Why I won't leave...

Okay mom... Beyond a certain person whose name starts and ends with the letter "G", here's the other reason I'll never move home.

This is Waterton Canyon.
It is 15 minutes from my house. It is a fire road that is only open to foot and bike traffic. It goes back almost 7 miles. More often than not, it is my favorite local place to do my long runs. It's not unheard of for me to have to dodge a bighorn sheep running down the road. (Which by the way, is the reason they don't allow dogs in the canyon. Can't take a dog to my favorite running spot? Another reason not to get the dog. Sad, I know.)

Since I'm not really in shape to do a 10 mile run right now, I grabbed my mountain bike and, well, why the heck not? I grabbed my camera. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Ahhh!!!!!!!!!!! Just what the doctor ordered!

Puppy b-control

Oh... To get through these mid-winter blues...

And the funny part is that I'm not alone. I'm struggling through the post big event, what do I do now? syndrome--coupled with a bitter cold winter that's kept me indoors far more than I'd like... But it's good that I have some of the best girlfriends in the world. Turns out I'm not alone this winter. A week ago a couple of my best gal pals in the world stayed up til the wee hours of the morning sharing lots of fun stories. Yep, I'm not alone.

Yesterday... A beautiful (FINALLY!) winter day in the 50's, two other great gal pals go for a run. They, too, share in their own mid-winter blueness... Only they helped me a little....

You see, in all my winter blueness, I've been seriously considering getting a dog. While I get no support from my husband on this matter (he's not a big dog or cat person), I know that if I gave a heartfelt plea, he would give in...

So... The run this morning. Girl 1 has two dogs that are pulling and tugging ridiculously at the idea of a walk/run. I've run many times with Girl 2 and her dog. Both girls finally give the dogs the freedom they desire... The dogs get let off their leashes... HEAVEN! Until we see another dog owner, another runner, a cow on the trail (seriously!) and every time we have to stop, leash them up, unleash them, go. Dog 2 has previously come close to taking me out at the knees as he comes up between myself and girl 2 with a very large dead tree in his mouth. Dog 1 goes to the bathroom and then sends up gravel in full projectile style with his back legs when done. I have to put up my arms to defend myself...

Hmmm.... This dog thing. Everytime I'm almost sold on it... I'm not so sure.

I did make a comment to girl 2 about how I worry that I won't want to take my dog for a walk after a long hot summer several hour bike ride. She argued with me that I'd love to go for a walk after a nice bike ride. I realized she's never been on her bike for longer than 2 hours in one session her entire life. Girl 1 told me I'd just have to switch from triathlete to runner exclusively. I'm not ready to do that. Hmmm.... The dog debate continues.

SOLD OUT!!!!

What!!!!? The Triple Bypass sold out on January 11!!!!!? Can you believe that? It's a monumental bike tour over three mountain passes, 120 miles, in one day. I did it three years ago with my Iron pal Amy, and we signed up two weeks prior.

It IS my husband's turn to participate and have me sherpa, so he missed registration last year because it sold out March 3. This year he knew he should sign up soon, but apparently he wanted me to sign up with him. I wanted to give it another month to see what my belly might be doing. I looked yesterday. SOLD OUT! Unbelievable! I can name off five friends that were also interested in doing it this year. It would have been a blast! Has the Evergreen Cycling Club created an event that will soon rival the two hour Ironman sell outs? Wow!

So what now? Is this a sign that we better sign up for the Boulder Peak and 5430 series ASAP? Crazy athletic Coloradoans. I love this state.

Unsolicited Advice

Here's a little unsolicited advice... Don't sit around and do nothing for two months after an Ironman... Even if you want to give it a break and just see if maybe, just maybe, you can pregnant by sitting around eating bon bons for two months...

Because it doesn't help anything. Except make it harder to work out when you finally feel motivated to work out again.

But I'm being smart. I'm slowly working my way back into it. I biked twice last week, swam twice, and ran twice. I'm working my way up to it. :) My husband wants to start attending a local swim masters class for triathletes. I'm still a little jittery on that one. Maybe another week in the pool will get me up to speed, but I'm working towards it. Same goes for spin classes. I'm getting there!