WATER!!!

H20 seems to be the source of lots of happiness in the last two weeks. Not in the sense of drinking it, thou I do love my Mendota Springs or La Croix lime or lemon carbonated water. We have had the warmest spring in a long time ( who am I kidding i just remember that last spring it was cold and it never really warmed up! IMO) and the open water around town has reflected that warmth.

Two Weeks ago my buddy Steve went to the lake to test it out.

Foot note...I swim with STEVE.

Steve in a Speedo...foreground.

Steve ( Not ) in a Speedo...Far Right

Bullet Steve, aka Polar Bear of Steve Not in a Wetsuit. Far left.

The female in the Right foreground is Mary. Steve (Not) in a speedo's sister.

IF your name is Steve, you need to contact me to swim:)

SIS's wife Sarah is in there too, ready to go ride since she is training for the Liberty HIM and was just voted or elected or chosen to be on TEAM EVO-TRI! Awesome Sarah!! Congrats!

Last week when Marit was our guest, we had temps in the low 70's.

Today we had temps in the mid 70's, about 73-74! We also had another guest:

NO. Not a Shark.

Now Marit makes lovely music with her Violin. This guy/gal makes lovely music with his/her call. I cant tell you how awesome it is to hear this while you are swimming. If you have never heard a loon call, you need to contact me and come swim with us:) At one point the loon was less than 15 feet from us, and when i pulled up and stopped my fellow Steve's I was quite Awestruck to see how BIG the bird is. We kept swimming and the loon took a dive into the warm water to keep on searching for whatever it was searching for. Maybe just some holiday time alone with out me saying "Hi Loon, hi how are you?" I was waving at it, and Steve in a Speedo said i wasnt the "mate"he was looking for. Oh well.

In other water news....before hitting this lake:

I got to hit this lake: Where there were no Steve's:) But the temps were in the high 40's, and the air at night was low 50's. You Tempe or Kona or Oahu peeps that need some good old sleeping weather call me! I managed about 20 sec in Lake Superior and quickly knew there were no ice baths for me until at least July. I think the snow melted last week up there!

We did manage to do some river dipping tho and at 62 degrees that felt pretty nice compared to the lake. Before we did that Rich decided to do some light yardwork ( thanks Cheryl, too funny) and started moving this tree down the river. All i will say is it didnt end here. It spent the night downstream and then the next AM was finished off with a chainsaw in bare feet in the river. My sister stood watch with 9-1-1 ready and i couldnt watch. My dad couldnt have been prouder, while the women folk ( hahaha) didnt want to watch. Men and their chainsaws. Sigh.

Mid work break.

The River comes down stream to the lagoon which empties into Gitchi Gummi.

Meanwhile its not a cabin trip if you dont have a sudden change in weather, ie drop 15 degrees, rain and a few naps. Ruby never lets her toy's go far so here she is asking my sister for some loving.

We drove down last night with our stop at the Burrito Union ( 4th and 13th in Duluth, yum better than Chipotle) and got in while it was still light.

There ya have it. Memorial day weekend to this point.

I am going to Kansas next week to race. On a sad note we lost another Uncle this weekend. My dad's younger brother ( he had 2 younger brothers, Angus being the baby) Geordie, passed away late friday night/saturday Am.

He had struggled with some health issues for many years and was losing his spirit. He died beside his beloved Dusty Mairs and we will miss Uncle Geordie's dry wit and humor.

When we were kids he used to always bring us candy and crack funny jokes.

So the funeral is thursday afternoon. I am not sure when i am leaving for Kansas now but will be racing this race for Uncle Geordie and Dusty. I do have some goals, but ya know how things kinda just seem less important when you see a time goal in the big scope of real life. That doesnt mean I am not going to bust my tail ( light a match or two or a whole book. right Stine? under my butt) but I know i will do what i can do with the conditions presented. It seems I am getting TOO accustomed to racing with some emotional baggage, and i hate to call it that, bc losing a loved one is hardly baggage. If anything it just helps me realize how lucky I am to be healthy and able to do what i love. No matter what the outcome.

I am staying with this little dynamo, Leslie, so I am sure we will have some fun in her playground of Kansas. And maybe I will get Chrissie to give me my medal!

Gear West Duathlon Race Report

Before I get to the race report and the pre-race report, which as you recall usually has more anxiety and self talk than the actual race...I wanted to post a picture of what i really really love about multisport events:

Yup the FINISH LINE. And the random kid who appears to like the TWINS and IM.

No, really, the hanging out with gals (and guys) post race. I cant say I know these gals really well, and even tho we are FB friends, when you get in a race with people, sometimes it can get AWK-WARD! I entered T2 with three of these four ladies and exited with one of them hot on our heels as Jen L is a speedy fantastic runner. We all finished within 1-2 minutes of each other. And to have that comraderie and maturity to know we all pushed each other on the course, the entire way, is pretty darn cool. Ok now onto the pre-race and race.

Pre-Race:

I am not a fan of sunday races. I usually work a shorter day friday and with weekends at a premium I want to get it going. Plus then you have sunday to recover or train if you are not too beat up. Saturday was a tired day for me. We babysat the night before for my nephews which was a hoot. Spiderman 3, pizza, trampoline time, the mandatory tears when Joe whacked his head on tramp ( Rich said "so you guys just smash each other until someone gets hurt? To which the boys said "Yup.") this time the older one took defeat in stride. And the late night took a toll on me. We go to bed by 10 at the latest and we didnt get home till midnight! But it was all fun and I am glad we did it.

Saturday I did my little tune up and then napped, tried to pretend i was GRRRRRRRRR...but realized we had a birthday party to go to that night for my dear 83 yo aunt. She is usually an early bird but the party didnt start till 7pm! Usually I am done eating my pre-race meal by 7! So i tried to just eat really well all day long knowing i couldnt and didnt want a big restaurant meal in my belly 10 hours before race time! We had a lovely time with cousins and family and I dis-obeyed the "dont try anything new on race day" motto by having Seared Marlin and Quinoa for dinner. The place we ate has the best best best baked garlic and casear salads but ...um...can you say HEARTBURN! So i was a good girl and ate bland, but even so i was a bit unsure how the raw-ish fish would do. Turns out it was GREAT!!! Got home had lights out at 10pm and slept sorta ok till 5am wake up.

Race Day!

Got up and had the pre-race brekkie and headed out by 5:45 to the race site. When i got there around 6:25 I saw that the entire front rack was taken. So much for Transition opening at 6:30:) No worries, I found a good spot that i knew i couldnt miss, right near the car.

Huh?

You may have seen this on Speedo's blog but my bike is just to the right of the hood and my pink IronGirl Knapsack is on the hood. I knew where my bike was, that is for sure!

I racked my bike, did my usual panic talk of " OMG so and so doesnt have her disc, she usually does, maybe its super windy, maybe its windier than it feels, maybe i should not ride my disc..." but then shut myself up and refocused on getting the lay of the land and then went to warm up with Jen L, another one of JPH's athletes. She said to me " By chance do you have a warmup of 20 minutes and 4 strides?" I said, "No, I have warmup REALLY WELL. Like you are doing a 10k. But maybe we can work something out." We laughed and headed out to warm up. It was really fun to talk each others nerves down, talk about how TOUGH the field was, and then talk about our upcoming seasons. Jen L is doing IM KY, and when she asked what my wko was today ( monday ) and i said "recovery swim," I felt like a wuss when she said " 100 mile bike! "

Heck its 94 out right now. I am glad she told me she talked JPH down to 3 hours in the saddle and the NikelBack ( spelling?) concert:) Nice coachs do that for their athletes. Anyways it made me say "Crap, I am glad i am not doing an IM!" Ha, I say that but you know i am thinking about it:)

Anyways..see this is far more interesting than OUCH. Which was my FB update post race.

So....we go line up and we are set to go 3 minutes after the elite men. I look around and think that there is nowhere to hide now. Last year we were with the elite men, so we could kinda hide from other women. This year I was right up there with Julie H, CY, Jenny Wilcox, Cathy Lee, Marlo, Suzy Finger, Jen L, Marta, Jan Guenther, etc...lots of fasties...Gulp, all these people that are super fast. I just then remembered i had my name on my butt. Ok Girl, time to put up or shut up. ( or take your name off your butt) I wasnt intimidated but i knew i had some work to do and I was ready to give it a try. The gun went off and ....

We are off. I am in my super awesome Kiwami suit on the far right. Woohoo, knee lift:)

CY the eventual champion of this race ( and a super champion person too, for that matter) is out in front in her Gear West colors.

We run on the road for the 1st 1k, and then its 4k of loopy in and out trails, grassy fields, a wooden bridge, ups and downs and some very uneven footing. A few times you come in and out of the grassy trails you actually take a 180 degree turn and can then see who is behind you. That is a good motivator to keep on truckin! The final part of the last 4k is a steep uphill. It isnt super long, maybe 50 feet? I dont know, but you have in your head POWER UP THE HILL, but i know for me it is a "small chain ring" climb, meaning i take small steps, pump my arms and when iget to the top i can get right back into that big ring and power on the flat.

Ok bike talk but that works for me. So i am running about 10 gals back the entire time, passed a few in the last 2k but am right on Jan Gunther the entire way into T1.

Jan is 51 years young and my idol. She is a champion skier, winner of the Birkie, and is just a fantastic athlete. I couldnt tell you her times at races, but she has placed high at IM Moo, and is just a great athlete. She owns the ski side of Gear West and does a lot for women in all arena's of sports, winter and summer! Anyways...I knew my chances at masters champion were null with her in the field...

So I got into T1, and ran to my car.

I had a few seconds of getting my shoes caught but i put that helmet on FAST and off i went in my socks.

BTW I am totally stealing Stenzel's pictures, thanks Steve. But even tho i did walk a bit...

I had to walk and steer my bike by the handle bars not the seat to get thru my car passage. Not sure that was a good rack spot or not.

So T 1 was 50 some seconds. Helps to have no wetsuit, eh? And that was a great improvement from last year. Got into my shoes ok, and was quickly passed by and never saw again the phenomenal Julie Hull. Dang she is fast. She is right behind me in T in this picture and i think it was the last i saw of her!

Ride 28 K. I started out thinking "OK so i didnt hold back on that run. Now what does that mean for the bike..." The wind was not too bad. It was 12-14 MPH from the South so we had more of a cross wind on our rectangular course than a head or tail wind. I did what i wanted to do and that was RIDE HARD. I was trusting JH that i was trained well enough to not hold back on the ride and still run off the bike. Even tho some people think i am this uber biker...well...I still struggle with the bike. IT is hard for me. It is hard for me to suffer on the bike.

Bike racing is all about suffering to stay in the break, or to close a gap, or to block ( La dee dah) while your teammate is in the break. IT involves suffering but it you get to drop back, hang out, and yes you have to be alert otherwise you will get dropped if you are not on the team with the most in the pack or you are dumb, but overall, you get to suck alot of wheel.

So as I am riding knowing this isnt THAT long, its about 18+ miles...I know i have to really just LET IT RIP. I dont wear a HR monitor and i do have a computer with my speed. The course is rolling and there are no major climbs but there are a few longer medium grade climbs that make you really work. I think other than one time where i really had to cry MOTHER i kept it pretty high and was able to power over the apex and down the the other side. MY disc is just so sweet and I do feel it helps me go faster downhill, which is NOT my strength. Some disc's weigh a bit more but this is a Zipp Sub 9, supposedly it gives you a free 9 watts! Anyways I love mine and feel really fortunate to have one.

I did get passed by a few women. And was leap frogging with 2 of them, Marta and Tara. We were honest and encouraging each other, and there was no drafting. But it was good to have the finish come so quickly, and i let them go ahead by about 20 feet so i could get my feet out and get ready to hop off. I knew i had beaten my 2009 time by over 3 minutes and with that I was so happy. I knew the race was a success no matter what my finish place was. But to see if i had legs...hmm...4k on trails....to come!

So I was super lucky on the dismount! Tara stopped left. Marta stopped right.

I rode right thru them, moving dismount, and into T2! That was fun.

The announcer said "well this will be interesting. We have 4 women all into T2 together. They will be working each other over on that run course." And that was the truth.

Tracie ( another phenomenel rider) passed us about 1 mile from the finish and Sarah had also decidingly passed me about 3 miles out. I hadnt really thought about it, but knew how hard i had worked to get a 21.4 mph average and saw afterwards that these ladies had ridden upwards of 22.5 mph. That is fantastic. I never really thought...OH i have to run them down. I just ran.

I passed Marta and Tracie pretty quick, within the first 1/2 mile. I saw Sarah ( who has the cutest baby, btw) ahead and ran behind her for about 1/2mile. I felt kinda bad bc I was being Darth Vader behind her. So i ran along side her when i could and said " Ok sorry to be breathing on your back." At one point we had to duck back into the woods so i just hopped ahead of her. And then...I guess I hopped ahead of her enough that i had a gap.

TThis picture is from Christine Wood photography. Christine is the wife of Curt Wood,who is a talented athlete and employee of Gear West. They are new parents as well! Thanks for the pictures Curt and Christine! I think this is while i am still chasing Sarah. oops I just realize this is run 1. bc i have no visor on. I am too lazy to move it:)

As we weave in and out of the wooded area as i said you can see people ahead of you. And I do see another woman ahead. It is the very talented and strong Suzie Finger. I dont know Susie but i know she was the rookie of the year, she is alot younger than i am, and i know she likes to Juice and eat Raw stuff:) She had a great season last year and I know she will continue to get even stronger. So as i ran the first 5k with Jan, my masters idol, It was time to finish the run with a Rookie idol! I could tell Suzie was struggling, and as i came upon her on a little incline before that Mac-Daddy hill i passed her and said "come on girl, you can do this." Now maybe i should have shut my trap. But there is always that part of me that wants to encourage and not just pass. Even tho we are so NOT in the same AG. It just felt right. I mumbled it maybe, but all the sudden her fan base was camped on the hill and i heard " get her Suzie, you can catch her!" and i thought "ruh-roh, I gave her some power." I knew Sarah was back there too. And Jen L, I knew she was making up minutes, not seconds, on us.

So as i did my small chain ring climb I had a few thoughts in my head:

1) You are almost done. You can do this.

2) You had better kick some tail into that final sprint bc if you are sprinting a super talented athlete that is 20 years your junior, you are going to pull a hammie!

3) It's a track. GO.

And So i went. I didnt wait at the top of that hill i just put my hips forward, too funny that i thought of that, and i pumped my arms and recalled running my last 800 on tuesday sub 3 and knew i had it in me. I did what i could and you know what. I didnt hear anyone behind me.

I glanced back with 25 yards to go and didnt see anyone and came in to the finish.

( Stenzel pic, thanks Speedo)

YYYYYYup those are pink flamingoes lining the run course.

OK. In hindsight i do remember being confused by them as you run on the track then off the track onto the grass again before the timing mats and i was like " do i run inside of them? outside of them?" What are they doing there? I dont remember them from run 1.

I talked to the gals at the finish ( first pic) and my honey was there waiting as well. He rode out from home, saw a few friends and hung out a bit then rode back home. A great riding day for him as well, even tho he covered about 50+more miles than me! He is recovering so well, so positive and so strong to come back from such a devastating diagnosis. You cant see em but i wore my pink CANCER SUCKS socks. I need a new pair, this pair has gotten too much wear lately:(

Final notes:

I ended up narrowly winning the 40-44AG. Turns out Sarah is in my AG! As i said i was super pleased dropping time off my bike, and my runs were a bit slower, but who knows, not alot and maybe the sloppiness ( we had some rain saturday) made it slower. I dunno. I dont race with a HRM so I cant tellya any bodily stats other than it was hard.

I missed the money by 2 spots, but I was 2nd master to Jan and 7th OA in a field of really talented and supportive women. Any of the women placing 8-12th could have been up there on another day.

Oh and the mocha Ultragen. AWESOME. I drank that right down and wanted more:) I feel pretty good today, I am really not sore, surprisingly, after the race I didnt knot up and get a super sore butt like i often do riding hard in Aero. Yes there were cupcakes, and there was good post race food and then i came home after the awards toRich working in the yard. He was super covered in grass and well, I loved the pic, he didnt:) end of story:)

This is what i came home to:

My super survivor hubby who will do his first Tri at Minneman!

Thanks again to everyone that raced and encouraged me during the race, and those that cheered and a special thanks to Gear West! Of course thanks to my honey:) Always cheering me on and helping me with my training, Hannah, DKT, Curt, Trent, Jan, Kevin ( who was out riding with the pros at the TOC TT! I never heard if he beat Chrissie, but what a chance of a lifetime!)

Jules Mac and Brian, Erik, Katie, It really was so fun to see everyone!

Gear West puts on a first class event and as much as i think i should do hill repeats to get ready for that hill, its almost better just to leave it till next year.

Compression Garments

Now I know what these are SUPPOSED to feel like...

So I have one pair of tights that are billed as compression. I think they are warm, but they arent tight. Granted Maybe i got the wrong size. Or I am too scrawny to fill them out. But I got these yesterday at Run N Fun a local running store that keeps me stylin and in good footwear.

I have not heard of this brand but CW-X is awesome. These babies are TIGHT, and feel like they are actually doing something without being 2 sizes too small. I debated getting the full tights but knowing i have an armada of colored RecoverySox ( thanks Jen! and Marco!) I decided i am not gonna be out running around in these anyways.

Plus it is going to be in the high 80's this weekend, and humid. YAHOO. Just what i need. I buy heavy tights, and the temps go up. Granted i had better not get any swimsuits or it may get cold again.

And because she is so dang cute.

Ruby with her tennis ball. And yes, she barks with it, and i dont think she sleeps with it yet, but the backyard is like a battle field. Every night we pick up a dozen balls, and then the next day it all starts over again.

What a difference a week makes....

Last week this was my attitude towards alot of stuff: ( sorry Mom)

I just was done with the cold and rain and my body was not feeling right. I have alot of good friends that are injured and i seem to get into funks at times where i am training in fear. As many of us are I am 100% in touch with my body. Maybe too much :) In my last post I said it was affecting not only my training, and yes, I am no pro but I was so tired and just wanted to sleep. I didnt even want to watch TV bc I was bored with it all. Reading Dara Torres book helped a bit, but i felt like i was in a void.

Cut to this weekend, where our weather really looked up. We had sun and 70's and I got in some great training and got to spend some time with my Mom so my dad could go to the cabin and also my lovely Ruby. Some of you may know this. Ruby is not my dog. She lives at my parents house and she is their dog. A RAGOM dog and she is a love. Every time i walked into the room ( and this was repeated every 90 seconds or so) she would wag and jump and say "OMG you are still here? SERIOUSLY? Lets go play." She has this new skill.

She barks at me with the tennis ball in her mouth. Sounds a bit like someone talking with their mouth full. When i came down stairs early saturday morning before I got my mom down the stairs Ruby TORE DOWN the stairs "YOU ARE STILL HERE? THIS IS LIKE CHRISTMAS!"

IT totally reminded me why i want a dog ( one that doesnt yip and isnt a cat dressed like a dog, sorry you little purse dog owners I may be out on a limb but they arent for me) and how much joy they can bring you, shedding aside.

I need some new pics but yes her tongue is still that long!

I was so amped to go run bc it was so nice and i knew that when i got home i could go to the yard, be greeted like the queen and throw tennis balls! What a day.

Run was SLOW. It was supposed to be slow. I hadnt run since earlier in the week and it was a base ZONE 1- low 2 run. Those are hard for me. I Cant look at the pace but i just kept it to a heart rate that was in those zones and it was fine. My sore quad had somehow switched to a lazy hamstring. The massage i received the night before helped but it also made the light go on in my head when she said "your hammies are like butter." Um. That isnt always good. For me at least I need a little tone bc if those hammies arent kicking in they grab and then they dont work and other things start trying to extend your hip and flex your knee. Like my sore ITB and my TFL. so ding ding ding. I still had a bit of grabbing sunday on my T run.

You dont need to know all the details but I had a glorious hilly ride with my friend Kyle and then had a 35 min T run, Moderate to Hard as YOU FEEL. The first mile was ok but that hammie was grabbing. I knew i had to get it firing and so i did some butt kicks and as the run went on it started to kick in a bit and was ok by the end, but it was tight sunday night and monday. Sigh. Am I gonna miss the trainer wko with the track AGAIN? I really wanted to do that wko bc its so hard but such a confidence builder and a way to keep learning to suffer.

MY plan for sunday was to recover like a champ. I did an ice bath in the pool ( now its 62, bummer, no more ice bath) I added more recovery nutrition bc lets face it, for me, the choco milk is lovely but i need more than that. More protein or something fast before i eat more. I added back the Recoverite ( icky) but just slammed it. Then had choco milk, too with some Whey protein added. Ok maybe overkill but whatever ya gotta do. Stretch foam roll, etc...and ya know monday i wasnt so bad. I could tell I had a 5 hour day sunday but all in all I was not worried.

Ok this is getting too long. Long story short did the trainer-800 wko today and killed it. ( I learned those terms from reading blogs from SoCal) I saw some numbers on the 800's i never thought i would see. And that was super fun. And super hard.

I also wore these shoes. Yup I alternated them. I have wanted to try the Zoots and i did. Liked em but i dont know about running more than a sprint in them.

On my way home i snapped this bc I was wearing my Full Tri suit and the visor i will wear sunday at the Gear West Du.

It was a great confidence builder for me today and after an ice bath my legs feel like i worked em but I think I am good to go for sunday! Enjoy the week everyone!

PS LOOK what just came in the mail! Woohoo no more recoverite? Just am gonna try this:

Worst Case Scenario....

Finally the weekend is here. It's been a long week, one in which i seriously questioned whether i was depressed ( nah, not so...trust me, i know) whether i was not recovered from...??? life??? job...life, training...who knows...or whether my solar charges were just low. Ding ding ding.

Yup.

I slept more this week than i have in a long time. I am not one to take naps or even to schedule a nap into my day. Usually I am pretty revved up and able to push thru, get to bed at a regular time and sleep well at night.

This past week, starting with sunday I have been EXHAUSTED. ( cue rain and snow and wind sounds) And temps in the 40's? Really? I am not saying i wasnt tired. I am sure i was, and i repeat to myself again that open road races ( even a 10k!) take alot out of me. I dont train that fast I have to admit, I dont often see the numbers running on any training day I have, and i have not been to the track yet so even tho I know i am capable of some fast times i think Jen is doing what i am paying her to do, saving me from myself. If i tried to hit race pace in all my training sessions ( running ) for the duration of the upcoming race I would be fried, and likely injured and unable to complete the actual race. Great, you win the training day but you cant race.

I struggle with taking unscheduled rest days, partly bc I want to push thru and bc i love love love those training days that make you believe you can push and you learn to suffer. I really believe that SOME of the ability to suffer in a race is learned. You learn to know what it will feel like and you can learn to take your mind and body apart ( disassociate) and the pain is present but its not your pain. It takes practice to be in pain but not feel that pain. I get this thru workouts like the one i missed yesterday. I get this from Time Trialing on the bike. But some of the ability to suffer is just within. I dont think there are deep roots to this. I am not saying "Gee i can suffer today at this race bc I have suffered all my life bc I didnt have as much money as so and so did, and i didnt get to go to camp like so and so did..." you get my point. I mean that deep trust in yourself and in your coach that you can indeed dig down and see what more is in there. I had this epiphany time trialing . A few years ago i just had started riding my bike. I and i wanted to get faster in the TT. I would always hold back a bit. And finally I realized that our ability to self regulate is pretty keen, and if i trusted my body over my mind I would find an equilibrium. And with most things i do I did my tried and true : WORST CASE SCERNARIO...

I BLOW UP.

you know what? I never did.

But i sure did suffer.

and I sure did figure out how to open and crawl inside that pain locker.

Exhibit A: SUFFERING!

Exhibit B: NOT SUFFERING!

So when i missed the wko thursday due to some lingering fatigue, a sore ITB, and needing to clean the kitchen since i was camped in here eating all the eggs, canadian bacon, oatmeal, fruit, yogurt, blahblahblah...I realized i needed to rest and refuel this week and yesterday MORE than i needed to get that trainer-track wko done.

Worst Case Scenario? I dont do it. I do a duathlon next weekend ( a tough one) without having done this wko. And had i done the wko? in the rain? pouring rain i mean.

Worst Case Scenario? I get more injured, more tired, I cant train well this weekend?

For me, this sort of thinking helps. I am learning to cut myself some slack, and to be able to say "If i am not 95% i cant do the really hard stuff." and trust me. I had NO pressure from Jen. She was the one saying" Yup. REST." I was the one saying.." ok maybe by 4pm I will be ready to do it." You know at 4pm I had worked a full day. It was raining and I seriously wanted a nap.

Friday dawned and i was a tiger in the pool today. Grr....it helped that the temps were down from the 85 degrees on WED ( where i think i nearly fainted walking up the steps) to 82. Still hot but do able for the 4k on the docket.

Weekend fun will be had as we are finally seeing the sun and talk of 70? I will believe it when i see it, but i realized that I have YET to ride in MN in shorts and a jersey. IT has been knee or full leg warmers, gloves and jackets. Just silly.

I will be spending some time with my mom this weekend so my dad can go to the cabin

Exhibit C: Not SUFFERING...tho they are up there for work weekend, and when my dad brings his chainsaw he will be working!

and I am excited to hang out with her, help her get up and down the stairs, bathe etc...and drive her where she wants to go. Funny, that i am looking forward to that maybe, but guess that's just me. Lets hope i can keep resting and that the sun and temps do their part to help jumpstart our summer.

Worst Case Scenario? Well, cant think of one right now:)

Have a good weekend!

Quick Race Report: Jump to it 10k

So besides telling you all the average temps and wind speeds and windchills and all that crap. Lets just say I was relieved to wake up at 6am and see no snow on the ground. The ground was wet, but there was no slushy accumulation as our needy attention grabber meteorologists wanted us to believe. Losers. Like alot of media, the meteorologists are hopping on the "shock" bandwagon that their anchors have been doing for years. Ok anyways...

It was still dang cold. 37 when i got up with a windchill ( Thanks Canada) making it feel like 31.

Humidity 80%. So yup, that is some nice moist cold air.

Race was a smaller one, and not sure if it was sanctioned or not. When i got there they were still setting up and so i hung out with the heat blasting and waited for the organizers to look...well..organized. Warmed up ( running that is) lost a few layers and started to get ready to race. The porta potties were NOT unlocked so that was kinda funny, people were freaking out.

If you ran about 800 Yards there was a nice bathroom near the lake but apparently that was too far for some. And eventually they got them open so people didnt have to move. The only way i even got sorta warm was moving so that made no sense to me.

I lined up close to the front near a woman that looked like i should run near her. I just decided she looked fast, and she had a run n fun jersey on so i knew she was a real runner. My plans for this race were in the words of "You know who," SUFFER. And actually in my head suffering for 40 + minutes really didnt sound like that big of a deal. But when the gun went off and i was in the hurt locker about 1/2 mile in, all the sudden it was a total mind game. Yes I was in the pain locker from mile 1. Sadly my gloved and cold hands did not allow me to take the laps i had wanted, and the course had mile markers but no splits. So here is my best guess....

Mile 1 6:25-6:30. oops a bit too fast. But then again i figured wth, just see how long you go before you BLOW.UP.

Mile 2 13:15. That is more like it. about a 6:45. That i think i can hold. maybe.

5k turn around 21.11....and back i go up a hill ( they said it was flat!) and into the wind ( yup I guess you get wind when you run around a lake, dumbo)

By this point i have the tall fast lady in my sight but she is gapping me, and a little thing ran with me for a few miles and then i told her to go get "her." And she did. At this point i am hearing loud breathing guy totally on my heels DRAFTING off of me. In my slipstream. Loser. So i moved over so he could repay the favor and he moved over to stay in my slipstream. Loser again.

Mile 4...things are getting ugly and i know i looked at my watch but mile 4 in a 10k is always super hard. Back in my 20s when i ran more i remember that mile 4 was like T1 for me, it is easy to get sidetracked and have a tea party. So i tried REALLY hard to keep hurting and to keep pushing, even tho I was in the wind on the open side of the lake. And i had drafter man behind me. Split...?? 27.?? I just know i was under 28.

I dont do math well midway in a 10k, so i thought i could just figure 7's and know i wanted to be under...7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 ( well the 42 one doesnt really make sense at that point in the race) but you get the idea. Race pacing for dummies.

Mile 5.. 34.?? We are finally back on the path where the surface is nice, there is a "bit" less wind and i have 1 mile to go. Well, there is that 2/10 thing at the end, but I know that i will be done in less than 10 minutes. And that last mile i ran as HARD as I COULD.

For those of you that know me, or have run with me you know i dont make any noise. I was a breathing machine from mile 1. you could hear me coming. This could have been the cold air or maybe it was my effort. I sorta wished i had my HR monitor on but i am actually glad i didnt, too much distraction.

So i ran my heart out, I dont remember that last mile at all. I just know we had to pass by the finish ( evil) and then come around the park and finish. I saw the clock as i turned the corner and saw 42:10 and knew i had to haul A$$ to get to the finish under 42:30. And i did.

42:29 by my watch. I think their watch said 42:30.

I made the kid take my chip off. That was funny. He said " I need your chip. " I said "Great, you go down there ( my ankle) and take it off. That would be FANTASTIC!" And he kinda looked at me like i was crazy. Which maybe at that point i was.

Last year's 10k ( the one) I ran 7's on an easier course. So today i think it was 6:51's. Pretty darn happy with that since my speedwork this year has been pretty poor. Oh wait I havent done any.

Ha, be careful what i wish for!

Stay warm all you midwesterners. If there is a cold streak and its 38 degrees in Kansas I am SO going to do well there:) But lets hope its sunny and 80:)

I Miss Texas...

And being warm! Geesh. It's way to early for mental drama on the weather but when i hear its 95 in NC and its barely 50 here, with snow flurries forecast for the weekend I just want to curl up and ...pack my bags.

I had a trainer wko today. Jen said i could go outside and do it, so i did. I wore:

Hat, winter gloves ( which made my fumbling with the computer likely comical and made my fingers freeze), long tights, two jerseys and my winter jacket. I didnt use toe booties but i could have. And all the while i was thinking..."Wonder if it will be hot in Kansas in June?" Worst thing is that i started feeling icky and kinda cold like. I have been around alot of sick people this week, sadly my dad being one of them, and since my mom cant drive and my dad is sick i did alot of parent transport to appts. And to MD offices. And around sick people. Sigh. As happy as i am to do this I keep thinking "When will i get sick now?" knock on wood.

But...as i was riding and feeling chilled i thought "Would you be feeling this way if the sun were on your back and it was 20 degrees warmer?" NO! I think its just that temperature change that affects me or our bodies. Out of a hot ( well 82, sorry Michelle!) pool, and then onto a cold bike. My body does NOT like these temperature changes and the the claminess just sets in.

And to make matters better ( not) dont you ever wish you had a month off? :) I wont elaborate.

So...I miss Texas and am keeping my fingers crossed that my nice spring 10k saturday does not include the flurries and high 30 degree temps they have forecast. But if it does, well it does. And trust me, this is not about "oh no i need to train in heat so i can race better in heat. " Its mainly about wanting to be warm!!!

Thanks for the birthday wishes, I skipped the cortisone shot thankfully and seem to be doing ok with the shoulder and the SA, even after butterfly and IM yesterday!

Birthdays are SWEET!

CUPCAKES! ( that should be the end of this blog post but I talk too much so.. sorry)

So birthday friday fell on recovery week. I could get used to that. I always am amazed at how good i feel post race....for about 48 hours. Then i feel like crap.

Yes welcome to your mid-40's. All you peeps with "40" looming it really isnt that bad but for me at least I find that I have to listen and listen more to my body in the recovery period.

It isnt bad, and it is actually quite a nice thing but I think working this week was a heck of a lot more tiring than racing:)

And considering that I did indulge a few times ( daily) in the fruits of the vine, and in some tasty treats that i dont usually indulge in ( daily) ....when you live in the home HQ of International Dairy Queen and you get free blizzards it is a crime to not get them, right? In my defense we got two ( I had to share with Rich) but we actually didnt even eat them all bc I wanted to try The banana cream pie flavor. Nasty, laffy taffy artificial banana flavor, thank you very little. I will go back to my favorite Hawaiian or Butterfinger next time.

See this is all good recovery nutrition?:) I did have a massage mid-week and i have been doing all my shoulder PT exercises. That is another post for another day but i am still having some soreness and may go get a cortisone shot to boost me along. I have had one in my other shoulder from tennis, and it was fine. But in a nutshell I have a Serratus A, a lower trap and a mid trap on my left side that are asleep and my elevated scapula ( shoulder blade) makes for some nice impingement and a bit of an overactive pec and levator. ( that was for Damie and Heidi) So....TRX is out till i can stop winging. And therefore my muffin top ( my cupcake top) isnt getting much work lately. My goal is to get back to a functional non winging Scapula and then TRX mid summer. ( And my other goal is to try to have some sort of prupose to this post???) hahaha too late.

I thought about a bullet point post but decided that free flow writing is more fun!

For me, at least.

So here are a few more pics my sister took:

Since i have been riding here in full spring gear ( ie no skin exposed) and running with gloves in the am ( tho bare legs i can say that is good) I miss the heat. Seriously. I think i want to do Buffalo Springs 2011~ !

Just before i am about to lose my race belt! Ha!

I love this one bc of the feet in the air, it looks a bit...ODD?

This pic is of our wave. I can tell ( i think) that is me with the head sighting out about 2-3rd person. My sister said " that isnt you, you are swimming so high!" and I know that first leg I was sigthing alot bc it was a bit wavey and I know the men had over corrected. So i think that was me:)

So back to birthdays...oh yea, that is what the post was about.

I had a great week, minimal training, lots of sleeping after tuesday and this friday was my 44th bday! Woohoo, 45-49 here i come ( next year). I had a mellow friday, didnt work much at all, hung out, it was wet but about 68 and kinda humid. Swam with my buddy Steve, met Rich and Steve for fun laughs at coffee. June, my awesome Nina's coffee cafe sponsor, was there so i got some free coffee and some free apple fritters ( see, good recovery nutrition) and we laughed so hard my belly hurt. Rich is doing better, he is still healing but has less incision pain, unless we laugh about old episodes of the OFFICE and the likes. or Park's and Rec, that is another hilarious Amy Poehler comedy.

Then i had needles, = acupuncture and then it was nearly time to go to an early dinner with my family at my parents. No pics, but lets just say the Opah and Salmon were great, Ruby got some loving, my mom showed us how she can roll her walker as if she barely needs it, and the nephews ( 6yo and 4yo) fell prey to our little prank.

We told them uncle Rich had been in the hospital for some surgery and that he often has to fart alot when he is eating. We asked them to please not laugh, and to not make uncle Rich feel bad about this issue he had. So we put the box under Rich's chair and had at it. OMG it lasted about 30 seconds before i was cracking up so loud. They had no idea, but when i put the box under Joe's chair it got really funny. I finally had to show them the box since i think they thought Rich had some farting ventroloquist abilities, and after that we had to promise that they may get one for Xmas. My sister in law was a bit afraid that we would send it home with them!

So, birthday's, laughter, recovery, farting. All go hand in hand at our house:)

Hope spring has sprung for everyone, congrats to all those racing big and small events, and thanks for reading my random posts.