Lane Five

Two weeks ago, I started Masters. It was so much fun.

I was incredibly nervous to be throwing my swimming self out there with people I don't know, many of them who really can swim.

When I got to my first practice, I couldn't even get near Geoff as he was surrounded by all the other swimmers. This was his first practice back after a three week trip to Europe to coach a swimmer who was doing the Strait of Gibraltar. Luckily, I found Linda right away. Earlier this year, I met Linda at a Running 101 group from Fleet Feet. She was also training for America's Most Beautiful Century ride around Lake Tahoe at the time and mentioned she might want to do a tri but needed a swim coach. I told her about my coach, and she joined the team this summer while I was away. Having a familiar face around really eased my nerves.

After a few hundred warm-up, I was able to get Geoff's attention, and he seemed pleased I was there. He explained the board to me and sent me off for some more warm-up. Then, we got our workout. My first ever swim team workout. It was hard. 3 x300 Descending rounds with descending intervals followed by 6x50 alternating under-overs/over-unders and a cool down. He had never done this particular workout with this group before. Guess he was saving it for me.

The lane five girls took off and I was quickly getting my butt kicked. Geoff had Linda and I sit out every other 50. Even with this, I still put in 1300 hundred yards. Not too bad for my first practice, even in the slow lane. I went back for more last Monday and then....... Parent-Teacher Conferences and a cold. Conferences take up the entire part of three days with an additional day for prep. With thirty one kiddos, there are only so many conferences you can accomplish in one day.

I'm looking forward to getting back to swim team this week.

Who Updates This Thing, Anyway.....

Obviously, not me.

Well, life is back to normal I guess.

School started three weeks ago, and it was tough trying to re-acclimate to 31 10-year olds and a training schedule. I'm just now starting to get it down, I hope.

As far as tris go, I was able to get signed up for The Tinfoilman Triathlon in Tucson on October 25th. Luckily, I got in just before registration closed.

On the training front, I have become much stronger and a little smaller. I have only lost about ten pounds. But, with that ten pounds came 3 3/4 inches from my stomach, 3 inches from my bra line, and two inches from my hips. Not too bad.

I was able to do two sets of ten girl push ups, which isn't much, but considering I could not even complete 1 just over six weeks ago, I'm pleased.

After a tire problem derailed last weeks long ride, I was able to get in a good ride today. Thank goodness for Holidays. I start masters later this week, and I begin meeting with my cohort for National Board Certification (a crazy teacher thing).

That's about all there is for now.

Nearing the End

Of my vacation....

I left Tucson on May 28th with my hubby and hit the coast of California the following day. We arrived in Washington on June 1st, which is where I have stayed. Hubby did not. He flew back to Tucson on June 8th.

Tomorrow, I will pick up a friend from Sea-Tac airport and make the trek to my parent's house on Moses Lake. We will stay and swim and kayak for a day and head out on Friday.

We will head to Couer D'Alene and then south through the Idaho panhandle. We will make a brief side trip in Moscow back to Washington to visit my beloved Washington State University in Pullman, Go Cougs! Then on to Boise. After Boise, we will travel to Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, and then home to Tucson.

I will miss Washington - the cooler temps, my mom and dad, Eric and Mary, Lori and Robb, and especially my nieces, Payton, Marley, and Kylie, and nephew Ryan. I will miss my friends. It was SO nice to have the Fab Five together (even though it was only in pieces)! And due to a five-week early arrival, I was able to meet Grayson. Congrats to Steph and Greg on your beautiful, baby boy!

A GIGANTIC Thank You goes out to Eric, Mary, Payton and Marley for letting invade your home for five weeks. I can't wait to come back in August to see the enormous Bella and watch Ironman Lake Stevens 70.3. Go kick some butt, Mare!

I am looking forward to seeing my husband (who will be in CT when I get home - Whatever!) and my fur children Lilly and Rain. It will be nice to sleep in my bed and remove my clothing from a closet or dresser rather than a suitcase. Plus ...

I need to get back to a steady training schedule. I trained some while here; however, my great intentions were not realized. I have found that with even a fairly open schedule, I must plan my training or it is just kinda haphazard. And, NO yelling at me. I learned a lesson, let's just see if I grow from it.

By July 14 (Give or take), I will be back in Tucson. Let the training begin ...
Oh, and I have to get Fe-Lady out for a pedicure :~) Wish me luck!

Today, I must .......

1. Update this blog - I have come to find that this thing does not write its self!

2. Clean my room at my Eric and Mary's house

3. Do some laundry

4. Strength Train

5. Ride my bike - Gorgeous riding weather!

6. Catch up on blog reading - especially the CDA posts

7. Eat something healthy for lunch

8. Try not to drive my brother and sister-in-law crazy (Not sure this is possible)

What should I do first?

Enjoying the beautiful Pacific Northwest and having fun times with the family. Payton and Marley got a new puppy. She is fun to lug around. Puppies put smiles on everyone's face. Spectathleted at the Moses Lake Tri. Mary, Eric, and Margaret had great races. Our drive here was beautiful, yet mostly uneventful, which is the way I prefer to travel. My leg is almost completely healed, and I am able to put it back to work now.

Hope everyone is having and equally fantastic day/week/month/summer - you name it!

Oh, the Pain!

So, I bit the bullet and hired a trainer. So far, we have done a strength and flexibility test and came up with this:

Strength:
Upper body strength: poor
Abdominal strength: below average

BMI:
Obese (>32% body fat)
Present Goal: 31% body fat (average category)
Present weight loss goal: 16 pounds
Reevaluate in 2-3 months

Flexibility:
Trunk: very poor
Trunk Extension: Ave
Hip Flexion: Ave
Hip Length: Ave
Shoulder: Excellent

Oh, lovely! And this is after training for four months. Lord knows what would have happened then. But, check out the shoulder flexibility: Excellent! It's nice to have something that isn't average or very poor.

One of the great things about this trainer is...... I meet her at 5:30 In. The. Morning! I am sooooo NOT a 5:30 in the morning kind of worker outer, but it has been pretty good so far, except for the pain.

Oh, Yeah, I can barely sit down without assistance from a nearby table or chair. I met her for my first actual workout on Tuesday, and I only did one set of each exercise. That one set, however, just about killed me. And...... I have to go back tomorrow morning and every Tuesday and Thursday morning at, yes, 5:30 AM after that until the end of May, which happens to be when I head out of the frying pan and into the rain shower, also known as the Beautiful, Pacific Northwest. A few days in Moses Lake, a few in Spokane, over to Lake Stevens (Back and Forth, Back and Forth for most of the summer).

Hubby and I will be road tripping up to WA, from which he will return by plane while I stay out of the heat. I will then be road tripping back to Arizona with a friend from work, cause hubby can really only handle one way of a road trip, and that is gonna even be interesting. He's a plane kinda guy.

School is out in TWO weeks, which will be so very beautiful!

My Little Sunshines

Actually, they are tigers, and can they roar!

Today, I spent the morning and early afternoon with the Tigers at the TUSD All City Track Meet. Our team wasn't very big, but the fourth and fifth grade boys and girls who attended from all over Tucson ran, jumped and threw their hearts out.

The meet started a little after 8:00am (In the history of sporting events, has one ever started on time?) It was already hot out, and there were a few casualties and lost breakfasts on the 500m. It was a little challenging to watch. Overall, my tigers came in 7 and 8 in the A Girls 500m, 5th in the B Boys, and 3rd in the A Boys. They did well against some tough competition.

Oh, all the kids are grouped by height and weight, with A being the largest and D being the smallest.

Other notable finishes: 2nd in heat #2 of B Girls 100M, and 6th in the final. 5th in B Girls Long Jump, 2nd in A Girls Long Jump, and 2nd in B Boys Long Jump. We had one girl place 2nd in the B Girls Softball Throw (Elementary substitute for Discus). 2nd in heat #2 of A Girls 100M, and 4th in the final. 2nd in heat #2 of the A boys 100M, and 7th in the final. 3rd in the A Boys 500M Relay and 4th in the A Girls 500M Relay.

I was proud of all our kiddos.

World Culture Club 5k

In February, Hubby and I signed up for a 5k training group with Fleet Feet Tucson. We met with them each Tuesday night for twelve weeks and had our graduation run on Saturday, April 18th.

Here is our crew. There are a few runners missing. They weren't able to make the race.
Left to right: Brent, Leslie, Jenny, Linda, Coach Jenn B., Meagan, Heidi, Karie (me), Ruth, Aaron (Hubby), Rhiannon, Coach Jeanne, and Coach Jenn S.


The race was at 49'ers Country Club in the Tanque Verde Valley. It was a beautiful day, with no wind that morning. We met our group and quickly began to laugh at the guys from Robeks trying to blow up one of those gigantic, inflatable smoothie cups. They had a tough time with it. We all watched as the 1/2 marathon took off and then went for a little warm-up.

At the start line, we found out the course that was printed on the web was actually backwards, so we ran the opposite of what he had driven the night before. No biggie. It was a pretty small race, about 300 people between the 1/2 and 5k. The course wound through the neighborhood, and we got to look at all the pretty houses, some even for sale. I looked them up later that night on-line, and only one was in our price range. It was one I liked though.

Back to the race. I was feeling pretty stiff for some reason and was having some lung difficulty. The lung stuff could quite possibly be contributed to the endless winds we have had lately. I did okay though. I stuck to my plan of running 3 minutes with a walk break of 1 and 1/2 minutes. I walked through two run intervals at around miles 1.5 and 2.5, but for the most part, stuck with the plan.

As I rounded the corner and headed in to finish, I saw my hubby and Coach Jenn S. waiting at the beginning of the finish chute. Jenn took this picture as I was coming down the street.

When I rounded the corner, I heard the race announcer call out that there was another Fleet Feet member coming in. Hey, that's me. At that time, I started on the grass and promptly tried tripping. The announcer also told me not to trip on the grass. Thanks, buddy. Just a little too late. Luckily, I didn't fall. I ran up the rest of the finish chute with a bit more speed than usual to the rest of my group waiting to cheer me in. Overall, a nice little race, tight legs and lungs and all. This is only my second stand alone 5k (third 5k counting the one at the end of the tri). My time was 57:02, about 4 minutes faster than the first one, and 1.5 or so faster than the Tucson Tri 5k. I'm getting just a little faster. I start building mileage this week, Woo Hoo!

Pool Problems

If I were feeling particularly alliterate-y today, I would add Pissed Off to the Pool Problems issue.

After returning from my weekend in Vegas, which included little to no debauchery (Sorry Cheryl). I decided to go for a swim. Actually, I needed to go for a swim. This was Wednesday, I think. On this particular day, the winds were 40 - 50 mph, and there was no way in hell I was getting on a bike. I really didn't want to go to the pool either, as the pool is outside and they don't clean it very often (they say once a week, HA). I've swam with the same leaves in there for weeks on end. Sometimes, I almost think it could qualify for a lake swim, ick!

Anyway, I had to talk myself into getting my suit on and gathering my towel and gear bag. Then, I had to talk myself into actually driving to the pool, since I tried to either turn around or go somewhere else at least three times. Once in the parking lot and out of the car, I tried, again, to turn around and go home more times than I can remember. I also noticed the ducks that reside in my pool that usually swim with me were in the front garden area of the gym and not in the back by the pool. I should've know then. I finally decided that I needed to go into the pool, or I would feel even more crappy with myself. And then this happened .......

While schlepping to the front door to the gym, I hear yelling. Not like people having fun yelling, but ridiculous, over-bearing screaming coming from the pool area. As I approaced the front desk and looked toward the pool, the water was amass with flailing adolescent arms. The yelling was coming from the swim coach girl walking up and down the side of the pool. Oh, F... it's swim team season.

I approach the front desk and grab the pool schedule, no swim team listed. I say to the front desk girl,
"There was no swim team last week."

"Oh, No! It started yesterday."

"It isn't listed on the schedule. What time does it run until?"

"8:15"

"8:15? When does it start?"

"4:30, Monday thru Thursday."

"4:30 until 8:15 Monday thru Thursday? That doesn't leave much time for anyone else to swim does it?"

"Oh, well the pool is open all day. Do you work or something?"

"Yes, or something!"

My or something consists of spending my day with 28 fifth graders. The last thing I want to do is show up to my gym and see even more of them spashing around in the pool.

So, Pissed off about Pool Problems and Picking a new Plan.....

In the Swim of Things

I didn't intend on taking nearly a week off of training after the tri, but I did. I finally got back to it on Friday with a late night swim with Coach Geoff.

I started off with a 200 meter warm-up while he finished with his other client. Then we chatted for just a moment about my swim last Sunday. He decided that it was time to put some speed in the training routine.

We made some small adjustments to my stroke. Apparently, I have been entering the water and then scooping my fingers up. How one establishes this routine, I do not know. So, I worked on entering the water correctly, fingers down without scooping. We also made some adjustments to my catch. I have been swimming with a full catch in order to correct my stroke and breathing issues. Now, one arm gets to leave just a bit before the other gets there. After practicing this, Geoff decided to incorporate some anaerobic work into my training.

Oh yeah, I paid attention in middle-school gym class. I know anaerobic means "without oxygen", which means I have to move it. He wanted me to do 6 x 25 as fast as I could, which quickly turned into eight, which quickly turned into twelve. Geoff mentioned once that he wondered if I would be talking to him after this. I would have if I could have actually talked between my feeble attempts to gasp air.

After 12 x 25 sprints. I did a heart rate check. It was around 190. Hello, I think the last time my heart rate hit 190, I was having a panic attack. I like it better when I know why my heart is beating out of my chest.

Tucson Tri Race Report

My very first race report, Yea! (Sorry, this is very long)

About four months ago, I signed up for this tri. I started training with swimming in mid-December, running in February, and did a couple of bike rides here and there. It all had to come together on Sunday morning.

One of the greatest parts of this event was my Friday night suprise. After work, I went to a happy hour with my old school in celebration of our friend's life. Shortly after arriving, my husband arrived to meet me. When I turned around to say hi, my brother and sister-in-law were standing there. They had flown in from Seattle to cheer me on. It was a bit of a suprise, and I cried..... but just a little.

After a very fun (too much happy hour) Friday and a very busy Saturday, I put together my gear bag and double checked my list (okay, I checked it like five times). Mary made me my carbo dinner of a nummy pasta, salad, bread, and a little ice cream for dessert. It was perfect. Going to sleep though, not so perfect.

I tossed and turned all night. During my panic stricken attempt to sleep, I realized that even with my list and the checking it five times, I had forgotten to put on my race numbers. Wouldn't that have been great? I quick grabbed them and threw them in my bag and continued the near panic-attack.

When I got up and got ready, I tried to eat some breakfast, but I could only choke down a banana and a quarter of a bagel. When we got to the race, I set up my transition area and went into the pool area. After some convincing from my cheer squad, I got in the pool for some warm-up. After I warmed up, I realized that I didn't have a timing chip. I started looking around and noticing that no one had timing chips. I ran into Cheryl right before I got in the pool for the swim. I asked her about the chip and she said they didn't chip time. She stood by the pool took pictures and cheered me on. I couldn't ask for a better person to get support and knowledge from. Thanks Cheryl!

I have NO idea how I made it through that swim without losing the little breakfast that I had, but I did. After about 200 yards, I calmed down and realized that I was doing it, and I didn't need to fret over it anymore. I swam the whole 825 yrds without stopping at a very slow but steady pace. I have to remind myself that 8 weeks ago, I couldn't swim 75 yrds without stopping and gasping for breath. My swim time: 26:02. It was close to three minutes faster than my last test, so I'm making progress.

Then there was the transition. I so understand the need to drop a whole bunch of weight after this. Not only for my health and because it will help with this whole moving your body thing, but because I need to be able to get into tri shorts or a tri suit or something. Putting on tight fitting clothes when you are wet.... what a pain! But, I made it through and rode away.

I hate biking. I love the idea and hope that I will soon come to love the bike, but really, I hate biking. I have to ride with a camelback because I can't balance and reach down for a water bottle all while pedaling and not running into things. It is a little scary. I haven't mustered the courage to put my pedals on my bike, so I ride in running shoes. My bike is heavy and too big. Oh, the excuses. It really boils down to - I didn't really train for the bike, and boy did it show! Bike time (including transitions): 1:24:36 - I told you - NO Good on the bike.

Transition to run went a little smoother, mainly because I was done with the bike, but I also realized that I was almost there. Three little miles to go. I had planned on walking the whole run. I did my first brick last week, and my legs were no good for running after this. I started walking out of the transition area, and this lady asked me if it was okay for her to run or if she had to walk. I smiled and told her she could go ahead and run. Her first tri, too?

The run was two nice, flat loops around the mall at the U of A. I walked the first one and by the time I got closer the the start of my second loop, I realized that my legs were feeling pretty good, and decided to run a little. Plus, the extrememly annoying support person at the corner by Old Main gave me so much motivation. Not from her cheers themselves, but in trying to go faster to get away from her ridiculous yelling. I did five or six intervals of two minutes running and one minute walking before heading into the finish. As I approached the finish, I realized that I was feeling pretty good, so I ran it in and smiled for the pic. Run time 58:55 - almost three minutes faster than my last 5k (walking).



Total Time - 2:49:33 - Gotta start somewhere



Hope it turns out good. As I finished, I turned to see that Cheryl was just heading out for her run (she is a fast swimmer, so she gets to swim MUCH later than me. She's fast on the bike and run too).

I got my t-shirt found Aaron, Eric, and Mary and went to watch the last wave of swimmers (super fast). When I was there, someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was a friend of mine form school, and two other friends were with her. Plus, the other fifth grade teacher at my school, showed up early, at 6:30 in the morning to watch me swim and bike. I work with a great bunch of people.



After seeing my friends, we all headed down to the finish line to wait for Cheryl and cheer other people on. It was really cool to watch some incredible athletes come in to the finish.




After going home and trying to sleep, we all got cleaned up and headed out to meet Cheryl and her hubby and Jenn and her hubby. Jenn is the best massage therapist in the world, and she ran the Arizona Distance Classic that morning (I think her first 1/2 Marathon).

Thank You to Jenn, Cheryl, Aaron, Eric, Mary, Rochelle, Cass, Tracy, and Bri! It was so great to have your support! Oh, and for the pictures :)

What's Next? A 5K in April, another sprint in May (?), the Moses Lake Tri in June, the Seattle Rock-n-Roll 1/2 Marathon in June, another sprint in July (?), and the Tinfoilman in October. We'll have to see what else comes up. That should help with the whole getting into a trisuit.

And, I almost forgot, I'M A TRIATHLETE!

Oh, Yes! The Bike?

This last week has been pretty good. I start my week on Sunday, not Monday. I like to start the week with a day off of work and end it that way as well.

I started last week with my first trail run in like 15 years. The last time I ran on a trail was probably when I was 16 or 17 and in high school. We would trail run in the woods in Snohomish. These were fun runs and didn't even seem like work.

When hubby got home from his mountain bike ride last Saturday, he told me about his ride on the Arizona Trail. This trail is 800 miles long and extends from Mexico to Utah. Part of the trail runs through the desert and mountains not too far from our house. As he was telling me about it, I was thinking it would be fun to run on. We went out the next day and spent an hour or so run/walking, okay walk/jogging.

The trail was beautiful and it was a perfect day for running.... 70 degrees or so and slightly overcast. It reminded me of those high school days running in the woods or out to pick apples to turn into cider to sell at football games. Even though the Saguaro and Cedar tree provide completely different scenery, running away from everything was so peaceful.

I completed another run with my group on Tuesday and hit the pool on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. On Saturday, I had another personal best, swimming 500 continuous meters. It takes me a while, but I'm getting there.

I'm feeling pretty good about my training and getting in workouts about 5 days a week. The only problem is.........

The BIKE!

I have completely forgotten about the bike aside from a few little rides. When I first started training, I was blown away by my lack of swimming ability and have focused most of my time on the swim. I have recently started putting in run time, and now I have to put in the bike. Finding a balance in training has proven to be interesting if not somewhat overwhelming.

On the good side, I am gaining muscle. I visited my massage therapist last week, and she was finding muscles that I didn't have three weeks ago. Yes, I know I had the muscles, I just didn't know I had them at the time. I haven't lost any weight yet, but I think that has to do with the constant eating I do. Training makes me hungry. I do need to make better food choices though.

Woo Hoo!

I had a major swimming breakthrough today......

I was able to swim 250 meters continuously. To many triathletes and swimmers, I know this is not much, but to me it is a major milestone. And I'm not a triathlete. Yet!

Four weeks ago, I was sputtering and sidestroking through 75 meters, and that was an accomplishment at the time.

Tonight, I met with my coach, Geoff, at the UofA. Last week, I swam a 150 for him with my fins, so my workouts for the week included 150's with fins and 100's without fins. Yesterday was the first time I swam a 100 without my fins. As a matter of fact, I swam seven of them. Geoff decided that he wanted me to swim 125 or 150, it was up to me and how I felt at the end of 125. When I got to the wall at the end of my 125, I came up for air and dropped down to kick off the wall (no flip turns, yet). When I reached the wall at 150, Geoff quickly asked if I could do more.

I dropped down for another kickoff without missing a beat, came back for 200, and went again. When I reached the wall for 250, I was going to go for 300. But, he stopped me to check my heart rate. I was only at around 144. Not bad at all.

Geoff knew I would push it tonight, but I think I surprised him. I surprised my self a little. Maybe it was all that sugar floating around the classroom today.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Running

Last week, Hubby and I started running with a 5k training group. The first week sucked, but I have NO idea why. I was the last in the group on every run interval (A position I'm used to). My legs hurt to even walk and the running was pathetic. It was a 1 minute run interval followed by a 4 minute walk interval. We did this seven times with a 5 minute walking warm-up and cool down. I had been running this interval for a couple weeks before and had no problems.

The day after the run, my legs felt like they were going to explode. By my legs I mean the tips of my toes to the top of my butt. They had never felt like that before. It took four days for them to recover. To say the least, I was not excited about going back this week.

This week's run interval was a 5 minute warm-up walk with a 1 minute run interval followed by a 3 minute walk interval. Repeat 10 times with a 5 minute walk cool-down. No worries. I was in the back of the group again. This time though, I was joined by a girl for a few intervals. She was always a step or two away, but not far. And, to top it all off. Today, I have very little pain. Only some soreness atop the the base of my toes (I'm sure that area has a name, but I don't know what it is).

Hopefully, the rest of this week and next week's group run goes as well.

Tomorrow night is Happy Hour after work. I am going to run from my school to the bar, have some water (maybe another beverage) and run back to my school before driving home. I told you I had a little crazy in me.

Accomplishements, Challenges, and Changes

Oh, I so sound like a teacher with that title, but here goes.

I seem to be having more challenges than anything lately, but some of them have turned into accomplishments (I think).

Today, I only swam 500 yards. It was a challenge, but it shouldn't have been. 500 isn't much and I swim them in sets of 50; however, looking back, I did swim the entire 500 without fins. This is the first time I've done that. So, I guess a bit of an accomplishment.

The running is soooooooooo a challenge. I started my 5k program with Fleet Feet this week. It was hard. Harder than usual, and my feet and legs were killing me. The feet have been causing me problems for some time now. I met with the pedorthist that Cheryl recommended yesterday. Basically, he told me I was all jacked up. My right leg is shorter, and not just a little bit, than the left, and my hips are uneven. The right one is dropped lower than the left. The left foot over pronates in order to compensate for its length. The right foot pronates a little, but........ It also twists and goes flying off to the outside. He is making me special inserts so that my feet are somewhat normal. I'm hoping for magic on this one. I know running will still be hard, but I just hope my feet don't hurt as bad. So running, a huge challenge.

On the good side though, hubby is doing the 5k group with me. He smoked all the other people. He was the lead of the pack, I was bringin up the rear. Hopefully, he enjoys doing this and keeps at it. I know he would rather be mountain biking and racket balling.

The biggest challenge lately has been my energy. I have no energy at all. I hate getting up in the morning, so my workouts take place in the afternoon. I come home from work exhausted and take a short break. By the time I get ready, its a wonder I even make it out the door. I'm trying to go with the idea that if I can just get going, my energy will return. Not so much. I'm sure it has something to do with diet. But, I need help on this one. How do I get some more energy?

I have a few changes to make to try and help. I am going to start bringing my gym bag to work with me and head out straight from work to the pool, or bike, or run. I'm hoping that if I stay away from the house, I won't get as tired. I will also start doing some morning stuff. Maybe a few days a week at first.

So, please send me any ideas that you have for energy and such.

Getting Personal!

Sorry, but it is time. And by but, I really mean butt. In like, mine hurts.

My friend Bridget likes to claim that she is gifted at "making a short story long." Well, I also posses this gift, at times.

So, here goes. I have just started running again, and I remember now why I hate the first few runs after some time off. The tush, it hurts. All the chaffing..........

And when I ride my bike. Besides all the chaffing, the sits bones, they hurt.

Now, what about the swimming? I don't think my butt actually hurts from swimming. Except for maybe in this way. The chlorine may possibly dry out the skin, and well then, I'll leave it at that.

So, what to do about my butt? I will keep running because the chaffing will become less (and I have to, or I'll get yelled out. See if I ever honestly post about being lazy again). I will keep biking because apparently more time in the saddle will help with that whole issue. And, I will keep swimming because I like being in the water, and I don't want to drown early on in any event. One thing I will try though is this:

When my nieces were babies (They are currently the ripe, old age of 4, 4, and 2), my sister and sister-in-law used this lovely diaper rash cream on their little, tiny tushies. It seemed to help them.

When I was discussing this problem at my sister's baby shower (oh, yeah, I hold nothin back, except for the curse words. What if one of my students gets their hands on this? Just the thought gives me giant goose bumps), Anyway, the girls' Phrama C told me that when she is training, she breaks out he Boudreaux's. So, on my next trip to the store, I'll pick some up and try it out.

I warned you - Short story long! (I may have to make this my new signature)

LAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I have found my old, lazy self. It seems that the prospect of having one day off from work last week sent me into lazy overload. I biked a little and swam a little last Thursday, and then, NOTHING, until Tuesday. I did a little strength workout and more nothing.

Today, though, was the day to come back around and get off my big, fat butt and move. After nearly falling asleep in a meeting, I came home from work and did a strength workout. I toyed around with the idea spending the rest of the night curled up on the couch with the excuse of rain outside. But...... I let my conscious get the best of me and headed for the gym where I put in a little over two miles on the treadmill in walk/jog intervals. I'm hoping it was enough to motivate me to get back on track. Now, a little beauty sleep awaits.

A Nice, Sunday Stroll

I must confess. This is the first time I have ridden my mountain bike since our Moab trip in April of 2007 (and, really, I didn't ride much there either). Why haven't I ridden my bike? Basically, I've just made excuses for the last year and a half. My favorite is, "There's snakes out there!" Today, though, I had no excuses. Primarily because it is not the time of year for snakes to be out on the trail, and truthfully, because I am tired of making excuses.

Had to dust off the saddle on my little Kona. This is a great bike. A little heavy but so much fun to ride. It does quite a bit of the work.


My main goal today was to get the feel of riding again and stay out of the cactus.

The Cholla is probably the scariest of all cacti. It is so brittle that a slight brush against it will break off a bizillion little pieces. When you try to brush them off, more pieces break apart. Before you know it you are covered in Cholla. The best way to remove them is to use a plastic comb (the kind you get on picture day in elementary school) and pull them away. An even better thing is to avoid them all together.

I am happy to report that I did not have any intimate encounters with cacti, phew!

My hubby took a few pictures of me riding. For one of them, he was hiding in the bushes, and I didn't even see him. He gets mad at me when I don't ride the whoop-de-doos. I ride most of them, but there is one that I just have a mental breakdown with and have to walk. On this one, he thought I was going to walk, so he waited and hid to make sure I rode it. He later told me that I rode the two most difficult ones and walked the easier one. Whatever! I'll get past it someday.

Even though I can't keep up with hubby, and he has to hide in the bushes to make sure I ride the tough stuff. He is a pretty good riding buddy. He encourages me to push harder and he waits for me from time to time.

I'm Addicted to Fins!

Agggggggh! I love swimming with my fins. I love swimming with them so much that my coach has decided that I need fin rehab.

I don't wanna go to rehab!

Well, I only have to rehab a little, I still get to use them for half of my workout. My guess is that the rehab will progress as I progress. Until then, I will have to figure out a way to grow really long feet. But, only for races. I like my little feet and shoe collection.