Cindy Present | Get Out Girl

Today - 25 years Ago. Kona Oct. 2013 May 13, 1989. Yup. The day we were married. River Place Country Club. Only a club and golf course back then. No houses. One road. I think that was one of the last big rainstorms we had, too - aside from last night! Well, actually, one of the last most memorable storms. My dad forgot his bow tie-thingy (not really a bow tie, but a western version of that). He left the country club about an hour prior to the start of the wedding and 30 minutes after the wedding was supposed to start hadn't shown back up. The creeks were rising, the canyons flooding, and large softball size hail was falling from the sky. Dad was late - but not too late to have put one of the super-sized hail balls in the freezer for proof as to why a room full of people were anxiously awaiting his arrival. It was a "turd floater" as we call that kind of storm here in Texas. But right when we decided to go ahead and start the wedding (because everyone was running la...

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 ai...

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!