Race Week!

Well, make that "Run 13.1 miles with my sister and a bunch of other people." We've been squeezing in long runs every week, including last week's Run for the Cheese run, where we all but sprinted at the end to get to the grocery store. I was craving smoked string cheese for three days beforehand, and by mile 14, I may have broken into the store had we not made it in time. Thankfully, Steph humored me, and we made it to the store with a few minutes to spare. I believe that the best line of the night came at one of our water stops when she told me that if I wanted cheese, I'd better focus.

Anyway, the half marathon this weekend should be tons of fun. No time goals. Just want to have fun... The runners are great, it's a good hilly course, and the race T-shirts are known for their special ugliness. I may have to post pictures!

Signs

So the 60 hour work weeks with family time in between has kept me busy. Training for IM #2 and buying a house have more than filled up any extra time I may have thought I had. Blogging has taken a back seat. Actually, it's more like dragging somewhere behind the car by now. My house is a disaster, as is to be expected with moving, but it's driving me crazy. I am feeling behind on absolutely everything, so when I went to the Y last night, I finally listened to the signs.

I got there, ready for my 3200 M swim that was planned. I undressed and headed for the shower. Goggles? Check. Towel? Check Swim cap? Uh oh. It somehow managed to crawl out of my bag. In 4 years of swimming regularly, I have never forgotten my swim cap. It's always in my bag, and I can't imagine swimming without one. I thought for a second. I could buy one at the front desk for $5. I could run home and get one of the many I have as backup. My house is only 3/4 mile away. It would only take about 10 minutes to go home and come back. Then I had a realization. Someone was trying to tell me something. Maybe there was a reason I shouldn't hop in the water. I took it as a sign. I skipped the swim and went home to do a little Pharmie upkeep. A bikini wax, pedicure, and leg shave later, I am now ready to head back to the pool. Sometimes it takes divine intervention...

When Two Triathletes Buy a House

Yep, I’ve got houses on the brain right now. It’s funny to think at how being triathletes influenced our purchase. So for a little fun, I’ve come up with a few ways to spot a triathlete homebuyer:

1. Their new house is not more than ½ mile from a bike path, which leads to LOTS of other bike paths.
2. There is also a really nice area for running nearby – grass trails on a beautiful boulevard one way and a college track the other.
3. The house is not too far from the YWCA (where they practically live anyway).
4. Every house they looked at required a close inspection of the basement to ensure adequate bike storage.
5. The clothesline in the basement made them really excited. They finally have someplace to dry wetsuits and swimsuits.
6. The garage has plenty of room for doing bike repairs.
7. In designing their new kitchen, they are ecstatic to finally have a cupboard for large tubs of CarboPro, water bottles, and their giant container of gels, powders, and bars.
8. After those long Sunday training rides, the new porch with its soon-to-be added hammock will be perfect for a little nap.
9. The living room’s fireplace (which will be converted to flip-the-switch gas) will be nice and toasty – perfect for keeping away those post-exercise winter chillies.
10. On really intense weeks where a special treat is warranted (or even if it’s not – who am I kidding?), there’s a homemade ice cream shop just 3 blocks away.
11. There's now an extra bedroom for bloggy friends to come and stay (or family, or friends who live close by and for some strange reason can't seem to drive themselves home). If you're planning to visit the Twin Cities area anytime after May, let us know!

I'm Not Dead. I'm Just...Moving

In case you’ve been wondering, I did not fall into a Robin Egg Induced coma. One and a half bags proved to be enough to fully kick the cravings. I’m sure that come Easter, the cravings will be back in full force, though :)

Work has been busy as usual. I’m back in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit for the next two months, and since my preceptor was out of town until today, I have been running the show. Quick public service announcement – people – WEAR YOUR HELMETS! We see so many bicyclists and motorcyclists who haven’t been helmeted, and the results are often devastating. Just like seatbelts, helmets don’t always protect people, but they’re the best we’ve got, so for goodness’ sake, wear them. OK. I’m off my soapbox now. It’s just getting to be that season, and it makes me so angry sometimes… My big residency project is still hanging over my head like a nasty black cloud. I’m secretly hoping it will do itself since I will not have time in the foreseeable future. ARRG!

The big reason I’ve gone MIA? Steve and I bought a house. It all happened so fast that our heads are still spinning. We won’t officially be moving for another 5 weeks or so, but there’s still a lot to do in the meantime. We got pre-approved for our mortgage on a Thursday, started looking on a Friday, and put in an offer that Monday. Yeah. I told you it was fast. The past 2 weeks have been spent on the phone and computer with mortgage people, realtors, phone company, electric company, insurance agents, etc, etc, etc. So if I’m a little behind on the blog side of things (which I very much am), I apologize. We love the new place though. It’s only a couple of miles from where we live now. We’ll have more space for Steve’s studio, us in general, and our bikes – yeah! Now Tony won’t have to sleep in our living room. He can live in our new basement with the rest of our bikes.

Training? Oh yeah. I sort of forgot about that. It’s starting to make me a little nervous. It seems that everyone else training for IMWI is way ahead of me. I know that I’m at about the same place that I was this time last year, but I had hoped to be a little further ahead of schedule this year. My half mary is 4 ½ weeks away. My first 1/2 Ironman is just 7 weeks away, and I’m just trying not to think about being in Ironman shape quite yet.

I got in two really fabulous workouts last week. Both of them were the direct result of having someone to share them with. My first was on Tuesday when my bud Maddy made the trip over so we could have a run together. We don’t get to much anymore since her job is actually by her house now. It was just like old times. We talked about our jobs, updated each other on what’s going on with our friends, and just reveled in the fact that we were out there together again. It poured rain. Cold Ironman Wisconsin 2006 bouts of rain. We had to wring out our clothes 4 miles later. Steve had to meet us at the door with towels to avoid drowning the house, but none of it mattered. The dread for workouts that I’ve been experiencing lately completely disappeared. That night, I went to bed absolutely happy.

On Thursday, Steph got home from work early, and even though she had been hacking up a lung with this nasty cold she caught, she decided to join me on my long run. She said she’d go about 3 with me and then I could drop her off and keep going. At the halfway point for 5, she decided to keep going. At the halfway point for 7, we stopped to get a drink and turn around. I figured I’d drop her off at home after 7, but we got there, and she decided to keep going. Nine miles together on one of those beautiful breezy evenings in the dark. It felt like 3, and her cold’s been disappearing ever since. I started to wonder if maybe I’m not as out of shape as I’ve been telling myself.

My times in the pool have also been improving. I think I’ve managed to cut off about 4-5 minutes per mile this winter, and that feels good. I’ve still got a LONG way to go, but I’m much better than I was this time last year. Now if I could just get in more time on my bike…

Achille's Heel

Everyone has one – one big food weakness. I have lots of them. There’s one food, though, that really gets to me. I’ll eat them till they make me sick, and then I’ll eat them some more. I can’t help myself.

I have given candy up for Lent every year since I can remember. It really is a sacrifice for me. The problem is that many Catholics have “The Sunday Rule” during Lent where on Sundays, you can get a short break from giving that thing up. So… I tend to more than make up for the candy I didn’t eat during the week, and come Easter, watch out… Well, this year I tried an experiment. I decided that for Lent, I am not giving anything up. Instead, I am going to pray more throughout the day. Since I didn’t give up candy, it is just a special reminder of all of the gifts God has given me.

For the first time in years, these are available for me to eat before Easter, and I am out of control.

Random Life Updates

First of all, I want to congratulate Mikie's team for getting THIRD PLACE in the state tournament. We got creamed on Friday night's match against Frazee. They just outwrestled us. There were a few questionable reffing calls, but mostly they were just a great team. So on Saturday morning, we were up against the #3 rated team for 3rd/4th place. It was back and forth the whole time. The crowd went really wild when Mike tied up the match as the second to last wrestler. As it has many times this year, it came down to our heavyweight. He was up against the guy who pinned him in round 1 of individuals. Our guy got the pin in the first period. The entire cheering section went nuts. My voice is finally back today, but boy was it gone! Over the weekend, my father-in-law suggested that I should be on the other end of a 1-900 number. Think Rachel Ray but deeper and without quite as much pep.

I decided that there will be no workout today. I have been trying to configure my training plan all week, and this afternoon, I realized that I could keep my Wednesday off. I can switch Saturday's long bike ride and Thursday's long run and still get them both in. By the time I'm done with work on the weekends, the Y is closed, and without access to a trainer, there's no access to a bike. It's supposed to warm up this weekend, so maybe some of the ice will melt and I'll be able to bike outside soon. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Meanwhile, our Y just got all new spinning bikes. I can't tell you how excited I am. The old ones were rusty, unpredictable, and offered very few adjustment options (they never quite fit me right because the handles could only adjust up and down, not forward and backward).

Only 4 more months of 12 days on, 2 off! Good thing, too, because I am feeling pretty burned out. My residency will officially be over at the end of June. Hopefully then I'll be able to move to every 3rd or every 4th weekend, and when I do work, I will get days off during the week. Yahoo! Speaking of work, I now officially have a job lined up for after residency. Now we can (maybe) afford our triathlon habit!

Proud Sister

I’d like to interrupt this regularly scheduled triathlon blog post to talk a bit about a completely different sport – wrestling. My “little” (he wrestles 215) brother’s team, the United South Central Rebels, is currently at the MN state meet, and I’ve caught wrestling fever!

Our Team

I’ve always thought that there’s something to be said about high school and D3 sports, where the tickets are cheap, you know most of the team, and the kids are there because they want to be; because they love the sport.

My high school alma mater beat their rivals by 1 point at the section meet, relying on a pin by our heavyweight. They’re now at the state meet as the little team that few people have ever heard of. Although they made it last year too, they were a very young team and got a little “deer in the headlights syndrome.” They got stomped.

Wednesday was our first meet. It didn’t’ start off on a good note. We were down 11-0 after our first 2 matches. Slowly but steadily, we caught up to them, and we ended up winning 39-20 thanks to 3 pins at the end. As a proud sister, I have to brag that Mike’s pin at 215 clinched the meet. Our heavyweight just got to go out there and have some fun. The fact that he pinned his guy too was just an added bonus. I cheered so loud that I gave myself a headache!

Mike with his winning pin

Yesterday our 5 individuals had their matches. Two of them got beat. Mike got beat, too, but since that guy went on to win his next match, Mike’s back in it today. The other two guys won two matches apiece and will be in the semifinals tonight. Woo Hoo!

Tonight we’ll have our work cut out for us. We’re up against #2 rated Frazee (#1 rated Canby actually got bumped out in the first round). We’re the definite underdogs, but since no one knows who we are, no one knows what we’re capable of!

Now I've Really Seen Everything

In my over a decade of exercising and competing in races, I have seen a lot of crazy thing, but my spinning class last night ranks right up there with them. One of the ladies in the class was knitting. Yes, I said knitting. I guess you're still getting some of the workout in with the leg movements, and it was an endurance ride, but still. I'm afraid I'm turning into a workout snob, but I really don't think it was appropriate. Am I wrong?

The Donnings of a Minnesota Runner

Boy have I had some extremes in apparel in the last couple of weeks!

Two weeks ago, we were having “high” temperatures in the range of 0 degrees here in Minnesota, not counting the wind chill. So just for the heck of it, I decided to make a post out of all the clothes I was slapping on.

Here’s the list:

- Enell sports bra – hideously ugly but amazingly supportive.
- White tank top, tucked into my tights to avoid the updraft
- Thick long-sleeved technical shirt
- Thick long-sleeved technical shirt with a half zipper, just in case I need a little ventilation.
- Two pairs of spandex tights
- Smartwool socks. They’re like little massages on my feet while I’m running.
- Ski mask to keep as little skin exposed as possible
- Ear band on the outside of my ski mask for additional coverage on my ears and forehead.
- Running shoes
- Watch
- Mittens
- Reflective vest. It still gets dark very early here.

Wouldn’t you know, after 20 minutes of getting dressed, I had to pee. Then I redressed, retucked, and headed out. I was a little chilly for the first mile but the next 7 actually felt pretty good. It was afterward that I had a problem.

You can't really see it, but there are icicles on my eyelashes.

I had to lock myself in our bathroom in front of a heater drinking hot chocolate for 45 minutes before I started to warm up. Those post running chillies are a be-otch!

Fast forward one week. Orlando is having a cold spell, the chilliest it’s been in a long while: record lows. It was in the low 50s when I got there for my business conference, but it warmed up to 80 by our last day. I totally took advantage of it! I ran every day there, except for the one where I did a long swim in an outdoor pool. It felt so good to run free, and it’s unbelievably easier to get dressed when you only need shorts and a tank top. I ran 6,8, and 4 miles in the sunshine and even got a little pink on my shoulders. I came to the conclusion that my recent funk really has been the lack of sun and the crappy cold weather. Can’t wait for spring…

The Benefits of "Grab Bag" Swimwear

In the last 2 months or so, I've given a lot of blog time to SwimOutlet.com. First I wrote about the gigantic purchase I made there. Then I wrote about Steph's ugly suit. I really do love the company. They've always treated me great. I've recommended them to lots of people, and yesterday, they made a lifer out of me.

I got home to find that a package came in the mail. I was at first a little confused since I hadn't ordered anything. Then I looked, saw that the sender was SwimOutlet.com, and became really confused. I opened the package and found two swim suits with this letter inside:

Dear Sarah,

SwimOutlet.com would like to thank you for being such a loyal customer. We were utterly enthused by your recent blog post "The Dangers of 'Grab Bag' Swimwear" and we would like to express our gratitude for your excellent coverage on the suit, regardless if "crazy, cool, hot" isn't so cool. As a token of our appreciation, we have enclosed an XD Skin for you and our very own ClubSwim lap suit for Stephanie.

They sent me a $100 rockin' suit. I cannot wait to try it out, and needless to say, Steph's new suit is super cute! I never expected to get anything out of that post (except for maybe a laugh). I knew that with the grab bag, you are just supposed to expect a size and a brand. The print is up to them, so we never complained to the company. I cannot believe that they did this. I've been smiling for the last 2 days. Now that's great customer service!

Tagged Times Two

I’ve been double tagged! First of all, can I just say that taxes totally suck when you actually have to pay? The last couple of years, we’ve had easy street since one or both of were grad students. This year, we could only claim 1/2 of a year of student-dom for me, so we had very few deductions. The damage? Not only did it cost us over 400 dollars to get our taxes prepared (we have a LOT of W-2’s, student loan forms, and there’s Steve’s home business stuff), but we actually had to pay in an extra 2000 dollars. Ouch. Definitely no bike shopping spree this year.

So… The first tag was to describe 6 weird things about me.

1. I love to go grocery shopping. I find it relaxing. I think it all stems back to my time in undergrad when I was really broke. Grocery shopping was one thing I never had to feel guilty about. Hey, you gotta eat, right? Also, I’m a huge coupon freak. I saved over 45 dollars on our last grocery bill.

2. I have never taken a puff on a cigarette or used any illicit drugs. I don’t think I’ll be starting anytime soon.

3. I have been riding a bike since I was 6 years old. I have competed in numerous triathlons. I am an Ironman, but I still cannot pop a wheelie to get up onto a curb.

4. I have a strange tendency to get goosebumps on only one side of my body at a time. It usually happens when I get a funny kiss on my cheek or a nuzzle to my neck. It also happens when Ella the Cat sticks her wet nose in my ear.

5. Up until my sophomore year of high school, I thought that running was only for people being chased. I first started running to get through the mile we would have to run for PE that spring. I guess it stuck.

6. I am a dog person. My first marathon training partner was my parents’ dog. She ran a couple of 15 milers with me. I cannot wait to have a dog to train with again sometime. Since we don’t really have the time or space for an 80 pound dog right now, we got two cats and trained them to be dogs. They now greet us at the door when we come home (including strangers!), fetch, eat dropped things off the floor, and run to the door when we get their harnesses out of the drawer. They step in them so they can go outside. I’m not kidding.


My second tag is all about tris.

1. Describe a memory from your first triathlon ever

I trained for months. I had everything planned out. I had chunks of power bars cut up, put in a Ziploc, and twist tied to my bike. A few hundred yards into the bike, the whole contraption fell off. I considered it for a second and decided to keep going. Soon after that, I realized that something didn’t feel quite right. I soon found out that my timing chip had fallen off during the swim! I went on to finish somewhere around 3:30, I think, and when it was all over, I was so hypoglycemic that I almost threw up in the finish line food tent.

2. Describe a memory from your most recent triathlon

IM Wisconsin. I don’t even know where to begin. I remember the pain and the elation. Most of all, I remember how lucky I felt to have Steve, Steph, my brother Matt, Jess, Maddy, and all of my blogger friends there for me all day in the rain.

3. What's the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you in a tri?

I have a couple, although neither of them are really that embarrassing, just gross. During my half IM at Chisago Lakes last year, I got to T1, set down my wetsuit, and realized that I really needed to pee, so I did. Standing up, I just let it run down my leg before putting on my bike gear. It was a grass transition area, and I just kept thinking, God, please don’t let anyone see this.

A close second: during IM WI on the bike, I looked over my left shoulder to check for any other bikers. There were none, so I haulked up a massive loogie. Just as I was letting it fly, I realized that a pro had sneaked up on me. I think I hit him. I let out an apology, but I was mortified.

4. What's the most thrilling thing that's happened to you in a tri?

Mile 25 of Ironman Wisconsin, I realized that I was actually going to finish for sure. At mile 26, I took off the plastic bag I had been sporting and ran the last 0.2 in the drizzle. When I finished, people all around me were trying to hold me up. I didn’t need it. I felt so alive that I could’ve done just about anything at that moment.

5. What is something you discovered about yourself by doing triathlons?

So many of them - that I have the most supportive husband in the world, that God has blessed me with so many gifts, and that my butt cannot withstand 112 miles in the rain without acquiring massive scabs (I’ll be researching Chamois Butter for next year).

6. What is The Big Goal that you're working towards?

IM Wisconsin 2007. The Big Goal is to get both Steve and Me across the finish line.

I’ll leave all of the tagging up to Steve since he got them both too :)

I Fell off the Wagon, Then it Ran Me Over

9, 10, 12, 12, 14. I wish I could say that’s the number of hours of IM training I’ve put in the last five weeks. Unfortunately, it’s the number of hours I’ve worked the last 5 days. We’re going through some really big changes, which means a lot of extra hours. I’ve been coming home and crashing in the evenings. In the mornings, I can’t pull myself out of bed. When it comes to exercise, I think I’ve come down with rationalization syndrome.

In the mornings, it’s easy lately to tell myself that I’ll work out in the afternoon. When I get home at night, um, it doesn’t happen.

It’s going to be 20 to 40 below this weekend. It takes a whole lot to get all dressed up. Then, if I do go for a decent run, it literally takes me hours to warm up afterward. It’s post exercise chillies on steroids.

I’m supposed to be training 7-8 hours a week right now. I’m lucky if I’m getting in 3 or 4. I know it’s just a funk. I know things will get better. I had just hoped to be doing a better balancing job of all of this right now.

I am SO excited for this weekend. Tomorrow is day 12/12 of work, so in come my 2 off. Sleeping, a few hours of exercise, and some general catching up on phone calls, emails, and snail mail letters. It’s also tax time! In the past, our returns funded our bike addiction. This year, we may have to pay in, so there will be no bike shopping spree :( It’ll be good to get it done, though. My next weekend off will be spent in FLORIDA. Hooray! I’ll have to do a little research in the next couple of weeks to find out how I can fit in my workouts at the resort. Maybe I’ll just run and enjoy the sun for all 5 days.

From Another Planet?

A funny thing (at least I think so) happened to me at the Y on Friday night. I got off work and went straight there. I figured I'd get in some free weights before hitting my spinning class. Now I don't normally notice much going on around me in the weight room. When I started lifting on a regular basis 8 years ago, it was in the weight room that our D3 sports teams used. I was often the only female in the whole room, so I made it my goal to get in, work out, and leave - no wasting time.

Well on Friday, I was very aware that this guy kept looking at me. First I wondered if we knew each other. I quickly realized that wasn't the case. Then I wondered if I had seen him there before, but he had very distinct tattoos. I know I would have remembered them. I brushed it off and finished my workout, still a little puzzled.

A disclaimer: the free weights at my Y are unusually large. The 15s and 20s look almost the same as the 30s. I have big arms. I've always had big arms. If I don't lift weights, they look big and undefined. If I do, they look bigger but defined, so I lift. Not as much as I used to, but enough to keep lunch lady syndrome from creeping in.

I think figured out the answer to my question when I went into the spinning studio. He and his girlfriend were taking the class for the first time. She was a twig. Her biceps were about as big as my wrists, and even though there were plenty of bikes available, she opted to ride a clip-only one in her tennis shoes so that she could be right next to him. That can only lead me to believe one thing. This guy kept staring at me in the weight room because he was wondering what planet Amazon women come from.

Crossing Over to the Dark Side

Now I may be shunned from the blogger community for even writing this, but I have bucked the trend of ipods for a long time. I know, I know. It's the 21st century. Everyone and their dog has an ipod, but I have my reasons:

1. I rarely listen to music when I run. I believe that keeping myself company builds up mental toughness, especially since I won't get to wear music during races. When I'm really jonesing for some tunes, I bring along my discman (I know, I know - totally uncool).

2. It can be dangerous. I run in the middle of St. Paul, and though it's not a huge bustling metropolis, cars/bikers/other pedestrians aren't always watching for me. I need to be able to hear everything.

3. I sort of think it's impersonal. I live in a neighborhood where lots of people are out there running with me. It's not unusual to see people I recognize, and I think it's just plain polite to greet the people you are meeting on the sidewalk.

4. I get super annoyed by runners who have their music turned up so loud that they cannot hear my polite "on your left" while I'm biking. I don't want to be a hypocrite.

5. I am against people wearing them during races. First of all, it's usually against the rules. Also, it takes away from the experience - the people cheering, getting to meet another racer, etc. Finally, it's sort of cheating. I know how motivating having the music can be. I think it gives those who have portable music a slight edge over those who don't.


Well, I've officially crossed over to the dark side. I won an ipod shuffle at a meeting a couple of months ago, and I have been taking it on all of my runs recently. It's just a little extra motivator to get me out the door into the dark 10 degree weather. I keep the volume turned way down, so I can still hear everything, including the hellos from my neighbors. I love it. This is really dorky, but I love how light it is and how the music never skips like my CD player used to. Lately, I cannot get enough of Blue October or Breaking Benjamin. They're both great motivating music. I won't use it on the bike this summer, and I don't even know if I'll use it running in the summer (extra stuff on my head just adds to the feeling of overheating). But for now, I'm totally hooked.

Coaching, Snow, and Everything in Between

I love motivating people. I have said for a long time that if I weren’t a pharmacist, I would have gone to be an athletic trainer. Who wouldn’t want to wear yoga pants and tennis shoes every day? It sure beats dress pants and, ugh! dress socks on a daily basis. Saturday, I got to play the role of coach. Steph rocked her awesome new swim suit. It was the first time I had seen it on. It really doesn’t look as bad as you would think, especially far away. (By the way, she says that she will order from the grab bag again. It really can’t get much worse!) We had “putting on your swim cap 101;” took a tour of the Y’s locker room; and I showed her how to use the suit drying thing. Then we got started. We did lessons 1-4 of the program. She did great. Steve and I also critiqued each other’s strokes. Turns out I am rotating WAY too much. This may explain why I’m not getting faster. Ah, one more thing to work on this year. I’d be nice to get my swim time down a bit for IM, though. I probably have a good 20-30 minutes of time to comfortably cut out when I think back to it this past year. That’s just with improving my form and working more on speed.

I haven't convinced Steph to take up tris yet, but she will probably be running the marathon with me next fall, so that's a start. Who knows what'll be next?

Minnesota finally looks like winter! We’ve gotten several inches of snow over the last 2 weeks. I love running outside right now. I think there’s something magical about running when it’s supposed to be dark, but the city lights combined with the white snow light up the whole sky. The sidewalks are nice and clear now too, so there’s less risk for ice and subsequent falling, which has been known to happen. I’m hoping for a 7 miler tonight. It’ll be my longest run since the marathon in October.

I am totally jonesing for some sunshine right now. I have a business trip planned to Orlando in 3 1/2 weeks, and boy am I hoping for some swimsuit time. They said on the news this morning that we gain an extra minute of sunlight per day in Jan and that come Feb, we’ll get an extra 3 minutes per day. As far as I’m concerned, it can’t come fast enough. I have literally been having dreams about going somewhere warm and tropical.

I got new running shoes on Sunday. Superfun! There are three clothing items in which I always have a new one handy: swimsuits, running shoes, and Steve’s jeans. For some reason, they all wear out to the point that one day, you realize that you absolutely cannot wear this thing another day. For running shoes, it’s usually weird leg or back pain for me. For Steve’s jeans, there’s some massive hole somewhere, and I cannot let him out of the house knowing that his students will judge me based on what he is wearing (hey! I did it to my professors in college. I know it happens). Swimsuits? Well, there comes a point when you realize that your suit is no longer supportive and that you should probably be charging people to look at you because it’s so see-through in some parts. I’m too, ahem, thrifty and busy to just go out and buy any of those things full-price, so I stock up when I can. So I guess it will be a little while before I can sport my new digs, but they’re in the closet when I’m ready :)

T Minus 6 Days!

I start my IM training program in just 6 days. Actually, my official Ironman training doesn’t start until May, but I’m signing up for a June half IM just so I get my butt moving earlier this year :)

I’ve been thinking about goals for the upcoming year a lot lately. Among them:

1. Train earlier. Last year I didn’t work out very much up until May, when my program started. When it did start, I was still refining my swim stroke (read: had not yet finished teaching myself the 15 step program). This year, I’m hoping that having a better base will allow for more speed work come May and June. Maybe that will lead to a faster Sarah come September!

2. Better balance between work and training. Last year was a lot different because 6 weeks of my training took place while I was studying for boards. My schedule was absolutely flexible. This year, at least through June, I will be working 50-60 hours per week, including every other weekend. Guess it’s time to see how the rest of the working world has to do it!

3. Eat healthier. In some ways, being a distance athlete makes my eating habits worse. Since I can eat anything I want, I do eat anything I want. The problem comes during the off season when my brain still thinks I can eat indiscriminately but my hips say otherwise. I can remember training for one of my first marathons. I ate a jar of P-B and a quart of (low-fat) ice cream per week. Usually the containers were next to each other on the counter with one spoon dipping back and forth. It seems that the last couple of years, chocolate has replaced the two. Also, trying to eat more nutritious foods this year will just keep me healthy. If you put crappy gas in your car all of the time, how will it run? The same goes for eating 1/3 of your daily calories in sweets. Yup. That one’s going to be a toughie.

4. Write a more positive (or at least balanced) blog. Writing for me is often an outlet. I usually need it when I’m tired or frustrated. When I’m really busy, I sometimes forget to come back and write when I’ve had a great training day. I consider myself neither an optimist nor a pessimist. I’m a scientist. Therefore, I am a realist. I see things both as they are and as they could be, but I want to work on writing both down.

5. Have fun! This may be the only time that Steve and I get to do something like this together. I just want to savor it all.

The Dangers of "Grab Bag" Swimwear

For the last several years, I have been buying my swimsuits from the "grab bag" from swimoutlet.com. I've never had a problem. I know my size, so they always fit, especially since I always order the same brand. Some of the suits are cuter than others, but I've never cared. Who pays twice as much for a suit that in no time will be saggy and see-through from all of my time in the pool?

Since my sister Steph joined our local YWCA, she has been itching to get into the pool but hasn't forked over the cash for a suit yet. I was planning to order anyway, so I had her try on Speedo suits at our local sports store to get her size. Then she took her chances on the grab bag.

The order arrived in the mail on Saturday. I was so excited! It's sort of like Christmas - the surprise of seeing what your suit will look like. When I opened the box, though, my heart sank. One of the suits was HIDEOUS! I was praying that the suit wasn't Steph's. We're different sizes, and I honestly don't care what I look like (as long as my form looks good!). Sure enough, she got stuck with the uggo. I cannot believe that a reputable company like Speedo would allow this suit to be produced and actually put their name on it.

Where do I start describing it? Well, first it is very bright - fluorescent greens, pinks, yellow, and blues. It probably glows in the dark. So yeah. It's a little loud. If that were all, it would probably still be tolerable. But wait! It has butterflies. All. Over. The. Suit. Black butterflies in all shapes and sizes. Ridiculous, you say? I would agree. But there's one more thing: the words. It has "Crazy Cool Hot" written all over it. I'm just speechless. We seriously cannot stop laughing, even though I feel so guilty. I keep telling her that maybe it's just like her high school prom dress. Maybe once she puts it on, we'll all be amazed at how great it looks. Then we laugh some more. You be the judge. So far, she hasn't been able to bring herself to actually try it on...

Steph with her new pretty suit.

This way you can fully appreciate the colors, butterflies, and words :)

Catching Up

I always mean well. I really do. I was going to post a lot of this stuff over a week ago. My fastest internet connection is at work, though, and sometimes (especially last week) I just don't feel like sticking around to post. So... some catching up.

* I was tagged by Triteacher with the following instructions:
1. Find the nearest book.
2. Name the book & the author.
3. Turn to page 123.4. Go to the fifth sentence on the page. Copy out the next three sentences and post to your blog.
5. Tag three more folks.

The nearest book is Training Plans for Multisport Athletes. Most of my tri books are sitting on my end table in our living room. This one isn't necessarily my favorite, but it's on the top of the pile because it's the smallest. Author: Gale Bernhardt

p. 123, 5th-9th sentences read: "Base 3 begins lactate threshold training. Build 1 and 2 have spicy days of anaerobic threshold training. Finally, in Peak and Taper, a reduction of overall training volume and some fast workouts in the mix each week bring you to a fast race with a well-rested body. Let us look at each period in more detail."

Hopefully this is a sign that things will go as planned this year! Uh, since I'm no speed demon at the posting stuff, most folks are already tagged. If you've not yet been tagged and want to be, consider yourself "it" :)

* I've added links to some of my favorite blogs. If I forgot anybody, let me know. Selfishly, I partly did this for myself. It's so much easier to get around this way than trying to remember the addresses for them all!

* I've also added 2007's race schedule on the side bar. I love having a techie husband! This schedule may be subject to change, but as of now, the marathon is on for Oct. 7. Happy birthday to me! Plus, it may be a first for my sister Steph. So fun.

* Somebody stop me! I just spent $206.40 at swimoutlet.com. I love that site. Free shipping when you spend $75, and they have everything. I bought 3 grab bag women's swimming suits (one for Steph, 2 for me - who cares what color they are?), 2 jammers for Steve, 3 pairs of goggles, and 3 swim caps to have on hand, so we are set for the season! The goggles will be great to have come Ironman time. I used relatively new ones this year for IM, and I couldn't believe how much better I could see compared to my 2 year old ones. It just makes you feel good.

* My official training program starts in just a few days! Yikes! More on that later.

* Time to head home! Supper with the hubby then out for a run. Gotta enjoy the unseasonably warm weather while I can get it.

* I love exclamation points today!

What Two Triathletes Get Each Other for Christmas...

First of all, happy holidays everyone! We were busy preparing for and going to six (yes I did say six) Christmases, so the posting is a little late.

So what do two triathletes get each other for Christmas? Well, since I got Tony this past summer, there were no presents under the tree for me this year. He's still in the entry way of our house, though (I can't bear to send him out to our garage), so I could just look over and think of all of the great rides we'll have this year.

I got Steve a wetsuit for his upcoming races this year. He still has to model it for me. I also got him a huge tub of Carbo-Pro. It won't take long for the two of us to use it up! The Triathlete's Guide to Mental Training was wrapped up and under the tree. We both can use a little help in that department! Oh, and I got him an ornament, something that sings and dances. Overall, it was an awesome Christmas. I've already got ideas for tri Valentine's Day presents:)

Below is our failed attempt at getting our cats to dress up for Christmas. Steve posted our "good" picture.

You can tell they're thrilled. Yes, those are footed pajamas. Kids' size XL. I think they are making kids' clothes bigger than they used to. I haven't worn that size since 5th grade.

Happy New Year everyone!