BrainardLake - Dec. 5

This weekend we went to Brainard Lake. We snowshoe into the cabin, hung out with friends for the night and then hike back out the following day.

2009 year in review!

As I started to remember 2009, I was thinking 'it wasn't a busy year'; however when I started reviewing my photos and writing this summary, I realized the year was just fulfilling as previous years. There were many trips and lots of new memories with friends.

JANUARY

In January, we took our annual hut trip with 16 friends. This year, the trip was at the Peter Estin Hut in the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association. The trip was wonderful even though I forgot all the 4lbs of bacon. (No, I'm not kidding.) And, once again, the weather was splendid with lots of sunshine.

FEBRUARY
This month was a quiet month except a few happy hours with friends and a local high school playoff game, which put me on the each of my seat. There was also my birthday, which I celebrated with friends.

MARCH
In the month of March, life was started to come alive again with the time change and spring.

During the first week, we took a ski trip to Aspen with Gary and Cindy. We skied all 4 resorts even though the weather was very spring-like.

I also had a very nice dinner out with my best girlfriends.

By the middle of month, we started training for Ironman. I started out very motivated and then April came.

APRIL
The month of April bought us 20" of snow. This is all fine but I was ready for spring!

MAY
The first weekend in May, we went to Fruita for 18 hours of Fruita. It's Colorado's only 18-hour team mountain bike race. All I can say, is this race is fun! It was the first time, I have ever ridden my mountain bike with lights, ridden a bike at 3:30am, got rained on and didn't really care. I would highly recommend this race.

In the middle of May, I went for a ride with Sarah in Golden. This might not seem like a special important event but for me it was a big deal because I actually left the bubble of Boulder to go riding. I had a great time riding up Lookout Mountain, around Red Rocks and Golden!

And, by now, I was in ironman triathlon training full force.

JUNE
The first weekend in June bought us snow. I remember this because we meet our team in town for ride to Ward. From our house, to town, to Ward and back is about 60 miles. I was so excited about this ride because it was going to be my first long ride of the season. The ride up to Ward was just fine. However, once I got to Ward, I looked up and what did I see - white snowflakes. I chuckled to myself, put on my jacket and proceeded to ride down the mountain as fast but as carefully as I could. I made it down to find Michael waiting for me. I jumped on his wheel and away we went home! It took me about a day to warm up!

The following weekend was warm. We ran the Mesa Trail. We both ran it in record times and with no falls.

The last weekend in June, we went to Lubbock, TX to compete in the Buffalo Springs Half-Ironman. The highlight of the trip is my friend Melissa and I flew there. (We learned the difference between a non-stop and direct flight. Our direct flight from Denver to Lubbock Texas took 3 flights but we never got off the plane.) The race itself was good. It wasn't the best race for Michael or me but they were very strong races so we couldn't complain.

After I returned from TX, the following day, I meet my Mom and Jim in Cheyenne, WY. They were passing through the state on their vacation. Visiting the town and hanging out with my family was precious!

JULY
For the 4th of July, we took our annual trip to Crested Butte. It was a grand 5 days of vacation time! The only way I can describe the trip is 'adult- summer camp.' The days are filled with lots of mountain biking, hanging out with friends, poker night, parties, and just simple fun! We can't imagine our summer without a trip to Crested Butte every 4th of July.

.

AUGUST
August wrapped up the season of training. At the end of the month, we took the trip to Penticon, Canada for Ironman. Michael and I both had great races in which we had PRs, Personal Records, however; we are both greedy and know we can go faster. Thus, the reason we are returning for the same race the same time next year.

After the race, we took a few days with friends to stay at a nice resort along Okanogan Lake Beach and to visit the wonderful wineries. My favorite was the Dirty Laundry.

SEPTEMBER
During the month of September, we did a few special things. We celebrated the end of the triathlon season with our friends on several different occasions: a celebration with FastForward with an end of the season dinner, a dinner at teammates house, and an IM celebration at teammates' house. Also, in the month of September, we celebrated Michael's Birthday - he ages up next year, along with me.

I also hiked Grays Peak with my friend Erica. I should note that we had planned this trip in July when we were in hardcore Ironman training. I should also note that when hiking a 14'er, there are many things one should be aware of: weather, blisters, altitude sickness, etc. However, I now have a new thing that people should be aware of: biting dogs...

For a girl's day, Melissa and I mountain biked from Heil to Hall, then had hamburgers and beer at Oscars Blues. Oh, what a wonderful girls day with awesome sunny weather.

OCTOBER
I really loved October. It was a quiet month that did not include training but lots of fun.

The first weekend in October, a group of friends rode the same trail - Heil to Hall - and had the same lunch as the last weekend in September. It was still great fun but not quite as warm. A cold front came through and really made the later half of the ride cold. There was a reason why it became cold. The first snowstorm of the year came that following weekend - Oct. 9-10. Yes, the snow and cold came early this year.
The weekend of the 16th brought us lots of fun. I hosted a girl’s poker night and Michael did his first open marathon. Michael had an awesome race but is not so anxious to sign up for another open marathon. I should also note that the weather was wonderful - low 80's all weekend.
The third weekend of the month brought my first annual girls' weekend in Estes Park. I say annual because there will be many more. A few of my girlfriends and I rented a house for the weekend to hang out, talk, eat and ride horses. It was an awesome trip.

NOVEMBER

The first weekend in November, I took a trip home to VA to see my family. It had been over a year since I last visited - way too long. The trip was absolutely wonderful. I spent quality time with each and every family member.

On my dad's 60th birthday, we spent the day just hanging out with each other and then having dinner with the whole family. I spent an afternoon at a park with my brother and his girls. I took a hike with my mom at the Peaks of Otter on a wonderful warm Saturday morning. And, last but not least, stayed up until 4:30am with my awesome sister-in-law.

Thanksgiving weekend was a busy one. I ran my first 5K in 1 1/2 years that morning. (25:50) and then we had dinner with some friends in Denver. That Friday, we went mountain biking at Heil. On Saturday night, I celebrated a friend's birthday and Thanksgiving once again. Sunday, I ran and walked the Mesa Trail with some fellow runners.

DECEMBER
The first weekend in December, we took our annual trip to Brainard Lake. A snowshoe into a cabin, a nice dinner with friends, a 'slumber-party' with friends, and then a cold hike back to the cars. The following weekend, I attended a holiday party and co-hosted a cookie party with Megan. The third weekend brought more holiday fun and a birthday party at the local bowling alley. I should note that I can't bowl but I did beat my score from last year.
On Christmas Eve, we took the day off from work and then had a very nice evening at The Cork with Michael's family. Later on that night, I chatted with my favorite cousin in Australia and talked with my brother on the phone - all while watching Santa on Norad. Christmas day was a quiet day. I made blueberry muffins - a favorite of mine - in the morning, we rode the bike trainers in the late morning and then went to his family's' open house that afternoon.
New Years Eve brought a lot of fun - cleaning of the basement, 2 naps, a ride on the bike trainer and a wonderful party.

And, I close with this quote - "Wishing all of you a fresh, bright 2010. Take nothing for granted - Be Positive - Love the ones around you - Be thankful for what you have and BE YOU."

Snow - Oct. 29

The sad thing about being an adult is there are no snow days - work still must go on....

We got so much snow. I think the total snow fall was 22". I haven't seen snow like this since I moved here in '97. It's actually not too cold. It's been nice walking meeka after work.

Here a few beautiful pictures - not taken by me. They were taken by a co-worker - Katie Harwood.

girls weekend - Estes Park - Oct. 23

So I didn't actually write this blog; please forgive my bullet points of the weekend.

• friday night - pizza and salad
• nice ride with mel to estes park
  
• talked until midnight
• was in tears at 4:30am because the fire alarm kept chirping but Kitty fixed it
  
• slept in until 8:30.
• went for an hour run
• breakfast
• horse back riding
• talked
• wine & dinner (same dinner as previous night)
• went to bed at 8:30
• but woke up again at midnight the chirping started again!
• stayed up until 3am reading
• home by 10:30am but then enjoyed a lazy snowing Sunday.

It was a wonderful weekend and we hope to have more!
Melissa wrote a much better entry than I.

IM depression

I'm bored. I have nothing to do. Why do I say that because I have tons of things to do but I choose not to do them because
Post-IM depression. Going from the euphoria of “I did it” to the reality of “I should have done it better.” I’m working on getting past this one, as everyone has reminded me it’s normal. At least it gives me some motivation for next time (oh yes, there will be a next time) - Canada'10

For more info on this kind of depression read here.
http://www.d3multisport.com/blog/index.php/post-ironman-blues-fact-or-fiction

Mountain Biking

So, should I just accept that I like reading blogs but never make the time to write on my own. If I am going to write, I need goals. I haven't made my blog writing goals yet but I'll think of what they are and post them.

Last weekend, I dragged out my mountain bike. Melissa and I had a grand time on 'girls day' mountain biking. You can read all about it on her blog.

Okay, so I wrote my race report but never took the time to edit and proof it. I at least skim this weekend and post it. That's one blogging goal!

And, I tried CrossFit tonight. Let's just say 9 min and 49 secs is a long time. After some training, we did the following:

21 - 15 - 9
Burpees
Kettleball swings
Box Jumps
My picture is posted.

Long time....

It's been a long time since I've posted an update. My excuse I was training for Ironman Canada. There should have been lots of posts about races, training, etc but it just didn't happen. I guess thinking and writing just takes too much energy.

I'm in the process of writing my race report. I've read 10 + race reports but still can't finish mine. I'd much rather read than write.

a ride not in Boulder - May 16

I meet Sarah in Golden for a sub-3 hour bike ride. This morning provided excitement for both of us. I was getting out of Boulder for a ride and Sarah was going to be 'mother-less' for 3 hours. When we started the ride, she convinced me to not to wear all my layers because we'd be going up hill very quickly. I'm so glad that I didn't wear all my layers because we started by riding up Lookout Mountain. What Sarah didn't know is that the last time I was on this road I was driving and completly freaking out because of the dropoff off the side. I am terrified of heights! I followed Sarah mostly up the hill so I wouldn't be tempted to look over the side. Needless to say, I made it to top! From there we went down the back side of the mountain which isn't as scaring as the front side. From there, we rode, HWY 40, the frontage road of I-70, back into Golden. From Golden, we went into Red Rock Park. The park is known for its very large red sandstone boulders. From Redrocks, we rode through the town of Morrison and then took the bike path back into Golden. All in all, was about a 30 mile ride and a total of 2:40 in the saddle.

After the ride, Sarah, Claire and I went into the town of Golden for lunch. All-in-all, I had a wonderful day. It felt like a vacation day since I left the bubble of Boulder.

More photos of Fruita

one of many muddy bikes.

waiting at the finish line.

Sal after his 1.5 hour Muddy loop.

Just hanging out a the finish line.

18 hours of Fruita

Scott enjoying a walk in the rain (with his leopard umbrella.)

Jamie waiting for his next ride and Joni hanging out after her loop.

Megan's very muddy bike.

Mitch and Joni just chilling.

18 hours of Fruita - May 1

On May 1, a group of 20 of us headed to Fruita for the 18 hours of Fruita mountain bike race. For those of that are not familiar with Fruita, it is a town about 4 hours east of Boulder. It has tons a very cool single-track mountain bike trails.

I was 'competing' on an 8-person co-ed team and Michael competed on a 4-all male team. I use the word competing losing because our team was all about fun and non-competition. Michael's team wasn't trying to win but they were competitive!

The race started at midnight on Friday night and ended at 6:00 on Saturday. Yes, this meant that part of the race was in the dark. I was a bit apprehensive about riding in the dark but it was so much fun. What made it so much fun was that we all had lights and about 50 or more people are riding the 6-mile circuit course at the same time as me. My first lap was at 4:00am. It was a bit crazy to set the alarm at 3:20 to get up to ride a mountain bike. As many of you know, I hate mornings but for some reason getting up a 3:20 made me excited. I rode my first lap in about 40 minutes. My second lap, I started around 5:25am. The first part of this lap was still in the dark but dawn started to come up half way through the lap. It was so cool to be out in the morning during this time. Once I got back to camp, I changed clothes and climbed back into my sleeping bag. I feel sound asleep until 8:30 when my teammate, Joni, knocked on my tent because my next lap was going to start in 40 minutes or so. I got up, put back on my biking clothes to wait for cindy to come back in. This third lap was the best lap. I felt so refreshed and it was in the daylight which made a difference. I rode this lap 5 minutes faster than I did my previous 2 laps.

After this lap, I had a significant time to wait, 5 hours, to be exact. It was nice hanging out with my teammates during this time. Around 2:30, I took out for what was supposedly my last lap. It had down poured while I was waiting for this lap, so the trail was quite slippery. this lap was much different from my previous one but still fun. When I came through the hand-off section, none of my teammates were there so instead of waiting, I took off for my final lap. I wondered what I could actually do on this lap since I was a bit spent from the previous lap. However, this lap was just as fun and I was stoked that I was riding again!! I was so excited that I actually went 30 seconds faster!

What I didn't expect was this was the last good lap for anyone. Right when I finished, it started to downpour. It rained so much that the a lot of people couldn't get through the trail. It was so muddy that eventually the sponsors ended up re-routing the race course.

The race ended at 6:00 and we were all very happy!

The race was so much fun that we have plans to go out again next year!

For a more exciting read, read Scott Gurst's experience.

Sunrise photos - Mar. 21 (a bit delayed)

Sunrise photos



the start of the sunrise walk


Daylight


The sun over the horizon


My partner, Halley, a lover of mornings


The Flatirons


The sun over the horizon!

8 Things to Stop Doing Right Now & The Secret to Not Caring What People Think

I read these things on a blog tonight and was inspired so I thought I'd share
http://www.pluginid.com/stop-doing/
and
http://www.pluginid.com/caring-what-people-think/

At the end of this blog posting there was a you tube video, that is very inspirational. Take a look, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEqdr_Awdak&feature=player_embedded.

You know you are triathlete when...

Haha..I found this on facebook and just had to share....happy Tuesday!

Twenty five ways to tell if you’re a triathlete:

25. One of your goals this year is to be faster at getting out of a wetsuit.

24. You talk about a “hammer” and “brick”, but you’re not referring to construction

23. You spend seven days going to eight stores in four malls before buying a pair of running shoes. But you take one afternoon to go to one car dealership and walk out with a new car four hours later.

22. That charming cologne (or perfume if you’re a girl) you wear to work is chlorine.

21. You have more water bottles than glasses in your cupboard.

20. You have enough pairs of old running shoes sitting in your closet to open your own shoe store.

19. You immediately bow down before someone with the Ironman “m dot” tattoo. (Is it really tragic I’ve got one of those?)

18. You have NO idea what to do with yourself on your off day. You mowed the lawn, cleaned the house, washed the car, and there’s STILL four hours of daylight left! Aarrgghh!

17. You often show up to work in the morning with goggle imprints around your eyes

16. You have so many tan lines you look like a zebra Running socks, bathing suit, jersey, biking shorts, tri shorts, sunglasses, gloves, watch, etc. (This is really nice at the beach.)

15. The first three items on your grocery list are Gatorade, power bars, and gels.

14. You get funny looks when putting on Body Glide on your neck because people think it’s deodorant.

13. About half the shirts you own have at least a dozen logos on the back of them.

12. You wait a couple of days to take your car in when the check engine light goes on, but when your bike needs a tune up you take it right away.

11. You refer to the front hall of your house as the “transition area”.

10. The one “suit” you own has ORCA on the chest. (Or Ironman. Though I really, really want one of the new Orca suits.)

09. When you get home from a training session, the newspaper is just being delivered to your house.

08. You consider work regeneration time between training sessions.

07. Your bicycle is in your living room. (Or bedroom.)

06. Your car smells like a locker room - and you are the only one who doesn’t smell it.

05. There’s a separate load of laundry every week that is just your workout clothes. (One load? I should be so lucky. Try three or four.)

04. When asked how old you are you answer 35-39.

03. Your first thought when you wake up is how high your rest HR is.

02. Your spouse cried during Terms of Endearment; you cried during the television coverage of the Hawaii Ironman. (Every time. And inspiring triathlon videos.)

01. Most of this list doesn’t seem like a joke to you.

St. Baldricks & first day of official training. (Sat. Mar. 14)

Today, Saturday, March 14 was the first day of training. It was cold and I hate the cold. However, it was a good group workout and a great way to start the season.

After, the workout, I picked up my friend JJ and went to the St. Baldricks event. It was great afternoon.

training so far...

First week -
I'm in denial that training has started. I went to happy hour twice this week. However, I did get in good long workouts.

week 2
I rode in the cold - brrr!! My swim was better because arms didn't hurt.

Next month - it snowed and we had blizzards. I am tired of riding my trainer inside. However, I am watching 21 Jump Street. I can't wait for my first 3-4 hour ride.

Will spring ever come and stay?

Trip to Aspen (Weekend of Mar. 7)

This weekend we headed to Aspen with our friends, Gary and Cindy. It's the fourth winter vacation we've done with them.

The weather was not so wintery. We spent a lot of time indoors playing games and just chillin'. However, on the days that Michael and I did get out skiing, we made the best of it. We had a great time skiing the double blacks at Aspen but boy did it take me a long time to get down the mountain. I'm not as good of a skier as I used to be because I'm so out of practice.

If you enjoy photos, here take a look.

'Simon Says' with Scott Gurst

Last year during our annual Fourth of July trip to Crested Butte, our 'camp director' Scott Gurst led us in a game of Simon Says. Yes, were all adults but it was the most fun I had had in a long time and still have very fun memories of it.

We didn't record that session but someone recorded another session. So, enjoy the show. (This will open You Tube) Don't forget to play along!

And, thanks Liz for letting me borrow this video!

My birthday (Feb. 28)

My birthday this year was a good one. It was the first one in a long time that I remember that started off at midnight. I was waiting for snow and/or confetti but much to my dismay neither came falling on my head.

After staying up late chatting online, I slept in. As many of you know, I love celebrating my birthday so as soon as my eyes were opened, Michael had my gift ready for me to open. It was big stuffed Cookie Monster. Yes, I was super excited about this gift and I love cookies!

We then made our way to Moes for bagels and Vics for coffee. Yummy. Since it was nice winter day, Meeka and I sat outside while we ate our breakfast. After breakfast, we took a family hike to the Anne U. White trail.

That night, after a long afternoon nap, we meet friends for drinks, appetizers at the St. Julian and then had dinner at the Walnut Brewery. Thanks Christine, John, Sarah, Kitty, Ivy, Melissa, Michael, Cindy, Gary, and Michael for making my day a special one.

Daily mantra

1) Live Well

2) Eat Well

3) Do Well

Babies, Babies and more babies

Before I even begin this post, let me say that I am NOT expecting; all my friends are having babies. How many of my friends will have babies in 2009, so far it is 8. I wanted to list everyone having babies but to respect their privacy, I will not list the names.

a weekend date

Since Michael and I hadn't done anything special together for a while, we decided to spend the long weekend in the mountains skiing. On Sunday, we headed up to Loveland to ski the day. It was good day even though I was a bit rusty.

After a day of skiing, we headed to our favorite mountain restaurant, The Dam Brewery. It was a true date because while we waited for our food, we both read. Yes, we read books in a crowded restaurant.

We spent the night in Georgetown at Super 8 motel. It was the lowest denominator of hotels. It was clean but let's just say I won't be staying there again.

After a half day of skiing on Monday, we decided to hit the road back to Boulder. Overall, it was a nice weekend.

Two Stamps (Thurs. Feb. 12)

Two Stamps

On Thursday night, I received two stamps on my hands. It was just like the old going out days - a night fun. Right after work, I headed into Boulder to get our skis tuned. Then I came back to Gunbarrel to meet work friends for happy hour. From there, we headed over to a high school boy’s basketball game in Niwot. After the game, I went back into town to celebrate a friends birthday a the b-bar.

Back to the stamps, I received a stamp to enter the basketball game and another one when I entered the bar. And, yes the following morning I had to scrub my hand clean of the stamps. I really had to laugh.

Spiritual Walk (Sat. Feb. 14)

Today, started off great. I hopped on the trainer for a good hour ride. I actually feel that after all this time that I'm getting stronger. Time will only tell when I hit the roads again.

After the trainer ride and while my friends ran, I walked Meeka for a good hour and half. The walk was so peaceful with the overcast sky and snow on the ground. When I reached the top of the ridge, on of my favorite places in the Boulder, I spent time in the peace sign labyrinth. I walked around it twice switching direction. It was such a spiritual feeling.

After a good morning, I spent the afternoon running errands, getting my hair cut and buying new shoes.

Since it was Valentines Day, Michael and I decided to spend the night together. I cooked dinner, salmon broiled in the oven along with zucchini squash in olive oil and basil and leftover mashed sweet potatoes. After the game, we played Balloon cup.

Annual Hut Trip

The weekend of Jan. 31, we took our annual hut trip. This year we visited the Peter Estin hut. The ski in was absolutely beautiful. I ended up spending most of the day by myself which was so peaceful. Michael spent the hike with Kitty and Ivy. He's such a good sport. He started on his telemark skiis but then the three of them traded gear. Michael took Ivy's split board, Kitty had Michael's skis and Ivy had Kitty's snowshoes. We followed the Ironedge Trail to the hut. It was 4.4 mile hike-ski with a 2000 foot elevation gain. Yes, it was steep but I felt great all the way up!

Once at the hut, we settled in for a 2-night stay. The worse thing that happened is I realized that I had left the chicken and the bacon in the freezer at home. Needless to say, I had a melt-down. I know that people didn't really care because we had tons of food but it was that they had paid for the meat and my plan wasn't coming together as planned. Fajitas was on the menu but because the chicken was home in the freezer another planned had to come together. Leave it to my wonderful friends who are cooks, the onions, peppers, cheese, black beans and tortillas made wonderful 'fajitas'. Also, breakfast the following morning was such an easy clean-up without bacon grease everywhere.

Overall the trip was wonderful. It's so nice to get 'away from it all - no cell phone, no TV - just good 'ol time.

For pictures visit http://gallery.me.com/thirdclock#100368&view=null&bgcolor=black&sel=0.

Food - Keep it simple

I read this cool article about eating REAL food. It's a great article, I just don't know if in my busy life, I can apply it to my life; however, I'd love to try.

Read the article
http://zenhabits.net/2009/01/the-zen-of-real-food-keeping-eating-simple/

Lack of change & lots of change.

I feel that the Inauguration was amazing. With Obama in office, we, as Americans, will see lots of changes. Look at these executive orders. I know it's only been 4 short days for President Obama in his new job but so far I agree with everything he has done including the pay freeze, closing Guantanamo Bay, and Obama Reverses Rule on U.S. Abortion Aid.

If you you missed his inaugural address, you should read it.

Even though us Americans will see change. I failed on my goals/change of habits for the year.
I had junk food at work including cookies, my favorite food in the world. I also opened up a bottle of wine on Wednesday night for no good reason except I wanted it. There goes no wine during the week.

Read a cool analogy this week - how can one duck tape bad habits? I need to buy a roll of duck tape and tear off a piece when I break my weekly goals.

Sunday , Jan. 18

Wow, what a wonderful day! I woke up early, a few minutes after 6:00. A few minutes after 7, I got out of bed and started cleaning the house. I cleaned up , moved half of our downstairs to the porch and swept. A few min. after 8, I decided to climb back in bed with MK because he was still asleep. Of course, I couldn't sleep, so I grabbed my laptop to skim the news. Right before 9:00, I got up for the 2nd time to eat breakfast and put the house back together. (I'm sure the neighbors wondered why our porch was full of house-hold furnishings.) Lucky for me, MK made plans to run the 'secret' Mesa trail with Ivy, Kitty and J-Mo. After he got off the phone with everyone, I decided to join the group with Meeka. I wasn't going to run but I could walk Meeka off-leash. We meet everyone around 10:20 - 5 min. late. ( Very impressive for two people who cleaned the house before a morning workout.) Meeka and I walked to a wonderful Boulder overlook that included rock chairs for all to view Boulder. We had a wonderful hike that was proceeded by lunch at Moes Bagels. After the morning with friends, I came home and talked to my mom for over an hour on the phone while I sat outside. (Yes, the weather in Boulder today was like a spring day - high mid-60's.) After the call, I was still motivated so I went yoga and then to the grocery store. Wow, my Sunday was very fulfilling and productive! I wish I had tomorrow off from work to relax.

The first week of Jan.

There were some changes in life this week. A few of them are

• My co-worker/friend, Kim got engaged on Christmas day
• I had two friends tell me that they are expecting a baby in July/Aug.
• There were two fire in Bould

Most people think I'm a hard-core athlete. I'm really not that hard-c0re - actually, I'm pretty lazy. I'm what I call a hermit during the winter. I hate going outside of the house. I actually love staying inside all day in flannel pants, a long sleeve shirt and sweater. However, this week that changed. I worked out every day. I'm so happy. Believe it or not, I'm super happy. The work-week wasn't that bad. I actually worked my full-time job (45hrs+) without too many complaints.

For 20 years, my focus has always been running. Even though I am slower than ever before, should I quit focusing on running? I should really concentrate on swimming; its less harsh on the body along biking. I can make it through 26.2 miles on Aug 30 on 20 years of running, right? In reality, it's only 26, 1-mile repeats, not running 26 miles....

An update on my new year's goals -

• Sweets at work - failed. I had a choc. raspberry moose 2 days in a row . yum. And, on Friday I had popcorn.
• I got out one day this week for a run during the lunch hour. It was warm - 60 degrees. Very toasty!!!

And, people read my blog... wow! I feel important!

A Change - I went to the gym

I went to the gym tonight and did my strength training program -- the first time since 11-26. Will my routine actually encourage me to get to the gym on a regular basis, who knows? I know that tonight, it was hard to come home, walk the dog and then leave again to go to the gym. A good change for me is for me to come home during lunch and walk Meeka. If I came home during lunch and walked her I could then leave straight from work and go to the gym.

And, I thought about swimming today, when will I actually swim? Good question. It's now been 4 months to the day since I took my last swim.... Should I just wait 2 more months until the season starts?

change... miles vs. caveman

I read this blog post the other day from a retired professional triathlete, now coach. I think it says a lot . Enjoy.

http://chuckiev.blogspot.com/2008/03/true-meaning-of-miles.html

More things to be thankful for...

I am very thankful that my mom and I talked for over an hour on the phone.

And, I am also thankful that I got my lower legs worked on again. Ouch! The massage is 30 minutes each calf. It's got to make my legs better, right?

Changes & Goals for 2009

It's a new year! Can anyone believe that it is 2009? Yikes. What will will say next year? Will we say two-thousand ten or twenty ten? I wonder what will become the norm, two-thousand ten or twenty-ten. Oh, what the future holds....

I'd like to start out this year but noting a few changes and goals for this year. No, these aren't resolutions because resolutions always get broken.

Changes:

• No sweets at work.
  
• No wine M-TH. (Already broke this change as I had wine on Thursday, Jan. 1.)
  
• Stay away from processed foods as much as possible.
• Eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day
  

Goals:

• Complete my 3rd Ironman Triathlon
• Have more dates with MK.
• Continue to blog
• Continue to cook
• From now to Mar. 14, get in shape so I can start training again.
• Have more people over for potlucks and/or game night.
  

So with all the above said, I will enjoy life to the fullest with this resolution:

ENJOY LIFE, EAT CAKE!