eric

tonight eric gave me a hall pass and said he would take both kids to bed so i can blog. not sure what he was thinking i would be blogging about but i guess after about an hour of us sitting at the kitchen table chit chatting over margaritas he had enough of me.
today i went to the chiropractor. i was going to try to get through a whole week without seeing him but i decided this morning that i wanted to see him. so i went. he did is usual elbow in the ass routine that i long for on a regular basis. did some hip flexor pain inducers, some it band horror and then pulled put the scraper. omg, i don't know what this scraper thing is for. something to do with fascia and whatever but i am also pretty sure it was designed for pain induction. its a funny blue thing, he puts some lubey stuff on it, he says its emollient, and then tries to scrape my skin off. dude, there are easier and less painful ways to get my DNA!! he did it on my back once and that sucked, so when he pulled it out this time, i was just like, dude, i dunno if you need to be going to such extremes. then he got all aggro on my side hip. wtf. while he was doing it he was like," uh, yeah, you are going to have a bruise from this. wow, yeah, its going to be pretty bad. hmm, you should try and ice this when you have the chance." scrape scrape scrape!!!! dude, so yeah, when i got to work i took a peek and it was all red and swollen and a mess, and by the time i got home sho-nuffs it was all black and blue. please internets, tell me if you have experienced the scraper and if you have, what was your experience like? so, i definitely felt better when i left his office, but dude. i do'nt want to do that again.
none of these are of my chiropractor. but they illustrate my experiences:
I am pretty sure this is the look my guy has when he is using that scraper and i am secreting my face juices on that paper:

I often wear my navy blue dockers, brown belt and heather blue polo shirt when i am getting a good cracking. today i wasn't able to crack to the right.
and this is a perfect illustration of my too toned ass. remember when my PT told me i had too much tone in my ass? that's because it looked like this:

not really.

chips ahoys

everything has changed! i have made some big decisions and made some drastic moves but i am feeling quite good about it all. whew. big plans! big plans i tell you! but i won't tell those plans just yet. patience grasshopper. soon. maybe.

eric and i have also been discussing all along the changes we want to make to the house. especially this year with this super crappy summer, all i want is more light. he cleared out some of the crazy over grown bushes and underbrush around the house and that has allowed more light in but i'm talking needing waaay more. so today i almost popped another blood vessel just thinking about the lack of light and just now told eric to start working on the plans for how we're going to get some of this stuff done. we aren't ones for fancy furniture and details like that, especially right now since the kids are small and the cats are cats. eventually we will get to that but hot damn do i need more light!!! its probably just a phase and i'll get over it, especially when he comes to me with an estimate of $200k or whatever to get it done. ugh.

one of the best things i have found for when i am feeling particularly obese is to do some planks. a few days of some serious planks and everything is better. not totally but somewhat. omg, tonight i was trying really hard to not have a margarita so i had a bunch of chips ahoys and oreos. aak. but dude, eric is da'man. he fixes dinner every night. he does all the cooking. but tonight i got home from running and it smelled mighty good in the house. but as i got closer to the kitchen it started smelling somewhat fishy and i was like bleck, not in the mood for that. but i opened up the dish and what did i see? salmon with bratwursts!!! yeah!!! the brats were sliced thin and layered over top of the salmon with some zucchini, too. at first i was like, this is going to probably not taste very good but it was awesome. totally perfect. i paired that up with a giant, super juicy nectarine and i was totally in business. until i ate the chips ahoys and oreos. :(

headed to the pool tomorrow am. my swim on tuesday was actually quite nice. i do like to swim. it feels good and i like what it does to my body, but that doesn't keep me from being a sucky swimmer. back when i used to go back home each year for xmas or thanksgiving or something, my friends would make fun of me because i would always plan a trip to the local pool. even though i couldn't swim worth a hill of beans, i had fond memories of that pool and i always enjoyed going back there. i even made eric go with me the few times he went back there with me, and seamus even made an appearance the one time she went back there, too. and i used to always have dreams about being on the swim team in HS. too bad i wasn't ON the swim team, seeing as that would maybe help me now. but whatever, ya know, and stuff.

things and stuff

wow am i tired. i was going to go do a 10 mile trail race tonight, just for mellow and just for fun but wow, yeah, the 5am wake up yesterday followed by the 1am bed time last night and 8am arrival at work this morning all started to catch up with me and i HAD TO TAKE A NAP.
tuesday night janet invited me to masters on wednesday morning. in the middle of my 2nd margarita I thought that would be a fantastic idea! i hadn't been since prepping for the swim meet back in feb or whenever it was and even that was just for diving. but i was excited to swim with janet and to see my swim friends. i had even agreed knowing it was IM wednesday. lucky for me the swim coach didnt show up! so we did our own workout but yeah, they go a lot faster than me. i had to work pretty hard for them to still even open a big gap on me with each set. but the water was lovely and i was happy to catch up with everyone! after work was a work party. actually, work was a big sponsor at big event and hosted a big party. that didn't start until 9pm. 9PM. what? so i put on my sweet betsey johnson shoes and headed out to party to the wee hours of the night. i had quite a good time but realized two things: i must really look like ASS all the time because so many of the people i work with commented that i looked nice, and it really makes people uncomfortable if you are taller than them. i am tall. always a head or more taller than my friends or folks in photos. but i normally don't stand next to people i work with. i am usually sitting and slouching and if i am standing i am wearing flats, at most danskos. but the high heels were very alarming for many people.

Chelanman

this weekend we went to chelan to race in the chelanman olympic distance triathlon.

i didn't have any alcohol since the pre-race champagne fiasco the previous weekend, but i was tired all week, borderline exhausted.

friday we headed out, registered and racked my bike. the forecast was looking like rain, and the water was looking super choppy. i had been eating pasta for the past two days non stop and was going to hurl if i had it again, so i had french toast and eggs for dinner. and i started hydrating.

i slept ok and got up at 4:30, before my Groupon email arrived even, to have pbj and some heed but since everyone else was still asleep i laid back down until 5:20. then i headed over to the race site with friends and got everything set up.

after the start of the 1/2 iron swim I futzed around, did a short warm up which i am pretty sure didn't really qualify as a warm up, then tried to stay relaxed and have some fun with my friends. took the first clif shot and got ready to race.

the swim:
i stayed left at the start to avoid the mad dash to watch the rope. there was a ton of contact for the whole swim. i think it wound up being more draft like then distracting or hampering. i tried to stick to people as much as i could, and just swam. i felt good the entire time. my arms didn't feel tired or weak like they have been lately, and other than a few minutes where i got super tight between my shoulder blades and the creepy seaweed from the deep stuck to my face, the swim was was good. i was happy with it, i loved the shallow water at the end.
it wound up being my fastest race swim at this distance!

nothing thrilling or interesting happened in T1.

the bike:
i love my bike. i felt strong, i felt fast, i had a ton of fun. nothing was hurting, which is a big deal! i got caught up in some car traffic at the turn around but made it through ok. at the 20 mile sign i was shocked to see on my bike computer that i was at 58 minutes. i don't set it to speed ever so i had no idea i was going over 20mph and wondering if i was even doing the math right, but that's pretty simple math right there. i was shocked and excited and amazed. so i kept going. hit some rain but welcomed it. i got caught in more car traffic at the end but ran it into T2. i took 2 clif shots on the bike and about 3 sips of heed.
this was my fastest bike time at this distance!

nothing thrilling happened in T2, thank goodness!

the run:
right away i had to pee. i looked longingly at the line of porta potties as i left transition. they were taped off from transition, so kept going. i was taking tiny steps since that seemed to work two races ago. i kept them quick, tried to think about form, but pretty sure it wasn't pretty, eric even let me know so after the race. the porta potties at the first aid station were full so i kept going. mile 2-3 was horrible, boring, omg its never going to end. but eventually i made it. i was able to pick up the pace after that, i started to feel better, my form felt better and i was more relaxed. i started looking for mini landmarks and accelerating to them and then settling in for a bit after each. i noticed my settled in pace was getting faster, but as it did, i was less inclined to accelerate again, but tried. AND THEN my tri top started to feel super tight. i folded it up to expose my belly but kids started crying, ladies started fainting, men started screaming that their eyes were burning, so i folded it back down. my shorts were tied too tight, too, but i couldn't untie them, so i just continued to suffocate in my kit. i took water twice on the run and 1 clif shot at mile 4.
this was my fastest run in an olympic tri, also a 10k PR had it been a stand alone race (even though that 8 miler i did was actually faster).

3 good things about this race:
1) i had fun the entire race. at no point did i want to quit, slow down, question why i was racing, not even during the swim! i was excited to start each leg of the race and was surprised how fast and "easy" they were going by.
2) I didn't stop to pee and i don't think it really effected my run. this was the first time ever that i have not stopped to pee during this distance.
3) this was the first race this distance where i didn't wear socks. but now i say - screw socks, who needs them. please don't tell them i said that!

3 things to work on:
1) i need to work on being comfortable in the aero position on the downhills. i took most of those hills out of aero. i was pedaling like crazy but i was too sketched out to not have easy access to my brakes.
2) i need to watch my fluid intake. i was well hydrated before the race but wonder if my lack of fluid on the bike affected anything. some of that was not being totally comfortable with the set up, and the other is not wanting to pee.
3) i could have run harder i think.

all in all this was a great race. i was happy when i crossed the finish line, knowing i had raced hard and felt good the entire time. i don't want to rain on my own parade, but i am pretty sure this is a super fast course, but i am still super psyched that this was 12 minutes faster than my fastest prior olympic distance. a big part of what made the race and whole weekend so fun was that so many of my LUNA teammates and ladies from our workouts were there. the 3rd place AG finish was gravy on top of all of that. i definitely want to do this race again next year. SO FUN.

pokemon

we've got a pokemon craze going on here in the house. non stop.
we also have a pain in my arse. mostly non stop. sometimes in my back.
last week we went to chelan and it was hot and glorious and relaxing and fun. i had a run analysis done. i look terrible when i run. i look like i am 85. i also look like my ass has gotten huge. has it? my mid section too. gawd i hate video. luckily he cut my head off in the video.
i had a race yesterday. i won my age group but i feel weird about the race. i had a sucky swim. ok, pity party going on right here. i am a sucky swimmer and its totally sucky. why bother swimming so much when i know people who haven't ever swam, or who have swum only a few times and then they get in and kick my ass? ugh.
oh, i had too much champagne the night before, too. and some wine. but just a little bit of wine. but it was a lot of champagne.
my bike was pretty good but i had mixed feelings about my run. maybe the booze affected it, i hope, or maybe it was the hills. i don't mean to be ungrateful for my age group placing, but man, i am going to have to figure out this swim situation.
i also have to figure out why i weigh like a thousand pounds. i think its because i am like super old and my metabolism has slowed down. or something.
my ART guy last week was just like WTF?!!?? why are you so messed up? he couldn't believe how i managed to get all messed up since the last time i had seen him, like a few days earlier. he's going to have a field day with me tomorrow, that's for sure. i am going to have to start booking him for double appointments or something. at the run analysis, that guy looked at me in horror as i couldn't touch my toes. i now have to stretch for 10 minutes a night, all in capital letters even.
maybe that will help me to get rid of my giant gut.

houston

we've got a problem. dude, so i am totally getting old. remember how not too long ago i hurt my neck getting back in bed? seems i have magically hurt my mothra effing back. essentially just the same. gaahh!!!! i am even more pist that i was yesterday! it actually happened yesterday, like last night. i'd say it happened while i was cleaning and disinfecting litter boxes. eric thinks it happened from me sitting incorrectly on the couch. it could be because i changed from drinking lemon drops to drinking lemonade. i am totally annoyed because i even stretched after my run yesterday, like a lot. ugh.
so i tried to sleep normal last night instead of the screwed up way i normally sleep. i laid in bed for a while this morning then got up only to go to they gym to sit in the hot tub there. eric got me this crazy heating pad thing that wraps around my waist, with velcro, totally funny but i think its helping, i don't know. its annoying. the gait analysis i have planned for wednesday isn't going to be very helpful if i am all tweeked and even worse the car ride to it is going to be a biatch.

so pist!!!

OMG!!! how can netflix do this to me!!!! i settled down already to get my dexter on and what? its not there? what do you mean i can't watch it? you must be joking, here, give that to me, let me check. what?? waaaaahhhhh!!!! now what am i going to watch. so apparently netflix every once in a while will just add and drop things from their instant queue. thank goodness eric and i stayed up till all hours of the night watching the last several episodes of season 1 instead of calling it a night. wow, i would have been really mad then. instead now i just ordered season 2 disk 1 to show up in the mail and i can't remember what we did yesterday but it was not watch dexter.
this has been an awesome week. awesome i tell you. each day since i have taken off from work i have taken at least one nap, sometimes two!! i wake up, i eat breakfast and then i take a nap for a few more hours. delux. D-E-lux. then i do some running, or biking or like on saturday we called up the babysitter, ok, who am i kidding, we texted the babysitter and went for an open water swim and out on the mountain bikes. the swim was nice. although on the way back in i told eric that wow, he has really gotten to be much faster this year. to which he made the HUGE mistake of replying with, no, i don't think i am actually any faster. to which i said Ok, so you just said that i got considerably slower then since you dropped my ass out in the middle of the lake. to which he said, on the way out there i stopped and looked around and saw you back there but figured you must have stopped to fix your goggles or something, which i didn't. to which finally he decided on,that he has been putting on a lot of swimming muscle mass and that is must what it be. we did comment on how apparently my armpits have totally leaned out because my wetsuit is all baggy and stuff in my front and back arm pits.
the mtn biking was fun. i haven't been on the mtn bike in a while. it was quite fun. my handling was going pretty well, and i was having fun. nothing we did was technical even slightly but i was finally leaning into the turns for once, i think??
somehow i totally hurt my back cleaning out the damn litter boxes tonight. dude, last night that fuzy stripe got on our bed and ran up and down it all night until eric picked him up and put him on the floor. then he just ran around like a madman the rest of the night and then the kids came in and decided they needed to crawl all over us and then fuzy stripe and nadj felt they needed to "play" and fuzy stripe needed to play with the ball with the bell in it, and OMG can you just go in the other room? so i got out of bed at some ungodly hour and chased that ginger kitty all over the place, finally grabbed him and tossed him in seamus's room and shut the door. and then he meowed all morning, but only between the kids poking eric in the face asking him when they could have breakfast. so eric told them tonight, if you wake up and want to crawl into our bed just to fall back asleep - stay in your own bed because apparently you are still tired. usually they don't wind up with us until like 630 or so but dude, eric gets yelled at if he wakes me up at 659 when my alarm goes off at 7. luckily for all of them, i can just take a nap or two later in the day!
eric brought home some ice cream the other day. and this is a very rare and strange thing that i am about to say but it is super gross ice cream. its breyers Whoppers ice cream. makes me gag just thinking about it. first, whoppers are nasty. terrible nasty little buggers and then the ice cream itself is like a nasty whopper flavor. at least he is helping me to not eat ice cream i guess.