned and I am still learning that I need to start liking myself. WOW... is that all, I can be who I want if  I "Like myself and believe in ME?!" That seems way too easy.. but it isn't.. So, over the year, that is what I have been doing.. focusing on improving me.

I started to look at the positives and listened to what my family was saying about me. I started to get rid of the negative thoughts that I have accumulated in myself over the last 45 years and put them in their place.. very hard to do.. and things started to change.. now.. this took almost 10 months before I started to see some change... but I am now seeing change.. I now look at myself and tell myself that I have accomplished a lot in my life.

• I have completed 5 half ironmans over the last 3 years
• I was able to successfully train and complete 2 marathons... this has been a goal for me since I was in my 20's.. So exciting.
• I have been successful in my career and I finally got a promotion.
• Finally, I have a wonderful family that have and always have supported me over the years and they love who I am. 

This is a process, but I will take it one step at a time..

Oh.. I need to add... since I started to believe in myself... I finally did it... I signed up to complete a full IM. I will be training over the next few months for IM Chattanooga... Yes, I watched my triathlon team this past fall and realized that with consistent training, a new mental health and the support from my family and friends that I can do it.... So this new year has many new challenges and I am happy to say I am looking forward to new year..

Here's to a new year!!

Speedy Turtle aka Eling

Ironman Muncie 70.3 Race Report

Ironman Muncie 70.3 is a race to remember. My husband and I love this race. Last year, the experience was awesome, how cool is it to see your son in the swim (he was a lifeguard) and my husband throughout the race... so, we decided to do this again.. We were really excited because the race was going to close highway 35!! 

About a week before the race, my husband calls and tells me that he couldn't go because of work. Something about an Admiral asking him by name to run a meeting on Friday!!! What could I say, he had to stay home. We tried to see if he could fly out, but by the time he would get in, he would miss check-in. My son was staying home because he is getting ready for a big swim meet and had to practice. So, I went by myself... I was sad, angry and mad at the situation, but I put on my big girl panties and went.. 

Travel day was uneventful, I left on Thursday and arrived in Anderson, IN that night. I downloaded the book Divergent and that kept me occupied during the drive.. 8 hours is a long drive. The good thing about going by myself, I was able to stop when I needed too... see my hubby and son, hate it when I have to stop and hit the ladies room. :) 

Friday, I got up and headed to the race site. This is where registration was going to be. Loved it. Last year, registration was at the Muncie convention center and this year it was at the race venue. I was able to have Bo Peep get a race check-up and tire replaced... yes, I rode over something sharp and when I loaded my car, my back tire was flat. I checked it, and when Bo Peep was ready, I took her on a 5 mile bike ride and then ran a mile. It felt great!!

I checked everything in and went to back to the hotel, had dinner, spoke to the family and then went to bed. What a restless night, usually, I sleep like a baby before a race and I let my husband toss and turn, now it was my turn to toss and turn. 

Race Morning, up at 4:30, I got dressed, had breakfast and headed out. I prepaid for parking across the street and it was the best thing ever! I was right across from transition. I walked into transition and the speaker was stating the water was 74 - wetsuit legal...Whoo hoo... but wait... I left it in the car...so I go back and get my wetsuit. I received a welcome wake up call from my husband.. That really made my day. I got back into transition and started to pump up my tires... and out popped the presta valve... OH NOOO!!!! raced the bike over to the mechanics and they fixed the valve and pumped up the tires.. everything was ready.. I went down to the water and did a warm-up swim (a first for me) and I was ready.. I was near the end.. we got into the water at 7:45.. and away I go.... "row row row your boat..." singing through my head. I felt great in the water. I remembered all of my training from Lesley and just enjoyed the swim.. Just keep swimming to each bouy.. on the way back, a guy hits me in the head and I punched him back with my left hand... I didn't think it was hard, but the next thing I know, he is hanging on the kayak... don't mess with this turtle when she is swimming... I may have hit him in a sensitive area but he got in my way.. what was I supposed to do... got out of the swim and looked at my watch... Whoo Hoo... PR on the swim my 4 minutes!!  Up the hill I run and the wetsuit strippers are there!! Yeah!! On to the bike.. put the helmet on, and headed out. Something didn't feel right with my helmet... It kept moving.. pulled over and checked my helmet and my strap was broken... I rigged it and adjusted the helmet to keep me protected in case I fell... off I go... 17 mph, I hit headwind.. what.... there wasn't supposed to be any wind!!! We had a headwind adjust my speed and increase my cadence... Thank you Billy for teaching me about high cadence.. I hit the turn around and I loved the tailwind... finished the first loop and started on the second loop.. Second loop done and off I go into transition... I maintained the same speed as I did last year, avg 17 mph. Off to the run.. the weather started to warm-up and the humidity increased.. I was determined to keep on running.. I was going really well, running and walking through the water stops.. but then it kept getting more humid.. add water... I got disappointed after the turn around point because I just wasn't going as fast as I wanted to.. The evil voice in my head started getting to me... I heard things as you are soo slow, just walk up that hill... you will never make it through a full... you are just way too slow... 

Evil voice..

That voice in my head was evil... I got to mile 12 and I heard my phone beeping... all of my friends and love ones were cheering me on and sending me texts... Two tall guys came up to me and said..."come on Thunder..we are almost done".. I finally listened to my training voice and ran up the last hill and to the finish line... I did it!!! I finished the race in 7:22, not a PR but I finished and that is what counts!! I got a call right as I finished the race and it was my husband!! He watched me crossed the finish line and wanted to be the first to congratulate me!!! What a special guy!!

Running up the last hill

In retrospect, I am glad I did this race, I know I can do this and I know I can and will train for a full ironman one day.. I have it in me I just have to believe in myself and not let the evil voices in.. So, I will continue on to the next race and who knows what will happen...

Happy Training!!

Eling aka Speedy Turtle

P.S. My hubby said that I probably would have PR's if I didn't send out my selfies... 

Being a Speedy Turtle!!

Over the last few months, a lot has been happening!! Speedy Turtle has grown to be an amazing group of people. When I first started this blog, I chose Speedy Turtle as a name because I will always try to improve and get speedy.. I am not very athletically inclined... I was a band geek growing up... That and I thought how ironic the  name Speedy Turtle was... :)

Me and Mr. Speedy Turtle, my biggest supporter

So what has Speedy Turtle become.. Well, Speedy Turtle has become a group of like minded people who want to have fun running, biking and swimming. We are a group of individuals that enjoy the sport of triathlon and we aren't out to get on the podium... though that is nice once in awhile.. (I have podium in the Athena (Big Girl) division).  We cheer each other on and motivate and inspire each other to do our best!

Our group at Dragonfly... just before the triathlon!! We all had a blast and supported each other!

Our group has started a group riding on a weekly basis and each week, a new person has joined us.. It is a lot of fun!! Our motto is "No One Gets Left Behind"  We ride with Newbies and Experienced riders  each week and end it with a one mile brick.  The best part of the ride is the happy smiles and coming back the next week to see everyone again.. I really do love this group and am very excited to see where it goes from here.. Everyone of us has a turtle in us. We  all strive to improve.. we all think we are slower than someone else and work hard to get better. We are all Speedy Turtles!!!

Until next time!!!

Happy Training!!

After the ride

Just before we take off!

With Turtilina, our Mascot!

On the ride! I still can't believe we didn't crash!

6 more weeks until Spring!!!

Today is groundhog day and I really wanted Punxsutawney Phil to not see his shadow and state that we would have 6 weeks of warm weather till spring and not 6 weeks of winter.. See, I have been hibernating these last few weeks.. After the Christmas, I started to reflect on concentrate on building myself up mentally.. I had a great season last year but during the holidays, I became really down on myself. I wasn't happy about how I looked, how I was training and what I was doing.. I had a lot of people supporting me but that ugly voice in my head just got the best of me.. So, I hibernated... I still continued to do my workouts... I do have a 70.3 in May to get ready for... This turtle just decided to go into her shell and work on herself..

What did I do??? Well, at the beginning of the year, I started to DIET... That is a four letter word now.. I was beating myself up because I couldn't have what I wanted when I was hungry because I wanted to save my calories. I looked at myself and felt fat.. Yes, that voice was working really hard... So, I decided to make a change... The first change I did was tell myself something nice that I liked! I learned to like my smile a lot..the next thing I did was start to change my mindset on my diet. For Christmas, my wonderful hubby, hired a sports nutritionist and we went to see her.. What a lifesaver!! She told me that butter is good and food is good. You do not need to diet, count calories and drink smoothies as a replacement meal.. She wanted me to eat real food and to have my plate at every meal, half veggies, a third protein and a third carb.. hmm... I could do that..She, also, told me to move the scale and not step on it.. I still do, only once a week now and not everyday... Low and behold, I started to like myself and feel a lot better about myself.. I know I still have that voice in my head, but I am going to try not to listen to her....

Now... I am slowly coming back and training consistently to have a great season this year!!

Happy Training!!

Eling aka Speedy Turtle...

Practice...Practice... Practice...Practice will make you better...

Where have I heard that before?? Duh... I have been hearing this phrase since the fifth grade.. I know you all ask.. " How can that be Eling?? You said you were never an athlete when you were younger".. You are correct, I wasn't a runner or cyclist when I was younger.. I was, however, a band geek and I played the flute since the fifth grade.. So, yes, I have heard this since the fifth grade.. I was told to practice to make the middle school band in the fifth grade, so I did. I was instructed by Mr. Higdon and Mr. Baker to practice  my scales, practice my music.. over and over again, repeat the scales, repeat the music.. the more I practiced, the better I got and the more music awards, I got. So, I practiced.... In high school, I practiced and practiced and listened to Mr. A. I wanted to do well in Marching Band, Symphonic Band and Orchestra.. I did.. We had a great band. So, I practiced marching and playing my flute and I got better. It all stopped in College... Instead, I studied and studied to succeed in College.. I succeeded, I graduated from college, but I stopped practicing my flute.. I stopped practicing, I stopped following my the phrase I had heard since fifth grade...

So, what does this have to do triathlons.  Well, it has everything to do with it. This past year, I have been telling myself to  keep on swimming, keep on running and keep on biking... I have been practicing and practicing and getting better. What I have learned is that practicing = being consistent. I am looking back at my early upbringing and I want to thank my music teachers for what they have given me because I now know that to get better, I need to be consistent. I need to practice. I need to tell those evil voices that talk to me early mornings ("the bed is really warm..don't get up to swim or run.. you will feel a lot better if you stay in bed") to go away because I need to practice..

I am becoming a stronger swimmer, a stronger runner and a stronger cyclist. I have been telling my coach that I am trying to stay consistent and she told me that I am not trying.. I am succeeding. I am getting myself healthy and stronger.. I do fall off the bandwagon a lot.. gosh, I did that in high school.. but I got back on and kept on moving forward and kept on practicing. I am getting better and better..

Happy Training,
Eling

me playing the flute in high school