An Epic Fail

What was I thinking?

I sorely miscalculated the weather here in Okie-loma for race day. Forecast is 55 and rain. Great. I packed for 70 and sunny. Epic fail.

I'm posting on my iPhone so this will be short. I just wanted to check in and say Hi!

Who is running OKC?

Allied Medal Display WINNER!!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!!

So sorry for the delay in the announcement but without further ado, the winner….of this awesome contest…. is none other than….generated from Random.org….are you ready????

Sara from Words To Run By

She emailed me a photo of her current display!! I think it is totally cute but she will soon outgrow it!!

Congratulations!! Email me Sara and I will get you set up!!

Update!!!

Ok, I know I promised to announce the winner of the Allied Medal Display Winner today!!! I still hope to but I have been off the wall busy today. LB and I are headed to Oklahoma in the morning and with this being Easter weekend I didn’t pack—or do laundry, or paperwork, or house work or anything productive—at all this past weekend.  I had to work today to prepare for being gone for a week…., a friend from the PNW is in town and is hopefully coming over tonight, LB has Ju Jitsu right now, and I haven’t even broken a sweat today-no workout. UGH. So with all those excuses I leave you with an apology! I will try my best to get the winner announced tonight and if not it may be a day or two.  But I promise---someone will win! And it might be YOU!

I’ll be back as soon as I can!!

I’ll Trade You One 70.3 For a 26.2!

I’ve been thinking a lot about marathon training lately. This 70.3 is kind of making me wish I was training for a marathon. Soon. Soon I will be training for a November 26.2.  I just have to survive this first.

…Saturday!!!

I love Saturdays. I like waking up and making a pot of coffee and banana pancakes with chocolate chips.  I like going for my long run mid-morning or early afternoon. I know this isn’t going to work for much longer. Today it is supposed to be 85. That may be too hot for a 10 mile run, at least too hot to enjoy it and not die. 

So yesterday The Hubs and I checked out the local trail. It is a 4 mile out and back trail. It’s nothing like the endless miles and miles of trail we had in WA but I guess it is better than nothing. While running I was thinking of going out and back and out and back and two miles out and two miles back just to get a 20 miler in. Ugh.  Marathon training is going to be a challenge…but I am antsy to get another marathon under my belt! Listen to me…three weeks out from 70.3 and I am longing for 26.2. What is wrong with me???  Nothing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with me!!!

I was pleasantly surprised with the trail. I had heard only bad things about it. I heard it was ghetto, scary, isolated, unsafe…yadda yadda yadda…and it might be all those things unless I go during a reasonable time, like a Saturday morning, when there are many other like-minded peeps out. I probably wouldn’t go on a weekday morning (alone) but otherwise I felt safe. It was isolated but I, we, have to be smart out there running. Remember to tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back.

Here are a few pictures from the trail:

I’m obviously running really fast….

Oooo….pretty!

Me and The Hubs…

Hubs on a bridge…

Elbow Sweat…just for my PNW buddies.

Water? On a 4 mile trail?? I’ll take it! I mean, I’m not sure if I would actually drink any but it’s a great gesture…and if I ever do run out and back and out and back and out halfway and back again for 20 miles I might indulge. Who knows?

So there you have it! The trail. I just wish it was a little longer and had a little bit better of a wrap sheet. Maybe if I get some pepper spray….

What are you up to this fine Saturday morning???

Spicing Things Up!

…going for a run on a Friday!!

Woooooo!!!

Usually I spin then swim on Fridays but today The Hubs is home from work and we are going for a run! I suggested a motorcycle ride to a trail outside of town, run for an hour, then come home. I’m not sure what we’ll do or where we will go but the Neighbor(ing)hood is not going to suffice today. I neeeeeed new scenery. What do you do when you need to spice up your running?

Oh and get this!!! If you haven’t entered my Allied Medal Display Giveaway yet don’t forget to do so HERE. But if you don’t want to enter or don’t want to wait until Monday check this out:

They are having a Mother’s Day sale so head over HERE and check it out!!!

And finally—Remember that one time when I was riding my bike, like really fast? And I totally crashed? Yeah. Me too. Well I was wearing my favorite Brooks tights. Stupid. I know. When I put them on I actually thought to myself that I shouldn’t wear them on the bike because they are for running and I didn’t want to ruin them. But then I argued back to myself that it was quickly warming up and I would put the tights away for the summer….Yeah. Then I went for a ride and hurled myself into a ditch. Almost died and ripped my tights.

So what do you think? Are they done? Toast? Retired? Trash?? Or can I patch them somehow? How?

Happy Friday and Happy Easter!!!

I got nothing….

…at least not much of anything to talk about.

*photo source here

Uh…did you see that???

Yes, it is a flying pig.

 

Ok what ev…I feel like my training has gotten quite ho hum, very predictable lately. Don’t get me wrong, I do NOT feel the need to hurl myself off of a bike again, or any other number of misfortunate scenarios. I just feel like I spin, swim, run and repeat. Over and over again. Boring. My running adventures as of late are far from adventures. I need some spice in my life, some running excitement! I feel like I need a sexy Latin play list to go run on a trail , oooh oooh ohhh!! Or a race! Maybe that’s it! I’ve got an itchn’ for a race! Well, on May 1 I will be running OKC Memorial 1/2 marathon. Just over a week from now. So that will spice things up a bit! LB and I are headed to OK for spring break and I am looking forward to some red dirt road running! Always a good time!

I am sure you have but just as a reminder, have you entered my Allied Medal Display Giveaway yet? No!? Oh shame!!! Go HERE quick!!!

And for fun, here are a few of the Signature Pose Pics I have gotten via email thus far!! I have had a few links to the pose on blogs, which is great!! But it makes it hard to get the pic.

Starting top row left to right:

1. Amanda The Turtle Won
2. Jessica THE Blonde Ponytail
3. Cooper, curtsey of THE Blonde Ponytail
4. Ashley at Redonk Runner

Bottom row left to right:

1. Penny Pink Hat Runner
2. Kristal at Silly Kristal Tries-a-Tri
3. Cynthia at Run Dream Laugh
4. K at Runner Girl 5K

I had no idea the signature pose was that difficult, but I hear it is! 

In other news, I’ve got some fun reviews coming soon, like my awesome new eazy-bandz that Matt sent to me!! They are super cute and functional! SCORE!! I can’t wait to tell you all about them!! You can get a sneak pre-review peek at them HERE!

Ok, that’s all for now…a lot for having nothing to say, huh? What do you have to talk about tonight?

Sometimes You’re the Windshield…

…sometimes you’re the bug.

I’m feeling more like the windshield these days.

This past weekend was wild and crazy to say the least. I had 10 miles on my plan for Saturday but knew it was unlikely I would get it in. The Hubs had class on Saturday AM and by the time he got home I had to take LB to a birthday party.  I took my running clothes just in case it was a drop and go party but once there I decided it was best to stay. Plus the weather was really ominous. Storms had been brewing ALL day.

Sure enough, a couple of hours into the birthday party a neighbor ran over and announced, “Turn on the radio! There are tornadoes everywhere!” That was my queue to get LB and get out of there! I grew up in OK where tornadoes are common. I know driving in a tornado is NOT smart. But I wanted to get home. I listened to the warnings for a minute and decided I need to go. LB and I ran out in the wind and driving rain. I questioned my judgment, it was BAD. But We got in the car and I called The Hubs, told him to turn on the weather and call me if a tornado was between me and home. We made it home and came inside. I stood in front of the TV watching the huge swatch of red stretching from Raleigh down to our town. There were a couple of tornadoes around, to the north of us. Then all of a sudden about 8 little tornado symbols popped up all around us and then BAM! The power cut out.

Now this is never good. I went out on our porch to watch the skies. The Hubs and I attempted to put our cars in our neighbor's 6 car garage but with the power out the doors wouldn’t open. It was hailing and driving rain.

LB, Lazy Dog and Nelly watching the storm

In the end we were fine. Our house and our neighborhood were spared. There were pieces of insulation, siding and house all over our yard. Near by neighborhoods and schools were not fine. There was a lot of damage and devastation around. But we had no idea what was going on, we still didn’t have power. Long story cut short, we were without power for almost 24 hours and were stuck on the outside of town due to the path of a tornado that went straight across all roads leading into town.

It was so calm after the storms I almost decided to go for my 10 miler then. But I didn’t. We hung out, tried to order pizza (but we didn’t know about the tornado close by and the damage) and the pizza guy had to be the one to tell us he couldn’t get to our house. So we grilled some dogs and just hung out, sans electricity.

I read Runner’s World by candle light…

Sunday our power was still off. I decide I might as well go for my 10 mile run if we couldn’t leave the house. I set out for 10 miles in my 3.6 mile neighborhood. At 9.4 miles I was done. Bored out of my mind and just done. I walked up our drive like a whipped dog, with my tail between my legs. I threw a mini tantrum, complaining about running in the neighborhood and how boring it is. The Hubs asked me, “Do you wanna go run on Pope?” “Nope.” “The busy street out there?” “Nope.” “You want to go run in Tacoma?” “Yes!” I miss all my running routes in Tacoma. Everything about them. I am not adjusting well here and I just can’t shake it. I am trying to think positive thoughts and stop the negative thoughts that creep in, but it is so hard. All I want is one more run, ok a million more runs, in Tacoma….

Funny enough, I had gotten a picture text from Jill- Running to Sanity that read, “30th street misses you!” Awe, the hill I called The Hill of Death. That hill that would KILL the end of my runs! I would save it for the end of my runs, run up it and then only had about 1.6 miles to home. I miss it too….

The Hill of Death-30th street Old Town, Tacoma

Monday I was busy all morning watching the Boston Marathon working and didn’t get to run until 4 PM.

It was HOT. Ok it was warm, 78 degrees. We are on a warming trend that is only going to get worse from here on out. Today is 80’s and tomorrow we break 90’s. Hello NC summer. I set out for 4 miles in the neighborhood and new it would be tough with the sun and heat. I need to get used to it. It my upcoming 70.3 the run will begin around 12 or so. I am going to die to be thirsty and hot. So it it is best to train my body to perform in the heat.

Self-timer photos RULE! Before the run…

Self portrait-After the run….

I look waxy-sign of heat exhaust? Heat stroke maybe??

And speaking of my signature pose…I am loving all the pics you guys are sending me!! They have me cracking up!! Keep them coming! Don’t know what I am talking about?? Well go HERE and see for yourself! It’s your chance to enter to win an Allied Medal Display!!

Thanks for reading this long, drawn out post! Off to to some work, then swim and run and then more work….Such is life these days.

Happy Tuesday friends!!!

Good Luck Mel!!!!

And to all my friends (and if you’re a runner and you’re participating, you’re a friend) running Boston tomorrow….

GOOD LUCK!!!

I hope one day I can see what if feels like to run among the elite. But for now I will live vicariously through you…watching my TV and computer tomorrow morning!!

May your feet be swift and your legs fresh.

May your eyes enjoy every sight, your nose every smell.

My every sound be music to your ears. My you experience all you imagined and dreamed it awould be….

My you cross that finish line with no regrets, leaving nothing behind and everything gained.

GOOD LUCK!

You have earned this…you have worked for this.

Now do it for all of us who haven’t been there, and may never make it….

Allied Medal Display Giveaway!

But first you have to read about ME…

Yesterday was a great workout day. I went to spin as usual on a Friday morning. I love the Friday AM spin instructor BUT Friday I am 99% certain she had crack for breakfast. I have no idea what got into her but I was dying. With 15 minutes left in class I felt like I couldn’t make it. She said “Turn it up!” and I ignored her. She said, “FASTER!” and I ignored her. She said, “Pick it UP!!!” I pretended she wasn’t there. She busted out singing Shakira and her legs were going like mad.  Me? I was dripping sweat and felt like I was spinning in mud. Needless to say when class was over I was happy to be alive. I stumbled to my car and drove to the pool.

Once in the pool I had my new workout all ready to go, the same one I emailed to Kerrie at Mom Vs. Marathon. I was happy to give a new workout a try, plus my list of old workouts got wet and moldy and I haven't had time to redo them yet. I had put all my workouts on a small piece of paper, “laminated” them with tape, and safely shoved them in a Ziploc baggie ( a trick I learned from Kerrie when she put her cell phone in a Ziploc baggie for our Million Inch Run). It worked until I opened it up during a swim to flip to a new page and must not have zipped it locked and the rest is history…

I ended up swimming 1700 yds and worked on building speed.

Old workout list with 15 different workouts:

New workout, 1 at a time:

I made plans to go for a short run with Sarah, AKA Mom of the Littles (first blog debut HERE at Seattle RnR 2010) after our swim. She too will be making the trek from NC to Seattle in June for Seattle RnR!! So exciting! It was great to catch up and run with a fellow X-PNWer. We even reminisced about RED and how we missed our running buddy.We headed out a little after 12 and it was already sunny and warm. I got a sunburn. I shudder to think of all the different tan lines that will never even out. Anyway, I look forward to more runs with Sarah, including Seattle Rock n Roll half!

So I guess Friday I did a triathlon of sorts, only a little out of order and with strange distances. I felt really good on the run, my legs, despite nearly falling off in spin, felt surprisingly fresh. A little bit of a confidence booster is always nice.

Now—I just have to think about WHERE on my awesome Allied  Medal Display will I put my 70.3 medal??? Maybe I’ll have to get a new one just for triathlons?

What’s that you say? YOU would like one of these??? Well who wouldn’t???? Here is YOUR chance!! Joel has graciously given me the opportunity to to give one of you your very own display!! Saaaa-WEEEET!! So, lets make this easy, here are the ways you can enter to win:

At least one of these is REQUIRED (leave a separate comment for each, and you get an entry for each):

• Visit Allied Medal Displays and leave me a comment letting me know which one you would chose!
• Become a fan of Allied Running Medal Hangers , let them know I sent ya! And let me know in a comment.

Bonus Entries:

• Follow 5 Miles Past Empty, or let me know you already do-leave me a comment!
• Link  up this giveaway on FB, twitter, or your blog (extra entry for each linky link. Let me know in a comment).

Bonus Bonus Entries!

• Send a picture of your current display of medals to me (2 bonus entries).***
• Send me a picture of your best impression of my Signature Pose, for ideas check it out HERE (2 bonus entries)***

                                     ***5miles2empty@gmail.com

Contest will end April 25 at 8 AM EST.

**photos sent will mostly likely (99.99% chance) be used in a future blog post.

1/2 Iron Man: Reality Check

I think it is time for a serious reality check.

Race Date: May 14, 2011 exactly 30 days from today.

I’m scared. Who wouldn’t be though, really? With one month until race day I figured it was time to check in and see where I am….

Well here it goes, the reality is:

• It is going to be hard.
• I do not feel prepared.
• I am nervous about the swim. Sure I have swam the distance in the pool but in the pool there is the wall. I can touch the wall, and if I do flip turns I push off and so I would say out of a 2000 yd swim I probably push off and glide 500 yds. That may be too high of a number but still…open water swimming is different. There is no wall. It’s just me and the water.
• It is going to be HOT. Like really hot and humid by the time I get off the bike and start running. I need to seriously prepare for heat and come up with a method for cooling myself.
• The bike has me nervous. I have relied heavily on spin class to prepare me for the ride. While I know it has helped, spin is only an hour long. So I am conditioned to ride hard for one hour. 56 miles on a bike is going to take me longer than one hour.
• Transitioning from Bike to Run has me worried. In spin yesterday I was imagining the race, that is what I do if you haven't caught on. I am big on visualization. I visualized myself coming off the bike to transition to the run and I fell down. Yep, in my own race day visualization I made myself fall down. I know. Sounds absolutely ridiculous. But you see, in my last sprint I came in the shoot and got off my bike. My legs were like jell-o and they were moving way faster than I was prepared to move. My legs literally outran my body and I almost bit it. So part of visualization is seeing everything about a race, so I can be prepared. Preparation is HUGE and now that I have been reminded of what it is like to come off a 14 mile bike ride it is even more clear to me that I need to be prepared for coming off a 56 mile ride. 
• Fuel and Hydration-How!?!?!? I need to get some sort of hydration system in place on my bike. I know for a fact that I cannot reach down and get a water bottle and hydrate without killing myself. I need a system that is up front and center. Hydration during the run is a must as well. It is going to be hot and my handheld Nathan water bottle will not suffice.  I am sure there will be plenty of water stops but still, a mile can be A LONG WAYS when you are between stops. RED and I learned that the hard way on a lousily supported 1/2 Mary once. We almost died. I don’t want to relive that.
• I have been seriously slacking in the running department lately. What ever you do, DO NOT look to your right and see my lousy weekly mileage. It will horrify you. I keep saying I need to run more, I’ll start tomorrow…I’ll run 4 or 5 times a week…But I am so tired and my legs are worn out.  I have been sick and injured seemingly constantly. But now, I have motivated myself to go for a run as soon as I finish this post…
• I have never endured over 6 hours of physical activity. The Hubs enlightened me of this fact.  I have endured 4 hours and 32 minutes in a deluge of rainfall during the worst marathon of my life. But I know this will be different. Putting your body through physical exertion for that length of time is not easy. Am I prepared? How will my body respond? I am fully prepared to cross the finish line and need to be drug back to our cabin (we have rented a cabin at the park where the race is held). I am fully prepared to finish with an empty tank. I have never finished completely empty before. Don’t get me wrong, I have finished and felt empty and tired, I know I had something left. I know because I was able to walk, hobble or scoot through the shoot.

And the biggest reality check:

• I have trained. But not enough I fear. Sure I have 30 days left but after adding in a week for my trip to OK I have 23 days left (of course I will be able to run but swimming and biking are out for that week) and then adding in a week of taper I have 16 days left.  So there you have it.  I have done enough to cross the finish line. I hope. 

I am excited and nervous at the same time. I haven’t been nervous about a race in a very long time!  I seriously underestimated the amount of work, training, blood, sweat and tears (literally) that would go into training multi-sport. I now know that I would need to dedicate a longer amount of time to fully prepare for a 1/2 Iron Man. But I am committed and I will do this! And depending on how it goes I may continue much of my training throughout the next year so I can complete a full iron next summer. But lets not put the cart in front of the horse….

And now, Laura was the first to guess that we have 8 bikes in our garage!!! She is correct-a-mundo!!! So congrats Laura! When I get the Allied Running Medal Display  giveaway up and going you’ll get an extra entry!!

 

Also, thanks for the vinegar advice! A lot of you suggested it so it must be true!! I haven’t tried it yet but I will!! I sure hope it works!!

Bad news...

I know it seems like I am full of bad news lately. I guess I am. But I have some good news today too, so I’m not ALL Negative Nancy.

So what should it be? Good new or bad news first? Lets end on a good note. Bad news first…I don’t want to ruin your day though so if you prefer not to hear the bad news just skip down to the photo. here is your chance to self-preserve your positive outlook on life. Don’t let me bring you down…go ahead. I will  never know.

BAD NEWS: I accidentally dried my fav Nike Capri tights. The stench is forever dried into them. GAG-o-licious! Here is how it went down. I did laundry yesterday and this morning I threw the last load of darks into the drier. I went about my morning as usual. THEN, as I was driving LB to school it hit me! My tights were in that load! NO!!!!!!!! I almost ran off the road! Ok, exaggeration but what ev…I came home and riffled through the still-running drier. It didn’t take long to find them, all I had to do was sniff them out. SICKENING! Once upon a time I used to purchase and use Winn detergent for athletic clothes. But alas gas prices are now astronomical and things get cut. Winn included. Maybe I should invest in a new bottle. But really, girls are supposed to be sugar and spice and EVERYTHING nice. Not stinky, sweaty workout clothes. We have all experienced this: You’re at a race and you’re squished in at the start line and someone around you smells like they already ran 20 miles. In the heat of the day. I am that person. Shame, oh the shame….

GOOD NEWS: For the good news, to bring you up after I knocked you down…Nelly is home from the Bike Hospital! She is amazing! She is all better!! She is ready to hit the road again! Although I got a tiny knot in my stomach when I held her steady with my hands, bringing her into my garage. Riding my Trek was ok, different. I didn’t crash on my Trek. But looking at Nelly my stomach got all tight and I felt nervous. The Aero bars…those bars, oh so far from the breaks, made me feel nervous. I will get back on and ride though, I have to. I’m just glad she is home and I am a step closer to putting that whole ordeal behind me. Only a few fading bruises and a diminishing pain in my bootie remain. I am on the up and up!

Welcome home Nelly CIRN!

I think we have way too many bikes! Can you see how many bikes are in our garage? The first person to leave the correct number in a comment will get an extra entry into my Allied Steele Giveaway coming later this week!

Off to spin then swim then work….Se la vi!

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good…

Very Bad Day Run.

Let me back peddle a bit.

I have been taking a break from my computer, kind of. Sometimes technology just boggs me down and I need to step away. I haven’t updated my facebook status since I can’t remember when??? Maybe Friday? I wont go back and recap the whole weekend, I’ll just jump in at today.

I have a head cold. What the heck? Why can’t I just get healthy and STAY healthy? And I include injury in there too…But anyway, I have this head cold but my body feels ok. I did my normal Monday morning paperwork and finished just in time to roll out and head to 12 o’clock spin.

I pulled into the empty gym parking lot and discovered the gym is closed until the 13th. Lame. I decided to do a quick run instead. So at noon o’clock I drove to the track and meandered out of my car, jogged a lap, then stretched. I decided I would do 4 x 1200 yd intervals. Off I went on my first lap. When I neared the 400 yd (end of the first lap) I hit end on my lap button and convinced myself I would do a ladder, 400/800/1200/1200/800/400…yeah that is what I’ll do. So I walked 200 yds and hit start for my second interval.At the 400 yd mark I again hit end on my watch. Lame. Ok, so no go on the ladder plan. I decided I would do 5 x 400 yds instead. I walked another 200 yd and hit start on my watch. By the end of the third lap I was tired, sweating buckets, thirsty, and just  plain fatigued. I had no gas. I was spent. Pooped. Wiped out. Done.  I jogged another lap to cool down but it was about 87 degrees outside and humid. Yucky, gross humidity. It will be the death of me this summer. So there you have it. That was the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad run day.

I know my running routine is going to need a serious overhauling here soon. I will have to start getting up to run way before the sun shines. I hate that. Or resolve to be a summer treadmill runner. I actually just almost threw up in my mouth thinking about both of those. Either way, the point is that things are going to have to change and soon when it comes to my running. The first step in making a change is seeing  a need for change. Right? 

After my failed run I decided to hit one of the other gyms to do some weights. I’d like to do more weightlifting but I just don’t have time right now. So I got in about 45 min of picking up heavy things and putting them back down. I was going to go swim afterwards but decided against it. There is always tomorrow…if all goes as planned.

Sorry for the boring post but I am kind of happy to have a lull in the excitement. No new bruises to report, only shrinking ones!

It’s about time!!

I had a good day! Actually I had a good day yesterday too…

Yesterday…long story short: I went to pick up The Hubs from the Drop Zone. It is exactly as is sounds, a zone for dropping. Dropping dudes out of an airplane. He had to jump and didn’t want to sit around all day and wait after his jump so I went and picked him up. I was pushing it for time to make it to spin so he dropped me off at the gym so I could get a bike. You have to show up pretty early to get a bike and it is pretty cut-throat. He laughed about the women all rushing in to sign in, no door holding,no manners, walking quickly, you get the point. Don’t mess with me getting a bike. I will cut you…ok not really, man this place is so ghetto, did I really just say, “I will cut you.” ? Wow. But now you get the point. It can get ugly when there are only one or two bikes left. I got the third to last…And it was SO worth it. As usual I was drenched with sweat in the end. I came out and the sun was shining. It was a beautiful day and I decided to walk to The Hub’s work. I texted him and started walking. I’m not sure how far it was, maybe  3 miles. About half a mile from his work I saw The Hubs jogging my way. He came to find me. We jogged the rest of the way back to where my car was. I headed home and he headed out to finish his run.

THEN----I got home to find presents waiting!!

Mel-Tall Mom  sent me a care package, birthday present! I love getting things in the mail!! SO exciting! And the box was so cool I didn’t want to open it! So of course I flipped it over and cut into it! Inside I found some delicious, much needed chocolate! My Tall Mom 1000 +++ sticker, some other cute stickers, nail polish (I bit all my nails off during my week off, as soon as they grow back out I will paint them up!), some Pearl Izume shorts and shirt!! SCORE! And some coffee!! Mmm…..I feel so lucky and blessed to have such wonderful friends. Seriously. THANK YOU Mel!!!

I also had my box from REI waiting! My father-in-law hooked me up with a gift card for my birthday so I finally used it. I ordered a cute North Face dress, love it! And an Ironman watch-simple and to the point with a timer that keeps intervals and laps.  I intend to use it in the pool. It is so neat and fun to have a basic, simple sports watch after my Garmin.

After work I had some time to kill before girls night with the T3 girls!  Breaking Pace gave me a gift card to Dick’s for my birthday so I headed over to shop.  I found some super sweet Nike shorts and Under Armour Heat Gear tanks. It’s about to get super hot here and I need to be ready.  THANK YOU Breaking Pace!! You are too generous!

So for girls night we ordered take out Mexican food and watched Black Swan! Super messed up movie BTW. WOW!  But I would watch it again… And then J-Ninja busted out, in true ninja style, with the awesome RED shirt you see above. It says I… Tri on the front! So stinking cute! THANK YOU J-Ninja!!!

Finally, today I headed out for a 5 mile run, just to see if I could. My head ached a little bit and I felt a little light headed around mile three but like all smart and responsible people I kept running. I had to get home after all. I channeled my inner Tall Mom (in my running outfit from her) and made my 5 miles in about 43 min or an 8:34 min/mile pace.

And last but not least, I give you one more pic of a totally awesome bruise:

Looks pretty sweet, huh?

Well, THAT was stupid.

Ok, I already knew “self-arresting” into a ditch at 25 mph was stupid, but I just felt like reminding myself that.

I took Nelly in to the local bike shop yesterday. The faces on the guys there when they saw here were less than reassuring that my crash wasn’t THAT bad.  One dude said, “Wait, you CRASHED? I figured it got ran over by someone.” Yeah, I wish I had left my beautiful Tri bike out in the driveway like a defiant 8 year old and subsequently backed over it on my way to work. In that case I wouldn’t be black and blue, I could sit through an entire therapy session and not have to explain to my poor clients why I need to stand up for a minute, my neck would be capable of turning right to left without pain, AND I wouldn’t be suffering from a minor TBI.

Anywho, they called me yesterday afternoon with the estimate. It wasn’t as costly as I expected, thank goodness. A new wheel and a new seat are all that is needed, that and a new helmet. I’m doing some shopping around for a helmet though. I’m looking for a crazy aerodynamic one that will make me go fast(er). One with tiny, discrete engines on the back that will propel me. They make those, right? I should have Nelly back in my custody in two weeks or less. In the mean time I have my trusty ole Trek.

Yes, I already got back in the saddle. It was scary but I know that if something is scary you have to conquer it quickly. Pretty sure I need to replace the breaks now since I rode them HARD on down hills. My confidence is low but I think it will build over time.  My body felt good, a little achy in the joints and the bruises were uncomfortable, but I felt ok. My head is the only issue now, it still hurts. It’s hard to explain but if you’ve ever had a concussion then I guess you understand. It sort of feels like my head isn’t big enough for my brain and I can feel my brain in my head. Very weird. I am aware of bouncing and try to avoid it. So riding the bike is bearable and I am going to give spin a shot this AM. Yesterday I went swimming and figured it would be no problem. WRONG. My swim cap and goggles were putting too much pressure on my noggin. I had a pounding headache for 2000 yds. Needless to say running is OUT for a bit longer. How long? I have no idea. Just the thought of running makes my head hurt.

So frustrating. I can’t believe I did this to myself. I just want to be back to normal and go for a nice run….But in the mean time I guess I will do what I can.

I hope Tina Z. is right….

I don’t want to do that EVER again…

Down but not out…

…completely.

First of all, WOW! Thank you all for your comments and concern.  I feel so special and loved. It really means a lot to me that you all expressed such concern for me (and my bike, my poor  poor Nelly). I wish you all lived closer so you could bring me soup and chocolate so we could hang out and go for bike rides, er…. or runs…that would be safer. But alas, I just have to pretend that each of your comments are a nice piece of chocolate and savor each and ever word. Mmmmmmm……………………….

So, I know you all are dying to know if I am alive. Well I assure you this is not The Hubs posing as me. He wouldn’t do that. And he would never talk about feeling special and loved and chocolate. So yes, it is me. I am alive and I am surprisingly well. I mean I am bruised head to toe and I am humiliated to get in a swim suit and go to the pool…or wear a short sleeved shirt, or shorts… I look like I belong on a country song music video for Earl Had to Die (a song about killing a deadbeat wife beater…great song). But they are my battle wounds. I wear them proudly…covered up under clothes. I am sore and still taking 800 mg Ibuprofen and 650 mg Tylenol 3x a day.

So who wants to see some of the bruises? No? Not into seeing bruises? What if I told you I had to sport the *spankies so that I could actually show you???

I knew it!

Self portrait in the bathroom mirror:

And those are the ones I can show you…there are more but you wont get those here, this is a family blog.

So there you have it. I am OK. Mild concussion, no broken bones, and tons-o-bruises…Not to mention a bruised pride, bruised ego, and bruised confidence.

So who thinks I’ll get back on the bike any time soon??? Maybe I already have? Maybe I NEVER will AGAIN!

*Not the way you expected the Spanky Debut to go, huh?