Look Out Triathlon World, Here I Come!

This week I've taken a short set of swimming lessons at the YMCA. In just one week I have gone from being a total non-swimmer to being a bad swimmer. I can sputter, cough, choke, and flail my way from one end of the pool to the other. I used to sputter, cough, choke, and flail but not actually go anywhere. It's a world of improvement!

The class consists of me and an African woman named Addie. We struggle in the pool while an audience of impatient children scowls at us. Our adult beginner class is from 2 - 2:30. After that it's open swim. The kids don't get to go in until Addie and I get out. They are less than understanding.

But I'll keep pluggin' away, and the next thing you know I'll be updating you on my first sprint tri.

Wish Me Luck!

The Boston Marathon

Man, these guys are fast. This time I was on the other side of the ropes. I was the dope trying to get a picture of these amazing athletes, and THIS is the best one I got. The guy that won, an Ethiopian named Deriba Merga, finished in 2:08:42. That's a pace of a 4:55 mile, and his final time is a full 12 minutes faster than my best HALF marathon.





This is Richard Whitehead of Nottingham, England. You might notice he's missing a couple of legs there. That didn't stop him from finishing the marathon about two hours faster than my time.










I've learned that running a marathon is simultaneously a humbling and inspiring experience. But I gotta tell you, I was feeling pretty humbled and inspired just watching some of these people go by.

The TATTOO!

This isn't exactly recent, but it's still worth showing off. After the Boston Marathon, I wanted to get a marathon based tattoo. I waited several months ponder, consider, mull, stew, meditate, and really make sure I thought it was a good idea. Now this is a close up of my left forearm. I designed the tattoo myself, and I am rather proud of it. Just in case you're perplexed by it:

A marathon is 26.2 miles

As for that spiffy border, Mercury's winged foot is a sort of universal emblem for runners. I like the way one flows into the next. I think it gives it a poetic sense of continuation, and creates a feel of actual running.

It also just looks really cool!

Just for the heck of it, here a link to see my tattoo artist's other work.

Check it out. Also, they've updated the NY marathon video, and that link is over on the right side under "VIDEOS". And, as always, you can link your way to my donation page, and keep those funds raising! THANKS!

Hyannis Half Marathon

Here's me, Suzanna, and the Jill's before the race. To be more specific:

Jill Mayorga in black, chemistry teacher
Jill Conroy in maroon, bio teacher
Suzanna with pigtails
Me, huge round head crammed into a gray hat

We all had smooth runs and a generally good time. At least as good a time as you can have running 13 miles on the Cape in February. Suzanna and I crushed our last half marathon time. In October, we finished a half in 2 hours and 27 minutes. We kicked Hyannis's butt in 2 hours and 19 minutes. To see pictures of this triumphant victory, look us up in the official race photos. Here's How:

1 - Click THIS LINK
2- Enter "Magnuson" in the name search
3- Laugh at how goofy we look

On a fun side note, the amazing Jill Conroy ran the FULL marathon. Her training schedule got thrown into disarray earlier this year, and her goal for Hyannis was to finish in under 4 hours. We were there to cheer her on as she crossed the finish line at 3:59:47. GO JILL!

There's more training to do, more miles to run,
more funds to raise, and more updates to come!

What Hole in the Wall did for ME...

I was proud to help support the camp, and I was proud of taking on the Boston Marathon. I just never suspected that it would get into my blood and my psyche the way that it did.

I did Boston because I thought if I was only going to do one marathon, why not make it the biggest, baddest, most famous marathon of all? But it took months of training in nasty weather, where I had to keep saying to myself:

"Keep going! Don't stop! Don't quit! Just keep running"

As it turns out, long after I crossed that finish line, that little motivational speaker in the back of my brain wouldn't shut up. So, Suzanna and I will doing our second half marathon together later this weekend (pictures to follow). I'll be doing my next full marathon in Vermont in May...just for fun! I'm hoping to take on my first little triathlon this summer. So Hole in the Wall not only changes the lives of its campers, but it turned me into and endurance athlete!

I'll keep you posted, you keep checking in, and keep those donations coming!

THANKS EVERYBODY!

What Hole in the Wall does for kids...

The Boston Marathon was a life changing event for me. The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp is a life changing place for kids battling disease. Bringing these two things together is greatest win-win situation ever.

I'll explain a bit about how a marathon changed my life in another post, but I'll let Paul Newman explain why the camp is so incredible (get your kleenex ready). Watch this video about Hole in the Wall.


The Hole In The Wall Gang Camp from The Camp Staff on Vimeo.