Off Like a Herd of Turtles

Fun with dogs

2008-12-29T10:39:00.011-07:00

While they are no substitute for kids, and please forgive me if I ever compare my dogs to your kids... They are fun... And they are definitely taking up a large chunk of our time and offering boundless entertainment value.

I'm very proud to say that while this one isn't my favorite, because I didn't pick him out... He was inherited from grandma this fall, he's turning out to be a doll. He is now staying seated when we ask him to sit. He stays pretty close at hand when we go to the dog park. It's now only a rare occasion that he growls at dogs that are bigger than him. AND.... We took him to Petsmart last night and weighed him. He's lost 3 pounds since we acquired him last fall!!! Of course nobody noticed during the holidays because we've let his fur grow out. Grandma never walked him but she did do a good job of keeping him groomed. I think he's cuter with bushy fur, and so do all the little kids in the neighborhood. He's been a great little dog. He sleeps a lot and gets excited to go for walks, and as far as we can tell, he stays out of trouble.

Now there is another little gem that I can't help but adore. He was right there at my feet to greet me with all matter of "Good Mornings!!!!!" as I stretched and lazily got out of bed on this winter vacation morning. He really is a cute little guy... With boundless energy...

Unfortunately, he seems to think that we left him a scavenger hunt of Christmas presents around the house the last week and a half. Apparently it has been his sole duty to discover each and every one. Let's begin the list of food treasures he has discovered...

* Flipped the trash can twice... And left remainders all over the kitchen and living room floor. I thought it was pretty funny. My husband did not. (Can you guess who came home first?)

* Managed to get in a well sealed large cardboard box filled with several boxes of cereal mailed from my parents who are retired from Kellogg's. (Luckily, all the mess was contained in the box because he couldn't manage to pull anything from the 2 inch hole he chewed into the large box.)

* The BEST one... Coming home from a day of shopping with in-laws in tow, only to discover eight large brown globs all over kitchen and living room floors... I was convinced some body's stomach had exploded and we would need new carpet immediately. As we began to clean up, I accidentally took a whiff of the brown stuff... It was brown... But it wasn't the brown stuff that I thought it was... It was sheer chocolate... Suddenly it wasn't as gross to clean up... But my husband went into a panic as he searched the internet and discovered how poisonous an entire 14 oz. box of fully gift wrapped chocolate truffles can be. I was convinced that the dog had self-pumped his stomach and would be fine. We called the vet and he concurred. The dog barfed four more times that night...

* Yesterday, the smart little guy finally figured out how to open the cabinet that we store our dog food in. Yep, we have no clue how much dog food he actually ate. But he did manage to eat every last dog treat in the cupboard. Needless to say, he had to go without dinner last night.

They are an adventure by the minute! At least he's only eating food that he finds. I've heard of dogs eating a lot worse things (like furniture, shoes and carpet!) We are blessed with almost 60 degree weather today. Looks like it's time to take Zeus on a run with me. Okay, okay... A run for me... A fast walk for him. Happy new year!

The year end review

2008-12-22T09:23:00.003-07:00

Happy Holidays to any and all that might possibly be checking in on me!

It was a good year in our house. I sent the obnoxious letter with our photo card this year. It was funny. We didn't really do any triathlons this year, so I assumed I would skip the letter. Then I thought about it some more, and we had a fantastic year! So do you write the letter or not?

When you don't have kids, is it really applicable to send a letter with your Christmas card? I love getting the family letter from the Stucky family back in Michigan every year. They always have some good stories and I love hearing about them. I'm sure my grandma likes to get the letter. My husband wanted to send the letter to everybody. I wasn't so sure. I like getting letters from people. But does everybody else??? Do you sound like you're bragging in those letters?

Well, I sent the letter to most people. If it was a good friend that already knew everything, I skipped the letter. It was basically a condensed blog posting put in one letter anyway. Moab 3X. Italy. Wow. Dogs. :) Oh, and American Gladiators because that was kind of fun and Greg's alligator wrestling. Yep, a good year for us. Greg says we have good stories, so people will enjoy reading about us. I hope that's the way it comes off.

Now what's up for 2009? One of the phys. ed. teachers I work with is proposing a fitness challenge for any and all teachers at our school that our interested. He wanted to keep it a 10 week bodyfat challenge. I was all over it. Several teachers were more into losing pounds, so now he's made two challenges. It's been great because I haven't had any guilt while eating the mounds of chocolate in the teachers lounge this past week. Like half the United States population, I start my diet January 1.

So what to expect from the new year? Well, Greg wants to join me on the body fat challenge. We're going to attempt to follow Bill Phillips Body for Life diet where you eat six small meals a day. I'm debating about a spring half marathon. I'm also toying with the idea of signing up for the 5430 tri series: a sprint in June, Oly tri in July, and long course in August. I've never done the whole series in one year. It would be a great goal. We'll see!

Hopefully your holidays are grand!

Merry Christmas!

tis the holiday season

2008-11-09T12:17:00.008-07:00

Halloween fun...
Mr. T and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin

And we decided to celebrate Christmas the week before Halloween... Gotta love the annual Denver Veloswap. It was determined that we would spend my volleyball coaching money on a new mountain bike for him. But once he purchased it I was very sad. Now my mountain bike was seriously out of date and it would only put me at a further disadvantage when it came to keeping up with him... What a great husband I have....

His Christmas present

My Christmas present
Merry Christmas to us! The deal is that we aren't allowed to buy each other presents this year, but we absolutely have to go for a ride Christmas morning... Rain, sleet, or snow...

Fall Break 08 --yes, Moab again...

2008-10-23T14:57:00.008-06:00

Can't complain here. I spent Spring Break and Fall Break 08' in Moab this year... And a White Rim trip thrown in the middle. Not a bad year...

So... Last weekend... We opened with a simple little tyrolean traverse...

We moved on to a repel down the aptly name "Midieval Chamber."Greg was able to get pictures of me heading in. I got him coming down.

This was all a slow dramatic build up to our simul repel over Morning Glory Arch. Here's a picture of the arch. Yeah... It's at least a 100 feet up!

Now here's a picture of Greg coming down one side and myself the other. Our ropes were tied into one another at the top and we were counter balancing each other as we repelled down... Now that's what I call fun!!!!!!!!

I realize that some people spend good money on marriage building retreats through their church... If ever you're in for a marriage building retreat outside of the church, I highly recommend Desert Highlights Canyoneering in Moab, Utah. I had a ton of fun with my friends Deanne and Linda, as well as friends of friends... But it was also one more occasion that I realized I married an amazing man who couldn't be more perfect for me. Thanks for a great weekend honey!!!

Why husbands are good

2008-10-12T15:50:00.002-06:00

Well, my husband is great, but I (will continue to) digress...

He informed me the other day that he signed up to volunteer for this...So he can see this guy in first place again...

With a possibility of seeing this guy...

And of course I found every reason in the world why we can't go to California mid February where he has already signed up to volunteer because "It just sounded cool."

He's right. Sometimes I need to not think every last detail out about every last thing. (I wouldn't be a good school teacher though if I didn't think and/or plan about how every minute of class will go or could go wrong.) Of course if I take two days off in February, that detracts from all my good teachered-ness... Right?

I found round trip tickets for $185, taxes included. Hmmmm....

Flat tires, ugh

2008-10-04T16:06:00.005-06:00

I train for an Ironman and only had two flats the entire year... Apparently I had some good luck...

Story 1:
Last weekend, I'm on the road bike about 2 miles from home. Pshhhhhhhhh... I brake as fast as I can, start pulling out all the repair supplies... Flip over the bike (back tire, of course...) and I notice a razor blade on the ground. My entire tire was slit. Putting a new tube in would be useless. I walked the 2 miles home. Argh. Who the heck throws razor blades in the street?????

Story 2:
This weekend, I'm so happily out with a couple of ladies I work with. I'm absolutely loving my rides with them because our rides are more about gabbing and laughing than they are about riding. Plus they get me on my mountain bike and challenge me where riding with the boys would just frustrate me.

One of the girls has to turn around because she has plans for the afternoon. I'm wondering if Deanne and I are rude, because we want to keep riding... Maybe I should have listened to my gut and turned around with her...

I ended up getting three flats after that!!!! Can you believe that??? One flat in the front. But I have goo in my tire, so I was able to get it to self heal. Back tire has no goo. Luckily I have a tube and a CO2 pump so I fix that dreaded back tire while a 5-6 yr. old brownie troop strolls by on a hike... And the leaders decide to take a break about 10 feet from us so all the kids come over for the flat tire show... I tell Deanne we have to head back because we're on trails and there are no roads nearby for her to pick me up if my front tire goes again. We turn around... HER tire goes flat!!! She didn't bring any supplies and I only had the one set. She was all for walking with me for the 8 miles back, so I'm obliged to walk with her for the next six. And while I'm walking, my back tire punctures again!!!

Stupid goat heads! At least it was a nice six mile walk with a good friend. :)

Newest member of the family

2008-09-27T10:27:00.011-06:00

This is Zeus!!!

He is a border collie/rat terrier mix. He is one of the cutest dogs you'll ever meet! And he's mine!

It took many weekends and several visits to the local animal shelters to find the right little guy, but we finally found him. We've had him for 2 weeks and he has yet to pee in the house! He's a fairly quick learner. He comes to his name most of the time and he's starting to get "Sit" and "Stay." He's a lucky little dog right now because he gets two walks a day! (No, we're not spoiling him or anything!) Hopefully he's happy with his new home. We sure do like him!

Yeah for Niki!

2008-09-27T10:14:00.003-06:00

Greg did a local sprint last weekend on Saturday. Greg did well for not being in the best shape ever, so I think he was happy with it.

Niki did her first tri on Saturday. On a personal note, this one was harder to watch. It was all women, and boy would I have liked to be out there on the course. Not to take anything away from Niki. It was her first tri. She trained for it. And she kicked butt! Great job Sis!!!!

Dear blog...

2008-09-03T20:30:00.002-06:00

Oh dear bloggest of mine,

How are you today? Yes, I see that I haven't connected with you in well over a month. There were so many posts that I meant to send your way. Isn't that the way it always goes? I was going to put together that last posting before school started. I wanted to gather my thoughts and post the highlights of my summer.

While I didn't race this summer, I could talk about my volunteer experience. Being a swim buddy at the Tri for the Cure was a frightful, yet rewarding experience. I've also had the chance to live vicariously through other friends doing their first ever tri's!

Then school started... And I would have loved to vent on the 30 - 32 kids I have in EVERY class this year... Well, that was in addition to my class that had 47 kids in it. I'm happy to report that class is now at 30. It made for a rough start to the school year.

And then volleyball started on day 2 of school. That means I get to work with some wonderful girls in a sport that I love... But I have to pack up to head to practice everyday right at the final bell. That means I need to go in on Sundays to get myself caught up on all the work I would normally do after school. But my girls ARE improving! And both of my teams won their games tonight!!!! I'm so proud of those girls.

And then there's the whole 'still not pregnant' thing. I could write three loooong posts on everything I've been putting my body through, but it's just not worth the breath. Nothing has changed in the long run.

And doggies!!!! I've now made a couple of trips to the local animal shelters. When I spot that perfect little doggie, he's gonna be mine. It's a big commitment, so I'm just waiting til I find the right one.

Oh dearest blog, I think of you often. Unfortunately I'm not entirely sure when I'll actually have time to pen you another note. I have 7 more weeks of coaching volleyball... Hopefully I'll have lots of fun and excitement to write about when my schedule eases up. Until then, try to live every day as if it were your last wonderful day! Cheers!

Your friend,

Turtle

The Great Italian Adventure 2008

2008-07-17T19:10:00.003-06:00

It all started as a way for me to avoid watching my husband sign up for another Ironman. I knew in my heart of hearts that the jealousy would eat me alive. I wanted something to take my mind off the lack of racing I would be doing this summer and the fertility treatments that we've now started. Yes, we have the money, but the economy is taking a sharp downturn and the bills from the fertility treatments haven't yet started. (Nor did we know at the time of planning that we would return to discover that my husband's job will soon to be outsourced to India. Not the best news to come home to!) Nonetheless, if we're really serious about these fertility treatments, and a family really is in our future... This is the time to take a trip like this. And George W. just mailed us a check that he wanted us to spend... Albeit, not necessarily overseas, but it certainly helped.

We talked to several friends, and it was decided. Can you really put a price on travel and great memories??? We're back now and I think it was worth every penny. I teach art and I got to see Michaelangelo's "Pieta," "David," and the "Sistine Chapel." I saw the Raphael rooms at the Vatican as well as Raphael's burial. We went to a Leonardo DaVinci museum in Florence and saw countless sculptures by Bernini in Rome. I almost have to pinch myself from the disbelief that I just returned from all of those beautiful things.

All of the time I spent researching our trip prior to leaving paid out ten-fold. While not extravagant, our lodgings were all very nice for our budget. I discovered there would be a 24 hour train strike and completely revamped our trip prior to leaving.... An American couple that we ran into a couple of times in Rome didn't fare as well. They bought tickets and had them in hand but ended up surprised when they showed up one day to a closed train station. We had a glorious time. It was definitely one of those times when you're sad halfway through the trip because it's already half-over.

We had our fill of pizza. We also struggled through a dinner where we were only able to order a delicious appetizer but we couldn't seem to get past it with our waitress. We cut our losses and finished the meal at a gelato stand instead. And then of course we probably didn't eat as much gelato as we should have... (that may be one of my ONLY regrets)

When friends ask me how Italy was, I just have smile and sigh. It really was wonderful. Every town we visited was so different from the next. And I can't help but think there were so many other wonderful towns that we never visited.

It's nice to see other parts of the world. It makes me appreciate all that we have in the United States. At times it makes me embarassed, too. That's what travel does. It enlightens and humbles you.

Here's one of the few reasons I couldn't wait to get back to the United States. Our public bathrooms are in abundance... And we have a seat. It was rare (when I could find a public restroom) to have a toilet seat. Apparently women are taught early on to squat. This one came as a surprise to me. hee hee. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!

Milan

2008-07-17T18:39:00.005-06:00

This is where our trip started. This is where all of the hours spent with books checked out from the library and countless hours with TripAdvisor.com culminated. The push through customs and the effort to find a bus to downtown Milan were pretty painless. The crazy hustle and bustle of the Milan train station were a sharp reminder that we were not in America anymore. My obsessive-compulsive controlling side was sent into flutter for a few minutes, but in the end we figured out what we needed to do.

We took the subway to the city center to see fourth largest cathedral in all of Europe. This was a priority. I had read a great deal about this. The Duomo. It took five hundred years to finish it. It was begun in the 1300's and finished in the 1800's. Its exterior is made of solid pink marble. We walked to the top and hung out on the roof. We didn't get any decent pictures of the inside, but the columns extending floor to ceiling were massive. As Greg put it, "This is the probably the most solid building I've ever seen."

We tooled around and relished the foreignness of what would be the trip of our lives. I did my spin on the bull's testes for good luck at the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuelle; we saw a monument to Leonardo DaVinci; and then we braved the African men that assaulted you as you entered or exited the subway with their wares. We went back to the train station. Milan was now checked off the itinerary. We had arrived!

Cinque Terre

2008-07-17T16:01:00.007-06:00

Okay, if you've visited Italy in the last ten years, you may have heard of the Cinque Terre. If it's been awhile, this may be unknown to you. The Cinque Terre consists of five small towns (all mostly with just a main street and then some buildings on the sides.) Up until a few years ago, these towns were only accessible by water. There was no land transportation to these towns. A hiking trail connects all five of the towns, with varying difficulty levels between each. (The hiking trail is rumored to have started as a path for young lovers because it was otherwise accepted that you would only marry from your own village.) On the second day, we had to take in the famous Cinque Terre Trail, frequently stopping for pleasant swimming and site seeing breaks. We started in the morning and didn't get back home until well after dark.

A train now connects the towns to modern civilization and a road also now exists high on the hillside. (I heard from someone that the road was just put in about ten years ago.) Fortunately (or unfortunately for some) cars not allowed in the villages. If you have a car, you must park it at the top and walk down to the villages. (Prior to leaving for this trip I read many a review of people complaining about all the walking they had to do in the Cinque Terre... I knew this meant it would be perfect for Greg and I!)

We rented a private apartment from a local woman. I was supposed to call her and she would meet us when we got off the train to show us where the apartment was. Lucky for us, there were no phones near the train station... Also lucky for us, the owner spoke no English. And I don't mean to say that she spoke very little English, I mean she spoke NO English what-so-ever, not even hello, Good morning, or the necessitated "I want you to pay me now, not later." Not that I'm the type of American that demands it. I'm visiting their country, I respect that. I listened to some Italian CD's prior to leaving the states picking up some key vocabulary that I thought would help us. And it did in on a couple other occasions, but I ran my limited Italian to its end on this occasion. I could tell this lady who I was and that I had a reservation, but picking a meeting spot with her, or picking her out of a crowd was another story altogether. I couldn't tell her what I looked like, she couldn't seem to tell me anything I understood.

In the end I just kept repeating "Bar Centrale," "Bar Centrale." She gave up whatever it was she was trying to tell me. Eventually a lady timidly walked up to us near the bar and we timidly approached her hoping our backpacks gave us away... She reached out her hand and we exchanged names. It was her. Sigh.... We followed her up several narrow walkways between buildings (even with English directions, we never would have found it.) Laundry was hanging from the windowsills and excitement raged in my tummy.

Basically our apartment consisted of a narrow hallway with sink and stove that lead to a bedroom. There was no main sitting area, except for the outside terrace. Ah... The terrace. We had a view of the pastel colored buildings lining mainstreet to the left, and a view of the sea to our right. We ordered a whole pizza (one of many that we would eat throughout our travels) and a bottle of wine. We took them to our terrace and relished our first evening in Italy.

I liked the Cinque Terre because it was extremely laid back. Everyone seemed totally content to partake in the makeship beaches on the big rocks that lined the seashore. While the mid-day siesta meant that stores were closed, it did not necessitate that people moved any faster outside of siesta hours. The hiking was also wonderful. Supposedly there are also some good mountain biking in the hills. I could have easily spent a few more days lounging around the Cinque Terre.

Pisa

2008-07-17T15:48:00.003-06:00

Pisa was on the way to our next destination, so we had to get off the train for a few hours just to see the leaning tower. I'm glad we did. While I wasn't as impressed with the city, the area that holds the tower was extremely awe inspiring.

The leaning tower sits in a grassy knoll with a lesser known cathedral and baptistery, as well as cemetery. I think I was most taken by how white the buildings were and how green the grass around there was.

Lucca

2008-07-17T15:05:00.004-06:00

Planning a 10 day trip to Italy is hard. There's so much to see, and you just can't see it all unless you want to run yourself ragged. One of the biggies I decided not to squeeze in was Venice. I let that one go. I couldn't let the opportunity to spend a few days in Tuscany pass us by. Tuscany was a 'must do' for us. So... I settled on a city called "Lucca". Now I don't really hear about Lucca when people talk about their travels to Italy, or Tuscany for that matter, but it sounded like a perfect place for Greg and I to set up home base for a few days. And boy was I right!

Lucca is an ancient walled city between Pisa and Florence. Many, many years ago the city walls were extraordinarily fortified to keep out invaders and cannon blasts. The story holds that Napoleon took a liking to Lucca and his widow later played a part in creating a park all along the top of the walls. It now has a paved bike trail that circles the city. We figured it out and the bike trail is probably the same length as the trail that circles Wash Park in Denver. Although with all the buildings and towers, piazzas and so forth, it was really hard to imagine all of this city fitting into Wash Park. Furthermore, Lucca does not allow cars in the city center. Lucca is home to bikes, bikes, and more bikes. (Make sure to check out the stoplight in the picture below!)

Need I mention that my husband thought he died and went to heaven when we passed three bike shops in the first half mile????

Our lodging was about a half mile outside the city walls. The place was dated from the 1300's yet was remodeled in a pleasant modern way that still maintained it's old world charm without feeling, well, old. (TripAdvisor.com is such a great resource! Whatever did we do before the internet???)
One of the things we discovered about this little town--there was always something going on. When we arrived they had an old car show going on in one of the main squares. Walking around our first evening we discovered an open air movie showing. One of the main piazzas was being taken over by a concert set up. (Sheryl Crow would be there the day after we left! Bummer!) We also stumbled upon another square that was built atop an ancient Roman amphitheater. We had a ball enjoying a big talent show being hosted by a local radio station our first night. While a movie in Italian didn't draw us in, music is universal no matter what language it is in. Our nights were fully and cheaply entertained.

Being in a city of bicycles, we had to rent bikes! We took an entire day and rode all over the city, then tried our hands at the streets outside the city walls and made our way out to the beautiful Tuscan countryside for awhile. Looking at a map we noticed that there were some ancient aqueducts on the other side of the city going into the mountains. Could we ride that far on our country bumpkin bikes??? Couldn't hurt to try, right? They're just rentals! So we did!

The aqueducts were neat because not only are they a marvel of ancient engineering, it just seems like the countryside said, "Oh yeah, aqueducts. Just ignore them and leave em'." We had a blast exploring and following them all the way to the hills where they dipped into the hillside.
Lucca was what a relaxing enjoyable vacation should be for two people that enjoy bicycling. :) Greg said this was probably his favorite part of the whole trip.

Florence

2008-07-17T14:58:00.002-06:00

We did a whirlwind tour of Florence. We only spent a day there. Sure, it would have been great to get to see more sights, but in the give and take of trip planning, one day was enough. We saw the Baptistry doors, the big cathedral, a cool museum with many of Leonardo Da Vinci's ideas and sketches created and displayed. Most importantly, we got to see the "David." (Thanks to my hubby for being brave enough to shoot the photo when cameras weren't allowed... Although I noticed he wasn't the only one.)

Michaelangelo's David... Supposedly one of the most beautiful men in world. His unfinished sculptures were pretty cool, too.

Rome

2008-07-17T10:05:00.003-06:00

Ahhh.... Rome... My husband said he thinks Lucca was his favorite part. I'm torn. I think Rome was my favorite part, although I really enjoyed the Cinque Terre, too. Ah heck, it was ALL good!

We had been told that Rome was noisy and dirty and filled with pickpockets and we would be anxious to get out. But when you're in Italy, you HAVE to do Rome. You just HAVE to!!!! All told, we had no problems. Our room was quiet, in a clean and safe area, and we never saw the gypsies or kids that hassle you in the major areas. We walked everywhere (boy did we walk!) so we never had to deal with pickpockets on public transportation, either. Yes Rome is a big city, but it didn't feel any worse than staying in say, Chicago.

The city definitely wore us out because there was so MUCH to see, and trying to see it all is impossible and exhausting. But I must admit here... It was a good thing that I visited in my mid 30's. Had I visited while doing my European escapades in and post-college, I think I may have been tempted to stay. I loved the Italian language and if I had reason for it, I would love to pursue it (but now that we're back, there really is no reason for it.) English tour guides seemed in demand... And overall I just loved the city. My husband said he was a little surprised that I liked it as much as I did, because in his words "Rome is chaos at its best." Every turn of a street corner was a new surprise. You either had massive ruins that were just left and built around, or a beautifull piazza and/or fountain, or a magnificent church. There was always something new to be discovered! And while the Vespa and car drivers appeared to have skipped out of defensive driving school, they always seemed to unexpectantly stop and give the pedestrians the right of way.

I think part of the reason we had such a good experience in Rome was the nice lodging we had. (Thank you Trip Advisor!!!!) We stayed in a Guest House that definitely didn't fit American hotel standards, but it was perfect for us. It was in a cute, safe and clean residential neighborhood three blocks from the Colosseum. (We had to walk by the Colosseum at least three to four times each day. Rough, eh?) The Guest House was actually a handful of tiny rooms that recently had a small bathroom added to each of the small rooms making them even smaller (but hey, we had our own bathroom!) The rooms were all owned by an Italian lady and a Russian man, which was just another odd roman chaotic twist, but they were so, so, so friendly to us. They just owned a handful of small rooms on the second floor. Their building was also strategically placed between two police stations. We made the mistake of sitting on the steps of one eating gelato late one night. Apparently that's a no-no!

Naturally, one of our favorite experiences in Rome was the Colosseum. (My husband's favorite movie of all time is "Gladiator"! We also had a guide walk us through the impressive ruins of the Forum. We later realized that we could have done the walks solo and saved a lot of money, but then we also found ourselves reciting little facts that we learned on that tour during our other travels around the city. Both the Colosseum and Forum were very impressive.

Naturally, we explored as much as we possibly could in the few days that we were there, but there was just too much to see. Frantically walking across town, we got lost and arrived at the Cuppachin crypts just as they were going on mid-day siesta. We never made it to Via Appia Antica to ride our bikes, or various other spots that we had hoped to see. Luckily I did throw my coins in the Trevi fountain which supposedly grants a wish that you someday return to Rome. I can't wait!

The Vatican

2008-07-17T09:37:00.005-06:00

The Vatican was a real treat. While I enjoyed it for all its splendor, I was happy that my Catholic husband had a chance to visit. It seems I'm always late for everything I do, so this should be no different. We were trying to fit in a few more sights in Rome in the morning, so we didn't make it to the Vatican until the afternoon. We were also hoping to get in on a pricey walking tour, but it all worked out. We saved our money by missing the tour and we got in when there were no crowds! We just walked right in! Apparently it's not uncommon to wait in line for a few hours when you arrive in the morning.

We started with the Vatican Museums. I had read somewhere that if you were disappointed in the museums in Rome, you hadn't been to the Vatican Museums yet. How true! We visited the National Museum of Rome, and I question whether they even had a curator on staff. Everything was a mish-mash of ancient antiquities that someone probably found, and it was placed in no random order. The Vatican was not so!

The Vatican had an impressive collection of Egyptian art. (Egyptian seemed quite popular in ancient Rome!)

They also had statue upon statue on hand (and unlike the National Museum, these all had their heads! In fact they had walls of just heads! Now I know where all the heads were on the other statues I had seen in Rome!)

We saw the tapestries and the Raphael Rooms. And of course we ended in the Sistine Chapel... Which was also not what I pictured. Instead of the dome that I always pictured, it was more of a rectangular gymnasium with art painted on the walls everywhere you look. I snapped this picture off and then got promptly ostracized because pictures were not allowed. Hee hee, lucky me! I got a picture of the Sistine Chapel!!!!

We then went over to St. Peter's Cathedral. Wow. The largest in all Europe, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was the largest in the world. Pictures just can't do it justice. From a non-Catholic perspective it was very, very impressive... But also a little unnerving to see how the church has had THAT much money. I really don't mean to be blasphemous. I am a Christian and I did take time to sit and pray in this awe inspiring place.

Pompei

2008-07-17T09:21:00.004-06:00

Pompei is a place that has long been in my mind. I always remember hearing about it as a kid. It was the place that was covered by a volcano in 79 A.D. and then found 1600 years later totally preserved in its antiquity. Maybe it has something to do with the profession I would have enjoyed had I not become a teacher... An Archaeologist.

For some reason, I always pictured this place still coated in white. That was kind of silly, and the only thing I can figure is that I got that image from photos of the people I've seen. As bodies disintegrated under the ash, they formed a hollow cavity in the hardened ground. Archaeologists would fill these hollow cavities with plaster to create a cast of the body shape. I also thought these were still laying on the ground. Silly girl! Of course these were all on display in glass cases and the like. Much of the place has been stripped and excavated out, with the greatest treasures on display in local museums.

My other big surprise was the massive size of Pompei. It was a thriving town of 20,000 people. How did I manage to think it would be capable of covering in a few short hours??? It's a city!!!

Add that to the fact that they ran out of maps when we entered, so we just wandered and got lost. We got our hands on a map at the end and realized we had only seen about 1/3 of the place in the 4 1/2 hours we were there. All in all, it was very cool and I'm grateful that I had the experience.

Lake Como

2008-07-17T09:15:00.002-06:00

Lake Como was absolutely beautiful. I read somewhere that the Milan Malpensa airport is actually closer to Lake Como than it is to Milan, so I figured we could spend our last night there instead of Milan. Good choice!!!! Como was beautiful. It was one more place that I wish we had had one more day. It looked like bike rentals and hiking abound. We could have had a lot of fun with one more day. It was also nice because we were so exhausted in Rome with the go, go, go nature of Rome. Como was a nice spot to catch our breath. Naturally, we were very sad to leave.

Swim race

2008-07-17T08:56:00.002-06:00

Well, I did a swim only race last night. Pitiful. I only did the half mile open water course. My pace last night was slower than my Ironman pace at 5X the distance! Huh, I guess that's what happens when you do an Ironman and then don't stay on top of your swimming! Nonetheless, it was a well organized little race. I wish they were doing them last summer. You got to pick the distance: 1/2 mile, 1 mile, 1 1/2 mile, 2 miles.

Congrats to a fellow coworker of mine. Apparently she HAS been training. She said she's lost 40 pounds since January and she kicked major booty last night. 32 minutes for her mile swim!!!! Great job Kim!!!!

Proof that he did it!

2008-06-29T19:58:00.001-06:00

Summer Vacation!!!

2008-06-29T19:44:00.002-06:00

So far, lots of fun this summer. I've been mountain biking with the girls-which is so much fun! After a camping trip to the Sand Dunes, Greg went to the Gatorfarm near Alamosa and wrestled with a gator. We'd got pictures to prove it! Played lots of volleyball. And I've been a good little school teacher and even thrown a summer class in there.

We leave for Italy early tomorrow morning (or more aptly, the middle of the night tonight). YEAH!!! We bought Euro's, bought a prepaid debit card, made hotel reservations and tour reservations... It's on! The agenda is as follows:

Day 1 - Travel
Day 2 - Milan to Cinque Terra
Day 3 - Cinque Terra - hiking and lounging on the beaches!
Day 4 - Cinque Terra to Pisa, then to Lucca
Day 5 - rent bikes in Lucca!
Day 6 - Lucca, afternoon in Florence, evening in Rome
Day 7 - Rome (Colosseum tour in the a.m., rent bikes in the p.m.)
Day 8 - Rome: Vatican City
Day 9 - Rome: day trip to Pompeii
Day 10 - Rome to Lake Como
Day 11 - Lake Como to Milan, fly back to U.S.

Oh! I can't wait!!!!!!
I just checked and we have rain predicted in Milan on the first day, but all the other days are predicted to be sunny and clear. Let's hope!!!

I'm gonna do a tri

2008-06-22T21:06:00.002-06:00

A whole bunch of triathlete blogger people are doing Ironman Coeur D'Alene today. It's been really hard to read all of their blogs this week remembering what an awesome experience Ironman was for me. I envy each and every one of those people.

Add to that, a bunch of teachers I know that that have signed up for their first, a big local all-women's triathlon... Tri for the Cure.

My husband did it. He's the one.

"Why don't you just do it with them?"

"Because they know I did an Ironman and will have all these ideals on how good I should be, but in reality I haven't been training... What if they beat me?"

"Who cares? It's just a sprint, do it!"

"Um.... Y'think I should? I was trying to cut back this summer. Okay. I'm in."

I have no Boulder Peak this year, no 5430 series, I have nothing... So now I have Tri for the Cure. And I'm honored that I get to do it with several fine ladies that I know and love.

Rough day on the bike

2008-06-03T15:20:00.004-06:00

Next time I want to complain about the wind or bad conditions on my bike I'll remember this:

The horrifying story is at http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/06/02/mexico.bikers.ap/index.html

Bolder Boulder 10K Results

2008-06-02T13:17:00.009-06:00

Brian beat Greg. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the aftermath...

Even though my training has been hit or miss, this was my best year so far. Had I been able to really stick with some training, I truly believe I could have dipped below one hour. It'll happen. You'll see!

2008 - 1:00:59 - PR!!!

2007 - 1:12:08

(2007 was an IM rest day)

2006 - 1:02:03

2005 - 1:05:41

2004 - 1:07:43

2003 - 1:07:11

2002 - 1:11:50

Just venting

2008-06-02T13:11:00.002-06:00

I. don't. like. fertility. drugs.

I know there is the whole power of suggestion thing going on. I didn't want to try these because I was afraid of what they'd make me feel like. And now I'm on them and I don't like the way they make me feel.

Probably wouldn't be so bad if I didn't like to run and exercise. But the past month I've had to play everyday by the day. Can I run today? No, the bouncing hurts too much. Can I run today. Maybe, I'll give it a try. Talked to the doc today. She said that yep, totally normal. Play it day by day.

It's summer. There are races aplenty going on around me, and at this point, I can't throw myself into any sort of training plan even if I wanted to. Maybe I can run today, maybe I won't be able to. I. Don't. Like. Fertility. Drugs.

The full story and plan

2008-06-02T12:45:00.002-06:00

So the original plan this summer was this...

Hubby would be taking two weeks off. We would drive across the country and visit friends and family along the way. Our ultimate goal was to go to Lake Placid to watch the Ironman race in July. Volunteer. Register for next year.

All the while we're talking about this, we've also been talking about seeking professional help with our baby desires. I've been putting it off and putting it off, but it's probably time for me to break down and try fertility drugs. (We pulled the goalie not quite three and half years ago now.)

So this is really bothering me. Obviously if I get pregnant before July I won't sign up. But if I'm not...??? Can I really pursue both of these options????

We discuss it and it doesn't go well. You know, that whole Men are from Mars Women are from Venus thing. We're just not seeing it the same way... Well, we sort of were. The hubby told me I had to make a choice. Do another Ironman or begin fertility treatments...

I cry...

He doesn't understand why I can't watch him do an Ironman without participating myself. Obviously he's a better person than I, because he said he could it... I can't do that. So I cry some more...

In the end, we found a pretty good compromise. Let's just take a different, really awesome, so amazing, won't be able to do this again for years and years vacation. Without hesitation, he agreed!!!! The decision is now made, plane tickets are purchased. We're going to Italy!!!!!

The sad part is that I won't be seeing my friends in Michigan or Iowa. For that I'm very sad, but hopefully I'll get to see them again soon. Italy... I may never have this chance again.

Finally! A race report!!!!!

2008-04-27T12:53:00.002-06:00

I've been training for a half-marathon, sort of... What that means is that I've done some of the workouts, but I've sat on my butt for a fair share of them, too. I just haven't been able to get motivated! I've done some of my speedwork sessions, with the hope that this was the year for speed. Like I said, I did "some" of them...

So I was completely wishy-washy on whether to spend the money to do the Cherry Creek Sneak. In the end, paying the race day registration fee ($5 more!) I ended up doing it. And... I set a PR!!!!!!!!!!!! I felt really, really good running today. Constantly checking myself and wondering if I should try to push a little harder. I do wish I had kicked it in the end a bit more, but we rounded the corner and the finish line was right there. Had I known, I would have kicked it in sooner. I still felt pretty good at the finish line.

Nonetheless, this is what I'm most proud of:

Cherry Creek Sneak 5 mile runs:
2004 - 10:52/mile
2005 - 10:36/mile
2006 - 10:19/mile
2008 - 9:49/mile!!!!!!!!

While to many it's nothing to brag about, it's a Personal Record in my book. And that makes me very happy today! Good race. Great weather. And great swag too! I'm thinking that if I can do under 10 minute miles for today's five mile race, there's no reason I shouldn't be able to do sub 10:00 miles at the Bolder Boulder 10K in a month! Here's to another PR soon! (I may actually be motivated to run the next couple of weeks, too!)

Joke Day

2008-04-26T10:55:00.002-06:00

Q - How do you know it's spring time in Moab, Utah?

A - All the license plates start turning green!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Q - How do you know the two teachers on your team are total morons?

A - They tell everybody at a baby shower Friday night that you're taking a three day weekend to go to Moab to go biking... Including the Assistant Principal...

I worked really hard to wear enough sunscreen to be sure to hide any tan lines from that trip!!!!!!! Grrr....

The White Rim Trail

2008-04-23T21:04:00.005-06:00

So a co-worker scored two campsites along the White Rim Trail in Moab. (You have to book those at least six months in advance.) Her nephew is planning to rent a Hummer to help sag water and camping supplies. (Cars can't get in there.) It will take three days to cover the 100 miles on bike. She's looking for fun people that might enjoy a trip like this. She knew that I went to Moab for Spring Break and liked the place. Can you really turn an opportunity like this down?????????

The quick synopsis...

Pre-trip: How fun! I can't wait to do this!
The initial ride down: Um, wait a second... I thought this wasn't supposed to be very technical... OhhHhh MyyYyyY...... bump... bump... What did I get myself into?

25 miles in: Fun, beautiful scenery, good, but the wind sure is blowing.
50 miles in: Will the wind ever stop blowing? Ugh, I'm getting really tired!
60 miles in: My butt hurts. Why does no one else have as many scrapes and bruises as I do??? After this trip, I never want to ride my mountain bike again! ARGH!!!!!!
75 miles in: The wind has stopped. The trail isn't as technical. I've rubbed a couple of spots on my bum completely raw. Not cool. My bruises really hurt. I'm pretty tired, but this sure beats being at work. Overall, I guess this is kind of nice.
Post-trip: It's over? Really? Aw, man. I don't want it to end. I can't wait to do this again next year. :) Who else can we invite?

The trail

The love of my life.

Linda, our lovely host and mountain biker extraordinaire.

The group- Don't you just love it when you get a group together that can't shower or use a real toilet for three days... Everybody smells. Everybody is tired... and you still absolutely love the entire group!? I love trips like that!

I can think of worse things.

Gotta love Moab.

We did it. I must admit that I didn't end up pedaling the entire 100 miles. That's the beauty of a sag vehicle on days with relentless wind and hills that you just aren't trained for. I was a little upset that I have too much fear to really be able to handle a mountain bike well. Nonetheless, I can't wait to give it a shot next year. Maybe I'll even practice up on the mountain bike a little bit more before I go! Thanks for organizing Linda! It was a great trip!

Congrats dad!

2008-04-16T18:48:00.002-06:00

Spent the day on and off the computer all day Sunday as I tracked the father of two of my students. He completed Ironman Arizona!!! Apparently the mom and kids didn't attend because it was too expensive. I made the kids PROMISE me that they would make huge banner for dad when he got home. I sure hope they understand what their dad did. I could tell that they didn't really comprehend it when I talked to the kids last week. I talked to one of the kids yesterday and he said that his dad was crying when they talked to him Sunday night. Pretty powerful stuff. I hope they get it now.

Not much else going on in post-ironman life here. Keep up that training Tea!!!

Random Thoughts

2008-03-31T20:33:00.002-06:00

Random Thought #1 - I remember doing one of my last long training rides before Ironman last fall. It was cold and windy, and I did NOT want to be out there, but I had to. I remember seeing other people and thinking "I have to be out here riding right now. Why are you out here?"
I'm now reading blogs of people that are preparing for Ironman Arizona and some preparing for IMCDA. hee hee... I read about one person doing a 6 hour ride on her trainer last week... hee hee. And lots of other people complaining about riding in the cold right now.

While feeling like a fat pig isn't the most pleasant feeling... Being inside and warm and only riding my bike when I feel like it... I'm eating that up... (I'm kind of hoping that next Spring I'll have to be out there training, but I'm going to enjoy this year!)

Random Thought #2 - The same can be said for the initial cold shock you feel when you first get in the pool.... Not if I don't have to right now!

Random Thought #3 - I saw the best bumper sticker the other day... Might just be Colorado humor, but it was funny!
"Cheney skis in jeans."

Random Thought #4 - Because I won't have my other job this summer (y'know, the 2o hour a week Ironman training) I've been entertaining the notion of getting a part time job this summer. We were in Home Depot on Saturday and I saw a sign that said they were hiring part-time seasonal help. That sounded perfect!!!! Then I found out that Home Depot doesn't give an employee discount. Huh? Really? Well that just shot that idea.

Spring Break 2008! Moab!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-03-20T13:50:00.006-06:00

Guess what this week is!?

It's Spring Break baby!

So I realize that a good blog has a focus. A good blog shouldn't just be willy nilly thoughts and writings. My focus was doing an Ironman. I did that. And now I'm kind of lost. I have a few small events this summer, and we're planning a road trip to sign up for another Ironman... But until then... You're stuck with vacation photos... If nothing else, because my mom reads my blog... She loved Moab when I took her there.

So... Moab! Four days worth of absolute fun! If you're not familiar with Moab, it's a small southeastern Utah town kind of in the middle of nowhere. It's about six hours from Denver. It has two BEAUTIFUL national parks in the vacinity (Canyonlands, and Arches National Park). It is plastered with hidden hiking trails, 4X4 trails, and of extreme importance... Mountain bike trails. Now since I'm a triathlete, mountain biking hasn't really been my thing as of late... So we also bring our roadbikes and have taken part in the Moab Skinny Tire Festival, too. For this reason, Greg really wanted to take our bikes on this trip. I objected because the weather wasn't supposed to be that good. It's a desert town, so it's very hot in the summer, and very cold in the winter. Spring and Fall are the ideal times to visit, but we hit it on a weekend where winter wasn't quite over yet. Darn!

I persuaded the hubby to leave the bikes behind, and pursue some of the hiking that I always want to do... It seems we're always in town for a volleyball tourney, a bike festival, or some other event. I was really excited to just go and hang out. Poor man's Spring Break! Here I come!

We spend the first night camping in town. The next morning I talk him into driving an hour and a half south of Moab to the southern part of Canyonlands National Park. It's called the Needles district.

I've been there once before, loved it, and always wanted to go back. We pitched our tent, and spent the rest of the afternoon hiking. AWESOME stuff! We had perfect hiking weather, too. Not too hot, not too cold.

I think my favorite part of hiking here is that you actually get to hike up to the top of the rock formations and hike above the land. It's so cool!

hee hee. Greg has antlers!

More Canyonlands

2008-03-20T13:13:00.004-06:00

After hiking all day, we came back to our campsite. I don't think I've ever camped somewhere so quiet. Because it was still a little chilly, we were lucky to have our pick of campsites. I don't think that would ever happen once it gets warmer. We made a fire and relaxed until the winds kicked up later in the evening and it started to snow on us.

The following morning we weren't really ready to leave the Needles area, so we spent some time at the Visitor's Center and decided which trails we'd like to come back and try. We also made our way to a short 2.4 mile trail called the Slickrock trail. It was kind of like hiking on the moon! You're hiking on high rocks almost the entire time.

We were tempted to stay in the Needles area one more night because we were having so much fun, but we really didn't have any food left, so we headed back up to Moab. I know most people only stay in the Moab area (for good reason!) but I highly recommend some hiking or camping in the Needles area of Canyonlands. It's absolutely beautiful down there, with hardly any crowds.
There is a little tiny white speck on this rock. The photo just doesn't do it justice. It's a little rock climber dude up there! Climb! Climb! Nice job rock climbing dude!

Moab's Annual Jeep Safari

2008-03-20T12:40:00.007-06:00

You always know you're going to find some fun in Moab. It just so happened that the annual Jeep Safari was in town. When we first arrived we asked one of the locals where we could find a good spot to watch people acting stupid and she recommended Potato Salad Hill. We immediately went to explore. People actually drive up this stuff??????? Nobody was there at the time, but we knew they did because there were oil spills and tire marks all over the rocks. Pretty hard to imagine though.

After finishing our two nights of camping in the cold, we decided it was time to head into town to get some warm food and debate about the third night of camping or getting a motel. Hungry and cold... Around 3:30 on Sunday, we thought we'd just take a spin by ol' potato salad hill. Boy! Did we get lucky! Half the town was out in force! Most there to watch, but a few crazy fellas had to prove how big they were by taking on tater salad hill!

Some of the Jeeps and special built 4X4's took it like it was nothing. They were fun to watch, but nothing like the redneck farm boys that somehow found their way from the deep bowels of america to Moab. One pickup after another gunned it from the bottom of the hill. Naturally they'd get stuck, fish tail from this side to that side, slide backwards and slam the bumper into a rock... All the while some drunk fat girl was hollaring at the bottom of the hill, and the cigarette never waivered from the driver's wife beater wearin' tattooed arms hanging out the window. It was awesome! Truly the stuff that makes you stand tall laughing, and then look at your toes while kicking your feet when you admit you are 100% American... Giggling all the while.

Rock Art

2008-03-20T12:13:00.006-06:00

As an art teacher, I'm fascinated by ancient petroglyphs and pictographs. Luckily, southeast Utah has tons of it. Naturally my brain is full of little art project ideas I can take back to school. The trick is to get the kids as excited about it as I am.
The Newspaper Rock is on a pull-off on the way to the Needles district of Canyonlands.

While I've hunted down many of the rock art sites in and around Moab, I always seem to read up on more. While leaving we discovered a beautiful hike in a canyon called Courthouse Wash. Couldn't find the rock art there, but my wonderful husband let me dictate some off the beaten path roads up off I-70 well outside of Moab as we headed out of town. We discovered a place called Sego Canyon and the rock art up there was amazing!
This lifesize art is supposedly called the Barrier Canyon style. These are also some of the paintings that cause people to think aliens once inhabited the earth! Scientists guess the panel to be dated from 500 B.C. to around 500 A.D.! Unfortunately someone decided to take bullet practice on it at some point in time... It's still very cool to be driving up in this forgotten land on dirt roads and see rock art panels spanning three different periods of time!

Sego Canyon

2008-03-18T10:47:00.017-06:00

Okay, this was really cool. As we're driving up to see the petroglyphs and stopped at some traintracks, an old mountain bearded guy comes walking up to our truck. He tells us about a ghost town a little farther up the road. Apparently it was a coal mining town in the 1950's that supported about 500 people. On all the sites I've read on Sego Canyon, it tells of a boarding house built next to the market. The old guy told us it was actually a brothel. He also said the town dried up when they put all the freeways in. I haven't read that anywhere else. It was pretty cool to explore!

The market

The brothel

The other side of the brothel

You could find the foundations to several houses, but these were the only two large foundations still standing. Cool stuff! I went to Europe to find old ruins! It was kind of fun to find historical ruins here in the United States. Too bad it's so far off the beaten path and not being preserved.

Stuff White People Like

2008-03-09T10:27:00.002-06:00

Give credit where credit is due... Today's post is a total rip off of the hillarious blog, Stuff White People Like. Each day this guy adds one more thing that white people like. He goes on a fantastic rant about it, and I dare you not to read it, identify with it, and not wet your pants laughing.

Andra Sue pointed this blog out. She's one of those people in blogosphere that I wish I could meet in person because I think she'd be a great friend. She's funny, a real world triathlete (like you and me), and she's left many a nice comment on my blog. Anyways, she compiled the list for us... And I've since copied it on to my own site with comments about myself... Because this is really fun! How white are you???

Color coded for your convenience:
Green: I'm totally white
Yellow: Some of my best friends are/do, so I'm white by association
Red: Not white enough

Stuff White People Like

#1 Coffee – Just not my thing, but the friends sure do... And believe it or not... My middle school kids are total Starbucks junkies!
#2 Religions their parents don’t belong to – Not really sure what I am at this point.
#3 Film Festivals – in college I enjoyed the occasional sick and twisted animation film festivals
#4 Assists - Look it up, it's funny.
#5 Farmer’s Markets – Yep.
#6 Organic Food – I do and will.
#7 Diversity – Um, yeah. Except in the school district I currently teach in. But I did my student teaching in the Detroit Public School system. I can check that card.
#8 Barack Obama – He'll get my vote if he makes the big ticket.
#9 Making you feel bad about not going outside – Total whine fest if I'm inside and it's nice outside.
#10 Wes Anderson Movies – Not me, but I bet Matt does.
#11 Asian Girls - I'm exempt from this one.
#12 Non-Profit Organizations - It's all good.
#13 Tea – Husband LOVES tea.
#14 Having Black Friends – Do extended relatives count?
#15 Yoga – Pilates, too.
#16 Gifted Children – Teach them, was one.
#17 Hating their Parents – Don't hate them, but do blame them for some issues. Slow athletic genes being one of them.
#18 Awareness – I'm a teacher and a democrat. Need I say more?
#19 Traveling – Love it.
#20 Being an expert on YOUR culture – I hope I don’t do this one, but I bet I do.
#21 Writers Workshops - Busted! Not a favorite hangout, but I did just go to one recently.
#22 Having Two Last Names - Not me. The shorter the better.
#23 Microbreweries - Of course Fat Tire was another good reason to move to Colorado.
#24 Wine – Not really my thing, but my circle of friends are really into it.
#25 David Sedaris – Matt, do you know this guy?
#26 Manhattan (now Brooklyn too!) - Exempt from this, too. But I've done the downtown metropolitan thing a couple times in my life. Now I'm the ultimate white person... I live in the burbs!
#27 Marathons – First one this past year!
#28 Not having a TV – Unfortunately I thought this was very cool a few various times in my life. Now I find it annoying that I'll be in a circle of friends and I know absolutely nothing about the random pieces of history that my friends are talking about because I didn't own a television during those years. Not a good thing in hind sight.
#29 80s Night - Realized I was falling for my husband that crazy night when he was dressed in his Pee Wee Herman costume and I in my big hair...
#30 Wrigley Field - My brother loves the place.
#31 Snowboarding - Only because I thought I had a hangover the next day, and it turned out to be a concussion. I've stuck with the true Eurocentric high dollar winter sport: skiing.
#32 Vegan/Vegetarianism – Married one.
#33 Marijuana - NO
#34 Architecture – Can't comment due to the fantastic reputation of the suburb I live in.
#35 The Daily Show/Colbert Report – Guilty.
#36 Breakfast Places – I'm too cheap, but the friends love to do this.
#37 Renovations – Bless me now. This is how I knew my marriage would last.
#38 Arrested Development - NO
#39 Netflix – Been there, done that. I've now upgraded my laziness to just ordering pay per view.
#40 Apple Products – My school is all Apple products. Bless my white suburban district.
#41 Indie Music – Guilty of it in college, not so much anymore. Can't deny that I like some of Tim's favorites.
#42 Sushi – Husband loves it. I'm converting.
#43 Plays – Not number one on my list, but I like them.
#44 Public Radio – Feel guilty for not listening to it more.
#45 Asian Fusion Food – I'm cheap so I don't go out much, but I can't kick it.
#46 The Sunday New York Times - Nope, and I don't think I have any friends that do.
#47 Arts Degrees – Gotta love this: I have an Associate of Arts. a Master of Arts, and Bachelor of Science (in Art!)
#48 Whole Foods and Grocery Co-ops – AKA "Whole Paycheck"
#49 Vintage – Swing dancing phase in college. Whoo-ee! It was fun!
#50 Irony – Kind of negative concept, but I have actually been sucked into this conversation a couple times recently in my white circles.
#51 Living by the Water – Been there, done that. Traded in for the mountains instead.
#52 Sarah Silverman – Not white enough I guess.
#53 Dogs – Love them.
#54 Kitchen Gadgets – I'd much rather have bike and tri gadgets. But my friends all have the big Cuisinart something or other on their countertops.
#55 Apologies – I own it.
#56 Lawyers – Wouldn't the world be a better place if we didn't need them?
#57 Juno – Heard it was great. I have reservations for personal reasons.
#58 Japan – Hmmm. No.
#59 Natural Medicine – Spent two hours researching acupuncture last night.
#60 Toyota Prius - NO, but I would.
#61 Bicycles – Um, yeah... Four bikes, two people... Yeah, it's true, I was at the bike shop just yesterday.
#63 Expensive Sandwiches – Not very often, but when I do... They really DO taste better!
#64 Recycling – Sure.
#65 Co-Ed Sports – I have some really good memories of my Detroit Sport and Social Club Leagues... Ah... The good ol' days... Met my husband on a coed volleyball league.
#66 Divorce - It's not for me, but unfortunately I do have friends that have been into this.
#67 Standing Still at Concerts – I'm sure I have.
#68 Michel Gondry - Not me, Matt, you in for this?
#69 Mos Def - Not white enough apparently.
#70 Difficult Breakups - Been there, done that.
#71 Being the only white person around – Original article spoke to being the only white person in a restaurant. I did one better. I lived in a remote African village for three months in college.
#72 Study Abroad – See #71.
#73 Gentrification – hee hee. Better not make comments here... But read the original. It's funny!
#74 Oscar Parties - Matt's name sure has popped up here a lot, hasn't it? I'm thinking Matt must be REALLY white!
#75 Threatening to Move to Canada – I really DO like Canada! If only it weren't so cold there...
#76 Bottles of Water – Okay, I'm into Nalgenes. See #64.
#77 Musical Comedy – I was gonna say no, but Weird Al and Adam Sandler apparently fall into this category. And well, they make me laugh a lot.
#78 Multilingual Children – I support it.
#79 Modern Furniture – Not me, but the husband likes it.
#80 The Idea of Soccer – Late twenties... Co-ed leagues... and traveling... Check.
#81 Graduate School - Admittedly, a grad degree in education really shouldn't be put in the same category as Kirk's soon to be MBA, but I can associate...
#82 Hating Corportations - I love that the original blog sites that white people must "NEVER, EVER mention Apple Computers, Target or Ikea in the same breath as... Wal*Mart, McDonald's, Haliburton" (pee your pants moment there!)
#83 Bad Memories of High School - Making homecoming court, good... Hopping into corvette to ride around field during halftime, slipping and exposing breast to entire crowd, Bad.
#84 T-shirts - Where them anytime I can. But they can't be mom t-shirts, in the same category as mom jeans... That's bad.

There you go... Apparently I'm pretty white.

Summer vacation plans 2008

2008-03-08T23:05:00.003-07:00

After doing the Boulder Peak triathlon for something like 5 years now (I forgot exactly) we're now thinking about skipping it this year....

We know we need to sign up ASAP because it's close to filling... but maybe we will just do a couple other events this year and do a roadtrip this summer instead...

The Boulder Peak is on July 20 this year.... (also about the same time that the week long Ragbrai bike festival in Iowa will be starting!) We're thinking about road tripping across the country and maybe doing some volunteering for a little race up in Lake Placid on July 20 this year instead... Yeah, you know... One of those races that goes until midnight... And then everybody stands in line for hours the next day to register for the following year.

My husband is all for it. I said I wouldn't sign up... Because we want to get pregnant... But really!? Can I really watch it and NOT want to sign up????

It's all talk right now.

The latest drama is now over.

2008-03-08T22:42:00.004-07:00

I've continually thought that I was no longer in the running to be a contestant for season 2 on American Gladiators... And just about the time a week goes by... When I decide to blow the diet... Yeah, they call or email. It has been nuts. At least once a week, sometimes more I hear from them... Last weekend was the mother of all panic attacks when I decided to blow the diet... And then checked my spam box and discovered an email notifying me that they still hadn't made any decisions yet. All the while kicking myself for eating the chocolate chip cookies earlier that morning.

Last Sunday I got the email with 40 pages of legal documents that I needed to look over, flag, and highlight. Boy! Let me tell you! I will never watch reality television the same again! They leave no stone unturned when it comes to possible things I might come back and sue them on. It had everything from understanding that I might be hurt, injured, or even die! (okay, that's nothing new. I sign those everytime I ski or do a tri.) To me acknowledging that I would be athletically disadvantaged to people that could knowingly be on steroids... But I would have to positively drug test that I am not. Then there were the confidentiality agreements... And of course the misrepresentation clauses that scared me the most... Put simply, when you choose to be on a reality television show, you have NO rights. Pretty scary stuff when you're putting it all out there.

I received the legal stuff on Sunday, they were notifying people on Tuesday, and people were to report (packed for two months) to Los Angeles on Thursday.

Needless to say, I'm SOOO relieved because they didn't call on Tuesday. How I could pack for two months in two days is one thing... Writing sub plans for two months... ha ha ha... That's a total joke!

Things all work out for the best, don't they? Sure I would have liked the shot at $100K in a realm that looked like a whole lot of fun, but overall, I'm extremely relieved I didn't have to sign the 40 pages of legal documents that scared me to death. I'm actually really glad that I don't have to be on national television with the potential to look and act like a total idiot.

If nothing else, all this got me off the couch and back into the gym with a vengeance. I start a really good half marathon training plan next week. I've got a really nice base going into it. And if I stick with the weightlifting, I'm gonna have some nice arms come tank top season!

I think the best thing of all is that I was drifting into a serious post-ironman depression this winter... I'm still not pregnant, I had no big events going on, typical winter-time depression... I'm happy to say that I just had an exciting roller coaster of a month and a half that completely got me out of my funk!

And now spring is knocking on the window! Strangely, I was so happy to be done with long weekend bike rides and runs after my ironman... But I'm just dying for the weather to break so I can get back out there again. Life is good.

Stepping Up!

2008-02-18T20:17:00.005-07:00

A couple of days ago I went on a rant about people that complain because they wish they were more fit, but the only thing they do... IS COMPLAIN ABOUT IT!!!!!!

Well, here's to my sister-in-law! About two months ago she took on the challenge of her brother, my husband, and started to do some work outs that he prescribed. She has now lost 12 pounds!!!!!! And... This weekend she did a 5K! Today I solute the people that make the effort and put their two feet on a start line! I'm proud of you girl!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pre race jitters?

How does this thing attach on your shoe???

Good starting pace

You try to run up that hill and maintain a smile!

The home stretch!

Looks like the post race endorphins are in full swing!

Congratulations Niki!!!!!!!!!!

The latest...

2008-02-15T09:35:00.002-07:00

Whoo-hoo! I pulled two 12 and 13 hour days at school this week because we had parent/teacher conferences so I have a comp day today! Yahoo! I got to sleep in. A few minutes to update the blog... And then I'm out the door to enjoy some powder on the slopes this afternoon before all the Denverites head up to ski this weekend!

Update #1 - "The Diet"
Monday was really hard, but I surprised myself that when I limited my lunch to just a sandwich and water... I then had a midafternoon snack... And it wasn't bad! I've been hungry every night and I've been struggling with that a bit. I'm also really focusing on getting my calories from protein and good carbs. I definitely need to continue to up my protein intake.

The news I want to celebrate! The wonderful parents at my school brought in all matter of cookies, lemon bars, pie, and brownies for us to munch on during conferences. The first night it absolutely KILLED me to avoid all the sweets. It was just awful. On night 2, it was hard, but not as hard to avoid. Yesterday was Valentine's Day. I could NOT believe the amount of sweets in our teacher's lounge. I avoided every single Hershey Kiss, gummy bear, you name it! And it wasn't as hard as you'd think. I really do think that once you rid your body of all the sugars, it doesn't crave it as much. I'm really happy with how I avoided all the sweets this week. I'm really happy I finally have something in my life to scare the living daylights out of me enough that I'm finally going to scrutinize my diet.

Update #2 - "American Gladiators"
I don't really know anything at this point, so I think it's safe to talk about. My whole school knows about it. Heck, I had a couple teachers comment that they were bored and wanted to come in to talk to me during conferences, but I ALWAYS had parents in my room. I told the other teachers that they would have been a whole lot more popular if they had tried out for "American Gladiators"! I swear, 2/3 to 3/4 of my conferences had absolutely nothing to do with school. All the parents and kids just wanted to talk to me about trying out for the show. I'm not complaining. It was fun.

Thus far I had to do an on-camera interview in workout clothes, with the show's logo in the background. If I'm selected, they'll use some of that footage for my profile. Naturally I have to be the Monday morning quarterback and rethink everything I said and answered, but I can't change it now. They also gave me 2 1/2 days to go home and make a home video tape of myself that they might also use footage from.

Thank goodness I work in a school that it nutty over the fact that I tried out for the show. Our tech ed department let me borrow a camera, and then they did all the editing for me. The guys didn't use all the footage that I would have liked, but then again, it was probably good to have a third party choose what went into the video and what didn't. My only regret is that my husband and I got up at 5 a.m. to film, and then stayed up until 12:30 to film. We did some filming of me with my bike on the trainer when my husband starts laughing. "You should tell them you like to watch the Weather Channel!" (For some reason he thinks this is absolutely hillarious. I feel the same way about him because he watches poker on tv. To me, that's even more boring!) Anyways, I look into the camera and say "And one unique thing about me... I can watch the Weather Channel for hours on end." My husband thinks this is just funniest thing ever. My tech ed department decides to use it in the film....

Um... Good choice? Bad choice? While it might have been funny at 12:30 at night, it wasn't as funny the next day. I'm sure the producers think I'm a barrel of laughs at this point. Yeah right! But what can you do now?

So for now I'm just waiting. If they want me on the show, they could call anytime between now and the time they start filming in Los Angeles. If they don't, I won't hear anything. If they do want me I hope they notify me sooner than later. I'm going to have some hoops to jump through to get the time off from school. Who knows. I'm trying to pump up as much as possible if they do call. If not, I've really enjoyed the status upgrade at school. As one parent commented, "You've had a good year, haven't you?"

Yep. It's been a good year! Now off to the slopes!!!! Yee-ha!!!!

Never say "DIET"

2008-02-11T20:22:00.000-07:00

I've never once in my life subscribed to a diet. I LOVE food! I always justify my food intake with a harder workout later. So far, it's worked well for me. But for once, I want to one up the system. I want to see what might happen if I really and truly watched everything I eat... One month...

Man... This is going to be a tough month. I'm aiming for 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fat. I plan to up my workouts at the same time... If I'm a little crabby... I'm sorry. It's just an experiment... I may never try this again...

My Rant for the Day

2008-02-11T19:44:00.000-07:00

Okay... Once again, I'm going to rant on my personal semi-anonymous forum, that often makes me completely regret publicly saying what I think... But I need to vent... And this is my 2 inches of worldwide internet space... So here I go!

Things that are okay to say to a friend that is more athletic than yourself:
1. How do you get "X" body part to look that way? It looks great.
2. How often do you workout? It's obvious that you work hard.
3. I'd really like to get more fit. Would you consider suggesting some workouts, working with me, showing me how you do this, that, or the other?

Comments to ANNOY a person more athletic than yourself:
1. I love the way "X" body part looks on you. I wish I was born with "X" like that.
2. (Even better! follow the above phrase up with:) Do you think swimming and biking help that? Because there's no way I plan to swim or bike, but I'd love my "X" to look like yours.
3. Watch what you eat? C'mon! Like you really need to worry about that.
4. Guess what? I only had McDonald's ONCE last week! Aren't you proud of me!!!?
5. Gosh I sure wish I looked like you. Unfortunately I can't go running with you this Sunday or the next three Sundays because I have to get my nails done and then get a massage. But boy do I wish I could look like you.
6. You worry too much about what you eat and working out. You need to relax. I wish I looked like you.
7. You worked out yesterday. Do you really need to workout today? What's it really matter? Loosen up! I wish I looked like you.

Grrrrrrr..... Some people get it.... Some people don't....

Not quite a race report

2008-02-03T21:26:00.000-07:00

If you have a blog, you fully understand that your brain is always on blog alert... "Hey, that would be fun to blog about." So I had today's post all set to go in my head. I kept the title that I intended, because I fully intended to write a race report type blog of my experience standing in line for the American Gladiator tryouts...

Here we are at 8:15 in the morning.

This is the line that we were waiting in for the next four hours. It moved about 10 feet every 15 minutes. We stood in that line until almost noon.

At noon, we finally made it into the building. We stood in that line for almost two hours. It weaved up a set of stairs and down a hallway that wasn't actually that long.Then we stood in line for over 3 hours on the track above all the action down below.

And then came the fun part. The try-outs!

I fully intended to talk about things like the people in line... Because you kind of get to know the people around you when you stand in line with them for almost ten hours. Although half the people that started in line with us, never stuck it out to finish in line with us. There was the girl that flew in from Seattle and did warm-up and stretch routines every hour with the hope that maybe we would actually audition in the next hour. (Ha!) And the boys behind us that drove in from Kansas early that morning, stood in line for 5 hours, and then without actually trying out, decided to drive back to Kansas (Huh? Wha?). I was going to post on how Tim and I left completely pumped on a total high because we had so much fun. Yeah... Just ask me what I did this weekend. I dare ya! (Only to get called out by my husband because he remembers talking to me on the phone at noon when I was still standing in line, and then again at 3 in the afternoon when I was still standing in line and gave in to the idea that one more hour just wasn't going to happen.) But in the end, it really was a lot of fun and very worth standing in line all day.

So yeah... I had planned to do all that fun blog stuff... But now I have something better to blog about...

I GOT THE CALLBACK!!!!!!!! I have an on-camera interview on Tuesday. I probably can't disclose too much more because I've already signed a bunch of legal papers and it sounds like they need me to sign even more... But nonetheless, wish me luck!

Living life with no regrets

2008-02-02T21:16:00.000-07:00

I figured it out! How do you follow-up an Ironman and beat the post-big-event depression?

Yeah baby! Yes, it's true, I stood in line for almost 10 hours to be on a reality tv show... Yep, never thought that would happen... But I don't regret it for a second. Yee-haw!!!!!!! I definitely have new respect for the long try-out lines on American Idol. Yes, it was long, but the people watching and eavesdropping was a blast.

Today I tried out to be on American Gladiators! How awesome is that!!!!!!!? It all started with my assistant principal egging me earlier this week. She had heard they were doing a casting call in the Denver area. She said I was the one person in her mind that could do it. She thought it would be great to get my whole school behind me. I just laughed at her. But then I went home and thought about... I laughed some more, but I entertained the idea. Hmmmm.... I asked my husband... He didn't laugh. I asked my brother, he didn't laugh. I knew my husband had to work, but I knew somebody else that would be AWESOME on that show. My husband's best friend runs, lifts, and does martial arts. The guy has NO body fat! He is solid muscle. He wasn't home, so I talked to his wife... She didn't laugh at me either! As my husband put it, "You're the only one that's laughing about it." Tim calls me back. He loves the idea! Tim was a great person to spend 10 hours in line with, too.

On Friday, I told several teachers and students that I was going to do it. (No backing out now! The accountability piece was now in place!) You know what? I think I was by far the most popular teacher in the school by the end of the day Friday! When I told my students they starting roaring and throwing fists in the air. Yeah! Go teacher! I love my kids! I still don't know who did it, but somebody hung a huge 'Good Luck' banner at the school exit for all to see. EVERYbody saw it by the end of the day! I was receiving well wishes and highfives from everybody! Ha! I think I received more whoop-la for trying out for this than I did for doing my Ironman! I couldn't believe it!

On a more serious note, I always wanted to make a difference in my kids lives by being a great teacher. As it turns out, I think my best teaching moments are occuring not from hours of lesson planning, but by telling stories about things that have nothing to do with school. I told my students that I didn't think I could do an Ironman, but I tried, and I did it. I know my chances are slim to be on this tv show, but I'm going to give it a shot, even if people laugh at me. My students were so supportive. I told them that I want them to remember me later in their life if there's ever something they want to do, but they're afraid they can't do it or somebody might laugh at them. Would you believe my students were hooked on my every word when I gave them my little pep talk? This has been one of the most rewarding years of my teaching career. I really do love my job as a teacher.

Tim and I stood outside in the cold for 4 hours.

We stood in line inside for 5 1/2 hours.

I told myself to keep it fun but somehow I still had race nerves. I had the same pre-race butterflies. I made the extra trips to the restroom. The five minute physical test was harder than I expected. It was a blast. Thanks for sharing this great day with me Tim! I'll post some of his pictures tomorrow. The pictures here were taken from the casting story at 9news.com.

Today, I like me. I like knowing that I've lived a full life. I like that I do crazy things that other people want to do, but for whatever reason, they won't. Don't be that person! Are you living a full life?

Why I won't leave...

2008-01-28T19:37:00.000-07:00

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

2008-01-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

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!!!!

2008-01-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

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

2008-01-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

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!

Here's to the new year!

2007-12-27T13:27:00.000-07:00

Merry, Merry holidays to anybody that just happens to be reading this!

My husband and I had a wonderful Christmas with our family this year. I hope you did too!

Have you ever heard the phrase, "God, please let me be the person my dog things I am?" I haven't done much since the Ironman... But if I could be anybody at all... I'd say, "God, please let me be the athlete that my coworkers think I am." Ha! I haven't done much working out since Ironman the first of November, but boy do some of my coworkers love to have fun making up workouts that I supposedly do in my free time these days... "She probably goes home everyday and runs 9 miles on the treadmill since it's snowing out. Then she probably runs 3 more miles backwards. Yeah, and then...." Boy, do I wish I was the person they think I am... ha!

Thing is... I'm not going to be that person that they think I am... I'm instead going to be "THAT" person. Y'know... The ones that you've never seen at the gym, and then suddenly on Jan. 1 you can't get a treadmill because "those" people are hogging up the machines. Yep. that's going to be me this year. I've done a few workouts here and there recently, but not much. I've eaten a whole lot of cookies, and gotten a whole lotta extra sleep though! I'm going to get back on the horse at the new year. I normally detest THAT person. But this year... I own it. I'm going to be one of the reasons the treadmills are busy when you go in on Jan. 1.

Thanks to Chris because he now has me all signed up for my first race of 2008. The Colfax half-marathon! Can't wait Chris!!!!! Chris and I are pretty even paced, too. Could be interesting!!!

Happy New Year everybody!!! May your 2008 be happy and healthy!!!!

I send sincere love to all my friends and family. I am a very blessed person.

Turtle Updates

2007-12-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

First update) I'm still living. I'm still glowing with the new found pride of all that I know I have the ability to do--which is now anything!!!! I'm an Ironman!!!! And it's the best feeling ever!!!!

Second update) My coach told me not to think about running for a month after Ironman. I didn't. Oh happy day. He told me swimming and biking would be fine... But I didn't think about those either...

My race was on Nov. 3. On November 30, it hit me. Up until that time, I'd think "I should probably work out tomorrow." And then tomorrow, I'd think the exact same thought. On Nov. 30, I really, really, really felt like running. So I got up the courage to go to the rec center and I went for a run!!! Whoo-hoo! And the next morning? I felt like running again!!!! Can you believe that? And I enjoyed it. Tonight, my body is all but screaming "Put that bike on the trainer!!! PLEASE!!!!" So that's what I'm going to do. I'm glad I gave my body the break. It's now ready to get back on the horse.

Third Update) I'm definitely struggling with some issues. I LOVE the shape I'm in right now. I'm also loving that I don't have to fit 2 workouts in a day. I don't have to fit in any workouts if I don't want to. But I need to stay in shape. ESPECIALLY during the holidays!

I need a goal. I'm just that kind of person. I need the fear and drive for my motivation. No goal = no motivation. So.... Triple Bypass next summer. Done it before, but I want to do better. It's a stellar goal. OF COURSE I want to do another Ironman. My husband and I have had many, many discussions on the merits of this race vs. that race. We also now know the cost of an Ironman (both physically and financially--Ouch! Not a bad thing to save a little cash before the next one!) I'd also love to do a marathon without the prerequisite 2.4/112 warm up!

Here's my dilemma: I'm a 35 year old woman that has been wanting to get pregnant for almost 3 years. Okay, so the last year was worth throwing my body into mass chaos just to take my mind off of things. And really, it didn't actually throw my body into any sort of chaos. I just got a little more fit in the process. It was fantastic and I don't regret it for a second. I keep thinking that Susan Williams had baby Sydney while she was training for the Sydney Olympics. Doctors really don't know why some people get pregnant just thinking about sex, and others... Well... Who knows why they can't get pregnant? (If you don't know me, I have plenty of body fat--that's not the issue.)

That said, can I really put my heart into the Triple, a marathon, or another Ironman if I really want to get pregnant?

This blog was meant to be very tri specific. I'm comfortable posting to the world about training and racing. I'm not as comfortable using it as an online personal diary. I still have every intention of doing my ol' favorites in the Boulder 5430 series this summer... But I just can't decide what else to put on my calendar right now.

If you don't hear from me for awhile, don't worry. I'm in a good place. I think I just have to sit back and let life dictate to me how things need to go. That's a little hard when I've spent the last year of my life dictating to my body THIS is what you're going to do. At the very minimum, I'll be back soon as the Spring race season takes off again. Because our year of ultimate endurance has peaked, my husband swears that this next year is the year of speed. Watch out friends and family! Greg is on a mission! The rumor at our house is that a certain Mr. Leidel will be left in the dust at next years Bolder Boulder!!!!

Good Times!

2007-11-12T23:25:00.000-07:00

I guess it's time to cut my bracelet off. It's only been a week, but that smile continues on...

The Recap

2007-11-07T20:49:00.001-07:00

It's a long race report, and I feel like it's still missing details that stand out in my mind (like the guy in the aero helmet, disc wheel, looking like he was really something... Only I was passing him at mile 95... Dude, if I'M passing you, you're not a stud! While I was overtaking him, I thought his water bottle was leaking... I was wrong.)

I really feel blessed that we had such good weather. It was 77 degrees. Calm waters. And only a very slight headwind on the second half of the bike course. How did I get so lucky? I know that I had friends that said they were praying for us. That's cool.

We took an entourage of friends of family with us--and I so appreciate them! We had other friends that couldn't go, but called the friends that were there and were able to get live updates. I never thought doing an Ironman would make me feel so loved!

I also had no idea that finishing the Ironman would give me the great sense of accomplishment that it has. I've heard people say that the training is the hardest part of doing an Ironman. It's funny, because you build so much through your training, you don't always see it when you're in it. I started with 2.5 hour bike rides. Then I went up to 5 hours. I knew it was going up to 7 hours. I didn't get down on it, because I always knew it was gonna get harder, so I tried to appreciate the easier stuff while I had it. Even my hardest workouts didn't seem that hard because I knew race day would be even harder. It wasn't always convenient, and I frequently had to move things around, skip time with friends, but I did every key workout. It paid out. I had no problems on the swim. I was getting tired on the bike, but I knew I could do it. The run? My legs had learned autopilot when they hurt... And it came in handy. I had my nutrition down... Do the training. Believe in your training. It WILL get you there.

I'm so thankful that I had did a couple half Ironman's in my training. I made mistakes in those races that I did NOT make in the big one. :)

I'm so happy I had a husband that understood and supported me. Our house and yard went downhill big time during all this. Weekends were devoted to training, and then we were too tired to do stuff around the house. It was so nice that we both understood that. Doing an Ironman made my marriage stronger.

Don't make big plans the days prior to your race. I thought I was all packed and ready when I flew out of Denver, but there was still so much to do at the race site beforehand.

Get to the merchandise tent a half hour before it is slated to open the morning after the race. We did and it paid off. They opened early and we had first pick of the newly put out finisher merchandise. When we left the store, there was a 45 minute wait to get in the store, and by then it was already picked over.

Stay positive during the race. Push every negative thought as far away as possible. Easier said than done, I know. But it makes ALL the difference in the world.

It was amazing. If you've ever thought about doing an Ironman, do it. With training, it IS possible. I'm living proof.

Pre-Race and the Swim

2007-11-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

IM Able had warned me not to make plans the day before the race because the day would fly by. My coach urged me not to make plans the two days before the race. Both gave great advice. I don’t know where the time went, but it seemed like I spent a great deal of wasted time down at Ironman Village the two days prior. Every visit (registration, bike and bag drop off, athlete dinner and meeting, random visits to the expo) was a minimum three hour visit, and I think we were there twice each day. We spent an hour just standing in line waiting to register to pick up our bags. It was worth it once we got in the tent to get all our swag. Every visit to Ironman village also fueled the butterflies in my stomach. The people walking around were amazingly fit. The inner demons continued to war that I did not belong there.

We rented a house just outside of town. We thought it was three miles from town. It was actually six, which might have been a little farther than I would have liked, but I wouldn't trade it. My husband said he thinks he would have preferred to stay at the race venue. I completely disagree. Everytime we went there, it keyed up my nerves too much. I was able to settle down a bit everytime we went back to the house. It was also loud with so much going on at the host hotel. I guess everybody is different.

I was up late packing all the transition bags two nights prior to the race because those get turned in the day before the race. I did okay on the sleep that night, but not as good as I had hoped. I was amazed the night prior to the race to find my husband in bed at 8 p.m. He always keeps me up far later than I want the night prior to a race. Even if he wasn’t saying much, this was a telltale sign that he was definitely nervous. Surprisingly, I slept good that night.

4:15 a.m. Rise and shine. I dressed quickly and headed up for breakfast. I always play with my food this early, I'm just not hungry yet, so I knew to give myself some time to force it down. Malt-O-Meal, half a bagel with peanut butter, half a banana, and some Green Machine juice. I’d practiced with this breakfast many times, and it hadn’t failed me yet.

We get to the race site. Tons of nervous energy everywhere. I was not alone. I restocked some of my transition bags because I came across some new issues that morning. I just kept reminding myself that when I ran my packing list by my coach, he reminded me to also pack a sense of flexibility, because something was sure to go wrong. I stayed positive.

I stood in line to have my bike tires pumped up one last time. Stood in line for the bathroom. It was now time to head to the beach. All of the athletes were being herded and we couldn’t see where they were herding us to. I just followed the slow moving mass of athletes. Finally I entered the small fenced channel that lead to the area for the athletes.

My husband and I kissed. I looked over at my friend Amy, and whether she realizes it or not, she looked like she wanted to cry. I have a very strong memory of Eminem’s song “Lose Yourself” blaring over the loud speaker. I think that was the beginning of a great day mentally for me.

You better lose yourself in the music,

the moment You own it, you better never let it go

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo

I looked up the lyrics just to make sure I was quoting them correctly because naturally I was singing them the way that worked best for me in my head, and I just noticed the last verse of the song…

You can do anything you set your mind to, man

That's cool. I found myself humming it again on my bike later in the day when I needed a boost.

The canon blew. I started on the far left closest to the buoys, about 2/3 the way back. I realized that I didn’t get in the water to warm up prior to the start, so I was worried that the water would be cold, but there was so much emotion at that moment, the water temp didn’t phase me. It was the same as every other triathlon I did this year. People were elbowing and kicking. Deal with it. When I made it to the first turn buoy, the helicopter was directly overhead and people were yelling “Don’t even think about cutting the inside of that buoy.” I came up to doggie paddle for a second, and there were a minimum of 30 heads bobbing that were also doggie paddling. Then it became a tread water session because there was no room to use my arms. We all moved as one head bobbing mass around the buoy. I remember somebody yelling, “Don’t worry, the first turn is the worst.” He was right. The second one was bad, but it was on par with other triathlons I’ve done. The difference with this triathlon was that usually I lose the pack about half way through the loop. This was an Ironman with 2200 people. I continued to get kicked and punched the entire 1.2 miles, all the way into land.

I looked at my watch. I did 41 minutes. I did 44 and 45 at my HIM’s this summer. Nice job me! I ran back in the water, and I couldn’t believe that I was on my second loop. The first loop flew by. I think all the jockeying for position took my mind off everything else. The second loop dragged a little more, and I was still running into people off and on. I just tried to enjoy it. I was doing an Ironman! The water was perfect. I only saw two jellyfish. There were no big waves throwing me around or making me seasick like I feared. I had felt my skin tingle a couple times. Could that have been a jellyfish sting? It didn’t hurt enough. It could just be the residual from a good kick or punch. Who knows? I never felt overly tired on the swim. My training had set me up well. I got out of the water with a giant smile on my face. When I did my HIM last summer, I couldn’t imagine doing a second 1.2 mile loop. I just did two loops in 1:29. I slapped hands with fans on the course and had so much energy I ran all the way to the changing tent. I was actually surprised that I was one of a very few that was running. Most everybody was walking.

Transition 1:
Wow. There were a lot of women in there. Where to go? I finally found a spot right in the middle of the room, and everything was wet and sandy, so pulling out the stuff in my bag was tricky. I was trying to hurry. “Lori!” It was my friend Amy. She was in there, already dressed and leaving. She had beaten me in the swim! I was sad because her swim times weren’t as strong as mine this past summer, but I quickly pushed it out of my head. Be happy for her. We both did awesome! This race was for me anyways. I just had to finish. It wasn’t about beating anyone. It was about beating the clock. Go Amy!

The Bike

2007-11-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

I was told that my tongue would swell from the salt water and not to let it freak me out. As it turned out, my tongue didn't feel swollen, but it did feel like it was covered in hair for the first hour and a half. It was just a weird feeling.

I really wanted to maintain at least 15 mph, so I kept it right there. Everybody and their grandmother was passing me. Deal with it. I stopped to go to the bathroom at the 1:30 mark. I had to wait in line for three people. I didn’t like that, but I tried to appreciate the butt time off the seat. I saw lots of people with flat tires. One poor guy had a tv camera about two inches from his nose while he changed his tire. I felt bad for him. Who the heck wants a camera in your face at a time like that?

The special needs stop was kind of fun. It was like a drive up service. They had boxes with sets of 50 numbers per box set up along the road for about a quarter of a mile. My box was near the end. I rode up to it and a volunteer handed me my bag. There were two other girls next to me. One was eating a PB & J. Ooh! That sounds good! She offered me a bite (aren’t triathletes the best?!) I declined because I had my own. It was good, too! (I ran into her again later, she asked “Are you the PB & J girl?” I had fun talking to lots of people on the bike.)

I remembered that my coach had told me to start out at the pace I thought I would be riding at the 90 mile mark. I had originally forgotten that, but luckily I didn’t go out hard anyways. I remembered this, because suddenly I started to pass people. From halfway on, I passed people, and some passed me. My coach was absolutely right when he said people would go out too hard and blow up later on.

My butt started to hurt around hour 3. I just told myself, “Don’t be surprised! You even blogged about how you know your butt always hurts between hours 3 & 4 and then it gets a little better.” I did start to get really tired though. This course is flat, which is nice, but there is no recourse. You never get to coast. You just have to pedal, pedal, pedal. Argh. I wanted to savor every moment on the bike, but I was definitely getting tired. I swear the mileage between miles 90 and 100 were wrong. It sure did seem like 20 miles instead of 10. When we turned to head into to town, I got a spring in my step again. I only had a handful of miles left, and I had just crossed the 7 hour mark. I was going to come in around 7.5 hours. I got teary at that moment (that was the only moment the entire race). I thought for sure I would do 8 or 8.5 hours. I bettered what I thought I could do. I was going to have 8 hours for the run. I WAS GOING TO DO THIS!!!!! Barring any stomach issues, I was going to finish! I was so happy.

It hurt to walk when I got off the bike. Our parents had signed up to bodymark, and they were STILL in the transition area. No wonder they weren’t out on the bike course cheering us on (but we had other friends that were. They were awesome! Thanks Matt, Dani, and Julie!) I couldn’t believe our parents were still there in the transition area. My father in-law handed me my bag. I could tell he was really proud of me. My mom cheered. I could hardly walk I was so stiff. I went in, changed my clothes (with the help of an awesome volunteer), and suddenly my legs felt fresh again.

I started running.

The Run

2007-11-07T19:40:00.000-07:00

My coach wanted me to walk the first five minutes, but he also told me that if I couldn’t resist running in front of the crowds, to walk as soon as I turned the corner. (It paid to have a coach that knew this course and had experience with it.) My legs felt surprisingly good.

I'll never forget passing several people in the first couple miles of that run. Granted, they were surely on their second lap, and I was only on my first... But I NEVER pass people on the run. Never! I remember commenting to myself, "I LOVE Ironman!" I finally found a race where people run at MY pace. Best thing ever!!!!

My coach had me practicing a 9 minute run/1 minute walk the last month and a half. I did practice that. I did! But all along, I knew in my head that I wanted to do a 5 minute run/ 1 minute walk when it came to the real thing. (I never told him that until after the race though!) Anyway you cut it, I always seemed to do 12 minute miles. Straight, 9/1, or 5/1. Might as well stick with the 5/1!!!! When I bonked hard at the Harvest Moon half Ironman, I managed to get my feet to do the 5/1 pace and it put me back at a 12 minute mile, and perfectly paced to walk the aid stations. Here I was, doing an Ironman, a full Ironman, and it was once again working perfectly. I was consistently pulling into an aid station every other walk break, and doing 12 minute miles. It was great.

I wasn’t the least bit hungry, but once again I remembered the nice bonk I had at Harvest Moon. At that race, I didn’t feel like anything would stay down, but I forced a power gel into me, and it really helped. Thusly, at mile 3, while I didn’t want anything this time either, I again forced a power gel down. I never ever had stomach problems the entire race. I feel really blessed. I had quit eating any solid foods with 1 ½ hours to go on the bike. I had learned at the 5430 tri that Coca-Cola worked well. It was an Ironman, so I HAD to try the chicken broth (it was okay, not great.) I steadied out the entire race by alternating those three basic things and never had problems.

I look back at this entire race and compare it to the college exam you studied so hard for, and fear that your gonna fail, but then you get in there, and you know all the questions. I did not face anything in this triathlon that I didn’t face in my training and shorter races.

I was happy because I made it to St. Andrews State Park before it was dark. I really wanted to see what I would be running through the rest of the night. It was getting dusk. I made a point to use the porta potty one last time before it got too dark to see anything. (Those things were nasty! There was no way I was going in there once it was dark out!)

I saw my friends Matt, Dani, and Julie! They cheered and told me that I went from being 40 minutes behind Amy to now being 15 minutes behind Amy. I had seen her at the turn around. She looked tired.

I saw my husband. We kissed. He always talks about having feelings of attachment. I had so many feelings of attachment at that moment. I love him with all my heart, and from the smile on his face, I feel like he definitely reciprocated. I was so happy.

Before I knew it, I was nearing the 13.1 turnaround. Now I had heard stories of how this can be a big blow to the ego and completely disheartening. You’re heading out on the second loop while others are finishing. For whatever reason, it didn’t bother me. Who cares? I’m going to finish too! There were so many people there cheering. It definitely made the mile in and the mile out go by fast. I stopped and looked in my special needs bag, but there was nothing in there that I wanted. I just threw it aside and kept going.

I just pulled out my half marathon in 2:45. I did 3:09 and 3:04 at my HIM’s this summer. I couldn’t believe it. I just did twice as much swimming and biking this time! Wha? My goal had always been to run the first half and walk the rest if I needed, but my legs were on auto pilot. My legs were no stranger to the aches they were currently feeling. They had felt this way many times in my training. I figured I’d just keep going until I couldn’t go anymore. I was bound to hit “the wall” at some point.

I was now about mile 16? I saw Amy up ahead. Her boyfriend was walking with her. I wasn’t really making any ground on her, nor did I want to. Once I passed her, would I lose some of my steam? Unconsciously, I think she was a rabbit that I was chasing. What would I do once I passed her? DARN! Ben just turned around and saw me. As soon as he saw me, he took off. I walked with her. She was fussing about something with her mile splits and I wasn’t really sure what she was talking about. After some small talk, I finally just snapped at her. “If you’re going to be negative, I can’t hang with you! You need to cut it out! We’re on an Ironman course and we’re going to do this!!! Who cares what time your mile splits are! We just have to finish in 17 hours and even if we walk the rest of this, we're going to do that! 17 hours! That’s ALL that matters!!!! We’re going to be Ironmen today!!!” She didn’t complain again.

I felt bad because she did have a nice walk pace going. I couldn’t walk that fast, my legs hurt. I asked her to slow down. I was anxious to start running again. I finally told her that I had been doing a 5/1 plan, and it was working really well for me. She said she’d try it. We did 2-3 miles of that, but Amy started struggling. Soon we were doing 2-3 minutes, and then walking. And then more walking. She encouraged me to go on without her. I was so torn. If I stayed with her, I would be a really great friend that she would give credit to forever. Of course, if I stayed with her, I might also hold a grudge against her forever, too. What to do?

(She also admitted that she hadn’t eaten anything at all on the run course. I forced her to eat some gel and later some chicken broth.)

At about mile 20, I told her that it hurt more for me to walk than it did to run. (Which it did. My legs hurt no matter what I was doing, but in my heart I wanted to believe that my legs hurt worse when I was walking.) I decided to go on without her. I had told Amy that I was sure she'd catch me when I hit “the wall.” She encouraged me and told me that if I hadn’t hit it yet, I wasn’t going to hit it.

(Amy walked until the last mile. She managed to sprint the last mile and finished at 15:20. I'm so glad I didn't stay with her. There's no way I could have busted out a sprint at the end. Congrats Amy!)

For some reason, I had in my mind that I could probably run the next six miles without taking any walk breaks. I just wanted to finish. That was kind of stupid. I was hurting. I had to remind myself that 5/1 worked really good, I shouldn’t feel guilty for continuing my walk breaks. I was only feeling guilty because I left Amy behind.

I came up on the spot where my friends had been previously. I was sad. I assumed they went to the finish line to see Greg. That’s okay. I’m happy that they were there to cheer for him. Then lo and behold, they jumped out and screamed and yelled for me! They told me Greg had finished in 13 hours 4 minutes. I was SO happy for him!!!!

I knew the neighborhoods I was about to go in would be lonely. I continued to talk and cheer on every athlete I saw.

I knew that with a mile and a half to go, there were lots of people along the course. They would pull me in. When I got there, I was kind of sad, because most of the people had left. It was lonely afterall, but I could hear Mike Reilly in the distance. I thought he said something about one minute until the 16th hour. I had been so excited because I thought I might pull out a 15:30 overall time. That didn’t matter. I was still going to be an Ironman. I gave what I could, which wasn’t much. I remembered my friend Kirk (IMWI 06) telling me that the last half mile doesn’t hurt. When I came in to the home stretch there were 1/3 of the people that had been there when I came through at the turnaround earlier in the evening. But I didn’t care. Some of the athletes leaving with their bikes cheered me in. I was smiling SO big!!!!

The finisher chute DID have a ton of people. Lots of people had their hands out to high five. I high fived everyone I saw. I never heard Mike Reilly call my name, but saw my family. I DID IT!!!! I JUST DID THE IRONMAN!!! AND OH MY GOODNESS! THE CLOCK SAYS 15:09!!!!! Mike Reilly hadn’t said the 16th hour earlier, he had said the 15th hour! OH MY GOSH!!!! I DID IT!!! I not only did it, I did it in 15:09!!!! I seriously thought that if I could do it, I was going to do it in 16:59. I couldn’t believe it!!!!!!

The catcher guy wouldn’t let go of me when I told him I was fine, but laughed because I almost started jumping up and down each time they’d hand me something new: the t-shirt, then the medal, then the hat. They were laughing so much at me. I was so happy.

The rest is kind of a blur. My legs really started to cramp up and hurt badly. I got a massage. Oooh, that was nice. It helped. But my legs continued to cramp through the night. Because our parents had volunteered in the transition area, they had already grabbed our bags and taken care of our bikes for us. (That was nice!)

I’m now home, and I’m still walking on clouds. I’m sad it’s over. I’m amazed I did it. The marathon!!! What on earth happened on the marathon out there!!!

I think the weather was PERFECT and that helped. Most importantly, I had my eye on the prize, and I never let the mental game get the best of me. I stayed on top of it the entire race. If I ever do one again, I may not have the same drive to finish that I did this time. That scares me… Because I want to experience that amount of happiness, success, and fulfillment over and over again. It was the most amazing experience ever. Will it have the same magic if I ever do it again?????

So many emotions to deal with now—but the private smile I harbor doesn’t fade. I did it. I am an Ironman!

The emotions continue

2007-11-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, full race report tomorrow night... I promise!!!!

I'm still trying to gather my thoughts. We have luggage and gear everywhere, so I need to focus on cleaning up all the stuff that got thrown around the house last night. And... I'm still really tired and ready to go to sleep.

But quickly for today... Being a school teacher and doing something like this is a great combination. I had lots of support the last week at work. (Nobody at my husband's work really cared, but he said it was okay because he had friends and family that made it a big deal for him.) My team all clapped and cheered when I walked in this morning. Someone decorated my classroom door and made me cry right there. I remember having 3 or 4 miles left on the run course, and just smiling like my cheeks were gonna break, and some guy told yelled at me, "Congratulations! The only thing you have left to do is cross that finish line and cry like a little girl." I laughed and told him I wasn't sure how he knew me so well. Funny thing is that I didn't cry when I crossed the finish line, I was so excited it never crossed my mind. I think I'm making up for it today. I cried when I saw my classroom door. I relished every hand shake I received today.

Tonight, I watched the one hour IM coverage we taped last year of the IMFL 06 race. Every time we watched it last year (and that was many times) we just sat in awe wondering if we could do it. Tonight I watched it analyzing what part of the course they were filming at and what it was like when I was there. I did cry when they showed the average joe age groupers coming in. I remember watching them before and idolizing them... Now I'm one of them... And it's the best feeling in the world.

I'm still in shock and disbelief. I did it. (Pinch myself.) Today I came across a couple of old sticky notes on some school folders that were buried. The sticky notes had old swim and bike workouts obviously meant for me to promptly leave school and accomplish that particular day. Today I had no workouts to rush off to. An overwhelming feeling of sadness came over me. It's over. I came home, made dinner, watched the 06' IMFL, and realized that normally I'd be heading to the pool soon. More tears...

My wedding day was the very best day of my life. If I had to define the emotion of that day, it would definitely be "HAPPY". Ironman has to be the second best day. While I cherish my wedding day, doing an Ironman has something totally different that will forever be marked in my life. I've always struggled with low self-esteem, and I don't want to come off like now I have an ego, but I really surprised myself out there. I still don't know how I pulled off that marathon, but I did it!!!! I guess deep down, I know that I set a goal that was completely out of the realm of possibility. I could have accepted it if I didn't make it. It was an outrageous goal. I still think I set the standards out of my league when I signed up last year... But I worked for it... And I did it. For once, I believe I'm somebody special.

I don't know how many times the last three days I've just sat quietly with a smile on my face. I hope I can retain these moments forever and ever, especially when I start to get down on myself. (The mega-overpriced finisher's photo and finisher jacket are worth every penny when you put it in those terms.)

Today, the emotions continue to be an open floodgate.

I promise a full race report tomorrow night, along with observations for those that aspire to do an Ironman someday. I'm also trying to talk my husband into writing a race report that I can post in addition to mine. Having this experience was amazing. Sharing this experience with him was even more amazing.

I AM AN IRONMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-11-05T20:45:00.000-07:00

15:09!

I'm finally home and pinching myself to make sure that I didn't just dream the past week.

Do I ever want to do an Ironman again????? No. But not for the reasons you might think. I had such an amazing experience, I just know that the second time around couldn't come anywhere close to having the magic that this one did, and that scares me... because I think Wisconsin would be pretty darn cool. We had so many family and friends supporting us both in person and afar. (I just don't think I could get that kind of support again!) The weather couldn't have been more perfect! 77 degrees and sunny, only a slight breeze the second half of the bike. I did the marathon. How on earth did my feet do that? I'm still in disbelief! It was such an amazing day.

I don't want to go into all the specifics right now. I've been exhausted physically and emotionally ever since I crossed that finish line. Once I got out of the water I just knew I was going to finish. All day long I told everyone I saw, "Today is the day I'm going to be an Ironman!" Some cheered me, some ignored me. I think my cheeks hurt from smiling nearly as much as my legs hurt, okay, maybe not that much. But I never had a moment in the race where I doubted whether I would make it. I was trained for everything I faced. It was the most amazing day and experience. Full race report forthcoming.

Time to leave

2007-10-30T22:24:00.001-06:00

I don't know whether the emotional roller coaster has come to a stand still--the last few days have been rush, rush, rush to get everything done, no time to think... Or if this ride is putting me in a hold pattern for a short time so I can really get a sense of the crazy free fall AAAAaaaggghhh! that I'm about to experience.

Either way, it has been nuts the last few days as we gather together every sticky note and every list that is laying around the house. I had to stay quite late at work the last two nights to finish writing all my sub plans. And well, now I'm just naming off stuff that isn't all that fun.

Here's what is! I teach middle school. In the middle school, teachers and kids are frequently teamed together. One of the times that my team meets every day is the first 15 minutes of the day. Today I walked in a minute or two late because I was rushing around on my last day, I walk in to the class... "Surprise!!!! Good luck!" My teammates had made a banner, 2 cakes (they laughed because they knew I wouldn't eat it, but the kids enjoyed it), and all the kids had previously made Good luck cards for me (with some of the cutest drawings of bicycles! I even saw some M-dots and attempts M-dot logos!) I'll tell you what, the butterflies haven't fluttered anywhere as close to the way they did this morning. It was really something. Teaching has it's down moments, but the up moments completely outweigh the down times.

We leave tomorrow morning. We have a house rented that will be joining two Ironman hopeful families (myself, my husband, and one of my best friends). We have family and friends staying with us, we'll be surrounded by love, and I want to relish EVERY moment of the next few days. I know it's going to go by too fast (except for the miles on the marathon, I'm sure those are going to drag on and on.)

Race day forecast is currently 76 degrees and sunny. Wow. How awesome is that!?

www.ironman.com #2275

It's time. I still feel like I need to pinch myself.
Here's to reaching your dreams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today's emotion?

2007-10-25T23:01:00.001-06:00

And the big announcer's voice comes across and asks, "On the Ironman emotional roller coaster, what is the Turtle feeling today?"

The answer: Excitement!

Today I want the picture of me crossing the finish SO bad! I want this! I want SO bad to return to school in my Ironman finisher t-shirt so that all my students and colleagues see that I did it! I want this!!!!! Today, I can't wait! Barring any major physical problems, I really should be able to do this in the 17 hours or less! I CAN do this!

Iron drama

2007-10-24T22:51:00.000-06:00

I feel like a total freak these days with the roller coaster rides of emotions that I'm feeling... But I think it's normal for any first-time Ironman competitor.

Anyways, today's over-thought out emotion is this: my predicted times are such that I could easily end up between 16-17 hours. I've read about people that thought they would finish there, but didn't finish at all. I've been trying so hard to mentally prepare myself to be okay with the journey if I don't finish...

But... There's a certain degree of self-fulfillment that I need to deal with. If I go into this knowing that I'll be okay if I don't finish... Who's to say that I won't quit when my legs are toast and more pain-filled than I ever thought imaginable... at mile 13 of the run? I can't let myself believe that it is okay to quit. I have to know I can do this! I have to believe it! I have to know that I will not quit! Somehow I need to balance the emotions of "It's okay if you don't finish" and "It's NOT okay if you don't finish!"

Stay tuned for more prerace Ironman drama queen action tomorrow!

Numbers

2007-10-23T20:49:00.001-06:00

2275

It's just a number, but it's so much more.... It's hours and hours and miles and miles of devotion. It's a number that represents a day that I won't long forget. It's a number that represents how much and how far I can push myself.

Strangers and not strangers

2007-10-23T20:33:00.000-06:00

1) I have a class of 6th graders that changes electives every 9 weeks. Yesterday was my first day with them. They are now gone until Monday to attend 6th grade Outdoor Ed. I will see the kids Monday and Tuesday of next week, and then I will be leaving them for a few days to accomplish this crazy dream. I apologized to the kids for leaving them when they get back. (We will have had only had four days together and then they have a sub for a week.) I explained why they'll have a sub, and what it was that I'll be doing and couldn't help but mention how scared I was.

Today, one of those students told me that she talked to her dad last night. He hopes to someday run in the Boston Marathon. He wanted his daughter to tell me that their family believes in me.... I got teary-eyed on the spot.

2) I have family and friends coming to Florida. We gave our parents the plane tickets because it means so much to us that they be there, but they still had to take the time out of their busy schedules. We have other friends that just decided to come and support us. We didn't bribe them or anything. Wow. Ironman was supposed to be a test and proof of what our bodies can do... I had no idea it would offer proof that we are blessed with a great family and some of the best friends in the world.

Colorado weather

2007-10-21T22:32:00.001-06:00

Did I mention the beautiful Colorado bike ride I went on two days ago? Yes, I even re-created a couple tan lines that were fading from the summer. One thing you can never trust in Colorado... the weather. It was 79 degrees and sunny yesterday.

The front yard this morning:

And the Backyard...

Florida is gonna be nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BOO-YA!!!!

2007-10-19T20:50:00.000-06:00

Finally! A 100 deposit into the bank of Ironman!!!!!! Yahoo!

I haven't done 100 yet, several 80 - 85 milers, so I feel like I hit a milestone today. Two out and backs of beautiful remote undeveloped Colorado roads with no stop lights and the type of scenery you'd expect when you think of Colorado. Definitely a ride I will look back and smile about when I think back to the training I did for IM. If you live in Colorado, the stretch of Perry Park Rd. from Sedalia to Palmer Lake makes for an amazing ride.

Thanks to my good friend Scott for doing the first 50 miles of that ride with me. That's especially meaningful if you knew what a speed junkie he is (and you consider what a speed demon I am not!)

Some notes to self - Second loop was only off 6 minutes from the first. Nice job Turtle! I slowed down eleven minutes on the way out, and made up five on the way. I'm pretty happy with that. I need to eat more often than I did. I don't drink coffee or soda for the most part, so I really felt the caffeinated gel kick in half way out on the second loop. Maybe I should keep the caffeinated gels in reserve at the race? 6:50 pedal time, 7:30 actual time. I took three 10 minute plus stops, plus two shorts breaks to take in gels. I need to cut those breaks if I want to do 112 in 8 hours or less--but I really did feel oh so much better when I got off the seat for a little bit. The time cutoffs make me SO nervous. Butt hurt the worst between hours 3 - 4 1/2, then I forgot about it. I did take on 1500 feet in elevation on the two outs, dropped 1500 in elevation on both backs, but that could work out to be the same if I end up with strong winds on the flat course in Florida.

Overall, a great ride. This was the type of ride that I can look back on and know that I enjoyed my training. Now... On to my taper!!!! (Yep, an Ironman taper... That means I only have to run for two hours tomorrow instead of three! Yippee!)

The journey has been awesome

2007-10-15T21:15:00.000-06:00

My blog started with an "Oh what the heck, I don't actually think anybody cares, but it'll be fun for me" attitude. And it has fulfilled that.

Random facts about me: 1) I'm extremely shy--IF you don't know me well. 2) If I'm comfortable around you--BEWARE! I'm willing to say just about anything, and I've lost good friends because I say things I'm thinking, but probably shouldn't say out loud. That's a dangerous trait to have in an semi-anonymous forum. Having a blog has been a blessing and a curse. Sometimes I'm an idiot and now total strangers know this... Nice... Then again, I've had people say things that mean the world to me, especially in these last few days before Ironman.

Every day is a complete emotional roller coaster ride right now as we count down the last few days before we leave. My husband and I went to breakfast yesterday with our "Athlete Information Guide." I can't deny that my stomach was completely filled with butterflies while we looked at it. I'm so proud of my husband for doing this (I can't wait to see how he does!) and if I can finish before the time cutoffs, it's gonna be the coolest thing ever! I definitely have moments where I'm proud of all the hard work we've put in the last year. We're gonna be Ironmen! Then there are other moments... The moments where I'm scared to death, wondering how I ever got myself in this boat. I do not fit in the same category as Ironman triathletes. What the heck was I thinking when I signed up for this??????????

A very, very good friend sent me a personal email regarding my "I'm a poser" lament. She reminded me that no matter who you are, you're never good enough. There's always going to be someone better that you could compare yourself with. But just because there is someone better than you, it doesn't make you a failure.

Somehow, somewhere I went from "Anybody that finishes sub 17 is AWESOME!!!" to suddenly wondering, "Even if I do finish at 16:59, do I suck? And what if I don't finish at all?" I'm not sure where all this is coming from, I really don't. I know it's not healthy or positive.

My friend writes in her email to me:
I understand that someone has to cross the finish line first, and some will cross it last or not at all, but if you finish, didn't you all just do the same thing?
I want to retaliate, "Yes, but there are those people..." Here comes idiot girl again! Quit doing that to yourself Turtle!
if this race (and everything leading up to it) is giving you what you hoped to gain from it emotionally, physically, and spiritually, then it will be a success. and what would that have to do with those people who finish in the front with their shorts stinking of pee?
Ha Ha Ha. Oh my gosh, that's awesome! A quote that makes you feel good and laugh at the same time. Am I lucky to have a friend like that or what!? I had some pretty cool comments from other bloggers, too.

I may say some stupid things on my blog, but in the end, it has been an important part of my training. Thanks for reading. Thanks for the support.

If nothing else, my journey to Ironman has been absolutely fulfilling. No matter how it ends, it HAS been a good and memorable year.

The run scares me

2007-10-15T21:04:00.000-06:00

The swim: I can do it. Barring shark attacks, jellyfish, high waves, or a really bad current, I know I can do this within the cutoff.

The bike: My arse is gonna hurt like it's never hurt before. As long as I pedal, pedal, continue to pedal, and pedal some more and take limited potty breaks here or there (no wasting time! Can't afford to waste ANY time.) I can do it.

The run: Man oh man, the run is gonna hurt. I did 16 miles today. I did not swim or bike beforehand. My legs really hurt for the last few miles. I wasn't out of breath, my heartrate was in a great spot, my legs and muscles just hurt. That's not necessarily anything living and training at altitude will help with. When I finished, I really could not fathom starting my run on tired legs, and then doing 10 more miles. The run really, really scares me. (The good news is that my legs were just painful the first 20 minutes after I stopped running, and then they felt okay. Recovery is going well.)

pee stories

2007-10-13T21:34:00.000-06:00

Hee hee. What the heck. I just did a post on all my deep down inner ugly feelings. Might as well throw this one out there, too.

Do you know what it means for me to be doing the longest swim sets ever as I prepare for an Ironman? It means that I will inevitably have to get out of the pool mid-workout and have to pee! I can't deny that I haven't considered just going in the pool, but I have NOT done it! I swear! I always get out! Yes, I've peed in my wetsuit, mid-race, in the lake, but NEVER ever never in the pool! The lifeguards usually look at me funny when I've just completed 2000 yards and then I get back in to do more, but I want to be an Ironman. That's how I roll. :)

Yesterday I had an enlightening conversation with Bob the friendly teacher moonlighting as a bike mechanic. He was telling me how he HATES working on triathlete's bikes. And he works at a bike shop that has their own tri club! Tough gig for him. He said one bike came in smelling like urine so bad, the shop refused to work on it. Yes, if you didn't know, that's because the person peed on their bike while riding. I haven't been able to do that, but it always sounded like a badge of honor. To hear Bob talk about it (he said they wear gloves anytime they work on a tri bike!) it just sounds GROSS! Ewwww!!!! Suddenly all of those rock star triathletes that I looked up to just aren't as cool as I once thought they were. Maybe it's not so bad being an average Joe wanna-be. Ha!

Am I a poser?

2007-10-13T19:25:00.000-06:00

Why am I doing this? You can't sign up for an Ironman, devote a year of your life, and not ask yourself this a million times. We're going on almost three years of not being able to get pregnant, and I think this was an absolute fantastic reason to do something crazy, build our marriage, and give us something else to obsess about. (And it completely fulfilled those things! Our marriage is the strongest it has ever been.) Only, I wasn't supposed to be doing this race. I thought for sure that if I signed up, got my heart set on it, I would get pregnant and not be able to compete. We figured either way it would be a win-win for us. We SIGNED UP for good reasons.

But the day is almost here. I'm not pregnant, and Ironman is now less than three weeks away. I have a 3.5 hour jog tomorrow, and then the taper begins. I need to have good reasons to FINISH this race. When I don't want to do lap 2 of the swim, and my butt is hurting on the bike, and my legs just don't want to move another inch and it's only mile 8, let alone what they'll feel like at mile 20, I need to have good reasons for finishing.

I found a quote in an article about the Chicago Marathon that gave me a little punch in the gut--it rang true with me, and in the grand scheme of all that is right in the world, I can't tell if it's a good thing, or a bad thing.

(Off-topic sidenote story: I finally got to speak with a friend that was AT the Chicago Marathon last week. She said it WAS bad. And she wouldn't point the finger at one thing in general. She said the heat was brutal. She said the people struggling, in her opinion, were mostly first-timers. The race ran low on water and they just didn't have the services to help all the people that needed help. She said it was mostly just a scary, eery feeling hearing ambulances non-stop the last few miles. She felt the directors made a good decision when they called it.) Anyways, back to the article. The gist of the article was that 45,000 people is too many people to be able to run a quality race. But... 45,000 people sure can bring in a lot of tourist dollars. Lots of interesting conversations you could have on the subject, but here is the quote that punches me in the gut for some strange reason:

"Today, the marathon has become the everyday man's or woman's Mount Everest," said Richard Finn, the spokesman for the New York Road Runners, which organizes the New York City Marathon. "It's a physical challenge, it's something you can be proud of - beat your chest about later."

Bottom line, at this point in the game, that's exactly where I fit in. This race is now a Mt. Everest for me. When it comes right down to it, I won't know until the I near the finish line if I'm gonna cross the finish line or not. If I do cross the finish line, I'm gonna be VERY proud of myself. I will want to beat my chest over it, forever!

Here's what I'm dealing with today. I'm questioning whether or not I'm a poser in this game. Sharon said that many of the people struggling at the Chicago Marathon were first timers. I'll be THAT person at Ironman. Gosh I sure hope I don't put anybody or anything into jeopardy because I'm slow and sometimes a wuss. I've read blogs where people say, "You have to LOVE triathlon if you want to do an Ironman." Do I LOVE it? Sometimes. Do I eat, breath, sleep it? No. (Although if you looked at my non-existent social life and dirty house, you'd think I did.)

The weather today was cold and gray. Not typical Colorado weather. I HAD to go for a long bike ride. I saw several other cyclists and I just looked at them wondering, "I HAVE to do this. Why the heck are you out here on this cold and dreary day?" I uttered and I really do mean it, "Next year, when I don't want to ride my bike on a cold and yucky mid-October day, I'm not going to!!!"

Now what kind of piss poor attitude is that for a wanna-be Ironman? The other cyclists that I saw today probably LOVE cycling. I can't wait for the day that I don't have to ride my bike? Huh?

Why do I want to complete my own personal Mt. Everest? Why do we humans do this? (Okay some humans, not all--I have relatives and coworkers that don't see the point.) I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I've already been thinking, "What can I do next?" Ironman isn't a lifestyle for me. It has some great perks, but it's not always a "fun" lifestyle. It's an Everest. Does that make me a poser? What exactly does it mean to be an Ironman?

I don't know. I guess in the grand scheme of things it doesn't change the fact that I hope to put it all out there and know that no matter how it ends, I gave it everything I had. (And then hopefully beat my chest!!!!!!!) So many questions, so many self-doubts.

Don't even get me started on all the "Did I really do all that I could do to prepare for this?" questions that I'm asking myself right now.

Clean hands

2007-10-11T21:47:00.000-06:00

I think I have the cleanest hands ever. With the race becoming closer by the second, and me working with all matter of germs that can be associated with 12-14 yr. olds... Yep, I'm washing my hands ALL the time. Please don't let me get sick now!

Ironman prep

2007-10-08T20:57:00.000-06:00

Hey blogland! Thanks for all the good vibes last week. My teacher mechanic friend was able to get the parts to fix my bike. Yeah! Panic attack thwarted! And let me tell you, it rode SOOO nice after the tune-up and new parts.

I was able to get the six hour bike ride in this past weekend. :) I had a little dilemma though. Saturday was accurately forecasted with 25-35 mph winds, with occasional 40 mph gusts, but nice warm 70-80 degree temps. Sunday the weather had a high of 48 and rain forecasted. Hmmm... Which day for the bike? Which day for the run? I chose windy ride, and cold run (which turned out to be a PERFECT day for a run! I think it had to be low 50's and sunny. Absolutely perfect running weather.)

So... I'm getting a pretty good mental game together for my big race. Things I've learned in my training:

- I've been practicing my nutrition all summer. It's not perfect, but I think I've finally got it nailed down. For the bike: Clif bars, Clif Bloks, and Powerbar brand gels (Powerbar has extra electrolytes.) Every 45 minutes, not every hour (that wasn't enough this past weekend.) Although I've been told nothing solid the last two hours of the bike. My coach would rather I didn't do solid foods at all, but I found I really do crave it on the bike. I'll stick with just gels on the run. Boy, I'm not looking forward to that...
- Someone suggested, and I want to follow, that I put Vaseline on my lips before the salt water swim. I definitely noticed some funkiness while goofing off in the ocean in California. Will do it!
- I found a bike jersey on clearance at Performance a couple weeks ago. I really like it. It's red and that's my favorite color. I thought that it would be perfect for photos. Unfortunately I learned this past weekend, the pockets are smaller than standard jersey pockets. Hard to hold food, extra tube, etc. for six plus hours of riding. Another lesson learned!
- I want to take two tubes and two CO2 cartridges. Possibly throw more in my special needs bag.
- I think I want to put some eye drops in my T2 bag. After a long bike, my contact lenses get dry. Chapstik, too.
- Maybe I do need to get off the bike after a couple hours, just for a minute or two, to get some blood flowing in my booty. Helped on my long rides the last two weekends. I think the pro's outweigh the con's. I'll be playing this one by ear on race day.
- Goggle dilemma, I'm thinking comfort over peripheral vision. Small competitive style goggles.
- By swimming in hot sulphur mineral springs, I think I've got over the mental block of the yucky salt water taste in my mouth.
- I've trained in all types of conditions: rain, wind, heat, before the sunrise, middle of the day, in the dark. (I'm lacking cold weather training, but the next couple of weeks seem to have that base covered--could also use some training in humidity.) Oh yeah, I've trained at altitude, so that should help.
- I got another flat tire this past weekend. I insisted on changing it myself. Rear wheel, too! My poor husband watched on while people rode by and looked at him with an eye of disgust as he made his wife change her own flat. He's such a sweetie! I feel like I could do it no problem if I had to.
- We have lodging, airfare, rental car, bike transport...

I'm at the do or die stage in my training. I have two weeks left of heavy stuff. I can't believe it. Do I feel ready? Absolutely not. Would I feel ready if I were faster? Maybe. Those time cut-offs scare me a ton. Obviously I've not done the entire distance... But soon I have to show up. I have to know that I've done everything I could do physically and mentally. The real question is whether or not my legs can do what I need them to do. My brain has done everything it can do. I'm just wondering about this body of mine. It's kind of a scary funny peaceful feeling when you hit this point.

I still have a 3.5 hour run and another six hour bike to go... So I'm not at that point JUST yet, but almost...

25 days, 9 hours, 19 minutes. When will you ever have an event in your life where 25 days seems SO close? (Let me answer that one... It's gotta be childbirth... But I don't know what else might fall in the same category.)

Mean people suck

2007-10-08T19:47:00.000-06:00

And today, I'M going to be the mean person... Yes, today it's ME. I have a blog, and it's semi-anonymous, so I'm just going to rant, get it all out there, and be a mean person.

I'm in the teacher's lounge today, and someone decides to talk over the entire 20 foot table to tell me that their brother finished the Chicago marathon this weekend. "Hey, that's awesome, good for him." It actually made me feel good that this person bypassed and decided to talk over 15 people to share this news with ME. Pretty cool.

Apparently, being the mean and cocky triathlete that I am, I wasn't as enthusiastic and impressed as I was supposed to be.

Others joined in to tell me, "But did you hear about it? OMG!"

I just casually acknowledged that yes, I had heard it was 88 degrees and they were afraid that they would run out of ambulances so they called the race off. I think Susie really just wanted to brag that her brother was FAST enough that he missed all the late in the race drama. I'm kind of ticked that they didn't say congrats in his regards, instead they tuned in on the fact that I "wasn't getting it".

The others, not Susie, continued to tell me all about the heat that those people endured. I tried to be nice. (I'm from Michigan, I DO get humidity. I do!) so I commented, "Yeah, I'm sure it must have been the humidity, but I did a half-ironman this past summer in 98 degree heat."

That my friends, did not go over well...

"Yeah, but you didn't have humidity! And they had to take people to the hospital! Somebody died!"

I quickly took my place and shut up, because I was going to get no kudos for my endeavors. These people really do not understand what I do. But I'm home tonight and just slightly upset about the run of that conversation. I looked up the stats. 45,000 people signed up to do the Chicago Marathon. Okay, apparently, only 35,000 showed up. Another 10,000 never finished (in part because they closed the course mid-race.) 250 people needed medical attention. One person died.

So, the one person died of heart problems, not heat. And... if you do the math, 250 people out of 35,000 that started the race--that's less that one percent. While I can't say with complete certainty, I'm pretty confident that at least one percent (probably more!) of the people in my upcoming Ironman will need medical assistance. Heck, I might even be one of them. Have I ever done a triathlon where someone died? YES I have! (Boulder Peak 05') Again, not because of the triathlon, but because of other health problems.

Now, I will give Barry Siff many props for running a fantastic half ironman race in the heat last August, and if there hadn't have been enough water, or Gatorade, or ice for that matter, there would have been more problems. (apparently there wasn't enough water and Gatorade in Chicago.) We're also starting to acclimate to colder temps, so 88 seems a whole lot hotter than it did last summer. But C'MON! Don't blow the triathlete off. Give triathletes SOME credit. Grrr........

30 days out

2007-10-03T22:17:00.000-06:00

Shout out to my friend Scott who shares the best kind of "live vicariously through the single guy" stories with me--but doesn't want to be named on my blog. Ha! You made it anyways! I love you man! He did a century ride recently and definitely gave me (and surely every other triathlete out there) props for sitting on that bike seat and then trying to run afterwards.

I'm working hard this week. Thirty days to go. Ai yi yi. I had to do a 3200 (8x400 with :30 rest breaks) in the pool tonight, took me approx. an hour and 20 minutes. That was pretty good for me. If nothing else, I've made some nice gains in my swimming this past year.

I needed to get a tune up on my bike before the big race. I'm so proud of myself. In true Ironman style, I got up at 4:45 a.m. yesterday morning so I could fit the hour bike and 45 minute run in before I gave up my bike for a few days. The great part was that I don't think I was fully awake until the last 20 minutes of the run, so believe it or not, it went by pretty fast. I don't plan to make it a habit, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be.

Triathlete joke:

Q: How can you pick out a triathlete?

A: They are the ones that get up at 4 a.m. but don't get to work until 9!

I gave my bike to one of the teachers I work with that also moonlights at one of the local bike shops. It was great because he knows I'm on a tight schedule and he promised to keep my bike for only a day or two so I could get it back to train. Unfortunately, he came to school today and told me that a piece of my rear derailer is messed up (the hanger is stripped?) He's going in tonight to see if they have one in stock, but there's a chance he might need to order it. It could take one to two weeks to come in... Send me good vibes and well wishes that they have one in the shop. I'm supposed to do a six hour ride this weekend. I can ride my mountain bike for the shorter rides, but I'm not doing six hours on my mountain bike. Warning to all my roadie friends: I might be looking for a bike to borrow this weekend...

Lots O' Stuff

2007-10-01T19:18:00.000-06:00

I'm panicking because I worry that I'm not doing enough. Blogs are so awesome. Someone reminded me to trust my training and not try to overdue it. Point taken. Talked to my coach tonight to express those concerns, and he validated the need to workout midweek, but with monster weekend workouts, I don't need to kill myself midweek. Apparently I'm on the right track.

Unfortunately I didn't get the full monster bike in this past weekend. My lovely husband had the last minute idea to go up to Glenwood Springs for the weekend. (If you're not from Colorado and ever come out to visit, it's a beautiful area, with a 14 mile canyon with bike trail through it, and the world's largest hot springs. You gotta go there!) Anyways, Glenwood was awesome. It was windy and rainy Saturday and we didn't embark on our run until later in the evening, so both my husband and I had the privilege of running in some rough conditions, but that was cool. We're training for an Ironman, and every workout like that gets put in the bank of non-easy Ironman workouts, and those are the kind that help out my confidence issues. I did 10 miles in just over 2 hours. Pretty typical for me, but it was cool because somehow I found myself at 7 miles without even realizing it. At that point, three miles? Pfffp. Cake.

Unfortunately, the five hour bike ride the following day didn't go so well. Both my husband AND I, in our haste to leave town, packed everything except our bike shoes. I still managed 51 miles in tennis shoes on SPD pedals. Not the most comfortable, and anymore might have caused some injuries, but it was a beautiful ride despite the uncomfortableness.

We followed all that up with a 1000 meters in the hot springs--and that water tastes nasty!!! More good Ironman training for when I try to swim in the yucky tasting salt water!

Did I mention how wonderful my husband is? I have a later post completely being written in my head right now about how wonderful it has been to train with my husband. We don't really train together, but we always come back together after our training. It's been one of the best things ever for our marriage.

And last but not least, I mentioned in my last post that I see this guy training rain or shine every morning on my way to work. I'm dying to know what he's training for. Last week, the local newspaper highlighted a guy that has been trying to get in the lottery for the Kona Ironman for 15 years. He finally made it in! And I looked at him the other morning, and then looked at the article... And I'm not positive, but I think it's that guy. Go figure... I'm dying to know what he's training for... And it turns out he's training for Kona. Very cool.

Have a great week! Living the dream. :)

Questions

2007-09-26T22:30:00.000-06:00

Last week, post half-ironman, I was struggling with sloth-like tendencies. I was pretty tired and forcing myself to workout was a struggle. I did most of my workouts, but I justified some extra time off because I knew my body was very tired and it needed to recover.

This week, I'm back on the train. Funny thing is... I'm questioning whether the train is going fast enough.

As you get closer to something like an Ironman, I wonder if it's totally normal to start questioning yourself and your training. I did an hour and a half brick tonight. Hour bike, half hour run. I did a similar workout two nights ago but it required elevated heartrates. Tonight I just had to go do the brick and keep my heartrate down. While it'd be a stretch to say that I wanted to run longer, I just don't feel like it's enough. Hmmm... I'm betting this is normal, but it's making me a little crazy thinking about it. .

They must be training

2007-09-24T21:13:00.000-06:00

Denver, Colorado proudly boasts 300 days of sun a year.
Today was not one of them.

Yes, the fall season is very pretty and I always love the first time I reach into the closet to pull out a sweater... But overall, fall represents a lot of things I don't like. It represents going back to school, and more importantly, it represents the end of summer and the coming of a long cold winter. Boo hiss.

When I lived in the midwest, fall was always peppered with many beautiful warm indian summer days. We don't see as many of those living in Colorado. It seems like it's just suddenly cold one day. When the weather changes out here, you really never know what you're going to get. 75 degrees one day, snow the next, 70's the following day again. True! It happens! The snow is already flying in the mountains and anyone that truly has a passion for skiing is already giddy with excitement... But I'm just not ready for the cold temps! (The bonus is that we'll get random warm days midwinter and spring shows up earlier here than it does in the midwest--so it all works out in the wash.)

So today: I need to do a one hour ride immediately followed by a 45 minute run for a "Brick" workout. This was supposed to be scheduled tomorrow (when it's supposed to be blue skies, sunny and 70! Argh!) but alas I have parent teacher conferences tomorrow night. So bad weather or not, I need to git 'er done tonight. I had a lazy rough recovery week last week. Can't do that again this week.

So I get home from school today, break out the arm warmers, leg warmers and jacket. I had to dig for them and that saddened me. I load up the bike to head over to the flattest trail I know that also offers a great flat running trail also. It's cold! It's only in the 50's, and very dark and cloudy. I realize that I forgot my gloves. Brrr.... 15 minutes in to my ride, it starts raining. At first I thought I was riding through a swarm of gnats and they were making noise hitting my windbreaker. Nope. Those were raindrops. I'm already cold, and I know my windbreaker won't keep me dry. I wuss out and head home to put the bike on the trainer. (I know, I know. If Kirk is reading this he can brag about all the cold weather rides he did on the Platte trail when he was training for his Ironman. I'm a wuss! What can I say? I was cold and just didn't see the point.)

Of course the rain stops when I get home. I ride on the trainer for the prescribed hour, then head out for the run. (It's now dark out because naturally I wasted a bunch of time.) I kid you not, five minutes into my run, it starts raining again. !!!!??? What the heck? Is this a sign of what I can expect at IMFL? It wasn't a hard rain, just a light steady sprinkle, so I pushed through it and did the entire run workout.

I don't usually work out in the mornings primarily because I'm a not a morning person AND I'd have to get up butt early to get to work on time (I have to be to work 7-ish everyday.) While driving to work I saw this guy running in a pouring rain one morning. I've also seen him biking two other mornings at the same 7 o'clock hour. I'm dying to know what he's training for.

I felt good tonight thinking that maybe somebody was driving by me tonight, in the dark, while it was raining, and maybe, just maybe, somebody drove by me and wondered, "I wonder what she's training for?"

39 days and a whole lot of fear and nerves to go.

Harvest Moon Race Report

2007-09-17T19:07:00.000-06:00

Pre-race, I kept telling myself, "It's just a long training day." I was doing everything possible to keep my nerves at bay. My coach didn't make a big deal about it. I didn't taper at all. I had a three hour bike ride midweek and my legs were screaming from the long ride last weekend. It's just a long training day. You tell yourself that, but it's still a race. How can you not be nervous?

It began the day before... Packet pickup. We're rushing around trying to fit a zillion things into that day. We had a couples bridal shower that started at the same time as packet pickup. We did not look like triathletes at that moment. In fact, all my friends at the shower later gave me a really hard time because they haven't seen me in dress in a long time. Walking out of packet pickup, I ran into Tea and I recognized her from her blog. Scary thing is that I looked her up and down like I do every other triathlete--I looked at her ripped arms and immediately thought "That girl's going to kick my butt tomorrow." Then I recognized her... The Hi's and hello's ensued. I'm just now getting online and realized all the smack she posted on her blog after the encounter because I was in a dress and heels! Nice! As much as I would have loved to give her a hard time about it post-race, I'm glad I didn't read the smack beforehand. She did so great and smack talk would not have been called for at the finish line--just high-fives! (But I did get a kick out of it Tea!)

Race day. Emotions and jitters galore. It's just a training day, right?

As I picked up my timing chip pre-race, who should hand me my chip? DUANE!!!! Okay, if you want inspiration, check out his tri blog. He is one heck of a guy. And as inspiring as his story is, he is even nicer in person. I really felt like a met a legend yesterday. I'm a wannabe triathlete and sometimes blogger. He's the real deal. He is a standup guy all the way around. Thanks for everything Duane!

One of the things that really touched me yesterday was the support of my friends-old and new. It means SO much, but I'll save it for the post-race wrapup at the end.

The swim:

Water was cold, but not the worst ever. I've swam in warmer, I've swam in colder. Immediately I was side-by-side with a girl that started swimming off course to the right. She was pushing me off course. Eventually I just had to slow down, let her pass and head even farther off course, and then get myself straight again. Naturally I worry a lot about this with the 2000 person mass start in a month and a half at IMFL. But then again, it's not something I can control... Neither is the fact that I couldn't see the buoys as we swam straight into the sun, but I made due. I made the halfway point in 20 minutes. Not bad. At this pace I could beat my swim time from the Long Course a month ago. Only... At the turn... I got kicked or punched, I don't know, in the face. Didn't hurt and wouldn't be any big deal at all, it's pretty normal in a triathlon swim... Except that they knocked my goggles out of place... And they started leaking... And I wear contacts, so leaky goggles are my nemesis.

Now the goggles are another story in and of themself. My favorite goggles are the little ones that all the competitive pool swimmers use. After having them on for a while, they hurt and leave bad rings around my eyes that make me look like I haven't slept in two weeks, so I tried a new pair this summer. The new pair is a little bigger so I can see way better in the open water with them. Only they leak sometimes, so I have to crank them down tight... And that has given me a couple really bad headaches. So this past week I tried a new pair. Wore them in the pool last week without taking them off for an hour solid to make sure I didn't get the headache. They leaked at first, but I thought I figured out the trick. My IMWI 06 friend Kirk swears by the big honking goggles.

Except once they got punched or whatever, I was done for. Apparently big goggles get hit even easier. I'd stop, tread water, fix them, they'd leak some more, I'd stop, ya da, ya da, ya da. Oh well, I made it in for an uneventful swim other than that and I have no clue on earth which goggles I should wear to IMFL. Swim time: 45 minutes, a month ago it was 46, so I'm happy with that. Not sure about doing two loops of the stuff, but if I hadn't have had leaky goggles, I really feel like I could have swam the 1.2 miles straight without stopping or switching strokes. It was good!

The bike-

Oh my gosh... The bike... Everybody said, "Rolling hills on the first and last part, the rest is relatively flat." I've done a shorter tri on the first and last part of this course. They are some good hills. I knew this. No problem. I took it slow, dropped it into my granny gear whenever possible. No sweat. Two hours into the ride... No problem...

(Except for when I had to pee. I'm still not on the 'pee on the bike' band wagon. At the porta-potty, some guy went in right before I got there. I waited about 30 seconds, and realized he was taking too long. There weren't very many people around, so I went behind the porta-potty, dropped trow, and peed. I really had to pee. I went as fast as I could. I know the guy inside could hear me. We both finished at the same time. He came out, looked at me, I shrugged my shoulders and said "I didn't want to wait." He looked at me like I was the most immodest woman on earth, but I didn't care. In a race situation in the middle of nowhere... I really don't care. Best part was me telling my husband this story post-race. rather loud, and I see the guy two tables over... I had changed my shirt for the run so he might not have recognized me... But he did now!!!)

Okay, so two hours of feeling great on the bike. People are passing me (actually, there weren't very many people left to pass me) but I just kept telling myself, "You're gonna have a great half marathon today!!! You go girl! Save the energy!"

Then came the second half. Long story short, I didn't appreciate all the downhills early on. I thought I was on one big flat for an hour and a half... I wasn't. It was one big downhill. Because I spent the next two hours going up and up and up. And everytime I'd get to the top of a hill, I'd see the next hill, and it was higher up. And each time, you'd swear there would have to be a good down hill somewhere, but it wasn't there. I did in the last stretch catch and pass five girls. They were the only people I passed while I was on the bike, but I feel like I saved my legs for as much as I could, and in doing so, I was smarter than those five girls. Yeah me.

I FINALLY get off the bike (3 hours 57 minutes later). Yahoo! I was so happy to get my butt off that seat! I was a happy camper. I saw my mother-in-law and she was cheering for me. I saw Duane and he was cheering for me. I was happy to be off the bike, and for once in my life, I was happy to start running. Did I mention how bad my butt was hurting from that seat???????

The Run:

If I had started that run after two hours on the bike, I think I would have rocked. But those hills really burnt my legs up. My coach told me to speed walk the first five minutes. Check. No problem there. Then I was to work up to a jog. Check. Jog 9 minutes, walk 1 minute. That's what I was supposed to do. First 9 minutes and an aid station. Check. Next one... I wonder if I can do 8 minutes... That's what IronWil was planning to do for her full IM, and my coach told me to use this as training for the big race. So the next one, I only jog 8 minutes and start walking... Only, my legs are really, really tight.

The next mile got really bad. I had what I call "Water buffalo" syndrome and food and liquids just didn't sound like they were going to sit in my stomach and take the bouncing. This was not a good feeling when I still had 10 miles to go. Ugh. I don't remember if it was mile 3 or 4, but I did eventually force myself to take a power gel. I was hurting, and I just didn't know what the miracle cure was. Apparently, I really just needed to eat. I saw my husband not long after that because it was an out and back course. He did so well! I'm so proud of him. I also knew he would finish a good hour/ hour and a half in front of me. I felt bad that he was gonna have to wait for me to run 10 miles before he'd see me again. Boy, he must have rocked the house today. (And it turns out he did! He finished a full hour and a half in front of me, and he had started five minutes after me. He was a rock star!)

I did a lot of walking in this stretch. This isn't my race, this is just a training day, I don't care! I had all matter of negative thoughts going through my head during this point in the race. Bad, very bad. I knew this. I told myself that I would try to jog for five minutes before I walked next. Before I knew it, I could see the mile 5 aid station. Somehow, my tight legs carried me to the 6 mile aid station. I ran to the turnaround. I ran back to the aid station. I loved the workers at that aid station. They cheered me on both ways. "I just ran all that without stopping!" They cheered some more! I thanked them for everything and kept going.

I also recognized Tea just as I was coming into that aid station. She was behind me? Really? I was shocked. I thought for sure she was a long ways in front of me.

So now I've also got the self talk going "Five miles left, just five miles..." My mind wasn't working. I'm just now realizing that I had six, but at that moment I thought I had five. And I was questioning if I could walk five miles in 1:25 faster than I could jog it. I'm also eyeing the really, really dark clouds in the distance. Hmmm.... I wonder if I'm gonna make it in before that storm hits? And hour and a half left... Yikes, better not think about that...

As much as I labored about walking the rest, I decided that I had been doing well, so I would jog five walk one for as long as I could. It was taking me into the aid stations almost perfectly, too. I'll just do that until I can't do it anymore.

The clouds keep getting darker and darker... But I'm amazingly still jogging... It hurts, a lot! But I'm still doing it! My tight legs were just numb and running on auto pilot.

I'm watching the lightning in the distance.

Somewhere between 3-4 miles left, the fatty raindrops started. No sprinkles, just fatty cold rain drops. The wind had also kicked up pretty darn good. I just kept thinking, "Please don't hail, please don't hail." Brrrr...... Now I was getting cold. Best way to stay warm? Run!!!! No walking girlfriend! Unless you want hypothermia!

I was also thinking about my in-laws. Would they stick around until the finish in this stuff? I knew my husband would. He had to. Would they let him load up my bike and transition gear so it wouldn't get soaked (he didn't even try. It was completely soaked.) BOOM!!!!! Thunder and lightning. I jump about a foot off the ground. It's now pouring rain, it's cold, I'm soaked to the core. Nobody was at the aid station when I passed it, I was so happy they didn't make the volunteers sit through that. BOOM!!!! Another too close for comfort lightning and thunder bolt scare the wits out of me. Are they gonna pull me off the course??? OH NO!!! I have to finish!!! I can't DNF!!!!! I run, and try to run some more. I want to finish!!! But I still have at least 30 more minutes!!! AHHH! I bet my husband is worried about me. How on earth can I get there sooner? Gosh! Please! How? There is no way. You just have to run as fast as you can! But I can't any faster! It hurts! And now each of my feet each weigh about 10 pounds extra each because my shoes are just soggy waterlogged pieces of rubber sloshing the ground every step.

I pushed through about 20 minutes of a fantastic thunderstorm when it starts to let up. I'm now about a mile away. I just want to send my husband mental telepathy messages "I'm coming! I'm really trying to get there as fast as I can!" The last mile has some nice hills in it. I walk the uphills. Oh man, does it hurt.

I look behind me. I see someone about a 1/2 mile back in black. Oh my gosh! Is Tea catching me? I finally just met her in person, but I don't want her to think I'm a wimp walking! I start running again. Ugh. It hurts. Run faster. You can't let her catch you! I don't know if Tea is that competitive or not, so I imagine it's my friend Amy. Amy would totally play that game with me... Amy would run her heart out with all the pain in the world in an effort to catch me. Only I know I don't always have the mental toughness to push through the pain like she does. But this is a new friend... I'm a new person to her. I'm tough. I have to show her I'm tough. It's hurting. But she's not going to catch me.

There is now about 3/4 of a mile left. I'm giving it everything I have because I now also have the motivation that I'm going to beat the half marathon time from my last half IM. I don't know how that happened, but there might be some saving grace in this race after all. Some guy is ahead yelling. I don't know what he's yelling. I ignore the crazy person. Gosh, my legs are so tight. Did I mention it hurt??? Man, does it hurt. I get closer... And oh my gosh... He's yelling "Go Lori!" The guy in the hawiian shirt is yelling "Go Lori!" Do I know that person???? Who the heck is that? My eyes just well up in tears. It's Tim, the best man at our wedding. He's here to run me into the finish line. I asked how my husband did. He said great. He talked me to the finish line. I'm sure my pace was a crawl, but he made me feel like I just finished the Boston Marathon.

Then, with the finish line all blown over from the storm, maybe fifteen people still hanging around... I see Duane at the finish line. I hug him. My mother and father-in-law were STILL there! Almost eight hours from my start time that morning, and they were STILL there! Wow!

My legs immediately seized up, and they've pretty much stayed that way for the next 24 hours, but I did it. I still don't know if I can do the full distance in the time cutoffs, but I proved today that I CAN be mentally tough. I needed that.

I got to see my friend Tea come in. In true motherly fashion, she rushed herself and some of the kids at one of the aid stations into one of the cement restrooms to hide from the lightning. She wasn't the one running behind me. But I know how much training she's done--and it's a lot. If she struggled at all out there, I don't feel so bad about my own race. It was hard. Duane finally said goodbye. I can't believe he stuck around as long as he did. He cheered in several more runners. What a great guy.

And there are so many things I still want to digest about this event. (But it's a long post, sorry if you're still reading.) I'm trying to figure out what I can learn about this as I prepare for the full distance. Hmmm... Still working with that one. Need to figure out the goggle situation. Butt is gonna hurt massively, but for the first time, I'm really glad we chose the flat course of Florida for our first full distance. What else? Jog 5 walk 1 might be a good strategy for me. Eat something on the run even if it doesn't feel like its going to stay down.

I also need to just give a HUGE appreciative thank you to all of our friends and family. I don't know why we're doing this. I signed up to support my friend Amy that wanted to do it. We did it to take our minds off the fact that we can't seem to get pregnant for whatever reason. We signed up because we could. Because it's something we'll be forever proud of if we can do it.

But... In the process, your social life gets zapped. And that upsets me because I don't always feel like I have friends that are interested or support this huge feat in our lives. But then I remember Matt and Dani. At the shower the day before this race, Brian was giving us all sorts of props. I know Brian gets it. Chris wanted to come, but couldn't. And I know he would because he came to my last race. Mom and dad came and stayed all day. Kirk came to see us off for the swim. And Tim... Tim ran me in. Of course Amy called for the race report right after the race. Not to mention I got to meet two new friends. I am so thankful for our friends.

Thanks for reading. It might be awhile before I get to post again. It's a month and a half before the big race, and time will be tight as we fit everything in. Thanks for being a friend, and thanks reading.

AND... Good job hubby!!!! I'm so proud of how well you did!!!!! You look really great in this picture honey! I love you!

Making gains

2007-09-09T22:11:00.000-06:00

Congrats to all the Ironman Wisconsin participants this weekend. Some finished, some did not. But they ALL put their heart and soul into it. That much I'm sure of.

I'm having a really good week this week. I hit every single one of my workouts, and my legs are sore tonight, Sunday night. I feel like I'm training for an Ironman. And that makes me happy. Sore legs make you happy you ask??? Yep... It means I didn't sit on my arse this weekend. I rode 80 miles on my bike, I ran 14 miles, and I swam about a mile, all in two days time.

It took me three hours to run the 14 miles today (my hubby did the exact same distance in 2 1/2 hours--good job hubby!) but my coach is pushing the Jog 9 min/Walk 1 min. strategy, and I padded the walk upwards of 1:30 here and there, and it worked well. When I hit the two hour mark today I was still feeling fine. And while I didn't run a minute more than I had to, I felt as though I could have run a "little" (we're not talking marathon here folks) more if I had needed to. I did well!

Not quite two years ago I started training for a marathon around this time. I did a 14 mile and a 16 mile run, and then had some health issues to which the doctor requested that I quit the marathon training. I slowly worked up to those long runs and watched myself build every week. When I finally hit the 14 and 16 mile runs, I made a HUGE deal of it. They were hard!

Today I ran the same trail that I did those long training runs on two years ago, and it was no where near the pain I remembered. AND I did it after an 80 mile bike ride yesterday. Yeah me!!!!

I don't think I've fully seen the gains I've made over the last six months because I worry too much about my speed and 'Will I be last', 'Will I make the cutoff times???' and every other possible thing I can think of to worry about. But today, I don't care about the time issues. Today I realized that I really am getting stronger. Huh. Pretty cool stuff.

It's a good week

2007-09-06T22:43:00.000-06:00

It's a good week when...

- You're on track to hit every single workout this week (when that hasn't happened once in the last four weeks). Hurrah!!!!

- One of your quietest, most shy students that has yet to say a peep to you yet this year, finally speaks and asks you "Were you in the Princess Diaries?"

- The middle school volleyball team that you're coaching currently has a 6-2 record, and the season ends NEXT WEEK!!!! (Not that I want volleyball to end, I love it, but that extra two and sometimes three hours afterschool every day will be heavenly during the last few weeks before Ironman.)

- And lastly, I was running on some trails by the school after our game tonight. When I was done, a mountain biker commented "You had a pretty good pace going there. Every time I turned around you were right there behind us." I thanked him for the compliment, but laughed and laughed inside to myself. I just kept thinking, 'Wow, those must have been some slow mountain bikers!!!' hee hee. Sure did make me feel good though.

Senseless tired rambling

2007-09-05T20:53:00.000-06:00

Do you how many wonderful Ironman blogs are out there right now? I just can't say enough about the school teacher blogger that calls herself Geekgirl. She just finished Ironman Louisville and every post the last two weeks has been a huge inspiration. She's an athena, and could care less that she's a little on the slow side. I also love IM Able. She's heading off to Wisconsin this weekend. I can't wait for her race report. She's another one that's familiar with the back of the pack, but she gives 110%.

I'm out there doing what I can. I'm in no way as cool as them. The latest in my Ironman training:

I was out of town over the weekend (read no bike) and did a ten mile run that went really well for me. I ran 12 minute miles, but I've had a plethora of them lately that ended up 13-14 minute miles, so I was happy with it. The following day I did a 5 mile run that also went well for me. I was able to stick my head in the ocean, and no I didn't like it, and no it didn't make me any more comfortable about swimming in the ocean in less than two months. But I think I can do it.

Right now I'm just trying to keep my head on straight, stay calm (emotional meltdown on the bike Friday wasn't something I want to do again. My coach assured me that it's very normal for stressed out triathletes, especially Ironman triathletes, to have moments like those.)

I got my bike in tonight. It rained for the last hour. It wasn't pleasant because I was wet and thusly cold, but those are my Ironman moments. These are the workouts that matter. I was thinking about my friend Kirk and every other triathlete that did IMWI last year. They perservered in the rain and cold. I'm not ready to give up on this dream. We're doing it!!! Bring on the three hour run and 5.5 hour bike this weekend. Iron--that's what I want to be.

A religious posting

2007-08-31T21:14:00.000-06:00

So usually when I speak of god(s), I'm speaking of all the people I see at triathlons that I wish I could become. Today, I'm going to talk about God with the capital G.

A funny post for me, I know. While my husband and I founded our marriage on the principal that we wanted to go to church on a regular basis, I don't think we've been to church in oh.... let's just say a long time. Sundays these days are usually spent with 5+ hours of my seat planted on my bike.

Anyways, I went out for my Friday night bike ride. It was a rough ride. For countless reasons that need not be named, I was cranky. My mind immediately wandered off as it always does. I started thinking about school. Particularly the new guy I work with. Gosh I hope he never finds my blog online, because the guy is a little nerdy, and I'm just going to call it the way it is.

I've been trying to befriend the nerd guy, but I just don't have a lot in common with him. Normally I don't have anything in common with women that adore Gucci and similar namebrands. This guy is in a category all his own. He was telling me today that he has diabetes and needs to watch his diet closely. He recently lost a bunch of weight and he's trying to get it in check. His doctor wants him to do 30 minutes of cardio everyday (man, if only!!!) Anyways, he doesn't like sports, running, biking, etc. Huh. That's a tough one. I was trying to encourage him today to find something, anything, just make sure he enjoys it. I suggested dancing. If he wanted to try running, I told him to start slow. 2 minutes running 2-5 minutes walking. He didn't seem interested in the least. Whatever dude, it's your life. I've got enough things to worry about. I don't need to worry about encouraging this guy to exercise (do I?)

So I leave on my bike ride tonight, and I'm thinking about this guy. I'm a really bad Christian, because I haven't thought about God in a while, but for some random reason I suddenly started thinking, "This guy at work is in my life for a reason. I don't know why, but God does. I just know it. Am I supposed to encourage him to exercise? Is he there to help me for some reason that is yet to be disclosed? Are we going to benefit each other in some weird way later down the road?" I don't know why this guy has come in my life, but I need to be nice to his nerdy self. There is a master plan in there somewhere, I just know it.

I'm riding along, and my mind drifts on to other things. God got a whopping two minutes of my wiley brain time. Things started to get really negative. I try not to go there, but I can't help it. I'm extremely stressed out trying to balance school, coaching, Ironman, and family. I had to stop because I was hitting meltdown status. Seriously, if you don't understand Ironman, you have to read the Athena Diaries blog. It is amazing. This gal just finished an Ironman in Louisville. Her account has me scared to death. I'm so worried that I'm not going to make it before the 17 hour cutoff. Really, really worried. If I were doing all my workouts, at least I could say, "I did the work. I gave my best. That's the best I could do." But currently, I can't even say that.

Anyways, I meltdown. Meltdown is over, I continue to ride. Thank goodness. I'm gonna do my 2 1/2 hour ride. Only it's now getting dark and I'm an hour from home. But I want to get the full 2 1/2 hours in. I opt to cut it short and turn around and head home, and I'm glad I did. It got dark quickly.

I kept wanting to take my sunglasses off, but I had my yellow lenses in. They were making everything seem brighter. It was actually darker with my glasses off. That scared me. It got darker, and darker, and darker. Stupid, stupid girl!

I hit the point where I had to make a decision as to which was better 1) bike trail: no cars, but tree cover makes it even darker. Spill on the bike or get hit by a car? 2) Get to the streets with streetlights as quick as I can? Only, I'm a triathlete... I don't have no stinkin' reflectors on my bike. Yeah, right! Only I'm also dressed in all dark colors. Not good either. I decide to do bike trail as long as I can, then switch to streetlit roads. I was getting nervous. It was getting seriously dark.

Wouldn't you know it. Just as I'm about to head to the car filled roads, I look down, and somebody's flashy light must have fallen off. It's laying right there on the ground, blinking and begging to ride with me. I just couldn't believe my luck. What are the odds? I hadn't seen another cyclist in an hour. Did somebody leave it there and intend to come back and get it? No, that's just dumb. Why would you leave it? It HAD to have fallen off somebody's bike. It's one of those freaky things that really makes you question divine intervention. It doesn't mean that I won't hit a crack and spill, but it does give me some visibility from cars that might not see me and do a whole lot worse to my body.

I can't help but think God was watching over me and encouraging me in some way. If nothing else, maybe it was a "Hey, good to have you thinking about me. It's been awhile" sentiment. Maybe it's a sign that I need to be nice to the new guy. Huh.

Enjoy the journey

2007-08-27T22:30:00.001-06:00

So I was pretty down because my workouts fell apart the last two weeks. I just couldn't balance Back to School night, coaches meetings, and all my responsibilites at school with my training. But I'm back on the up and up. I got in 11 hours of working out over the weekend, and for that, I feel good.With that much time on my feet and pedals, I had some time to think... A lot of time actually.

Some random thoughts:

- I can't get down on myself for putting school in front of my triathlon. I believe that if you're gonna do something, you should do it 100%. In the case of my teaching career, I strive to be the best teacher I can be. I'm not perfect, nobody is. But if I let myself get behind in my lessons and school work, I'm not just letting myself down. I'm letting my students down. And they don't deserve that. I owe them and society my best. From here on out, I do the best I can to fit my training in, but I can't feel bad when I put my students and classroom first. That's just the way it has to be. No more guilt trips.

- Friday night I turned down Happy Hour with some coworkers. I also turned down a birthday gathering for one of my favorite gal pals. I didn't have the heart to give a reply to her evite, "Wish I could make it, but I have to ride my bike." On a Saturday or Sunday would be one thing, but on a Friday night????? Gosh, am I lame or what?

- I turned down the social events Friday night. I also turned down a baby's 1st birthday party Saturday morning. I did get to go out with some dear friends Saturday night, which was really nice. Because some of those friends were out-of-towners, everybody was going to get up Sunday morning to go out to breakfast. Once again, I had to turn that down so I could ride my bike. I'm now occasionally having those moments where you're actually looking forward to the "big" triathlon being over so you can have your social life back.

- So one moment I want to quit spending so much time swimming, biking, running--but at the same time, I am seriously the most fit I've ever been in my entire life. Other times I tell myself, "When this journey is over, I want to continue all this working out so I can maintain this figure!"

- And then there were my long runs and long bikes this past weekend. Do you know I really enjoyed both of them? I really did! I had so much stress last week, that run was a wonderful stress reliever. And my bike on Sunday??? Wow. Initially I thought I would be blogging about the downpour I suffered through, but I skirted the storm north while the storm moved southeast, so I just got sprinkled on. The sun came back out about three hours into my ride. I crested Dinosaur Ridge to look over on Red Rocks. It was absolutely beautiful. I talked myself out of riding over to Red Rocks (1. because those are some steep hills, and 2. It was time for me to turn around.) I told myself, "Next long ride..." And then I smiled. Because at that moment, I couldn't wait until my next long ride.

They say the training is the hardest part of doing an Ironman. I have no doubt they are right. But it's so awesome when you have those moments where you truly enjoy the training.

Here's to a week where I hit all my workouts! As a fellow IMFL 07 blogger says, Enjoy the adventure! It's going to be a good week.

I am an Ordinary Mortal

2007-08-24T22:07:00.000-06:00

Two thoughts for the week:
1) I am an ordinary mortal. I am not Super Woman. I am not AquaMan.

Think about it. What other sport allows ordinary mortals to be in the same event, at the same time, on the same course as super human athletes with unbelievable strength and speed? Okay, rumor has it you might see Lance Armstrong on the Ragbrai course--and that's about as ordinary mortal as you can get! But the NFL? MLB? No chance you'll ever be on the field at the same time as David Beckham. Just not gonna happen!

2) Dealing with missed workouts is very much like dealing with the stages of grief. First, you're in denial. "I'll get up and do it tomorrow. Really I will." When it doesn't happen, you get angry at yourself. Stupid, stupid girl!!! Argh! Then, you start to get depressed. Who did I think I was? How did I ever think I could possibly do this crazy thing called triathlon? Lastly, you accept that you missed the workouts, and you just have to move on and do better next week. You have to.

Life

2007-08-18T20:24:00.000-06:00

I'm an obsessive-compulsive teacher, middle-school volleyball coach, friend, wife, and struggling triathlete. When I have too much on my plate I stress because I can't put all my eggs in one basket and obsess on that one thing. This week, everything ended up prioritized in that particular order. I don't want "triathlete" to be last, but I can't afford to move any of the other things to last, either. Ugh.

Official 5430 Race Report

2007-08-13T21:16:00.000-06:00

I did it! I finished the 5430. And it was hot, and it was hard, but I did it. I was really struggling with nerves beforehand because I had my times pretty much figured out, and I knew I was going to come in close to last. Luckily triathlon is so popular in Colorado, I managed to beat out 60 people! So I wasn't last! But I still had the seven hours and 45 minutes that I expected. (Actually it was 7:40--I went a wee bit faster than I anticipated in the swim, a wee bit faster than I anticipated on the bike, but slower than expected on the run, which isn't really that unexpected.) I was also surprised by the lack of women in this race. I don't feel as poorly about being in the back of the pack when the men outnumbered the women almost 4:1.

In the end, I don't care what my time was. I finished on a scorcher of a hot day, on a run course that doesn't have a single tree for shade ANYWHERE on the course, and I did it!!!!!

THE PLAY BY PLAY:

The swim: I was definitely fighting off the urge to cry before the gun went off. Knowing that filling my goggles with water pre-race was a bad idea, I was able to keep the tears at bay. Listening to other girls share in nerves and tears, helped, also.

While I know how to breathe bilaterally, I went back to the unilateral breathing just so I could get more oxygen and calm the nerves for awhile. I switched on and off later on. The bad part was that I took in a couple good swallows of water. I don't think it was sitting well in my stomach. I'm scared because I can't let that happen in Florida! Florida is a saltwater swim!!!!!

Anyways, swim and swim I did. I was so excited because I realized that I may have self-seeded poorly. I always start in back, but I was having to maneuver around women, so maybe I could have started a little, not much, but a little closer to the front. The first round of guys caught me at the first turn buoy. Boy, do they paddle hard! One guy paddled down my back instead in front of his chest. I tried to move out of the way every time a guy came up next to me after that. A kick or swat from a girl just doesn't seem to hurt as much as when a guy does it. Hopefully the guys will all swim ahead of me right away in Florida.

I was ready to get out when the 1.2 miles came to an end. I was happy. I did it. But I was ready to get out. I'm having a tough time imagining doing a second loop in the big big race in November. Ugh. Smiles abound when I got out!!! Final time: 46:27.

The bike: Not much to report on here. I knew that any over exertion at all would take away from the run that I struggle with already. So I took it slooooooowwww. Every man, woman, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, and grandmother passed me. I'm not used to that, because the bike is usually my strongest event, but this isn't a race for casual cyclists. I had to suck it up, and that's exactly what I did. I just maintained a nice, slow pace.

By the time I finished, there weren't very many people left on the course. Oh well, I still felt pretty good, and that's exactly how I wanted to go into the run. Nutrition on the bike was a struggle. I knew exactly how many calories I needed each hour, and I usually prefer some solid food on the bike, but I found myself stuffing half a Clif bar in my mouth, and then having to consciously tell myself to chew. I definitely struggle to eat or drink when I exercise heavily.

My butt was really starting to hurt at the three hour mark. I also had to pee really badly and they didn't have any porta-potties on the course!!! I couldn't believe that!!!! I know I've seen articles about how to pee on the bike, but I never thought I could actually do it, so I never read the articles.... I'll tell you what, I was ready to try it, if only it didn't look like I was going to pee on my water bottles. I did find a construction worker nasty and disgusting porta potty on the side of the road about 3/4 the way through. I didn't care. It was heaven in a grey smelly plastic house!

I finally finished the bike three hours and thirty-eight minutes later, and I was a happy girl. (Or should I say, my butt was a happy butt!) Even if I was just about to embark on my worst event.

The run: Well, it was cloudy for the swim, and the clouds had burned off near the end of my bike. It was now 11:00 a.m. and I was about to run half-marathon in the hottest sun of a 95 degree day, on a course with no shade. Baby steps. I took off ultra slow.

I was doing well. At mile 2 I even picked up a friend. I'm a strong believer in picking up friends. She must have had the same mentality because she was making small talk too, the kind that was worthless otherwise, but when you're trying to take you're mind off the pain, every little sidetrack is golden. I spent a little longer than she did at the aid station at mile 3, so she was off. I wished her luck!

I walked only the aid stations on the first of two loops. I was happy about that. My time wasn't very good. I would have to do the exact same time the second loop to get my goal of 3 hours. I knew that wasn't going to happen. I saw my husband as I started loop two and he asked how I felt. I told him that my legs were getting stiff. I wasn't kidding. I've done several half-marathon races prior to this, and my legs always stiffen up around mile 10. That's how they felt and I was only 6 1/2 miles in. Deal with it kiddo.

There were a couple hills from miles 7-8, and I had told myself I was allowed to walk them on the second loop. Only, my legs completely cramped up and when I started to jog again I could only make it about 15 steps. It was awful. I tried again, same thing happened. For a moment the thought of not finishing crossed my mind. "You can NOT walk the rest of this race!!!!" A girl came by and asked me if I was alright. "Yes, thanks for asking. I think I just need some water." Five people passed me right there, and I couldn't help but think I was five positions from last, and now they all passed me. Things were getting bad...

I think my body temperature was getting the best of me. It was so hot out. I had thought about buying salt tablets at the expo yesterday, but I also know you should never try anything new on race day, so I didn't. Bad choice, I think they would have been good for me. I walk/jogged to the next aid station (is that how it's going to feel in the Ironman????? Boy, if I wasn't scared before, I am now!!!!) When I got to the aid station, I took about 10-15 cups of ICE water and wet down every inch of my body, down the shirt, down the shorts, you name it, it got drenched. It was the best ever. I managed to lower my body temperature and I found the energy to jog again.

Luckily, the next aid station wasn't terribly far ahead. I went through the same routine again. The volunteers were so awesome at that station. They had "Car Wash" signs and wet sponges and a sprayer. "Gatorade? Water? Flat Coke?" I told them I wanted it all. I passed on the chips and pretzels, but I took all three beverages questioning how all three were going to sit, but that seemed to sit just fine. I was suddenly doing better than ever!!! The next aid station had some moms and their kids, they were a little confused at the number of water cups I wanted to douse myself in, but I didn't care. I asked for more Coke at the next aid stations, but they didn't have any more.

At the last Olympic distance race I did, I had some water buffalo syndrome going on. I was real hesitant to drink a lot at the aid stations on my first loop because I thought it would weigh me down, sit in my stomach and cramp up. It was funny how on my second loop, I didn't care, and it didn't seem to bother me. I just couldn't seem to get enough to drink on my second loop. Never did weigh me down.

Mile 10. I don't' know what it was about that sign, but I was a happy girl. Somehow I knew that I could do 3 more miles. I love hiking and biking up mountains, because it always amazes me when I look down and see how far I just traveled upwards. I tried to imagine my race this way. Look how far you came!!! You just swam 1.2 miles! You biked 56 miles! And you just ran 10 miles! You can do this!!!!!

Not sure where I got the energy from, but I suddenly had a new goal. All along I had just tried to take it one mile at a time. Thirteen one mile jogs, right? Well I had three one mile jogs left. I just had to make it to the next aid station. And if I could pull each of these one miles off without walking until the aid station, I could really boast to my friend Amy, my husband, and to my coach. Funny how I don't really think they cared, but at that moment in my mind, they cared. They're also the people in my life that would be happy for me if I was happy.

And you know what? I did it! No walking (with the exception of those aid stations--I continued my full body shower standing at the side of the table like it was a buffet table.)

I did it!

7 hours, 40 minutes, 34 seconds.

822/884

----------------

Afterthoughts: Good swim, well planned bike, even if it was slow. The run? I did the best I could, and that's the best I could give. Can't ask for more than that. Miles 7-8 were scary though.

I've wanted to do this race for two years now. I did it and I'm so proud of myself. I was very, very sore that evening and the next day. It enforced the absolute NEED I have for extrinsic motivation. My friends that support me and cheer me on really do help my feet keep moving. Is that a bad thing? Or just a human thing?

Someone told me to be careful if I wanted to do a half-Ironman before my full, because when I finished, I might not believe I can do the full. That's not true. I believe I can do the full. I do, but I believe it's gonna hurt like I've never felt hurt before. School has now started and I have a much more limited workout schedule. This race enforced the fact that I need every ounce of training I can fit in between now and November. I can't afford to cut corners. Because if I'm not devoted to the training, I won't be able to finish the big daddy. I'm glad I had this experience.

2007-08-09T22:22:00.000-06:00

Well, I officially had to punch in to work this morning. I left around 5:30. I came home, got a quick bite to eat, and went off for my bike ride. The main difference I noticed about riding in the evening verses the middle of the day???? The bugs.

I've never been fond of the little winged critters. Ask my parents! I made many a promise to make life miserable if they took me camping again! Lo and behold, I take up backpacking and move to Colorado. They're scratching their heads. But I have a little secret that they don't realize, Colorado doesn't have as many bugs as the midwest! We still have SOME bugs, just not as many. And apparently they like to come out at dusk and hang out on the bike path.

So school has started. Today and tomorrow we don't have kids, just meetings. Some of the meetings are boring, some are inspirational, some make you wonder how on earth someone thinks you're qualified to do everything they expect of you. The nice thing about my current school is that I really like some of the teachers I work with. I've worked at several schools now, and the staff at this one is by far the best.

One of the guys I work with also moonlights at a bike shop. How's that for good luck? My bike was missing a bar end and that could get me DQ'd in a race, so he told me to come in tonight. With some electrical tape, we were able to squeeze a bar end in. But then he looked at my chain...... "TURTLE!!!! When was the last time you lubed your chain??????" I buried my head in my whatever I could find. I knew it was bone dry when I left the house tonight. I could hear it as I pedaled to the bike shop. "Turtle!!!! Do you know what the tire pressure is in your tires????????" Nope, I just hopped on the bike and took off. Pretty standard for me lately...

With a fatherly smile and some head nods, he fixed up the bike, and boy! It really did ride better! Lesson here: Keep your chain lubed up and check the air pressure in your tires ladies and gentlemen! On a regular basis!!!!

Notice I haven't mentioned my half ironman this weekend........? I... I.... I'm... mmm..... a... little... scared....

le downpour

2007-08-03T15:16:00.000-06:00

I got my wish...

Today - three hour bike ride. I'm having some motivational issues, but I realized that this might be the last midweek bike ride that I can take for awhile without racing the sunset in the late evening hours. In less than a week I'll be sitting in some boring meeting, looking out the window, and daydreaming that I'm out on my bike. That helped the motivational issues... I got out and made a conscious effort to enjoy... And enjoy it I did.

1 1/2 hours in - I look up and it's getting pretty overcast. Huh, I still have an hour and a half to go and those clouds are building pretty fast. Hmmmm....

30 minutes from home - a light pitter patter starts to fall. The kind that isn't worth leaving your windshield wipers on. It continues for about 20 minutes and in a weird way, all I could think about was "Bring it on!" I've yet to have one ride this summer where I got totally dumped on. It always starts just as I'm a block from home. Which in many respects is very lucky, but C'mon! If you're training for an Ironman, don't you really need 1 or 2 'I got caught in a massive storm and the lightning bolt was 3 inches from my head' stories!!!???

I'm nearing home. The rain is even lighter now, and I'm gonna be 15 minutes short of my 3 hour mark. I decide to take the long way home that I well know will put me 15 minutes over the 3 hour mark, but oh well...

Soooooooooooooo... Those rainclouds must have heard me, waited til I decided to take the long way home, and then BAM! decided to test my will! As soon as I made the turn for the long route, that cloud decided to rear its ugly head and opened up and gave me every last ounce of precipitation it had in it. COMPLETE downpour for 20 minutes. Soaked to the bone... Water running off my helmet like a downspout. Shoes and socks are literally sloshing. It was beautiful. Of course it let up just about the time I pulled into my driveway. And the sun was peeking through about the time I got out of the warm shower...

But it was a beautiful thing, I really mean it. What an amazing ride! I knew that people were driving by feeling sorry for that poor girl on her bike. The whole time I just wanted to sit up and throw my arms in the air like a 1st place tour rider and yell, "I'M GONNA BE AN IRONMAN!!!!" Yahoo!

It started.

2007-08-02T22:42:00.000-06:00

Today I had to sit in a CPR/First Aid training class from 8 - 4:30. It was the type of class that really could have been condensed into 3 hours max. I'm required to have the yearly certification to be a coach at my middle school. And I'm not complaining about taking it, because I don't mind the refresher. But geez, it took ALL day, and it really didn't need to.

I had the gym bag in the car and immediately went straight to the pool. I got about 1000 yards in to my workout when the 10 yr. old swim team came in and took over the pool. They have to leave one lane open, but it's the lane that all the non-swim team 10-yr.-olds like to splash around in. And apparently, I was definitely in THEIR way. I was suppposed to do sprints, too. And sighting practice and sprints just don't go hand in hand. I gave up and got out.

I got a quick bite to eat and went to school to work in my classroom from 6:30 - 10:00 p.m. Who was I really kidding when I thought I would leave school and hit the rec center at 10 p.m. to finish my run for today?

Boy, is my summer triathlete lifestyle in for a rude awakening.

Get off the computer. Now.

2007-08-01T15:03:00.000-06:00

Well, the posts are gonna become fewer and far between. I shouldn't even be playing on here now, but, what the heck. I've got a million things running through my head, and I'm procrastinating my workouts anyways.... Hey, perhaps that's why we bloggers enjoy blogging so much afterall. It's not for the camaraderie (ok, a little), it's not so we can look back and see where we were and how far we've come (ok, some), and maybe it's not even so much about giving my family that lives 2000 miles away a chance to see what I'm up to (but it's a perk). I think I've realized that blogging just gives me a reason to procrastinate my workouts!!! Hmmm.... On this particular afternoon, I think I have hit the nail on the head!

School is about to start and I'm a queen freaker-outer. I've been dropping in to school every day to try to make my workload the first couple of weeks easier on myself. I still have a lot of work to do before the kids start. Sigh.... (Note to self----Do not start freaking out yet. Do NOT start freaking out yet!)

Talked to my coach today, and he encouraged me to do another local half ironman in September before my Ironman Nov. 3. He said it would be "A confidence booster". I'm not really seeing that. I'm seeing it as a another reason to freak out... but we'll see. Perhaps the fear will help me to really stay focused on my training once I go back to work. I know last year I started out strong the first week of school, but my workouts quickly dwindled to nothing as I spent many 12 hour days getting things figured out that first month of school. I can't let that happen this year! C'mon Turtle! Get off the computer and either do some lesson planning or GO WORKOUT! NOW! Before you start freaking out again!!!!!!!!!!!

p.s. Thanks for all the cereal mom!

My dad worked at Kellogg's for 30+ years and I'm the lucky benefactor of Kellogg care packages once or twice a year. It was a life saver when I was in college! Apparently my husband learned the glory of Ramen in college, but never cereal. He's in hog heaven right now!

The Lanterne Rouge

2007-07-30T14:03:00.000-06:00

The morning started very slow today. It was much the way I think a Saturday or Sunday morning post-Ironman will feel. Today was a rest day, so we didn't have to get up to rush and work out. And... we weren't glued to the tv desperately hoping the Tour de France riders would pedal even faster so we could see who won the stage without making ourselves late for all of our other commitments for the day.

The 2007 Tour de France is over. (Which usually signals an end to my summer break, also... Ugh.) It was an exciting tour even without the cycling god, Lance Armstrong. Sure, it was really sad to see all the doping scandals. Mid-day our friend Kirk would call, "Have you been on Velonews.com? OMG! You're not going to believe what happened today!!!" But watching Contador and Rasmussen battle and then battle again, and then pull out one last effort up the mountains was exciting. Rasmussen was eventually thrown out of the tour in a potential scandal, and Alberto Contador, a young rider from Spain, went on to win. We sat glued during the final time trial in which Contador ultimately beat 2nd place finisher Cadel Evans by a mere 23 seconds!!!! Contador beat the third place finisher, American Levi Leipheimer, by only only 31 seconds!!!!

Let's put that in perspective--After 2206 miles and just over 91 hours of cycling, the winner only won by 23 seconds!!!! I went for a 75 mile bike ride yesterday, and I'm pretty sure I could have been dropped by 23 seconds in the first 23 seconds!!!!

And then there were the fantastic crashes!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3p0dmeecwE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxYKWkq-GX4

I don't know where Big Tom Boonen came in the overall standings, but he had the most sprinting points in the end, and earned the honor of best sprinter. He won the award of dreamiest rider in my book long before the race ever started.

And a new personal favorite: "The Lanterne Rouge."

The "Lanterne Rouge" is the rider that finishes in last place, while still managing to stay in the race without getting booted for missing the time cut-offs. This person receives no prize money, only loud cheers by many passionate local fans. The Lanterne Rouge is named for the red tail lights on a caboose that indicate that no cars have been lost.

This years Lantern Rouge was Wim Vansevenant, a rider from Belgium on the Predictor-Lotto team. (If Cadel Evans had taken 1st instead of 2nd, it would have been a Predictor-Lotto sandwich!) And while we can hardly say that Wim did a pitiful job--after 2206 miles, he was just shy of four hours behind the leader. I know that I'm going to have people beat me by 2-3 hours in my 70.3 mile half iron-man in two weeks! And I'll probably have people beat me by 10 hours in my 140.6 Ironman!!!! Wow! 2206 miles!

Nonetheless, while riders like Michael Boogerd claim they have no time for such trivial matters as the Lanterne Rouge I say we should all unite and support those of us out there that can proclaim that WE ENDURED, WE PERSEVERED, WE TRAINED, AND WE FINISHED THE RACE!!!!!!

Here's to the potential "Lanterne Rouge" of the 5430 Long Course (me!) I might come in last place, but I haven't been sitting on my butt eating bon-bons to get there.

This week's workout totals:

Swim: 4.43 miles

Bike: 123.35 miles
Run: 15 miles

I'm a girl, and I obsess

2007-07-26T23:09:00.000-06:00

Today I went for a 2 1/2 hour bike ride. I had two goals: 1) Take no rest breaks (with the exception of the stoplights by my house--I can't help those) and 2) Ride at a comfortable pace that I can sustain for a long period of time without stopping, a pace that leaves me with steam so I can run afterwards. (The rest of the season is not about "racing" it's about "surviving!")

Well, I succeeded at both my goals. I felt like a rider in the tour (sans the drug scandals) while I reached in my back pocket, grabbed a powerbar, downed half of it while riding. I'm also getting quite good at messing with my water bottles while on the bike, too. It was a good comfortable ride. I did almost 36 miles in 2 1/2 hours, which is good for an average Joe, but it isn't great for an aspiring triathlete. It worries me a bit for my upcoming half IM.

Isn't crazy that you can start obsessing about your next race while your body still aches from the last one?

Anyways, if I can swim oh, say, in 50 minutes. That's a realistic goal. At the bike pace I did today, I'm looking at almost a 4 hour bike ride. I think I need a minimum of 3 hours for the run (my half mary's without a swim and bike, in 70 degree weather, have all come in between 2:25 and 2:35.) I need to give myself at least 3 hours for the run and pray that it doesn't go even longer. That gives me a finish time around 7:50. Which is quite funny, because another blogger recently finished hers in 7:50 and she came in last. I run that risk. The other thing I worry about? My coach is coming to watch.

My coach has a couple of us that are doing the 5430 half IM, and one of his clients is currently getting certified to become a coach. I think she's pretty good. So he's going to have a couple of rock stars, and then the girl that comes in last place. That won't bode well for his bragging rights, but he knew what he was getting into when he agreed to take me on.

I read on somebody else's blog today - "A DNF (did not finish) is still better than a DNS (did not start)" and I don't intend to have either next to my name. If nothing else, I'm going to have numbers next to my name that state that I showed up, and I finished.

I just need to know that I'm going out there, and I'm going to do the best that I can do. It's still going to be a super achievement. You can do this Turtle! You can!

On another note-I noticed today that we're now 99 days out from Florida. We're no longer in the 3 digit numbers. That puts a little lump in my throat.

I did it! PR!!!!!!!

2007-07-23T22:17:00.000-06:00

I did it! I set a new personal record on the Boulder Peak Course. I took eight minutes off last year (bike crash year) and 4:14 off my previous PR which I set two years ago!!!!!!!! I also learned some things along the way.

The Swim:

I had plenty of time to stand around before the swim. The transition area closed at 6:30 and I was in the last wave of females that didn't go off until 7:15. I thought my nerves would get the best of me, but it actually worked out well. I had lots of time to go to the bathroom, etc. Before I knew it, the wave before me was just about ready to go off. I jumped in the water to warm up, swam a bit, and felt good! I went over and stood around with all the other nervous women that I'm sure were thinking the same thing, "Can we just blow the horn already?"

I start towards the back of the pack because I'm not a super fast swimmer and I know it. The horn blows and everybody runs, jumps, splashes, we're in the water! Now my coach had told me to chill out the first half, and I could feel my heartrate jumping sky high. Yes, I got kicked in the face, I got hit, all the traditional good stuff, but nothing horrible. I realized I needed more oxygen to settle down. I started breathing every two strokes on my right side. I've been working the last two years on my bilateral breathing, but my heartrate dropped immediately when I started taking in more oxygen and breathing on one side. I worked so hard to teach myself to breath on both sides, but out the window it goes! (I ended up swimming about 70% unilateral and 30% bilateral.)

Now a funny thing happens to me as I'm swimming the first 500 meters or so--I'm truly jockeying for position. All the way to the first turn buoy! I'm in a mess of women! I'm usually left out to dry after the first 25 strokes!!! I'm kind of pumped about this! It's also kind of wavy. I think some boats must have went by or something. It's not ideal, but I'm kind of excited about it because I know this is good Ironman practice! And I'm doing just fine!!!!

I hit the first turn buoy. It's a sharp 90 degree turn. I turn and just swim. By the time I looked up to sight, I realized I didn't cut the turn sharp enough. I made more of a diagonal turn. I saw a school of women swimming upstream in a line farther over and they were now all passing me. That saddened me, but I looked at my watch, and I was making great time. I got myself reoriented and swam straight towards the next turn buoy. It, too, had a sharp 90 degree turn. Did I learn my lesson the first time? Apparently not. I did the same thing again. Only this time, when I realized what I did, I looked over and saw a freeway of orange caps (the men in the wave after me) and I was suddenly quite alright swimming outside the rush hour traffic lane.

I tried to get in a nice groove and even went back to bilateral breathing. There was one more turn buoy, and I DID learn my lesson on that one. I knew I lost some time when I shot past the buoys, and it was now the second half of the swim. I definitely started to push myself. I swam hard from the last buoy into shore. I refused to look at my watch until I hit the timing mat. I ran, I didn't walk up the sandy hill to the transition area! Did I do it???? Did I lose too much time???? Beep Beep went the transition mat. I looked down at my watch.

Swim Final: 35:42. 2005 swim time: 39:52.

I was pumped. I took four minutes off my swim!!! Yahoo!!!!!!

T1: I was able to do a couple of open water swims this year, and that paid off. I made a couple mental notes on how to get my wetsuit off in a timely manner. This was the easiest that puppy has ever come off. AND, there were still a lot of bikes left! There were still a lot of women in the water! Time: 2:21 2005: 2:21

The Bike:

As I left T1 one of the volunteers yelled at me. "Good luck! I worked with you at the sprint!" I didn't stop to look, but recognized the voice. See! Volunteering is just good Karma!!! I waved, yelled hi, and took off. I felt awesome. Calm down... Calm down I had to remind myself. The road out of the rez has some rolling hills. I never expected this out of myself, but I found myself in my aero bars right away. (Used them a lot!) Calm down. Calm down!!! It's all uphill after that. It's a slow gradual hill that has kicked my butt in years prior because I was tired from the swim. This year I just had to keep reminding myself to chill out.

The hill starts to get steeper... And steeper... Huff and Puff... Still getting steeper! Oh my goodness, did the road move this year????? Perfect Circles. Perfect Circles. I do okay on hills, so I'm passing just as many people as there are men passing me, which makes me feel good, but it's really hurting. My husband and I didn't get any training rides in up here this year... I've done some hills, but no serious hill training because Florida is FLAT! Near the top there were a bunch of people with cowbells and even some guys dressed up as devils cheering people on. That was really cool. I'm huffing and puffing so loud at this point!!! I looked down and suddenly see that I'm going 5.5 mph (at one point I was going 3.5 mph!!! Yes, it is possible to still stand upright at that speed!) Now I'm going 5.8, 6.0, ALRIGHT!!!! I'm gonna make it!!!! Old Stage plays some little tricks on you though. You think you're at the top, but you still have to travel uphill for awhile, just not at such a steep grade.

I skip the aid station at the top. I had some Clif Bloks tucked in my jersey (thanks to the Hubbardusky Athletic Supporters) and took in some water. Time to fly.... I pass the 35 mph police radar sign... I was going 35 so I slowed down to just under 30 (I get scared that fast anyways--they have a speed limit here because somebody was badly injured on the course a couple years ago.) Anyways, I'm flying. I pass the "Bear Crossing" sign (yep, somebody hit a bear flying down it last year!) I throw it in my big ring even though I haven't trained in my big gear this year. I'm feeling good.

There are some beautiful flat, flat sections after that, and after going uphill for so long, you feel like you're still flying. I don't know how fast I was going, because I switched my cycle computer at the top of Old Stage Hill. If I were going to PR I had to get it to 16.1 mph average pace. I did 16.0 the last two years, and I know that I always get tired on the last stretch, so I needed some cushion when I slowed down. (In retrospect I should have just left it recording time. What was I thinking?)

At the top of Old Stage I had an avg. of 10.5 mph. I just watched it climb the rest of the ride. I made sure to drink a lot and eat the rest of my Clif Bloks. I ended up yo-yoing with another girl on the course. She'd pass me, I'd pass her. After about the 4th time, I got a kick and yelled "Tag! You're it!" As I passed her. You never know how people will take that, but she was a good sport. She yelled something back when she passed me next. I beat her into transition, but she arrived shortly after. I told her at T2 "The run is all yours!" It's pretty typical for me to pass people on the bike and then see every one of them pass me on the run.

So, I'm riding strong and feeling good, eating, drinking. I'm coming up on Aid station #2. My goal was to grab some Gatorade at this station and make sure I drink it!!!!!! I am not bonking on the run today!!! I grab it, I squeeze... Nothing is coming out!!! I squeeze again... Nothing... NOOOOOOOOO!!!!! The volunteer pulled off the plastic wrap, but he forgot to pull off the styrofoam cap under the lid! NOOOOOO!!!! I need this! This is the first year I've actually gained enough bike handling skills to take my water bottles in and out of the bike cages, but this is too much for me to do while riding! Do I pull over? I try to twist the cap while it's in my cage, but the whole bottle just spins with the cap. Ugh. I need that Gatorade! So veering all over the road, I managed to get the lid off, pull off the styrofoam thingy, and put the lid on. I managed to keep riding while I did it. I didn't stop! I was so proud of myself!!! That was a big achievement for me!

After getting something to drink, I'm feeling good. My coach told me to push the second half of each event, so I decide to really push it. And I push it. And I pass people. And I pass more people. This is great!!!! I watched my avg. mph slowly go up and then it just kind of stuck at 15.9. Oh well, I PR'd in the swim, I'm okay if I don't PR on the bike. I get to the section of the road near the end where you ride along the highway. It's always windy, and while I don't think it's uphill, it always feels like it is. Only... I'm still flying on my bike... I'm not tired in the least! I'm feeling great! I'm still passing men right and left!!!! 16.0. I hit it! Then 16.1, then 16.2, and just before getting back to the rez, it says 16.3 mph! (Official came in at 16.4!) I PR'd on the bike!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bike Final: 1:35:19 2005: 1:37:25

T2: I had a Nalgene with some water in it. I drank a sip and then dumped half the bottle on my head. Ah, that felt good. Time to go! I added a minute to my T2 time this time, but I also had the farthest bike rack from both the bike entrance and run exit. So I'm not too worried about losing a minute here. Last time I had the rack closest to the bike entrance and run exit. It was more logistics than me sitting around in my lounge chair. Time 2:36 2005: 1:27

The Run:

I was absolutely pumped as I started the run. I PR'd on both the swim and bike and I was determined to do well on the run today. Slow down. Coach Eddie told me to especially make sure I start the run sloooow. At mile one I look down, 11:15. That's actually a really good race pace for me. If I can keep that pace, I'll PR on the run, too! And I'm forcing myself to go slow! Yahoo! About 1 1/2 miles I get little chills. Yeah, it's hot out. I see my husband running at me. I yell to let him know I PR'd on the swim. He slaps my hand but doesn't say anything. He's almost done and very tired at this point.

I don't start struggling until I get close to mile 3. I can feel myself getting slower. I'm even telling myself it's okay, I need to slow down so I can maintain. There is a girl in front of me that keeps stopping to walk, then as soon as she starts running she passes me again. She's wearing an outfit from a tri club in my area. I strike up a conversation with her. "We should hook up because we have similar pacing!" She comments, "Yeah, but you can manage to run the whole way!" That made me feel good, but I think she jinxed me. I always walk the aid stations and I'm okay with that. But at mile 3 1/2, my heart rate was just sky high. I stopped for a minute. Problem is that now there are fewer and fewer people on the course. I was the last of the women to leave this morning... Lots of people are walking... I'd push, I'd see someone walking, and my feet just seemed to like the idea. My head didn't and internally there was a battle between my brain and my feet, but my feet were winning.

I made it to mile 5. If I can run a ten minute mile, I'll break even on the run! I tried to push it, but still leave some in the tank to sprint out the end. I started huffing so hard I thought for sure I was going to hyperventilate. I stopped for a minute. The cool thing was that the pros were now into the last part of their race. So I did have the pro's passing me now. Didn't really motivate me though. Another age grouper came by and commented that in a rested sprint she couldn't run that fast. I agreed with her! I tried to pick up the pace again. I tried! I had to stop and catch my breath one more time. There it is! The finish line! People are cheering. I'm pushing, but deep down I know that my legs aren't going any faster. The announcer says my name, I tried to sprint, I really did, but I had nothing left. I stopped just after the finish line to bend over and catch my breath. My hands slid right off my knees because everything is sweaty. My husband yells to back up and pose by the finish line so he can take picture. I stand up, think about this for a miniscule of a second and walk away. Are you crazy? I want water. I want to sit down. Whatever picture he got will have to do. I'm done!

Run Final: 1:15:43 2005: 1:13:05

So... I'm now dizzy, tired, and happy because I knew that I PR'd. I know that I pushed hard and gave it everything I had. I know that when I do my half-ironman in three weeks, I'll attack it totally different. That one is just about surviving. I will go slow in that one (Is it really in three weeks? Agh!!!) Today I was driven to do my best time yet, and I did it. I've thought long and hard about that stupid run. I didn't bonk, I didn't, so why was it so hard? I'm sure the heat was part of it. It got up to 98 degrees. I think I just pushed my HR too high and it was that lactate thing. I gave it all I had. In retrospect, I realize that I only took two minutes off my bike. I thought it was more when I was out there. I can't help but wonder if I wasn't trying to be a rock star on my bike if I would have had more energy in the reserves for the run. Two minutes on the bike was hard to take off! I had to work hard for that two minutes. Losing the same two minutes on the run is reeeeeeally easy to lose. Just stop to walk twice and it's lost forever.

Oh well, I'm not "racing" anymore Olympic distance races this season. From here on out, it's just about surviving. So long as I can drag my butt across the finish line on the next one I'll have a new PR. I will take the bike sloooooow. But I'm pretty scared. No matter how slow I go on that bike, after 56 miles, I'm going to be tired. And 13.1 miles of running--it's going to be hard not to stop and walk. Why do I do this to myself?

Overall BP time: 3:31:44 2005: 3:35:58

And the picture of me crossing the finish line? In my new tri top and shorts that I bought with my birthday money from my mom and grandma? (Thanks mom!) This is it....

Apparently, everytime my father-in-law snapped a picture, he was actually turning the camera on and off. When my husband figured out what he was doing and showed him, I was crossing the finish line... That's why he wanted me to pose at the finish line... Just my luck.

Coach Eddie calls

2007-07-20T21:48:00.000-06:00

Just got off the phone with my coach. I haven't heard from him much this past month because he's in the process of moving to Kona!!! Nonetheless, he did what a good coach should do. He pumped me up.

He agreed that I've been working pretty solidly building endurance, so he understands my concerns about speed this weekend. His advice was to start each event very comfortably. Half way through each event, if I'm feeling up to it, I should try to go faster, and then even faster if possible, then back it down again when I start the next event.

His motto: No expectations, only aspirations!

I like that. It's not a negative nancy comment, it's realistic, yet it's still positive. Thanks Coach!

Zillion thoughts at once

2007-07-20T13:16:00.000-06:00

* We're on. We had a death in my husband's family and it looked like the Peak might not happen this weekend. Not sure how we were going to get there, but an impromptu trip to California was suddenly on the horizon. It kind of felt like a bike crash. You worked so hard to get to race day, but alas, you don't get to pass 'Go' (or Old Stage Hill) and you don't get to collect $200 (or the cool Boulder Peak race shirt and swag bag.) I was sad, but there's nothing you can do about it. You make triathlon your life, but believe it or not, there really are some things out there that are bigger. I realized that if the hubby went to Cali without me, I'd feel guilty, and that long lonely run into the finish line would be made that much more awful without the hubby cheering me in. Life. It's always good for a few curve balls.

But... after much roller coaster planning and emotions, we're now staying in town with a visit to California to be made at a later, calmer date. Boulder Peak, here we come!

* So, we're on again! The Peak. Let's see what we've got on deck this weekend:
- Several long steady miles uphill as we ascend to complete 2/3 of a mile at a 15% grade - Check!
- Some history with the Peak - Check!
- Lots of long slow training, but very little at the pace I'd like to be at this weekend- Check!
- A forecast of 100 degrees on Sunday - Check!
- The last female wave start in the race (= later, hotter, and lonely finish) - Check!
- Lots of pro athletes signed up that will start shortly after me, and will surely finish long before me, but I do get to check out their hot bods as they pass me on the course - Check!
- Big wave of men swimming right after me (more realistic to say they'll be swimming on top of me) Good Ironman washing machine start practice! - Check!
- Late start means a late arrival on the run course in the heat of the day - Running by myself long after everyone else finishes - More great Ironman training! - Check!
- Lots of freaking out on my part - Check!

*I'm so nervous. It's supposed to be a 100 on Sunday. Please, please don't let me completely die on that run course... I want to do well!!!!! Man I wish I knew how much to push/not push on my bike.

* And one last thought on a whim--Today was a moderately flat stage in the Tour de France. My man Big Tom gave a hard sprint finish and won the stage. *Eyelashes flutter flutter flutter*

Some Boulder Peak History

2007-07-17T16:23:00.000-06:00

Okay, turns out mom is a loyal follower of the Triturtl blog, as evidenced by her confusion of the Hubbardusky corporate sponsorship. Matt and Dani will surely be floored to find out that she hasn't heard of the Hubbardusky corporation! She thought it was pretty neat that I had to wear corporate logos though! Boy, if only I were that cool!

So... As mom prepares for her first visit EVER to Florida this fall, and I prepare for my first triathlon this season (yikes! The stomach butterflies have started!) I'll share some Triturtl BOULDER PEAK triathlon history:

Four years ago -

the Triturtl says to soon-to-be-fiance, "I'm loving this triathlon thing. The Boulder Peak sounds really cool. I want to do that race."

Fiance's response? "You're absolutely, positively nuts!!!! Do you know what the people that do that crazy race look like? They're absolutely scary!!!! Have you seen the hill? Make me a deal, let's volunteer at it, and then if you still want to do it, we'll do it next year."

The deal was made, we helped out. I wanted to do it more than ever before...

Three years ago - With mule-like stubbornness, we signed up for the Boulder Peak. I was going to do this! Unfortunately, I also finished a master's degree that Spring and found myself in the midst of my wedding, honeymoon, and new job that summer. Training definitely didn't go as well as planned, but I tried my best and felt proud as can be that I just finished.

Finishing time: 3:49

Two years ago - No masters degree, no wedding, no new job. Trained more than ever before. I took fourteen minutes off my time. I was still pretty sad because overall I knew that my time wasn't anything to brag about. My husband reminded me that I made huge gains that summer and I should be absolutely proud of bettering myself. He reminded me that you'll ALWAYS find people much faster. You have to do the best YOU can do, not what anybody else can do. He was right. I did well for me. I even placed in the top ten (out of 17!) in the Athena division.

Finishing time: 3:35

Side note: 5430 Half-ironman is now tempting me... Hubby makes me volunteer before I can sign up. I'm hooked. I will be doing that race next summer!

One year ago - This was to be the summer of the half-ironman... Spring training starts out awesome! You know how most accidents happen five miles from your home? Yep... Bike crash, major road, less than five miles from home, May 31... Hadn't signed up for the half-ironman yet, because unlike this year, it didn't sell out early. Luckily I hadn't signed up yet. Boulder Peak was another story. I was already in for that one because it always sells out early. Since I slammed my shoulder on the pavement (gave me a whole new respect for the crashes in the Tour de France!) swimming was out of the question for a month and a half. I didn't start swimming again until two weeks prior to the race. I had started biking a little sooner, but not much. I did however, spend a good solid month power walking and doing some running with arm in sling...

So race day last year...

Swimming and biking will probably suffer. Under the circumstances, I'm okay with that. But I'm hoping I can do well on my run...

The result? Exactly, to the minute, same times as the year prior on the swim and bike, and four minutes slower on the run!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finishing time: 3:39

Alas, here we are TODAY..................

The Boulder Peak is this Sunday. I've been training more than EVER before, but... I've been doing a lot of long distance stuff, and practicing at speeds that are way slower than my previous race times. Hmmm.... Will race mentality make me faster? Will the adage that you race the way you train hold true???? I'm thinking that it's a realistic goal to take two minutes off the swim. The bike? Not sure. Previous race splits will require that I push myself. And the worst part...... It's HOT here, folks. The run, my worst event anyways, is always hot, hot, hot!!!! It is also completely exposed. There is NO shade. The key is for me not to walk. But that's so hard when it's 96 degrees out (that's what happened last year.) It's looking like we'll have similar temps again this weekend. The balancing act exists here: I know I can push myself on the bike and do what I did the last two years, but I MUST save energy for that dreaded run that kills me every year. How much do you push? How much do you save?

Ahhhhhhhh........... The Boulder Peak Triathlon.

Hubbardsky Athletic Supporters

2007-07-13T14:07:00.000-06:00

You know you have arrived when somebody believes in you enough to offer their sponsorship on your athletic prowess.

On our doorstep today I found a package.

The letter inside the package stated:

"Congratulations!!!!! You have been selected as the HUBBARDUSKY Sports Couple of the year.... Enclosed is a selection of energy and recovery aids assembled by our talented team... By using said items, you agreed to corporate sponsorship and will follow all terms and conditions, comply with corporate quality standards, and maintain proper hygiene.... You also agree to affix the enclosed professional decals on either or both of your bike and helmet at angles appropriate for optimal camera viewing... Our logo is professionally designed and crafted as a stylish addition to your athletic equipment and one you will obviously be proud to display...."

Now I can't tell you how very, VERY excited I am to have received the enclosed nutritional items. There is a post yet to be written on the costs of triathlon, and trying this or that nutritional supplement is a 'must do,' but a 'can't necessarily afford' for something I might not even like! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you Hubbardusky corporation for allowing me the chance to try the Powerbar Endurance drink (I'm already a devout follower of the Recovery drink.) I've read the glory of both Clif Shot Bloks and Perpetuem, but have yet to try them!!! I can't tell you how thrilled I was to receive this package today!!!!!!!!!!!!

The corporate sponsorship that my husband and I have to bow down to, sell the name of our first born, and proudly wear?????????

Thanks Hubbardusky's! You're the best!!!!!!

p.s. Do you think you could have put a few more labels on the box for the mailman to see?

He's back in green!

2007-07-13T13:42:00.000-06:00

He did it. He's back in green today!

I'll be a good girl now and leave big Tom out of my blog for awhile as they head into the mountains.

Oh to be a podium girl! Sigh..........

Ain't nothin

2007-07-12T17:38:00.000-06:00

Went for a mid-week 2 1/2 hour ride today. It
was pretty boring really.

Big Tom dropped to second in the standings for the green jersey at the Tour de France today. Bummer. I wonder if he knows that there are married American women drooling over him right now... Sighhhh.

Go Tom!

Biker ramblings and some drooling!

2007-07-09T21:07:00.000-06:00

The Tour de France started on Saturday. This can only mean two things: 1) It will be a GREAT tour because it started on my birthday, and 2) Absolutely nothing will be accomplished around our house for the next three weeks while my husband is glued to the "Vs." network.

Speaking of the tour... My Mr. McDreamy is in the green jersey today! Big Tom Boonen! Is he not the CUTEST cyclist ever!!!!!!!!

asdlfjlk;uli Oh, sorry, I had to wipe the drool off my keyboard......... Y'know, Robbie McEwen is a little cutie pie, too, but Tom's got the eyes and smile. Sigh................................

On to the ultimate amateur in cycling... Me. I'm done with my two week house sitting stint. I mention this for two reasons: 1) My husband said I could use the money I made to buy myself a new Garmin!!!!! So... the Garmin 301, or the newer version, the 305???? Powerbar has a $50 rebate coupon for the 305... Decision made! More to follow when it actually arrives this week in the mail! 2) I BONKED HARD ON MY LONG RUN THIS WEEKEND. Why? Because I was housesitting, and had no GU or water bottle to take with me on a 2 hour and 15 minute run! I know that was stupid. I had run clothes, shoes, etc. But when do you not have 5 empty water bottles rolling around your car at any given time???? Apparently I cleaned my car out recently. Huh.

Anyways, the long run started well enough. I took it super slow... So slow I've yet to mention publicly how slow I really am. The good thing was that I thought for sure I could pull a negative split. And I truly feel I could have if I had brought proper nutrition. Ladies and Gentlemen, this will NOT happen again!!!!! I had to walk a large portion of my last two miles because I was just spent. (I made it 10 miles in that time... You do the math... not good.)

Thoughts while running (I love having a blog because it gives me something to think about while running and biking--'I'll have to put that in my blog!'):

* I love Colorado (yes, that is a recurring theme.) I love to do my long runs in a canyon just outside of Denver. It's a dirt road that follows a river about 6 1/2 miles back. It's beautiful. In the wee morning hours it's filled with runners and some mountain bikers. As the day gets warmer, it's more mountain bikers, hikers, families, and fishermen. In the spring and fall, the big horn sheep will stroll down the canyon. Pretty cool stuff. It's usually too warm for them to come down in the summer, but there was one lonely big horn roaming around this past Saturday morning. Cool. Also saw a beautiful heron.

* While running in the canyon, I noticed three mountain bikers go by. Now these aren't your average mountain bikers (there are some single track trails at the end of the canyon.) Usually the bikers here are either hard core mountain bikers, or average family Joe's on their cruiser bikes just doing the fire road. Well these three guys were DEFINITELY road bikers on mountain bikes. How do I know? They were skinny little dudes with all the gear, EXCEPT the camelback! Why oh why do road bikers refuse to wear a Camelback? Why oh why do mountain bikers insist on it? I don't own a Camelback, but when I did the Triple Bypass (120 miles, 3 mountain passes in one day) I took a backpack with food and rain gear (and it did rain mid-afternoon) and people DID comment on my backpack... but I don't regret wearing it!

Thoughts while biking on Sunday:

* Ha! I brought a stack of GU today!!!! And you know what? I DIDN'T BONK!!!! Yeah for me!!!!! I'm gonna get this nutrition thing down!

* I only did 60 miles in almost five hours, I was really hoping for over 70, but I climbed Lookout Mountain and took on a couple thousand vertical feet (after already riding for 2 1/2 hours!.) I did way more up than I did down (can't wait to get the Garmin so I can document it!) AND I DIDN'T BONK!!!!! I'm patting myself on the back big time for this one!

* Yeah for me! I also got a flat tire going 30+ mph down the mountain. I pulled over. Fixed it all by myself. (Rear wheel! ha!) and off I went. Good job me!

* Another observation of macho men: the bike path crosses over the freeway a few times. At these lights, bikers will often gather and then the green light creates a "Who goes first?" dilemma. I'm slow, I know it, so I always let the guys in all the bike gear go first. So I'm at a light, bike gear guy arrives first, I arrive second, and two guys show up after me. The two guys are on road bikes, but one is wearing hiking shorts, and the other is wearing khaki's with a leather belt holding them up!!!! I'm no stud, but I'm in all my bike gear, I arrived second, doesn't it SEEM like I should go second? I totally paused to see what the two guys are gonna do, they don't hesitate for a second and take right off in front of me! Okay, I'm not a bike snob. I'm not! But once on the trail, they start riding like 5 mph talking!!!! They felt the need to cut me off for that garbage????? They did kick it in high gear later and went flying past me, but only after another girl came through. My husband said they didn't want to let TWO girls pass them. Who knows?

* Biker chivalry: So this leads me to note. Full-on biker dudes in all their glory are on a mission to ride and ride as fast as they can. No worries. I won't talk to you, I won't even look at you. I will not interfere with your game. But, if I'm at a light with a 40 something guy, that isn't completely hard core about it--he always talks to me. ALWAYS. Why is that? Not that I mind. I've met some really nice older men. Most ask me how far I'm going and tell me what they're riding, they let me go first when the light turns green, only to pass me once back on the trail. It's nice. And then there are the guys in their khaki pants and leather belts that feel the need to cut me off!!!! What the?

* So in all my maybe, kind of, male ego bashing... I did get asked out for the first time on my long ride this past weekend. Not by a biker, but by a guy in a car on a side neighborhood road. He did a U-turn, pulled up next to me, and told me I looked "pretty." Which is great because I'm in bike helmet, sunglasses, flat tube sticking out my back pocket making me look completely deformed, and he says I'm "pretty." Yeah, whatever! I'm very complimented by the offer for coffee, but let him know that my husband probably wouldn't approve. I look down and realize my bike gloves are hiding my wedding ring. I hope the guy doesn't feel too much like a smuck. I tried to be nice. He really did make my day... Now if only Tom Boonen would ride up beside me and make small conversation... Sigh...........

GO BIG TOM!!!!!!!