Swimming, Cycling & Running....with A(L)titude:

Not going down without a fight

2011-10-21T16:02:00.000-06:00

We are closing in on a month before TTTTD (The Turkey Trot Throw Down).

At dinner, Googs announced that he will now start training for this EPIC EVENT.

I cringe at the thought. I'm pretty much toast if he trains.

That's when he turned to me and asked, "What are you going to do if I beat you again."

I gave him that confused dog look and responded: I'll just train harder for next year.

He says: But I would have beat you twice. What if I beat you by MORE this year.

I said: You might win. You might beat me by a large margin. But, you might not. I believe that I CAN win. And that little sliver of hope is why I'm not going to give up. That little sliver of hope is why no matter how many times you beat me, I'm going to keep training harder and keep coming back.

Googs chews on this for a minute.

Then I continued: Besides, one of these days you're going to come back from college all fat and stuff.

That's what I'm really waiting for.

Act your age

2011-10-14T19:11:00.000-06:00

My birthday is right around the corner. Next race season, I age up.

Back when I was in my 20's and even 30's, I thought being in my 40's would feel ancient. That might have been because of the people that I knew who were in their 40's...well, they looked ancient, acted ancient and moved like they were already planning their path to the grave.

I had no idea what to expect. I'd spent my entire life mostly eating right, indulging in my favorite gelato or cheesecake on those special occasions. I'd been active since high school doing everything from swimming, cycling, running, hiking, strength training, yoga, karate....I'm sure I'm leaving things out.

The point is that I've always been doing those things, and I was really afraid of the day that I couldn't do them.

I didn't want to be in my 40's and only see the sunrise from the glow of a tv screen.

But that's what I knew....that's who was around me when I was younger.

Even now as I am looking at 44, I see other parents complaining about their bad joints or how hard it is to go up and down the stairs at the school.

I want to yell at them: WAKE UP PEOPLE!

I have friends who are 25 years older than me finishing Ironman. I have a friend 35 years older than me doing triathlons. There are woman 20 years older than me who leave me in the DUST at masters swim. I've been passed on the mountain by men and women who look like they are as old as the mountain. I know people in their 60's that move better than people half their age.

They are the age groupers that I admire. They are who I plan on being. They are the people that I wished had been around me when I was younger. I didn't have any women athlete role models. Think about this, in the US, the 1992 high school graduating class, was roughly the first generation of girls that grew up under Title IX. That was 2 years before my Googs was born.

Some of my friends are just starting an exercise program, some have been doing it a long time, but the important thing is that we are all redefining what it means to Act Your Age.

To all those people who complain about getting older or being tired or having bad joints, this one's for you.

The changing of the guard, not forever, just a little while

2011-10-10T18:50:00.001-06:00

7 weeks ago, I had written off my race.

5 weeks ago, I started giving thought to next year's goals.

4 weeks ago, I started walking and running again.

3 weeks ago, I thought maybe I could walk 4 or 5 miles of the race then cut the course and quit. At least I would have started it.

2 weeks ago, I ran 8 miles and thought maybe I could run 8 miles then walk the rest.

1 week ago, I ran 8 miles and thought maybe I could run 13.1 miles really slowly....

Then, I thought "Why bother at all?"

I'm not a medal-bagger. I've run a lot of half marathons (closing in on a gazillion of them).

They hurt whether or not you are trained. Do I really want to run or walk 13.1 miles just to do it?

I.don't.think.so.

Two days before the race I considered a few things:
1.) This was going to be my last half marathon for some time. I don't know how long, but I'm taking a vacation from anything longer than a 10k.
2.) This is my birthday race.
3.) Could I even finish? Isn't that a little bit overconfident? I hadn't even run more than 8 miles since July.

TWO DAYS before the race, and I didn't know if I was going to do it.

Then, I went to packet pick up. In the packet, there were two bumper stickers: one for the half and one for the full marathon. they read: I ROCKED 13.1/26.2 miles.

I immediately thought to myself: NEWBIES.

Where did the excitement go? The half marathon used to be my favorite race.

The day before the race, it snowed, alot. Not wanting to miss running in the first really cold snowy day, I went out.

It was THIS race years ago that was done on 10/21 when a snowstorm hit. the conditions were almost identical to what I was running in. But that year, I ran the marathon.

Many of you know this story, many of you REMEMBER my race report. I didn't train for the marathon. I ran 14 miles once, called it training and figured my fitness would carry me through.

Fitness and Mr. Tea meeting me at every mile from 18 on to give me warm, hats and mittens.

Sort of weird isn't it?

Almost identical conditions, yet back then, there was no doubt I was going to do the race.

Once again, I turned to Mr. Tea: What do I do?

Mr Tea: I'm not giving anymore race advice. You can do a half marathon in your sleep, walking backwards & juggling baboons. You do whatever you want.

I hate that answer.

What's the harm? Just go do the race. You feel like you need to prove something don't you? Like you need to prove that you're not just going to wimp out, huh?

Look, you're perfectly healthy now. I know you haven't run long. I know the 8 miles was a run/walk. I KNOW you didn't taper or anything, but....but

couldn't you just try it?

With that, I decided to do the race.

That's when the most remarkable thing happened.

I met someone doing her first half marathon.

We ended up running it together.

I've never run a race with someone before.

Right from the start, her nerves/energy started to pour over to me. I remembered what it was like standing at the start of my first half marathon. At my first half, I was so nervous that i didn't eat breakfast (which I paid for later).

Fast foward....years later.....

We started running, and she took off like a bolt of lightning. I almost stopped in the middle of the street, with sheer shock.

Then, I saw her stop and put her hands on her hips. I ran up to her, and she said, "That was dumb."

I said: It's not dumb. I bet you got a sweet race picture.

From then on, we ran.

We had a plan:
Run to the aid stations. Walk through the aid stations.

When we can't make it to the aid stations, we'll run 3 songs and walk a minute.

When we can't do that, we'll walk one song, walk a minute.

When we can't do that, we'll walk the uphills and run the downhills.

But no matter what, we are going to finish this race.

And our evil little plan worked.

We only walked aid stations until mile 8. At mile 8, there was supposed to be an aid station. She wanted to stop. I wanted to stop. I needed some water. We were still running. That's when I saw the aid station around mile 8.25. We decided to run to it.

At the aid station, we decided to walk for awhile: one song. We hit a turnaround marker at 8.5 and decided to run. Running was getting harder now. I think it was even harder for me than her. This was the furthest I'd run in awhile, but I was not going to stop.

Just then, I saw mile marker 9. We both wanted to take a break. I said, "We can make it to mile 9. When we get there, let's take as much of a break as we need."

Mile 9 has never seemed so far away.

She said, "Why does this hurt so much more today?"

I said, "Because you are running really fast. You told me you wanted to beat 3:30. We're going to DESTROY 3:30. I bet we even beat 3:00.

After mile 9, it all became a blur. We talked less, ran more than you would have thought.

But finally, we were down to Walk the uphills, run the downhills.

As we closed in on the bridge, i told her to turn off her ipod. She said, "Why?"

I told her: You have to hear this. We are about a half a mile from the finish, but you can already hear the crowd screaming for us.

She instantly got tears in her eyes: a half a mile. I'm going to run it as hard as I can.

"Alright let's do it."

As we were running, passing people left and right, I realized that this was going to be my last half for some time, but it was her first. In so many ways that day, it was like the changing of the guard.

I looked over at her as we were running. I could see the tears streaming down her face.

13.1 miles earlier, we were total strangers.

Now, I couldn't hold back my own tears, for her

for me

for the changing of the guard.

Misadventures of Tea

2011-08-27T11:51:00.000-06:00

By now, you all have heard about my misadventure on the mountain.

Painful, yes.

Funny, yes.

Preventable, well not really.

Sawtooth to the left. I snapped this picture about 250m from the summit.

Taken from the summit of Bierstadt. That's sawtooth.

As I've been laid up, I've had way too much time on my hands for thinking.

First of all, accidents happen. I wasn't too terribly upset about this. In fact, I wasn't upset at all given how bad it could have been. Although Justin said that I should get the Bad Ass Mom of the year award. I know, at the time, he was scared.

Yesterday, I made my first appearance back in the gym. I still can't bear additional weight standing, but my back & shoulders are no longer sore. My hands are scabbed up. My rehab exercises all consist of balance, strength and stretching with my own body weight. During my first appearance back, I ran into Helen who stared at my bruised and battered body, pointed at the bruises that went from the tips of my toes up to my knees and yelled in that demanding voice, "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?" After I explained, she said, "It's lucky that you are in such great shape. It could have been alot worse."

Of course, that sent me right back into my thinking mode.

Even before the fall (fall as in GO BOOM. Not as in Autumn), I had been thinking a lot about things that I like to do.

My problem is that I enjoy doing SO MANY things. Thank goodness I don't live near an ocean because I don't know HOW I'd fit in my obsession with sailing or quiet my overwhelming surfing urges.

So, it comes down to prioritizing. I can either focus on ONE BIG TIME CONSUMING *thing* or enjoy a little of everything.

Given that I tend to get bored with things quickly, my best option is enjoy a little of everything.

I can't do any of it without a certain level of fitness. If you run, do triathlons, swim 10ks, climb, hike....I don't care what it is...you know that you can't do those things without having a basic level of fitness. And, just because you can do Ironman, that doesn't mean you can climb. Because you can ride 100 miles, doesn't mean you can run 50 miles.

BUT!! The one activity that DOES connect all of these is strength, core, balance....those types of activities. When you DO plan on doing a different activity, it will be that much easier because of the work you've done in strength, core & balance.

(btw: when I say YOU, I mean ME)

Where does this leave me?

Well, once I'm all better....which should be in about another 4-6 weeks, I'm going to do my half marathon. My friend is coming in from Costa Rica to run with me. Well, not WITH me, especially not NOW. I will likely do the half as a walk/run as I am going to miss out on my long runs.

Then, it's about fun. Next year, I want to climb & hike more. This Fall (Fall as in Autumn not as in GO BOOM), once I'm healed, Justin and I are planning on going up hiking if weather permits, if not snowshoeing.

I can't help it. There's nothing in the world like standing on top of a mountain. If I took a personality test, it would likely come out as a "high risk, high reward" type. Or better yet, as my friend Ti quotes on her blog "When you marry a mountain girl, you marry the mountain." (Oh, and if you haven't read her blog, please do. She's pretty amazing, and she's my idol.)

I've also gotten a great opportunity to do CrossFit for 3 months. Talk about PERFECT for my mentality. I love this type of workout. Well, it's a love/hate type of thing.

Never fear, triathlete friends! My desire for triathlon hasn't died. In talking to coach, I've got a plan to focus on short distances, probably for the next few years. Shorter distances will give me the opportunity to do all the *long* workouts without having to sacrifice all the other things that I love....

And give me time to find NEW things.

Turkey Trot Throw Down

2011-08-14T18:01:00.000-06:00

It has gotten U.G.L.Y here in the Land of Chand.

You might remember what happened last year at the 4 mile Turkey Trot.

For years, I've held the title of FASTEST MOST AWESOMEST RUNNER IN THE LAND OF CHAND.

And, I haven't hidden this fact.

When I WIN, I like to remind family members that YES, INDEED....I ONCE again won the 4 mile family friendly Turkey Trot.

So, I've had to resort to....evil methods...to ensure my win. SO, I've hidden timing chips, running shoes, warm gear and bottles of water.

A little HTFU never hurt anyone.

especially not a 10 year old, right.

Imagine my surprise, when I finished the race last year....all smug like....only to look around and see GOOGS already sitting under a tree, drinking water.

WTF?

Needless to say. I was NOT pleased when the official results came down that GOOGS beat me by :24 seconds.

:24

Immediately after my race I started plotting for the future. Because, let's be honest, this was NOT going to happen again.

And don't feel all sad for Googs either, he's 17....he can handle his mom being a sore loser.

*****

My plan came down to this. Googs likes to weight lift. Serious, big time, weight.

Because I didn't do the Boulder race, all of a sudden my schedule cleared out to train for SPEED, man, SPEED.

Hmmm, jordan keeps getting bigger....hee hee....I get faster....I started salivating with the thought of regaining my title.

THEN that little bastard did the unthinkable.....he started running. Not just any running.

THE KID IS RUNNING 400M SPRINTS.

HOW CAN I COMPETE WITH 400M SPRINTS?

I needed help.

I called for reinforcements.

Behind an abandoned building in Denver, we meet to discuss the plan.

Did you bring the stuff?

I nod and hand him the bag of donuts.

He takes the bag. Shoves a donut in his mouth and says, The ways I sees it. Your only chance to beat this punk is (he looks around) to use my secret weapon.

I move in closer, What's that?

First, you gotta do these VO2max workouts. I ain't gonna lie. They're gonna hurt.

I start scribbling down the workout. Ok, ok.

He wipes his mouth and says: Next, we need to come up with a plan for you to visualize, visualize, visualize. You got plenty of time to beat this kid, but you gotta BELIEVE you're gonna beat him.

I write it down. Anxiously awaiting the next training trips from the Great One.

What? he asks. That's it. that's all I got tonight. Next time, bring me sprinkled donuts. I like the sprinkles. They remind me of when I was kid.

And he disappears into the night.

*****
Dear blogger friends.

Intervals, visualization & donuts.

I can almost taste the victory!

Mama's coming boy. And she has a chip the size of Colorado on her Shoulder.

Operation TTIAH

2011-08-13T14:26:00.000-06:00

Let Operation TTIAH BEGIN!

Of course that translates to Let Operation Turn Tea Into A Hottie Begin!

Not hottie as in: Oh, you look great for almost 44.

No.

I mean hottie as in DAYUM GIRL!

YOU.HAVE.BEEN.WARNED.

Square Top Mountain in Pictures

2011-07-31T12:17:00.000-06:00

What few people will see

Early Morning Mountain Energy better than any energy drink

The hike to Square Top Mountain

On the way to the top

We crossed 6 rivers/streams, traversed snow, plowed through SHRUBBERY & negotiated rocky terrain

False Summit, still over 1 mile to go. It's steeper than it looks.

Always last

Summit of Square Top Mountain, 13,818 ft, view west

Mt Bierstadt & Mt Evans (14'ers) from Square Top, view North

Packs taking a much needed rest

Doesn't it look it you could just reach up and grab it?

The ONE, the ONLY Tea, self portrait circa 2011

Hiking the Ridge, this goes on for almost 150m

Square Top Summit

Square Top Summit, 40 degrees, Windy & never been happier

What Matters

2011-07-21T14:51:00.000-06:00

I don't remember my PR times. I couldn't tell you how many races I've done in my life. I don't remember how miles I have traveled.

But, I can tell you about the marathon that I ran in a snowstorm for my 40th birthday.

I can tell you how Mike found me at miles 18 and 21, just to cheer me on and give me warm, dry gloves and hat.

I can tell you about the first race that Jman and Googs every ran with me.

I can tell you about pulling the boys in the bike carrier when they were little.

I can tell you how they would go out looking for me in sub zero temps just to yell for me.

I remember my first half iron, and the boys ran the last mile with me.

I'll never forget getting pelted by hail and rain at a half iron and seeing the RD pull up along side of me asking if I wanted a ride back to the finish and responding, "No. I'm going to finish".

I remember when my bike was sabotaged at a half iron and only realizing it when I jumped on the bike.

I remember the guy from Germany who rode with me the entire 56 miles, pacing me to BEAT my goal time.

I remember my very first sprint. 25 minutes to do a 750m swim. I got out of the water all shakey and crying saying that I didn't want to go on.

I remember sitting in transition for 15 minutes thinking "I can't do this".

I remember Mike yelling at me, "You're on the run! Even if you have to walk it! You CAN walk it."

I remember crying (again) when I made the bike cutoff for my first half iron because that meant I had to run 13.1 miles.

I remember doing Ironman sick with pneumonia and crying (sigh) as I turned in my chip halfway through the bike.

I remember my very first running race and some guy saying "You should be in the back".

I remember the first time Jordan beat me in a race (:24 seconds).

I remember helping a woman that collapsed at a half iron and running around to get her water and get her out of the sun.

I remember my first half marathon and being so nervous that I didn't eat breakfast or anything on the course.

I remember the first time I saw vaseline on a stick.

I remember the first time I heard of GU.

I remember asking, "WHERE do I put this cream?"

I remember buying my first bike and changing my first flat.

I've gone to bed early and gotten up early on weekends for years.

I remember taking 5 hours to ride 35 miles in the mountains.

But most of all, I remember Mike and the boys always supporting me. I remember my friends cheering for me. I also remember that I never, ever quit. I could have quit after my first race. I could have quit after Ironman. At any time, I could have quit. I could have taken that ride during the half iron.

Now I have memories that I can laugh at, some still make me cry (and THEN I laugh at them). But not one consists of a finish time or pace.

Best of all, I have no regrets about not knowing who Snookie is, what 10pm looks like, or listening again and again to the constant teasing from neighbors.

Because I know what the sunrise looks like from the top of a mountain. I've been stopped on my bike by a herd of deer crossing the street. I've ridden stride for stride along side a coyote. I've looked up to see thousands of geese flying overhead, darkening my path, to fly south for the winter, and I've swam with the most incredible water creatures.

And none of that would have happened if I gave up.

It's almost SHOWTIME

2011-07-17T08:30:00.000-06:00

For those of you who have been pregnant and have had a child, you know more about endurance events than just about anyone.

The day you find out you're pregnant is like registering for a race. You're happy, sad, scared to death and wonder if you've made the right decision.

A pregnancy takes about 40 weeks. My training for boulder (including base training) has gotten me to week 31. It'll be 34 weeks, when I show up at the start.

A week or two ago, I started stressing and wondering "Can I do this? The pain. The speeds. Can I do this? I don't think I can. I'm not ready."

A few weeks before delivery, I felt the same way. It was the freakout of "This is going to hurt so bad. I can't do this. I'm not ready to be a parent. I'm not READY!"

Then, something changes. I always call it the calm before the storm.

Everything makes sense. The date is coming. Training is effectively over. Calm moves in. At this point, the race will be what it will be. Good or bad, it won't be for lack of training.

Race day is a couple of weeks away now.
On race day, like delivery, there won't be a lot of thinking. My body will do what it knows it has to do. It will push when it needs to and it will back off when it needs to.

All I can do is breathe.

oh wow

2011-07-09T14:47:00.000-06:00

FIRST AND FOREMOST! IT IS MONSOON SEASON IN COLORADO!

HALE-FREAKING-LOO-YA

Finally some humidity!

Today, it was about 90 when I left the house for my long run and 70% humidity.

It.was.glorious.

*************************
Oh, and I apologize to everyone who got the email about Google+. I was learning how to use it and didn't realize that I was blasting everyone with an email. If you've ever commented on my blog, you probably got the email....unless you were in the group, where I stopped and thought: Hmmm, did send invite actually mean send?

*************************
NEXT!

Have you looked at the calendar lately? I'll give you a hint: today is July 9th.

That means Ironman Boulder is less than a month away!

Do I sound stressed?

Do I seemed worried?

Nope! Not at all.

I'm going out there with Mr. Tea and about 4 friends. Because of the set up of the courses, no matter how fast we all are, we'll see each other many times throughout the day. The bike is 2 loops. The run is 2 loops. sah-weeet!

How could I possibly be stressed about that? It's going to be a fantastic race!

Ok, so it'll be hot. Ok, so we're going 70.3 miles. Ok, ok, ok. fine whatever. As long as Mr. Tea has 1.) Air conditioned car 2.) plenty to drink/eat 3.) a good book to read.....well, I'm all set!

*************************
On the other hand, this could just be onset of Peak-Training-Delirium.

I'm not really sure. I have lost track of days, as one day runs right into the next. Train, eat, rest, train, eat rest. If I'm lucky, I throw a shower in there once in awhile.

My training clothes are more or less just piles of clothes that go from washer to body and back again.

Dry clothes are overrated anyway....if I'm just going to sweat them all up again.

Alas! The end is nigh! Very soon, all of this training will all come together.

Until then, or until I figure out what day it is, train happy my friends!

Do it right or don't do it at all

2011-06-28T19:14:00.000-06:00

As many of you know, there comes a point in training where the miles get long. You have a lot of time to be alone with your thoughts.

This can be both good and bad. Recently, I've been on both sides of this. There have been days, I've just wanted to quit. So.badly.

On a particularly bad day last week, I was surrounded by thoughts of: "I can't do this. Who am I fooling? Running around acting like a triathlete? What's the point? Just go home and tell Mr. Tea that you're not going to do the race. It's ok. This running. This heat. The hills. Everyone quits. Just stop."

And that's what I did. I stopped running.

"It's just too hard" I told myself.

"You're missing too many workouts. You're going too slowly."

"Do you KNOW how fast those women will be at Ironman? Do you KNOW? You're not in their league, no matter how much you train."

I cut the run short.

This attitude, evidently, came through while I was updating my training log. This set off an immediate email conversation between me 'n coach.

What I realized is that it's always easier to blame everything "else" in your life. But nothing will change until you take ownership of your actions.

Sometimes, when knee deep in WHATEVER it is, we all miss the forest for the trees.

So, when coach started going off about this and that. I thought "Of course, all of that is true. But, it certainly doesn't pertain to me. I know all that. I wouldn't make that mistake."

Then, he said something that struck me. It went something like this: Get up earlier. Quit your complaining. It's not supposed to be easy. Don't give a half-assed effort. Get out there and make the workouts count. Get your head right.

ME? Give a half assed effort? Who does he think he's talking to? I'm not some newbie doing a 70.3 for the first time! Doesn't he know it's hot? Doesn't he know how hard the hills are?

That night I stewed on this a bit.

The next morning, I realized that he was right. Am I slacking? Absolutely not. Was I cheating myself from hitting my goals?

Yes.

Then, I came across this quote:

"If you are always allowed to stop training when you feel discomfort, you will find it too easy to give yourself permission to quit." --Jet Li

Coach was right. Jet Li was right.

I was wrong.

I realized that I'd become too hung up on my goal. I lost the joy of just training.

The thing, THE thing that I loved more than anything. TRAINING for the sheer fun of challenging myself to be better than I was the week before.

Training doesn't have to be perfect. I just have to do it right, give everything I have for that day, that moment when I am doing that THING. If I can't do that, I shouldn't be doing it at all.

I don't know what will happen at Boulder. I DO know that I'd rather miss my goal time and enjoy the path that I took to get there.....than PR and need time off to recover mentally and physically.

Superhero, I am not.

2011-06-23T18:22:00.002-06:00

The last, oh, month or so has been very discouraging for me.

Yes, I have been under extreme personal stress. I've had a death in the family, which was one of those "she has 2 weeks to live" type of thing. If you've been through it, it's horrible.

Then, came the funeral.....nothing like a bunch of Irish Catholics getting together to figure out who the TOP MARTYR is.

Immediately after that, my son Justin had outpatient surgery. No big deal as far as severity, but big deal as in the time committment in changing gauze, giving medications, trying to get him to eat, etc. etc. etc. Really, just plain waiting on him hand and foot. Of course, I'm a mom. I don't mind it one bit.

Let's see what else I can throw in here, how about WORK. Yea, insane amounts of WORK.

Unexpectedly.

WHERE the hell is this all coming from? As a business owner, it's hard to predict consumer behavior. But THIS. THIS is just insane! (Not bad....just making us rethink our plans).

With all of this, it's hard for me to catch my breath, let alone get my workouts in.

Everyday, I would say "No more disruptions, starting TOMORROW. Time to get serious."

Well, you can only say that so many times. then, you're just the boy who cried wolf.

In other shocking news

I'M NOT A SUPERHERO.

As disappointing as it is to take this news, i have to accept the reality. Sometimes training is going to happen, and sometimes it's not. And sometimes the workouts are just going to be hard.

As much as I want to PR at Ironman Boulder, sometimes just thinking about it wears me out.

Of course, Mr. Tea had to step in with all his logic....because he's the voice of reason.

me, well, I don't know what I am, you choose: hormonal, bitchy, cranky, emotional.....just choose. They're all good choices.

Mr. Tea took me by the shoulders and said, "Look, I've been going through this for years with you. I've never seen you push so hard before. These workouts you're doing. YOU SHOULD be tired after doing them. All I can say is they are complete sufferfests. Everyone has bad sections of training. Just stay the course."

Then, he started making up a rap song that went something like "What you're doing is a sufferfest. But don't give up, just give your best. Cuz there ain't no stopping there ain't no rest.....

By this point, I was laughing too hard to really focus on what he was saying.

I looked at my schedule, family committments, yadda yadda.

That's when I remembered one of my favorite quotes:

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I will try again tomorrow. ~Mary Anne Radmacher

I'm not finished. Who cares how many times I start....as long as I keep on starting.

Join us at our new forum

2011-06-21T15:52:00.000-06:00

Team IronBitch is launching a new forum.

Everyone is welcome! Men, women, fitness fanatics, Ironman triathletes, ultramarathoners, hikers, kickboxers, everyone and anyone is welcome.

We are a community of people dedicated to friendships and living a healthy lifestyle. Best of all, it's free to join.

We are just getting started! Give us your feedback, tell us what you'd like to see...we're there for you, errr *us*.

Check it out here

2011-06-21T07:02:00.000-06:00

So, Now What?

You're right. It's easier to eat pizza than run on the treadmill. It's easier to

turn to ice cream than people for support. It's easier to

say "Fuck it, I give up" than to say "Fuck this, I can do it". I'm not going to sit

here and tell you day after day that you can do this. If you don't believe you

can, then you can't. If you don't want it bad enough, then you sure as hell

won't achieve it. Take the easy way out and remain unhealthy and continue to

gain weight because you can't realize you are the only one hurting yourself. I

didn't say it would be easy. I said it would be WORTH it.

SAY it with me people.....

2011-06-12T18:14:00.000-06:00

AH HELL YEA!

What a day!

WOW!

Recently (on the training front), I've had a couple of issues that really hit my confidence:

First, that horrible OW swim.

Second, making the switch to a tt bike.

Third....ok, this was not a HIT to my confidence, at.all. Setting my 5:52 goal and then running into problems....well, that hurt a bit.

More than anything, I needed a day where I could reassure myself that I CAN DO THIS. I WILL DO THIS.

Today was the day for making that happen.

Lemme spell it out for you.

TODAY WAS A FREAKING CONFIDENCE BOOSTER.

Here's the synopsis: After last week's horrible ow swim, I was SO scared to do the 1 mile swim today. Let me rephrase that, I WAS SCARED SHITLESS. Today's swim was a *race* at Boulder Res. Btw, I assumed it was an out and back. I thought, if I struggle, I will just turn around and head back.

I almost threw up when I saw it was a loop.

A BIG FAT WIDE CIRCLE LOOP.

Understand the sittyation?

Alot of the people are afraid of the swim. I get that. But, the swim is my best event. BEST. If I f*ck this up.....well...nothing really happens.

I took a few minutes in an empty part of the water and started *meditating* and saying my catch phrases that help calm me down. My HR was really high, so I needed to calm down.

My favorite phrase and Yes, I know it's a little weird, but I just kept saying "Panic is a vulture on your shoulder. Panic is a vulture on your shoulder."

It's sort of sing-song....maybe it's NOT going be on Barney, but you gotta do what works for you.

I lined up at the VERY back on the far right. Everyone took off, and I took a deep breath and just started swimming. After a few strokes, I felt like I was just swimming in a pool. I went very easy, VERY easy. When I got out of the water, my watch said 43 min exactly.....which for me is very slow.

But today was not measured by speed, it was measured in confidence. I gained a ton today.

No matter how afraid of something I am, I know that I will get right back up there and make it right.

Now, I can go into my next ow swim and pick up the pace without fear of freaking out.

Then it was time for the bike.

Again, I was nervous about riding my tt bike on this course. Would I be strong enough? Could I do the hills?

WOW! That elevation map makes the course look so hard, but it is very fast, very easy. Ok, maybe not VERY easy, but WAAAAAYYYY easier than where I ride regularly. When I finished, all I thought was "I am going to KILL it on the bike!" I'm going back out a few more times, but I feel pretty confident that I will break 3 hours on the bike.

Breaking 3 hours? That's what the crazy fast people do. Really. THE crazy fast.

Maybe I can do this afterall.

Memories

2011-06-11T08:51:00.000-06:00

There is a hole where a life had been.

Summer vacations and camping trips and the beach and pool.

Do you remember when she lived with us? Do you remember putting up the fence when she was pregnant? Remember how we would get in trouble at the pool? She would yell at us to stop, and we would just laugh...because what were we really doing wrong? Remember that party when she got drunk on box zinfindel because that was her favorite? Remember how we danced to the 8 track tapes? She bought us our first microwave, remember that? We put hot dogs in there and blew them up. Remember how she helped get you, your first job? Remember the cows in her backyard? Remember how mad she'd get because they would wake her up in the summer?

She never missed a birthday. or anniversary.

Did you know that it's our anniversary? 18 years.

Do you remember.....do you remember when we got her diagnosis?

And it felt unreal. Like it just wasn't possible. It could have been anyone. But this time, it wasn't.

Then came the treatments.

It's too advanced, but there is this experimental treatment that might work.

But it didn't work.

Do you remember having to call everyone?

5:52

2011-06-08T19:17:00.000-06:00

It's amazing in the world of triathlon how much we look to numbers. Distances, times, paces, number of workouts, heart rate, elevation gain/loss, cadence, stroke count and on and on are a natural part of what we do.

Part of that is finish times. I'm a competitive person, but I'm also afraid of what I can and can't do sometimes. I'm always being asked what my goals are or what my goal time is for Ironman Boulder. I never know how to answer. It's not that I don't want to tell people because I'm afraid of what they'll think of me.

I honestly don't know. I don't know what I am capable of on race day. When asked what my goal is, I say "To PR" and leave it at that.

In an off handed sort of way, I told coach that I wanted to break 6:00 before I turned 45. (And yes, I know I don't look a day over 30).

Me being ME, I expected Coach to say, "Honestly, you're about 3 or 4 years away from that. Great goal, though".

Instead, I get this response:

"5:52 - write it down. Tape it to a mirror, car steering wheel, fridge, whatever. See it, think it, believe it. It's yours if you want it."

Of course, my response back was:

ARE YOU FREAKING NUTS?

Because that's how I roll.

And in the back of my mind, I was thinking....

Can I pull off a 5:52?

Could I really do that?

I see other women do it, but I'm not other women. I'm Tea. Little ole Tea. Tea, the plugger, the dolphin, the one with the REALLY COOL NEW BIKE.

With this NUMBER 5:52 looming in my mind, I went swimming.

and I thought....and I thought.....and I thought some more.

Then, I thought.....Maybe I could. Maybe I really could do a half iron in 5:52. Those numbers almost feel weird saying them....and directing them to myself. I mean, once you break into the 5 hour range, to me that's the CRAZY FAST PEOPLE. Those are the people that have showered & eaten by the time I usually cross the finish line.

Could I possibly be one of THEM??

I kept swimming.

Then, something changed. I went from "Could I really do it" to "How can I make it happen?"

Yea, I'm not the fastest runner, but so what! That's the beauty of triathlon.

There.are.3.sports.

Train to your weakness; race to your strengths.

Any combination of speed in the 3 sports will give me 5:52. I KNOW I'm faster than most women swimming. I KNOW I can hold that spot on the bike.

And the run? Let's just say that I'm no longer going to say "the run is a matter of survival". Nope. Not going to say that anymore. It's my 3rd best event. On the run, all I have to do is stick with the plan and focus. I don't have to be the fastest runner...not when I'm so good in the other two.

I just can't give up on the run.

Because I have a goal now.

And I'm not embarrassed to answer: My goal for Ironman Boulder? Oh, it's 5:52.

Calm & Storm

2011-05-27T18:19:00.000-06:00

Throughout my day, week, whatever, I will have these phrases pop into my head. Maybe I've heard them before. Maybe I've made them up. I have no idea.

Seemingly at random, these phrases come to me. Over the last 2 days, at various times of the day, without meaning, I would start repeating calm & storm, calm & storm.

The week was very hard on me.

For those of you who do not know the story, 5 months ago my aunt was given 3-6 months to live. She had been diagnosed with a very advanced melanoma. She has gone through many surgeries and experimental treatment.

The cancer had progressed into her brain where there were 4 very large lesions and many smaller lesions. The neuro-surgeon advised that brain surgery was not an option.

She was given 2-3 weeks to live.

People die from massive heart attacks. It's shocking. There's no time for closure.

Something like cancer is different. Family is an active part of the dying process. Last requests, wishes.....

Even when you are given a timeframe of 3-6 months, it doesn't seem real.

In the end, the option that the family chose was to move her back home with in home care.

On one of those days, I left to go for a short swim.

My emotions were pent up all week. I would cry for no reason. I would cry because I couldn't get the door unlocked. I cried because I couldn't comprehend some legal documents I was supposed to sign.

I just couldn't stop crying.

Then I hit a void. I knew it was time to do something, so I went swimming. as many of you know, swimming is incredibly meditative for me because it comes naturally to me. I don't have to think about it. I just do it.

The day I showed up at the pool, I stuck my foot in the water, and it was cold as ice. I sat on the edge of the pool with my feet dangling in the cold water. I sat there for 10 minutes when I decided to skip the swim. I went over to the hot tub and got in.

That's when I noticed that there was a woman in the pool. I've talked to her before, but I was completely drawing a blank as to how I know her or what her name was.

She said, "Something must be up. I've never seen you turn down a good swim before. You've swam in much colder water than that."

I nodded as the tears welled up again.

She looked at me and looked away and said, "Let's go swim." She came over and took my hand and we walked over to the pool.

She jumped in and let out a squeal and smiled at me. Without thinking, I jumped right in.

At some point during the swim, she got out of the pool. She didn't say anything to me. She just got out quietly, somehow knowing that I needed that time to be myself and process the emotions and thoughts that had been simmering below.

As I swam, I thought of something Mr. Tea had said to me before. He said, "When you swim, it looks so smooth and effortless. there's no splashing. No noise. but I know beneath the surface is where all the power is."

Calm & Storm

What you can accomplish with really cool socks.

2011-05-15T14:30:00.000-06:00

***WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WORKOUT. REMEMBER I'M A PROFESSIONAL IDIOT***

As I write this, I feel like I've been hit by a truck.

I'm pretty sure, that's a good thing.

This weekend was a big test for me in prep for Ironman Boulder. At coach's recommendation, I did a 48.2 mile bike Saturday evening and ran a half marathon on Sunday morning. (the workouts weren't even 12 hours apart.) Ok, coach didn't SAY ride the evening before.

That's just how my schedule worked out.

My goals for the weekend consisted of:
1.) NO Bonking
2.) No wimping out
3.) No quitting because "wahhhhhh, my legs hurt".
4.) FOR GOODNESS SAKES WOULD YOU PLEASE FOLLOW THE RUN PLAN FOR ONCE? JUST ONCE.
5.) Don't feel like you've been hit by a truck until the half marathon is over. Because, well, it's a real bummer when you have total body breakdown at mile 10.

This whole weekend was planned around finding out how close I am to my goal for IM boulder 70.3.

Saturday, I felt so good on the bike....that, well, I went faster than plan. No big deal, 10 hours is PLENTY of time to rest before the half marathon, right? Sure, yeah.

SUNDAY morning I get up BEFORE the buttcrack of dawn. 2:30.

DO.NOT.GET.ME.STARTED.

What's pre-buttcrack anyway? I probably shouldn't even have gone to bed.

Anyway, race start temp is mid 30's with race/snow. I pack up my BIG BLACK LEAF BAG, put on BRIGHT PINK DIRTY GIRL shoe gators and head out.

It didn't occur to me how I must have looked. I will do my best to describe my masterpiece outfit. I have black trail shoes with bright pink shoe gators. black tights, black garbage back and bright pink long sleeved shirt with hood, which of course you could only see my bright pink arms because I'm wearing a black trash bag.

Other than the garbage bag, I looked ADORABLE.

But, you probably want to know how the race went....

I am under STRICT instructions to run 5/5/5. 5 miles in zone 2, 5 miles in zone 3, and 5k in whatever I can pull out of my butt.

STRICT instructions. I've never been good with instructions. Nevertheless, I set my garmin (with a little bit of attitude mind you) to BEEP at me whenever I went out of my zone.

Oh yea, trust me. I almost flung the garmin across the street a few times.

It was THAT kind of race.

Coach says "Don't worry about people passing you."

sure.

right.

that's easy.

Hey, I'm not *racing*. This is a *training* run following a 48.2 mile bike ride. I didn't taper for this race.

Of course, no one else knows that.

So, as I'm standing in the corral ready to start, a woman strikes up a conversation (which by the way happened alot during the race. I guess, the garbage bag, pink socks is really a conversation starter....just fyi for all my single friends out there.)

We talk and find out that we are both triathletes, blah blah (what's your race schedule, what's your projected time today, all that boring crap that we talk about in order to keep our minds off the tiny bits of icicles hitting our faces). She says "I took off Friday and Sat to rest up for the race. What did you do?"

"Uh, I rode almost 50 miles last night"

*blink* *blink* "ok, well have fun with hitting that time goal"

Yea. That's pretty much what I was thinking. Why not add in "Have fun when everyone is passing your ass because you're doing some 5/5/5 run plan."

Cranky much?

No, not really. Only when I have to get up at 2:30 to run a half marathon in freezing rain a few hours after riding my bike, wearing.....well, I've already covered that.

The race starts everyone starts running.

except me.

cuz, I'm not running ONE STEP MORE THAN I HAVE TO and until I cross the start line, I DON'T HAVE TO.

As soon, as I start running, I realize how much my butt hurts.

Not at mile 10, not at mile 8, not at mile 5, but crossing the starting line.

I haven't even started running, and I'm already in pain.

Then, my garmin beep.

Then, Everyone started passing me.

I speed up a bit.

My garmin starts beeping like an alarm clock on steroids.

OH COME ON. I HAVEN'T even gone a quarter of a mile!

But, I slow down to what feels like some horrible crawl.

tutu lady passes me.

tatoo guy passes me.

guy in the walker passes me.

It's gonna be a long day on the half marathon course people.

at this point, I pretty much have 12.9 miles to go. I think it's time for a pep talk. It went soemthing like this.

"Yo Bitch."

"Yea. what?"

"I understand your ass hurts, people are passing you, you're wearing some ridiculous outfit and you're trying to stick with a run plan."

"thank you for that, but you left out that I have 12.8 miles left and feel like I've already run 12.8"

"Here's the deal cookie. You know you already hurt. It's not going to get better, but it might not get worse"

"YOU obviously haven't been running very long. OF COURSE IT IS GOING TO HURT"

"shaddup and listen. I'm not hear to offer a bargaining agreement. I'm laying down the rules.
1.) You hurt. Get over it. You're going to hurt during IM. Right now, it's a matter of putting the pain *behind* you. hahaha, behind, get it? Your butt hurts. Oh, good stuff.
2.) You WILL follow the run plan no matter what. coach is bigger, stronger, faster and overall a better person than you.
3.) Cold rain never killed anyone.
4.) STOP BEING SUCH A FREAKING WUSS."

"well now, I can't really argue with that. well, I could but I don't have the energy."

Miles 1-5, EVERYONE is passing me. Even the guy with his little girl on his back, pushing a stroller, filming his wife as she went running by.

By mile 5, i realized that people were starting to walk. some people were walking earlier, but these were people who i found I had been running with for awhile.

"GO BAG LADY" the crowd cheers. Bag lady? Who's bag lady?

Now, I'm in zone 3 and I realized that about 5 people were using me to yo-yo. I would keep running. They would run past me, stop and walk until I caught them then they would run past me again.

We turn a corner "BAG LADY BAG LADY! GO !" Who is this bag lady? Where is she? I'm looking around trying to find bag lady.

we head through the fire station. The fire fighters yell "Bag Lady You look great!"

that's when I realized when everyone else was shedding their garbage bags, I kept mine on. My bib number and name is covered by my garbage bag.

I.AM.BAG.LADY.

What was I to do but embrace my new identity?

I kept running. my 5 person team entourage keeps doing the yo you thing. I don't stop to walk (except through aid stations), I just keep plugging. slowing down when garmin beeps at me and speeding up when I feel a slight downhill.

From my left, I hear "Bag Lady!"

I turn to see a homeless man waving at me. He yells "I love your purple socks!"

I high five him and keep going.

Coming up on mile 10, I realize that my legs really aren't hurting anymore that they did when I started. I feel good. I've got the Sisterhood of the Travelling Yo-Yo-ers with me, and I'm getting ready to heading into my last 5k....

the point where I'm supposed to give everything I can.

Do I have anything left to give? My pace has almost been consistent.

Team yo-yo passes me again.

That's it.

Mile 10, team yo-yo didn't count on the Bag Lady holding back for 10 miles.

Garmin Beeps MILE 10, and I start picking up the pace. I've never really done this before. I usually blow up, go out too hard. That's when I realized....

COACH IS A GENIUS.

I start running between a 10:30-11:00 pace.

team yo-you has NOTHING on the Bag Lady. I imagine each one of them with a target on their backs. One by one, I start passing them.

They never pass me again.

I focus in on a man and woman running about 30 meters ahead of me. I am getting tired, but I think "Just stay with them. Don't lose them. Stay with them. Focus on them. You can hold this."

Mile 12

why does the last mile seem.so.long? You'd think it would be easy because you just have ONE mile left.

But it is sheer hell.

we round the corner. i can see the finish. .2 miles to go. Just then, the first place woman marathoner goes flying past me.

That.is.so.wrong.

then I realized that i never checked my garmin for my splits. I was so focused on heartrate that I have no idea how fast I was running overall. I really wanted to come in between 2:42-and 2:45. As I cross the finish line, I glance at my garmin: 2:42.

Holy SHITAKE MUSHROOMS! I DID IT!

No taper, long ride, training run in the cold rain (with some rather sensitive chafing thankyewverymuch).....

And Ironman boulder is still 11 weeks away.

I almost started crying.

No.kidding, but I'm sort of a baby like that.

After I crossed the finish line, I had about 10 people come up to me and say "Bag Lady: I was pacing off you for the longest time. I love your socks."

somewhere along the line, volunteers were handing out mylar blankets, but I missed them. Once I stopped running, I realized how cold it was and how wet I was. I grabbed a bottle of water, gave away my beer coupon and head to my car with a stupid grin plastered to my face.

It wasn't a pr day. It wasn't meant to be.

It simply showed me what I could be.

Now THAT's how you do it

2011-01-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

I ran into a friend, today, at the gym. I haven't seen him since September because I haven't been to the gym since september....shhhh.

After our normal "what have you been up to" chatter, he says, "I turn 50 this year, in May. My wife was asking me what I wanted for my birthday. So, I say 'I want to run 50 miles'. She said 'Well, you'll do that anyway. I want to know what you really want.' "

He went on: I had this idea. Why don't I run 50 miles with friends? I wonder if anyone would do it? I started asking people if they would run parts of the course with me, anything a half mile or 20 miles. Do you know everyone I asked jumped on board to do this. Here's the best part. I'm doing the last 2 miles with Joe* (*not his real name). AND everyone who ran a portion of the 50 miles is going to meet up at mile 48 and finish the last two miles with me and joe. Joe can only go 1 mile per hour, so it will take us 2 hours, but everyone is going to finish with us!

***
Now, this story is pretty amazing. 25 people signed up to run with my friend to find time to run pieces of this birthday run with him. Then, it might occur to you that the last person, Joe, only goes 1 mph. You might be asking "why does Joe move so slowly"? Joe has no arms or legs. Every day at the gym, he walks on his "stubs" (as he calls them) around the track, every.day. for 1 mile. 1 hour of walking around the gym track. For 1 hour, 6 laps and 1 mile without arms or legs. And this guy, who has no arms or legs and takes an hour to go 1 mile, volunteered to do the last TWO miles with my friend.

During my run, I was in awe. First of all, what a FANTASTIC idea for a birthday present. Second, what an amazing experience this will be having 25 or so friends all walking the last 2 miles for 2 hours, together.

It makes me speechless.

I'm not an easy person to live with.

2011-01-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

Back in October, I celebrated my birthday.

(In case you're wondering, 43's never looked so good).

My birthday present from Mr. Tea was/is that he is going to run a half marathon with me in May 2011.

This will be his first half marathon. For those of you who know Mr. Tea, he doesn't really enjoy running. So, this is a pretty big deal.

Yesterday, Jan 1st was day #1 of his training. The first 8 weeks of his "plan" is more of a time to get him used to being on his feet, moving and getting used to running in spurts.

Even though the run was 20-25 minutes long, I knew he would be uncomfortable. The plan calls for 5 min warm up walk followed by 1 min run, 90 seconds walk until he hits 20-25 minutes.

So yea, I knew this would make him uncomfortable. In the past, Mr. Tea would take off like a wild banshee, run hard, run too far and end up in pain on day 2 which would cause him to quit running altogether.

Yesterday he head down to the basement to do his run. I hear the buttons beeping on the treadmill. I hear the belt starting to move. I hear his breathing getting heavy, then labored.

I wanted to yell down and ask how he was doing, but this is something he has to do by himself.

At 25 minutes, I decide to check on him. I ask "How did it go?"

Mr. Tea: It was hard. It was only 25 minutes, but it was so hard. Way harder than I thought it would be.

Tea (Tough Love, dose #1): Yea, running is hard. No matter how fast you get, no matter how far you go, it doesn't get easier.

Mr. Tea: Everything hurts. My back hurts. My legs hurt.

Tea (Tough Love, dose #2): Look, it IS hard. It'll hurt, but it's not going to kill you. You only have to do it 3 days a week. It doesn't have to be pretty. JUST.GET.THROUGH.IT.

Mr. Tea: Wow, what's up with the tough love?

Tea: Look, you have a HUGE disadvantage or ADVANTAGE depending on how you look at it. I'm an athlete. You didn't wake up this morning and make a resolution to start running while I sit back and feel bad for you and say "Oh poor baby, just skip your run today, start tomorrow, you're all sweaty".

You're not going through anything different than any other athlete. When you're busting your ass and feeling uncomfortable.....I AM TOO. It's not easier for me to get up every day and run or bike or strength train. I'm not superhuman. Every time you want to quit your run, you're making your half marathon THAT.MUCH.HARDER.

And, I will have no qualms about leaving you in the dust on race day if I don't think you took your training seriously. I have no desire to run a 4 hour half marathon with someone who doesn't care. On the other hand, I will be thrilled to run a 4 hour half marathon with someone who really wants it.

Just remember: You aren't doing this for me. You're doing this for you.

**************************

That my friends was Day #1. I have no doubt that it will be an emotional roller coaster. It's never easy to change behavior. We aren't born with mental toughness. It's something we learn. We can choose to quit. We can choose to keep going. The choice is that simple. The more we choose to keep going, the tougher we get. Toughness isn't something we're born with. It's a decision we make, every.day.

So Long and thanks for all the fish.

2010-12-25T16:55:00.001-07:00

As it turns out, and as that sick twisted trick of the running gods....just as I am beginning taper, I also decided against running the MS Blues Marathon.

We had some family issues explode over the weekend. Since I'm not really the selfish type, I decided that the race will have to wait another day for me to beat it into submission.

cuz, that's EXACTLY what would have happened.

I'm also not one to ever consider training a waste.

Things I learned:

1.) I will always hate running in blistery cold, but I CAN run in blistery cold.

2.) I will never truly enjoy running 28 miles in a weekend.

3.) 26.2 miles is a stupid distance to run.

4.) When I run far, I get faster.

5.) I like getting faster.

6.) It was kind of nice going through the holiday season without having to worry about what I'm eating at parties.

7.) speaking of which, it's nice to go bite for bite with a teenager.

8.) I'm not sure if I will ever run a marathon again. Not sure....because there are other things I enjoy more. I didn't like giving those things up to run. However, if I ever feel the urge. I have some requirements:

a.) It's will not be in winter.

b.) It will have to be with friends.

c.) I can complain and complain all over again about how horrrible training is.

WHAT's NEXT?

well, I'm glad you asked. I have a May half marathon and a June century (bike thing).

Both to prepare me for Ironman Boulder in August where I will be going for a PR.

And if you think my run training is funny just wait until I'm running with a sore a$$ after being on the bike for 5 hours.

For now....

LET THE OFF SEASON BEGIN!

Are we there yet?

2010-12-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

Week....
Week....hang on a minute, it's here somewhere.
Here it is: WEEK WTF in my marathon training.

Someone (who shall remain nameless) thought it would be a good....no GREAT....no, FUN idea to run a marathon in JANUARY when training would have to take place during a La nina winter in COLO-FREAKING-RADO. AND NO, I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT LITTLE TOWN OF DENVER.

Here I am! Less than a month to go and the only....I mean it....the ONLY reason I haven't quit is because I'm running it with Billy. It's much harder to quit when someone else is counting on you to be there.

hmmmm, I wonder if cheering him on counts as *being there*

Besides the cold
and the wind
and the HORRENDOUS HILLS

and the fact that every other week I have to run 25-28 miles on Sat and Sunday combined

MARATHON TRAINING IS A BLAST

woo.hoo.

Gimme my freaking medal now.

You all know that I'm not a marathoner.

Fine, I've finished my fair share. I have the medals.

but that was a long time ago.

There was a reason I stopped running marathon but the biggest reasons are

the cold
the wind
the horrendous hills
and the fact that I have to run 20 miles every stinking SUNDAY.

Do you know the last time I got to watch football? NO? ME EITHER. And Monday night doesn't count....nor sunday night.

Did I mention that Billy is probably going to leave me in the dust.

He'll be a gentleman about it. Don't get me wrong. Billy's the best. the Best Jerry, the best!

But ultimately, I'll be out there on the course, by myself crying and thinking of KayVee and Billy throwing back a few at the finish line.

Why?

Because I can't hold a pace to save my life. I didn't run 20.37 miles today. I travelled 20.37 miles.

don't tell me about taper.

don't talk to me about hills.

My ass hurts. My legs hurt. My back is just plain tired. My feet hurt.

Which really begs the question:

This is supposed to be fun?

really?

Now that the b!tch session is over (it is, I promise), I've had V and Mike both swear to me that if I ever (so help me) think running a marathon in winter again....well.....they'll do something to me. something bad.

let's just leave it at that.

The Results are in: I SUCK.

2010-11-29T20:36:00.001-07:00

I knew eventually it would catch up with me. What is "it". Oh you know.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that.

Y'get to point where you say to yourself, "Self, do I go grocery shopping or run or blog or work?"

Tough decision given that without groceries, the family gives me thatover the glasses look.

Without running, then I have ONE GIGANTIC MARATHON FAIL in January.

Not that I haven't failed before. In fact, I do THAT quite well.

Let's be honest, without a paycheck really none of this could be possible. Fine, I could still run, but I wouldn't look nearly so damn CUTE.

That leaves me with a.) Ignoring the kids and Blog b.) NOT ignoring the kids and NOT blogging.

could I flip a coin on that one?

Nevermind--WHERE shall I start?

How 'bout here:

I GOT MY ASS HANDED TO ME AT THE TURKEY TROT.

Yep, that's how it was.

First the 16 year old beat me.

Then, the pilgrims beat me.

I did HOWEVER finish before the Turkey.

That's a positive, right?

I'd loved to make up some excuse about the "altitude" or the "horrible hills" or that "it was just a training run".

But they'd all be lies. I live here. altitude = non-issue. Hills? Umm, not.so.much. Training?

I TRAINED MY FREAKING BUTT OFF TO BEAT THAT PUNK.

I even tried to tie his shoelaces together (you didn't hear that from me).

I tried to hide his timing chip. (No, really, I did).

WHAT MORE DO I HAVE TO DO????

I'm 43. He's 16.

No fears, my dear friends. I have a plan. Everyone knows the body peaks at around 25.

I will simply play the waiting game. I'm a patient person.

Yessirreee. I will keep training. Knowing that in 10 years, when I am 53 and he is 26. I WILL BEAT HIM as his cardio vascular performance begins to suffer. (Because, let's be honest: How many of YOU were running when you were 25? not many.)

In 10 years, It's SO ON!

I'm just not going to talk about it

2010-10-24T17:22:00.000-06:00

Maybe I will a little bit. These are the horsies that ran up to me to say "HI"

Hi Horsies. Who's the cute little pony? Who is? Yes! You are!

The cows were a bit snobbish.

This is where I was chased down by the huge wolf sized vicious dog.

Fine, maybe it was a dachsund.

Oh, here are the horsies again! Who doesn't love horsies.

Those trees....that's where I marked my territory. (It's all good in Redneck Woods).

Why is it whenever I need a good trailer, I'm not in a place where I can write down the phone number?

Everything hurts here. Something has gone awry and taken me with it.

Don't be fooled by the sign.

I just like this sticker

Nothing says Redneck Woods better than: (SING IT WITH ME!) New York, London, Paris, Munich....everybody talk about mmmm POPMUZIK, talk about....(hey, YOU

have YOUR music I have mine. Don't be critical).

This is a picture of a Witch humping a giraffe. I know you can't see it, but why would I take a picture of a giraffe?

Finally, the long road home...

Birthday Wishes

2010-10-23T13:39:00.000-06:00

It went like this.

Me: Hey, I know what I want for my birthday.

Mr. Tea (suspiciously. Can you blame him? Last year, I asked for World peace): Oooookay. What do you want.

Me: okyouhavetotellmeifthisisreasonablebecausemyfeelingswon'tbehurtifitsnot. I.Just.Want.to.Know.

Mr. Tea: (Now turning his full attention to me). WHAT IS IT?

Me (DEEP BREATH): IWANTYOUTORUNAHALFMARATHONWITHME.

cringing....waiting....for his response.

Me: But there are some conditions. (I know I'm pushing my luck here, but if the guy is going to bet me $200 for finishing a sub 5 marathon, he has it coming....don't you think?)

FIRST: We don't have to train together. No holding hands, thinking about how romantic it is that we're both runners....bullsh!t. K? This is serious business. I'll train my way. You train you way.

Mr. Tea (Mulling it over, which is good. He hasn't said, "No" yet, right?): What else?

Me: We run the half on race day, together. None of this "Oh, you're so fast" crap. We both know that a.) You're a guy and b.) You're A LOT younger than me. c.) If you put your mind to it, you could be a lot faster than me.

Mr. Tea: hmmmm. I don't have to buy you anything?

Me: Nope.

Mr. Tea: I just have to agree to doing a half marathon?

Me: (Still can't believe I haven't lost him yet): You have to give me an answer on my birthday

OCTOBER 27th
(subtle hint for the audience)

Mr. Tea: When's the race?

Me: I'm thinking we'll do Colfax. It's around May 25th. That gives you 4 months to get your running up before you even have to think about training.

Before I lose my reading audience.....we must now fastforward to this morning.

Mr. Tea and I are at JMan's football game. At halftime, Mr. Tea says, "I have my answer to your birthday request."

It's very chilly out. Mr. Tea starts stripping, right there in the stands.

Mr. Tea: I have something to show you.

At this point, I don't know if I should be horrified or excited, so I waited. He peels off the last layer and shows me the shirt:

2009 Colorado Colfax Half Marathon

"I'm in", he says.

When is 6 miles NOT 6 miles

2010-10-22T15:01:00.000-06:00

YESTERDAY was day one of the incredibly stupid marathon training.

I have to get my wits about me. It was a tempo run.

I had to place a rescue call, after 4.5 miles.

sigh

Since I don't like to live in the past, let's move on.

TODAY, I ran 6 miles....easy....the difference between the tempo yesterday and the easy run today?

TODAY I ran faster than yesterday's "tempo run".

Not that I have a problem with that. Y'see, I'm old and have been running a long time. Sometimes there are just plain bad days. Analyze all you want. Me? I prefer to focus on the positive.

I.ran.6.miles.today.

It was cold. It was windy. It was overcast. Any minute snowflakes were supposed to start falling from the sky.

Hence the reason, my "easy" run was faster than my tempo run yesterday.

When I head out on my runs, I never really know what direction I'm going to go. If I run west/east, then I run downhill for as many miles as you can imagine, only to have to turn around and run uphill.all.the.way.home.

If I run North/South, I get the short steep what.the.hell.am.i.doing hills.

(You'll be tested on this later).

Because I'm a glutton for punishment, I decide to run the 3 miles downhill, 3 miles uphill route.

yes, it truly sucks to be me.

When I run, I like to wear my technical marathon shirts.

Because I don't look good running. When people drive by and see me in the midst of a sufferfest, they think to themselves "Oh, look at that dedicated marathoner. she's out running 20 miles. that's why she looks so bad."

Nevermind that I'm doing 3 or 4 or 5 miles.

Image is everything.

But I digress. I'm out running. Running downhill is truly a beautiful thing.

Running uphill.not.so.much.

A couple of things that I thought of while running uphill:

1.) A 13:49 pace is absolutely acceptable when running the demon hill.

2.) When you have to pee and you're wearing cwx tights and they are so tight that you could never pull them up quickly should someone come around the corner and there are no trees....you have only one choice...(don't tell me you haven't done it).

3.) Did you know that your colon can get a charlie horse? It's true. I heard it on the Doctors.

4.) The top of the hill never gets closer. In fact, it moves away from you.

Speaking of hills. It was hard. I'm clearly struggling (based on the number of cars that slowed down to make sure that I was in fact still moving)....

I really wanted to stop.

REALLY want to stop.

You can stop....at the top of the next hill.

Really?

No.

Hey.

What?

I have an idea.

What?

YOU CAN STOP.....

WHEN YOU GET HOME

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

That was not funny.

Your just a poor sport. Running out here in the cold, windy, cloudy day wearing wet pants....hey, how'd your pants get wet?

Y'know what. Just shut up.

6 miles done.

How to recover from Stupid

2010-10-22T13:49:00.000-06:00

A year ago, I swore off marathons. Of course, I announced it on FB for all the world to see.

THAT was my first mistake.

Why don't I like marathons? It's a lot of time spent running when I could just as easily drive somewhere.

However, I'm rather fond of the half marathon. Therefore, In an effort to get away from the cold Colorado winter, I (once again) announced first to Mr. Tea and second on FB that I was looking for a winter HALF marathon to run.

That's when Mr. Tea (in his infinite wisdom) says "I'll pay you $100 to run marathon".

I don't DO marathons. I say to him rolling my eyes.

Then he says: Wait, I'll give you $100 for running a marathon and another $100 for finishing in under 5 hours.

Who does he think I am? That makes me feel so CHEAP.

Does Ironman count?

No, IM does not count.

Fine, whateva, I reply (again rolling my eyes). Yet, now calculating. My last marathon was 1 no 2 no 3 no 4 years ago? 5 hours? Is that even reasonable?

OK, I'll do it.

I immediately head to FB and ask for requests on Winter marathons.

Lo and behold, friends all over the US (and even outside the US) starting saying "Come run with me in: LAS VEGAS, SAN DIEGO, ORLANDO.....etc etc etc

That, of course, begs the question as to why people want to run with me so badly.

It's because no matter how slow you are, running next to me makes you feel like a gazelle.

So....what do I do? What beautiful warm race could I run.

That's when Billy said, "Hey run the MS Blues Marathon."

Hmmmm, that one has merit. Immediately, I start thinking of Billy, Karen & I holding arms and skipping through Jackson, MS.

The thought makes me smile.

And this image pops into my head ---------->

Of course, that's all it took.

No looking at the profile map.

No looking at the weather conditions in MS in Jan.

All I knew is that Jackson, MS is about 6000ft lower in elevation than where I am. Can't be too bad right?

It's all fun and games until you hit the REGISTRATION button.

Now that I'm registered, let's go check out some race reports.

"Coldest race I've ever done"

"Hardest course I've ever done. Who knew MS had hills?"

Then, I started getting emails from friends, "Heard you signed up for MS. You must have a death wish."

"Train on the biggest hills you can find. The course is ridiculous."

My delusional smile quickly slipped into a frown, and I started sweating....profusely....at the though that I just registered for (apparently) the hardest race on the planet....and worst of all?

it's a marathon. 26.2 miles.

that means I have to TRAIN.

I thought I could get by on amazing positive attitude.

Under normal circumstances, that would work. But now, NOW I AM running with someone who is hoping to run a 5 hour marathon....on hills.....in the dead of winter.....and I haven't run a marathon in 4 years?

ohhhhhhh

When you have the flu, it takes a few days. But eventually you get over it.

Stupid stays with you for a lifetime.

When did running become bad?

2010-10-19T14:41:00.000-06:00

When I was a kid, I couldn't sit through dinner without being told "you can't go back outside until you eat your dinner."

Everyone in the neighborhood spent their summers, sun up to sun down, running around outside. When school started, we dumped our books by the front door and head right back outside.

At the time, we were "playing". As an adult, I look back and think that most of our games included running. We played tag; we ran races; we played football; we played baseball.

I look at adults around me and realize that running is now something we have to do. I know it wasn't always this way. Who wouldn't choose to go play?

When did this change take place? I think back to my own childhood, and I think about PE class and the threatening gym teacher yelling at us that we would have to run if we didn't behave.

We would HAVE to run? At the time, we were kids. Running was a part of life. But, I also think this is where the indoctrination started. We were growing up. We were supposed to act like adults, and that meant running is a punishment.

As the years went on, this message is repeatedly pushed into our subconscious. What used to be play is now hard work, punishment. We watch our own kids out the window, dreaming of when we had that kind of energy, where we could just go all day.

Which means that we missed out on the simple fact that if we had just kept running, we could go all day.

Here's the catch....

It's not too late.

You can run for fun.

You can run for play.

You just need to run.

Don't worry about how fast you go.

Don't worry about how far you go.

When people stare at you from behind their curtains, they aren't laughing at you.

They are wondering if they could do it too.

They need inspiration.

YOU are their inspiration.

Go play.

THE Race: Race Report Part 2

2010-10-17T14:26:00.001-06:00

Race Day! It was finally here!

When the alarm went off, I jumped out of bed ready to take on the day.

Really, don't laugh. I did.

breakfast.coffee.train.

If you read my report from yesterday....

You didn't read my report from yesterday? Well, you just plain suck.

Go back and read it. I'll wait.

OK, now that we're all on the same page.

This race has been my nemesis.
2009: Bad food day before the race, left me in a disastrous situation on race day.

2008: I did IM before the race and was emotionally drained. I didn't train for the the race AT ALL. My legs were ok, but lack of nutrition training cost me in the last 5k.

2007: Do I have to continue? REally?

Anyway, this year I was focused on finally getting a respectable time.

Until I decided to practice my stop, drop & roll exercise on a very short easy run, which left me with a 2nd degree sprained ankle, 2 swollen & cut up knees, and various bruises throughout....3 weeks before race day.

Sigh, I would once again take part in a sufferfest. A sufferfest is any time a half marathon takes longer than 2:30. Look it up.

Up until the little *accident*, everything was going great. And I thought I would be able to close in on my half mary PR. It would be a stretch, but I thought I could get there.

Then I missed both my 11, 12 & 12 mile long runs, 2 tempo runs and a speed day. Not to mention, I had to take almost a week off completely.

sigh....MY NEMESIS RACE STRIKES AGAIN.

Still with a 10 mile run under my belt (albeit a sssllllloooooowwww) 10 mile run, I decided to throw caution to wind and just go out and give it everything I had.

Based on my strong record of failings at this race, I knew that all I had to do was beat 2:38.

What the heck? Let's just try it.

So here I am, putting on my big girl pants ------------------------->

I get in the car.

I get on the train.

I start walking.

A guy starts walking next to me asking me about the course.

Little does he know that I know this course INTIMATELY as I've spent almost 20 hours on this course over the years.

You tend to pay attention to details when you're slogging along.

He asks what the course is like.

I respond, assuming that he is a local: Not bad. Tough hill at mile 4 but it's short. After that, it's pretty much flat.

He says: Great because it's my first marathon, and I'm from Austin.

I stare at him blankly....possibly blinking, trying to decide how to eat my words.

"You'll do great", I say and beat it out of there.

I head to corral 1 to see if I could find Eric. No such luck.

I drop my gear bag off at the gear drop and head to corral 8.

The AVERAGE corral.

As I look around at all the AVERAGE runners, I think "these people don't look average. They look really fast."

At this point, I must fill you in on an important detail. Mr. Tea made a request of me. He said that as soon as the gun goes off....

he wanted me to yell.....

RELEASE THE KRACKEN

which, of course, I thought was BRILLANT.

So the *gun* goes off, and I YELL RELEASE THE KRACKEN. Some people smiled but everyone took 2 steps away from me.

Ok WHATEVA.

every party needs a pooper that's why we invited you, party pooper....

I'm running along with the fast people.

And everyone is passing me.

EVERYone.

But that's ok. I HAVE A PLAN. That I have not yet put into action.

la la la....we're out running a half marathon.

Things are going along well. My pace is too fast, but I figured that I would slow to a virtual stop at mile 4, as I started the climb....the longest .25 miles in the whole entire world.

Nutrition is spot on, mostly. RNR had the nerve to put water stations at every 2 miles which meant that I had to adapt my every 3 mile GU plan. But, I was doing well.

In fact, I was doing really well. I kept staring at my garmin. I really just want to break 2:30.

WHOA B!TCHFACE what are you talking about breaking 2:30? As of this morning, we're just trying to beat your previous record.

Ok, 2:30-2:38....c'mon look....we're pacing to a 2:28 finish. That would really make my day.

But so would a 2:37, right? That's still a PR.

Really, could we talk about this later? I'm trying to run.

The arguing went on for awhile when we decided to just keep running whatever felt good.

The course was rolling hills, so I could really pick up speed on the downhills. My pace was fine, but

but

but

I couldn't stop thinking about my last race....where the last 5k was horrible with cramping in every part of my body.

What if it happens again?

It won't, I rock.

But it could.

No, it won't.

But, I didn't do my long runs.

Who's awesome?

I'm awesome.

One mile at a time.

AT mile 6, I BECAME QUEEN OF THE HALF MARATHON. NOTHING COULD STOP ME. NOT ONLY AM I GOING TO BEAT MY COURSE RECORD BUT I'M GOING TO BREAK 2 HOURS TOO! I AM THE BEST RUNNER IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD.

At mile 6.1, I thought I was going to throw up. I can't do this. I still have 7 miles to go. that's more than I've done so far. People are STILL passing me. What's wrong with these people? Don't the see they are HURTING MY FEELINGS???

I almost started crying.

Not really. I'm sensitive, but not THAT sensitive.

At mile 8, I'm thankful I wore my SUPER SPEEDY CWX tights because if I can't actually BE fast, I should at least LOOK the part.

You accomplish that by wearing CWX tights and not smiling.

I did both.

My race photos should certainly be entertaining.

At mile 9, I realize that people are walking, and I am PASSING THE SUPER AVERAGE PEOPLE!! ME! I'm passing people! It's not a swim. It's not a bike.

IT'S A RUN, AND I AM PASSING PEOPLE!

SUCKAS

At mile 10, I start thinking about those damn cramps again.

Jut keep moving, don't worry about it. Do you really feel any kind of cramp coming on?

Well my butt hurts.

That's different.

My feet hurt.

You don't get feet cramps.

Then, all of a sudden I was at mile 11.

Then, 12....then I realized the course had changed and instead of finishing on an uphill....

WE ARE GOING TO FINISH RUNNING DOWNHILL.

I start running, as fast as I can for the last mile. I look at my watch and realize that 2:32 isn't going to happen, but I could sneak in just under 2:34!

I cross the finish line with an official time of 2:34:03.

I want to see Eric get his sub 2:50 marathon, but the exit line was so long that by the time I got all the way around and back to the finish, the clock read 3:00. He would have finished by now, I think.

And THAT my friend is how you make peace with your nemesis. I'm still a few years away from a half mary PR, but each race is a step in the right direction....except (historically) THIS particular race.

But next year, it is SO on with this race.

Balls Out, Peace Out: A Race Report in 2 Parts

2010-10-16T16:09:00.000-06:00

It's only fair that I start this Race Report on Saturday.

Why?

Because I like hearing myself talk. When I type, I tend to talk out loud.

After 2.5 weeks of debate and wondering not just *if* I would race but how my ankle would hold up....the decision was made. I woke up Saturday feeling great. No running on Friday. No running on Saturday, some excellent sleep and morning nyum nyum, and I was ready TO BE AVERAGE!

That's right. I am in corral 8. Eight of Sixteen (or maybe slightly more). 50%.

I hop out of bed in my excitement only to realize that the morning nyum nyum left me with a sprained knee. (just.don't.even.ask.)

Really? This is REALLY happening?

Some theragesic & 2 naproxen later, I'm feeling better if not still a little jittery on the ole knee. I'm getting more and more anxious for the race. I feel like I've been pent up for weeks.

That's a good sign.

As I ponder my race strategy, I think "Why not go all out? What's the harm? You've gone all out and crashed. You've gone out too easy and crashed. Admit it, this race usually sucks. If it's gonna suck anyway, why not GO FOR THE GLORY?"

Hmmmm that idea has some merit.

If my ankle is going to hurt, I'll want to run faster to get off of it.
If I'm going to get tired, I might as well finish faster so I can rest.

In other words, IF IT'S GONNA HURT....WE MIGHT AS WELL MAKE IT REALLY HURT. LET'S GO WAY PAST THE COMFORT ZONE.

If nothing else, the race report will be more fun to read.

It's time to get the family's buy in on the plan. Down to the man-cave I go.

HI EVERYONE!

everyone: hi

Me: I have a race tomorrow. Here's my plan. It's BALLS OUT, PEACE OUT day. I'm not carrying any water with me. 6 Gu's for miles 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 and one extra in case I drop one or need an extra. So far so good?

everyone: sure.

Me: Ok, No water....that's a big one. But, I don't want to carry it. I want to be stealth. My corral is the 2:15 runners....and let's be serious....that's just not going to happen. BUT, I don't think I'll need it. I've been running in the cooler weather and haven't been drinking as much.

Googs: Oh man....that guy just hit me.

JMan: What? Oh yea. sure sounds good no water. What?

Me: Last but not least, I haven't decided which train to take. With the budget cuts, they cut the best time. So, I either get there 15 min before I have to be in the corral....plus the .5 mile walk. OR I arrive 1 hour before I need to be in the corral. Either way sucks. What if I have to go to the bathroom?

JMan: POOOOOOOOP

Mr. Tea: Y'know, I think we should change the advertising.

Me: So, that's it! Any questions?

silence

Me: HELLO? (I wrinkle up my face and head upstairs to try this again).

I jump down the stairs and yell "HEY GUESS WHAT?!"

Everyone completely startled and staring at me: WHAT?

Me: I have a race tomorrow!

Everyone: Oh cool. Good Luck!

Mr. Tea: I wish I was a stronger person cuz I'd go watch. Y'know I could get breakfast while you're running. But getting up at 4am? Ewwwww, yea. that's just not going to happen.

Me: Any last minute words of advice?

Mr. Tea: BALLS OUT. It's the only way to go.

JMan: Yea, gotta go BALLS OUT. Peace out. Can I go back to what I was doing?

What have I got to lose? With Mr. Tea, JMan & Goog's huge support behind me, sprained ankle mostly healed, tweaky knee & completely new race strategy, I HAVE to do well.

Tomorrow, it's all or nothing.

Win or go home. (I'm going home anyway after the race, but you get what I'm saying)

SHOOT FOR THE MOON, LAND IN THE STARS type of day.

And the story will be here, without pictures because well, it's hard enough to take a picture of oneself standing still, let alone at a race moving at the speed of AVERAGE. And, I don't think the other runners will appreciate it if I ask them to take my picture at various intervals throughout the morning.

STILL, the report will be HERE. And it should be a good one.

Let me explain. No there is too much. Let me sum up

2010-09-30T08:41:00.001-06:00

Since I've been holed up recently, I've had a lot of time to look back over my 5 year training cycle.

When I started this plan, I knew (research has shown) that taking "off years" is as important as taking an "off season". Looking over personal commitments, work, volunteer work & my sons' schedules (as well as all the other things that going along with having a life), I realized 5 years ago that the cycle would work best if I can schedule my lowest training years with the highest commitment years.

Afterall, training for Ironman is one of the most selfish races a person can do. The commitment from family and friends is critical. The training hours are long. Family & friends know they won't see your for weekends. You'll be gone in the morning before they are even awake. Training time & quality family time....don't exactly mix. If you have small kids, it's a huge burden for the spouse at home who finds themselves doing more than their share of housework.

As it turned out, my "off year" matched up perfectly with this year (2010), the year that I've had increased hours of work & increased personal commitments. The year that I don't have to get up early on weekends to head to a race was the year that I had to get up early to drive crazy distances to baseball tournaments, tennis tournaments, attend school events, work longer hours, get JMan to early morning football camp, and the list goes on and on and on. Getting up at 6am and crashing at 10pm....well, I was pretty happy that I didn't have any races schedule that I risked missing.

The reality is that you only have one opportunity to raise your kids. If there is a year that they require more from me then I'm going to give it. I couldn't imagine having missed Jman's baseball state championship WIN because I had a race to do that day. Missing the winning run, witnessing him playing the best game of his life? No way. No race finish is worth missing that.

That's the background. What do I mean when I say: I'm taking a year off? Does it mean I'm sitting around doing nothing? Hardly. It's a year where racing is reduced & training can take on many different forms. The point is to give your mind and body a break.

I've been criticized for this. I've been questioned. I *think* people/friends/associates forget that I have a Master's degree in Exercise Science, certified in Sport Psychology & was (until I did not re-certify recently) an NASM certified trainer.

Education aside, why would I do something that would negatively affect my health or training?

I justified it this way:
1.) Many people are paranoid about their weight. Without "racing", they won't exercise and their weight will increase and/or they will put on what they lost. I don't have that problem. I've been at the same weight for the most part since high school. (Pregnancy weight came off pretty quickly).
2.) The ego-battle. I don't use racing and training to define who I am. Distances, speeds, races I've done mean nothing compared to what I have accomplished outside of athletics. In other words, I think I'm a pretty cool person whether or not I race. I don't have any empty spaces that I fill by doing race after race. I used to ask *clients* "Why are you doing this?" People always give the answer they think they are supposed to give instead of probing deep inside.
3.) They are Type A personalities and jump from goal to goal without taking time to enjoy life, laugh at themselves or otherwise appreciate the journey. Symptoms of Type A Behavior: Time urgency and impatience, easily irritable, can become easily hostile (think road rage or the person behind you honking when the light turns green), which can be triggered by even minor incidents. Competitive, achievement oriented--causing them to become stressed due to wanting to be the best at whatever it may be i.e. sports or in work. Btw--Type A personalities are more susceptible to health problems such as heart attacks & sports related injuries.

So, I've patiently answered questions about (aren't you afraid of gaining weight? No. Aren't you afraid of getting slower? No. Aren't you afraid of losing focus? No. Aren't you afraid of not getting a PR? No. No. NO.)

I've learned that these questions are more about THEM than they are ME. What they don't understand is that because I'm taking a year off, I WILL be stronger, faster, leaner & have better focus.

Last year in particular, I was getting tired of getting up early to do races. I didn't want the pressure of doing a workout because I had a race coming up.

This year, I've slept in on Sunday/Saturday mornings. If I didn't feel like swimming that day, I went hiking or did some strength training or did what I felt like doing.

The most important piece of this is that I now WANT to race again. I am looking forward to focusing on training, nutrition & going long again.

The timing was perfect. I'm in a place where I want to do Ironman again. My sons are older. Next year, they will both be driving, and my taxi requirements will be significantly reduced. On a personal level, my focus is back, and I'm stronger than I've been in previous years. I'm not doing it because I have anything to prove. I'm not doing it to impress the masses. (I'm not someone who feels the need to list out my accomplishments to strangers). I WANT to do it.

Most importantly, I have family support. The boys are teenagers. They don't need Mr. Tea to make them breakfast and lunch while I'm out training. They don't need us to drive them around or entertain them. We've attended their practices, games, tournaments, events at school. We've supported them through their academic accomplishments.

Now, they support me in mine.

Taking a year off might be something for you to think about...but only if you want to come back faster, stronger & more focused than in previous years.

Go ahead ask me questions but don't criticize me for doing things differently than you.

See you at the starting line....

Front Back Side to Side

2010-09-24T19:28:00.001-06:00

Isn't it funny how one small change or one small action can change your day, week or month.

In my case, it was several unlikely variables that came together.

I went running yesterday.

3 miles (which was a change of plans)
in the afternoon (which was a change of plans)
on a different route (which was also a change of plans)
in windy conditions (which was unexpected)
without bringing a cell phone (which was not normal behavior on my part)

On the return, I noticed a large truck in my path. As I got closer, I realized that it was a landscaping truck.

At that moment, the thought registered "Why is that landscaping truck here? There's nothing but weeds"

As I approached, I had a decision to make: Do I stay on my path and run next to the truck or do I step out into oncoming traffic?

With multiple cars heading toward me, I realized that I couldn't safely run in the road.

With caution, I approached the truck. It was quiet, and I started thinking that the landscapers had simply stopped to have lunch.

Just as I ran next to the truck a landscaper on a giant lawnmower type of machine (used to chop down weeds) pulled out directly in front of me. I gave a little scream and jumped to my right. The driver misses me by centimeters.

As soon as I left my feet, I knew it was going to end badly.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion. I hear the driver cut the engine as my foot lands in a hole and I feel my body go slamming into the ground. My right knee skids across the ground. I can feel the stinging of blood running down. My hands slam to the ground and then my left knee.

I end up laying sideways on the ground not really knowing what just happened.
Then everything started hurting. My knee is stinging. My ankle is swelling up quickly. Likewise my left knee is blowing up. The palms of my hands are scraped and bruised. My left side just hurts.

I look like I was just hit by a car instead of barely missing a tractor.

That's when I realized that I was 1.25 miles from home.

Then I realize that I didn't bring my cell phone with me.

I noticed the landscapers staring at me but not moving.

I stood up and almost collapsed from the pain in my ankle. I looked at it and did some motion tests. I knew it wasn't broken. I knew that I needed to get off my ankle.

I remembered Mr. Tea saying that he would be leaving work early.

I look at my watch. If he left on time, he should be driving by here within the next 15 minutes.

I started the zombie walk home.

step.drag.step.drag.

15 minutes passed, 20, 25, 30. No Mr. Tea.

I make the long painful walk home amazed that not one car stopped, even to see if I was ok. Blood running down my leg, one knee really swollen & limping wasn't enough to stop anyone.

Maybe I really did look like a zombie.

Once home, as much as I wanted to sit, I had to get myself cleaned up. I checked my cell phone. 1 message. It's from Mr. Tea. "I'm leaving late, be home soon."

For the rest of the day, I have my foot elevated & iced & bandaged. Today, the same thing with rehab exercises thrown in: writing the alphabet, stretching the calf, singing the song from the Kia Soul commercial: front, back, side to side, front front back back side to side.

I can't help but think about how lucky I was. My ankle is sprained, but it's not broken. I've know other women who have taken lesser falls and broken bones: ankles, hip, legs.

I regularly do core work, balance exercises & strength training. As violent as the fall was, I can't help but think how lucky I was that I didn't sustain more injuries.

I think it's because of the balance work, the core work. Accidents happen. They can't all be prevented because of strength training and flexibility, but they can be less harmful.

I'm out of commission for a little while, but I feel so lucky that it's not for weeks or months.

Ain't no shame in walking

2010-09-06T14:49:00.000-06:00

Once upon a time, there was a race. It was a half ironman race. The 70.3.

The race that tests your ability to go as hard as you can for as long as you can.

At this race, there was a female participant. A regular little hottie, if I do say so myself. Little Hottie was setting up her transition, going over her race day plans and apparently mumbling to herself when the guy setting up next to her turned to her and asked, "Are you talking to yourself?"

Unashamed at quiet mumbling, she replied, "Yes, I'm just going over my strategy."

Mr Dude replied, "Ah. Well, just remember, there are few things that you can control. You've done the training. Now, just trust that you have the tools to do what you want to accomplish."

Curious as to Mr. Dude's quiet demeanor, she asked, "Have you done an Ironman before? I'm doing my first next year."

Mr. Dude, smiled, and replied, "Yes, I've done 12 of them. I've had 8 finishes. 2 barely finished & 2 DNF's."

Little Hottie now staring and this wealth of knowledge that dropped into her lap said, "I'm worried a bit about the run."

Mr. Dude replied simply, "Ain't no shame in walking. Run the downhills and walk the uphills. Keep looking forward and if something bad happens....well, sometimes a finish just isn't in the cards."

Then he disappeared.

not really, he more or less went back to setting up his transition.

Those words stayed with Little Hottie. Regardless of the race distance, she always remembered when things got tough "walk the uphills, run the downhills."

Many moons later, Little Hottie was out doing a long run that wasn't going very well. She wasn't disappointed in the run. She wasn't upset with the run. She'd been running for more years than most people and knew that there was no such thing as a "bad run"....only tough, grit yer teeth, tough runs and great runs.

So it was a grit yer teeth kind of run when she realized that she wouldn't be able to run much more. (Plan A)

Then the words of Mr. Dude came back to her, "Run the downhills and walk the uphills". (Plan B)

Then she realized that, even Plan B was feeling a little too aggressive. "I know" she smiled to herself, "I'll switch to Ironman run plan. Run 5 walk 1". (Plan C)

Soon however, it was obvious that Plan C wasn't working out. It was time for more drastic measures and Plan Wes went into effect: Keep moving forward.

With one foot in front of the other, Little Hottie chugged her way home....walking.

It wasn't a "walk of shame".

She didn't place a rescue call.

She could have quit. She could have called it a day.

Instead, she simply adjusted her plans. Sometimes a finish isn't in the cards. This, however, was NOT one of those days. Because just like on race day, you can choose to give up or you can choose to bear down and get'er done.

Run P-Nut Run

2010-09-02T20:12:00.000-06:00

For as long as I can remember, Mr. Tea & the boys have had nicknames for me.

I've always been one of those rare moms where when a little kid screams out "Mom!" I didn't turn around.

Some of the nicknames were downright funny and would require some rather extensive explaining when people would hear them call me.

The boys are (almost) 15 & 16 now.

They are both bigger, stronger & heavier than I am.

When we walk as a group, and I'm flanked by the men-folk, you can't even see me.

So, it seems appropriate that a new nickname was necessary to fit in with the changing times.

Thus, P-Nut was born.

P-nut as in peanut as in something tiny, petite, delicate, and a little crunchy.

Given the fact that I am WAY taller than the average woman--not to mention my sort of loud-in-your-face-personality; the name seemed appropos. That along with the fact that I am MUCH smaller than the men-folk, this new nickname seemed rather, well, fitting.

Yesterday as I was getting ready to run, and the boys were leaving for school. JMan says to me "Run Pnut Run".

Today, I had a speed session on the schedule.

I HAVE to do speedwork. I know that I fade horribly in long races. I know that running is my weakness.

I know the only way to get faster is TO RUN FASTER.

I know speedwork, works, but it's also painful getting there.

To top it off, I have to do it on a treadmill.

Of course I was nervous. Of course, I doubted if I could do it. Every time I do a tempo run or speedwork or have to maintain a long run pace, I do it for Billy. Knowing that I'm going to be running a marathon with a friend has put me in a frame of mind that I always have to do my best because I can't bear to let him down.

So, I run. I do my speedwork. I notched the treadmill up to a speed slightly faster than I was supposed to run. The first two intervals were ok. I knew the next two were going to be hard. When I got to the 3rd, I started thinking that I might not be able to hold on for my last interval.

When the last interval came, I had to focus on .25 miles at a time.

It was hard.

First I thought of Billy. I can't let him down.

Then, I thought of JMan, and I thought of Run PNut Run.

Then, I went quiet. The kind of quiet where you just do. You don't think of the pain. You don't think about whether or not you can do it. Stare straight ahead. Keep moving.

It's the point where the voices stop but your body keeps moving.

Because you know if your body stops, the voices never will.

And the cowboy waved

2010-09-01T09:39:00.000-06:00

Many of you know that I feel very fortunate to live where I do. Many of my rides and runs are sidewalk free, dirt roads that travel past ranches and farms. In order for me to run sidewalks, I have to run into suburbia.

Today, I decided to avoid suburbia.

Maybe one of the best parts of where I run is that fact that everyone waves when they drive by. Farmers have allowed me to re-load water, and the sheriff drives by checking on me when I'm going long, even offering a ride home when I had 2 flats on one ride. When I run in suburbia, the courtesies are gone, and I have to be on high alert for drivers that don't stop at stoplights/signs, drivers distracted by screaming kids in the back seat in the rush to get somewhere fast etc.

My run was short today. The mornings are so cool now, and my runs have become my favorite way to start the day. Today, I left later than normal. The sun was already up and overhead.

I was running into the sun, staring out into rolling hills that I still have a love/hate relationship with. If you live in the city, I don't think you can understand how quiet it is in places like this. I'm not talking about driving up to the mountains to go camping.

I'm talking about being a solitary person running along dirt roads with nothing but open land for as far as you can see.

The road was empty. In the distance I could hear something coming. I knew it was a big something. As I saw the truck coming up over the hill, I stepped off the road to give him as much clearance as I could. It was a truck pulling a trailer filled with horses. He slowed down quite a bit so I wouldn't get sprayed with cloud of dust.

When I looked up to watch him pass, I realized he'd reached up to the brim of his cowboy hat and gave me a big good morning wave.

I couldn't help but smile and wave back, very happy that I took the path I did today.

Run, walk, stare at wrist.

2010-08-31T17:19:00.000-06:00

Ms. G has been dying a very slow and Painful (for me) death.

First, the heart rate monitor function stopped.

Then, I couldn't use any training options.

Then, I could no longer upload to *anything*, not to training center, not to bt.com, not to buckeyeoutdoors.com.

BUT! I still had time and distance and average pace, right?

Well, I did until today when my garmin happily reported that I was running, running.....yes I WAS RUNNING a pace of 58:26.

The 3.7 mile course? Garmin insists it was 2.8.

Not to be outdone, my total time according to Garmin was 21 minutes.

I'm not the BEST at physics, but I know that Rate x Time = Distance.

I also know that 1 mph X 21 minutes does NOT equal 2.8 miles.

So, I ran today. I have a general idea of how far I went. An approximate time of how long I took - minus the time that I stood in the middle of the street staring questioningly at my Garmin, willing it to start working.

I'm not complaining. It was a sunny 45 degrees when I took off this morning. How can that ever be a bad thing?

The Shape of Things to Come

2010-08-21T14:02:00.000-06:00

At one point, I didn't think it would happen. Ever.

I have been thinking for quite awhile about the possibility of doing Ironman again. I had been considering 2012, but I really didn't have any plans or crazy desire.

I sat back and started looking at my race schedule for next year.

Jan 8th: MS Blues Marathon
June 4 or 5th whatever the date is: Elephant Rock Ride
August 7th IM Boulder 70.3

The year was taking shape, and I liked the scheduling. Elephant Rock leads to the 70.3. The marathon sort of wraps up the previous year of run focused training.

That it's. That's year 5 of my 5 year plan.

Then it hit me that wanted to do Ironman again. I really wanted to do it. I didn't want to do it because everyone was doing it. I wanted to....

I picked up the phone and called Mr. Tea.

Me: I want to do Ironman again.

Mr. Tea: Ok when?

Me: Probably 2012, but I know the race. I want to do IMAZ. I started looking at a bunch of factors, and I realized that IMAZ would be perfect timing.

Mr. Tea: Why don't you go down this year, volunteer and sign up for next year.

Me: Silence

Mr. Tea: HELLO?

Me: I hadn't thought about that, but it actually works really well with my race schedule. I don't have anything after Boulder. It would be perfect timing.

With that simple phone call, it was decided. I'm heading back to Ironman.

I can do the training.

I know what it takes.

I know how to better manage my daily energy intake now.

I have the time.

Most importantly, I have Mr. Tea's support.

It's the right time.

It's time to grow up

2010-08-13T20:25:00.000-06:00

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, probably a dangerous amount. My runs are getting a little longer each week.

And, I'm going through a phase.

This past week, Googs registered for school as a junior (11th grade). JMan registered as a freshman (9th grade).

As I run I think back to the days that I pushed them both in the running stroller and then hooked them up to my bike and rode them around town and to the parks.

Later as I was on my long runs, Mike would drive by with the boys in the backseats, strapped into their carseats. I would see these little fists waving up at me, and I'd hear their chants of "Go Mommy".

Mike would tote them to my races. He'd have Jman on his shoulders, and he'd squeeze Googs to the front of the crowd, so they could see me start and finish.

We'd go to the pool, and the boys would play in the fountains and go down the slides, and I'd swim laps in between games of "pool crack the whip".

When they got a little older, I no longer needed to pull them on my bike. They were able to ride along side of me. All three of us, loaded with camelbacks and snacks for the long 10 mile ride.

Then, they got old enough to run races. They were more of run walks, but they never let me run with them. They always said, "Mom, run your fastest!" So, I would. When I finished, I always ran back through the course looking for them.

In the early days, they would be miles back.

Last year, Googs was only :42 seconds behind me.

When Googs was training for his first half marathon, I even named a route after him. To this day, my 5.5 mile run is known as the "Googs Death Run". After he ran it the first time and began to doubt his abilities to run the race.

Every day I run or swim or bike or lift weights or do yoga or do ANYTHING, the boys always ask detailed questions about my workout, showing that they pay attention to my races. They know my paces. They know my finish times. They know the difference between a tempo run and speedwork. They know what drill work means. They know what my favorite movies are to watch while I'm on the trainer.

That's when it hit me. I was running the Googs Death Run today, and I realized that I have only a few more years of hearing their cheers

As fate would decide, this evening, Mr. Tea and I just happen to be out when we realized that we were close to our old neighborhood. We decided to drive by our old house.

We lived there for 11 years. We moved in one month after JMan was born. At once, I was overwhelmed with memories.

The house that I had built up in my memories looked small and run-down. The neighborhood sidewalks showed their age with giant cracks. The neighborhood that I remember being filled with kids, was empty except for cars lining the streets.

It left an empty feeling in my stomach.

As Mr. Tea and I drove home, we were quiet. Finally, I turned to him and said, "I don't want to ever go back there. My memories are better. I remember teaching the boys to ride their bikes. I remember them doing chalk drawings on the road. The house was like a castle." I stopped and whispered, "My memories are better."

The boys are growing up. Over the next few years, they will be moving on to their own lives.

No matter where they live. No matter what they do.

Every time I run, I will see their little fists pumping in the air and hear their little voices chanting, "Go Mommy!"

I went running today at 6am

2010-08-01T11:47:00.000-06:00

and the world didn't end.

In fact, it was quite pleasant.

So pleasant that I think I'm going to do it again on another day.

To think, I did it because I HAD to. HAD to if I wanted to avoid things like dehydration or even worse death.

Y'see, I live in a place. It's a nice place, but the air is so dry that your skin peels off in layers as soon as you step outside. The heat is so hot that when the wind blows, your breath is taken away.

But I'm used to it.

Then, once a year, we have monsoon season.

GLORIOUS MONSOON SEASON.....when the humidity slaps you in the face like the b!tch you are, but it feels SO GOOD after having your lips fall off from the sauna days.

I'm also not stupid and 93% humidity is one thing. 93% humidity and temps in the 90's and running long is....well, just plain stupid-crazy.

I got up before the sun, and it didn't kill me. I thought it would, for sure. I packed quite a bit of water and head out to run just as the sun was rising.

It was already warm and before I even got to the 2nd mile, my arms were coated with a layer of sweat. There wasn't any wind, but it was just wonderful.

As I was running up the 2nd largest hill, a man-type was walking toward me with big bulging HEADPHONES. With sweat stinging my eyes, I smile at him and say "Beautiful morning, isn't it?" He stops and points both fingers at me and yells, "GO GET'UM!".

I couldn't help but laugh. From that point on, every time I was climbing a hill, I replayed his words "GO GET'UM".

I got home, and everyone was still sleeping. I relished the fact that I was done for the day and it wasn't even 8am.

Now, it's just a blur

2010-07-18T15:19:00.000-06:00

I don't even know where to begin this race report.
Do I start with what I was thinking?
Do I start with what happened?

On Saturday, I did the Zooma Half Marathon Colorado. Many of you already know that I'd forgotten that I'd registered for this race. I didn't write on my calendar and wasn't aware that it was going on until I got the packet pick up email on Tuesday.

After some debate, I decided....ok, Mr. Tea decided, that I would run the race anyway. I've done a bunch of half marathons, so I have the benefit of experience. Granted I've only run up to 7 miles recently, but it wasn't really a matter of finishing. I knew I would do that. It wasn't a matter of pr'ing. So, that pressure wasn't there.

I was just going to do it as a training run. Besides THIS was the elevation profile posted on the website:

Easy rolling hills. Piece of cake.

The only negative that I could see was that temps were going to be 100. The race start time had already been moved up to 7am (instead of 8am), so take it easy! No big whoop.

The day before the race, I arrive at The Broadmoor. This place DESERVES a blog post all it's own. I cannot rave enough. Let me just this. If you have the time and the means, you MUST stay at this resort.

I've been in Colorado almost my entire life and have never been to the Broadmoor. I decide to walk and walk and walk. I end up walking around for over 2 hours.

Over two hours on my feet the day before the race, and I decide to call it a day, relax, get some dinner and go to bed. Once back in my room, I realize that I don't know where the start line is. I look at the map. The map is confusing, and I start walking again. An hour later, and I decide "Forget it, how difficult can it be to find a start line decorated with a white balloon arch on race morning?"

Lo and behold, the next morning I head down to the main lobby. I see a few women walking through the parking lot and to what do my wandering eyes appear? YES, the balloon arch, right at *my* hotel entrance. (There's like 6 entrances to the resort. Talk about lucky!)

There's not much of a crowd. It's a small race. When I turn to look back at the hotel, I see people starting to come out onto the balconies to watch the race start/finish! How cool!

It's totally casual. Race participants were so friendly. I knew Trish was there. I start scanning for her, but don't see her. There were about 900 participants. Most were doing the 10k (I think---based on the fact that there were 397 half marathon finishers). The RD is on the mic talking about racing at an elevation of 6500. I'm somewhat zoning him out when I hear "This is a somewhat difficult course ladies with a lot of hills."

That strikes me odd. I saw the elevation profile. It's rolling hills, easy. Oh well, he's probably trying to give advice for out of towners.

The start of the race: We start running and immediately within 20m, I start thinking "this isn't the map profile." I notice that we are on a downhill. Women are flying past me like I'm standing still. I think to myself "This isn't good." In colorado, if you're going downhill that means there's an uphill right around the corner.

I'm intentionally going slow because there is a corner coming up, and I have no idea what's around that corner. I make the turn, and like a traffic jam, people stop as we start climbing and climbing and climbing. It's almost a 1.5 mile climb.

The 10k is two loops. The half marathon follows the same two loops. Then we split off, and the 10k runners go to the finish and half marathoners go on.

At the end of the 2nd loop, I think to myself "This must be the rolling hill portion".

Oh how wrong I was. At this point, the hills become insanely steep. So steep that people are shuffling uphill and attempting to run downhill except that the downhill is more about making a soft landing so as to not blow out your quads. Baby steps. This is the first time that I've run a race where the downhills were significantly harder than the uphills.

Ok, so the course was hard. It was hot out. Mentally, I wasn't prepared to run such a hard course. But I WAS prepared to have fun.

At mile 8, I decided that I had to make this a walk/run. I'd only run 7 miles max over the past few months. I was planning on finishing this race. I knew the hills were going to really take a toll over the next 5 miles. My original plan called for running to mile 10. I thought it was in my best interest to adapt a more conservative approach.

Throughout the entire race, I was taking pictures, talking to other runners, joking around with the volunteers. In fact, it was so much fun.

I tested out a new nutrition plan that worked fabulously. I used a differently hydration plan.
I really couldn't have had a more successful "race".

I've been thinking a lot lately about my upcoming Oct half marathon. My last couple of half marathons didn't go well for a variety of reasons. I've made change after change trying to figure out what was going....not necessarily *wrong* but what wasn't going right.

On Saturday, everything came together. Things that used to work for me, don't work now. Slowly, I've learned what works for me now. By all means, Saturday could have been a disaster. I could have had body breakdown, hydration issues (2 stations ran out of water), nutrition issues. But everything that I've been working on, came together just in time for me to have an enjoyable race. When I crossed the finish line, I couldn't believe how long I'd been out there. I had so much fun that I'd lost track of time.

I know a lot of people who can't control their competitive juices. Whether it's an A, B, or C race, they go all out.

I also know a lot of people who are like me. Not every "race" is a "race", but they can all be fun.

****
During the race, it was hot. Starting at about mile 11, I kept thinking of jumping in the pool. After the race, I was hot and physically exhausted. Tired like I've never been before. The hills, the heat started to catch up to me.

I went up to my room to change. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and realized that both, my top and my shorts were soaking wet.

I showered and walked to the pool. On my way to the pool, I saw a sign peeking out from the trees. "That's not....can't be...let me go look."

Yes, there it is.

GELATO

My favorite.

I sat by the pool, savoring every bite of my gelato....not even reading my book, but just enjoying the moment, swirling my legs around in the water an admiring how they were able to carry me during that tough course.

When I finished, I tossed my dish aside and sunk deep into the cool water and stayed there for the next 3 hours.

Swimming, Cycling & Running....with A(L)titude:

Not going down without a fight

Act your age

The changing of the guard, not forever, just a little while

Misadventures of Tea

Turkey Trot Throw Down

Operation TTIAH

Square Top Mountain in Pictures

What Matters

It's *almost* SHOWTIME

oh wow

Do it right or don't do it at all

Superhero, I am not.

Join us at our new forum

SAY it with me people.....

Memories

5:52

Calm & Storm

What you can accomplish with really cool socks.

Now THAT's how you do it

I'm not an easy person to live with.

So Long and thanks for all the fish.

Are we there yet?

The Results are in: I SUCK.

I'm just not going to talk about it

Birthday Wishes

When is 6 miles NOT 6 miles

How to recover from Stupid

When did running become bad?

THE Race: Race Report Part 2

Balls Out, Peace Out: A Race Report in 2 Parts

Let me explain. No there is too much. Let me sum up

Front Back Side to Side

Ain't no shame in walking

Run P-Nut Run

And the cowboy waved

Run, walk, stare at wrist.

The Shape of Things to Come

It's time to grow up

I went running today at 6am

Now, it's just a blur

It's almost SHOWTIME