Psalm 37:23

The past week has been a huge success for me. After over 3 weeks of no swimming I was able to get back into the pool to try to swim with a separated shoulder and....there was NO pain! It was such an exciting moment for me and at one point I thought I was going to start crying in the pool from the excitement. It completely set the tone for the rest of my week and today I did my first swim time trial and I actually hit a Personal Record for swimming an 800 meter swim.....all it took was a big bump on my shoulder!

Last Wednesday I set out for a long bike ride with Karen, Erica and Mr. Tom. I was pretty nervous to ride with this new group on roads that I was unfamiliar with. After all of the bike accidents I've had who could blame me:) I was also unsure I would be able to keep up....Mr. Tom is a 70 year old man who has set out to ride 10,000 miles this year and he is an amazing cyclist. To my surprise I was able to keep up and was enjoying our ride over the ferry, around the San Jacinto monument, into LaPorte and around Alexander Deussen Park. At the half way point I realized that I could realistically hit the 100 mile mark and was determined to hit it before my scheduled time to ride was up. When I shared this thought with Mr. Tom and Karen they were 100% on board! When we finished the 100.8 miles you couldn't wipe the smiles off of our faces. Karen and I had hit our first century mark on the bike and we felt great. It was exactly the confidence we needed to know we could complete the 112 miles at Ironman.

Over the weekend I took some time off from training and went to the Austin cook-off. I was able to catch up with some old friends and even made a few new ones. In talking to these friends about Ironman and how I got started I remembered that everyone gets into something like triathlon for different reasons....some to heal from a relationship gone bad, some to heal their relationships, some to help with strongholds they have in their lives and some to simply become a healthier person. Whatever the reason for starting into this world I am finding that after time these catalyst are no longer what pushes us day after day. What pushes us is the internal strength we find in ourselves through the process, the voice that is now telling us how strong we are, that even though you couldn't walk a mile a year ago you are able to run 13.1 today! Once this strength takes hold it is seen in everyday life and becomes who we are, pushing us in other areas of our lives. I have seen so many lives changed through the sport of triathlon and along the way it has definately changed mine. It reminds me of the following scripture: The steps of a man are established by the Lord and he delights in his way. Psalm 37:23 I can't help but to think that the Lord has led me down this path for a reason!

This week my thank you's go out to Mr. Tom, Karen and Erica for taking me on my century ride, Dino for being such a great friend this weekend,Craig for the good advice and Marlene for the encouraging words of wisdom. I'm looking forward to longer hours, a few small triathlons and race preps over the coming month. Keep all of the racers in your prayers as we spend so much time out on the road.

God Bless,
~K