Aloha and Mahalo

To all those who have pledged and all those who have trained with me and supported me, thank you so very much.

This crazy idea of raising funds for The Peter Emily International Veterinary Dental Foundation all started one morning when I woke up, stepped on the scale, groaned at my 164 pounds of flab and promptly announced that I wanted to regain that feeling of being fit and trim. It also serves to keep me honest with my training when I advertise to the world my intent to finish an Ironman in order to raise moneys for a worthy cause.

This will be my 6th Ironman. The race date is November 29 in Cozumel, Mexico. I will swim 2.4 miles in the pristine ocean of the Caribbean. Maybe the dolphins will show up to play. We then hop on the bikes and ride 112 miles around the island, across the island, down the coast, up the coast and back and then do it again. It's a small island. After we drop off our bikes at the transition we don our foot gear to run 26.2 miles around the island, across the island, up the coast and back and then do it again to finish at the town plaza. My goal, as always is to finish without up-chucking. Beyond that, I am striving to qualify for the Championships in Hawaii for 2010. And of course, to bring awareness to the Foundation and raise funds to purchase much needed equipment.

My training is going well. There is plenty of time on those long rides, swims and runs to perform mental gymnastics. Thoughts race, no pun intended, through, around, in and out of my brain. I can only wish that my swimming, running and biking can keep up with the head.

Thank you for your support. I hope you enjoy my thoughts "from the saddle".