ON A LIGHTER NOTE!

On Saturday at 10:20 pm my grandfather passed away. He was a man of great courage and determination and fought till the very end. I am dedicating my IM Fl to him since exercise was one of the most important things to him. I spent a huge part of my childhood with him and will always have the outermost fond memories with him. I will try to remember him happy and healthy, and not suffering in the hospital.

It has been a rough couple of weeks, but everything semms to be calming down. My grandfather went home with my aunt yesterday, training is picking up and x-mas shopping is done! Las week we had brunch with all the peeps, it was great to see everyone before the season starts. I very much look forward to next season, I am starting it off by running a 5k on New Years Day. i hope it starts a liitle later in the day. :)

Power of friendship

Thank you all for your messages, texts and emails. At times like these I realize how important family and friends are.

No race?

Well, it's been 1 week since my last race and I am supposed to take a few weeks off. Have I? Heavens NO! I know i need to give my body a break, but I feel so lazy. My eating has been horrible too, I am craving junk and indulging! Ran on tuesday and felt pretty good, so of course I found myself googling the next marathon, I really want to go sub 4. I was 3 minutes off. I will try to rest, but it seems I just can not go EASY!!!

My first marathon

One down, many more to go! I found my favorite running distance-26.2 miles! It was not by any means easy, but I enjoyed it! Woke up early, attended to usual business, don't be jealous, Frick, and got on my way to Turner Field. This was my first race driving to by myself, so I rocked out loudly to some tunes, and followed the cars that looked like they knew where they were going to and surprise, I made it! And of course right behind me were the great Suobs. We chatted for a while, and with Dave too, what are friends for? I called him at 6AM, he was awake! After many trips to the porter-johns, it was time to start. The first 18 miles went awesome. Of course seeing Keith at mile 2 and my parents at mile 12 and 14 was great! After mile 18 my quads got a little tight, but nothing unbearable. Mile 23, I saw Dave and I knew I was on my way to finishing my first marathon. I teared up when I ran by Crawford Long Hospital, that is where my grandfather is. What a great experience! The weather was gorgeous. Many of times I found myself running completely alone, there were only 730 finishers. Not once did I feel lonely, because I knew that my peeps were at the finish and on the course. I was proud to share this very important experience with them I have great friends.
Sue and Bob! Thank you so much for training with me for this event! Hope we can train for many more together, good luck to both of you on the 50 miler, I know you two will do awesome!
Thank you for the care package as well, it was ALL put to a good use. Dani, thank you for the card. All of you who came out and who had me in their thoughts, thank you!
Steven, Olga, Phil and Laurie- job well done!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SPANX!!!! I WISH YOU ALL THE HEALTH, WEALTH AND HAPPINESS IN THIS WORLD! YOUR FRIENSHIP AND SUPPORT MEAN A WHOLE LOT.

Most of you know that for the past week my grandfather has been ill and at Crawford Long Hospital ICU. Tody we saw some good signs and he will pull through.
Tomorrow, I an running the marathon. It is my first and I have trained hard for it. Except this past week. Hope all goes according to plan.
Good luck to Steven, my little bandito, Phil, Bob and Sue. See you all at the finish line! Dave and Keith, thank you for the support, you guys rock!!!!

Zooma=Brrrrrrrr

Sue, going strong.

Me, finishing up.

Michelle, kicking asphalt.

Sunday, november 16th was the Zooma half marathon. I swear the temp was way below freezing when Steven and i got there. The race started at 7am and was nothing BUT hills. Ity was pretty tough. Of course having a stomach flu and being dehydrated did not help any. time 1:49. Not fast and not too slow. I am cool with it. Big props to Steven, Dave and Bob, the spectators. And to Sue, Michelle, Misty, Laurie and the dude in drag, who was pretty fast for a guy with boobs and in a skirt!

The highlight of the day was lunch and a HOT Starbucks!

Did I mention, I really want a Vespa?

The Last One

Well, this Sunday was my last long run 'till the marathon. It felt great. The first 5 miles were painful as always, but after that, piece of cake. I just hope that I will ahve enough in the tank for the last 6. Bob and Sue were my faithful companions, and as always were awesome to run with. Next Sunday is the Zooma half, my training run :) I hope my ego does not get in the way. Dave, it was great to see you at lunch. Dani, I hope you feel better!

OCD

Now that I have registered for IMFL, my OCD is kicking in full swing. I am allready packing my special needs bags and the training has not started yet!!! What is wrong with me?!
Meanwhile, marathon training is in full swing. I have never done so much running, but it has been fun. I can not imagine adding biking and swimming to that. I am super excited about the race! Spanx.....that is all I have got to say!

It's official!

I have signed up for Ironman Florida!!!!!

Happy anniversary, honey! I guess this means that we WILL grow old together!!!!!

Better Day!

Better day at work and in general, other then a migraine :( Found out that I could of gotten a Peachtree 1st 1000 finishers mug after all, I finished 140th in the women's division. Now I figure this out, 4th of july was how long ago?!!! Oh well, next year!

This weekend I am taking the plunge and signing up for my first Ironman! Wow! What a rush! Next year will be my second triathlon season and I will finish it with a BANG!!!! I am very lucky to have a training partner in Spanx and Steven. Good luck, boys! It will be a bumpy ride, I am sure of it.

I am only human...

Rough day at work...I have made my first mistake as a nurse. I know that we all make mistakes, but this is tough. Especially for someone with type A personality. No one hurt, but lesson learned. Need a drink immediately.

Busy

I have been a pretty lame blogger lately, I admit! It has been a busy couple of weeks. Work and marathon training have been taking up ALL of my time. 10 miles here, 6 there, a little swim and a whole lot of work adds up! I am pretty tired :(
Last weekend, ran on trails at Fort Yargo and did 11 miles with Suobs, it was pretty nice. Steven was the smartest one of all and turned around at the 3mile mark. I am beginning to LOVE the trails, only i have no sense of directions, so if I ever go alone, I will get lost.
Tomorrow, we are doing a Jittery Joes metric century which benefits the Habitat for Humanity, a great cause. And on Sunday, a 21 mile run with the Suobs. The route should not be as hilly as the last one, so hopefully we finish strong.
I look forward to this weekend to ride, run and relax! Oh yeah, I have not been on my bike since Emerald Pointe! We'll see!!!!!!!

Da weekend

Does that mean 20 miles?

This weekend was a busy one! On Saturday, I ran 5 miles at Yellow River with Suobs. I never thought that I would like trail running so much. It was great. Something about the crispness of the air and falling leaves. Loved it!

On Sunday, set out on a 20 mile run, again with the Suobs. It was sooo hilly, and I swear, the weather must of changed three times! it was cool and breezy when we started, then the sun came out, then it became cloudy and drizzly.......how long did we take? We ended at the Flying Biscuit at Piedmont Park. Steven was awesome to meet us there with dry clothes, so we could change and pig out. Bob and Sue! you are awesome running partners, any time you need company, I am there.

Finally, Emerald Pointe

I am sad to say, but my triathlon race season is OVER!!! It could not have ended a better way with all my friends being there, either racing or volunteering and achieving the goal that I set for myself, finishing in top 5 of my age group. Now, most of my training will go toward the Thanksgiving Day Marathon. Goals? Hell NO!!!!! This is my first marathon and my goal is to finish.

Beachblast 2008

Beachblast was awesome! Great times with great peeps.

Happy 90th, Grandpa!!!!

I can not believe that Dani and I were able to pull this off and keep our traps shut!

A whole bunch of beautiful people showed up!!!

We had cake, too!!! The divas were present and accounted for!!!

Happy Birthday, Boys!!!!

We love you!

Emerald Pointe

My goal for Emerald Pointe is to be in top 10 in my Age Group. I know, the competition will be tough.

Beachblast Triathlon

Since the time zone is central in that part of Florida, we got up at 4 AM Fl time and headed to the race site. With it being 2 miles away, we decided to ride our bikes! Big mistake...it was so dark, we could hardly see right in front of our wheel, but we made it. It was freezing. I wore sweats and a jacket and was still cold. After warming up in the water, my teeth would not stop chattering.
The swim: I was going OK until I came around the first boui, there were slight waves which made me seasick. I threw up in the water and kept going. Sorry for anyone who swam into it.
The bike: I felt really good, knowing that swim was over and I had a lot of time to make up since I am always close to being last out of the water. Averaged 19 mph and passed a lot of peeps.
The run: Was not my best....When I got on the run course, I realized that I was completely dry, and had not sweat at all on the bike, not good news. Made it through the run with out cramping. Time 1hr 30 min. 3rd AG.

I am proud of all of my peeps who also placed in their AG, you guys rock. Special congrats to all the Lunachix on the strong half!

The best part came after the race-chilling and getting an awesome tan!

Finally!

Well, we finally made it down to Mexico Beach. With a few delays, of course, but we made it! The weather is gorgeous and sunny, the water is a bit choppy, but it is afternoon. Hopefully tomorrow..............The condo where we are stayng at is beautiful and sooooo comfortble. I wish everyone luck who is racing this weekend.

It only hurt a little!

I will have a separate entry on the B-Day bash later, when I upload the pics! Woke up around 7 am on Sunday morning after sleeping only 6 hrs due to a 90Th bash the night before and got ready for my first 17 mile run ever. I was kind of nervous, since my run the day before did not go over so well, but I figures I would give it a try anyway. Filled up my fuel belt, got some $ (just in case my mood struck me to go shopping) and went for it!!!!! Mile 2- I heard a honk from Keith which made me put a spring in my step. Mile 4.5 got chased by a dog, it kept barking and wagging its tail. Can't lie, it scared me, but I did not make eye contact and just kept going. Mile 9.2, Steven hunted me down in a car, just to see if I needed anything, I was totally fine! My run course was: Lavista Rd to Tucker High, Charles Harris course, turn around at North Dekalb Mall and same way back. I actually enjoyed myself on this one! Go figure........ May be this running coach thing IS for me after all!

The Big Apple

This weekend I went to NYC and Jersey to meet with a childhood friend who lives in Israel and visiting United States with her husband and her son. I was a little nervous prior to the meeting, because we have not seen each other in 20 years and i knew i was going to have to speak a lot of Russian, which I do not to get to do on day to day basis, only on the weekends when I see my parents. We decided to meet in Central park, so I took a taxi there from the airport. She has not changed a bit, and we recognized each other right away!

It was so great to see her and to meet her awesome husband, i just wish Steven was there with me. We sat on a bench and talked forever about what we were doing with our lives, our interests, our other friends and what they are up to. We could not be more different now. She is so calm and artsy, and i am high strong and always on the move................................... We walked to Broadway and Times Square. New York is always amazing to me for its people, interesting architecture and hustle and bustle that we do not have in Atlanta. I can people watch for hours, sitting in Starbucks and sipping on my Latte. Forgot to mention, there were many triathletes in Central Park, riding their bikes and running. I was surprised, how many of them were riding their race wheels! In the beginning, I thought there was a race going on! After walking around, we took New Jersey Transit bus and went to Jersey, where Betya and Vova are staying.

At the bus stop, we saw a mouse running around, which reminded me that I was definitely in NYC! Once we got to Jersey, Betya's cousin was waiting for us with dinner. We were starving! I felt as if I just raced, the cousin probably thought that I was the biggest PIG, as I was shoveling food in my mouth. There, I met the second love of my life, Shaun who is three and LOVES Thomas the train and company!!!! This is the most beautiful and intelligent boy that I have ever met!!!!!

We stayed up until at least 1 am and for an old lady like me, it was not easy, but I did not want to go to bed, I wanted to savor every last moment with my dear friend. On Sunday morning, while everyone was sleeping, I set out for my 8 mile run. Everything was going great until on the way back, I ran past the subdivision and got lost. That was a freaky moment. No phone, no money.... what was I thinking??? I am an official Ding-Dong. Luckily, I finally found my way back. Had breakfast and it was time for me to leave. I took a train to Penn Station and had some time to myself in the Big Apple.

Got to Laguardia on time, caught my flight and here I am, home!!!! Of course, my bag was searched, because I was bringing Steven some NY pretzels!!! The did not take them away, and I was able to keep my husband happy. I was so hungry at the airport, so I went to a news-stand and guess what they had- Turkish apricots!!! I just could not help myself.......you do the math!!!!

I am very glad to be back home to my family and friends. my Atl peeps are awesome!!!!!!!

Shout outs are to Scootzie and Sweetie, whose birthdays are this week!

Run

Well, today was my 16 mile run- I made it 14. It was hot, humid and my shoes had worn out, so ankles and feet need a good soaker tonight.
Also, I think I have gone mad. This weekend i am traveling to NYC to visit a childhood friend whom I have not seen in 18 years. We will have fun, yes, but when will I train? So, i am flying out on the second flight so I can hit the trainer first thing in the morning and trying to figure out an 8 mile run on Sunday while everyone is still asleep in NY. Am I crazy? obsessed? hate failure? taking this sport too seriously?

Weekend

This weekend was great. Started out with an awesome 20/8 brick, felt pretty good. Threw a few intervals in for good measure. Saturday evening went to Suobs for dinner to celebrate their great achievement of finishing IM Louisville. Dave made a cool movie of the race and our peeps who participated, which made me tear up. Sunday, open water swim with Steven and Dave. Did OK, still feel like I need to take it slow, recuperating.

Getting back into the swing of things.

Well, I am getting back to normal. Well, what is normal for me :-)
Yesterday, since I did not have to be at work untill 7am, I headed to the gym. I was on the spin bike for 1.5hrs and it felt great! Maria Elena threw in some intervals and climbs. I was sweating like a pig, which ment my work out was awesome! Sweating doesn't come easy for me, so when I do, i get super excited! Today, i went to the pool and swam a little (1000m). I am out of shape in the swimming department. My swimming career only began in november, so when I take time off, it shows. This evening I am running with my team, super excited since running is my favorite!
Steven and I signed up for Augusta 70.3, and I for Gulfcoast! I am proud of Steven for taking the plunge. Oh yeah, on the way from KY, Steven passed his kidney stone. ouch, this thing is HUGE!!!

Louisville

We left late on Saturday due to some issues with us. Got into Louisville around 12AM, hung out with Dani's mom and got about 3 hours of sleep. The condo was very nice, and Dani's mom provided us with some snacks, Dave especially enjoyed the Twinkies!!!! Woke up at 4am and the race spectating was on. I was so glad that we were able to see all of our friends that participated: Dani, Keith, Bob and Sue. Emotions were running high. Not just for competitors. I was tearing up. The swim was a time trial start and the line was a couple of blocks long. The anticipation would of probably made me duke in my pants.....before the race.
Everyone looked strong on the swim. Sue had some issues, but I knew she would of never quit, and she did not. Superwoman!!!!! As soon as she came out of water, the race was on for her. I was glad to see that all of the peeps were pacing themselves on the bike. They all looked so STRONG after the bike, especiallt Sue, whose first question was, "Did I make up some time?, Where is Bob?" Dave's friend in Atlanta was kind enough to track our friends, so we could guage their running times. I have to tell the truth, I was worried about Dani, given her issues in the past. I knew DNF was not going to happen to any of them, but questions ran through my mind-are they ok? are they hydrating?are they cramping? i was so worried. I wanted their Ironman be the most amazing experience for them. And I believe that happened for them, which makes me very happy.
I am proud of all 4 of them, especially Sue who with her charm, found a secret admirer in the middle of a huge river during IM!!!!
Steven, Dave and Hunter! Thank you for putting up with me and my driving during this trip!

Up and About...

Well, I've been a complete ham all week and stayed in bed, recovering from surgery of course. I am getting stronger and stronger each day though. Yesterday, Steven, Keith and I went to see uncle Dave race in Peachtree City Tri. Given the crappy conditions, he rocked it out. It was great to see other peeps racing also.

Had dinner at La Paz with all Louisville bound peeps and their posse (myself, Steven, Dave and Hunter). All these people are such inspiration.

The harshness of August just keeps on giving, someone close to me just lost someone close to them last night. Just know, friend, anything you need, I am just a phone call away!

I am still here

Well, most of you know that I had surgery last thursday to have my gallbladder removed. One of the tests showed that it was working only at 24%. I thought this was going to be an easy fix! Yeah, right! Pretty painful stuff. I am still recovering.

My thoughts and prayers are with Keith and his family at this difficult time.

Another not very smart thing to do!

On Sunday I participated in Ackworth women's tri. Participated, not raced. I have not had a descent work out since last Tuesday. on Friday, I tried to run and after 4 miles I limped to the car in tears :( Saturday morning went for an open water swim, no go......pain took my breath away and I had to breast stroke it back to the beach :( Not cool. woke up on Sunday, and felt OK, so I decided to give it a try. During the swim, I had to take 5 breaks and it was only a 400 meter swim.....I was 50th in my AG, what an awful number. 50/66, UGH!!!!! Felt better after getting on the bike and the run. 19/66 AG. 1:25 total time.

On a positive note, we may have found the root of my problems-my gallbladder! Even though I do not fit the rule of FFF-Fat, Female and Forty-well, the female part! All the symptoms lead to that. I have an appointment with a surgeon on Wednesday, hopefully I can have surgery this week! This means the whole week off!!!! Pool, here I come, to lay out of course!

Will keep you all posted!

Not a very smart thing to do...

Well, since I have been feeling a little better, i decided that Covington Century was a go! With my ribs taped up, bottles filled, nutrition packed, Steven and I headed to Covington. And rode painful, hot and NOT FLAT 100 miles. What made me think that being sick for three weeks would not impact my fitness level that much?!
At 75 mile mark, Steven and I stopped at one of the SAGs and I must have drank 5 cups of water there. Since Steven's back was cramping, I tried to talk him into catching transport back to the start, but being a great husband that he is (or not), he said that he would not even think of ruining my first century experience. @#$%!
Thankfully, there was a cycling team that offered for us to draft off them the entire last 25 miles! Thank God! My head has never been so far up some one's butt! We must have averaged 21-22 mph all the way back. Thank you guys, I would not have made it without your help!

The funniest thing was, as soon as I got off the bike, I felt like I could have ran quite a few miles. Steven says that I am sick! May be!

It was great to see my peeps out there: Dani, Keith, Joe, Sarah, Mark, Tony and my mom, who rode 50 miles! She is a beast!

On Sunday, we met up with Dave and Suobs at lake Allatoona for an easy 1500 swim for us and 100 miles for the great Suobs. Unfortunately, my face looks like a pizza today, i swear, that water is infected. Is it the bird poop again? It is great to get back into the swing of things!

Just another day.

The pain is back :( As I was falling asleep at a meeting at work, it came back with a vengeance. I had to rush home for some pain-killers and a heating pad. Thank God, I do not have any important races in the next week, only the Covington Century (100 miler). UGH!

Thank you!

In yesterday's blog entry, I forgot to thank all of my friends, who were concerned about me. Thank you for all of your phone calls, emails and all well wishes. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

It's Alive!!!!

These past two weeks have been two weeks of hell! After Chattanooga, on Monday, I woke up with major chest pain, which made it hard for me to breathe. I sucked it up all week, taking various anti-inflammatories, etc. NOTHING HELPED! I only trained two days out of that whole week, which is so unlike me...Finally, last Friday I had enough and went to see a doctor, who was very concerned. He put me on a strong dose of steroids and painkillers and made me promise him if it did not get better on the morning, go to the emergency room. Well, it did not get any better, only worse, so after work on Saturday, I held my promise and went to the ER. That took forever! One of the blood tests (d-Dimer) came up positive, which meant there was a possibility of me having a blood clot. Of course, very heavily medicated, they send me up for a chest cat-scan, which was negative! Yeah! But, what is wrong with me? Nobody seemed to have any answers! They sent me home from the ER with stronger painkillers and with out a diagnosis. Yuck! So, this whole week, Prednisone/Percocet combo made me extremely moody, gave me hot-flashes and sleepless nights! I have been coming home from work and crashing, which also has been hard because there is only one way I can lay down. It has been a complete rollercoaster.... :(
For all of you that know me, it has been the hardest thing not to be active, may be it added to my bad mood. Sorry Steven!

Well, this weekend, i headed up to Mistletoe, not even sure if I was going to be able to race, but Olga and Steven were racing, so I brought my stuff (just in case), and was ready to be cheering squad. Do not know what made me decide to race, but I did and won my age group, and shaved off 6 min. off my time from last year!

After the race, I went up to Dr. Sadri from 1st choice healthcare, just to let him know that I am still among the living-his office has called my house a couple of times to check on me. He decided to stretch me out and said i may have a pinched/pulled diaphragm. After digging into my rib-cage and under the xyphoid process (which was awful!) I got off the table and was actually able to take a deep breath, not completely pain-free, but better. could it be??????

Where is my Red Bull?

Woke up on Saturday feeling kind of funky, like I was getting a cold, UGH! Headed to Chattanooga via Dave's house, who was awesome for coming to Nooga with us to cheer on his peeps. Hooked up with a whole bunch of people from Atlanta who were also racing for dinner at Tony's for some carbloading. The food was awesome! The restaurant was very crowded with triathletes as we were leaving. After dinner, Keith was kind enough to drive the bike course with me, which put the fear of God in me. We clocked some ascends as 1 mile long. Yeah!

Sunday, we were at the transition area by 5:30 to set up. Steven bought me a light that you can strap to your head, very helpful! So, i am looking through my bag for the Red Bull-nowhere to be found! For those of you who do not know me, Red Bull is like a religious experience to me. Before every long work out and before every race. Poor Steven had to go back to the hotel room and find it. Luckily, the hotel was only a few miles away. Whew, got the Bull, it gives you wings, you know?

Well, I did not feel like I had any wings during this race!
During the swim, my throat was so sore, it felt like it was swollen shut! A couple of times I hit some spots in the river where I felt like I was not going any place, after reading Dani's blog, I know I was not the only one! Swim time-35min-awful!
It started to storm during the bike, but the course did not seem as bad on the bike as it seemed from the car. 18.0mph according to my computer, not bad.
I actually love running in the rain, so that was fun! 51min 10k. ugh.

I reached my goal of breaking 3hrs, total time 2:58, but I feel like I could of done better :(

After the race, we went to a first gas station to get me medicated!

Stuff

Well, this week flew by busy as ever at work and in training, even though this is my taper week. I have been coming home exhausted and going to bed. I usually have a really hard falling asleep, but not this week! Chattanooga is only one and a half days away. WOW! I am nervous, jittery, excited and many other emotions not worth mentioning. We shall see.....

I am very glad that most of my peeps will be there either racing or cheering. Thank you all.

And the training goes on.............................

My weekend of training, here goes:
On Friday I ran the Peachtree 10K, it was tough to treat it as a training run since it was a race, but I knew that my mom was behind me, yes she is strong and i would just die if she would of beat me! Also, Henry and Walter were both in my 1A group and i knew they were right there, as well as Steven! The first 3 miles were OK, very congested in the very beginning (will start in the front of the group next year). At the 4th mile, I decided to take a gel, and as I opened it up, it fell out of my hand :( No gel!!! Around mile 5, I saw Dave with his video cam, at this point it was a bit of a struggle, but I had to look happy on camera! Overall, the run went well-46:44 garmin time. Congratulations to my mom, the super-star, Keith, Jenny, Walter, Henry and Steven who all finished strong!
The run was followed by a 2000 yard swim, and I am proud to say, that I did not cheat on that workout. I wanted to, though! That evening we had a great dinner at Noche with a lecture from Steve Brown on IM!
Saturday, I had plans to go to the gaps, but the meteorologist called for 60% chance of rain! That was a crock.......never rained at all. next time, I am going. probably will get caught in a down pour! Spent 2hrs on a spin bike with a 40 min run afterwards.
This morning went to Red Top, for an open water swim. Swam close to 3000m and it felt pretty good. Dave and Steven did their own thing, they both looked strong out there.

The props of the week go out to mom, who got in a nasty lake and swam like a fish!

I am very proud of all my friends who are stepping it up big time this year! You guys are amazing and an inspiration to me. Keep up the great work.

Iron Girl

The 3:30AM wake up time did not come soon enough, I was already awake! (and somewhat ready to race)

The swim:
Got caught up in a "machine washer" of arms and legs! It was so tight, it was hard to get a full stroke in. As soon as we got around the first boui, it was pretty smooth after that.

The bike:
Felt great 'till the chain came off-what's up with that?!

The run:
The run was too short, I just started to warm up and it was over!

1:47-22/112 AG 100/672 OL

It's allmost here!

Iron Girl is almost here! I am pretty jittery and nervous! i hope all of thos swims in a nasty lake will pay off!

My prayers.........................

My prayers are with MaryAnn and Richard, who is having a pretty serious cardiac surgery tomorrow.
We simply can not take anything in this lifetime for granted and have to live each and every day to the fullest.

Questions

We have a house guest, who is a friend and in need of help! I feel that if it is a true friend, I should be happy to help............But why is it so annoying to find certain things misplaced, used and not used? The race is coming up and I feel more tension building up. I see longer training days in the near future. Am I a bad person for being so annoyed with this person who I consider a friend? Am I a bad person for trying to figure out when this person will leave my home? I want to help and should not put myself into the equation.................but I am.

DA WEEKEND

This past Friday, I rolled out of bed 25 min before I was supposed to be at work! Just could not get out of bed. I felt like I was hitting a brick wall physically and mentally! Just wanted to close the curtains and lay in a dark space. As soon as I made it home after work, I crashed in my scrubs and did not wake up until the next morning!

Unfortunately, on Saturday I had to work, so it made our riding time after 2PM, which felt great after we got started. The rain had disappeared and the sun was shining upon us! Steven, Dave and myself rode for 2hrs which included some serious intervals. I can totally see where this will help me in a long run. A short 1.5mile run followed which felt pretty good.

Onward to uncle Dave's for dinner and a movie. That guy can totally cook! The chicken was killer and I hope that gourmet chef Steven can recreate the recipe! I all ready crave it. After dinner we saw 'Bucket List". What a great, fulfilling movie. Of course, it made me cry....................

This morning we got up early, and headed over to RTM for our Sunday OWS. Again, the rain had stopped and the weather was beautiful. At first, of course I had a panic attack, but that subsided and I swam almost 2000 meters. Thank you, Steven and Dave for making me get out there and conquer my fear! I ain't mad at ya! Of course, on the way back, Steven told Dave and I a story that the reason why lake Allatoona is so cloudy is because it is a slow draining lake and all the bird poop settles on the bottom! UGH! I was swimming in bird poop. Isn't it toxic?

Later on, headed over to the new Bicycle Link for a beginners tri clinic my team Luna hosted. I wish I was exposed to something like that instead of winging it in the beginning. But, I guess we all learn in our own, different ways! The team pulled it together and the clinic went on with out a hitch!

I am looking forward to Iron Girl next weekend!

Did you win?

Every time I come back to work after doing a race, people ask me:"Did you win?" Heck yeah, I won!!!! I FINISHED!!!

Oh yeah, I do not race against my friends-they are all way faster than me! But seriously, I race against myself and have a blast doing it! By the way, the trainer kicked my butt today!

Just another week...............

This week I have been feeling a bit run down, as my workouts have gotten longer, hopefully, my body will adjust soon! Trained with Spanx yesterday and today which was nice, did not have to be out there by myself! Tomorrow-2hr spinervals on the trainer!

West point

Today, we raced West Point Olympic distance tri as a relay team! "Slaughter Scootzie" was our team name. Of course, EVERYBODY knows who Scootzie is! Did we slaughter him? YES!!!!!
It's really sad, that 3 strong women 27-35 year old range were racing against a 49 year old! But we did it! Olga swam like a fish-26 min. Dani rode her bike like it was a motorcycle-1:08, and I ran like a tired old lady!-46min. 2 min off my goal :( Did not feel quite right today, but I am sooo proud of my team! We did awesome!

Congrats to the Mayor for placing 2nd in his age group, and Hunter having a very strong finish in his race!

Thank you Steven and Dave for making this race as smooth as possible!

Nothing goin on

Not much going on today. Still havin major stomach pains......Met up with Spanx at Colums and did some intervals on the bike, pretty good pace avg 20-21mph hr low. thank you, Spanx for getting me out there!

Today is my day off and I am going to prop my feet up, eat some junk food and enjoy myself ( if I do not fall asleep), because, damn it, I deserve it!!!!!

Richard B Russell tri

Just UGH!!!

Where do I start? This was the strangest trip, ever! After a pretty grueling day at work, Steven picked me up and after a stop at Starbucks, we headed out to Elberton, where Richard B Russell tri was held. After a 2 hr car ride, we finally arrived at the park for packet pick up. It was 104 degrees, according to a local. To save $, I rented a cabin for us to spend a night in..........what a mistake that was. First of all, our map quest instructions AND the navigation system took us on some unpaved gravel roads, and our destination point dropped us in the middle of the road with nothing on it! Then, after finally finding these cabins and I use the word loosely, the owner blew smoke of her cigarette straight in my face, while I was filling out some paperwork. It made me pretty sick. When we stepped in to the cabin, it was bare minimum-it was a hunting/fishing lodge! A small window AC unit was not doing jack! Decided to go to Walmart to pick up some sheets and other necessities. On the way, we saw a hotel, and Steven spared me and got a room for us. Unfortunately, we got a flat tire on one of those gravel roads and Steven is the king of tire changing in my book! It took him 7 minutes to change it! (we time everything in tri world!)

On the morning of the race, my stomach hurt so bad, that I considered dropping out, but decided to go through with it. The times were off, but I wound up placing 3rd overall!

Congratulations goes out to the Governor-Steven who placed 2nd in his age group and looked great doing it!
Also, congrats are in order to Sarah, a fellow Lunachick, who also placed in her age group!!!!!!

Packing or unpacking?

It seems I just unpacked from the trip to Macon and Hilton Head, but it's time to pack up again for my race at Richard B Russell. I plan to treat it like a brick workout, but we'll see what happens. None of my friends seem to think that I will be able to hold back...........We'll see what happens!

Hard day's work

Got to Macon at about 4:45pm, went straight to the race site to get my race packet and to rack my bike... Stood in line for about 1.5hrs, seemed like forever. Saw a lot of familiar faces, strong triathletes! Had some Japanese food and headed to bed. As soon as I fell asleep(around 2:30am-nerves), the alarm went off. Oh well, such as life of an athlete-no sleep. Made it to the transition area at 5:30n the dot, with the Mayor right in front of us! My wave did not start 'till 7:52, so I had plenty of time to set up, warm up, and make million trips to the porta-pottie......nerves!

First 5K, no problem, 2nd overall, avg 7.20min/mile. Heart rate nice and low, no labored breathing at all, but it's just a 5K........

Got on the bike, feeling pretty strong, avg 20mph, come up to mile marker 5, my chain falls off. Nothing like a momentum killer! So, I hop off, fix it and keep going. At this point I am having a hard time to switch between my big and small ring. Mile marker 20- Try to get into my small ring, the chain falls off again!!! So, I hop off, fix it and keep going. At this point I decide to stay in high gears to finish...Man, I was tired. It felt like I was on the bike FOREVER! My Garmin was malfunctioning and the computer was dead! What's the deal? Bike time-3hrs15min...6th overall.
UGH!!!

When it came to the run, I knew that I had to give it all I had in the tank and push myself really hard....in 93 degree weather! Ran alone for about 5 miles, then saw a guy running at a pretty good pace, so we ran together until mile 11, then I took off at a pretty good clip and sprinted to the finish! Total time-5:45, 3rd overall, 1AG. OUCH!!!!!!!!

All of my peeps did awesome: Sue killed the bike, Dani killed the bike and the swim, Bob did great, and so did the Mayor of Tucker!!!!!

A special THANX goes out to Dave, Hunter and my awesome husband Steven for working their butts off at the race, thank you, guys you are the best!!!!!!!!!!

Rock 'n Roll

I am ready to Rock 'n Roll, to race in Macon on Saturday that is! This is the longest distance for me yet and I am kind of nervous. I will have to make myself take in fluids on the bike, I tend to forget to drink. It will be in high 90's this weekend. My transition bag is packed, I think I've got everything and then some! Feeling very jittery, I am ready to race! Bring on the heat, the humidity and the hills!!!!!!!

All of my peeps will be there! Awesome!

The Gaps and Picnic

Saturday morning woke up and headed to the Gaps. Met up with Dave, Olga, Dani, Triathlete formerly known as..., Sarah, Hunter, Bob and Sue at Starbucks and we were off. Had to get to Starbucks 15 min early because of some evil person, who said if we want coffee, we have to get there earlier, and they were not open yet! Rush, Rush, Rush! I decided to do 4 gaps(Neil's twice). Heart Rate was high to begin with 165-170BPM, but came down to 145-150BPM. I pretty much rode by myself until Woody's where Hunter caught me, but left me when I went up Neil's again. My goal for this summer is to do 2 loops easily and 6gap century in September. I feel like I am getting stronger, but not quite there yet!

Had an awesome picnic after. I am glad to be hanging out with such a great group of people.

Sunday, open water swim with Steven, Sue, Bob, Dave and Olga. I felt myself getting stressed and short of breath at first, but after warming up, felt great!

Monday, hung at the pool, drank margaritas out of sports water bottles and cooked out after. SAME PEEPS!!! I think we like each other a whole lot!!!!!

Horrible news

Today, I received awful news, that while warming up for Atlanta Time Trials, a member of Diego's Cycling team, Tiago, was hit by a car and in ICU at Atlanta Medical Center in critical condition. My heart goes out to him and his family. Of course, being a pro cyclist-no medical insurance. There will be an account created for him and I will post it as soon as I have it.
This family will need your help! Please keep them in your thoughts.

Look around!

South beach tri/swim with a water spout above!

It started with this idiot clipping me on Sunday's ride, causing me to fall and not even stopping to see if I was OK, someone pulling out in front of me in an SUV at St Mtn while going uphill and then, cutting me off!!!!

What is going on??? Are people oblivious to their surroundings, or they just don"t give a #$%^ about anyone but themselves?

I think everyone needs to stop and look around once in a while, to realize that there are others in this world!

On a positive note, 2hr ride and 45 min run to follow felt pretty good!

Tour de cure

On Sunday, we did tour de cure ride, which was 63 miles and parts of which were on Silk Sheets. Danielle, Olga, Maris-Elena, Don, Steven, Mom, Luna chix and Ch2m hill team were all there. We all started out as a big group, but spread out after the first 10 miles. I had to stop and use the restroom, I was not about to start my peeing on myself training on this ride!

The course was very well marked and organized. Since I was supposed to do hill repeats in a big ring, it took me a while on some hills, but avg speed was 17.5 mph and hr 138bpm.

Some idiot clipped me as Steven was passing me a water bottle and I fell. Imagine that!!!!!

The bike is OK and so am I.

The run afterward felt great. Ran for 30 min.

I would love to go back and do that course again.

The poll.

Take a poll!!!!!!!
This year myself(running), Olga(swimming) and Dani(biking) are competing as a relay team in West Point lake triathlon.........
AGAINST KEITH! Who will win????????

Stuff!!!!!!

Hunter!
Happy Birthday! Congratulations on all of your achievements, it is not a small thing. I am proud to be your friend.

Spanx!
Congrats on completing P'tree City Olympic Tri! You are getting so strong and a force to be reckoned with! :-)

Gulf Coast

Shady business going on!

Steven is a shady character and not to be trusted! About a month ago, I bought Zipp 404 wheels on eBay. I talked this guy into closing the auction early, and bought them at a great price. A whole week went by, and no word from the seller, as the money had cleared through pay pal! Finally, heard from the guy, gave me some sob story how his computer broke and he had no way of contacting me! Bull! In 2008? Anyway, finally the wheels were shipped from Canada. 6-12 business days. As time goes by, I started getting worried, as there is no way to track the parcel coming internationally by regular mail. May 8th was my birthday and the wheels miraculously appeared at my door step. My darling husband hid them from me in the trunk of his car so I would get them on my B-day! On may 6th I almost was in tears that the wheels were not coming and we wasted a lot of $!!!! Shady!

Supporting my peeps at GC!!!!!!

Left town on Friday at about noon, picked up Eduardo and headed to PC for Gulf Coast Half-Ironman to support our friends.
I am soooo proud of everyone and was glad to help whoever needed it!!!!
wound up running a little, playing nurse a little!!!!! I don't know how many IV's I started, but some people were really hurting. I was happy to help! Really, I just wanted to be closer to my friends to make sure they were OK and that was the only way in to the med tent. I hope they have a huge med-tent in Macon!!! I WILL NEED an IV!!!

Once again, I am inspired by all of you, you are my super-stars!

Steven got the tri-bug: we will be heading over to all3sports for a tri-bike for him and a new P2C frame for me. I am sooo excited!

OH, so tired......................

I am training srtaight-through with out taking a day off since I am going to support my peeps at GC!!! It is day9 for me and I am tired! Looking forward to Friday, so I can chill in the car!!!!!
Went to master's yesterday, it was awesome.

Full social calendar

Saturday morning I had a date with my trainer for 2 painful hours, where everyone else had fun at an open water swim. I had to pass, since my long course du is 3 weeks away!

At night, we were able to witness the start of a winning streak of Atlanta Braves, that was a blast!!

Sunday morning woke up at 6:30 and went to master's at Emory. They switched the pool length from 25m to 50m! Sneaky bastards! Bill, the coach gave me a lot of constructive criticism, but said my swimming looks better. Then, headed out to St. Mtn. to run the big loop. had to stay in a low heart-rate zone, so it took me FOREVER!!!!

Later, Steven, myself, Oscar and Boo met Dani, Poncey and Bella at the dog park, Keith and Hunter showed up later. The dogs had fun and started forming a pack when another dog came in.

Got talked into going to the Roswell Crit. It was the most boring race, ever. The geriatric spectators drinking wine and smoking cigarettes?? Come on, people!!!!!

Kudos to Diego and his team for doing 2 races in one day!

Triathlon is not a sport, it's a lifestyle!

Anytime someone tells me that I'm crazy for all the training I do, I tell 'em: triathlon is not a sport, it's a lifestyle! I should probably have my head examined for picking this lifestyle, which is a complete 360 from what I used to do! Used to stay out, go dancing, drink more than 1.5 drinks to be drunk, etc. Now, I am lucky if I make it past 9pm!

Yesterday, I overheard a coworker telling someone that her brother-in-law is starting with the anesthesia group that we use, and he is one of THOSE triathletes like Tat and made a face! I thought it was funny. He is doing Lake Placid this year. I can't wait to meet him!

The air is thick with hate!!!!!

A male coworker said that I look chunky in one of my pictures! That is not a nice thing to say to a woman! he said that he meant muscular. Chunky=Muscular?

On a positive note met up with Dani, Olga, Pico, Nemo and later Steven and Bob for an awesome ride minus the pollen! My eyes are blood-shot, like I've been smoking something! it was a slow, recovery pace for them, but all out sprint for me! At least I was able to keep up this time. Any time you are planning on a slow ride, call me, I am in!

Gotta go have a beer that I've been craving all day and try on my Luna uniforms!

Stuff going on!

I have been a lame blogger and skipped a few days, so here goes!
Woke up on Sunday morning at 6AM (after getting 4 hrs of sleep) and decided to go to Master's at Emory. Since it was raining , I figured it would not be held, but I went to check it out anyway! oh, they held it alright!!! Bill, the coach, was wearing a yellow poncho, and was screaming out some commands. Intimidating! My warm-up was 1000 which consisted of swimming and drills. Then, he made me do several other things, and i wound up swimming 2600 total! Of course, I have A LOT of work to do.
That afternoon Steven, Dani, Keith, Dave, Andres and I checked out Tour De Georgia. We were stationed at the feed zone, where riders exchange bottles and receive food. A creepy guy from the Cliff Bar team gave us a whole bunch of bottles. Score! We got a few more from other teams as well! Of course having "the girls" helped! Andres was trying desperately to grow some, but was not successful! Went to yummy Lafonda afterwards., which was 100 times better that my dinner in Athens the night before.
On Monday, Steven took Keith's class and several people told me that he has been sandbagging us all and that he is much stronger that he lets on. I think he is gunning for me............................
A finny thing happened on Tuesday morning. For the first time, in the world of sports, I was glad to be big chested. I showed up to the spin room at 5am to spin for 45 min before the class was to start, and Maria Elena who is the instructor came in and looked frazzled. i asked her what was wrong, and she told me she forgot her sport-bra. Well, lucky for her, I have to wear 2, so I just gave her one of mine!
Today, it was a very busy day at work, but I was able to get a run around St. Mtn. in and 1900 swim.

Our Luna kits are in, I am very excited!!!!

A brick and twilight crit

On Saturday, Steven and I went to Stone Mountain and I did a 35/5mile brick. It felt really good to run after the ride.



Around 5:45 we headed out to Athens for the Twilight Crit. It was raining for the most part of the way there, but stopped shortly before we got into town. Spanx and Keith were with us as well. Someone was supposed to research where the race was but did not, so I offered. not a good thing. We got there around 7PM, found parking (not an easy task) and watched the women take off. Then, we spent at least an hour looking for Olga!!!!



Shortly after sundown, the guys started. Oh, man, that was cool!!! They were going at speeds that are only known to us going downhill at Hogpen! Quite a few people had crashed. out of 4 peeps on Diego's team, he was the only one that finished.



Some shady business was going on at the food kiosks! Keith got a $5 lemonade (that's how he rolls!) and I got some cold jerk chicken for $8 which was not good.



I had a great experience, and determined that I need to train a whole lot harder!

Congratulations goes out to Dana, who kicked butt and to Diego for finishing in the top 40!

Boo sucks!

%#$@!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Boo got into the new couch! I am soooo pissed! Steven had a come to Jesus meeting with him and then he said he had to get out! What can i do?!!! I can't buy anymore new couches. Anyone?

Good luck to Spanx in Carrolton this weekend!

This sucks!

I have a migrane! I just had to bitch about it! No master's. THIS SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, yeah, Steven decided to take a day off, because he claims to have pink eye. NOT!!!!

Busy

Today is my day off from work and it sure as heck does not feel like it. Took a spin class +30min at 5:45am and been going non stop since! This training schedule is making me fall behind on other stuff, so today is THE day! At the GAPs I realized that the heels of my tri shoes are totally worn out, so i need some. Luckily, all 3 has a closeout on some, and all they have is my size so I need to zoom over there, my neighbor just had a baby girl, need to get a gift and other crap to do. UGH! I would rather be outside!!!!

I am going to check out master's swimming this evening at Emory. Wish me luck!

3 Gaps

Went to the Gaps with Olga, did not seem cold in Tucker this morning, but when we got out of the car at the beginning, we realized that it must have been 10 degrees lower. All we had were our shorts, short sleeve jerseys an arm warmers! How could I forget the golden rule-bring everything and then decide what to wear!

I think I am getting stronger, I was almost able to keep up with Olgita, and my heart rate max was 155bpm! According to the Garmin, we've reached up to 37 mph. Scarry!

3.5 run after, pretty hilly! We both felt great after.

Met some peeps that will be racing at the twilight criterium next Saturday in Athens. I can not wait to check that out!!

The schedule for this week i pretty packed and school is starting soon.

Next race on the calendar is Macon. 3.1m run-56m bike-13.1m run. Fun, fun, fun!!!!

Here is the dirt!

Swim:
The water could not be calmer! 78.2 degrees, no wetsuit. At the blast of a cannon, each group approx. 130-160 peeps entered the water. I stood to the back and did not rush. As soon as i started swimming I got kicked in the head, then in the chest. It took me quite a long time to recover, but when i did, the swim was great, of course since i do not swim in a straight line, it was probably close to 3/4th of a mile-26 min., do not laugh!
Bike:
Awesome feeling on those Zipps (you rock, Spanx!) and the helmet! Garmin registered 18.6 miles-1 hr 2 min. The course had a few turns and with my great bike handling skills, i had to slow down. Did pass quite a few people though, what a great feeling, I am used to being passed!
Run:
Kicked butt! Garmin registered 4.46 miles-32min 11sec!

I loved this race and would strongly recommend it for next year! We are going back for sure! Steven will do his first tri in Miami next year as I did this year! Cool!!!!

Congrats to Dani for placing 3rd in her age group, and Keith 4th in his! You guys are my inspiration and may be one day I will be able to keep up!

Training goes on... 2000 meters in the pool yesterday and 5 mile run and 20 mile bike today.

South Beach tri

Hello fron sunny Miami!

Got here yesterday morning, some sketchiness at the airport, we had to pay $65 for the bike, and when we got to Miami we found some puncture holes in my bike bag-no damage to the bike, so all is good!

Were not able to check in till 3pm, so after eating lunch we went down to the beach, and found where they started to set up the venue. After checking in, decided to go for a slow, easy 3.5mi run with a walk after. I think between Fri. and Sat. we've walked close to 15 miles. I guess it's good for you! Keith said that if I had a coach, he would have blessed me out for doing this much walking!

This morning, woke up around 6:30 and went for a swim, some other racers were testing out the waters as well. It was choppy! When we got out, I felt like I just got off some rinky-dink boat, my head was spinning! Steven said he would give me a Dramamine before the race, I smell sabotage! A short bike ride was in order, to make sure the bikes were cool. It's funny, but I feel more comfortable on a road with cars, then on a path with a whole bunch of people! It's those great bike handling skills!

Went down to the expo to get checked in. So many serious people, i am intimated! My race swim wave is at 7:20 and Keith's is at 7:45!

Saw Andy Baldwin, the bachelor and of course had to have a picture! Anna Kornyakova is also competing, she will do the run for the relay team. There goes my help from Steven.

I think this race will be a lot of fun, I am going to enjoy it!

All packed and ready to go.

I am packed and ready to go to Miami. Not sure if I am more scarred or excited. I do have nightmares of me DNFing or getting hit in the head while swimming or getting lost in transition area, etc!

I am wishing best of luck to Dani on her first tri of the season and of course to Keith who is awesome for coming to Miami, and to my husband for putting up with my crap all weekend leading up to the race.

And best of luck and many thanks to my parents for babysitting!