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...