Cindy Present | Get Out Girl

I'm 50. There. I said it. Can I believe it? No. Do I like the fact? No. Do I have a choice in the fact? No. But you know what, it's not the fact that matters. It's how I choose to respond to it. I turned 50 on December 2. I had wanted the day to come and go like it never happened. People make 50 such a milestone. I don't know why. Perhaps because our culture has set the precedence that 50 is not a good thing - it's the first chapter of "old". AARP sends you an "induction" letter at 50, for Pete's sake! When those before us turn 50, we have a hard time believing it. But when we turn 50, it's almost unimaginable. And quite honestly, now that I'm a parent, it is hard to imagine how it must feel when our children turn 50. It baffles me, because as many of you have heard me say, "If you died at 50, people would say…Oh, she died so young." So what's up with saying we're so old when we're ALIVE at 50?? For months,

Ironman Kona 2013...got 'er done!! And it really was quite enjoyable!! The day clipped along at a steady pace, it never felt endless, and I never got miserable! Check!! At 12 midnight the morning of the event I woke up and never returned to sleep. Apprehension. Nerves. Anxiety. I just needed to get this thing going. At 4:15 I officially started getting ready and we left for the pier at 5. I didn't see the Sherpas who had left prior to us (was this a hint of the day to come??) Steve and I parted ways, both teary eyed and emotional. There is something about that moment, all the training, all the sacrifices, all the dedication and determination, that brings out inner rawness. Time to bring it to fruition. Body marking, chip check, bag check, sunscreen, bike prep, bathroom....it was getting close to game time. I realized that once the canons went off and I got in motion the nerves would go away and auto pilot would calm me. And it did. At 7am with helicopters whirling overhead, lou

Jack is packing up calories, filling flasks, and getting ready for bike check in today! How many calories and how many mg of caffeine will it take??

I see London, I see France, I see most of Kona in their underpants!! Can't beat them, then join them! After a quick swim goggle test and stationary swimming to the espresso barge (current was a tad bit brutal today - like a Lake Austin swim when generating ;-) we quickly climbed into our undies and joined in the crazy Kona Under Pants Run for local charities. Easily the shortest run recorded (around the block, to the pier for group stretching, then back to the other side of the block for group pictures) it was also easily the funnest run ever! Perfect prep for my UnderAchieving Training come Sunday!  Just say in' though, that when you edit pictures of your friends in Under Pants, there is a little more hesitancy when pushing the 'enhance' button :-)

  We all started our first day in Kona at the beach! Dig Me Beach, the official start of the Ironman swim. Some of us because we wanted to swim distance, some because they wanted to beat the hyperventilation blues that occur with open water swimming, one because his wife made him, and several to swim to the famous Ironman espresso bar (see top pics).  After a successful swim by all (meaning we all made it back to dry ground without drowning) we hit the town running....shopping, eating, going to expo, going to bars, and repeating the scenario most of the day!  I had a bike ride to get in, and after the great guys from Felt got my bike fixed up, I was off for a ride out the famous Queen K Hwy. it was as hot, humid and windy as always, but the ride was great. Cyclists running and biking everywhere, getting in last day training sessions. We all wrapped up had about 30' to change and headed out to the marina for a night snorkel with the manta rays. There is a ledge near the airport that

Good Morning, Kona!!  First stop, making sure Frieda's war wounds from dancing at the bar with a local in Los Cabos are not in need of patching!

We flew out of Austin yesterday at 6:20 am! Jen was (kind?) enough to (volunteer?) to take us in at 4:30am. We had picked up her car the night before so she could just mosey to work for an early start after dropping us off, but after trying to pack iall our gear into her car, the bike box would not fit to standards. So OSHA dismantled and repacked everything in my truck. Jen would just have to drive it for the day after delivering us to ABIA. At 4:20 we waddled out to put in the final bags and WOW!! The truck had been 'friend-alized'! There was writing all over the windows AND tires :-) Blinky lights threaded through the door handles, confetti in the air vents and lies tied to door handles. The 'Sherpas left behind' had done it up nicely! (Now I know why the neighborhood skunk was in such a stinking tizzy about 10:15 the night before ;-) Of course, our security cameras caught it all! Nice job, Biddle, Nan, Drew, Lisa, and Jen S. I know it was Jen S and not Jen A because

After I left coaching a training group this week, I turned left instead of my normal right. I needed gas (as usual :-) and had to run a quick errand. After sitting through the stop light, I turned my blinker on to turn right into the gas station. As I was about to turn in, a homeless man with a cart neatly stacked with two suitcases and a smaller bag strapped down to it, was coming my direction, not quite to the driveway I needed to enter, but close. Instead of rushing to beat him, I simply sat there, with my blinker hypnotizing the moment. The cars behind me were in much more of a hurry, as I heard two different horns honk. I continued to calmly sit there. I wasn't in a hurry and neither was the man I was waiting for. As he moved slowly in front of me, I was reminded that I had seen him a couple times before in this area. It had surprised me then, as this community didn't seem a likely location for homeless activity. However, this man appeared to have everything but a home. He

L Most of you have heard our 'cramping' stories.  "Couple found clinging to cliff after experiencing simultaneous cramping while swimming in Lake Travis after bike ride." "Sherpa goes down with severe post-Ironman cramping while waiting at bar after standing on street corner all day watching Ironman." "Sherpa nearly expedited from airplane after serious leg cramps curl him into the aisle after Ironman." "Woman's midnight howling from femoral leg cramps confuses children." You get the picture. This Ironman stuff can cause serious muscle cramps whether you are the trainee or the Sherpa. Two weeks ago after a Tuesday Nighter bike workout I was woken up with the most intense leg cramp squeezing into the head of my quad. It just wouldn't let up. Steve kept breezing in and out of the bedroom during the episode, shaking his head chuckling. I am sure he was thinking, "How bout that Ironman," as he continually strolled in and out

Thursday I was in mile 11/18 on my taper run (every Thursday for the past 6 weeks I have run 20 or more miles). It was about 10:30am and I was on a stretch of road with some shade on the east side. I was running through it, not because of the shade, but because I was trying to be conscious of the camber of the road and run at a different angle than usual.  The road took a slight incline with a shady peak about 200 yards ahead. At the crest of the peak, with the sunlight glistening through the trees, two people were surfacing on the horizon walking toward me. I could tell from the silhouettes that they were two women, one younger and one larger than the other. The younger girl had her arm woven through the others, with her hand gripped to her upper arm. I was immediately inspired by what appeared to be a younger woman encouraging and walking with the older, larger lady. "I should do that more," I thought. Getting someone out that may not be comfortable or confident walking, ei

...that you really didn't say. It's kind of like the saying that there are three sides to every story...what you said, what I heard you say, and then what you really said. The last five weeks of training for Ironman are like that. Kelly Williamson, coach, friend and pro triathlete, told me while training for my second Ironman that you know you are ready for the event when you are officially "DONE" training. She didn't mean walk in the door after a brick, "Honey, I'm done." She meant DONE. Been there, DONE that, DONE. Nada mas por favor. DONE. I'm DONE. Therefore, I'm ready. DONE getting up at 4:45am, done getting my second workout in by 8:30am. Done riding my trainer at 5am BEFORE heading out for long ride at 7am. DONE. Soft interpretation: READY. VERY ready. But these past couple weeks I've discovered there is another way of knowing you are READY. It is when people say things to you in the most honest, sincere, caring way and you

These are the weeks every endurance triathlete waits for. The Final Seven. Two more peak periods then taper. The beginning and the end of long, grueling, sweaty, calorie zapping workouts. Multiple mile swims; twenty plus mile runs; and multiple one hundred plus mile bike rides. When those workouts are packaged as bricks or "two-a-days" then you get big three to four thousand calorie burning days. Ironman anyone? What the heck are we thinking? Yesterday I watched about ten minutes of the 2012 Ironman Kona broadcast that re-ran on NBC. I had tried to not turn it on. A friend even texted to see if I was watching it. "Nope," I responded. "Makes me too anxious." He said, "I get it." When I watch it, I can smell it, hear it, and even feel it. I don't feel the grueling parts like keeping my feet moving during the run, but instead I feel the vibe in the air, the pulsating of my heart - and everyone else's - the staggering silence the mornin

Countdown to Ironman Kona has begun. Thirteen Weeks. That's going to be almost 400 miles of running, 65 swimming, and over 2,200 of cycling (eek! really??) And knowing me, probably about 6.5 yeast infections (sorry, but it's true ;-) And if you're my friend Justyne, and counting, should be about 227,500 calories taken in - minimally! But wait! This isn't about the have to's and must do's - is it?? Well, I just realized for the past 6 weeks it has been, but it shouldn't be. I just got my jolt. It's time to get fired up and ready. For the right reasons. For about 6 weeks I've focused on the first paragraph. What it's going to take, the schedule I'm going to have to create, the juggling I'm going to have to pursue, and the job I'm going to have to do to "get 'er done". That doesn't sound like ANY FUN! Then why the heck am I doing it?!? Because I can. I am able. I will become stronger because of it - mentally an

On April 15 I was stunned and brought to tears to hear of the Boston bombings - as it had been less than 48 hours that I had aborted my trip to run the marathon. Why? It just didn't 'feel right' to go. There was something that was saying not to go. Then two weeks ago I was stunned again, but in a different way, when I heard one of our friends was for a third time going to have to undergo a stem cell transplant to battle cancer. Why? How? Life was humbling me left and right with things that I had no control over. But what I do have control over is how I use my time. Four years ago Steve and I committed to participate in The Flatwater Foundation's Dam That Cancer event, a 21 mile stand and paddle from Mansfield Dam to Tom Miller Dam on Lake Austin. The event would raise funds to support wellness programs for families and individuals battling cancer. When I heard founder, Mark Garza, tell us how paddleboarding and counseling basically kept his sanity and steadfastn

The question is a common one, especially from those that know your drive and motivation when it comes to sports and fitness. It usually is asked right after "How are the kids?" "How was your last event?" Then you know it's coming, you know they are going to ask. This is where the emotions come in. You are either giddy with excitement to tell them "what you are training for" or you are dreading the question "what are you training for." Giddy, because you are ready to embark on the training journey that you will travel preparing to peak at the precise time of the event that you want to share with them you have committed to do. Or, dreading, because you have chosen not to put anything on the calendar and will miss that day to day grind of focus, accountability and fortitude it takes to be "training" for something. I am currently in the later shoes. There is nothing on my calendar that I have committed to for the first time in 24 month

A friend sent this to me yesterday and she is oh so right! Thank you, Los Cabos!! We leave today. You have definitely been quite the ride!!

Ok, ok. The "I thought you were not doing another Ironman" question keeps rolling in, as well as, "What happened to your goal of under-achieving for the rest of the year?" There are prestigious championship events in all sports. World Cup. The Masters. Wimbledon. Olympics. Super Bowl. World Series. They each have their prestige, 'hoopla', Kodak moments, and excitement surrounding them. Kona is the Super Bowl of triathlon. By no means did I train for Los Cabos with the goal of qualifying for Kona. I trained for Cabo to do my best, be prepared for the hand I would be dealt on race day, and to not have any regrets with how I performed with what I was dealt. For me, going into an ultra endurance event with a goal of finishing within a certain time or finishing in a certain place is way too much pressure as an amateur AG athlete who is doing this for "fun" (??? ;-) My friends laughed and cajoled with me about how I would under achieve the rest of th

Thank you for the Good Luck necklace, Coltyn!! It worked!!!

Bliss. Freedom. Relaxation. Carefree. The feelings of my new post-Ironman goal to Unde Achieve. I had sponsors, endorsers, even coaches and mentors. My Under Achieving Team had lined up activities for me, social hours, coffee time, naps, mornings to sleep in, book clubs, happy hours on the dock....their lists went on and on. The excitement and anticipation of my new lifestyle began last night at 6:38 Cabo time whe I crossed the finish line, hands and 'Jack' held high, and turned to bid the course and sport adios. On to more relaxing things. It all started about a month ago when a friend introduced me to a client of hers by saying,"This is Condy. She is doing Ironman Los Cabos. She is an over achiever." Over Achiever. Really? Me? The description grated at me for days. Was I really striving for too much? Was I not content with just being 'enough'? It immediately came to me that after reaching my goal of finishing a other Ironman I would shoot for J der Ach

Done. Check. Finito!! Ironman Los Cabos is in the history books!!! :-) We are heading out this morning to begin my new goal of UNDER ACHIEVING and SUP to The Arch in Los Cabos, but I wanted to give everyone a quick shout out to thank you for the love, support, and cheers yesterday. It was a good day and the first Ironman (and last???) that I will probably ever see whales while biking and dodge horse poop in the streets while running!!! This was probably the most comfortable I have ever been during an Ironman overall (and perhaps my times reflect that especially on the bike, but who cares...it is done!! ;-) My bike training definitely paid off (thank you, Jen!! ;-) and my minimalist run training paid off, too, but in the opposite direction. My max runs of 2.5 hours (or 18ish miles) could have been extended a bit and I think the last 6 yesterday would have been stronger, or not. Hey, it's an Ironman, you can never predict what will happen. It just happens. The Good. It was the

This will be the 4th annual Dam That Cancer paddle. Steve and I began this journey with The Flatwater Foundation four events ago. The Foundation has grown tremendously each year since then through amazing support and donations from those that follow the cause. Reflecting on the past three events makes me also contemplate the lives of those who have donated to this event, some so generously every year that we have done it and some who are new on board with the cause. (Many thanks to each of you!! ;-) I know every one of them have their reasons for supporting DTC, and it is typically because they or someone they know has gone through the emotional battle of cancer.  Steve and I tend to be surrounded by an active group of individuals who love health, fitness and the outdoors. I feel sure that the empowerment, peace, and well being that these individuals are exposed to through health and fitness are why they support The Flatwater Foundation. It certainly is mine. As I sit in my fr