Holy COLD batman!!

Last night a group of women in T3 decided to get together. Most that attended consider themselves the "turtles" of the group. I most definitely fit into that category. We may take our time, but we'll finish! Anyway, we met at this cool little wine bar downtown and introduced ourselves, told everyone what our goals were, what we needed as far as support and gave our average speeds in each discipline. I left feeling a lot more connected to the group. Nothing like a little vino to bring people together!

Well, there was a cold weather option ride for today since yesterday it was in the 20s in the am. You could either sit on a trainer for 2-3 hours or come out on Sunday to do a nice ride on Parmer, my favorite road. My love for the road comes from it being a mile from my house. I don't have to drive anywhere, I don't have to get up too much earlier...you see where I'm going. One of the girls that I met last night said that she was going to the ride and I said, "Cool! I'll see you at 9am!" I know that I live in Texas, and that it can get a little chilly...but when I woke this morning it was 29 degrees. At 8am I checked again and it was 30. I checked the T3 board to see if anyone was bailing (I was praying really really hard) and there was no such post.

SO...I sucked it up, got my weather gear together, pumped up the tires, filled up my water bottles and left the house at 8:50am, 31 degrees. HOLY EFFING COLD people, like seriously.

Here is what I was wearing:

Socks and cycling shoes with a cold weather toe cover

Tri-short and full length leggings, they meet at the short and tuck under (ultra flattering...not)

Base layer sleeveless dri-fit, short sleeved cycling jersey, sleeveless cycling vest

Full arm warmers (again, they tuck up under your sleeves)

Winter gloves

Beanie cap

Helmet

Orange lenses on my cycling sunglasses

Here is what I should have been wearing:

My pajamas, in bed, with my big dog Fido and husband.

I started out from my house and by the time I got to the meeting place my thighs were squeezing out between the leg warmers and my tri-shorts. Apparently I should have paid attention and worn the longer pair of shorts. (note to self) I yanked the warmers up as we were waiting to take off and yanked the shorts down as much as I could. We left the meeting place and on to Parmer we rode. I was going to do 30-35 miles. That morning I had decided on 20. Once I got going in the below freezing temps I decided on 15. Truth be told, I really wanted to turn around 3 miles in....but I sucked it up and rode longer.

I couldn't feel my fingers, oh they hurt so bad (and still do mind you!), so I had issues changing gears. Nothing could stop the wind from finding the finger tips and toes. My core was nice and snugly warm, the rest of me...well, I was numb. The freakiest part was that when I came to a stop light (as I hit every fricken light both ways!!) I was afraid of not being able to dismount, or afraid that I wouldn't be able to feel my legs and that I would just fall over! I did make it home, I did 15 miles. I was even a good teammate and rode with the girl who said she'd be there on the way out. She had more miles and I wanted to book home so we parted early.

When I got home I just wanted to crash into the yard and hope that Trainer would look out the window and rescue me. After realizing how insane and silly that idea was I made it to the door, pieces of my thigh hanging out for the world to see, struggled to get my key out of my jersey pocket and stumbled through the door. My hands hurt so bad, especially once the blood started to return. Ouch, ouch, ouch...I kept repeating that over and over. Trainer had to help me get my gloves off. The pups were looking at me to figure out what was wrong. Finally I stripped down of my gear, my entire body (sans my core) was bright red. I took a hot bath, but nothing is warming me up today.

Lesson for the day: I will NOT go on any rides under 45 degrees unless I'm training for an Ironman...which is not in the cards, like ever. I can't decide if I kick ass...or if I'm just a dumbass today. :)

The best laid plans....

....always fail. Or are interpreted by the universe a little differently!!!

So, my plan took off on Monday, did my spin in the morning (now this spin class isn't with a spin bike, you actually use your road bike on a "trainer" so you get used to gearing up and down) and ran a couple of mile that night with YZB. We did a 2:30 run/:30 walk for 25 minutes, and then walked for a lot more because I was venting at that point. I know, you're shocked right? Tuesday could NOT get up for swim at 5:45am. If we haven't discussed, I am not a morning person. The thought of getting up at 4:45 to leave the house at 5:10 to get into a pool (albeit heated) while it's 36 degrees outside...not appealing. But, I had intended on doing it, and didn't make it.

Well, after that I had a couple of options. I did my noon time strength work out with Trainer and then I could either do the Tues night spin class or do three workouts on Wed. I choose to do the night time spin class. Which was a great class (except for the horrendous drive downtown!) I didn't get home until 8:30p, and by the time we ate it was time for sleep. Wednesday I didn't have to get up for spin since I'd done it the night before, next workout was swimming at 11:45am. I only had time for a 45 min swim, but I figured it was better than nothing. I was in a lane with three other people, one of who is about my speed and the two other people were MUCH faster. THIS does NOT motivate me to be better. I am not engineered that way. (Now if we were talking about a Karaoke competition I'd be all over besting the person next to me!) For me to get blown away by my teammates is a little demoralizing. It doesn't stoke a fire but really throws a bucket of water over the fire. I have anxiety and waste my energy flailing around the pool, just hoping that I'm not holding anyone up. NOT a good practice for me. Then Wednesday night I went to track practice.

I love track practice. I love being given tasks and then completing them. Yes, I was one of those kids who LOVED school. Anyway, I started out on my warm up and knew that this was going to be a difficult practice. The muscles around my peroneal tendon were tightening up and sending shooting pain up through the knee. No matter what I did, run faster/slower/walk...didn't make a difference. Just pain. Of course I ran through the pain, but I knew it wasn't wise. The good news is that I just need to roll and massage it out. Get it used to running again. The bad news is that rolling it out and massage HURT like a mother, and I'm really not into pain. Frustrated, very, very frustrated at this point with my running. I wore the effing boot for 2 1/2 months. I did my physical therapy. I followed the stupid run/walk program and it SAYS on week 5 that I should be able to run straight for 25 minutes!! IT LIED! Sorry, venting.

On to Thursday. Did not make it out of bed in the morning for swim, which with the state of my calf was probably a good thing. I did do my strength session that afternoon as planned and took Friday completely off...as planned. The only thing I missed so far was my second swim.

Tonight I'm meeting with a group of ladies who are like me...they want to get better, but need a support group of similar people to growth WITH, not just the chase faster people and hope to get faster. Plus we're meeting at a wine bar *bonus*!!

Today I'm going to try a short run, maybe 20 min see how my leg is feeling. Tomorrow is a 30 mile ride at 9am along my favorite road Parmer. Then we start over next week and try-try again. Oh, and did I mention that I gained 2 pounds when I upped my training? How effed up is that?? My good old friend Sprinter is going to do a diet analysis on me for free! (WOOHOO! Love that word.) And then I may meet with the team nutritionist (not free) to figure out a plan that will keep me fed and hopefully shed some pounds along the way.

Alright, more coffee and I need to figure out breakfast as we're out of oatmeal. *gasp* I know, I can't believe it either. Have a great weekend!

Forever and a day

That's how long it's been since I've blogged, well...that's what it feels like anyway. Things in ATX are good. Going along, work is work and now we've begun the "real" tri-training for the year. My body aches. All over it aches. I haven't started the daily doubles yet, but they will make their way into the schedule soon.

This is what I'd like my tri-schedule to look like this year:

May 9th (I think) - Rookie Triathlon Mini-Sprint

May 31st - Cap Tex Tri Olympic

July 11th - Couples Tri Sprint (this was my first ever race...which was last year)

Aug 1st - Jack's Generic Sprint

Sept 6th - Austin Tri Olympic

Oct 17th - Longhorn 70.3 Half Ironman (HOLY SH*T!)

This is what my weeks will look like from here until...well...Oct 18th:

Monday - Spin am/Run or Core pm

Tuesday - Swim am/Strength Training with Trainer pm

Wednesday - Spin am/Swim at noon alternating weeks/Track workout pm

Thursday - Swim am/Strength Training pm

Friday - Swim at noon alternating weeks

Saturday - Long ride

Sunday - Long run

Friday is my "rest" day since I won't be putting stress on the legs. So this is the plan...if I can get my ass out of bed by 4:45-5am. Have I mentioned that I am NOT a morning person? At all? Yeah...mornings.bite. But, I paid for the full year of training. Up front. Might as well get as much out of the program as possible. As it gets warmer or really just lighter in the evening we'll see how much spin I do, I'd really rather ride outside.

That's all for now. Oh, last thing. Since I started my training two weeks ago...I gained effing 4 pounds!!! WTF!?! Classic.

Some days I realize that I'm a jackass

Yes, me...a jackass, selfish, self-centered and oblivious. Please, let me explain. See, some times I get really caught up in my own life, I think most of us do, however I do this when my very best friends are going through hell and back. They don't really NEED my support as all my girlfriends are powerhouse women who shoulder the world and then some, but it doesn't mean that they don't appreciate the support.

It seems this year has been riddled with difficult beginnings. I think I had all of my "difficulties" last year and I was just enjoying this year for being fabulous and filled with nothing but simple peace. Then I think about these things:

Sexy Hippy's baby was born with something, we still don't have real answers, but she came out of the womb like a wet noodle. Precious little babe, adorable and eyes that are so wise that you just know that this isn't her first go around. She was in the NICU for 10 long, excruciating, weeks. She's already had two major surgeries, one being a tracheotomy so her parents can't even hear her cry or babble. But they just look at her and she communicates with their hearts. SH has a toddler at home, a little cutie pie that is handling this with some grace that most of us don't possess. The baby was able to come home this week. I don't know how they do it, I mean obviously they ARE doing it, I just can't imagine how. I'm a jackass for being so far away and unable to help. I just send her loving sentences on Facebook of all thing...jeezus, what a jackass...Facebook.

Legs' baby boy #2 was born with a bilateral cleft lip and pallet. When you look at the scale from okay to worst case scenario he was the latter. But this baby boy is the sweetest, most charming baby I've ever met. I'm sure he gets the charm from his dad...swear to goodness it oozes out of his pores, and this baby...he has it, that gift of charm. He's been through five major surgeries this year (I think it's 5, it may be 6), the last one being on his birthday. One, I'm a super jackass for not sending a card for his 1st birthday and TWO, even more of a jackass for not knowing that he had this last surgery coming up. I mean, Legs is a mover, a shaker, a mommy with a purpose. She works full time at an oil company here in TX, which is high stress. She commutes over an hour each way and yet still makes it home in time to pick up both her boys from school/daycare with a smile on her face and an ear for her older toddler who has the vocabulary of a 6th grader. He's 3.

There are other stories of jackassedness (like that word?) but these two stand out. I think mostly because they are dealing with little beings that really can't communicate. It's hard enough when the baby is a newborn and all you can do is guess at what the cries are for (so I've been told, my babies scratch at the door), but when they can't make a sound...how hard is that?? When they just look at you with love in their eyes like THEY are trying to comfort YOU? How do they do it?

The kicker with these two cases? I know they read this superficial blog of mine. My trivial little stories. I don't know, maybe it helps by taking them away from the seriousness of their lives. Maybe they read my stories and laugh at the situations I find myself in? Maybe they celebrate with me when I've found the peace in my life that they've wanted for me for so long? I don't know what it is, but they always manage to write a kind word to me, to let me know that they are there for me. How fucking ridiculous right? THEY are there for ME? Seriously.

And I guess this is just my way of saying, I'm there for you too. I'm always here. If you need to call and just cry on the phone I can do that. If you need me to drive 3 hours in the night to take you out for a glass of wine, I can do that. If you need me to fly out to see you and take you out for a margarita (just one, you're still pumping after all!), I can do that. I can do whatever you need me to do my fabulous ladies, anything at all.

Merry December 25th!

What a wonderful day it has been thus far. It's only 10am here and I've had a fabulous x-mas. Hoe left yesterday (more on that perhaps tomorrow or the next day.) After we dropped Hoe and her beau off we went to eat at Galaxy Cafe (who has the BEST mac n' cheese ever!) and after that Trainer asked, "Anything else?" We were somehow strategically standing in front of the Flying Saucer. Huh, wonder how that happened? I said, "Well, you're probably going to run so we can just head home." He looked at me and said, "It's cold, windy and shitty out. I'm not running. Do you want to have a beer?" Eagerly I nodded my head YES and we had a beer...or two...or more.

I love having company, LOVE it, truly no reflection of the visit. However, living a certain way (like with just your husband and two dogs who could really give a rip if you get up in the middle of the night naked to get more water...you know, the little things) company can make your life a little weird. So we had beer and a great conversation about the upcoming year, the past years and our distant future. It was a great ending to a nice visit. Then we were home at a little after 5 (yes, I had my first beer around 1:30pm) just in time to feed Fifi, you know how she loves her food! I popped a pizza in the toaster oven (still my favorite appliance) and drank another beer while rockin' out to Godsmack. Then we sat down to watch some more episodes of Dexter, a new show that Hoe turned us on to. We started watching at around 6:45 and Trainer was out like a light by 7:30. No, we didn't have THAT much beer, I guess waking up at 4:30am with very little sleep that week took its toll.

Well, I wasn't going to re-watch the episodes by myself so I ran a nice hot bath and read my book. We had stripped the sheets so by the time I went to bed it was just with the comforter. But that was okay. Trainer slept just over 12 hours, got up, fed the pups, took them out, made coffee and brought me breakfast in bed. And it wasn't just oatmeal! Eggs, toast with pb and a half an orange. I even forgot that it was Christmas. We didn't exchange gifts this year (see post about financial planning), but you know what? It wasn't missed. We didn't rush out to see what his mom had sent us, we didn't have all this paper to clean up, we just chilled with the pups and had an awesome morning.

Now I'm just loading all my Starbuck's gift cards onto one card. I figured, 'Hey, no time like the present to write a blog!' So here it is. My non-Christmas post. My 'You know what? Life is awesome!' post. My 'You know what the best part of today is? Hanging out with my husband!' post. Here I leave you with your loved ones and hope that you are having a fantabulous day, just like me. Merry Christmas peeps. Even if you don't celebrate December 25th, go out and celebrate the day, just today. Love, peace and all that good stuff.

The upcoming weekend

Oh, you have no idea how excited I am for this upcoming visit from my Hoe. Well, maybe you do since I've been talking about it for some time now! Over the time of my blog I'm sure I've told you a little about Hoe, and so you're thinking...'Big deal, a nice little visit.' For me it's a big deal. Let me take you back... *cue mystery music with sparkly sounds taking us back....way back*

I met Hoe when I was almost 4 years old. My family had just moved to Colorado, had built a house in a new neighborhood, and of course I knew no one. Not that 3-4yr olds have a big group of friends, but I was out of my element. Hoe's family had just moved to Colorado from upstate New York. I remember walking around the block of my new neighborhood and going up to this door, ringing the doorbell and waiting. A beautiful lady opened the door and I said, "Do you have any little girls?" She smiled, let me in and there were two girls there. An older one and one that was about my height, my age, and she had a shy impish smile. We hit it off right away. I'm sure my mom was there some place, how irresponsible would it be to let your 4yr old daughter walk around the block by herself, but I don't remember that part.

Fast forward a year and I remember us walking to kindergarten together that first day. Her sister, evil just like my older brother, walking ahead of us, pretending not to know us. (And yes, these were the years where kids actually walked to school...by themselves...almost a mile!) We were in the same class, not to happen again until much later, and we stood outside the classroom door, all lined up waiting to go in. I remember that afternoon, notes pinned to our dresses and me falling down, seeing blood and throwing up. I remember her being there with me the entire time.

Elementary - We started brownies together and stayed in scouts longer than most people would imagine. I remember at Easter that we would have matching dresses and at the start of school we had the same Keds shoes. I remember playing on the playground together, even when we were in different classrooms. Throughout elementary she had the BEST toys...she would get barbies and I got a little brother. We played at her house a lot because she had the goods. But every day after school she was at my house until her parents came home, my mom watched the neighbor kids.

Jr. High - Oh my Hoe wanted to be popular, she already was. She tried out different groups, the stoner group, the intellectual group, the music geek group...she was everywhere. I was solidly in with the intellectual/music geeky group. We still had sleep overs at her house, the same as we did when we were little. What I know now, that I couldn't have known then, was she was in a complicated household. I think as kids we really don't pay attention or think about other people's households. We assume that they are all the same. My dad worked nights and on his days off had a beer. My mom worked at the school, was home with us all the time and went to all of my events. Her dad worked nights as well and when he was off had more beers than he should. Her mom worked an 8-5 job, if not longer hours, and was hardly there for her events. Her parents didn't get along in the private space of their home. If you saw them at a party you'd never know it. A case of 'let's stay together for the kids.'

High School - Oh the drama of high school. Hoe was still on her quest to be popular (again, she already was) and I was still in my same little group of friends. I had a lot of friends. Hoe and I were still best friends though. We rode to school together, we always had each others back, and our household situations were still the same. We only had a couple of major fights throughout this time. One was because I couldn't resist teasing her until her breaking point, that was when she threw me up against a locker...and everyone got mad at her. Whoops. One other time was over a boy, she didn't want him, we started dating and she decided that was not a good idea...just because she didn't want him didn't mean anyone else (let alone me!) should have him. But we dated and became serious. Then....

The summer after HS - Hoe used to go back to upstate NY every summer and she asked me to go. I never thought my mom would let me as she was the Queen of No. However, surprisingly to everyone she let me go...for the entire summer. Hoe had her objectives for the summer. 1. Breakup me and the boy 2. Get me drunk and 3. Get me laid. I'll tell you that she was successful in all three. And that summer shaped who I am today. I broke up with said 'boy', met a new boy who I fell in love with (and suffered my first heartbreak later that year), lost my virginity to that boy, and drank my first sips of alcohol. Not all in one night mind you!

College - Hoe and I went to different schools. I wanted to, HAD to, get away from Colorado. NEEDED to get away from everyone and everything I knew. She went to a smaller school in Durango, I went to the big-ass campus of Arizona State. I was a number, she was a force. But, we remained close and talked on the phone a lot. She came to visit me, I went to visit her. We could go months without talking, but when we did it was like nothing had been missed. We worked summer jobs together when we were back in town for those months. She got me a construction job, we were flaggers, in tight jeans and t-shirts, downtown Denver, driving the menfolk crazy.

After college - Hoe went back to Denver and worked various jobs and finally got into the industry that she wanted...radio. She climbed her way up, the hard way, and is now a very successful very recognizable figure in the world of DJ. Me, well...I majored in music, started waiting tables my last semester of school and finally (FINALLY) found my true rebellion. I graduated and stayed at the restaurant, meeting a new crowd of people who spent all their free time and money on having a good time. I let loose, like really let loose for about 6 months. During that time I met Trainer and how we got together? Yeah, I've covered that right? Obviously we got married and then bought a house. Hoe came to visit me once I after we bought the house, she met my pups and I had a girls night for her. And then I moved once more.

Present day - See, we have this special history. We have dark, deep, secrets that only we know and only we will ever know. Not the kind of secrets that you are thinking. Mostly about our families, our lives, the heartache and triumphs. The ones that usually go down in your journal because you are afraid to share it out loud and be criticized. I love her so much, just like a sister. That's why this means so much to me, this little visit. And bonus, I get to meet her new guy, I think he's the one who actually made this happen. So I'm grateful and thankful that he's in her life so we have this time to make more memories.

Future - One day Hoe and I will own a house together in upstate NY and we'll be rocking our chairs on the porch. We'll hoot and holler at the young men driving by in their truck or on their Harley's. We'll go to the grave with most of those secrets and memories. And we'll always be together.

Quick Fix

Okay, my Hoe blog is coming later, but had to do a quick one.

Can I just say that financial planning sucks? I know it will be good for the future...yada, yada, yada, but it really sucks right now. Be prepared to read about the most boring person around! We're going to find a way (with the help of our beloved Financial Planner) to put an additional $500 towards our credit debt. Seriously. Not sure where that's going to come from!!! (Actually, I'm pretty sure it will come from: Beer, wine, eating out, concerts, movies and anything involving fun.)

Later kids.