Pic of the Day!

When we were driving the course for Buffalo Springs, we came across this:

From behind, I thought it was just a mutilated satallite dish. But no, it's just sooper dooper Texas love!!

And then, when we were packing up and about ready to head back out of town, Don decided he would drive.

I have no idea why he decided to get in the front seat. He has never sat anywhere other than the trunk of a car...ever. I don't know where he got this big idea. but the real problem was that once he was in, he couldn't get out. He couldn't back out and there wasn't enough room to turn around. It was quite traumatizing for him.

Week 2 - 90 Miles

In the water: 4.68 miles - 2 hours 50 minutes
On Rocky: 68 miles - 4 hours 3 minutes
In my Asics: 17.1 miles - 3 hours 13 minutes

Plus:
Core and Abs classes and stretching..


Total Mileage - 89.78 miles, 10 hours and 60 minutes

I will include a full BSLT Race Report soon. I know you are dying to read it.

Locker Room Etiquette

A show of hands please...

Please raise your hand if you think it is acceptable to stand in a gym locker room, butt nekkid (except for a shower cap), and dry your butt crack with the automatic hand dryer.

Insert Jim Halpert Face.

Yes, this is the scenerio I encountered today at the YMCA. I walked out of my shower stall to find an old, wrinkly woman, in nothing but a shower cap, bent over underneath the automatic hand dryer. I was so appalled. I feel like my eyes are going to fall out of my sockets. I may never sleep again.

I tried to rationalize it, but it wasn't possible. The only excuse I could come up with was that she forgot her towel (the YMCA does not have towel service at that location) and her butt crack MUST be dried completely. Air drying just won't cut it. But NO! I saw her walking around with a towel a few minutes later!! OMG.

I seriously might die.

Tommy regaled me with a story of him watching an old dude put his jewels on the counter and then dry them with a regular hair dryer.

WHERE DO THESE PEOPLE COME FROM??

I'm traumatized beyond repair.

Triathlete Code of Conduct...for Elitists.

I found this on Facebook...enjoy! My favs - 14, 17 and 29. Hahahahahaha.

******* -THE OFFICIAL ELITIST TRIATHLETE CODE OF CONDUCT- *********

1. An aerodynamic appearance is required at all times while swimming, cycling, and running. The only thing separating the Elitist Triathlete from greatness is the air and/or water and thankfully, one can spend inordinate amounts of money gaining the ability to cheat it in every facet imaginable.

2. Training shall be based solely upon one’s ability to talk it up to other triathletes. Backing up one’s wild claims of 8 hour rides with a quick 20 miles at the end is highly encouraged, but not always necessary due to the fact that any other triathlete one talks to will usually lie about what they did to show you up anyway.

3. There is a grace period of one year that one may wear anything other than spandex though it is HIGHLY frowned upon. Spandex is highly encouraged in ANY AND ALL situations.

4. Other than the hair on one’s head, the Elitist Triathlete’s entire body will be COMPLETELY shaved at ALL TIMES when in race season and a minimum of legs in the off-season. This is not only one of the most aero things one can do to one’s body, but also distinguishes the Elitist Triathlete from Elitist Cyclists. Failure to comply will render the triathlete looking like a fool.

5. One’s body must contain a MINIMUM of 3 different sets of tan lines. One’s race suit tan lines, one’s speedo tan lines, and one’s cycling outfit tan lines. This also helps distinguish the Elitist Triathlete from Elitist Cyclists.

6. Other than long rides/runs, it is FORBIDDEN to wear socks at any time. Instead, the Elitist Triathlete will wear any number of shoes that are designed for sockless wear and preferably have some kind of speed-of-entry advantage. If one develops blisters, one will need to suck it up princess.

7. Certain races dictate certain race apparel. However at no time is it ever acceptable for a man to wear something not covering, at the minimum, his chest. The abdomen is completely fine showing as you will need to show your dedication to your training by having nothing less than a ten pack.
a. Sprint distance races are the only time in which it is acceptable to wear any off combination items, though strongly discouraged.
b. Olympic distance races require at least some form of standardized triathlon gear and it is highly encouraged to wear an ITU style unitard with the zipper in the back and one’s country/last name on the front.
c. Half Ironman and up it is FORBIDDEN to race in any article of clothing without prominent sponsorship logos. The only exception to this rule is to race in a swimming brief and place prominent sponsorship tattoos all over one’s body, while keeping in mind that the chest must remain covered.

8. One’s bike frame may not cost less than $2,000 and must have an aero appearance above all else. Actual wind-tunnel testing is encouraged but not required as some designs are just brilliant from common sense. (See the Kestrel Airfoil)

9. One shall race on Zipp wheel-sets or Hed wheel-sets only with the minimum wheel depth no less than 50 mm. Though fading in popularity, it is still HIGHLY encouraged to ride a disk rear and a Hed Tri-spoke front. In fact, other than the Ironman World Championship, one should never be caught without one’s disk wheel. Campagnolo Boras, Mavic Cosmic Carbones, Fullcrum Racing Ones, and Lightweights are incredibly Euro and should be treated with extreme apprehension.

10. Clinchers are only acceptable in training and it is FORBIDDEN to ride with them in a race. Tubular tires are vastly superior in all circumstances and one must always carry a spare tubular tire behind his seat regardless of one's ability to change a tire in a race.

11. Sunglasses must be extremely radiant and obnoxious. The general rule of thumb is, if you think a rapper would wear them, you’re good to go. Sunglasses must be worn under the straps as this means you pulled off a very quick transition.

12. Hair must be kept very neat and short, almost military-tapered in appearance. It is extremely frowned upon to have long hair, unless one is Ironman World Champion Faris al-Sultan. Even then, it is only okay if one adheres to the exception found in Rule 7c and wears a bandana with their country's colors.

13. A road helmet must be worn at all times in training and may only be raced in an ITU race. A matching aero helmet is required to race in and it must comply with all American safety standards. If it fails to, Charlie Crawford WILL find you and he WILL eat your lunch.

14. At no times is it ever acceptable for the Elitist Triathlete to be caught without his helmet on other than when said triathlete comes indoors, which should be kept to a strict minimum as there is nothing good inside, ever.

15. Water bottles should be chosen on the sole basis of how aero they are. It is highly encouraged to have anything requiring the use of hose to go from a large aero reservoir to your mouth.

16. If one finds themselves with a flat tire in a half or full Ironman race, one must throw their bike and hurl obscenities about how one can't possibly win the race now that one has no power. Crying is HIGHLY encouraged.

17. Work out apparel may be used more than once and it is encouraged to do so as this hints to others through odor that one is very dedicated to their training.

18. Upon completing an OFFICIAL Ironman, one has 24 hours to seek a tattoo artist to tattoo the M-Dot logo on one's leg. The M-Dot may not exceed 3 cm by 3 cm and must be located on the right leg, directly above the right ankle bone. If one wins Kona, one must instead get the Hawaiian Man of Power.

19. When getting water at water stops, one must make an effort to get the volunteers as wet as possible. This is best accomplished by throwing water on one's self from the side.

20. When one wins a race, one must grab the tape and raise it in the air over one's head which must be pointed to the sky. Screaming is HIGHLY encouraged. If no tape is available, it is advised to simply act as if there was tape there anyway.

21. Post-race composure is paramount to one's image. At no point should one ever look tired.

22. Post-race activities should include talking to reporters about:
a. How one made a gutsy move that nobody expected and that was one's key to the win.
b. How the course was less than par and hard to follow.
c. How one was simply feeling a win before even getting into the water.

23. If the Elitist Triathlete loses a race one should show signs of apparent injury and anything to show that it wasn't one's fault for losing. It is HIGHLY encouraged to either drop out mid race and/or argue with the Race Director as if that would make a difference.

24. One must be willing to wear a speedo brief or equivalent to any and all banquet type atmosphere. National Championship post-race events are prime locations for partial nudity.

25. Handlebar tape must either match one's bike or provide some sort of nod to vintage triathletes. At no point should one ever have two different colored tapes or anything that clashes with one's frame.

26. Top Gun style mustaches are HIGHLY encouraged for Ironman races. Otherwise, facial hair is forbidden.

27. If planning on getting in a training ride with a group of cyclists, the Elitist Triathlete should make a point to show up on his rig instead of an acceptable road bike. It is imperative that one also makes a point to pull the entire ride and always complain when people want to stop to grab water/use the restroom.

28. One should wait until the VERY LAST SECOND to put on one's wetsuit, regardless of how tricky it is.

29. If possible, one should make a big deal of and brag about one's eating disorder and dedication to training on any interviews they can arrange.

30. If one lives in a colder climate, they must relocate for approximately 2 months to Arizona or Florida.

31. The second best thing to winning the Hawaiian Ironman is not finishing second, it is setting the course bike record with no concern of how bad one will do on the marathon.

32. It is FORBIDDEN to have the green/purple/white color combination. This flags the Elitist Triathlete for being a member of Team-in-Training and subsequently, a road hazard.

33. One's blood type must be clearly found on one's rig. Paramedics will not accept this as proof, but it is still necessary.

34. At no point in the race should one be smiling. A strong look of composure is the only acceptable sign of life. However, is one is a female, it is perfectly acceptable and highly encouraged to laugh and joke around with male athletes when passing them.

35. Only the following should ever enter the transition area: a bicycle with everything needed to ride, running shoes, a running hat, a race belt, and a USA Triathlon monogrammed towel that is only big enough to rest under one's running gear, or over top should weather turn nasty. The gear sans bicycle may be carried in a bag, though the bag must be as small as possible and fit in to a place as to not disturb anyone else. Crates and/or buckets are STRICTLY FORBIDDEN.

36. Transitions are to be performed with the shoes on the bike with rubber bands holding them up right. One will run with the bike GRABBING THE SEAT ONLY and hop on the bike past the dismount line. This should be absolutely flawless and if said triathlete falls, this is an unwritten rule of self-disqualification.

37. Upon approaching the dismount line to enter T2, the Elitist Triathlete will not ever come to a complete stop. At the minimum, entry speed should be approximately 15 to 16 miles per hour. One will be completely off one's bike exactly at the dismount line, no more, no less. This is to display one's perfection and dedication to training that are crucial to one's image.

38. Upon attaining a pro card, one is to hold a higher standard to themselves than anyone else. Violation of any "finesse" rules above are only acceptable if said professional self-disqualifies themselves after violating said rules.

39. One must always be in a state of "training," whether it be in the winter or summer, the word is to be applied to any form of physical activity.

40. One should always look down upon and be condescending of those who are not training. This can either be accomplished by outright ignoring someone or can be applied in passive comments about how one is doing a good job but would fold under the pressure of REAL training. Adherence to Rule #2 is paramount.

41. If one cannot make the Olympic Team in one's own country, say, New Zealand, one must relocate to another country much weaker in the sport, say, the United States.

42. Running calf sleeves are STRICTLY FORBIDDEN AT ALL TIMES unless one can run 10 kilometers in under 35 minutes off the bike.

43. If one is a female competing in ITU racing, it is strongly discouraged to wear anything covering any part of the legs. It simply looks far too Ironman-like to race in at that level of the sport.

44. Powermeters are to never be used in races lower than a Half-Iron distance race as one must be going at a hella-mother-fuckin'-balls-to-the-walls pace in an Olympic or shorter.

45. In Olympic distances or shorter, computers and heart rate monitors are acceptable in races of B status or lower, though even B is discouraged. All A races must be raced in a manner that would suit the motto of HTFU.

46. One must always make sure that one is completely outfitted in every way possible by carbon fiber. This is absolutely essential as it can add to Rule #1 as well as lowering the weight of everything. EVERYTHING MUST BE AS LIGHT AS POSSIBLE. The only exception to this rule is if one is over the age of 55 when everything must be steel because, "Steel is Real."

47. Triathletes, being an elite breed of human, should only engage in romantic situations with other triathletes. Activities shall include, but are not limited to: co-ed training rides (as long as one acknowledges that it is a recovery/light aerobic base level ride), carpooling to a race, and challenging the All-You-Can-Eat offers at buffets after a race/long-training day.

48. Any romantic encounters with non-triathletes (with the exception of cyclists or marathoners) are HIGHLY discouraged as the other party would have no idea how to deal with triathlete activities (i.e. being busy the entire day with training/eating/sleeping/working and also starting the day at 5 am)

49. Alcohol may only be consumed, though minimally, during the two weeks of the year the Elitist Triathlete takes off for reflection on their Elitist Deeds and their future Elitist Deeds/Purchases. The exception to this rule is the Memphis in May triathlon when one must get as hammered as possible before the Pros take off. Another exception is the entire Wildflower Triathlon weekend.

50. One should make a point to count calories in front of non-athletic co-workers (I almost included non-athletic friends but... let's be honest...) and then proceed to comment on how fat one is becoming. Adherence to the general tone of Rule #7 is imperative.

51. Upon encountering a formidable Elitist Cyclist whilst riding one's rig, the Elitist Triathlete must pursue said cyclist, ride uncomfortably close in one's aerobars, and talk about how Lance is going to destroy the Tour de France this year whilst acting completely oblivious to the sport of cycling (regardless of one's knowledge of cycling).
*Bonus points may be attained if one can mention any of the following: "Lance Armstrong was a much better cyclist than Merckx," "Cycling is such a boring, loner, and solely individual sport," and/or "Is this a recovery ride for you? I was just wondering because you look like you're going a little slow."

52. If one is ever in any form of training and/or racing in one of the three disciplines, one must display something to indicate that one is a triathlete. This can range anywhere from having outrageous tan-lines whilst swimming, wearing a tri-suit whilst cycling, and/or having over-sized quadriceps whilst running.

Week 1 - 123 Miles

In the water: 2.24 miles - 1 hour 15 minutes
On Rocky (biking): 98 miles - 5 hours 15 minutes
In my Asics: 23.6 miles - 4 hours 8 minutes

Plus:
1 Core and Abs class
1 Strength and Conditioning Class (and part of a yoga class)
1 day of core
Lots and lots of stretching

Total Mileage - 123.84 miles, 10 hours and 38 minutes (not including the classes, stretching and core)...not quite an Ironman (140.6 miles). I still have a bit of work to do...

Ridiculous, Yet Awesome.

I saw this quote today from John F. Kennedy...

We choose to do half-ironmans not because they are easy, but because they are hard…
…because they serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills…
…and because the olympic distance is just a workout.

I got it from a video I saw online, and they attributed John F. Kennedy with saying it. I think it's a big lie, since triathlon wasn't really around way back when, and when I did a little googling, I wasn't able to match it up...and the video was a little silly anyway. Regardless, the quote was awesome. As was the video.

If you know who said it or can verify that JFK did in fact, say it, please let me know.

In the 5 years that I have been running and the 2 years that I have been doing triathlons, it always surprises me when I can go out and run an 13 miles like it was a walk in the park. It is amazing what your body can adapt to and what can become easy.

I started running on February 14, 2004 (the day I got my puppy) and was barely able to run 1 mile without stopping. 5 years later, I race the half-iron distance because "the olympic is just a workout". If I can do it, anyone can.

A Masochist's 70.3

The Ironman God is a real joker. Ha!

So, when we orignially signed up for Buffalo Springs Lake (BSLT) 70.3 in Lubbock, we just thought it would be fun, and fit in our schedule pretty well, and we could drive there, so it would be cheap. WRONG!! Well, we CAN drive there and it DOES fit our schedule quite well, but DUDE, it's not going to be fun.

About a month ago, Natalie informed me that the bike course goes down a canyon that is so deep and so steep that her monther loses phone reception when she drives it.

I didn't really believe her.

Then a few weeks ago, BSLT posted the elevation chart, and I blogged about it here. Tommy argued that the hills weren't really that big and I should stop whining.

I was secretly shaking in my britches.

Yesterday morning, we were on a bike ride with some folks from HRTC, and Tommy started chatting with Jason. Jason has done one 70.3 before and was planning on signing up for BSLT, but his coach discouraged him..."you need more time to train for that because it's so tough" he says. Jason said that he heard the hills were evil on both the run and the bike. Tommy argued that we had done Longhorn 70.3 in Austin, which was obviously more hilly, so therefore we should be good to go for BSLT.

Jason laughed in his face.

I think it was finally starting to sink in to Tommy that not only would this be the toughest 70.3 we have done to date, but probably shouldn't have run 11 miles Saturday morning, done a 5K pub crawl that afternoon, and then biked 52 miles and run run 2 on Sunday morning. It's not exactly a recovery. We will be taking it SUPER easy this week so we can attempt to be fresh for Sunday. Fingers crossed.

Tommy did some more research, which has only served to freak me out even more.

This is what one poster wrote when asked about the race. I want to cry.

Have fun with it. It is brutal. Not just my opinion after doing it twice and comparing to other 70.3s, but as a testament it is one of only seven HIM/70.3s that give out spots to Ironman Worlds. The officials always measure the water temp far out from shore and deeper over a spring to get a cold enough reading, so it will be wetsuit legal. The swim is a wonky shape, so you have to keep sighting to stay on track. The bike starts with a wicked climb right from the start to get out of the canyon. All of the climbs, too, aren't typical up-and-overs. Rather they are up out of the canyon and onto to the Llano Estacado (flat mesas) which effectively means after you kill yourself climbing up out of a canyon, you don't get to recover going downhill. Instead you are faced with high winds and brutal sunshine. The run is even worse. There's a long section of out-and-back, bordered by nothing but freshly plowed cotton fields. And sun. Lots of sun. They call it Energy Lab II as homage to Kona's out-and-back section and 100*+ temps and 20mph winds wouldn't be unusual at that point in the race. Most importantly, get there early and bring a headlamp. Parking is way far away from the transition area and everyone parks in a field and walks and the transition area is pitch black. It's a masochists 70.3. If you can finish Lubbock comfortably you can do a full with just a tad more work.

He also found a posting from one of my favorite tri blogs, Tri to be Funny, where she blogs about her experience at BSLT.

The good news is that they say if you can finish BSLT, you can finish an Ironman with only a little bit more effort. The bad news is WHAT IF I CAN'T FINISH IT?? Omg.

So Far, So Good.

Or at the very least, so far, I'm still alive.

This week has been interesting - I've had some GREAT workouts and some craaaaappy workouts.

Monday I went to the pool. It was gonna be a short one because I had a doctors appointment at 7am so I made sure to push it for the full 45 minutes. I got in about a mile and half of intervals and felt really good. It was my first great swim in awhile. I was sad to cut it short...and then my swimp3 died and I was okay with leaving.

Tuesday Tommy and I did a workout on the trainer and then went for a jog. The trainer workout was great, but the run was very very very bad. My legs felt fabulous, but my b00bs, not so much. I was wearing a crappy sports bra that was probably 3 sizes too big, which is fine for biking, but dear Lord, I wanted to die. I ran 1 mile out before I realized the girls weren't going to make it - I turned around and headed home.

The trainer workout was:
20 minute warm up
2x(20 sec fast/40 sec easy, 40 sec fast/20 sec easy)
4x4 min 90+rpms, 3 min easy between each
2x(20 sec fast/40 sec easy, 40 sec fast/20 sec easy)
2x4 min 90+rpms, 3 min easy between each
15 min cool down

Followed by a 2 mile run.

It was fun! Except for the jiggly bits part.

On Wednesday, we met our marathon training group for a General Strength Training (GST) workout. I finally, for the first time ever, actually thought I was going to puke after one of the sets. I was so proud. Max HR is officially 187. Apparently.

Wednesdays workout was:

1.5 mile warm up
Drills and stretching

800m at 5K pace
18 burpees
45 crunches
18 pushups
24 squats
800m at 5K pace
18 dumbbell presses with squats
45 low back extensions
10 feet elevated pushups
20 lunges EACH LEG (ow!)
26 bench dips
800m at 5K pace
18 burpees
45 crunches
18 pushups
24 squats
800m at 5K pace
18 dumbbell presses with squats
45 low back extensions
10 feet elevated pushups
20 lunges EACH LEG (ow!)
26 bench dips
800m at 5K pace

1 mile cool down
Stretching and core

I hit max HR on the 4th 800...go me! However, when you reach max HR before the end, the end will suuuuuck. So, my last 800 was about 20 sec slower than all the others...ooops.

Thursday I went to the pool, but my googles sucked, I sucked, blah!! I got about 30 minutes of quality swimming in, but the rest was a joke. Luckily, Francis and I went for a faaaabulous bike ride at lunch that made my swim seem stupid. I redeemed myself! Can I just take a minute to talk about how lucky I am to have a job where I can go ride my bike for an hour at lunch in a beautiful park? Siiigh. It made my day.

I'm taking tomorrow off...because the schedule says thats okay and I want to make sure I'm ready for BSLT next weekend!! My legs are a little tired but not sore and overall, I feel pretty rested...at least for me. The bike ride at lunch really lifted my spirits from a dreary swim and a 4 hour meeting!

Saturday we are doing an 11ish mile run with HoustonFit and then on Sunday we have a 52 mile bike planned. It's gonna be a gorgeous weekend...is it here yet??

Good luck to the IMCDAers out there!!

Day One for the Dogs.

I wonder if I can teach Don to ride a bike...? I mean, if this dog can learn squats, I don't see why my dog can't learn to ride a bike...



No volume needed and is safe for work...in fact, it will likely improve your capacity to work.

Day One. And Counting.

Today is the first day of the next 24 weeks. Which is genius because EVERYDAY is the first day of the next 24 weeks. Them there Texas Aggies be teaching me so many much things.

I'm gonna play these next 24 weeks like they are the next 24 years of my life!! (Varsity Blues? Anyone? Anyone?)

But seriously, today is Day 1 of 168 of what I predict will be some of the toughest days I have dealt with - both physically and mentally. Mostly physically. But I'm sure it will make me clinically insane as well...if it hasn't already.

Some of you have asked what will change now that the REAL training has begun. Well, truthfully, not much. I have done a really good build up to this point, so I have a pretty darn good base and the next few weeks should be cake. The only thing that will really change is that I will no longer be binge drinking with my pals, sad but true, and I will no longer miss workouts because of stupid reasons (hair appointments, happy hour, etc). Up to this point, if something more fun came up, a workout would get slashed - no more!! I know most of you don't think happy hour is a stupid reason, and I agree. I can still do happy hour, I just ALSO have to work out...it will just take some planning.

So, today, the alarm went off at 4:15 and Tommy and I grunted and groaned and whined and got out of bed. We each headed to our pools and put in some swimming. His swim sucked - his shoulder pain decided to come back. And my swim was really good but short because I had a doctors appointment at 7am. So I put in a hard 50 minute swim and called it a day.

Tomorrow we will Turbo Tuesday on the bike trainer, Wednesday we will do a track workout with our group, Thursday we will swim, Friday we will do whatever we feel like doing (a day off is an option!), Saturday we will run 14 miles followed by a 2.5mile running pub crawl where I WILL NOT drink too much (fingers crossed), and on Sunday we will bike in the country.

Let the games begin!!

And very Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband!!

One Last Hoorah.

My weekend was fabulous and was just what the doctor ordered for my final weekend of freedom before Ironman training really begins.

Friday after work, I went for a nice long swim, a little bike ride and then I ran to Onion Creek to meet everyone for a post work beverage. It was nice to get in an easy workout and getting all three sports in was really fun. My smell at the OC was probably not so fun for everyone else at the bar however. Tommy and I left early, came home, made some dinner, watched Heroes (we are ALMOST caught up!) and went to bed early.

We set the alarm for 7am on Saturday so we could sleep in a bit and when we woke up and the sun was shining, we were a little disoriented!! It's been a long time since the sun got up before me!

Unfortunately, we learned the hard way that sleeping in on a hot summer day and then trying to run 13 miles isn't fun for anyone. We (and by we, I mean me) were slow and irritable and then this made Tommy irritable and all around it was a crappy run and we were both angry. BLAH! But we finished it. After about 17 hours. Ugh. Tommy took Don for a 4 miler and then I cleaned the windows and made breakfast.

We showered and headed to Spring for Maddie and Caleb's 4th birthday party - it was a lot of fun and I was so glad to see them! We came home early, made dinner, watched Heroes (seriously, ALMOST caught up!) and went to bed early.

Sunday, we woke up early to drive to Sugarland to see Francis in the Tejas Tri. He did awesome and we had a good time watching him. We saw a lot of other friends as well - everyone did awesome!

After the race, we met up with everyone at the pool for our One Last Hoorah celebration. I want to thank everyone who stopped the pool yesterday - Janelle, Thomas, Francis, Matt, Melissa, Zach, Rebecca, Craig, Sabrina, Michelle, Jamie, Ly, Mike, Matt, and Adam - it meant a lot that you all were there! I had a really great time and I am so thankful to have such great friends in my life!

The pool party was a success. As any good party will tell you, it's not a good party unless the cops show up. And they did. And it was good. We played floating flip cup. We did flip cup/swimming races. We drank. We ate. We talked. It was magical.

And then we came home early, made dinner, watched Heroes (seriously, ALMOST caught up!) and went to bed early...Tommy missed the dinner and tv portion of the evening, but I enjoyed myself very much.

My hangover and exhaustion today are my reminder of why I WILL NOT be partying like that for the next 6 months...so, thanks for being there that last time. My hangover thanks you too.

My pee is so bright that it could light all of Manhattan and I determined that an Abs Class is not a smart idea if your stomach is already kind of angry. Ow.

Thanks again - I am so lucky to have some of the most amazing friends in the world. I'll be back in 6 months - I promise. Don't forget about me!!

Legs. Still. Hurting. Ow.

Surprise surprise. I'm sore today. 50ish lunges on each leg + 50ish squats + squat dumbbell presses = OUCHIE. I thought I was in shape. I'm not.

I woke up in the middle of the night to pee and when I got back into bed I said to Tommy, "Don't get up, it's hurts". Seriously. I would have rather peed the bed than endure that pain.

Sooo, I decided to take the day off. I think I needed it, regardless of my level of soreness, so today seemed like a good call. It was really hard not to bring a gymbag with me though. I have gotten into such a habit that leaving home without a gymbag loaded up with stuff was traumatic. Because WHAT IF I felt good after work and wanted to work out but didn't have stuff? That would suck. But I talked myself out of it. I don't need to work out today.

At lunch I went to the gym (I mean, I can't take the day of entirely, that would be silly)...I did some stretching and a little bit of core work, but mostly stretching. And then I walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes. So it was like having the day off. Almost.

I'm feeling guilty about my chill day...but I know it's what my body needs. I'll do an easy swim tomorrow and hopefully be ready for the weekend - a semi-long ride/swim and a semi-long run.

An unrelated comment: An old friend of mine, Jessica Gage, passed away this morning after battling a brain tumor for several years. Although I haven't seen her in years, she was a great friend and a wonderful person who died too young. Please keep her friends and family in your thoughts as they go through this difficult time.

Legs. Hurting. Ow.

My legs are killing me. And my arms are killing me. And I think I'm addicted to my chiropractor - which I was afraid would happen. Ugh.

I have done 2 really (REALLY) solid weeks of training and I am starting to feel the pains from it.

Recap:

May 23: Rode 86 miles, followed by a painful 2 mile run at 9min/mile pace. Ow.
May 24: Easy 3 miler and some core with the girls.
May 25: Off due to hangover. My liver got a workout, that was enough.
May 26: Turbo Tuesday - hardest set on the trainer we have EVER done. I almost died. Core at lunch.
May 27: Anaerobic Threshold Swim - 90 minutes of tough swimming. Core at lunch.
May 28: Sprint workout at the track - we ran a total of 9 miles of sprints. Ouch. Core at lunch.
May 29: Easy swim day - went to the pool, swam easy for 45 minutes. Then sun basking.
May 30: 60 mile ride on the flatlands of Katy. Average speed approx 21mph. Followed by a 2.5 mile run at 9:50 pace.
May 31: 40 mile ride on the hills of hell (Montgomery)...no energy for a run or even a smile.
June 1: Core at lunch and an easy 30 minute swim after work. My legs were thankful.
June 2: Turbo Tuesday - tough set, but nothing crazy. Followed by 2.5 mile run at 9:30 pace.
June 3: First ATP workout - speed and strength.
June 4: I think I'm gonna take a day off. My body will thank me.

My legs feel like jell-o. My right hip hurts. My shoulders hurt. My knees hurt. My neck and hips keep popping. Mostly I feel like an old woman.

I feel like I need to get another long run in - it's been a few weeks since I have done anything over 10 miles and I want to get another ride in the hills of hell under my belt, but I don't think it's gonna happen. I might be able to get a long run in this weekend, but Rocky may have to wait to tackle the hills until another day.

Ineedanap.

Buffalo Springs Lake Ironman 70.3

My next race is the Buffalo Springs Lake Ironman 70.3 in Lubbock, TX on June 28.

I was feeling really prepared - my swim has gotten better, my bike has gotten better (especially now that I have Rocky!) and my run is still crappy, but I don't think it's gotten worse. But like I said, I WAS feeling really prepared until we drove to Montomery this weekend for a tough hill ride...and I sucked. Really really sucked. We averaged about 18mph over the course of the ride, but there were times when I was chugging up a hill at 10mph. Shoot me.

And then today, I noticed that BSLT had posted an elevation chart of the ride. I'm gonna die brotha.

I need to get back out to Montgomery to ride those hills, but there's no time! There's never any time!!

Put your mind to it, go for it. Get down and break a sweat. Rock and roll, you ain't seen nothing yet!!

Shouts out to Allison for signing up for her next race and Francis for his second race this weekend!! Good luck!!

MOTIVATION!

Francis sent me this video this morning. I've seen it 100 times but it never fails to make me cry. Thanks for reminding me how terrified I am!!

We are less than 6 months away from the Promise Land!!

The 'Burbs

Tommy and I spent more time in the 'burbs and logged more miles in the car than is humanly necessary this weekend.

On Friday, we drove to Webster (South of Houston down 45) to look at some bikes. They had the Felt B12 in my size there. I rode it around the neighborhood and it was beautiful. The bike is gorgeous, shifting was flawless, I liked the aerobars, the seat was really good for a stock seat and all in all I was impressed, but I wanted to look at more. They also had the Orbea Ora, but frankly, it just looks bulky. It may be a great bike, but the Felt and the Cervelo LOOK like great bikes. The Orbea looks like a bulky tractor in comparison. I didn't even test ride it. The guy at Webster Bicycles was kind of an idiot and I wasn't too thrilled about dropping $3000 on a bike there anyway.

We made it back to town in time to go to Bicycle World where they told me there had a full run of sizes of the Cervelo. They didn't (the guy at Bicycle World is also an idiot, but at least he tried). But, after I threw an irrational hissy fit, the guy offered to give me the P2C Dura-Ace Bike, but with Ultegra components - which means that I got the more expensive red P2C but with the cheaper parts from the blue one. Sooo, it looks like I have a REALLY expensive bike, but I don't. Ha. I went on a test ride and I was sold. I couldn't tell you exactly what makes the difference but the Cervelo just felt better. The brakes are terrible, but I knew that from the reviews. It just fits me better - I was a giddy school girl after my test ride. The guys at the store were nice enough to change out the components that night - they stayed late to hook me up which I greatly appreciated. I didn't have time to get fit though, so that is still on my agenda. My new bike is named Rocky - because I got him after I placed at the Rockin' R Toobin Tri.

On Saturday, we drove out to Katy (West on I10) to do an easy 55 mile loop. Both of us were feeling a little blah. It ended up being a really nice ride, but my legs were tired. With Rocky, I felt like I was able to pull harder - we averaged about 20mph for the ride - with some semi-long stretches at 22-23mph. It was a really nice ride. We followed it with a 2 mile run which was pretty tough - for some reason, both of our legs were jell-o!! We may still be recovering for the 85 miler last weekend and the tough Turbo Tuesday workout.

The we came back to town. I took a glorious 3 hour nap and woke up just in time for dinner. Haha.

That night, we drove to Sugarland (Southwest on 59) for a BBQ with some of Tommy's old co-workers - it was fun.

Then we came back to town and passed out.

The alarm went off at 5am (sleeping in!!) and we packed up the car again and headed to Montgomery (North on 45, then 15 miles West of Conroe) for a long ride in the mountains with HRTC. We had hoped to complete the 56 mile loop (which we found out is also the loop for Ironstar), but at the mile 18 rest stop, which was also the turn off for the 36 mile route, I begged Tommy to let me go home. My legs were tired and I just wasn't ready for a ride that challenging. The hills were tough and I haven't quite mastered the art of shifting on Rocky. The route was tough - I need to ride it a few more times - Buffalo Springs is gonna be tough and i need the practice. Tommy was a little pissed that we drove an hour to ride for 2 hours but all in all I think it was worth it.

We came back to town and passed out.

And then we spent the afternoon at the pool with Zach...it was a magical weekend despite the unreasonable amount of time spent in the 'burbs.

Bikes. It's the tough things in life.

Tommy and I have been discussing purchasing new bikes. He generously offered to let me get the first one (because he is the sweetest most nicest awesomest man I know)...there is no way we could drop that kind of money on two bikes at the same time. So, I've been doing my research and trying to stomach buying a bike instead of new bedroom furniture. What's really sad is that new bedroom furniture would probably be cheaper.

Anyway.

When I tell people that I intend to use my current roadbike at the Ironman, they tend to laugh at me. My bike, 3 year old, bottom of line Motobecane road bike, has treated me very well over my first two and half seasons of triathlon. I have raced 1 sprint, 2 olympics and 2 70.3's on that thing and never had any problems. The bike cost me about $450 in April of 2007. It's crap but I love it. I have probably spent an additional $200 on it - pedals, shoes, and aerobars - but that has been over the course of 2 years, so it seemed less painful. We moaned and groaned about how ridiculous it was that a bike cost $450.

Now we are looking at bikes in the $3000 range. Ouch. What's even more ridiculous is that the price no longer seems outrageous. Expensive, yes, but reasonable. That's messed up.

We have been smart in the last two years and haven't even touched a nice bike. I didn't want to touch them or ride them or lift them because I didn't want to know what I was missing. Well, the time has come. I got third place in a race and now I need a fancy bike. Hahahaha.

I have narrowed down the field to two or possibly three bikes.

The Cervelo P2C - $2700. This is the bike I THINK I want...but only because Chrissie Wellington, my girl crush, rides this and I love her.


The Felt B12 - $2,949. This bike comes with much better wheels than any of the others, but is slightly pricier.


And possibly the Orbea Ora - $3,399. I haven't done as much research on this one, but it's definitely in the running.


Here is a discussion debating the Felt B12 and the Cervelo P2C. And now a discussion of Cervelo Vs Orbea (on the Cervelo site, so probably biased).

Thoughts?

Goals.

I am going to basically plagerize another guy's blog. He said it perfectly.

Today is May 27, almost exactly six months from Ironman Cozumel on November 29, 2009 I don't officially start my training plan until June 15, but my base preparation is well underway. So far, I know I can do each of the sports individually...at a relaxed pace. Once the training begins, I will work on increasing speed (which is hard for me because I loooove a relaxed pace!) combining the three events. Here is what the next six months have in store for me:

150 miles of swimming
3,000 miles of biking
1,000 miles of running

I'm terrified.

RACE GOALS(this is plagerized from Triathlete Magazine and this guy, who I'm sure plagerized it from Triathlete Magazine):

1) Finish
2) Finish while still standing
3) Finish while still standing and smiling
4) Finish while still standing and smiling and without a trip to the medical tent
5) Finish while still standing and smiling and without a trip to the medical tent and remaining grainfully employed
6) Finish while still standing and smiling and without a trip to the medical tent and remaining grainfully employed and married.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a time goal. I do. I think it is reasonable to finish in under 15 hours. I think that if I can make myself train hard, I can do it in under 13 hours. I also think that if I cross that finish line in 16:59:59 I will be the happiest person in the world. The time is negligible...getting to that starting line knowing that I've done all that I could is the goal. The race will take me where it wants. It's out of my control at that point.

Six months from today I will be yet another person, someone I can’t quite visualize. The person who has done everything in those goals. The person who will swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and then run a marathon. In one day. Non-stop. I cannot control what happens on race day so I have goals and milestones for incremental success along the way. Six months from today I want to wake up feeling like I’ve already accomplished more than I expected.

The race should be the icing on the training cake.

An IRONCAKE.

THIRD PLACE!!!

This is what third place looks like. You don't want to think about what happens I if were to get 2nd, or, gasp, 1st.


Team PPD post-race...and post gallon of PPD. Danger danger.


OMG. I got third place. I can't believe it.

I got third place at the Rockin' R Toobin Tri!! After we found out that the entire field only had 250 people in it, I thought there was a chance, but after my sub-par performance, I really didn't think it was possible. But YES!! It was!! OMG. I got a medal and everything. This is the first and probably the only time I will get an award for my efforts at a triathlon, so you can bet your arse I will milk this thing for as long as I possibly can. Sorry!!

A recap of the day...

Somehow, someway, Tommy and I convinced 10 of our friends to join us in Gruene for this race. Francis, Rebecca, Katey and Matt had never done a triathlon before - Matt and Rebecca didn't even own goggles!! Erin, Thomas, Erik and Amanda had each done a sprint before and this was Janelle's first attempt to run a 5k (she and Thoms did the relay).

I was super worried about Rebecca because I was informed the day before the race that she didn't even own goggles...which would indicate that she hadn't swum at all. I was right. But as usual, Rebecca was up for the challenge!! Matt also didn't have goggles, nor did he intend to wear them...he just freestyled with his head above water the whole time! I was amazed.

We got up early and went out to the race site. The transition area was a free for all (what?), so we were able to rack out bikes next to each other.

We went down to the swim start where the race director told us about the shallow water (ahh!) and the sharp turns on the bike (there were none). And then we were off!

Tommy was in the first wave - they always put the 30-34ers in the first wave. So jealous. JUST ONCE I wanna start in the front and see what happens. Oh well. Tommy got off to a great start...but about 100m down in the swim, all the guys in the wave got up to start walking...that's how shallow it was. The race was kind of a joke. There were several parts where the guys walked through it...the rest of us tried to develop a strategy. Is it better to walk or crawl? No one knows! Tommy had a quick swim, but looked like death coming out of the water.

Then it was Francis's turn. He went out strong and ended up having a great swim! Afterwards he said he thinks he went out too fast on the swim...hindsight is always 20/20.

Then the girls - me, Rebecca, Katey, Amanda, and Erin. I started at the front of the pack and held the rest of the girls off. During the shallow parts, I just army crawled through it. It was deep enough to do a little mini-stroke, or just grab rocks and pull yourself along, so I kicked like hell and pulled myself. Then I made the turn and pushed it hard. About 50m in, I was like, holy crap, I am soooo not a sprinter. I would rather swim for 2 hours straight than have to push it hard for 7 minutes. Ow. My heart rate does not like to be that elevated. Nonetheless, I had a pretty good swim. I definitely could have pushed harder, but it's just not my nature. I was 3rd coming out of the water and felt like a million bucks.

Swim Time - 400m - 7:32:4 Place: 3/15

[Matt swam the course without goggles. What?]


Katey met me in transition just as I was leaving, so we know she was right behind me on the swim...but her chip didn't work, so we will never know for sure. She was probably 4th or 5th out of the water.

At the pre-race meeting, we were informed that the bike course was 13 miles instead of 12, which doesn't make much difference except that my bike computer decided to break, so I didn't have speed information. All I could do is go on time...but all the math I had done was based on 12 miles, not 13, soooo, I just biked hard and hoped for the best! The course was a LOT more challenging than I would have thought. I made it to the turnaround in 21 minutes and I knew I was in trouble. Ooops. At mile 8, I got stuck behing a truck who was stuck behind a slow biker for about 3 miles, so that seriously hurt my time - I couldn't get around the truck or the biker safely, so I was stuck going pretty freaking slow for about 10 minutes. Got my heart rate down though...always the silver lining. The final mile was up a pretty brutal hill, but since it was the end, it was okay...forge onward!! All in all, it was a gorgeous ride, perfect biking weather, and uncrowded roads. Made it to transition with energy to spare (never good on a sprint race!).


Bike Time - 13 miles - 43:23:6 - 18.7mph Place: 2/15

I changed shoes and headed out for the run. IMMEDIATELY, and I do mean immediately after you exit transition, you are greeted with a mountain. A mountain. Holy crap. This thing was mean and I wanted no part of it. I did my best to run up it, but let's be honest, I'm SO not hardcore. I totally walked up that sucker. EVIL.

At the top of the hill, I was greeted by a guy who was on his way to finish, who said, "Nobody told me there would be hills!". Which freaked me out. The first hill was tough, please don't let there be more!! So I paced myself accordingly...but there were no more hills. So, I kept waiting for the next big hill, but there weren't any...so once again, I went too slow. This is Reason 2,823 why you should alway drive the race course ahead of time. I felt pretty good most of the run. I kept my eyes peeled for Francis - I really wanted to catch up with him on the run, but I never saw him. I walked for a bit through Gruene on the way back - it was too pretty to run through!! And then I ran back down the mountain and to the finish.

Run Time - 3.3 miles - 32:16:4 - 9:48/mile Place: 5/15

Apparently, I REALLY need to work on my running. Big surprise there. Ha.

Francis had just finished and Tommy had finished like 3 days ago, so the three of us went to meet Melissa to take pictures. We saw Erik and Matt finish together - we tried to get them to hold hands as they crossed the finish line, but Matt wasn't having it.



Erin, Amanda and Katey finished strong! Thomas ran with Janelle to the finish line where he may or may not have done the horsey dance [Thomas also may have improved his swim time by almost half!].



And last but not very last, Rebecca crossed the finish line, looking radiant as usual.



We stayed for awards because I had placed 3rd in my age group. OMG. I still can't believe it. I could have gotten 2nd if I had just not stopped to smell the flowers in Gruene on the run, but oh well! It was worth it! 1st place was totally unattainable however...I would have had to speed up by 13 minutes. Not happening.

It was a great day. I think everyone had a good time and we may have even had some triathlon converts. Rebecca went out and bought a new bike right after we got back to Houston. If nothing else, maybe now our friends won't hate us as much when I are antisocial over the next 6 months. Training begins June 15. Danger danger.

My total times:
Swim - 7:32.4 Place - 3/15
T1 - 1:23 Place - 5/15 (TOTALLY need to be faster here!)
Bike - 43:23.6 Place - 2/15
T2 - 0:44.6 Place - 4/15 (ugh)
Run - 32:16.4 PLace - 5/15 (TOTALLY need to just run faster. Can someone make that happen?)
TOTAL - 1:25:20.9

Overall Times:
Tommy - 1:17:40.3
Erin - 1:37:38.5
Amanda - 1:52:07.0
Katey - 1:39.12.7
Rebecca - 2:14:32.6
Erik - 1:32:28.1
Matt - 1:32:29.6
Francis - 1:30:03.2
Thomas/Janelle - 1:50:15.1

Erik and Katey dismounting after the bike.



Amanda finishing the run...with God looking down on her!



Erin, me and Amanda before the race.



Francis's flying Dismount. This is an impressive skill. Everytime I try to do it, I completely wipe out. Ouch.



Tommy biking.



Francis's Swim - he is a BEAST!!

LOL Dogs

I am OBSESSED with LOLDogs (not so much the cats).

This one made me crack up today in my cubicle. It will be a sad sad day when they block that site from my work computer....



Which reminds me that I have 8 hours of volunteering at CAP that still needs to get done this month. Where does the time go? Looks like I'll be spending my Friday off playing with puppies...oh, the tragedy of my life.

IMCOZ FREAK OUT

Here are a few links that I have found that only serve to further FREAK. ME. OUT.

This is a blog about a guy who swam near the swim site and got stung by tons of little jellyfish. However, he also took some nice pics of the bike and run conditions, so maybe I come out even? Apparently, this stuff can ward against jellyfish and attacks from other creatures. I mean, I'll try anything once...

This is just a basic blog about Ironman Cozumel. It has no faults or scariness other than information overload. Ow.

This guy went to Cozumel, with a woman other than his wife (which ends up being the topic of conversation), and took pics of the entire course. This was awhile ago, so here's hoping that Blogger Number 1 is right about the road conditions!

And finally, the Official. Ironman Cozumel. Website. I may or may not check this daily. Nothing ever changes. It only serves to freak me out and give me nightmares. But I can't stop. Addiction is bad, mkay?



And then there is this girl who frankly, cracked me up. All triathletes do this stuff (so do runners and bikers I'm sure). All of them. Seriously. What's most disturbing however is how comfortable we are in talking about it. Tommy and I discuss, in length, the color of our pee. We have blown snot rockets and spit in each other's goggles. He even watched me pee on my shorts on accident last weekend when I had to go in the bushes. And then we googled "women peeing in triathlons" - this was the search result. So gross. Triathlon is a dirty dirty sport.

But then I read blogs like this and I am reminded that most of the people that will be with me in Cozumel are exactly like me. Middle of the packers. Full time job holders. And those just looking for the day they can finally [FINALLY!] get their tattoo. Bring it on Cozumel!!

Rockin' R Toobin' Tri

My first sprint triathlon!! I am super excited. I am mostly excited to float the river afterwards (and before), but I am also excited to see how I can do in a sprint race.

The race is in historic Gruene, Texas, also known as My Happy Place, Texas. There is nothing about Gruene to dislike. It is a magical little town. Old dance halls with good bands, fabulous outdoor dining, beautiful scenery, gorgeous weather, wineries, and most of all, a big ol' river meant for floating (or racing).

The race will be a 400m swim, a 12 mile bike and a 3.3 mile run. I have never done a sprint tri before, and my fastest 5K is really slow (and that's all I did that day). I am really interested to see how it goes because I am SOOOOO not a sprinter (I'm really freaking slow at just about everything). I can do just about anything all day - bike, run, drink, eat, whatever - but if you want me to do something quickly, you are in for a struggle. I never really learned how to push myself over a short distance because all I've ever trained for is longer stuff...which is just a totally different mentality.

On the swim for a half ironman, you don't really kick because you have to save your legs...on the swim for a sprint, you kick, but you don't want your heartrate to get too high. I determined yesterday that I've forgotten how to kick. Ooops.

On the bike for a half ironman, you pace yourself so you have something left for the run. If you have to stop to pee or refill water bottles, you do it. On a sprint, if you have to stop to pee, you are totally screwed. Hydration and calorie consumption becomes almost unnecessary...

On the run for a half ironman, you start at the pace you intend to run, usually to find out that your goals were too lofty, so you start incorporating walking pretty early one. On the sprint, if I have to walk, I'll chop off my legs (I'll probably have to walk because I predict my goals are too lofty - ha - so expect a legless woman next week. Watch out Oscar!!).

It's just a totally different animal and I am excited! About 10 of our friends are heading down with us and plan on racing - some of them this is their first race EVER. Good luck to the rest of the crew! It should be an absolute blast. And then, after awards in the river (what?!?) we will fill our coolers, slather on sunscreen and relax in the wonderful Comal. Oh, the magic of a weekend on the river. Siiiiiiiigh.

It's gonna be a challenge and I can't wait to see how it goes!!

I'm Famous!

...and so are my pals!

Starting this past Thursday, Discovery Green (the new park downtown) is hosting concerts in the outdoor ampitheater every week (Concert on the Green). Matt organized a group and fun ensued. We laughed, we talked, we drank, and we danced...all to wonderful zydeco music. We were captured in all of our glory by a Houston Press photographer...and in exchange for our permission to publish our picture, we were each given an egg of silly putty.

I Hate Lifeguards.

Okay, I don't REALLY hate them, but I am quite angry with them today.

I woke up at 4:10am today so that I could get dressed and be at the pool, ready to swim at 5am. I arrive at the YMCA, not exactly bright eyed and bushy tailed, but definitely ready to swim, only to find that the doors to the pool are locked.

What?

I knew that the therapy pool (read: old people pool) was closed for the day, but hadn't heard anything about the lap pool. I asked the front desk what time the pool opens and she told me that the lifeguards were running late. But she didn't know how late.

I sat around for 20 minutes, in my swimsuit, waiting for the lifeguards to show. I finally gave up and decided to just get dressed and head to work.

At this point, it's 5:30am, I have been up for 1 hour and 20 minutes, and all I have done is sit around in my swimsuit...and I got to top off my magical morning with a delicious shower at in the YMCA locker room. Can't beat that. Moldy showers, crappy hairdryers, and old women boobies. It was my happy place.

I guess I'll be leaving work early (since I got here at 6am) and go swimming after work.

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 -