What? MAD Charity Show 2010

Committee members from UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) HELP College together with Celebrity Fitness are holding a magical evening; a dance drama entitled ‘Defying Gravity’ in support of Make-A-Wish on Friday 30th July at the Ministry of Sound, Sunway Lagoon Resort. Make-A-Wish is being established in Malaysia to grant wishes to children with life-threatening conditions.

For the charity show, they have Judimar Hernandez (judge from so You Think You can Dance, famous Venezuelan dancer and teacher)as their dance showcase director. Through the different dances, they will tell a story of a young girl who is battling with a medical condition and wishes to become an amazing dancer. Featuring: tango, salsa, samba, hip hop, contemporary and etc.

On the night, they also have performance from Dina Malaysian Idol Runner up and magic show by Zlwin.

Ticket pricing is at RM50 and RM70 door price. for just RM50, each guest is entitled to a goodie bag which contains 2 weeks free pass to any Celebrity Fitness outlets, Starhill spa voucher rebate worth RM50, Follow me beauty product by Tohtonku, Exclusive pens from Real Rewards.

A ticket also entitle you to stand a chance to win 3D 2N all expense paid trip for two to Bangkok, Thailand, limited edition Coffee Bean hampers, O Brien’s membership, 6 months membership from Celebrity Fitness and 2 Private Sessions worth RM 1,100 each + Adidas merchandise, RM500 worth of dining experience at Delicious and etc

Apart from the dance drama, lucky draws, games and other exciting activities will be held, promising a magical, heart-touching evening for all guests. More than 110 local celebrities will be joining the charitable cause including Zizan Nin, Tony Eusoff, Ferhad, Jehan Miskin, Alvin Wong, Daniel Lee, Key Ng, Keith Kee, Thanuja Ananthan, Deborah Priya Henry, Farah Asyikin, Dina Nazir, Ning Baizura

Check out the make a wish video clip.

RUNNING WITH PASSION: MAD Charity Show 2010

Last week, I got the news that the trail shoes are IN! First to hit our shores are no less than the award-winning Wave Ascend 4.

Runner’s World awarded this pair with the “Best Update“award in October 2009 (read more here).

Outside Online gave this pair the best out-of-the-box fit.

Bestcovery, on the other hand, accorded the pair with the 4th best Trail Running Shoes Overall. They presented 5 pairs, 4 of which I’m not sure if available locally. if so, then easily, the Wave Ascend 4 is the BEST in the country.

The above accolades received by this shoe made me run to the nearest Mizuno store to get myself a pair. And now, I can’t wait to hit the trails. Next will be my review.

Jet Paiso: Mizuno Trail Shoes are IN!

I hope you do not think I work part time for the Gym Police. I also hope I do not remind you of that nagging significant other you left at home. Rather, I am simply trying to make a not-so-pleasant environment as welcoming as possible.

So here it goes, folks. Read it and weep.

If any of the violations hit a little too close to home, do yourself and others a favor and correct the problem. we will all be grateful.

<a href="http://www.elpasotimes.com/health/ci_15600311tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.elpasotimes.com/health/ci_15600311Mon, 26 Jul 2010 06:01:15 GMT 00:00″>C'mon, gym rats: Exercise a little common courtesy

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<a href="http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jul/21/and-away-they-go-del-mar-races/tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jul/21/and-away-they-go-del-mar-races/Thu, 22 Jul 2010 05:29:45 GMT 00:00″>And away they go …

ESB: I scored the fight 6-5-1 in rounds for you. That translates into 115-112 after adding the extra points you obtained in the final round. Everyone I know believes you were a clear winner. I havent found a single Internet report yet that favors Tua. Any comments?

BARRETT: Basically, I feel the same way. I dont know what the judges were looking at, ring generalship, aggression, or whatever. I was more effective because I was fighting my fight, and throwing Tua off of his game plan. I was winning through ring generalship.

ESB: How would you rate your conditioning for this fight, relative to your past bouts? Were you better prepared for Tua than you were for Ustinov? I know you were in shape for Ustinov.

BARRETT: For Ustinov I only sparred 18 rounds total. For this fight, I boxed about 84 rounds. My MMA trainers — their company is called Nobody Denied Strikezone put me through the most rigorous training of my life. They also called NBD. My trainers Lewis and Kevin from NBD really rejuvenated me..

<a href="http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=24479&more=1tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=24479″>MONTE BARRETT: “AGAINST TUA, I WAS IN MY 'ZONE,' AND I WAS NOT TO BE DENIED,”

GRANTS PASS — David Wilson is a groom. That means he walks, feeds, bathes, waters, curries, doctors, befriends, educates and psychologizes racehorses. also, he mucks out their stalls and freshens their bedding.

“He’s been called Dirty Dave all his life. he likes it,” said trainer Teri Beckner, one of his employers at Grants Pass Downs.

It is true that he pays little attention to dress, though he often sports a dapper corduroy cap.

As he lumbered toward Teri — shirt untucked, jeans baggy — he said, “I’ve done my horses.”

“Can you do some more? one of the girls couldn’t make it this morning.”

“Sure. I’m here to work. I’m not here to look at you,” he replied.

Dave gets up at 3 a.m. First he does eight horses for trainer Dennis Hurley, then seven for Teri and Bob Beckner. They met and hired him as chief groom in 2000.

“That was our best year. We were the leading trainers at Portland Meadows. he works slow, but he works 18 hours a day. He’s as relentless as the Oregon rain,” Teri said. “He’s the leading groom in the Beckner stable. this season, five of his seven horses have won. he schools the youngsters.

“The horses all love him.”

That isn’t quite true.

“I went to Vietnam at the start of the war, around 1960,” Dave said. “I got wounded in the back and in the toe. When I came out, a horse bit off my nose. They had to graft it back on. you can read about it in old newspapers.

“I’ve been around horses since I was 5. I’m 75 years old.”

“No you’re not. he doesn’t always get things right,” cautioned Teri. “When’s your birthday?”

“So you’re 70 years old?”

Dave proceeded to his next horse, answering questions as he completed chores.

“I was born in Portland,” he said. “My father had racehorses. he raced at Portland Meadows, Idaho and Mississippi. then I went with my grandpa and grandma to California. I traveled to tracks all over the country, even in new York. my grandpa was still running horses when he died at 92.”

All that travel made formal schooling difficult, and Dave dropped out in the second grade.

“I can’t read or write, but I can count. Oh, I can read Hebrew. I learned to read Hebrew in Seattle when I studied to be a rabbi. When I was 12 years old I could read the whole Torah, the word of God. It changed my soul around. I was drinking too heavy. I couldn’t be a rabbi because I’d have to be drinking wine all the time. so I accepted Jesus Christ. I got saved and clean,” Dave explained.

“I’ve been an owner and trainer. I drove tractor for a while. But most of the time I’ve just been a groom. That’s all I’ve ever wanted to be. It’s in my bloodstream,” he said.

He has been a husband, too.

“I’ve been married three times. I had eight children, four boys and four girls. none of them is working with horses, just me. It’s a strong breed that goes into this.”

Dave now lives in Portland.

“I got my own home, a little camper. It don’t run, but it’s mine. I got one brother living with me right now. He’s lazy. he makes his wife work, but they can’t support themselves.”

That camper must be crowded, because Dave also has seven cats.

“I started with one, but the Momma had all these babies. then she died and I wound up keeping seven. That’s the way it is sometimes — your pride and joy dies, your mother.”

Of Dave’s many other siblings, he holds one sister in high esteem.

“She started out as a dishwasher in Kansas City, Kan. Now she’s the manager of the restaurant and she has another job teaching. She’s a good gal.”

After the meet at Grants Pass ends, he will go south to the California circuit, where his step-grandmother runs quarter horses.

“One of my daughters asked, ‘When are you gonna retire and come take care of me?’ She’s had a stroke. I told her I won’t ever stop. this is my life,” he said.

Teri interrupted his storytelling.

“You’d be out of here sooner if you worked faster,” she said.

“I don’t work. I work at it,” he said.

“He talks a lot. the only thing I know is true is, he works 365 days a year. He’s the one who feeds everybody else’s horses on Thanksgiving and Christmas. He’s awesome,” Teri said.

While she spoke, he pushed his heaping wheelbarrow from yet another stall to the manure bunker, unloaded it, and moved on. he would make 22 such rounds that day. in his wake, Dirty Dave left a trail of clean straw, neat gear and well-groomed horses.

Dan Guthrie is a Grants Pass writer. he can be reached at dguthrie@connpoint.net

<a href="http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100710/SPORTS/7100316/-1/sportstag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100710/SPORTS/7100316/-1/sportsSat, 10 Jul 2010 09:10:50 GMT 00:00″>Groomed for grooming

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<a href="http://pleasanton.patch.com/articles/run-it-wins-the-45th-running-of-alamedan-handicap-50000-addedtag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://pleasanton.patch.com/articles/run-it-wins-the-45th-running-of-alamedan-handicap-50000-addedMon, 05 Jul 2010 05:57:41 GMT 00:00″>Run it Wins the 45th Running of Alamedan Handicap $50000 Added

Runners World Magazine is a well-trusted source for running information and their quarterly guide on running shoes is no exception. this publication offers a great view of the newest (but tested) products on the market. as of spring 2010, there are thirty shoes on their recommendation list. For stability, the highest rated shoes were the: Asics Gel-Kayano 16, Brooks Switch 3, Mizuno Wave Nexus 4, Mizuno Wave Nirvana 6, New Balance 740, New Balance 760, Ecco Biom C, Karhu Forward Fulcrum Ride, New Balance 1064, Puma Complete Ventis, Reebok Premier SF Ultra KFS VII and Saucony Jazz 13. the Nike Zoom Structure Triax + 13 and the Adidas Supernova glide 2 offer both men and women’s running shoes, which were also popular choices.

If you don’t want to just take Runners World’s word for it, you may prefer the reviews from Consumer Reports, who looks at several different well-respected publications to find a general consensus. When it came to “Stability Running Shoe best For most Feet,” they found the Asics Gel-Kayano 15 ($145) to be the best shoe for people with normal arches who have a tendency toward over-pronation (rolling your feet inward as you run). the preferred “Budget Stability Running Shoes” were the Asics Gel-1140 ($90) for people with normal arches and gaits. They recommend the Saucony ProGrid Stabil CS ($115) for the best “motion control” shoes that encourage proper running techniques with rigid support and cushioning. People with high arches should like the 1063 New Balance shoes for running ($125) or the Saucony Grid Cohesion NX ($55) if you’re on a strict budget. Lastly, if you’re into eco-friendly products, the Brooks Trance 8 ($140) has been praised for the fact that it will biodegrade in a landfill after 20 years.

Newtons are one of the most beloved brands of running shoes among runner’s circles, although they strangely do not appear in Runners World or reviews from Consumer Reports (although Runners World did do a separate write-up of the Newton Gravity). These trainers are created by athletes who run long distances to mimic bare foot running with neutral support and stability that protects from injury. Their “action and reaction” were praised in National Geographic Adventure magazine, Men’s Journal awarded Newton shoes their “Gear of the Year,” hers Magazine listed these shoes as one of the “Top 10 things She’ll Want” and the “forefoot running” technology was praised in Newsweek Magazine as well. while the shoes are a bit pricey ($150 to $175), many avid runners say they’ll never buy anything else.

as a leading expert in the field of anxiety or panic attacks, Beth Kaminski is always on the lookout for ways to treat panic attacks. Visit her site for more information on treating panic disorder and much more.

Best Running Shoes of 2010 | Mafia Wars Strategy Guides

In 2000 Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe visited Glastonbury for the first time, proved an unexpected success on the Pyramid Stage, and left Worthy Farm triumphant. a decade later, they’re back to headline the Other Stage tonight. now, rewind a fortnight as they meet with the Guide to discuss runaway pigs, Neil’s new-found role as folk royalty, the potentially boring bits in their set and – can you imagine anything worse? – music festivals overrun by Guardian readers.

YOU FIRST VISITED GLASTONBURY 10 YEARS AGO. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT IT?

NEIL It was Saturday night, and I was shitting myself. I’d never been to Glastonbury. I thought, “This is not our audience.” we were on the main stage between Ocean Colour Scene and the headliners, Travis. I just couldn’t see the relevance of us to this bill. I was feeling quite nervous, then just as we were walking up to the stage the lead singer of Ocean Colour Scene came running up to me and said [attempts pitiful Cockney accent], “NEIL THEY’RE GONNA LOVE YA, YOU’VE GOT ALL THE SONGS!” he probably didn’t sound like that; the voice is meant to indicate that he was a bit pissed. Anyway, we went on, it was still light, and gradually one noticed that the audience started paying attention. in the end it was quite good.

THERE WAS, NOTORIOUSLY, TAP DANCING.

NEIL There was tap dancing! I’m not sure if that was a Glastonbury first – there was probably a tap dancing tent at one point – but there was definitely tap dancing.

DID YOU INVESTIGATE THE REST OF THE FESTIVAL?

CHRIS I went to the dance tent, saw someone get chinned, then went backstage again. That was it.

NEIL It was fun backstage. there was a lot of socialising going on.

IS THAT ‘SOCIALISING’ IN THE SENSE OF ‘I WAS SOCIALISED OFF MY TITS LAST NIGHT’?

NEIL No, it was “chatting to friends”–type socialising. It was funny because friends and family watch from the photographers’ pit which is so huge at a festival that when I looked out from the stage all I saw was our family, Janet Street Porter and Stephen Daldry, just standing there. It does put you off, but obviously people can’t be going “wahey” all the time.

SURELY ‘WAHEY ALL THE TIME’ SHOULD BE THE AIM OF a FESTIVAL SET?

NEIL But you can’t really have “wahey all the time” because otherwise you’ve then got nowhere to go, have you?

SO DO YOU DELIBERATELY THROW IN SLOW SONGS AND BORING BITS?

NEIL Slow songs are not boring bits. if Kylie, for example, did Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi you would probably think it was quite a good moment.

THAT SONG IS, STRICTLY SPEAKING, MID-TEMPO.

NEIL Well, if we’re talking mid-tempo that’s a different matter.

‘I think we’d get Lady Gaga to headline. We’d put her above ourselves in a very humble and selfless way, but come back on for her encore’ – Neil Tennant Photograph: Dave M. Benett/Getty

WHY SHOULD GLASTO-GOERS CHOOSE YOU OVER MUSE, WHO HEADLINE THE PYRAMID STAGE AT THE SAME TIME?

NEIL Well, it’s a pretty wide choice. I mean Muse and the Pet Shop Boys … [Pause] actually let’s be quite honest about it, I’ve never really even heard Muse.

CHRIS Everyone says that they’re good live.

NEIL What are Muse’s songs?

CHRIS There’s something about a black hole …

NEIL Is there a ballad?

CHRIS I think they were the first to play at the new Wembley. The pitch has still not recovered.

IF PET SHOP BOYS WERE TO INVENT THEIR OWN FESTIVAL, WHO WOULD HEADLINE?

CHRIS well how big’s the festival?

IT’S a BIG FESTIVAL. TICKET SALES, TO BE FAIR, ARE SLOW.

NEIL That’s very Pet Shop Boys, not to have sold out immediately.

CHRIS [Spluttering] Or at all! [Chortles lengthily]

NEIL Well I think it would be Lady Gaga to headline. We’d put her above ourselves in a very humble and selfless way, but come back on for her encore. It would be an electronic dance music festival, with dressing up. The food would be amazing. We’d have the top chefs with their own food tents, and there would be a wine tent. It would be like Royal Ascot. I’d go.

U2 HAVE BOTTLED GLASTONBURY. DOES THAT MEAN YOU WIN?

NEIL [Aghast] what do you mean we bottled it? [Pause] Oh, you mean U2! our manager calls us “you two”. “You two: what are you doing?”

CHRIS Who’s standing in, then?

GORILLAZ.

NEIL As you predicted, Chris.

CHRIS I did predict that.

NEIL I did wonder whether it wasn’t a bit “top heavy” having U2. People were talking about Kylie headlining but I suspect what you look for with an act who can step in at short notice is whether they have a show up and running. to be drearily practical I don’t think they would have been able to make it work with Kylie. whereas Gorillaz is up and running.

DIZZEE RASCAL’S ON JUST BEFORE GORILLAZ. WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF HIS POP REINVENTION?

NEIL Well it’s brilliant, of course. I mean he’s a household name.

CHRIS Four no 1s! [And he's had another since this interview took place – Ed].

NEIL As many no 1s as the Pet Shop Boys. It’s interesting that Dizzee is playing just before Gorillaz. [Leans forward conspiratorially] Damon should be a bit worried about that …

CHRIS have Gorillaz dumped the cartoons yet?

NEIL Well the cartoons are behind them now.

CHRIS I wondered how long Damon could hide behind a cartoon. [Guffaws] You knew, ultimately, that he’d pop out.

IN HONOUR OF U2 TRAGICALLY PULLING OUT HAVE YOU CONSIDERED THROWING YOUR VERSION OF WHERE THE STREETS HAVE NO NAME INTO YOUR SET AS a TRIBUTE?

NEIL No, actually.

CHRIS That’s a great idea, though. I hadn’t even thought about it. we could dedicate it to Bono!

NEIL I could!

CHRIS and you could say, “Get well soon!” [Guffaws at length] Oh well, it’s too late now, we’ve done the rehearsals. The show’s in two weeks’ time!

SURELY THAT’S TIME ENOUGH TO LOAD UP THE BACKING TRACK.

NEIL [Above a mock-horrified gasp from Chris] It’s a thought …

CHRIS we could get Stuart [Price, the show's musical director] to do it. I mean he’s revamped the rest of our songs …

CHRIS I can’t that believe nobody else has suggested it. It would be a good encore.

‘Latitude festival was full of Guardian readers with their kids! Oh, this is for the Guardian isn’t it? Oh dear! I didn’t mean Guardian readers! Ha ha ha ha!’ – Chris Lowe Photograph: Dave M. Benett/Getty

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON COWS?

NEIL I find cows quite scary. quite a few people get trampled. they stampede! a friend of my sister’s was injured by a stampeding cow. where I grew up in Newcastle there were fields behind our estate and we used to get cows in the back garden. and pigs! Even now I get nervous around cows.

CHRIS Apparently the first Glastonbury there was free milk. T-Rex and a glass of milk – lovely. It’s amazing that cows are so big and they only eat grass.

NEIL They do a lot of eating, though. I suppose they might eat other things by mistake.

CHRIS they might eat a dandelion.

NEIL Do you know what time we’re on? because we don’t. I’m worried, and so is Jake from the Scissor Sisters, that we’re coinciding.

SCISSOR SISTERS ARE ON JUST BEFORE MUSE, SO YOU MIGHT OVERLAP. HAVE a LOOK AT THIS RUNNING ORDER.

NEIL [Peering at printout] Ooh, Editors are on before us. and the Cribs are on too, so Johnny Marr will be there.

CHRIS and Tinchy Stryder! [Bursts into a chorus of Tinchy and N-Dubz's Number 1]

LOOKING DOWN THIS RUNNING ORDER DO YOU NOW THINK, ‘LET’S GET THERE a BIT EARLY SO WE CAN SEE KATE NASH?’

NEIL Probably not.

CHRIS is there a Hare Krishna tent? There’s a lot to do, isn’t there? It’s like a massive rave. You don’t need these big stages. [Goes back to studying lineup]

NEIL Someone was saying, actually, and I think it might have been Johnny Marr …

CHRIS Ooh, sub Focus!

NEIL … that it was the instance of the “rave” thing in Britain that made Glastonbury more than just a music festival because people suddenly liked the idea of standing in a field at three in the morning.

CHRIS You don’t really need to go to the main stage at all, do you?

IS THAT ANTI-MUSE PROPAGANDA FROM THE OTHER STAGE HEADLINERS?

CHRIS [Still scanning running order] Ooh, for Neil, there’s “poetry and words”!

NEIL I don’t like poetry! is there not a classical music tent?

CHRIS There’s probably a folk area for you, now that [referring to Neil performing at Meltdown's Kate McGarrigle tribute] you’re part of the folkocracy.

NEIL Yes, according to Chris I am now part of “the folkocracy”. The Wainwrights, the Thompsons …

CHRIS The Tennants … [Laughs uproariously] But of course we’ve always had “acoustic corner” in our shows. The swing-your-pants bit. But that’s not in this show.

NEIL Acoustic corner has been banned.

CHRIS We’ve put a stop to that nonsense.

WAS THAT THE DELIBERATE RUBBISH BIT?

CHRIS Stop coming back to this idea of a deliberate rubbish bit! there isn’t a rubbish bit!

ACOUSTIC SECTIONS ARE TRADITIONALLY a VERY USEFUL POINT TO VISIT THE BAR OR TOILET.

NEIL [Sternly] Or, for our dancers to get changed.

CHRIS Anyway, you don’t actually go anywhere to go to the toilet at Glastonbury, do you? Don’t you just do it down the back of the person in front of you?

THAT’S MORE a READING AND LEEDS THING.

CHRIS we did a very family-oriented festival last year.

NEIL Latitude.

CHRIS Latitude! It was full of Guardian readers with their kids! Oh, this is for the Guardian isn’t it? Oh dear! [Splutters] not Guardian readers! Ha ha ha ha!

NEIL [Rescuing situation] Latitude is very arty. [Changing the subject] Also, it’s on shallow sandy ground so if it rains the water drains away. I bought wellies specifically for it but didn’t need them.

WHAT SORT OF WELLINGTON DOES a PET SHOP BOY PURCHASE?

NEIL I bought Hunter wellies. Green, rather than industrial black. I’ll keep them for Glastonbury.

CHRIS I’ll be wearing a pair of trainers.

For full Glastonbury coverage, during and after the festival, click here. The Guardian is a Glastonbury media partner.

Pet Shop Boys: 'Gorillaz should be worried about going on at Glastonbury 2010 …

At Del Valle Regional Park, perched high above Livermore, Lisa Peasley cried the first time she tried running with her personal trainer Kate Samuelson.

“We went with other people who were at a high fitness level and I fell way behind,” recalls Peasley. “I was thinking, ‘Oh God, this feels so wrong.’ everything bounced and jiggled.”

But Samuelson fell back with Peasley, encouraging her to set small goals like running to a tree in the near distance. Together, they finished with a mix of running and walking.

Peasley is one of 300 to 400 women who will take part Sunday in the Trek Women Triathlon Series at Shadow Cliffs Regional Recreation Area in Pleasanton. Trek, which will hold races at eight spots nationwide through October, is one of only two major women’s triathlon events just for women, according to event sponsor the Xxtra Mile.

“This is about getting behind everyday women — the one who has cancer, or wants to get off the couch, or who wants to lose weight,” said Sally Edwards, Triathlon Hall of Famer and Trek spokesperson. “With most sports it’s about how fast you can go and how high you can go.

“There is a whole different experience with a women’s race. There’s a big emphasis on having fun and being safe. Women feel more supported, and there’s more care and consideration,” she said.

In her metamorphosis from regular exerciser to triathlete, Peasley, 37, of Livermore, has experienced this support. At

5-foot-3 and an original weight of 195 pounds, her first goal was weight.lss She began training in January 2009 with Samuelson, a triathlon coach and personal trainer at fitness club LifeStyleRx in Livermore.

“I had worked with other trainers in the past who were very weight focused but Kate is very goal focused,” Peasley said. “I used to swim in high school and I always said I wanted to do the swim of Alcatraz.”

With Samuelson’s guidance, Peasley prepared for it through pool- and land-based exercises, including practice with a swim group at Shadow Cliffs. She has now completed two Alcatraz swim events, during which swimmers jump off a ferry near the former prison, and swim 1.25 miles back to shore at Aquatic Park.

Peasley’s next goal was the Cinderella Classic, an all-women bike ride of 60-plus miles that starts and ends at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. Her recent completion of the chilly, rainy April ride brought her another success.

But as triathlons include three events — swimming, biking and running — the next logical focus area for her was running, which has been the biggest challenge for Peasley. She has been training with the run club at the fitness center and also runs with her husband.

She just finished her first triathlon, Tri for Fun, also at Shadow Cliffs, and is now down to 160 pounds. And, she says, she doesn’t cry anymore when she runs.

“It actually dumbfounds me that I was able to do some of these things compared to a year ago,” Peasley says. “Kate and all the people I’ve met in the process are so encouraging. Even though they can bike circles around you, they never make you feel that way.”

For Livermore resident Cindy Gardner, 50, who will participate in Sunday’s Trek, becoming a triathlete meant learning how to swim as an adult. “I had a panic attack in a large pool and almost drowned when I was about 10 years old, so (swimming) has been my big accomplishment in triathlon,” Gardner says.

She’s been doing triathlons for about four years as a way to exercise with her daughter. She was her own coach for her first event, learning the sport from a book. Like Peasley, Gardner now trains with Samuelson.

Gardner has participated in co-ed triathlons but prefers the women-only events. “Swimming is my hardest part,” Gardner says. “With men they will swim over you and the women will swim around you — they are more polite.”

Women's triathlon in Pleasanton tests the limits