Please…

…if you do nothing else in this world, do this: Do not catch this flu.

Thank you to everyone who has texted, facebooked, emailed and called in to wish me well…It really means a lot. But…

I still feel awful. I got out of bed today simply because I had to take LB to school, turn in paperwork to my work, buy groceries, and pick LB back up from school. All of this was done in this order: Take LB to school, nap, turn in paperwork, nap, grocery store, nap, pick up LB….still wanting that nap.

I have no energy. None. In fact, I’m wiped out just after typing this.

I hope I will be back to normal tomorrow but I think that is asking too much. I feel like I will never be well again….sorry about my negative pessimistic post. Until next time….

Tell me it will be ok…

…that is doesn’t really  matter that I have done nothing since Tuesday. It doesn’t really matter that I have pretty much been on my death bed since Friday. Wednesday I was tired. Thursday I felt icky. Friday I felt tired, icky, and yucky.

Saturday…I have no idea what happened. I took lots of drugs and don’t remember much else. I was sick. I slept all day; hot, cold, hot, cold, thirsty, drugs, hot, cold, drugs, thirsty…repeat. I have the flu. It is awful. I hope I can kick it and get back to normal. I have a terrible feeling that it is going to take a LONG time to get my strength back. I don’t have time for this but I just can’t train while sick:  1) that is dumb  and would only make recovery longer and 2) I would die.

Oh can I just tell you, to pour salt in my wound, it was in the 60’s yesterday and again today. Perfect weather for running and biking. But no…I have to be sick.

So how long has it taken you to bounce back to training after the flu?

Ok, this post has taken all my energy. Back to bed…

While I Was Sleeping…

I had visions of hill repeats and bike rides rolling through my  head.

Isn’t that sad?

I felt pretty crummy yesterday and today only a teensy bit better. I still don’t think I will work out today. I think it’s best to get better and not push it. I have an annoying cough and I am just exhausted. I pulled the trash can up from the curb yesterday and felt like I had just ran 10 miles. I came in a took a nap.

Luckily, according to the book I’m reading regular naps can help us reach peak fitness faster! Yep, science says. I’m not going to argue!  If you are doing two-a-day workouts you can workout in the morning, take even a short 30 min nap at lunch then do your evening workout. During your nap your body releases growth hormones that help your muscles recover. And even if you workout once a day a nap can still help. So see? Let’s all go take a nap!

Do you take naps? Ever?

And for the random photo of the today I went back to 2005 when we lived here before and LB was a baby, aren’t he and Lazy Dog the cutest things ever? This was on my mind since LB and I watched a movie yesterday, Cool Dog, about a boy who had a German Shepherd. Don’t see it, especially if you have a sick, emo 5 year old who also has a German Shepherd. LB cried three times during the movie because it was sad. And I agree, it was sad. It was even sadder to see LB crying…

Sorry about the boring post…tell me something interesting, something funny…please. I feel like I’ve been cooped up for days.

The Flip Side of my Pillow…

Is cool, especially when I have a fever. It’s almost too cool.

Today LB and I both are home sick. Insert Rest Day #2. Or is it even considered a Rest Day? I guess more like Sick Day. I tried so hard to stay away from the sickies living in my house (The Hubs is sick too, bless his heart he can’t stay home). I guess I could tell I needed to take the day off yesterday, I felt tired and then last night the fever started. What was it I said in yesterday’s post? Overtraining can lead to getting sick? Right…..I’m convinced. I don’t have time for this jazz. I’ll see how the rest of the day goes.

On a brighter note, Jodi from Runjodirun emailed me and asked if she could highlight me for Thumbs up Thursday!!! I have never been highlighted before so this was really fun and exciting!! Check it out if you want to HERE!! Thanks Jodi for taking the time to get to know me and putting me in the spotlight for my one day of fame!!

On a training note, I tried to read Chapter 2 of the Tri Training Bible last night but I ended up flipping around and reading random parts. Of special interest to me was the chapter on nutrition and fuel. An interesting fact I learned is that a study of Olympians by the International Center for Sports Nutrition compared the diets of Olympic medalist with nonmedalists. The only significant difference was that the winners ate more protein than those who did not win a medal. To be honest, this section did say that animal foods are the most efficient and effective way to get the nine essential amino acids in protein, ounce for ounce. But it was compared to plant sources. The verdict is still out for protein supplements. I used the equation to determine that I need about 3.6 ounces of protein a day. 3.5 oz of chicken breast has about 1.05 oz of protein. 3.5 oz of tuna has .82 oz of protein, a whole egg has .42 oz. So really, yes, if I am cognizant of my food intake I probably can get sufficient amounts of protein from food. But some days I don’t eat chicken, eggs, tuna, cheese or steak. Yeah, I never eat steak actually. I don’t eat read meat, rarely if ever.

I feel like I want to tell you everything I am reading but that would be impossible. The book is really long. If you are interested my local library has a copy. I bet yours does too. You should check it out!! Ha ha get it? Check it out….

And for the random photo of the day, this was in Tacoma and LB was creeped out by it. I wonder why? I thought it was awesome.

Well, off to crawl back into bed and snuggle with my little hot box of  a son. What do you like to do when you are home sick?

Today is the Day…

And I guess I’m ok with that. Maybe.

After 14 days straight, with no day off,  of multisport training, I must rest today. My body is tired. I am sore and beat. I couldn’t even get comfortable last night. Yesterday I ran 4 miles with 9 min/mile pace then headed to the pool. I increased my swim intensity and completed 16 x 50 yd repeats with 10 seconds rest between. It was hard. Today’s plan called for 7 x 400’s @ 5k pace. I don’t really want to skip this workout all together, I know the benefits of speed work and the impact it has on my overall race day performance. I have a few options. I can do it tomorrow before my 25 mile indoor bike ride (instead of the planned 3 m pace run) or I can do it Friday with my easy 1000 yd swim. I’ll see how the rest of the week works out. But today I rest. I might go for a walk. That’s still resting. Right?

Last night I read the first chapter of the Triathlete’s Training Bible. Maybe that is what inspired me to take a day off.  I was able to identify my training philosophy and the book clearly stated that my philosophy can lead to burn out (Duh….), injury (double Duh….), breakdown due to illness (well color my purple and tickle me pink….). So with all the Duh’s happening I realized I should be training smarter, not harder. “By adopting a philosophy that is more moderate, such problems are avoided and racing performance improves.” Sold. Rest day it is.

What is your training philosophy? I think mine changes throughout the year and depends on the race scheduled.

I am really looking forward to getting into the Nitty Gritty of this book. Self-coaching is difficult, yet I have been doing it for three years and I believe I have been doing a pretty darn good job of it. This time around is different though. I am working my way through three sports, two of them completely unknown racing territory. The challenge is exciting!

“Many dedicated endurance athletes don’t need to be told what to do-they need to be told what not to do” –Scott Tinley, Pro Triathlete

What do you KNOW you need to be told not to do??? And I know you know, we all know…we just have a hard time listening to ourselves. Or am I the only one?

And for Radom photo #1, because I love him and think he the coolest kid ever: 5 1/2 year old LB in his 3T Spidy costume with Spidy baseball cap, Spidy slippers, gloves, and water gun. He is ready to fight the bad guys.

Random photo #2: I need new glasses. I love LOVE these frames and have been too cheap busy to go to the stinking store to order new ones…I highly doubt my clients take me seriously when I sit across from them wearing these beauties. “Um hm….yes.  I see. uh hu.. Go on….yes. How does that make you feel?”

What are you too cheap to buy these days? With two ridiculous race entry fees paid, a new bike, a trainer  and still more stuff needed, some things fall on the way side. Unfortunately for me it is glasses.

Youngsters these days….

Seriously. I was grouped into the category of “Youngsters” today and coupled with these days…

Today was crazy. LB was sick last night with a headache and I thought for sure he wouldn’t be able to go to school today. Long story short I gave him Tylenol and sent him off for a half day. That left me 4 hours to write four reports, see a client, drop off said reports and hit the pool. No sweat…yeah right. At least an hour of that time was drive time. I had my gym bag packed and even thought a step ahead and wore my swimsuit under my clothes. I’m a thinker. I made it to the pool and was in the water, swimming laps with plenty of time to spare.

26 minutes and 1000 yards later I emerged from the water victorious! Ok, dramatic, I know. I waddled to the locker room (hey it was FREEZING!!) at the same time as a jillion cute, little old ladies prepping for their noon water aerobics class. I showered, got my bag and started dressing…Uh oh…no undies. Oops.  Oh well. I roll commando in my running gear ALL the time! What’s the difference??? Nadda, I tell you…nadda. Well, the little old ladies would argue otherwise. As I was wrestling my jeans onto my wet legs and wiggling around like a suffocating cat in a gunny sack (please don’t ask how I know that visual) everyone could see I was commando.

Enter cute little old lady 1: “Youngsters these days.” "Enter cuter little old lady two “I can’t keep up with them anymore.” Enter mean old lady three: “Why… I never!”  That’s right granny! Lock up your grandsons! I zipped and was out of there in no time. What ever. Like they have never forgotten their underwear before!

On a brighter note, they thought I was a youngster! I wonder what they would have said if they new I was a mom! OOoOooo! Scandalous!

Have you ever forgotten your underwear?

So yesterday I rode 31 miles with the Triple Threat. Yeah, we named ourselves and so what if there are actually FOUR of us? We scored with a new addition to our weekend long rides, a girl who works at the local bike shop!!!! She said she was tired of riding with the dudes and was happy to hit the road with a few noobs (not really her exact words)!! Woot woot! So now if we get a flat tire she can change it for us help us and teach us how to change it! That was my longest bike ride to date!!  And it was freezing!! When I got in my car heading to the ride it was 16 degrees. I couldn’t feel my toes at the end and before we ran 2 miles I had to warm up my feet:

In a little bit I will be parking my trainer in front of a movie and doing an easy ride since I didn’t make it to spin class earlier today. My legs are tired but I agree with a comment Wojoku left:

“…since you are in the build up stage now, if you plan on incorporating a taper phase at the end of your training, then I'd say the rest is a bit less important NOW as long as you're still ABLE to do your long workouts.”

Agreed. For now I am able and I will keep on keeping on!

And you all remember RED? Right? How could you forget….

   

Here we are after our 7 mile warm up plus 13.1 run (20 miler for Portland).    

I miss her….I miss our runs together. We suffered together more than any two people. Ever. On many levels. And we pushed each other when we needed pushing and we coddled when we needed coddling. We were there for each other. Rain or shine. Feast or famine. Good or bad. Long or short.  Just typing about it makes me excited for November’s OBX (are we still in?)! I can’t wait to run a full 26.2 with her. My experience running the full 26.2 with Mel in Vegas totally changed my perspective on running with someone. I was always a lone racer-runner….until Mel, for the most part. =) But now I am ready to commit a full marathon to RED. Hopefully I can keep up! Anyway, she did White Lake Half Iron Man a few years back and is the one who suggested that one to me! So when I am out there on the course I can image her there too! Cheering me on! Encouraging me to finish and not die. She read my post about the Triathletes Training Bible being checked out of the library and she sprang to action!!!

She mailed me hers!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! And yes, I am reading it with my hot pink Speedo goggles on (upside down). So what?

Have you gotten anything cool in the mail lately? I love getting things! It’s like Christmas!

Just to make me feel better, what have you seen youngsters doing lately that is just totally, outrageously ridiculous. Like worse than commando….

I’m not good at this…

…and I am not ashamed to admit it. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. And apparently rest days are my weakness, for now. In the past I had no trouble resting, take a day off and sing the song of You Need to Rest! I still believe it but now I feel like I can’t find a good workout to miss. My calendar is full of workouts! I go 7 days a week. My easy day is Friday with a swim only. But if I skip a part of a workout earlier in the week I add it to my Friday.

As of now Wednesday is a run only day. I focus on speed work that day. Friday is a swim only day. Saturday is my long run day and Sunday is my long bike ride day. So I can’t skip any of those. Monday I double up swim/spin, Tuesday is swim/run and Thurs is bike/run.  How does one choose which one to drop? It’s like asking am mom which kid to take to Disney land….well, we all know the answer this mom will give: Take them all, leave me behind or get me a hotel with a swanky pool and  a swim up bar. I’ll be there…. But really, I am in the building phase of my training and cannot afford (at least I feel) to cut anything right now. Eventually something will have to give and I will have to take a day off.

Today I did my long run: 7 miles. It was a good run despite the freezing temps. I find it takes me about 3 miles to get warmed up. Sometimes before I hit the 3 mile mark I am exhausted, my muscles are tight, sore and I’m straight up ready to stop.  I never had this problem before. I first noticed it when I got here….very strange.

How long does it take you to get warmed up?

I’m trying to slowly gather things that I will need for the Half Iron and on that list was speed laces:

Yep, that is them. The directions were very complicated.  I ordered them through Amazon but they were shipped from swimoutlet.com. If you haven’t checked them out you should…I love that site.

But I figured out how to get my old shoelaces out and the speed laces in…Whew! And Lazy Dog was very helpful…

I was going to leave it like this and give it a test run to see how they compared but then I decided while I was at it I might as well change them both out.

So here they are, speed laces. Apparently you need them for quicker T2 times and I can see how this will help enormously. I just have to get used to them. I will trim the ends, the tails hanging off to each side at the toe end, after I find the comfortable tightness. Today’s run was a wee bit uncomfortable. They were too tight. I need to loosen them up a bit. After my first run though I would say they are pretty cool and actually make for a nice, snug fit over the top of my shoe. It hugs my foot like never before.

And finally, the random picture of the day (as if the above ones weren't’ random enough): please excuse the huge wet dog nose smear on my windshield…

I know it is hard to read but it says “Speed Hump”. What? What ever happened to Speed Bump?  In Washington it was the Honey Bucket (aka Porta Potty) here it is a Speed Hump.

What other weird things do I need to know before I move to your state? I hate being left in the dark.

Happy Saturday night!!! What are you up to? I’m rocking out to Guitar Hero!!!

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner!

Who? ME? I guess so! Stacie at Impossible is Nothing thinks I’ve got style, got some class, got it goin’ on…thinks I’ve got junk in the trunk…wait, not that…

Thanks Stacie!! I am honored!! If you haven’t checked out her blog this is a good time to do so…she is hosting a sweet giveaway, an Allied Medal Display HERE.

So here are the rules:

Here are the rules.
1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award. (And true confession here….someone else tagged me with this too but in all the craziness that is my life I HAVE NO RECOLLECTION WHO IT WAS!!!!?!??? So please let me know, so so sorry!!)
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award 7 other bloggers. Sorry, gone with 5….
4. Contact these bloggers and let them know about the award

So Here is goes…

Thing 1

Today as I was running s.l.o.w.l.y. on my 3 mile treadmill run I kept imagining, visualizing if you will, my half iron. Visualizing athletic performances is something I started doing in High School with my mom’s help. I truly believe it can help. I visualized myself giving The Hubs the task of counting the green swim caps that come out of the water, so I would know how many in my age group were ahead of me. In this visualization there were only 10! Woot woot!! Then, I came off the bike and there were 8… (yeah, this is daydream territory) and then the run….I hit a PR of 1:50 half marathon and finished 5th in my age group. Afterwards I got interviewed by the local news as a New-To-The-Scene athlete. “Where did she come from?” “Who is her sponsor?” I left that race with a few sponsor offers….See? Visualization can be fun. But then I came to and realized I was dying at a 9min/mile pace on the treadmill….

Thing 2

I kind of want to go back to school to get my Ph.D. I secretly hope my hubby gets in to Georgetown Medical School so I can go to Johns Hopkins and pursue my PhD in Play Therapy. I want to work with kids and allow them to express their experiences and feelings and cope with tragedy through the most natural way for them: play. I can do that without my PhD but if The Hubs becomes a Dr. then I must be a Dr. too…M.D./PhD…either way when someone says, “Excuse me? Dr. Brandon?” I can turn, at the same time as The Hubs and say, “Yes?”.

Thing 3

If I had anything chocolate in the house RIGHT now I would eat it…I love chocolate. Anything chocolate. Anytime of day.

Thing 4

Call me cruel or the Grinch or not normal (I already admit to that) but I can’t stand Disney. Pretty much HATE the thought of Disney Land or Disney World; lines, commercialization, high price of water or lemonade…ridiculous. And the movies too. Yes, there are a few movies I like but I can’t stand princesses and Snow White, and the singing…blah blah blah YUCK. I just find it all terribly annoying. I can see my followers dropping like flies…

Thing 5

I used to be a nail biter. Then one day I got tired of being embarrassed by my fingers so I stopped biting all but one. Now I rotate a “biter” nail. Sometimes I don’t have a biter at all but if the mood strikes me to bite I just bite one nail. I have since taught LB to have one biter on each hand. It is working for him so far.

Thing 6

We are done with credit cards. The Hubs and I decided to put the credit cards away after paying them off in November . We haven’t used them since and wont be unless an emergency, HUGE emergency comes up, like a Kona Iron Man entry emergency…wait, not that….

Thing 7

I miss Washington. Everything about it: my friends, my small house, my green landscaped yard, my fish pond, my running routes, The Hill of Death, Satan’s Spawn, the grocery stores, Tacoma Boys, Point Defiance, Seattle, Ruston Way, my routine, the YMCA, the little old ladies from my H2Ox (water aerobics class), the corner gas station clerk that I always spoke Korean to, Mandolin Café, the Forza Coffee shop around the corner, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, all my local races, the rain, the beautiful Mt. Rainier…it is so weird how much I miss it. I knew I would but I had no idea how much or what it would feel like. It is strange to miss so much. I am used to missing people, but not a ton of other things too. It feels wrong for me to say I am homesick for Tacoma, WA since my home is and always will be Oklahoma, or at least I feel like I should see Oklahoma as my home, since that is where I was born and raised and my family is there….See? I am conflicted. The incongruence is difficult to handle.

So the 7 people I tag (and you have been tagged already then sweet)

Breaking Pace-I’ve known her for a while now, long before my move (back) here to NC. She is my partner in crime for this half iron, thank goodness!! I’m so glad she is here and helping me with my adjustment (back) to the south from the West…she’s a Cali girl, she gets it.

Silly Kristal Swims, Bikes, Runs Arizona-This chic has hard core written all over her! She ran RnR Phoenix, her first marathon, and rocked it with a torn meniscus. OUCH. And she did awesome through the pain finishing in 4:04. She is speedy fast! She is also my TFF’s (total friend forever) cousin. I have had the pleasure of practically being her cousin through Jessica.

Danielle at And I Ran…This chick is mourning the loss of practically all her girlfriends to the M word…(marriage). =) I have invited her here to swim with me on the Army Post where I share a lane with, on average, 4 dudes who are so muscly they can’t swim…She may take me up on it.

Kurt at Becoming An Ironman has confirmed my biggest fear…yes, you just pee on yourself and your bike while in the biking part of the Iron Man. This dude has set a goal and is plugging away at it. He will be an Iron Man and it will be awesome!

Carmen cracks me up…she is also a neighbor, kind of! Same state counts, right? I have enjoyed following her training on DM and I look forward to meeting her (if not sooner) in May at the White Lake Tri!

And finally, Jake from Broken Hearted Runner gave me this award:

WOW?! Really? That is pretty nuts! I am honored!!

Anything unexpected happen to you today???

Aside from being #11 on The Broken Hearted Runner’s list I found $3 in my coat pocket. That is pretty unexpected and AWESOME!

Don’t wanna talk about it…

…well, OBVIOUSLY I do or I wouldn’t have brought it up. But really I don’t….but this is a blog about truth. I must share.

The world is NOT round….

Wait, that’s not it. 

I read something very, very disturbing. You may not want to know this but apparently… are you sure you want to hear this???

Apparently, in an Iron man race while on the bike if you have to , um…pee, well you just go. Right there on your bike. Someone, anyone who knows PLEASE correct me if I am wrong! I would hate to be that girl who lets it go on the bike. I mean ewe!! I’m not so squeamish I can’t handle the sport though, seriously. It makes sense. you’re riding and and it is serious crunch time, no time to stop. I also read about rinsing with your water bottle, which would help, a little. Don’t you need that water to drink?

So what do you think? Pee on the bike or not???

And why wouldn’t this be the same for running? Because of chaffing?

And is this the status quo for half iron man races….that is the REAL question!

Well this is my set up for today’s porch ride:

I had the iPod dock hooked up so I could hear my movie, Bounty Hunter, really well. also not pictured here is the block, it goes under the front tire and makes it a bit of an incline. It worked really well. I got to ride outside in the crisp, cool air AND watch a movie!! Score score!!

And this is Lazy Dog. He was all up in my grill checking things out.  I love him….

I rode for 1 hour and 47 minutes. It was tough!! I wanted to go 2 hours but just could not knock out the last 13 minutes.

Then, another thing I don’t want to talk about…..I skipped my 3.5 mile run. GASP!!! Oh the blasphemy!! Slacker!!! 

I guess I’ll be making it up tomorrow..

So, what do YOU not want to talk about today?

You know what’s weird?

…well, besides ME?

Weird thing 1:

Jess Blond Ponytail left me a comment a few posts back. This is what it said in reference to my bike’s name:

“Nice! Lovin the Nelly name, but CIRN is prewtty clutch!!”

True story, I had no idea what clutch meant. I asked The Hubs and he could only relate it to a sports reference and we came to the assumption that it must be a good thing. Plus I have heard people much younger and cooler than me use it. So, if I am wrong just let me think it is good.

But now, yesterday I received a comment, again from THE Ponytail that is blonde. This is what she writes:

“Congrats on shedding some lbs Noob! I have no idea what a "noob" is??”

So, I feel compelled to explain to her (and anyone else who is wondering but embarrassed to ask, like me and the term clutch) that a noob is another way to say a newbie, someone who is new to something, someone who made a mistake because they are new…

Weird thing 2:

H.Love (who is training for marathon #2) asked me about protein and what kind of protein I use. With my hubby going through phases of muscle building and whatnot we have had a lot of different protein powders in the hizzouse.  One review I did a while back was the Rockn’ Refuel protein drink. It boasts 20g of protein which is really good! My only problem with it is that it was hard to find. My local grocer didn’t carry it and the website said Subway had it. Sorry guys but I am not going to subway to purchase my protein drink. But other places may carry it now, I don’t know. I also like Muscle Milk, sold in bulk places like Costco or Sam’s club. Currently we are using Syntha-6 purchased from bodybuilder.com.  Also if you want more info go HERE and read about it. One scoop has 200 calories!! So I take just under a full scoop and add it to water with a little bit of milk. Lately, if I am in a hurry I add it with water and a Slimfast and it is my lunch then I munch all day on veggies…but I digress.

There  are a lot of protein powders out there and they all give you gas…wait, that is embarrassing, but weird too. Just remember, some of them are high in calories so take that into consideration if weight loss is your goal. Also, taking in protein is not just for those lifting weights. It is really important for muscle repair and building, like after running and ESPECIALLY after long runs! So for H.Love,  and all my lovely readers who are training for marathons and everything else, protein speeds up and aids in recovery. It helps the tiny muscle tears heal quicker which in turn gets you back out there laying down quality runs sooner.

From The Hubs: Protein needs to be consumed within 10 min post workout. He prefers any brand of protein but specifically a blend of protein that includes at least a quickly metabolized whey and more slowly metabolized milk protein. He suggests  the use of protein before bed, after waking and post workout.

Weird Thing 3:

Today when I ran I listened to my favorite radio show on my iPhone: The Mens Room out of Seattle. I miss them.

Weird Thing 4:

I am loving this tri training!! I have done three sprint tri’s and never, NEVER actually trained for one. I’m diggin’ it so far! I think I could do really well in this one. Well as in actually qualify for the Championship Half Iron held in Myrtle Beach. I need to get top 33% of my age group…I think I can do it!

Weird Thing 5:

I hate typing “LOL”. I don’t mind reading it though. I prefer to type “HA! “or “Ha ha ha ha ha!” Or “HA HA!” I had a funny conversation with Jill from Running to Sanity about this at a park while driving the Mercer Island half course back in March. Every time I type it I think of her….

Weird Thing 6:

I made this delicious White Chili for dinner. This is weird because 1) it was my own creation, no recipe 2) I don’t really cook very well, and 3) it was DE-Lish!! (notice the chopped yellow bell peppers…mmmm)

So this was my dinner….

Weird Thing 7:

I can’t wait for tomorrow’s workout!!! I’m going to park my bike on it’s trainer on the back porch and set my computer up to watch some Netflix…it’s going to be AWESOME, off the chain!!! Or could I say, "It’s gonna be clutch!” Is that right??? I’m such a noob at being hip in the 21stcentury…

I love weird things!!!!

Did anything weird happen to you today???

 Did you see anything weird?

Smell anything weird?

Find anything weird??? Ooooh that is the best!!

And  lastly, what should I watch tomorrow while I am riding in one place on my bike for 1++ hours?

Tuesday’s are for Suckers…

…Only because I had nothing better for a title. I’m tired and in dire need of chocolate…

Today’s workout was good. I swam 1000 yds and met a dude who proceeded to complain about how nobody knows pool etiquette around here. I nodded and agreed all the while having no real clue what the heck he was talking about. I mean, I know about circle swimming but that is the extend of it. He also noticed my Seafair Triathlon swim cap and told me about a local tri group that is starting up. There is a meeting on Thursday but I don’t know if I will go…maybe.

After I swam, (or is it swum? I know swum is a word but I have no idea how to use it properly…) I headed to the other gym (why can’t they put everything in ONE place?? So difficult, come on Army, work smarter not harder…) for spin class. Yep, put myself through torture again. We were climbing a hill, every 30 seconds or so turning the knob to the right, making it harder, and harder, and harder…She told us to do a turn and a half and I did, like a good little pupil. Then all of a sudden KErKLUNK! Doooope! I was stuck. My peddles were stuck. They wouldn’t budge. One up one down. I jumped on them, I pushed, I pulled, I grunted…I sat in the saddle and tried again. Nothing. They weren’t budging. I waved my arms and mouthed really big I’M STUCK! I CAN’T MOVE! HELP! The instructor got a chuckle out of it and told me to turn the knob the other way…it took almost 4 full turns until I could move my peddles. She said, “Someone is working too hard. I’ve never said that before.” Great. I’m a dork AND a noob. I went on to finish the class and sweat buckets. It was awesome.

My climbing block came to day. It is part of this bike trainer stuff and goes under the front wheel of my bike tire. Now that it is here I can start doing some rides in the hizzzouse! In front of Netflix or Hulu!! Whooot! I’m pretty pumped. I was helping LB with his homework tonight and thought how cool it would be to pull the bike up next to him and ride while he works. The next, and hopefully last, thing I need for the trainer is a speedometer. I’ve found couple on Amazon, just feeling like a tightwad now that I have bought all this stuff AND paid for the upcoming half in March! That’s right, I entered….I’m in!

And finally: 2.3. What does that mean? Well, down 2.3 more pounds from the last Friday. Granted I did that weight check with a sweat shirt and shoes on whereas today was in bike shorts (with the huge butt pad…) tech-t and flip flops. But still, either way that is 3.3 pounds down. Pretty good. How am I doing this you ask? LOTS and LOTS of pickles, bell peppers, asparagus, tomatoes, apples, oatmeal with apples, V8 juice, celery and peanut butter, salad, protein shakes, fruit, chicken breast, olives, coffee, and low LOW carbs. Ok and to be honest, two cupcakes. I cannot completely deprive myself. That is just ridiculous….but back to my opening sentence, I am still in dire need of chocolate.

What do you do to avoid cravings?

Like this chocolate craving at 9:51 PM? Not good….no no no. Chocolate this late goes straight to my spare tire. So I like to go brush my teeth. I am SO lazy that if I have already brushed my teeth, I will avoid anything that will make me have to do it again.

I didn’t think the mail ran today…

…or the UPS or FedEX or whoever/whatever/however…I am so confused….

Look what I found on my door step when I got home this afternoon!!

My new CycleOps….ok, our new CycleOps…The Hubs corrected me when I told him over the phone it had arrived. Sheesh, really? Fine OUR new Cycle Ops.

The Hubs came home and assembled it for us…LB was all up in the mix.

Apparently the assembly was pretty easy, it was done before I even knew he had the box open.

One day LB is going to kill me for pictures like this one…

We had to give it a quick spin. We are still waiting on the block for the front tire and I have to order a speedometer so that I can know how far I have gone.

I’m pretty excited to set this puppy up in front of either the TV and Netflix or my computer for Hulu! I have some mad TV to catch up on and I am going to need something to keep me occupied as I ride for hours in my living room or kitchen.

LB had a small huge breakdown when he realized he could not fit on this and to pour salt in the wound his bike was too small to fit as well…

Yep, it’s pretty sweet….

Please excuse my stark white, cold and ugly kitchen….We have been here almost three months and I finally put some paint colors up to test them out:

I have picked the two colors on your left, the bottom left and the one in the middle above it. Now we just need a painter to come and paint if for us. I wouldn’t mind painting, I just don’t have the time and I have a bad track record of not doing a good job…

Today I got in a 3 mile tempo run in Breaking Pace’s garage! It was perfect since LB was out for MLK day. It was also FREEZING out in the garage in the beginning. We started out and I could see my breath. But as I kept upping the speed I slowly began to warm up. Before long I was dripping sweat. Her treadmill faces the brick wall of the interior of her garage. I was picking out shapes and creature-looking designs on them, kind of like cloud watching. I saw a dinosaur and a crocodile…I’ll have to ask her what she has seen on that wall! It made me wish I had a set up like that, where I could just walk out to my garage or even screened in porch to get in a workout. She has a stair stepper and treadmill! Weights and of course the Shake Weight, which is no joke people.

Do you have a home gym?

I would love the convenience of having it all right here at home but I also enjoy actually going to the gym, kind of like to see and be around other people. But last week when I went to the gym on the Air Force base it was a stinking show-off fest. Annoying. Everyone was just mulling around, “Luuk at my mos-les…they are He-youuuuuge.” you know what I mean?

And finally, I messed up BIG time. I messed around and put off registering for the upcoming Tobacco Road half marathon. Now it is sold out. WHAT? Who would have thought? I had no idea it would sell out. This is just another aspect of being new to the area and not being familiar with the racing scene. But, my friend JK texted me and said that there are a number of slots open, charity slots. The price is ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY DOLLARS. The deal is though, that 100% of that $120 goes to charity.

Would you do it? The charity is the Wounded Warrior Project…I already know my answer.

What is the most you have ever paid for a race entry fee?

I can’t really recall the answer to this, but I believe the Seattle Rock n Roll half was $120 or something? Anything over $85 is too much for a half marathon in my opinion. My Half Iron was quite a bit too.

And how do you answer this question, when asked by those who just don’t get us: Why would you pay to go run when you can just run for free anywhere?

Well, because it is fun to be around people who get me and clearly you are NOT one of those peeps. Now excuse me while I go pay $120 to run 13.1 miles the day before my birthday.

You Better Check Yourself….

…before you roll up here to read my blog!

Are you cool enough? Because I am seriously to school for cool.

What do you mean, what do I mean? Do I need to explain how cool I am? Ok, I will. Let a jury of my peers decide. I will start at the beginning.

(Nelly makes my car look so good)

I had a 25 mile bike ride on my plan. Thank goodness I am not alone in my 70.3 training (Breaking Pace and JK are joining me in this endeavor). We met up to ride together around a 16.2 mile loop around the Army firing ranges. It is a great place to ride with minimal traffic. I could ride on the yellow line most of the way. That’s how I roll (well that and Commando, but I digress) .

The range even has Porta Potties (or Honey Buckets for my PNW buddies). THANK GOODNESS because as I was considering finding a nice tree to hide behind but then I saw this:

Uh, yeah. I would rather not find an Unexploded Dud while doing my thing behind a tree. That would not make for a good long weekend.

Anywho, we were riding along and having a great time, feeling the burn and just enjoying being out and on the bikes. We planned to do a short run after we hit 25 miles on the bike. I had pulled ahead a little bit on a huge downhill and decided to ride hard to the car, do a quick shoe change, you know…pretend like I was in a real tri. Then I was going to run back towards Christina and JK.

I racked my bike and quickly tore off my biking shoes. I was cold, my feet were super numb (is this a biking shoes thing? Or a cold weather + biking shoes thing?) They were COMPLETELY numb. How numb you ask? Well, here is where the jury will decide just how cool I am…I got my left shoe on, it felt funny. My toes were cramped. But I couldn’t tell if they were just numb and cold and tired of being in the other shoes. I put on my other shoe…it felt weird too but not as bad. I wiggled my toes and tried to get he blood to flowing. I tried to jog down the road toward my friends. My legs were heavy, by feet were heavy. I checked to make sure I had indeed put on shoes and NOT cinder blocks. Nope, I had on shoes. I turned back and jogged with JK and Christina to the cars so they could put their running shoes on. The whole time I was telling them how my feet hurt, “They are so numb.” “They hurt so bad.” “They are FROZEN.” Wah wah wah…..

We ended up jogging about a mile and calling it quits. No biggie.

I was driving home and my right foot was coming alive. It was actually normal. Me left, not so much. Once I hit a stop light I reached down and untied my shoe and pulled it off. AHHH! I immediately felt relief. I checked my sock because I thought it was bunched or something. Nope. What the heck? Then, something caught my eye. What the heck is THAT?

Oh yeah, it’s my iPod. Just chillin’ there in the toe of my shoe. I had no clue it was there. My foot was so numb I didn’t know. I was in such a hurry to get my running shoes on, pretending I was awesome sauce in a tri, I didn’t even notice it in there. So there you have it, I am a huge dork. Not really cool….unless of course the jury…..

Have you ever done anything like this? Please say yes. Please say yes…..

And now, for the random video of the day. I saw this just a minute ago while watching the Seahawks playing football. And The Hubs wonders why I am TERRIFIED of spiders. DUH. Seriously….

Creepy, don’t watch if you are easily frightened by spiders…

Are you scared of spiders? LB asked me, “Is there any girl who is not afraid of spiders?” “I don’t know, son. I just don’t know.”

Say Hello to My Little Friend…

Nelly Phoenix CIRN

(Yes, she is an INDOOR bike. I can’t make her sleep in the garage…)

The name Nelly was suggested by Lindsey (HERE). There are a few really cool things about Lindsey being the winner and the name Nelly. First of all, I had never checked out her blog, not until AFTER I chose the name. When I went to check her out I found she too is training for 70.3! Super SWEET!! AND she is an Army Wife…just like me!! Super Duper Sweeeeet!! And get this, back in the day my nickname was Nelly (stems from my maiden name) and my grandma’s name is Nellie Fern. So the name fits! I love it!

Here is what Lindsey said:

I'd name her Nelly. Like, "WOAH, Nelly!" because thinking about that on mile 50 makes me laugh (because I'd be going 4 mph...the total opposite of WOAH, lol.)

After I posted the competition I thought of the name Phoenix, you know like the mythical bird flying from the ashes? That is how this bike feels to me. It seems like a very fitting name. So Phoenix is the middle name. Her last name, CIRN (all caps and pronounced sern) was suggested by none other than Tall Mom and means “Can I Run Now?”. Love it!!! And yes, I have been known to ask that during the bike part of triathlons. So there you have it!!! My bike has a name.

Lindsey, thanks for the awesome name suggestion. Shoot me an email so I can get you either the Yurbuds coupon or the 50% off of Optic Nerve glasses!

Yesterday, during my weekly trip to the library I had a great idea! I know, it doesn’t happen very often, thank goodness it is documented here! I realized that the library is not just for kid books and they might, just MIGHT have some books on tri training! So I went to the computer and looked it up. Sure enough there were a few! I felt like a college kid again, I wrote down the call number and walked the rows to find the book.

BOO YAH! I found it! It is a little old but the info is still good! The one I really wanted, The Triathlon Training Bible ,was checked out already and I was second on the list. I probably wont get it in time but this one is pretty good. I also picked up a cycling book. I need all the info I can get! And if you look closely, you will see all sorts of books about running, Run Fast, I have that book, it’s great! There were other books by Hal Higdon, highly suggested by me if you want good info on running. So don’t forget about your local library!

Do you use your local library? I have been a lot since LB started kindergarten. I get 21 books a week, 3 for each night!

Do you take vitamins every day?

Here is what I take daily…from left to right:

B Complex, Women’s One a Day, Glucosamine and Chondroitin (for joint health), and Bilberry 1000mg (for my beginning stages of glaucoma in my eyeballs).

And the random photo of the day:

This is how I had my race medals and bibs displayed in WA. My medals are on the left, LB’s are on the right. Now, here in NC they are all piled on the floor in my closet. SAD.

How do you display your medals and bibs????

Last Chance…EVER…

Ok, I’m sure it’s not REALLY your last chance ever but it is your last chance here on my blog to win your choice of Yurbuds or 50% off from OpticNerve in my contest. That’s right folks, my beautiful tri bike needs a name and she will have one come tomorrow end of day. If you want a chance to win your choice of Yurbuds or 50% off at Optic Nerve go HERE and give me some names for my bike. I’ll choose and announce the winner sometime tomorrow.

In other news, I have added a new page up top that will show you my workout for the next three days. I will do my best to keep it updated but you know, sometimes things get in the way. Things like biking, swimming, running, eating, mothering, wife-ing, sleeping….showering (if your lucky)…you get the point. But if you want to follow along as I train for 70.3 be my guest!

And get this….ONE pound lost this week (and that was wearing my sweatshirt and shoes too)! Yep, right on schedule to lose one pound a week for the next 57 weeks. NOT! Just kidding. 57 is just my favorite number. I like to use it randomly. But really, I am going to try to shed one pound a week for the next 10-15 weeks. This week I am exceptionally happy since I missed two workouts due to weather and LB being home from school. Let’s see what another week of tri training and some serious veggie eating, controlled carb intake, and minimal sugar intake will do!

And the random photo of the day:

Since you all loved LB’s illustrated sentences earlier in the week I thought I would share this, a “Rocket Flying Over a Sail Boat”.

We went out for Sushi tonight with Breaking Pace and her hubs…it was in two words DE-LISH! I love sushi! What’s your favorite sushi roll? I like the volcano roll but there was a funny one on the menu I wanted to try, Dirty Old Man…anyone ever had it?

If you could eat only three things for ONE WHOLE WEEK what would you choose? I think would choose orange bell peppers, maple oatmeal and pineapple orange juice, can that be counted as something you eat? According to LB NO, but I think so.

Have a great weekend!!! Anyone doing anything fun? And don’t forget, help me name my bike!!!! HERE

Holy Spin Class….

Have you ever wished for death during a workout?
I have, a couple of times. The most memorable time was during the Portland Marathon when I contemplated jumping off the bridge, just to be done with it…read about it HERE. Ok, that may be a tiny over-exaggeration but still. One other time I was running 8x400 hill sprints. The funny thing is that I could stop at any moment. I could quit. I could walk. I could have gotten in my car and drove to Mandolin Café for a coffee and a brownie. I could have had Mel and Jill scoop me into their car during Portland Marathon at mile 13 or again at 18. But I didn’t.

I didn’t quit.

Why?

I have no idea.

Today during spin class I wished I would black out. Fall from the bike and sleep peacefully on the floor until the class was over. I felt that way 30 min in. It was tough!! I was dripping sweat. I could watch the sweat drops roll down the bridge of my nose and follow it falling to the ground.

SPLAT!

My sweat was pooling under the spin bike.

Weird.

I have never seen that before.
I sweat, don’t get me wrong, during runs and other workouts. I just don’t generally see it pool beneath me. As I looked ahead at the mirror I could see my fellow spinners taking breaks, sitting back in the saddle. Why couldn’t I? Why was I still climbing? Still “turning it up”? Good question… So I would say spin was a success. I will be trying to hit the class at least once a week , doing one ride on the trainer at home and my weekly long ride outside on my gorgeous new Felt….she still needs a name. (Time is almost up to win some Yurbuds or a 50% off coupon to Optic Nerve. Check it out HERE)
After spin I ran 3.25 miles. I didn’t want to. I was tired and wanted to be done. I was hungry. I had a side stitch. I was thirsty and had no water. My head hurt (Why, yes, I would love some cheese with my wine. Thank you.)
So why not quit? Why not just get of the spin bike and walk from the room? Why not hit STOP on the mill and be done with it? I don’t know. It is not in me to quit. I am the dumb one who might fight to the death. I would be the one to gnaw off my own arm to escape from under a tree.
Ok. Maybe not. But who knows?
In Portland Marathon at mile 13 I was done-zo. But I wasn’t. I wanted to quit but I couldn’t. I was going to die trying. Just like a year ago in the Million Inch run (HERE) when my hip hurt so bad the sounds of pain coming from my mouth were not even human, I did not quit, not until I hit exactly One Million Inches. And I know this is probably not healthy. Not smart. Not ideal. And I know I can be smart and quit, stop when the time comes. But for now, I have not hit that point. What will it take? I shudder to think…
In the end I think this will help me, it has helped me way beyond exercising and racing. I have carried this over into my every day life. When I know others would lay down and cry I got myself up and went on. When I felt the world was crumbling beneath me I ran to solid ground instead of falling into the crevasse. Running has made me stronger and taught me invaluable lessons.
And for your viewing enjoyment, I love bell peppers. I had the most delicious one tonight with dinner and just thought you would like to see it:


Do you like bell peppers? That is a bell pepper, right? The orange ones are my favorite and yellow is a close second.
Have you ever kept on going when you know you should have stopped? Or am I the only nut case out here?
And finally, how do you think a spin class converts to road biking? I was supposed to ride 20 miles today but did an hour of spin instead….

Back to normal…

Almost.

Today LB’s school is on a two hour delay. I have no idea why. The roads were perfectly fine yesterday and they are find now. At least he is going back to school before I go nuts. Actually, I was able to get a workout in yesterday so I am not quite as grumpy as I could have been.

The Hubs called yesterday and said he was going to the pool on his lunch break. I got ready faster than I thought possible, got LB’s swim suit and we were out the door. We pulled the ole switcheroo. The Hubs was finished swimming laps by the time I got there so he played with LB while I swam. I had 20 min and was able to get in 880 yds. Too bad I was fiddling with my goggles the entire time. I need new ones. Wearing contacts with leaky goggles is not a good combo.

From the pool LB and I headed to the gym so I could get my run done. He sat in the kid area and watched Sponge Bob, not usually allowed in our family, I can’t stand that kind of humor for kids. The sound was off so he could only watch, not hear what was happening. Anyway, I was on the treadmill knocking out my 6x400 yd repeats.

800 yd warm up @ 10 min/mile pace

400 yd @ 8:00 min/mile pace

400 yd @ 7:52 min/mile pace

400 yd @ 7:52 min/mile pace

400 yd @ 7:52 min/mile pace

400 yd @ 7:32 min/mile pace

400 yd @ 6:28 min/mile pace

All those with 400 yd @ 9:40 pace between

4 miles total.

Today I run 3 miles and bike 20 miles (to be done in a spin class). I’m still patiently waiting on my Cycle Ops!!! It’s like Christmas that never comes!

How many of you got your Daily Mile Year End Report? I got mine and it was kind of disturbing. “Why? “You ask. A couple of reason. First I did a bad job inputting all my workouts and didn’t even start on DM until mid Feb and somehow none of Dec showed up? So it doesn’t portray the 900 miles I ran last year. And the biggest factor? Well take a look…

27 pounds burned!

TWENTY SEVEN POUNDS BURNED!

While that is awesome it is also awful….how on earth do I still have 15 pounds I would like to lose? It’s simple really, calories in calories out. I need to change my eating habits. So on one hand I realize that I work out so I can eat M & M cookies from Safeway (not anymore now that I have moved to NC) and junk. On the other hand I see where I could have been, could be RIGHT NOW if I hadn’t ran my tail off, literally, all year. 27 pounds heavier. Ugh. That certainly would not be a happy place for me. So, I will continue focusing on my diet (the noun not the verb, remember) and strive to be healthier. After all, that is why I do this. To be healthy.

Did you get your DM review?

Were you surprised by it?

***Also, if you want to check out my Half Iron (70.3) training plan go to the Current Training 70.3 link at the top of my page.

1/18-----0/2

“What does THAT even mean?” you ask. It’s code for “Off to a bad start”.

Oh wait, that was yesterday’s blog title. Well, in week one out of 18 of half iron training I am ZERO for TWO workouts. Great. Just great.

Yesterday’s beautiful, fluffy, whimsical snow is now covered in ice and frozen rain. Again no school for LB today and school has already been cancelled for tomorrow. As of now The Hubs is on a 2 hour delay for work tomorrow. I am about to pull my hair out. I just want the snow and ice to go away. I have no idea how you people cope with this all winter long! If I could get down my driveway to the street without sliding on my bottom I might be able to go for a short, slow jog. On the other hand there is a solid sheet of ice covering everything. I might just die if I try to run on this.

This morning The Hubs came in with our flag. It was frozen solid and had broken off the pole. I was still in bed (slept in until 8:30!! Woot woot!!) and grabbed my iPhone because he was so silly, I had to capture it. It reminded me of the photo of the flag on the moon…

Hopefully tomorrow things will thaw out a little bit by mid morning and I can get to the ONE gym on post that has an old racquet ball court that has half of it sectioned/fenced off so kids can play while their parents do cardio. This is where I used to do my cardio when LB was a baby until we moved to WA when he was 18 months old. Tomorrow I have 6x400 sprints on the schedule. This can be done on the treadmill…

In other news, our Cycle Ops indoor bike trainer is on its way…to my house!! I have been wishing it was here the last three days. I could have been doing some serious biking and sweating, all in the comfort of my own living room! Soon enough…

And finally, today I took advantage of the free time to help LB with this weeks homework. He had to write three sentences using action words. I didn’t help him at all, i.e. I didn’t tell him what to write or how to spell things. I was just there for moral support. See for yourself what he wrote:

#2 is my favorite….although I’m not quite sure what is going on there with my arms, hands and head. Hey, so he’s not an artist. Eh, whatchagonnado?

P.S. 400 followers!!! Awesome!! Shout out to the two that got me 400: The Runner and Kittee I am a Runner!! Welcome to the 5 Miles maddness!!!!

Off to a BAD start.

Today is Day 1 of Week 1 of my Half Iron training. I am off to a bad start, already.

I worked so hard over the last few days perfecting my plan, getting everything just so, perfect, manageable, and even coordinated with Breaking Pace and Jessica for our long bike rides. Today I was ready to hit the ground running with a swim and a spin class. Excited about it even!

It didn’t happen and wont happen. At least not today.

LB’s school was cancelled last night (they love doing that WAY in advance) and already for tomorrow. The Hubs is home from work today too, due to a winter storm. It is beautiful but everything is closed down, including the pool on post and the gym with the spin class. Dumb.

I love LB. He cracks me up constantly.

Too bad we haven’t purchased the bike trainer yet. Today would have been a PERFECT day to have it set up in front of the living room window so I could watch the huge snow flakes fall, oh yeah and watch a chick flick at the same time.

I guess I’ll shoot for a short run in the snow. That could be fun and certainly better than nothing. I’m sure we will take a family hike out in the woods behind our neighborhood too.

I need to get on schedule. I have laps to swim, bikes to ride, and pavement to pound people! Don’t you know I don’t have time for this wintery nonsense? I’m moving to the tropics.