A conversation with Taz

"Mommy?" I heard a sweet little voice in the back seat.

"Yes, darling?" I replied, as I spun around in my crinolined skirt, tied my apron in place, and patted my perfectly coiffed hair. A mean feat considering I was also driving.

"What are these round squishy things?" he inquired.

Naively, I requested clarification. "What round squishy things, honey?" Still channeling June Cleaver.

"The ones beside my penis," he explained.

Oh. Those round squishy things. I didn't turn around to see whether or not they were on display. Anything is possible. And yes he used the anatomically correct term. I have to say he didn't learn it from me; I prefer to be more euphemistic.

"Yeah, Mommy, what are they?" Rainbow added. Inquiring minds want to know.

A long period of silence ensued, during which time I ever-so-imperceptibly turned the radio up in an effort to distract them. Bet June never got this question. If she did, she probably said, "Go ask your father." Which sounded like a pretty good option. However, one that I feel is unavailable to me as a 21st century mom.

My children waited expectantly.

"Ahhhh, those contain a chemical called testosterone which is what makes you a boy," I offered lamely. Then braced myself for a barrage of follow-up questions.

"Cool!" exclaimed Taz. "This song is on our Kidz Bop CD!"

Oh man

As if my training wasn't doomed enough (see earlier post re: cranky hubby), now I twisted my ankle. I'm not saying I sprained it until I have a chance to see how it feels in a few days. But it is definitely hurting. I iced it for as long as I could stand it and have taken it fairly easy since.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it feels better tomorrow...

Testing, testing, 1-2-3...

The Patriot Half is not looking too good for me right now.

The test of my support system on Saturday did not go well. When I returned home from 3+ hours of exercise, I was met by two wild children and an extremely grumpy Scouter. His first words to me were along the lines of, "The kids are driving me crazy and they're yours for the rest of the day." Then he stomped off. Sighing deeply that I had to affrontery to need 15 more minutes of his valuable time to shower.

I had planned to take the kids downtown to see the Godspeed - what a cool opportunity to experience history. Both Taz and Rainbow have learned about the discovery and settling of the United States and they both love history, so it was perfect. Grumpykins... um, I mean Scouter, however, angrily read the Friday review of the Godspeed visit aloud to me from the paper. Big crowds, poor parking, bad neighborhoods (his editorialization), even the boat captain (supposedly) commenting that the venue wasn't ideal. I finally relented and said we'd go to Bogey's instead.

At that point, Grumpykins eyes lit up at the thought of hitting golf balls and baseballs, so he decided to join us. You know when one person in your group is cranky, how it brings everyone else down? Yeah, that was pretty much our trip to Bogey's.

After Bogey's the kids and I were ready to get the hell out of dodge. They suggested the pool, but the thought of more heat and sun was not particularly appealing to me. I was able to sway them to my way of thinking - namely, sitting in air conditioning - by offering up Shrek The Third. Popcorn, Skittles, Sprite... what's not to like? Thankfully that didn't appeal to Grumpy and we made our escape.

Shrek The Third got poor reviews by our local film critic, but I have to say we all enjoyed it. It was not as brilliant as the first one but definitely continued along the lines of the second one. I enjoyed the pop culture references meant to appeal to the parents and the kids enjoyed the story. In typical Shrek fashion, there was a music scene with the credits that had Taz and Rainbow dancing in the aisles. We boogied all the way to our car, and I thought about taking them out to dinner, but by then they were full of popcorn and other junk, so we headed home.

Scouter had conveniently just started his workout in our attic in a feeble attempt to gain another hour and a half. We turned up our noses at him, sniffed disdainfully (or maybe that was just me), and went outside to play now that the weather was more comfortable. And we each had huge bowls of ice cream. Fiber (from the popcorn) and protein/vitamin D (from the ice cream) constitute a good healthy dinner for growing children, don't they?

Yesterday (Sunday), the kids and I got their training session in, biking for two miles then running/walking for half a mile. I got smart this time and rode my old mountain bike with them on their ride instead of running alongside their bikes, desperately trying to keep up with them. They did great! I was so impressed. They are enjoying the experience and are definitely ready for their kids' tri next weekend. They were both excited to join mommy on my workouts.

We went to the pool for the afternoon and were thrilled to discover that one of Regan's friends from kindergarten is a new member. We hung out with her family for a bit and also with one of our neighbors and her kids. Although I lotioned us all up regularly, we ended up a bit pink. We returned home just in time for me to get to Som's swimming. Scouter and the kids headed to a cook out at a neighbor's house so they were all entertained.

Last night was the first time I'd actually attended Som's swimming for awhile. Even though I think I'm pushing myself when I swim on my own, I'm so not. We swam 2000 yards (I think) including a race day simulation of a timed 300 yard multi-lane swim. I did not feel so good in that and did not approach my race estimate as feared. Ah well. I will get passed on race day.

Today the kids and I have enjoyed making pancakes, playing Webkinz (very cool as much as I resisted it), Scrabble Jr, and Boggle Jr. We're heading to the pool again later this afternoon with 10 times more sunblock than yesterday.

Maybe we'll even let Scouter come with us.

Tough Brick

Man, I haven't done a brick workout in a looooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnng time. Shame on me.

Today, in my effort to do the Patriot Half training to see if I can cut it, I cycled 4o miles then ran 3. For the bike, I met a posse in my driveway at 7 a.m. I had on my cute new sleeveless pink Biker Chick cycling top with a big yellow chick graphic. Quite amusing, to me anyway. Richard, Kermit, Katheryn, Melissa and I set off for West Creek, then did loop after endless loop before riding back.

As soon as we arrived at WC, Katheryn and Kermit dropped us. That girl must be eating her Wheaties 'cuz she's smoked me the last two weeks! We used to be fairly compatible, up until less than two weeks ago. Impressive. I want to be that fast too!

Melissa decided to ride the main loop and hooked up with some other TriGirls, which left me and my buddy Richard to go it together. I like to blast through the rails into Cap One and loop around the campus to add two miles. Richard did not like the small space to get through so after wiping out on the first attempt, he started cutting over to the other side, laughing and thinking he was all smart. (Which he is as a matter of fact.) I like the challenge and the danger myself.

At about mile 22, we made a quick stop at the XTerra parking lot for a drink and a snack and we caught up with my little sister, Jen, and Annnnnnnnnnn, who are both so cute. We were actually a little chilly starting back out but it didn't last long. I was sweating again before we made the turn.

Richard groaned when we got to the end of that loop and I said we had one to go. I must admit, I would have skipped it and headed home if he hadn't been with me. Those hills at West Creek were kicking my butt. I did see Mary Jo for a brief chat towards the end. She was looking strong on her 75 mile jaunt.

We passed Melissa at some point, and she yelled that she'd wait for us at the intersection to head back. Katheryn had already zipped through her laps and headed home, and we hadn't had a Kermit sighting for awhile. But when we got to the intersection, we didn't see anyone. We waited awhile and hydrated, then decided they must have left us. That last stretch, going home, is tough for me. Mentally, I think I'm done because I'm finished with WC but actually I have five more miles of rolling hills to go.

We had a good ride - 41+ miles at 17.2 mph average speed. Much better than last week!

When we got back to my house, I was horrified to see Melissa's car still there. We had inadvertantly left her! Being the good friend that I am, I started out on my run while Richard tried to reach Kermit on his cell phone.

The aptly named brick kicked my butt next. My legs felt like stumps as I set off. Running feels so slow after the speed of the bike. I was in the 8 minute mile range early, then 9:12, then slower and slower every time I looked - 10s, 11s, 12s... better pick it up! I somehow managed to throw down 8:53, 9:02, adn 8:47 minute miles respectively with an average of 8:53. I was surprised and happy with those times.

As I was finishing up my run, Melissa zipped by in her car, cell phone working, and looking all cute. (I should mention that I looked like a monster at that point). I ran past my street and saw Richard and Kermit. Fortunately, I only had 0.2 miles to go at that point so I finished up and walked back to chat. Kermit and Melissa had been at the Cap One entrance waiting for us and ended up riding back together.

Taz popped outside in his Scooby underwear to entertain us, followed soon by Rainbow. They went back inside to get dressed then started zipping around us on their bikes. I guess they were motivated by seeing ours.

My shower and the huge bleu cheese burger that I inhaled were fabulous. I'm still trying to work in a nap...

Poser

So I got really brave and asked to be added to the Tri-Geek Blogger Alliance. If you go here and scroll down to Virginia, you'll see your very own Tri-Di!

I gave the Iron Kahuna lots of reasons not to list me, emailing him that I've only done one sprint tri and that I blog about anything tri-related less than 50% of the time... but he posted my link anyway. And even emailed me a "welcome sista" message. Very exciting!

I'm such a poser.

So Cool

I upped the Scary Spice ante hard today, driving our convertible to work with wet hair and the top down. Pretty, I am not! But I had a hell of a fun ride into the office and felt cool picking my buddy Sharon up for lunch.

Feeling cool was as good as it got because I certainly wasn't looking cool. Our convertible is a 1988 model BMW 325si that has seen better days. We just pulled it out of the garage this week to get it inspected, only one year overdue. The top is in shambles which is why it has to be down. The leather seats are cracking with huge wads of stuffing sprouting out. The radio, the clock, and the odometer are broken and there are red lights that flash regardless of the service status. Oh yes, this little car has looked better. Much, much better.

But damn it's still fun to drive.

This particular model car has low seats, so the bottom of the windows hit at about boob level. Meaning, outside viewers really don't get a good body shot. One of my favorite stories about driving it was when I was oh, 10 or 11 months pregnant with Taz (have I ever mentioned that he had to be evicted? Oh yes. He liked his cozy warm home inside me). Anyway, I was driving around town, top down, radio blasting (back in the good old days when it still worked) when this carload of guys - and I mean young, cute guys - made some appreciative comments in my general direction. Which totally and completely cracked me and my pregnant self up. Which encouraged them. Which cracked me up more.

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Another funny (to me anyway) story about the Beemer is what I told Taz is my most embarrassing moment. It is embarrassment at the first grade level. And probably the best he'll get from me until he's, oh, maybe 25. I had just gotten this car so it was 1993, I was young and crazy, and I was driving with the top down feeling all hot. I was at a traffic light when I blew a ginormous bubble. As in with bubble gum. The light turned green, I took off, and guess what? I ended up with a Bubble Yum covered face and Bubble Yum covered sunglasses. I went from cool to dork faster than my little car can go from zero to two.

Why, you may be wondering, would anyone keep a spare car laying around that s/he doesn't even drive for well over a year? Good question. One I ask Scouter regularly, I may add. He is the one who can't part with anything. If this car weren't in both our names, I would have sold it years ago. Actually, amend that to - if this car weren't in both our names and I could overcome my basic inertia and predisposition for letting him deal with all things vehicular, I would have sold it years ago.

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But, since we're apparently keeping it, we may need to get some cosmetic work done on this little baby and take it out more often.

Yikes

I way overestimated my abilities when I changed my swim time for the upcoming Shady Grove Sprint Tri last week.

My thought process was this: If I can swim a mile with an average 50 pace of 1:04, then I must be sandbagging my 50s and 100s. I speculated that I could swim 300 meters in 5:48 based on 58 seconds per 50. Then I thought, everyone else is underestimating their pace as well, so for some reason that escapes me now, I changed my time from a comfortable 6:00 minutes to 5:36.

Yikes.

To test my theory, I swam three timed 100s today ~ 1:57, 2:02, and 1:58 respectively. Which totals 5:57. Which is nowhere close to 5:36.

Maybe adrenaline will take over and nerves will carry me through. Or maybe no one will notice if I wear flippers.

Yikes.

Book Review

So someone out there may remember that I recently promised you a book review. I'm finally getting around to doing it.

My book club book this month was Zoia's Gold by Philip Sington. It got five stars on Amazon, but only from two reviewers who clearly do not like the same kind of literature that I do.

It sucked.

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End of review.

Okay not really, you know by now that I can't leave well enough alone.

This book was partially based on letters, private papers, and paintings by the Russian artist Zoia Korvin-Krukovsky. Unfortunately, information about Zoia was interspersed with a fictional modern day character, Marcus Elliott, who researches Zoia in an effort to answer questions about his own life. Zoia is interesting. Marcus is not. He is a whiny, depressed, uninteresting character and his story was a good 60% of the book. I finished this book only because we were going to discuss it at book club. It felt a lot like completing a college reading assignment when I'd rather be out with my friends.

Even worse than the book itself was the book club meeting about it. We have a new member who clearly thought this was her opportunity for soliloquy. Or perhaps she thought we were all required to give a 45 minute oral presentation on the book? It was worse for me because I had to sit beside her and listen to her pontificate even when someone else was talking. Which is unfortunate because I was really interested to hear what my Russian friend Masha had to say about the historical sections of the book within the context of her experience growing up there.

On the other hand, my kids and I loved the book Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant which was recommended to me by Grandison after we lost our dog Brea. It is a sweet look at what happens to dogs when they die and go to heaven. According to the book, God has a sense of humor, making squirrel shaped dog biscuits as treats.

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The only problem I had with this book is that towards the end, there is a statement to the effect of "dogs can stay here as long as they want." To which my children immediately asked, where else would they go? After a few minutes of thinking and only coming up with reincarnation, I finally pulled a reasonable answer out of my ass and told them the dogs can go visit other parts of heaven. Of course. This answer became quite an extended bit of fiction as I tried to describe what heaven is like. In case my kids ever ask, the cats are in a seperate section. And people can visit all the sections.

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Even though I had explained to my children that Brea was in heaven, chasing frisbees and playing in the river, they seemed to find the explanation more reassuring when it came in black and white with pictures. Cynthia Rylant has a book called Cat Heaven too. Can Hamster or Goldfish Heaven be far behind?

"Do you do triathlons?"

I was at the Y today sporting my adorable although skin tight white TriGirl tee shirt when a woman in the locker room turned to me and asked, "Do you do triathlons?"

"Um, well, ah..." I stammered as excuses and my own limitations ran through my head. Well, yeah, only one and it was just a sprint. And I'm not very good at it; in fact I totally choked my bike ride this weekend. Although you know, any weekend that includes a two hour bike is a good weekend. "Yes," I finally managed.

Turns out, she only wanted to know about the masters' swim program at the Shady Grove Y. I filled her in, then scampered to the shower to laugh at myself for all my negative self talk. Why do I do that to myself? I am a triathlete, damn it.

Now the question is, am I willing to step up to the plate for a longer distance?

Susie Q posted a quote on her blog recently that I really like... something like, "If at first you succeed, try something harder." That must be why there are four different triathlon distances, after all.

I am definitely stepping up to an Olympic this year and will either do Luray or Naylor's Beach. But do I have the courage - or at least the time - to step up to the Patriot Half? I really want to do it and appreciate everyone's encouraging words. (Don't know what the hell I was thinking asking my blog readers for an opinion - like any of y'all are going to say NO WAY ARE YOU CRAZY?!?!?! since you are all doing it too, if not something longer).

The pros of doing the Patriot Half are:

1. Train longer and harder with a really cool group of women
2. Challenge myself and push my preconceived limits
3. Be a good role model for my children

The cons are:

1. Training time - the Eagleman half Ironman group trained for 4+ hours on Saturday. Can I really expect my husband to cover long workouts on a regular basis?
2. Cranky spouse - My kids have been particularly heinous lately, fighting with each other constantly, which means Scouter is very happy to turn them over to me when I get home from work. Yes this is effectively a repeat of #1 but it is weighing heavily on my decision and therefore bore repeating with a slightly different twist. A cranky husband is a very bad thing.
3. I've never done anything further than a sprint - am I pushing limits or am I shattering them? My legs are shot from my training last week, which wasn't what it should have been if I were actually training for the Patriot. I need to fit in one more swim, one more bike, and one more run. Each.And.Every.Week.
4. Plantar fasciitis is still painfully present in both feet. Hopefully the custom orthotics for my running shoes will arrive this week. But have I mentioned, my feet really hurt?

Melissa, who just committed to the Patriot this morning, suggested that I start doing the training, see how it goes, then commit if it seems as though it will work out. Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that?

Am I a triathlete?

Why yes, I just may be.

Girl Weekend

Rainbow and I enjoyed a fun girls' weekend for a good part of this weekend while the boys were on a Cub Scout camping trip.

My Saturday started with a really crappy ride... 29 miles at only 15.4 mph average. I felt tired and sluggish. Katheryn dropped me like a bad habit as soon as we got to West Creek. Fortunately, I hooked up with Jackie and got to ride a loop and chat with her. I'm definitely a social exerciser. The rolling hills of Lauderdale in particular kicked my ass on the way home.

Scouter was almost all packed up and ready to go camping when I returned from my ride. Taz was thrilled and Rainbow was looking forward to some Mommy time. Good stuff.

Rainbow and I started our girl outing as all good girl outings should start - with a pedicure. She's had manicures before but this was her first pedicure. She looked so little perched on the big chair with her little feet dangling in the water. She had a big grin on her face the entire time. She turned to me at one point and said, "Mommy, we need to do this more often!" I asked if more often than once every five years worked for her, and she replied that every other day would be good. She now has neon pink toes and a sparkly red toe ring.

Next we went to lunch at - my frequent readers will never believe this - the Nordstrom Cafe! She had her usual pizza; I had a delicious crab melt. We had a little time to shop but surprisingly didn't buy anything. She wanted sandals but I just can't spend $45 on a pair of kid's sandals. We'll have to hit Target for that.

Next on our itinerary was Theatre IV's Wizard of Oz. We picked up my friend Corinna and her kids to head downtown. It was a great show. All the kids loved it. And really cool - the cast all came to the lobby after the show. Rainbow got all the casts' autograph on her program. She was most excited about Dorothy and the Wicked Witch of the West.

Corinna invited Rainbow and me over to hang out after the show, so we picked up some fabulous food from the Lebanese Food Festival and headed over. I really didn't intend to hang out so long, but the kids were playing great and we were sipping wine... next thing I knew, it was almost 10:00 and well past bedtime for my little one. Rainbow crashed with me since we were home alone, so we did some quality snuggling. She slept until after 8:00 then we chatted and lounged for almost another hour. So nice! That never happens when Taz is home. He wakes up quite early and has to eat immediately.

The boys returned home around 10. Scouter was jonesing to cut grass - men are so weird - so the kids and I headed to the Y for their swim training. We did a lot of playing and the kids practiced their free style stoke a little bit.

This afternoon, we had Rainbow's dance recital. You haven't experienced the joy of parenting until you've spent three hours in a darkened auditorium watching a dance recital with a bored and restless Taz. Rainbow had a blast and did very well with her two numbers. I think her favorite part was the sparkly purple costume.

Alas, we got home too late for me to make swimming... again... but I think I need a rest day anyway. I'm really tired and my body aches.

Healthy Hydration Advice

I just got this message from my friend Mary Beth and, knowing my TriGirl buddies and our obsession with proper hydration, thought you would appreciate this great training advice:

In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria found in feces.

In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of Poop.

However, we do not run that risk when drinking wine because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.

Remember:
Water = Poop
Wine = Health

Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of shit.

Miscellany

Note to any potential readers out there: "Miscellany" is the title I use when I've got absolutely nothing to say but feel compelled to blog anyway.

Sorry about that.

Perhaps it will become code for "skip this post - it's completely worthless."

So anyway I'm in the midst of a pretty decent week. Last week, I was all stressed out and worked up for absolutely no reason and I was making everything far more difficult than it needed to be. My theory is that I was getting overwhelmed at work - one person just cannot manage six simultaneous projects without letting things fall through the cracks - until I finally realized that it just isn't worth it. I can only do what I can do, then I have to leave it behind when I walk out the door. Nothing new, but I needed a reminder.

I also think that losing my sweet little doggie gave me yet another painful reminder to live in the moment and enjoy life. Could someone tattoo that on my forehead please?

My workouts this week have been good, after big fat rest days on Saturday and Sunday. Monday, I was downtown for meetings with a chunk of time in the middle - too little time to return to the office or make it to the Y, but too much time to just hang out. Fortunately, I had my gym bag in the car so I was able to borrow an out-of-town co-worker's room key to access the fitness center at the Jefferson. I love the Jefferson. The fitness room was large by hotel standards and had the basics I needed. I did the elliptical for 20 minutes to warm up, then did some machines and free weights. I always hurt myself when I work out on my own and really should do it more. My tendency is to skip body parts like shoulders and arms but I even did those. My legs, upper back, and biceps were sore the next day in a good way. As Melissa said (more eloquently) last week, there's nothing quite like being a little sore from a good hard workout.

Yesterday, I ran in the morning. Usually Tuesdays are my runs with the Bean which I love but she couldn't make it yesterday. I ran five miles with my iPod for company - 8:48 minutes/mile average, negative split. Then I went to a spin class at lunchtime. I like doing some indoor cycling in conjunction with getting outside. I think it improves my strength on the bike. And let's face it, I'll take any improvement on the bike even if it's a mental trick I play on myself.

Today I swam! I'm always shocked when I plan to swim and actually do it. This morning, I was very tempted to hop back in bed after the school bus picked up my babies. Good thing I had already packed my bag and loaded it in the car. I had my neighborhood Bunko group last night where I imbibed some vino and fat food even though I had every intention of behaving. But it was fun ~ I love chatting with my friends and neighbors ~ and I even won a little money. I was the biggest loser! I went to bed late for me (~ 11:30) and had to drag my sorry butt out of bed this morning. I'm so lame; I was going to let my kids (read: myself) sleep in and then drive them to school, but damn if Taz didn't wake up. Sigh. I had to get up too. So anyway, since I was awake and packed, I had no excuse so I headed to the Y to swim. I did 1600 meters with a descending set for the main set, as recommended in the Patriot Half TriGirl training forum. It seems that the general school of thought is that to improve at swimming, you have to swim regularly. I'm trying, I really am. Maybe one day I will actually have a two swim training week.

Then at lunch I went to yoga, reluctantly, because I thought an instructor I don't particularly like was teaching. Bonus! Someone was subbing for her and it was a great class. Although I find that swimming before yoga or weights adds to the degree of difficulty. Perhaps that means I need to work more on upper body strength.

Tonight I have book club. I didn't particularly like our book this month but I'll listen to the other girls and give you a more balanced book review later this week. The book I really want to read is Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant, whom my children and I love, as recommended by Grandison. I've been meaning to hit Barnes & Noble to look for it. Perhaps I will have time to do that tonight.

If I get my butt moving...

What the hell, it's Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all traditional and non-traditional moms. I hope you had a great day yesterday.

Thanks to all of you for your sympathy and kind words regarding the loss of my dog-baby. Even my kids were sad that Brea passed on Mother's Day weekend. I'm not sure whether they overheard someone else saying it or not but they were very sweet. Rainbow and Taz are currently alternating between crying jags and pleas for a new puppy.

Taz and Rainbow both made me adorable little Mother's Day presents at school. Taz made a paper flower bouquet with special things he would do for me written on the stems, including "snuggle" and "hugs and kisses." That boy knows what I like! He also made a little booklet where he filled in blanks on things like "Mommy is special because..." On that one he wrote, "because she loves me and my sister." Another was, "Mommy is good at..." and he wrote, "riding her bike." How funny is that? He also wrote that what we like to do together is shop, which I thought was odd until I realized that the accompanying picture was him picking a Star Wars character off the shelf. Typical boy.

One of my cards from Rainbow said, "Yo Mom. What up Mom." The other one was covered with hearts, Xs and Os. She also made me paper flowers with straw stems which are now in a vase.

Our traditional Mother's Day includes brunch at RCC followed by many hours of sipping mimosas on the deck with Beanie and her family while the kids run free. I'm not quite sure what that says about our mothering abilities but it can't be good. I feel like a Ya Ya.

Yesterday, Cate and her family joined us for brunch then they enjoyed a family outing to the Chesterfield Berry Farm. They stopped by afterwards to drop off some strawberries and we sucked them into our celebration.

Would you like another drink?

What the hell, it's Mother's Day.

Memories of Brea

Brea, our black lab, died yesterday. She would have been 18 on May 24 - that's 126 in dog years. I know she had a long, full and happy life but I am still mourning her passing. Rainbow and Taz are having a tough time too as this is their first real experience with death.

Scouter and I got Brea soon after we got engaged. Scouter had always wanted a lab, and his roommate worked with a lady who's dog had just had a litter. The mom was a beautiful chocolate lab, the dad was black, and all the puppies were black. When we went to pick her out, we were greeted by nine rollie-pollie eight-week old puppies. And she actually picked us. I stepped into the puppy pen, and she charged me. She rode home in my lap, and even when she grew to her top weight of ~84 pounds, she still loved to climb into my lap for some love.

The first few nights in Scouter's apartment, she missed her mommy and her brothers and sisters. My tender-hearted Scouter didn't want her to sleep in the bed but he couldn't stand to hear her cries, so he slept on the floor with her. She soon got used to her new home and started getting into mischief.

Brea loved to run and chase anything - ball, stick, frisbee, whatever. One day when Brea was a pup, we were outside playing on the lawn in front of the apartment. Brea started running away and Scouter yelled at her to come back. The little girl in the apartment across from us looked at us strangely, then walked over to ask what he wanted. Turns out her name was Brea too! Once she realized we were talking to the dog, she was quite relieved. The two of them became friends and playmates.

One day, Scouter came home for lunch to find a stubby yellow lab hanging half in and half out of our kitchen window. Brea was in heat for the first time and he had literally broken the window to get in. Scouter rescued her from her first unwanted suitor.

Thanks to Scouter's roommate, Rob, we not only found Brea but she developed a big popcorn habit. He tossed popcorn to her all the time. Until the day she died, she got excited whenever she smelled popcorn.

The night before Scouter and I got married, Brea ate all of his shoes except the rentals that went with his tux. Our first imperative on our honeymoon was to buy Scouter a pair of tennis shoes to replace the ones Brea used as chew toys.

We moved into our first house when Brea was 14 months old. By then, she had destroyed the apartment, literally eating through some of the dry wall. We were very excited to have a big fenced back yard for her.

Turns out our little social pup wasn't fond of being in the big backyard alone. She learned to scale the fence - it was a six foot high wooden privacy fence - and would roam the neighborhood. We didn't know about her activities until I happened to come home early from work one day. I panicked when I couldn't find her and started running through the neighborhood, calling her name. A lady called back to me and pointed to Brea. Relieved, I confirmed that was my dog at which point she told me Brea came over to play with her dog every afternoon. Apparently, she made her rounds. Many times after that, I found her lounging in the front yard, surveying the neighborhood.

Brea was the first neighbor to meet Ed and Meda when they moved across the street. She ran through their house as a one-dog welcoming committee as they were unloading boxes. She's been Ed's girlfriend ever since. She also made friends with the Rottweiler next door, whose parents often came over to see if Brea could come outside to play with Kia.

Not only could she climb the fence, but she could scale almost anything that got in her way. One day, our friend Billy was throwing the frisbee to her in our backyard. He accidentally threw it on top of the shed. No problem. Brea got a running start, dug her claws into the wood shed and pulled herself up on the roof where she then jumped over to the metal shed, grabbed her frisbee, hopped down and was ready for the next throw.

Scouter used go to work much earlier than I did, so I was still in bed when he left. Every morning, I would hear the front door shut, then I'd hear Brea bounding up the stairs to leap on the bed to snuggle with me. Scouter joked about the black dog hair he'd find on his side of the bed every night.

One of her favorite things to do was to go to my parent's house at the river. The first time we went, she was scared of the water until she accidentally fell off the pier and realized she could swim. Then we couldn't keep her out of it! She would sneak away from my parents house and come back soaking wet. She chased whatever we threw into the river, returning to the bank to shower us with sand and salt water before hopping around anxious to go again. She figured out that swimming from shore took too long; if she ran down the pier and dove into the water, she could retrieve faster. We have some great pictures of her launching herself off of the pier. As she got older, she still loved the water but she started occasionally taking breaks, lying in a shady spot on the sand.

The first time we went to visit Jodi and Bruce in Canada, Brea came with us to meet their new yellow lab puppy, Samantha. Brea and Sam had the best time together! Our photos are all about Brea and Sam's big adventures... maybe just a few of Jodi, Bruce, Scouter and I and then only if a dog was doing something cute near us. They were definitely our first babies.

Brea was seven years old when we moved. She didn't understand that we were coming back when we left her. Before we fenced the yard, we left her in the house where she tried to claw her way out when we weren't around. We still have carpet damage, covered up of course. She found one particular chair from the old house to be comforting and claimed it for her own. We intentionally fenced our new yard with slats that she could see through. She learned to love her new house and especially her new yard, where she could see all the activity on the block.

Brea was 11 when Taz was born. She wasn't quite sure what to make of him when we brought him home from the hospital, but she was instinctively protective. She became very agitated whenever he cried. If I didn't respond right away, she paced between me and the baby, stopping to nudge my hand and propel me towards him. She was always with us, and if we weren't together, she posted a spot in between us.

Scouter woke me in the middle of the night when Brea was 12, Taz was one and I was six months pregnant with Rainbow, telling me that Brea was sick. She had asked to go outside then started digging a hole for herself in the far corner of our yard. Her stomach was hard and big like a basketball and she couldn't lay down. I called the emergency vet and Scouter took her at 3:00 in the morning. They diagnosed her with a flipped stomach and performed emergency surgery right away. If the emergency vet hadn't been available, we would have lost her then. The vet called us the next morning to report that the surgery went well and that Brea hopped up on the table as soon as it was over. She had never seen a dog do that before, particularly one so old. Brea had to stay at the doggie hospital for a few days, so every night, Scouter, Taz and I went to visit. She looked so sad with her shaved stomach and legs, needles and tubes everywhere.

By the time Rainbow was born, Brea was an old hand with babies. She stayed very busy guarding the two of them all the while keeping track of my activities. As they grew, she became a big play toy to them and she was unbelievably tolerant and patient with their toddler curiosity.

The last year has been tough for my old girl. She lost control of her bowel movements and was relegated to live in the garage. Her hip started giving out and she walked with a tilt. The vet assured us that she was never in any pain, thank goodness. Nothing made her happier than flopping on the ground near the kids when they were playing. She loved to be in the middle, and a pat on the head was fabulous.

I know we are blessed to have had her for so long and that she is happily chasing a frisbee in doggie heaven right now.

Race for the Cure

This morning, I walked Race for the Cure with a group of good friends. We were all there to support the Bean who lost her mother to breast cancer. Her Mom fought it successfully for years before finally succumbing. This is a particularly difficult weekend for Beanie, combined with Mother's Day, but she has a lot of people who love her which hopefully brings comfort.

Here's our crew on Brown's Island. From left to right: Kathy, Corinne (aka the Bean), Debbie, me, Cate, Beth, and Christine.


We met up briefly with the TriGirl crew who were running the event. L to R: me, Melissa, Shannon, Kathleen, Deanna, and Deanna. Hopefully they all had great races!


We had a little time to hang out on Brown's Island before the start, so we had time to sign the volunteer banner. Then Cate and I picked up pink Energizer bunny ears and pink bags of Sun Chips for our kids (the ears were a big hit with Rainbow in particular!). We also got pink ribbons painted on our cheeks. I mean the cheeks on our faces, in case you were wondering. I could have done some shopping at the booths but managed to refrain (I just dropped some jack last night on an impromptu shopping trip with Rainbow. I ended up with three new pair of shorts; she got a stuffed animal, three shirts and two pair of shoes. Considering that we were Mothers' Day shopping for the Grandmas, we both made out like bandits. I have no control. But I digress...)

The weather started out perfect - low 70s, a little overcast, but the sun came out right before the event started so it was actually quite warm walking in full sunlight on asphalt. Debbie, the wonderful mom that she is, hooked us all up with sunscreen, hand sanitizer, water, and anything else we needed.

Walking the event was a lot of fun. Beanie and I ran it last year and found it to be frustrating to dodge walkers and traffic. We thought about volunteering instead, which perhaps we will do next year. The seven of us managed to stay together throughout and I had a chance to chat with everyone at various times during the walk.

Cate and I had driven separately because we both had to be home quickly, so at the finish line we all separated. By the time we went to bag check to retrieve our items, the rest of the group was long gone. And we really needed them to find the car! We followed them down and neither of us paid a bit of attention to where we parked. Fortunately we found Cate's car with a few laughs and without too much aimless wandering and headed back home.

A good time was had by all. I would definitely walk or volunteer for this worthy cause again next year.

Week in Review

Picking up from my last workout related post... I actually did the Cyclo Zen yoga tape on Wednesday morning! I was joking that it was why I was calm throughout the teacher luncheon. Also Cate joked that planning social functions without cocktails will be very difficult for us ~ we've no experience in that area. It kind of sucks to be aware of and remember the clean up.

I had so much fun Thursday riding the Power Sprint bike course with TriGirls Cheryl, Melissa, and Megan. They are all so cute. It is a great 12 mile course starting and ending at the Shady Grove YMCA. It was an unusual position for me because I was the only one who knew the route. I'm used to being the novice. We were all a bit nervous about riding in traffic and clipping in and out for stops and left turns. Those guys did great and pushed me to a 17 mph average. Very cool. Hopefully we'll be able to do it again next week.

Thursday morning I only had time for a short run before I had to be at work for an early meeting, so I ran three miles (8:46 min/mi average). Friday, I finally made up my swim in the morning (2000 meters including a timed mile at 34:05). It is interesting to note that I swam just about the same pace when I timed a 1000 several weeks ago. I think I could pick up my swimming speed some. I need to get some consistency first though. It takes a good half my swim to settle into my stroke and feel comfortable in the water. Friday afternoon, I took a weights class at the Y which was very good. The upper body exercises kicked my butt especially after swimming that morning.

Good stuff. Half Ironman training it ain't but it's a good week for me.

Still Contemplating...

I haven't signed up for the Patriot Half but I am still thinking about it. Will I have enough time to train properly? Even then, am I physically and mentally able to do it?

There are a lot of reasons not to do it, the most important being the extra time away from my kids. They get very upset with me when I leave them to train on the weekends. Or lately, they want to join me which is fun but doesn't really contribute to my training. There are other obstacles like never having swum in open water and being very afraid of it, not owning a wet suit, never having run 13.1 miles, etc. Is that sentence grammatically incorrect or just awkward? Anyway, all the reasons not to do it are running through my mind and they are compelling.

The only reason to do it is that I really want to.

To put this in context, I've never even done an Olympic tri and my first opportunity to do so comes less than a month before the half - if I can even do that one; we might be out of town. If I register for the half and have a horrible Olympic, I could always skip the half. But I'd have a really hard time committing to something then failing to see it through. On the other hand, the current Eagleman training schedule contains about nine hours of training throughout the week. On a good week, I train about nine hours now - but my schedule includes weight lifting and yoga which I love. Would I have to give them up? I think twelve hours is more than I can handle.

Should I wait a year to try a half? Or should I follow Nike's advice and just do it?

Miscellany

So it occurred to me that with my new permed shorter hair, I'm looking a lot like Scary Spice these days. Only my hair is poofier. The only good thing about it is that when I sweat, my hair actually looks better. Fortunately, I'm not pregnant with Eddie Murphy's baby. As far as I know.

And yes I do love People magazine, thank you very much.

I have some comments on your comments... have I mentioned lately that I love me some comments? Now you know.

Jodi, I need you girlfriend! Somehow, your Rocketman training that involved him running (literally) around the mall while you shoe-shopped sticks in my mind. That's the kind of coaching I need... then I could taper like a madwoman.

And yes ladies, Rainbow is mini-me. She is a nutjob (to quote her favorite Junie B. Jones) with a shoe fetish.

I missed swimming on Sunday and am having a hard time fitting it in this week. I only swim once a week which is pathetic so I've got to work it in somehow. Usually, when I miss, I go either Monday or Wednesday morning but this week, I was/will be at my kids' school both mornings. That place is sucking me dry by the way. I'm soon going to be railing against the PTA like Jen at Mommy Needs Coffee.

This year, I am room mother for Rainbow's class. It's kindergarten so the kids are really easy to please but there are a remarkable number of activities. In the last two weeks, I've been at school on separate occasions for the book fair, kindergarten musical, field trip, field day, teacher appreciation week, and several other things I can't even remember. I made Scouter go for the parent/child kickball game and ice cream social. I'm back tomorrow for the teacher luncheon in association with teacher appreciation week because... and I can't even believe I did this... Cate and I are co-chairing the hospitality committee next year and we want to watch the current chairs in action. Am I crazy or what? Okay please don't answer that.

The hospitality committee is actually a perfect fit for Cate and me. We both love planning social functions. We work well together, too. She's very detailed and organized whereas I'm very big-picture and scatter-brained. In other words, she'll carry our team.

I guess while I'm rambling I should mention the workouts I have done this week. You know about my run Sunday morning which was actually me chasing my children on their bikes. Whew! That was a workout. Monday, I did my weights class at the Y. Carrie taught which means I'm very aware of my hamstrings today. So what did I do to them? Ran five miles with the Bean (10:13/mile average - neither of us were moving quickly today) then went to spin class at lunch. I'm going t miss my yoga class tomorrow since I'll be at school, but I'm hoping to get my act together in the morning to do the Cyclo-Zen tape. Or I may go back to bed for an hour after the kids get on the bus.

Okay enough of this foolishness. I've gone downhill. I'll come back when I really have something to write about. Or at least I'll wait until tomorrow.

TriKid Training

Taz and Rainbow's favorite thing to do on Sundays is to train for their upcoming triathlon. Last week, they swam so this week they wanted to bike and run. They actually wanted to do all three but we didn't have enough time.

We loaded up their bikes and headed to a pond near our house which has a nice paved trail all the way around it. The entire loop is a little over one mile. They biked it twice while I jogged along with them - "jogged" loosely translating to anything from standing still to sprinting to keep up. Then we ran/walked together for 0.6 mile. Taz has run with me before so he understands that he should start slowly. Rainbow took off at a sprint, and I tried to explain pacing to her. They did really well. When we finished, they both wanted to bike another lap, mainly to explore all the little paths off the main one.

About half way into the final lap, Taz decided he was finished. I had told myself that when it wasn't fun anymore, we would stop. But, I had a problem. We were equally far from the car in either direction, and Rainbow was still breezing ahead having a blast. I had to cajole Taz the remainder of the way. Since I was running up to Rainbow then back to encourage (and/or threaten as the case may be) Taz for the last half mile, I ended up running a total of four miles ~ 10:12 average pace. Wow, I hadn't planned on that! Taz sulked the whole way home while Rainbow enthused about how much fun she'd had.

Scouter and Mr. Bean took the kids to the Braves game in the afternoon while Beanie and I had a Party Girl purse party. Party Girls was started by our friend Cate and her business partner Meg. They have a bunch of different cute styles and lots of great fabric from which to select and design your own purse. Check it out!

I was really planning to swim last night but once it was clear that the party wasn't going to end on time, I started drinking wine instead. We ended up hanging out on our back deck with the Beans, which felt like summer and was quite fun.

Capital to Capital Race Report

That's me and Scouter. In our defense, we didn't know that Richard was taking the picture when he did. I think we needed a re-do. We really were happy...

We were well prepared for our race today. Last night, we both had pasta. I had a wonderful blackened chicken penne with mushrooms, red & green peppers, and onion at Nordstrom Cafe with Rainbow while Taz was at a birthday party. Scouter had noodles with Ragu at home. Poor guy! I was in bed by 9:30 for the third Friday night in a row. I'm seriously getting worried about myself! I need a girls night next Friday or something!!!! (Rebekah?)

On any given Saturday morning, Taz is up between 5:30 and 6:00. Pretty much since he was.... um, zero. His whole life. This morning, since we needed him to get up early, I was prying his little butt out of bed at 7:00, promising that he could go back to sleep once we got to Grandma's house. We finally managed to get everything together, dropped off the kids, and headed to Dorey Park. We met Richard out there, and I was very excited to finally meet JRo! She is so friendly and has the prettiest blue eyes.

This is the first time that Scouter and I have ever ridden together, and I was very excited. I warned him on the way that he would think I was dying the first five miles. Seriously, the first mile of a run and the first five miles of a bike, my body does everything it can to convince me otherwise. Finally, after a battle, it accepts the fact that we're really going to do this thing.

Richard, Scouter and I started riding around 8:30. This event wasn't huge - a few hundred people - but with starts at both ends (Richmond and Jamestown) and a two hour window in which to start, we were pretty spread out. We saw a few other groups of riders but really not that many.

There were some rolling hills at the beginning. Around 10 miles, I was thinking, OMG I'm only 1/5th of the way done. Can I do this? About that time, we realized we had missed a turn and had to double back a mile or so. We were all riding together well. I was in the front, which I dislike, but I figured it was good because then they couldn't drop me. After we got back on the route, Scouter took the lead. That man has got some hot legs and a very cute butt. I'm just sayin'.

Route 5 is a beautiful ride. Unfortunately, the pavement on the side of the road we were riding was ripped up. We teased Richard a bit because he had told us what a nice smooth ride it was. We hit the first support station around the 15 mile point for us, stopped and had a drink, then kept hitting it. The route was pretty flat from there until the mid-point in Charles City.

The mid-point was well stocked with lunch and plenty of friendly volunteers. We met up with JRo again and had lunch together. It was only 10:30, but we were all pretty hungry. Scouter and I chowed on barbecue; Richard and JRo made what I can only assume was a wiser selection and had veggie burgers. I'll leave it at this - BBQ at the mid-point was not a good call for me and I paid for it the rest of the day.

Richard had originally planned to ride the full century, but the weather was not looking too cooperative. He decided to make the turn with us and head back to Richmond. A very wise move, as we will soon learn...

After our lunch break, I was freezing. It took me a good five miles to get warm again. The route back to the support station was a different and equally pleasant ride. We clocked ~38 miles at the rest stop and knew our ride was going to be closer to 55 than 50. Officially, the longest I'd ever ridden.

At about mile 44, we started noticing sprinkles. Well, either that, we joked, or our lead dog Scouter was sweating profusely. Not likely - it was definitely cool. Very quickly, it was pouring. The last 10 miles were absolutely miserable. We were freezing, couldn't see jack, and were riding through puddles in traffic. Conditions were particularly lovely when a car flew by and sprayed us with road water. I could feel cold rain pouring in my shoes and down my back. We picked up the pace.

After what felt like hours, we finally hit Darbytown Road, on which Dorey Park lies. We were riding down Darbytown for awhile in a lot of traffic when suddenly Richard stopped right in front of me. I almost hit him, screamed like a girl, but fortunately didn't. He said he thought we might have turned the wrong way at the last intersection. We decided, uncertainly, with more hope than conviction, that we hadn't and kept going. Finally, finally, we reached the entrance to Dorey Park and headed down the last mile to our cars. Whew! I have never been so relieved for a ride to be over. Well, maybe... Blue Ridge comes to mind... but anyway you get my point.

By then, our clothes were completely soaked, my lips were blue and teeth were chattering. I stripped down to my sports bra by the car to put on the (dry!) race tee shirt we'd been given - which is a cool tee by the way - and my dry sweatshirt that I'd left behind. Still, I froze in the car the whole way home. Scouter and I have way different heating needs. We struck a livable medium where I wasn't going into hypothermia and he wasn't sweating. I ran to the shower as soon as we got home and didn't come out for a very long while.

Race stats: The first 28 miles - 16.6 mph average; entire 54.5 miles - 16.2.

I would definitely do this ride again, but lesson learned - if the forecast calls for rain, I may reconsider.

Game Ball

And the winner is... TAZ!!!!

My sweet little Taz won the game ball at his little league game today. He's so excited; it's all he can talk about! He made a great catch of a pop-up fly and also had two good hits.

The only bad thing is that Scouter and I weren't there. He couldn't wait to tell us about it when we got home from the Cap to Cap (race report later).

I'm so proud of my baby.

Ruh-roh

I think I'm in trouble.

I just sent Grandison my one mile time of 7:19, clocked this morning by a gasping and wheezing Tri-Di.

Then, I looked up my previous one mile time, clocked in January. 7:46.

Grandison is going to whip my ass now, isn't she?

What is this tapering of which you speak?

Clearly, I need some coaching intervention. I don't get the concept of tapering and I don't seem to have the ability to do it.

Case in point: this week.

I have the Capital to Capital on Saturday which will be a 50 mile bike ride. Yes, that's 14 miles further than I've ever ridden. An "A" race for me even, in this self-professed year of the bike.

So what do I do?

Sunday - run 5 miles (9:57/mi average)
Monday - swim 2000 meters (big fun by the way!), weights class
Tuesday - run 5 miles (10:10/mi average)
Wednesday - bike 26.5 miles, yoga
Thurday - run 2.5 miles including a timed mile (7:19 min)

No, these are not big numbers for actual athletes, but it's a damn good training week for me. Yes, I deserve to have a crappy race, burn out, and/or get injured.

Is the first step admitting you have a problem?

I will not work out tomorrow; I will not work out tomorrow; I will not work out tomorrow...

Dogs on Bikes

by Rainbow

What did I just see? Did I see a dog on a bike? That is the silliest thing I ever saw if it is true. I'm going to tell my friends. I bet my friends will not believe it. I'm going to tell everybody that I saw a dog on a bike. It was BOB!

Wow Wow Wow Wow Wow

A dog! A dog! A dog! A dog!
I believe it. I can't believe it. It can't be true.

BOB!!!!!!!!!

Bob rocks. I want to marry him. And I love him.
Whoa girl. You calm down girl. I better find somebody before this gets out of hand.

The End

*********************
Isn't she the cutest thing?