If this Sister can do it - then these sisters can do it!

Going to listen to Sister Madonna Buder last night was exactly what I needed.  On Saturday I went for a ride and I must say - it was one of the worst rides I've had in a long time-my riding partner bailed, it was cold, I was tired, and it was WINDY.  While I was riding I started crying and blaming Hallie for my miserable ride- because lets be honest - I wouldn't be doing this Ironman if it wasn't for her.   
But, my attitude has completely changed after last night.  Last night my sister and I went to listen to Sister Madonna Buder speak at St. Mary's.  Talk about an inspiration - Sister has competed in over 320 triathlons 40 of which were ironman races.  Her story was unlike any other- considering she didn't even start running until she was in her 50's.  She reminded me a lot of Hallie - (Hallie-I'm not just saying that because I refer to you as Sister Mary Hallie.)  Sister Madonna Buder said she needed a reason to run - a goal - which if any of you don't know Hallie - that's exactly what she needs.  Hallie is the type of person that once she sets her goal their is no stopping her.  She also has to keep find more and more demanding/challanging goals.  (She tells me after this ironman she will be done trying to exceed her previous goals)  Sister has also gone into races with very little if any training leading up to the event - which Hallie has been known to do on occassions. :-)

But Sister's message was very simple - with God there is nothing we can't do.  That is basically how she has managed to finish the last couple of races - calling on God to get her to the finish.  I have always said that God will never give us more than we can handle - so I know the next nine months are going to physically, emotionally, and spiritually challanging, but God will never give us more than we can handle.  With God by our side - there is nothing we can't do. 

I'm extremely excited because I will be eating dinner with Sister Madonna Buder following our run around the loop this evening.  I can't wait to learn more about her training for her ironman races and gaining as much knowledge and insight from her as possible. 

Thanks Cliff

Since Hallie's team had their first swim meet (Evansville Relay's) on Saturday, she was unable to train with me on Saturday - and since this was the first Saturday I have been in town and it wasn't supposed to rain - I knew I was going to go riding no matter what.   My wonderful cousin Cliff volunteered to ride with me! :-)   I was responsible for calling to wake him up, then we had plans to meet at Ray Becker and Old Henderson.  Thankfully Cliff did answer his phone when I called and agreed to still ride with me even though he was out late Friday night.  We didn't have a set route or distance we were shooting for, we were just going to ride until we were tired.  When we started riding Cliff made the comment, "Wow it's a perfect day to ride - It's not windy at ALL!"  Of course he would say that, not 10 minutes later the wind picked up.  hahah It wasn't terribly windy - but I hate riding against the wind.  I felt good while we were riding and chatting - but Cliff just couldn't keep up (hahah jk Cliff)  He did ask if we could stop and take a break - which I thought he was kidding but he wasn't!  I told him we would head towards USI and he could take Hogue home and I would keep going to get some more miles in.  He found out the hard way that he should ride without having something for breakfast - he had to stop two more times because he was just exhausted.  But he's a trooper for going as long as he did.  I added on another 15 miles or so which I probably would have gone longer but I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to eat and get ready for the MD game.  I did make myself run for twenty minutes when I got home - which it's been awhile since I've biked and ran.  That is definitely something my legs are going to have to get used to.  All-in-all it was good ride and good run.   Thanks Cliff for being my training partner. 
Until next time. Jenna

Iron Nun (A Must See Event)

I came across this and thought I should share it with all who are interested in something truly amazing!

Please join us for a special presentation by

Sister Madonna Buder

"The Iron Nun"

Sunday, November 20

7:00 pm

St. Mary’s Amphitheater

Take the elevator near the hospital’s

main entrance to the lower level.

3700 Washington Avenue

Evansville, Indiana

Free and open to the public

The presentation will focus on

the body, mind and spirit connection.

It will be followed by a book signing of

Sister Buder’s book,

The Grace to Race.

For more information, call

812.485.7425

Sister Madonna BuderNow in her 80s, Sister Buder has completed more than 350 triathlons, including 45 Ironman distances. She began training at age 48 and completed her first Ironman event at the age of 55. In 2005 at the age of 75, she became the oldest woman ever to complete the Ironman race — a record she has beaten more than once. In fact, the Ironman organization has had to add new age brackets as Sister Buder gets older.
Hers is the self-proclaimed story of "a woman who broke with convention, followed her heart, and found her higher mission."

Part 1 of our mental preparation!

Our physical training will not begin until the beginning of the year – but we have already begun mentally preparing for our ironman race.

Since we have season tickets to the colts – we spend a lot of time traveling from Evansville to Indy and back – so what better way to spend our travel time than mentally preparing.

Hallie found a book by Friel and Byrn, “Going Long: Training for Iron-Distance Triathlons,” which we have decided to use as part of our mental preparation.  We want to make sure we are up to speed on what we can expect as we prepare for the ironman. 

Instead of telling you what we are doing in the gym or on the road- we are going to spend some time telling you about what we have read-feel free to add advice/suggestions/comment.

Part I Getting Started

Chapter 1 The iron journey

The most important piece of information in this chapter is definitely the power of believing in you.  We are working to set ourselves up for success by constantly reinforcing the fact that we not only CAN do this – we WILL do this.  We are both willing to make the time commitment – the time commitment to training – the time commitment for proper nutrition – the time commitment to get plenty of rest.

Some of the traits for success include being confident, staying focused, being self-sufficient, being able to adapt, stay in control of your emotions, use mental clarity, and being psyched.  

Chapter 2 Approaches to Training

We are going to focus our training on endurance endurance endurance!!!!

Our motto is:  Swim Smart, Bike Strong, Run Tough

Chapter 3 Understanding Fitness & Chapter 4 Equipment

I’m not going to lie – were pretty dry.  Basically the book says – when it comes to fitness we want to make sure we are devoting to proper amount of time to biking, swimming, and run as well as cross training.  We also have to make sure we are getting plenty of rest and proper nutrition in order to achieve proper fitness.  As far as equipment – the most important piece of equipment is a properly fit bike and good running shoes!

Part II Ironman Training

More information to come!!!

Hallie's Ironman Journey

Hello, my name is Hallie, from as far back as I can remember I have always enjoyed working out, swimming, and walking.  I ran/walked in your usual 5Ks here and there and a couple of half marathons.  Then in 2007, my sister and I decided to give triathlons a shot.  We signed up about 2 weeks before the YMCA sprint triathlon.  We honestly had no idea what we were doing.  I remember pulling up at Bluegrass and watching people unload their bikes and all their gear.  Jenna and I looked at each other and thought, “what have we gotten ourselves into?”  Who would have known that on that day my life would totally change?

Over the past several years I have competed in several sprint triathlons in Evansville, Owensboro, Vincennes, and Nashville.  About two years, I decided to move on to something a little more challenging.  I was told that Chicago’s Olympic triathlon was awesome, so I signed up.  That summer I competed in my first Olympic triathlon.  The race was in August so I trained all summer.  I ended up finishing the race 48 minutes faster than my original goal time.  Not only did I do the whole race, I beat my goal and was in no pain.  Because I had so much fun competing in sprint triathlons I decided to double my distance and try a Olympic triathlon; and since that went so well I decided to double my distance again, and signed up for a half ironman.  That winter the tri team got all of the area ironman competitors together to host a clinic and talk about their experiences.  It was after talking to them that I knew I could do the half ironman that I signed up for.  I trained for 7 months leading up to my half ironman in Racine, WI in July.  The morning of the race I told myself that I didn’t care what my time was I just wanted to finish, but I did have a goal time in mind.  I ended up beating my goal time by an hour.  I was so proud of myself for improving my time and running the whole half marathon.  I was in no pain during the race or after.  I never thought in a million years that I would have completed a half ironman.  After all the training and time it took to prepare I had accomplished my goal.

At the end of the August, I traveled over to Louisville to watch the full Ironman competition.  I kayaked out on the river to watch the swim, drove to La Grange, and biked the run course.  It only took 20 minutes of watching the race that I knew I would sign up for the full.  On the way home, I called my sister and told her what I was planning to do.  She surprisingly told me that not only would she support me but, that she wanted to do it with me!! So now my sister and I get to spend the next year training together and accomplishing our goal together.  It is still crazy to me that in 2007 I could barely run a mile and now I am going to be participating in one of the most demanding races out there.

Jenna's Journey to Ironman 2012

It’s crazy to think that a girl who could barely run a mile has signed up to compete in an ironman.  In high school I was that girl who hated running, and dreaded the day in gym that we had to run the mile.  I was always an active person, but I viewed running as a punishment.  On the other hand, I have been swimming ever since I could walk.  I was on the swim team in high school and truly enjoyed my time in the water.  However, I believe it wasn’t until after college when I truly started to develop as an athlete.

            Without my sister, I know I would not be where I am today.  It was our brilliant idea to sign up for a local triathlon two weeks before the race, just to see if we could do it.  So you can imagine, there was very little training or preparation that went into this race.  I didn’t even have my own bike; I had to borrow one from a friend.  My sister and I quickly went from anxious and excited to nervous and scared when we arrived.  Seeing some extreme triathletes, we thought, “What have we gotten ourselves into?”  However, the race when surprisingly well, we both finished which is what we wanted to do.  This was the beginning of it all.

Since my first triathlon, I have come a long way.  Not only did I start training, but I also lost 60lbs in the process.  I went from just finishing to the head of the pack.  I have competed in triathlons in Evansville, Vincennes, and Nashville.  This year of the three sprint triathlons I did, I finished first in my age group in one race, and took second place in my age group at the other two.  All in all, I think I had a pretty successful triathlon season.        

            Unlike my sister, I have stuck with sprint triathlons yet I have trained with her for her Olympic triathlon as well as her half ironman.  I thought she was crazy when she said she wanted to do a half-iron man, and then she proposed this idea of doing an ironman.  I knew she was out of her mind.  On the day she went to Louisville to watch her first ever ironman, she called me during the race and said she was going to do it.  But she said she couldn’t do it unless she had my support.  I immediately said, I not only support you, but I will do it with you.  WHAT? Did I just agree to do an ironman?  Before I knew it, I had signed up, paid my entry fee, and began reading on what it takes to be an ironman.  This is going to be the greatest challenge I have ever faced, and I couldn’t imagine doing it with anyone else but my sister.