Best. Weekend. EVER.

This weekend was one of the best weekends EVER. And I'm not just saying that to make fun, I'm being serious. It was a much needed repreive from the pain that is the Ironman. I probably shouldn't have missed that workout on Friday or the bike ride on Sunday, but man, I feel soooo much better that I did. I was exhausted.

Friday I woke up and remained in a zombie-like state until I went to bed that evening. Tommy and I cooked dinner, cleaned a little and I went to bed around 9...Tommy stayed up and worked till about 1am. Ouch.

We woke up at 6:30am (which is sleeping in, BTW) and hit the streets for a run. I had a request from my doc that I do a long run this weekend to see how my knee was feeling. We had a plan to run 13-15 miles...semi-near the house so if I broke down, I could get saved semi-easily. We ran down to Buffalo Bayou and ran around that loop, then back up the Heights trail and cut across to our 'hood. My knee felt pretty good! I was highly impressed. Apparently the fish oil pills he put me on made a difference. Wierd. The only problem was that I hadn't tried to run 13 straight miles since before the marathon (and it was HOT on Saturday), so we were pretty slow and my legs were pooped afterwards. All in all, a successful workout.

On the way home, we found a yard sale and got some much needed patio furniture...dinner on the veranda anyone?

We showered real fast, and then hopped on our bikes to meet the crew for lunch at La Mexicana...also known as the most expensive disgusting mexican food restaurant EVER. I don't recommend it.

Then we headed to the Art Car Parade. Matt painted a VW van last year to look like the Alamo...The Alamobile. It's pretty spectacular. Drinks in hand, we enjoyed a hot summer day in Houston. I painted posters, Francis took pictures, Janelle tried to pretend that I am as photgenic as she is, and fun was had by all.

Matt and his masterpiece.


The crew in front of the Alamobile...sans Francis.


Me, Roxie and the Alamobile.


Tommy hugs BrilloMan. I requested a divorce.


Me and Tommy smiling pretty for Francis. Surprisingly, this is a decent shot. It's amazing what good lighting can do for ugly people.


This is ridiculous.


Then we rode back to Francis's for drinks in the garden...siiigh...and then rode home to shower real quick and head to the Post-Art Car Parade Crawfish Boil sponsored by none other than himself, Mr. Matt.

Natalie and Micah joined us at Shady Tavern, where we ate delicious crawfish, drank beer, rum and some mystery punch and played the evening away...until Tommy passed out in the corner and Matt made us leave. Tragedy. Hahahaha.

We went home, I made popcorn and watched Gossip Girl and left Tommy to sleep it off on the couch while I enjoyed having the bed to myself. Is that wrong?? We woke up at 7am, made breakfast and ate on the patio (with our new furniture!) and went back to bed. Sundays don't get any more magical than that my friend!!

We laid out, went to the grocery store, cooked scallops for dinner (and ate on the patio) and went to bed early.

Seriously. Best. Weekend. Ever. And JUST what the doctor ordered. Good friends and good times.

Now hopefully the weather will behave and we can float the river this weekend!!

Oh, how things have changed.

As most of you know, I really struggle with my weight. This is not to say that I am fat. I am not fat. I am of average height and build and generally look acceptable in my clothes.

This being said, I also work out about 30 times more per day than the average person and I eat relatively well...so why am I still stuck in an average body? There are no answers. Some people were just born to be chunks and I am apparently one of them. I have to work really really really hard to maintain my average body and it suuuuucks.

But I found an interesting tidbit today. Apparently, in 2005, I wrote this blog entry about my dietary habits.

On that day, by 11:09am, I had eaten:
- 1 dozen donut holes
- 2 whole donuts (1 glazed, 1 frosted with sprinkles)
- 1 pretzel sticks
- 2 peppermints
- 1 roll of Lifesavers
- 2 Poptarts (1 package is 2 Poptarts)

And I was the skinniest I have ever been.

By comparison, on an average day NOW, by 11:09am, I will typically eat:
- 1 granola bar as my post workout snack
- 1 small bag of pretzels
- 1 package of light string cheese
- 1 medium sized apple

And I am working my a$$ off, but still can't fit into the skinny jeans I bought in 2005. WTF.

I'm going back to my bag-a-day donut habit. This sucks.

Bragging Rights.

It's amazing how quickly your body can gain strength...especially when you start with nothing to begin with.

Two years ago, I started training for the marathon with a group called HoustonFIT ATP (Advanced Training Program). I had run with HoustonFIT for the 2 years before that and was looking for a new challenge. The ATP group meets twice a week for a VERY painful workout involving sprints, hills and weights and then a long run on Saturdays.

Every workout ended with us doing some push-ups or other core exercises...all of which I sucked at. Sucked bad. All we had to do was hold the bridge (push up position, but on your elbows) for a minute or two or whatever length of time Ashley (our coach) felt like inflicting on us. We would do the bridge, the side bridge, the back bridge, etc, etc, and eventually do some pushups or something elese equally painful.

I could never do it. I could never hold the bridge for the full time. Ever. And I could only do 8 pushups. And those 8 pushups were PAINFUL. Brutal. Ow.

Now, however, I have been doing core workouts almost every day for 2 months. I can hold the bridge on bosu balls for a minute or so, or on the ground for forever. It's amazing. I never thought it would be possible...but your body adapts.

I have also started a 100 pushup plan. The goal is to be able to do 100 push ups. I have no idea when I will EVER need this ability, but whatever. My high school reunion is in September...I must, I must, I must increase my bust!

In only 3 days of following the plan, I am now able to do 5 sets of 20 pushups. That's 100 pushups my friends. I SERIOUSLY doubt I could do more than 20 at a time, but taking a small break in between makes a huge difference. My chest is KILLING me and I can barely lift my water bottle to my lips, but it's worth it. We will see if I can do elevated feet pushups once ATP gets started...fingers crossed!!

I still can't see my 6 pack, but I'm almost certain it's there. She's just hiding. It's been awhile since she's been out in public. I think she's nervous.

I'll be Ironman/High school reunion ready in no time.

Refueling. The Hot Topics.

Today I was surfing some triathlon forums and I found some stuff about refueling during a race. Since I have SERIOUS GI issues, this is always a hot topic for me. Well, I didn't find a cute for my problems, but I did find a creative solution on how to stow your Clif Blocs during the bike.

"Before I got my Bento box, I was able to squish the cliff blocks in the holes in my helmet so when I needed them on the bike, I just had to reach up and get one. Silly, but it totally worked."

Hahahahaha - awesome. And so gross. I know where my helmet has been...THAT'S how the swine flu gets spread.

I'm a LOST fan. And a Republican.

And therefore, this is funny.

Ha.

Stupid Strippers.

I mean, I wouldn't expect a stripper to be a genius, but you would think that an IQ over 12 and at least 2 social skills woulnd't be too much to ask.

Right?

Wrong.

A few weeks ago, we all went to Wild West for Reagan's going away party - she needed one last dose of Tejas before moving to Colorado. So we all put on our apple bottom jeans and our boots with the spurs and prepared for a night of cowboy hats, country music, two-steppin' and cheap beer. Wild West is a magical place.

Our friend Lino showed up, late and wasted, and had a 'lovely' girl with him. We will call her Fluffy Aspen (because that's what my stripper name would be, using the first pet, first street combo). Fluffy was a stripper. Not only that, but Fluffy was a stripper that Lino had picked up AT THE STRIP CLUB just prior to arriving at Wild West.

Fluffy was a remarkable young lady.

As you all know, I have a scar on my forehead that looks kind of like a zit, or a mole or a birth mark, or what have you. Truthfully, I don't notice it anymore. It doesn't bother me - it hasn't bothered me for years.

But apparently it bothered Fluffy because when I joined the group to chat, she SPIT ON HER DRUNKEN STRIPPER HAND AND TRIED TO WIPE OFF MY DOT. She tried to wipe it off. SHE SPIT ON HER HAND AND TRIED TO WIPE THE SCAR OFF MY FORHEAD. Omg. I couldn't shower fast enough.

I'm pretty sure I have a staph infection on my forehead. There's a pretty good chance that my head will just fall off now...I mean, it's probably so infected. I'll probably die. Can syphillis be transferred through the forehead?

Thanks Lino. You owe me. You me big time.

It's a BOY!!!

Yup, that's right, I'm having a boy. NOW we know why I can't lose weight.

Ha. Just kidding. I'm not pregnant. I don't think.

But I DID determine that training for the Ironman is like having a child because it is so all encompassing. It's all I think about or do. It's all I think YOU should think about or do. It's all I want to talk about, because it's all I have to talk about, because it's the only thing I do. It IS my little unborn child named IMCOZ (pronounced: IMCOZ).

I know you will love him when you meet him. 221 Days until his birthday - feel free to buy gifts.

In other news: My sister signed up for a marathon!! Go Cathy go! Let the countdown begin!

All Good Things Must End.

I had an amazing week of training last week. I got a reasonable amount of sleep (for an insomniac), rocked every single workout, felt like a million bucks and just generally felt awesome.

But the wheels started to come off on Sunday. Tommy and I went for a long-ish run on Sunday afternoon. The plan was to do about 13-15 miles - I really needed to see how my knee was doing. So, we set out. The first mile was painful, as the first mile usually is, but as usual, you puch through mile 1 and mile 2 is generally pretty enjoyable. This was not the case on Sunday. Mile 1 was painful and mile 2 was worse. By mile 3 I was resigned to not enjoy the run, but knew I would put the miles in anyway...so I hunkered down and kept pounding the pavement.

My knee held out pretty well till mile 7 when the pain started setting in, and by mile 10, it was done. Which meant we had 3 miles to walk home...blah. Walking sucks. We had a good time, ran into some friends, but all in all, a crappy workout. A good run is one where you can space out and then all of the sudden you are at the finish line...this was not a good run.

I knew my week of workouts were in trouble. You don't have a week like I had last week without repercussions - I knew I was in for it.

My swim yesterday was blah. I did most of the workout, but I just wasn't feeling it - the guy in the lane next to me was the only thing that kept me going. I HAD to swim faster than him. Swimming is the only sport I am any good at, so I have to win pretty much all the time. Ha. I have been time trialing 400m each time I go to the pool to prepare for the sprint tri we are doing in May (it's my first sprint and I'm nervous - I am not a sprinter...at all). Lately my 400m times have been in the 6-6:30 range (a hard but not all out effort)...yesterday it was 7min and I was exhausted afterwards. Normally I am kind of out of breath but could have swum quite a bit more...yesterday I almost had to get out of the pool to catch my breath. Painful.

I do pilates everyday at lunch - it's a great way to break up the day and I don't get too sweaty so I can just come back to work. No one has commented on me smelling...yet. But yesterday, even pilates was hard. I only did about half my stuff. Everything about my body was just angry.

Then today...ugh, today. I didn't sleep well at all (typical, but last night was especially bad), but I got up and got on the bike. I had planned to take it super easy for an hour or two, to give my legs a rest, but they just weren't having it. Even my easy gear was tough...real tough. So I got off the bike and went back to bed for an hour. But then I couldn't sleep because I was so pissed off.

It's a vicious cycle.

I'm gonna do just pilates today, swim tomorrow and then, HOPEFULLY by Thursday my body will happy again and I can get back on track. I have to be in super shape to start the REAL training on June 1. 222 days till IMCOZ!!!

In other news, I'm getting my haircut today...let's all pray that my bangs have FINALLY grown out so I can give up the ridiculous teeny bopper hair do I have going on now. AND...AANNNNDDDD...it's Aggie Muster Day. If there is an A&M man in one hundred miles of you, you are expected to get together, eat a little, and live over the days you spent at the A&M College of Texas...and do that I shall.

BFF.

I'm pretty sure Tommy hates me. He knows me well enough to know that I cry at EVERYTHING. Seriously. EEEEEVVERYTHIIIING. And he hates me enough to send me articles at work that he knows will make me cry...because he thinks it is funny and ultimately, he is evil.

That being said, this IS a great article about training and racing with your best friend...I cried like a little girl. This article says what I want to say, but it says it better.

I absolutely love racing with Tommy - even when we don't physically race together, it's nice knowing he is out there too, going through the same pain as I am. I love training with him - the hours we spend on the trail are some of the best conversations we have ever had. Running with someone for 3+ hours really gives you the chance to talk about EVERYTHING. Does it get frustrating sometimes? Yes. But the benefits of us both training so hard far outweight the negatives. We both wake up everyday at 4:30am...we may do different workouts, in different places, but we both wake up at 4:30 and start the day - and afterwards, we send each other text messages wondering about the other workout. I doubt I could do what I do if my husband was still all warm and cozy in the bed!!

but most of all, I like crossing the finish line with him, knowing we just had a silly race and a good time together...because that's what it's all about.

Shout out: To Allison and Cayla for completing their first triathlon!! I am so excited for them and so proud! Nice job ladies - don't let the addiction take over your life!! :)

Why I Take the Elevator.

People always give me a hard time (and by 'people', I mean Francis) about taking the elevator and whining about 3 story homes. Their (and by 'their', I mean Francis)argument being that I run marathons and do triathlons and work out and blah blah blah, so a few little stairs wouldn't hurt, now would they?

HA! Ha Francis HA! I win.

My rebuttal has always been that I work out enough already. I don't need to take the 4 flights of stairs to my desk (I work on the 5th floor) or even take the stairs to the second floor of the parking garage. I already did my workout today, and frankly, I'm too tired to take the stairs. So there.

He gave me crap when I refused to even look at 3 story houses - too many stairs! And trust me, it took a solid month before my calves were used to my 2 stories...you can totally garauntee that there are nights I don't bother going up to my bedroom until bedtime...it's so high and far away!

But I think Francis finally figured it out.

Today Francis joined Tommy and I for a workout a the track. We met at 5am, which in Francis-time is close to when he normally goes to bed, but he was there (not exactly bright eyed and bushy tailed, but there) - I was impressed that he just showed up!

We did an easy 2 mile warm up and then some stretching and a few drills. This was followed by 6x300 on 3 minute intervals, 3x800 with 2 minutes rest and a 1 mile timed trial...followed by a 10-15 minute cooldown. This equates to about 7ish miles...which is also the farthest Francis had ever run in his life.

Track workouts are great because they can be as hard or as easy as you want them to be. Tommy and I can go and workout together, but he can go fast and I can go slooooow, but we still both get great workouts in.

Francis kicked butt. He did awesome. But apparently, according to co-workers, he is now hobbling around like an old man, and I recieved a message saying, "If all this healthy stuff is supposed to be good for me, why does it suck so much?".

Ha. I don't think Francis will be taking the stairs today.

Take that Francis!! Enjoy that 3rd story bedroom you have there. It's got a nice view and all, but is it worth it?

This is why I don't take the stairs.

Finish Line Videos of Lonestar!!

Here are videos of Tommy and I crossing the finish line at Lonestar...if you can have sound, you can hear how bad the wind was, especially on mine. It was terrible.

My finish -



Tommy's finish -

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.