Sunday, April 29, 2007

Loving the Weekend

I think I look forward to and enjoy weekends even more now than I did when I was young. Of course, when I was in college there wasn't a big differentiation between Friday night and say, Tuesday night... but that's a subject for another blog or perhaps an AA counselor.

We had such a good weekend. The beautiful weather certainly helped! How can anyone be cranky on a gorgeous sunny day? Well I probably could but this weekend at least I wasn't.

I started the weekend with a bit of pampering on Friday afternoon, getting my hair cut and permed. I look like a poodle gone wild but what the hell, I wear it in a ponytail most often. I'm hoping it will calm down soon. I had to get three inches chopped off to get to healthy hair. That's what I get for going to the salon only once per year!

The kids and I did a little shopping Friday night which was just a tad stressful. We were in a store with lots of fragile objects that I thought for sure I would have to purchase once my children shattered them. Other than that, we had fun. It was nice to have a low key evening since we had a particularly hectic week. I was in bed by 9:30 for the second Friday in a row! Ahhh, sleep.

Saturday, I had the bright idea to ride my bike from my house to West Creek. Kathryn and I had talked about doing it so I thought I'd take a trial run. Truth be told, I was thinking that if it was further than I expected or if traffic was terrible, I could throw my bike on the back of Kathryn's car to get home. Alas, great minds think alike and she did the same thing! Next time we'll go together. It was actually really good and I knocked out some miles without having to do endless loops at WC. Although WC was good - I got to ride a bit with Cheryl whom I hadn't seen in a long time, and caught up briefly with lots of fun TriGirls including Annnnn, Jackie, Jennifer, and Caroline.

In total, I rode a little over 36 miles (you know how anal I am by now so I might as well tell you it was 36.68) - the furthest I've ridden to date. My average speed was 16.7 mph which I was very happy with. I wasn't dying at the end but I wouldn't have been terribly excited to go further either. On the way home, I almost wiped out at an intersection but caught myself. The pedal whacked my shin really hard and I have a lovely lump that will be purple in another day or two. When I was at another intersection almost at my house, I stopped at a red light and heard a loud, "MOMMY!!!" My husband and kids were on another street at the same intersection! They passed me a few minutes later, cheering and waving. They're so cute.

The Bean's younger daughter had her confirmation Saturday, and we were fortunate to be invited. The Bean is definitely the sister I never had. We went to a luncheon at their house afterwards and shockingly started tipping some vino. Scouter left at a reasonable time; the kids and I stayed for hours. I am such a spoiled brat that I actually took ingredients out of her refrigerator to make an appetizer for later so that I wouldn't have to leave and go to the grocery store. Thank goodness she loves me. The kids and I finally rolled home around 5:00 to give them a little downtime and me time to make the appetizer.

Saturday night, we saw some old friends whom we hadn't seen forever. Really - the last time we saw them, Susan was pregnant. Now the baby is nine months old. They are great and we really need to see them more often. Fred's idea of an appetizer was jello shooters so thank goodness I had brought Beanie's black bean dip! I'll have to post that recipe at some point... it's delicious and reasonably healthy.

Today, Scouter went on a metric century (62 mile) bike ride with Richard coordinated by the Richmond Area Bicycling Association (RABA). It was by far the longest ride he'd ever done. He said it was hillier than expected but he enjoyed it. He also said no way on doing the full century next weekend during the Capital to Capital event. No argument here!

Taz and Rainbow, in true TriKid fashion, had lots of suggestions for activities today including swimming, biking and running. They also wanted to play tennis and we had made plans to go to the park with friends. We managed to fit in swimming early, and they practiced their 50 meter swim in preparation for the kids' tri they're doing in June. Taz will definitely be able to swim the full length; Rainbow I suspect will need the kickboard which is allowed. Hopefully we'll go a few more times before the event to give them some practice and comfort level.

We met my friend Patti and her kids for lunch afterwards and we all pigged out, including ice cream. Yum! Oh and FYI Ukrops has a new whipped cake icing that is fabulous... but I digress... The kids were good and wired again so we headed to the park and let them run off a little energy, then we went to Patti's house to play some more while her little nephew whom she was watching took a nap. It was great to catch up with her. We haven't hung out for far too long either. I guess I tend to hibernate in the winter anyway, and this winter we were all sick for so long that we haven't been able to socialize as much as I like. Time to catch up!

We didn't have Som's swimming tonight because there was an open water swim instead. I don't have a wetsuit or any reason to buy one although I love the new TriGirl team suits, so I had to take a pass. I was supposed to meet Kathryn at the Y for a swim and a run but Scouter didn't get home in time for me to go. Instead, Beanie and I headed out for a run later - 5 miles, 9:57/mile average pace. We ran by our friend Allison's house and she was sitting on the porch having cocktails with some other friends. As tempted as we were to stop, we kept running. Aren't we good sometimes?

I came home and cleaned my bike, applying the new skills I gained at the RTC clinic last week. I'm thinking once per week is not going to happen but at least I'm doing better than cleaning it once a year now. Rainbow helped me and then cleaned her own bike.

Good friends, good times and even several good workouts!

Friday, April 27, 2007

Week in Review

So just a quick update on my activities this week...

Sunday, I was a slug. Monday, I had good intentions to make up for it but only managed to get in my weights class. Elke taught - she is fabulous and very entertaining. We used the exercise ball quite a lot. Tuesday, hmmm what did I do? Oh yeah, ran with the Bean. Very fun - five miles at 10:01 average/mile. Wednesday, another day of good intentions, I swam. Then I missed yoga because I got stuck in a meeting and didn't bike because I was scared I'd get caught in a downpour. Thursday, I ran - five miles, 8:53 minutes/mile average. Today, I squeezed in the Cyclo Core tape for a resistance workout. That DVD tends to focus on quads with a few pushups, so I supplemented with hamstring and upper back work.

No biking yet this week... Oh no! Hopefully I can make up some ground at the TriGirl cycling in West Creek tomorrow morning. And even more hopefully it won't be raining!

In other athletic endeavors, Rainbow had her first tee ball game last night. She was adorable in her little uniform. She is the only girl on the team and one of the other moms said she's the best player. She is very good at most sports that she tries, mainly because she listens to the instructions of her coaches. Plus she tries to keep up with Taz so she's got a lot of practice. She got three good hits and fielded well.

I'm hoping to get a little more consistent with my workouts next week.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Not With These Hands

I shamelessly stole this picture from Triathlonmom, who got TriGirls involved (thanks, J!), because I think it's so cool. She did a fabulous job with the banner, don't you think? Not With These Hands is dedicated to preventing violence in the Richmond community.


TRIgirl team members from left to right: Courtney, Caroline, Becky, Ashley, Jill, Jonah, Nicole, Valerie, Kim, Carrie, Grandison, Melissa M, Patty, Diane, Teresa, Cathy, Katrina, Jackie, Melissa F., Lenora, Jennifer, Kathryn and Leslie.

(I'm the dumbass in shorts and flip flops huddled under the .com on the banner. It was freezing! What a difference a day makes in our fair city... And, yes, Patty fell off her bike right in front of the sign then smiled for the camera. Just kidding.)

Happy Swim

I'm a happy little goldfish today. (Really a guppy but I couldn't find that graphic after, oh, two seconds of searching.) I actually had a good swim this morning! I actually swam this morning. I had to, since I didn't feel well Sunday and skipped Som's masters class.

Last week, Som posted a workout for us on the TriGirl forum that was essentially a warm up, cool down, with a 1,000 meter straight timed swim in the middle. Last week, I was intimidated. This week, I thought, what the hell? If I can torture myself climbing mountains for 2 1/2 hours on the Blue Ridge, surely I can swim 1,000 meters. After all, I can stop whenever I want with the absolute worst case 12 1/2 meter walk to a wall. How bad can it be?

After the first 200 - 300 meters, it actually wasn't so bad. I kind of got into a rhythm and just swam it out. My time, just in case I ever get the notion to do this again and compare, was 22:30, or about 1:10 per 50. That definitely tells me I need to pick up the pace in timed 50s. I'm also fairly consistent - I checked my time at the 300 meter mark and averaged about 1:05 per 50 at that point.

I was inspired by Melissa's blog yesterday as well. She is turning into a dolphin quickly and made me think, yeah, swimming should be fun.

I think my new mantra is going to be something like, "I rode the Blue Ridge, bitch. Bring it on!"

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

A Clean Bike is a Happy Bike

Scouter and I went to a bike cleaning and maintenance clinic tonight. It was held through Richmond Triathlon Club at 3Sports, and it was excellent. I had no idea I should be cleaning my bike every week. (DUH!) It was filthy and even though I cleaned it tonight, it could use more elbow grease. I'm planning to do the whole thing again on Saturday for the practice.

I'm going to write some notes as a reminder to myself and to pass along the information to several TriGirls who asked. We first wiped down the frame using Simply Green. Next, we used an alcohol based cleaner to wipe down the wheels - the silver didn't look dirty but boy was it. Then we popped off the rear tire to clean the whatchamacallit - the silver gear thing. (I'm so good at this stuff, aren't I? Such the knowledgeable one.) Mine was actually black instead of silver to start. Then the front chain ring. Then the chain. My chain was nasty! Lots of accumulated road gunk. I'm pretty sure that's the technical term that Andrew used. Then we lubed the chain. One good tip - the lubricant needs to be in the chain, not on it where it will attract more dirt and goop. So after applying the lubricant, we spun the wheels a few times to get the lube into the chain, then wiped the outside of the chain clean.

My bike is so shiny and happy! And as a bonus, I got to see TriGirl Renae which is always a pleasure.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Support for VT Leadership

If you think that VT President Charles Steger and Police Chief Wendell Flinchum are getting unjustly blamed for their handling of last Monday's tragedy, please visit We Support VT to sign a petition of support. At this writing, there are over 23,000 signatures. It will ultimately be sent to Gov. Kaine and the VT Board of Visitors.

Thanks.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Tough Saturday

I had the bright idea to join the Maramarc and TriGirl IronMan training group on Saturday for a long ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I had read Bicycling Magazine's article on what a great ride it is. And it absolutely is... for someone with more skill and better mental preparation than me. For me, it was pretty damn hard. Thank goodness my friend Richard agreed to go too:


I struggled from the beginning. Most of the first few miles was a long hill - might as well know what to expect early! I was having problems with my front chain ring (still) even though - or perhaps because - I had taken my bike back in for service on Friday. It kind of panicked me, so that in conjunction with the hill, I was very out of breathe. I sounded like a freight train climbing the hill, which made me think of the Little Engine that Could. I was passed by a few people (not unexpectedly) and Richard was way ahead. But - downhill was a blast! I caught up with Richard around mile 7 or 8 and we rode the rest of the first 14 mile leg together. We met up with some of our group and took a break. The peanut butter and honey Uncrustable I had brought along tasted fabulous! This was my first ride planned to be long enough that nutrition became an important factor. I will definitely use those again.

Amazingly, while the first leg felt about equal on uphills and downhills, the return trip felt at least 90% uphill. Miles 15 - 22 were almost all uphill with a small downhill break and a little flat. At one point, I seriously could have gotten off my bike, sat in the grass on the side of the road, and cried. Alas, I had to return to my car somehow and walking my bike in cycling shoes didn't strike me as a good option. Somehow, I just kept grinding it out. The Blue Ridge is a nice windy road, so I was able to play mental tricks on myself and pretend that there was a downhill around the next bend. Far more often than not, there was just more uphill climbing. The climbs aren't steep - I'm not sure about the grades we were on but Bicycling Magazine said the steepest grade is 8% - but they are long. I felt very sorry for Richard, who lost his granny gear early in the ride. This was not a day to be without granny!

Throughout the second leg, I kept negotiating with myself about how far I would ride. Originally, we planned to go 50 but at that point, I knew I didn't have it in me mentally or physically. I thought maybe 40, then maybe 35. Then I decided that I had to at least break 30 to make the two hour drive marginally worthwhile. We got back to my car at 28 miles and refueled. I rewarded myself with another yummy uncrustable.

Here are TriGirls Kate, me, Susie Q, Susie's beautiful new bike, Anna, Cyndi, Lynn, and Carmen at this point - half way for them. Don't they look strong and gorgeous? (I know I don't - I was holding on to Kate and Susie so I wouldn't collapse!) I'm so impressed with them. After doing this ride, they are going to be ready to dominate the rides at Eagleman and Ironman Florida.

After snapping these photos, Richard and I headed back out, going the other way on the Blue Ridge. Our plan was to ride one mile, turn around and ride back to hit the 30 mile mark. Although Richard's stipulation was that we couldn't turn around at the bottom of a hill - good thinking. We started on a small hill just to remind us how miserable the Blue Ridge could be, but the beginning wasn't so bad. We got a little over 1.5 miles out, saw a downhill followed by an uphill to a turn, and decided we'd had enough. Our total ride was 31.45 miles. Good enough. And officially the longest I've ever ridden.

Of course, once I got home and showered, I second-guessed my decision to stop. Could I have made it further? Maybe; maybe not. I don't think I was at my absolute limit, but I also wasn't willing to find it. Having done that ride once, I don't feel compelled to try it again anytime soon. But I'm glad I did it this time.

My house was unusually quiet when I arrived home and I was very tempted to take a nap! I'd gotten up at 5:15 a.m. to meet the cycling crew. But, alas, I was expected at Pocahontas State Park to meet my family and my son's Cub Scout den. My idea of roughing it is a hotel with no spa! Don't I look happy tent side?

The last time I camped was a good 10 years ago. We drove to Hico, WV, to go white water rafting on the Gauley River and ended up camping in a downpour. Temperatures in Richmond that day were perfect; in WV that night they dropped into the upper 30s. I've never been a fan of camping, and somehow, I've never wanted to go camping since.

I really enjoy the being one with nature aspect of camping, the associated activities like hiking, and the fun of cooking over an open fire, roasting marshmallows, and telling campfire stories. I just don't particularly enjoy sleeping on the ground and hiking two miles to the nearest marginally functional bathroom. Scouter, knowing my aversion to camping, bought me an air mattress to make the situation slightly more tolerable. It did help, but there was nothing he could do for me in the middle of the night when I had to make the long walk to the bathroom with a flashlight.

.

My son's Cub Scout den is a nice group of people who we don't know very well. We enjoyed spending some time with them and getting to know everyone a little better. One highlight was this morning's informal worship service where one of the Dads pulled out his guitar and played some contemporary hymns. The beauty of the setting combined with the events of this past week really moved me.

.

The weekend caught up with me this afternoon and I felt really run down and awful, so I didn't make it to swimming.

Quick recap of the past week since I haven't blogged about athletic endeavors at all:

Sun - rest
Mon - weights
Tues - ran 5 mi (10:07/mi) with the Bean; spin class
Wed - swam 1600
Thurs - ran 5 mi (8:44/mi)
Fri - weights
Sat - cycled 31.45 mi

I usually blame my Sunday night lethargy on too much wine throughout the weekend. Tonight, it is just hard work. I'm off to bed.

G'night John Boy.

_________________

Update: Ride stats according to my bike computer - 31.45 miles, 13.0 mph average speed, 37.9 mph fastest (whee!)

.

I received the following from Richard this morning:

.

Total climbing was about 3000 feet. That 7 mile climb was actually part of a longer 10 mile climb that had a couple of descents. The total climb over the 10 miles was about 2000 feet. Bicycling Magazine lied. The steepest part of any climb was 16%, and there was another about 11%.

.

Glad I didn't know that before!

Friday, April 20, 2007

Out of Respect...


(I just found out.)

Day of Mourning


I love this picture. To me, it represents hope and unity. It also gives a better representation of how large Tech is - this is a view of the drill field during Tuesday night's candlelight vigil.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Hokie Nation

I love that term "Hokie Nation." The support from fans of normally competing schools and the general outpouring of love towards the students and families involved from across the nation - the world even - have been phenomenal.

Richmond's very own Disco Sports is screen printing Hokie Nation tee shirts today. I left an order over voice mail and hope we get one (or more). Scouter is going by there today. Many local stores have sold out of their Tech wear. We are supplying as many friends and neighbors as we can with VT clothing, and it is heart-warming to see how many people want to support the Hokie Hope orange and maroon campaign tomorrow.

I hope to God that the response to this madness is not copycat activity. I'm so torn between my horror over the publicity this freak Cho is getting with his video package - shockingly sent to NBC in between murder sprees at AJ and Norris - and my desire to understand why. Not that there is any response that would be fathomable. If you need help, get it. If you truly believe you should no longer be on this earth, don't take innocent bystanders out with you.

Clearly I'm hitting the anger stage of grief... Well, not really. Just a little tirade. I had tears mixing in with sweat as I ran around my neighborhood this morning (ah, there's a little triathlon related bit) and saw Tech flags, orange and maroon bows on mailboxes, kids at bus stops wearing Tech clothing, and other signs of support.

I read a blog yesterday that really touched me - Ironman Life talks about (and I'm seriously paraphrasing here) how if for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, then the counter balance to death is life lived more fully.

Maybe the reaction will be more love among humanity through shared grief - certainly that is what is happening now. Perhaps more help for people on the fringes with mental illness, maybe more understanding. And maybe individually, a life more fully lived, moments more fully enjoyed, love more freely shared.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Thank You

Hoda Kotb, a Virginia Tech graduate, is now a correspondent for Dateline. Her analysis, based in large part upon her own experiences in Blacksburg, has been poignant. Check out some of her work: http://insidedateline.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/04/16/153162.aspx.

I'll be a Washington Nationals fan from now on. Check out their support of Va. Tech: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2841205.

I also appreciate that NBC is calling this "Tragedy at Virginia Tech" instead of the more ubiquitous and chilling "Massacre at Virginia Tech."

Love this, too. I guarantee it is the first time anything like this has ever appeared in Charlottesville:

Mostly, thanks again to all of you who have reached out to me and other Hokies to offer comfort and support.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Hokie Support

Please support Va. Tech by wearing orange and maroon on Friday.




My good friend Meda also sent me this:

Big 4-0

First I'd like to thank all of you who called, emailed, or commented about the massacre at Va. Tech yesterday. Yesterday, I was shocked and horrified; today I am very emotional about it. Your love and support are invaluable. As bad as I feel, I can't imagine what it must be like for the students who are there, and families and friends who have lost loved ones.

To try to move on to happier thoughts...

Happy birthday to TriGirl40! She is planning a big year, including training for IronMan Florida where she will totally rock. D, I hope you have a fabulous birthday and a great year!

I have already bored TriGirl 40 with this story, but now I will share it with you. For my 40th last year, Scouter shocked the hell out of me with a surprise party. He caught me completely off guard because he had my college roommate Margie (the coolest girl ever) call me several months in advance to say she was going to be in DC the weekend before my birthday (not that she referenced my b-day at all, just the date) and thought since she was going to be so close, she'd pop down to Richmond to see us. Scouter plotted with her so that she arrived right in the middle of Taz's baseball game so I couldn't go - I would have been quite curious to see my out of town family members there! I suspected absolutely nothing.

Margie and I spent the day in Carytown, including our own little mini happy hour with tasty margaritas at Nacho Mamas, so I was not at my sharpest once we got home! Scouter had offered to take the two of us out to dinner so I had arranged my own sitter. (I should have been suspicious when he said he would make the reservation!) When we were ready to go out, I pointed out that we had time for a drink at home, which is when Scouter suggested that we drop by the pool to see some college friends who would want to see Margie. Great idea!

He mentioned that they were having some beers (some "chillies" in Scouter lingo), to which I responded by grabbing my own bottle of wine, two glasses, and a corkscrew - which I entered my own surprise party carrying. Startlingly, everyone found that to be in character.

This is how clueless I was - we got to the pool and Scouter said we should cut through the club house. I walked in and saw people, turned to Scouter and Margie to say we couldn't cut through because there was a party. At that point, the band started playing The Beatles' "Today is Your Birthday" and I realized that these were MY people!

My other college roommate Jill (also the coolest girl ever), her husband, college friends, neighbors, family, and work friends were all there. My Dad had on his boogie shoes in full force, as did Beanie, Cate and I. Scouter had a live band (who were fantastic), food, beverages, and a huge birthday cake with an image of me when I was about two. It was one of the best parties I've ever attended.

I asked Scouter if I could have a re-do at 41 but unfortunately he doesn't seem so inclined. Still, he is the man.

Monday, April 16, 2007

A Prayer

I'm in absolute shock over the horrifying events at Virginia Tech today. The worst shooting in America's history. Scouter and I have been glued to the TV tonight but of course keeping Taz and Rainbow away from it. They would definitely recognize a story about Va. Tech and want to know the details which is not going to happen if I can help it.

Scouter and I both went to Tech, and in fact that's where we met. My brother and sister in law, Scouter's brother and sister all went there too. I lived in West AJ, the dorm where the first incident occurred today, and graduated in the school of engineering so I had classes in Norris. We no longer have friends or relatives there but of course we know people who do.

Blacksburg is the epitome of a college town where I always felt safe, so it is mind boggling to imagine something like this happening there of all places. I wonder if authorities will ever truly know what the killer was thinking. It's very sad to think that Va. Tech will forever be associated with this massacre, like Columbine.

My thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those involved today.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

In the Soup

I swear I am not lying when I tell you I have 30 pounds of potato cheese chowder in my refrigerator. Well, I may be exaggerating slightly but not nearly as much as you may think.

Come on over for dinner.

Just don't expect me to offer you an alcoholic beverage.

Ouch

Alternating between drunkeness and a hangover is no way to spend a weekend. Not that I would know first hand; it's just what I'm told.

Believe me?

Yeah, me neither.

So you last saw our heroine (that would be me) talking about happy hour and needing a drink. From there, I headed out to meet Liz, Rebekah, and Sharon. We all used to work together but now only Liz remains at the company. We try to get together regularly and have been doing a pretty good job of it this winter/spring. Cate met us out for a quick 45 minutes too which is always fun! Yes, she used to work for the same company although that's not how I know her.

Liz just returned from Nevis. Her wonderful boyfriend took her for her birthday. She made us all want to go with the pictures from her new fun digital camera. We took a few pictures ourselves with it Friday night! As soon as she sends them to me, I'll post them. Well, I'll edit and then post some of them. You probably won't be seeing the one Rebekah took of me in the bathroom.

Rebekah and I gave Liz a fun sign that says "Parties Well With Others" - perfect for her!

We had lots of fun with fact that Sharon blew us off last time. She kept calling with lame excuses about being stuck at work and then not having a babysitter. So she actually showed this time, fearing that she may otherwise not be invited back. She debated for awhile about whether she was ready to introduce us to her new boyfriend Brian - we can be a bit overwhelming - but her need for a ride home eventually overtook her reluctance to acknowledge us and she called him. He seems like a very nice man from what I remember. He showed up pretty late in the evening after I'd already had a pomogranate martini, a sea breeze, and moved on to wine.

I do remember that we had a protracted conversation about different kinds of underwear, but I'm pretty sure Brian wasn't there yet. The guys at the table next to us found it to be enlightening. I'll spare you the details.

I love those girls.

Saturday morning, I must admit that my head did not feel so great, but I headed to West Creek for a little TriGirl cycling. In the cold drizzle. I took it as punishment. After Blake's tutorial on changing a flat tire (which I needed desperately and will need to see again), I rode 20 miles at ~ 16 mph average speed. Kathryn had gotten an early start so we did one loop together which was fun. Her new bike is great! I conveniently forgot my running shoes so I didn't get the brick in. Oh well. I did a brick Thursday so I think I'm okay for now.

We had a stretching clinic afterwards that ended up focusing a lot on plantar fasciitis - good timing for me. The lady showed several different stretches and exercises. I have to make an appointment with a PT this week to get custom shoe inserts and learns some other exercises. Dr. Stadler told me that strengthening and supporting my feet will help significantly.

After a very long shower to get warm, I spent the rest of Saturday preparing for happy hour at our house with the Bean, Cate and their families. Our kids all get along great, thank goodness. Connor added some items to my grocery list - lemonade, oreo cookie ice cream, and root beer. He also picked out an appetizer of yogurt covered pretzels for the kids. Cate brought these awesome figs wrapped in bacon and yummy chicken meatballs, Corinne brought kid dinner, and I made some appetizers. The kids were thrilled with their root beer; the girls enjoyed razmatinis and yet more wine. We were even able to spend some time on the deck - c'mon spring!

The kids staged their own dance party, jamming to Hannah Montana and the Jump In! soundtrack (which I really like too). Corinne and I joined them for awhile. God, we're going to embarrass them when they're older! Taz even slow danced with Bean's older daughter who is 10 and is a very good sport.

This is the kind of stellar hostess I am - I totally hit a wall, snuck upstairs and went to bed while the party was still going. Taz followed me up and joined me. We were asleep before anyone even missed us. Scouter knows my wily ways and guessed pretty quickly what I was up to! Sorry guys. I'm lame and I know it.

Today was a great day to lounge on the couch while my kids watched movies and built Lego. Now I'm making some potato cheese chowder and looking forward to an early bedtime.

No, I'm not skipping swimming - we didn't have it tonight. TriGirls had a running clinic which is similar to one I attended through the Richmond Tri Club, so I hadn't planned to go. Thank goodness.

I'm tired.

Friday, April 13, 2007

Have you missed me?

OMG I can't believe I haven't blogged for three whole days! That's so unlike me. Have I lost interest? Is the obsession wearing off?

Nah.

It's just been spring break and I've been juggling all my balls even more frenetically than usual. I wish we had just gone away for some or all of it. Maybe next year.

So the highlight of my week is that I finally finally went to the doctor to find out what's going on with my feet. It is plantar fasciitis in both. I saw the fabulous Dr. Teresa Stadler at her new practice, Commonwealth Sports Medicine. She gave me some exercises to do, a prescription for an anti-inflammatory, and recommended custom orthodics. Apparently I have very high arches and the standard inserts that I've been using aren't sufficient.

Dr. Stadler sends hugs to all the TriGirls, by the way.

The good news, and one of the big benefits of going to a doctor who exercises herself, is that she didn't tell me to stop running. I was scared she would.

Just in case, I squeezed in two runs this week. I ran Tuesday with the Bean (5 miles, 10:05 per mile average). Yesterday (Thursday), I was headed out for a run when Taz snagged me and begged to go along. So he rode a little more than two miles on his bike while I jogged beside him, then we ran a third of a mile together. Total 2.5, 10:07 average speed. He did great and could have gone faster on his bike, but I was slowing him down. He is doing some great training for his triathlon coming up in June.

Otherwise, I have missed a few workouts this week. No yoga and no swimming. Bummer. I did my weights class on Monday with the instructor who I don't particularly like (big muscle groups first and all); Tuesday I ran with the Bean as noted above then biked 19 miles with my friend Pat; Wednesday nothing; Thursday, I ran with Taz, biked 12 miles that afternoon at West Creek with Annnn and several other TriGirls, then ran another 2.5 miles (9:33 average per mile). This morning, I couldn't sleep (highly unusual) so I got up and did the Cyclo-Core DVD. It's a great strength workout, even without weights.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, we have TriGirl cycling which will include a clinic on changing bike tires, a ride, followed by a stretching clinic. Good stuff! Let's hope for no rain.

Otherwise this week, I had fun hanging out with the kids as Scouter and I split the time during Spring Break. We played tennis one morning, went to the playground, and the highlight - played putt putt with Annn and her kids, then met Kathryn and her kids for lunch at Red Robin. Today we just hung out. What a gorgeous day today!

Now Scouter and I are tag teaming again, and I'm heading to happy hour with Liz, Rebekah, and Sharon. Yeah!!!! We are trying to see each other once a month for lunch or drinks.

I need a drink.

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

A TriGirl kind of day...

I'm really wondering how those Eagleman and IMFL women do it. Seriously, they train a lot. They are super women.

The total wannabe that I am, I had a tough (for me) training day today. This morning, I ran 5 miles with the Bean (10:05 minutes/mile average) then at lunch, I biked with a former co-worker, Pat.

Pat has been cycling for a long time and his skill/experience definitely showed. He was very generous in sharing tips and advice with me along our route. We started at the Shady Grove Y and did a route that I think is similar to one that JRo and Steph mentioned on the TriGirl forum. Pat pointed out a variety of options along the way. It was a fun ride, albeit a little more hilly than I'm used to.

The best part of the ride was a stretch of Pouncey Tract where Pat suggested that I draft in a wind tunnel to pick up some speed. I felt like a real cyclist must feel, flying down the road without killing myself! What fun!

We rode slightly under 19 miles at a 15.7 mph average pace. Pat's normal pace is in the low to mid 20s so I definitely slowed him down. He was very patient though and used this as his recovery ride. He even offered to go with me again, which I will definitely do.

I just talked with Scouter who offered to take both kids to Taz's baseball practice tonight so I could fit in a workout. Yeah, I could swim today too but I'm just not there... yet...

Now a nap on the other hand!

Monday, April 9, 2007

Happy Easter

Somehow I got my holidays confused and took Easter as an opportunity to gorge myself. We started celebrating by having friends and former neighbors Ed and Meda over for dinner Saturday night.

Meda is Taz's Godmother and she takes full advantage of that fact to spoil them both rotten which they of course love. Saturday, she showed up with Easter baskets for each child containing a pooping chicken and tons of candy, among other inappropriate things. The chicken is plastic and "poops" gumballs, by the way. She brought wine for me and Scouter's favorite potato casserole though, so all is forgiven.

Even though it snowed Saturday morning, I was still sporting my spring fever and wanted to grill, so I made burgers using my grill pan on the stove. They were quite tasty, with bleu cheese and whatever else sounded good to me to toss in the mix, like dijon mustard and garlic. Taz and Rainbow even liked them although I did make theirs without the bleu cheese - that seems like more of an acquired/adult taste don't you think? This is the first time Rainbow has ever consented to taste a hamburger. She is so like me in so many ways, but love of all things food is not one of them.

I had a bit too much wine Saturday night - we were introducing Ed and Meda to all the different Veritas varietals that we enjoy. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. Easter morning dawned way too early for me. Taz and Rainbow were up at 6 a.m. Yikes!

The Easter Bunny was good to the kids, bringing chocolate bunnies, Dreamer and Jump In! DVDs, two Junie B. Jones books, and their perennial favorite, new undies. I don't know why the Easter bunny started doing that undie thing years ago, but it stuck and we all find it quite entertaining to see what characters he picks from year to year.

Sunday afternoon, my parents joined us for the Easter Brunch at Richmond Country Club which is always very nice. Festivities began with an Easter egg hunt outdoors on the lawn in full winter gear. Taz and Rainbow enjoyed collecting many eggs as well as hugging the Easter bunny.

I tried to behave at the brunch and even started out with soup and salad to fill myself up with some vegetables, but I quickly moved on to an omelet, some grits, redskin mashed potatoes, roast beef, cheesecake, and whatever else didn't move out of my way. It was all quite tasty! Taz loved the carving station this year and couldn't get enough of the roast beef and ham. He and Scouter are big fans of RCC's key lime pie so that was a big hit as well.

Once back at home, I immediately flopped on the couch while the kids went outside to play and Scouter flipped on the Masters. We went to the tournament three years ago, which was amazing. Augusta National is stunning, and we were both interested in watching some of the event. However, I promptly fell asleep, and pretty soon Rainbow joined me. We napped for - and I'm not exaggerating - three hours! When we woke up, it was time to eat again. What a great day!

My one day of rest on Saturday stretched into two as all I did was sleep and eat all day Sunday, but man was it enjoyable.

Sunday, April 8, 2007

Doin' the Du

Taz, Rainbow and I volunteered to help at a water station during the 3Sports Duathlon yesterday. I was a little surprised to find it snowing when I got up! I knew it had been forecast, but hey we haven't had any snow all winter so I didn't believe it.

It was what Jodi's husband Bruce would call "a dusting" - although perhaps it wouldn't even qualify! We were at their house in Waterloo, Ontario, for a visit one November and went snowmobiling on a "dusting." What is even less than a dusting, I wonder?

The kids popped right out of bed, thrilled to see the snow and longing to get out in it. I bundled them in their ski bibs, coats, and boots and we headed off. What a difference a week makes! Just last Saturday, we had beautiful weather for the Monument 1ok.

We were a little late arriving at the volunteer check-in, primarily because I had to shlep two kids from the parking lot to the check in spot which was a good distance away for them. When I arrived, the volunteer coordinator was clearly pissed. She told me that the water stops were fully manned and that I could hang around to work the finish line. C'mon, chica, I was 10 minutes late or less! Plus when I volunteered, I had clearly stipulated that I could only be there until 10:00.

The kids and I walked over to see the long distance race start, then we wandered back. At that point, I told my friend Joe who was manning the volunteer check-in that we had volunteered to be with a group and that we were going to the water station. He said that was fine.

We also say TriGirl Renae at the volunteer check-in. She was volunteer extraordinaire from what I understand. Way to go!

Dumb me; I thought we could walk to the aid station. And we did, but it was a long damn way. We stopped a few times along the way, teasing Rainbow and calling her "little legs," and also cheering for the runners. The kids got a lot of smiles from race participants. There were two racers in Va. Tech jerseys that we particularly liked and cheered for.

We finally finally made it to the water stop to see smiling TriGirl faces Annnnn, Theresa, and Mary. Ann had brought some tunes, cowbells, and tiaras. It was a festive station! I think Taz and Rainbow drank more Power Aid than they distributed, but they did get into the spirit. We had packed snack and activity bags which came in handy as well.

By far the biggest highlight for Taz was seeing TriGirl Melissa run by. The first time, they cheered for her; the second time, Taz joined her for a bit of her run. He was so excited! I suspect that my boy has a little crush working. He was very curious about whether she is a kid or an adult. I tried to explain that while she is a kid to me, she is an adult to him. He also wanted to know if she is married and seemed quite pleased to learn that she isn't. I don't know, M, he might be worth waiting for! : )

We hung out for longer than I thought we would, then thank goodness Annnn gave us a ride back. Rainbow had lost it that point and was sobbing as we walked the rest of the way. I ended up piggy-backing her. She was much better once we found a bathroom and got some heat working.

Once we got back home, my little crazy people staged a snowball fight and built a snowman. Then we sipped some hot chocolate. The snow didn't last too much longer, but we enjoyed our winter day while we could.

Now I'm ready for spring to return!

Friday, April 6, 2007

Fantastic Ride

Update: Thanks for your comments, TriGirls! Traffic was not bad at all even though we were out on the road at 5:00. The only tricky spot was crossing a busy street in Ashland, where we actually hopped off the bikes and walked across. Otherwise, I was amazed at how light it was.

I'll be happy to coordinate a weekend ride on that route. I'll have to get Richard to join us or do it one more time with him, paying attention so I don't get us totally lost! Sounds fun!!!
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I had a great ride this afternoon with my good friend Richard. Richard is the one who first got me interested in running, then cycling when his knee injury prevented him from running anymore. He has run marathons and biked centuries. All pretty amazing when you consider that he didn't start any of it until he was in his 40s.

Richard is a very knowledgeable kind of guy. He is an expert in his field, and when he became interested in running and cycling, he became expert in them as well. I am the kind of dumbass who buys a cheap pair of shoes and goes for it. Thank goodness I have Richard to educate me! He took me to the running store in Carytown for my first pair of shoes. Today, he taught me to put the chain back on my bike. And he has helped educate me all in between.

Today, we met in northside and biked along Bike Route 1 for most of the ride. We decided in advance that when we hit Ashland at the 10 mile mark, we were going to ride a hilly section on the other side for an extra five mile loop. Yet, when we got to the 12.5 mile point, Richard asked with a grin if I wanted to keep going. Hell yeah!

We hit a stretch of road with three big hills lovingly named the Three Sisters. Three Bitches is more like it! That second sister handed me my butt and I had to walk a good half way up it. I'm dying to go back and beat that hill next time. Lemme at it!

My new saddle worked great, and I was happy to have the repair kit on board and even happier that I didn't have to use it. And my new TriGirl water bottle looked lovely on the bike.

In total, we rode 31 miles. That's the furthest I've ever ridden by 11 miles. Our average speed was 15.1 by the end. We were faster for the first 10 miles (~15.9) then slowed by the hills. Although the 31 mph we hit a couple times on the downhills certainly helped our average speed, and it was flat out exilerating!

After we turned around and went over the Three Sisters for the ruturn trip, I dropped my chain. We got it back on but with a significant clicking noise. It appeared that something was rubbing. I also had an odd whistling noise going on, and I couldn't get my front gear out of the middle chain ring. So we were slower going back due to equipment issues in addition to general fatigue.

I dropped my bike at Agee's on the way home for some maintenance. I've had problems with my front gears before, and I'm hoping they can get my bike good to go for the spring.

I can't wait to get back out there! This cycling stuff is actually pretty fun!

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Mid-Week in Review

Soooooooooooo.... an old friend pointed out that she and a small group of friends used to call ME "Taz" soon after I graduated from college. I think it had something to do with the fact that Scouter and I were still acting like we were in college, even though we were supposed to be acting like adults. Whoops, guess some of those genes Taz inherited came from me! I have a tendancy to blame Scouter.

I feel like I've been a big slacker so far this week... Sunday morning, no run. Sunday night, I swam 1800 yards with Som. We were doing drafting drills. One of them involved the fastest person in the lane moving to the end every 50 yards during a 450. I totally panicked that I wouldn't be able to keep up and seriously started hyperventilating while I was supposed to be swimming... I had to pull out for a minute to catch my breath. Once I calmed down, I had a reasonably good swim. It was fun to share a lane with Jennifer (who is quite fast).

Monday, I did the weights class I love at the Y. I can't even remember who taught but I remember it was good. No cycling Monday night. Tuesday morning, I ran with the Bean (5 miles, 10:07 minutes/mile average). No cycling Wednesday morning - I went back to bed after putting the kids on the bus. Yoga Wednesday afternoon by the true yoga instructor - fabulous! It felt like a treat instead of a workout. Today, I skipped my run since I think I'm being stupid to keep running when my heel hurts but I did the Cyclo-Core DVD. This is the first time I've done the entire thing, and it was excellent! I got a great workout focused on building core strength for cycling.

I went to bed last night at 8:30 - think I was asleep before Taz and Rainbow. I slept pretty much straight through until 6:30 this morning. It was fabulous!

Tomorrow, hopefully I will get on the bike. Saturday is a scheduled rest day which even after all these skipped workouts and 10 hours of sleep last night, I am so looking forward to.

Happy training, everyone!

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

10k Revisited

Thanks, Melissa, for the fun TriGirl photo! This was taken before the race and unfortunately doesn't include the whole group - but there were a lot of us. I'm digging the race skirts that several women wore... will have to check into those for (ahem) a little more coverage. Post-race reports were favorable.

Congratulations to everyone who ran their first event or made a PR!

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Mighty Taz at Bat

I've been dying to use this graphic. Even though the spinning is a bit annoying. And not that I would ever say that my own child, flesh of my flesh, is annoying, but yeah it's a pretty darn good representation of him. He is constant motion. I'm not kidding; he even flails around like a wild man when he's asleep.

So Mighty Taz had his first baseball game last night. He was soooo excited! He played tee ball last year and was supposed to play again this year because they changed the cutoff date to move up... yet somehow, he ended up on a machine pitch team. Scouter and I have been keeping his age on the down low thinking someone, somewhere in the bowels of baseball sign up hell made a mistake - and we don't want to get caught. But last night, we found out that there is at least one younger kid on the team. We were outed, and it's okay. Or at least, we will keep each other's secret.

In machine pitch baseball, games last three innings or two hours, whichever comes first. In my vast experience gained in tee ball last year, the number of innings never comes first. At this age, kids start to learn the basics of fielding, such as if by some miracle you manage to stop a baseball that comes hurtling somewhere in your vicinity, to which base do you throw it? Damn if I know, but my first grader is starting to figure it out.
Rainbow is playing tee ball this year, by the way. My babies look so adorable and yet so unbelievably tiny out on the field, especially when they hurl their little bodies in front of a fast moving projectile.
When it's their turn to hit, each child gets seven pitches. Taz had three at-bats, but Mommy only managed to see the last one in which he hit a blooper on the seventh pitch but ran super-fast to get on first. Scouter assures me that his first two efforts were far superior.

(I missed the first at-bat b/c I was at Ben Franklin wandering around behind the 12 year old worker I finally begged for assistance, trying to find craft materials for Taz's Cub Scout meeting which is tonight at our house. April is food and fitness month! Perfect for us. I missed his second at-bat because I was galloping - I mean this literally; I was supposed to be a horse - with Rainbow to the bathrooms which are conveniently located 2.8 miles from any baseball field. Anyway. Like you needed to know any of that.)

Scouter is thrilled beyond belief that his two prodigy are enjoying a sport that he so loves. He helps with practice, was the first base coach last night, practices with them at home... the whole nine yards. Or the whole nine innings, as it were.

Sunday, April 1, 2007

And the winna is...

TriGirl team one and ... the bronze dress! Okay, I know most of you voted for dress #5 and so did my kids... but I felt like a linebacker in it with my big ole legs showing. I felt comfortable and pretty in this one. Except for my ratty ass hairstyle, but we can talk about that later over a hairstyle magazine and some wine.

Comfort Zone is such an amazing cause, and they throw fabulous parties! Last night's fete was at the Science Museum. There was a silent auction, hor d'oerves and cocktails in the main lobby to start, then we moved into a huge downstairs room I didn't even know existed for a presentation, live auction, more food and another kickin bar, followed by Baby Huey and the Babysitters who were so much fun! We knew a lot of people who were planning to be there and we saw a lot of others. What a blast!

Here's Cate's friend Allison, me, and Cate early in the evening:

Here's me and Scouter. He so loves it when I wear four inch heels. Notice that I have the auction book tucked firmly under my arm!

At that point, my camera battery died but I'm used to that since I've gone digital. I whipped another pair out of my teeny little cocktail purse, and found - shit - they were dead too. Oh well! No late night photos. Alas, no photos of me with cute TriGirl Melissa either. I'll just tell you though, she looked absolutely stunning in her gorgeous black dress.
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Scouter and I are dangerous at auctions! We bought the following in the silent auction, in addition to a VT hat signed by Frank Beamer and a one year family membership to the Science Museum. We bid on several other things that we didn't get, like a house in Wintergreen for a weekend. Scouter was not terribly disappointed that didn't work out!
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Isn't this adorable? It's called "Sassy" which Scouter finds to be abnormally funny. My stuff is already in it!

Scouter fell in love with these topiaries first, and showed them to me. I promptly bid on them. I'm not at all sure what we're going to do with this big one:


But the two smaller ones are already ensconced on our mantle. They look beautiful! We think/ hope that the greenery will live. The roses are in little tiny water vials, so when they go, we think we can replace them with other flowers when we want to dress the topiaries up. We'll see how that works out. Either way, it's for a great cause.


After that, Scouter removed the auction booklet from my hot little hands and wouldn't let me have it back during the live auction. Cate and I colluded to bid on several things anyway, but we didn't win them. Items were going for a LOT of money - great for Comfort Zone.
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We didn't stay too too late last night - enough for some dancing with the girls after I dumped my shoes! But my feet hurt, both my heel from my injury and the ball of both feet from standing for hours in high high heels after running a 10k. I would have loved to stay longer and will have to wear better shoes next year!
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I can't wait for Comfort Zone's next event! You'll really have to join me...