This is post to comment on a horrible experience I had last night at the gym. Not the workout, but the smell of the individual next to me. I have never wanted to vomit all over myself during a workout (well, at least not from the smell of someone else). I had a guy who got on the treadmill next to me during my HIIT workout who reeked of cat piss, old and new cat piss. No one should ever be subjected to that pain and suffering that is induced by inhaling the smell of another human beings ammonia riddled body that has a undertone of BO. I seriously was on the verge of writing him a referral to see a doc and have some bloodwork done... poor guy, his kidneys were probably suffering while excreting all that protein from his body.
I'm glad to say that the remainder of my workout was much better. All in all the last few days have gone well, food/nutrition in particular have been a strong suit for me. Well, that was until today. A couple of homemade ginger cookies "took a sleigh ride" into my mouth and forced my jaw to snap shut. I tried to open my mouth and get them out but those cookies pulled my mouth closed. This went on for a few minutes, it looked like I was chewing but honestly I wasn't. Soon enough those cookies made a break away and took a ride down my esophagus like it was a slide eventually landing in my stomach. Damn those cookies... they won today, but they won't tomorrow.

Yesterday marked another legit workout. I did me some StepMill and a few leg exercises but daaaaannnnngggg! My legs were tired from the day before and I felt like my A$$ was made of sandbags! Heavy, heavy! I took a rest day today to get a little R&R in and hopefully be prepped for a workout tomorrow. I spent my evening eating some leftover African Sweet Potato and Red Bean soup I made Sunday. Hello YUM. So delicious and a healthy meal. *friends have encouraged me to blog about food/recipes also... that may be coming soon. Consider it version 2.0 of this blog :) *

The hubs bought me a new pair of running shoes yesterday, pretty excited to scoot around in those during workouts. For some reason I really been into the fluorescent yellow/green color that you sometimes see on running gear, don't ask why... just because. Well, my new kicks rock that color (pic will be provided soon). I'll spend a little time breaking them in tomorrow hopefully, unless I am nordic skiing, I mean running outside. The snow has started to fall tonight, so we'll see if an outdoor workout is "available" tomorrow (aka do I want to take my busted A$$ outside in the snow tomorrow?).

Signing off... until next time.

Today was a good day. I did a HIIT workout on the treadmill. I was shocked at the quality of workout I got in. I still feel like a little bit of a wooly mammoth running across the frozen tundra but these fat cells aren't going to surrender without a fight so I must subject the entire gym to the wilderbeast on the treadmill. Here is the treadmill workout I did today, 35 mins total;

5 minute walking warmup
8 rounds of HIIT (24 mins, 2 rounds of each listed below, 8 rounds total)

• 2 mins at 6.0 mph


• 1 min at 3.0 mph




• 2 mins at 6.3 mph


• 1 min at 3.0 mph




• 2 mins at 6.5 mph


• 1 min at 3.0 mph




• 2 mins at 6.8/7.0 mph


• 1 min at 3.0 mph

6 mins walking cooldown

While this is nothing compared to how I used to run, it was leaps and bounds more than I've been able to do and probably the first time since the accident where I didn't feel like the awkard PT patient in the gym, I felt like an athlete...

I also completed a strength workout, 2 sets of 12 reps of each of the following;

-Shoulder press
-Bicep curls
-Back ext
-Lat Pulldown
-Dips (yes, dips... my shoulder survived!)
-Seated row
-Reverse fly
-Bicycle crunch
-Oblique crunch

I will be pretty sore tomorrow... I am sure of that. BUT - this was the most "normal" workout I've had in a long long time. This bitch is comin' back!

A side note is that I have been drinking Amalaki juice as part of my new experimentation with Ayurvedia. I did the ayurvedic cleanse a couple of weeks ago and now I started drinking the Amalaki juice to help with inflammation and continued detox. I figured it couldn't hurt, so I thought I would give it a shot. I noticed after a couple of days that I no longer had sweets/candy cravings like normal. The only thing I could attribute it to was the juice and therefore, decided to do further research on the Amalaki juice. What I have discovered is that is has some effects on stabilizing blood sugar. I have honestly noticed a HUGE difference in the sugar craving. I no longer look for places to siphon sugar from. I'm going to continue this little experiment to see if the juice is really part of this lack of sugar obsession...

So I was looking through some pictures and I found this picture. I am looking for this friend - it is ME!!!! Holy shitballs! (pardon the typed language) This was a picture that was taken a few weeks out from the show I did and this is what I had looked like most of my life up until a few years ago (I know... isn't that the story of everyone's life?) Anyway, I really miss this old friend and am inviting her back into my life.

Hey ya'll...

It's Sunday night and I am nearing the end of my weekend (it was a great weekend might I add). I got to spend a lot of time with my husband and family and I got to relax, although I was still recovering from my head cold. I'm not 100% yet but I'm about 90%. If my title of this post was no sign, I had a little roudevouzs with sugar this weekend. I spent some time making cupcakes. Sour cream lemon with lemon buttercream frosting and a double chocolate with a chocolate cream frosting (these were made for someone in particular, not just because). I had my fair share of licks of the ol' wooden spoon smothered in frosting and batter. I had to sample the recipe! (both raw and cooked :). Generally I would find myself under a pile of cupcake wrappers after a weekend like this, however, I am actually proud to say I demonstrated self control. I had a couple of cupcakes, but nothing compared to what I usually would. Maybe something is shifting, maybe I am learning sugar portion control? Let's face it... sugar is NO GOOD. It isn't good for me, at least the types of sugar and the amount I like. It is definitely my Achilles heal, but maybe I am getting better at controlling my consumption of it.
I took the weekend off from working out because I was sick but I am planning on getting back to doing some workouts this week and will attempt to get up early and start my workout regimen again. I will afterall be in a bikini on Waikiki beach in less than 5 months...

I tried posting last night and something was not working properly... argh! So here we go again, today marks day two of my renewed vows to blogging! I am actually home from work today (left early yesterday too) because of a nasty head cold. I just woke up from napping and I am finally starting to feel a bit better, although it may just be the cold medicine "putting on a happy face". Regardless, I am trying to kick this cold so I can get back on my wellness track (aka getting my frumpy dumpy a$$ back in shape and feeling "my" normal).
Recovering from my accident has been harder than expected. The injuries to my back, neck, ribcage, shoulder, etc. were quite severe. Several doctors have repeatedly told me I was lucky to be alive and even more lucky to be walking. I had never experienced injuries like that before and I had always been able to deal with pain but things were too hard for me to deal with this time. I literally found myself in a place that had me feeling like I had lost part of my identity. I thought maybe I would never be the same. I am glad to say that I woke up one morning so tired of dealing with the chronic pain that I sought out a new doctor... one of the best in town. She has been helping me for the past 8 weeks and I am really enjoying getting back to 'normal'. I just finished a seven day Ayurvedic cleanse based on her recommendation to help rid my body of all the pharmaceuticals that I had consumed during the vicious pain cycle. The day after the cleanse I got this head cold - SO FRUSTRATING!
TJ and I will be headed to Hawaii again this year, I have a little less than five months to be bikini ready! This is great timing and great motivation to get improve my body composition. I actually purchased a scale for the first time in my life. I felt as though there would be no denying the numbers. While I don't entirely believe your weight number reflects health I do believe that body fat percentage does. The scale I purchased measures both, it may not be as valid as a clinical measure of bodyfat it will at least help me assess the change over the next several months. Stepping on the scale for the first time certainly left me with "that feeling in my stomach". The feeling that you get when you hear some news that you don't want to. I wasn't exactly impressed with what flashed on the scale but I am energized enough to do something about it.
One of the major things I am going to focus on nutrition. This morning I FAILED. I woke up around 11:30 (don't gasp... remember I am sick today). I had purchased instant oatmeal yesterday when I was at the store getting cold medicine, Kleenex, etc. Let's just stop right here. Why, the heck would I purchase this type of oatmeal?!?!? I don't know. I usually don't, but for some reason I did because I was hungry and the flavors sounded good. I didn't eat any yesterday, but I woke up this morning and had three packets! I actually was only going to eat two but I put too much water in and had to add a third packet to get the consistency right. I could have just added regular oatmeal but I didn't. This was obviously a bad choice, but I am human so I make mistakes. Hopefully the rest of my day will result in better nutritional decision making!

Signing off... hopefully next time I will be typing without the germ laden fingers and sniffly nose.

Its been a long long while since my fingers have danced over my keyboard to create a post on here. I have actually wanted to make a post for quite some time, but for one reason or another just decided not to. I feel like I need to catch up with a long lost friend, its gonna take some time to rekindle the flame... but today marks the day that I try to resurrect my relationship with my blog. Maybe I am actually feeling like my old self, just maybe. My old self, the one who would stay up late with twinkling eyes looking into the computer screen as I poured my thoughts, emotions and humility out with a blog post. The "old" me was a good me and for some reason I've haven't truly felt like the "old" me in a long time. Lately I have gotten glimmers that the old me was back, that the old me was peeling back the layers of this "recent" me. These moments of the "old" me are seeming to happen more and more frequently, this is something I like.

I guess it's time to get reacquainted. How do I start by outlining why my life has gotten so crazy? Well, let me summarize it for you (some of this has been blogged about before);

• Ruby, my dear black lab/best friend, lost her life to cancer a little over a year ago


• We sold our house


• We moved in with my grandparents for 6 months


• We built a new beautiful house


• TJ became and Engineer for the railroad


• I trained for and competed in my first Ironman Triathlon


• I got in a really bad bicycle accident that could have killed me or left me paralyzed

So, as you can see, lots has happened (I've left lots of little things out too, so I don't bore you with the details). The main thing that has been the struggle over the past several months has been recovering from my accident. I really did a number on myself. I've spent months trying to rehab two broken vertebrae, five broken ribs, a dislocated rib, a shifted sternum, a separated AC joint, both lungs being punctured, bruised internal organs, and torn muscles and tendons in my back. As you can imagine, this has been trying. Trying, not just physically but mentally and emotionally. The pain has been unimaginable, the headaches haunting. As of late I am actually doing much better as I have been working with a new doctor who has done wonders for me. She has been my partner in "operation regain control". I honestly felt like my identity was lost as I found myself in a pattern of hourly pain management each day. I understand those who fall into that chronic pain cycle and how utterly exhausting it is. Luckily, I have started to break free. I AM regaining control (something I tend to like to have over my life). I have been able to start working out over the past several weeks and I am regaining control over the pain, my sleep and my diet. For months on end I didn't get sleep, the only sleep I was able to get was the kind where you are in a pain killer induced sleep coma, which isn't quite healthy or rejuvenating.

However, I now have more control. I've really enjoyed getting back in my rhythm. I feel like I am making a positive difference in my health again and that feeling is something I don't ever want to loose again. Blogging is a great way to document my journey and thus you find me back here ...

Hola! So sorry for my delay, AGAIN. The world just started spinning around me, faster and faster and faster... uh, well you know what I mean. Well I am proud to type the words "mission accomplished". I did it. I completed an Ironman Triathlon, something very few people ever even attempt to do. I had fun doing it, wasn't in pain, didn't really have any moments where I thought I couldn't go on and I recovered very quickly. It was a great experience. I thought I would type a recap of the days leading up to the race and the race itself...

Thursday, June 23rd - Went to CDA to do a swim in the lake and do athlete check in. Swam about a mile, the water was a bit choppy due to the winds that day. Lots of athletes from much warmer parts of the country were there taking their first dip in lake CDA. Always amusing to see someone from CA claim they may have hypothermia from swimming in such cold temps. Ha! The water was almost 10 degrees warmer than when Pam and I first got in during May! Athlete check in went well, people from all over were roaming about in the athlete village looking at demo stuff and some were struting around acting like they were tough stuff. Most of the people helping with check in kept assuming I had already done this before. No people! I need all the directions... I am a newbie!

Later on in the evening I picked up Kylie from the airport!!! So excited for her to come visit!

Friday, June 24th - Today was supposed to be the "low key" day. Ya right. After waking Kylie and I decided to take a drive to CDA. I wanted her to see the bike course by car so she would know what type of insanity I was subjecting myself to while she hung around CDA during race day waiting for me to come back from the bike loops. After seeing the course she decided I was fully insane, to the point I may require medication. Of course, she doesn't understand my motivation to do something like this. I remind her it's because its the "undoable" in so many peoples minds... that's why I want to do it. Once we arrived back to the house we had only a short period of time to get ready for one of TJs cousins Bar Mitzvahs (not they're not Jewish but it's a long story). This was going to be my last night of good sleep before the "night before the big race" (typically athletes do not sleep well the night before a race). We headed to bed pretty early. :)

Saturday, June 25th - Since yesterday got away from me I had to make sure all of my transition bags were packed and get my bike prepped for drop off. Bikes are dropped off and left the night before an Ironman race because of how much coordination the race requires. I also had 5 bags I could use for the race 1.)Morning clothes bag 2.)Swim to bike transition bag 3.)Bike special needs bag 4.)Bike to run transition bag 5.)Run special needs bag. Ironman triathlons are different than other triathlons. Generally, you keep all of your "supplies" where you rack your bike but with an Ironman you had to keep your stuff in bags. I organized and then quadruple checked my bags, loaded up my bike and we were off to CDA AGAIN. I dropped all my items off and of course I started freaking out and second guessing myself. Did I put the bike stuff in the run bag and vice a versa?!?!?!? A mistake like that would result in a major issue and I most likely would not have been able to even complete the race.

After dropping everything off we headed over to grab a bite to eat. I noticed many athletes sipping on water and eating healthy bland meals. TJ, Kylie and I decided on a bit different food choice. Hot dogs. NO other Ironman athletes were eating at the hot dog place, but I did. After that they just had to go get a cupcake, I took a nibble of one. Don't get me wrong, these foods are within my usual diet. However, the day before a race you have to be careful what is in your body in order to avoid GI distress the day of the event. I decided there was no need to take it all that seriously. After consuming a glutinous array of crap we headed back home to meet up with my sister and mother who were driving from Medford, OR for the event. They arrived close to 4pm. We all ate dinner together, I took a sleeping pill (brave, I know) and we went to bed fairly early around 9pm.

Sunday, June 26th RACE DAY - Up at 4am to take a quick shower, eat and gather my last minute items. Surprisingly I slept really good, the usually never happens before an event for me - I especially didn't expect it to happen with IRONMAN! We left the house by 5:10am and headed to CDA. I had to get my body marked, check my tires, drop off a last minute special needs bag and place the last extra pieces of fuel on my bike. The whole morning was a blur and all of the sudden I heard them doing last calls for the transition area... which means... get out! I wasn't in my wetsuit yet and hadn't had my body marked yet. Time to put it in high gear! I rushed around and got into my wetsuit up to the waist and started the "green mile" (this is what they call the walk from the transition area down to the beach for the start of the swim). As we shuffled toward the beach like penguins I put the rest of my wetsuit on and got my swim cap and goggles situated. The place was PACKED! People everywhere... the walk to the beach was so packed and was moving so slow. Eventually I got to the beach. I scanned from left to right... I was standing there in the cluster of nearly 2800 athletes waiting for the cannon to go off. The U2 song "Beautiful Day" came on... this is always the sign that the start is nearing. This also happens to be one of my favorite songs because we played it at our wedding as we walked back down the aisle after saying our vows. There was a tremendous amount of peace over me all morning. Then... "BAM"! The start. Everyone rushing into the water at once. I was somewhere in the middle. I held my own through the failing limbs. I made "my space" be known to anyone who tried to encroach upon it. I settled into my rhythm. The swim went great! I swam a 1hr 26min swim... not bad.

As I came out of the water and went to the wetsuit stripping place I had one of the gals as me if my name was Nicole... I looked up and noticed it was a past student I had in a class I taught at WSU - random, but very cool. I took my time at the transition to get my swim bottoms changed out to my tri shorts, get arm warmers on, bike helmet, shoes, etc. I came out to the transition area and many of my fans were right there outside of the fence near my bike cheering me on! I took off... here we go! Bike course went smooth. I stopped briefly for my special needs bag (which had some extra fuel in it). I was passing boys left and right - my favorite thing to do :). I came to the end of my bike and didn't feel tired at all. Weird.

I again took my time at the transition and began my run. It was in the low 70s but it started to feel very hot. My legs felt very fresh, my muscles weren't tired at all. Again, weird. My stomach was not feeling great the first 14 miles, I just couldn't get it to settle. Looking back on it I probably would have done even better on the run if my stomach hadn't acted up. Oh well, I eventually got it to settle around mile 15 and cruised through the rest of the run. The weirdest thing was I really wasn't tired at the finish. I came down the finish line and just before crossing jumped up and did a 'heel click' for all my fans and then headed through the finishing trough. After the race I was feeling really good. I grabbed a piece of pizza and drove myself home. Other than a blister on my foot and some chaffing on the neck from my wetsuit I was pretty much fine.

I woke up Monday a little stiff but my Monday evening and Tuesday I was pretty much back to normal. Again, very weird. Of course all of this makes me wonder what my time would have been like had I pushed myself harder. I mean nearly 30 mins of my total time was spent lounging around the transitions! Regardless, I had a very respectable time but more importantly, I had fun. Not sure if I will do another Ironman - who knows what the future holds. I do know that I will do more triathlons and am already plotting my next race and this time I will RACE.

I will leave you with one last little interesting tidbit... only 27% of the athletes were female. That makes me feel pretty hardcore. :)

I have to blog about my outdoor swim last week... I just have to. Pam and I decided to get an outdoor swim in lake CDA last Thursday night. This was after a week/day from h-e-double-hockey sticks. The words of encouragement that luminated from Pam's text message said something to the extent of "the cold water will help clear your mind". I think what she really should have said is "if you don't die in the water tonight you'll just be glad to be alive and will forget all of this". Regardless, we loaded up and headed out to lake CDA.
The sun was sort of out (at this point any shade in the sky other than gray will count as the sun being sort of out). It was drizzling on and off but we were determined. We pulled up to the beach, it was a balmy 47 degrees. We proceeded to put our WetSuits on as passerbys slowed their cars to a near stop to observe the crazyness. Move along people, this isn't an episode of Jackass, it's just two determine Ironman athletes. Once we entered the water I realized the water wasn't too bad, 50 degrees is still borderline polar bear plunge weather but it's manageable. It was definitely colder than a summer in San Diego thus warranting a urination in the wetsuit for warmth (these are training techniques people... it's a coping mechanism). My face was cold from the water but numbed shortly after we began. The worse part was the WAVES. Ok... allow me to explain a bit further. When I say waves I'm talkin like Oregon Coast in December. We were sloshing around like two buoys who lost their tie-downs. If any whale hunting vessels had shown up I may have been mistaken for a gray whale in the middle of the ocean and harpooned. In addition to this there were sticks and other debris everywhere. At one point I realized that my chances of being impaled in the neck by a large sharp stick were fairly good borderline promising.

We swam for about 20-25 minutes and then got out. I'm alive, have no impalement's in my neck and did not experience hypothermia so I guess it was a successful swim.

SLACKER. The word to describe me this week. Last week I had a great training week and was feeling really good. This week not so good. If you had observed my behavior this week it would have made you wonder if a cupcake was breastfeeding me. Let's just say I had a real sweet tooth this week and I barely came up for air. Of course it is no surprise that the "sweet tooth bandit" suffered the consequences and was reduced for sloth like behavior most of the week. *sigh*

Just in case you need me to spell this out a little clearer... sloth like behavior does not equal Ironman performance. When it came time for my long run today the evidence was clear. Little miss jelly roll waddled down the Centennial Trail for a pathetic 16 miles. My goal was to get 18 miles in but I became dehydrated and got pretty stiff about 12 miles in and surrendered at 16. Not to mention I was running late to go into work. Since my pace resorted to less than lightening speed I cut the run short. I've just placed my recovery compression socks on. I know the disclaimer didn't mention that "compression socks can not reduce fatigue associated with being a hyperglycemic fat ass" so I'm thinking there is a chance for recovery here.

Hi Ya'll ~

We are officially all settled into our new house. Within a few days of getting the keys we got settled and my training resumed normalcy. The perks of getting settled in have also been observed in my eating patterns/habits. When you don't have your own kitchen your relationship with food changes. Essentially you try to eat things that take the least amount of time to prepare. My new house, new kitchen has resulted in 1) increased food prep at home 2) more complete meals 3) healthier food selections. This all has been very beneficial.

My training has also increased and become more consistent. This is also good as Ironman is now only 5 weeks away... EEEEEKKKKKK! I recently completed two long bike rides. One was last weekend, a local "fun" ride called the Lilac Century Ride. This is a 100 mile ride. Yesterday I also completed a long ride, one I did out on the Ironman CDA course. This was just barely over 100 miles. Now... allow me to share some of the details of these experiences. Just like the Ironman is a long journey, so is my training and thus this post.

First, the Lilac Century Ride... the ride began at 7-7:30am. Essentially they let you choose whenever you want to start. This is kinda weird because I have never done a "fun" ride like this before (I will explain the "fun" later). So I'm lingering around the parking lot, prepping my bike, pumping tires, observing others, etc. The funny thing is all the cyclists for that day are looking around the parking lot in a paranoid way at others. So I'm thinking... either they are looking for friends or people they know so that they don't appear to be a loner or they are sizing up the competition for their "fun" ride. No matter how laid back you try and make things there is always going to be competition with athletes.
Anyway, they shot off some sort of t-shirt thrower (weird) and the ride began. A few of the eager ones began right away. I walked my shoes over to the transition area to put in place for my brick run. As I got there I noticed that everyone else had placed their things in plastic bags. Oh geez! I should've known! The weather called for rain that day and my things were left out to get wet. I decided to turn my shoes upside down hoping that would save them from the majority of the moisture, label my forehead AMATEUR. I came back and didn't see anyone that I knew was there for the race (Pam and Wendy were riding that day too). I figured Pam had left already with a friend of hers and wasn't sure where Wendy was. So... I took advantage of another bathroom break. As I left the parking lot I grabbed a map, I was not familiar with the course. I saw the first marker that someone had put out to make a right hand turn... great! I am on the course and this will be easy to follow, the course seems well marked. Next I see a similar looking arrow that instructs me to take another right... I'm pedaling at a healthy speed, trying to get in my rhythm. Whoa! whoa! whoa! As I turn right I discovered I just transitioned onto a gravel road. This didn't look right, I mean would they really have us going down a gravel road like the Dukes of Hazzard? I look back to where I came from, a couple of cyclists go by. Screw this gravel road I am headed back to where those guys are going... I catch up to them and ask if they are familiar with the course. They said yes, OK, whew! I am back on track. The weather that morning was not exactly motivational. Overcast, looked like it might rain, and it did shortly into the ride. Just drizzled but it still sucked. I passed the first aid station, an airstream trailer parked on the side of the road with lots of snacks. Instead I fly by... I don't need your Gatorade! I am in a rhythm people! Next thing I know I was subjected to a fairly long and steep hill and was reduced to going about 10 miles/hr, and that is actually probably an aggressive estimate. Once at the top I pick up the cadence and the sun is trying to come out :) I'm feeling good again! Then the scenery resembles Wyoming all of the sudden, I didn't even know this existed so close to Spokane. Buzzards and vultures are flying around and swooping here and there. I am by myself and my mind is rambling. I am anticipating a long hill right around 50 miles, I saw it on the elevation map. The hill comes up shortly after Buzzardville and it keeps going and going and going... I'd have have to double check but I'm guessing it was at least three miles long. Not super steep but LONG. My legs are burning my heart rate resembles a baby birds heart rate and all I felt like doing is curling up in the shade on the side of the road and taking a nap. I kept going anyway. As I crested the hill I was hit with a major head wind. WTF?!?!? What is this? Why am I doing this ride? This sucks. I am all of the sudden angered by the marketing that roped me into this "fun" ride. What is fun about feeling like you are in a wind tunnel after someone has put your quads in a blender? I continue on to the rest stop... this one I am stopping for. I don't see anything I truly need at the rest stop... I was looking for a couple of Advil, a portal to transport me home, a warm shower and a fluffy snuggly bed. I guess they forgot to stock this rest stop with those items so I settled for half a banana and continue on. My mental approach is to remind myself that I am over halfway done. The rolling hills cause me to hallucinate thinking that I am in the Mid-West. I am eager to find every rest stop I can get my hands on at this point in time... I see one up ahead and stop. Two orange slices taste like heaven. I quickly move on. I can see the clouds starting to set in... I know the rain is coming (fingers crossed it doesn't get here before I finish). About mile 88 the rain arrives... and it's COLD. I'm just glad to be almost done. I pull into the parking lot, decide not to do my brick run (my legs actually felt like they could have handled it but my shoes where soaked). I'm off to eat... where are the damn potatoes?!! Disappointment sets in. There is no chili or black beans for the potatoes. That's how my day ended, no chili or black beans for the taters. Nuff said... "fun" ride.

It was a great mental feeling to get 100 miles in but Srsly! Who goes out and rides around on their bike for 100 miles?!!??! It's not NORMAL. An answer is that I do, and I did the next weekend. Only crazy people call their friends and say, "hey you wanna meet up first thing in the morning to ride our bikes 100 miles?" This training has cost me my precious Sat morning sleep in sessions :(. Pam and I met in CDA at 8am yesterday to do a training ride. Let's meet early so that we finish early and finish before the potential rain sets in. It was a bit chilly but I figured it would warm up and so would I so I started the ride in a sleeveless shirt and tri shorts. First out to Higgins Point and back... I'm familiar with this route so I'm feeling pretty good. Then off to the real course, the part of the course that leaves you alone with your own thoughts. It's truly a beautiful course but there are some serious hills out there. I make it to the turn around point am headed back to town and then Pam jets out from a side road. "Oh Crap! Did I miss a turn back there?" she informs me that I did. After checking the Garmin it appears that I missed about 3 miles of the course. Oh well, I'm still on track to hit 100 miles. I'm right behind Pam as we crest the last hill on Rimrock Rd. She veers off to the right... I wasn't gonna go that way but I feverishly follow her. I scream out "I'm following you. I don't know where I'm going, I was going to go straight back there". She looks back at me perplexed. We kept going back to where we parked to stop and get more water, etc. I look at her, she looks at me "do we have to do that again?!". Sadly the answer is yes. OK, let's just get it done. We head off again. As I am coming back from Higgin's Point up the back hill a group of cyclists pass me. They were all chipper and friendly... screw you guys! You're just starting your first loop! I'm 60 miles in! That is what I was thinking, I'm already tired and still have 40+ miles left. It's like eating dinner after you already stuffed yourself on the appetizer, painful.
I passed one woman who jumped off her bike on a hill, she was walking her bike up the hill. That's a boost for the self esteem, I didn't have to do that (although secretly I wanted to). I reached the turn around point and headed back. I stopped at a pit stop that someone has set up in their yard to use the restroom - how awesome someone does this for us?!?!? Very cool. I come across the lady who was walking her bike earlier. I make small talk asking if this was their second loop and comment on how warm it is getting (felt like 150 deg). They say they actually did two loops yesterday and ran 5 miles yesterday. Today they swam and are only doing one loop and tomorrow they are doing an 18 mile run. I looked at them (bewildered), really people?!!! I'm sorry but you both don't look physically capable of that... that's more training than I am putting in. Keep smokin' whatever you people are smokin'... I'm off to finish the ride. I decide to intentionally cut out the three miles that I missed last time (the last thing I need to do is go somewhere unfamiliar and add extra miles today... I have experience with this). Not sure if I blogged about that the last time it happened but it wasn't good. I cruise over and plan to follow the "new way" (aka actual race course) that Pam led me back on before. I hang a right where I thought I was supposed to and end up on a gravel road again. WTF again?!?!?!?!? What is it with me and these stupid gravel roads. I manage to get myself back on track. I'm in the home stretch and then I take another wrong turn that leads me through more gravel (yes, you read that MORE gravel) WHY?!?!?!?!? And then this road spits me back out up at Hayden Golf Course. I definitely know my way back from here, whew! Although I have added some additional mileage by doing this. Once back at the car it's time to start my run. I planned on just doing 30 mins. I start out at a pace a slug could beat... but according to my Garmin I was actually running faster than I usually do. Weird. At about 20 mins or so I settled in and my legs started to feel more normal. My lungs and chest felt tight though. I think from the warmer weather. When I finished I was tempted to just jump into the lake, I was so flippin hot. Man, was I glad to go home and shower.

So.. there is my latest recap. I'm settled in now and hoping to blog more frequently. I will say one last thing... I am hoping all of this makes my race day easier and less painful.

Well between the copious amounts of rain/snow and the swim workouts this week I feel like I have been under the sea! Constantly drenched. The weather is still serving to aggravate me in a big way and there isn't much I can do about it which also angers me. I have my fingers crossed for nice weather on Sat afternoon so that I can get a long outdoor ride in. So far, I have gotten in two swim workouts this week and have another planned for tomorrow. This is good news, gold star for me because last week wasn't a good swim week.

Well, this may shock the entire world (or whomever is out there stumbling across this post) but I am blogging again. Yes, after almost four months of being MIA. I can't even begin to describe what my life has been like over the last several months. Basically, STRESSED. Between crazy work hours/drama, living in my grandparents basement and trying to fit in all my Ironman training I have been STRESSED. There really isn't too much in my life I can complain about, all of these things are leading to positive outcomes. Regardless, I always seem to "bite off more than I can chew". I can't figure out why I do this. I asked myself as I drove to work today... "self, what is your motivation for having a gigantic goal always looming in the horizon?" Seriously, why isn't it good enough to just relax every once in a while? I guess as I get older I am realizing that it might be ok to just slow down. Enough of the grumbling... on to the updates. Here are the high points;

• We are 12 days away from closing on our house... FINALLY. :)


• Ironman is 10 weeks away (trying not to poop my pants as I type that)


• The weather is starting show signs of spring... kinda


• Work is slowing down somewhat


• TJ became an engineer for the railroad!!

I think the 5 months of living in a dark basement during winter, the cold/rainy weather, still grieving over the loss of Ruby, stressing over house related things, TJ going to Engineer school, demands at work increasing has all contributed to my half year "funk". The glimmers of sunshine that peek through occasionally and the final countdown of moving and settling into our own space with more privacy is now contributing to a brighter outlook on the days. I am glad to start feeling like myself a bit more than I have been.

As we enter a new year and wonder what is in store for 2011 I think it is only natural to some degree to have some self doubt if there is a looming goal on the horizon. Of course, Ironman is that goal for me. Today I found myself asking "what if I can't make it to the finish line"? I realize that some of this is natural and some self doubt can be the spark of fear to be sure one is prepared to the best of their ability. The fear of not making it to the finish line will serve as a motivator to train consistently. I had an "ok" workout today. rode about 30 miles and instead of doing my short run TJ and I walked Emma for about an hour. Tomorrow will mark the first day I will attend a Masters swim group. I'm not gonna lie, I am nervous. I will probably be the least fast swimmer there and one that has a lower level of endurance in the bunch. The whole reason I want to go to the swim group is because I know it will help my swimming and ultimately my training. It's funny how you can be brought back to feeling like an middle schooler when you get nervous about "not being good enough". Well, there is only one way to get over that... face the fear and be humbled by the process.

Last thing I wanted to type tonight is a recent fortune I received from a fortune cookie. It said, "a goal is just a dream with a deadline". I kinda liked that, so I am sharing it with you.