Happy New Year!

Last year's New Year post had an Irish blessing and a toast. They are two of my favorites so I was thinking that I would do something different this year, but then decided against it. The Irish comes from my father and December 23 is his birthday so it seems appropriate to honor my Irish heritage at this time of year. Also I realized last month that's been 10 years since my father passed away so I think I'll stick with the Irish blessing. Incidentally, December 23 is also Festivus Day. I think my father would have approved of that.

In case you are wondering why a blessing and a toast, why not one or the other? Well, I feel that sharing both reflects something interesting about the Irish. They are very caring, thoughtful, and emotional, and yet mischievous and full of fun. I hope you all have a wonderful New Year surrounded by the people you love.

May your glass be ever full.
May the roof over your head be always strong.
And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead.
-Irish toast

May the sun shine, all day long,
everything go right, and nothing wrong.
May those you love bring love back to you,
and may all the wishes you wish come true!
-Irish blessing

Happy Holidays!

Driving, driving, driving

Saturday afternoon, Brian and I headed out on our annual Christmas trip to Maryland. This year we decided to drive from Florida to Maryland, since we are making it a longer visit. I figured the drive would take us about 12 - 13 hours, which is totally doable in one day. It ended up taking us 14 hours but that had to do with the freezing rain we encountered when we got to D.C. There's not much you can do about the weather. Fortunately the salt trucks were out doing their thing and the roads were pretty good.

Overall, the drive was fine. There were the typical issues with Virginia drivers. I don't understand it, but VA drivers don't seem to understand the concept of the left lane as the passing lane. I don't usually make blanket statements about a group like that, but in this case I've had nearly 7 years of experience driving through VA, and it is a consistent thing. There could be three lanes and the right two lanes will be empty and there will be a VA driver in the left lane driving below the speed limit. Seriously! and they won't change lanes when you come up behind them. This occurrence is so common that even Brian has noticed it. Considering he doesn't drive, that's kind of a big deal. I can only assume that the Driver's Ed courses in VA are somehow deficient. At least it was late at night when we were in VA so the amount of drivers on the road was minimal. That really is my only driving rant. For the most part, everyone was driving reasonably well. Considering it's holiday time, I was surprised.

Pros - Brian getting silly/punchy due to sleep deprivation - always good for a laugh - and getting to use my new music player. It was awesome! I think I'll write a separate blog entry/review, since I just realized I can't write about my shopping adventure today without revealing my Secret Santa. That story will have to wait until after Christmas.

Cons - freezing rain, VA drivers, closed interstate due to an accident, and road salt all over my bike. I'm so glad I brought the bike, even though I will likely be confined to the trainer all week - the high temp today was 22 - but I was very unhappy about the thick coating of ice that was on it by the end of the trip AND the crud that was caked on it after the ice melted. I was especially annoyed because I had the drive train cleaned and a new chain put on it and a full tune up done last May and then I only rode it for 2 more months while the tribike was MIA. Before the trip, the bike was as spotless as it's been in a long time. The components were so clean they looked new. Now - not so much. I spent at least an hour cleaning and lubing. Oh well!

I will say that driving is definitely the way to go if we are staying for a week. I don't know if this will become a regular thing for Christmas, but it's not off the table. Whenever I get around to doing Eagleman 70.3 - maybe 2010 - I will definitely drive.

Grossology

Last Saturday, Brian and I went to the Florida Museum of Natural History to visit the Grossology exhibit. The official exhibit title is "Grossology: The Impolite Science of the Human Body". The exhibit is based on the book "Grossology" by Sylvia Branzei. We had gotten this book for my niece Emily a few years ago. As I'm sure you've guessed, the book and exhibit are all about bodily functions - explanations about burps and farts, boogers and poo - and are directed at children.

The exhibit was a blast! All the slang terms that children are used to hearing were used as well as excellent scientific explanations on everything from burps to zits. There were lots of games to play and giant models of the nose and stomach, and a small climbing wall that depicted the skin. Just in case you were wondering, we played all the games and did all the activities that we weren't too large for. We couldn't go down the esophagus slide or climb through the rectum tunnel - that was only for the small children. Dang! I did beat Brian at Grossology trivia - yes, I know more about disgusting bodily functions than my hubby. That really shouldn't surprise anyone.

Here are a few pictures.

Laugh, Think, Cry

My next post was going to be on something completely different, but last night, as Brian and I sat down to watch the Texas-Villanova game, ESPN aired the Jimmy Valvano speech from the 1993 Espy Awards. The game was part of the Jimmy V Basketball Classic played annually at Madison Square Garden to help raise money for the V Foundation, which is dedicated to funding cancer research. In between games, ESPN was doing segments about the Foundation and cancer. I walked into the living room just in time to see "1993 Espy Awards" flash on the screen. I told Brian "They are going to show the Jimmy V speech. Is ESPN trying to make me cry?" Sure enough they showed the speech. Sure enough, I cried. ESPN followed the speech with personal commentary by people who knew Jimmy V, and I cried some more. Dammit! Then the game started and everything was good. Texas won - yay!

Now maybe you are wondering, "Who the heck is Jimmy V and why would he make you cry?" Jimmy Valvano was the men's basketball coach at NC State from 1980-1990, which included 1 national championship in 1983, won by a basket at the buzzer. In July 1992, he was diagnosed with metastatic bone cancer. In March of 1993, he was awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award at the inaugural Espy Awards. He died the next month. He was 47.

I've included the speech in this post. It's about 10 minutes long, but if you've never seen it, it's worth watching. If you have seen it, it's worth watching again. Laugh, think, cry - thank you, Jimmy. I did all three just watching your speech.

Twitter and things

Again I've been light on the posting. It's been a bit on the slow side here in Gainesville. Brian and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday in Rockport with our Texas family. There was the usual delicious food, lots of pie, and lots of love. It seems like everyone is doing well there, and we enjoyed the visit.

Since we've been home, we've been enjoying our regular routine. I find it's nice to have a few weeks of same-old same-old before the Christmas craziness begins. Brian especially enjoys the routine. He doesn't particularly travel well, and by that, I mean he doesn't really enjoy it. He loves visiting new places, and he always enjoys visiting family and friends, he just doesn't enjoy the process of getting there and back. I keep telling him he needs to build a transporter. Then we can visit whenever we want and still sleep in our own bed - wouldn't that be great! We have decided to drive to Maryland this year for Christmas, since we are going to stay for longer. I'm hoping that driving will make travelling during the Holiday more tolerable for Brian - and me. It will certainly make packing easier, and I am considering bringing my bike. How bad can biking in 30 degree weather be? After all, I have a ninja mask from my days in NC. Actually, I think all the hills in MD will kill me before the cold does. Maybe there'll be a warm spell.

In case you haven't noticed, I've made a couple of additions to my sidebar. The new countdown clock is for the 3M half-marathon in Austin. This will be my next big race, and I really need to focus more on my run. Right now I've just been going through the workouts, but haven't really been giving it my all. It really is time to put it into high gear.

The other addition is a Twitter Update box. What is Twitter, you ask? It's a microblog service that allows you to post 140 letter updates. I call it FaceBook Lite, but I actually think it could have a broader appeal than FaceBook. Anyway, it's a nice way to provide short updates to the blog on events that don't necessarily warrent a full post, and it's supereasy to do updates from my mobile phone. That way if I haven't posted in awhile, you can always check the Twitter Update.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know I've been a bit light on the posts lately. Truthfully, I haven't been much in a writing mood. Nothing bad, just a slight post-ironman hangover. This Thursday is Thanksgiving! I thought I would announce it for those of you that haven't been paying been attention. I love Thanksgiving! Aside from the traveling, which doesn't really bother me, I view Thanksgiving as a low stress holiday. Of course I might feel differently if I were hosting Thanksgiving, but I doubt it. I love company and I love cooking - just as long as someone else washes the dishes. Some childhood scars never heal. At any rate, Brian and I will be heading off to Texas for a lovely visit with our adopted family in Rockport, and I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday. Love you all!

I thought I'd share a little classic Saturday Night Live with you to celebrate the occasion. Enjoy!

Adam Sandler - New Music - More Music Videos

Follow-up

I just wanted to let everyone know that Serena is doing much better. She has most of her tubes out, is starting to eat solid food, and is even out of bed and moving around. She has had several visitors besides family and has enjoyed them all. As soon as a bed becomes available, she will be moved out of the PICU - it may have already happened. Becky has Guard duty this weekend - she is an Airforce reservist - so there won't be any updates until Monday, but it looks like Serena is well on her way to being fully recovered. That is great news!

Good Thoughts

If you have some moments today when you are sitting around doing nothing or just zoning out at your desk, please take some time to send some positive thoughts and energy to Serena, who is in Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore recovering from cancer surgery. Serena is the daughter of my friend Becky. She is three years old and was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma last June. She had surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible, and has been undergoing Chemo since July. Friday she underwent the second surgery to remove the rest of the tumor. The surgeon was able to get all of the tumor, but it took 8 hours instead of the expected four, and was an incredibly intense surgery that involved removing some of Serena's organs to get to the tumor. She is having a difficult time in recovery and had to be moved back to the Pediatric ICU last night. She is recovering but the danger of pneumonia is very high. Becky has been keeping everyone updated via her online journal. Hang in there, Serena and Becky!

Happy 10th Anniversary!

Last month was my sister Sarah's 10th wedding anniversary. She scanned in a bunch of the wedding photos and posted them up on her Facebook profile. I thought I would share them here. I didn't do it sooner because I was in the middle of Ironman frenzy. It was a truly wonderful wedding. Everything was perfect and we all had a great time. Great company, great food, great music - and don't we all look fabulous? Happy Anniversary Sis!

IMFL 2008

I guess since I am now officially registered for IMFL 2009, it's about time to share what happened. As most of you already know, I did not finish or DNFed. Here are the details. It's still hard for me to talk or think about because I'm so mad at myself.

Leading up to the race, I was very concerned about making the bike cut-off; not because I didn't think I was capable of riding 112 miles in the allotted time - I knew I could do that - but because I was worried that the swim might take a lot out of me, and would impact the bike more than I anticipated. IMFL is in the Gulf and water conditions are variable. When I was there in May for the Gulf Coast Tri, the water was horrible. I was worried that if the water was like it was that day that I would be really tired, and if there was excessive wind then I might be in trouble. I was never worried or concerned that I could finish the entire race - for some reason running a marathon after all that wasn't bothering me. It was going to be hard, and it was going to suck, but I knew I could do it. However, if I missed the bike cut-off then I wouldn't even get the chance to suffer through the run.

Well, the weather leading up to the race was perfect. The Gulf was like a lake, and the race day weather prediction was more of the same so I was starting to feel good about everything. I had put in the training - a lot of it in pretty crappy conditions, and much of it by myself - and I was ready. I was surrounded by my friends from Texas, and my husband and my brother, Chris. Of course, I was nervous, but also excited, and ready to see what I could do.

The weather on race morning was just as predicted, and the water looked great. I've swam in lakes with more chop. I stuck to Joey and Maggie like glue before the swim started. After all, they've done this before. I stuck with my swim plan, which was to be conservative, but steady. I wanted to be out of the water in under 2 hours AND feel good. I did both of those things. I could've swam harder, but I was less concerned about the swim time, and more concerned about feeling good when I got on the bike.

I went through transition where I had two lovely volunteers, who were around the same age as my mom and whom I've never met, completely undress and redress me. Good thing I'm not shy. Oh, and they fed me, too. Actually, they wouldn't let me do anything for myself. I had put a bunch of different things in my T1 bag - some of them I likely wouldn't need - and it was really funny listening to them go through and tell me what I needed to take with me. They even stuffed my bike jersey pockets for me. I wonder if that's what royalty felt like back in the day.

I exited the tent to see my awesome bike waiting for me. I grabbed the bike and headed out of transition. I was riding well to start, but stuck with my plan. On shorter races, I like to start off fast to get my legs warmed up and get moving, but for IM I knew I was going to be hungry exiting the swim so the plan was to start eating soon after getting out on the ride. I felt really good on the ride, and the weather was gorgeous, so I was really puzzled when my speeds were not reflecting what my training indicated I should be doing. I kept thinking maybe the wind is stronger than I thought, maybe I'm more tired than I felt, all kinds of things started going through my head. Around mile 30 when my pace was starting to concern me, I thought maybe there's something wrong with my rear tire. Now that may seem like a random thought to have, but the day before when we were riding our bikes up to bike check-in, I noticed that my rear tire was overinflated and had a bulge in it. I let out some air and everything seemed fine. I thought about changing the tire, just to be safe, but in the bustle of check-in, it didn't happen. So now I'm thinking maybe it's the tire. It didn't feel flat - it's easy to tell when you are riding on a flat tire - so I just kept going. I figured I'd check it at the special needs stop, since I'd be getting off the bike anyway. I hurried through special needs - only taking the time to scarf one of my PBJ sandwhiches. Time was really starting to become an issue. I almost forgot to check the tire, but remembered at the last minute and squeezed it, and started cursing - very soft. I gave it a shot of CO2 and headed out. I was going to have to stop soon for a bathroom break so I opted to just give it some air as opposed to changing the tire. If it was low again when I stopped, I'd change it. Well as soon as I started out, I could feel the difference. I was flying. I started cursing - I hadn't been slow, it had been the tire. When I stopped, the tire was low again so I changed it, and was back on my way. I haven't changed a tire in forever, but I remembered what my coach said about staying calm, and got it done fairly quickly.

I rode as hard as I could, I knew it was going to be close to make the time cut-off. Around mile 85 or so, the road got really crappy, and started slowing me down. By this time, I had a motorcycle escort so I rode close to the yellow line to find smooth road. It's not like I'm going to get hit from behind with a motorcycle behind me. I'm sure that police officer never expected to hear such language coming from a woman triathlete, but I can swear with the best of 'em, and every time I hit a patch of crap road that dropped my speed below 18mph, I let one fly. I was also crying at the same time because I was doing the math and I was pretty sure by that point that I wasn't going to make the 100 mile cut-off time. I was so mad at myself for all the things I could have done to prevent the tire from slowing me down.

Around mile 95, I spotted my car. Mike had used it to spot the female pros out on the bike course, and had an official race vehicle sticker so he could go wherever. Brian had been tracking me online and when he realized I was close to missing the cut-off, the guys piled into the car and came out on the course. They followed me until I got pulled off the course at mile 100 and then pulled in to pick me up. They totally confused the guy telling me I had to stop, but when he realized they were going to take me, I think he was relieved to not have to deal with an upset athlete. I handed him my bike, and climbed in the car. No one really knew what to say, and I think I suprised everyone by babbling on like a crazy person. I had already cried and cursed for the last hour, and my endorphins were crazy from all the exertion. Mike commented that I needed some sugar. He was probably right.

Once we got back to the house, I changed and went out to cheer for Joey, Janice, and Maggie, and everyone else, too. I was extremely upset, but I also had a ridiculous amount of energy, since I was suposed to be running a marathon. Being able to cheer on my friends made me feel so much better even though I really wanted to be out there running with them. They all looked fantastic even if they felt like dying. Watching them finish was so wonderful, and so disappointing for me at the same time.

The next day, I got up and registered for IMFL 2009. If at first you don't succeed... Mike was registering, too, and Janice decided, as we were standing in line, that she was in again, too. Joey and Maggie are coming as support, and my brother, Chris, is coming back, too. My sister Sarah is also coming next year so it will be a lively group.

I will be mad at myself for a long time. The tire issue was completely avoidable - if I had changed it before the race, if I had stopped sooner, if, if , if. I even questioned my training - I have an awesome coach, and I never questioned that I wasn't doing enough, but when something like this happens, it does creep into your thoughts. I pulled up my training schedule from the summer, and it made me feel good. I put in a lot of work, and I'm really proud of my effort. A few days ago, I saw the professional photos from the race. You can clearly see the low tire in one of the pics. These pics were taken pretty early in the ride so it definitely wasn't my training. I got mad all over again. Right now I'm dealing with it okay - after all, in the grand scheme of things, it's not the end of the world - but I am quite sure when I am training through next summer that I will be mad at myself all over again. Brian assures me that it's not wrong to wish for a drought so I don't have to deal with excessive rain and 95% humidity, but then again, he hates rain.

Ironically, awhile back Joey and I had been talking about the ridiculous amounts of money triathletes of average ability will spend on bikes. He had been in Jack & Adam's when a guy had spent $2500 on race wheels. I had mentioned that I would not mind having a set of race wheels - not because I think they will make me faster, but because it would be nice to have wheels that don't get ridden everyday. I ride through all kind of craps on the road, and it would be comforting to know that I had good tires for races. I had no idea how prescient that conversation would be. Yes, I am getting race wheels. No, I am not spending $2500 - that would be ridiculous.

Even with the DNF, this was a great experience, and I had a great time. When I line up on the beach next year, I may technically be an "Iron Virgin", but I know full well what to expect - at least for 2/3 of the race. I still can't decide what it says about me that my first ever DNF is an Ironman - any thoughts?

My Birthday Present

This was inside the birthday card that Brian left for me that morning. I started crying. It was a very sweet gesture. I know I haven't posted my race report yet so for those of you that don't know, it was a problem with my rear tire that caused me to not finish.

Forward Progress

After I DNFed at Ironman Florida - that story is coming, I promise, but it's still hard to think about - I went out on the run course to cheer on the runners and the rest of my group. Joey and Janice were running together and looking strong, and Maggie was just 15 minutes behind them and looking like she could run forever! Yay team!

At any rate, I had a total runner's high - I guess if you push that hard on the bike, the endorphins go just as crazy as they do on a run. Plus I was mentally and physically prepared to be running a marathon at the time so excessive pent-up energy doesn't even begin to describe it. I was totally loopy - even more so than usual. I know many of you are thinking "Wow, that's a lot of crazy - glad I missed it. " Our friend Mike, who was there providing sherpa services, refused to go get the cowbell for me. Probably a wise decision because I would have been ringing that thing non-stop.

As I was cheering on the runners, I kept saying things like "You look great! Stay strong! Just keep moving forward. One foot in front of the other." Well, the phrase "one foot in front of the other" must have triggered a childhood memory because I started singing this song. It's now stuck in my head so of course I have to share. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

As many of you may have heard, my sister opted not to come to PCB for Ironman like she had originally intended because it turned out that Halloween was the day before the race. Just in case any of you were thinking that was an odd decision - bail on your sister's first Ironman in favor of Halloween - here is a picture of her family. Halloween is a BIG DEAL for them! Don't they look great! Turns out it was the right decision and she will likely be joining me next year for IMFL 2009. By the way, I have a new countdown clock going. Check it out!

PCB!

That's Panama City Beach, FL - not Polychlorinated Biphenyl. One is a lovely town on the panhandle of Florida, which is host to Ironman Florida; the other is a toxic organic compound that will make you very sick. One is good, the other is bad. Now that we've got that all cleared up, on to the post.

Joey and I arrived in PCB yesterday evening. The house I rented for us is awesome! I'm always pleased when a vacation property looks as good, if not better, than the photos. I will try to remember to take pics. We spent today just taking it easy. Maggie, Janice, and Mike arrived this evening, and we all had dinner. All the athletes in our group are now in town. Brian arrives tomorrow afternoon, and my brother Chris arrives Friday evening. This Ironman thing is becoming more and more real. Since Joey's arrival last Thursday, I've been a little bit in vacation mode, and in a bit of denial too. Tomorrow I have a pre-race workout so it's time to get into race mode and get down to business. I don't know how good I'll be about updating my blog before the race, but I promise a post-race entry. Joey is likely to be better at posting so check out his blog.

If you want to track us online, you can go to Ironman.com on race day and go to Ironman Florida. My race number is 2243, Joey is 858, Maggie is 2421, and Janice is 2530.

I wanted to take a moment a give a big THANK YOU! to Rachel and Jordan for being willing to part with Joey for so long. Having him here sooner has been great. I am quite sure I would be a serious basketcase by now if he hadn't been here. I just wish you were both here, too! I can't wait for Thanksgiving!

MS Bike Ride

Last month I did the Cycle to the Shore bike ride to help raise money for Multiple Sclerosis. If you are unfamiliar with these rides, they are typically 2-day events and involve cycling around 150 miles. They are often referred to as the MS 150 rides. Usually the participants cycle from point to point with an overnight somewhere in between. The particular ride I did was from St. Augustine to Daytona Beach and back again. It was 84 miles one way so 168 miles round trip. I decided to do the ride as part of my Ironman training - I love riding alone, but doing 6 hour bike rides by myself was getting a little tiresome so the opportunity to ride with a group was appealing. Since the ride was on the coast, it's perfect for IM training - flat and windy. Aside from the obvious training advantages, doing a ride like this is a good way to give something back. Training for an Ironman is a fairly selfish endeavor. The time commitment is big and it is inevitable that other things in your life are going to be neglected - you should see my post-IM to do list. Taking all that hard training effort and using it to raise money for charity just seems like a good thing to do.

It was a somewhat tough ride. Saturday started off with a coastal wind advisory. This was the same kind of weather that caused the swim at the St. Augustine Tri in 2007 to be canceled. The first half of the ride was inland so I wasn't concerned that the wind would be too bad. The 16 miles heading east to get to the coastal highway were into a brutal headwind and then a crosswind as we headed south. It was a bit rough, but not hideous. The real fun started around mile 50 when it started to rain, and rain, and rain. Don't forget the wind. The next 11 miles or so were in conditions that would make me nervous to drive a car in - torrential rain, flooding roads, wind gusting over 30 mph - but we put down our heads and kept pedaling. The ride course turned away from the coast again as we approached Daytona and I knew that at least the wind would diminish and there was a rest stop after the turn. The last few miles before the turn were in Flagler Beach. The highway was right on the beach - no dunes, no buildings, no buffer. The waves were coming up over the wall and onto the road. I could taste salt mixed in with the rain. I have never witnessed in person an ocean looking that scary, and hope I never do again. Once we got away from the coast, the conditions weren't as bad - some wind, some heavy rain, lots of flooded roads, but nothing as bad as that stretch along the beach.

The conditions the next day were much better - sunny with some wind - and the ride was pretty nice. At mile 56, I caught a ride to the finish. They weren't feeding us lunch on the ride since there was a big cookout at the finish. Dinner and breakfast had been marginal and I needed a little more than clif bars and bananas. Really, a PB&J sandwich or three would have made me happy. There was a rumor that the next rest stop had some, but I decided that I had accomplished what I set out to do, and that it was time to stop. I had an 1.5 hour drive home and I didn't want to be too tired. Weather aside, it was a good ride. I had a lot of fun and it is a definite possibility for next year.

I got a letter a few days ago letting me know that the fundraising deadline is October 31. For some reason, I thought it was September 30. So if you haven't made a donation yet, click on the link below to do so. If you already made a donation, thank you so much for your support!

DONATE NOW!

Has it really been 20 years?

I had a request - more like a demand - yesterday to please update my blog. It's been 10 days since my last post so it really isn't an unreasonable request. It's not like I haven't had anything to write about; it's been a busy couple of weeks, and if you check out the countdown clock to your right, there's a little race called Ironman Florida that I'll be doing in 7 days.

So what has been going on? For starters, two weeks ago was my 20 year high school reunion. That's right - 20 years since graduation. I haven't been to a reunion since the 5 year, and that doesn't really count. I haven't lived anywhere near my hometown since 1992 and not even in the same state since 1995. There are only a couple of people that I graduated with that I have maintained contact with over the years. Most of the people I went to school with, I haven't seen since graduation. When I got the invitation for my 20 year, I figured why not go. I didn't skip the 10 and 15 year reunions out of dread or disinterest, but out of scheduling conflicts. Since my family lives in the area, it's really not a big effort to go. Just a nice weekend home.

At any rate, the reunion was superfun. I got a chance to catch up with lots of people, and it was a lot of fun to see how everyone turned out. Overall, everyone looked great! As a group, we are aging well. I did have a hard time recognizing most people, but not because they looked old, but more mature. As soon as I would hear their name, though, everything would click into place. Overall, it was a fun time, and I will definitely make an effort to attend the 25 year. This is my yearbook picture from my senior year. It's a pretty good pic, I think, even with the short hair.

For Maggie

Taper, time to rest

prepare for the coming race
restore the body

-a haiku by Teresa McDonold

Woosh!

Woosh! That's the sound of our investment portfolio going down the toilet. In case you didn't notice the Dow closed down 679 points today for the 6th consecutive triple digit loss. Oh well! It's not money we depend on at this point in our lives, and the market will rebound eventually once people stop going insane and divesting their funds. Granted stock in banks or credit companies may not recover, but there is no good reason for tech stocks or energy or consumer merchandise, etc to be tanking other than people are panicked and want to put their money under a mattress. I feel like the NYSE should hang a big "Don't Panic!" sign outside their doors. Brian and I actually thought it might be a good time to pick up some more shares in companies we are already invested with. It's a sale on Wall Street. Granted if I were retiring soon or had a kid in college, I might feel differently about all the hits our accounts have been taking this year, but in general I'm not overly concerned about our losses.

That's not to say that I'm not concerned about our economy, but I've been concerned about that since Bush was first elected, and just about everyone I know has been expressing concern about the housing market since the crazy boom started. There was no way it was sustainable. I didn't expect the crash to be quite so brutal, but looking on the bright side, as I try to do, it'll be a long time before we hear the word "deregulation" coming out of any politician's mouth.

Anyway, the brutal plunge reminded me of a Stephen Colbert segment that aired on Sept 23 after Bank of America bought Merril Lynch, Lehman Bros went bankrupt, and AIG collapsed. Sometimes you just have to laugh - either that or go nutso.

Facebook

I have joined the ranks of Facebook. Actually, I had created an account awhile ago - out of curiosity more than anything - but had never done anything with it. No picture, no profile, just my name. My sister is on Facebook and kept telling me I should join. I mentioned awhile ago that I had an account, but wasn't using it. Apparently she took matters into her own hands and sent me a friend request on Friday. Her request was followed by a bunch of other friend requests from friends we have in common. Well, since she outed me, I figured I'd better go ahead and set up a profile. I basically used the info from my blog profile so it didn't take too long. Then I sent a few friend requests of my own. It's been fun seeing what people are up to, although I haven't spent that much time looking around. I do try to limit my computer time. I did get to hear about my neice's birthday party, and my sis had posted pictures of mine and Brian's last visit to NY so that was nice. I've been harassed about being a Duke Alum by one of my old roommates at Maryland - too funny! - given a hug by my sis, and some nice words of encouragement by Maggie. In some ways, it's like keeping a miniblog with a little more interaction. It really is good to reconnect with people - I'm really bad about keeping in touch.

Holy Bleep! (insert expletive of choice)

28 days from now, if all goes according to plan, I will be in the process of completing my first Ironman. Needless to say, I am completely freaked out. I've actually been freaked out for a while. Many of you may have noticed that I haven't been posting as much or writing about my training or the event, and that is mostly due to the freak out. I had every intention of explaining why I'm so freaked, but I am about ready for bed. Tomorrow is another long ride, and at this point in the training, sleep is as important as anything. 4 weeks and counting - more to come.

Some nutritional info

This is a quick post for me, but not a short one as I am hijacking a post from someone else's blog. I'm really tired - 1:45 hour lactate threshold bike workout followed by teaching my yoga class followed by an hour on the Pilates reformer. I had a solo session today so my instructor focused on moves that would loosen up the muscles that get tight from riding, and open up my upperbody in preparation for my swim tomorrow. Very nice! I feel good, but I'm a bit fried.

Anyway, I'm trying to post more often, and this particular post kind of stuck with me - mostly because it's something I realized about two years ago had become a problem for me. It actually became a problem in grad school - I got in the habit of forgetting to eat - but I didn't realize it was a problem until a couple of years ago. I haven't done a great job correcting it, but I'm trying. As I was eating a bean burrito - organic, of course - while driving to yoga, it made me think again of this post so I'm gonna share. It's from the blog of James and Lindsay Cotter, The Cotter Chronicles. He's a pro triathlete and she's a nutritionist. They take turns posting, but when Lindsay posts, she shares all kinds of nutritional info - and recipes. Here's the post:

Number one Nutritional Mistake

Not eating enough -- or often enough.

The trend these days with most of my clients is that they don't have time to eat enough of the RIGHT foods and end up going hours without fueling their bodies properly. Here's a little explanation of how it works!

While overeating and undereating may seem like contradictory nutrition mistakes, they are related.
"If you don't eat at regular intervals throughout the day, you risk disrupting your blood sugar and insulin levels, which in the end can promote fat storage and lower your metabolism -- both of which lead to weight gain," Brandeis says.
The solution: Eat something every four hours and never let yourself "starve" from one meal to the next, Brandeis says.

Below is a sample day of someone who might need 2000-2200 calories. Most likely an active female. Athletes of course need more but this person is recreational athlete who works out 5-8 hours a week. Although this sample is not a set calorie range for everyone, it will give you an idea of how to structure your diet.
(EXAMPLE DAY)
• Breakfast
o 2 hard boiled eggs with 1 yolk
o 1 cup hot oatmeal and 1tbsp nuts and 2tbsp 1% or soy milk
o add in 1/2 sliced banana and sprinkle w/ a little honey and cinnamon

• AM Snack
o 1 reduced fat string cheese
o 1 c. grapes or small apple
o 10-15 almonds

• Lunch
o 1 whole wheat pita bread
o 3-4 slices of turkey breast
o cucumber and tomato to stuff the pita bread
o 1 tbsp. of light mayo or mustard
o Piece of fruit or whole wheat crackers if fruit is not available

• PM Snack (pre-workout snack)
o Cliff bar (whole grain) OR Luna Bar with 1/2 banana

• Dinner
o 1c. brown rice or wild rice
o 2 c. steamed broccoli w/ 2 tsp olive oil and 1 or 2tbsp Parmesan/feta cheese
o 4 oz. Grilled or baked Salmon–sprinkle with choice of seasoning and/or lemon juice and 1 tbsp olive oil for more flavor

•Evening Snack- 1/4 cup of dried apricots and 1/2 cup lowfat greek yogurt with honey and cinnamon mixed in.

I know its a VERY healthy sample day but I like to follow the 80/20 rule. 80% of the time you eat healthy and 20% you can satisfy your cravings. This will keep you sane.
Hope this feeds some minds out there.

Cheers,
LCotter
Posted by James and Lindsay Cotter at 12:55 PM

Beware of Ninja Cat

My next post was going to be about my MS ride last weekend, but this week has been crap. I've officially dubbed it as "Big Steaming Pile of Poo" week. It's a month until IMFL so maybe I should call it "Little" instead of "Big" just in case, but I'm going to be optimistic that the next month will be better than this week.

At any rate, instead of complaining about my crap week, I thought I'd share an amusing Youtube video. There's a bit of an introduction so you don't think the video is completely random and I am insane - although those two things aren't mutually exclusive. My best friend's son got a Nintendo DS for his birthday and he was so excited to play with it the next day that he woke up early and stood next to his sleeping dad until Daddy woke up. My friend said it was kind of creepy, and I commented that it was like a cat when it wants to be fed. He said it was exactly like that. I was telling Brian about the Nintendo and relating the story when Brian asked if I had ever seen the Ninja Cat video. I hadn't so here it is for your viewing pleasure. It's much better than reading about my week.

Skirt power

What do you do when you've had a somewhat crappy day, are freaked out by your impending Ironman, missed meeting your running group, and would rather go to bed than go for a run, but don't want to squander the beautiful weather you've been blessed with? No, it's actually not a rhetorical question. If you happen to be a woman - or Joey, you can put on a running skirt. It is impossible to be bummed out while wearing a cute, snazzy running skirt. If you think I'm lying just try it out. That is exactly what I did this evening. I donned my latest Skirtsports acuisition - a red skirt with white racing stripes. That's right - red AND racing stripes. Everyone knows those two things make you faster so put them together and that's double the speed. That's my theory, I'm sticking to it. I topped off the outfit with my NYC marathon singlet for more motivation, and pulled on my Zoot running shoes. I really can't explain why wearing a running skirt gives such a lift, but it really does. I guess it's the cuteness factor. I've also noticed that lots of people smile when I wear skirts to the gym, and the college guys are way more attentive when I run the stadium steps in a skirt. Too funny! Brian said I looked way too cute to get sweaty so I considered the outfit a success, and headed out the door for a lovely evening run. I'm still feeling blah, but not nearly so bad, and I'm glad I got the workout done.

Super cute new skirt!

Mind games

I enjoy brain teasers. Every so often I'll get on a kick and go looking for some fun puzzles to play around with. The other day I did a google search - I can't remember what term I used - and the Mensa website came up. I decided to check it out. Surely the Mensa people have some fun puzzles. They didn't have a whole lot on the site, but there was a Mensa workout - a 30 question, 30 minute test similar to an IQ test. Since IQ tests are basically logic puzzles, I went ahead and took it. With my results came a statement that said "you would have a very strong chance of passing the Mensa test and joining Mensa." I laughed, and went looking for another game to play.

The next day when I was driving Brian to work, I did something silly - as is the norm - and he started laughing at me. I was laughing too, and I mentioned the test, and said that he might be married to a genius. He replied that even if that was true, if the Mensa people spent one day observing me - not interacting with, just observing - they would not offer me membership. We both started laughing because it's probably true. He pointed out that there was a reason my nickname is SB. I won't share the meaning because it could be considered insensitive to a segment of the population and certainly isn't politically correct. In case you are thinking that was a mean thing to say, it really wasn't. Most of you don't ever get a full dose of me. Certainly not the way Brian does.

At any rate, this exchange reminded me of a Colbert Report segment I had seen recently. Really, don't try to follow my thought process, it'll just give you a headache. I love Stephen Colbert. The more I watch the show, the more I'm sure we think alike. Pay close attention to the end of the segment. That is definitely something I would do. "Curiosity killed the cat" is a proverb that applies to me. Enjoy!

If you want a little more Daily Show/Colbert Report funniness, follow this link. Stephen and Jon both end up cracking up at the end of the segment.

Make it stop!

Every Tuesday evening, I meet a group at the UF Stadium to run the stadium stairs. It's a hard workout, but a lot of fun. Yesterday the UF marching band was on the field in full uniform complete with the band front, baton twirlers, cheerleaders, and Albert and Alberta - the Gator mascots. It looked like they were doing shooting some video footage, maybe for media relations. At any rate they looked fantastic and at first I was excited at the idea of having the marching band playing while I was running the stairs. However, it soon became apparent that they were only going to play one song - the theme from Idiana Jones. Now this is a well written piece of music and is certainly energetic enough to run to, but after about the 8th time through, I started to get tired of it. By the end of the workout, I wanted to beat the band director sensless. I now have the song stuck in my head.

Football Fun

I was treated to the sight of ESPN's College Game Day setting up in front of the UF stadium during my Saturday morning long run. The UF stadium aka Ben Hill Griffin Stadium aka The Swamp is usually where I make my first pit stop on my long run. On a typical Saturday, there isn't a soul to be found, but it's football season. I couldn't believe the number of people that were up and about especially considering the game didn't start until 8 p.m. If I was tailgating for 12 hours before a game, I don't think I'd make it to kickoff. At any rate, it was fun running through the crowds. Although people kept looking at me like I was nuts - perhaps because I was carrying a waterbottle instead of a beer bottle. The only downside was that the stadium was closed so I had to pit stop at the track instead. No biggie since it's only a half mile further and it's on my route, but I really had to pee.

Welcome Class of 2012

A friend of mine asked me the other day if he was getting old. After spending a large portion of Saturday in the hot sun, getting up at 4 a.m. to spend Sunday morning out in the sun again, as well as doing some swimming and biking; he was a bit dismayed that he could only make it through 3 innings of a baseball game Sunday evening and was heading for home around 7:30 p.m. Since we are about the same age (I'm 8 months younger, though) I'm supposed to have an answer. Actually everyone knows how I feel about age - we're not getting older, we're getting better. As Dara Torres stated "Age is just a number". Since she just won her first ever individual Olympic silver medal at age 41, and she's bigger and stronger than me, I'm not going to argue with her.

I will freely admit that there are times when I do feel my aging a bit - the realization that I am the same age or older as the parents of many of my summer camp kids including the ones in middle school, my approaching 20 year high school reunion, my niece Emily, who was born when I was 23, starting high school in a few days. These things occasionally cause me to feel my aging. Of course, as long as I continue to get the response "No way!" when people find out how old I am, what does it really matter?

Anyway, since the subject of aging came up, I thought I would aid my friend in feeling old. As college campuses around the country prepare for the start of the fall semester, they also prepare to welcome a new batch of freshman. I thought I would share the Beloit College Mindset List with you. The following paragraphs are from the Beloit College Website. Due to it's length, I put the list into a slideshow below. The list in text form can be viewed here.

This month, almost 2 million first-year students will head off to college campuses around the country. Most of them will be about 18 years old, born in 1990 when headlines sounded oddly familiar to those of today: Rising fuel costs were causing airlines to cut staff and flight schedules; Big Three car companies were facing declining sales and profits; and a president named Bush was increasing the number of troops in the Middle East in the hopes of securing peace. However, the mindset of this new generation of college students is quite different from that of the faculty about to prepare them to become the leaders of tomorrow.

Each August for the past 11 years, Beloit College in Beloit, Wis., has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college. It is the creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and Public Affairs Director Ron Nief. The List is shared with faculty and with thousands who request it each year as the school year begins, as a reminder of the rapidly changing frame of reference for this new generation.

The class of 2012 has grown up in an era where computers and rapid communication are the norm, and colleges no longer trumpet the fact that residence halls are “wired” and equipped with the latest hardware. These students will hardly recognize the availability of telephones in their rooms since they have seldom utilized landlines during their adolescence. They will continue to live on their cell phones and communicate via texting. Roommates, few of whom have ever shared a bedroom, have already checked out each other on Facebook where they have shared their most personal thoughts with the whole world.

It is a multicultural, politically correct and “green” generation that has hardly noticed the threats to their privacy and has never feared the Russians and the Warsaw Pact.

Students entering college for the first time this fall were generally born in 1990.

For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead.

I guess everyone is thirsty.....or something

On my Monday evening visit to the grocery store, this was the sight that greeted me as I walked down the beverage aisle. I know it's summertime, but isn't this a little ridiculous? Just kidding! In case you haven't been paying attention - the Olympics are on after all - there is a tropical storm or something heading our way. I think they are calling it Fay? Brian and I keep yelling every time they interrupt the Olympics for a weather update. We have our priorities straight. The Olympics only happens every four years; we'll probably get another storm next week.

Seriously, we have been paying attention, and we are mildly prepared - it's only a tropical storm after all, and we do live in the middle of town less than a mile from numerous restaurants, grocery stores, schools, churches - our gym is going to be open as a shelter if necessary We always have plenty of food, candles, batteries for the flashlights, etc. Worst case scenario, I probably have enough energy bars and gels, protein bars, clif bars, luna bars, etc. for us to live off for at least a week. I knew that Ironman training would come in handy. The car is fueled up, the cell phones are charged - and can always be charged via the car. One thing I didn't do was buy extra water. Now for those of you that are concerned that I am tempting fate, I'm really not. I don't usually buy extra water, we fill up the 2 gallon Brita and that's about it. Recently, I found out that not having water is probably the least thing people in Gainesville need to worry about. Let me explain.

The last week of summer camp, we took the campers on a tour of the drinking water treatment plant. Of course, one of the things the plant manager talked about was all the back-ups, etc. the plant has in the event of power failure. They have diesel engines that can run as long as there is fuel, and enough fuel on site to run for several days. I'm sure many of you are thinking "If there is flooding, won't the water be too contaminated?" That was always an issue in North Carolina where the drinking water comes from a river, and if we lived there still, I'd be stocking up on water; but Gainesville water comes out of the Floridan Aquifer. The city is essentially on a giant well. As long as there is power to pump water out of the Aquifer, we are golden. I asked why we are told to have enough water on hand for 72 hours, and the manager responded that we really don't need to, but he did say that there is always the possibility of a water main break. Maybe I'll fill up one of the bathtubs, just in case.

At any rate, I'm not too concerned about getting around. I rode my bike to the Duke campus during Isabel, and that was a way worse storm. Yes, I was very wet - imagine riding while someone is pouring buckets of water over your head, and the wind is blowing superhard, and that will be pretty close. It was warm out so I rode in a pair of shorts and a rain pullover, and wrapped dry clothes in a plastic bag. No, I'm not stupid - they hadn't closed campus yet and I had class. If I had driven, I would have been soaked from the walk from the car anyway, it would have taken me longer to get there, and I would have had to pay for parking. The point is, if I need to get around, I know what to do.

Just in case you were wondering, the bread and toiletpaper sections were nearly as decimated as the water.

On a separate note for you educators, taking a tour of the wastewater treatment plant is way more interesting to children than the drinking water plant. There is nothing like seeing nasty raw sewage transformed into water so clean you could drink it. The kids are always disgusted and amazed, and completely fascinated.

Yippee!

Warning: This post contains some content that might be considered adult and may not be considered appropriate for children. I don't think so, but then again I tend to have a different view on these things so I figured I should put in a warning.

I've not been in love with the bike seat on my tribike. Before my bike went MIA, I was considering replacing it. After only 2 weeks on the new bike and 250+ miles, I'm liking the seat even less then I did before. Every seat has a sweet spot and I just can't seem to find it on this one. I'm definitely at the place where discomfort in the nether regions is affecting my speed over longer rides. I went online to Bicycling.com, the website for Bicycling magazine. They are always a good place to go for equipment reviews and suggestions. They did a lovely review on my tribike, by the way. As I'm conducting a search on bike seats I spot an article titled "Fit and Frisky" among the search results. With a title like that, I must have a look. I assume it's something about sex and am not disappointed. Here is the subtitle "Sex can be a great training tool. Here are 6 ways getting busy boosts your pedaling." What's that - sex can help my training? Yippee! I read the article and contemplated emailing it to my cycling friends, but then just decided to share it in a blog post. So if you are interested, just click on the title of the article and it will take you there. I found the article rather humorous because it was actually very seriously written. I'm pretty sure my husband will be more than willing to help out with this aspect of my Ironman training.

I feel like I should point out that many of the benefits discussed in the article would be beneficial to non-cycling athletes as well, so if you aren't a cyclist don't feel left out.

Olympic Fun

This pic just makes me laugh! Brian showed me the story Saturday morning after my 5k race, but I was on the phone at the time and didn't have an opportunity to fully appreciate the humor. I fully expected either The Daily Show or The Colbert Report to have some fun with it, but so far there has only been one slight mention. Maybe they just couldn't come up with something that wouldn't be highly offensive - who knows? At any rate for those of you that don't know the story, it's totally benign. President Bush was playing beach volleyball with Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh - our kick ass women's team who are on a crazy winning streak. If you've never watched beach volleyball, there is a lot of butt slapping that goes on between the players. Way more than baseball, if that's possible. Keri Walsh is what I would deem an excessive butt slapper - I don't know if it's her indoor volleyball background or just her exuberance, but she slaps Misty a lot, which just made this pic even funnier to me. After volleying for a bit with the President, Misty offered her backside to him for a butt slap. President Bush very tactfully tapped her on the back. I do have to say that I bet Misty May-Treanor is fun to hang out with. Anyone that has enough balls to offer the President of the United States an opportunity to slap her butt has got to be fun.

On a side note, when I first saw this picture, the caption I gave it in my mind was "It's good to be the King." Whoever names the movie it's from first gets a prize - no Googling. Feel free to share your own photo captions.

Wow!

The results of the Men's 4x100 meter freestyle relay is all over the news, but just in case you couldn't stay up last night to watch it, didn't set your dvr, or haven't checked out the replay on line - here it is. I wanted to post it last night but NBC wasn't that quick with their website updates, and I haven't been at the computer yet today.

At any rate, this race was the most amazing race in a pretty spectacular day of swimming that saw world records fall all over the place. When the USA men's relay team broke the world record in the qualifying round with what was essentially their B team, you just knew the final was going to be a ridiculously fast race - and it was! Team USA was not the favorites to win the race, the French were with the current world record holder, but our guys didn't let it phase them. They swam their hearts out and ending up winning by a touch at a the wall. Michael Phelps started out the race and set a new 100 meter American record, and the Australian Eamon Sullivan set a new world record. Jason Lezak, who anchored the race for the third time in an Olympic Games, swam the fastest relay leg ever. After a silver in 2000 and a Bronze in 2004, Jason really wanted Gold. Oh yeah - he's 32 years old. Way to go Jason! The winning time was a new world record - actually the top 5 teams all swam faster than the world record the Americans had set in the prelims. Crazy! Michael Phelps got his 10th gold medal.

Men's 4x100 meter relay video

The NEW new ride

So here it is - my new bike! It looks just like the old one. It's not the old one, but in time it'll make me just as happy. I had my fit with a local bike shop, Chain Reaction, and they did a wonderful job. It's not the guys at Jack & Adam's, but they spent lots of time with me and made me feel like royalty. I got lots of compliments from the guys at the shop and everyone loved the bike, of course. Most importantly is that I feel like I got a pretty good fit. Now I feel like I can truly focus on my bike training.

Sunday is long ride day and this week was 4.5 hours. Obviously, I didn't want to head out of town for a ride of that length on a brand new bike whose only miles were on the trainer during the fit. Also, there's little adjustments that need to be made to a bike once you start riding it, and you want to be sure it's mechanically sound and that you are comfortable with gears, brakes, etc. I decided the best option was to start the ride on the trainer so I could futz around with everything as needed. After an hour or so on the trainer, I headed out to the neighborhood to ride around and just see how I felt. I was a little wobbly starting and stopping, but that's just rediscovering where my center of gravity is with that bike. Overall, I felt comfortable so I headed out to the road for a bit, and then came back and did the last hour on the trainer. It feels good to be back on the tribike. There's definitely some work to be done, but it's all good.

On a side note, it was absolutely beautiful on Sunday. We had completely clear skies for the first time in I don't know how long. It was hot - 96 degrees - but the humidity dropped to 60%. I couldn't believe it. It was dry! It was the first time in quite awhile that I was only wet from sweat. I had to check my speedometer to make sure I hadn't slacked during my ride because I wasn't completely drenched. I didn't even smell all that bad. Seriously, it actually felt good to have the sun on my back and it was a lovely ride. Yay!

The weather today was equally as lovely, and none of my campers complained once about being outside. I was outside earlier this evening and I saw the stars in the sky. I hadn't realized it, but it has been a long tine since I remember seeing the stars. That realization really drove home how oppressive clouds and rain can be. I will never live in the Pacific Northwest. At any rate, it's been a pleasant break from the typical Florida summer and I hope it lasts a while longer.

Clothing review

Summer is in full swing and I just have to say that it sucks! It has been a truly unpleasant summer here in Gainesville. About midway through June, the humidity went through the roof. Before that, it had been getting pretty hot - temps in the mid-90's, but the humidity was only around 60-70%. The temps have dropped a bit - mostly due to more cloud cover, but the humidity regularly hovers around 95%. It's horrible! It's like being wrapped from head to toe in a warm, wet blanket. It has also been raining/storming almost constantly, and not in any predictable manner. I've been muddling through my training, but it hasn't been all that enjoyable. I keep thinking longingly of last summer. It was quite hot, but not nearly as humid. I didn't mind being outside at all - I just made sure to wear sunscreen, a hat, and drink lots. I've realized that it is much easier to deal with heat than it is humidity. Of course, the lack of rain from last summer put us into a pretty serious drought. I guess you can't have everything.

I didn't write this post to complain about the weather, I merely wanted to set the stage. When you step outside, you are immediately wet. If you are exerting yourself in any way, you are completely soaked through in about 10 minutes - I'm really not exaggerating, I promise. I discovered that on my long runs, I needed to carry more with me - more energy gels, more Nuun tablets, more than I could stuff in the pockets of my trishorts. I really hate running with a fanny pack so I started thinking about other options. As many of you know, I am picky about my clothing. It has to fit, it has to be made well, and it has to last. I don't mind spending a bit more if it meets those standards. When it comes to technical clothing, there are considerations like fabric and construction, also. Where seams are placed is a big issue when it comes to preventing chafe - and when it's 95% humidity, chafe is an issue. I'm sure a few of you are thinking "Why don't you just do your long runs in a bike jersey? It has pockets." That's actually a good idea, but I had a few issues with that. I only have a few sleeveless bike jerseys - most of my summer bike tops have built in bras so they aren't appropriate for running. The sleeveless jerseys I do own are made out of a little heavier fabric than I wanted - I usually wear them in the fall. Super thin fabric is a must. If I'm going to be wet my entire run, then I want the wet fabric to weigh as little as possible. The only bike jersey I had that was really thin had a high neck that I knew would annoy me when running.

I actually have the perfect running shirt - my New York Marathon Asics singlet. It lacks pockets, though. So what I decided I was looking for was a singlet that had pockets, preferably with a v-neck. The more of a racerback that it had, the better. That requirement is pure vanity to try to limit crazy tan lines. Obviously, triathlon clothing is the place to start looking. So with my requirements clear, I went shopping, which for me means hitting the internet. I found some really nice tri singlets, but they were either really, really expensive or had built in bras - or both. I finally found what I was looking for - the Castelli Fascino top and the Craft Wave Tank. See pics below. They are both cycling jerseys, but are fitted and super thin, and have pockets - yippee!

I have to say that I am really happy with both these tops. They weren't cheap, although the Craft recently went on sale so I bought another one. The Craft is more fitted than the Castelli, and has three back pockets to the Castelli's two, and has a small zippered pocket. I love the zippered pocket because I can put my I.D. and emergency money in there and it doesn't get in my way when I am getting gels out of my pockets. The Castelli is beautifully made - Castelli is an Italian cycling apparel company that has been around forever. As everyone knows, Europeans know cycling AND clothing so European cycling apparel is usually really nice. From a best value for the dollar veiwpoint, I'd have to say the Craft comes out ahead. Having these tops has made it easier to carry my running necessities, and even my cellphone so it's made my long runs just a little easier. I thought I'd share my finds with my lady readers. A little something for the guys - and ladies - I love running in my Zoot trifit shorts. They fit really well, and I don't notice how wet they are. I still think I prefer Pearl Izumi trishorts for racing, though.

Cookie!

I was eating cookies after dinner and watching The Colbert Report so of course the episode when Cookie Monster made an appearance came to mind, and I thought I'd share. This segment was absolutely hilarious! I love Stephen Colbert and I love Cookie Monster. When Cookie Monster said he was like the Robert Downey Jr of cookies, I seriously lost it. It's not part of the clip, but at the very end of the show Cookie Monster does eat Stephen's Peabody Award - too funny!

Awwwwwwwww! Cute!

Last week, my summer camp group went on a trip to the Single Vision Animal Sanctuary near Gainesville. The children got to feed grapes to the lemurs through the fence, get a close-up view of tigers, and actually pet a baby leopard. I was rather impressed with the facility and I have to say the cuteness factor was really high. Don't worry - the proprietor was very good at pointing out all the reasons these animals don't make good pets. It was a fun learning experience for the children. Here are pictures - completely unedited and uncaptioned. I guess I'm getting lazy. The pics were taken with my cellphone camera so no photo criticism allowed.

I can't look at ringtailed lemurs without thinking of the movie Madagascar. This movie is too funny, and is one of my favorite movies in recent years. I have seen it a few times and always find something new to laugh at. Here is a video with clips from the movie.

Where's my ride?

Don't everyone fall over - yes, this is a new blog post. I know I've been really bad about posting. It's been almost a month since my last post, which is just ridiculous. I've started several posts including birthday posts for both June and July birthdays, and just haven't finished them. Honestly, I've been a bit down for a while and just haven't been in the mood to post. I kept hoping that the situation that's been bumming me out would have been resolved sooner and I could have written this post with a happy ending, but that is not the case.

So what's been going on? Well, on my last trip to Austin at the end of May, I had my awesome tribike shipped to Jack & Adam's. It's where I bought the bike and I thought it would be a good idea to have them give it a check up, since I'd been riding it for 4 months and it'd gone through 1 half-iron distance race. Also, Rachel had planned the Team Fantastic X Super-Sprint Tri for that weekend and I had a training ride to do so I was going to need a bike. Shipping my bike wouldn't cost much more than renting a bike for the weekend so why not. I was pretty nervous about shipping it because UPS and FEDEX aren't known for their kindness to bikes. The guys at The Bike Route here in Gainesville did an amazing job packing the bike, and the shipping guy put all kinds of "fragile" and "this end up" stickers on the box. I shipped it FEDEX and really, they would have had to drive over the box with a truck to do damage, but I was still nervous. The bike arrived just fine and the guys at Jack & Adam's put it together and gave it a nice tune-up. I had an awesome visit in Austin with some good riding - even with 2 flats and a crash that should have hurt, but didn't.

I dropped the bike off at Jack & Adam's for shipping home and that was it. That was June 2nd and it was the last time I saw my bike. When the bike didn't show up in a reasonable period of time, I called to find out what was going on. I wasn't overly concerned at this point because it's tri season and J&A's is shipping lots of bikes so it's possible that mine got shipped out later than expected. The last thing I expected to hear was that they couldn't find my bike. I was told that there was no record of it getting shipped out and that there were a few places it could be, and that they were looking for it. Okay, it didn't get shipped so it's there somewhere - they'll find it. No worries. The next day I get a phone call from Jack, the owner of Jack & Adam's. Now I start to panic because Jack is extremely busy and if he is calling then something is wrong. He tells me that he is almost certain that the bike got shipped out and that he is going through the shipping records with UPS to try to get detailed info, and that he'll keep me posted, but that I shouldn't worry because he'll take care of everything. Now for those of you that don't know anything about Jack, he is a supernice guy and all about customer service, and oh yeah, he knows a thing or two about bikes. During this whole process, I've never been concerned that I wouldn't have a bike. If he couldn't find my bike, I knew Jack would hook me up with a new one. Of course a new bike was not mine or Jack's ideal solution for various reasons, but here we are almost two months later and it looks like I'm getting a new bike. Hopefully, it'll be here this week.

I'm sure quite a few of you are wondering why this situation has me bummed out - it's not like I don't have other, quality bikes to ride, and it's not like my tribike won't be replaced eventually, and really, it's only a bike so in the grand scheme of things it's not that big a deal. Well, you would be right on all those things, and if I had just bought the tribike because I felt it was time for a newer, better bike then I wouldn't be anxious the way I am now; but I bought the bike specifically for Ironman Florida, which is this November, and it's important that I be doing my long rides on the bike I'm going to be racing on. I've been off the tribike for almost two months, and I was just getting really good at riding it before it got lost. I've got a race in a month and the first of my 6 hour rides in a few weeks, and I really need to be on the bike I'm riding for Ironman. Before this happened, I was feeling really relaxed about Ironman. My coach kept telling me not to think too far ahead, not to get obsessed about it, and I wasn't. After all, I pay a coach to be obsessive for me. Since the bike disappeared, I've been feeling more and more anxious about being prepared for the race. The fact that the humidity went through the roof in June and has seriously affected my running has just exacerbated my anxiousness. It's been storming and raining excessively almost everyday, which also means I can't swim outside as much. In general, I haven't been loving the training much the past month or so. I have moments where I find myself doubting my training, doubting my preparation, and doubting my ability to do this race. Just in case everyone thinks I'm bummed all the time - I'm not, but I'm bummed just enough that I haven't felt like writing. On a more positive note, my training seems to be getting better. I had a really solid 3.5 hour brick workout on Saturday. Maybe I'm finally adjusting to 95% humidity. Is that possible?

Just in case you are wondering, I am still a big fan of Jack & Adam's and would recommend them to anyone that happens to be in Austin.

More Sponch!

Reading Joey's comment about how Sponch! is everywhere got me thinking. I have never seen Sponch! anywhere but Texas. With the recent Mexico sighting I really started to wonder.... One Google search confirmed my suspicions - not only did Sponch! originate in Mexico, but the brand it belongs to, Marinela, is owned by Bimbo Bakeries. What is the significance of this finding? Not much except that when Joey, Rachel, Brian, and I drove through Mexico a few years back, I ate a fair amount of Bimbo brand powdered sugar mini donuts during our drive. Really when the only coffee you can get is Nescafe, being picky about what else you eat for breakfast just seems silly. The donuts were actually pretty good and since the ingredients were in spanish, I got to be blissfully ignorant of what I was eating. Besides it's a roadtrip - I always eat junk on a roadtrip. Also, I thought it was really funny that there was a bakery named Bimbo - yes, I am juvenile. My intake of Bimbo donuts became a bit of a joke on the trip, leading to this picture.


I do have to go on record as saying that I will never eat Sponch! - not because it's pink, but because I don't do marshmallow.

Sponch!

It's amazing how the strangest things can bring up a pleasant memory. Joey sent me this pic from Mexico - why you might be wondering? If you were at the Lisa Loeb show at La Zona Rosa in Austin, Texas sometime in 1999 then this pic is really funny. Otherwise, it's a bit frightening that somewhere in this world there is a factory that produces a pink, sugar-coated marshmallow twinky-like food item.

At the show, Lisa, accompanied by Dweezil Zappa, told a hilarious story about their roadtrip from Dallas and the discovery of Sponch! during a pitstop somewhere in the no man's land between Dallas and Austin. During the show, they raffled off the Sponch! they had bought and the "lucky" winner, Lisa, and Dweezil all sampled some of the Sponch! Eeeeewwwww! It was a superfun show, and now I'm laughing about Sponch! all over again.

Workin'

I'm sure everyone is wondering about the lapse in posts. I know it's been awhile, but I was actually working last week. Don't everyone fall over at once. Yes, it's true I do still know how to work. Summer camp started last week and this summer I am playing the role of van driver for the Field Camps. I'm actually doing more than driving the vans - I'm the first aid person and basically handling all the logistics, and helping with the campers as much as possible. What I'm not doing during those weeks is teaching - oh wait, yes I am, but I'm not required to and I'm not responsible for planning those camps so any teaching I do is basically what happens during the course of the camp. Last week was the Aquatic Field Camp, so I did a fair amount of teaching since I can teach that topic in my sleep. The field camps are all day, 8 - 4:30, and are mostly outside, which is great but also tiring. They are spread out through the summer, though so it's really no big deal.

This week I am teaching a half-day camp in the afternoon, and I only have four campers so it's hardly like working. I am only working 5 weeks total this summer. Last summer I taught all seven weeks of camp. Between planning lessons and teaching, I was a bit fried. Since I'm training for Ironman, I decided to cut back a bit this summer. Working the field camps is perfect. That means I only have to write lesson plans for 2 camps, and one of them is spiders and insects, which I already have tons of lesson plans on the topic. So I'm working two weeks in June, two weeks in July, and one week in August. It's just enough to be fun, but not so much that I'd have to adjust my training schedule.

Before camp last week, Joey told me to have fun being the crazy bus driver. I immediately thought of Ms. Crabtree, the busdriver from South Park, and this particular episode.

On an aside, this episode was titled "City on the Edge of Forever(flashbacks)" Those of you that are Star Trek fans should recognize the title, and in the South Park episode, a kid wearing a red shirt leaves the bus and gets eaten by a big, scary monster. Again, Trek fans will get that reference. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a clip of that scene but you can watch the entire episode here

Fear, anxiety, and joy

Since January, I've been teaching a yoga class on Wednesday evening for the employees of the Veteran's Hospital. I love this group! When I started teaching them, only a few had ever taken a yoga class. Most weren't even sure what yoga was - just that it was supposed to be gentle and good for you. I've got a regular group that has embraced both the practice and my ability to teach it. Today I was a few minutes late to class due to parking problems at the hospital and when I entered the room, my class was all sitting in sukhasana - cross-legged pose - and meditating. This is how I start all my classes, but this is the first time I've ever walked in and experienced it. Usually they are all sitting on their mats chatting and it takes me a few minutes to get them to settle. I was so proud!

The past couple of classes I've been having them do more of what I refer to as "power poses". I call them by that name because they require power to do them AND they make you feel powerful when you do them. These are poses that require strength - muscular, breathing, and mental. I explained to them today that we are focusing on these poses because it is time for us to start learning inversions - headstand and shoulderstand, maybe handstand. They all got different looks on their faces - fear, anxiety, concern - so I took a moment to explain how we will go about preparing to invert, and why we would would even want to in the first place. Aside from the physiological benefits, inversions are a huge mental strengthener. Think about it - when was the last time you stood on your head or your hands or put your feet above your head? Really, it's about going outside your comfort zone, and not just surviving it but embracing it. It's the ability to suck it up, although this is not a phrase I use in yoga. That is the true benefit of the practice - the ability to put your body into poses that might feel strange or uncomfortable, and then finding a way to live with it. As long as you can breathe, you can live with it. The physical benefits come from our ability to conquer our discomfort. The longer we can hold a pose, the more release we will get, and the deeper we will be able to go.

I wonder from time to time if my quick learning of yoga was aided by my endurance training or if it's the other way around - or if the mental toughness, the ability to suck it up, is something that I've always had, and I'm drawn to both triathlon and yoga for that reason. It's hard to say, but I do know that the mental focus I get from yoga definitely helps me survive the tough training days, and allows me to truly enjoy the good days. Mentally, there is very little difference between a perfect headstand and an awesome run. FYI - you can get a runner's high in yoga class.

On a side note, I've been working on increasing my upperbody strength, which is a sad shade of its former self. Today we were working on sideplank. My students were doing the modified version, and doing it well, I might add. It's all about baby steps. One of my students asked what the final pose looked like. Sometimes I won't demonstrate the peak pose because it's so different from what we are doing or just so intimidating that there is no value in seeing it. In this case, we have already done all the pieces of the final pose so I was okay doing it. I was thrilled because I was actually able to demonstrate it as shown in the picture below. I couldn't quite get my top leg straight - the hamstrings are tight from biking, and my arm couldn't hold me for long, but I'm pretty pleased. Hopefully the soft, squishy loaves of bread that are my upper arms will soon be a thing of the past.