Pisces She

The Long Way

2009-10-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

My wonderful, patient husband asked me the other day, "Why are you being no fun?" He's right. I have been zero fun for about the past 8 weeks. If I'm not training, I'm sleeping, and if I'm not sleeping, I'm working. All work and no play makes Greer a dull girl. And a tired girl. And a grumpy girl.

I have one more big weekend of training before I start my taper for Ironman Arizona. I've been training my butt off, and I feel more ready than I've ever been...physically. Mentally, I'm spent. Just the thought of hearing the alarm go off tomorrow morning at 6:00 AM so I can go get in the pool and swim 3,000 yds straight, and then bike 6 hours, and then run 2 miles makes my stomach lurch with dread. Oh yeah, and I have a 20 mile run on Sunday. Awesome. Ugh. It's been this way every Saturday and Sunday for weeks. It's like some hellish version of the movie Groundhog's Day with a wicked amount of exercise thrown in for good mearsure.

As I was spinning away during one of my mind-numbing trainer rides (winter has arrived in Utah), the song Battlefield by Jordin Sparks came on my iPod. Now, before you groan and write me off due to my poor music taste (let's be honest, I do have poor music taste), there's one line that really stuck with me.

"You better go and get your armor..."

Armor...I started thinking about armor. I started to wonder how, during the Ironman, I could wrap my body in some kind of mythical armor to get through it, and then I realized...it wasn't my body that was in need of the armor. It's my mind. I've done the training. I've put in hour after hour after hour. Now it's up to the fate of the day and my mind. I've got to wrap my brain in armor to protect it from all the "I can't's" and "I'm too tired's" that I know will be hurling themselves at my conscious. I'm not sure what this armor will look like...maybe shiney and silver or gold. Maybe glittering with diamonds. I'll figure out the details this weekend and try it on for size during my long bike ride.

To my lovely husband: Don't worry honey...I'll be fun again soon. I just need to get through this battle of a race...then, I think I'll put the armor on the shelf for a while.

What I've Been Up To....

2009-08-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's right. I've been terrible (really terrible) about posting because I was working on tying the knot with the love of my life (yes, I'm all gushy). I know my last post was in May but that's when the wedding details really heated up. I got married on August 2nd, went for a fabulous honeymoon in Hawaii, and now I'm back and will hopefully be back on track with the whole posting thing again.

My posting hiatus aligned with my training hiatus. I did do Boise 70.3 in June, but then I promptly stopped doing anything at all. Part of it was that I had a wedding to plan, and the other part was that I had a pretty sucky day in Boise, and I just wasn't feeling the triathlon love anymore.

Here's my long overdue race report:

The bike leg in Boise knocked me out and took me down for the count. I've never had a more terrible time during a triathlon. Boise has a unique 2PM start, which I thought was rad. I've never done a race where I've slept past 5AM. We slept until 10AM in Boise, and it was lovely. No early morning rushing around and shoving food down your throat. We ambled down to the start around 12:30 and took a nap in the sun...yes, a nap. It was great. Well....great until the thunderheads rolled in exactly at 2PM. The water went from glass to white caps and ominous thunder and dark clouds brewed in the distance. Things did not look good. It started pouring approximately 10 seconds into the bike, and it never stopped. I have never been so wet or uncomfortable in my life. Don't get me wrong. I'm pretty tough. But 56 miles in pouring rain will take its toll on anyone. I got to the end of that bike and nearly burst into tears. As I came out of transition, I saw my Mom and was fully planning on falling into her arms when she excitedly told me my Dad was just a few hundred yards ahead of me (starting his second lap of the run). This perked me up a bit, and I picked up the pace, and we ran together for a few miles. He took off a few miles before the finish line, and by then I was warmed up enough to keep going. I crossed the finish line happy...sort of. My swim time was mediocre, my bike time was atrocious, and my run was par for the course. I was not stoked. So, I stopped. Stopped training and definitely stopped racing.

Fast forward a few months and I'm now happily married and back into my first week of real, solid training. I have a 1/2 marathon in September (San Diego) and Ironman Arizona in November. I feel good. I feel energized. And best of all...I'm marrriiieed!!!! Yay.

Ready to Climb

2009-05-21T13:13:00.000-07:00

In a few short hours, my fiance and I will be on the road to Durango, CO, which we do nearly every year for Memorial Day Weekend. We'll stop in Moab tonight to camp and get a short ride in tomorrow and then arrive in Durango on Friday. What's in Durango? Quite possibly the most amazing bike ride ever: The Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. I stumbled upon this race through a friend and have been a fan ever since. Here's what goes down:

Saturday morning, both road racers and tour riders climb from Durango, CO to Silverton, CO via two pretty amazing mountain passes (Coal Bank Pass and Molas Pass). All in all, we're talking about 50 miles with 6,650 ft of elevation gain. It's pretty brutal. It's also the most beautiful ride I've ever done. Check out the route:

The first year I did it, I had no idea what I was getting into. I signed up because a friend told me to. I got zero sleep the night before, jammed a donut down my throat before the gun went off and started climbing. By the second mountain pass, I was ready to fall over (which I easily could have since I was going between 2-3 miles per hour), half crying/half laughing, and swearing at my friend for not giving me all the info (to her credit, I didn't ask). When we finally arrived in Silverton, my legs were shaking like a leaf, but I was totally exhilarated--I felt like I had just done something really and truly hard.

I hadn't planned at all for this race. I basically got online, signed up, and then showed up. I don't know if you've ever done that but for future reference, it's a bad idea. I had no idea that once you got to Silverton, you had to find a way to get back to Durango. Most non-idiots who had read the race information had reserved a spot to have their bike trucked back down the mountain and had also purchased a ticket for the steam engine train or bus that can take you down. They had also given their warm bag of clothes to the race organizers the night before so it was waiting for them in Silverton. I had nothing. But I'm not one to give up easy. I may be an idiot, but I'm seriously resourcesful. First, I knew I had to get rid of my bike so I could see if I could squeeze onto the back of a truck or something that was headed down. For those of you wondering why I didn't ride back, I didn't because a) my legs couldn't have done it and b) they don't let you. So, I got in line with all the people who had reserved a spot on the bike truck and, when it was my turn, I handed my bike over like everybody else did and they took it without question. Whew. So, my bike was headed back to Durango, now I just had to figure out how to get myself back there. So I clacked around in my bike shoes heading from car to car asking if anyone had a spot I could ride in. After about 4 tries, one lady said they had a spot if I wanted to ride but she had a train ticket she wasn't going to use. I almost tackled her with glee. My friend that I had ridden up with had a train ticket, too, so I was really hoping to get to hang with her. So, my bike was on the way to Durango, and now I had a ticket to get myself to Durango. All that was left was to get rid of my ridiculous spandex riding outfit and into some comfy clothes. Luckily, I wasn't a total moron as I had remembered to bring my debit card in my cycling jersey. I popped into one of Silverton's gift shops and managed to scrounge up some pajama pants with the word "Colorado" across the butt and a hoody that had some nice pink satin lettering that said "Silverton" across the front. I quickly changed, and my friend and I dashed off to catch our train. Once on the train, I found out that there was a bar car. I was pretty certain the day could not get better than that. We spent the three hour train ride laughing, drinking beer, and checking out the most beautiful CO scenery ever from a steam engine train. Amazing.

To this day, I'm not sure what Karma God I had pleased, but I am still extremely thankful. So every Memorial Day we make the trek down to Durango, and I quite happily pay all the money for my bike to be trucked back and a train ticket. I leave my warm clothes with the race organizers the night before so they are there when I get to Silverton. I got it down now.

Last year, this race was canceled due to the fact that Silveton got 2 feet of snow on race morning. This year, the weather is calling for thunderstorms, so we'll see what happens. Either way, I'm stoked to be heading there. Durango is a killer town and there's a criterium on Sunday and a time trial on Monday. Plenty to do for the weekend worrior. Plus, there's real beer. For those of you who don't live in Utah, you have no idea what I'm talking about. For those of you that do...well...let me know if you need me to smuggle some back for you.

First Race of the Season...

2009-05-12T13:01:00.001-07:00

The first race of the season is always a doozy and Saturday was no exception. Sure, you train at what you think is "race pace," but you can't really perform at race pace until you're actually racing. The adrenaline and the all the people around you add a whole new element that seems to bump up the heart rate a good 5 to 10 beats--at least that's what happens to me. Anyways, here's a race report:

Woke up at about 4:30 AM to choke down some eggs and oatmeal and then make the drive over to Sand Hollow reservoir from the condo we rented. Once in transition, I got everything organized, which I seem to have down to a system. It was about 70 degrees and windy--just enough to add a bit of a chill to the air. The wind was really picking up over the water and there were whitecaps reminiscent of Ironman Couer d'Alene 2007--something I wasn't stoked to relive but was confident I could handle, too. And since I'd be busting out some pretty good swim times during training, I was looking forward to the swim no matter what the wind was doing. Apparently the rescue kayakers weren't as keen as I was about getting out in the water, and the announcer came over the loudspeaker to let us know that swim was canceled. Arg. And they were going to make it a run, bike, run. Double Arg. Swimming is my best event and running is my worst event. It was like a cruel joke. So, the new race was a 5K run, 40K bike, 5K run. Not really what I drove 5 hours for, but I took it in stride, ditched my wetsuit, and strapped on my running shoes.

We started off for the first 5K, and I just tried to settle into a rhythm. I was happy I was going to be able to see the run course once before having to do it again at the end, but once I got out there, I was not excited to do a repeat appearance. It was a trail run but the trail was covered in beach sand. Not just packed down sand, but more like that stuff that makes you feel like you're running in place. Uck. Despite that, I felt OK after the first 5K and hopped onto my new tri bike feeling excited to finally have a piece of carbon under me. My chest puffed up when a spectator at the mount line said, "nice bike.." as I got on my new machine. While my new bike is definitely sweet looking, I'm not exactly speedy gonzales on it yet. I'm still sorting out the fit and the seat. I knew all of this before deciding to race it but was still bummed when I couldn't hammer through some of the flatter sections. My quads just gave out. Regardless, I got through it and went into the last 5K happy to be heading toward the finish. About a mile in, it became very clear that I should have taken that gel I had been avoiding on the bike. I just hadn't felt like it when I was biking, but I could tell that I was going to run out of fuel pretty quickly in this run. I've run a lot before without enough calories so I just put my head down and got to the finish--and then scarfed a million oranges, some bagels, and banana.

Overall, I'd call the first race of the season anticlimactic. It was more of a "race to train" day than anything. And I was not fast. I told my coach just that, and she reminded me that I have over 6 months until my Ironman and that I need to go slow before I could go fast...still, I'm impatient. The race did make me want to work harder during my training over the next few weeks so I can get faster, so I'm glad I did it.

I have a century ride this weekend, the Ironhorse in Durango next weekend and then two weeks from then is Boise 70.3. I hope to have my bike all sorted out by then and some more running under my belt. I did 5 miles this morning and felt faster than I've felt since training began.

"Train to race, race to train."

Keep on Keepin' On

2009-04-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

One of my old journalism professors at Mizzou must have reminded us to, "show, don't tell" about a million times during the semester. Of course she was talking about doing this through our writing, and normally, I'd be up to the challenge, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to use this totally spontaneous photo my finance took of me the other day.

This photo shows how I feel. I'm on week 4 of crazy workouts, and I can feel the pressure. I was looking at my workout schedule for the next two weeks and got a little teary. All I could think was, "I don't wanna." I'm tired. My body is tired. My mind is tired, and I often feel like I'm holding my breath under water...just waiting until the breaking point when my lungs just can't take it anymore. Yes, I'm being dramatic. But really, I'm tired.

In addition to my regular workout planned for today (30 mile bike ride), I taught a spin class this morning. And that's after a 2700 yd swim and 2 hour trainer ride yesterday. Did I mention I'm tired? I'm tired.

Despite my tiredness, I do not feel ready to quit for some reason. Normally, if I get too tired, I just stop. I'm an all or nothing gal. There seems to be some overriding force driving me on lately. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm going to ride it until it runs out.

Guess I'll just keep on keepin' on.

Ride up City Creek

2009-04-22T08:32:00.001-07:00

Rode up City Creek Canyon last night. I love where I live.

My Ironman History

2009-04-20T14:25:00.000-07:00

People often ask me how I get motivated to train for months and months. I'm not going to lie. It's hard. Really hard. But over time, I've come across some tools that really help me get out there time and time again. It may seem silly, but one of things that helps me the most is this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EokseUskyDI

When I decided to do my first Ironman, I was absolutely captured by the drama of it all. It was June of 2006, and I was in Coeur d'Alene, ID to watch my fiance's sister and brother in law do the Ironman there. It was a super hot day, and I didn't envy the athletes out there one bit...that is...until the finish line.

Accomplishment is not usually an emotion that's super visible on people. Even pride, for that matter, is a hard facial expression to find. But on that day, I was able to see both of those emotions in every single athlete that crossed the finish line. Some cried openly as they struggled past the crowd to cross. It absolutely killed me when a mother or father carried their 2 or 3 year old down the finishing shoot. It was so totally clear on their faces how hard they had had to work to balance their family and training for this ridiculous event. The fact that they had made it to the finish line with their family intact and beaming was just so emotional for me. Not to mention that every time an athlete crosses a finish line at an Ironman, Mike Riley (Ironman announcer) says, "[Insert name here], you are an Ironman!" Wow. It's intense for me to remember it now.

The next morning, as soon as registration opened, I signed up. I wanted to feel that pride and accomplishment myself. I wanted to be an Ironman. That first year of training, it was so easy to remember what I was shooting for. I teared up when I trained as I imagined myself crossing that finish line. I had dreams and nightmares about it. It was on my mind constantly. Then, the day came and I ticked each sport off my list: swim, bike, run. And then I was there. The finish line. I heard what I'd been hearing in my head for months: "Greer Hitch, you are an Ironman!" I remember throwing my hands up in the air and laughing.

When I signed up for Ironman Germany 2008, I was definitely excited to be doing a race abroad but that same sense of amazement and excitement definitely wasn't there. I couldn't get motivated and I trained like crap. I remember standing in the water right before the gun was going to go off thinking to myself, "I just want to get this stupid thing over with as fast as I can." And, that day, I did. I went through that race in a haze. Just moving as fast as my body would allow, saying to myself the whole time, "I just want to get this over with." When I finally reached the finish line (a whole hour faster than my previous Ironman. Ah, the power of the mind), I was a mess. I was bawling like a baby, and my body was absolutely done. Every person who asked me how I was got a huge hug and tears all over them. I sat down to talk to my father who had finished himself about 3 hours before me and immediately puked everywhere. All over those beautiful European cobble stones. Next thing I knew, I was in the med tent with an IV in my hand. Two IV bags later, I was walking happily back to my hotel. So very glad it was finally over.

I knew that I didn't want to feel that way about doing an Ironman ever again, so I took some time off. A lot of time off. Like 7 months of doing nothing at all. I call it "my blue period." 'Nuff said.

And then, this past November, I got online to watch some of my friends cross the finish line at Ironman Arizona, and, just for a second, remembered what it was all about. The next day, I signed up.

So, to keep this post from getting much longer, we'll fast forward to today. I can now access that pit of excitement and expectation of accomplishment whenever I want. I just watch the video above and find it within me again and again. I feel it the most, when, at the end of the video an older man says, "There is no better sense of accomplishment in life than finishing an Ironman."

I can't wait to feel it again.

Who said stuff doesn't make you happy?

2009-04-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

I bought a new bike yesterday. I'm so excited about it that I can barely stand it. I bought my first road bike in 2006 and have absolutely loved it. It's gotten me through numerous bike races, sprint, Olympic, and 70.3 triathlons, and of course, two Ironmans. It's an Orbea Dama, and I love it. I love it so much that I feel pangs of guilt when I ride it in the rain or push it a little too forcefully into the back of my car. I pat the handle bars in thanks every time I ride it. I've never named that bike, but it doesn't mean I love it less--I just haven't thought of a good name. I'm bad at naming things in general though. I have a cat named Kitty, if that tells you anything.

Anyways, while I love my old bike as much as any friend who's been through significant life experiences with you, I was starting to think it might be time to ride a triathlon bike during my triathlons. Not to say my road bike with tri bars thrown on top doesn't do the trick, because it does. But, I've done a few of these things, and I wouldn't mind going a little faster...to say the least. So when an opportunity came up to get a Quintana Roo for a deal, I snagged it. Here is my new, beautiful bike:

It feels like a picture of that gorgeous stranger you don't know yet but want to. We meet in person next week when it ships from California. I cannot wait. While, in general, stuff doesn't make you happy...this bike might be the exception.

Running in the Rain

2009-04-13T09:52:00.000-07:00

My goal this week was to get in every single training session that was prescribed. I was not going to allow myself to skip. I woke up Saturday feeling extra lazy. The weather outside was gloomy with rain on the way. Even the dogs curled right up on the couch with me--willing me to just stay put for the day and hunker down. Well, after non-stop exercise for 5 days, by 3 PM my body was screaming for some activity and I felt bored. Before I lost the will, I grabbed my swimming stuff, threw it in a bag, got the dogs in the car and took off for the pool.

The second I got in the water, I felt fantastic. I screamed through the easy, 2,000 yard set and slipped my running shoes on in the locker room. On my way back out to the car, it started to rain. Now, normally, I would have used this as the perfect excuse to bag the run and head straight home. Besides, I dislike running the most of all the sports, I had already gotten a workout in, and the trails would be muddy. But, the dogs looked at me longingly from the back seat. I decided I would take them to the trail and start out running, and if it got really bad, we'd just turn around.

I started the walk up the hill to the begin of my run and smiled as the dogs ran through the grass, totally energized by the rain. I used that as my cue and started jogging. Now, for the past week, every time I started jogging, I'd immediately feel yucky. I'd feel very slow and very yucky. I don't know if it was the dog's happiness, or the rain or the week of solid work, but somewhere out on the trail, I really started running. It's the best I've felt yet and reinforced the fact that if you put in the training time, you'll be rewarded somewhere along the way.

The photo above is of my two running companions: Jersey and Bodie. Jersey is trying to eat my iPhone and Bodie is happily relaxing after the run in the rain. Thanks for getting me out there guys.

It's on....

2009-04-08T10:32:00.000-07:00

It's amazing what a few days of sunny weather and a better attitude can do for me. I feel...back. The sun has been out since Sunday, and I've been training like a maniac. On Sunday, I pulled my head out of my black, whallowy hole, gritted my teeth and started training. Not just like, sort of training, but really really training....hard. Here's what the past few days have looked like:

Sunday: First, swam 2400 yds with "the girls" (a.k.a some of the many amazing women I train with regularly) and almost puked we were pushing each other so hard. Second, biked up Emmigration Canyon. Last, downed a Grande hot chocolate from Starbucks.

Monday: First, biked for 45 minutes with the girls. Second, 6 mile run, which was no less than a death march. Third, realized how out of shape I am.

Tuesday: First, warmed up on the bike for 20 minutes and then went into fast 1 mile intervals x 4 and cooled down for 30 minutes. Second, wolfed down an egg burrito, and fell into bed.

Wednesday: First, dragged myself out of bed and swam 2300 yds before work. I have a 5-mile run scheduled for this evening. Might do a repeat on the egg burrito.

As I actually write out these workouts, I'm realizing that they really aren't that tough. A 6-mile run? Come on now...I used to be able to do that in my sleep. I've been hammering out excuses for months, and it's time to get it together. I do Ironmans for goodness sakes! By the way, how in the hell did I ever complete one of those? Whew.

Needless to say, it's on like donkey kong.

Blue....

2009-04-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

Since you can probably tell from my last post...I've been in a funk. I contribute 99% of this to the weather. I actually went through the process of frantically searching for a plane ticket to California this morning to try to escape the snow. I was crushed when I realized I couldn't make it work and cursed myself for not thinking of it earlier. In short...I've got the winter blues. I've tried a number of different strategies to get rid of the blues including:

-Eating lots of chocolate (this makes me feel good for about 30 seconds and guilty for about 3 days).

-Listening to angst-filled music (this makes me wallow even deeper).

-Cross country skiing with my dog (this was very successful but hard to implement on a daily basis).

-Cleaning (definitely gives me satisfaction but drives my poor man crazy as I frantically scrub in places where he's trying to relax).

-Exercising (this seems to work but I have a very hard time accessing the motivation it takes to make this happen).

At this point, the weather needs to save me. Spring needs to swoop down with her warm afternoons and green grass. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon.

Spring, if you're reading this...hook a sister up.

Excuses, Excuses

2009-03-30T11:37:00.001-07:00

I don't have any good excuses as to why I haven't been blogging. To be honest, I just haven't felt like it. For those of you that would prefer some excuses, here they are:

#1: I was in Costa Rica for almost a month working.
#2: I got a wicked cold on the way back from Costa Rica and have been battling the green guck.
#3: I hate winter and it makes me grumpy--which makes me not want to write.

#1 was an amazing trip that I could go on and on about. While I did spend the majority of the time stuck in an office, I escaped on the weekends to serene beaches, lush rain forests, and good times. I am now in love with the country and can't wait to go back. If there are any rustic beaches left in the world, a small portion of them surely reside in Costa. This is Playa Hermosa--one of the most amazing beaches I've ever been to:

#2 doesn't need much explanation but this is what I've looked like for about three weeks:

Just kidding...it wasn't that bad. Sorry to gross you out.

As for #3--I do hate winter and the cold because it prevents me from exercising outside, which prevents me from being happy. I finally left my "blues" behind on Sunday and went cross country skiing with my dog Jersey. We had a blast, and for once, I enjoyed the weather. We went up Millcreek Canyon and it was gorgeous. I want to buy some equipment (I had to rent on Sunday) so I can go more often. Maybe that will be the solution to my winter grumps.

Food, Smog, and Training

2009-01-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

The title of this post isn't what you'd call exactly "cohesive." Remember the games from grade school where you had to pick the word that doesn't fit? Well, this one isn't exactly a brain buster. Smog sucks. It's infiltrated the Salt Lake Valley for too long now. So, I'm outta here. I'm headed down to St. George for the weekend to get out of this nasty pollution. The weather report says it's going to rain down there all weekend but I don't care. The temperature is supposed to be in the high 50s. I'd take a smog-free, rainy, warm any day compared to what we've been living in.

So, now that we've addressed the Smog, let's talk about food (decidedly one of my favorite subjects). A bit of background: I get a massage about once a month to ease any tweaked muscles and relax. In an effort to mix things up a bit, I decided to see an acupuncturist instead this month. So I head in there with my normal mindset to get relaxed and give some love to my body. I was given a lengthy survey upon arrival about all kinds of things: exercise, eating habits, stomach pain etc...So as I'm going through deciding which boxes to check, I realize that in the digestive section, I sure have a lot of boxes checked. I've always had stomach pain on and off my whole life. I always chalked it up to...a weird stomach--very technical, I know. So my lovely acupuncturist is looking at this sheet and asking me lots of questions and she gets to the end and looks at me long and hard and say, "I think you have food allergies." I laugh a little and say, "Well, what am I allergic to?" She says, "I think you're allergic to gluten." The smile rapidly exits my face. Gluten is in nearly everything. For someone who can down a whole medium pizza or an entire loaf of French bread, this is not good news.

I left the office feeling confused. How could I have lived 26 years without knowing I'm allergic to something...it's just weird. So I get on the world wide web and start checking into it a bit. Apparently, an allergy to gluten is called Celiac disease. As I'm reading through the symptoms, things are starting to make a lot of sense. So, over the last four days, I've lived off of a gluten free diet. Guess what? I feel better. No stomach issues whatsoever. So now I'm thinking: What if the power of suggestion has just made my mind believe that a gluten free diet is helping and my body could care less either way? I'm just not sure. So...I've made an appointment with a gastroenterologist and I'm going to see for certain if gluten has been the thing causing me pain for years...and years...and years. While I will be more than sad to give up my all time favorite food (pizza of course) it would be really nice to know that my stomach won't make me double over in pain anymore. We'll see.

Ok, so now for the last item on the list: Training. Things there are going quite well for the off-season. I take days off every now and then. I spend a lot of time in the spin room on the bike and I run every now and then. Good enough for now, I suppose. I'll crank things up February 1 to get ready for Ironman Boise 70.3, which is in June.

Update complete...over n' out.

New Year, New Things

2009-01-05T08:32:00.000-08:00

With the new year always comes that icky word "resolutions." Needless to say, I don't like them. So, instead of going against the flow and setting them anyways, I think I'll just focus on getting new "things." That sounds a lot more fun. While this may sound materialistic, some of these things will be tangible, and some won't, but all will avoid the cliche of "resolutions." Here's my list:

1) A new bike: Preferably the Quintanna Roo Limited Edition Dulce. I fell in love with this baby at first site. Who couldn't want a pink camo bike?

2) A new attitude about mornings, running, desserts, and winter. This new attitude will embrace the early morning with happiness, it will tackle a run with glee, it will not treat every dessert like it's the last food on earth that I must devour, and it will be happy when snow falls because it IS really beautiful.

3) New PR's: Yep, I'm going to set some more PR's this year. Last time I went fast was well over a year ago and "fast" was relative. It's time to break some times.

4) New recipes: My poor fiance is definitely sick of Chicken Dijon (think chicken in a pan with Dijon mustard poured over the top) so I plan to try some new adventurous recipes that are both healthy and delicious.

5) New stretches: Instead of my regular, five-second, bend/twist/quad stretch before I head out the door to do any physical activity, I will go to yoga and get some new stretches that will protect my body from injury.

6) A new tri outfit: I'm sick of my old one...even though it got my through two Ironmans and numerous races in between. The new, PR-breaking me, will definitely need a new, snazzy pink outfit to break through the tape with (ummm, plus it will match my bike...very important).

7) A new name: While I haven't decided if I will take my finace's last name or not when we get married, I will definitely add "Mrs." to everything.

With all these new things on the way in 2009, you might as well just call me Mrs. Super Fast, Happy, Top Chef, Bendy, Pink Pants. Is that too long to list on the mailbox?

A Troubled Friendship

2008-12-30T14:48:00.000-08:00

Running and I are not friends. We've had brief moments of connectedness but nothing that lasts more than a few days. I'm not sure where I keep going wrong. I've tried very hard to be friends with running, and she still doesn't like me. She constantly puts me down, makes me feel bad, and even inflicts pain whenever possible. I don't get it. She friends with LOTS of other people, and it just doesn't feel fair. In the past, I've put a lot of time into our relationship and definitely don't receive the return on investment.

One of my great training friends (who also happens to be a licensed counselor) says it all stems from my first marathon (AKA, our first friend date). Let's just say it did not go well. I crossed the line just after 5 hours. It was rough. My counselor friend once told me to go home and re-write the end of that marathon experience in a positive way instead of how it actually went. It helped, but those 5 hours of hell tend to make a lasting impression.

On my recent Christmas vacation to Missouri to visit my fiance's family, I decided to put some more time in with running. I had neglected our non-friendship for months. My first time out, it was 9 (yes, single digit 9) degrees out, and I nearly froze my butt off. I did 5K...barely. I couldn't even remember why I even wanted to be friends with running. We fought the whole time. I went home, licked my wounds (aka sore hip and tight hamstrings) and avoided her for the next few days.

Then, something weird happened. Missouri weather is notorious for being very unpredictable. What was 9 degree weather a few days ago turned into 60 degree weather. Craziness. I slept with the windows open, listened to the rain, and woke up early for another meeting with running. It started off pretty standard. We weren't communicating well, she was being mean to me, and I was pouting. But somewhere in there, she shut up, and I shut up, and we just hung out. We didn't really talk, we just spent time together in the silence of a warm, misty morning as we watched a thunderstorm roll in together. I finished off 6 miles strong, and we parted ways quietly, without conflict.

While we still aren't what I'd consider friends, I've decided to spend some time with her again. See if there isn't some hope in our troubled waters.

Running...if you're listening...I just want you to know that I'm trying.

A Good Laugh...

2008-12-11T13:49:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon this today and nearly feel off my chair. It felt good to laugh. Just spreading the love.

From Craigslist Today:

So when my beautiful calico cat had kittens, my ex decided we should keep one since they were so cute. I really didn't want another cat but since I have a hard time with conflict, I let the stupid kitty stay.
Then we broke up and guess who gets stuck with the calico AND the kitty my EX wanted to keep? YUP. I did. So at first, I thought I would keep both cats but this little kitty is really creepy. He doesn't purr.
And it freaks me out. I know he knows how to because he purrs when he nurses. OH - that's another creepy thing about him. He's like 4 or 5 months old and bigger than his mom and he still holds her down and nurses. It's a little disturbing. I think he needs to get away from her and grow up. Cut the cord ya know?
He is house trained and all that so if you don't mind a creepy cat that doesn't purr, this is the cat for you.
He's yellow orangeish color and I call him Zoey. (I thought he was a girl for a while) Oh and he's not fixed or any of that so he's free. Just make sure you are taking him because you want to own a creepy cat that doesn't purr and not because you are going to use him in a satanic cult sacrifice ritual thingy okay? 842-2709

Snow, Snow, Go A - Way

2008-12-08T12:48:00.000-08:00

I'm a summer person. There's really no doubt about it. Sure, I enjoy the occasional ski trip or snow shoe. Sure, I enjoy sitting by the fire reading a good book or baking some cookies while it dumps, but all in all, I'm a summer person. I'd much rather be wearing flip flops, thinking about riding my bike when I get home rather than setting my alarm clock about 15 minutes after I walk in the door because it's already pitch black outside. Lame. Maybe I need one of those Dawn Stimulators so I can close all the blinds in my house and make my lamps create sunrise and sunset when I want it. One day I will move to a place where it's sunny all the time.

I think triathletes from winter states should have a handicap when they race against Californionites. Those folks get to train year-round....OUTSIDE! I was up at 4:30AM this morning in the freakin' spin room. My butt hurts, I got zero air in my lungs, and smelled sweat the entire time I was spinning instead of fresh air. I'm grumpy. Cancel the snow. I want more sun.

Birth Day

2008-12-03T13:06:00.000-08:00

It is my significant other's birthday today...his birth day...the day he was born. First of all, I love birthday's. Mine or anyone else's. To me, it feels like the one day where I get to have my very own special holiday. I walk around feeling all special and cool. I assume that everybody else feels that, too. I'm not sure if he does or not but I wanted to take this opportunity to make him feel special right here, right now on his very special birth day. Sooo...without further delay...a tribute to Andrew and why he's special on all days:

First, you make the best coffee in the world...it's way better than mine.

You make me laugh.

You're cute and you smell good.

You can ride a bike really really fast.

You take care of me.

You forgive me when I'm being an idiot.

You make friends with almost everyone you meet.

I trust you completely.

Your snore is awesome.

You're kind.

You're adventurous.

You're smart...very smart.

I'm so lucky you were born this day because you have changed the way I look at life, you make me the best person I can be, and you're the only one for me.

Happy Birthday my love...G

Hopefully...Things Will Get Better

2008-11-28T09:03:00.000-08:00

I spent my Thanksgiving at my brother-in-law's grandparent's house. I love going there. It's always a mixed bag of people, and the food is seriously ridiculous...lip-smacking, butter-filled, tummy-loving ridiculous.

Just before we all attacked the large amount of food on our plates, Grandpa got up to say a grace. Now, I'm not normally a "let's say grace" kind of person, but when someone who's obviously had a wealth of life experience stands up to talk...I'm inclined to listen. In order to understand this, you need to understand this man. He has two different nicknames and they both fit him: "Buzz" and "Dop." He is a get-your-hands dirty, fun-loving, chuckler...yes, he actually chuckles. So, Dop stands up and says:

"Dear Lord, thank you so much for all this food and getting everybody together to share this food. We love having everyone here and....well, we hope things get better. Amen!"

Everybody in the room died laughing. The family had been though some rough times as of late, and Dop's grace just laid it out there...no cover up. Just truth laced with a dry humor that made that grace really hit home for me. I decided to be thankful for the little things...life, love, friends, family, a home, my two crazy dogs, and the knowledge that you can always hope for things to get better.

Day One

2008-11-26T13:37:00.001-08:00

I've been inspired to start a blog by one of my friends who blogs. I love reading her blog and often am disappointed when it's not updated (I could do with a minute-by-minute scroll--her life is interesting). Plus, in a recent past life, I was a writer. I feel it's time to take out the craft, dust it off and begin again.

As my Day One post, I'll spare you my life history details and cut to the chase. We'll start with this moment...this one...right here:

I just signed up for an Ironman (Arizona, November 2009). More on this below.

I'm getting married in 249 days.

One of my German Shorthaired Pointers, Maverick, has Kennel cough...poor guy.

I plan on eating at least two kinds of pie for Thanksgiving (preferably pecan and apple).

I'm deeply struggling to choose what to get my 3-year-old nephew for Christmas.

I'm hungry (no surprise there).

I'm beginning to loath html.

There you go...you're sufficiently caught up. As one of the most normal, vanilla girls out there, I'll try to fill this blog with items that will highlight the daily struggles of a normal life that I hope many of you can relate to. That said, since I am an Ironman freak of nature...there might be some abnormal stuff, too.

So, let's really begin there...bullet numero uno:

I just signed up for an Ironman (Arizona, November 2009). More on this below.

I've done two Ironmans previously (CDA and Germany). After the last one, I swore them off until at least 2010. So, why is it that it is only November 2008, and I am signed up for yet another one? Good question. Here's what happened:

Sunday night I was luxuriously laying around waiting for family dinner to be finished (yes, I lead the life of a queen) and decided to check up on my many friends competing in this year's Ironman Arizona. I looked up their times and was happy to see that all of them were moving along quite nicely. Then, I made a fatal mistake: I clicked on the live feed from the finish line. I knew better. As I watched hundreds of people cross that finish line I recognized an old friend in their faces...raw accomplishment. Sure, there are many ways you can experience accomplishment, but for those few of you who may have competed in an Ironman before, you know that look I'm talking about...and more importantly, you know how it makes you feel. I sat there, crying like a baby. As I watched each person positively glow with happiness and saw them throw their arms in the air with pure joy, I got sucked into Ironman vortex. About 16 hours later, I was signed up. Damn...here we go again.