Rain, Rain, Go Away...

...come again another d--...never!  

My friends and I woke up early this morning to brave the 37 degree rainy (pouring) weather.  We ran the Race Judicata which was a 5K and a 10K with an option to run both.  I signed up for both (mainly because you got free arm warmers!) the 5K and 10K races to get a good 9.3 miles in.  There was some hesitation from everyone about whether or not we should run because of the weather, but we sucked it up and did the two races.  The 5K was first which made for a cold, wet, miserable 30+ minute break in between the two races.  We stood around shivering waiting for the 10K gun to go off.  The only thing that kept us motivated was the vision of Fido dancing through our heads....warm coffee and eggs!  The race wove through Percy Warner Park so there were some challenging hills which were a ton of fun with wet and heavy feet (note the heavy sarcasm).  So glad that is over! :) 

This picture does no justice to the actual weather that we encountered...it was pouring rain!

The four Muskateers who braved the rain for a fun race!  Kevin, me, Patrick and Tammy.  Kevin, Patrick and Tammy are training for the Louisville IM in August.

Rest for the Weary

Sigh, this week was a rest focused week.  At first it freaked me out a bit...so little to do!  Is this right?  Shouldn't I be running, biking and swimming more?!  

Then I realized that my body is T-I-R-E-D, and the rest was greatly appreciated.  I had to travel for work and I ducked out of an outing early to grab some room service and watch a little TV...well, I fell asleep at 7:45 and didn't wake up until 6:45, yikes!  (I somehow sleepily woke up to catch the end of the Biggest Loser and am glad, because yet again, LIARS...those producers like to stretch the truth!  I love that the endurance athletes of the world are keeping those people honest...too funny!...for those that didn't see, the guy that got kicked off claimed he ran a marathon with his wife in 3:53 (which is pretty fast) and apparently they got picked up at mile 23 and driven to the end for the photo finish).  This happened again the next night, falling asleep way too early and not getting up at 4:30...my body was pooped.  I know I will appreciate this come next week when training ramps up again in March.

But in the meantime, it's nice to sleep in a little bit and wake up without an alarm clock...this is what I get to wake up to when I don't shoot up to an blaring alarm!  So precious!!

Cash catching some beauty rest before his long day of, well, more beauty rest!

Team Tater

My friend Amy said to me the other day... 

"I was really happy to meet Team Idaho last night."  

"Team Idaho?" I said.  

"Yeah, your Couer d'Alene team, Ben and Sarah."

"Ah, yes, Team Idaho!"

I relayed this conversation to Coach and he laughed and said "ya'll are Team Tater!"  (Ben and Sarah are also working with the same Coach) I almost fell off my bike laughing, we are Team Tater...I'm thinking we should make some really bland brown jerseys that look like potatoes!  

Ben and Sarah surprised me with a Gigi's cupcake at my birthday party...YUM!!!!

One of the rare occasions where we are all together without spandex or swimsuits on.

Rock On!

This past Thursday was my, gulp, 28th birthday...or as I like the say the 5th anniversary of my 23rd birthday!  Ah, I'm getting so old!  I wanted to do something different than the typical dinner and drinks (which we still did, can't keep me from eating, oh yeah, and I love beer)...so my friends and I got together to go indoor rock climbing.  It was crazy fun and an amazing workout...I can't lift my arms over my head right now.  I am also chalking it up to a "lifting" workout since every muscle in my body was shaking by the time we were finished.  It was a nice little Saturday, 13 mile run then two hour rock climbing session...then pass out!

Melissa belaying me on our first attempt after our crash course in climbing.

Looking like a professional (ok, I was on the easy routes, but I look tough!)

Melissa and me learning the ropes, no pun intended.

Kevin and me racing to the top...I totally beat him and he had a head start.  Ok, again I was on the easy course and he was on a really difficult one, but I still kicked his booty.

The whole crew...Katie, Melissa, Kevin, me, Michelle, Libby and Lisa.  Such a fun day!

Six Degrees of Separation

Oh my! So, I thought I was a total bas ass riding in the 43 degree weather on Monday, so much so that I thought I would take a little spin yesterday because what's 6 degrees gonna hurt? It's a sunny 37 degrees...let's take this outside! Holy poop! It was COLD!!!!! Six degrees hurts A LOT! My original plan was to do a 2 hour ride, about 20 minutes into it I couldn't feel my toes and I literally would scream out loud..."IT'S SO COLD!!!" Luckily no one was around to hear my ranting and raving...apparently it was too chilly for anyone else to be out and about, maybe I should have consulted one of them before making such an idiotic decision. I sucked it up for about an hour and fifteen and then called it quits. My feet were blocks of ice and I looked like I had a stick up my ass walking into Starbucks for a warm beverage to help thaw them out! (Imagine a cross between walking with your foot asleep and the terrier lady from "Best in Show" when she runs out in the show ring with her knee all jacked up). Lovely.

So, here's a little article on cold weather riding gear...maybe I should have read this PRIOR to going out..oh well, lesson learned! P.S. the article starts with some song lyrics...love it!

http://www.bicycling.com/article/1,6610,s1-1-7-15311-1,00.html

Wishful Thinking

I was driving through the 'hood today and noticed three trees on my street blooming, in February!  Those little trees are wishing the same thing I am..."when the hell is spring going to get here!!!"  Poor little guys have no idea that it's supposed to snow on Saturday and we have another viscous cold front moving in.  I guess Bike Ninja will be making a few more appearances before the winter gear is put up for the summer.  

Hang in there little guy, it will be here before you know it!

Bike Ninja!

Yowza!  This is the degree-age that greeted me when I started my car this morning, a smoldering 29.  I went out for a "hill" run...did the 5.8 loop at Percy Warner and then went to meet Coach for a 2 hour ride.  So, what do you do when it's that cold and you have to ride your bike...outside!?!

You have bike ninja!  The balaclava (not to be confused with the delicious phylo dough pastry, baclava) is a life saver in the cold biking wear.  It was actually something I had to climb Mt. Rainier last year and it has been worth it weight in gold...for both activities. 
Coach and I went for a nice "flat" ride (not a lot of "flat" in Nashville) and he said I could name this blog "Made Coach my Bitch"...I think he was just being nice since the last time we rode together he was pretty sure I was ready to find something tall to jump of off.  It was a great ride, I felt good and didn't absolutely die going up the hills.  Which was needed since my run earlier in the morning seemed to be more of a plod...so I came out of the weekend feeling like my progress is in a forward motion.  

Coach said that after my day (run, ride and lift) that I should eat some protein to help rebuild broken down muscle fiber...I'm pretty sure he said something along the lines of chicken, but I could've sworn I heard "chocolate" in there somewhere!

That Frost Bit

My friends and I ran the Cedars of Lebanon Frostbite Half Marathon today...and it frost-bit.  Not a stellar race by my standards.  I wasn't out for a PR and had planned on simply "running for the miles," but when you have to walk at mile 5 because you went out too fast, well, you're just not going to be in for a fun race experience.  My finish time was 1:56, so I'm fine with that, it was just the way I felt during the race and my inability to push through any pain that was frustrating...argh!  

I also love how people sit around after a race and try to justify their time...I had too much to drink last night, I lifted yesterday, I didn't eat right, my corns are achin', whatever...I wanted to do that so badly after this race!!!  I could give you a list of reasons why my legs didn't want to move in a forward motion, but I will refrain...I'm just chalkin' it up to a run for the miles, regardless of the number of times I stopped to stretch my back!...which by the way was hurting from swimming 3500 meters, riding for an hour and drinking 3 beers at my fundraiser while standing in 3 inch heels for 5 hours...but whatever, it was just a run! :)

Check out us good lookin' folk!  In the front Tempie, Bridget, Mardys and Sammi with Pete and me in the back....damn we're all so sexy!

"Hey, I Put My New Shoes On...

...and suddenly everything's right!" (again, a song for everything...thank you Paolo Nutini)

Yay, I finally went and got some new runnin' shoes yesterday.  I hadn't purchased a pair since before the Marine Corp Marathon at the beginning of October, yikes!  My tootsies were starting to feel the pain of the wear and tear of my old shoes.  I am taking these bad boys out for a little jaunt this morning...my friends and I are running the Frostbite Half Marathon!  The name's not fitting since it's 55 degrees, but whatever.  Hopefully they will make me super fast!

This was the last pair of the New Balances I have been getting for over three years now.  They upgrade every now and again and I lucked out and got the last pair of the old model, saving me lots of moolah!

Cash and I were comparing our shoes, his are built in...lucky!

Biggest Liar

Did anyone see The Biggest Loser last night?  I rarely see it, but when I do I get completely sucked in.  I would love to work with that show or do something like it...I like to think that I would be a nice mix of Jillian and Bob the trainer.  Well, if you watched the show until the very end where they show the progress of the people who have been kicked off then you know what I am talking about.  The Biggest Loser is actually a Big Liar!  I am all about spreading the love of working out and want to go back to school and get my masters in nutrition, so I am not saying this because I'm mean (ok, maybe a little) but the dude said he was training to do an Ironman...I thought AWESOME, way to go buddy!!...then they went into this montage of him swimming, biking and running with his voice over saying "yeah, it's about a mile swim, a 50 mile bike and a half marathon."  

WHAT!!!!!!!????!!  I looked around the room to see if anyone else heard it and then realized it was 9:00 and I was already in my bed, actually had been there since 8:00.  Argh!  This is one of my biggest pet peeves.  I am no elite athlete and I'm sure I piss off the Ethiopians and Kenyan's because us middle of the packers have ruined the marathon (or so some people believe)...but if you are running a Half Marathon then say the "half" part.  A half marathon is NOT a full marathon, it's half of one.  Same thing with the Ironman, half is not a whole.  

Just a disclaimer, I get super excited when I have friends running their first 5K, I am not being a snob, just realistic.  

Anyway, I am sending positive energy towards Blaine who got kicked off the show and hope he has an amazing race...an amazing Half Ironman! :)

Oh Yes I Will...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh1yMnrby3w&NR=1

Wake Up Call #312

I had another wake up call today while biking with Coach...hills suck and I suck at them.  Don't get me wrong flying down them and screaming "weeeee" is awesome, but going up them and screaming "f*%&@" is not.  So, I looked at my coach today and said, "hmmmm, I just had wake up call #312...I suck at hills and I chose one of the hillier races in IM to do...I have my work cut out for me."  After a 10 mile run and 20 mile ride on Saturday, my Sunday hill ride was very disheartening...luckily there are plenty of hills in Nashville to get lots of practice on.  Coach looked at me and paraphrased another coach to motivate me..."Having the will to win is a bonus, having the will to prepare is mandatory."  I wanted to counter with a quote from Scrubs when JD attempts a triathlon before turning 30..."A wise man once said the human spirit can overcome any obstacle.  That man had obviously never run a triathlon!"  There are going to be a lot of hard training days, but preparation is key to a solid race...I will toe the line prepared!  

All in all it was a much needed and fun ride.  The weather has been amazing this weekend and I took full advantage of being able to get outside in shorts and a short sleeves...ahhh, nice!  

I also came across this youtube while perusing the internet today...it's freakin' hilarious!  I may have to solicit the help of my friends in order to get a training swim in like this one...I doubt there will be any hesitations to say "yes!" 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r350we4Zbfk

Let Me Out!!!

It's Friday afternoon and I'm stuck in my office and it's 60+ degrees outside without a cloud in the sky...this is the lovely view I get to see.  My friend had to call to let me know what the weather was like.

So I wandered over to the window to check it out for myself...wah, wah, it was gorgeous out.  All I want to do is go out and play...run, ride, walk the dog, lounge...but duty calls and paychecks are very necessary.  Please excuse my messy office! :)

Climb Every Mountain!

I FINALLY went on a bike ride outside this past weekend...temperatures were above the freezing level (a lovely 58 degrees) and it was a "blue bird" day, not a cloud in the sky!  I met up with Ben, Sarah, Spence and Heath and we hit the Natchez Trace Parkway for a two hour ride.  The Trace, as Nashvillians call it, is a very unforgiving stretch of 400 miles of rolling road that starts in Nashville and finishes in Mississippi (I believe Tupelo).  There are no commercial vehicles allowed on the Trace so it's a bikers dream.  You can go for miles before seeing a car and are more likely to see some "killer boots" on middle aged men living out their Hell's Angels fantasies on their Harley's.

After a hilly 6 mile run and 2 hours on the Trace I was spent.  My legs felt like jelly and I had to watch the Super Bowl in the horizontal position with a pillow on the ground at John and Melissa's.  It was a little bit of a wake up call...time to suck it up and get on your bike, and not in the comfort of your living room watching reruns of Scrubs (I know, I know, it's such a funny show!).  

Looking at the elevation chart of the CDA IM (above) only confirms the fact that my ass is going to be chapped from all the riding I need to do!  I guess I can't sit around and wait for the weather to get better before I get outside again...I will throw on another layer, dig out the balaclava, and leave the ice out of the water bottles.  No one's going to be able to hear me yell "car back!" through neck gaiter!  

Are You CRAZY!?!?

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." Dr. Seuss (1904-1991)

I was reading a random blog that follows my blog that actually had a link to this other blog which is where I found this quote...I don't even know how it happens but getting lost in blog land is way easier than I had anticipated. Confusion exists regularly in my life! ;)

This quote just hit me for some reason. I have obviously thrown myself full force into this Ironman training (it's all or nothing majority of the time for me...if I ask your opinion, I normally have already made up my mind) and have been challenged with the question "are you crazy?" like one billion times already. Yes, I am crazy, but I am also in charge of my own decisions and a maker of my destiny...I have made the choice to take on this challenge and therefore will complete it with the best effort I can. I have the brain in my head to lead me in the right direction, a healthy body that can support what I ask of it and the freedom and ability to choose what I want to do with all I have been graciously given. I will do this crazy thing and most likely follow it with something else equally absurd!

As I rolled out of bed at 4:30 this morning that first thing I verbally said (directed to my dog, therefore not talking to myself!) was "that alarm came way sooner than expected!" As I drudged to swim practice no more than 10 hours after my last workout, I was hit with a good song on the radio, a simultaneous parking job with my coach who waved and gave me a goofy face and then walked in to see that I wasn't the only one inflicting this self torture. After a solid 3300 yards of swimming (that's 66 laps/132 lengths for those asking how much that is) I felt amazing! All sluggishness erased from my body. I walked out into the biting air and noticed the most gorgeous sunrise and thought about how lucky I was to witness this beauty...there is some good that can come out of a 4:30 wake up call! I choose to do this and I choose to find the good things in it all! (but please appease me if I ever want to call you to bitch about it!)