i don't have to go back to work until jan 5. that is so awesome. last week the days were taking a long time but this first day of this week seems to have flown by and i am afriad that the rest of the week will fly by as well.
yesterday i met up with renee for 1000 yards of swimming. 200 warm up, 500 drills then 300 swimming. i didn't do a very good job with the drills. i tried to do these wacky ones from the video i had watched and i was pretty sure i was going to drown. i was pretty tired by the end of it all though but i was only in the pool for 1/2 hr. renee came with me and there was a water babies class going on at the same time. i have been expecting to get sick but i haven't. last year whenever i would go swimming i would wind up sick. my nose was always messed up and i always kind of feel like arse. i realized today that i think that maybe i have not gotten sick at all is because its a salt water pool. that plus when i lift the weights i make sure to wash my hands before i leave the gym.
today i did some lifting again. i think its getting better. i managed to get in most of the lunges this time, but i am still not able to do any real push-ups. i'm supposed to do as many real ones as i can but by the time i get to them my arms are pretty tired.
when i came home i had a 1 hr zone 2 ride on the trainer. i suppose of i really wanted to i could have gone outside but i opted for the trainer and a new episode of the Tudors. the garmin is totally fun. i have been entering the workouts into the program and the load it onto the watch. then it just keeps track of everything. and then i can look at it and the funny red line and wonder why the red line always stops a minute or two short of the supposed time i used it for. so that is a little annoying but its ok.
tomorrow i have to wake up at 5am for swimming. that might be tough since i haven't been waking up very early any day since like november. :) but the masters swimming is fun and i can see progress already from it, i am going to get soo fast!
i talked to my coach on the phone on friday. i had met her once almost a year ago and she is the awesomest of all awesome. and i was totally nervous about calling her, and then we get such bad reception here that I hung up on her! but i called her back and she is so nice. i had a ton of questions to ask her since she is so fascinating but at the same time she probably answers those same questions a billion times a week. she did send me a funny email the other day saying she was up at 2am because she was hungry and so she had a bowl of cereal. eric laughed and asked what kind of influence she might be on me since i am such a cereal fanatic. i was just happy to hear it because she's just a normal person, too, just an amazing athlete!
i on the other hand just keep eating way to many cookies. they are almost gone and will then be replaced by the candy...
Monday, December 29, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
weights
so i lifted weights on tuesday and i was dying. i wasn't supposed to start my official training until yesterday but i just couldn't wait. so i did the weight routine and then did a 30 mintue run in zone 1 but i couldn't beleive how slow zone 1 was so i was a little above zone 1.
the weights didn't seem like that big of a deal until i got to the lunges. i could feel my arse losing all of its sagginess with each lung. but i could also feel my quads hurting. then a few more exercises and it was to the leg extentions. good lord do i have the weakest legs ever! so i have to ask the coach if i should do the weights first then the biking or running or does it matter which order? in this instance i ran first then weights. but the leg extensions were embarrassing and yeah. well, a few more things and then i was done.
wednesday i was so sore that i was really worried that maybe i did something bad. eric suggested i rude the trainer for 30 easy minutes which i did but then i wound up having tired and sore legs :( we had already gone sledding in the morning and hiked through the snow and up and down the sledding hill and i felt fine doing that, but any time i stopped for a few minutes i was in trouble!
xmas eve was the best xmas eve ever. and then xmas was the best xmas ever! seamus got roller skates from santa. she had been saying for months that she was hoping santa would bring her roller skates and sure enough he brought them. but when she opened them, she wasn't very excited. when i asked if she wanted me to take them out of the box she tentativly said yes. then i asked her what the matter was and she said she was a little bit scared. that all ended once she had them on and skated all around the living room carpet. by the end of the day she was doing little spins and getting around like and old pro. the kids also got candy land which we played a ton. later aunt xtie, jon and grandma came. it was snowing like crzy all day and we were concerned that they wouldnt make it but they did. we had an awesome dinner and then more presents! it was likely the best christmas ever.
friday was day 1 of my new training and my legs were still sore! but i headed out the door to the gym (i got a 1 week free pass to get me through the holidays!)
I got out of the cul-de-sac but then had to come to a stop at the light while trying to leave the neighborhood. when the light turned green i was stuck. i couldn't move. i tried to get out through 2 cycles of the lights then called eric to come help me. jsut then an older guy in a pick up turned into the neighborhood, got out his shovel and started digging me out! then eric came and between the two of them i wsa able to get on my way.
they gym was weird and really crowded. i can't even count the number of conversations i witnessed that were of kids home from college talking to random adults about "how long are you home for? Do you like school? Whats you major?" etc. that was kind of funny since all the girls had been fake tanning. i also got to see one of my favorite things at the gym. i love the girls who walk on the treadmill at like 7 or 8 incline but then hold on for dear life so that they are actually still perpendicular to the treadmill itself. i love it and laugh every time. i think its great when anyone makes an effort to stay active, but some things just make me laugh.
i used a little but less weight this time, but the lunges were still tough and the leg extensions were still embarassing. when i left i got stuck in the gym parking lot. three different people walked by and no one offered to help. the car was stuck about 1/2 way out of the spot so i jumped out, put on my awesome new rain boots eric got me for xmas and i started kicking the snow out from under the car.
then back in to try again. i was sitting there trying to decide if i was going to have to call eric when two of the trainers from in the gym came to my rescue and pushed me out. :) that was nice of them!
then home for a 1hr ride on the trainer zone 2.
the rest of friday was uneventful except the duraflame log in the fireplace!
today nothing thrilling went on. i did a 30 minute zone 1 run on the treadmill and ate a butt load of cookies. eric is somehow showing incredible will power with the cookies but i am not. its really bad and i fear that i am going to be tipping the scales at 250 here any day now.
tomorrow is some swimming and likely more cookie consumption.
8 more days off from work which is totally awesome.
the weights didn't seem like that big of a deal until i got to the lunges. i could feel my arse losing all of its sagginess with each lung. but i could also feel my quads hurting. then a few more exercises and it was to the leg extentions. good lord do i have the weakest legs ever! so i have to ask the coach if i should do the weights first then the biking or running or does it matter which order? in this instance i ran first then weights. but the leg extensions were embarrassing and yeah. well, a few more things and then i was done.
wednesday i was so sore that i was really worried that maybe i did something bad. eric suggested i rude the trainer for 30 easy minutes which i did but then i wound up having tired and sore legs :( we had already gone sledding in the morning and hiked through the snow and up and down the sledding hill and i felt fine doing that, but any time i stopped for a few minutes i was in trouble!
xmas eve was the best xmas eve ever. and then xmas was the best xmas ever! seamus got roller skates from santa. she had been saying for months that she was hoping santa would bring her roller skates and sure enough he brought them. but when she opened them, she wasn't very excited. when i asked if she wanted me to take them out of the box she tentativly said yes. then i asked her what the matter was and she said she was a little bit scared. that all ended once she had them on and skated all around the living room carpet. by the end of the day she was doing little spins and getting around like and old pro. the kids also got candy land which we played a ton. later aunt xtie, jon and grandma came. it was snowing like crzy all day and we were concerned that they wouldnt make it but they did. we had an awesome dinner and then more presents! it was likely the best christmas ever.
friday was day 1 of my new training and my legs were still sore! but i headed out the door to the gym (i got a 1 week free pass to get me through the holidays!)
I got out of the cul-de-sac but then had to come to a stop at the light while trying to leave the neighborhood. when the light turned green i was stuck. i couldn't move. i tried to get out through 2 cycles of the lights then called eric to come help me. jsut then an older guy in a pick up turned into the neighborhood, got out his shovel and started digging me out! then eric came and between the two of them i wsa able to get on my way.
they gym was weird and really crowded. i can't even count the number of conversations i witnessed that were of kids home from college talking to random adults about "how long are you home for? Do you like school? Whats you major?" etc. that was kind of funny since all the girls had been fake tanning. i also got to see one of my favorite things at the gym. i love the girls who walk on the treadmill at like 7 or 8 incline but then hold on for dear life so that they are actually still perpendicular to the treadmill itself. i love it and laugh every time. i think its great when anyone makes an effort to stay active, but some things just make me laugh.
i used a little but less weight this time, but the lunges were still tough and the leg extensions were still embarassing. when i left i got stuck in the gym parking lot. three different people walked by and no one offered to help. the car was stuck about 1/2 way out of the spot so i jumped out, put on my awesome new rain boots eric got me for xmas and i started kicking the snow out from under the car.
then back in to try again. i was sitting there trying to decide if i was going to have to call eric when two of the trainers from in the gym came to my rescue and pushed me out. :) that was nice of them!
then home for a 1hr ride on the trainer zone 2.
the rest of friday was uneventful except the duraflame log in the fireplace!
today nothing thrilling went on. i did a 30 minute zone 1 run on the treadmill and ate a butt load of cookies. eric is somehow showing incredible will power with the cookies but i am not. its really bad and i fear that i am going to be tipping the scales at 250 here any day now.
tomorrow is some swimming and likely more cookie consumption.
8 more days off from work which is totally awesome.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
snow blast 2008
eric took the kids sledding. check it out.
and here is a close-up of what was actually happening:
monday i tried to go to work. i backed out of the driveway, drove down into the cul-de-sac to get some momentum then tried to get up the hill. i didn't make it. while sliding backwards i put the car into park, reverse, drive. you name it, i did it all and the car just slid. somehow it magically turned completely around and came to a stop right at the driveway. i decided that was a sign to pull back into the garage and not go into work. the neighbors said the whole thing was very elegant.
eric later tried in the station wagon and did the exact same thing but the other direction. Please see here:
i love sammamish. the snow storm is just another reason why. i mean, come one! we have one of the best sledding hills right in the neighborhood. even sledding down our own road is a ton of fun. and the trails behind the house are amazing! This first photo is the first snow where sirus wondered why we kept throwing snowballs at him.
i've been out on the trainer a few more times. i started to watch the Tudors. I am 1.5 episodes into the 12 episodes or so. i also lifted weights for the first time in a billion years and I am suffering. ugh.
now its christmas eve!
and here is a close-up of what was actually happening:
monday i tried to go to work. i backed out of the driveway, drove down into the cul-de-sac to get some momentum then tried to get up the hill. i didn't make it. while sliding backwards i put the car into park, reverse, drive. you name it, i did it all and the car just slid. somehow it magically turned completely around and came to a stop right at the driveway. i decided that was a sign to pull back into the garage and not go into work. the neighbors said the whole thing was very elegant.
eric later tried in the station wagon and did the exact same thing but the other direction. Please see here:
i love sammamish. the snow storm is just another reason why. i mean, come one! we have one of the best sledding hills right in the neighborhood. even sledding down our own road is a ton of fun. and the trails behind the house are amazing! This first photo is the first snow where sirus wondered why we kept throwing snowballs at him.
i've been out on the trainer a few more times. i started to watch the Tudors. I am 1.5 episodes into the 12 episodes or so. i also lifted weights for the first time in a billion years and I am suffering. ugh.
now its christmas eve!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
snow snow snow
man, its snowing like crazy! we were all laughing on wednesday when all the schools were closed in anticipation of the big snow day and no snow came. i got up and went swimming thursday morning and there was a very light dusting, really nothing at all. but boy, just 1.5hrs later and there were inches on the ground. i headed home and decided to go home instead of into work. that decision was solidified when the car slid right past the driveway and i had to go down he block and turn around again.
i worked from home but took a break to go out for a quick snowball fight with the kids. it was pretty fun but very funny because sirus kept asking why everyone was throwing snow balls at him. we came in and had real homemade hot cocoa with marshmallows. then later on we went out for some sledding. our street was pretty fun to go down but we eventually opted to try the big hill. we hiked over there and the kids and eric went down a few times. there were quite a few bigger kids who were ruling the hill and seamus quickly decided she was done after two runs where the snow sprayed right in her face. talk about complete meltdown. in viewing distance of the house they both started crying like it was the end of the world. we got them inside and wrapped them up in warm blanket and they sat in their burritos for the next few hrs.
friday was a bit better so i went into work for a few hrs. it was quiet and only a handful of people were there. later we went shopping just to get out and about.
saturday was more snow. i rode on the trainer while watching nip/tuck. heading out to the garage to ride i had on a shrt sleeve shirt, a long sleeve and a super thick winter zip up jersey. i kept them all on for almost 10 minutes. trainer riding is ok, well, thats prolly cuz i've only done it twice so far. there was a big wind storm and i was concerned about the trees but everything seemed in one peice so we were lucky.
sunday was even more snow. eric has shoveled the driveway 3 times already this weekend. her took the kids to the store and i fell asleep. i just zonked out. i must have not slept very well due to the wind because i was out for about an hour. when i woke up it was snowing like crazy. eric and the kids had stopped at mcdonalds so the kids could play at the indoor playground. that was genius. i'll have to remember that one. when they got home i headed out for a run. it was 26 degrees and snowing. i had on big wool socks and my running shoes. i had on knickers and my running pants. i had on a long sleeve undershirt, long sleeve shirt, heavy long sleeve shirt and yellow wind breaker. knitt hat, sunglasses and fuzzy gloves. 8 minutes in i stopped to take the heavy long sleeve off and the sleeves off my wind breaker. it was tough running. up hill and downhill and on the ice and through the snow. it was hard but i had fun sort of and just kept thinking that it was just like running in sand in maui only colder. i was also thinking a lot about how nice its been seeing so many people out walking. we usually don't see anyone walking to the store or just about but since the storm hit everyone is walking all over. i hope they keep it up.
now we are supposed to get another 3-5 inches. i imagine i might work from home again. we will see. i have one of eric's christmas presents in my office, so i need to go get it!
i worked from home but took a break to go out for a quick snowball fight with the kids. it was pretty fun but very funny because sirus kept asking why everyone was throwing snow balls at him. we came in and had real homemade hot cocoa with marshmallows. then later on we went out for some sledding. our street was pretty fun to go down but we eventually opted to try the big hill. we hiked over there and the kids and eric went down a few times. there were quite a few bigger kids who were ruling the hill and seamus quickly decided she was done after two runs where the snow sprayed right in her face. talk about complete meltdown. in viewing distance of the house they both started crying like it was the end of the world. we got them inside and wrapped them up in warm blanket and they sat in their burritos for the next few hrs.
friday was a bit better so i went into work for a few hrs. it was quiet and only a handful of people were there. later we went shopping just to get out and about.
saturday was more snow. i rode on the trainer while watching nip/tuck. heading out to the garage to ride i had on a shrt sleeve shirt, a long sleeve and a super thick winter zip up jersey. i kept them all on for almost 10 minutes. trainer riding is ok, well, thats prolly cuz i've only done it twice so far. there was a big wind storm and i was concerned about the trees but everything seemed in one peice so we were lucky.
sunday was even more snow. eric has shoveled the driveway 3 times already this weekend. her took the kids to the store and i fell asleep. i just zonked out. i must have not slept very well due to the wind because i was out for about an hour. when i woke up it was snowing like crazy. eric and the kids had stopped at mcdonalds so the kids could play at the indoor playground. that was genius. i'll have to remember that one. when they got home i headed out for a run. it was 26 degrees and snowing. i had on big wool socks and my running shoes. i had on knickers and my running pants. i had on a long sleeve undershirt, long sleeve shirt, heavy long sleeve shirt and yellow wind breaker. knitt hat, sunglasses and fuzzy gloves. 8 minutes in i stopped to take the heavy long sleeve off and the sleeves off my wind breaker. it was tough running. up hill and downhill and on the ice and through the snow. it was hard but i had fun sort of and just kept thinking that it was just like running in sand in maui only colder. i was also thinking a lot about how nice its been seeing so many people out walking. we usually don't see anyone walking to the store or just about but since the storm hit everyone is walking all over. i hope they keep it up.
now we are supposed to get another 3-5 inches. i imagine i might work from home again. we will see. i have one of eric's christmas presents in my office, so i need to go get it!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
2008 stats
i launched google analytics sometime in March.
Since then this site has gotten 801 visits and 1220 page views.
It has seen visits from all of these countries:
United States
Canada
United Kingdom
India
Mexico
Singapore
Portugal
China
Jamaica
Australia
Brazil
France
Indonesia
And the most popular key words people typed into Google to find the blog were these:
whidbey island mudder video
"arse massage"
"his toenails painted"
"maxi pad" +pee squirt
"south pacific" lincoln
best chocolate cake hawaii
bike fitting
cascade edge
ironman "lake stevens" "total elevation"
is 12.5 body fat good
kiera knightly
lulu pawpi
maui got home and tired
maxipad pee
oakley razor blades
peed forever
race peed
wedding dress "wore a betsey johnson" blog
whidbey mudder video 2007
There is lots of peeing in there - apparently i know how to tag a site for pee.
Since then this site has gotten 801 visits and 1220 page views.
It has seen visits from all of these countries:
United States
Canada
United Kingdom
India
Mexico
Singapore
Portugal
China
Jamaica
Australia
Brazil
France
Indonesia
And the most popular key words people typed into Google to find the blog were these:
whidbey island mudder video
"arse massage"
"his toenails painted"
"maxi pad" +pee squirt
"south pacific" lincoln
best chocolate cake hawaii
bike fitting
cascade edge
ironman "lake stevens" "total elevation"
is 12.5 body fat good
kiera knightly
lulu pawpi
maui got home and tired
maxipad pee
oakley razor blades
peed forever
race peed
wedding dress "wore a betsey johnson" blog
whidbey mudder video 2007
There is lots of peeing in there - apparently i know how to tag a site for pee.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
exhaustion sets in
this week was tough.
it started with a bad nights sleep monday night in anticipation of swimming lessons on Tuesday morning. swimming was actually pretty good, but it was followed by work.... she had us do some planks on the pool deck before getting in the water and i was paying for that for the next few days.
i rested on wednesday but did go to a cookie party with seamus in the evening. then thursday was swimming again during which i kind of freaked out about the thought that i had already been up for an hour and a 1/2 and still needed to go to work - see a trend? after gettig out of the pool i had to drive to seattle to drop my car to get serviced - two messages were appearing: Serivice Now! and Airbag Fault!. Then to work I went. then off to get my hair cut and a visit with some of the FS folks i worked with back in '97-'99. The the long drive home. Friday I got up headed to work and at lunch had to drive into seattle to pick get my car. friday night we did nothing.
saturday was the kent christmas rush. i was feeling tired and it was cold and wet and i thought maybe i wouldn't do it but i went anyway. i started out way too fast, partly because i always do and i do'nt know how to race properly and partly because they let prolly 10 or so young boys line up on the front line and i wanted to get past them.
i about died in the race and thought i might just sit back and let christie catch up then run with her. but i just kept running. ppl were passing me but i wasn't passing anyone. i prolly let 2 women pass me but not any after the turn around but that put me in like 12 or 13th place. there were no mile markers so i couldn't tell how i was doing or anything but i felt like arse. i was running hard but i don't know if it was as hard as i could go. but i did finish in 23:38 which was god for me but not my best. i should have been able to be faster i felt but all in all i was ok with it. then came awards. based off of last year's results i figured i would get into top 5 in my age group but seeing as i knew i was at least top 13 overall, i figured i would place somehow and sure enough i did, i won my age group and got a funny plaque which i have hung on a random nail that was already on the wall in our kitchen! xtie came in 3rd in her age group and took 2 minutes off her time from last year so that is great!!
saturday then invilved another cookie part with me and the kids and then a party at one of eric's friends house which will likely be the only adult holiday event for us this year.
it snowed last night and eric took the kids sledding in the back yard!
it started with a bad nights sleep monday night in anticipation of swimming lessons on Tuesday morning. swimming was actually pretty good, but it was followed by work.... she had us do some planks on the pool deck before getting in the water and i was paying for that for the next few days.
i rested on wednesday but did go to a cookie party with seamus in the evening. then thursday was swimming again during which i kind of freaked out about the thought that i had already been up for an hour and a 1/2 and still needed to go to work - see a trend? after gettig out of the pool i had to drive to seattle to drop my car to get serviced - two messages were appearing: Serivice Now! and Airbag Fault!. Then to work I went. then off to get my hair cut and a visit with some of the FS folks i worked with back in '97-'99. The the long drive home. Friday I got up headed to work and at lunch had to drive into seattle to pick get my car. friday night we did nothing.
saturday was the kent christmas rush. i was feeling tired and it was cold and wet and i thought maybe i wouldn't do it but i went anyway. i started out way too fast, partly because i always do and i do'nt know how to race properly and partly because they let prolly 10 or so young boys line up on the front line and i wanted to get past them.
i about died in the race and thought i might just sit back and let christie catch up then run with her. but i just kept running. ppl were passing me but i wasn't passing anyone. i prolly let 2 women pass me but not any after the turn around but that put me in like 12 or 13th place. there were no mile markers so i couldn't tell how i was doing or anything but i felt like arse. i was running hard but i don't know if it was as hard as i could go. but i did finish in 23:38 which was god for me but not my best. i should have been able to be faster i felt but all in all i was ok with it. then came awards. based off of last year's results i figured i would get into top 5 in my age group but seeing as i knew i was at least top 13 overall, i figured i would place somehow and sure enough i did, i won my age group and got a funny plaque which i have hung on a random nail that was already on the wall in our kitchen! xtie came in 3rd in her age group and took 2 minutes off her time from last year so that is great!!
saturday then invilved another cookie part with me and the kids and then a party at one of eric's friends house which will likely be the only adult holiday event for us this year.
it snowed last night and eric took the kids sledding in the back yard!
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Burger Meister Meister Burger
i like that the Burger Meister Meister Burger told Kris Kringle that he is obviously a non-comformist and a rebel.
today was the WonderGirl 5k. I volunteered as a coach for the girls. The whole experience was a bit different then i expected it to be but it was fun and I am happy i did it. i was very nervous before the first practice since i was afriad the girls might not like me but i think they liked me by the end, although i am pretty sure they think i am the weird coach that only comes on mondays. i expected the program to be more running based but it was indeed more about positive feelings, etc. Its a great program, just not what I expected. Today was the end of season race. it was an untimed event and everyone had race #1. it was fun to see the girls and to see them at the top of the big hill and then again at the finish line. as an added treat seamus ran with aunt christie and sirus ran with eric. seamus ran up the big hill! i was so proud to see her at the top of the hill! sirus ran to the bottom of the hill, the took a ride in the stroller up the hill, but then got out to run a bit when they saw me. seamus though wound up not having a very good race which makes me sad. apparently she was so intent on passing people that she went off the trail to run in the grass and she tripped and fell. that led to some crying and major frustration turned into there are all these people cheering but none of them are cheering for me. so sad. whenever we do these races we always expect to run and push the kids in the stroller. we ask them if they want out and seamus is always the first one to say she wants to run. sirus is usually the one to say no way. but this race was just too long. it was afterall 4k longer then any other running race she had ever done! but she recovered well and by the time we got into the car she was laughing and having fun and so full of energy that she must have run around the house for a good hr or more. sirus was a treat this time because he actually wanted to run! he rode a lot too, but he ran more then ever. he ran all the way through the finish shoot, but everyone was cheering too loudly so he put his hands up to his ears as he ran. all of the girls were forming a tunnel for the other girls to run through as they finished and sirus ran right through that tunnel!
later we were off to do a lacate threshold test! i wasnt sure i ws up for it. but xtie leant me her awesome new garmin and the weather was nice and eric was up for it, so i agreed. i was supposed to do an easy 15 minute warm up with a few short bursts. those bursts kicked my arse and made me have 2nd thoughts about this whole test thing. then i was to run 30 minutes at the fastest pace i figured i could hold for that entire time. i was to hit the lap button on the garmin at the 10 minute mark to get my average HR for the last 20 minutes. yikes!
it was 50 degrees and about 9 minutes in i had to take my shirt off and run with just a sports bra. i generate so much heat these days! i was dying. but i ran and i ran and i ran really hard. 22 minutes in got a cramp right below my ribs and had to back off for a minute or so. and the next few minutes th threat of the cramp was always there. i'm not sure if i ran as hard as i could but when it was finally done, i wanted to cry. i just wanted to cry, like really, i had to pretty much fight it from happening. but the average HR over the last 20 minutes was 182. i think i was working pretty darn hard. i passed a woman on her bike!
so now for some reason my coach wants me to try to get out on the bike some, too. what? she wanted to do the lactate threshold test on the bike but since i would be "right off the couch" she wants me to get out a bit first. yikes! and i am going to throw in some swimming with a swim coaching group next week. yikes!!
today was the WonderGirl 5k. I volunteered as a coach for the girls. The whole experience was a bit different then i expected it to be but it was fun and I am happy i did it. i was very nervous before the first practice since i was afriad the girls might not like me but i think they liked me by the end, although i am pretty sure they think i am the weird coach that only comes on mondays. i expected the program to be more running based but it was indeed more about positive feelings, etc. Its a great program, just not what I expected. Today was the end of season race. it was an untimed event and everyone had race #1. it was fun to see the girls and to see them at the top of the big hill and then again at the finish line. as an added treat seamus ran with aunt christie and sirus ran with eric. seamus ran up the big hill! i was so proud to see her at the top of the hill! sirus ran to the bottom of the hill, the took a ride in the stroller up the hill, but then got out to run a bit when they saw me. seamus though wound up not having a very good race which makes me sad. apparently she was so intent on passing people that she went off the trail to run in the grass and she tripped and fell. that led to some crying and major frustration turned into there are all these people cheering but none of them are cheering for me. so sad. whenever we do these races we always expect to run and push the kids in the stroller. we ask them if they want out and seamus is always the first one to say she wants to run. sirus is usually the one to say no way. but this race was just too long. it was afterall 4k longer then any other running race she had ever done! but she recovered well and by the time we got into the car she was laughing and having fun and so full of energy that she must have run around the house for a good hr or more. sirus was a treat this time because he actually wanted to run! he rode a lot too, but he ran more then ever. he ran all the way through the finish shoot, but everyone was cheering too loudly so he put his hands up to his ears as he ran. all of the girls were forming a tunnel for the other girls to run through as they finished and sirus ran right through that tunnel!
later we were off to do a lacate threshold test! i wasnt sure i ws up for it. but xtie leant me her awesome new garmin and the weather was nice and eric was up for it, so i agreed. i was supposed to do an easy 15 minute warm up with a few short bursts. those bursts kicked my arse and made me have 2nd thoughts about this whole test thing. then i was to run 30 minutes at the fastest pace i figured i could hold for that entire time. i was to hit the lap button on the garmin at the 10 minute mark to get my average HR for the last 20 minutes. yikes!
it was 50 degrees and about 9 minutes in i had to take my shirt off and run with just a sports bra. i generate so much heat these days! i was dying. but i ran and i ran and i ran really hard. 22 minutes in got a cramp right below my ribs and had to back off for a minute or so. and the next few minutes th threat of the cramp was always there. i'm not sure if i ran as hard as i could but when it was finally done, i wanted to cry. i just wanted to cry, like really, i had to pretty much fight it from happening. but the average HR over the last 20 minutes was 182. i think i was working pretty darn hard. i passed a woman on her bike!
so now for some reason my coach wants me to try to get out on the bike some, too. what? she wanted to do the lactate threshold test on the bike but since i would be "right off the couch" she wants me to get out a bit first. yikes! and i am going to throw in some swimming with a swim coaching group next week. yikes!!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
1:56:30
so i took one of the muscle relaxers friday night. and wow, i slept great! eric said i tossed and turned all night but i was totally asleep. i had a tough time getting up in the morning but i was happy to have some good sleep for the first time in like forever it seemed.
we went for a a 3.5 mile family jog. heading back to the house is a hill and eric and i started sprinting it. we started at the bottom of the hill at an 8:34 pace but maxed out at a 5:42 pace at the top of the hill. we were dying but it was fun.
we watched a few episodes of Nip/Tuck season 3 and then I tried to go to bed at around 10:30. Yeah, that didn't work very well. I don't know when I actually fell asleep but I know that when te alarm went off my shirt was drenched in sweat. I thought that was a bit odd.
we all got up, I had PB&J and then we loaded the car. I drank some coffee and water on the way to the race. It took 21 minutes to get downtown and we avoided the mercer st exit and went to stewart instead. We wound up a block from the start about 40 minutes before the start of the race.
i got out of the car to hit the potty line but quickly returned to change my clothes since it was warmer then expected out. I had nickers, a running tank top, a long sleeve, gloves, and a throwaway t-shirt on top. I also wore a visor so the heat could escape out the top of my head.
i did a quick little jog to the starting line, like not even 2 minutes and felt great! i hit the potties then found some of the girls! then i went back to the potty line and then lined up for the race start. i found the 2hr pacers. i asked them if they were going to hold the sign up the whole time and she said no, they would drop ita few miles in but they would still be keeping the pace. last year i got screwed by the paces since i didn't know they were going to drop the sign and i got too far back. they dropped it not even 3 miles in and were never seen again. this time my plan was to stick to them like glue.
before the race even started i moved to the side and took the throwaway shirt off and then got back in line with the pacers. then we were off. it was tough to stick to them but did my best to keep right in line with them and dodge all the runners. not even two miles in i took the long sleeve and my gloves off. i tied the shirt around my waist and tucked the gloves in my pocket.
i saw eric and the kids in the international district rigth before heading up onto 90. i took the outside lane which was longer and steeper, i'll try to remember that for next year.
at some point i realized yet again that I don't know how to work my watch so i missed a split or two and the time on my watch was totally off.
we hit the 5k mark at about 27 minutes which was pretty much right on target.
the tunnel was hot and humid and i heard lots of complaints.
but then next thing i knew we were headed down onto lake wa blvd and 5 miles were done! those miles flew by. a bit after mile 5 i started to move ahead of the pacers. i kept looking back to see if they were right behind me or not. if they were i was just going to drop back but after a while they were no where to be seen.
then i saw the kids and eric again waving and cheering from up above! it was so fun to see them!
i hit the 10k mark in 54:08 gun time. i had fun along the lake and just did my thing. i don't remember seeing the lake. i remember leschi but nothing after that really. i vaguly remember running past kurt cobain's old house and making a right turn before the switch backs.
next thing i knew it was time to hike it up galer. i shortened my steps and bent at the waist and just went up it. then turned onto madison. one of the best parts of the race is the top of madison when you turn into the arboretum since its lined with spectators and everyone is cheering.
the arboretum is tough because its downhill and although i was happy it was no longer up hill, i decided its the arboretum that really does a number on me, not so much interlaken.
then to my surprise i saw eric and the kids again! i watched as people a head of me slapped hands with the kids and then it was my turn. eric said that lots of people were happy to see the kids there and it was almost like when you hold the door for people at a busy place - when do you just decide to leave? apparently people were crossing the road to get to the kids to slap their hands and one guy even slipped and fell right on his arse! i guess he was ok though.
then off to the right and towards interlaken we went.
one spectator was very misguided and told us that we were almost to the top. yeah, no we weren't we crossed the busy road and i almost lost it when i thougth i was the police man telling the runners to stop so the bus could get through but i don't know what was actually happneing there.
then into the real interlaken. i slowed it down and just ran up it. i was doing ok but when i would get tired i would slow it down a bit. then i would speed it up and get tired again so i would slow it down. it went on and on and on. i started getting the chills and got a little concerned but i kept going. i knew i would be too warm if i put on my shirt. then we hit the 10 mile mark. even though i messed up my watch i knew that i would really have to blow it to not get under 2 hrs.
i kept running past the water station (a first for this coarse!) and kept going.
onto lakeview and the false flat. it was killing me but then i saw eric and the kids AGAIN! at mile 11! i was so happy to see them!
right when we were about to head over I-5 i saw a woman wonder off to the right and just go down head first into bushes. i yelled for volunteers but kept running. i felt a little weird about that. then down down down and over and then down then past the 12 mile mark! a little later i saw a guy wonder off to the left, put his hands on his knees then he went down, too. after the race xtie said she saw 3 people passed out in those last two miles with EMTs all around them. I hope they are ok. my theory is that they weren't prepared for it to be as warm as it was. that is the only thing I can guess since i had never seen that any other year.
i kept running until i got to the last stretch where we dip under a road and then have to run back up the other side. i just couldn't do it. i was done. i felt horrible and i was tired. i stopped and walked about 5 steps then started running again.
i couldnt remember how the finish worked, i thought they made you run around the block but they didnt! so next thing i knew i was headed to the finish line!
and i saw a 1:!!! not a 2: but a 1: and i was close enough that it wouldn't turn into a 2: !! i crossed the finish line, got my medal, gave back my chip then headed to recovery. i downed a bottle of water in about 20 seconds. i grabbed a space blanket put on my shirt and gloves and grabbed some soup! eeewww, it had noodles, but i drank all the broth. then i had some chocolate milk and headed outside to find eric and the kids.
i walked to the meeting area and waited for like 1/2 hr then asked a guy who was waiting that entire same time if he had a cell phone. i called eric and found out they were on their way on the monorail! i met them when they got off of it and then we all got back on.
we stopped at westlake center and the kids road the carosele which was really cute.
then we came home. sirus had a hard day of spectating so he fell asleep on the way home and is still asleep right now!
i have to say that i am happy with my finish time but not happy with how i felt that last mile. but i did recover pretty quickly. i'm tired but not dead to the world.
all the girls that i had been on my long runs with did well. and everyone seemed to have a fun race.
i am happy to have the race over and the 2hr curse be lifted. now that the 2 hr mark is in the bag i can go out faster next time and see what happens!
also a big accomplishment for me is getting up to te 30 miles per week mark and realizing i felt better and less tired running 30 then when i was doing 15-20. guess that is why everyone was telling me to try to get to 30.
now off to some relaxing!
we went for a a 3.5 mile family jog. heading back to the house is a hill and eric and i started sprinting it. we started at the bottom of the hill at an 8:34 pace but maxed out at a 5:42 pace at the top of the hill. we were dying but it was fun.
we watched a few episodes of Nip/Tuck season 3 and then I tried to go to bed at around 10:30. Yeah, that didn't work very well. I don't know when I actually fell asleep but I know that when te alarm went off my shirt was drenched in sweat. I thought that was a bit odd.
we all got up, I had PB&J and then we loaded the car. I drank some coffee and water on the way to the race. It took 21 minutes to get downtown and we avoided the mercer st exit and went to stewart instead. We wound up a block from the start about 40 minutes before the start of the race.
i got out of the car to hit the potty line but quickly returned to change my clothes since it was warmer then expected out. I had nickers, a running tank top, a long sleeve, gloves, and a throwaway t-shirt on top. I also wore a visor so the heat could escape out the top of my head.
i did a quick little jog to the starting line, like not even 2 minutes and felt great! i hit the potties then found some of the girls! then i went back to the potty line and then lined up for the race start. i found the 2hr pacers. i asked them if they were going to hold the sign up the whole time and she said no, they would drop ita few miles in but they would still be keeping the pace. last year i got screwed by the paces since i didn't know they were going to drop the sign and i got too far back. they dropped it not even 3 miles in and were never seen again. this time my plan was to stick to them like glue.
before the race even started i moved to the side and took the throwaway shirt off and then got back in line with the pacers. then we were off. it was tough to stick to them but did my best to keep right in line with them and dodge all the runners. not even two miles in i took the long sleeve and my gloves off. i tied the shirt around my waist and tucked the gloves in my pocket.
i saw eric and the kids in the international district rigth before heading up onto 90. i took the outside lane which was longer and steeper, i'll try to remember that for next year.
at some point i realized yet again that I don't know how to work my watch so i missed a split or two and the time on my watch was totally off.
we hit the 5k mark at about 27 minutes which was pretty much right on target.
the tunnel was hot and humid and i heard lots of complaints.
but then next thing i knew we were headed down onto lake wa blvd and 5 miles were done! those miles flew by. a bit after mile 5 i started to move ahead of the pacers. i kept looking back to see if they were right behind me or not. if they were i was just going to drop back but after a while they were no where to be seen.
then i saw the kids and eric again waving and cheering from up above! it was so fun to see them!
i hit the 10k mark in 54:08 gun time. i had fun along the lake and just did my thing. i don't remember seeing the lake. i remember leschi but nothing after that really. i vaguly remember running past kurt cobain's old house and making a right turn before the switch backs.
next thing i knew it was time to hike it up galer. i shortened my steps and bent at the waist and just went up it. then turned onto madison. one of the best parts of the race is the top of madison when you turn into the arboretum since its lined with spectators and everyone is cheering.
the arboretum is tough because its downhill and although i was happy it was no longer up hill, i decided its the arboretum that really does a number on me, not so much interlaken.
then to my surprise i saw eric and the kids again! i watched as people a head of me slapped hands with the kids and then it was my turn. eric said that lots of people were happy to see the kids there and it was almost like when you hold the door for people at a busy place - when do you just decide to leave? apparently people were crossing the road to get to the kids to slap their hands and one guy even slipped and fell right on his arse! i guess he was ok though.
then off to the right and towards interlaken we went.
one spectator was very misguided and told us that we were almost to the top. yeah, no we weren't we crossed the busy road and i almost lost it when i thougth i was the police man telling the runners to stop so the bus could get through but i don't know what was actually happneing there.
then into the real interlaken. i slowed it down and just ran up it. i was doing ok but when i would get tired i would slow it down a bit. then i would speed it up and get tired again so i would slow it down. it went on and on and on. i started getting the chills and got a little concerned but i kept going. i knew i would be too warm if i put on my shirt. then we hit the 10 mile mark. even though i messed up my watch i knew that i would really have to blow it to not get under 2 hrs.
i kept running past the water station (a first for this coarse!) and kept going.
onto lakeview and the false flat. it was killing me but then i saw eric and the kids AGAIN! at mile 11! i was so happy to see them!
right when we were about to head over I-5 i saw a woman wonder off to the right and just go down head first into bushes. i yelled for volunteers but kept running. i felt a little weird about that. then down down down and over and then down then past the 12 mile mark! a little later i saw a guy wonder off to the left, put his hands on his knees then he went down, too. after the race xtie said she saw 3 people passed out in those last two miles with EMTs all around them. I hope they are ok. my theory is that they weren't prepared for it to be as warm as it was. that is the only thing I can guess since i had never seen that any other year.
i kept running until i got to the last stretch where we dip under a road and then have to run back up the other side. i just couldn't do it. i was done. i felt horrible and i was tired. i stopped and walked about 5 steps then started running again.
i couldnt remember how the finish worked, i thought they made you run around the block but they didnt! so next thing i knew i was headed to the finish line!
and i saw a 1:!!! not a 2: but a 1: and i was close enough that it wouldn't turn into a 2: !! i crossed the finish line, got my medal, gave back my chip then headed to recovery. i downed a bottle of water in about 20 seconds. i grabbed a space blanket put on my shirt and gloves and grabbed some soup! eeewww, it had noodles, but i drank all the broth. then i had some chocolate milk and headed outside to find eric and the kids.
i walked to the meeting area and waited for like 1/2 hr then asked a guy who was waiting that entire same time if he had a cell phone. i called eric and found out they were on their way on the monorail! i met them when they got off of it and then we all got back on.
we stopped at westlake center and the kids road the carosele which was really cute.
then we came home. sirus had a hard day of spectating so he fell asleep on the way home and is still asleep right now!
i have to say that i am happy with my finish time but not happy with how i felt that last mile. but i did recover pretty quickly. i'm tired but not dead to the world.
all the girls that i had been on my long runs with did well. and everyone seemed to have a fun race.
i am happy to have the race over and the 2hr curse be lifted. now that the 2 hr mark is in the bag i can go out faster next time and see what happens!
also a big accomplishment for me is getting up to te 30 miles per week mark and realizing i felt better and less tired running 30 then when i was doing 15-20. guess that is why everyone was telling me to try to get to 30.
now off to some relaxing!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
the pain in my neck
i have been having terrible pain in my jaw and neck since the end of september. it was so bad that after a few days i made an appointment to start up massage again (different side of my neck this time though) but while i was waiting for the appointment i decided that i was in so much pain that my teeth must be rotting out and i had to make an appointment with the dentist. they got me in right away and said my teeth were in better shape then they had ever seen them. ok, so granted the last 5+ years or so i have been pregnant or recovering from pregnancy and everyone knows what that can do to someones gums!! anyway, teeth were fine, no grinding, nothing. dentist told me to relax. so that is what i tried to do. so weeks and weeks later, i was about to totally lose it. can't sleep, on the verge of crying constantly, wondering if i was on the road to alchoholism since the only thing that seemed to help was a tasty adult beverage or two. so i went to my doctor who told me to go back to the dentist. which i sisn't. until today - about two months since the pain started. i told him that i haven't been able to relax and that running seems to help (to which he commented that it looked like i have been running alot - which i took as a compliment) and that it was time to make a night guard. yeah so that is a terrible process. once which wound up with all kinds of gagging and horror all over the place. ok, that is a bit dramatic but the nice lady kept telling me to breathe through my nose which i couldn't do becaue the stuff stunk so badly, but i had mascara all over my face, drool all down my front but most important, they got a good impression and i didn't need to do it again. i need to go back in a week for a fitting then he suspects i will come back once a week for the next few weeks while my jaw heals from all the swelling and whatever that has been going on. i asked him to shoot my jaw up with something that would take away the pain which he said he could do but that it would just be novicaine and wouldn't do any good really. he gave me muscle relaxers and offered to give me prescriptions for pain medicine and sleep stuff, both of which i turned down. i sure wanted both but its best in my opinion to not take those. heck i have my aleve now. both he and the pharmacists said that the muscle relaxers wont affect my race on sunday and that they might actually make it better but both suggested i try them on a training run first. hope i don't get a random pee check! there are big expectations for the race though! both the magic 8-ball on my desk and the race time predictor say i should finish in the low 150s even potentially below. Yikes! i really have no idea what to expect, but i think i will take it conservatively and hang out with the 2hr pacers for the first 1/2 of the race, then if i am feeling good i will speed up for the 2nd 1/2. lasy year i stuck to a pacer, i can't remember which one but about 3 miles in they dropped their sign and i never saw them again. that pacer was no good.
but now i have some uncertainty, mixed with muscle relaxers mixed with opps, got a flu shot when i was picking up my prescription, topped with thanksgiving, so we will see. i am pretty excited though!!
seamus made me shed a tear earlier when eric asked her what she is thankful for this thanksgiving. she answered with "my mom and my dad". i thought that was sweet. both of those kids are so sweet and i am totally thankul for them, that is for sure. i have a ton to be thankful for and i hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday!
but now i have some uncertainty, mixed with muscle relaxers mixed with opps, got a flu shot when i was picking up my prescription, topped with thanksgiving, so we will see. i am pretty excited though!!
seamus made me shed a tear earlier when eric asked her what she is thankful for this thanksgiving. she answered with "my mom and my dad". i thought that was sweet. both of those kids are so sweet and i am totally thankul for them, that is for sure. i have a ton to be thankful for and i hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
trains
sirus was so funny this evening. he was in the playroom playing with his trains track. i suggested he get all the trains from out of his toy box and bring them which he did. then when it was time for dinner he didn't want to come to dinner instead he said "i want to play with my trains all night long". eventually we got him to dinner then he went back up and played the whole night. when i went to get him to put his jammies on, i overheard him telling the trains that they were getting tired and were going to need to go to bed soon and he was bringing the two tiny little beds we have over and lining them up against the tracks.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
seamus stinks
seamus is a funny little girl. she is a big talker and talks all the time. she uses good grammar for the most part and knows a ton of words. but instead of saying think she says stink. Its pretty funny. she is totally capable of saying think but just says stink. so she stinks all the time.
she also has a tendency to say stirty instead of thirty. that ones not as funny, but its cute non the less.
sirus has on some pants today that make his legs look long. maybe they are longer these days since he got his new bed and all.
my face hurts like a biatch. i don't know what the problem is, but i went to the massage lady today and she spent an hour massaging my face. i wanted to throw up i was in so much pain. it feels better but its really getting old.
i got some good news today!!
she also has a tendency to say stirty instead of thirty. that ones not as funny, but its cute non the less.
sirus has on some pants today that make his legs look long. maybe they are longer these days since he got his new bed and all.
my face hurts like a biatch. i don't know what the problem is, but i went to the massage lady today and she spent an hour massaging my face. i wanted to throw up i was in so much pain. it feels better but its really getting old.
i got some good news today!!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
stuff
a few weeks back we ordered a big boy bed for sirus. we didn't really mean to but we found a great deal on, gasp, a bunk bed. i was totally against getting a bunk bed but the lady told us we can swap up all the peices and wind up with two twin sized beds. so we went with it. now our guests can share a twin with no mattress. anyway, the bed will be picked up tomorrow. we picked up the mattress for sirus today. we put on his snazzy new super man sheets and its 5 minutes to bed time. i am a little sad about the whole thing, sirus is y little guy after all.
i went for a 9 mile run today. it was a little under 10 minute pace and it was so fun. i felt great and had so much fun just talking away the whole time. alledgedy this type of run should help me? we'll see in two weeks i guess.
i did a 5k today at work. it was put on by the same guy who did the snoqualmie 5k. this race was a fundraiser for the community's ptsas at the two elementary schools. i wasn't sure what to expect since i have not been feeling fast by any means and i was kind not feeling it for the race. plus i had already gone about 24 miles that week after recently bumping my mileage up to 30 for the past few weeks. i woke up and was feeling skinny which was enough of a good day already for me. especially since the day before i had to change my pants once i got to work since the ones i wore were just too tight. bleck. i did wear my fancy new old lady shoes and got a compliment on them and they were pretty comfortable... so that sort of ofset the issue with the too tight pants.
so we got to the race site and unloaded the kids. we went in and picked up our number and the kids shirts. then off for a little warm up. i was told the coarse would be hilly and to not expect a pr, so in my warm up i ran the coarse backwards to what looked to be the last hill in the race.
then it was time to line up. i loved the start because the timing company guy was like, if you expect to finish in 17 minutes or less, please line up in the front. you could almost hear a pin drop while everyone looked around like, what? it was just too fast. then he said anyone expecting a 7 minute pace to go to the front. i would love a 7 minute pace but i wasn't thinking i would do that. i did wind up a row or two back and managed to get tripped up at the start.
so then we were off. 3:34 into the race i realized it was going to be a looong race. i held onto the front pack for the first mile - 7:05. i was pretty stoked by this since it was pretty hilly and windy and turny. then in mile two i almost cracked. we went through the neighborhoods and up some more hills, around a culdesac and past the water station. then the mile 2 sign - 7:40. Yikes! then i did crack. i rounded a bend and thought it was the hill i had run too in my warm up but it wasn't. and then i did the unthinkable. i walked. and got PASSED. then i started up again but managed to get passed by two young kids - an 11 yr old and a 7 yr old. next thing i knew i was rounding the corner and headed back to the school. i was so excited except it didn't go back the way i had warmed up - you had to run around the parking lot! then to add insult to injury, eric and the kids were standing at the turn around and i got confused and ran around them and the parking divider instead of infront of them and the divider!! i gave up a second or two there and could have broken 24 had i not run the extra few feet but anyway i was happy to be done.
i came in 3rd in my age group. the top 3 overall ladies were all in the 40+ category, and the girl who passed me on the hill was 20-29, so it all kind of worked in my favor. i got a trophy and was able to give it to the kids so that was pretty fun.
then we got pancakes. with chocolate chips. i will come back next year!
but i do have to say that at no time during this race did i feel like i wanted to drop out of the race (even though i stopped to walk) and at no time did i question why i enter these things or why i run at all. eric said i wasn't really racing then, which is possibly true. i did go home and take a nap though, i was worn out.
i went for a 9 mile run today. it was a little under 10 minute pace and it was so fun. i felt great and had so much fun just talking away the whole time. alledgedy this type of run should help me? we'll see in two weeks i guess.
i did a 5k today at work. it was put on by the same guy who did the snoqualmie 5k. this race was a fundraiser for the community's ptsas at the two elementary schools. i wasn't sure what to expect since i have not been feeling fast by any means and i was kind not feeling it for the race. plus i had already gone about 24 miles that week after recently bumping my mileage up to 30 for the past few weeks. i woke up and was feeling skinny which was enough of a good day already for me. especially since the day before i had to change my pants once i got to work since the ones i wore were just too tight. bleck. i did wear my fancy new old lady shoes and got a compliment on them and they were pretty comfortable... so that sort of ofset the issue with the too tight pants.
so we got to the race site and unloaded the kids. we went in and picked up our number and the kids shirts. then off for a little warm up. i was told the coarse would be hilly and to not expect a pr, so in my warm up i ran the coarse backwards to what looked to be the last hill in the race.
then it was time to line up. i loved the start because the timing company guy was like, if you expect to finish in 17 minutes or less, please line up in the front. you could almost hear a pin drop while everyone looked around like, what? it was just too fast. then he said anyone expecting a 7 minute pace to go to the front. i would love a 7 minute pace but i wasn't thinking i would do that. i did wind up a row or two back and managed to get tripped up at the start.
so then we were off. 3:34 into the race i realized it was going to be a looong race. i held onto the front pack for the first mile - 7:05. i was pretty stoked by this since it was pretty hilly and windy and turny. then in mile two i almost cracked. we went through the neighborhoods and up some more hills, around a culdesac and past the water station. then the mile 2 sign - 7:40. Yikes! then i did crack. i rounded a bend and thought it was the hill i had run too in my warm up but it wasn't. and then i did the unthinkable. i walked. and got PASSED. then i started up again but managed to get passed by two young kids - an 11 yr old and a 7 yr old. next thing i knew i was rounding the corner and headed back to the school. i was so excited except it didn't go back the way i had warmed up - you had to run around the parking lot! then to add insult to injury, eric and the kids were standing at the turn around and i got confused and ran around them and the parking divider instead of infront of them and the divider!! i gave up a second or two there and could have broken 24 had i not run the extra few feet but anyway i was happy to be done.
i came in 3rd in my age group. the top 3 overall ladies were all in the 40+ category, and the girl who passed me on the hill was 20-29, so it all kind of worked in my favor. i got a trophy and was able to give it to the kids so that was pretty fun.
then we got pancakes. with chocolate chips. i will come back next year!
but i do have to say that at no time during this race did i feel like i wanted to drop out of the race (even though i stopped to walk) and at no time did i question why i enter these things or why i run at all. eric said i wasn't really racing then, which is possibly true. i did go home and take a nap though, i was worn out.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
i ran to work today. that was fun. better then the last time i ran to work, but i still don't know how to dress, i was too warm. but i didn't have to stop at the conveniently located honey bucket and i felt pretty good. i was a minute slower then last time... but i took it easy to start out with but then cranked it up on and off for the last 20 minutes. i also had my new headlamp which by the time i got around to leaving the house i now longer needed and the new reflective vest, that again i did not need but wore anyway!
eric and the kids picked me up from work and on the way home seamus said she would like her nails to be red like a little girl at preschool. so after dinner and mandatory halloween candy i got to painting seamus's finger nails. then i painted my soon to be not so grody toe nails and then sirus wanted his toenails painted, too, so i did that. then eric was all passed out asleep right next to us so we painted a few of his finger nails too.
i was worried about the pants i had packed to wear today because they are my skinny jeans and i haven't been skinny enough to really wear them since like february i think. but i packed them anway. then last night i was feeling puffy and thick and because even more concerned that i'd run all the way to work and have no pants to wear. turned out the pants were actually fine, it was the shirt i had packed that didnt fit! ok, so that pants didn't really fit either but the shirt i could not manage to deal with. so i put on my coat without a shirt on and wore it all day long. it was a sweet coat i had gotten while shopping in NYC with jen back in september. i think i am going to get some old lady shoes, too.
eric and the kids picked me up from work and on the way home seamus said she would like her nails to be red like a little girl at preschool. so after dinner and mandatory halloween candy i got to painting seamus's finger nails. then i painted my soon to be not so grody toe nails and then sirus wanted his toenails painted, too, so i did that. then eric was all passed out asleep right next to us so we painted a few of his finger nails too.
i was worried about the pants i had packed to wear today because they are my skinny jeans and i haven't been skinny enough to really wear them since like february i think. but i packed them anway. then last night i was feeling puffy and thick and because even more concerned that i'd run all the way to work and have no pants to wear. turned out the pants were actually fine, it was the shirt i had packed that didnt fit! ok, so that pants didn't really fit either but the shirt i could not manage to deal with. so i put on my coat without a shirt on and wore it all day long. it was a sweet coat i had gotten while shopping in NYC with jen back in september. i think i am going to get some old lady shoes, too.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
good night licorice
so sirus is still calling seamus licorice and it is so cute. he pushed her earlier today and i told him he needed to apologize so he went right over, hugged her and said "i'm sorry licorice'. then tonight before he went to bed he went running from her room caling out "good night licorice". i asked him why he called her that. he said its a happy word. i asked him where he learned and he said the leprechauns, those who are responsible for a lot of things in our house.
today i went for a 12 mile run with the girls. it was a lot of fun. it was quite a bit slower then i normally go. i am trying to figure out what speed or effort i should be doing these run. i am contemplating getting a coach for the up coming season since i have quite a few goals. i talked to eric about it who thinks going with a coach would be a good idea. now the hard part - finding one and paying for it. i thought i had an idea and it looks like i was about right if i was looking for just a running coach or just a cycling coach, but ya throw in that whole tri aspect of it and that just ups the $$... plus i haven' found any who mention anything about xterras or mtn biking. so i have some work to do there.
but i have just completed two 30 mile weeks in a row and i feel great. i feel better then when i was just at 15-20. hopefully can keep it up and hopfully it results in some better results. i definitly feel better, so thats a plus!
except i'm not tired and i should realy go to bed...
work has been good but exhausting and kind of stressful.. but yeah, thats the way it goes.
today i went for a 12 mile run with the girls. it was a lot of fun. it was quite a bit slower then i normally go. i am trying to figure out what speed or effort i should be doing these run. i am contemplating getting a coach for the up coming season since i have quite a few goals. i talked to eric about it who thinks going with a coach would be a good idea. now the hard part - finding one and paying for it. i thought i had an idea and it looks like i was about right if i was looking for just a running coach or just a cycling coach, but ya throw in that whole tri aspect of it and that just ups the $$... plus i haven' found any who mention anything about xterras or mtn biking. so i have some work to do there.
but i have just completed two 30 mile weeks in a row and i feel great. i feel better then when i was just at 15-20. hopefully can keep it up and hopfully it results in some better results. i definitly feel better, so thats a plus!
except i'm not tired and i should realy go to bed...
work has been good but exhausting and kind of stressful.. but yeah, thats the way it goes.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
licorice
almost every mornign i ask the kids if they had any dreams. sirus usually says yes adn then says they were about cars. i can't quite beleive him but maybe i should. this morning he said his dreams were about haircuts. then he went on to call seamus licorice for the rest of the morning. I am pretty sure he proclaimed while we were all cuddling this morning "i will call her licorice" and then he did. I can't wait to go home and see if it continues.
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
the funny things that sirus says
yesterday he said "lets go amigos" and took off running. i am sure he probably learned this from his girlfriend dora the explorer but it was funny to hear him say it.
seamus is showing us her geniusness lately. the other night we were reading a book of mine from when i was little, i think its sammy the seal. she has been saying words a lot lately and sounding them out as she says them. i asked her if she wanted to find some words in the book to sound out and read and she did. she managed to sound out and read Sammy, happy, no (to which she got up and showed me how she had written that already), over, fun, zebra and hippo. then i asked her if she could find the word zoo on the page which she said no to and instead went to her desk and wrote it for me instead. I almost fell down, i had no idea she could do all of this. and now she hasn't done it since. thats ok.
the new james bond movie is coming out soon, i can't wait. we went to see Zach and Miri Make a Porno. while i loved Jay in it because he is one of my favorites, it really wasn't a very good movie. we had seen Burn After Reading a few weeks back and that was good. Or maybe i was just drunk? i did have a few before going to the movie but i think it was funny anyway.
then, there is the election. i really don't know what to say. when they announced on tv that obama had won ohio i cheered out loud and clapped my hands! the whole night was pretty emotional, but it sounds like it was for people all around the world. its really an amazing feeling! when i left for work in the morning i told the kids to remember this day since history was going to happen. they both looked at me like i was crazy so i told them i loved them and headed off to work.
seamus is showing us her geniusness lately. the other night we were reading a book of mine from when i was little, i think its sammy the seal. she has been saying words a lot lately and sounding them out as she says them. i asked her if she wanted to find some words in the book to sound out and read and she did. she managed to sound out and read Sammy, happy, no (to which she got up and showed me how she had written that already), over, fun, zebra and hippo. then i asked her if she could find the word zoo on the page which she said no to and instead went to her desk and wrote it for me instead. I almost fell down, i had no idea she could do all of this. and now she hasn't done it since. thats ok.
the new james bond movie is coming out soon, i can't wait. we went to see Zach and Miri Make a Porno. while i loved Jay in it because he is one of my favorites, it really wasn't a very good movie. we had seen Burn After Reading a few weeks back and that was good. Or maybe i was just drunk? i did have a few before going to the movie but i think it was funny anyway.
then, there is the election. i really don't know what to say. when they announced on tv that obama had won ohio i cheered out loud and clapped my hands! the whole night was pretty emotional, but it sounds like it was for people all around the world. its really an amazing feeling! when i left for work in the morning i told the kids to remember this day since history was going to happen. they both looked at me like i was crazy so i told them i loved them and headed off to work.
Saturday, November 01, 2008
halloween and stuff
yesterday was halloween. i was SOOO excited, probably as excited as seamus! the kids could not wait to go trick or treating! they ate dinner and then finally it was dark. off they went. my heart melted as i watched them dressed as wonderwoman (no wig since it made seamus's forehead itch) and as superman, both holding their pumpkins with one hand and eric's hands with their others. i watched them walk out the driveway on their big adventure. the original plan was for them to do our street then go to one other. i stood in the play room and opened the window. i heard them walking back past our house. i could hear sirus yapping away about something in his totally excited high pitched voice. they were walking very fast! i heard them go up to the house accross the street and i heard their little voices yell out Trick or Treat! and then thank you before they left. Then i watched as they went to the next house and then off of our street.
and then i waited. and waited and waited some more. so i went outside and lit the candles in the pumpkins. then i scattered fake spiders around. then i waited. i ate some candy. then finally two girls stopped by.
then eric and the kids came home and started sorting their loot. they lined up their candy in big long lines on the living room floor. sirus picked out all of his tootsie pops out of his line and brought them over to show me. he unwrapped on then quickly went back to put the others "back in line". later he picked up a peice of candy and asked eric what it was. eric told him it was a snickers to which sirus replied, what does snickers do? does it snick?
3 more groups of kids stopped by the house but that was it. we have waaay too much extra candy left but i think i ate way more then my share yesterday (can you say two cupcakes and a rice crispie treat for lunch?) to even find any of it appealing today.
the whole halloween thing wore me out though. sirus got up and went potty all by him self this morning at 6:50. it was so dark out and i was so passed out that i had no idea what time it was. after a while he crawled into bed with us and he just layed there touching my face with his little hand. then seamus came in to cuddle for a bit, too. she kept telling us how much she loves all of us so eventually i had to tell her to be quite because we were still sleeping. i am so mean. eventually eric got up and the 3 of them went downstairs. i on the otherhand slept until 10am!! wholey moley!
today was the first day of the medicine that will allegedly fix my toenails. we'll see in april since they should be done by then.
i got up, had some breakfast and coffee. then i got dressed to go running. i stepped outside and immediately stepped back in to wear LESS clothing! it was warm out today, totally amazing!
i headed out on what i knew would be a beast of a route. i had already done 20 miles this week plus the extreme halloween so i was a little beat but i wanted to get in a long run this weekend. not even 20 minutes in i took off my longsleeve and just ran in my shorts and tank - it was that nice out! then it rained and i was still warm! the first 1/2 hour had considerably more up hill then i had imagined it would. then it was downhill for about a mile. it was that downhill that started to bother my knees and calves. i started thinking about where i might stop and ask eric to pick me up! then i turned onto a nice farm road and passed the pumpkin patch where we got out pumpkins this year. it was quiet and there were a ton of leaves on the road. and i kept going. eventually i made it back to the main road and down another hill, through the scary tunnel and onto the trail. at the one hour mark i was right by the house with the helicopter landing pad in their yard. and i was beat. i stopped and had a gu. then off i went. i figured i had anohter 15 minutes to the bottom of inglewood which turned out to be right on. i stopped and rested there a bit and headed up. i ran almost 1/2 way up but then had to walk. earlier in the week eric and the kids took the bus and met me at work. we all ran home together which was a ton of fun, although eric pushed the kids up the big hill - the whole hill, all the way up! so i ran the whole thing that day too. then that same day we sprinted the last .3 mile getting up to 11mph by the end. that totally killed me.
but today, i walked some of the hill. i did start to run again at the top and ran pretty well until i got to the stop light. the last section to our house is always really long. there is a hill, which is fine but everything after the hill takes forever and is totally painful. i trugged through it and got to the house. finally.
i stretched and went right to the shower. i was pretty sure i was going to pass out in the shower. i didn't but i did have to get out and then sit on the couch for a good 1/2 hour or more still in my bathrobe.
so that was today and a few of the previous days. nothing too thrilling going on.
i am planning for 2009 already, which i am totally stoked about!! it does mean i will have to do some swimming though so i have to figure that whole thing out...
and then i waited. and waited and waited some more. so i went outside and lit the candles in the pumpkins. then i scattered fake spiders around. then i waited. i ate some candy. then finally two girls stopped by.
then eric and the kids came home and started sorting their loot. they lined up their candy in big long lines on the living room floor. sirus picked out all of his tootsie pops out of his line and brought them over to show me. he unwrapped on then quickly went back to put the others "back in line". later he picked up a peice of candy and asked eric what it was. eric told him it was a snickers to which sirus replied, what does snickers do? does it snick?
3 more groups of kids stopped by the house but that was it. we have waaay too much extra candy left but i think i ate way more then my share yesterday (can you say two cupcakes and a rice crispie treat for lunch?) to even find any of it appealing today.
the whole halloween thing wore me out though. sirus got up and went potty all by him self this morning at 6:50. it was so dark out and i was so passed out that i had no idea what time it was. after a while he crawled into bed with us and he just layed there touching my face with his little hand. then seamus came in to cuddle for a bit, too. she kept telling us how much she loves all of us so eventually i had to tell her to be quite because we were still sleeping. i am so mean. eventually eric got up and the 3 of them went downstairs. i on the otherhand slept until 10am!! wholey moley!
today was the first day of the medicine that will allegedly fix my toenails. we'll see in april since they should be done by then.
i got up, had some breakfast and coffee. then i got dressed to go running. i stepped outside and immediately stepped back in to wear LESS clothing! it was warm out today, totally amazing!
i headed out on what i knew would be a beast of a route. i had already done 20 miles this week plus the extreme halloween so i was a little beat but i wanted to get in a long run this weekend. not even 20 minutes in i took off my longsleeve and just ran in my shorts and tank - it was that nice out! then it rained and i was still warm! the first 1/2 hour had considerably more up hill then i had imagined it would. then it was downhill for about a mile. it was that downhill that started to bother my knees and calves. i started thinking about where i might stop and ask eric to pick me up! then i turned onto a nice farm road and passed the pumpkin patch where we got out pumpkins this year. it was quiet and there were a ton of leaves on the road. and i kept going. eventually i made it back to the main road and down another hill, through the scary tunnel and onto the trail. at the one hour mark i was right by the house with the helicopter landing pad in their yard. and i was beat. i stopped and had a gu. then off i went. i figured i had anohter 15 minutes to the bottom of inglewood which turned out to be right on. i stopped and rested there a bit and headed up. i ran almost 1/2 way up but then had to walk. earlier in the week eric and the kids took the bus and met me at work. we all ran home together which was a ton of fun, although eric pushed the kids up the big hill - the whole hill, all the way up! so i ran the whole thing that day too. then that same day we sprinted the last .3 mile getting up to 11mph by the end. that totally killed me.
but today, i walked some of the hill. i did start to run again at the top and ran pretty well until i got to the stop light. the last section to our house is always really long. there is a hill, which is fine but everything after the hill takes forever and is totally painful. i trugged through it and got to the house. finally.
i stretched and went right to the shower. i was pretty sure i was going to pass out in the shower. i didn't but i did have to get out and then sit on the couch for a good 1/2 hour or more still in my bathrobe.
so that was today and a few of the previous days. nothing too thrilling going on.
i am planning for 2009 already, which i am totally stoked about!! it does mean i will have to do some swimming though so i have to figure that whole thing out...
Friday, October 31, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
sirus
such a cutie. not sure if i told the story of how he was out running around with eric and seamus. apparently he had a hard time keeping up and told eric his legs were too short and that he needed new ones.
i went to an auction the other day. i got sirus a kick bike, a tiny little bike that has no pedals. it is much smaller then the bike seamus already has and with sirus's little legs he won't be ready to try her bike for a long time. i lost out the bidding on the blue bike, so he wound up with a pink one. it was a fundraiser for the breast cancer fund and he likes pink anyway...
the next morning after both kids discovered the bike, seamus came up to me while i was getting ready for work. she gave me a hug and said "thank you for getting sirus his own little bike". i thought it was so sweet. then another 10 minutes later sirus came up gave me a big head and said "mommy, thank you so much for my new bike". i wanted to cry. those kids are so sweet. i asked eric if he prompted him to do it and he said no.
it reminded me of when we went to NY the kids stayed at grandma and grandpas. i had taken all of the trains that sirus didn't take with him and lined them up on his night stand. when we got home from picking them up, about 5 days later, he went into his room and was practivally speechless - he said "oooh mommy! thank you so much for my trains!". he is just so adorable. today he is losing his voice. his little voice is so adorable right now.
yesterday at dinner seamus asked me if i lost weight. that made me laugh.
yesterday i ran almost 10 miles with feather. i vented to her the entire time about all the shiat that has been going on. apparently i have been holding alot in because i bitched for the whole 10 miles straight, and the run went by so quick! it was incredible!!
pain in the neck and jaw is still there but a bit intermittent. i have been taking advil and getting massages and such and its been working somewhat. i feel better for the most part.
halloween is this weekend and i can't wait. the kids went to the halloween carnival at seamus's preschool on saturday. seamus was so excited to go she could hardly contain her self. i made sirus some superman pants. he was so excited to wear them but he did not want to wear the superman red shorts over top of them. he got over that. seamus wore her wig and blue eye shadow and some little red gems glued to her face. the carnival involved 7 or so stations and at each was a little game like tossing bean bags or rings onto a target of some sort. after they completed each they got a prize. the kids loved it. they collected all of their prizes and then spent the afternoon and evening practicing trick-or-treating. very funny stuff.
i went to an auction the other day. i got sirus a kick bike, a tiny little bike that has no pedals. it is much smaller then the bike seamus already has and with sirus's little legs he won't be ready to try her bike for a long time. i lost out the bidding on the blue bike, so he wound up with a pink one. it was a fundraiser for the breast cancer fund and he likes pink anyway...
the next morning after both kids discovered the bike, seamus came up to me while i was getting ready for work. she gave me a hug and said "thank you for getting sirus his own little bike". i thought it was so sweet. then another 10 minutes later sirus came up gave me a big head and said "mommy, thank you so much for my new bike". i wanted to cry. those kids are so sweet. i asked eric if he prompted him to do it and he said no.
it reminded me of when we went to NY the kids stayed at grandma and grandpas. i had taken all of the trains that sirus didn't take with him and lined them up on his night stand. when we got home from picking them up, about 5 days later, he went into his room and was practivally speechless - he said "oooh mommy! thank you so much for my trains!". he is just so adorable. today he is losing his voice. his little voice is so adorable right now.
yesterday at dinner seamus asked me if i lost weight. that made me laugh.
yesterday i ran almost 10 miles with feather. i vented to her the entire time about all the shiat that has been going on. apparently i have been holding alot in because i bitched for the whole 10 miles straight, and the run went by so quick! it was incredible!!
pain in the neck and jaw is still there but a bit intermittent. i have been taking advil and getting massages and such and its been working somewhat. i feel better for the most part.
halloween is this weekend and i can't wait. the kids went to the halloween carnival at seamus's preschool on saturday. seamus was so excited to go she could hardly contain her self. i made sirus some superman pants. he was so excited to wear them but he did not want to wear the superman red shorts over top of them. he got over that. seamus wore her wig and blue eye shadow and some little red gems glued to her face. the carnival involved 7 or so stations and at each was a little game like tossing bean bags or rings onto a target of some sort. after they completed each they got a prize. the kids loved it. they collected all of their prizes and then spent the afternoon and evening practicing trick-or-treating. very funny stuff.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
yikes!
and to top it off, i found a grey hair! on MY head!! plucked that sucka right out of there, but sheehs!
need to get things started, again
dude, i am a mess! its sooooo bad, what happened, how did this happen? yuck. double yuck.
so yuck that i went out with a friend last night who was commenting on how she would like to wear jeans to work occasionally, and i looked at my own get up - dirty, baggy (but considerably less baggy lately) jeans that were being worn for the 2nd day in a row, ratty, oversized t-shirt and a grey hooded sweatshirt, unbrushed hair and no makeup. i had worn this to work. and my friend made the comment that i am a boss even.
i had a terrible dream last night that someone asked me why i was wearing my wedding ring on the wrong finger. i was like, what do you mean? i had a weird amnesia where i couldn't see all of my fingers. while finally realizing this, my hands started to cramp and my fingers started bending backwards at the joints. the top most joint bending totally back, then more and more. i fell to the floor and started screaming. i don't remember it being painful, just freaky as hell. i just screamed and screamed. i was in a hospital and they brought in a gurney. then i woke up in bed huffing and puffing, totally exhausted/
that plus the lingering pain in my neck and jaw that isn't going away.
so yuck that i went out with a friend last night who was commenting on how she would like to wear jeans to work occasionally, and i looked at my own get up - dirty, baggy (but considerably less baggy lately) jeans that were being worn for the 2nd day in a row, ratty, oversized t-shirt and a grey hooded sweatshirt, unbrushed hair and no makeup. i had worn this to work. and my friend made the comment that i am a boss even.
i had a terrible dream last night that someone asked me why i was wearing my wedding ring on the wrong finger. i was like, what do you mean? i had a weird amnesia where i couldn't see all of my fingers. while finally realizing this, my hands started to cramp and my fingers started bending backwards at the joints. the top most joint bending totally back, then more and more. i fell to the floor and started screaming. i don't remember it being painful, just freaky as hell. i just screamed and screamed. i was in a hospital and they brought in a gurney. then i woke up in bed huffing and puffing, totally exhausted/
that plus the lingering pain in my neck and jaw that isn't going away.
Monday, October 06, 2008
sticky tape
sirus just turned 3. on friday. he is too cute to be 3!
one of the cute things he does, and yet more evidence that he is male is that he thinks tape will fix everything. specifically "sticky tape". the kids were playing in the box that the new kitchen chairs came in. it tore all down the side and the first thing sirus asked for was sticky tape to fix it. so cute.
yes, new kitchen chairs to go with the brand new grown up style kitchen table. we were in NYC from Sept 9-13 and while there we sawl jen l! and she had a fabulous kitchen table. for some reason she didn't want to pack it up and send it to us in seattle, but she did tell us where she got it, so we got it too. we are copy cats but imitation is the best form of flattery.
while in new york eric and i CHOWED down. we spent so much money on eating out it was REDICULOUS. DAMN tasty but expensive. we went to one place and i ordered the open faced lasgana which was so amazing i can't even describe it but i will try. picture giant noodle on a giant plate with all the best sausage and cheesey goodness on top, served super hot! it was soooo good! also in NY we saw LIZ who took us to the DONUT PLANT where i had an awesome strawberry donut, it smelled so good and
strawberry. she also took us to momufuku or something liek that where we had a plate of HAM, a bowl of tomatoes, some pork goodness and a few good beers.
we went on the haror lights cruise, to the top of the empire state building, through the east village, time square (which i made eric walk like 5 miles to get to because i only knew how to get there from 55th & Broadway, when in al actuallity we were less then 3 blocks away when we started out), we attempted to go to the MOMA on free friday but it was pouring and there were 589237470236 people in line, eric went to ground zero and central park. jen took us to see south pacific at lincoln center where we saw MICHAEL KORS who left his tickets to the show on the floor by his seat.
i went to starbucks plenty, the Google offices, my offices and what else. i don't know but my shoe broke the 2nd night we were there and i went shopping with carrie to get some flip flops. i was amazed that i was abe to walk 20 miles in those things. then after we came back from NY i got ready to go to atlanta for lisa's wedding! i was so excited about this trip, it couldn't get here soon enough! i flew out thursday on the red eye and didn't sleep a wink. i did however watch the sex and the city movie which i thoroughly enjoyed. lisa volunteered her fiancee to pick me up at the airport which was fun since i hadn't ever met him and he had never met me. she sent him out the door with a sign that had my name on it and a photo from my wedding almost 7 years ago - a photo that showed my face from the side! anyway, it al worked out a-ok but altanta had no gas! totally unreal!
anyway, we got to the house, and after i was over my speechlessness of its amazingness i was so happy to see lisa and her family. later that evening we go dressed for the rehearsal dinner and wound up hanging out on the porch until past midnight. the wedding was saturday and lisa looked amazing. she looked like she stepped right out of a magazine! the wedding was great and the reception was fun. i drank way to much but ya know. we all hung out sunday as everyone headed off to the airport one by one. i was really happy to see all the girls, it had been so long.
but after all of that traveling and such, i have gained a ton of pounds, haven't run in what seems like weeks and i have a terrible sore throat.
Monday, September 29, 2008
sirus is not a girl
seamus is certain of this because when you look in his drawers there are no skirts.
also, potty training is done. this is amazing. there is still a threat of accidents and nightime protection has to happen but still, all day every day. amazing.
also, potty training is done. this is amazing. there is still a threat of accidents and nightime protection has to happen but still, all day every day. amazing.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
pf changs china bistro
it sucks the life out of you, or out of me at least.
but i was impressed that seamus was able to pick up and eat an entire pot sticker with chop sticks. a slippery steamed one at that!
but i was impressed that seamus was able to pick up and eat an entire pot sticker with chop sticks. a slippery steamed one at that!
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
on the trail
eric and the kids picked me up at work and we headed over to marymoor. yes, we drove to the burkegilman. we are who we make fun of. but the hill is just too dangerous and steep while towing the kids.
anyway, we were riding along. i was in the front and eric was following while pulling the kids.
a guy pulled up next to eric and said "yeah, i could follow behind that all day long"
to which eric replied "yeah, it really catches a big draft"
then the guy rode away.
then eric said "hmm, not sure if he was talking about the trailer or your arse." but then we laughed at the prospect of it being my arse and it catching a big draft.
anyway, we were riding along. i was in the front and eric was following while pulling the kids.
a guy pulled up next to eric and said "yeah, i could follow behind that all day long"
to which eric replied "yeah, it really catches a big draft"
then the guy rode away.
then eric said "hmm, not sure if he was talking about the trailer or your arse." but then we laughed at the prospect of it being my arse and it catching a big draft.
Friday, August 29, 2008
surprise
i am exhausted but can't sleep. its been this way all week but it got really bad last night and then today its bad. ok, granted its only 1030 but still i'd like to go to sleep. work has been stressful but ok, the weather has been uber lame bordering on weird and the most exercise i have done is from scooping the ice cream and stuffing the cookies into the cookie hole.
but i did sort of decide that i might take a breather here for a few days to recharge. but right now, i can't even imagine what running would feel like since it just seems so hard. i took my stuff to work with me all week but never did anything with it.
i am going to ny in two weeks and that might wind up being exhausting but the good thing is that eric is going to come too. he says he plans on spending the days while i am working hanging out in harlem eating philly cheese steak sandwiches watching pick-up basketball games. i dont know that that means. but i am going to get to hang out with jen which will be fun and i am going to make eric go to the american girl place. and maybe i will get to see liz and dug?
when i finally got to come home today i dragged myself into the house. seamus came up to me wearing her halloween costume from the hawaii trip and laughing and funny laugh and eating pizza. she came right up to me and said she has a suprise for me. i asked what it was and she said i had to come see it. she pointed into the family room and this is what it was:
apparently he was just there on the floor playing and next thing ya know he was asleep. eric however was the one who arranged the trains, and seamus placed the hello kitty egg on his arse, but she sure thought it was funny because she just laughed and laughed. it was pretty cute. then her rolled over and this is what happened:
the circle sticker was already on his belly, he had done that one his own, but seamus put the hello kitty back on him and laughed some more.
here is seamus wanting to get her photo taken while pretending to sleep because, yeah, well, why not:
Monday, August 25, 2008
update
thanks to some info from xtie on how to read resuts, i was actually 3rd in my age group on the bike portion! i had moved from being 21 after the swim up to 6th after the bike, but then lost two spots on the run to finish 8th. wow! i was faster on the bike then I had thought!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
soooo far behind and so much to do!
here's a quick photo of sirus after the snoqualmie 1k kids race! he was in awe over thelife sized trains and in the photo is telling us what a train sounds like.i am now ready to write about the xterra. i was pretty stoked for this race. i had been doing some mtn bike racing and was feeling sort of fit. no swimming of course, but i was excited to get out there. eric and i got to the race start and saw amy, susan and a bunch of other people eric knew. we racked our bikes and got ready to race. the water was steaming since it was warmer then the air. you could vbarely see the buoys or the island. to get into the water you had to climb down a small rock retaining wall. the water was nice, too. it was a mass start. i was pretty excited for the first part of the swim because i was right up there in the action and we were swimming through the lilly pads! you got to the island and climbed up onto it. there was a small luau with tiki torches and music then back into the water. the whole island experience probably took about a minute. the rest of the swi was uneventful except that i had to pee so badly. everytime i would settle into the crawl stroke my stomach would slosh and i would get nauseated. i tried to just pee in the water but i couldn't. there were volunteers at the exit to help you up over the retaining wall. i ran right to the porta potty and peed forever and felt way better. but the only thing more difficult then dealing with a wetsuit is trying to pull up wet tri shorts! off to transition then off onto the mtn bike course.
i had heard it was going to be tough. at the start i asked amy, who had pre-ridden what she was thinking for time and she said 3 hrs. i went into this race thinking 1.5 to 2, so i was not prepared for 3. i crashed. and crashed. and crashed some more. then i had a nice fatty face plant. i just layed there with my face in the dirt trying to access my situation. it took everything i had to not just burst out crying. i got up, stood there and then started to walk. i was so shaken up and my wrist was hurting. eventually i came to come volunteers and asked them how i could drop out of the race. they said the easiest thing would be to just finish the lap although it was still a long way and there was still a lot of tough riding ahead. they said they could call the medics to come get me, but i wasn't that bad, i just didn't wantto race any more. so i started walking. after a while i started riding again. i started to feel better and actually thought, heck, maybe i could finish this race. then i caught my pedal and went down hard on some rocks. i was 100% done. i walked the rest of the way until i came upon some spectators who gave me directions to the road and then back to the race start. the whole ride back was miserable. i was so disappointed and frustrated. i thought i was tougher then that and i was just defeated. i was looking forward to the run and felt that i could still do the run but there was no way i could get through another lap. i got to the start and went to the medics tent. as i was there getting my wounds cleaned i saw eric come into transition to head out for the run. i was about to ask the medic if i could run over there and cheer him on when the medics instead told me that had to run off for a moment and take care of a guy in a blue shirt was bleeding all over. i watched them run over to tanstition and over to eric. next thing i know they are bringing him over to the medics tent. he had crashed a mile from transtiton and had a branch go right through his lip. his race was done. he was suprised to see me there, but all in all it was a good thing i had dropped out when i did. one of eric's friends helped me get his bike and clean up his transition area as well as mine and we headed off to the hospital. he wound up with 6 stitches to fix the hole then another 7 in his lip from where he had bitten it.
i took the next day off from work. i suspect that while i didn't wind up with any stitches that maybe i was more injured then suspected since i slept until 11am then got up for 2 hrs then slept for 3 more. i haven't done that since my drunk single days. meanwhile eric was out with the kids all day doing yard work. it turned out, too, that i had a flat rear tire on my bike.
the next weekend was the mtn bike race in greenwater. we had already planned on taking the kids camping up there. we went and got a massive 6 person tent. we took the air mattress and the thermarests and seamus brought her curious george sleeping bag and i made a Wall-E sleeping bag for sirus. they both wore footie pjs.
when we got there i pre-road with sara and her husband and decided that it would be pretty fun but the bike felt squirrelly. eric changed out the rear tire and it made a huge difference. eric made up some spagetti on the camp stove and we had smores over the camp fire although sirus just ate his marshmallows without roasting them at all.the kids and i got into the tent around 9ish, maybe later and after a bunch of moving around they both passed out by 1030. at some point i had to take seamus out to pee unsucessfully, i couldn't sleep because i was totally dehydrated, and every time i wuld doze off sirus would roll off the air mattress onto me. eventually eric came back but seamus would come and get into my sleeping bag then back out, we would all figtht over the pillows and move all over. eventaully everyone settled down though and i slept pretty well from about 330 to 6. when i got up i really wasn't up for racing but i went through the motions and lined up at the start. next to me was a girl who actually finished the xterra the weekend before.
then we were off. the course was fun! i didn't dare try anything i though might be tough to ride, so i ran a bunch of it, but i stayed on top of it all. the girl from the xterra was off the front from the beginning. a bit later i was passed by a girl who was better on the decents. i wound up catching her on the big climb on the 2nd lap but knew she was faster on the downhill. i could have passed her then stayed in front on the downhill since there wasn't much passing, but that wouldn't be cool, so we just kept riding up the hill together then off she went. i finished 3rd and got a 6pack of fat tire. i was relatively pleased. seamus and sirus both raced in the kids race. 
they had been preriding all the night before and all morning the day of. they had two groups of kids - the kids with more then 2 wheels and then the kids with only two wheels. seamus won the overall for kids with more then two wheels! she was pretty excited. sirus on the otherhand was out for a joy ride which consisited mostly of eric pushing him. he was still pretty excited about his race anyway.the following weekend was the danskin triathlon. i did this as a relay with my sister and mom. xtie did the swim, her longest one yet! i did the bike and then we all walked the run. i manageds the 26th fastest bike out of over 3700 people competing. i knew i was riding faster then most since i passed a ton of people, but i didn't know it was going to be that fast! where the course goes up onto 90 there is a short steep climb. there are volunteers at the bottom telling people to geer down and some people would stop and walk. others would try to ride and then stop in the middle. this was frustrating for those who could ride it but were blocked and then had to stop. i got off and ran through the bushes. it was silly since its not a competative race (although i did find out its a good one to use to qualify for age group nationals!) but i did want to try to finish as fast as i could. the bike route wound up being only 10.2 miles! we had fun on the run portion and all crossed the finish line together!
eric and the kids had come to watch, so we then went home, i took a shower then they took me to the airport to go to boulder for work. it was a short flight, but then i had an hour drive. but the hotel was nice and the conference was fun. monday i got a massage courtsey of one of the sponsors and then later saw a guy i used to work with at my old company. he was based in LA, but has since left that company, moved to NY but now is leaving there to go back to LA. he is 25 and is a VP at his most recent company. tuesday morning i went for a run up into the boulder canyon. at 5500ft i was dying. that afternoon i went mtn biking as an offsite activity from the conference. thank goodness the tour people had sunblock for us to borrow because i missed a spot on my back and it was the weirdest color i have ever seen. the riding was fun,there was a lot of up hill but it was mainly road and gravel road with a tiny bit of sort of technical downhill. all in all it was fun and i am happy i went.
and the conference continued and then i got a manicure courtesy of one of the sponsors. wednesday evening i went to dinner with a few folks, had a couple of margaritas then had some $18 shots of tequila.
i woke up thursday feeling a little yucky, but it was my last day. i woke up without the alarm and went for a run into the canyon. after checking out of the hotel i went to a local bike shop owned by a guy that eric used to race with waay back before the kids were born. after saying who i was he recognized me and we chatted for a bit. he is living the dream which is really cool.
then i went into denver which wasn't that fun although the demacratic national convention was going on and then off to the airport. the kids and eric were waiting for me at the airport when i finally got back to seattle. boy was i happy to see them!
next was the lake sammamish triathlon yesterday. i wasn't feeling up for it since i was really tired. but i got up and headed to the race site. xtie was there and some of her friends were there doing their first triathlons. marne was there, too! the swim start was good. i felt like i was keeping up and going strong. then about 1/2 way it all caught up with me and i had to do some
breast stroke and then i was slow for the rest of the swim. i got out and ran to transition, passing 4 people on the way to that first timing mat! biggest accomplishment of the swim was not being caught by anyone in the wave behind me, at least that i noticed!my transition felt like it took forever. it seemed like i couldn't get my socks on to save my life and everything just seemed to not be working. i ran out and got to where you get on the bike but i couldn't get clipped in. i kept stumbling but eventually got it together. then i was off! i was pretty fired up and feeling pretty good so i just pushed it. i passed a ton of people and was only passed by two people from the wave that started behind me. my bike computer wasn't working so i had no idea how fast i was going or how far i had gone. but eventually i got back to transition. i changed my shoes and put on my hat and went off for the run. i was really not in the mood for the run. i just kind of went on my way. i saw eric and the kids and slapped hands with seamus and sirus. then it was off onto the trails. i was passed by two girls from my age group, one guy and one woman from the age group that started behind us. i passed a few people alond the way as well. i was working hard but not killing my self. now i wish i would have tried a little harder, but the two girls that passed me wound up quite a bit ahead of me so i don't know if i would have been able to hold
onto them at all anyway. i wound up 8th place compared to 14th last year. the swim i think was shorter this year but my bike was about 4.5 minutes faster (6th in the age group!) and the run was 45 seconds faster. its a 3.4 mile run and strangely, if that is true my pace was 3 seconds faster then the snoqualmie 5k at the beginning of august. all in all i was pleased with the race. i was hoping to break into the top 10 so thats good! i think this is my last race of the season. i feel slow as slow can be but i guess i'm not too slow. now i want to concentrate on the seattle 1/2 in november.now, let me tell you about seamus!! after she won her mtn bike race she was looking to ditch the training wheels. the day after her race eric took the training wheels and the pedals off her bike so she could scoot around and work on her balance. in the afternoon he put the pedals back on but after a bit of frustration with eric trying to help her, she put the bike down and played in the yard. a little later eric heard "daddy daddy! i'm doing it!" and sure enough she was riding her bike with no training wheels! she only crashed into the baskeball hoop a few times, into the garage a few times and into sirus a bunch of time, but she practiced every day so she would be ready for her triathlon! seamus was very excited to race again. she put on her swim suit, her purple swim cap, and he floaties and went out into the water. she swam and swam waiting for her race to start. she kept going deeper and deeper and was all the way up to her chest but she was just paddling around! then she got out and was frozen solid. eric warmed her up and kept her on the beach until the race was ready to start. and then the kids were off!
she swam 75 yards, but she will tell you that she hopped most of it. when she got out of the water sirus and i were there ready to slap hands but she turned to me and said that she wanted to go get on her bike instead. so off she went she put on her tri skirt, her luna top, her hello kitty sandals and her helmet. then off she went on the bike. she got so many cheers as she went out. we're not sure if it was because she was so little, her bike was so little, the fact that she didn't have any training wheels or that she still had her bike decorated from the parade a few weeks back. eric ran next to her and had a tough time keeping up! she rode the entire time, not once putting a foot down! finally, back to transition, she parked her bike. she got upset 
when eric tried to get her to drink some water since she thought he was trying to get her to stop racing. but she took off her helmet and started running. and she was running FAST! i went with her and several times i was stunned at how fast she was! i asked her if she was having fun and she said yes! she said she had fun on the swim and on the bike and now was having fun on the run but she thought we should have brought some water. she asked if there would be snacks at the finish! she asked to hold my hand so we did that a bit but every once in a while she would see another kid infront of her and she would drop my hand and speed up! the little kids were only supposed to do a .5 mile run but no one told the volunteer so we were steered along 
the .75 mile run and seamus ran the entire thing. about 1/2 way she caught up to a group of 4 seven year olds. she ran right among them and even passed infront of them at one point. she would just speed up and keep going!! she went into the finish shoot on her own, helped the volunteers take off her timing chip and got her medal. she is absolutly amazing! when we got home she wanted to ride her bike some more!!i'm headed to nyc in september for work i think, so that will be exhausting but probably there will be some fun mixed in there, too.
Monday, August 11, 2008
1 month wrapped into 1 post.
lets start with racing!
after lake stevens i did some riding, not a lot and some running, not a lot. i managed to run home from work once or twice a week and then ride my bike to work once or twice a week and some on the weekends. i also did a few wednesday night mtn bike races. work was a but stressful with lots going on that i can't talk about here, but if you give me a call, i'll tell ya all about it!
Wednesday july 30 eric and his buddy mark and the kids picked me up at work to go racing. i got car sick in the heat and the traffic. i wasn't doing so well, but as soon as we got to the race i jumped on my bike and headed out. i was in the lead and having fun when the bike was getting all squirrley. i kept up right until i was on the pavement and trying to make a sharp left and down i went. ah - flat tired. explains is all. i still felt like i was going to puke, but i walked back to the start, changed and then the kids and i hiked all over while eric raced. the wednesday nights have been pretty fun.
saturday the 2nd was the snoqualmie railroad days run. a guy i work with was putting on the race, so of course i was wanting to run it! xtie and feather and dave all signed up for the 10k and i did the 5k. we got there with plenty of time to spare and i did a 20 minute warm up then off to the start. i had the "i better get this time or something is wrong" time, the "i would really like to get this time" time and then the "super stretch wow it would really kick ass if i could get this time" time. i really wasn't sure where i would be since i have been doing fewer miles each week but the miles have been longer runs. i started out feeling ok but not great. i still felt like i hadn't gotten over the car sickness ofwednesday. at the 1 mile mark i checked my watch to see 00:00. sweet. the 2nd mile was brutal and i was thinking maybe i will just walk, why do i do these races, oh poor me, then i hit mile 3 and just kind of kept going. eric says he expected me to sprint, and i thought i was but apparently not very impressively. finish time 23:42, good enough for 5th in my age group and 19th woman. apparently as the minutes were ticking by eric, ever so supportive that he is, was hoping i would come in under 24 otherwise he wasn't sure how he would manage to lie to my face about how good a job i had done. at least he was honest. xtie did really great in her race! feather and dave started after the sweeper truck and apparently after the timing mats had been shut off, so they didn't get a time, but they think they did well!
the kids were super excited about the kids race! well, that and the fact that the race start /finish area was lined by real live working trains! i totally confused sirus by telling him that the previous weekend the big, REAL thomas the train was in that very spot. he just looked at me then turned away. seamus reacted similarly when i told he i had just gotten off the phone with people in australia who were getting ready to have lunch tomorrow, but that at least turned into a geography lesson.
the kids race was a 1k. they started at the start going the wrong way towards and past the finish line to a turn around and then back to the finish to cross where the grownups finished. seamus was so excited, sirus not so much. seamus lined up with the other kids then eric and sirus lined up behind them. and then they were off! seamus ran about about 3/4 of the way and then called out to me that her legs were hurting. i told her she could walk if she wanted to but she just kept running. she got around the turn around and said in a pittiful little voice "i need help!" but she kept running. i held her hand but then said i was going to run ahead to take a photo of her crossing the finish line. and she started running faster! i had a tough time getting far enough infront of her to get photos! she is fast and had a strong finish! sirus and eric kept going and eventually crossed the finish line, too! it was pretty fun and we will be back next year.
the next day was the black diamond xterra. i don't think i am ready to write about that one yet. this post is so long already and that one is going to take forever. stay tuned.
after lake stevens i did some riding, not a lot and some running, not a lot. i managed to run home from work once or twice a week and then ride my bike to work once or twice a week and some on the weekends. i also did a few wednesday night mtn bike races. work was a but stressful with lots going on that i can't talk about here, but if you give me a call, i'll tell ya all about it!
Wednesday july 30 eric and his buddy mark and the kids picked me up at work to go racing. i got car sick in the heat and the traffic. i wasn't doing so well, but as soon as we got to the race i jumped on my bike and headed out. i was in the lead and having fun when the bike was getting all squirrley. i kept up right until i was on the pavement and trying to make a sharp left and down i went. ah - flat tired. explains is all. i still felt like i was going to puke, but i walked back to the start, changed and then the kids and i hiked all over while eric raced. the wednesday nights have been pretty fun.
saturday the 2nd was the snoqualmie railroad days run. a guy i work with was putting on the race, so of course i was wanting to run it! xtie and feather and dave all signed up for the 10k and i did the 5k. we got there with plenty of time to spare and i did a 20 minute warm up then off to the start. i had the "i better get this time or something is wrong" time, the "i would really like to get this time" time and then the "super stretch wow it would really kick ass if i could get this time" time. i really wasn't sure where i would be since i have been doing fewer miles each week but the miles have been longer runs. i started out feeling ok but not great. i still felt like i hadn't gotten over the car sickness ofwednesday. at the 1 mile mark i checked my watch to see 00:00. sweet. the 2nd mile was brutal and i was thinking maybe i will just walk, why do i do these races, oh poor me, then i hit mile 3 and just kind of kept going. eric says he expected me to sprint, and i thought i was but apparently not very impressively. finish time 23:42, good enough for 5th in my age group and 19th woman. apparently as the minutes were ticking by eric, ever so supportive that he is, was hoping i would come in under 24 otherwise he wasn't sure how he would manage to lie to my face about how good a job i had done. at least he was honest. xtie did really great in her race! feather and dave started after the sweeper truck and apparently after the timing mats had been shut off, so they didn't get a time, but they think they did well!
the kids were super excited about the kids race! well, that and the fact that the race start /finish area was lined by real live working trains! i totally confused sirus by telling him that the previous weekend the big, REAL thomas the train was in that very spot. he just looked at me then turned away. seamus reacted similarly when i told he i had just gotten off the phone with people in australia who were getting ready to have lunch tomorrow, but that at least turned into a geography lesson.
the kids race was a 1k. they started at the start going the wrong way towards and past the finish line to a turn around and then back to the finish to cross where the grownups finished. seamus was so excited, sirus not so much. seamus lined up with the other kids then eric and sirus lined up behind them. and then they were off! seamus ran about about 3/4 of the way and then called out to me that her legs were hurting. i told her she could walk if she wanted to but she just kept running. she got around the turn around and said in a pittiful little voice "i need help!" but she kept running. i held her hand but then said i was going to run ahead to take a photo of her crossing the finish line. and she started running faster! i had a tough time getting far enough infront of her to get photos! she is fast and had a strong finish! sirus and eric kept going and eventually crossed the finish line, too! it was pretty fun and we will be back next year.
the next day was the black diamond xterra. i don't think i am ready to write about that one yet. this post is so long already and that one is going to take forever. stay tuned.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
feeling good
so today i am feeling pretty good. could it be the frosty beer? maaaybe. but maybe it has to do with it being friday!
plus this week has been a little different. it had seemed that after races this past year i would be good for a day then get really depressed. i had been told to get out and moving sooner rather then later after a race to combat that but i was generally too tired or stressed to do that. but this time, i headed out to do some open water swimming with xtie on tuesday, did a group ride on wednesday then ran home from work on thursday. today i rested but tomorrow i am running with feather and dave. my knees are feeling better and the weird loosy goosy feeling i was having with my left knee which i blamed wearing flip flops on move day seems to be better. i have also resolved to try and eat better, which i did all week except today. i have been having terrible allergies and yesterday it was the WORST! i was hitting up 3 different tissue boxes and had to have gone through a least an entire box among them all. i was worried that its the new house, then i was thinking it was my sweater. then i was thinking, could it be the yogurt i have had every morning this week? internet - can yogurt cause sneezing, runny nose and severe miserableness? i didn't feel sick but miserable. today - no yogurt and back to the PB&J and what seems to be recovery from the allergies. internet - what is the deal? but then i through a personal pan pizza hut pizza from target on top of that, and now eric is threatening me with carrot cake and ice cream. can i resist and stick to my pretzel rod and beer? only time will tell. sirus is so funny. i told him that if he went poopy on the potty he could have spencer the train, one of thomas's friends. he thinks this is a great idea and is constantly telling me how we can go to target to get the train, because that is what they have at target. xtie came over the other day and brought him a red bucket and shovel. he asked her where it came from and she replied asking him where he thought she got it. he thought long and hard then asked "target?" nooooo, "home depot?" noooo, she said she got it at safeway to which he replied "safeway! i know safeway!". he has been really cute lately and super chatty. he really hadn't said a lot or much in complete sentences but now he is just talking up a storm, mostly about spencer at target but some about seamus and what she is up to and also what he has been up to during the day. as an added bonus, he has been super huggy and kissy. i hope that never ends because i love it.
i am so happy in our new house. its the greatest and i think it and my totally awesome commute is helping with my happiness and my ability to this week to keep going after the race. but, for 4th of july there was a 2nd annual celebration and fireworks show. we weren't sure if we would go but decided to try it out, how could we not, it was two miles away! we headed out of the house at 8ish. seamus walked the entire 2 miled even with two hige hills. sirus walked most of the way but opted for some strollering for the hills. we got to the site, the kids played and then we got ready for the show. seamus and sirus were ready for the show, and then it started and it was an entirely different story. it was loud and bright and right in our faces, so much so that sirus's little hand went up to his eyes and didn't leave them until the show was over. seamus on the other hand thought it was great. and really it was! i am so happy to be in our new neighborhood so close to such fun stuff! we didn't get the kids into bed until midnight!!
this weekend we are going to a parade! and there is a kids parade before, so today we made costumes for the kids and stuff to decorate their bikes! wait patiently for some photos - they will be well worth the wait!
abba is so good, too.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Carrie's Lake Stevens 1/2 Ironman report
Last year when I finished this race, my exact words were "its over!! finally! it has come and gone and now i don't have to worry about it or ever do anything like it again!" That lasted about a day or two then I started planning for 2008.
I had great plans for the race in 2008, but as you know a month or so ago we decided to put our house up for sale and move. While "paint the fence" worked like magic for Daniel in the Karate Kid, it didn't work quite as well for Carrie in real life. Regardless I was totally excited about the race with a goal of just finishing the race.
July 6 - Race Day
The alarm went off at 3:45 AM. Eric and I did a quick packing of the car, made some PB&J and headed out the door. We got to the race site at 5am and found a great parking spot. We grabbed most of our stuff and headed to transition, set up then headed back to the car to change into race gear. The it was off to the potty and over to put on our wetsuits.
The Swim
I spotted eric in the sea of black suits with orange heads, gave him a kiss and wished him luck. It was a little less sureal then last year when it seemed like he was headed off to the meat factory. Then it was off to find the other LUNAs and wish them all luck. There is something incredibly calming about heading to the water for triathlon start. Running races and mountain bike races I am generally a nervous wreck, but at triathlons I am always very calm. Our group headed out onto the dock and into the water. It was warm, my goggles fit well and the horn went off. I was dropped by the pack instantly, which didn't suprise me. Almost as instantly I was caught by the group that started 3 minutes back, then the next group, then the next, etc. I wasn't thrilled with the swim, but with my lack of training, I was happy to finish and not be exhausted and even have enough gas in the tank to run into transition.
Swim Time: 55:04 (almost 4 minutes slower than last year)
The Bike
I was sort of concerned about the bike. I knew I could cover the distance, I just wasn't sure how quickly I could do it and how painful it would then make the run be after. I have been pleased with my bike portions of races this year as I have finally learned how to push my self.. I didn't go all out on the bike, but I kept a steady pace and I definitly worked. Although hillier, I liked this bike course better then last year. I liked that it gave more opportunity to get lapped. Did I just say that? Yes, because it is so cool to hear the pros coming up behind you with the whoosh whoosh of their disk wheels and seeing what amazing athletes they are and then leave you in their dust! I was so happy to see Renee's little pony tails and smiling face at the end of the first lap. The second lap was somewhat uneventful. I stayed well hydrated through the bike - I went through two bottles of Pink Grapefruit LUNA Sport Electrolyte Splash AND a bottle of water. At the end of the 2nd lap I caught up to Charity. She was looking great although working through a pinch in her shoulder. A few miles from the end I was caught by a 67 year old woman. Wow!! She was amazing!! As I rode into town the cheers of the crowd made me want to keep going, but alas, the bike was done.
Bike Time: 3:37:48 (3 minutes or so faster then last year)
The Run
I was in a pretty good mood on the run. Maybe it was the complete costume change in T2? I was moving better then I thought I would be and I was chatting away with everyone I came across. I walked through every water stop, a plan that worked well last year and took a potty break at mile 1. I walked some on the big hill around but then ran most of the way back down where I saw both Renee and Charity. Heading out onto the first loop of the 2nd lap my knees were pretty achey and I started walking a bit more. On my way back through town I spotted Eric and Charity's husband. I walked up that big hill again but there were some enthusiastic spectators on the hill so I told them I would looks fast for them and run up the hill. At the top and through the turn around I was going what felt to be really fast and I was feeling really good. I saw Sarah from the tri team while going up the hill and I saw Marne on the way back down. But my knees - so I would stop and walk from one cone to the next, then run for a bit, then repeat. This worked really well and I continued to chat with everyone I passed in either direction. Once I got into town though I was running and so happy to be almost done! I crossed the finish line, found Eric and gave him a huge hug! Then I went to the pizza tent. :)
Run Time: 2:10:38 (about a minute and 1/2 faster then last year - with considerably more walking!)
Total Time: 6:49:58 (about 2 minutes faster then last year!)
All in all it was a great race. I was calm and collected. I had great support at the race from my husband, teammates and friends and I even got a tan! I am especially proud of both Charity and Renee. I knew they could do it and I am so happy that they did it!
I had great plans for the race in 2008, but as you know a month or so ago we decided to put our house up for sale and move. While "paint the fence" worked like magic for Daniel in the Karate Kid, it didn't work quite as well for Carrie in real life. Regardless I was totally excited about the race with a goal of just finishing the race.
July 6 - Race Day
The alarm went off at 3:45 AM. Eric and I did a quick packing of the car, made some PB&J and headed out the door. We got to the race site at 5am and found a great parking spot. We grabbed most of our stuff and headed to transition, set up then headed back to the car to change into race gear. The it was off to the potty and over to put on our wetsuits.
The Swim
I spotted eric in the sea of black suits with orange heads, gave him a kiss and wished him luck. It was a little less sureal then last year when it seemed like he was headed off to the meat factory. Then it was off to find the other LUNAs and wish them all luck. There is something incredibly calming about heading to the water for triathlon start. Running races and mountain bike races I am generally a nervous wreck, but at triathlons I am always very calm. Our group headed out onto the dock and into the water. It was warm, my goggles fit well and the horn went off. I was dropped by the pack instantly, which didn't suprise me. Almost as instantly I was caught by the group that started 3 minutes back, then the next group, then the next, etc. I wasn't thrilled with the swim, but with my lack of training, I was happy to finish and not be exhausted and even have enough gas in the tank to run into transition.
Swim Time: 55:04 (almost 4 minutes slower than last year)
The Bike
I was sort of concerned about the bike. I knew I could cover the distance, I just wasn't sure how quickly I could do it and how painful it would then make the run be after. I have been pleased with my bike portions of races this year as I have finally learned how to push my self.. I didn't go all out on the bike, but I kept a steady pace and I definitly worked. Although hillier, I liked this bike course better then last year. I liked that it gave more opportunity to get lapped. Did I just say that? Yes, because it is so cool to hear the pros coming up behind you with the whoosh whoosh of their disk wheels and seeing what amazing athletes they are and then leave you in their dust! I was so happy to see Renee's little pony tails and smiling face at the end of the first lap. The second lap was somewhat uneventful. I stayed well hydrated through the bike - I went through two bottles of Pink Grapefruit LUNA Sport Electrolyte Splash AND a bottle of water. At the end of the 2nd lap I caught up to Charity. She was looking great although working through a pinch in her shoulder. A few miles from the end I was caught by a 67 year old woman. Wow!! She was amazing!! As I rode into town the cheers of the crowd made me want to keep going, but alas, the bike was done.
Bike Time: 3:37:48 (3 minutes or so faster then last year)
The Run
I was in a pretty good mood on the run. Maybe it was the complete costume change in T2? I was moving better then I thought I would be and I was chatting away with everyone I came across. I walked through every water stop, a plan that worked well last year and took a potty break at mile 1. I walked some on the big hill around but then ran most of the way back down where I saw both Renee and Charity. Heading out onto the first loop of the 2nd lap my knees were pretty achey and I started walking a bit more. On my way back through town I spotted Eric and Charity's husband. I walked up that big hill again but there were some enthusiastic spectators on the hill so I told them I would looks fast for them and run up the hill. At the top and through the turn around I was going what felt to be really fast and I was feeling really good. I saw Sarah from the tri team while going up the hill and I saw Marne on the way back down. But my knees - so I would stop and walk from one cone to the next, then run for a bit, then repeat. This worked really well and I continued to chat with everyone I passed in either direction. Once I got into town though I was running and so happy to be almost done! I crossed the finish line, found Eric and gave him a huge hug! Then I went to the pizza tent. :)
Run Time: 2:10:38 (about a minute and 1/2 faster then last year - with considerably more walking!)
Total Time: 6:49:58 (about 2 minutes faster then last year!)
All in all it was a great race. I was calm and collected. I had great support at the race from my husband, teammates and friends and I even got a tan! I am especially proud of both Charity and Renee. I knew they could do it and I am so happy that they did it!
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