Wow, I missed writing in my blog the entire month of May! It's been a very crazy month for me and my family. For the last several months I have been studying for the ACE Group Fitness Certification. It was a much larger undertaking than I had imagined. I wanted to expand my knowledge of the human body and how exercise plus nutrition shapes our bodies. The knowledge gained would help with the choreography that goes along with Zumba as to what moves will help tone certain muscles. I am proud to say that I passed the exam on May 10th, and even surprised myself because it had been 26 years since my last exam in college! I learned so much and want to keep gaining more and more knowledge.
Right on the heels of the ACE exam was a trip to Houston to see my brother Jon-Paul Shores (http://jpsbikelife.blogspot.com/) and both of my brother-in-laws Scott Sharp (http://apps.facebook.com/konainspired/?x=us_facebookapp_297_4) and Brian Sharp (a 3 time Ironman) compete in the Ironman on May 19th. The day before was my Birthday so it sweetened the deal!
I don't know if words can describe the event. An Ironman is 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking and a full 26.6 mile Marathon. There were 2800 entries of combined men and women. The training for something like this event is like having a part time job. The starting time was 7am and they had to finish before midnight to avoid being disqualified. I am happy to report that all three finished the race! Our family followed them the whole way, and I felt like I had run a marathon by the time it was over.
The swim was the craziest sight to start off this most amazing and long day. As you can see from the picture everyone was just about on top of each other. Truly the survival of the fittest.
The biking portion ran in the 6-8 hour range and we would only get to see them once. The family went to breakfast, and then took the children to the mall to play for awhile. In my head I kept thinking "they are still going".
The Marathon portion would allow us to see them at various stages. For awhile the family was spread out, then we all settled in one area where the children could play in the fountains. Houston is very hot and humid.
Finally, the victory of finishing the Ironman. Scott finished 12:48, Brian 12:55.39 and Jon-Paul 14:58.30. To say that I am proud of all three of them would be an understatement. Hard work and dedication pay off if you can have the patience to go the distance. There are so many life lessons in the stories of all who participate in the Ironman.
A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.
Christopher Reeve
Congratulations to all three of my Heroes!!
