Hey lady...Are you still going to run the 2 mile?

This is what I heard from a 10 year old kid in the transition area of the 2mile run/15mile bike/2mile run duathlon that I finished last saturday. Followed by, "Mom, should I put the rest of the water away yet?". Then his 12 year old brother followed behind me on his dirt bike the whole last 2 miles.......about 3 feet behind me. It was not a very beginner friendly race. Even my husband Jeff got his ass handed to him. My friend from work, Pam, and I came in dead last. I did finish in just under 2 hours which was my goal, but coming in so far behind kind of takes the wind out of your sails. Especially since all of the volunteers were standing around like it was a huge inconvenience to wait until we finished. Almost all the the athletes were gone and the transition area had been cleared out before we were done......RUDE! Oh well. that's the last time I will ever do the Albany Duathlon! I knew when I a bunch of Ironman tattoo's on people that I was in trouble.

I also did a duathlon with Jenny and Mike the weekend before ,which went a little better. At least I beat a few people. That one was in beloit starting at the hospital. That was nice to know if I had a heart attack help was nearby......comforting.

I also just got done with the Susan Komen 5k run with my friends, Audrey and Angie. Angie was having a surprise birthday party that evening and I was so nervous I was going to spill the beans. Especially since I almost did the day before.....oops. Don't ever tell me secrets.....I cannot keep them! Before the race Angie was commenting on how slow she was and feel free to pass her.......then she took off like a bat outta HELL. Whenever I start out to fast it kinda ruins the rest of the race for me. I spend the rest of it trying to get my mojo back. It never happened. That's ok. It got me out of my comfort zone.

Jeff, my personal trainer has just informed me that it is time to start suffering before the danskin tri. I'm following this workout schedule from a magazine for beginner triathletes. I'm struggling to get all the workouts in due to the small children but doin the best I can. I could never accomplish this without Jeff's help. I don't know how single mother's would get anything done, let alone train for anything. I'm very lucky. I'll try to post more often as I have been told by several people that I should.

Tagged by Jenny

5 interesting things about myself, hmmmmmmmm....................

1. I am not that interesting. Right now I am about the most boring person you will ever meet. My life revolves around my family. I have a very supportive husband who is always encouraging me to find something I really like to do ,but I am so boring I wouldn't even know what that would be. I go out with friends about 2-3 times a year and spend the whole time feeling like I'm neglecting my kids and don't really enjoy it.

2. I just recently read a book (a grown up one) from beginning to end for the first time in about 8 years! Since the first baby I didn't even try to read a book for the first 3 years cuz I just didn't' have the time. Then I went to school for three years and every spare moment I had was spent studying for board exams, etc. I always feel guilty reading because my house is always such a tornado. I feel like if I have any free time I should spend it cleaning or something. ......I know it's pathetic.

3. If we had a bigger house and more money, I would definitely have more kids. They are so fun. They make me smile everyday and think about how lucky I am to have my life. Even the 15 yearcold in all of her teenage splendor is lots of fun most of the time :)

4. I wish I had never told anyone I was doing the triathlon. I'm so sick of talking about it. Everytime I talk about it I feel another nail in my coffin. I'm still not very confident that I can even do it. And other people keep saying they are going to do it with me. I don't want to be responsible for organizing a whole group of people to go down to the tri. I'm not good at that. I think it will be difficult enough to deal with my own nerves let alone a bunch of other first time triathletes who keep asking me questions like I'm some kind of expert because my husband has done this before.

5. I really wish my little sister lived in Wisconsin again. I miss her. I talk to her alot (via email of course cuz she doesn't like the phone per her list) but it's not the same. It's hard to listen to her go through hard times and not be able to hug her or take her out for drinks :)

6. was there supposed to be 5 or 6? Well, I haven't really worked out much the entire month of DECEMBER. I feel like a big doughy piece of poo! I smell a new years resolution!

Would someone please remove the lead from my Butt!

Thanksgiving morning I did the Berbee Derby in Fitchburg with my friend, Audrey, Jenny, and Mike. Mom and Dad came along for the ride. Roads were a little icy on the way up, but were fine once we got to the main roads. The route was pretty well salted, so no ice on the 5K.

I had way too many layers on. I felt like Randy on A Christmas Story with the snowsuit that won't let his arms go down. I have been running quite a bit on the treadmill downstairs. For some reason, the cold air and hilly course was kickin my butt! I was also way too hot! I came in at 39:04 (12:35 min mile) I had to stop a few times to walk. Audrey stayed with me even though I could tell I was holding her back. You would think I could keep up with the mother of a 3 month old but I couldn't. I was going my usual turtle pace. Someday I'll hit my goal of 30 minutes.

After the race, I took an uninterrupted long hot bath. Thank you, Jeff. Then off to Jenny's house for feast and fun. The food was awesome as usual. Afterwards Lucas and I DOMINATED on some games. Jeff offered to take Izzie home for a nap and come back later. We all know he offered to do that so he could take a nap himself. Nice try. There's a picture of Izzie and my personal trainer. And a picture of Jen, Mike, Mom and Jake doing some last minute meal prep before lunch. And Lucas and I Own! Go Blue!

Today did my weekely walmart run. I will be so glad when Izzie is off of formula so I can quit going there so often. I find myself laughing at all of the rednecks until I realize I must be one of them. With encouragement from my trainer I did The Firm this morning. I am planning on running on the hamster wheel later on if I can get some housecleaning done. My maid is so fired! Right, Jen? They have announced the date of the Danskin triathlon next year, July 12/13. There's no backing out now..........
We are still debating on where to go for spring break this coming march. We were going to do the obligatory Disneyland visit, but after talking to Jake and Taylor they weren't as excited about it as I thought they would be. So that brings us to visiting my sister, Tracy, in Colorado. She's in Costa Rica right now. When she gets back she'll have to let us know if that's OK. I think Jeff would be looking forward to some high altitude training. I think we could all find something to do there and be happy.

strength training

If I knew how to turn that picture I would. sorry. Trick or treating was fun this year with the kids. Jake was the grim reaper with "Real Fake blood" and Izzie was a butterfly. Very cute. I was so proud of Jake. I didn't have to remind him once to say thank you at every house. Izzie was just sitting in her stroller and some people gave Jacob 2 things and told him to give one to his sister. I said just to say thanks and put it in his bag even though she's too little to eat candy. Jake was concerned that he was not being honest.......Just when you think they're not listening......

According to my Personal Trainer, I need to do more strength training. So today I did my "The Firm" DVD (weights and aerobics at the same time). Doesn't hurt that much now, but tomorrow I will be sore. Planning on doing the swim session with the SWAT team Tuesday. Probably a day off tomorrow.....yeehaw!

BR-ick

Thanks to some encouragement from my Personal Trainer, Jeff, I rode dolce on the trainer and then ran a 12 min mile. I was watching a movie while on the bike so it went by pretty fast. After I got off, there was the treadmill....staring at me......mocking me.......running shoes right next to it...........So I gave it hell for 1 mile. That's about all I can take right now. I wish there was a magic pill for getting in shape. Since my last race really sucked the big one, my next goal is to do the berbee derby without stopping for walk breaks.

Yesterday we visited Skelly's pumpkin patch for a corn maze and some pumpkin slingin'. That's my P.T. and my babies standing on our favorite picture spot at Skelly's. My new nickname for that day was Magellan due to my expert navigational skills! I rock!

2007 Beloit YMCA Fall Classic

Yesterday I did a 5k in Beloit. No pictures or results have been posted yet, But I didn't do well. I had a side-ache through most of it that wouldn't go away. I kept having to stop and walk. Any ideas on how to prevent that? I didn't have my usual diet coke before a race. I know I didn't drink enough water before hand because I was thirsty before we even started. I made the mistake of borrowing my brother in law's water bottle for a sip before the race. The top looked like a baby bottle nipple. He did warn me that when you squeeze it, the water will power shoot out. I remember thinking " How hard can it shoot out?". So I squeezed and aimed for the back of my throat. It hit the back of my throat with so much force that it came directly out my nose! Yuk! and then I was still thirsty cuz I didn't swallow any. But, I did have a lovely fruit punch scent in my nose throughout the race. mmmmmmmmmm. After he watched it drip out of my nose he said I should have aimed for the side of my mouth instead.....good to know.

My friend from work, Pam, did the 5k with me. Needless to say, she kicked my ass. She got 31 minutes. I can't beat that yet even on my best day without Gatorade up my nose and a side ache. Way to go Pam! PS your not invited to anymore races until I can beat you.....j/k. Jenny and Mike did the 10K. Jenny beat mike and was pissed when she crossed the finish line thinking that he let her win. He was actually not feeling well and had to sit down and eat something afterwards ,so I think the win was legit.

I've been trying to get a workout in today but Mrs. High Maintenance (Izzie) and Captain homework procrastinator (Jake) are making it difficult. I've been scrambling during her naps to clean the pigsty. It's not going well. Oh, someones eyes are looking sleepy....gotta go. I'll try to post results if they get posted.