LONESTAR!

Only one man would dare give me the raspberry! LONESTAR.



Tommy, Thomas and I all participated in the Lonestar Triathlon Festival this past weekend. Thomas did the sprint on Saturday and Tommy and I did the half on Sunday.

A half Ironman is 1.2 miles of swimming, 56 miles of biking, and 13.1 miles of running. In that order, all at once, without stopping, without passing go and without collecting $2000.

The weekend ended with a slight disappointment, but overall, it was fabulous.

Onto the race!!! This is going to be a VERY long entry, so don’t bother reading it if you aren’t interested in the precise details of the race. I’m mostly blogging about it so I have it documented, not really for your reading enjoyment. So, it’s up to you.

Tommy and I packed up our race gear and headed to Galveston on Friday after work. We were going to stay at Thomas’s parent’s mansion on Friday night, watch Thomas race on Saturday morning, hang out Saturday day, and then Tommy and I would race on Sunday morning.

Friday night, we arrived at Mansion de Dickson, unpacked all our junk and ordered pizza. Tommy, Janelle, Thomas and I watched Heroes and had a few beers. We helped Thomas get his stuff together for race day and went to bed early.

Thomas left before the sunrise to get to the race site, so Janelle, Tommy and I just met him there – just in time to see the first wave of swimmers take off.

The sunrise over the swim start
Thomas was one of the few and brave who didn’t have a wetsuit, but he toughed it out and did a great job on the swim! Charles and Amada met us in time to see Thomas getting out of the water. He finished the bike and the run in great form and looked good up until the finish…when Tommy saw him about 100 yards from the finish, he apparently looked strong enough to do the horsey dance and play around, but when we saw him, 20 yards from the finish, he looked very angry…Haha.
He did great, especially for it being his first triathlon – he finished in 1:48:31. I am so excited for him…racing is so much fun and I want all my friends to play with me!! I’m gonna recruit Janelle next…watch out!!

Thomas looking pretty good for the start of the run!


Amada, Charles, Janelle, Thomas (the WINNER!), Tommy and I after Thomas's race.



After his race, we got him his celebratory pizza and we all watched the awards with a few cold brewskis thanks to Michelob Ultra. Then we went back to the house and took naps and watched tv. Mama Dickson made us the most amazing chicken marsala for dinner, I tried out a new water bottle on my bike, and I was able to convince the boys to watch Madagascar with me before bed…instead of Batman or Top Gun. It’s like I have super powers!!

Tommy and I woke up at the crack of dawn – I hopped in the shower (showering before a race is silly, this I know, but I need wet hair to French braid!), and then began the grueling process of applying Chamois Butter and Body Glide to every surface of my body I can reach. Gross. I used the stuff like lotion. Disgusting. Then, comes the sunscreen…which I also applied liberally to every available surface, but judging by my angry red shoulders, I did not apply liberally enough. Ouch.

Then there was the debacle of French braiding my hair. Ugh. I can’t French braid. I can’t really style my hair at all. I’m pretty incompetent at all things that are hair styling, but my hair NEEDS to be braided for tri’s…going from the swim cap, to the bike helmet to the run – the French braid is the only way I don’t have to mess with my hair all day. When I originally determined that French braiding was the way to go, I tried to recruit Tommy to be my hair dresser. We watched YouTube after YouTube video of people teaching French braiding and Tommy tried to learn. I’ll give him credit here, not many men would even attempt to braid their wife’s hair…he is a good man. Unfortunately, he sucks at doing hair even more than I do. Our poor future children…they will all get spike hair cuts, regardless of gender. So, I had to learn myself. Aaaaand, I suck at it. Big surprise. But I braid my hair for races anyway, and it looks a lot like an impressionist rendering of a French braid…you can tell what it is supposed to be, but you don’t really know why. It’s definitely a work of art. I’m getting better though. Really. Ugh.

My French Braided Creation.



Anyways, so I French braided my hair. Pain in my butt. It took about 30 minutes and my arms were very tired when I was done. I had to take a break.

I started my pre-race eating, which consisted of a Diet DP and a Kashi Bar (which I ultimately blame for the stomach pains I had about mile 40 of the bike, but whatever – no Kashi again!!). I started slamming the Gatorade and finished getting dressed in my magical tri outfit.

We packed up all our gear and went to Moody Gardens to set up transition. I got my area set up ‘just so’ and continued to hammer the Hatorade. I checked and double checked all my stuff. Pulled my cleat covers off my shoes, undid the Velcro, made sure my helmet fit over my braids, stuffed my socks in my shoes, put my glasses in my helmet, race number under my running shoes, etc, etc… And then I checked it again. When I could check it no more, Tommy and I wandered off to find bathrooms and then head to the swim start.

It’s really gross to pee before a triathlon because you’re barefoot and you have to go into a bathroom…if you’re lucky, it’s a real bathroom, if you’re unlucky, you get to go into a port-a-potty BAREFOOT. OMG. I’m not a germ freak, but this is too much even for me. I’ve done it, don’t get me wrong, but dear god, it’s the grossest thing I have ever done. EVER. Luckily, at this race, there were proper bathrooms, that were semi-clean that didn’t even have a line…it was weird. So I was able to pee whenever my little bladder wanted…which was super nice and definitely not the norm.

We found Amada who was watching Charles start his swim for the quarter – and then we sat around and waited for another hour before the first wave of the half was scheduled to begin. Ugh. This gave me lots of time to fret over the oysters in the water, the fact that I didn’t have a wetsuit and whether or not the wind was going to stay calm. And I was worried because I have really only swum like 5 times since Christmas…my shoulder has been bothering me so much that I figured I was better off not swimming that trying to push it. I think I made a good call.

Tommy’s wave finally started and he was off…then I got to sit around for 30 minutes by myself waiting for my wave (the last wave) to start. FINALLY it was my turn and my wave (Women 35 and under) got up on deck…and everyone had a wetsuit, except me. Awesome. Luckily, the water wasn’t too bad…a refreshing 67 degrees. I mean, it was freaking freezing, but the swim up to the starting buoys warmed me up enough…I felt pretty good after swimming up to the buoys and treading water for 5 minutes.

Tommy running up the swim chute after a swift 40 minute swim.



Then the swim began. I started in the middle of the pack but on the outside, so that I could swim wide and hopefully stay out of contact with other swimmers altogether. I hate the ‘washing machine’ and try to avoid it at all costs. I would rather swim an additional 500m than battle with people. But alas, my plan failed me at first. These girls were all up in my stuff. I got punched in the cheek, some hoe grabbed my ankle to try to drown me…UGH! But after the first turn, I was able to break free a little. I took it easy on the first stretch, trying to get a rhythm and see if my shoulder was going to cause any problems (it wasn’t hurting at all – yes!), picked it up a little in the middle and then on the final stretch, I picked it up quite a bit. I was swimming really hard for the last 500m – not kicking really because I wanted to save my legs, but my arms were working hard. I was really proud of myself – I felt like it was an awesome swim. But after the race, I was kind of disappointed to see that I had only swum it in 42:06 minutes. I know I am better than that. I FELT faster than that. The fastest guys swam it in 27ish minutes and Tommy swam it in 40, so I shouldn’t be so hard on myself, but I am still a little blah about the whole thing.

Me running up the swim chute.



Swim Time was 42:06, pace of 2:11 per 100 meters.

Sidenote: For all your spectators out there, if you ever go watch a triathlon that is wet suit legal, find the wetsuit stripping area - it's always good for a few laughs.



I got out of the water (I didn’t know my time yet, so I was still boisterously happy) and hauled to T1. This was the first time that I didn’t have to change clothes and I am amazed at how much faster I was. I still sat down to put on my shoes though - bending over to put on socks just wasn’t happening – head rush! – and I lost some T1 time there. I had a semi-long run to the bike start in my bike shoes, which wasn’t fun, and then I couldn’t get on my bike for whatever stupid reason, so…

Transition 1 Time was 3:10. Much faster than previous transitions (last year my T1 was 5:20 – similar distances and everything).

I got on the bike feeling like a million bucks. I felt like I had rocked the swim and I was feeling awesome on the bike so far, I ate my granola bar, got re-hydrated and started fantasizing how awesome it was going to be when I broke 6 hours. Oh wait, what’s that Mr. Groin Inner Thigh Muscle? You don’t like biking? I HATE YOU! At mile 15, I pulled my right inner thigh/groin muscle and the pain began. I have no idea what I did or why, but my inner thigh was killing me. I couldn’t get comfortable on my saddle and I had to shift positions ever mile or so, which really hurt my aerodynamic-ness (is that word? Aerodynamacity? I dunno.). It was miserable. My back water bottle cage was loose and kept hitting my leg which was making me crazy so I ditched that bottle at the first aid station and then the Velcro on my new fun Bento box was rubbing against my thigh as well…all in all, after the first 15 miles, I pretty much wanted to strangle someone. I ditched the offending water bottle, readjusted the Bento box and forged onward. By the time I reached the San Luis Pass (mile 20ish) the wind started to pick up. I had been maintaining a steady 18-19mph pace (which is respectable, but not good), but by mile 20, I was down to 17-18mph. It was a crosswind, so it was easily managed, but it also meant that my shoulders and back were super tight and I couldn’t relax at all. At the turnaround, mile 28ish, the wind started getting really bad. Hard crosswinds, strong gusts, ugh!! And my groin was really starting to hurt really a lot, seriously, ow. And I had to pee. Awesome. I had just passed an aid station a mile or so back, and I seriously considered backtracking…that’s how badly I hurt. But I didn’t. I thought to myself, Keith (the race director) said there would be aid stations every 12 miles…I can make it to the next one. LIAR!! The next station wasn’t until mile 44…17 miles later. I was in tears, angry, tired, in pain, and desperately needing to pee. I stopped, peed, and stretched for about 5 minutes. I made myself get back on the bike and finish it up. I was able to maintain about 18mph over the last 12 miles so my average pace was in the 17.5 range…all in all a good day on the bike considering. Tommy found this wind information from the day of our race - http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/cgi-bin-mp/data_plot.cgi?mins=&datum=0&unit=1&stn=8771510&bdate=20090405&edate=20090406&data_type=wind&shift=&plot_size=large&metinterval= You can tell exactly when the winds started picking up – about 12pm…which is about when I was at mile 35 on the bike. Brutal. They went from about 8mph with 14mph gusts to 21mph winds with 32mph gusts. Ouch. Tommy pretty much escaped the hateful winds because he started 30 minutes earlier and he is faster than me…I am so very jealous. The final turn into Moody Gardens was hard…21mph headwind for 3 miles…it was rough, but the minute I got off the bike, I felt much better. Wind isn’t so bad when you aren’t trying to push against it so hard!

Bike Time was 3:11:24, pace of 17.6 mph average.

T2 was pretty smooth. Change shoes (didn’t sit this time), grab race belt, stuff Clif Blocs in my shirt, and we’re off…

Transition 2 was 2:08 (last year was 3:18 – the outfit pays off!)

And so the run begins.

My knee is definitely not healed. I’ve been able to do some 5 mile runs without much pain, but anything over that and it starts to hurt. I’ve noticed that when I incorporate walking into my run early on, the pain onset is delayed considerably, so my plan for this race was to take a 1 minute walk break at every aid station (they were about a mile apart).

Tommy, looking like a million bucks...probably almost done with the run.



Me at the beginning of the run.



Towards the end of loop 1.



I had some trouble getting my ‘sea legs’ back from the bike, and it took longer than usual to adjust, but once I got the hang of it, I felt pretty good. I felt better than I probably normally would have because I didn’t push myself on the bike at all. Because I couldn’t go very fast on the bike, I had all this energy left over for the run. Unfortunately, due to my knee, I wasn’t able to really use that energy for anything, so that was frustrating. I made myself stick to my plan, because I knew that in the long term, having an unhurt knee was better than breaking 6 hours. Ugh.

It was really frustrating. I felt my knee, but it never really hurt. On a scale of 1 to 10, it was a 2. It wasn’t affecting my stride or anything, but I could tell something was ‘off’…so I continued to walk at every aid station. I took my time enjoying the coke and a few chips, but was disappointed that there weren’t pretzels…I’m a pretzel girl.

My groin pain went away once I started running, so that wasn’t an issue at all, and since it was a 4 loop course and Tommy is faster than me, he caught up to me at the beginning of my second loop.

Hey, look! It's Thomas! Smile!



Hi Thomas!!



We ran together for a bit, but then we realized that he had a chance to break 5:30, so I sent him onward and upward. We passed each other a few more times and he finally finished in 5:26:43. He did AWESOME. He and Thomas then found me a couple of spots on the run course to cheer me on for my final 2 laps. I felt pretty good and had quite a bit of energy – I was feeling pretty strong…despite the wind’s best efforts.

This picture makes it look like I might actually have decent running form. It's a lie.



The wind was blowing so hard that the waves crashing on the dock would splash me, the guy’s beer was getting blown out of their cups (tragedy!) and the dust blowing around was BRUTAL. I ran with one closed half the time to avoid getting junk in my eyes. It was pretty rough. Gusts of 35mph aren’t something to joke about.

I spent a lot of time running with my head down or one eye closed to avoid getting dirt blasted when the wind would gust. It was rough.



My underarms started chaffing pretty badly early on on the run, so I got some Vaseline at the second aid station…that helped quite a bit and I was able to prevent anything tragic happening in my armpits.

After each lap, you would get a fancy little wristband to wear so you wouldn’t have to try to count to 4. You would be surprised at how hard it is to count when you are that tired and hungry and hot. I kept having to look down at my wristbands to see how many more laps I had left.

Tommy modelling the sexy wristbands and the Worlds Crappiest Water Bottle Known To Man



My stomach was kind of angry on the run, but it wasn’t too bad…I was miserable after the race though, that’s for sure!!

I finished the run feeling pretty good with a respectable time of 2:24:45…nothing to write home about, but I don’t need to bury my head either.

Run Time 2:24:45, pace of 11:03 per mile.

Done and done!



At the end, they took off my timing chip, gave me the world’s crappiest water bottle (EVER), a pretty nice towel and a medal that in my opinion is too small, but that’s just me. We ate pizza, had a beer, packed up transition and headed home…Thomas’s mom was nice enough to let us shower one more time and then we hit the road. It was a painful drive home – both of our stomach’s hurt really bad. I almost gave myself a hernia trying to poop at a gas station. It was painful.

Thanks to Thomas for coming to watch us race...and to Mama Dickson for letting us crash for the weekend!! It was a blast!



Café Adobe is always my prize for a big race, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it that day…so we saved it till Monday. We went home and were in bed by 7:30. Now that’s a good day right there!!

Summary of results:
Swim: 42:06
Swim Rank Overall: 335/609
Swim Rank Age Group: 20/35
T1: 3:10
Bike: 3:11:24
Bike Rank Overall: 431/609
Bike Rank Age Group: 20/35
T2: 2:08
Run: 2:24:45
Run Rank Overall: 392/609
Run Rank Age Group: 25/35

TOTAL HALF IRONMAN TIME: 6:23:34

Race Day Diet:
Pre-race:
5:30 AM – Kashi bar and Diet Dr. Pepper
During transition set-up – Gatorade and Diet Dr. Pepper
30 minutes before swim start (8:30ish) – Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bar
Bike:
Drinking Propel Lemon Water (had to ditch the back bottle because the cage was loose)
Mile 3 – Chocolate Chip granola bar
Mile 13 – Orange Gatorade from aid station
Mile 15 – Peanut Butter Chocolate chip granola bar
Mile 24 – Water from aid station
Mile 26 – Chocolate Chip granola bar
Mile 34 – Gatorade from aid station
Mile 44 – Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip granola bar
Run:
Mile 1 station – sponges and Gatorade
Mile 2 station – Coke and chips
Mile 3 – Vaseline, water and Clif Blocs
Mile 6 – Clif Blocs
Spent the rest of the stations, alternating between coke, water and Gatorade, loading up on Vaseline, and trying not to be sick to my stomach.

Soapboxes.

I heart soapboxes. I heart it when people feel passionately about something. And I REALLY REALLY heart it when I disagree with someone about their passion and they are open minded enough to argue with me for hours on end (knowing perfectly well that I will never be swayed)...and I heart it even more when we are still friends afterwards.

[Begin soapbox]

I started volunteering at CAP (Citizens for Animal Protection) and I got to walk stray puppies for a few hours on Friday and it was the greatest day of my life. If you are looking for a pet, please go to your local shelter and pick up a stray. These dogs are adorable, well-behaved, and many of them are pure-breeds, but their families gave them up for whatever reason. Those of you who know me, know how much I despise breeders…it’s probably one of the few ‘causes’ that I feel strongly about. So, before you shell out $1000 on a pure-bred dog, please check out the shelters (and/or rescues) in your area and try to find a dog that fits your needs. The staff there is very knowledgeable and can tell you the characteristics of each of the dogs – do they shed, do they bark, do they need lots of exercise, are they cuddly bugs? Please. Save a puppy. If you don’t, I’ll probably end up as divorcee with a house full of mutts…this doesn’t sound like a good plan to me.

[End soapbox]

I got my wonderful mutt Donny at the Homeless Pet Placement League in Houston and he is probably the greatest thing since sliced bread.


I am now volunteering at CAP and there are so many adorable animals there that need to be loved...I would bring them all home if I could.

Other places to adopt a pet: SPCA, rescues for purebreeds, BARC, etc... I promise you that with a little effort you can find the perfect dog for you...one that NEEDS a home, not one that was bred with the intent of making money. www.petfinder.org is a great resource. Please, take a puppy off the street!!

All this being said, I also love the dog show...and yes, I know I am just perpetuating the problem. But all those puppies in one place...ZOMG. I can't resist!!

April Fools Day.

What a crappy workout I had this morning. Stupid Wednesday. As each day of the week progresses, it gets harder and harder to wake up 4:30 in the morning, put on workout clothes and get moving. Other than the fact that we are on day three of the week, I can't explain my exhaustion during my workout this morning. My workouts all week have been kind of tame because of the race this weekend, so I can't even use the old "I'm tired today, but man, I kicked arse yesterday" excuse.

Regardless, the alarm went off at 4:30, Tommy and I lazily snoozed will 4:50...ooops...and then got on our bikes. We watched Heroes and did an easy spin for about 45 minutes. I was so tired...even my easier gears were tough and I couldn't find the energy for more. Then we went for a 2.5ish mile jog...which started out great, but then the temperature dropped and my fingers froze off. But at least the run was better than the bike. The bike was brutal.

If the race wasn't this weekend, I would have pushed a little harder but there's no need. I think the plan is to do an easy run tomorrow, a mini-tri on Friday and take Saturday off. I heart days off!!

Oh, and Janelle and I watched Twilight last night. OMG. It's amazing. And Tommy didn't try to slit his wrists, so that's a good sign.

**UPDATE**
I was too tired to do pilates at lunch like I normally do - I knew I wouldn't be able to make myself do anything. So, I went to Strength and Conditiong instead. This was not a smart move a few days before a race. I told myself I would just take it easy, but let's be honest, that never happens. Soooo, I went too hard and I did too much and I'm gonna pay tomorrow. I'm gonna pay big. Should done pilates. Idiot.

Mind Reader

Sooo, I really like swimming, I really do. But there has always been something about it that makes it hard for me to get motivated to go to the pool. I always thought that it was because I hate being wet when I get out, or that I smell like chlorine all day, or that speedo's just aren't flattering on anyone, but no, that's not it. This guy has pinned the tail on the donkey and FINALLY verbalized why I 'don't like' swimming. He is a genius.

I have copied and pasted his blog entry below:

The Hardest Thing About Swimming (To Me…)
Posted by jeffthetriathlete on February 20, 2009

Some people have problems breathing. Some people can’t get their body level. Some people don’t have good hip rotation and it drags them down.

I’ve been swimming for about 20 years, so I’m well versed on how to swim. So those things don’t bug me.

But I do have my difficulties. In fact, I thought about it and narrowed it down to two things, specifically.

First, the tedium of swimming. When I’m out for a run, I just find my groove, and let my mind wander as the miles pass. With swimming, however, my head is constantly filled with the mundane. Stroke count. Lap count. Body positioning. Proper hand reentry. Counting my strokes before breathing. Focusing on full arm extensions… I really don’t get to shut off the brain and just swim.

Secondly, and assuredly the most difficult, is the number “1″. When you can’t turn off your brain, “1″ becomes an evil notion that wears on your psyche and encourages you to quit. When I’m swimming, nothing is worse than “1″.

What do I mean by “1″? When I swim, it’s typically about 3000 meters broken up into multiple sets. My main sets are 200-600 meters each. Nothing is more disheartening and demoralizing than starting a 600 (24 laps), pushing off that wall, and saying in my head, “1″ (and then subsequently repeating it in my head over and over as I swim the lap).

“1″ just gnaws at my brain and makes me doubt that I’ll make it all the way through a set. It’s like that pessimistic friend who tells you it can’t be done, and you want to proove him wrong, but he makes a good argument.

Not to be confused with “1 more”, which is probably one of the greater aspects of a swim set.

But in the end, I still love swimming… probably because I’m good at it. Which would explain why I hate cycling so much…

Yes my friends, that is it. That is why I whine about going to the pool. I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out. Maybe know that I know I can stop my whining and just start all my sets with '2' and save myself the mental torture and a lap or two. Ha.

1 Week Till Opening Day!!

So, the Lonestar tri is this weekend. I'm super excited to get the season started, but I am a little scared too. I am in MUCH better shape this time around than I was in October for my last race, but with that MUCH better shape comes MUCH higher expectations. I hope I can meet them.

My first hurdle is the weather. As of now, the weather at 7am is expected to be around 60...that's a pretty freaking cold outdoor swim. Water temp is questionable, but probably in the low 70's. Which is pretty freaking cold. I kind of wish I had a wet suit, but that would take all the sport out of it, ya know.

The second hurdle is that my shoulder is still bothering me. I think I'll be okay for the swim - I can power through (I hope), but it won't be fun.

Hurdle number three is the wind. As of today, we are looking at 17mph winds from the NW. OUCH. That's some steady wind my friend. Luckily, our entire race runs from NE to SW (and vice versa), so we won't ever be directly into the wind, but that also means we won't ever have it at our backs either. And I SUCK in a crosswind. So, that'll be interesting.

Hurdle numero quatro is that my knee still sucks. I've been all the rehab, but it still sucks. I am planning on doing a run/walk for the run portion. I think my plan will be to walk for 1 minute at every mile marker. Ugh. I'm not happy about it, but I think it is the only way my knee will survive.

This all being said however, I think I can still make 6 hours. It'll take some luck, but I still think it's possible. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!

Let the Games Begin!

Triathlon season is almost here!! My first race of the season is next Sunday, and I can't wait can't wait can't wait.

My first race of the season will be the Lone Star Half Ironman race - 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile run. I am a little nervous because I don't feel prepared, but then I remember how TERRIBLY unprepared I was for my last half, and I feel better. Because at the very least, I am in waaaay better shape than I was in October, and that was the most fun race of my life. I finished that race in 6:45...which is pretty freaking slow, but considering that I hadn't worked out AT ALL (remember Ike and my house with no AC?? Yeah, that equals no workout.) the 2 months leading up the race, I was pretty impressed. And most importantly, I had an absolute freaking blast. I'm hoping to beat 6 hours this time - it may be totally unrealistic, but my fingers are crossed. I know I'm capable. My goals are: 31 min swim, 3 hour bike, and a 2:20 run. A 31 minute swim is totally attainable...as long as my wave is small and play it smart and stay out of the pack (I freak out in the pack). A 3 hour bike is pretty realistic since there are NO hills at all, but the wind might get me. Fingers are crossed for good weather! A 2:20 run isn't too outrageous, but frankly, the run is entirely dependant on how the bike goes...just keep your fingers crossed!!

I was training pretty hard up until our vacation last week - which ended up stealing about a week and half from me. I'm back on the wagon again - jet lag is behind me and I am catching up at work. Monday I just did pilates, there wasn't time or energy for anything more. Tuesday I did an hour on the bike trainer with Tommy - we watched How I Met Your Mother. Hahaha. It's still funny even when you are in pain. Then I did pilates in the afternoon. Today I wanted to swim, but my shoulder was a little angry, so I stayed home and sat on the trainer again with America's Next Top Model. OMG, I hate Sandra. Hate her. I felt pretty good today, but I could tell I had done a hard workout yesterday AND done 5 minutes of wall-sits. Ouch.

I think we are gonna do an 80 mile bike ride this weekend...which, now that I'm thinking about it, might be stupid since we have a race next weekend. Hmmmm. I probably won't work out both days this weekend though - Amanda is coming in town and we will be painting the town red at Wild West on Friday night. Yeehaw!!

I'm really excited to see how I've improved this year. I'm hoping my swimming doesn't suffer too much since I haven't really swum...at all. But it's my strong suit, so I won't worry too much. I am hoping my shoulder heals so I can at least get one swim in before the race!

After this race, I have about a month of building my base and then the real training starts...I'm terrified and excited. All at once.

Thomas is doing the sprint tri on Saturday too, so wish him luck!! He is a tri-virgin...watch out! It's addictive!!

Summer Reading.

I know it's not summer yet, but since I went on a tropical vacation that FELT like summer, I'm not going to worry about details like what season it is.

We went on a magical vacation last week to a magical place called Hawaii. Ever heard of it? Well, it was magical. A little colder than I anticipated, but by cold, I mean 75 degrees, but by and by, it was magical.

During this magical trip, I read a few books. We had intended to spend a lot of time hiking and biking and less time laying around, but on Day 1 of the trip I sliced open my foot and was unable to walk much. Sooooo, lounging it is. Darn. And when I lounge, I read.

A disclaimer and a history of my reading preferences...I adore, ADORE Nora Roberts and other such smut, however, since all of Nora's books are essentially the same, I can never tell if I have read them before, so I stopped buying them. I haven't read her in awhile. I feel like I should like Janet Evanovich, but I just don't. Not sure why. I hate Harry Potter, but loved loved loved Twilight. I typically like easy reads where I can miss a few pages and not miss anything crucial to the plot. I don't read to enlighten myself, I read for entertainment. I don't want it to be hard. That being said, I could read Little Women, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights over and over and over again. Tom Robbins is entertaining and I heart Dave Barry and Dave Sedaris. Marry Higgins Clark is great but I am too much of a weinie to read her stuff often...I get nightmares and it's not even scary.

Here are my thoughts on the books we picked up at the airport bookstore:

Book 1:

Love the One You're With by Emily Griffin

Emily Griffin is one "my" authors. This basically means that her name is on a little sheet of paper I carry in my wallet and when I go to the bookstore, I immediately go to her section to see if she has written anything new. She has written some fabulous easy reading books, such as Something Borrowed, Something Blue and Baby Proof. Love The One You're With was good, but I'll be honest, it made me feel a little wierd. It's about this woman who is happily married but runs into this old flame and how she reacts. It wasn't as happy-go-lucky as the others...I dunno. I felt like I had to give Tommy lots of affection while I was reading it. Like I said, it made me feel...wierd. I can't describe it. If you love Emily Griffin, you should read this one, otherwise, you can probably take it or leave it.

Other authors on "my" list are Jennifer Weiner, Meg Cabot (although her books usually suck, I love reading them, it's wierd), Phillipa Gregory, Jane Green, Anna Maxted, etc...all pretty easy reads.

Sweet Potato Queens: Guide to Raising Children for Fun and Profit by Jill Connor Browne

I heart the Sweet Potato Queens. All the books I've read of theirs have been laugh out loud hysterical. This one was funny could be funny if you have, have had, will have or have ever been a child. The antecdotes were funny and touching and you often think "OMG, that's me! I totally did that". I was cracking up. VERY good beach read...quick, easy, and the font is big. Ha.

I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max

Tommy read this first and his comment was "I want you to read this this week so I can see how much you laugh". Guys, seriously. This is easily EASILY the funniest most offensive most OMG, did he just really say that book I have ever (or will ever read). This book is not for the faint of heart. Seriously. It's offensive. It's vulgar. It's disgusting. And I almost peed my pants about 5 times. I laughed so hard once that other people in the pool wanted to know what I was laughing about, but I couldn't tell them because A.) I was laughing too hard and B.) It was so offensive that they would have been totally grossed out. This guy has a website that you should totally look up, just google Tucker Max and I'm sure you will have luck...I won't do it though because I am at work and I don't want to get fired. Seriously. Funniest book I have ever read. Girls/guys/whatever...this is a hysterical book...as long as you dig totally inappropriate, vulgar, degrading, disgusting humor, this is the book for you.

Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson

To follow I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell was a tall order...but I figured that as long as I picked a really sad one at least they wouldn't compare. I was right. This book is weird...it's about imaginary friends and such, but all in all, it was touching in all the right places, it was sweet, I cried, blah blah blah. Don't buy it new, buy it used and then sell it back to Half Price, but it's a good read for the beach (or the plane, which is where I read the last half of it). I was able to keep my blubbering to a minimum.

Back to Life.

Back to reality.

More specifically, back to the catastophies that me to begin this blog in the first place.

Last Sunday, we went on a bike ride with our friend Zach who was in town visiting Rice (Zach and Paige are moving to Houston - hooray!!). We were supposed to ride 65 miles, but since I cried for the first 30ish miles of the ride, the guys let me go home (secretely, I know they wanted to go home too). DUDE. The wind was TERRIBLE and it was soooo cold. I could barely control my bike because the crosswinds were insane, and if we weren't in cross wind, we were in a headwind that was about 20-25 mph with 30mpg gusts. DUDE. It was miserable. I seriously cried. The whole way. And then my tears froze on my face. So, our 65 mile bike ride turned into 40ish miles...and took us the same amount of time. Our average speed was 14mph...which on a good day is like a leisurely bike ride. Last Sunday however, I was busting some serious arse to get my bike to go faster than 2mph. I swear.

Anyway, after that wonderful and enjoyable ride, I threw my bike in my car and headed home. I ran over a giant piece of metal that tore a hole in the condensor of my AC (thereby rendering it useless), cracked my windshield and tore up my bumper. Awesome.

Tommy left for Amsterdam right when we got home from the bike ride, so I got to deal with with my car troubles by myself.

On Tuesday evening, I took my pooch for a run...I had already worked out that day so I was just gonna do a couple of miles so he could get some exercise. When I came home, the cops were outside my house checking the place out. Apparently in the 20 minutes I was gone, my house alarm when off. The cops walked through the house with me and everything looked fine. I think (hope) it was a false alarm. I didn't sleep so well that night.

On Wednesday, I took my car to the shop. Repairs were estimated at about $2000 so I filed a claim with insurance. Since insurance takes a long time, it was estimated that my car wouldn't be done till the end of this week...so I am driving a Nissan Versa for now. It's a magical POS.

I drove the Versa for 2 days, during which I noticed a clanking everytime I made a right turn. Turns out that there were empty Modelo beer bottles under the passenger seat. Apparently Enterprise doesn't believe in cleaning cars before renting them out. But the good news is that I left my garage door opener and my work badge in my car at the dealership, so I can't get into my garage at home or the parking garage at work.

On Thursday my phone stopped working. The buttons just stopped doing anything. The music player would turn on all by itself but then the buttons would stop working, so you couldn't turn the music off. I would have to take the battery out to make the music stop. Very bizarre. In the mornings, my alarm would go off, but I wouldn't be able to turn it off. TMobile is sending me a new phone that should be here within 4-10 business days. GREAT. Almost 2 weeks without a phone - yippee. I can be reached by email, thanks. That night, I met Janelle and Thomas and Francis for dinner at Collina's where I got sufficiently drunk and all was okay with the world. Then we went to Onion Creek to wish Robert a farewell.

So, at this point, I am without a car, without a phone and my house keeps getting broken into!

Tommy and I spent Friday afternoon evening sitting on our porch at home drinking wine and chatting, and then we went to Onion Creek to meet some friends for crawfish and beer...however at $6 a pound for crawfish, we opted out and eventually came home to make sushi for dinner.

On Saturday, we woke up at 1am to meet Thomas at his house so we could drive to Gonzales, Texas to begin the TEXAS INDEPENDENCE RELAY. It's a 203 mile relay that follows the trail of battles that led to the Texas' independence. We had an 11 person team and we each ran 3-4 legs of 4-6 miles each. I ran 23 miles over Sat/Sun and Tommy ran 24. It was a lot of fun and my knee did surprisingly well (maybe acupuncture works?). My knee started hurting a bit on my 4th leg, but all in all, it was MUCH better than I anticipated. Setting low expectations is sometimes a good thing. Ha.

On Saturday night, we got a call (on Tommy's phone of course, mine is still broken) from the alarm company saying that our alarm had gone off AGAIN! and the cops had gone over, but it didn't look like anything was wrong. The glass break detector went off so we were worried...we had some time on Sunday morning to stop by the house real quick to check it out. Luckily, a bunch of magnet had just falled off the fridge and set it off, but dear gawd, I was freaked out.

36 hours later, we crossed the finish line at the San Jacinto Monument, the magical place where Santa Anna was finally defeated and Texas' Independence was won!!

We finished off a catastrophic (yet fun)week with some beer at Shady Tavern and pizza sponsored by Froehlich. It was delicious.

At about 8:30, we crawled into bed and passed out. We slept till 6:30 and I am still tired.

Hopefully I will get a phone and a car this week...keep your fingers crossed!!

Excuse me.

I just farted at my desk. Loudly.

Lucky for those in the cubicles near me that it does not stink...but I can guarantee they heard it.

It was the fart heard round the world.

Awesome. Happy Hump Day everyone. Welcome to my Dutch Oven.

Thank the G.O.D. that it is FINALLY Friday.

It's Friday and I don't have much to report. My week has been good and very busy, yet uneventful. I will be glad when today is over so I can crawl into my bed and sleep sleep sleep. I'm pooped!!

A few things from the week:

I had acupuncture yesterday. It was bizarre. I don't know if I buy into all the voodoo hoodoo of non-Western medicine, but frankly, I don't have many other options at this point. And no, it didn't hurt...I could barely feel it. If you have ever done acupuncture, let me know, I would love to hear your story.

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo starts today!! It's Go Texan Day so I hope you wore your boots and hats to work today!! Watch out for the trail riders - they will end up at Memorial Park around 4 today (according to Lisa Rivas on Channel 13 - Eyewitness news).I hate stupid drivers. This morning, I drove to work at 4:30AM, so there are NO cars on the road. None. Yet, this stupid ho felt the need to cut me off at least 3 times. Wanted to punch.

I gave up the Fbomb and candy for Lent. So far, neither thing is going well. Tommy gave up booze. He said he will take a sip of booze (one ounce) for everytime I say the Fword. So, if I want to go to happy hour, I will have to curse repeatedly to get him to drink with me. Ha. Fun! Can we say enabler??

I ran 10 miles on Wednesday to see if my knee still hurt. It did. Sooo, I got acupuncture on Thursday. Ugh. I'll keep you posted.

This girl's parents should not have procreated. Their genes are clearly not intelligent enough to produce non-idiots - http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/6282511.html

Buffalo Fred's is an icehouse near our house (ha). It looks awesome, but we have never been. Tommy just sent me a text message (at 7:23AM) saying that he just drove by and it was open and there were people there. This is clearly the bar for me. These are my people! Friends, we have found the bar of my dreams!

This is my favorite blog EVER. You should read it - http://www.ihategreenbeans.com/

Tommy and I got invited to go to a timeshare sell this afternoon. Since we already have a timeshare and have no intent of owning another, this seems dumb. BUT if we go, we get a prize - at the very least a 4 night vacation or a cruise...and at the most a $1500 shopping spree. I'm in!! And the best part is that we will be in the 'burbs during the dinner hour which means we get to eat at a chain restaurant!! I'm so excited. It's been awhile since I've had some good quality Outback or TGI Fridays. You don't miss 'em till they are gone. Promise.

I heard Enter Sandman on the radio the other day and I got sad that I haven't played RockBand in a looooong time. That may be my quest for the weekend.

I will blog about Mardi Gras and the gloriousness that it was very very soon. Once I get a nap.

Have a good weekend my friends. Aggies play against Rice, 7pm at the JuiceBox. Gig them.

At a Pool Party, No One Ever Gets Out To Pee.

My shoulder is still kind of hurting. Apparently. I went for a swim last Monday and had a nice enjoyable swim. Since that went well, I went back on Wednesday, but did not have the same results. About 15 meters in, my shoulder started hurting. It wasn't so bad that I couldn't swim, but it was bad enough that I knew I shouldn't. Sooo, I swam a few more laps and practiced my flip turns.

I suck at flip turns. I've been swimming pretty consistently for about 3 years and hadn't really seen much point in learning to flip turn since I swim in open water in races and don't need to flip turn. However, flip turns make you faster when swimming laps. There was this little old lady at the pool awhile ago who was swimming slower than I thought possible, but with her flip turns, she was able to give me a run for my money! Unacceptable. You get a slight heartrate increase because it requires a little more energy, you have to hold your breath and you get all the speed from not having to stop, hold the wall, turn around, and push off. So, all in all, it's not a bad thing to learn. Sooo, I practiced my flip turns. I still suck at them, but I can make it work. I miss the wall enirely about half the time. Ha. Ooops?

I also worked on peeing in the pool while swimming. Yes, I know you are thinking about how disgusting that is. But let's be honest, at the last pool party you went to, where you consumed at least 6 beers, how many times did you get out to pee? Never? Then shut up. Triathlon is a disgusting sport. A really really disgusting sport. The elite athletes pee their pants while on the bike or while running because they can't afford to stop. I'm sure age groupers do this too, but I try not to think about it. If you ever see a biker with a wet tire line on the ground, back off...that dude is peeing his pants.

My problem is that I am just not okay with peeing my pants. I am also not okay with having to stop every 20 minutes to pee. Sooo, my plan is usually to pee as much as I can during the swim so that I can at least start at a reasonable level of bladder fullness by the time I get on the bike. Unfortunately, I can't pee while kicking. Since my shoulder was hurting and I couldn't really swim hard, I thought that practicing my Peeing While Swimming technique would be a good exercise. I determined that I can't pee while kicking, but if I just take a few strokes off of kicking, I can get started and then I'm good. I think I have my pee strategy down for the race in April. I'll pee through the whole swim (I'll get a bad time because I won't kick for half of it, but whatever), and then I should be able to make it through the 3 hours on the bike pee-free, I can stop at T2 and that should get me through till the end of the race. Assuming the weather is good and I stay on my nutrition plan.

Practice makes perfect!

I know you are pretending to be disgusted, but you know you have done it. You also know that everytime you do it you look down to see if that red dye was in the water that would show other people that you peed. Does this stuff actually exist? Or is it just what parents told us so they wouldn't have to chlorinate as regularly?

You probably pick your nose too.

I'm like a newborn.

I have a retainer thing that I sleep in every night. It's supposed to help me sleep better. I haven't found much noticeable difference, but whatever. I paid for the thing so I'll use it.

It is like a retainer or snore guard in that it has two plastic pieces that cover my upper and lower teeth. The pieces are connected with small rubber bands type things that are intended to pull my lower jaw forward and therefore keep my air passageways open and therefore not choke to death while sleeping. Sounds like a good plan, eh?

The beauty of the device is that:
1. It hurts. Not in the painful, I-Just-Got-Braces-Way, but in the I've-Had-Braces-And-They-Changed-Out-The-Rubberbands way. Not excruciating, but definitely not fun.
2. It causes me to drool. A lot. Like, I don't wake up from choking anymore - I wake up from laying in a pool of my own saliva. I'm gonna drown, brutha!
3. It causes me to have some of the worst morning breath known to man...or caveman for that matter. The fact that Tommy pretends to enjoy kissing me in the morning is a testament to our love.
4. My jaw is messed up for the first few hours of the morning and I can't chew properly. I find it's best to eat soft things until about noon.

And after all of these wonderful side effects, they wonder why I can't sleep. Hmmm.

But, I've committed to giving the thing a try. I've been wearing it consistently for about 3 months. Tuesday night, I thought it might be time to upgrade the bands - the bands stretch out over time and to increase the forward movement of the jaw, you have to slowly increase the sturdiness of the bands. I upgraded to similar length, but less flexible bands. This hurt.

I was able to fall asleep, but I awoke around 1am in a lot of pain. I decided to take out the retainer. Normally I get out of bed, go to the bathroom, take out the retainer, and rinse with Listerine. Several times. This night, for some reason, I decided to be lazy and stay in bed. I took out the retainer and took a giant sip of water. I swished it around in my mouth for a minute, like I do with Listerine, and then I spit it out, like I do with Listerine. The problem was that I was still in bed and in my sleepy stupor, I spit an entire mouthfull of water on the bed. Are you kidding me? Apparently, in my old age, I have reverted back to a childlike state wherein I sleep in large pools of liquid. And just like in Big Daddy, I just threw a towel on it and went back to bed.

I need to change those sheets tonight, mkay?

Wish me luck. Me and my mandibular oral advancement device are not really hitting off. Christy need sleep!!

Poor Tommy.

I have been feeling really good lately and have gotten some really awesome workouts in. The new gym at the office is great - I can do pilates at lunch and get my heartrate up for the rest of the afternoon - and the 'gym' at home makes it SO much easier to have productive workouts without ever leaving the house. I had a great swim on Monday - my shoulder didn't hurt at all - and I had a good Turbo Tuesday on the bike trainer, although I bailed on my transistion run afterward. I don't really do rain. Ooops.

Unfortunately for Tommy, he is broken. Somehow, someway, he hurt HIS knee on Saturday and it hurts to walk. Sooo, he can't bike or run right now which is making him crazy of course. And then, on top of that, his shoulder isn't completely healed, so he can't even do a big swim workout. Basically, we determined that he can do crunches. And that's about it. He is going stir crazy, but he knows that taking some time off and taking it easy are the only ways to heal. If it still hurts after this weekend, he is going to the doctor...but not my doctor because his insurance sucks even more than mine.

I think he just likes to mimic the pains I have...my shoulder hurt, his shoulder hurt, my knee hurts, his knee hurts. I wonder if he will get sympathy pregnant when I get pregnant. That would be awesome. I don't want to do it alone!

I bought my first triathlon outfit last night...or should I say that I invested in my first triathlon outfit last night. Those things cost more than a designer purse.(not ALL designer purses, and not all SIZES of designer purses, but let's just say you could go to Coach and buy a nice sized bag for the same price - ouch.) I'm pretty excited about it, even though it was significantly more painful than swimsuit shopping. SIGNIFICANTLY. With hips as GIANT as mine and boobs as tiny as mine, it makes finding a combo that fits quite challenging. But the best part is the chamois in the bike shorts! I've never had a chamois in my bike shorts! I always just tough it out and ride in cheap shorts from Academy...even for 5+ hour rides. I can't wait to give my toosh a little TLC on my next ride!

My bottom and I are very excited.

WIPE OUT!

I crashed on Sunday. Ouch. Tommy and I were riding along peacefully, when we passed our friend Grizz on the trail. We all stopped to chat for a few minutes...or, should I say, I attempted to stop and chat for a few minutes. I stopped, clipped out of one pedal, but forgot about the other. I toppled over, as is expected, and my bike seat rammed itself into my butt cheek.

When it comes to falls, this one was very uncatastrophic...I fell on grass and I didn't break anything, but daaaaaam, that bike seat is gonna leave a bruise.

Ow.

The Weekend.

This was my first weekend of working out...at least it was my first weekend of working out in awhile. It is SOOO hard for me to work out on both days of the weekend. I'm used to having Friday and Sunday off, so working out all three days is hard for me to wrap my brain around.

I bailed on the Friday workout - my parents were coming in town and I had rehab in the morning. There just wasn't enough time. And the Friday workouts are optional and easy anyway. It's more of an active recovery day instead of a workout.

Friday night my parents got in town around 8:30, we hurried them back out the door so we could grab some Cafe Adobe before the show at the Improv at 10:30. Cafe Adobe was amazing...as usual and worth every single delicious calorie. The show at the Improv was funny, but the openers were way more funny than the headliner, Pablo Fransisco. He mostly just makes sound effects and segues into each soundeffect by saying, "ARe you in good hands?" from the Allstate commercial. It just wasn't that funny. Around 1am, when the show still wasn't over, the Bennett clan left...Pablo just wasn't worth staying up till 4am for. Sorry Pablo. The openers were hysterical though.

We got into bed around 2. Ouch. Mom probably hasn't stayed up that long in decades. Ha. Tommy and I got up early and went for a 9 mile-ish jog. We took it easy - my knee is still very questionable. It didn't hurt too bad, but it was ready to be done when I got home. Then mom and I went for a 3ish mile walk with her pooch. It was a nice morning. We all showered and ate and then drove up to the park to play frisbee golf...we had water bottles full of wine, some baguettes and some tasty cheese - Cantal, Gouda and Pepper Gouda - DELICIOUS! We ate and played around in the park. Mom and I were exceptionally bad at the golfing. Who knew? Cathy was a natural...I think it's because she didn't drink as much. Haha. It started raining, so we went home and made dinner of prime rib, scallops and mac and cheese. Dinner of champions!! We watched season 1 of How I Met Your Mother, aka the The GREATEST SHOW EVER! and went to bed early.

Sunday, we got breakfast at Cedar Creek, which was okay, and the parents left to head back to Dallas. I took a nap and when the sum came out around 3, Tommy and I went for a 30ish mile bike ride. On our way home we stopped at Cedar Creek (again) to have some beers with Froehlich. Got home, made dinner and went to bed early.

All in all, a fabulous weekend. My family is amazing and I am so lucky to have them!!

I swam this morning - only about 45 minutes though. I wanted to take it easy to see how my shoulder reacted. It seemed okay, but I didn't want to push it too much. I did 7x100 easy on 15 sec rest, 4x200 hard on 20 sec rest and then 5x100 easy on 15 sec rest. I figured out the volume on my SwiMP3, so it was pretty magical. I'm gonna do core and my rehab stretching at lunch...big fun.

And Facebook is gone at work again. Today is a sad sad sad sad day.

Rehab is for Quitters

And apparently I am a quitter. I started rehab for my knee today and it was...interesting. My first session was 20 minutes with a fascia (spelling?) machine that is supposed to relax my fascia. Fascia is a part of the connective tissue that surrounds muscles, bones, tendons, etc...it acts like the protective casing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascia Before using the machine, we tugged on my legs and made me push against his arms - it was really hard and I didn't do very well. Certain muscles have become jammed and it is due to some of the fascia not being able to work properly...or something. Anyway, he used the machine on me (I wish I remembered it's name) - basically it was round thing, circular, not spherical, that vibrated and he put it on certain joints on my legs, arms and head. Most of it was relaxing, but the head thing was a little uncomfortable. After this he made me repeat the pushing on his arms and I was AMAZED at how much easier it was. It was bizarre.

He also 'adjusted' me - I was okay with the back popping but the neck popping was a different story. It felt like he was a ninja and he was trying to kill me. I won't be having that done again anytime soon.

Then I went to the stretching lady who worked with me on proper posture and we discussed why my knees are bad and why the mechanics of my body are making my knee hurt. The way I sit - which is indian style always all the time - has made me really flexible in that direction, however, it has also made the opposing muscles very short and contracted, hence I kind of turn out my feet when I run/walk/stand/sit, etc...this has in turn made some of my leg muscles work over time to compensate for my ridiculous running style. Sooo, today, we worked on proper posture and a few stretching and balancing exercises. It was hard. She also said that I REALLY REALLY REALLY have to stop locking my knees...it is soooooo hard to stand for long periods of time without locking my knees. She said that it's because I haven't developed those muscles...are you kidding me? Ugh. I'm afraid of my legs getting giant like cheerleader legs.

I go back twice next week and I am supposed to do 1 hour of balancing, flexibility and core strength exercies a day - I have no idea when I will find time for this.

My poor knee. I may or may not have teared up a little when she told me I will have to stop sitting indian style. So far, the jury is out on how this approach to rehab will work, but since I've tried everything else, I don't have anything to lose...except a giant wad of cash. Wish me luck!

The plan for the weekend is a couple hour run on Saturday before my parents get up and then a brick on Sunday. Hopefully the knee can survive!

Change in Plans

My life has been remarkably un-drama filled lately. I'm not complaining though...the latter half of 2008 just about killed me and I could definitely use a break!! Sooo, with a lack of material, I am forced to write about un-catastrophic events. I think I will blog about my training for Cozumel...I will make sure to include any crashes or falls that occur to attempt to keep up with the tragic nature of the blog.

So far in the 'off-season'...

Tommy and I ran the Houston Marathon on Jan 18. We had an absolute blast...well, I had a blast, Tommy had giant blisters, so he had considerably less fun than me. We hadn't really trained at all for the race - life got in the way and I got injured and training just didn't happen. Our longest run was 16 miles...a marathon is 26.2 Ooops. Sooo, it was a surprise when we were both able to finish the race - we seriously considered turning around at mile 9. We didn't break any records with a 4:43 time, but we did a lot of goofing around and playing with the crowd, so this isn't all that surprising. We both felt great afterwards, weren't really sore and were able to enjoy our annual post-marathon keg party.

After the marathon, we gave ourselves a couple of weeks to relax and enjoy the time off. And on Feb 2, triathlon training began!! Our schedule is very intimidating, but it we aren't taking it too seriously yet. We have a race in April in Galveston, but right now we are just building a good solid base. The REAL training will start mid-May. I'm terrified.

A typical training week will look something like this:

Monday: 60-90 minute aerobic swim (3500m)
Tuesday: 70 min on the bike trainer followed by a 30 min run
Wednesday: 60-90 minute anaerobic threshold swim (3500m) and an easy 60 minute bike
Thursday: 60-80 minute sprint run and weights
Friday: Easy swim, easy bike, easy run - all, just one or none, optional day off
Saturday: Long bike - anywhere from 3 hours to 7 followed by a 30 min run - and an easy swim
Sunday: Long run - anywhere from 1 hour to 4 - weights and an easy bike.

So far, we haven't done many of the long weekend workouts - life has been busy! But I have done most of the weekday stuff. It's hard to maintain friendships and R&R AND train, but I think I can do it!!

My parents are coming in this weekend, so I think the plan is to run on Saturday morning before they wake up and then bike on Sunday after they leave...weather permitting. I don't do cold and rainy. At all.

The swimming is on hiatus right now - I hurt my shoulder the other day when I swam 2 miles after not swimming in 3 months. Probably not my smartest move. My knee is still hurting quite a bit, but I found a GREAT doctor and I start rehab on Friday. I'll keep you posted. Right now, I can go about 5-6 miles before the pain starts, but once it starts, it escalates very fast. Doctor Man says that I should notice a difference after one session, so I'll let you know how my run on Saturday goes! I'm gonna hop back in the pool next week and take it easy for week or two before I start to push myself too hard. Worst case scenerio, I don't swim till race day - been there done that and I know I will survive.

I'll try to post some of the pics from the marathon - there are some really funny ones.

Ready for the Holidays!

I am so ready for the holidays to be here. Seriously.

It's the Friday before Christmas, which means that the only people in the office are people who were too irresponsible to save their vacation time till the end of the year. I.e. me. I went a lot of fabulous vacations...France, England, Germany, New York City and spent my days freezing my butt off in each of these cities. Well, Germnay wasn't that cold, but it WAS July and I needed a jacket. That's just wrong.

I am meeting an old friend for lunch in a few minutes and after that I will be borrowing half a vacation day from next year so that I may wander the mall aimlessly instead of sitting in my quiet cubicle surfing the internet.

This weekend will be glorious. Tonight Tommy and I are planning on doing nothing...which hopefully includes renting The Dark Knight on blu-ray and eating mac and cheese. Yum. Thenm, hopefully, Tommy will buy some Christmas presents for me...because right now, our tree has a lot of presents under it, not not a single one has my name on it. I think he hates me. Siiiiiiigh.

Saturday night Lino turns 40 (old balls!) and we will be attending his Birthday bash...after the LSU/A&M/UT/Michigan St basketball game. It's wierd because ALL of my friends in Houston went to one of those 4 schools. I'm serious. I don't know anyone who went to a school other than those 4..and yes, surprisingly, I know a lot of Michigan St people. I think it's wierd too.

We leave for Dallas on Tuesday after work and will spend the weekend there...should be nice and relaxing. I can't wait.

Holidays, please hurry. I need a break!

Hurricane Ike

My first real hurricane in Houston and I am ready to throw in the towel. I'd move, but really, my friends in Ohio lost power due to Ike, so it's not like I can really escape it, ya know?

The storm was supposed to start blasting downtown around 5 or 6PM on Friday and last through the night and the next day. Tommy and I got the bright idea to go ahead and do our 15 mile run on Friday morning so we would feel okay with drinking ourselves into oblivion that evening. We ran, walked the dog a mile or two, got some doughnuts, tried to nap, packed up the house and headed to Francis' for the Hurricane Party of the century.

The party at Frank's was a blast. We ate, we drank (some would say too much) and played Rock Band. Luckily, we had the right minds to calibrate the system before we got too wasted...it was magnificent. Francis has a great view of downtown from his third floor and the guys (I was totally already passed out - I didn't even brush my teeth!) watched as the power went out downtown. The storm raged through the night...but it was wierd, you couldn't really hear it downstairs. Up on the second floor though, it was really scary.

We could see that Frank's neighbors tree had crushed their garage, and narrowly missed the house. The wind was loud, the rain was sideways and we had no power. I fell down the stairs not once, but twice. The guys worked hard to fix the leaks in Franks house and we started up the generator to keep food cool.

Once the storm died down, Tommy and drove the .25 miles to our house to survey the damage. There was a lot of impassable roads, but we made it there in one piece. It turns out that our street drains pretty well...no standing water at all. Lots of tree limbs, but no water.

Our house had no damage - the yard was pretty messed up - but no damage to the house at all. Thank goodness. Our poor neighbors, who were robbed a few weeks prior, lost their roof, so it rained in their living room for most of the storm. Pretty terrible. Giant trees blocked roadways, the water was ridiculously high in the bayous and there was a lot of really bad structural damage.

We stopped at Christian's Tailgate (a local bar in Midtown) for a drink...there was no power or water, so it was a cash bar and you needed a flash light to find the bathroom and once you finally found it, you regretted it. Lack of running water makes flushing a challenge. But once again, the party was fun. It's amazing how people can come together in times of adversity. The line for the bar was very controlled, someone pulled their car up close and turned on some music and someone brought in a BBQ pit to make food. All in all, it was good time.

Tommy and I finally decided that we would drive to Dallas to escape the blistering heat at our un-airconditioned house, so we packed up the essentials and got on the road. We made it to Dallas by midnight, where my parents let us shower and fall into bed. We were exhausted and filthy.

We spent the weekend relaxing, but had to come back on Monday for Tommy to work. The town was still in disarray and we were still without power. Luckily, we have some of the most amazing friends in the world who were willing to put us (and our giant mutt) up for a few nights - THANK YOU Thomas and Janelle. We were without power for 11 days and it was hard. Those 11 days taught me how to drink like a fish and never get hungover. How it was possible is totally beyond me. I drank more in those 11 days than I did my entire freshman year combined. I now understand (and respect) why homeless people are always wasted. You HAVE to be drunk to be okay with being homeless.

Anyways, all in all, it was hard and I don't want to do it again, but I have some great memories from the days spent at Francis' in dungeon, on the air mattress in Thomas's loft and on the couch at Janelle's house...nevermind the many afternoons spent at West Alabama Ice House. I know that living in Houston I will probably have to deal with it again, but next time I will have a house with windows that I can open, a generator and a window unit. I'll be set.

This picture is a house down the street from us. It looks very cute from the front, but you can't tell that it's been totally cut in half.



This picture was taken on Nov. 15, almost 2 months after the hurricane. The tree is STILL stuck in the house.



Same house, from the other end of the tree. Those are the roots sticking out of the ground. The tree was so big it actually hit the house next door as well, but didn't do quite as much damage.



This is of Chase Tower downtown. The roads were closed off for at least week because of all the glass surrounding the downtown buildings.



This is what our neighborhood looked like a few days after the storm. The rain had drained away, but so many roads were blocked with downed trees and power lines...it took FOREVER to get anywhere.



This is of Seaside Beach in Galveston looking out at the Causeway. As you probably guessed, this area is usually not completed submerged.



And now for the picture that everyone has seen, but you can't have a Hurricane Ike blog and not mention... I just want to say that I need to get that guy to build my next house.

Torture.

The things I do to torture my pet.

This is him in his Halloween costume. Because he is so large, I just have to buy the costumes I can find in XL. Sooo, this year he was forced to go as Pocahontas. I think he likes it.



This is him in the hooded sweatshirt we got him from Old Navy. He isn't really a fan of the hood portion of the event.





This one is just funny because his head looks so giant.

Moving Day!!

On Tuesday, November 4, 2008, I officially became a homeowner.

Tommy and I purchased our first home together and man, it was a great feeling walking into that brand-new, GORGEOUS house with our bottle of champagne, knowing that it was all ours.

That is, it was great until the phone installation guy backed over a water main and shut off water to our whole block within 15 minutes of homeownership. I mean, we didn't even have a chance to toast to our new house yet!! Luckily, after a trip to Lowe's down the street, the phone guy was able to repair the water line and turn the water back on. But seriously? We had only owned the home for half an hour.

THEN...yes, there's more. It's me. Of course there is more.

Tommy went to the old house to help the movers load the truck while I stayed at home to unpack the kitchen stuff we brought over earlier. The movers showed up an hour and a half late (at 4PM instead of 2:30) and it took them FOREVER to load the truck. When they finally had everything in the truck and they were about to head to the new house, the truck broke down. Yup, that's right. The truck broke down, in the driveway of my old house, with all my belongings in it at 6:30PM. They were able to get it started again, but it broke down several more times in the 4 mile journey from old to new house. It took them an hour to drive 4 miles. They finally finished unpacking around 8:30 and we were able to unpack a little before passing out.

All in all the house is great and we are so thankful that everything has worked out thus far.

Here is a picture of Don in all my packing materials. He is clearly not enjoying this. I think the crinkling of the paper was too loud for him. (In the background you can see the floor of the living room...oooh, ahhh)

Moving.

Tommy and I are attempting to buy a house. It would appear that if you are a dipshit, buying a house is easy (I'm basing this entirely on the number of foreclosures around the nation) and if you are trying to be smart, they pretty much try to stick things up your a$$ every chance they get. So, buying a house is hard and my ass hurts.

We are supposed to close tomorrow, but then again, we were supposed to close last week too, so, I'm not counting on much these days. We will see. My fingers are crossed and they have been for a looooong time.

I am really excited about moving into a house that isn't a piece of crap since that's all I've ever lived in my entire adult life. I have lived in 11 different places in the last 9 years...6 of those places have been in the last 4 years. That's just wrong.

1. August 1999-December 1999
Freshman Year
I shared a dorm room in Haas Hall with Emily. As it turns out, this was also the lesbian basketball player dorm. We were two of the few who didn't play sports and didn't prefer women. This dorm also had a very strange smell.

2. January 2000-May 2000
Freshman Year
I shared a VERY small dorm with this crazy girl named Kim. She would disappear for weeks and steal my clothes and my credit cards. She was awesome. I think she also used to hide under her bed so I wouldn't know she was there. Seriously. Creepy.

3. May 2000-August 2000
Freshman Summer
Moved back home with my parents for the summer because they wanted to torture me. Apparently I was bad enough that they requested that I never move back home. My plan was genius.


4. August 2000-August 2001
Sophomore Year
My first apartment was with Sara, Julienne and Kristin. Sara and Kristin shared a room and I had the cool converted living room so I had my own front door. I shared a bathroom with Julienne who also turned out to be a crazy girl. This place was a dump - http://www.poloclubapartments.net You know a place is good when they only pictures they show is the front office...and even that is scary. I once saw a man jerking off at the swimming pool. I'm telling you, this place was disgusting. BUT, it was my first apartment. I loved it.

5. August 2001-August 2002
Junior Year
Sara and I moved to a three bedroom apartment with her friend Jessica. This was the nicest place I have ever lived, other than the corporate apartment Dow gave me when I interned. This living situation just wasn't good for reasons that I can no longer remember, but it was drama at the time.

6. August 2002-August 2004
Senior and Second Senior Years
Due to the Drama at the previous apartment, I decided to go it alone and get my own place. This place was probably the worst of all the places and I am actually quite embarressed that I spent so long in a 400sq ft one room apartment. But since I was no longer splitting rents, I had to make ends meet. The Doux Chene...http://www.dcapts.com/ Once again, you KNOW it's good when they don't actually show any pictures. I painted a wall hot pink once and was too lazy to repaint...seriosly. Surprisingly though, I was very happy here and only have good memories...despite the blue carpet and hot pink wall. The place was so small I could open the fridge from my bed. There are some very specific reasons why I gained so much wieght in college...

During my time at the Doux Chene, I relocated to Houston for an internship, but since that apartment was furnished and I didn't have to lift a couch, I don't consider it a real move. I left all my stuff at the Blue Douche for the summer and came home 3 months later.

7. May 2004-November 2004
1st Few Months Out of College
I relocated to Houston after graudation and found a lovely little one bedroom that me and my giant mutt quickly outgrew. After a few months I realized that when the SPCA said he would be 35 pounds, they really meant 70 pounds, and I was going to need a bigger place. I don't know why I am constantly drawn to ugly and gross apartments, but once again, the website doesn't actually show any pictures of the buildings. http://www.tanglewoodcourt.com/

8. November 2004-August 2005
I was able to upgrade to a 2 bedroom apartment at the same complex where the mutt and I could flourish. This apartment was ghetto, but bigger, so therefore slightly less ghetto?

9. August 2005-August 2006
Why I always insisted on moving in the hottest month of the year, I have no idea. But I was able to find a cute little one bedroom house to rent right next to Memorial Park. It was perfect for Don and I. We were able to run to the park and play and he had a yard and it was magical. That is, it was magical until my landlord broke in one day and rearranged my furniture and opened all my windows. That was pretty awesome. So, I moved out.

10. August 2006-December 2006
Natalie and I moved into a giant house together. This seemed like a great idea, but what we didn't realize was that this landlord was even creepier than my previous landlord and only rented the place to us because we were young girls. He didn't even do a credit check. Bizarre. Around December, I pretty much moved out and moved in with Tommy.

11. December 2006-August 2008
I moved into my man friends VERY small garage apartment in the Heights...which, surprisingly is one of the best living situations I have ever had. Up until our landlord got this AWFUL monster Yorkie dog. I have never wanted to kick a puppy so much in my entire life. We lived almost 2 blissful years there before we got antsy. Sharing 700 sq ft with another person and a giant dog isn't easy. Our bathroom was so small that I could sit on the toilet, rest my head on the sink and wash my feet in the tub at the same time. We didn't have heat at all and only had central AC. It didn't have much, but we loved it. We had a storage shed for all our junk and we made weekly trips there to trade out things. The good news was that we could clean the place from top to bottom in under 2 hours. Despite having been robbed while we were sleeping, we loved the neighborhood, the people, the location, pretty much everything. This is where we want to live forever. Siiiiiiiigh.

12. August 2008-November 2008
The garage apartment just got too small and we decided we wanted to upgrade our renting capabilities so we could save for a couple more years before buying our dream house. Sooo, we found a great little bungalow in Montrose, which is a little seedier, but in an excellent location. Within one week of living there, our neighbors got robbed. Awesome. At least it wasn't us. This house has pretty much been a disaster from the beginning to the end. The AC was broken when we moved in and out of the first 53 days we lived there, we only had AC for 24 of those days. The house is cursed and I am pretty sure someone died a brutal death there and is trying to haunt us to get us to leave. No prob bob. We broke our lease and are moving out by the 12th.

Which brings us to home #13. Lucky #13. We are supposed to close on a house tomorrow morning and move tomorrow afternoon. This will be the 13th time I have packed all my belongings and moved them in 9 years. That averages out to me moving every 251 days or approx every 8 months. This is a cost of about $500 per move, excluding deposits...and a total of $6000.

The worst part though is when I have to reset a password (or something) and they want me to confirm where I lived in May of 2002 and I have no freaking clue.

Wish us luck tomorrow. It's gonna be a doozy.

My Husband Wears ALL the Pants in the Family

A typical day at our house begins when the alarm goes off at 4:30AM and we wake up in a half stupor and do some whining. The whining doesn’t usually stop until we get to the park. (And even then I am known to lay down on my towel in the grass and mope for a few minutes). The workout begins at 5:15AM and is HARD. We then shower in the locker rooms at the park and head to respective workplaces.

Anyway, this is just the backstory, and some slight justification as to why my husband is a crossdresser.

On Monday morning, it was the typical routine. Wake up, moan, dress in a stupor, go to the park, workout, and then shower. We usually end up getting dressed in about the same amount of time (yeah, I’m awesomely quick…he is so lucky) so we can usually walk to our cars together or at least grab a kiss before the day officially begins.

On this particular day, I was walking to my car when I heard Tommy behind me. I turned and saw him. I sensed something was wrong with his pants…maybe they were too long? Too big? I couldn’t quite figure it out. But I opted not to say anything. He asked what was wrong.
I said, “Nothing – you look great!”
And he said, “It’s the pants isn’t it?”
I responded with, “Well, something looks a little off about them…”
He comes back with, “Well, they’re yours.”

HAHAHAHAHA.

Are you freaking kidding me?

Sure enough though, upon closer inspection, he was in fact wearing my favorite black slacks from Express…and they looked better on him than they do on me. At this point, his biggest complaint was that the pockets weren’t big enough for all his crap. Duh. This is why we need giant purses. Idiot. The flare leg was quite flattering on him, albeit slightly emasculating.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

He said he showered and was pulling up the pants when he tried to zip them up, and lo and behold the zipper was on the wrong side. At this point, he realized that he had accidentally grabbed my pants from the closet, but didn’t want to put back on his dirty workout clothes, and hey, my pants fit, so why not wear them? He also said he felt like a crossdresser. I told him that was because he WAS a crossdresser.

HAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHA.

When I get back from lunch, I find an email from Tommy in my inbox:

“Tommy to me
show details Sep 8 (2 days ago) Reply

It's weird having the zipper and all backwards. And hard to get the equipment out since the zipper doesn't go down all that far. Haha. It's hard to wear womens pants.

You know what they say about walking a mile in someone else's shoes? Do the pants count? If so, I think I will be able to learn more about you after today...”

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

I forward this to Harold, who proceeds to forward it to most everyone Tommy knows, and before long, people Tommy doesn’t even know are emailing him asking about the situation. His co-worker took a picture, which unfortunately, doesn’t really do the situation justice, so I’ve attached one I took when he got home.




To my loving husband: You’ve GOT to stop stealing stuff from my closet. And you’re taking the dry cleaning in this week. I’m afraid of it.