Sunday, September 30, 2007

College Flashback

In January, I was asked to give a talk on emerging technologies to a group of accountants. The talk wasn't until September, so I agreed.

The outline was due in April, and I barely made the deadline. The presentation itself was due in August. After requesting an extension, I finally submitted a high level presentation (read: incomplete) two weeks late.

The talk itself was Friday. I actually blocked some time on my calendar to work on the presentation Wednesday and Thursday, but a crisis at work and an emergency at home prevented it. (Regarding the emergency at home, Rainbow fell at school and hurt her arm. Fortunately, it isn't broken but it is badly bruised. My poor baby.)

I ended up working on the presentation Thursday night after the kids went to bed, then finishing it Friday morning just moments before I had to leave. I couldn't get it copied onto a disk for some reason so I ended up taking my whole laptop. I was supposed to be there an hour early but ended up arriving 15 minutes late.

At least I wasn't hungover. Does that mean I've matured at least a little since college?

Workout Week in Review

Last week was nothing special other than the startling fact that I followed my training plan reasonably well.

Monday, I did the weights class that I love. The instructor informed us that she had eaten a lot of junk over the weekend, which could only mean one thing... she was going to give us a hard workout! Fortunately, I've been in a little more of a groove with lifting weights so it didn't kill me. My chest was sore but otherwise I was okay afterwards.

Tuesday, Beanie and I ran fives miles at a slow 10:59 minutes/mile pace. I think my new Newtons are improving my running form. Running on the front of my feet for five miles resulted in painfully sore calves for the next few days.

Wednesday, I guilted myself into swimming and actually went in the morning before work - because, you know, I love the goggle marked look that gives me in the office. I warmed up, did some drills, then swam a timed 1000 meters which was 20 seconds faster than my last abysmal attempt but still pretty slow. Then for some reason I decided it would be fun to do three 100 meter IMs (one length each butterfly, back stroke, breastroke, and freestyle). I felt and certainly looked like I was drowning on the butterfly but I felt fast on the freestyle which was a pleasant change. Cool down left me with a 1600 meter total which is one mile. Woo hoo!

Thursday, I ran four miles with my iPod and averaged 9:11 minutes/mile. Nothing remarkable. I was happy when it was over.

Friday, I took a rest day in preparation for Saturday when I biked 18-19 miles with Annnn at a 16.7 mph pace, then ran three miles at 8:55 minutes/mile pace to get one brick practice in before my sprint tri next weekend. Riding with Annnn is always a pleasure even though she accuses me of being insane. Something about the heavily trafficed roads I drag her onto... We saw the IronGirls riding five 20 mile loops through and around West Creek - they are so impressive.

And that my friends is my workout week.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

We're all going to need some serious therapy...

"Mommy?" Rainbow cocked her head quizzically. "Right now it doesn't seem like you like us very much."

Taz was wisely silent at this point - finally. They both looked up at me with big wide eyes and innocent expressions.

"Sweetheart," I replied, trying very hard not to clench my jaw and quite possibly failing, "If I didn't love you so much, I wouldn't bother to correct your heinous behavior."

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Healthy Back

This is so funny - check it out. I'll wait.

I kid you not, I read it as I was eating a Dove rich dark chocolate candy bar. And now I want peanut butter cups.

Not.The.Point. I'm trying to move on...

Off season... where are you?

This comic is Frazz. Check here for others. Sadly, they're not all triathlon related but they are all pretty funny.

Last year, I didn't comprehend the off season. I had just joined TriGirls in August and participated in my first triathlon in October. I was hooked! Unfortunately my timing was bad as the October tri was the last of the season. I ran an 8k in November but I was pumped to swim and bike too.

Grandison was trying to welcome the off season, but some other TriGirls and I begged for more workouts. We started doing indoor cycling at Maramarc and Som added a Jan/Feb swim session for us. I was all over it.

This year... yeah, not so much. I'm so ready for the off season. So much so that I've been kicking myself for signing up for an October race. (Although I admit that I was convinced by the social aspects. I have no actual interest in the race, particularly the open water swim. I'm guessing the water will be a tad chilly in October.)

Am I allowed to say that I'm looking forward to not swimming in the off season if I haven't been swimming hardly at all during the season? How about this - I'm looking forward to not swimming without feeling guilty about it. That's more accurate.

I definitely want to stay on the bike this off season because I saw gains from my work last winter. Well, either that or the equipment upgrades I made to clipless pedals and aerobars improved my speed. I'm hoping to keep riding on Saturdays with Richard, Kermit, and/or TriGirls and have invested in some cold weather cycling gear. I'm not sure whether I'll be able to do classes at Maramarc this year. It was tough to leave my kids on week nights, sticking Scouter with all the homework and bedtime solo. But maybe I can fit in a spin class at the Y every week.

I've missed weight training and yoga so I'm eager to add those back into my schedule on a more consistent basis. And running has been a constant for a few years, so that will stay.

Ahh, the off season. It can't come soon enough this year.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Beyond the workouts...

The stuff other than the workouts this weekend was fun too! Here's a photo from a party we attended Saturday night following Scouter's big golf tournament:

This year, the band was geared towards an older audience but we still enjoyed great food, drink and company. And I made less of an *ss of myself than I usually do by avoiding the dance floor altogether.

Workout Week in Review

Lest you think I'm a total slacker, this week any way I did fairly well on my workout routine.

Monday: Weights - realized my legs felt like tree trunks after two days of cycling at HoVA and skimped quite a bit on the leg exercises.
Tuesday: Ran 4 miles, 10:31 minutes/mile average speed.
Wednesday: Unscheduled rest day. My legs needed a break!
Thursday: Ran 5 miles, 8:40 minutes/mile average pace, felt great.
Friday: Swam (shocker!) - I only had a half hour to swim so I swam a half hour plus a quick cool down - 1400 meters.
Saturday: Biked 23 miles with Kathryn, 17.4 mph average.
Sunday: Biked 28 miles and swam maybe 800 meters on a Big Nut course preview.

Today was so fun! Jennifer S coordinated a preview swim and ride in preparation for the Giant Acorn sprint triathlon in October. Annnn and I planned to ride extra, so we biked 8 miles to the marina and met Jennifer, Caroline, Lesley, and Jennihoo there. Unfortunately, something in Annn's knee wasn't happy with the ride so she made the wise call to stop riding and go home to ice her knee instead.

The rest of the group rode the 12 mile race route followed by a short swim in Lake Anna. I love the bike course - very scenic and fun. The water - not so much. Open water is not my thing. It was cold at first but comfortable once we started moving. There was a lot of boat and jet ski traffic so we opted to stay in the designated swim area instead of venturing farther into the lake to swim the tri course. Still, poor Jennihoo had a too-close-for-comfort encounter with a jet ski. Here we are post-ride and pre-swim (thanks to the nice guy who was just trying to get his boat in the water for snapping our photo):

Caroline, Jennifer, me, Lesley, Jennihoo

(we missed you, Annnn)

Jennifer and I wanted to bike a few more miles, so we rode another 8 after the swim. It was a good simulation of race conditions to ride in our wet tri suits. Other than the scary doberman/ rottweiler looking dogs that chased us every single time we rode by a particular house, we had a great ride. Fortunately, the dogs were startled by my mean voice and we were able to pass by three times unscathed. I hope they are inside on race day!

Thanks JS! I'm looking forward to the event and want to light that course up!

Friday, September 21, 2007

Inadvertent Advice

I was just poking around on the TriGirl forum and saw this great quote from Cathy:

"The best decisions are the ones that begin with, 'Oh, what the hell' "

I love it! I definitely have the opportunity to follow that advice. But do I have the balls?

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Sweet

Just thought I'd share that I had an awesome run this morning. I hit the first mile at 9:08 which is really fast for me especially on the first mile when my mind and body are not so sure about this running thing. F*ck, I thought. No negative split for me today. Ever the optimist.

But then somehow, I cranked out a 9 minute second mile and just kept chugging. In the 8s for the third mile. Hmmm, what up?

I finished five miles at an average pace of 8:40 which is smokin' fast for me for anything over three miles. I felt slightly out of my comfort zone the whole time but not tremendously miserable or anything.

Of course I had my iPod cranked and couldn't hear myself panting... always preferable. I think the new classic rock tunes I loaded (Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Metallica) must have helped. Well, that and my new speedy-fast Newtons which could only be better if I had the stellar pink version like my cool friend Jennifer.

Rock on!

Back to School Night

I attended back to school night for both my kids this week. It was chaos - and that's with just adults in attendance!

Taz is in second grade. His teacher seems a bit ditsy but obviously cares deeply about the kids. She talked at length about how great they are - gotta love that as a parent entrusting your child to her.

Each child's journal was out for his/her parents to peruse. Taz's was hilarious. Here are some of the funnier entries that I remember. His spelling efforts made it cuter but I didn't copy them to reproduce for you here so I'm going by memory (scary).

"I love math. I love scnc. I relly relly love P.E."

"I golfd this weekend with Daddy. We plad 9 hols."

"My sister is crazy."

"My uncle and my mom went on a bike rid this weekend. My mom came in 1 in her grp. They rod 104 mils."

Rainbow is in first grade. Her teacher is young and earnest and sweet. The class made pictures of themselves with hints for parents to guess our child. One of her hints was that she likes to play. The other was that she's a "slgrn" or some similar string of constinants beginning with an s. I had no idea what that meant, so I asked her to read it to me when I got home. "I'm a snuggler," she said. "I knew you'd guess it was me with that great hint!"

She also left me a picture of her with a frowny face and big teardrops holding a leash with a black dog. There was a 6 over her head and an 18 over the dog's head to show their respective ages. We lost our black lab in May and she has had a tough time with it. We're talking about getting a puppy this fall.

Both of them left me notes telling me how much they love me, covered in hearts and XOXOs.

They are so amazing.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Blah

I've been in a funk lately and I can't seem to shake it.

The root cause of it is that I'm at a contract transition point with my IT consulting job. This engagement is ending and the next one is unknown. I'm feeling a lot of pressure to ensure paycheck continuity, yet the person who arranges my engagements is leaving the consulting firm I'm with. What happens to me? I don't know, but I fear I will be forgotten in the shuffle.

There are a lot of things I like about consulting mainly related to quality of life. I'm not sure any of them outweigh the risk of being "on the bench" without a job for an unknown period of time, potentially at frequent intervals.

Compounding the situation is the fact that I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I was forced into this field and soon became entrapped by the salary it commands. But am I passionate about it? Some of it, yes. Much of it, no. The last job I truly enjoyed was over ten years ago. I've lost a lot of skills and confidence since then.

I'd really like to go back to school and earn a Masters degree. The program I like is expensive however which brings me right back to the issue of how I'm going to earn a living in the immediate future. And adds the issue of how I will find the time for a graduate program while working full time, raising a family, and trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Sigh. It sucks being an adult.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Ever wanted to live in L.A.?

Yeah, me neither.

But, the triathlon bloggy mac daddy himself Iron Kahuna posted a blog asking for referrals to a new online column he's writing. I enjoy his work, so here you go! Check out this link for the first installment.

Hmmm, L.A. sounds kinda cool after all...

Sunday, September 16, 2007

HoVA and the Blustery Day(s)

"It's very windy outside!" observed Pooh.

"Must be the remnants of Hurricane Humberto blowing through," said Christopher Robin wisely.

"Then let's go for a bike ride!!!!" suggested Tigger. "It'll be FUN FUN FUN FUN FUN!"

"But it's cold. And I'm slow. I don't like distance or hills," complained Eyeore as he set off on his bike.

Rabbit said, "No no no! I won't go!"

Piglet looked horrified. "A b-b-bike ride? B-b-but it's very very w-w-windy. And w-w-we just rode yesterday. I'm t-t-tired. My b-b-body hurts today. And it's c-c-cold. Let's r-r-rest instead."

"But Piglet," said Pooh. "Remember there was honey at the end of the ride yesterday?"

"Ok-k-kay Pooh. I'll do this for you," Piglet replied sadly, resigned to the inevitable.

Just in case you're wondering about the cast in my stylish reinterpretation of Pooh's little drama, I would be Piglet. Richard is Tigger, and Kermit is Eyeore. Scouter is Rabbit.

So yesterday I rode my first official metric century with Richard, Kermit and my brother-in-law Brent. The rain was supposed to end by midnight but we drove through some black clouds and rain on our way to the starting point in Ashland. We procrastinated a bit through registration and preparations until Richard finally asked Brent and me if we were getting ready for the prom.

I should have blogged about it yesterday because all I really remember today is that it was long. And that the turkey sandwich I had at the lunch stop was wonderful, especially the Hanover tomato. And that the Ben & Jerry's Half Baked ice cream I had at the finish was the best thing I ever tasted. I'll have to buy some - but I have to wonder if it could ever be as good again.

I do have stats: for the first half we averaged a smoking 17.4 mph, and 17.1 mph for the total 62.5 miles. (I had to get that 1/2 mile in there! It was a looooong 1/2 mile!)

When I arrived home, my house was empty so I quickly showered, ate, and hit the couch for a little nap. Which was a mistake because I was groggy for the rest of the day.

Knowing that today's 40 mile route included the Three Sisters (my nemesis - however one might make that word plural) and Horseshoe Hill, I was inclined to ride the 25 mile route today. Then I found out that the 25 mile route was actually 32 and included the Three Sisters. What the heck, may as well do 40. As if I really had a choice - Richard was determined to do 40 all along.

Today's enterprising riders included Kermit, Richard, TriGirls Megan and Annnn. I just may have backed out today if Megan and Annnn hadn't been joining us. Me and my big mouth.




I couldn't get my bike computer to work today for some reason so I have no statistics. Apparently it doesn't like riding two days in a row either! I do know that everyone else's computer said 42 to 42. 6 miles.

We started out easy, winding across the railroad tracks and through a neighborhood. We warned Megan and Annnn about the three sisters and how they lure you into the wrong gear on a nice downhill then slam you into the ground with an abrupt steep uphill. It's like hitting a wall if you're in a high chain ring.

I made it almost all the way up the first hill when my chain fell off. Fortunately, it wasn't very steep at that point so I was able to pull it back on and keep riding. Yes!!! I'm two for four in riding these hills instead of walking.

After taking on all three, we re-grouped. "Wow, that was a great warm up for the Three Sisters," I said to Megan.

"Wha-" Her eyes got huge. I'm not sure whether she wanted to hit me or hug me when I told her I was kidding.

The next few miles were reasonably uneventful. We passed a few historic sights which were open with tours for the ride, but we declined stopping. I'm a fan of stopping and all - it's just starting again that gives me problems.

Finally we hit the rest stop with (yes!) a bathroom and delicious homemade pumpkin bread. I ate my way through the stop until Richard forced me back on my bike. I knew Horseshoe Hill was up soon, and it didn't disappoint. It's not a steep hill; it just doesn't know how to end. It is long slow agony especially since I've only hit it late in any given ride.

At the end of Horseshoe, I remembered the aspirin I'd packed today since I was in desperate need of it yesterday. I slammed two down with my warm water and kept spinning, with thoughts of my good friends Ben & Jerry waiting for me at the finish.

We hit a section of rolling hills, then turned towards our cars - 104 miles in 27 hours. Annn suggested another 20 miles but when we all passed, she poured us each a Guinness instead. I'm not a beer drinker but that tasted awfully good. And ice cream afterwards was fine. Today's selection was Banana Split. Yum.

Almost made it all worthwhile.

No seriously, it was a lot of fun and I'm really glad I did it. Both days.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Book Review

Okay so this month, my book-club book sounded really boring so I'm skipping it and reading The Girlfriends' Guide to Getting Your Groove Back by Vicki Iovine instead. I've read her Girlfriends' Guides to pregnancy, the first year, and toddlerhood as well and if nothing else, they made me feel like I wasn't the only one experiencing this stuff - while making me laugh along the way.

Now one could argue that I didn't have much of a groove before I had kids. One would not qualify for Girlfriend status.

I haven't read much of it yet, but I just finished Chapter 2 entitled "What Did I Do to Deserve this Body?" and it absolutely cracked me up so I had to share some of her tips about eating. I'm paraphrasing completely, but one of her rules is don't eat while in a car or standing up.

I don't know about you, but applying that one simple rule would cut a good 25% of my caloric intake.

The author says that when implementing that rule for herself, she had to stop demanding leftover pudding cups and bologna sandwich crusts from her kids' lunchboxes when she picked them up from school.

Another rule is not to finish the food on your children's plates. I've been known to snitch food from their plates beforehand, but if you saw the grossness that is my kids' meals during or after, you'd be with me on dropping remnants directly into the garbage disposal.

There is a humerous diatribe on trying to get your pre-baby body back. In her case, she's talking four kids and ten to fifteen years later. In my case, Rainbow was 3 1/2 when I realized that I couldn't continue to call the extra 20 pounds I was carrying baby weight. This was two years after my first pregnancy with Taz so at this point I was five and a half years in. The weights was mine now, and I had to own it.

That's when I started going to the gym at lunchtime. I hated it at first, but over time I found myself looking forward to the break in the middle of the day. I also started running because it was quick. Not my speed - just the fact that I could do it from my house without additional travel time and get it over with.

Then I got a bike and found TriGirls, and all is good on the exercise front. Good nutrition and that elusive groove though are totally different subjects...

So far, I'm very entertained by this book. The next chapter is on fashion. I can't wait to read it.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Jennifer and Diane's Excellent Adventure

Jennifer S. suggested that we spend the day on her boat today while the kids were in school. Sweet! A little play time sounded great to me.

Since we were going to be at Lake Anna, the site of our upcoming sprint triathlon, we decided to ride the bike course while we were there.

And what the hell, we may as well get in a little open water swim practice.

While we're at it, what's the run course like?

So we staged our own sprint tri in our preferred order. It was cool out this morning so we started on the bike. I was happy to have arm warmers, just purchased yesterday in preparation for a chilly weekend ride. The 12 mile route was absolutely beautiful. There are some rolling hills crossing Lake Anna and the rivers that feed it multiple times. Traffic was light and the roads were smooth. It has to be one of my all-time favorite routes. With my broad experience, you know.

Jennifer's protests aside, we followed up the great ride with a three mile run. Also pretty flat and nicely shaded.

By then, the day had warmed up and we were ready to get in the lake. We were pleasantly surprised to find the temperature to be comfortable. Tracking the route was a little harder in the water but unless the swim goes through the North Anna Power Station dam, I'm pretty sure we swam at least 750 meters.

About half way through the swim, I told J. I was ready for a drink. And I wasn't talking about Accelerade.

Shortly thereafter, she obliged with cocktails and lunch on her fun pontoon boat. We anchored in a cove and chatted the rest of the afternoon away.

It was a most excellent day.

And BTW, any TriGirls that want to join us for a course preview, check the forum for Jennifer's post. It'll be fun!

Is it just me...

Yesterday, on my way home from work, I was stuck in traffic behind a car with a lot of bumper stickers. The first one that caught my eye said, "WARNING! In case of rapture, car will be unmanned."

Hmmm, I thought.

Then I read the rest of them which were all religious in nature. So I supose the rapture one was too.

Is it just me, or does it sound like the driver is up to some inappropriate activity?

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

In Rememberance

September 11, 2001, is one of those dates that you'll always remember where you were when it happened. For me, the space shuttle disaster, President Reagan getting shot, and Desert Storm are other ones. My parents say the same thing about John Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and the first man on the moon.

On September 11, 2001, Rainbow was five days old and we had recently come home from the hospital. Taz was fifteen months old. He was just getting over an ear infection - he had to spend the night with Grandma and Pa Pa the first night Rainbow was home to give the antibiotics time to work.

The baby was so newly arrived that Scouter was still at home with us. We were wrapped in our little family cocoon when his boss called, asking if we could believe the news. We had no idea what he was talking about. He instructed us to turn on the TV and to call him back.

We flipped on the TV and watched the coverage in shock. At that point, the first plane had hit the Twin Towers. Soon thereafter, we watched the second plane hit in real time. And we continued to watch the rescue scene. I will never forget the popping sound of people jumping from the burning buildings. Then we watched the buildings collapse. The experience was horrifying and devastating.

I am starting to cry just recollecting that day and the ensuing days of coverage.

My college roommate Jill called later that afternoon. She works in the Financial District in New York and she saw the second plane hit from her window after co-workers reported the first. She said they thought the first small plane had gone way off course, but when they saw the second one, they knew immediately that it was terrorism.

She walked all the way to her then-home on the Upper East Side. It took her something like six hours and she had to stop to buy sneakers on the way. Her husband worked in one of the peripheral buildings that collapsed, but thank God he was out of town that day. She was freaked out when she called me, being in the middle of it like she was.

We all know people whose lives changed dramatically because of that day. Parents who lost children, spouses who lost spouses, children who lost parents, friends who lost friends. And it changed us all.

May we always remember how proud we were of our country in the aftermath and may we do all it takes to protect ourselves and our country forever more.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Weekend Update

If you looked at my training log from last week, you might think I was tapering. Or recovering. Certainly not training.

Tuesday, I had a great four mile run averaging 8:30 minutes/mile. Wednesday, I actually swam - shocking- although my pace for a timed 1000 was a snail-like 1:085/50. I'm kind of hoping that I counted incorrectly but who knows. I definitely felt slow so it's probably right. I swam a lot of breastroke in my warm up and cool down because I may as well train the way I race. Thursday, I had a miserable run. Then Friday was a scheduled rest day.

Woo hoo! I'm going to rock the house in my next two events with that schedule, baby. Especially since the next one is all bike. Notice the preponderance of cycling in my week? Yeah, me neither.

Thank goodness Richard, Kathryn, and JRo dragged me out for a decent bike ride on Saturday - 35 miles at 16.6 mph average speed.

I learned a lot from last weekend's preparations and wisely repeated them by joining Liz, Rebekah, and Sharon for happy hour Friday night. I love those chiquitas! And clearly need to see them more often as our "happy hour" turned into over five hours of happy. Thank goodness the restaurant bar finally closed or we might still be there!

Liz made a compelling case for Bikram yoga, crediting it for her relaxed and happy outlook. After I promised to try it once my race season ends in October, she admitted that the first few classes are complete hell and that she doesn't want to be there when I start it. Apparently the room temperature is a balmy 105 degrees and the instructor locks you in the room for 90 minutes. Great. I'm picturing hurling my sweaty self against a locked door begging for release. But given her glowing reviews after months of doing it, I really am still interested. I want to take a break from triathlon training this winter and do other things I enjoy like weight training, yoga, and maybe even a step aerobics class for variety.

After far too little sleep, I met Kathryn and Richard bright and early at 7 a.m. to start our ride. We biked to West Creek where we met JRo and then we headed out on a loop from Patterson to Broad Street and back. I really liked the route - light traffic, good road conditions, and of course great company. As usual, I wished for my car to magically appear at West Creek but alas had to power myself home instead. I was grateful for our early start though because the day definitely heated up.

That was it for any athletic pursuits for the weekend, unless you count obsessively checking for Patriot Half and IM Wisconsin updates/results. Saturday night, I googled "Patriot Half" and poured over the results. I couldn't understand why I didn't see any TriGirl names in the results - until I finally realized that there is another half called Patriot... in Massachusetts. Whoops. Once I finally found the right link, I was totally impressed with all the TriGirls who participated and did great, especially our coach Grandison who just had a baby at the end of June. She's amazing!

(For those of you who read my blog for it's irreverent non-triathlon related wit, a half IronMan is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. An IronMan is double that. Crazy!)

Jennifer S. and I actually talked about swimming with Som Sunday night, but alas, it was cancelled since it was a race weekend for so many. Sigh. Yes we could have swum laps at the pool but we opted to sit on the side, chat, and watch the kids instead. I couldn't talk her into pina coladas even with valiant effort, so at least we didn't make it worse.

This week, I would train harder but I've got a metric century on Saturday followed by a 40 mile ride (maybe 25?) on Sunday at Heart of Va.

Guess I have to taper now.

Friday, September 7, 2007

Love DMB


Dave Matthews offering of A Concert for Virginia Tech in the wake of April's tragedy was held last night.

Dave, I've always loved you - now even more so.

Amen, I'm Alive

I felt like tee-total shit on my run yesterday morning. I'm not sure what was going on but I couldn't get into a groove. I was tired and thirsty, my legs and feet ached, I was breathing hard, and all I was thinking about was how miserable I was. As I've been prone to do recently, I started questioning why I do this to myself. Somehow I ground out five painful miles at a 9:24 minute/mile average pace. I couldn't wait for it to be over.

Just as I finished my run, Nickleback's "If Everyone Cared" started playing on my iPod.

If everyone cared and nobody cried,
If everyone loved and nobody lied,
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride,
Then we'd see the day, when nobody died

And I'm singing a-amen I, amen, I, I'm alive
amen I amen I, amen I, I'm alive

And I thought about how lucky I am to live the life I live and to even be able to run.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Rainbow's Big Day

My baby girl's birthday was yesterday. I can't believe how quickly these last six years have gone.

Rainbow leaped out of bed yesterday morning after a quick check to ensure that her earrings were still in place. She hugged me hard and thanked me for school starting again and for letting her go. (Hey, that's just the kind of totally great mom I am! I arrange these things for my child.) She attired herself in knee length denim shorts with pink flower embroidery and a white tee-shirt. Humoring her wardrobe decisions is one of those things I have to learn to suck up. I gently suggested an alternative which she completely disregarded, looking at me like I had suddenly sprouted another head. I'm not sure where all that independence comes from.

She bounced around the house spreading joy until the bus came, then she took her contagious happiness to school where she knew she would wear a birthday crown and bask in the glow of her special day. I took her Arby's for lunch by request and she was glowing. Her new beautiful teacher gave her an ice cream bar which further endeared her to Rainbow.

She had her first gymnastics class after school which offered another reason for jubilation. After class, we went to Maggie Moos to pick out special birthday cupcakes. We had to get ice cream because Rainbow doesn't like regular cake and cupcakes because Taz didn't like her ice cream selection. Even on birthdays, everything is a negotiation. Rainbow selected chocolate ice cream with chocolate cake and marshmallow, Taz selected better batter ice cream with yellow cake and caramel, and what the hell, Mommy selected dark chocolate ice cream with chocolate cake and marshmallow. Mmmm...

Grandma, Pa Pa, Aunt Amy and Uncle Chris joined us for a Rainbow-selected dinner of pork tenderloin, corn on the cob, baked apples, and green beans. She actually wanted nothing to do with the green beans but Mommy is anal like that. She humored me with one bite, sweet angel that she is.

Throughout dinner, Rainbow would periodically proclaim that she had a special announcement, then loudly wish herself a happy birthday and laugh hysterically. Which of course made us all laugh hysterically.

Presents, aka the whole point of the day, followed. "Grandma," the alien who has abducted my mother, miraculously did not bring additional gifts beyond last week's excess, but Amy and Chris brought new clothes from Rainbow's favorite (Nordstrom) and - gasp! OMG this is AWESOME! - earrings!!!! Taz gave her the new High School Musical 2 CD which accompanied the rest of the evening's festivities, along with Kidz Bop 12 and Hannah Montana 2 CDs. Scouter and I gave her big girl things for her room including a fuzzy pink lamp and pink hanging beads for her door which I covet, a Dance Party game, and a set of lavender Rainbow-sized golf clubs. Taz got a new 7 iron from Daddy for being a good (albeit extremely energetic) sport throughout.

Next up - singing, birthday cupcakes and candles. Followed by some dancing and finally, going to bed late.

Anyone who laments the fact that children today are spoiled rotten is welcome to use this post as Exhibit A.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Back to School

Today is the first day of school for my babies. They were far more ready to go back than I was ready to send them. Rainbow in particular was thrilled; Taz was more resigned. He has a hard time sitting still for that long but he does enjoy the social aspects.

Taz moved from the kindergarten and first grade hall to the "big kid" hall this year. He is excited about that, and also that two of his good friends from kindergarten are in his class. Our school really mixes the kids up from year to year, which I think is great so they get to know a lot of people.

I met both their teachers at the PTA-sponsored back to school breakfast last week, and my kids met them at orientation on Thursday. Rainbow's teacher is young and adorable. After meeting her, Rainbow said, "Mommy, she is the prettiest woman I've ever seen!" Then she thought for a second and amended her statement to, "No, Mommy, you're the prettiest. She's the second prettiest."

I think that child has a future in sales.

Rainbow is sporting her newly pierced ears for the first day of school. I took her yesterday and she picked out bright pink stones as an early birthday present. She could not be more thrilled. We drew the line at the belly button ring she requested however. Taz wanted to go with us and get his ear(s) pierced too, but Daddy wouldn't allow that one. I probably would have taken him.

Even though summer isn't over according to the seasons, it feels like summer is over.

Monday, September 3, 2007

Too Old for This Nonsense

Ouch.

I partied just a leetle too much this weekend. And this morning, my achy head reminded me that I am in fact 41. Not 21.

I may have neglected to mention that I had stayed out too late and imbibed too much wine Friday night before my epic bike ride Saturday morning with Richard and Kermit. Beth and Beanie throw a hell of a party.

Then last night the Bean and family came over for dinner. Several bottles of wine later, we decided it would be a good idea to set off the fireworks we bought for July 4 that we couldn't use in Hatteras because they are now illegal. Yes, I'm aware that they are illegal in my county too. Do I have less respect for my hometown laws? Nah. But I do think we were far less likely to get caught. And that's what it's all about. They were great and the kids loved it.

Some of our neighbors came out to join the festivities, which made the after party at our house a little bigger.

By the time I got around to thinking about a run today, it was noon and very hot... so now I am trying to convince myself that I will actually swim some laps at the pool this afternoon. Before I get sidetracked by the pina coladas.

Sunday, September 2, 2007

The New 16

Rainbow says she wants the following as her upcoming birthday gifts:

Horse
Stable
Dog
Pierced ears

And... are you ready for this? 'Cause I wasn't...

A belly button ring

When did the teenage years begin at age 6?

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Take Down, Baby

Today, Richard, Kermit and I rode the RABA Coatesville route. It is 55 miles of fun (actually, I clocked it at 56.3).

Our first challenge was Fire Training Hill, so called because... well actually I have no idea. It wasn't too bad. But then, it was early. Our next challenge had me a little more concerned - the Three Sisters. Prior to today, I have only walked sister #1. Twice.

As we approached them, Richard told me no one was walking today. I told him I'd do my best. The first hill is particularly tough because you hit it after a nice downhill, thinking you have time to gear down - but it is so steep so quickly that you don't. I geared down at the right time and - are you ready? - actually rode up it this time!!!! Yippee!!!! Take that, bitch!

The other two are bitches just like the first but not quite as steep, so I actually rode the whole time today. The Three Sisters still spanked me, but this time I took it sitting down.

We took a nice break at the 30 mile point. As we continued on, we talked about how great a 25 mile ride is. Our third and final hill challenge, Horseshoe Road, kicked in at mile 40 - just as my legs were really tired. This hill is not as steep as the Three Sisters but it goes on forever. I dropped my chain mid-way up, but I cursed and pedaled like hell and was able to pop it back on without stopping. I'm not sure which was more effective - the pedalling or the cursing.

The last 15 miles had a few rolling hills but nothing else too bad. At about mile 50, Richard told Kermit at me that we weren't going to race in like we usually do. Then about a minute later, he took off. We called him a few names then raced to catch up.

Otherwise, Richard is a great ride leader. He kept us at a reasonable pace, averaging 16.2 mph for the entire ride.

Now I wonder how that 56 mile ride would feel preceded by a nice little 1.2 mile swim and followed by a leisurely 13.1 mile run?