Eventually, after much searching, Goldie found a plan that seemed almost “just right.”  It was 20 weeks, just like she wanted, and in general, it was at an appropriate skill level for her.

However, Goldie was an experienced “roadie,” and she wished that some of the bike workouts were more challenging. Also, she was planning on doing STP in one day this season, and needed to fit in some extra-long rides.  And while Goldie was quite the roadie, she was most definitely not a fish, and had been hoping to spend an extra training day in the water to work on her swimming technique. Oh, and there was the little matter of working weekends—she would need to do her long bikes/runs during the week, rather than on the weekend as the plan prescribed. Goldie also wasn’t so sure that a rest week every fourth week was the way to go for her. In previous seasons she had noticed that she never felt quite recovered from her workouts, and wondered if a rest week every third week would be better.

As Goldie considered all the customizations she needed to make to the plan before her, she wished she had someone to help her. It was difficult to figure out where and  how to add more intensity to the bike, lengthen  rides, add in an extra swim, move the long workouts to the weekdays,  change the frequency of the rest weeks, and fit all the workouts together so that she didn’t have too many hard workouts back to back. She also had a number of questions about specific workouts and wished she could ask someone with experience in creating training plans.

As some people tell it, Goldie became frustrated and scared and ran all the way home, never to return to the forest of training plans again. But I know the true, fairytale ending:  An enthusiastic Raise the Bar member happened upon her at just the right moment and encouraged her to join Raise the Bar. Goldie joined the team and took advantage of the option to hire

an RTB coach to sit down with her and customize her almost-just-right plan into a plan that was just right for Goldie. And she raced happily ever after. The End.

Interested in seeing RTB’s Training Plan selection?  Click Here

Sunday, October 16 at 11 AM

ice cream run – 3 mi

ice cream run – 5 mi

ice cream run – 5 mi directions

ice cream run – 9 mi

Dave Scott and Mark Allen in an epic battle

By Dave Scott
Triathlete magazine

When I first began my career as a triathlete in 1976, quality coaching came from within. The sport of triathlon was still new, and hiring a triathlon coach was simply not an option.

There were many great coaches representing each individual sport, but none that could link the three disciplines together. Thus, it was in my interest to research and study the many variables involved in achieving results.

In the early days, I thought more was better, so I logged huge miles on the bike. For example, in preparation for the 1981 Ironman I took part in a local bike tour. I think I took one bottle of water and one banana on the 210k ride. And while there were many aid stations along the way, I made my first stop at the 150k mark. I may have eaten my banana there.

As I carried on in the tour I began to realize that I was having trouble remaining strong and alert. I remember seeing a number of road signs warning me of a steep decent with a sharp turn. The next thing I remember is being on the pavement with several people standing around me. Then I awoke nine hours later in the hospital with 109 stitches in my head. I never forgot that lesson: the importance of understanding exercise physiology, endurance nutrition and the make-or-break significance of pulling it all together.

Today, there’s no shortage of training information, tips and tricks circulating in every form of media. The challenge now isn’t finding the information, it’s filtering out the proven methodologies from the unproven or just plain foolhardy advice. A well-trained coach can help you filter out the nonsense and keep you focused on the task of reaching your personal athletic goals. But how do you choose a coach that’s right for you?

The Coach’s Role

To start, find a coach with a solid understanding of exercise physiology and the functions of workload. Preferably this individual has an education that includes in-depth study of exercise physiology, kinesiology, anatomy, nutrition and sports psychology.

This, coupled with real-life experience as an athlete, lays the foundation for a solid coach. In addition, a good coach must also possess a solid grasp of training fundamentals, such as cross-referencing key indicators including speed, heart rate, watts and perceived exertion.

Getting Started

Part of putting these fundamentals into practice involves the selection of marker sets to establish your baseline indicators and to assess your progress throughout the season. Only from this point can a truly customized coaching program be designed for you to ensure you reach your goals.

Then, taking into consideration the full calendar of activities you plan to participate in, your coach will design your program based on the principle of periodization: developing your fitness within a series of micro-cycles that target different training metrics such as strength, endurance and speed, interspersed with adequate periods of rest and recovery to ensure you keep building from cycle to cycle.

Once your program has been created, it’s important for your coach to monitor your training and recognize the symptoms of over-reaching and over-training. Each training cycle must have a clear purpose and must effectively prepare you for the subsequent phase. Building in recovery during each micro-cycle is critical, as all too often I see athletes arrive at race day over-trained, injured or doubting their abilities.

Here is my report on the 2^nd Annual Finish Strong Sprint Triathlon at Lake Tye Park, Monroe, WA, which was apparently not on the RTB radar this year—no one else there but me, as far as we could tell.  Got plenty of RTB love anyway from my support group, Kris.

The course consisted of a ¼ mile swim w/ beach start, a 14 mile mostly flat out-and-back bike course w/ a couple of small hills, and a 3.1 mile flat run on paved trail.  There was also an Olympic distance tri covering the same terrain twice.

Swim was uneventful.  Came into transition 55/160 overall and 3/6 age group.  Swim time of 10:47 seemed high until I considered my slow jog/slog up the beach to transition probably used up 2 minutes of that, so on target for actual swim pace.

I had not practiced, nor even thought a lot about transitions this year.  That showed as I struggled to………….put on socks.  Next race, I’ll take time to dry feet thoroughly, use thinner smoother socks, and powder them inside beforehand.  T1 time of 2:35.01 felt more like 10.

Bike was also uneventful.  I mostly concentrated on keeping a high cadence, hoping to preserve leg strength.  Finished with a 16.5 mph pace, not too far off target.

T2 of 41.6 seconds.  No more sock issues.

In 5 sprints last year, I never once completed the run w/o walking some of it.  Heading out from transition this day was again slow and painful, but this time I at least kept shuffling along until my legs began to slowly return to some semblance of life.  It helped that the course was absolutely flat, and also that my run training had improved a lot over last year.  Finishing this leg of the race w/o walking was a victory in itself for me.  Clocked a 10:31/mile pace, slower than target but plenty good enough for today.

Total time was 1:37.33.3, putting me at 99/160 overall, and 6/6 age group (less than a minute behind 5^th).

In conclusion, I would recommend this race next year to fellow RTBers for the following reasons.  The course itself is flat and fast (good for athletes of all levels of fitness, experience and ability), it’s also spectator friendly (open space, ample on-site parking, restrooms, kid’s play area, shelters), the race logistics were well-managed (http://finishstrongevents.com/) with professional timing services by BUDU, AND there was ice cream post-race.

Melissa LaFlamme blazes through the creek crossing. photo courtesy of Dennis Crane www.dbcphoto.com

A strong field of women stepped up to the plate this year to set course records in all disciplines.  Rebecca Staynor (Vancouver, BC) exited the water 3rd overall in 15:45 – just 32 seconds behind swim leader Nigel Davies on the unique swim course that requires the athletes to exit at the turnaround and cross the infamous “XTERRA Island”.

Rebecca’s lead was eventually snatched up by race favorites Keri Grosse and Melissa LaFlamme and new bike course record holder, Kristin Jo Markham (Olymipa, WA) who murdered the old record by more than 3 minutes at 1:35:01.  All the women would take podium spots behind eventual winner, Melissa LaFlamme, (Vancouver, BC), who put strong performances together in all 3 disciplines and won with a time of 2:45:03.  2-time XTERRA Black Diamond winner Keri Grosse (Leavenworth, WA) was second in 2:48 and Kristin Jo Markham held on for 3rd in 2:54.

Saturday’s course pre-ride presented by Set Coaching’s Jason Jablonski was widely attended by future participants.  39 of them met Jason to ride the Kriss Chiropractic bike course that has the reputation of being a “real mountain bike course”, warned Jablonski to the participants.  Two 7.5 mile loops of almost 100% rocky, twisty, rolling single track through thick forest gives every participant something to be proud of at the finish line.

Eric Atwood - 3rd Place overall. photo courtesy of Dennis Crane www.dbcphoto.com

Jablonski (Wenatchee, WA) would end up being the overall winner of the men’s race, posting a finish time of 2:17:08, 10 minutes ahead of 2nd place finisher Mathieu Signoretty (Sammamish, WA) and XBD race veteran Eric Atwood (Sammamish, WA) who crossed just behind Signoretty in 2:27:35.

Happening alongside XTERRA Black Diamond this year was the 54-participant “REMAX Leading Edge Kids ROCK Triathlon” and  ”Raise the Bar’s Half Terra”, in which athletes completed a race exactly half the distance of the official XTERRA event.

“We realize a lot of athletes are a little intimidated by the reputation of our bike course.  We were hoping by offering a race with only one loop of the bike and run courses, we’d help bring more interest to off-road racing and XTERRA”, according to race director,  Toby Mollett.  It seems to have worked, according to Ann Sloan of Bellevue, WA – first-time off-road participant.  ”I signed up to do the Half Terra so I would finish wanting to do the full next year and it totally met expectations!!”

Future XTERRA Stars. photo courtesy of Dennis Crane of www.dbcphoto.com

In 2005, Danny’s father, age 61, died of a heart attack while exercising at the gym in his home state of Hawaii. He was one week away from visiting his granddaughter (Danny’s daughter) for the first time. It was sobering to lose his dad at such a young age; but Danny, then 28, didn’t even consider the idea that he himself may be at risk for heart disease. “He drank and smoked too much. I take better care of myself than him,” Danny remembers thinking.

Danny’s doctor visit was a wake up call; he knew he needed to reignite his childhood passion for sports. Growing up Danny was very athletic; he played baseball, soccer, and basketball, and as early as age 8, he ran 5k races. As a young child, Danny watched the Ironman World Championships, and vowed to himself that he would be an Ironman someday. As Danny left the doctor’s office, a clear path to his heart-health began to form in his mind; his “someday” was now on the horizon.

Now 34, there is no doubt in Danny’s mind that he will be an Ironman; he speaks about that day with certitude. But for Danny, becoming an Ironman will be the culmination of a long, patient, deliberate, 5 or 6 year journey. It will take time to build the fitness he needs, after being essentially inactive from junior high until his early thirties. Danny has already chipped away at several milestones. Soon after his fated doctor appointment, he began to eat healthier foods and joined a gym.  But Danny discovered he needed something to train for in order to motivate himself to exercise. In the summer of 2009, his wife, Stacy, asked him if he wanted to compete in a duathlon that was coming up in a few weeks. So, with a total of two training runs under he belt, Danny competed in his first duathlon, in Elma, Washington.

In January of 2010 Danny started training in earnest. He took on the Mount Rainier Duathlon, and was working towards a half marathon; but Danny learned the hard way that he needed to build a solid running base, and increase his mileage slowly. After the duathlon, his knees were shot, and he wasn’t able to compete in the half marathon. Once recovered, however, Danny started training again. He competed in his first triathlon, the Issaquah Sprint, as well as the Ellensburg Sprint, and several organized bike rides and 5ks. Most importantly, Danny went back to the doctor, and his blood pressure and cholesterol numbers were normal!  “The focus of training for these events is what has really improved my fitness.”

This year, Danny is ready to take on the olympic distance. He joined Raise the Bar for added motivation and support, and took advantage of the heart rate zone testing that was offered this May. Danny purchased the RTB olympic training plan, and is enjoying using his heart rate monitor with the plan, to optimize his training. He has already taken his revenge on the Mount Rainier Duathlon, shaving a whopping 15 minutes off of his previous time. In the spirit of a true competitor, Danny admitted that he felt he “should have taken even more time off,” so there’s a good chance Danny will be back at that race next year to push himself to his limits.

When asked what he wants others to take away from his story, Danny replied, “Know what your body is doing on the inside, whether it’s getting a checkup, using a heart rate monitor, or paying attention to what you eat. Know what your body needs.” After all, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. And deep inside of him, Danny has the “heart” it takes to finally hear the words he dreams of: “Danny Moate, you are an Ironman!”

Raise the Bar’s premier sponsor is The Hope Heart Institute. Hope Heart is a nonprofit organization that has a 50-year history of revolutionary medical advances and educational curricula that make heart disease – America’s No. 1 cause of death – more treatable, beatable, and preventable. Would you consider using one of your races to raise funds for Hope Heart?

If you are interested in raising funds for The Hope Heart Institute or if you have a story you would like to share about how heart disease has touched your life, please contact Alissa Anderson.  alissa@weraisethebar.com

     Kathy, one of the RTB leaders suggested to all us girl’s who did the 1/2 Ionman in Oliver, BC, that ”We should sign up for Ironman CDA next year”.  I pondered this proposal to the enth degree?  Asked the family for their blessing and pushed the submit button for Ironman 2011.  Completely freaked out and beside myself, I wondered how in the world I would be able to complete this monumentous task?    I thought that there was no way my body could put up with all the necessary training and afterall, how would I find enough time between work and family obligations to properly prepare?  Oh my, Oh my.   Well, I had 3 fabulous training partners helping me get focused in the right direction….. So, off we went on the AMAZING JOURNEY to become an Ironman in 2011.

     Heather Nugent and I started out the year focusing on running (with no marathon under my belt I wasn’t sure I could do the 26.4 mile distance).  She told me each week what our long run’s were going to be and we chose an Ironman training plan to fit it all around.  Every run she gave me suggestions, recommendations and pep talks !  We ran and road every weekend and tried to tag along with as many partner’s in crime as possible:  Kathy, Karen and any other RTB groupy we could snag. Through the six months of training we alternated day’s of running, riding and swimming depending on everyone’s schedule.  We were all training together, 2 x 2, 1 x 3 and on our own…  Wow, it got creative .

     Race Day June 26, 2011.  My hubby and kids got right up with me at 4 AM and down to transition by 4:50.  I went right into the bike area to put my drinks and food on my bike:  Oh my gosh, my aero-bar water holder breaks while I am putting the bottle into it.  I guess I go with out it!!  I show Rob what happened and he ran down to the mechanical area.  He came back and said they will bring me a new one!!! Wow, that was awesome.  The mechanics put the new one on and then I set-up my transition area with all my stuff in the right spot:  Major set-back averted!

     All suited up, cap on, goggles on and Kathy, Karen and Heather all accounted for!  Rob and the kids were right behind us on the wall with HUGE smiles and thumbs up!  Melissa giving me the heart sign and kisses.  Wow, this is going to be the best day ever, is all I kept thinking.  I was so dreading the 56 degree water start!!!  But, as I stood there with all my family and great friends around me, I felt calm – very strange!!!  The cannon goes off, and the masses piled into the water.  I really did think I was having a panic attack for about the first 500 yards.  I stopped several times to focus my breathing and finally I was able to find a rythm.  At each big red buoy it was a shuffle around and get back on track set up….. The first lap was done, and one more to go:  I can do this!  I don’t like the swim much and can’t wait to get out of the water.  I got several leg cramps through the last lap, and I concentrate on staying loose.  I finally see the TYR water finish arch and push those arms as hards as I can — I am out!!!  Yeah   

     In transition, I take all wet stuff off and put dry clothes on.  Kathy comes by and taps me on the head and we smile!  I am ready for the next leg — Out of transition and on the bike I see my wonderful smiling family and hear ALL the awesome cheers from the RTB IronFans!!!!  Once on the bike I feel ready to get going.  Out to Higgen’s Point and back up to Government. Once there I made sure my special angel’s were on each shoulder (Gramps and Gram) and  from there it was time to get it going and get into my groove:  There is where I assumed the “aero” position which is suprizingly similar to a fetal postion only on a very fast tri bike.  I stopped only at the special needs station to grab my sandwich and off I went for the second 56+ mile lap!  I pushed up the hills and caught the bigger guys and then once I started down hill the bigger guys would use their extra weight to rush past me going down hilll (this happened on at least 4 to 5 hills) and then I blew past them once we hit Government St. and the flat sections!  Man that was fun!!!!  I loved every minute of the bike.  I didn’t even wish one time that I was off the bike!  Weird, after so many miles behind the handle bars training?  Back into transition I go, and there was my smiling family again!!!  AND, those IronFans! 

     I changed all my clothes again, chatted with some people, used the bathroom and I was off on my run.  I high-fived anyone with their hands out and had special friends and family hand grabs for my final push out onto the course!  Wow, that was awesome and I can’t wait to do my first marathon!  I cruised along the first loop feeling pretty decent and keeping a pace direct with my heart rate.  Passing the 13 mile mark was a bit of a mile stone.   I saw my family and gave them the best smiles and thumbs up I could.  I went down into town and made the turn and headed back up the road.  Hmmm, this is going to be a challenge girl!  From about mile 14 – 16, I was thinking I was too hot and my legs are tired and how much more do I have???  Oh man, the hills seemeed to be getting so much steeper too.  Okay, do I need more than just gels, water and ironjuice?  So, I tried broth, ice, water, sponges.  I kept the sponges on my neck.  By mile 19, I wanted to be done!!!  I got to see Deb and the gang there   They were awesome.  I really needed a pep talk by then:  Deb said, “You will be an Ironman very soon, your doing great”.  Ok Linda, get your butt in gear.  From there I walked the aid stations and ran in between.  I caught Brad and he said, “you look great”.  Wow, I did not feel great, but okay!   I saw Bill and Mark just before the neighborhoods and they gave me a huge smile and thumbs up! Tracy gave me one last shout out before mile 24.  At that point, I was going to make it.  I tried to pick it up a bit, but the legs were not following orders.  I was bumming at the 11:00 pace, but it was all I could push out.  I rounded the corner onto this amazing site   People were lined up on both sides of the street and I could see the Ford Ironman arch about 600 yards ahead.  I got chills running all over my body and I started to cry:  Keep it together Linda!  I sucked it up and started running faster because there was this 44 year old chick tryng to pass me.  Oh no, that was not going to happen. I heard the announcer say, “Linda McCandless you are an Ironman”, I tried to high-five anyone with a hand out and  I crossed the line in complete and utter HAPPINESS!!!  Wendy was the first to grab me and hug me!!!  PK and Caitlin were right in their too!!!  I looked for my hubby and kids because they deserved the BIGGEST HUG of them all for giving me this opportunity to become an IRONMAN!!!!!

The Coeur d’Alene contingent from RTB was stronger than ever this year with 24 athletes making their way to the finish line cheered on by dozens of family members, friends, and RTBers wearing red Ironfan shirts proudly sporting the Hope logo.    Speaking of the Hope, IMCDA athletes raised about $2500 for the Hope Heart Institute – way to go team!

Another huge race this weekend was the Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon and Half Marathon.  We’ve heard of some PR’s out there and congratulate all the RTBers on their accomplishments!

While many race reports are cropping up on Facebook, we’ve captured a few snippits here from the weekend festivities:

Kevin Hockley:  “With all the fast people gone over the weekend, I was able to “sandbag” my way to a second place (in my age group) finish in the Green Lake Open Water Swim (1/2 mile course).  I also swam the 1 mile immediately afterward.  Although no podium finish for the 1 mile, I set PRs for both distances at this event (both by significant margins).  WOW….training really works!”

Nolan Hauke:  “I ran the Seattle Rock and Roll Half Marathon last weekend.  It was my first time running this course.  I ran the Seattle Half in November so this was different.  One of the obvious factors is that it was warm… well warmer, oh and no rain:)  I didn’t have as much running training going into this race as I had been working on swimming and biking as well.  This race turned out to be fantastic.  Ran it in 2:18 so it was about 6-7 minutes slower than I was hoping for but it was more than 20 minutes quicker than my Seattle Half.  Felt great and pushed my HR pretty good.  So things are looking up this year so far!  “

Jason Takahashi:  “Joey Katzer and I ran the rock n roll half and full marathon respectively. The weather was perfect, but our training wasn’t quite where it should have been. We didn’t get any pr’s, but had lots of fun. It was Joey’s first rock n roll and my second. Can’t wait to do it again!”

Dan Fabela:  “Had an outstanding Rock n Roll Half Marathon. It was the easiest 13.1 I have ever ran and I did it 12 minutes faster than last years RnR, and beat my PR by 9 minutes with a 1:46:32. All this hangin with the RTB crew has really paid off, not to mention I ran this year’s race about 20 lbs lighter too. I am looking forward a great race season. See you tonight at Seward Park, got to work on my sighting”

Race day: Up at 4 AM to eat and get to the transition around 5 AM. When arriving, RTB IronFans and teammates are all beginning to gather around the body marking. After the team picture, I went and set up my bike and check my transition bag locations, transition exits etc…

All wetsuited up, I head out of transition and somehow run into Karen, Heather and Linda. There are zillions of people all over and we all end up together. The beginning of a perfect day! Once the pros head out, we head down to the beach. While waiting for the start, most of the RTB’s 23 athletes meet in the same area on the beach. The funny thing was, no one had talked about this and so there we wait. They did not let us warm up but we could get in to our waist, so after a quick dip and goggle check, I was ready to go.

The swim was messy! From the cannon to the final exit, there was a swimming crowd. My first few strokes and breaths had me looking straight into the face of Heather. I found out later that she was keeping an eye on me since I had such a hard swim on Thursday. When we (it seems the entire field was swimming as one solid group) got to the red turn buoys, everyone would go vertical, turn as a group, then slowly go horizontal again, quite the experience. As I headed in from the swim, I was smiling. I kept thinking I made it, I think I will be an Ironman today. I knew I could ride and run (or walk) the course but the swim with 2,500 of my newest friends seemed like a big road block. That was conquered and I knew the rest would happen.

Into transition, I heard my name called by one of the wetsuit strippers. It was Julie G. a past RTB member. All stripped, I grabbed my bike bag. I noticed many people were not in the changing tent, so I joined them on the grass. I was not taking any clothing off, just adding and the changing tent had looked really dark in the morning so this seemed like a better choice for me. With help from a volunteer, I got arm warmers, socks, shoes, race belt on… I was going to wear gloves but only could get one on and decided to take my chances on being cold. Headed through the changing tent to get my bike and saw Karen, Linda, Pippa and Michelle.

I had ridden the bike course loop 6 times since the Fall, so I could recite the entire thing from memory. I headed out and being cold was never an issue and rode. I loved seeing the RTB IronFans out on the course. As I rode, I watched for RTB teammates. My family was on Government and Ironwood on my way back from the first loop and seeing them for the first time that day was… well it made me cry with tears of happiness. Note- crying and riding is challenging, so I do not recommend that. At special needs I picked up my PB&J, took two bites and gagged. I threw that into the bushes for some little critter to enjoy later. Otherwise I stuck to my nutrition plan, stuck to my cadence, PRE and heart rate goals and rode.

Heading into transition for the run was mentally challenging. I was done with the bike and ready to get off it but when I got off it, I knew I would have to run a marathon. I hit the dismount line, my bike was taken away from me and I headed to my run bag. I decided to change into tri shorts and a shimmel as I get hot in the skinsuit. So a total change, new socks, running shoes, race belt and a couple of gels and I hit the road.

The first couple of steps off the bike felt hard but after that, my legs felt really good. So good in fact that I took off under 8 minute miles. So I spent the next few miles trying to find the 8:40-8:50 pace I was supposed to be at. I think the best thing about the run was the 23 RTBers on the course. Don’t get me wrong IronFans, I loved you too but there was something about being way out on the course and seeing a fellow teammate working their way to the finish just like you. My challenge on the run was the salt tablets. I was supposed to take two at special needs. I had them and tried to swallow them but started gagging. I put them back in my hand and carried them the next aid station and tried again but just could not get them down. So I threw those into the bushes and just hoped that the drinks, previous salt tablets, Tums and gels would keep me cramp free.

And finally it was time to head to the finish; that turn onto Sherman is an amazing sight. I locked my eyes on that finish, smiled and ran. And finally those words that all Ironman wait to hear were said, “Kathy Morrisson from Kent, Washington You are an Ironman!” (Well maybe they want their own name and location inserted in that). And to add to an amazing day, my catchers were PK and Caitlin! Nothing like seeing a friendly face or two at the finish.

The race was complete. I was an Ironman!

But wait there is more…  I had swam, rode and run hard enough for a 4^th place finish in my age group. In the morning, I found out that meant a Kona slot was open for me. As much as I wanted to move on from Ironman, I could not say no. I am headed to Kona.

And a race report would not be a race report without thank yous J! Thank you to my family- Matt and the kids for being patient, understanding and supportive through out my training! Thanks to my girls Linda, Heather and Karen for being wise counsel through out the journey. Thank you to the Thursday ride crew for heading out on crappy days to keep me company! Thank you to family and friends for their words of encouragement and support leading up to the event! Thank you to Patty Swedberg for a much needed conversation somewhere in the midst of my training (and you were right)! Thanks to Cliff and George for holding my body together with PT and stretching- I almost long for another elbow in my glute right now. Thank you to fellow RTBers who raced Ironman in 2011! Thank you IronFans- you rocked that course with support!

And thank you to Kainoa, my coach who listened to my goal of wanting to finish an Ironman, saw something more and pushed me to reach higher then I expected. And thank you to her team Pauola Sport who has been welcoming and supportive.

I had two mantra’s through out the day. One was “strong, determined and focused” (Thanks Kainoa) and the second was “seize the moment in your heart”. (Thanks Catherine Anderson- you are a wise young lady!) Those two mantras will be traveling to Kona with me!