Back from Mexico, Back to Training

Had a great trip to Piedras Negras over the holidays... My daughter and I went down there for a mission trip in conjunction with a couple of local churches. There were tons of donated clothes, toys, shoes, etc. to be sorted and distributed, kids clubs to run, and a lot of construction at a new soup kitchen. Orlando and his wife Merriam run this new soup kitchen, and they have a great vision to feed every child in their neighborhood at least one meal a day Monday thru Saturday (right now they only have supplies for Saturdays). It's always inspiring to see people that have truly dedicated their lives to helping others (to the point where they and their 4 kids will skip meals to make sure there is enough to feed the others). Here's a few pictures from that trip:

 Working on inside of soup kitchen

Fence built (to keep out wild dogs that have been killing the goats)

Group photo at one of the Kids Clubs

This lady just had to have a beanie baby when she saw them! : )

With the holidays and Mexico trip behind me, it's back to the training grind for IM Texas. I'm at the point now where the long bike rides have reached 90 miles and the long runs up to about 15 miles. I'm trying to keep my emotions and expectations in check, and just take each day of training one at a time. There is so much that can happen between now and race day; and on race day itself; so the smart thing to do is try and enjoy the journey as much as possible, and not get caught up in too much hype about the race. The fitness will be with me regardless of what happens on May 21st, right? : )

Here's to a Happy New Year!
JD
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Help the kids!

Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation: to find a cure for childhood cancer for kids like Ishani ... Please help them by donating HERE

Hope For Kidz: program to help educate children in Haiti
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Just a few updates

Wow, things have been really busy... so just a few quick updates:

- Completed my USA Triathlon Level I Coach recertification. So, 2 more years that I can torture people and have them pay me for it.

- Heading back to Piedras Negras, Mexico soon for a mission trip. Hopefully will have a couple stories and pictures in the near future.

- Still training for IM Texas. Five more months of this before the actual race... wow. Well, I guess it's really only about 4 months of training before the taper. That makes me feel a little better, but just a little.

- Boston Marathon will come up before that, and I'm thinking of doing a local half marathon in January. Hadn't really thought about this in advance, but winter training means you don't get a lot of chances to do shorter races to test out all your hard work.

- For the half marathon and Boston Marathon, I'll be promoting Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation again. Need to rev that back up a bit. Ishani has stayed cancer-free so far; which is terrific news!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
JD