This was an epic workout weekend for me.
Let me put this in perspective for you IronMan and marathon survivors out there who occasionally read this drivel: Never particularly fit to begin with, I have degenerated into a big pile of unmuscled fat. The slide started in May and has accelerated frighteningly over the last three months.
I have a number of excuses. None of which work for me as my clothes are fitting like sausage casings. I recoil in horror whenever I a catch a glimpse of my dimpled cellulite-covered ass in the mirror. Something I try to avoid at all costs but occasionally can’t avoid. Mainly because it is so… well… large. Not the mirror – the ass.
So anyway the point is that when I call a workout weekend “epic,” the bar is low.
It started on Saturday with the annual Turkey Trot at my kids’ school. We’ve never been able to go before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was bitterly cold but still very cute. Their P.E. teacher is amazing. We did a fun warm-up that included the chicken dance. Yes of course I did it! Then we started running half mile laps around the school. Rainbow was supposed to run two laps and Taz was supposed to run three to four based on grade level. After the warm up, Taz and several friends took off at a sprint. Rainbow wanted to run with me, so we wisely paced ourselves and soon passed the boys walking. Moments later, they sprinted past us and we didn’t see them again. She wanted to walk a little but really not much for the four laps that we did together. She’s a little overachiever! I taught her to take advantage of downhills and flats and not waste a walk on them. So that’s my maternal wisdom to pass down through the generations.
After Rainbow and I ran and stretched, we still couldn’t find Taz so Rainbow ran another lap at a sprint to look for him. He meandered up while she was gone, claiming that he’d run five laps. I suspect he and his friends found a spot to hide while the running was going on but I’m not sure. Taz could definitely run; at least one of his friends is not nearly as energetic. Their P.E. teacher told me that they are both “energizer bunnies” – a very apt description.
By then it was a comparatively balmy 37 degrees. (That’s Fahrenheit, Jodi – maybe 3 Celsius? Freaking cold.) I added another layer to go meet TG40 and REB for a bike ride. And a chilly ride it was! Even with my full fingered gloves and foot warmers, I was freezing. At one point I almost wrecked my bike as I was clasping my hands together trying to thaw my fingers. TG40 rode with fingerless gloves and no foot warmers. As REB pointed out, she’s much tougher than us. We rode 23 miles with a frigid head wind the entire way. Seriously. It must have shifted every time we turned. But as always it was great to see those guys and get a ride in.
As we were riding, I was enumerating the ways that cycling is better than triathlon in my head. My top 10 reasons were all various forms of “in cycling, there’s no swimming” and “drafting is legal in cycling.” I do love myself a good draft. And I rewarded myself with three Reese’s cups at the end. So there’s that.
Sunday, while Scouter and the kids went to church, I opted to be a heathen and go for a run instead. To say that I haven’t been running much would be a massive understatement. I basically goaded myself into running five miles. My first ploy was to pick a route that didn’t offer shorter options without flat out admitting defeat, turning around and going home. My second mind game was to remind myself of my friend Patty charging through a marathon after swimming 2.4 miles and riding 112, or my friend Susan hitting the wall at mile 21 of the marathon and still finishing in 3:42. She was pacing 8 minute miles until mile 21 – amazing. I couldn’t feel worse than they did, or so I told myself to keep my legs moving. I made it through and was very proud of my accomplishment.
Monday morning, just for the hell of it, I actually got my fat ass out of bed on time and did some weights. Only 30 minutes but I’ll take it.
I haven’t done a damn thing since but I’ve been a little sore and it feels really good.
Almost as good as those Reese’s cups taste.
.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Mommy - ah make that Daddy - of the Year
Today Taz and I were having a chat while he ate lunch.
"Mommy, I know the 's' cuss," he announced.
"Really?" I replied noncommittally.
"Yep." And then responding to demands from his sister, he elaborated, "It starts with SH and rhymes with spit."
She was fascinated and tried several combinations before she got it right. He was so proud.
"I also know the 'f' cuss," he announced next. "Not the 'f-u' one but the other one."
I admit to being a bit puzzled. What's the other 'f' cuss? I wondered.
Apparently Taz couldn't stand the wait while I processed. "Mom, it's friggin," he said. Then he elaborated. "I know the 'b' cuss and the 'd' cuss too. My friend on the bus says there are two 'b' cusses but I think he's wrong."
I had to think for a minute to come up with two 'b' cusses, but I kept them to myself. Clearly his vocabulary of profanity is more well developed than mine. "Really?" I inquired. "And have you learned all these bad words on the bus?"
"NAH!" Taz responded.
"Where then?" I asked.
He cocked his head and looked at me as though the answer were obvious, and then he said, "From Dad. DUH. He says them all the time."
.
"Mommy, I know the 's' cuss," he announced.
"Really?" I replied noncommittally.
"Yep." And then responding to demands from his sister, he elaborated, "It starts with SH and rhymes with spit."
She was fascinated and tried several combinations before she got it right. He was so proud.
"I also know the 'f' cuss," he announced next. "Not the 'f-u' one but the other one."
I admit to being a bit puzzled. What's the other 'f' cuss? I wondered.
Apparently Taz couldn't stand the wait while I processed. "Mom, it's friggin," he said. Then he elaborated. "I know the 'b' cuss and the 'd' cuss too. My friend on the bus says there are two 'b' cusses but I think he's wrong."
I had to think for a minute to come up with two 'b' cusses, but I kept them to myself. Clearly his vocabulary of profanity is more well developed than mine. "Really?" I inquired. "And have you learned all these bad words on the bus?"
"NAH!" Taz responded.
"Where then?" I asked.
He cocked his head and looked at me as though the answer were obvious, and then he said, "From Dad. DUH. He says them all the time."
.
Friday, November 7, 2008
October: A Retrospective
So yeah, I’ve sucked at blogging since… well pretty much since I started grad school. I’ve had a lot of thoughts in my head for but no time to actually write them down. In a futile attempt to catch up, here’s October in a nutshell.
The month started with – what else? – a school weekend. Which also included the wedding of one of my new school friends! Here are most of the women in the program with the beautiful bride:
At one point this month, I had a complete college flashback – more than just my usual snacking and procrastination. You could even call it a meltdown instead of just a flashback. I was working on an assignment where I had to create a data model in fourth normalization. If you don’t know what that means – hey, I’m right there with you! I could follow the examples in the book but I couldn’t make the leap to actually create and apply the concepts on my own. I felt incredibly anxious and frustrated, but– just like college – because I was working on the assignment so late (9:00 Thursday night, due at noon on Friday), I couldn’t even reach out for help. In college, I would have bagged the whole thing and gone to Scouter’s fraternity party. This time, while I admit to pouring a glass of wine, I sucked it up and did the best I could to have something to turn in. So I guess I have matured a little over the last (ahem) 20 years.
Did you guys ever watch the Waltons when you were growing up? Remember the two old ladies who were constantly having sips of their “medicine” and were completely in the bag the whole time? That’s what I’m turning into.
Anyway… my program requires a significant amount of team assignments. We had one team for modules 1 & 2, a new team for module 3, and we’ll be assigned to another new team for module 4 in January. I’ve been very lucky so far. My first team named ourselves “Team Rocks” and we did just that. There were three guys and me and we brought very different skills and perspectives to the table. My team this time is “Team Pink” (which reminds me of TriGirls!). The program director thought it would be cool to have an all female team, and that’s us. The women on my team are absolutely fantastic although I will say the difference between my guy and girl teams is that the women want to spend a lot more time together. This is a highly technical module and we’ve been hurt by not having a geek on the team, but we joke that we trade geek services for diva services. And the divas have team meetings at wine shops, so you’ve gotta love that.
So as you can probably tell, school has been absorbing a disproportionate amount of my time. I’m really looking forward to a break in December.
Sadly, exercise has fallen by the wayside, especially this month. I took two weeks off after my bike wreck (with the exception of one bike ride in the middle when the fabulous TG40 took me out for a spin to get me back in the saddle – I couldn’t keep up with her, as usual, but it was awesome!). My palms still really hurt from the impact but I’ve made some modifications to my weight routine so that I can do that again. I’ve been fairly consistent with weights twice a week but I can’t figure out how to consistently run or bike. And I can’t get myself to step up to weights three times a week.
Richard, TG40 and I rode last weekend and it was awesome! Otherwise, I’m just eating, drinking and getting fat. I caught a really ugly view of the back of my legs this week and recoiled in horror. Jennifer pointed out that running is the best thing for your thighs. Sigh.
I’m promising myself a light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps a late season Oly in 2009 and maybe, just maybe, stepping up to a half IM in 2010? That sounds like a long way away but I know it really isn’t.
Fun things of late include scheduling some recurring lunches with several sets of girlfriends so we can catch back up. I’ve been getting a rash of shit for constantly missing bunko, book club, girls’ weekends, etc etc. It’s nice to be missed. And I’ll be back!
My college roommate Jill and her family came to visit over the holiday weekend in early October and we all went to the mountains. There were some hilarious email exchanges between Jill and Scouter prior about city people not hiking. She offered to drive us to the trail and then meet us on the deck with cocktails afterwards. In actuality, the dads and the kids did some great hikes while she and I went to the spa and hung out on the deck. We also spent a lot of time looking at villas in Tuscany for our trip this spring. And as usual, we had a lot lot lot of cocktails, from coffee martinis to pomegranate margaritas to wine. Not surprisingly, we also had my famous (in my own mind) hangover cure protein shakes every morning.
Here are some pictures from the weekend. The trees looked more fall-like in person! 
We spend another weekend in the mountains with just our family and did an awesome hike. It was very challenging with breathtaking views. Here’s the trail we had just walked. Note the red paint on trees and rocks – those are the trail markings:
Here’s Scouter the mountain man:
My favorite party, the Comfort Zone Camp fall bash, was in October. I had a blast dancing with my girls to the Right On! band but sadly this is the only photo I managed to get. The party is at a horse farm and here's the barn:
And not to be political but here’s a photo from another highlight of the month:
Alright, so that’s October. What I remember of it anyway. No promises to be much better before I graduate in May, but I’ll do what I can….
Cheers!
.
The month started with – what else? – a school weekend. Which also included the wedding of one of my new school friends! Here are most of the women in the program with the beautiful bride:
About school. I’m in module 3 of 4 and this one is very difficult for me. The first two modules were short and fairly easy because I had more experience in those areas. This one requires me to do a lot of extra research. I like it though because I want to come out on the other end with this knowledge.
At one point this month, I had a complete college flashback – more than just my usual snacking and procrastination. You could even call it a meltdown instead of just a flashback. I was working on an assignment where I had to create a data model in fourth normalization. If you don’t know what that means – hey, I’m right there with you! I could follow the examples in the book but I couldn’t make the leap to actually create and apply the concepts on my own. I felt incredibly anxious and frustrated, but– just like college – because I was working on the assignment so late (9:00 Thursday night, due at noon on Friday), I couldn’t even reach out for help. In college, I would have bagged the whole thing and gone to Scouter’s fraternity party. This time, while I admit to pouring a glass of wine, I sucked it up and did the best I could to have something to turn in. So I guess I have matured a little over the last (ahem) 20 years.
Did you guys ever watch the Waltons when you were growing up? Remember the two old ladies who were constantly having sips of their “medicine” and were completely in the bag the whole time? That’s what I’m turning into.
Anyway… my program requires a significant amount of team assignments. We had one team for modules 1 & 2, a new team for module 3, and we’ll be assigned to another new team for module 4 in January. I’ve been very lucky so far. My first team named ourselves “Team Rocks” and we did just that. There were three guys and me and we brought very different skills and perspectives to the table. My team this time is “Team Pink” (which reminds me of TriGirls!). The program director thought it would be cool to have an all female team, and that’s us. The women on my team are absolutely fantastic although I will say the difference between my guy and girl teams is that the women want to spend a lot more time together. This is a highly technical module and we’ve been hurt by not having a geek on the team, but we joke that we trade geek services for diva services. And the divas have team meetings at wine shops, so you’ve gotta love that.
So as you can probably tell, school has been absorbing a disproportionate amount of my time. I’m really looking forward to a break in December.
Sadly, exercise has fallen by the wayside, especially this month. I took two weeks off after my bike wreck (with the exception of one bike ride in the middle when the fabulous TG40 took me out for a spin to get me back in the saddle – I couldn’t keep up with her, as usual, but it was awesome!). My palms still really hurt from the impact but I’ve made some modifications to my weight routine so that I can do that again. I’ve been fairly consistent with weights twice a week but I can’t figure out how to consistently run or bike. And I can’t get myself to step up to weights three times a week.
Richard, TG40 and I rode last weekend and it was awesome! Otherwise, I’m just eating, drinking and getting fat. I caught a really ugly view of the back of my legs this week and recoiled in horror. Jennifer pointed out that running is the best thing for your thighs. Sigh.
I’m promising myself a light at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps a late season Oly in 2009 and maybe, just maybe, stepping up to a half IM in 2010? That sounds like a long way away but I know it really isn’t.
Fun things of late include scheduling some recurring lunches with several sets of girlfriends so we can catch back up. I’ve been getting a rash of shit for constantly missing bunko, book club, girls’ weekends, etc etc. It’s nice to be missed. And I’ll be back!
My college roommate Jill and her family came to visit over the holiday weekend in early October and we all went to the mountains. There were some hilarious email exchanges between Jill and Scouter prior about city people not hiking. She offered to drive us to the trail and then meet us on the deck with cocktails afterwards. In actuality, the dads and the kids did some great hikes while she and I went to the spa and hung out on the deck. We also spent a lot of time looking at villas in Tuscany for our trip this spring. And as usual, we had a lot lot lot of cocktails, from coffee martinis to pomegranate margaritas to wine. Not surprisingly, we also had my famous (in my own mind) hangover cure protein shakes every morning.
Here are some pictures from the weekend. The trees looked more fall-like in person!
We spend another weekend in the mountains with just our family and did an awesome hike. It was very challenging with breathtaking views. Here’s the trail we had just walked. Note the red paint on trees and rocks – those are the trail markings:
Here's our nature siting of the month.... I think I prefer the bear!
And here's a shot of the view:
Here’s Scouter the mountain man:
My favorite party, the Comfort Zone Camp fall bash, was in October. I had a blast dancing with my girls to the Right On! band but sadly this is the only photo I managed to get. The party is at a horse farm and here's the barn:
And not to be political but here’s a photo from another highlight of the month:
Alright, so that’s October. What I remember of it anyway. No promises to be much better before I graduate in May, but I’ll do what I can….
Cheers!
.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Congratulations, New Iron(wo)men
Congrats to all the awesome TriGirls and everyone else who competed in Ironman Florida yesterday. You are all amazing, inspirational, fantastic, unbelievable, spectacular... and frankly exhausting.
And congrats also to all the Iron(wo)men to be who took the big plunge and registered for IMFL 2009. That's a bold and brave move. I admire you.
Personally, I rode about 20 today and felt pretty damn good about myself.
You guys rock!!!!
~~~
UPDATE: IronWoman Patty (better known as Patty Who Hits Me or PWHM by Annnnn) rocked the course in 13:18. She averaged a blistering 17.7 mph on the 112 mile bike. I'm in awe!
.
And congrats also to all the Iron(wo)men to be who took the big plunge and registered for IMFL 2009. That's a bold and brave move. I admire you.
Personally, I rode about 20 today and felt pretty damn good about myself.
You guys rock!!!!
~~~
UPDATE: IronWoman Patty (better known as Patty Who Hits Me or PWHM by Annnnn) rocked the course in 13:18. She averaged a blistering 17.7 mph on the 112 mile bike. I'm in awe!
.
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