Panama City Beach

In case you haven't been paying attention to the Countdown Clock on your right, the Gulf Coast Triathlon is on Saturday, which means I am in Panama City Beach. I drove in late last night. I'm staying in a nice condo right on the beach about a half-mile or so from the race site. It's a great location and I have an awesome view.

Today was very low key. I slept in, although not as late as I would have liked. I spent the morning relaxing, had a nice conversation with my coach, and took a nap. This afternoon I was planning on going down to the beach to go for a short swim in my wetsuit. I have a rashguard to wear under my suit that hopefully will keep me from chafing and I want to see how everything feels. When I got down to the beach, the water was wavy and it was much windier than usual. It also wasn't that hot - not that that's a bad thing. I turned and looked behind the condo and noticed that the sky was quite cloudy and dark. Ooops - guess I should have checked the weather. It never rained, though. I decided to scrap the swim - the water was swimmable, but would have required effort, and today is a rest day. So instead I headed for the hot tub. After a nice soak, I got cleaned up and went to packet pick-up. I did some shopping at the expo and headed back to the condo to cook dinner.

Overall, I'm feeling pretty good - I've been really tired the past two weeks and haven't been sleeping that great, but my training has been good. I'm really nervous about racing on my tribike - I'm over the wobbliness and I feel really comfortable in aero, even in the wind, but going fast on the tribike weirds me out for some reason. I don't know if it's a visual thing or the aero position or the smoothness of the bike, but I feel like I'm going so much faster than I actually am. When I try to go the speed I should be going, I get a little freaked out. I'm hoping that being focused on racing will take care of that. I just keep telling myself that the faster I go, the sooner I get to finish.

Tomorrow is race prep - I have an easy hour of workouts in the morning and then rest, rest, rest. Bike check-in is in the afternoon. I'm cooking and eating in. I did that for the Orlando 70.3 last year and it was really nice. Plus I'll have leftovers for after the race.

FYI - if anyone tries to reach me by phone and I don't answer - the condo is a cellphone void. I have wireless internet, but the phone is hit or miss.

It's about time for bed. Here are a few pics.

Tibetan Healing Mandala

The Tibetan mandala is a tool for gaining wisdom and compassion and generally is depicted as a tightly balanced, geometric composition wherein deities reside. The mandala's purpose is to help transform ordinary minds into enlightened ones.

Mandalas constructed from sand are unique to Tibetan Buddhism and are believed to effect purification and healing. Typically, a great teacher chooses the specific mandala to be created. Monks then begin construction of the sand mandala by consecrating the site with sacred chants and music. Next, they make a detailed drawing from memory. Over a number of days, they fill in the design with millions of grains of colored sand. At its completion, the mandala is consecrated. The monks then enact the impermanent nature of existence by sweeping up the colored grains and dispersing them in flowing water.

According to Buddhist scripture, sand mandalas transmit positive energies to the environment and to the people who view them. While constructing a mandala, Buddhist monks chant and meditate to invoke the divine energies of the deities residing within the mandala. The monks then ask for the deities' healing blessings. A mandala's healing power extends to the whole world even before it is swept up and dispersed into flowing water—a further expression of sharing the mandala's blessings with all.

-from the Sackler Art Gallery

Amitayus Mandala

Amitayus is the Buddha of Boundless Life

In January of 2002, in response to the September 11 tragedies, twenty Buddhist monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery constructed a sand mandala (sacred painting) at the Sackler gallery in Washinton, D.C. This seven-foot-square mandala, one of the largest ever created in the West, was offered for the healing and protection of America. In addition, the monks participated in chanting, meditation, and other traditional healing ceremonies.

Monterey Bay Aquarium Underwater Kelp Forest Cam

This is the live cam that runs from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m pacific time. If you don't see anything go to the next screen, which displays activities recorded earlier in the day.

After hours playback

SpongeBob Fun

Never mind how or why I found this video. I thought it was amusing and I like the song. I will say that it's partially Joey's fault and leave it at that.

A picture speaks a thousand words

I wanted to write a post about Danica winning her first race earlier in the week, but then it was Earth Day, and then I was busy. I started writing all this stuff about gender barriers and role models and nay-sayers and then I saw this picture, which I think says it all, and is hilarious as well.

Happy Earth Day!

I hope everyone has a chance to go outside and appreciate this beautiful world that we live in. Take a moment and hug a tree. No, I'm not kidding. I'd encourage everyone to climb a tree, but I think most of my readers - myself included- would probably hurt themselves if they tried.

I was going to share some excerpts from Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac as some food for thought today, but my friends have been making me laugh all day and I've completely lost my train of thought. Not that I'm complaining, laughing is a good thing. Anyway, Leopold wrote an insightful and philosophical essay titled "The Land Ethic" that everyone should read.

Here are a few significant excerpts from "The Land Ethic" that I have highlighted in my copy of the book:

An ethic, ecologically, is a limitation on freedom of action in the struggle for existence. An ethic, philosophically, is a differentiation of social from anti-social conduct. These are two definitions of one thing. The thing has its origin in the tendency of interdependent individuals or groups to evolve modes of cooperation. The ecologist calls these symbioses. Politics and economics are advanced symbioses in which the original free-for-all competition has been replaced, in part, by co-operative mechanisms with an ethical content.

All ethics so far evolved rest upon a single premise: that the individual is a member of a community of interdependent parts.

The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land.

-Aldo Leopold

5K Fun addendum

Turns out that my time from the race on Wed - see previous entry - is a 5K PR for me; at least as far back as 7 years. I don't have any of my 5K times before that. Wohoo! Let's hear it for getting a PR without really trying. It kind of makes up for the crappy race on Saturday.

5K Fun

Wednesday evening was the Community 5k run for Junior Achievement at Ironwood Golf Course. Now I know that a race in the middle of the week might seem odd, but it's on the golf course so it pretty much has to be during the week. I don't normally run on Wednesdays and I teach an evening yoga class so I had to scramble to get there, but I'm missing all the spring 5Ks because of my training, and I feel like I've abandoned my group. Plus how often do you get to run on a golf course and apparently the post-race food is really good and there is a bar in the clubhouse so really what's not to like.

The race was fun - some on the grass and some on the golf cart path - and pretty flat, too. The weather was perfect! We've been having a bit of a mini winter and it was about 60 with only 30% humidity. There were lots of Track Club members and many of the people from my stadium workout. I wasn't out to race, just to run comfortably hard - no heavy breathing, no suffering. I wanted to put in a good effort, but not go overboard since I have a crazy 5 hour brick on Saturday. I ran a 26:40 very comfortably. I also had an opportunity to run in my new Zoot shoes, which I love. Post-race food was bbq chicken, brisket, ribs, potato salad, beans, etc. and friends buying me beer. Wohoo! A good time was had by all.

All done!

The Veteren's Admin Team aka my Tuesday night stadium group
Left to right: Paul, Barry, Me, Bert, and Tony

Maasai Warriors Follow-up

Here is the update from the Maasai warriors website. Way to go!

On Sunday April 13th 2008, a team of six Maasai Warriors ran the Flora London Marathon. Their aim was to raise enough money provide the village with clean water, anything up to £60,000.

Nguvu, Lengamai, Kesika and Ninna completed the race in 5 hrs 24 minutes alongside Soldier Bob and Matt, their personal trainer. Isaya was taken ill half way through the race and was taken to hospital as a precaution with Taico accompanying him. But showing the pride typical of the Maasai, Isaya walked out of the hospital that afternoon and the following day, on Monday 14th April, determined to complete the race they had come to England for, Isaya and Taico returned to the part of the course where they had to drop out and continued around the 14 miles of the course which remained. Aided by professional runners as pacemakers, they crossed the finish line on Monday afternoon in a total running time of 4 hrs 45 for the 26.2 miles.

Having completed the race, it was announced that the warriors had achieved their target of £60,000. We have been overwhelmed by the support shown by the public and this figure will rise as we continue to log all the donations which are coming in. A final total will also be posted in the coming days.

Escape from Ft. DeSoto

Saturday was my first triathlon of the season at Ft. Desoto State Park in St. Pete Beach - 800 meter swim, 10 mile bike, 4 mile run, supposedly. I was looking forward to this race. Joey and I had done a race last August at the same park and had really enjoyed ourselves. The course was a little different for this race, but not by much from what I could tell from the course map. I was especially looking forward to pushing on the bike, but mostly I just wanted to see what I could do. Well, it turned out to be a disappointing race both from my performance and from the race itself. The race report includes some ranting about the race so be forewarned. Let me say that I fully acknowledge that none of these things were a big deal, but all of them together just bugged me, and I also acknowledge that racing in Texas has completely spoiled me, and things like not being helpful when someone has their own chip or having to look at race results in a crappy text file or not have results posted on raceday shouldn't bother me as much as it does. Anyway, here goes.

Race morning started out just fine. I got up, ate, loaded the bike and left. No problems getting to the race site, no problems parking. I even ended up parking next to a bathroom so I went before heading to transition - no port-a-potty for me! 30 minutes before transition closes, doing just fine. Got to body marking - fine, didn't need to get a chip since I have my own AND I had checked to make sure it was in the computer at packet pick-up. It wasn't, but they fixed it. Heading into transition - "Where's your green wristband?" "What green wristband?" "It was in your race packet. You can't get into transition without it." WTF? I do remember seeing a green plastic strip in the packet but there was no instructions about it so I didn't think about it, and I didn't bring my race packet with me because I had put my numbers on everything the night before and packed everything in my tri backpack. I had the race instruction sheet in the car but nothing else. Normally, I bring everything - it figures the one day that I don't, I actually need something. So I explain to the volunteer that I don't have it, where can I get one. He doesn't know, maybe ask the chip people. I'm sure you can see where this is going - after getting pointed to several different places and told that it was explicitly stated in the race packet that I needed the green band, I finally get directed to pre-race packet pick up. Now let me first say that everyone was lovely and polite - they were all volunteers - even if they didn't know anything, which isn't their fault. I kept my cool even though I was getting irritated. I get to packet pick-up and a lovely lady helps me. I ask if she works for the race director. No, she's a volunteer. So I thank her and get ready to head to transition. There's no point in unloading to a volunteer - it certainly isn't what they signed up for. She says she can pass on the complaint so I very calmly explain to her that there was no information in the race packet about the wristband. She said there was supposed to be, but she would pass it on. I thanked her and headed to transition. 20 minutes to go - still plenty of time, and I've moved past the whole wristband thing. I find my rack, set up, sunscreen, and am chilling and drinking water. 10 minutes before transition closes - the announcer guy has been going on and on about how if you are just getting into transition YOU ARE LATE! Like those people don't know that. He also kept going on about how you should always arrive at least 1 hour before a triathlon and that EVERYONE knows that - whatever. This guy had a serious case of passive aggressive - Dude, you are not helping anyone at this point.

I decide that I'm ready to head to the swim start so I start walking, and walking, and walking. Really what Announcer Guy should have been saying is that it is a freakin' mile to the swim start so get going - that would have been helpful info. The swim is a point-to-point so as I'm walking along the beach, I'm walking parallel to the course. First I note that it is a good distance from the swim exit back to transition - about a half mile. Then I'm looking at the buoys and as I get to the start, I'm thinking "That course seems long". I guess other people noticed that because I hear the announcer explaining that the course is 800 meters from orange buoy to orange buoy - that the out and back aren't part of that measurement because the water is shallow for most of the way out. Seriously? Who taught these guys how to set up a swim course? Now I know several of you are thinking "So what? Everyone still has to do the same distance so it's all relative." which is true, except that I have been working on my swim and I wanted a good measurement of how I'm doing and now I don't know the actual distance. The other problem is that the announcer kept telling everyone that they could run out almost to the buoy, so what do you think everyone does - they run. Again, so what you say? Well, once you are past the breakers and the water is over your knees, it's actually easier to swim, but if everyone around you is running it makes it harder to start swimming. I was almost waist deep before I could start swimming - talk about a waste of energy. The swim itself was uneventful - not too choppy or wavy, the water was warm, it was easy to swim straight and sight the buoys. I felt okay, but not great. I must have passed at least 10 people on the way in to the beach because they stood up and started wading at waist deep and I swam and rode the waves further in. I stood up at just the point where the water is still deep enough that it can give you enough support to get your feet under you, and came running out of the water and up the beach. Let's hear it for being able to run barefoot!

I headed into transition and realized something I hadn't processed before - the transition area was long and narrow, just two racks on each side. I was right about in the middle. I guess it's relative - a long stretch to get to your rack or a long stretch down the racks but it seemed like it took me forever to get to my stuff. Helmet, glasses, bike shoes and go! I get out on the road and am starting to get up to speed when I feel the wind - damn it! Okay, it's not a brutal wind - maybe 15 mph tops, but it was steady. I don't remember it being windy last August, but it is the beach. The bike course goes South, East, West, North so I figured there's bound to be a break in the wind and maybe even a tailwind, but not so much. It was a lot of crosswind. There were a few places where the live oaks were close to the road and provided a nice break. I was doing about 16-18 mph in the wind and 22 mph easy out of the wind. Unfortunately most of the course was in the wind. I was feeling frustrated that the wind was bugging me because it's windy in Gainesville in the winter and spring so it shouldn't be a problem. Then I realized that it hasn't been that windy in Gainesville - I've been complaining about how erratic our weather has been this winter and I never noticed the lack of wind. Then I got bummed because I've been biking so much faster this year compared to last year, and I was really proud of how hard I've been working, but how much of that was the lack of wind? It's a good thing it was only a 10 mile bike - who knows what other depressing thoughts I might have had? I will say that I'm glad I didn't ride my tribike. I passed quite a few people in aero that were clearly not used to being there, and were wobbling all over in the wind making it hazardous to pass. No one wants to be one of those people.

I dismounted the bike barefoot - again, so nice to be able to run barefoot. Of course, the transition area pavement was that gravelly type, which is really hard on the feet, so I don't think it saved me any time. I can jog pretty fast in my bike shoes. Off with the bike glasses and helmet, put on running shoes, grab my bottle and hat (with all my other things stuffed inside) and off on the run. I get my sunglasses, hat, and race belt on, eat a Clif Shot and try to settle into a pace. At this point I realize that this is not going to be a good run. Nothing felt bad, but I just didn't feel like I had a whole lot in me, and I had some sore spots in my muscles. I was also having some breathing issues. I was only going about 11 minute mile pace, and I was breathing harder than I should have. I think it's because I had to double up on the sports bras. The bra I wore for tris last year bit the dust, and I haven't gotten around to replacing it. Of course that style isn't being made any more. I will spare y'all my rant on larger-breasted women and tri bras - suffice it to say that it takes a bit of time to find a bra with enough support to run in without smashing your chest or giving you the dreaded uniboob, but that is still swimable and doesn't chafe when wet. After the run turn around, which seemed short to me for a 4 mile run, we headed out on the beach. This was an unpleasant surprise for me - nowhere in the race info did I read anything about running on the beach. If I had known that, I might have pushed harder the first half of the run, knowing I wasn't going to do much on the beach. Right at the mile 2 mark, my left foot comes down on a stick in the sand, which pops up and jabs me in my right leg and then scrapes it. I started cursing like a drunken sailor but kept running. I was pretty frustrated at this point, and just wanted to get done. I hit the mile 3 marker and I realize that we are pretty close to the finish - I guess they shorted the run course. I had opted to not wear my Garmin so I have no idea what the actual run distance was, but it felt like about 3.5 miles. I had no kick in me for the finish and just ran in at the same pace I'd been running. I grabbed some water and went looking for the first-aid tent to get my leg cleaned up. I couldn't find the tent. Shouldn't it be right by the finish chute? I spot an ambulance and go ask them. The paramedics pointed me to the first-aid tent, but also offered to clean me up. I thanked them, but said that was okay. I wasn't about to monopolize a paramedic for a superficial wound. The sign for the tent was on the ground facing away from the finish chute so it was easy to see how I missed it. I got cleaned up and decided to head over and get some post-race food. My coach had put an optional 45 minute cooldown run in my schedule, but I decided against it. I didn't think it would do me any good and I was feeling really frustrated to boot.

Now I have to say that the race redeemed itself a bit with the post-race food catered by Macaroni Grill. I ate some and drank and chatted with the other athletes, and started feeling a little better if still bummed about my performance. I found out via word-of-mouth that the deal with the 4 mile run distance is that the distance from the swim exit to the transition area was included in that 4 mile total. Are you kidding? What is up with this race? It's been going on for 22 years AND it's USAT certified so what's up, and why wasn't that bit of info included with the race info. Whatever.

I decided to check my time then go get my stuff out of transition. There was lots of food and beer, but Brian was waiting for me. We were going to get lunch and then go to the beach. Yay beach! I'm looking at the times in my age group and I don't see my name. Okay, well I know my chip was working since I heard the beeping as I crossed the mats so I wasn't worried. I know enough about chiptiming - thanks, Joey! - to know that my time was in the database so I go searching for the timing company. If it had been Run-far 1) they would have been easy to find, 2)this wouldn't have happened in the first place because they would have taken my chip code off of my race registration, and 3)I would have just gone home and sent Raul an email. I start asking around and finally find the timing people in a trailer. It was the same woman who had put my chip in the system at Packet pick-up. She had missed a number - no problem, she apologized, fixed it, and pulled up my time. I thanked her and headed out.

I go into transition, which is getting fairly empty at this point, but there are still a few full racks and some random bikes, and start cleaning up my stuff. This is the part of the race where it's really nice to have a sherpa. At any rate, guys are in there starting to break down the racks, and they are just bitchin' and moanin' at the top of their lungs about people not getting their stuff out of transition. It was after 10am but there was still someone out on the course - an elderly woman cancer survivor who finished in just under 3 hours. I was fortunate enough to get to see her finish. Besides someone still racing, there's a big post-race party going on with good food and beer, and the awards ceremony just getting underway. If you want transition cleared quickly, then you should make announcements saying so. At that point, I had had enough and decided to throw a little passive aggressive fit of my own, so I sat down in front of my racked bike and sent a few text messages. Yes, it was juvenile, but it made me feel better. At least I didn't stick my tongue out at them - although I considered it. I packed up and headed back to the condo, where I had Brian take this lovely post-race picture of me. After all, it was my first tri of the season - even if it sucked. If you look closely, you can almost see a bicep muscle.

Here are my results and post race analysis: Swim 20:52, T1 5:47, Bike 32:27, T2 2:47, Run 39:16, Total 1:41:06 I really can't say much about these results since the distances are wonky. All I can say is that going in to the race I thought 1:25 was a reasonable time and after seeing the distance from the swim to transition, I figured 1:30 was probably more realistic. It is important to note that there was no taper for this race, it wasn't an A race, just a training effort, and my coach had said I would be tired, but I still feel like I should have been able to run 10 minute miles. The bike ended up being about 18.5 mph average, which I'm also not pleased with. I can't even really comment on the transition times since the gravelly pavement definitely slowed me down. I don't know how people run full speed on that stuff. As for the race itself, it's unlikely that I'd do it again. There were just too many little things that added up to make it a mildly annoying experience, and the shwag consisted of a technical shirt, and a Gatorade bike bottle - lame.

Post-race authentic Maryland style crabby patty - mmmmmm!!!!

Afternoon on the beach - it was beautiful!!!!

Happy Birthday Danny!

Today is my youngest brother Danny’s birthday, and like I said previously everyone is getting a birthday post this year. Danny is getting short-changed a bit because Brian and I are in St. Pete Beach for the weekend and the only internet we have is what little wireless we can steal from the neighbors. I had planned on writing this post on Saturday night, which I am, but I didn’t bring my laptop, since Brian brought his, and all the pictures are on my computer. So much for thinking ahead. Luckily I have some photos on the web that I can share - just not necessarily the ones I wanted.

Like I said, Danny is the youngest of the clan and doing quite well for himself. He got married last year to a wonderful woman, and they recently bought a house. I would have to say that he definitely has it more together than I did at that age – no I’m not divulging his age. Men seem to be more sensitive about that than women - at least the men I know. Anyway, I’m very proud of him.

Danny, I hope you have a great day!

Getting the hang of it

Today when I took my tribike out for my Thursday easy ride, I rode it almost as well as I ride my roadbike. I barely even gave it much thought. I rode a little slower in traffic than I do on my roadbike, but it was faster than I have been riding, and I felt really comfortable. Once I got clear of the traffic lights, I got into the aerobars and pretty much stayed there for about 20 minutes until I turned around - downhill, uphill, and even a couple of wide curves. After I turned around, I got back into aero until I got back to town. What really made me happy is that I was able to go over 18 mph and I was able to spin around 80 rpm while in aero. Wohoo! Speed and spin have been the two things that have been giving me a hard time riding aero. For awhile, it's felt like I've been going so much faster in aero than I actually was, and higher spin makes me swerve all over the place. I still have some room for improvement on both the spin and the speed, but it's getting closer to what I do on my roadbike. My control in the aerobars is almost exponentially better than it was last week. I guess the weeks of riding around the neighborhood everyday for additional practice have finally paid off.

I had decided last week that I was getting comfortable enough on the tribike that last Sunday would be my last long ride on my roadbike for awhile. After today's ride, I feel really good about that decision. I really love the bike - it's so light that once I'm on open road I pretty much live in the big chain ring, and it's such a smooth ride. I have still decided to ride my roadbike for the tri this Saturday. It's only a 10 mile bike and the course is flat and fast. It's made for a tribike but I'm still not as fast on the tribike as I want to go for this race. I rode this course last August averaging 19.41 mph and I'm riding much better now than I was then. I'm hoping to go above 20 mph for the race, but after Saturday I'm retiring the roadbike for awhile.

Freak out moment

The countdown clock hit 30 days today. 30 days and counting until Gulf Coast. Tomorrow the clock will be at 29 days. It will be officially less than a month until the race. I'm having a freak out moment, which will soon pass - I hope.

Maasai Marathoners

I've written in the past about why we run marathons or do triathlons, but this evening when I got home Brian told me about six young men who are running the London Marathon this Sunday, April 13th, for a very different reason. Six Maasai warriors are traveling from their village in Tanzania to run the marathon to raise money to find clean drinking water for their village. Years of drought have reduced the amount of potable surface water and the goal is to raise enough money to drill a well to support the village. The warriors will run the marathon in their traditional Maasai garb - just like they dress every day when they are searching for water, herding cattle, or lion hunting. Yes, I said lion hunting. This story is quite compelling to me for a couple of reasons. I love that six young men from a remote, and primitive by our standards, region of the world are playing the charity fundraising game with modern world savvy. Sure, they have help, but still. Just goes to show that you can't judge someone by where or how they live, and in the case of the Maasai, how they choose to live. Check out their website, maasaimarathon.org, and here is a news article with some great photos of the warriors in London. They are still short of their fundraising goal so feel free to spread the word.

How much fun would it be to run a marathon with these guys as company? Awesome!

3 hours can be a long time

I know what some of you are thinking "two posts in two days -what's up?" Rest assured the world is not coming to an end. There really isn't much point to this post, other than I feel like complaining a little out loud.

Sundays are my long ride day and as the Gulf Coast Tri is fast approaching - see the countdown clock to your right - my long rides are 3 - 4 hours long depending on what my coach schedules. Today was supposed to be a 4 hour ride, but the weather gods have been extremely uncooperative. It's been raining off and on since yesterday morning, and today was more on than off. I considered my options and decided against riding in the rain. I'm sure most of you are thinking that decision was a no-brainer, but it really wasn't. There is some value to riding in the rain - what am I going to do if it's raining for Gulf Coast or Ironman - not race? I don't think so - aside from the amount of money the race itself cost, there is the countless hours spent training for the event, and unless the race is canceled, you go no matter what the conditions. That being said - if it rains for either of those events, I might seriously cry. Anyway, it just didn't make sense to do a 4 hour ride in the rain today. Aside from being bad for the bike, the last thing I need at this point is to get sick. Plus I rode in drizzle last week, and I seriously wasn't in the mood. My long run yesterday had been tough, and I was soaked for at least half the run. I had no desire to be wet again.

So what are my other options? Postpone the ride until tomorrow - always a possibility, but it means rearranging my training schedule to accommodate, which is not ideal, plus there is great value in doing your long run and ride on consecutive days; or ride the trainer. The thought of four hours on the trainer made me want to cry, but not as much as riding in the rain. I decided that I would go for three hours on the trainer, but really push it. I knew I was going to need some visual stimulation so I chose The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the Extended Version for my entertainment. Nothing like a four hour movie to keep you entertained. It's two discs, but I've got the portable dvd player set up so that I can change discs without having to get off the bike. I like to be prepared. So with the movie in, my energy bars, clif shots, and water bottles all set; I got going. I started to lose it a bit around 2 hours - mostly because my girl parts were not too happy. That seems to happen more on the trainer than it does on the road. By 2.5 hours I was getting fairly uncomfortable, but decided if I pushed it just a little harder, I could make 56 miles in 3 hours. I swear at that point, the timer on my bike computer started going backward - it was a very long 30 minutes. I hit 56 miles with about 30 seconds to spare. I almost kept riding at a slower pace because the Battle of Helm's Deep had just started in the movie - a really kick-ass scene - but the girl parts were definitely done for the day. The legs felt really good, though, so that's promising. Now if I can just ride 56 miles in 3 hours on the road, that'll be something.

Coke!

I keep starting posts with the intention that I'll dash off something quick and get it posted for everyone's reading pleasure, and then the post turns into something lengthy and my Attention Deficit kicks in before I get finished. Yes, that happened just a few minutes ago when I gave up on yet another blog entry because I'm tired, my lunch is ready, and I want to go to the gym and get in the hot tub. So here is a quickie for you.

I love Coke! Now I know what every one of you that knows me is thinking, and no, I haven't been brainwashed by aliens, and I haven't suddenly started drinking soda on a regular basis, and I do still think soda is bad for you in general, but there are times when Coca-Cola is a like a minor miracle. Today was one of those days. I came in from my long run - 2 hours in hot, humid, frequent downpours, and sometimes windy weather - and I couldn't tell if I was hungry or nauseous. After a few minutes in the air conditioning, I started to feel a little lightheaded, and decided I was probably nauseous so I grabbed one of the bottles of Coke I keep in the pantry for occasions like this, and after a few sips of the warm beverage - yes, warm - I felt infinitely better. I'm so glad warm, flat coke is a regular item at the aid stations for Ironman. I am sure I'll need it.

A little bit silly

The other day I received a card in the mail from my sister-in-law Heather. It was a lovely thank you card and included some photos from her wedding. These were pics from the disposable cameras that had been passed out for the guests to use. Most of them were of my brothers looking so handsome in their tuxes. I was looking through them and having a totally gushy, sentimental moment until I got to the last two pictures, which were of my husband being way too silly. I started laughing, showed the pics to Brian, he started laughing, and commented that he remembered posing for those and that Emily (my 12-year old niece) had taken them. I'm not sure we are setting a good example but that is probably a conversation for another day. Anyway, Brian looks at me and asks "Those are going on your blog, aren't they?" I responded that they should go on my blog, but since I would have to scan the photos, I wasn't sure. He said I should definitely post them. Well okay, if you insist.

These photos are what I started viewing. So nice!



Here is the shocking finale!

Yes, that is me in the corner covering my face with my hands. I'm sure I was probably shaking my head back and forth, too.

No, wait ladies - I saw him first. He's all mine! Actually, Brian's silliness and sense of humor is one of the things I love about him. We definitely had a good laugh over these photos.

Lucky Coin

I realize my posting has been really lite this month - honestly I don't know where March went. This year just seems to be flying by. I haven't been super motivated to write lately, but I'll try to do better. Anyway, I have about 7 unfinished posts going back to November that I hope to finish up. Some of the events happened a while ago so things may seem kind of random. Then again, those that know me, know that I often seem to be a somewhat random person. Let's just say that I'm rebelling against the concept of linear time. Humor me.

Different cultures and ethnicities have a variety of traditions to ring in the New Year. It is an old Greek tradition to bake a coin in the New Year's Cake. Whoever gets the piece with the coin in it is supposed to be blessed with good luck for the entire year. My mother has carried out this tradition as long as I can remember. Since my family is rarely all together at New Year's these days, Mom prepares the New Year's meal as part of Christmas. She bakes it inside a dish called tyropita - or cheese pie. My family scarfed down the pita this year and by the time I got a piece it was over half gone. No one had gotten the coin yet and my mother was warning everyone to be careful not to bite into their pieces too hard. Someone made a joke that they could use the coin to pay for their broken tooth, and at that moment I bit down on the coin. Fortunately I did not break a tooth. As I announced that I had gotten the coin, my sister remarked that this was a good year for me to get the coin since I'm doing Ironman. Good point. Let's hope that the luck holds true.

Everyone wanted to know when I has gotten the coin last. I couldn't remember but I knew it hadn't been that many years. Mom was very concerned that I had saved the coin - it's bad luck to spend it before the year is over. I assured her that I had saved every coin I had gotten as an adult. In fact, I was pretty sure I still had them somewhere. When Brian and I returned home from Maryland, I went looking for the one coin I knew for sure I had saved - it was an antique coin from my father's collection - and found it in a box with two other coins that I vaguely remembered getting in other years. I can't say for sure if the years I got the coin were particularly good years, partly because I'm not entirely certain when I got the coins. I do know they weren't bad years - mostly because I'm an optimist and it would take a lot for me to say it was a bad year. Mom has a habit of getting new coins for this tradition so I can make some assumptions based on the dates on the coins - 1993, 1999, 2001, and 2008. Now 1993 started out fairly crappy, but since I met Brian that year I'd say it ended on a pretty good note; 1999 was the year I got my wisdom teeth removed, but it was also my first triathlon, and the year ended with our first trip to Mexico with Joey and Rachel - super fun!; 2001 saw Brian complete his PhD. and get a job at Duke, the birth of Olivia and Jordan, and another super fun trip with Joey, Rachel, and Jordan - this time to the Florida Keys. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what 2008 brings - let's hope the luck holds.

I tried to take pictures of the coins since they are pretty cool - 2 gold dollars, a silver dollar from 1885, and a 50 cent piece -but it didn't work out so well. Here are pics of all four together.

Front

Back

I want......

...to be here,
but I guess this isn't too bad either.

Mmmmmmmmmm!

I started writing with every intention of talking about mine and Brian's recent weekend in Jacksonville, but I'm having a hard time concentrating so I thought I'd just share my lovely morning. Today I had a hot stone massage. I've wanted to try one for quite some time but I've never gotten around to it. Last time I was at my spa, I decided to go ahead and schedule one. I loved it! I get regular deep tissue massages, but this was completely different. I can't even describe it. If you've never had one, I highly recommend it. I've had a couple of really hard workouts this week and all the heat from the stones just felt so good. I was so relaxed I probably shouldn't have been driving.

After the massage, I went in search of lunch. I wanted something substantial, since I was starving. I've actually been constantly hungry for almost a week, but very much so the past few days. I definitely haven't been eating enough. I always eat a good breakfast, but sometimes during the day, I get busy doing things and I just forget to eat. I snack while I'm riding but don't always get around to having a real meal. I'm trying to do better. One of the ladies at the spa recommended a little breakfast/lunch place just around the corner called Sisters for Breakfast. All their food is locally grown from the farmers market and organic if possible. The place smelled so good! I ordered a spinach salad and a chicken pot pie to go. Unfortunately, they didn't have pecan pie. I just finished eating and let me tell you, this was one of the best chicken pot pies - it was a puff pastry covered with a thick gravy with white meat chicken and fresh, crisp veggies - not mushy. It tasted like it had just come from the oven. I'm totally relaxed with a full tummy and about 1 step away from a coma. My only regret is that it's absolutely gorgeous out and I would love to go for a ride, but I don't think I'm alert enough to deal with traffic. Maybe in a little while.

Feliz Cumpleanos Jose!

I was so abysmal last year at getting most people their birthday presents on time that I have decided that everyone is getting a birthday blog post this year. Hopefully that will help me be on time AND remember everyone's birthdays. I love celebrating birthdays. I really love giving presents to the people I love - especially since I rarely get to be with those people on their special day.

Today's topic of discussion is Joey. That's right - it's Joey's birthday. I will refrain from saying lots of nice things about Joey that will likely embarrass him - if you read my blog regularly, you know he is a truly awesome friend, and I'm rather fond of him. I'll just stick to wishing him a Happy Birthday!

Interesting events, besides Joey, that occurred on March 5, 1970:

• Dubnium, Element 105 on the periodic table, a radioactive synthetic element, was first detected
• The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty went into effect; interestingly March 5, 1946 is when Winston Churchill used the phrase "Iron Curtain" in his now-famous speech

Other events that occurred on March 5th:

• 1963 - The Hula Hoop was patented
• 1960 - Elvis is discharged from the Army
• 1953 - Joseph Stalin dies
• 1821 - James Monroe inaugurated
• 1864 - the first Oxford vs Cambridge track meet
• 1982 - James Belushi dies
  
• 1997 - North and South Korea meet for peace talks for the first time in 25 years
• 2004 - Martha Stewart convicted
  

Some other interesting people born on March 5:

• 1113 - King Henry II - First Plantagenet King and father of Richard the Lionheart
• 1836 - Charles Goodnight - Texas Cattle Rancher, started the Goodnight-Loving Trail, invented the chuckwagon, and founded the JA Ranch - the oldest in the Texas panhandle
  
• 1908 - Rex Harrison, actor
  
• 1955 - Penn Gillete, magician
  
• 1958 - Andy Gibb, member of the BeeGees
  
• 1966 - Michael Irvin, Pro football player
  
• 1974 - Eva Mendes, actress
  
• 1977 - Wally Szczerbiak, Pro basketball player

2008 Chinese horoscope for those born on March 5, 1970 - The Year of the Dog:

2008 is the year of the Rat. 58% (8 favorable and 4 unfavorable months) This year may be a bit more challenging than the last, but it still has the potential to be very favorable. The Dog is more comfortable with the Pig, which symbolizes endings, rather than the Rat, which is associated with new beginnings. If you are willing to leave your comfort zone, you can make significant progress towards your objectives and also achieve one or more notable successes. As with most things, your attitude is likely to determine just how well you do.
Career - If you have been considering a change in occupation, this could be the year to try something different. This is a time for action, not delay, so be decisive whether it is change you seek, or simply advancement in your current role.
Relationships -You will find the most comfort in your family relationships this year, be it with you parents, children or loved one. There is a chance someone in your immediate circle will need a good friend and you will need to find the time to step up and take care of them.
Health -Be alert for signs of increased stress or burnout. This will be an active year for you, which means you are at an increased risk for physical injury. Always be sure to exercise proper caution when out and about and you should be just fine. Your health, in general, should be good as long as you avoid stress related issues.

Historical Mojo?

Frank Shorter, 1972

Can mojo be passed on in a historical context? There are a few of us here in Gainesville that are hoping so. Previous members of the Florida Track Club have included some pretty talented runners, and some of us want in on that action. Maybe it's in the water.

Bear with me, this is a bit convoluted. I was having a conversation last Saturday with OB, a fellow Florida Track Club member, after the 5K the Club held as part of the Five Points of Life Marathon and Half-marathon race weekend. We had been talking about the recent speakers at the monthly FTC meetings AND we were talking about the Gate River Run 15K race coming up in Jacksonville - the FTC has had a sizable contingent travel to this race in previous years, and OB and I are both going. The last two speakers at our meetings were early members of the FTC. Coach Roy Benson was our last speaker. Naturally, Frank Shorter's name came up.

From 1969-1979, Roy Benson was first the Cross Country and then the Track Coach at UF, and served as President of the newly formed Florida Track Club. At this point in running history, local running clubs served as training grounds for post-collegiate amateur runners. Coach Benson was running the FTC when Frank Shorter, Jack Bachelor, Jeff Galloway, and Ron Jourdan were training with the club and qualified for the 1972 USA Olympic Team. I'm hoping many of you know Frank, but I'd only be willing to bet money that one of my regular readers recognizes Frank's name. He is the winner of the 1972 Olympic Gold Medal in marathon and the 1976 Silver Medal. He is the last American man to win Gold in the marathon. He is also the last person to see Steve Prefontaine before he died - not a fact Frank likes to remember. Anyway, OB mentioned that he wanted to get a FTC singlet to wear for the 15K. The movie "Without Limits" which was about Pre, had been on TV and OB had noticed that in one of the scenes, Frank was racing in his FTC singlet. OB thought it would be cool to represent the Club like Frank did, and maybe get a little of Frank's mojo. Now OB is pretty fast and regularly places in the top three in his age group; he has the potential to do really well at the 15K so if dressing like Frank helps him feel faster, I say go for it. Plus it's always nice to represent - especially at an out-of-town race.

Steve Prefontaine leads his friend Frank Shorter.
It was Pre's final race, on May 19, 1975, at Hayward Field.

No, I won't be wearing a FTC singlet. There are some sizing issues with the ladies' singlets. I really just need to have Running Banana make me one.

Incidentally, my Saturday long runs almost always include a stretch of road that was one of Frank's favorite training routes. I didn't know that when I started running it - it just happens to be one of the hilliest sections in town.

Some quotes from Frank Shorter that I like:

• Because running fast is more fun than running slow.

• Hills are speedwork in disguise.

• You don't run 26 miles at five minutes a mile on good looks and a secret recipe.

A New PR

Brian and I recently went on a trip to Austin. The primary reason for this trip was so that Brian could attend a symposium that the UT Biomedical Engineering Department was hosting to honor Brian's Ph.D. thesis adviser, A.J. Welch. A.J. had finally decided to retire and because he was such a pioneer in the field of optics in medicine and largely responsible for the presence of a Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of Texas, the Department wanted to honor him.

Now Brian hasn't been to Austin in quite a while so we decided that we would make a longer trip than attending the symposium required. That way we'd have a chance to visit with people and do some fun things. I had also decided that I was going to purchase a new bike while we were in town so I wanted to make sure we were there long enough to make that happen. We were in town from Thursday to the following Tuesday and it was a very good trip. We stayed with Joey, Rachel, and Jordan as usual, and as usual they were awesome hosts. Unfortunately, Rachel wasn't feeling good during our visit, but she still managed to do some fun things with us.

The timing of the trip happened to coincide with the 3M half-marathon so I decided to run it. 3M was my first ever half-marathon back in 2003, and it is an excellent race, but I haven't run it in quite a while . The course is primarily downhill, runs right through the middle of Austin, and has lots of spectators. My time from that race was my half-marathon PR at 2:08:03.80. That's right - my best half-marathon time was my first half-marathon. Now in all fairness to me, before this year I'd only run 3 half-marathons and two were done with injuries/health issues so I had no time expectations. This year was going to be different. I decided after the New York Marathon that I shouldn't have any problem setting a PR in a half-marathon and set about to make that happen. I decided to train to finish the half in 1:59. I know I've got a sub 2 hour half in me and I figured that even if I didn't get there this year, it certainly didn't hurt my running to train that way.

Some time around Christmas, I started getting nervous about the race. It was a little over a month away at that point, and my running had been feeling sluggish. I was doing all my workouts at the right paces, but my legs were not loving the pounding - probably too much running on the concrete, and maybe some delayed fatigue from New York. I decided to ask Joey if he would be willing to pace me for at least part of the race. Joey is faster than me, but he wasn't training to run this race so I thought he might not mind running slower than he is capable. He said he would be happy to run it with me, but had considered doing the relay so he would let me know. I was really relieved when he told me that he was going to run the entire race with me. Wohoo! Not only was I going to set a new PR but I was going to get to run a race with my best friend. I was still nervous, but now I was really excited, too.

I had discussed what pace to run both with my coach, Brandon, and with Joey, and had decided based on the humidity and how I had felt during my last few long runs, that breaking two hours was going to be extremely difficult. I had been having breathing problems and hadn't yet figured out that I was getting hit with high pine pollen AND high mold. It was 86% humidity at the start of the race, and I knew breaking 2 hours wasn't going to happen. I told Joey that I wanted to start out at a 9:30 min mile pace and just see how things progressed.

We were a little bit disorganized getting to the race - we had a hard time finding the clothing drop and the bathrooms. I decided to forgo the bathroom because I didn't want to miss the start. I did not realize how much this race had grown since I ran it last. It took me and Joey 6 minutes to cross the start so I would've had plenty of time to pee. Oh well! I could always stop on the course if I really needed to.

The morning was chilly, but not unbearably so, and once we got underway we warmed up nicely. The humidity was unpleasant because it made everything feel clammy. The first mile was a little slow, but then we got to a 9:30 min mile and stayed right around there for the next 8 miles. I was having some breathing difficulties which meant I wasn't a very talkative running companion, but Joey was right there with me the whole way. Occasionally, he would dash away to say hi to someone he knew, but he always came back, and it made me smile to see him having a good time. After all, if you aren't running a race with a specific time goal then you should be having fun. Somewhere around the halfway point, I saw Brandon. He said he was going to be out cheering, since he had several athletes running, but he wasn't sure where along the course he would be. He gave me a Joey a big cheer, and I smiled and waved.

Humidity and breathing issues aside, I felt really good during the race , and am really pleased with the outcome. Around mile 10, Joey really started to push the pace. Somewhere along the way, he had gotten it in his head that we needed to break 2:05 - for all I know, I could have mentioned it at some point, who knows. Plus I think he knew I had more in the tank. He kept pushing the pace and encouraging me. He was definitely in full-blown coaching mode. There were a couple of times when he was running just ahead of me and encouraging me to pick up the pace, and I thought "If I could catch you, I would beat you." Of course I wouldn't really, and I know that he would only push me until I said I couldn't do anymore. I was breathing pretty hard, and getting darn close to puking when we crossed the finish line in 2:03:47. Wohoo! I have to give Joey a lot of credit for that time. I would have definitely set a PR if I was running by myself, but there is no way I would have pushed the last 3 miles as hard as I did on my own considering how I was feeling. Thanks Joey! You are a truly awesome friend!

Here are our splits from the race: 9:51, 9:33, 9:37, 9:32, 9:29, 9:29, 9:33, 9:32, 9:28, 9:26, 9:11, 9:05, 9:08, 0:52 Total time 2:03:47

One other thing - I've had three major PRs since I started working with my coach back in July. Thanks, Brandon!

The View from Tuesday

This was part of my view from my lounge chair on the pool deck. It was a beautiful day - 65, sunny, and super low humidity. Normally, I wouldn't be inclined to write just about the weather, but our weather here in Florida has been all over the place this winter. Sunday we had to turn on the AC and by Monday evening we had the heat running. Florida weather is usually very regular and consistent - especially this time of year, which is supposed to be fire season. At any rate, it was lovely to finally have such beautiful weather on the same day that I was able to swim outside. It's been well over a month since that's happened. Tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same and I'm hoping to get in both a bike ride AND a swim before my yoga class - although maybe that's being greedy.

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

Today is Valentine's Day, perhaps one of my least favorite holidays. What do I have against this day, you might wonder? Nothing big, I just feel like lovers, spouses, life-partners, and any other term you might come up with for couples, shouldn't need a holiday to make a special effort to do nice things for each other or buy each other gifts. Couples should always make that effort, and part of me feels like a holiday devoted to love gives people an excuse to be a little lazy in their relationship at other times. It also makes single people feel bad about themselves for not having a date. Okay, the fact that everyone in Gainesville was trying to get home early today and the 5 o'clock rush hour was the worst I have ever seen it, making my evening run less than enjoyable, might be making me a little cynical, but I'm still not a fan of the holiday - other than as an excuse to eat chocolate, of course. Rant over.

Now there is a reason for celebrating on February 14th, but it is much more personal and has nothing to do with couples. Today happens to be my sister Sarah's birthday, and I am a big fan of celebrating birthdays. Sarah is my only sister and we are only 15 months apart so we are very close, even if we didn't always get along growing up. It's funny watching her two older girls interact - it's like going back in time 30 years. My sister has 4 young children and is an extremely busy stay at home mom. If anyone deserves a special day just for herself, she does. At any rate, Happy Birthday Sis! I hope it was a good one.

Barbie Girl

This morning while Brian and I were watching SpongeBob, I saw a commercial that made me sit up and take note. Normally, Brian and I tune out the commercials during SpongeBob because they are geared toward kids. This particular commercial was for Beach Barbie and her friends. I swear I had heard my name. I rewound the DVR - I love the DVR - and sure enough, there is a Barbie with my name - spelled the same, and she's a brunette. Brian and I both lost it, and started laughing hysterically. Brian said he is getting me one as a present. Now to be honest, I'm a little disturbed by the notion that there is a Barbie out there with my name on it. I don't know why since I played with Barbies as a child and my nieces play with Barbies. Of course, the next step was a Google search. It turns out that Barbie Teresa was introduced in 1988 as a friend to Barbie. Here is a slideshow with some of the various incarnations of Barbie Teresa. For those of you out there that think it might be fun to start referring to me as Barbie Teresa - don't even go there!

Sweet!

This post is going to be short. I'm having the worst case of allergies since I got hit with cedar fever my second winter in Austin. Basically, the weather has conspired to hit me with both a high mold count AND pine pollen at the same time. I can handle one or the other, but both together is killing me. I'm totally grouchy and completely pissed off because I have all this energy and my body wants to train except I can't breathe so when I start to exert myself, I feel like I'm going to pass out - I've been managing some workouts, but not what I want. It's also really hard for me to focus and spending time on the computer makes my head hurt. Okay, enough whining and on to the real post.

I bought a new bike when I was in Austin - a tri bike. I'll do a more detailed post about the purchase experience, and the bike when I start riding it. It is a Kuota K-factor and it is a sweet ride. The bike was delivered on Monday and I managed to get it mostly assembled and up on the trainer so I could make some adjustments. I still need to put on the seat and pedals so the picture I included is one I took of the bike when I was at Joey and Rachel's. It is so light and handles really well. I can't wait to start riding it. In case you are wondering, yes, I will still be riding my road bike - I love my road bike. The tri bike will be a much better bike for races - especially here in Florida. So now I have two really awesome bikes to train on. Wohoo!

Seriously?

Two Saturdays ago - that was January 19 - I ran the Newnan's Lake 15K. This is a local Gainesville race put on by the Florida Track Club. As a member of the club, I try to be involved in the events if I can - either by racing or volunteering. Since I was in training for the 3M half-marathon in Austin the following weekend, I decided to run. I wasn't planning on racing it, but using it more as a supported long run. I've missed this race the past two years because I have been in Austin so I was also looking forward to running a new race.

The weather forecast for the race was not good and, sure enough, it was raining when I woke up. Raining, 51 degrees, and 96% humidity - not the greatest conditions for a race. I needed to do a long run that day anyway or I might have gone back to bed. I ate my usual morning breakfast, packed a change of clothes, put on some layers including my fleece hat with "Suck it up!" embroidered on it - a gift from Joey a few years back - and headed out.

The rain was slacking off and the wind was picking up by the time the race started. It really didn't matter, it was so humid everything was wet. There was a surprisingly good turn out, and everyone was in good spirits despite the weather. I opted to go without the ipod - it's only 9.3 miles, it's rainy, there's people to run with, and it's an open course so I didn't see the need for music. I ended up running with Susan, who is what I refer to as a race friend - one of those people you see at races, and who runs about the same pace as you. We first met back in August. We have a lot in common so we chatted most of the race. I wasn't pushing my pace and she was recovering from running the Disney marathon the week before so we were happy going along at a comfortable steady pace. I ended up finishing in 1:30.18 which was right on target with what I had discussed with my coach. All things considered, I was pleased and felt ready for the half-marathon.

Since it's a Track Club event, I planned on staying for the awards. Several people I know are usually in the top 3 of their age group, and I like to be supportive. I hung out at the finisher's chute for a bit, cheering people on, and chatting with some friends, but as I cooled down and the wind continued to pick up, I headed to the car to change into dry clothes, and deal with yet another case of bleeding jogbra chafe - ooowwww!!! Turns out it was good thing I hung around for the awards, since I ended up winning my age group. Too funny!! I was truly surprised and I felt kind of bad, since I hadn't actually pushed myself or tried to win. Oh well! I'm not going to complain - I got a cute bag, and a bit of an ego boost. Overall, it was a good race.

In Austin

Hi all! I know I've been very absent from my blog. Brian and I have been in Austin since last Thursday and it's been a very busy, very fun trip. I promise several posts soon. We are heading back to Gainesville tonight. Here's a teaser of posts to come - a new bike for me, a half-marathon PR, Brian's birthday present, winning my age group at a race, and who knows what else. Stay tuned and hope everyone is doing well!

Near Misses and Simple Pleasures

Ok, so this post is a little on the sappy side, but I do have my sappy moments from time to time - it happens. Besides, I'm sure a little sappiness is more desirable to most of my readers than hearing about hocking up phlegm and blowing my nose into my hand during runs or my ruminations on whether or not Nuun gives me gas. Also, it's pretty long, but I guess it'll keep everyone busy for a while.

When I was writing my previous post on Happiness, an essay that I had read in a book popped into my head. It was somewhat relevant to what I was writing, and also to some moments I had experienced on my long run on Sunday.

• I came across a girl who had wrecked on her bike, she wasn't wearing a helmet, and had escaped with a scraped hand and some minor road rash. I know a few of us that can relate to that. She was sitting on the sidewalk talking to her boyfriend on her cellphone - he was coming to pick her up. I made sure she was ok and continued my run.
• There were at least 4 times when I put my foot down on some item in my path that could have resulted in a messed up ankle or me ending up on my ass, but I managed to keep my balance and keep on going. Is sweetgum ball surfing an extreme sport? If not, maybe it should be.
  
• Don't even get me started on the impaired driving abilities of people on their way to church. Let's just say that people on their way to work are much nicer to pedestrians than church goers.
  
• The traffic lights were all in my favor. Translation - I didn't have to stop at an intersection.
  

At any rate this essay, from what I could recall, was on near misses. I tracked it down, reread it, and thought "That might be nice to share at some point." Today I was talking on the phone with my sister, and she was relating to me that she and her husband had made an important financial decision in an incredibly timely moment, and so the essay came back to mind and I figured "What the heck, I don't have any thing else to write about at the moment." That's entirely untrue, but let's just pretend I don't have three or four unfinished posts in the works.

Anyway, the essay is from the book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum. I'm sure many of you recognize the title. I think my mom got me the book when I was in college, but I don't remember. It's full of essays about life and the human condition, and it has a tendency to be overly emotional and a bit over the top, but the author is funny and writes a lot about his own personal experiences so it's interesting and enjoyable. He grew up in Texas so maybe that's what draws me. I was going to summarize the essay or take an excerpt but then I decided that was too much work so here it is.

My Grandfather Sam called me up last Tuesday to ask if I'd take him to a football game. Grandfather likes small-town high school football – and even better, the eight-man ball played by crossroads teams. Grandfather is a fan of amateurs and small scale. Some people are concerned about how it is that good things happen to bad people, and there are those concerned about how bad things happen to good people. But my grandfather is interested in those times when miracles happen to ordinary people. Here again, he likes small scale.

When a nothing team full of nothing kids from a nothing town rises up with nothing to lose against some upmarket suburban outfit with new uniforms, and starts chucking hail-Mary bombs from their own goal line, and their scrawny freshman tight end catches three in a row to win the game – well, it does your heart good.

Murphy's Law does not always hold, says Grandfather Sam. Every once in a while the fundamental laws of the universe seem to be momentarily suspended, and not only does everything go right, nothing seems to be able to keep it from going right. It's not always something as dramatic as the long bomb or the slam-dunk that wins ball games.

Ever drop a glass in the sink when you're washing dishes and have it bounce nine times and not even chip? Ever come out after work to find your lights have been on all day and your battery's dead but you're parked on a hill and you let your old hoopy roll and it fires the first time you pop the clutch and off you roar with a high heart? Ever pull out that drawer in your desk that has a ten-year accumulation of junk in it – pull it out too far and too fast – and just as it's about to vomit its contents all over the room you get a knee under it and stagger back hopping on one foot and doing a balancing act like the Great Zucchini and you don't lose it? A near-miss at an intersection; the glass of knocked-over spilled milk that waltzes across the table but doesn't spill; the deposit that beat your rubber check to the bank because there was a holiday you forgot about; the lump in your breast that turned out to be benign; the heart attack that turned out to be gas; picking the right lane for once in a traffic jam; opening the door of your car with a coat hanger through the wing window on the first try. And on and on and on and on.

When small miracles occur for ordinary people, day by ordinary day. When not only did the worst not happen, but maybe nothing much happened at all, or some little piece fell neatly into place. The grace of what-might-have-been-but-wasn't, and it was good to get off scot-free for once. The ecstasy of what-could-never-happen-but-did, and it was grand to have beat the odds against for a change. Or the bliss of just what-was-for-a-day when nothing special took place – life just worked.

My grandfather says he blesses God each day when he takes himself off to bed having eaten and not having been eaten once again. “Now I lay me down to sleep. In the peace of amateurs, for whom so many blessings flow. I thank you, God, for what went right! Amen.”

Happiness is.......

• thinking I am on mile 3 of a 10 mile run and looking at my watch and discovering that I am actually on mile 5 - wohoo! It was 98% humidity so this discovery was the high point of the run, the rest pretty much sucked.
• a phone call with my sister
  
• chocolate cookies
• breakfast with my husband
• the NY Giants beating Dallas to advance in the playoffs
• soaking in the hot tub
• meatloaf and mashed potatoes
  

These were some of my happy moments today. Tomorrow is the opportunity for a whole new list. Hope you had some good moments today too!

Still Here

I realize I haven't posted in a week. I actually have three posts in the works but I haven't been on the computer much lately. We are having absolutely beautiful weather and I have been trying to pack in lots of outdoor time. Tomorrow will be more of the same, and I am looking forward to yet another afternoon spent at the campus pool. As far as this week goes, it's been one of those weeks where I can't figure out where the time went. Oh well!

My training is going well, although I was quite tired on Wednesday. I resumed my stadium workout on Tuesday after a two week break and realized immediately why running hills had been harder than usual on Saturday. The stadium workout went well, but I was wiped after. Usually I ride the bike at the gym for another hour, but I opted for home and some evening yoga. After nearly falling on my face while doing balance poses - much to Brian's amusement - I opted to get down on the floor where I very nearly fell asleep.

Speaking of yoga, I started teaching my class this week. I have 28 people signed up and it looks like I may have two more joining next week - 30 people, that's crazy! The last time I taught a fitness class with 30 people in it was the aerobics classes I taught at the University of MD - that was many moons ago. This is a beginner's class and everyone has such a great attitude. I love teaching beginners - it is both easier and more challenging than teaching more advanced students. Beginners typically know very little about yoga so they are very open to instruction, but they also don't know any of the terms, poses, and concepts so there is a lot more explanation required. All teachers should teach a beginner class - it helps to keep you familiar with the fundamentals of the practice. At any rate, this session is for six weeks and if there is enough interest, I'll continue offering classes.

That's all for now. More soon!

What's Next?

That was the question that I was asked several times during my Christmas visit so I figure I should answer it. I might as well tie it in with a year in review and New Year's resolutions - although typically my New Year's resolutions are goals I set for myself so the resolutions and "what's next" are essentially the same. I tend to avoid resolutions like be a better person, spouse, or friend because I always try to be better at those things - I may not always succeed, but I do try. I'd like to think that achieving the goals I set for myself help me to be a better person, but that's just my opinion.

So here's a quick recap of the year. I won't make any judgments on whether it was a good or bad year. I'm an optimist and I tend to think that the good outweighs the bad, and that even the bad things tend to look better over time. Yes, I am a silver lining kind of gal. I also think that each year is better than the last, and I try not to dwell on the past too much - it happened, it's over, moving on. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy reminiscing - I definitely do - I just prefer to not live in the past.

This year has definitely been a year of progressively improving health and fitness. Last year at this time, I was taking heart medication, having blood pressure issues, and dealing with plantar fasciitis. The majority of health issues cleared up and I was given a clean bill of health by my doctor in May. The plantar fasciitis took much longer to improve, but was pretty much gone by September. I ran the AT&T Half-marathon in February, started my triathlon season in March, did the Tour de Pain (3 races in 2 days) in August, and completed the NY Marathon in November. I did six triathlons this year: two sprint distances, one sprint distance tri turned duathlon, one quarter-iron distance (not quite an olympic distance), one half-iron distance, and one olympic distance - that is the most I've ever done in a year. I completed my 2nd half-ironman tri and set a PR for both that distance and the Olympic distance. I also set a marathon PR. Overall, I'm pleased with my racing accomplishments and healthwise I'm feeling really good.

My goals for 2008 are to complete Ironman Florida in November - that's the big one, to PR in a half-marathon - I have to beat 2:08, and to PR in a half-iron and olympic distance triathlon. I am racing the 3M half-marathon in a few weeks so I'm shooting for the half-marathon PR soon. If I don't make it, I will try again a month later. I'd love to break 2 hours, but I'm not quite sure I'm there yet. I'm doing the Gulf Coast Triathlon in May - I'm already registered so unless something major comes up, I'm definitely there. This is the half-iron distance. I set a PR last year with plantar fasciitis and on a harder course so another PR is looking good.

The other thing I have in the works is teaching yoga. I'm starting to teach a class next week and I would really like to get a few regular classes going. I worked really hard to complete my yoga certification and it'll be nice to put it to use.

That's all for now. I'll keep you updated on my progress. Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship and never in want.
-Irish Toast

May you always have walls for the winds,
a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire
-Irish Blessing