Christmas Party with the Kids from Glen Dhu

On Friday afternoon, Ethan and I headed over to Glen Dhu Public School to enjoy our annual Christmas party with Tavis and his friends at Glen Dhu Public School.  Tavis is one of four students with varying degrees of disabilities in a small class at Glen Dhu PS - Shaun, Jacob and Teresa make up the class.  Tavis attended junior kindergarden at Campbell School in Grandview Children's Centre.  Since then, he has been at Glen Dhu. 

Each one of these children in Tav's class has been helped by Grandview Children's Centre in one way or another over the years.  Mr. Howe, Tav's teacher, was gracious enough to let me speak for a few minutes about Ironman Texas and my fundraiser.  Even these parents were amazed to hear that there are over 1,000 children on the list waiting for the services offered by Grandview. 

Over the years that Tav has been at Glen Dhu, many children have come and gone thru his class.  To walk in and see each of these kids struggling every day is a humbling experience.  I make it a point to go around and greet each one of the kids and hold their hands - they are so happy and the smiles would melt your heart - and so would the smiles of their parents. 

Recently a friend told me I was just amazing because I keep smiling even though I have a special needs child.  I am not amazing.  I am a mom who smiles because she has a special needs child.  Tavis rocks my world everyday.  I know every parent of a challenged child feels the same way.  I have been blessed with a happy, healthy son and for that I am so grateful. 

In June, Tavis' friend, Daniel that he had gone to school with for seven years passed away at 16 years old. How his parent's survived losing their only child is beyond me.  I am thinking of them often during this season and wondering how they are getting through their first Xmas without Daniel. 

Ethan and I enjoyed our afternoon with Tav's friends.  Unfortunately, Glen had to work and could not attend. We watched a slide show of the kids' activities since the start of the school year, ate too many goodies and shared laughs with the other parents and kids.

Lisa

Wednesday spin draws to a close

Well the fall session of Wednesday night spin is over and what a way to end.  The intensity of this session of spin class increased substantially after Coach Paul's trip to Mt. Tremblant.  I have been doing Paul's spin classes for years starting back when we used to do them at the Whitby Rec Centre.  I am not sure if it is because I am getting older but each session seems to be more difficult than the last.  While I never think I will need to be in big gear 12 at a 100 cadence for 2 minutes during a race, I always do what Paul asks me to in spin class.  When I look out and see how hard everyone is pushing themselves in spin class and I see the pools of sweat forming under each bike, I know everyone is doing what Paul asks as well.  Sometimes it is painful - not just the burning quad muscles - but also having to listen to Paul's jokes, but each week you come back with stronger and stronger legs and this is what is going to get me up the hills in Mt. Tremblant.

Last night my friend Ursula struggled a bit on the bike and asked me why do we keep doing this to ourselves.  Not every class can be amazing - there are going to be classes when nothing comes together and these classes can be frustrating.  Ursula is an absolute amazon on the bike and her leg strength is formidable.  Even someone like Ursula can have a bad night.  Its learning to accept that that was just one bad class and putting aside and moving on and I know Ursula will be back with her usual sunny smile and disposition next spin class.

Well I promised Giselle I would shorten my blog because she does not have time to read it.

'Til the next session of Wednesday night spin class,

Lisa

Success One Pound at a Time

Just a short note.  The scales were kind to me last night.  I am down 9 lbs in the last month and my body fat is down 2.2%.  I have a habit of becoming fixated on how far I have to go - be it my training or my weight - and my husband keeps reminding me I have to remember how far I have come and to savour each little victory.

Lisa

The battle of the bulge

Well tonight is my official weigh in and I find out as well how my body fat is doing.  It is a fine balance between what I eat and how much I exercise to get that scale going in the right direction.

In 2009, I went to Christine Charest-Monty about my desire to drop alot of weight before Ironman Lake Placid in July.  The only deal I made with Christine was that no matter what I told her about what I had done to by body over the years, she could not hit me.  She kept her word but I am sure she wanted to belt me a few times especially when I told her that I had even done Dr. Bernstein.

In my teenage years I became anorexic and my entire adult life has been yo yo dieting.   I have tried every diet - Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, the cabbage soup diet, the maple syrup/lemon juice fast, etc.  I was always in it for the quick fix.  I was born and raised in a rural area where we grew all our own vegetables which my mom canned every year and had an orchard beside out home with apples and pears.  To this day, I am not a package food/processed kind of person.


When I went to see Christine in March 2009, I was very frustrated in that I was being very diligent in what I was eating and the scale was not moving.  For 2 weeks, I kept a record of everything I ate and handed it in to Chris.  It did not take her long to figure out I was starving myself and my body was hanging on to whatever weight it could. 

Chris understands the caloric needs of an endurance athlete.  It took alot for me to get used to eating when I was not hungry.

Chris provided me with an eating plan.  I swear I ate so much I went around with a pouchy "Thanksgiving Day" stomach for two weeks.  I was eating non stop and the weight started to fall off.  I did my Ironman in July 30 lbs lighter.

I am a total depression eater and the last couple of years have been really hard for me.  Kev's battle with cancer and his subsequent death devastated me and I went on binge of either starving myself or eating everything and my weight and health has suffered because of it.  I was diagnosed with clinical depression and saw a psychologist for a year to help me to come to terms with learning to live my life without my brother.  I am still on anti-depressants.   I am also B12 deficient and now have weekly injections.  It is really sad the damage I have done to my body over the years (including being an ex smoker) and now I am asking it to do an Ironman. 

Recently, I have started to see a light at the end of the tunnel.  I am feeling stronger mentally and physically each day and I am getting my health back on track with the help of Christine and Paul.  I am so focused on Ironman Texas and my fundraiser - I have been putting 110% into my workouts. My fundraiser is for my son and in memory of my brother -neither of whom I want to disappoint.

Hopefully tonight that scale will be kind to me.  I hope it is kind to my friend Jeff Drinkle as well.

Lisa

My Ironman Family

The day of a triathlon you are on your own, but the road to get there is one filled with the influences of others.  This is my triathlon family.  Each person is equally as important as the other and together they make up the team that gets me to race day.

First I have my coach, Paul Johnston.  Paul and I have been together for 7 years - from my first try-a-tri to my Iroman and of course, he will be travelling to Texas with me in May, 2012.  Our relationship has not been without its bumps - I have a tendency to try to accomodate everyone's schedule but my own and this leads to serious complications when Paul has spent time and effort to set up a schedule for me.  It has taken me a long time to learn to be selfish when it comes to my training and if you want to do well and achieve your goals, you do have to be selfish, at least for a while. 

Three weeks before Ironman Lake Placid 2009 I tore muscles in my left calf and thought my dreams of an ironman were over.  Paul did not give up on me.  He met me at the pool most every morning and worked with me to keep me strong without stressing the leg.  When we had our coach/athlete meeting a few days before the race, I sat on the couch in front of Paul fighting back tears because I was so sure there was no way I could do the race.  Paul calmly told me that I could.  Every picture of me on race day I had a huge smile on my face because Paul was right.  After crossing the finish line and being congratulated by my family and Sue Typert and her family, the first person I looked for was Paul.

Over the years, our relationship has evolved and I know that when that day comes that I am no longer doing triathlons that Paul and I will still be friends.  When I lost my beloved brother Kevin, the pain of losing him was almost more than I could bear and each day is still a struggle.  Paul got cried on alot over the last two years  - I think that is why he wears a waterproof vest.  He and Patty made the trip to Brigden to attend my brother's funeral and that in itself meant so much to me.  For the past year while I have struggled to come to terms with losing Kevin, Paul has stood by and pushed when I needed it and stepped back when I was at the breaking point.  I don't imagine I would have enjoyed the sport or stayed in it as long without Paul.

Next is my nutritionist and friend, Christine Charest-Monty.  I have known Christine as long as I have known Paul - they kind of go hand in hand.  I went to see Christine about my nutrition in March 2009 before my Ironman.  I thought I was fairly savy about my nutrition until Christine told me I was starving myself.  Being an ironman herself, she knows what an endurance athlete needs.  5 months later I was eating enough for a family of 5 (or so I thought) and was 43 lbs lighter.  In addition to her wealth of knowledge about nutrition, Christine is an amazing friend and she really cares about people.

Also I count as part of my team, Dr. Jason Taylor, my chiropractor.  I swear - from this man's hands to god.  The year before I started see Jason, I had spent a fortune on physiotherapy for the arthritis in my left hip.  The pain had gotten so bad, I had no running on my schedule.  Jason treated me 2 times a week for a month and that was the end of the hip pain.  I still see Jason once a week for "maintenance".

My massage therapist is Chris Agaton and I see him as well once a month for maintenance.  Chris has thumbs of steel and I swear sometimes after a deep tissue massage that I feel worse leaving his office than I did when I went in but he keeps me limber and knot-free.

I also consider those people that I train with to be part of my ironman family because on those long hot rides in the summer, they are the ones that keep you motivated.  My friend, Susan Typert, is the best person in the world to train with.  She keeps me laughing all the time and never lets me give up.  Although I could not talk her into doing Ironman Texas with me, she will be there to cheer me on. 

Perhaps the most important person of my ironman team is my husband Glen.  No one ever sees Glen until race day because he is at home taking care of Tavis and Ethan.  On race day, he stays until the last member of Iron Motivation or the DRTC has crossed the finished line and takes the most amazing photographs.  He then makes up disks of the photos and distributes them.  More often than not, I don't buy the finisher's photograph because Glen has taken better photos.
 
Without Glen manning the home front, I would never be able to do triathlons.   Some Saturdays I am out the door by 6:00 for my long rides and he and kids don't see me again until late afternoon.  He does the laundry, cleans the house, and feeds the kids all so that I can have the time to train.  He puts my bike and trainer into the van every Wednesday night and Saturday morning and then takes them out when I get home.  He knows of Paul's evil plan to try and kill me at spin class and that I am so wiped out when I get home.  He knows how much doing triathlons means to me and he is incredibly supportive.  He is an amazing person and I know how fortunate I am to have him.

Well that is my team.  Without anyone of them, I would not be able to do triathlons and on race day, I might be alone out there in The Midlands in 38 degree heat in Texas but my team is with me always encouraging me every step of the way.

Things Not to Do on a Triathlon

I have been doing triathlons for about 7 years and it has been a slow learning curve.  So I thought I would assemble a few things I have learned over the years.

1.  Do not do a race in a wetsuit if you have never worn one before.  See previous blog about Cobourg.  It is an entirely different experience swimming in a wet suit. 

2.  Do not take eyes off the road even if a hot shirtless man is mowing his lawn.  Did this at the Musselman Half Ironman in 2010 and slid off the road into sand and crashed my new bike going about 33 km/h resulting in torn shorts,  split forehead above left eye and loss of about 5 lbs of skin from road rash.  Every step of the run was agony and a painful reminder to keep eyes on road!!

3.  Do not try out new products the day of a race even when they say "designed for women by women" - especially an ironman.  Decided to try out some new "YooHoo" cream on the day of Ironman Canada 2011.  For someone who has such sensitive skin that I burn if I stand too close to a 50 watt lightbult and cannot use Crest toothpaste because it burns the skin on my face, I am not sure why I thought it was a good idea to try MINT YooHoo cream instead of my usual butt butter on race day.  That is a burning sensation only rivaled by a bladder infection.  The first hour of the race was interesting.  There is no truth in advertising.

4.  Do not chew Sharkies when outside running if temperature drops below -10 degrees.  They freeze and lock onto your teeth like cement glue.  Then you have to wait until you run home and thaw out before you can open your mouth. 

5.  Run in your socks even if they are wet.  At the Muskoka 70.3 in 2008, it poured torrential rain the entire day.  When I got off the bike in transition, I had dry socks tucked into my running shoes and covered with a garbage bag.  Apparently I missed the herd of elephants that ran over my gear in transition because my stuff was strewn all over the place and my socks were soaked.  So I made the questionable decision to run without socks.  I really did not notice anything chafing until I hit a water puddle at 18 kms and thought someone had set my ankles on fire.  It had gone beyond chafing to gouges all around both ankles.  The last 3 kms were painful and I ran right into the medical tent.  It took forever for the wounds to heal.  See pictures below.  I still finished the race.

6.  Finally my friend Susan's favourite.  Wash all racing apparel before the race.  I purchased a new tri suit for the run at Ironman Lake Placid 2009.  I did not want to wash it - I wanted it pristine with all the good mojo still on it.  Despite injuring my calf muscle about 3 weeks before Ironman, I had a fabulous time doing the Ironman and smiled all day.  On the run I noticed that I was scratching a bit on the personal girl parts and assumed one of my gels had slid down inside my suit during the run - I had them tucked all over my suit including under my shoulder straps.  I finished the race and when we went back to the hotel after it was over, I was changing out of my tri suit and looked down and realized it was not a gel - I still had the crotch protector on my tri suit.  Sadly this was the suit that I tore falling off my bike at Musselman.

So there are are few hard learned lessons about what not to do training for a triathlon.  I hope my experiences save a lot of people from a lot of embarrassment.

Lisa

How It All Began

My Inspiration:

From early days, the only way to calm Tavis was motion so I carried him around in a snuggly at home.  We also walked laps around Whitby in the double stroller with his twin Ethan.  He loved to be outside and constantly moving.  Tav and I continued our walking for a couple years.  We invested in a running stroller and he became my partner and coach.  

I had heard of the Running Room and my husband suggested that since I was enjoying the running so much that maybe I should take one of the running courses offered.  I opted to do the Learn to Run on line because I thought I would be the oldest fatest person at the Running Room.   When I ran with Tavis, he was my heart rate monitor.  I usually ran talking or singing to him so when I got so out of breathe that was no longer possible, I knew it was time to slow down.  Tavis is non verbal but when he was in that running stroller, he never stopped communicating.  He giggled and talked to himself and yelled at me - I like to think he was yelling encouragement to me, especially on hills, and not actually laughing at my efforts.  The best runs were Saturday mornings when we got up and ran to the Marina in Whitby.  We would stop and sit on a bench and I describe to Tavis the lake, the boats at the Marina, birds, anything that I saw. 

When I ran without my son, I was surprised at my speed and distance but I was equally aware of how lonely I was without him.  I missed the squeals when we bounced up over a curb, I missed watching his little shoes kicking in the stroller, I missed telling him about my day, but most of all I missed the smile on his face when we got home and I bent down to pick him up out of the running stroller and would say “good run Tav”.  If it came down to a choice between being alone and running farther and faster or taking it slower with my son, Tavis won hands down every time.  I am no longer able to run with Tavis.  We have been unable to find a running stroller to accommodate his length and let’s face it - he is getting bigger and I am getting older. There are running strollers designed for special needs children but the cost is exorbitant.

I eventually did attend the Running Room in person.  One night they had a speaker come to talk about triathlons - a certain Paul Johnston.  At the conclusion of his talk, he said that he knew that at least one person in our group would do an Ironman - I swear he was looking right at me.  I went home and told Glen about it.  I had always been fascinated by triathlons and especially the amazing store of Rick and Dick Hoyt.  So I signed up for Paul's beginner triathlon classes at the Whitby Rec Centre.  The first night I went over and asked Paul's right hand, Christine Charest-Monty who was also the mother of twins, a year younger than mine, how she found the time to train for a triathlon.  She told me, if you want to do one, you will find the time.

The training was for three months.  I had a mountain bike and no idea how to swim.  The only thing I could do was run but I persevered.

Our try-a-tri was Guelph Lake.  The day of the race it was about 35 degrees in the shade and the try-a-tri started at 2:00 p.m.  I stood on the shore with Paul as he pointed out the bouys and decided I was not going to do the race.  I still think that Paul was just helping me into the water with that friendly shove but I may be wrong.  I used every stroke imagineable in the water and made up some new ones.  Lost my water bottle on the bike since I had no idea how to ride and drink at the same time.  The run was gruesome.  When I crossed the finish line - Paul has video - I was completely purple and had a white ring around my mouth from dehydration.  I cross the finish line and broke into tears when my husband hugged me and I told him I was never doing a triathlon again.  Glen said it might not be a good time to point out that I had already signed up for Paul's Summer Challenge and registered for the sprint in Cobourg.

I did not fare much better at the sprint in Cobourg.  I used a wet suit for the first time.  It was pouring rain, the water was choppy and if I could have wrestled that stupid thing off, I would have and left it at the bottom of the lake.  The kayaker came over to see if I was having an asthma attack.  I wanted to quit so badly but I always do my triathlons with my sons initials painted on my toenails so I ket thinking about my toenails and my Tavis and I kept swimming.  When I got out of the water, I was once again purple and crying.  Paul was an official that day and he came over to me when I was in transition and asked me what was wrong.  He told me to calm down and take it easy on my bike - my new Cannondale which I had got the week before and still had not learned to clip out of.  I jumped on my bike and away I went.  I fell off my bike on one of the hills and walked it but got back on.  In any event, I finished the race.

After my first season doing triathlons it was surprising I ever went back but by then Paul had his hooks in me and I had met my good friends Sue Typert and John Raccovali.  We have since done all our triathlons together including Ironman Lake Placid in 2009. 

I will be on my own for Ironman Texas 2012.  Sue will be there to cheer me on along with my amazing husband Glen who makes it possible for me to do triathlons at all.

I often wonder what would have happened if I have not been at that class at the Running Room and never met Paul.  I would be richer, probably fatter but I would not have met the amazing people that I now I call my friends and witnessed so many incredible stories.

The Reasons for the Journey

Six months from today on May 19th, 2012 I will be competing in Ironman Texas in The Woodlands, Texas.  My reasons for entering this race are twofold.  I want to honour the two "Ironmen" in my life - my son Tavis and my brother Kevin.

Tavis: 

Twelve years ago, my husband and I were blessed with the arrival of twin boys.  Due to complications during my pregnancy, the boys arrived 7 weeks premature and were delivered by emergency c-section weighing in at 3 lbs 3oz and 4 lbs 2 ozs - Tavis and Ethan.  Tavis was born with no vital signs but after a few minutes they were able to revive him.  For two days we were unsure whether Tavis, the smaller twin, would survive but he pulled through and after extensive testing we were told he had no residual problems from his difficult birth.  Eight months later, Tavis started having seizures and we were shattered to learn that Tavis had cerebral palsy (specifically spastic quadraplegia meaning all four of his limbs were affected), cortical visual impairment, and a spinal cyst. 

Today Tavis is twelve years old, non verbal, non mobile and confined to a wheelchair.  He has a wicked sense of humour and an infectious laugh.  To meet him is to love him.

Kevin:

Through every phase of my life, my brother Kevin was there for me.  Though we both married, had our own spouse and children, Kevin and I maintained a close relationship.  He was the epitome of what an older brother should be.  He loved me unconditionally but when I was in the wrong, he pulled no punches.

About 6 years ago, Kev started to not feel well.  The diagnosis was colon cancer.  Kev told me he was going to beat the cancer and he would be fine.  

5 years later after 3 years of chemotherapy, 5 weeks of radiation and 8 major surgeries my brother Kevin lost his battle with cancer and passed away at home on September 25^th, 2010 at 50 years of age surrounded by his wife of 29 years, Debra and his two children Meagan and Chad.

For 5 years I watched my brother battle against a demon he could not defeat.  The cancer would disappear in one spot, only to reappear in another.  Through it all Kevin maintained his dignity and grace.  He continued to farm - to plants his crops every spring and harvest them in the fall.  Every morning and evening he went out to feed his cattle.  He even drove other cancer patients to chemotherapy when they were too sick to do so.  When you asked him how he was, he was always “fine”.  He expected sympathy from no one and continued on his life as if the cancer was merely an inconvenience.  Ironman training is nothing compare to what Kevin endured in his fight to live.

I see Kevin everyday in my son Tavis.  Tav resembles his uncle with his big blue eyes and his funny patch of white hair at the back of his head that Kevin had when he was younger.  But mostly I see Kevin in the way that Tavis tackles life.  Everyday Tav, with an unrivalled perseverance, tries to do things we take for granted.  His fine motor skills are minimal, he is unable to feed himself, or dress himself and he is confined to a wheelchair but he takes it all in stride and he faces everyday with a smile.  He has accepted what life has given him and he is okay with it.

My ironman in Texas will be a fundraiser to support Grandview Children's Centre in Oshawa, Ontario.  Tavis first attended Grandview Children’s Centre for therapy when he was a year old.  The screaming and the crying – both me and Tav – must have scared the daylights out of the staff but the amazing therapists would continue on even though their ears must have been hurting from Tavis’ screaming and never lost patience with him.  Throughout the last 11 years Tavis has seen the therapists at Grandview for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. 

I am not sure what we would have done without Grandview.  Grandview has made arrangements for us to purchase equipment such as a wheelchair, car seat and braces; monitored and scheduled appointments for AFO fittings; supplied equipment; arranged to have someone look at our home for possible renovations; arranged appointments with doctors, hospitals; provided reports for our insurance company; and so much more.

When I decided to register for Ironman Texas 2012, I knew that I wanted to do a fundraiser in honour of my brother Kevin.   My husband Glen and I decided to do the fundraiser for Grandview Children’s Centre for a number of reasons.  Grandview has been constant in Tav’s life since he was a year old and we wanted to be able to somehow repay Grandview for all of their assistance over the years.  I was shocked to  recently learn that there are over 1,000 children on a waiting list for the services that Grandview offers and I am so delighted to be able to help Grandview in any way that I can.

My son Tavis is an Ironman to me.  I train for over a year for an ironman race and the day of the race arrives, I compete and it is over.  Tav’s ironman training is for life.  He never gets a day off from training, he never gets to hear the cheering of the crowd as he crosses the finish line, and he never gets to have a medal placed around his neck that tells the world that he has competed in one of the most gruelling endurance events ever.  He doesn’t, but he should.