Help I Need Your Votes!!

I'm entered in a Yurbuds Photo Contest: #Beyondthewall and I need your votes. The contest runs until June 4, 2012. The person with the most votes wins an all expensed paid trip to Kona, an "Ironman experience" and their photo posted in Time Square for 3 months. Go to the link at the bottom... click on it and find me. I am currently in the #4 position. Be sure to return each day to cast your vote... and please fell free to share the link with your friends. Once again.. many thanks!!




Please vote daily @www.facebook.com/... This is me deciding to finally push through my own insecurities regarding swimming and overcoming the negative feedback I had been getting from my Ironman coaches. I want to prove them wrong and finally prove to myself that I was capable of completing the 2.4 mile swim in the allotted time. This is me facing my fear and going #BEYONDTHE WALL... facing the cold and vast Pacific Ocean. I am now an IRONMAN!

https://www.facebook.com/yurbuds?sk=app_197652867015089

A New Adventure Ultra Training!!

Hi everyone! I know that it's been quite sometime since I've updated this blog. A lot has happen since my last entry. I believe I left off with the start of my training season for Death Ride and left it at that. The end result of that venture was successful. I...  along with you... together raised $4700.00 for blood cancer research!! Congratulations on helping me to meet my goal!


Regarding the event it's self... Death Ride... it is an event that I could never forget. Death Ride was it's own entity.  At a high elevation, a one-day, 130-mile ride with 15,000 feet of climbing and 5 mountain passes. My event day began at 4 am and ended at just shy of all 5 passes. Fighting unusually hot weather at 107 degrees and elevation sickness made for a very challenging day. Regardless of only being able to complete four passes of five.. I am very proud of what I have accomplished.


What happened after?  


After years of back to back training my body started to rebel on me. I could no longer sustain the energy that I did years prior. Reluctantly, I decided to take an entire year off from training. Reflecting back, it was one of the smartest decisions I've made. Now I am back in full force and rejoined Team In Training! Just this past January I signed up to do my very first ULTRA marathon! The event will be held August 25th, 2012. To read more about the details I will leave a link below. Of course.. I never train without thinking of utilizing my abilities to help others. Again I am raising funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. As always... your donations are tax deductible and 75%of all funds raised go directly to the Cause. So if possible.. would you consider joining me in my Cause and make a donation today?


Many thanks to all of you for both your past, present and future support!


http://pages.teamintraining.org/sf/tam50k12/bagamaite

Ironman - Till I Collapse

It's All Uphill!!

I can be a little slow on the "uptake" at times. I am the type of individual that says YES first and then asks the pertinent questions later. In the past 3-4 weeks it has slowly donned on me as to how challenging my event is going to be. As you know, the Death Ride is a cycling event that is 130 miles in distance, 5 mountain passes, 15,000' of elevation and all to be accomplished within one day. Our team rides have consisted anywhere from 45-70 miles of riding thus far... and ALL with climbs that would make a monk break their vow of silence by cursing the Gods. This is not by any means an easy challenge. I have done an Ironman and it in itself is one event not to be reckoned with or taken lightly. But the Death Ride is it's own entity.. a beast. I have been told that Death Riders can spend up to 16 hours in the saddle to complete the event. Really?... 16 hours of mental fortitude.. 16 hours of quad shaking pedal strokes.. 16 hours of there is no swim or run.. this it, just me and the bike.

That which is harder will only make us stronger .... simply meaning my tri bike. I don't have a "granny gear" to fall back on and I quickly run out of gears often. The positioning on my bike makes it all the more challenging for my knees to endure the climbs. I have also discovered that nutrition will be an ongoing challenge. We're supposed to eat continually throughout... but when is it ever ideal to eat? You never want to eat going downhill. There are limited flat portions to be heard of. Climbs are what remains. Im still learning how to climb, keep balance, breathe, drink and chew all at once without completely falling over. I am a work in progress...

Besides training for Death Ride, I am also still very much part of the Iron Team. I try to lend my support whenever possible to these amazing people. Whether it's cheering them on in my "little blueberry", working a SAG stop or lending advice to those who question their abilities or sanity. All the while.. trying to squeeze in my own swim and run training for Ironman Canada in August. So as you can see Im a very busy woman with a very full plate and I wouldn't have it any other way.

As you know these events are just tools for a bigger purpose... TO BEAT CANCER! TO HELP BRING AWARENESS! TO RAISE MUCH NEEDED FUNDS! TO FIND A CURE! TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE! TO HAVE A PURPOSE! Do any of these reasons resonate with you? Pick one... or more than one. But all it takes is just one reason alone to make a donation today. It's easy to do .. just click on the Team In Training Logo at the top right of my page titled: Death Ride 2010 Donation Page. Remember your donation is a tax write off and 75% of all donations will go directly to the Cause. Thank you to all those that have already donated.. you ARE making a difference!

"In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back to us." Flora Edwards

What Have I Been Up To?

Wow it's hard to believe that I finished my first Ironman (Vineman) just last August as well as the AIDS LifeCycle Ride last June! Life since both events has been far from boring. I have been keeping busy participating in less time consuming events such as: A half ironman, full and half marathons, intro to fire dancing; flying trapeze; outdoor rock climbing, zip lining and perfecting my snow boarding skills! I've also tried to find more of a balance in my life by placing more emphasis on dating and meeting new people. Life has been a blessing for me. Im surrounded by the most wonderful and amazing people, I'm content in my job and I have my health. What more could a girl ask for?

If you know me well enough though, being content is not enough. You know that I believe in giving back to those in need. Last year, through Team In Training, you helped me raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Together we raised $6,000 to help fight blood cancers but the fight isn't over. There are too many people that are still being effected. Do you have a connection? Do you know anyone who is fighting for their life as we speak? Have you ever lost someone to cancer? Cancer can strike anyone.. young and old, a family member, a coworker, a neighbor... YOU. Let's fight a good fight. Let's band together and strive to make a difference. Im raising funds again and 75% of all the funds I raise goes towards the research needed to help find a cure! Its an investment that can only have a positive outcome and benefits everyone.

I have signed up yet for another endurance event through Team In Training. I will be participating in a grueling cycling event called the Death Ride on July 9, 2010. You can find out more about the details of the event if you click on the DR Logo to the right of my page. Thus far the training has been brutal. The distances have varied from 30-65 miles. Future rides will have increasing distances, elevation and varying climates. Again the physical challenge at hand will be a difficult one. Although I am already questioning my abilities to completing the task at hand, I know that with a strong mind I can rise to any challenge. I again will need your help. Please help me to raise the funds needed to make a difference. You can click on the Team In Training Logo to the right and it will lead you to my donation page.

Thanks so much for all your past and present support. Please check back often as I will try to keep you updated as my training progresses. With love, Belinda

PS.. You may notice an Ironman Canada Logo to the right. I am also training for my 2nd Ironman event on August 29, 2010.

First Post Ironman Adventure - Zip Line & Rappelling

That's IronWoman Belinda to you!

Prior to this race I used to envision myself crossing that finish line and just breaking down emotionally. Instead I found myself feeling stunned that my goal was finally reached. I was looking for some kind of overwhelming change to happen. But for some reason I felt like it was just another Iron Team training day... it just included a lot more support. Well now it's 4 days later and it's all starting to sink in. I just did a full Ironman (140.6) and I did it with all the focus and determination that I had in me! Because of all that had happened this past training season, I could not have been more prepared for this day. There was no fear in my ability, I was going to do this and cross that finish line. During the wee hours prior to the event, envelopes were slipped under our hotel doors. Each Coach had written a note conveying words of encouragement and pride. But not until I read my own letter to myself did tears start to fall. Early on in the training season we were asked to sit down and write a letter to ourselves. A letter that would be delivered to us the night prior to our Ironman events. This was an especially difficult letter to write because of the days events. I had again failed to make the swim distance at Lake Del Valle, I was freezing, I was nauseous and half bonked. I had panicked in the water that day. What could I want to say to myself? What would I want to hear? When I wrote this I wasn't sure if I would actually ever even get to read it. Having this letter in my hand validated that I had made it to my Ironman Event. "Dear Me, Wow can you believe you're here? You DID this!!! You set your goal and you did it! You were so scared of swimming. You struggled. You took the time to do all the swim work outs and look at you... You ARE going to do this tomorrow. YOU ARE READY!!! Remember it's forward motion. Just keep going. Be resilient and DON'T STOP!!!! Make sure to love yourself and give yourself the ability to just enjoy the day. Relax, there will NEVER be another 1st Ironman. Take it all in. Try to sleep. Make sure you eat.. and let go. You are worth it and deserve so much more. Life is beautiful! Love, Me" The race was just that .. I kept the phrase, "FORWARD MOTION" in my arsenal. I just kept swimming. Telling myself that I had to keep going. I was RESILIENT on the bike course when I had to climb Chalk Hill for a second time. It was the one and only time during the race that I fought back tears because of the pain my quads were enduring during the climb. I wouldn't allow myself to rest until I made it to the top because I knew exactly what was on the other side... which was a nice long downhill and then into transition. During those moments on the bike course when I found myself alone. I would recall phrases given or said to me by others and I would say them out loud repeatedly. From Tori: "Hush girl. Hush your lips. Do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips." (This was a quote from a song) I laughed every time I would say it. From Beau: "Be calm. Be great." From Claire Blaney: "You're DOING IT! You're f 'ing DOING IT! You're going to have a great race day!" (She was screaming this as I was passing her on my bike) From me: "Where are you Chalk Hill? Show you're f 'ing face!" (I was determined to make that second climb) "Brenda.. are you there? I need a push." "You've worked too damned hard. Keep going. Push." "I've been through worse. This is nothing." I made sure TO TAKE IT ALL IN and ENJOY the moments as I started the 26.2 mile run course. My legs were stiff at the start of the first loop but soon found a comfortable stride by the second loop. I was fortunate enough to have a friend/friends volunteer to run along side me to keep me company. We would do a 4 min run and a 1 min walk. Our motto was to run during the down hills and walk during the up hills. Both Leigha (who ran the entire 26.2) and Rowena were amazing and im so thankful that they were there to push me along. Things I did for the first time ever: Warning to the queasy... * I peed and swam at the same time. I usually have to stop during a race in order to do this or just hold it the entire time. I swim way too slow to hold it. I even surprised myself when I did it unexpectedly. My thought as I was swimming along was.. "Wow, I feel like a big girl now. A real Iron Woman." * I peed 3 times on my bike while I was racing. Again in the past, I never had the ability to do it. It was always as if I had stage fright. This was the race of my life. I didn't have time or could not afford the time to stop and get off my bike during the race. I was either going to hold it in the entire almost 8 hours or I was going to go IRON and just pee while I rode. I was careful to be sure no one was behind me and I would always rinse off with water afterwards. * This was the first event of swim, bike, run that I completed fully this entire season. I had an amazing day. I could not have asked for a more perfect race. I finished my entire 140.6 mile race in 15:51. I was surrounded by so many wonderful people; friends, family and Ironmates. All of them cheering... all of them waiting for me to cross that finish line. These wonderful people loss their voices, sat, stood, walked and at various points ran all about throughout the 16 hour race. Even friends I had not seen in such a long time came out to show support. I want to say a big THANK YOU to all of you, near and far. You were with me from the beginning and knew of the struggles. You pushed for me to keep going because you had faith in me. You donated and helped me to make a difference. You gave support with kind words. You trained with me when you didn't have to. You showed "Jazz Hands". You fed me. You made me laugh. You forgave me and understood when I wasn't available because I was training. You've helped me keep my promise to see this through to the end. As I've said many times before... I have an amazing life and I am so lucky to have all of YOU! I have a 2012 marathon in Antartica booked but what shall I do until then? Suggestions?..... So stay tuned for my next endeavor. ;) LINK TO IRONMAN DAY SLIDESHOW: http://www.slide.com/r/nohxwYIM0j_dqBHoBWW2Q_G_rxiMmXgJ