Well, 2008 is on it's way out and the new year is almost here. Here's to all my running and triathlon friends (most of whom are in the photo at left). Wishing everyone a happy, healthy new year!

PS - Ran 5 today and felt great! Pushed the pace quite a bit....need to get ready for the hard runs ahead!

Motherhood = Motherload of Stuff To Do

The good news is that I finally got a good run in after my swim this morning (see below). The bad news is that I'm stressed to the max right now and it's supposed to be Christmas "vacation".

This is how the day went:
7:30 AM - back from swim, plan to go for a quick run
7:32 - give food and water to dogs
7:35 - cook egg and toast for Evan, make oatmeal for Katerina....make hot cocoa for both kids. Clean kitchen while they eat their breakfast. Start my breakfast, answer phone and talk to mom, continue to clean kitchen, put dogs out, continue to get my breakfast, answer phone again from plumber (sink is plugged in master bathroom), think about getting ready to run
8:00 - finally sit and eat my breakfast
8:02 - break up fight between kids
8:05 - clean breakfast dishes, finish cleaning kitchen (sweep floor, put dishes in dishwaster, go through previous day's mail, grab sock out of dog's mouth, break up argument between kids....
8:15 - wrap packages that need to go in the mail, think about going for a run
8:20 - box up gifts that need to be returned
8:45 - grab glove out of dog's mouth, start to clean up living room, answer phone, break up argument between kids
9:00 - answer email, listen to crying child, take sock out of dog's mouth
9:15 - talk to 15 yr old exchange student who just woke up
9:20 - put away laundry done over the weekend, take sock out of dog's mouth, put dog out, let other dog in, think about going for a run
9:40 - change litter in litter box, feed cat, chase dog to take shoe out of her mouth, watch son do back-flip on the trampoline (5 times!)
9:50 - continue to clean living room, pick up wrapping paper, Christmas gifts strewn about, answer phone
10:15 - make grocery list, go through cookbook to figure out what to make for dinner, finish cleaning living room
10:30 - put away rest of clothes, look for running tights to go for a run, let dog in and other dog out, pick up dog poop in part of the yard (making mental note to myself to pick up rest later), answer phone again, pick through pile of papers on desk, write a few Christmas cards that are obviously very late, write out checks for overdue bills, referee argument between kids
10:45 - help kids get out face-painting kit (that requires a sledgehammer to open the package)
10:55 - clean up huge mess in bathroom left by kids using face-painting kit...decide to have kids clean it up themselves and look for kids, who are jumping on trampoline
11:00 - clean dog poop off kids' shoes, realize that I REALLY WANT TO RUN
11:15 - remember that I was going to run AFTER my swim....continue looking for tights in mound of clean clothes on the bed, listen to 7 yr old tell knock-knock jokes over and over again, grab sock out of dog's mouth
11:30 Put on running clothes, answer door bell to find plumber standing on doorstep
11:40- tell plumber I'm going for a run, listen to daughter beg me to let her go with me on my run (while thinking that all I want to do is RUN and have some time to myself!)
11:45 - Head out the door with both kids in tow, dog on hands-free leash (daughter with face painted like a warrior) and jog slowly with my daughter, who decides to stomp in puddles and walk after oh, say 100 feet or so

Fortunately, my daughter pooped out after half a mile and was easily talked into going back home so that I could run on by myself. My son, Evan, ran the small loop so fast that he was bored very quickley. Yay, I'm home free now.....turn up the Ipod and away I go!

Back in the water

It's time to get serious. Christmas is over and even though we still have New Year's to celebrate, I'm ready to get back to swimming. There's nothing more motivating than writing that big, fat check to North America Sports to enter an Ironman triathlon to get my lazy butt back in the pool!

And today was a good day to start back because Richard Hess, our swim coach (see previous post), provided underwater videotaping again. My friends, Lynne and Marshall, were there too. It's a great way to see people you don't see often and get swim tips at the same time.

I had a great time but I will say that I don't always feel comfortable with this group. Just being honest. There are a few guys there that are not too friendly and I always feel like a fish out of water (no pun intended!). I've felt this way for a long time and recently I've started to rise above it, to show up anyway....to keep on truckin'.....I have to or I won't make it.

But I did get some GREAT tips. Richard, Tom, and Paul Nutter gave me some good advice. Paul teaches at UNC and is a really good swimmer. He's also a nice guy.

But you know, maybe newby runners feel the same way when they go to track. Maybe we seasoned runners are not as warm to the newby's as we think we are. All I know is that I feel some really cold vibes from some people at the pool and it makes it even harder for me to get down there on these cold, dark mornings.

But I'll keep trying....I have to because well, you know, I wrote that really big fat check and I've got a really big, fat race coming up in '09!

Holiday rush

Christmas is over, finally. We had a wonderful Christmas but it seems like we were celebrating for a month! It started with Poinsetta Pops concernt, festival of trees, Cowboy Santa....on and on. My kids are 7 yrs old so they're really into and we did have a nice time at all of these events but I'm really ready for it to be over.

And I'm REALLY sick of Christmas songs on Cozy 101! Never again will I listen to that station (well, I probably will because my kids love to hear Santa Baby and it IS funny to listen to them crack up every time it comes on).

So, what did I do for exercise? I ran with Daisy two days in a row. It was VERY cold, about 5 degrees or so but my Santa hat kept me warm. Then Kurt and I ran together on Christmas day (with Daisy, who did her longest run yet: 4 miles).

Then I rode my bike on my trainer while watching HGTV again....love that channel....I like the shows where they re-do various rooms in a house.....and then I accidentally changed the channel to the cooking channel and it's now my favorite thing to watch, although I keep slowing down while trying to listen to all the ingredients....

And today I ran a good long run, probably 12 miles. It was great.....about 10 degrees when I left my house but I was warm and toasty the whole way. I felt really good. I like to run by myself on long runs because I let my mind just go on auto-pilot. Love it, love it, love it.

And for Christmas I got goggles, zoomers, Spinerval DVD, bike jersey, necklace with girl on a bike, Oakley sunglasses (for running only).....can ya tell I'm a triathlete???

I'm looking foward to training because I've notice how out of shape I've gotten this last year. I'm still running but not as often. Went from 6 days a week to 4 and I'm running slower. I'm 47 and have noticed a sizable change in body compostion...in the wrong direction. I must say that it's been hard to swallow. I see body fat where I've never had it before. I'm stiffer, slower, and fatter. Hoping that will all change with IM training!

Today was our annual Christmas run from Jenny's house. Had a good size group - that's all of us in the picture on the right before the run. It was about 15 degrees but the wind was much colder than that!

It was a good run. I ran slow with Lynne for the first 3 miles or so. She's recovering from knee surgery (4 days after finishing the Florida Ironman!) but she decided to try a short distance today.

Some of the group turned back at the turn-around point and the rest of us went on for a longer run. We turned north and the wind was blowin' hard right into our faces. I was feeling really good, though, and wanted to catch Jim and Todd, who were up ahead so I picked up the pace. Felt really good - running much faster than usual. Then came the hill...and well, lets just say that I need to do some hill training. Pretty much everyone passed me at that point.

But I plugged along in the howling wind. My Santa hat was starting to blow off so I took it off: brrrrrr!!!! It was cold but yet I didn't mind. I kept pushing and started to close the gap.

Then, when we turned east onto the dirt road, it was downhill and I felt like I was flying. I literally couldn't stop or slow down. I passed some of the other runners, still trying to catch Jim and Todd but then a bunch of dogs came out and bothered Jenny and Zoey (her dog), so I slowed down a bit. I was kinda ticked that I couldn't reach Jim and Todd and that they wouldn't wait for the rest of us but decided it wasn't worth it and waited for Jenny (ffor once I was actually running faster than her!).

We had a nice run together, reminiscing about some sad things that have happened to both of us....we were laughing and crying....talking about how special our friendship is with our small group - Lynne, Marshall, Jenny, Kurt, and I - and our "extended family" of running friends. They're like family to me and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

So, here I sit on my comfy couch, Christmas music on, kids away with hubby for the weekend....blogging away. Not a bad life!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....

Got a really cool hands-free leash last night from my running buddies Jenny and Lynne. Kurt tried it out with Daisy Friday morning and really liked it.

I opted for the trainer. Running long tomorrow so no need to run today. Didn't want to bike hard so rode while watching HGTV. My favorite shows were one:Design on a Dime and What Not to Wear.

The only problem with watching TV while riding your trainer is that I slow down without realizing it. Had to remind myself to speed up. But I got 45 mins in which ain't too bad.

Wimped out...

I had planned on running with the Weds night group last night at 5:30 PM because it was the annual "Christmas Lights" run (where they run by houses with cool lighting displays) but lost motivation as the day wore on...... I'm just not an evening runner. Love to run in the AM but it's like pulling teeth to get me out there in the evening. Plus, my kids had friends over and I didn't have the heart to rush them home so I could run. Felt bad for oh, 2 seconds then was actually quite happy!

Had a "fun run" today. My daughter couldn't find her glasses this AM before leaving for school and of course, I find them right away after she's gone. So, I just ran them to her school, about 3 miles from here. The teacher looked at me funny when I walked in the classroom...not sure why, I was wearing running clothes, Ipod blasting from my ears, sweat running down my face.....at least the kids liked my Santa hat!

Then I ran on to my mom's house to pick up her car, which we are borrowing while she's away for the holidays. I love it when you can combine errands with running! If only swimming were this easy....

Mommy got ran over by a snowplow....

Those were the words going through my head yesterday as I slugged through the dense snow in my neighborhood on my run (sung to the tune of "Grandma got run over by a reindeer....). I will pat myself on the back, however, because it was ZERO degrees outside and I got my butt out the door!

I'll give myself a double pat on the back because I made it to the pool this morning at 6:00 AM. It's kinda nice driving through Greeley at 0-dark-hundred....listening to Bret Saunders on KBCO....except I almost ran a red light and that woke me up.

It was worth it, however. Richard videotaped us today with his fancy-shmancy underwater camera. I learned that I need to keep my arms straighter after they enter the water....he said I'm bending them too much. I'll remember that along with the 100 other things you're supposed to remember while you swim (that's why I hate swimming, it's way too technical for my pea-size brain. Running is sooooo simple - it's just "right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot").

So I tried doing what Richard told me to do.....arms reach out further, hands enter the water with thumbs first (palms facing outward), pull arms back and then when they get right below your belly, bend your arms and then push all the way back.....ARRRGGGHHHH!!!! Why is it so hard to do this??? Will I ever be able to swim 2.4 miles in the ocean????

I used to think that an Iroman would be easier than running the Leadville 100 but now I'm not so sure....

Arctic Run

Why are these people smiling when they just ran a race in 8 degree weather? And why did I leave my comfy couch at 6:30 AM yesterday (with coffee in hand and puppy by my side) to go out in arctic weather to run a 4 mile race???

Because that's what runners do and yes, we are weird. You have to drag us kicking and screaming to get us into a pool at 6:00 AM but we don't bat an eye to don our running shoes at the but-crack of dawn and run through snow-covered roads in blistering cold temperatures. My husband did just that this morning (although I do think he is weird because it was 10 below zero, but that's another story).

So, Jenny, Paul, and I went to Ft. Collins to run the 28th annual Christmas Classic 4 Miler. It was bitter cold (about 8 degrees) but I had put on so many layers that I actually got hot in the middle of the race and took my jacket off. Jenny got 2nd Master's and I won my age group (but with 63 people in the race, I was the only one in my age group!). But hey, I'll take the ornament that I won anyway.

The best part of the day was that I won a pair of shoes. John Lonsdale, race director and owner of Foot of the Rockies, announced that he was giving away 3 pairs of Mizuno running shoes. Jenny leans over and says "yeah, I bet you who complained about staying around for the awards will probably win them" and guess what....John calls my number first and I get the shoes!

Jenny then says "Oh great. Now I bet Paul wins a pair" and he did! It was too funny. But Jenny won $25.00 off a new pair so she didn't do too badly. And since not many people showed up for the race (lazy bums!), they had more door prizes than people so we all went home with a bunch of free stuff. I got a free shirt for Kurt, shirt for Katerina, two shirts for me, an ornament, and a pair of shoes. Not bad for $23.oo entry fee!

So, who's the lady in the Santa suit in the photo above??? That's Mercedes, one of the fastest women in northern Colorado. She ran as Mrs. Claus and Tim Jones ran as Santa Claus. Any man who beats him wins a pair of socks and any woman who beats Mrs. Claus, wins a pair of socks. This race is way too much fun to miss - you better be there next year!

The Things We Do For Friends!

OK, I really flipped this time....I just signed up to run the Christmas Classic 4-Miler in Ft. Collins tomorrow AM and the forecast calls for a HIGH of 14 degrees! Snow and very, very cold. And I knew this ahead of time. Why am I signing up to run a race in frigid cold weather??? Because I promised my friend, Jenny, that I would - that's why!

She told me the other day she was going to run it and I thought to myself, "hey, we haven't gone to a race together in a long time, so I should go to this one!" But it was 53 degrees that day! I was warm and toasty when I made that decision! Tomorrow is supposed to be 14! I won't be warm and toasty tomorrow!

But that's the thing: I kinda like doing crazy, spontaneous things and for some weird reason, I've always liked to challenge Mother Nature....

When I lived in northern Maine, I would run at night when it was below 10 degrees and there was something thrilling about that....I have no idea what it is but I liked the feeling of conquering the cold. When I ran Imogene Pass Run (11 miles up to 13,000 feet and 8 screamin' miles down into Telluride), I loved the sharp, cold winds, running over rocks, and the delirious feeling of being at altitude...

Ok, so I'm weird, but at least I have one weird friend too. See ya tomorrow, Jenny!

Night Running

On Weds night of this week, Kurt and I did something we haven't done in a long time (no, not that!)....we ran with the Weds night group at Bell's. We used to run with them all the time but now that the kids are in choir on Weds nights, I am at the church every Weds night (which is good, of course, but man I miss the running!).

Doug had a 7 mile loop planned out. But one of the people who showed up was a new guy who was also new to Greeley. Fortunately, he was running about my pace, which was a lot slower than the rest of the group (sniff, sniff...I used to run easily with the group) so we ran together the whole way, which was fun because we talked about a lot of cool stuff. But the rest of the group ran ahead and i wasn't sure of the route, so we ended up running 8 miles because I didn't know where to turn off at one point.

Long story to say that I'm sore as hell today! Why can I run 10 - 12 miles on the weekend with no problem but 8 miles in the middle of the week hurt like heck....someone please answer me!

Spinervals

I HATE indoor cycling. I really hate it. But today the roads were slick and I had a strange urge to ride my bike so I got out my Troy Jacobson Spinerval 10.0 tape and did the whole thing for the first time.

This is one hard workout. It consists of 3 15-min "time trials" that build in intensity and until Tuesday, I was only able to do two of them. Today it was a slam-dunk: I did all 3 and felt pretty darn good.

I've never liked the cycling tapes that are long rides in the mountains or beautiful rides in the country....I just can't ride indoors that long. There's something that happens in my brain that says AAAAHHHH! Way too boring. But the hard-core, fast-paced tempo rides keep me going IF I have to ride indoors. If I have the luxury of riding outside, then of course, I want to ride in the mountains or down country roads...

Gratitude

Gratitude is a good thing to have. It helps you realize that when the sh-- hits the fan, someone else's fan could be bigger than yours, if that make sense. It reminds you to be thankful for what you have and to not worry when you back your car into the garage door on your way to the pool....

Yep, that's what I did. On my way to the pool on this cold, dark morning, I hit the garage door opener on the wall as I walked to the van (thinking, of course, that the door was opening). But Kurt had left the door open when he left on foot for the pool at 5:30 AM (he was running to the pool this morning). So, the door was actually closing when I thought it was opening. I get in the van (and remember, it's VERY dark at the time), start the car, put it in reverse and BAM! I backed into the door. CRAP!!!

Fortunately, I had not given the car much gas and didn't dent the door too badly. The door opened but would not shut. We'll still need to get a new door probably.

When I saw Kurt at the pool, I said "we have so much to be thankful for, don't we???" It didn't work...he knew something was wrong. Great way to start the week, huh?

Flexibility

That's the theme for this weekend - flexibility. My running plans changed a bazillion times (as my daughter would say). Too long to write here but suffice it to say that if I weren't flexible, I'd be in the loony bin now. I actually ran both days but the run on Saturday was unexpectedly cut short so I tried again on Sunday but didn't get out the door as quickly as I should have (kids, puppy, etc) and ended up only running for an hour, instead of my usual 1.5 hrs. Oh well.

But, we did get our Christmas tree and it's up and decorated. Looks great. Went to the Prairie Kids Festival at Centennial Village yesterday. The kids made real candles the old-fashioned way, watched a real blacksmith make horse shoes, and swung at a pinata. We went to a Christmas party Friday night and the Poinsetta Pops concert last night. Very busy weekend!

But now it's dusk and it's very, very quiet....celtic Christmas music on and my gorgeous puppy is sleeping by my side. I hear my kids laughing outside while the build a snowman. It just doesn't get any better than this.

I only swam once last week. Plan to swim three times this week. This blog is helping me stay accountable. If I write it here, I'm more likely to do it, even though I know no one is reading it.

Weird Weather

Yesterday, it was warm enough to wear shorts and a t-shirt, so my husband (who had the day off) and I slipped in a quick bike ride. It was so nice! We rode for just an hour but went fast and had a great time. I felt really good. Rode to Kersey and back. The temp was probably in the mid-60's, which is really warm for December.

Today, the high will be 32 and it's snowing right now. I ran 50 mins and did a tempo run. Felt really good again. Have a lot of work to do today so didn't go to pool this AM (uh-oh, she's starting to slip....) but plan to be there tomorrow or Friday. I'm on a roll with the swimming so can't stop now!

Greeley Guppies

Here's our fearless leader at the infamous Greeley Master's Swim Club (aka, Greeley Guppies), Mr. Richard Hess. He's our coach and quite an accomplished swimmer himself. I don't recall all of his accolades but I know he can swim very fast. He's also a really nice guy.

Made it to the pool this AM but since Kurt had the day off, we were a bit late (he didn't have to go to work afterwards so he was lolly-gagging). I swam a shorter workout and as usual, felt like I was flailing all over the place for the first half of the swim. Not until it was time for me to get out did I have that "oh, I get it" feeling.

But the cool thing was, I ran home from the pool. Kurt drove the car home with my bag and I just ran home, which is about 3 miles or so. Not a long run but it's mostly uphill and after a hard (!) swim, it felt like a tough workout. I even ran 4 sprints up the sledding hill at UNC (love that hill!). Went home, got Daisy, and ran a few more miles. Sure wish I could feel as confident in the pool as I do in my running shoes! Someday....