Wednesday, Thursday - November 10 & 11

Wednesday - decided to sleep in, ran 4 miles on a freakishly dark Town Lake trail after work. I started a tad bit late, around 5:30pm, and by the time I was making my way around, it was pitch black! Kinda spooky. No watch, no Garmin.. just me running.

Sidenote - I had to stop by Adrian's on my way home and I had the pleasure of seeing my hunka hunka husbands on the way :) Matthew, AJ, and Steve were running up Far West. I parked a few streets ahead and cheered for them. I gave Steve a special Foho "hug". Searched for Dee, but couldnt' find her. There were so many runners out, I had no clue. It was a nice ending to a good day.

Thursday
Time: 5:30am
Duration: 1:53:13
Workout: 10 miles of hills
Distance: 10 on the dot
Weather: a bit chillier, low 50's
People: Chuck and Peter and later Carolyn, then alone
Comments: Eeek. Hills. I don't feel in shape for hills quite yet, so my pace was ungodly slow... but I got them in. I started out with Chuck and Peter and was doing fine until we started climbing. The hills weren't bad, but I haven't been running them so I couldnt' keep up. I got to run with Carolyn for a few miles after that. Then I turned around and this is where the fun began.

I turned around too early by accident. I didn't read the rest of the directions that said to go to Rae Dell/Arpdale. Instead, I turned around as soon as I saw Arpdale, so I was about 2 miles short. I didn't notice this until Carolyn was gone and I had already started backtracking. We were doing an out and back, which you think would be easy. I started back and was immediately lost. I ended up running where I thought we should go and couldn't help but giggle because this was the place Dee and I got lost last year. I convinced her to run all the way down to Manchaca!! It was a funny, all time moments for us. I tried to recite her phone number, cause I wasn't sure if I could find my way back. I was running on Curto del something, Cinnamon, etc. I saw a Team Rogue person and thought I was going in the right direction, but when I didn't recognize the street names, I decided to go back to Lamar and try over again. Luckily, this made up the two miles that I was short. I finally got back on track using the map portion of the directions. Got to Rogue, showered, and made it to work :)

Tuesday - November 10, 2009

Time: 5:15am
Duration: Not sure, Garmin died :)
Location: Rogue
Workout: 8 easy
Distance: 8 - Garmin died
Weather: Nice and cool
People: Chuck, Peter, Emily, then later Kim and Stephanie
Comments: I had set out to plan to run my Tuesday and Thursday runs with Chuck and his peeps. I think he's faster than I am right now, but want to get my dang speed back so anyone pushing me is a great thing. We started out, and it felt ok, and after about a mile, it felt pushed. Not pushed bad, but I know if I were running solo, I wouldn't be running as fast. It wasn't uncomfortable to where I couldn't do it, so I think it was perfect. They were running 10, so at around the 4 mile marker, I turned off to do 8 as they had about a mile out and back they needed to do to get to 10. Steph and Kim were at the water and I didn't think I could hang, but decided to see how long I could go without them dropping me. I made it the entire time, and felt like I was pushing a tad bit more than when I was running with previous company. Good stuff, but Thursday, I'm going to see if I can hang with Chuck and company for the entire run.

Glad to be back in it, and I'm finally shedding the Hawaii (before and during) weight so I'm hoping the speed will come back.

Yay for running!!

Week 1 - Totals

Monday - 4
Tuesday - 7
Wednesday - 0
Thursday - 8
Friday - 0
Saturday - 9
Sunday - 4

TOTAL - 32 miles.

Friday - Monday!

Friday - OFF - never got around to running.
Saturday - 9 miles, 7 with the Cookies and 2 with Dee.
Sunday - 4 miles easy
Monday - 4 miles easy.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Time: 5:30am
Duration: 1:26:37
Location: Barton Springs
Workout: 8 mile easy run
Distance: 8.33 miles
Avg Pace: 10:24
Weather: Weatherbug showed 40 when I left my house
People: Team Rogue, ran with Stephanie for a few miles
Comments: Since I got 10 hours of sleep, waking up at 4am felt great. I had plenty of time to pack my clothes for work and eat breakfast on my way to the workout. We ran from Barton Springs to Exposition and back on the back roads that I take home from work. I can't wait until I get my groove back. I ran by myself, and at the water stop about half way, Steph slowed her run down to run a few miles with me. It was nice catching up, but I would rather not slow anyone down. I'm actually enjoying pushing myself on the runs solo and trying to catch and play games with myself on not letting people get out of my sight.

I'm going to run my 4 miles I skipped on Wednesday tomorrow, shhhh... I don't want to skip workouts, and I don't think changing out days will matter, not in the first week. REALLY looking forward to running with my FOOLS on Saturday morning. Just an easy 10 miler, then it's into week 2!!!

I'm aiming for 70 mile peak, might even go all out and try for 80 if I can get used to the early morning runs :)

Wednesday, 11/04/09

Week 1 of Team Rogue and I can tell it's going to take me awhile to get used to this new schedule. I'm NOT a morning person. Tuesday, I made it to class, but ended up coming straight home today and going to bed at 6pm. Yes... I made an executive decision to back out my normal Wednesday poker game with the guys because #1 I left all my money in Hawaii, and #2, I was exhausted from work. I proceeded to come home, undress, and crash from 6pm till 4am the next morning. 10 hours of sleep... ahhh...

No workout.

Tuesday - November 3, 2009

Time: 5:30am
Duration: 1:01:43
Location: Rogue
Workout: 7 mile easy run with 4 strides
Distance: 7 miles (or on Map My Run 6.65)
Avg Pace: 8:49's or 9:16's (will wear Garmin for more accuracy from now on)
Weather: 50, nice and chilly but perfect for running!
People: Team Rogue, but ran alone
Comments: First team workout, woo hoo! I got there about 20 minutes early, played with the rope, attempted to stretch by watching what others were doing. I went to Happy Office Hours last night and decided to start with the 60 mile macro. I think I'm going to do the 70 and see how long I can keep it up :) Macro showed 4 for today, but once everyone convened, the shortest option was 7. So I did that. Pretty happy with how the run went. It felt good to run again. If the map was accurate, I ran 8:49's which is a shocker! I didn't believe it, so I mapped it out online and came out with 6.65. Even then, 9:16's is WAY faster than I've run in the last year!!

Maybe to running solo chasing people will do me some good. As people passed me, I tried to keep them in sight as long as I could before someone else would pass. Looking forward to this season.. it's gonna be a good one :)

Team Rogue - 1st workout!

Ok, it was only 4 miles alone, but 1 down, how many more to go? Nothing really to update other than I've let myself do what I promised myself I wouldn't after Ironman training. That's to lose the fitness I gained, get fat again, and get slow :(

Time: 4:45pm
Where: Town Lake Trail (I still don't like the way Lady Bird Lake sounds)
Distance: 4 miles
Pace: Awful 43:39 for 4.17, pathetic, 10:28's.
Script: Nice and easy (thank goodness)

I've got my work cut out for me this go around, but looking forward to it!

Next up: Finish the Hawaii pics over the next two weeks and trying to make working out at 5:30am a fun thing :)

Looking forward to making new friends in the morning.

Hawaii 2009 - Day 2, October 23rd

Friday, October 23rd.

We had slept with ALL the windows and doors open. The night weather was perfect. It was just cool enough to use both the sheet and comforter and not be too hot or too cold. The sounds of the ocean crashing against the rocks just a few feet away was nice. We both woke up incredibly early, since our body clocks weren't set yet. Poor Adrian never really got adjusted, but I think it only took me a few days. And I'm a sleeper and he's not. We woke to a beautiful vision of the sun and the ocean.

Every morning, we'd see these people. They'd go and go and go. And really early in the morning, 6am. We leisurely got up, loaded Adrian's bike and some clothes. I took a running outfit in case I decided to run while Adrian was pre-riding the course. That was all we took. We made it to the race site. I could post pics for everything, but will put the details in our Flickr account. The hotel wasn't that spectacular, and we were happy with our decision to not stay in a hotel or condo for our trip. We decided that since it was a once in a lifetime trip, we'd go all out and find something secluded and beachfront. Our place was perfection. We were within a mile from the town of Paia, we could see the beach and walk to it within 2 minutes. The host hotel was nice, but not $350 a night nice. There was a nice atrium in the middle, but that was about it. Adrian picked up his packet, and later in the day I picked up mine for the trail race. Adrian pre-rode the course, and I decided against the run, cause I didn't want to get sweaty for whatever we were going to do for the rest of the trip. I hadn't been exercising up to this trip as it was, wasn't about to start.

Adrian pre-rode the course, and I decided to venture out to a shopping strip. I found the dress I wore to the luau, got Adrian some swim trunks (which happened to be a great idea. He wore them the entire week!) and the flower I wore in my hair the entire week, a papaya to eat for breakfast, and the coffee that Adrian's mom requested. By the time I got back, Adrian called and was done riding the course. Perfect timing!!

I picked up my trail race packet and noticed that only 5 girls were in my age group! At that moment, I had wished I had done more training and not let my base from the Ironman slip away, but figured, if I could just beat 2 out of the 5, I could finish top 3. Uh, and we all know that's NEVER happened. I was kinda excited. More to come on this later.

We left and decided to drive the West side of Maui. No plans, just playing it all by ear. We finally got to see what we were expecting. Beautiful ocean views, gorgeous views of nothing but lush green beautiful Hawaii. We stopped at all the overlook sections, took pics galore, and enjoyed the drive. We ended up going to the Maui Ocean Center and got suckered into that. We made the best of it, but it was definately NO Sea World. Very boring and a waste of money to say the least. We ate a yummy lunch at the Beach Bums Bikini Bar, and had an awesome waitress. Adrian had a wrap and I had fish tacos. During the drive, we stopped at some beach access parts and threw on our swimming goggles (yes, for pool swimming and tri's, not snorkeling goggles) and went exploring. We saw a fish. Ha! But it was fun and adventurous. I didn't have my swimsuit with me, and we stopped at one place, but just couldn't see spending $40 on a bathing suit, when I had packed 4, but they were all at the house! So I just threw on my running shorts. We stopped a few times to swim, but most of the day was driving and stopping at all the places to look at the views.

Adrian was adamant about getting the entire island to abide by his picture taking rules. When we were at the Maui Ocean Center, they had the guy standing there wanting to take your picture then charge you an arm and a leg to buy it. When he approached us, Adrian asked that he use our camera. Of course he declined, in which case Adrian grabbed the nearest couple and we exchanged pics. We took a pic of them with their camera and vice versa. We did throughout the week. Every time we'd see a couple, we'd exchange pics. Of course, everyone jumped at it, since it was a chance to get a picture together. Worked out perfectly.

We ended the night with our hoity toity dinner. We went to Mama's Fish House for dinner. Everyone I talked to beforehand and from what I read on the internet said it was the best place to go. Not so much for us. We aren't the hoity toity couple. The waiter wasn't very nice. He was pissed off he didn't get the 12 top next to us, but instead got us. You could tell in his attitude, not pleasant whatsoever. We went all out, as was our motto for the trip. Adrian ordered oysters, and 6 came out, and were the size of a nickel. Pathetic. I guess we're used to Texas sized, but he claims even the flavor wasn't even to die for. I got the popular crab and lobster filled fish, and he got a pasta dish with scallops, shrimp, and other sea creatures. When he asked to have the broth on the side, waiter cringed, but grateful that he did. The meal wasn't that great. It was good, but not $162 good. We would have rather eaten at the place we ate the night before. Too hoity toity, and the food didn't match the price tag.

Went home and to bed. This night, I couldn't sleep cause we had let some mosquitos in and they were bugging me all night. I was restless. As soon as I fell asleep, Adrian would wake up around 2-3am for his middle of the night potty. I love sleeping with him, literally :) He ALWAYS wakes up in the middle of the night. And every night he did, he'd wake me up with... "Pah-cilla." He says it just soft enough to barely wake me. "Pah-cilla... Pah-cilla.. you awake?". He says this until he wakes me, which is funny. Then we're both awake, end up cuddling and go back to sleep. Nothing sexual, just cute moments that I love. One cute way that he can tell is I'm playing possum, which I do is that he says he loves me to see if I'm awake or not. Sometimes, if I just pretend to stay asleep, he'll give up on the "Pah-cilla's" and turn over and go back to bed. But lately, he's gotten smarter and follows up the "Pah-cilla", with a "Pah-cilla... I love you." And I can't help but grin... and my cover is blown, and he sees that I'm awake. One of the things I love about us :)

Hawaii 2009 - Day 1, October 22nd

These next several blogs are more for Adrian and I to attempt to save all of our memories. Will be long, and I don't except many friends to read :)

We arrived in Maui, Hawaii at 3pm Hawaii time (Austin time of 8pm). I think we were still on a high from actually being there that we weren't tired from the long flight. We got off the plane and oddly enough, the people weren't too pleasant. Adrian asked one of the security guards where the oversized luggage was and he was pretty snooty with him. We were too happy to have him ruin our day. We picked up the rental car, got our luggage packed and were on our way. It smelled like poo, literally. There was a funky smell in the air. We later found out there was a sugar cane factory nearby and they smog from the manufacturing was giving off this awful smell. So our first impression of Hawaii was crappy people and stinky! The scenery looked like El Paso or Lubbock. All dead landscaping. What the heck? Where's the clear blue water and mountains of green lush???

We arrived at our cottage and it was PERFECT. We parked in the wrong spot by accident and came in the walkway and were greeted by the people that tend the estate. Extremely nice! She showed us to our cottage and took our pic and told us everything we needed to know. We quickly unpacked, showered, and went to search the nearby town for something to eat. We found a place called Paia Town Market. What an awesome little restaurant. Wait staff was awesome and the food was excellent. I ordered Mahi Mahi (first time) and Adrian got the salmon. Delicious food and the atmosphere was laid back. We walked around afterwards and realized it was the perfect little town to be next to. No hotels around, lots of tiny shops, tons of locals wandering around aimlessly, and it was just nice and cozy. We both had an awesome nights sleep. We were finally exhausted. Great first day!

Do we need a doggy tax break?

Cut and paste, but thought I'd share :)
Posted Oct 19 2009, 12:43 PM by Kim Peterson
Rating:
Filed under: Kim Peterson, Politics
Animal care can be outrageously expensive. I've probably spent enough money on my cat's ailing kidneys to buy a small car.
Should the government be helping out? One Republican congressman thinks so, and has introduced a bill that allows pet owners to deduct the cost of animal care from their taxes.
The bill would let you deduct as much as $3,500 a year, according to NPR.
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan said he's heard that economic hard times are causing some people to give up their pets.
"When you think about the relationship between people and pets and the humane way that it helps people think, it seemed to me to be a good idea," McCotter said in a video about the bill, according to NPR.
Some pet owners are thrilled at the idea. But it seems to me that if you choose to have a pet, you should be able to pay for it.
Julie DelCour, a columnist at Tulsa World, summed up the issue nicely: "We have a $11 trillion national debt; and 46 million people without health insurance," she writes. "With those realities, Congress can ill afford to pass out tax deductions like Milk Bones. This novelty bill will die in committee and McCotter's 15 minutes of pandering to us animal owners will end."

Blog Smog

I always have these clever ideas and thoughts and think, "That would be a funny blog." But never get around to taking the time to sit down and type it out. Days pass and turn into weeks, and then turn into months. Going to try and attempt to keep up with blogging. Going to try and go back to the basics.

To get caught up...

• Accident was complete stress that lead to me quitting Team Marsh for financial reasons.
• Accident lead to stress from work with having to take time off for doctor's appointments.
• Accident lead to awesome boyfriend helping me buy a new to me, used car.
• Accident lead to me, attempting to save money and waiting to join a training group until we get back from Hawaii.
• I have an eating disorder :) I stress eat.
• Hawaii is in less than a month.

I stress eat, as most women do. There's just something about me NEVER maintaining my goal weight. I get there, and stay for ONE day, then start binge eating. I've been on a binge eating frenzy for the past MONTH! I'm just gonna put it out there. I get to 128, then shoot back up. I'm sitting at 136. Yes, I said it. My weight for all the world to see. You can definitely tell when you see me. The pooch is back :)

Going back to basics...

Time: 6pm

Run: 35 minutes~3+ miles

Not gonna wear Garmin, and going to attempt to get back to 128 for Hawaii.

T minus 23 days.

Too Much to Blog About!

Well, as fast as some things happen, they change!!!

I got rearended two weeks ago. Stupid jackass wasn't paying attention. I was on Duval, about to merge onto 183 north, and I stopped to oncoming traffic. The jackbutt behind me assumed I had gone and drove right into me!! Hit me pretty hard. My first reaction was, "You've GOT to be kidding me!!!" I pulled over, got out, and the damage was pretty bad. At first, my first intial reaction was, "I guess it's time to get a new car anyways..." I got the guys insurance info and let him leave. I was pretty irritated. I wasn't mean to him, but he apologized over and over. Something about having a rough week and having too much on his mind. Blah blah blah. I called Adrian, but this was the week before Xterra Austin. One of his A races. After finally getting a hold of him, he was on his way out to pre-ride the course. You know you're dating a triathlete when your girlfriend automatically realizes that pre-riding the course is WAY more important than driving to girlfriend and consoling in the wreckage. In full on work clothes and heels, I managed to pull off my bumper that was hanging by one nut/bolt. I put it in my car, and drove slowly home with my hazards on.



Fast forward through crappy week posted previously.... I've got a messy financial past, and without completely revealing my less than stellar stupid younger days, I came to a realization that a car payment right now, just isn't the best idea. This also made me think about my current budget. The one item that I didn't realize was costing me so much money was training. I was told by several Ironman friends that adding up the costs from doing IMCDA would do more harm than good. I never racked up the costs, but off the top of my head, it was several thousands. Who knew $1.99 Gu's would add up?

My conclusion from all this soul searching, budget narrowing, and beyond stressful week was that I can live on less. WAY less. After much heartache, and several ups and downs of "The accident WASN'T my flipping fault, why should I re-arrange my life???", "Insurance companies blow chunks!" (Yes, I know I work for them and have for the past 12 years), and "Do I really like triathlons??". Well, I came to the conclusion that... despite the accident not being my fault, it wasn't and it wasn't intentional. It was an accident. I understand the insurance industry, but do feel jipped. The purpose of insurance is to put the person back in his/her status as BEFORE the accident. Financially, physically, all of the above. To restore them to as close as they were prior to the accident. Before the accident, life was grand, I had a running car, old, but running, AC, legal, radio, etc... After the accident, not enough money to fix car, blah blah blah. I could rant forever on how I feel I got screwed, but it's the past.

I also realized that even though I wasn't verbal about it, I was already mentally succumbing to the bike. In just one month, I was already doubting myself, feeling like a failure, and struggling with the mental aspect of "the bike." I hate it how it grips me, but it does. I did the Run Far Time Trial.. and sucked. I knew I'd suck, but the 2nd time around, I realized that I still sucked, and that burning sensation, and the lack of oxygen, just wasn't worth feeling that way for 20+ minutes. I guess I figured out that I don't have the will become a faster cyclist. As hard as I pushed, I was still at the BOTTOM.

I asked myself, "Why do I train?" I think I train because I want to be more like Adrian. Sounds ridiculous, but it was fun for the 6 months of CDA training to talk about 60, 80, 100 mile rides. It was nice having Adrian proud of me for not giving up and riding for over 8 hours and finishing. It was nice chasing him in the water, getting faster with my overall tri times, comparing notes, doing tri's together, etc. I followed in his footsteps and joined Team Marsh, hoping they could solve my cycling issues. As much as I complain about the accident, it might have been a blessing in disguise. I didn't waste too much of Amy's time, and it helped me figure out what I love most. Running. When I met Adrian, I was running, and was happy doing it. I continued running, joining Team Rogue Season I :) I genuinely looked forward to 20+ mile run EVERY weekend, I looked forward to running with Dee, getting lost, going on adventures. I'd rarely NOT want to run. Granted, I missed workouts, but when I thought about it in general, I never cried because I didn't do a workout, I never cried when someone passed me, I never got upset and thought I couldn't finish when running. Running brought nothing but positives to my life.

Triathlons have done many positives, but the journey getting there felt like I was in a battle. Battle with my mind.

I've rambled on long enough. In short.... If you've stayed this long to read, you'll appreciate the bullet points.

1. No more training right now. No more Team Marsh (the timing isn't right for me, BUT I highly recommend Amy & Brandon. They beyond rock and it was the best one month of training that I've ever had. Personal attention, almost daily contact, love love loved the coaching aspect, my heart just wasn't in it.) www.team-marsh.com They have a spot available ;)
2. Getting back to running. Trying to wait to rejoin Rogue until after we get back from Hawaii.
3. Refocusing at work, I can admit I've been a slacker lately.
4. Supporting Adrian to make his Xterra dreams come true. Getting him to his race goals is WAY more fun than me sludging through the same tri and him having to wait an hour at the end for me. Going to also use this supporting as leverage to get him to pace me for the last few miles of my future marathons!
5. I am throwing the idea around in my head to go back to school.
6. Boston qualifying is back in my sights for 2010 or 2011 :)
7. Rogue better watch out, Foho's back!!!!!
8. Oh, and CDA2010 might not happen, final decision on that in 2010. But if you'd ask me right now, I'd say "Ain't gonna happen... Been there, done that, I don't think it's for me." and I'm finally ok with that.

Overwhelmed with Life - What a crappy week...

No one to talk to on the phone, so I figured I'd puke up my vent here :)

Training is going OK. I started with Team Marsh August 1st, but got sick and attempted to half ass workouts, but missed some. Adrian had two weekends of Xterra races, and I preferred to support him rather than get my training in. Started fresh this week, and I've enjoyed it.

I can't ever seem to balance work and training. If I'm doing awesome with training, work suffers. If I'm doing awesome with work, training suffers. I can't find a balance, and I'm starting to think that doing well at both is near impossible.

This week in review:

Monday: Started out OK, overwhelmed with work and procrastinated on some pretty important things and it all caught up to me this week. Got my workout in, got a ton done at work, but still pretty stressed about the week to come.

Tuesday: I thought this was my worst day. Found out my car would 99% be totalled. I won't find out for sure until Thursday. Good, but bad. Good, because I know I need a newer vehicle, bad because I highly doubt my car is worth enough to get another vehicle without a car payment. I made it to the Run Far TT, and really thought I pushed a ton harder than two weeks ago, but was 6 seconds slower. I HATE, DESPISE being slow on the bike. It's what brings me to tears when it comes to training. I never get emotional or think I can't do anything when it comes to swimming or running, but put me on the bike and it's a 50/50 chance. Also, attempted to register for the Austin Tri, and it filled up on Monday. My luck and it put the nail in the coffin to a stressful day at work & disappointing training day.

Wednesday: I woke up, updated the Facebook with "happy, happy day!" and it ended up being worse. Had to meet with my two bosses on separate occasions for a chewing out session. I'm not going to lie that I have an AWFUL habit of procrastinating and putting things off until they become fires, but I'm also not the person to stand up for myself and argue back. I just sit there and take it, and let it eat me up. I hate it that I'm so emotional. Simple meeting of what needs to get done, what I need to do to get things done (asking for help, delegating, two things I'm AWFUL at), shed some tears, and swallowed everything that was said. I got a cheeseburger with fries for lunch, cause I'm a stress eater, and thankfully the meeting with both bosses followed as soon as I took my first bite, and when I got back, I had lost my appetite. I would say I'm 60% at fault, but anyways it just wasn't a good day at work. Completely overwhelmed and the only answer I can come to, is that I need to work more hours to get it done. More hours at work means missed training... go figure.

Thursday: Better be damn better than the first three days.

Done venting, ready to wake up and have a better day.. it's got to get better :) And in all this, I remind myself that it's just a job. Training is training, and I'm healthy, I'm employed, and I have wonderful friends surrounding me... all of whom won't answer their phones so I can vent!!! ROFL!

Here's to tomorrow being a kick ass day :)

To close this blog... Here's my favorite picture of Abare to make me smile. For Adrian's birthday present, I paid Josh Baker to take some REAL photos of the boys. You can see the rest on our Flickr page. www.flickr.com/adrianandpriscilla Something about unconditional love and a pink tongue makes all the worries and stresses go away for a few minutes...

Bonzi

The heat is getting to us all. I took the boys to Bull Creek this weekend and my poor B was hot. The boys get to take a walk onthe trails DAILY :)

Team Marsh :)

I'm excited to announce, I'm now part of Team Marsh :) I had discussed this with Adrian, and before I always thought that I couldn't train by myself. I need people to talk to, socialize with etc. After T3, which I did enjoy, I realized I did 98.5% of my training on my own anyways because I couldn't keep up with anyone. I started taking the bus to work, so trying to make it down south for workouts was near impossible now. The whole purpose of taking the bus was to minimize the driving of my super old car, so driving south after getting home from a bus trip seemed like it was defeating my purpose.

I went ahead and joined Amy's swim class to first try it out. Love, love, love it! I enjoyed the T3 swim class, but Amy's are so much cooler for me, personally. She stands at the end of each lane, calculates your times, watchs how you progress and actually takes the time to notice what you're actually doing. She does this with everyone in her class. I've learned new things, and it's just an added bonus that I get to swim next to Adrian. I've made some friends that push me, and it's consistent with each class. After a couple weeks, I got antsy. I was doing some running here and there, but neglecting the bike during the week. I went ahead and on a leap of faith I emailed Amy to see if she had any available spots to coach me. She did :)

I started August 1st, and I'm having a great time. It's obviously super early and we're still trying to figure out paces and stuff, but I'm now accountable to someone. And not just anyone, a super cool professional triathlete. If I don't get up to get a workout in, then I must not want it bad enough. She's convinced me to do some workouts before I come to work, which means waking up at 5am to run, whereas before I'd frown and say, "I'm not a morning person and I don't do workouts before I go to work." I tried it, and although I was tired later, it was pretty nice running in the dark, with no cars bustling by and just having my thoughts to myself. I've been on my bike 3 times already, and she's incorporated speed and hills into my bike regime :)

I can't wait to see the results. I'm more excited now about training for CdA 2010 than I ever was before. I am on a mission, and that mission is to finish the damn Ironman before the sun goes down. No more glowsticks for this girl!!!

If anyone else is interested, Brandon and Amy still have more available slots open if you'd like to change things up a bit and get some personalized coaching :)

Frankenthon Monster Marathon in Cedar Park

Ah man, I'd totally do this, but I'm out of town... in Hawaii this weekend.

Check it out!

http://www.frankenthon.com/index.asp

69 Reasons You Might Be A Triathlete

Adrian found a funny article with a mini-list, I went ahead and googled it and found this one. Pretty funny stuff :)

1. When asked, how old you are you answer 35-39.
   
2. Your idea of a great b-day is to run your age in miles with a couple of friends.
   
3. Your idea of a great date is to go for a 10 mile run with your date.
   
4. You try to impress girls with your marathon time after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112 miles.
   
5. When asked how long your training was today you answer: three to four hours.
   
6. Your training is more limited by available time then how far you can run.
   
7. Your first thought when you wake up is how high your rest HR is.
   
8. You go for a run event and there's a thunderstorm and you enjoy being wet and dirty.
   
9. You think an Ironman is easier then a Marathon because you don't have to start by running fast.
   
10. You think it's natural to do your 'business' behind a tree in the woods.
    
11. Nobody believes you when you say 'Never again'.
    
12. You take part in the corporate challenge to improve your base speed.
    
13. You go for a 5 km cooldown run after a 5 km race just so that you can call it a training session.
    
14. You consider work, regeneration time between training sessions.
    
15. Your co-workers don't ask you if you're going to train this weekend, but how long and how far.
    
16. You have a water bottle when you drive your car.
    
17. You spend your 2 weeks annual vacation at a training camp.
    
18. During the vacations, when everybody else is partying, you go to sleep at 10:00 pm because you're going for a long ride the next day.
    
19. You know inside out how much Protein each energy bar has.
    
20. You seriously consider applying for citizenship in Tonga, Jemen or Tschad so that you can participate in the Olympic games.
    
21. When people praising you for being able to run 15 miles you're feeling insulted.
    
22. In the summer your legs are smoother then your girlfriend's.
    
23. Your kids grab water bottles and energy bars when you suggest a family stroll.
    
24. Your wife is not worried if you left for your run 2 hours ago.
    
25. You need a picture for a job application and you only have race pictures.
    
26. You use running T-shirts to clean your bike.
    
27. You are up everyday by 5:00 am, but never in work before 9:30 am!
    
28. That charming "cologne" you wear to work is chlorine
    
29. You take more showers in a locker room than at home
    
30. 6:30 am is sleeping in
    
31. The dog runs and hides when you get the leash!
    
32. You think there are only two seasons during the year, racing and off.
    
33. You can't change the oil in your car but you can completely rebuild your bike in 45 mins
    
34. you spend more $ on training and racing clothes then work clothes
    
35. you spend 7 days going to 8 stores in 4 malls before buying a pair of running shoes but you take 1 afternoon to go to 1 car dealership and walk out with a new car 4 hours later.
    
36. When you see some lady watering her flowers and ask her if you can borrow the hose for a minute so you can fill up your water bottles.
    
37. You clean your bike more often than your car
    
38. Your car smells like a locker room.
    
39. You tell your co-workers that you are going to "do a long brick" on Saturday and just expect that they know what you are talking about.
    
40. When a co-worker asks if you are racing this weekend, you say "yeah, but I'm just running a 10K, so that is not REALLY a race".
    
41. You have more water bottles than glasses in your cupboard
    
42. You consider you bike saddle your "couch"
    
43. You consider Clif Bars as one of the four food groups
    
44. you are sick to your stomach at 2:00 in the morning and check the back of the Pepto Bismol bottle for caloric content and grams of carbohydrates, fat and protein.
    
45. you have plenty of water bottles, safety pins, and t-shirts.
    
46. you have trouble keeping lunch under 2000 calories.
    
47. you usually wake up at 4:00 in the morning but do not get to work until way after 9:00.
    
48. your bed-time reading on your night stand consists of a pile of: DeSoto catalogs; InsideTri; Triathlete, VeloNews, USMA Swim, etc.
    
49. you haven't bought work clothes in two years, yet you own bike shorts made by every manufacturer under the sun and can recite the merits of CoolMax, Supplex, etc. in your sleep!
    
50. your car has at least one Power Bar wrapper and two sets of work out clothes!
    
51. your laundry continually smells like someone locked the cat in overnight...
    
52. you wave at other cyclists, because all triathletes are friendly and if they are not, they are probably purist cyclists trying to get into triathlons and they do not know that triathletes are friendly.
    
53. you can't decide what tee shirt to wear to your next race.
    
54. you no longer take vacations but weekend triathlon junkets.
    
55. you have far more pairs of shoes in your closet than your non-tri wife does in hers
    
56. the one "suit" you own has a QR on the chest.
    
57. you're tempted to do your long rides in a speedo so that you don't have a stupid tan for your next race.
    
58. your bath towel is never dry.
    
59. you bring bottled water to a party so that you're properly hydrated for the next morning's long run, everyone else at the party also brought their own bottled water because you don't have a social life outside of triathlon. Oh yeah, and they all showed up by 7 pm and left by 10 pm.
    
60. your company announces mandatory unpaid shutdown days - every other Friday throughout the summer - in order to cut costs and stay in business, and your response is "Great - now I can do two long workouts on the weekends and still have an easy day."
    
61. somebody hands you a cup of water and you have to restrain yourself from pouring it on your head.
    
62. you forget that talking about daily LSD [Long Slow Distance] and speed weirds some people out.
    
63. you have no FRIGGIN idea what to do with yourself on your off day. Damnit, I mowed the lawn, cleaned the house, washed the car, and there's STILL 4 hours of daylight left! Aarrgghh!
    
64. you return from your *Mini-vacation* more exhausted than before you left!
    
65. you feel like you took the day off because all you did was swim 3000 yards.
    
66. You get done with a hard workout and drink a recovery drink while on the toilet and in the shower.
    
67. At any given moment you know exactly where your heart rate monitor and your swim goggles are, but cannot remember where you left you car keys. (turns 90% of the time they are in your bike bag
    
68. When non-racer friends tell you they ran/rode you automatically calculate their pace to see if you're still in better shape.
    
69. Cars pass you on the road when you're driving and you either drop back to get out of draft zone or speed up to attack!

Ramblings Update

I've been meaning to blog on a more regular basis, but it's just hard to find the time. My favorite blog posts are bullet style, so here we go!!

• I'm genuinely enjoying my "I'm not training for anything" mode that I'm in. It's been more than wonderful being able to sleep in on weekends, exercise when I want, where I want, and what time I want. I do miss exercising though.
• In order to create some motivation, I read a book. "I Remember Running: The Year I Got Everything I Ever Wanted -- and ALS" It did remind me that I'm grateful to have a healthy body and it could all be taken away from me if I didn't enjoy it while I had it. Life is precious.
  
• I joined Rogue's swim class with Amy Marsh. Last night was my first swim class and was extremely surprised. During T3 swim classes, I'd always aim for under 2:00 minutes for 100 meter swims. Last night we had to do 3 x 100 descending. I cranked out a 1:40, 1:37, and a 1:35. HOLY CRAP. That's the fastest I've EVER swam, and that's with no wetsuit. I'm excited to see how much progress I'll make under a different coach.

• Super duper siked about Adrian and I's trip to Hawaii. Here's my favorite pic of where we'll be staying. Gotta love the hammock.

• I spent the night at Adrian's last night and was in a lovey dovey mode. I had a big feeling of, "Wow, I'm a lucky gal." He means the world to me and I am truly appreciative and grateful that we're back in each other's lives again. He's the love of my life that I've been waiting for my entire life. Only took me 30 damn years to find him, but I'm forever grateful for having the opportunity to share my life with him.
• I love my job.
• I bit off all my nails shortly after CdA, not sure why. It's ALWAYS been a bad habit of mine growing up, and the fact that I kept them for a few years was a miracle. I'm trying to grow them again, but it's hard.
• I'm on the back to eating good band wagon and it's going well :) At work we're doing a Healthy Weight Challenge, winner takes $255 worth of lottery scratch off's :) Oh yeah, that's enticing. We're super excited to see if anyone wins some mega bucks!!! Contest ends in September, perfect motivation to look hot for Hawaii in October!!
• I miss running with my girls. We meet every now and then, but I miss when we were all training for the marathon together. We had some FUN times in there. We're all at different levels and are doing our own things, but I genuinely look forward to our meetings :)
• I miss my T3 friends too :( I wish I could afford to be a part of all the training groups I want...
• I lost my first toe nail!!! I remember after CdA, that it was REALLY sore, and the other night I went to clip them, and I clipped the whole darn thing off!!! It was just hanging out. Glad to be part of the "I lost a toe nail" club of runners. If only it came from a super fast marathon or something...
• Lots going on this year.. Adrian's race calendar is full and I wish I got more than 2 weeks of vacation. I'm going to have to miss him going to Xterra Nationals so I can take the time to go to Hawaii.
• I wish I were independently wealthy...
  

My first cell phone

I was digging through my closet and found my first cell phone!! Check it out. It was a Sony through PrimeCo!!









Check out how big it was, and that awesome antennae!! How times have changed...

Hawaii, Hawaii, Hawaii!!!

Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap.





Both Adrian and I have never been on a REAL vacation before. By real, I mean somewhere far far away where it's all about having fun and relaxing. Thankfully, our relationship, in my eyes, is perfection. We're both into exercising and fitness. I'm grateful that out of the two of us, he's the speedy one that actually places and wins races. I benefit because he qualified for Xterra Worlds in Maui, Hawaii in October. Bingo for the girlfriend!!





He loves, loves, loves the Xterra races. He's truly my off road guy. Loves mountain biking and he does incredibly well at the races. Here's my bragging portion :) He's won 12 hour events, he's placed 1st in his age group numerous times from 12 hour race to marathon distance (60 miles off road.. not sure why they call it marathon, when a marathon is 26.2 running) to 24 hour races. Yes, my idiot boyfriend rides his mountain bike on the same loop over and over and over. The race is to see which guy can do the most loop in a 24 hour period. If the laps are tied, it goes to the fastest rider. Crazy huh?? What's crazier is that supporting this crazy kind of race, is quite exhausting too :) Xterra is his first love. Two years ago, he started out doing really well in them, and then his father got cancer. Last year, he literally had to put his entire life on hold to move in with him and take care of him. His father passed last September. At the beginning of this year, it was all out Xterra. This was my honey's year to shine. He's got the best coach in town, Brandon Marsh, and together, they've gone leaps and bounds.





Xterra Regionals ended on the same weekend as my Ironman, which is why he couldn't come out to support me in CdA. There were 8 states showing at this race, and even international competition there. He placed 1st in his age group, 14th overall, including all the pro's. In order to qualify for Nationals, it's point based, and with the Xterra events he participates in, we knew Nationals was going to be a cinch. What we weren't expecting was the World's Qualification. Because he won his age group at National's, it guaranteed him a spot to World's. This is like qualifying for Kona on the Ironman scale. This is the cream of the crop.





Race is on Oct. 25th. Kona Ironman is on Oct 10. ARGH!! If it were only the week before or after, we could have swung to take an extra long vacation and spectate, but the two week gap is too much :( I booked tickets today :) Yes, with his credit card, hehehe. I just recently found something for me to do the day before!!

Oh yeah!! There's a 5k and 10k trail race the day before!! I'm signing up! What better way to enjoy beautiful Hawaii than a trail race :) Woo hoo!!

More to come on the trip of our lifetime.. just needed to vent some of my excitement!!!

Any suggestions on places to eat, things to do, things to see will be grately appreciated!! Only request from the boyfriend is he wants to swim with the dolphins :)

Lose It!

It's a pretty cool iPhone app that helps you manage and track what you eat throughout the day and gives you all the stats on the food you're eating :) It's showing that I can get to my goal weight by November 6th. Mind you, this is my "I doubt I'll ever get there, but if I do, I'll crap my pants" goal :)

Various Comments and Random Items Bullet Style

1. I have found this to be my most favorite way to post blogs now... bullet style.
2. I was trying to be clever with my news that I signed up for CdA 2010, and in the meantime I found out that there's quite a few friends that read my ramblings. I also learned about Google Reader and now am a subscriber and LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
3. I did sign up for CdA 2010, and thankfully I'm NOT wondering what the heck I did, I'm actually excited to get back into training :)
4. Two weeks later, I feel like a big fat slob. I haven't exercised in two weeks, minus a small 7 mile run and a 5 mile run/walk with friends.
5. I'm officially back onto training. No training group this time around, but going to see how long I can make it "training on my own" before I become so huge that I have NO clothes that fit :)
6. Shout out to Rachel: Yes, I remember you and Joey. Your comment was super flattering :) Thanks!
7. I've become green! I now ride the bus to work and LOVE it! I actually look forward to the bus rides and have started reading a book. I'm a slow reader, but I'm reading and hope it will make me more intelligent. If anything I can brag that I'm reading.
8. 3 day weekend was awesome. Saturday consisted of Adrian and I staying in bed ALL DAY LONG! We got hooked on The Deadliest Catch marathon and didn't get out of bed unless we had to use the restroom or get food, and even then, I was the declared the food gopher for the day. I did get up at 6pm to go to a friends birthday party, but resumed my slothness as soon as I got home :) I also did this on Sunday until 4pm as Adrian did workouts and worked all day :)
9. I'm happy that I'm saving the most money I've ever saved before. Ok, not yet, but when the next paychecks roll in, I will be. I've saved $150 in parking per month on taking the bus, I've decreased my 401k contributions just until the end of the year, and I'm NOT eating out during the week for lunch or dinner ANYMORE!
10. I'm going to attempt to get serious about my nutrition.. yes again. Anyone that knows me knows I struggle with this. I've paid poor Meredith, I've used friends to try and motivate me, I've done Weight Watchers, and I've even had coaches flat out tell me, if I could just lose 10-15 more pounds, I'd be as fast as I want... and I still manage to pick a Ex-long Cheese Coney, with tater tots, and a Route 44 Cherry Limeade over something healthy. Let's try it again...
11. Core & upper body... gonna try this too.
12. I feel like I'm two weeks late in my Ironman celebration. The first two weeks were a little saddening for me, and now I'm finally over it and want to bask in my IM glory. I've put the 140.6 sticker on my car and I'm genuinely excited about the improvement I'm going to make next year :)
13. OMG, I'm totally looking forward to Hawaii in October. Adrian and I have NEVER been on a real vacation like this before. We're both super excited!!!

I wonder who reads my blog???

If you're a blogger, do you ever wonder if anyone ever reads your stuff?? Not that it matters, because it's mainly for myself and my memories.

But just curious if anyone reads this sucker??

Oh...

I registered for CdA 2010 this morning ;) I've got some unfinished business to take care of.

FUNK is gone... Fomo returning...

Ha! After a few days of reflection... I've decided I want to do another Ironman. Not sure when or where, but definitely want to better my time.

Damn it...

FUNK!

I posted this on the T3 forum this morning and thought I'd copy and paste for reflection:

Does anyone that did CdA have wierd negative feelings going on?? I feel like I can't get rid of the mental demons yet. Yes, I'm very proud and excited that I finished my first Ironman, but when everyone congratulates and tells me how much of an inspiration I am, I can only think of how unprepared I felt on Sunday. I know the weather sucked as much as it could possibly suck and I am grateful for pushing through it. But never in the 6 months of training, did I think I was going to have the looming fear of fighting for every ounce to not get booted from the course. From the first loop of the bike, I was in fear of not making it, and as much as I tried I'm pretty sure this took away from my experience, because I felt like I was fighting the entire time, to just make it to the next cutoff.
I see everyone excited about what's next, and I frankly can't muster up the want that everyone has. This isn't like me. I am always wanting to better my time. But for some reason, I don't with this.
Any feedback? I hate feeling this negative about something I should really be jumping for joy over. Is this normal? I feel like I'm still on a F-ing roller coaster.

I feel extremely negative about what I just accomplished. Wierd, huh? I talked to my cousin this morning on the way to work and at the end of the conversation, she said, "Wow, you sound really pessimistic about something so inspiring and awesome." That clicked with me. I know I should be on cloud nine, I know I should be gloating, but I can't keep thinking negative thoughts about my race. I know I should be proud because we did have teammates not finish and I sound ungrateful. Anyways.. just venting.

IMCDA 2009 Race Report

Warning: Will probably be long and full of detail, for my own memories pleasure.

Days before the race. I flew in on Thursday with Sabrina. Steve and Dee were to be on a separate flight, but arriving an hour after us. Long story short on this minor hiccup, Dee didn't arrive till 1am that night because of a flight delay :( Spent the upcoming days, taking photos galore trying to capture the moment. I'll upload these to my Flickr account later. We went through Athlete Check In, picked up our bikes, attended practice swim, practice ride (in some sprinkles) and rode the bike course. Bike course seemed hilly, but you can never get the full effect "driving" as you do when you're actually running or cycling the day of. I remember this from California. Dee and I drove the course, but it never seemed to match when you were actually in race mode running.

Days prior were full of anxious energy, all good. I kept thinking to myself that I had spent many days wishing that the IM were the next day so I could "get it over with" and there we were the night before. I didn't sleep two nights prior to the race since my nervous energy was already peaking. Just thinking of the magnitude of what I was about to embark was sending crazy brain waves and ideas in my head.

Fast forward to race day :) The good stuff.

Woke up at 4:30am. Kinda early, but decided to jump in the shower. Steve and Dee work up at 4:45am, and we ate our pre-race breakfast. We left the house at 5:15am. I was doing the happy dance, every time I could and Steve would laugh at me. Amber flew in the night before, and she was with us. We got pretty good parking and as we were unloading our morning race bags Steve says, "Why do my bags look so full and yours don't??" Of course, wouldn't you know it. In all my happy dancing nervous energy, I prepared my water bottles for the bike and left them on the counter!!! Dee was on it, two seconds later, she was in the drivers seat heading back to the house. I was about to panic, but figured WHY?? Nothing I can do to change it. If she doesn't make it back, or I can't happen to find her, I have plenty of solid nutrition to get me through and I'll just have to suck down the aide stations gatorade :) I'm a lucky gal, and they made it back in time. Steve and I got body marked, checked our tires, made port o potty stops and the morning was off to a great start. I was able to talk to Adrian before the race and that was nice. We got dressed in our ultra sexy wetsuits, and headed down to the swim start.

Wow... all the athletes, in full on wetsuits, ear plugs, big goggles, small goggles, big guys, little girls, fat, skinny, old, young. It was a pretty neat sight. Helicopter hovering over us, spectators galore and the lake lined with ski boats, house boats and other boats to just watch was amazing. I saw a couple T3'ers, wished them luck and we were on the beach. Steve had a different plan for the swim start, so I gave him a hug, told him I'd see him as he passed me on the bike, and I left. I mosied on down closer to the front. I know I'm not a ubber fast swimmer, but I am a ubber comfortable swimmer, which I think gives me a little more confidence in the open water, in the masses as the average joe. I was a little shocked and how NOT congested the beach line up was. I assumed it'd be like a concert, where you would have to "Excuse me, coming through, excuse me" type crowded. But it wasn't. There was enough room to walk right up the edge of the water if I wanted. Everyone was pretty far spaced out. And spaced out they were. There were athletes lined up on the inside of the buoys all the way down the beach for the ones that wanted to attempt to swim outside of the masses.

Swim: 1:26:20 - 2:16 pace
Before I knew it, the blowhorn went off. I was about 5 seconds from the start. And I jumped right in. Rewind to race morning. My anxiety had my heart rate at 120. I noticed this when I put my bike computer on my bike. My heart was racing with anticipation ALL morning. Back to swim... When I got into the water, I just started swimming. I was surprised, cause normally, it takes a few minutes to get my heart and breathing into a rhythm, but since I started with it high, I had no problems getting into a breathing, comfortability place. The beginning was the washing machine action. It didn't get less crowded until the 3rd buoy. I noticed the water was WAY choppier than the practice swim. I swallowed a ton of lake, and distinctly remember hearing ringing noises in my right ear from the slapping of my head coming down on the water from the swells. A few teammates have stated 3 foot swells. Wow. Luckily, it didn't make me nervous. Everyone was swimming in it, it's not like I was singled out, so I just rolled with it. If anything, I was at an advantage because I was in a good mental place. I kept humming to myself, "Just keep swimming" from Finding Nemo. And I even got a little creative. Adrian told me about a time when he witnessed Brandon swimming and how his stroke was so strong that he actually lifted his body up in the water. So I pretended I was just THAT good of a swimmer. Yes, I know I'm not, but I was in my fairy tale. Just swimming with the swells, enjoying the moment of the swim. I got to swim without being knocked, kicked, pulled or pushed for a few minutes, and then there was the turn buoy. Talk about mass cluster muck. I think 70% of the swimmers thought the turn buoy meant, "Let's invent some new kicks underwater, pick our heads up and just hang out here." Everyone seemed to come to a standstill and it wasn't a nice scene filtering through. Got through it, and the current/swells were the worst for the back half. I made the first loop in 40 minutes. Super happy, but knew that the adrennaline from the first loop was probably the reason for a pretty decent time. Sighting was hard with all the caps in the water, and the swells, it was hard to find the buoys sometimes, which meant I'd swim off course quite a bit. It's not always safe to follow feet, cause not all feet know where they're going. I'm happy with my swim. I was estimating 1:30, so 1:26 was icing on the cake.

T1: 7:43
Something I had NOT practiced and that was changing from wet clothes to dry spandex in a rush. I immediately regretted not swimming in my tri suit and just wearing from start to finish, but soon remembered that I'd be doing this literally ALL day and comfort was the reason. A few extra minutes in transition wasn't going to make or break my day. Little did I know how close I'd be cutting everything, but that's to come. I found a seat towards the end, and was shocked to see I beat a few top T3'ers out of the water :) I got changed as fast as I could and thankfully a volunteer helped with the last half. I was off to the bike... dum da dum dum.

Bike:8:18:52, 13.47mph
Legs felt ok for the start, but I knew it was going to be a long day on the bike and this was going to make or break my IM debut. I decided to not concentrate on what my Garmin showed. No obsessing about my average speed, no obsessing about current speed, just ride what my legs felt, give it what I had and have no regrets. I made it out of town, and the hills. We had driven the course and knew there were lots, but didn't get the full concept until I actually rode it. After we got out there, it seemed like the hills were never ending. Climb, climb, climb. I wanted to take it easy so I wouldn't fry my legs for the 1st loop and be hanging on for dear life for the 2nd, but I also didn't want to take it too easy that I screw myself either. Fine line. I made it through the first loop ok. Nothing really started screwing with my head until we started coming back to town. My nutrition was like clockwork. 15 minutes, eat. Next 15 minutes, drink nutrition. Every 15 minutes, I was eating or drinking. Every two hours, Salt Stick. Time went by and I just dealt with the hills as they came, thinking to myself, "Just one more time around and I'll never have to see this hill again... forever..." Steve caught me on about mile 35, and we talked for two seconds exchanging, "Wow, these hills are tough." And then some "We're doing this, see you later on the run!" On the way back to town, it was flat. But it was longer than I remembered. There was about 10-15 miles to get back and I just remember thinking it took forever. I was also looking for a 1st loop completed sign or something and never saw it, just continued on to my 2nd loop without any noticeable "2nd loop starts here" type of sign. I started to worry. I checked my average pace, and it was 14 point something. I had high confidence going into this that I could average 15 with no problem, and the fact that loop 1, which would assumingly be my fastest, was almost near the cut off average freaked me out. I started the mental roller coaster, but remembered that for every down, there's an up. I went out for my 2nd. Saw a ton of T3'ers. The course was nice, cause it allowed for many out and backs. Yes, the scenery was nice, but it didn't take away the fact that I HAD to make the bike cut off or the last 6 months of my time, energy, heart and soul would be defeated. There were more than 2 hills that I had to stand up on, or else I wasn't moving. These were impossible for me to climb sitting down. My legs were showing signs of fatigue and I started drinking more and I increased my salt intake from 1 every 2 hours to 1 every hour. On a few of the hills, my speed going up them registered as 2.3 mph. No joke. 2.3 mph. The only thing I could think was this was bringing my average mph deathly close to the cut off average. I felt like I was in survival mode. Push, push, push. The next minute, I'd be happy, trying to not stress. The next moment, stress and fear. Then the cooler temps came, then the wind. I screamed out, "You've got to f-ing be kidding me." This was my form of prayer. I had done this on several training rides. Talking to God. I just couldn't believe this. I had a 2 minutes moment where I talked outloud, cause noone was around. It went like this.

Me: "You've got to be F-ing kidding me, right?? You give me choppy water for the swim, and it's pretty nipply out here, and now you're throwing in headwinds when I'm struggling to make a bike cut off. Wow... I can't believe this."
God: replied with headwinds.

I've heard we had 20-25 mile headwinds. The hills; in my opinion, were hard, but it was mentally tough to have the downhills hard, because you were fighting a headwind. I made several sarcastic comments to the volunteers. They'd ask, "Water, gatorade, gel?" and I yelled, "Turn off the fan!!" They just laughed, but I was really irritated. I felt like I had it hard enough to be struggling with hills and extremely slow bike averages, that why in the world did I have to deal with winds too? And then... on those out and backs where I saw my friends, I realized I was now on the other end. I was the one coming back as people were heading out, and I became grateful. Back to be positive. I could do this again. It could be worse, I could be them going out. I pushed as hard as I could and got really anxious when I hit 100. I only had 12 miles to go, but was deathly close to 8 hours. I don't have my Garmin yet to read statistics, but I knew that 8 hours was the cut off, if I had used the entire swim time. Thankfully, I had banked 30-40 minutes from my swim. It made me nervous that I had to dip into that bank. I was pretty confident that my training had gotten me to a place, where I wouldn't have to stress about the cut off, but I was wrong and here I was stressing for 4+ hours of the bike not knowing if I would make it. The ride into town was nice. I could feel myself getting emotional, but knew I wasn't in the clear until I crossed that timing mat. I've had training rides in the past where the last 5-10 miles, my legs are so shot that I literally couldn't average over 8mph on flat roads. I did the math, and figured out I had to average at least 11mph to make it in time. This gave me a boast, and I was at around 15 for the way back. I saw Dee, Sabrina, Sam, and Amber cheering for me and that started the tears. I even have an ugly cry pic of my on the bike. I got to the volunteers at the timing mat, I dismounted and I asked, "Did I make it??" and this lone guy said, "Yes!" I asked again, "Are you serious, I really made it?" and he said yes again, and I started crying. Not a tear here rolling down, I'm so proud of myself cry. This was a full on, tears streaming, holy crap, I did it let out cry. I cried for the entire walk to get my bag and in the changing tent. I quickly found an empty seat and just sat there for a full 60 seconds and cried. A volunteer came up and asked if I was ok, and I was so choked up I had to catch my breath and I told her not to worry, these were happy tears. She helped me change and get into my running clothes. I made it.

T2: 7:51
I probably could have cut off 2-3 minutes because of the cry. But I didn't care. My biggest fear was behind me. If I didn't want to touch my bike ever again, I didn't have to. I will, but I know have the option.

Run:6:25:45 - 14:43/mile
It pains me to type that. But back to the report. I came out of the changing tent to Dee, Sabrina, Sam, and Amber cheering for me. Still a little choked up, I went out to the run. I felt on fire. Garmin showed 9:00 min mile pace. I knew this wouldn't last long but figured I'd hang on as long as I could. This lasted for 2-3 minutes, and I caught a huge side stitch that made me walk. I went for a Salt Stick and remembered that I was so caught up in my crying in the tent, I forgot to take the SaltSticks from my bike jersey to my tri top. CRAP. I got nervous, but figured the aide stations would have some. I walked for a good 4-6 minutes, elongated my chest, took deep breaths to get rid of my cramp. I immediately thought I was under electrolyted and got nervous. I was even more nervous, because at both aide stations, they had no electorlyte pills at all. I figured I'd drink more and eat more to compensate. Tried to blow it off. The run slowed down and I decided I wasn't going to stare at my Garmin. So I took it off, and put it in my back pocket. It beeped at the mile, but it wasn't staring me in the face with my slow paces. I had big goals of running a 5:00 marathon. I ate 12 humble pies on Sunday. My goals were too much. Yes, I ran the long 18, 20, 22 miles long runs this pace after 80, 90, and 100 mile rides, but my legs had 20 hours of rest in between. Today, they had 7:51 seconds to recover from the longest ride I've ever done, 112. I figured, "Anyone can walk an 8 hour marathon. This is a piece of cake." I didn't realize it was a piece of humble, I'm not sure I can do this, I might not make it to the FINAL cut off, piece of pie! The first 13 were long... and slow. The 2nd lap felt even more daunting than the 2nd bike loop. I got to see all my T3 buds, BUT they were ALL on their 2nd lap and I was on my first. I saw Dee and friends at close to the turnaround. Also saw Steve a few minutes before. Each time we saw each other, we stopped to hug and said, "I can't believe we're doing this today. Good job, I'll catch you pretty soon." I also really intended on passing people during the run, meaning my T3 teammates. This didn't happen until the end.... very end. And when it did, it was survival mode. More on that later.

I started the second loop still pretty confident, but a disappointed at how deathly slow I was "running". It took me almost 3 hours to run 13 miles. Insane and a big blow to my "running" ego. I would walk here and there, but just couldn't stomach that I was walking and would start running again. I ran 95% of the entire marathon, now the pace is a different story, but I was doing one form or another of running. Whether it be running, jogging, or shuffling, I wasn't walking. Not that walking is bad, but I'm a SLOOOOOOW walker. When I walk, I walk. I noticed my paces were dropping as the night went on, and realized that when I was stopping to walk, it was considerably slower than my slow "running" pace. For instance, my last 4 miles were a 20 min mile pace. Yes, it is possible to pass people while running a 20 min mile pace. I didn't think it was humanly possible to do this, until Sunday. I shuffled an entire marathon. I had 4 hours to complete 13 hours. Still seemed like a piece of cake, but as the miles slowly, and I mean slowly went by, the time kept creeping with it. Before I knew it, I had 6 miles to go and only 1:45 to get to the finish. And this was 1 hour and 45 minutes to made the FINAL, you're an Ironman cut off. Never in all this training, did I ever think to myself that I wouldn't be able to run the marathon fast enough to make the FINAL cutoff if I made the bike cutoff. In the final, dark, literally dark hours, this fear became a reality. I ate and drank a ton, and my potty stops showed. I must have used the restroom 8-10 times during my marathon. Just urinating, but full blown, full bladder pees. In these last 6 miles, I realized it was my body not holding onto the liquids, hence me not having any electrolyte pills with me. My hands were frozen and they were already starting the tingly, crampy (retarded looking) hands that were reminiscent of my Galveston medical tent trip. At mile 16, I committed myself to NO more walking, unless it was the hill at the end of Coeur d'Alene lake. I shuffled from mile 16 on. I was in survival mode. If I stopped, I feared that I was pass out from the lack of electrolytes and the cramping I could feel coming on. Galveston was in my mind, and that frightened me. To come this far, and not make it for a stupid mistake of not packing two separate bags of Salt Sticks. I should have done one for each bag, instead of trying to remember. I didn't realize how much of a blur things would be in the moment. So I shuffled, and shuffled. I had a ton of thoughts in my head. Here are a few:

- I'm soooo that lone runner... in the dark... during all those Ironman videos that I always thought to myself, there's no way I'd be them. And was.
-I can't believe I made it this far and it's sooooo hard to get my legs to turnover.
-I can't believe I can't excel in the one sport that I thought I had in the bag.
-Pain is temporary, not making the cut off is forever.
-(I'm not going to lie) I was super sad that I thought I'd be disappointing Adrian with my near cut off time performance.
-I do enjoy glowsticks in the dark.
-Running in the dark, with no light, is fun. I thought of Meredith/Mike on their running adventure when they were training for a trail race.
-Timing mats were embarrasing me cause of how slow I had progressed all day.
-Could the weather get any worse?

The marathon had rain 90% of the time I was out there. I was freezing cold and would wrap in a mylar blanket, then get hot and shed it. Then get another mylar blanket, then shed it. I got my use out of the course, the volunteers and later the medical tent.

The last few miles of the marathon were grueling. I couldn't stop for fear that the cramping, tingling would ensue. It was happening in my hands already, and my right calf felt like it was going to Johnny Horse any minute. In the last 2 miles, my stomach started cramping. I drank cold.. yes, cold chicken broth at the last of the aide stations. It was gross cold, but I forced it down thinking the salt would help subside the cramping/tingling so I could finish.

The last half mile, Sabrina met me and walked as I was "running". We bantered back and forth, I joked with the last volunteer that finally told me truth about "You're almost done." I heard this phrase repeatedly throughout the day, and near the end, I started correcting them. "I'm not almost done, I have a marathon to go. Or I'm not almost done, I still have 56 miles on the bike AND a marathon. Or I'm not almost done, would you like to run the last 16 I have to go if you think I'm almost done??? Ok, I only used one of those phrases, but I sure thought all of those in my head. The last 3 miles, once I turned into the neighborhood were crazy lonely. There was one guy ahead of me and I caught him, but later let him pass. I didn't want to cross the finish line with a guy 5 feet behind me. Then it all clicked that I had 40 minutes to get there, and I was in fact going to cross the finish line as an Ironman. Wow. So as I was running down the final street, about 10 people came running by. Where were these people when I was alone for the last 4 miles?????? I turned around at least 4 times to tell them to have a great finish, cause I wanted the line to myself whenever I got there. The finish happened fast, in memory, not in speed. By then, my legs were just thumping one over the other. There was no running to my form, other that I wasn't locking out my hips as you do in walking. My arms were barely moving, and I was at a slow death shuffle. The final stretch I started crying. Everyone had their hands out, and all I could do was put my cramped up hand up against theirs. I couldn't stop moving forward, cause I knew my body was about to react. My face was starting to tingle amongst the tears, and I think my body just went into overload in those last 20 feet. I slapped as many hands and I could, tried to raise my arms up as high as I could, and I crossed. I did it, and I cried. 10 seconds after I said, "I need a small" for the finishers shirt, my entire face went into the tingly, locked up sensation, hands were in full cramp, and I was starting to black out. One of the volunteers grabbed me, then another, and I told them I needed medical before I blacked out. She didn't believe me, so I leaned on her, and that got her attention. My body went to the max, as I did in Galveston.

Final Time: 16:25:45

Med Tent: My body did the same exact thing it did in Galveston. My entire body tingled, my hands cramped up, and my entire face cramped so much that I could not open my mouth, nor stick out my tongue. Doc said I was hyperventilating, a tad bit hyperthermic, but they couldn't get my temperature cause they could not open my mouth, it was locked. They questioned me a ton, and I answered with mumbles and headshakes. They were the sweetest. An IV, plenty of hot blankets, and lots of care, I was the last person in the medical tent to leave. I heard Mike Reilly countdown from 5 to 17 hours, and my heart fell for the ones that didn't make the cut off that were still on the course. About an hour in the tent, I finally regained feeling.

I did it.

What I learned:
-Adrian was proud of me, no matter what my time was.
-I do still, after a days rest, DO NOT WANT TO DO ANOTHER IRONMAN.
-I think it's funny that my first Ironman happened to land on the one CdA Ironman that had the worst weather in IMCDA history, but I survived it.
-I have a new respect, that's even newer than the original respect I had for this distance and for the athletes that continue to amaze me by doing this more than once.
-I wish I had trained for another year at Olympics and Half IM's before attempting a full.
-Everything considered, I'm glad this is over with. I feel like a huge boulder has been removed from my shoulders.
-I don't think it's sunk in that I can be considered an Ironman yet...

FOMO - no more...

Just a brief update on my mental status. I'm proud to announce that I no longer have any cases of FOMO :) FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is what got me to sign up for this crazy Ironman in the first place. No regrets though. I've learned so much more about myself through this 6 month process than I ever have while doing marathons, which is where I still feel my heart lies. Everyone on the T3 forum is planning their 2010 IM plans and it's not making me think twice about NOT signing up for another one. I feel like I have too much on my plate. This IM has drained me financially and my next major goal is to qualify for Boston. I'm going to concentrate on losing a few more pounds, getting more tone and lean, and building a core. I sound like a broken record, but I know I'll go faster if I can ever figure out what's going on in my head mentally with food.

I have a new respect for Ironman triathletes. I can't imagine doing another one next year. I'm not saying I don't ever want to, but I need to make sure I'm financially stable to do another one, because the costs of this one blindsided me. I also need to make sure I have a good feel for my job. We made a huge transistion last year, and we're finally getting on our feet. One more year, and I think I'll have a better grasp of my producers book of business and can better manage my time with training. Maybe 2011.. but Boston is first, and however long that takes me :)

A few weeks ago, I would have thought, "If the Ironman were tomorrow, I'd blow it out of the water." Last night, all my tapering fears are starting to set in. I went to swim workout last night, and was barely going. I was trying, and I was breathing like I was swimming all out, but my times were deathly slow. I did Cap Tex at a 1:47 pace, and last night I could only swim a 1:58.. for just 100 meters, in a freaking pool??? I sure hope this all changes on raceday because it thouroughly has me freaked out. I feel like I've neglected my running too much to focus on my cycling that I might have to crawl through the marathon. Sunday's 7 miles felt like forever, a marathon that day would have seemed impossible. 30 miles on Saturday on the bike felt ok, but the thought of going to 112 seemed insane. And then putting all three together?????

I know it's the taper, but I hate this freaking out mode I'm in. I feel full of anxiety, I can't wait to get to CdA to relax and hopefully find my MoJo :)

4 days and counting... wow.

Poker Update

Last Wednesday, 1st place out of 30 - $310 :)
Last night, 2nd place out of 12 - $110...

I think my comeback has been announced. I might just play next Wednesday as a last hoorah night before leaving to CdA...

Poke Her... Poker :)

I'm bored. Should be off work, but I'm playing poker tonight. Yep, I'm blogging about poker and not triathlons. I got to play last Wednesday and took it down, 30 guys. It was awesome. I got my first hand, hit the flop and my heart started racing, hands started shaking and had to take a few deep breaths while trying to look cool. People started going out, then all of a sudden I was at the final table, then I was in the money, then I was heads-up. $310, not too shabby.

Game starts at 7pm, can't wait.

I've come sooo far...

I spent lunch IM'ing with a coworker whose cubicle is about 10 feet away, haha :) I sent her various You Tube Ironman clips, including my favorite here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh1yMnrby3w

She started saying how she could never do this. She can't swim, she can't run, she can't bike that long. And I started thinking. Back in 2000, my best friend and I decided we wanted to start exercising to lose weight for an Arizona trip we had planned to visit one of her friends. We'd meet at the DPS on Lamar and walk around the track there. This was also back when I used to smoke. Yes, I was awful. I'd light up after workouts sometimes cause I was a vehicular smoker. Once in the car, always had to have a cigarette in hand. This went on for awhile. Slowly but surely we'd walk one lap, then two, then three. Then we started "running" probably more of a shuffle. Same thing, let's try one lap, two laps, three.

One of her co-workers, Rolando was doing the Flamingo 5k and she registered, but I was too intimidated. I just showed up hesitant. I thought only "elite" athletes registered and did these races. We jogged, walked and did what we had to do to finish. I didn't cross the line, but it was cool seeing that "normal" people did this. After that, we committed to training for the Cap 10k. We both did that April 1, 2001.

Cap 10k - 1:21:30, 13:06 pace. I ran the whole way, isn't that funny?

I can't remember what I did after. I don't have any race results from 2001 to 2004. 2004, I started back up. I remember my goal was to run a 10:00 min mile. Just one. I started running with the free Runtex classes after work up at the Gateway Runtex. Bruno was the manager there, he now works for Nike. I was the slowest one, but I was doing it. I met Leslie in one of the classes. We became friends and she asked me to be on her running team. I remember immediately telling her, "Oh no.. I'm not elite." I don't know what it is with my mindset of setting limitations on myself cause I'm not "elite". She told me you didn't have to be elite. She wanted me to go home and browse this website.

http://www.teamjustin.com/

They were raising awareness for ALS also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. I cried watching the interview between him and his girlfriend when they were asked about their future. They knew he only had a short amount of time, yet they made the most of it. She loved him no matter what and vice versa. At the next practice, I told her I'd attempt... ATTEMPT the Distance Challenge. If I didn't make it, I tried, but I wanted to be part of her team because it was such a great cause. I had the greatest opportunity in meeting Justin at one of the fundraisers. What a great guy. He was smiling, drinking and having a great time. Leslie and I ran our long runs at Town Lake, loop after loop after loop. This is part of the reason why I dislike running on the trail with multiple loops. I've been there and done that!

Feb 2005, I completed my first marathon in Austin. My parents, best friend, and several others came out to cheer me on. I continued with marathons, found Rogue. Got curious about triathlons and did Danskin after in 2006, the weekend after I ran my 2nd marathon in San Diego. The rest is history. Wondering if I could do the next distance has gotten me to where I am today.

15 days, and I'll be an Ironman. I'm complete the distance of all distances. I've come along way from smoking cigarettes and walking 1 mile loops back in 2000.

If I can do it, anyone can.

Flickr Account

I finally got around to setting up a Flickr account since Kodak just ditched all my photos I had been storing for ump-teen years.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/adrianandpriscilla/

16 Days...

Nuff said... Wow.

Update via Bullet Points

• Motivation still at an all time low. I think I've already begun the taper process.
• No need to worry on doing extra workouts, I can barely get a few in as it is.
• 21 days till the Ironman, holy shit. I haven't been happier that it's around the corner.
• The last month seems by far the hardest month of all of them.
• Woke up this morning at 6am and realized I left my cycling shoes at home. (I stay at Adrian's on the weekends)
• Rushed home to get shoes.
• As I was leaving, in a rush, with car in full reverse, I failed to see a motorcycle parked and knocked it over.
• Motorcycles are very heavy. I couldn't pick it back up.
• Left note, with cell phone and insurance info, but as of 1:30pm, no call yet, I hope someone put it back upright.
• I thought about the poor guy's reaction when he goes outside to see his motorcycle on its side for the entire Dam loop part of my ride today.
• Saw half of a deer on the side of the road, yes, just half.
• Tons of riders on Parmer.
• "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder was the song of the day, I hummed it and sang the only part I knew for about an hour on the bike.
• Although, I'm sure it's not safe, I'm able to talk on my iPhone and ride my bike at the same time.
• As comfortable as I am on the bike, I still managed to forget to unclip at the intersection of Parmer/1431 and tipped right over with all cars staring at me. I got 3 people who rolled their window down and gave a ton of thumbs up, even got a "You rock" as a car drove by that was standing still at the red light when I tipped.
• Rode 80 miles by accident, and the last 20 were long and slow.
• I tried to coast as much as possible once I got to Duval.
• I wish I had a sign on my back that said how many miles I had ridden so when people on Jollyville that are on their 3rd mile whiz pass me, they know I'm on mile 70, and I'm really not that big of a slow ass.
• Still completely 100% undecided on what I want to do after this IM. Marathons or triahlons, argh, I have a place in my heart for both now.
• Top Priority for 2010 - Adrian and I are going on a REAL vacation. REAL means, no sporting event to haul bikes to, no stress of a race, just pure fun, relaxation. Maybe a cruise, maybe just going somewhere tropical where we can go on hikes, see waterfalls, go swimming, see colorful fish, and just enjoy each other. Oh, don't forget, eat good food!

I look like I know what I'm doing...

Thanks Gordon!! This was during the Practiceman this past weekend.

Cap Tex 2009 - Race Report (short version)

Training up to Monday has been dull. Motivation has gone to a new low, and my ego is playing wierd little games. I finally have the confidence that I'm going to be ok for IMCDA, but with this confidence has come laziness. It's not that I'm tired, although I am, but it's more that I've lost the drive to make it to all the workouts. I was hoping that Cap Tex would rejuvenate me :)

Saturday: 42 miles of S. Mopac loops followed by 13 miles of hot, long, slow miles.

Sunday: Cap Tex prep, packet pickup, bike check in, errand running.

Monday:

Swim: 26:47, swim pace of 1:47/m

Rank: 320/1327

Woke up at 4:30am, made it to the race with plenty of time. Arranged transition area. Ate Power Bar. Made it to the swim start. Kissed Adrian and got him on his way. My wave was 35 minutes later, so thankfully I had enough time to let Adrian know he was the 3rd out of the water from his wave. Swim went fine for me. I had to calm myself in the beginning because I was just excited and probably swimming too fast. I placed myself up front, because I'd rather get run over than have to swim harder to get around people. I stayed to the far right of the buoy and it worked out perfectly. For some reason, everyone swam too far out, except for one red cap. I felt like I was swimming with this red cap forever, constantly bumping into her, seeing her every 6th stroke, and it was irritating because she kept swimming into me. Finally after the half way point, I kicked it up and got in front of her. My sighting was perfect, I've gotten sooo much better with this. Only mistake that I made was I didn't see the last buoy so I started swimming to shore too early and had to turn late to round the last buoy. Other than that, I had a great swim.

T1: 3:21

Greeted and heard several T3'ers yell for me, which was awesome. I didn't have any trouble getting out of Adrian's wetsuit. We switched for this event. Running with my bike seemed like forever. I wish I knew how to run while holding my bike with just the seat, and I wish I could run faster in cycling shoes.

Bike: 1:18:42, 18.9 mph

Rank: 699/1327

I only had a goal of having a faster mph than my previous PR, which was 16.5. I had planned to get out of my saddle more, and push harder gears on the downhills. The loops went fast, and nothing too interesting other than I found myself for the first time, looking and watching for people in my age group. I noticed who was passing me, which for me I've never done, cause EVERYONE used to pass me. Not today. Mostly men and women that were younger or in my the age group above me were passing. There were 2 girls that started behind me that passed me in my age group. The last one, fought to not let go. For the 2nd & 3rd lap we'd play cat and mouse, I'd pass, then a few minutes later, she'd pass, and this went on. The last lap, she finally passed long enough that I forgot about her and lost track. I remember telling myself to remember her number so I could look at the results later to see just how bad she beat me. 421. I later found out she gained 25 seconds on the bike.

T2: 2:10

I felt pretty fluid for this stop, and decided not to do socks. I just slipped on my running shoes, grabbed my hat and race belt and was off. Saw Chris G in transition and got a shout out.

Run: 54:02, 8:42/m

Rank: 452/1342

Run felt good, 1st mile was a 9:16. I was stoked about that. It didn't feel hard, and I would for sure break 3 hours if I kept that pace. I was a little worried that I had forgotten my salt tablets in my transistion bag, so I didn't have any electrolytes other than what was in my Gu's and nutrition bottle. 2nd mile was an 8:23, holy moly. 3rd mile was freakishly slow, but it didn't feel like it, 10:19ish. After I got back on Riverside a guy passed me, but he didn't blow by me. I latched onto him and was able to run with him. I stayed with him to Congress. On my way, I asked him, "Do you have any idea what pace you're running?" He said, "No." so I dropped it and just tried to run with him as long as I could. The effort felt increased, but not something I couldn't do, until... he said, "Oh, I did just run the first loop in 22 minutes, so I bet we're doing 7:45's." and I immediately thought, "OH, hell no, I can't run that fast!" I wish he wouldn't have said anything and I probably could have stayed on his heel. I have some mental work to do, cause about 20 seconds later, I let him drop me. Finished the run strong though, the rest of the miles were under 8:30's and finished it out with a nice good stride.

Oh, and I passed 421 within the first two miles of the run :)

Extremely happy with my entire race, stoked about my new course PR.

Final Stats

2:45:06

19th in my age group out of 105 - (insane!)

445 out of 1327 total participants