Where does the time go?

There is only one more day of May...There is only one more day of May?!?!

How did that happen? Where was I? Oh yeah, working, racing, walking, taking care of sick kittens and training...

I want to devote an entire post to the Tamika & Friend's Walk to Beat the Clock that I was a part of on Saturday, May 19th - pre-Columbia Triathlon but for now, here is a link to some photos of the event! Special thanks to Jennifer, Kathy and Kent for joining me on Team Fit_Chicks! Heather R. was sick, we missed you Heather! Hope you are feeling better!

Work is busy, between my regular "9-5" and some volunteer graphics that I have been doing, I am easily filling my daily creativity quotas. There are several side projects that have taken a back seat for the time being.

Half of our Bengal Crew: Wallace and Grommette, namely Wallace, took ill last week. Requiring two visits to the vet, antibiotics, little noses nose spray and allot of TLC. He is on the mend, much to Grommette's delight. She has been wearing us out with constant games of *fetch* since Wallace had very little energy to chase around the house with her this weekend. We really had no idea how much they play together on their own until this cold. We're happy Wallace is back to his active, playful self too!

This weekend was special for several reasons. First of all, it is Memorial Day weekend and it is a time to remember and honor those men and women who gave their lives to keep us safe and secure. Secondly this weekend, is the *two-year* anniversary of my mid-way point through the high-dose round of Interferon Therapy that I did in May 2005.

That weekend, I rode my bike 7.47 miles and here is what I had to say about that:

"MON - Bike Picnic with Jim! I was able to ride my bike approximately 7.47 miles and that was as far as I was going! 37 minutes on the Mt. Vernon Trail. To my credit, we started the ride with the last 3 miles "up" to Mt. Vernon. To my dismay at the turn around at Mt. Vernon (after a short incline of less than 200m) I was hanging over my handle bars gasping like I was when I climbed parts of the 8% gradient of Col de la Madeline in the French Alps last year."

So, where am I, two years out from that very day? Well I am about 45 pounds heavier (it's weight, it will come off when I get *serious* about it....) and even so, fitter than ever!

This past Saturday, I rode my bike 70 miles and followed it up on Sunday with a 5 mile run.

I'd say that is a sure sign that right now, I am doing my best, in my own way, to LiveSTRONG!

Now with just 2 weeks left until Eagleman 70.3, the butterfly's are starting to really kick in. I have no grand illusions on how my performance will be on this course. There is simply no way to drag an extra 45 pounds around the course faster than I did when I raced this distance way back in 2003. (Timberman Half Ironman: 8:01 finish time)

My only hope, my GOAL: is simply to finish within all the official cutoff times which translates into an 8:30 finish time.

It will be me, at the back of the pack, all day and I am okay with that because right now, that is the best that I can do.

Then, as summer blooms, I'll shift focus to taking off this weight and them some, training for the LiveSTRONG Challenge, and running the Marine Corps Marathon this fall with my sister Heather.