A Year Can Make a BIG Difference

One year ago today, Jeanne weighed 154 pounds, and that's after training with me for a month and dropping 6 pounds.

One year ago today, Jeanne had her ass off the couch and had trained enough to run/walk the Kevin Cook Spirit Run. It was her first event.

But not her last.

The Kevin Cook Spirit Run 2011 was to be Jeanne's pre-race for the Mission Inn Run 2011. That run was going to be Jeanne's BIG event in 2011.

Jeanne ran the Mission Inn Run 5k without stopping.Here we are with some of our fabulous fitness friends!!!

Turns out the Mission Inn Run was just a pre- for her REAL race......the race for health and fitness.

Jeanne decided she wanted to try a tri. But she didn't have a bike. So she went through all her old jewelry and gathered up an assortment of bracelets and rings and took it to the gold buyers.

Then we went shopping.

She had enough $$ to buy the smallest Giant.

Jeanne's first ride on the Santa Ana River Trail to the Beach..38 miles.

Jeanne was on the swim team in high school (okay, we won't talk about how many years ago that was).......so she is a great swimmer. She stopped swimming years ago, though, when she got married and had two girls and became a mom. Like a lot of women (me included for a while), she neglected herself for her family.

Her girls are in college now and she FINALLY she is taking care of herself.....and having fun!

Jeanne's first sprint triathlon was Tinsel Tri!

My friend Tanya, me and Jeanne. It was cold So Cal in December!

Training for triathlon was a lot of fun for Jeanne, until it was painful because of her hip issues. Doc gave her some injections and told her to rest.

She did spin classes, lifted weights and continued to swim. But for several weeks - NO RUNNING (dang, I can relate).

But she was could still ride a bike, so one morning Jeanne and I and a couple of other people rode our bikes to the Redlands Classic (road bike races in Redlands, CA).

Right before we left my house, Jeanne fell over in the street. You know we all do that once in a while. It was just a little topple over.

She got up and shook it off and said she was okay.

We rode the 18 miles there...up some hills and down some hills. We looked at the expo and ate a great pancake breakfast. Then we watched some fast racing.

Actual shot of great racing in Redlands.

On the way home, Jeanne says to me, "If I am going slow up this hill, I'm sorry. I think I broke my rib."

WHAT?????

Sure enough, X-rays showed she broke a rib when she fell over that morning....BEFORE the 36 mile bike ride.

The break was bad, but recovery was torturous.

She couldn't bike. She couldn't swim. She couldn't run. She couldn't hardly breath. She couldn't sit up. She couldn't lie down. She just COULDN'T!

She missed out on her first open water swim triathlon because she was injured.

But as soon as she was "sort-of, kind-of" healed up, she was ready for her first open water swim in a lake.

Don't tell the doc she was out swimming, biking and running a couple of weeks before she was suppose to.

Me, our friend Barb and Orietta and Jeanne at June Tri Series Triathlon. Jeanne was down to 126 pounds. Woot-Woot!!!! It was Barb's first open water swim also. She did it without a wetsuit. Neither Barb nor Jeanne had any open water swim practice before the race. Uhm, but Barb was on the USA National Synchronized Swimming Team for many years and she is a swim WHIZ!!! Orietta didn't wear a wetsuit either, but she grew up swimming in the Pacific Ocean in Ensenada. Orietta is FASSSSST and likes cold water. Of everyone in this picture I am the newbie swimmer...and I am 11 years younger than it says on my arm, and I learned how to REALLY swim in the past year....so do the math!!!!

BACK TO TODAY!!!!!

Jeanne has lost a total of 36 pounds and she is an ATHLETE!

She has changed her eating habits and she does some form of exercise - run, bike, swim (yeah, I have to hit her over the head to get her to lift weights), hike, walk the dog...almost everyday!

This year I did not pace Jeanne on the Kevin Cook Spirit Run. She ran the entire 5k on her own.



She ran the race AFTER she tried out the bike rack.

Jeanne coming into the finish line today at the Kevin Cook Spirit Run.

She finished 30 pounds lighter than last year.

Congratulations Jeanne!