Lost and Found

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
-John Newton

Remember how I showed up in NYC with no apartment keys last month? Well they have been FOUND. In the loooong, gravel driveway of the house at the base of Canfield Mountain, where I was housesitting in CDA prior to my departure. Must've been the melting snow-- I'm amazed you found the keys Nils!!!

Speaking of lost and found...three friends from my freshman and sophomore years of college contacted me on facebook several weeks ago: Bernardo Reyes, Steve Cook and James Frew. They are ALL living in Brooklyn. It turns out that THREE of the four of us have February birthdays, so tomorrow we will be reunited after more than four years of lost contact, for a Tri-Fectal Birthday Celebration!!!

Wow, I am turning 26 years old tomorrow.

This is a very special year for me, as my favorite number is 26. It all began, once upon a time, at Borah Elementary School in Mrs. Whitcomb's fourth grade class. She gave us an assignment that required a favorite number. I had absolutely no idea, so I decided to use her age, since she was my all-time FAVORITE teacher. I gave a good guess, and since then, 26 has been my number: from high school swimming to CDA All-Star softball jerseys, and from locker numbers to how I choose which athletes to root for while watching team sports. Over the past year, in anticipation of my "GOLDEN" birthday (it was so NOT when I was eleven), I have decided that as a treat to myself and to CELEBRATE being my favorite age, I will do the Coeur d'Alene IRONMAN. According to the official race clock countdown, I have...

...130 days, 10 hours, 3 minutes and 2 seconds...

...until the big day. It's not so much about the race itself, but about the training and intentionality of health and fitness leading up to it. The majority of my life, I have been in the top 25% weight class of kids my age. Despite an active lifestyle, I've always been a chub :) and never had much self-esteem about my body. It was actually in Ethiopia last winter that I began to embrace my body as it is. In Ethiopia, beauty standards are opposite than they are in the States. Bigger is more beautiful. My friends Makonnen and Birhanu would tell me "that shirt makes you look fatter today," and truly mean it as a compliment; while I automatically cringed at the words, realizing just how ingrained America's so-called beauty standards were in me, no matter how much I despised them. By the end of my two months in Ethiopia, I decided to live in my body with confidence... Easier said than done :). Little by little over the past year, I have been warming up to myself. From 2-piece bathing suits (God-forbid in public!) to dresses (I haven't owned a dress since...high school prom!) and from setting a fitness goal of completing my first half marathon last May to incidentally losing 20 lbs from moving my butt! I am finally feeling at home in myself.

As for Ironman training, I am into my 6th week and LOVING it!! Swim, Bike, Run, Eat, Sleep, Breakdance-- is my current routine. So far, all of it has been indoors on treadmills, spin classes and swimming pools. In 2001, when I 'retired' from a childhood career of swimteams, I swore I 'd never swim a lap in a pool again! But, here I am eight years later... and I LOVE it! I LOVE everything about it-- from my flipflops and old racesuits to pull buoys and kickboards, and from the smell of the chlorine to the feel of the water as I glide along. I really am most ALIVE in the water. The pool is my home.

I honestly don't think I would have signed up for Ironman had it not been for me turning 26 this year and for 26 being my favorite number, which in turn I have Mrs. Whitcomb to thank. I have kept in touch with her throughout the past 16 years. The last time I saw her, she was in a wheelchair due to MS. So I have decided to use IRONMAN as an opportunity to say thank you to her by raising money and awareness for a local MS organization. I've never done a sponsored event before, so I'm in the midst of coordinating details. I will keep you posted if you're interested in donating.

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting pro-Ironman, Brendan Brazier, who has trained and competed successfully on a vegan diet. Inspired by him, my new roomie Michelle and I are into our first week as vegans. My grandpa would say I have LOST my MIND! He was a true Montana cowboy, raising cattle and eating raw meat. (as a sidenote: I just remembered that I played Amazing Grace on my violin at his funeral before we loaded his casket onto a wagon and the old team of horses carried him away). I miss him and he may be right that I've lost my mind, but it sure has been an adventure, finding my protein in Quinoa, flax seeds and hemp, foods I never even knew existed! Michelle's and my goal was to cut out all processed foods as well, though I must admit I have this weakness for Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal....so yeah, I'm eating a bowl of it right now. :)

And last but not least, I have found my first real friend here in NYC. (outside of Seattle U and Fordham connections) Meet Nelson: he is an aspiring actor and model who I met at my friday night dance class. He's had minor roles in the movies Hitch and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, as well as back-up dance gigs in several music videos. One of his side jobs is promoting a club in Manhattan, so this friday night a group of us will be hitting up the town for an extended birthday celebration; my first time on a club's guest list.

and so the adventure continues...

Love,
Hana T.