So as another Thanksgiving has come and gone along with another Black Friday I am taking a few minutes to reflect. Anyone who knows me knows I hate that the American society is overly focus on consumerism. Black Friday is an obvious example and things seem to be worse the last couple of years as stores are opening earlier and earlier as people try to get great deals to reduce the impact on their pockets books. People at stores at midnight with their children pepper spraying others in the holiday spirit. It all makes me really sad.
The kids and I went to mass this weekend to celebrate the beginning of Advent in preparation for Christmas and the celebration of the coming of Jesus. While were there Father John told us a story about a group of nuns living together that all have some sort of physical limitation living in harmony and taking care of each other. His message was that if we were more aware we would see that God has given us all we need to be happy we just need to be open and willing to accept God's gifts.
Last week I got an email from Andy Andrews a motivational speaker that I have seen live and whose books I have read. He has an excerpt from one of his books at the link below. It is a story about Wade a minister who is struggling through a family Thanksgiving meal. He has found that he is preoccupied by all the things that wear him down and has lost site of the good things around him. Andy asks us to reflect and write down 10 things we are grateful for.
Andy Andrew's Short story about being thankful.
Things I am grateful for:
1) Having a new day presented to me with each sunrise where I can breath another breath and find the opportunity to learn and be a better person.
2) Having all my faculties, limbs, functions working for the most part, and the ability to listen to my body and manage my health.
3) Having two beautiful children and a husband who love me and support me through each day. Having time to spend/share with them each day.
4) Having a great job that challenges me and allows me enough to cover my family essentials.
5) Wonderful family members (parents, aunts/uncles, cousins, grandparents, brothers/sister) who I am close to, who accept me, and share thoughts and experiences with me.
6) Wonderful friends from around the country who treat me like family.
7) Living in the USA, in a safe and beautiful country that I love to explore nature and learn the history of.
8) Technology that lets me do my job, share my thoughts, hear from friends and family, and experience new things.
9) Hobbies that help me wind down, create, learn and share.
10) The ability to set goals, challenge myself, and achieve my goal as well as the desire to keep building and learning and striving towards my goals.
So with that I ask you to think about your blessings, what are you thank you for... that doesn't mean that the things that bring you down are not real, but I put forth to you that it is possible to realize these things and then let them go so they don't damage your health or relationships. Focus on the good positive things in your life and spend your energy nurturing those things instead.
Thank you for being a part of my life.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Road to my first 1/2 Ironman - Final installation
Ok, so I have been really busy the last two months with Missouri river flooding working some weekends and then traveling for a family reunion and then for the 4th of July holiday.... plus of course training, family time, etc...
Here are my final stats with me falling about 10 minutes short of my goal...
Swim: 35:51 (1.2 miles… plus a couple hundred yards) – Goal under 35
Bike: 3:09 (56 miles… was the hardest part for me mentally) – Goal close to 3 hours
Run: 2:16 (13.1 miles and was a new PR for me by 4 minutes from April) – Goal under 2:30
Transitions were really slow because I took my time to regroup before the next leg.
My race report will have some “excerpts” from my 16 year old training buddy Chris who did his first 1/2 Ironman with me and a link to his dad William’s blog also which both provide some extra insight to the race course. This is pretty detailed mostly for my future recall so bare with me.
Joe, JJ and I drove to the race site Saturday afternoon as a big storm front was coming in so I could pick up my race packet and survey the situation. I noticed the bouys were not in a straight line, there was a lack in potties in transition, and we were going to be pretty well crammed together in there so was prepared to deal with this the next morning. We drove the run course so I had a good picture in my mind of how that was going to work. Now the picture in my eyes was another story as I misplaced my contacts which I ironically found after my post race shower... so I raced with ok vision for the swim and mostly looking over the top of my regular glasses for the bike but tried not to let it get to me.
A little mobile motivation on my arms...
“The Transition Area: For a ‘State Championship’ it’s pretty unorganized and obviously low-cost. They crammed about 1800 people into a transition area up and down a hilly tree covered area, so things were tight.” But it was nice having an assigned space and mine was near the bike in and out opening.
Before the race I caught up with the three teammates I had racing with me that day including my riding buddy Galen who ended up having a fantastic race after two rough ones the last couple of years. We were all pretty grateful for the weather Mother Nature had dished up. It was overcast and cool in the morning and humidity was pretty much gone. What a blessing after weeks of scorching heat and humidity in Iowa.
I had my typical nervous stomach which is good as it helps clear out anything that might be an issue later in the race. As I was heading down to the beach for the race start they still had transition open and folks in the registration line really not well organized. I don’t know why folks wait until the last minute to arrive for the race start (enormous lack of parking in the area) and it really did complicate things to have a sprint tri going on at the same time as a ½ Ironman.
Just as the race was queuing up to start a”huge fog cloud rolled in, and you could barely see 2 buoys from the start line. For some reason they decided that it apparently wasn’t an issue and started us on time, a decision I hope they don’t make again. The swim started off fine and we all dealt with the fog. The course itself was supposed to be straight out and back but curved to make a J kind of thing. So after the turn around, we couldn’t see the next buoy or much of else for that matter. The only logical thing was to swim in what I thought was the right direction, which, of course, it wasn’t.”
I am pretty sure I did an extra couple hundred yards and at one point was way off course beyond oncoming traffic which really pissed me off because I couldn’t get into a good rhythm due to great difficulty sighting the buoys. I really couldn’t use my swim skills to a time advantage like I usually do which likely added 3-4 minutes to my time but I did manage to stay calm and just kept sighting off the largest group of green caps in front of me going the same direction.
Another thing I had never experienced before was the mixed group start. They had us in waves of 40 – 50 people by when we registered so there was a mix of ages and genders at the start. We also didn’t have the normal age marking on our leg (the body markings they did do were pretty much useless and were mostly gone by the time I finished). There was pretty much no way to know where you were in the pack of folks in your competition group which was probably ok since I was only focused on competing against myself. The last cool new thing about the swim for me was the wetsuit strippers so I ran out of the water got my suit down to my hips and lay down on a mat and my suit was off in 3 seconds flat… SWEET!!
Bike: “Small rollers and flats the whole way except for one rather large downhill with the uphill being made up slowly over 5-6 miles. By all means a fast course, but not flat.” The weirdest part of the course was a hard right straight into an uphill with a water stop part way up it at around mile 32.5. I planned to carry my own nutrition on the bike so I wouldn’t have to swap out water bottles and such and for the most part that worked out for me however I wish I would have had two water bottles and one “Gatorade” instead of the other way around as it wasn’t a hot ride and I would have rather taken in more food nutrition instead of liquid so ended up with a full bottle of “Gatorade” at the end of the bike and probably was a little deficient in nutrition going into the run.
There was an obvious lack of course officials on the bike course. In the last couple of miles before the sprint tri folks and the ½ Ironman folks separated, I was passed by a group of 15 riders, quite obviously drafting, who nearly ran 2-3 of us off the road. It is an individual sport people (and highly illegal), so very annoying when people are blatantly cheating.
For about 5 miles (felt like more) in the second half of the race, we rode on perhaps the worst roads they had to offer and it was a legitimate challenge to put forth effort and not crash. Sadly my mind got the best of me here and my planned mph dropped way down so after about 15 miles of smooth, then rough, then rough and windy, etc changes every couple of miles I had to pull myself together and focus on getting the last 12 – 14 miles cranked out. This being my first time doing a ½ on top of my longest training rides being in the 40 mile range, I really didn’t know how much to hold back and I think that didn’t help the situation any.
Run: The run started by meandering for 3-4 miles through the edge of town along the lake neighborhoods. I saw William and Chris bring it in while I was still in my 2nd and 3rd miles or so… God bless all the people who were running sprinklers for us and all the people working the corners and water stops!! The sun had come out with around 14 miles left on the bike and the run was going to get hot with temps in the low 80s by the time I finished.
After the town miles we spit out on a county road running the wide shoulder with runners going in both directions in about a four foot space. There was a long shallow uphill section with no shade from around 4.5 to the turnaround loop. This was the section where I just kept focusing on putting one foot in front of the other (thanks cousin Jen for that advice in April). The turnaround was about a mile with mostly gravel but with some very welcome shade. Historically I know I start to bonk around miles 5, 8 and 11 so I tried to make sure I was taking in a gel or Gatorade a mile before those points, and taking in water, and the blessed ice down the shirt for the rest of the aid stops. We had aid around 1.5, 3, 5.5, 6/7, 9.5, and 11.5 so it seemed to be perfectly spaced for my needs.
On the run course I saw a couple of great quotes but now can only remember one… “Someday you will not be able to do this anymore… (and on a second sign behind it) but today is not that day”. This was posted around mile 7.5 on the run and I thought hell yeah!
Things nagging me besides the hot sun on the run were my right pinky toe (missed the glide there apparently and got a blister) and my left ankle (the one I twisted in June) which I stupidly put my timing chip strap on. I pushed through all that and strangely between the ‘smile’ and ‘have fun’ I had written on my arms I managed to experienced a serious runners’ high around mile 9 so I had to hold myself back for a mile or two before I cut loose and pushed it to the finish line. I am pretty sure I smiled all the way in from mile 9 or so.
Smiling at mile 10.5...
The end… I felt really strong coming in to the finish like I still had more in the tank. I was really emotional in a good way when I crossed the finish line as I usually am and Joe asked if I was ok and I said just happy. Chris put this quote out: “Why do people run? Because it feels so good when you stop.” -? And I could so relate.
Pushing through the finish line...
So how am I two days after? I went to yoga/Pilates class yesterday and my quads are a bit sore like I was lifting weights but all in all I feel great. I am anxious to get back to training and will be heading to the pool today and getting a run or two in this week but mostly taking it easy for two weeks (hiking in Colorado and puttering in Kansas City) before getting back into ‘training mode’ again. I have three more races on the plan for the year… a 10k run where I am shooting for a PR in early Sept, an Olympic tri race where I hope to improve on last years time at the same venue, and another ½ marathon this time with Joe in October… then maintenance mode or something like that anyway.
So in hindsight... did I learn something? Heck yeah... Will I do another 1/2 Ironman ... MOST DEFINITELY... Will I do a full Ironman someday... uh... my logical mind says you are nuts, but my heart says probably. In the meantime I feel like a super hero undercover as a full-time working mom of two young kids... I wish I could shout out my joy of my accomplishment to the world. I love to train (yes the more I exercise... the more I want to exercise) and have goals for my fitness so as Chris said to our triclub in his race report “I must be crazy. But aren’t we all?”
William "mister hard core triathlete" race report blog... http://wsjinames.blogspot.com/2011/07/0-0-1-1501-8557-iowa-state-university.html
Here are my final stats with me falling about 10 minutes short of my goal...
Swim: 35:51 (1.2 miles… plus a couple hundred yards) – Goal under 35
Bike: 3:09 (56 miles… was the hardest part for me mentally) – Goal close to 3 hours
Run: 2:16 (13.1 miles and was a new PR for me by 4 minutes from April) – Goal under 2:30
Transitions were really slow because I took my time to regroup before the next leg.
My race report will have some “excerpts” from my 16 year old training buddy Chris who did his first 1/2 Ironman with me and a link to his dad William’s blog also which both provide some extra insight to the race course. This is pretty detailed mostly for my future recall so bare with me.
Joe, JJ and I drove to the race site Saturday afternoon as a big storm front was coming in so I could pick up my race packet and survey the situation. I noticed the bouys were not in a straight line, there was a lack in potties in transition, and we were going to be pretty well crammed together in there so was prepared to deal with this the next morning. We drove the run course so I had a good picture in my mind of how that was going to work. Now the picture in my eyes was another story as I misplaced my contacts which I ironically found after my post race shower... so I raced with ok vision for the swim and mostly looking over the top of my regular glasses for the bike but tried not to let it get to me.
“The Transition Area: For a ‘State Championship’ it’s pretty unorganized and obviously low-cost. They crammed about 1800 people into a transition area up and down a hilly tree covered area, so things were tight.” But it was nice having an assigned space and mine was near the bike in and out opening.
Before the race I caught up with the three teammates I had racing with me that day including my riding buddy Galen who ended up having a fantastic race after two rough ones the last couple of years. We were all pretty grateful for the weather Mother Nature had dished up. It was overcast and cool in the morning and humidity was pretty much gone. What a blessing after weeks of scorching heat and humidity in Iowa.
I had my typical nervous stomach which is good as it helps clear out anything that might be an issue later in the race. As I was heading down to the beach for the race start they still had transition open and folks in the registration line really not well organized. I don’t know why folks wait until the last minute to arrive for the race start (enormous lack of parking in the area) and it really did complicate things to have a sprint tri going on at the same time as a ½ Ironman.
Just as the race was queuing up to start a”huge fog cloud rolled in, and you could barely see 2 buoys from the start line. For some reason they decided that it apparently wasn’t an issue and started us on time, a decision I hope they don’t make again. The swim started off fine and we all dealt with the fog. The course itself was supposed to be straight out and back but curved to make a J kind of thing. So after the turn around, we couldn’t see the next buoy or much of else for that matter. The only logical thing was to swim in what I thought was the right direction, which, of course, it wasn’t.”
I am pretty sure I did an extra couple hundred yards and at one point was way off course beyond oncoming traffic which really pissed me off because I couldn’t get into a good rhythm due to great difficulty sighting the buoys. I really couldn’t use my swim skills to a time advantage like I usually do which likely added 3-4 minutes to my time but I did manage to stay calm and just kept sighting off the largest group of green caps in front of me going the same direction.
Another thing I had never experienced before was the mixed group start. They had us in waves of 40 – 50 people by when we registered so there was a mix of ages and genders at the start. We also didn’t have the normal age marking on our leg (the body markings they did do were pretty much useless and were mostly gone by the time I finished). There was pretty much no way to know where you were in the pack of folks in your competition group which was probably ok since I was only focused on competing against myself. The last cool new thing about the swim for me was the wetsuit strippers so I ran out of the water got my suit down to my hips and lay down on a mat and my suit was off in 3 seconds flat… SWEET!!
Bike: “Small rollers and flats the whole way except for one rather large downhill with the uphill being made up slowly over 5-6 miles. By all means a fast course, but not flat.” The weirdest part of the course was a hard right straight into an uphill with a water stop part way up it at around mile 32.5. I planned to carry my own nutrition on the bike so I wouldn’t have to swap out water bottles and such and for the most part that worked out for me however I wish I would have had two water bottles and one “Gatorade” instead of the other way around as it wasn’t a hot ride and I would have rather taken in more food nutrition instead of liquid so ended up with a full bottle of “Gatorade” at the end of the bike and probably was a little deficient in nutrition going into the run.
There was an obvious lack of course officials on the bike course. In the last couple of miles before the sprint tri folks and the ½ Ironman folks separated, I was passed by a group of 15 riders, quite obviously drafting, who nearly ran 2-3 of us off the road. It is an individual sport people (and highly illegal), so very annoying when people are blatantly cheating.
For about 5 miles (felt like more) in the second half of the race, we rode on perhaps the worst roads they had to offer and it was a legitimate challenge to put forth effort and not crash. Sadly my mind got the best of me here and my planned mph dropped way down so after about 15 miles of smooth, then rough, then rough and windy, etc changes every couple of miles I had to pull myself together and focus on getting the last 12 – 14 miles cranked out. This being my first time doing a ½ on top of my longest training rides being in the 40 mile range, I really didn’t know how much to hold back and I think that didn’t help the situation any.
Run: The run started by meandering for 3-4 miles through the edge of town along the lake neighborhoods. I saw William and Chris bring it in while I was still in my 2nd and 3rd miles or so… God bless all the people who were running sprinklers for us and all the people working the corners and water stops!! The sun had come out with around 14 miles left on the bike and the run was going to get hot with temps in the low 80s by the time I finished.
After the town miles we spit out on a county road running the wide shoulder with runners going in both directions in about a four foot space. There was a long shallow uphill section with no shade from around 4.5 to the turnaround loop. This was the section where I just kept focusing on putting one foot in front of the other (thanks cousin Jen for that advice in April). The turnaround was about a mile with mostly gravel but with some very welcome shade. Historically I know I start to bonk around miles 5, 8 and 11 so I tried to make sure I was taking in a gel or Gatorade a mile before those points, and taking in water, and the blessed ice down the shirt for the rest of the aid stops. We had aid around 1.5, 3, 5.5, 6/7, 9.5, and 11.5 so it seemed to be perfectly spaced for my needs.
On the run course I saw a couple of great quotes but now can only remember one… “Someday you will not be able to do this anymore… (and on a second sign behind it) but today is not that day”. This was posted around mile 7.5 on the run and I thought hell yeah!
Things nagging me besides the hot sun on the run were my right pinky toe (missed the glide there apparently and got a blister) and my left ankle (the one I twisted in June) which I stupidly put my timing chip strap on. I pushed through all that and strangely between the ‘smile’ and ‘have fun’ I had written on my arms I managed to experienced a serious runners’ high around mile 9 so I had to hold myself back for a mile or two before I cut loose and pushed it to the finish line. I am pretty sure I smiled all the way in from mile 9 or so.
The end… I felt really strong coming in to the finish like I still had more in the tank. I was really emotional in a good way when I crossed the finish line as I usually am and Joe asked if I was ok and I said just happy. Chris put this quote out: “Why do people run? Because it feels so good when you stop.” -? And I could so relate.
So how am I two days after? I went to yoga/Pilates class yesterday and my quads are a bit sore like I was lifting weights but all in all I feel great. I am anxious to get back to training and will be heading to the pool today and getting a run or two in this week but mostly taking it easy for two weeks (hiking in Colorado and puttering in Kansas City) before getting back into ‘training mode’ again. I have three more races on the plan for the year… a 10k run where I am shooting for a PR in early Sept, an Olympic tri race where I hope to improve on last years time at the same venue, and another ½ marathon this time with Joe in October… then maintenance mode or something like that anyway.
So in hindsight... did I learn something? Heck yeah... Will I do another 1/2 Ironman ... MOST DEFINITELY... Will I do a full Ironman someday... uh... my logical mind says you are nuts, but my heart says probably. In the meantime I feel like a super hero undercover as a full-time working mom of two young kids... I wish I could shout out my joy of my accomplishment to the world. I love to train (yes the more I exercise... the more I want to exercise) and have goals for my fitness so as Chris said to our triclub in his race report “I must be crazy. But aren’t we all?”
William "mister hard core triathlete" race report blog... http://wsjinames.blogspot.com/2011/07/0-0-1-1501-8557-iowa-state-university.html
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Road to my first 1/2 Ironman - First Olympic Tri of the Season
I am eight weeks out from my first 1/2 Ironman... I am terrified and super excited. I am busy collecting information about nutrition, about what to expect on the race day, about what gear I need to implement (I just bought a new bike seat this weekend). I am busy trying to figure out how to get 12 hours of training into my week and have it be quality and preferable not all solo so I have someone to push me.
So I did my first Olympic Triathlon of the season and have the stats from that one (May 22nd, 2011) as well as from my first one in Sept 2010. Things are looking good but there is still a lot of room for improvement. The two races are really apples and oranges with times because the swim was cut way back for the one I did last week due to water temperature issues.
Bluff Creek Olympic, Ogden, IA Lucky number 4 F35-39
500 meter Swim (This was very short... was supposed to be 1500 meters)00:10:57 VERY COLD WATER - 56 degrees at start... wetsuits recommended.
T1(wetsuit shimmy,socks,shoes,helmet,shades,bike)00:01:43
25 mile bike 01:33:22 Very Hilly Windy Bike
T2 (shoes, hat, number) 00:01:35
10k (6.2 mile) Run Personal Record 00:56:28 Very Hilly Windy Run
Total Time 02:44:05 Fourth in my Age Group 4
Overall 18 / 27 total women
Peregrine Olympic (Cedar Falls, IA) Last Sept. - Air temp at the start 64 degrees... about the same as the water temperature... BRRRRRR!
Overall Swim 25:46 (noodles lined the swim like a lane rope...very fast swim)
T1 2:22 (wetsuit shimmy, shoes, toweling off, helmet, glasses)
Bike 1:30:29 (very flat bike)
T2 0:56 (slip on shoes, hat, number)
Run 1:01:44 (pretty flat albeit warmish) Total Time 3:01:14
I missed my goal in Sept. by just over a minute but had a great experience in my old home town with a couple of great triathlon racers of Iowa ladies along. I plan to do this one again this year and hope to drop 10 minutes over my total time so in the meantime I will keep working it. More to come as I get closer to Ironman...
So I did my first Olympic Triathlon of the season and have the stats from that one (May 22nd, 2011) as well as from my first one in Sept 2010. Things are looking good but there is still a lot of room for improvement. The two races are really apples and oranges with times because the swim was cut way back for the one I did last week due to water temperature issues.
Bluff Creek Olympic, Ogden, IA Lucky number 4 F35-39
500 meter Swim (This was very short... was supposed to be 1500 meters)00:10:57 VERY COLD WATER - 56 degrees at start... wetsuits recommended.
T1(wetsuit shimmy,socks,shoes,helmet,shades,bike)00:01:43
25 mile bike 01:33:22 Very Hilly Windy Bike
T2 (shoes, hat, number) 00:01:35
10k (6.2 mile) Run Personal Record 00:56:28 Very Hilly Windy Run
Total Time 02:44:05 Fourth in my Age Group 4
Overall 18 / 27 total women
Peregrine Olympic (Cedar Falls, IA) Last Sept. - Air temp at the start 64 degrees... about the same as the water temperature... BRRRRRR!
Overall Swim 25:46 (noodles lined the swim like a lane rope...very fast swim)
T1 2:22 (wetsuit shimmy, shoes, toweling off, helmet, glasses)
Bike 1:30:29 (very flat bike)
T2 0:56 (slip on shoes, hat, number)
Run 1:01:44 (pretty flat albeit warmish) Total Time 3:01:14
I missed my goal in Sept. by just over a minute but had a great experience in my old home town with a couple of great triathlon racers of Iowa ladies along. I plan to do this one again this year and hope to drop 10 minutes over my total time so in the meantime I will keep working it. More to come as I get closer to Ironman...
Another Year Older
Well, last Wednesday, May 25th was the first day of another year of my life.
Here is my annual birthday photo... not real spontaneous but you grab a photographer when you can get one. :)
So some reflections of the past year.... My body chemistry seems to be holding steady after several years of thyroid and adrenal bounces every few months. I have had numbers holding strong for 9 months now. I am pretty sure I can only attribute that to very carefully listening to my body. I try to respond appropriately when it tells me to slow down or gives me the thumbs up to charge ahead again.
I have more grey hairs (thank goodness for color in a box) and more wrinkles around my eyes and on my hands... just a sign of experience right? Oh and then there are the things that droop that no amount of exercise every really seems to get rid of...
On a positive note (not that the last information wasn't positive... its mostly just fact... and not much one can do about that...) I finally did my first Olympic Triathlon (not sure what that is... read some of my older posts)... I also did my second one even faster. Oh and then there was the 1/2 marathon... who would have though I would become a runner. Looking forward to my first 1/2 Ironman in 8 weeks... I love having fitness as part of my every day life and love that my daughter is embracing the joy of staying fit.
My kids... whew... we have had our ups and downs and really I am learning patience... patience with my kids when I have to ask them more than once to do something, and patience with my self when I don't handle their lack of compliance well. And then there is Joe... we actually had some dates this past year but life is really busy and we both know we need to make more time to love each other but we are pointed in the same direction together and so we continue to learn and grow together.
So really that is what another year brings me.... more reflection than I can cram in a blog but the knowledge that there is always another wonderful adventure around the corner, another lesson to learn, another challenge to try my patience and grow my confidence and so I start this new year with open arms and bigger goals and more love in my heart to share. Thanks for being on the journey with me...
My vanilla cream cake... It wasn't an ice cream cake but at least it had yummy chocolate icing. :)
Here is my annual birthday photo... not real spontaneous but you grab a photographer when you can get one. :)
So some reflections of the past year.... My body chemistry seems to be holding steady after several years of thyroid and adrenal bounces every few months. I have had numbers holding strong for 9 months now. I am pretty sure I can only attribute that to very carefully listening to my body. I try to respond appropriately when it tells me to slow down or gives me the thumbs up to charge ahead again.
I have more grey hairs (thank goodness for color in a box) and more wrinkles around my eyes and on my hands... just a sign of experience right? Oh and then there are the things that droop that no amount of exercise every really seems to get rid of...
On a positive note (not that the last information wasn't positive... its mostly just fact... and not much one can do about that...) I finally did my first Olympic Triathlon (not sure what that is... read some of my older posts)... I also did my second one even faster. Oh and then there was the 1/2 marathon... who would have though I would become a runner. Looking forward to my first 1/2 Ironman in 8 weeks... I love having fitness as part of my every day life and love that my daughter is embracing the joy of staying fit.
My kids... whew... we have had our ups and downs and really I am learning patience... patience with my kids when I have to ask them more than once to do something, and patience with my self when I don't handle their lack of compliance well. And then there is Joe... we actually had some dates this past year but life is really busy and we both know we need to make more time to love each other but we are pointed in the same direction together and so we continue to learn and grow together.
So really that is what another year brings me.... more reflection than I can cram in a blog but the knowledge that there is always another wonderful adventure around the corner, another lesson to learn, another challenge to try my patience and grow my confidence and so I start this new year with open arms and bigger goals and more love in my heart to share. Thanks for being on the journey with me...
Monday, May 30, 2011
Ode to the yard...
Well, my hands are raw(even wearing gloves all day) and my feet are aching... then there is the sunburn. Uugh! I've been spending a lot of time in the yard the last three weeks. It is that time of the year again where we are so happy for a great day of weather after winter chill head out.
So a nice day comes... on Wed of course so I skip a workout and go prep the garden beds. I have three raised beds that I plant my garden in to keep the dogs out for the most part. The next weekend JJ and I planted the garden. By some miracle this was the earliest I have gotten my garden in.
Lots of to dos for the yard this spring. I spent an hour manually pulling dandelions. Yes, I hate putting chemicals down with the kids and animals running around so I pull most weeks manually which works for big broad-leaf plants. Still have more to pull.
Then there is the wiley peach tree with tiny fruit that the dogs feast on... I spent all morning cutting it down and finding the trunks of the two apples tress which had wire, wild grass and some strange tree growing up into the trees so pulled it all out and cut things down. We planted a new baby maple in its place and created a perennial bed around the old trunk and the new one. Oh and with a little team work the back yard got mowed and doesn't look abandoned anymore.
The new tree and old stump...
Oh and what about Finley and his friendly dog run that turns to mud with his enthusiastic running up and down the fence line?? Tried weed barrier and bark last year. This year we have almost finished installing edging, new weed barrier (as Fin tor the old one to shreds) and river rock which will hopefully not all run down hill like the bark did. Just have about 20 more feet to go.
The dog run...
Next to finish is the dog kennel as Neah prefers to hang out outside during the work day when it isn't too hot, but right now it is full of mud so need to put in drainage and weed barrier...
Then on to the Arbor and deck/patio area for a place to hang the sky chair... and the list goes on and on but for now I am tired... but happy after a great day of hard work, watching the kids work hard with us and play hard in the portable pool too.
My dirty legs and sunburned self after a long day in the yard... Aaah!
My little dude sucking on ice to cool down at the end of a hot day.
So a nice day comes... on Wed of course so I skip a workout and go prep the garden beds. I have three raised beds that I plant my garden in to keep the dogs out for the most part. The next weekend JJ and I planted the garden. By some miracle this was the earliest I have gotten my garden in.
Lots of to dos for the yard this spring. I spent an hour manually pulling dandelions. Yes, I hate putting chemicals down with the kids and animals running around so I pull most weeks manually which works for big broad-leaf plants. Still have more to pull.
Then there is the wiley peach tree with tiny fruit that the dogs feast on... I spent all morning cutting it down and finding the trunks of the two apples tress which had wire, wild grass and some strange tree growing up into the trees so pulled it all out and cut things down. We planted a new baby maple in its place and created a perennial bed around the old trunk and the new one. Oh and with a little team work the back yard got mowed and doesn't look abandoned anymore.
Oh and what about Finley and his friendly dog run that turns to mud with his enthusiastic running up and down the fence line?? Tried weed barrier and bark last year. This year we have almost finished installing edging, new weed barrier (as Fin tor the old one to shreds) and river rock which will hopefully not all run down hill like the bark did. Just have about 20 more feet to go.
Next to finish is the dog kennel as Neah prefers to hang out outside during the work day when it isn't too hot, but right now it is full of mud so need to put in drainage and weed barrier...
Then on to the Arbor and deck/patio area for a place to hang the sky chair... and the list goes on and on but for now I am tired... but happy after a great day of hard work, watching the kids work hard with us and play hard in the portable pool too.
My dirty legs and sunburned self after a long day in the yard... Aaah!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
the state of air travel
So I have been on the road a fair bit lately and normally find traveling to be a fun diversion from my normal routine... an adventure to be had with new places and people to see. I even enjoy flying normally but my adventure of late have left a bad feeling in my gut.
I have to say that as gas prices went up and airlines tacked on the fees we all said that sucks but worked through it. Now with Northwest and Delta combining forces, and the latest merger of United with Continental... which was the last airline to serve meals with their standard tickets, I have become increasing disappointed with the performance of the airlines.
When I was out in Pennsylvania in March I realized I planned poorly and had opted to fly home early in the day rather than staying for the conference debrief. So the evening before my flight I called to see if I could push back to a later flight. There was room on the flight but to change there would be a $150 fee plus the cost of the difference in price of the tickets form the day they were originally purchased to it would have cost me around $700 to change my flight. The airline employee told i could call three hours before the later flight and they wouldn't charge me to change if there were still seats available. The only flaw with that logic is I would already be on a plane back to Iowa by then.
But with my weekend trip to Long Beach for meeting on the horizon I was prepared to fly again. So to make my trip more family friendly on they way out I left in the afternoon and since I was only to be traveling part of three days I packed a backpack sized suitcase for clothes, and my laptop backpack for everything else which should have left me with no checked bags.
Well because the airlines in their genius are charging for luggage everyone has slightly oversized rolling 'carry on' suitcases which take up all the space in the oversized bins so someone like me with two smaller bags still had to plane side check my clothes on three of the four flights.
To make things even more fun, because LAX is about the least modern major US airport I have been to (Des Moines is nicer) they don't have the facilities to give you back plane side checked luggage when you arrive there so you have to go to baggage claim.
So to end my story (or maybe begin it) on a bright note I am thankful the Denver airport is modern AND has free Wifi so my day today didn't suck as much as it could have. I got to LAX at 5:56 to catch my 7:30 flight to Denver and all went as planned until I got off the plane in Denver... I even had room for both backpacks inside the plane with me and got a nap after what was a short night.
That should have been a warning sign because I checked the displays upon arrival and my flight to Des Moines was delayed 2 hours so I had a four hour wait ahead of me. I wandered down to the first gate my flight out was assigned to and found out the plane was coming from Chicago. I am starting to run out of fingers to count how many times Chicago departing flights have flummoxed my travels when I don't even have a leg that takes me through Chicago.
So I am still in good spirits, and go find some lunch. Then I roam around looking for an available power outlet because they are in high demand in Denver. I found one to plug my rapidly dying phone into because I had spent a whole 15 minutes checking email, and sat down with my laptop to do some paperwork from the meetings I had just left since my laptop was fully charged.
After about an hour of that I wandered down to find my gate had changed and it was possible we would be departing later than anticipated.... super. So I do the loop again and find another power source and figure out they have free Wifi and entertain myself with catching up on email and chatting with friends who took pity on me after my cranky FB post.
So finally after 7 hours stuck in Denver i hear a call for boarding to Des Moines to our third assigned gate for all rows boarding immediately because they were able to round up a plane and crew from somewhere to actually take us to Des Moines.
So we all herd out to the tarmac.... yes the tarmac because the plane they had for us was quiet small, and yes i had to plan side check my laundry. We have an uneventful flight to Des Moines and then we get there and they tell us some more Great news.... only one gate and set of ground crew available because remember we were almost 5 hours late getting there so we had to wait for them to unload the plane in front of us while we sat on the runway long enough for me to type all of this with my two thumbs on my phone with several breaks for cramping.
So i finally arrive in the building at 8:15cst twelve hours after I got to LAX and five hours later than I was supposed to get there.... i haven't had anything to eat four hours... not even airplane pretzels because they don't give you those on United anymore. I take the bus to get my car and find out that my credit card is locked because of unusual usage (now you are probably thinking while you were just in LA and now you are in Iowa) but I did not use it while I was traveling and it turns out the credit card company is updating there system so they can't tell me why it won't work and it turns out as of today someone was using it that wasn't us.... I just love credit card fraud.
So my trip which was otherwise most wonderful and productive left me teary eyed in frustration while putting enough gas in the car using an alternative funding source so I could drive 45 minutes to Ames to arrive home at 9:35pm to finish this blog. So with this I leave you (thumb typos and all) with wishes that your future travel adventures may be less 'adventurous' than mine.
I have to say that as gas prices went up and airlines tacked on the fees we all said that sucks but worked through it. Now with Northwest and Delta combining forces, and the latest merger of United with Continental... which was the last airline to serve meals with their standard tickets, I have become increasing disappointed with the performance of the airlines.
When I was out in Pennsylvania in March I realized I planned poorly and had opted to fly home early in the day rather than staying for the conference debrief. So the evening before my flight I called to see if I could push back to a later flight. There was room on the flight but to change there would be a $150 fee plus the cost of the difference in price of the tickets form the day they were originally purchased to it would have cost me around $700 to change my flight. The airline employee told i could call three hours before the later flight and they wouldn't charge me to change if there were still seats available. The only flaw with that logic is I would already be on a plane back to Iowa by then.
But with my weekend trip to Long Beach for meeting on the horizon I was prepared to fly again. So to make my trip more family friendly on they way out I left in the afternoon and since I was only to be traveling part of three days I packed a backpack sized suitcase for clothes, and my laptop backpack for everything else which should have left me with no checked bags.
Well because the airlines in their genius are charging for luggage everyone has slightly oversized rolling 'carry on' suitcases which take up all the space in the oversized bins so someone like me with two smaller bags still had to plane side check my clothes on three of the four flights.
To make things even more fun, because LAX is about the least modern major US airport I have been to (Des Moines is nicer) they don't have the facilities to give you back plane side checked luggage when you arrive there so you have to go to baggage claim.
So to end my story (or maybe begin it) on a bright note I am thankful the Denver airport is modern AND has free Wifi so my day today didn't suck as much as it could have. I got to LAX at 5:56 to catch my 7:30 flight to Denver and all went as planned until I got off the plane in Denver... I even had room for both backpacks inside the plane with me and got a nap after what was a short night.
That should have been a warning sign because I checked the displays upon arrival and my flight to Des Moines was delayed 2 hours so I had a four hour wait ahead of me. I wandered down to the first gate my flight out was assigned to and found out the plane was coming from Chicago. I am starting to run out of fingers to count how many times Chicago departing flights have flummoxed my travels when I don't even have a leg that takes me through Chicago.
So I am still in good spirits, and go find some lunch. Then I roam around looking for an available power outlet because they are in high demand in Denver. I found one to plug my rapidly dying phone into because I had spent a whole 15 minutes checking email, and sat down with my laptop to do some paperwork from the meetings I had just left since my laptop was fully charged.
After about an hour of that I wandered down to find my gate had changed and it was possible we would be departing later than anticipated.... super. So I do the loop again and find another power source and figure out they have free Wifi and entertain myself with catching up on email and chatting with friends who took pity on me after my cranky FB post.
So finally after 7 hours stuck in Denver i hear a call for boarding to Des Moines to our third assigned gate for all rows boarding immediately because they were able to round up a plane and crew from somewhere to actually take us to Des Moines.
So we all herd out to the tarmac.... yes the tarmac because the plane they had for us was quiet small, and yes i had to plan side check my laundry. We have an uneventful flight to Des Moines and then we get there and they tell us some more Great news.... only one gate and set of ground crew available because remember we were almost 5 hours late getting there so we had to wait for them to unload the plane in front of us while we sat on the runway long enough for me to type all of this with my two thumbs on my phone with several breaks for cramping.
So i finally arrive in the building at 8:15cst twelve hours after I got to LAX and five hours later than I was supposed to get there.... i haven't had anything to eat four hours... not even airplane pretzels because they don't give you those on United anymore. I take the bus to get my car and find out that my credit card is locked because of unusual usage (now you are probably thinking while you were just in LA and now you are in Iowa) but I did not use it while I was traveling and it turns out the credit card company is updating there system so they can't tell me why it won't work and it turns out as of today someone was using it that wasn't us.... I just love credit card fraud.
So my trip which was otherwise most wonderful and productive left me teary eyed in frustration while putting enough gas in the car using an alternative funding source so I could drive 45 minutes to Ames to arrive home at 9:35pm to finish this blog. So with this I leave you (thumb typos and all) with wishes that your future travel adventures may be less 'adventurous' than mine.
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The road to my first ½ marathon…
2011 Get In Gear - Half Marathon Minneapolis, MN
SHAWN BLAESING-THOMPSON
Time 2:20:37, Splits 10 Mile 1:45:17, 4 Mile 41:24
Ave Pace 10:45 per mile
Overall Place 870 out of 1030, 407 out of 533 Females, 162 out of 201 Females in F30-39 AG
The road to my first ½ marathon…
So if you had told me two or three years ago I would run a ½ marathon I would most certainly have laughed in your face. Running more than a couple of miles always used to leave me beat up and unhappy until last summer.
I have something like 8 sprint triathlons, one team Olympic and one solo Olympic triathlon under my belt over the last four years. Last year was the first year I really did any consistent training for my races as I had two Olympic races on the schedule as well as a 10k run. I did a 10 week triathlon class in the early spring to give me a kick and help me meet other crazy folks like me. Part of my process was also learning how to run better. I was a competitive swimmer through middle school and high school so for me the swimming is the easiest part of the triathlon. With the bike I just need time in the saddle to keep things going, but the run was kicking my butt.
So I did a little research on running technique and came across the book chi running which goes through the principles of correct running form. There are four key points I focus on:
Don’t heel strike but rather hit with your midfoot or whole foot at one time.
This requires a shorter stride so your feet actually hit pretty much under your body.
Run relaxed. I always tensed up my upper body and got headaches from running so I focused on keeping my shoulder down and back.
Add a slight forward lean to let gravity move you forward faster.
Strengthen your core and use that instead of your leg muscles to propel you.
So within a couple of months I was easy running between 3-5 miles a couple times a week. I wasn’t doing the core work last summer and could tell once I hit the five mile mark.
This winter I added a yoga/Pilates class to my mix which works all the core muscles, adds an upper body and leg strength workout and all the sudden I am up in the 8-10 mile run range and feeling good.
My average training week usually looks something like a 2.5 – 4 mile run on Tuesday and Thursday. Sometimes a short 2-3 mile run on Saturday and a long 6-10 mile run on Sundays with my average distances miles per week around 15 – 22 over the last two – three months. Now I have to tell you I am not real fast when it comes to sustaining over a long run so on my week day runs I have been focusing on an intense hill workout and a speed workout and last week I actually was able to do a 5k on the treadmill in around 26 minutes. I now need to build that speed into my open run and 10k times and then figure out how to bring down my ½ marathon time.
Race day I was pretty jittery even though I kept telling myself just go out, enjoy the experience and try to hit your goals along the way. We had to park about a mile away and with a light rain falling I jogged down the hill to the park where the race start was. I hopped into the shoot about a minute after the gun went off but because there were around 8000 folks (mostly doing the 10k run) in the chute with me it still took me about four minutes to get to the start mat and get some jogging momentum.
It was overcast and around 45 degrees with a drizzle that came and went the first 10 miles or so. There was a wind that wasn’t insignificant, but didn’t really bother me. The first mile was spent with the usual careful picking to try and find a clear path so I wasn’t tripping over people and eventually was able to focus on finding a comfortable pace and enjoy the course. It ran along the Mississippi river to the north for 3 miles or so and then crossed a long high bridge over the river and wound south for about 7 miles before doubling back on itself and crossing a different bridge into Minnihaha park to finish.
I was about three miles in before I found another woman who was going about the same pace and doing the ½ rather than the 10k so we kept each other on track as best we could using the splits I was pulling off my watch. She picked up her pace with about four miles to go so I did the next three miles solo and then came across another woman going about the same pace and we motivated each other to the finish line. We were all first timers so it was nice to have a little outside my head voice to keep me moving.
My splits came from my GPS app on my phone and were similar to the splits I pulled from my watch…
Final time 2:20:37
Mile 1 = 10:15, Mile2= 9:45, Mile 3= 10:05, (had some Gatorade) mile 4 = 10:16, mile 5 = 10:05, Mile 6 = 10:14, mile 7 = 10:45 (had water with gu pack),Mile 8 = 10:20, mile 9=10:23 (turn around point), mile 10=10:37 (had some water), mile 11=10:56, (uphill grade) mile 12=11:19 (uphill grade had some Gatorade), mile 13.1 = 11:42
All in all I hit my target time because I hadn’t done any training runs over 10.5 miles and hadn’t implemented any nutrition intake on my long runs either so I wasn’t sure how I would perform over time. Goals for the future would include keeping my splits between 9:45 and 10:30 and working on the mental part of the last three miles to the finish line. I had some hip irritation due to a tight IT band in my left leg for about half of the race and my IT bands in both legs screamed at me the rest of the day so I need to work on getting those to release better. All in all my soreness is pretty much gone on day three out and I did opt to rest Sunday and just do my yoga/pilates class on Monday. I ran Tuesday and felt it some but pushed through to get almost 4 miles in.
So goals beyond that. I have two Olympic races on the books this year plus am going to attempt my first ½ Ironman in late July. I hope to do another half marathon run in October to close out my season and see where all this running can take me.
SHAWN BLAESING-THOMPSON
Time 2:20:37, Splits 10 Mile 1:45:17, 4 Mile 41:24
Ave Pace 10:45 per mile
Overall Place 870 out of 1030, 407 out of 533 Females, 162 out of 201 Females in F30-39 AG
The road to my first ½ marathon…
So if you had told me two or three years ago I would run a ½ marathon I would most certainly have laughed in your face. Running more than a couple of miles always used to leave me beat up and unhappy until last summer.
I have something like 8 sprint triathlons, one team Olympic and one solo Olympic triathlon under my belt over the last four years. Last year was the first year I really did any consistent training for my races as I had two Olympic races on the schedule as well as a 10k run. I did a 10 week triathlon class in the early spring to give me a kick and help me meet other crazy folks like me. Part of my process was also learning how to run better. I was a competitive swimmer through middle school and high school so for me the swimming is the easiest part of the triathlon. With the bike I just need time in the saddle to keep things going, but the run was kicking my butt.
So I did a little research on running technique and came across the book chi running which goes through the principles of correct running form. There are four key points I focus on:
Don’t heel strike but rather hit with your midfoot or whole foot at one time.
This requires a shorter stride so your feet actually hit pretty much under your body.
Run relaxed. I always tensed up my upper body and got headaches from running so I focused on keeping my shoulder down and back.
Add a slight forward lean to let gravity move you forward faster.
Strengthen your core and use that instead of your leg muscles to propel you.
So within a couple of months I was easy running between 3-5 miles a couple times a week. I wasn’t doing the core work last summer and could tell once I hit the five mile mark.
This winter I added a yoga/Pilates class to my mix which works all the core muscles, adds an upper body and leg strength workout and all the sudden I am up in the 8-10 mile run range and feeling good.
My average training week usually looks something like a 2.5 – 4 mile run on Tuesday and Thursday. Sometimes a short 2-3 mile run on Saturday and a long 6-10 mile run on Sundays with my average distances miles per week around 15 – 22 over the last two – three months. Now I have to tell you I am not real fast when it comes to sustaining over a long run so on my week day runs I have been focusing on an intense hill workout and a speed workout and last week I actually was able to do a 5k on the treadmill in around 26 minutes. I now need to build that speed into my open run and 10k times and then figure out how to bring down my ½ marathon time.
Race day I was pretty jittery even though I kept telling myself just go out, enjoy the experience and try to hit your goals along the way. We had to park about a mile away and with a light rain falling I jogged down the hill to the park where the race start was. I hopped into the shoot about a minute after the gun went off but because there were around 8000 folks (mostly doing the 10k run) in the chute with me it still took me about four minutes to get to the start mat and get some jogging momentum.
It was overcast and around 45 degrees with a drizzle that came and went the first 10 miles or so. There was a wind that wasn’t insignificant, but didn’t really bother me. The first mile was spent with the usual careful picking to try and find a clear path so I wasn’t tripping over people and eventually was able to focus on finding a comfortable pace and enjoy the course. It ran along the Mississippi river to the north for 3 miles or so and then crossed a long high bridge over the river and wound south for about 7 miles before doubling back on itself and crossing a different bridge into Minnihaha park to finish.
I was about three miles in before I found another woman who was going about the same pace and doing the ½ rather than the 10k so we kept each other on track as best we could using the splits I was pulling off my watch. She picked up her pace with about four miles to go so I did the next three miles solo and then came across another woman going about the same pace and we motivated each other to the finish line. We were all first timers so it was nice to have a little outside my head voice to keep me moving.
My splits came from my GPS app on my phone and were similar to the splits I pulled from my watch…
Final time 2:20:37
Mile 1 = 10:15, Mile2= 9:45, Mile 3= 10:05, (had some Gatorade) mile 4 = 10:16, mile 5 = 10:05, Mile 6 = 10:14, mile 7 = 10:45 (had water with gu pack),Mile 8 = 10:20, mile 9=10:23 (turn around point), mile 10=10:37 (had some water), mile 11=10:56, (uphill grade) mile 12=11:19 (uphill grade had some Gatorade), mile 13.1 = 11:42
All in all I hit my target time because I hadn’t done any training runs over 10.5 miles and hadn’t implemented any nutrition intake on my long runs either so I wasn’t sure how I would perform over time. Goals for the future would include keeping my splits between 9:45 and 10:30 and working on the mental part of the last three miles to the finish line. I had some hip irritation due to a tight IT band in my left leg for about half of the race and my IT bands in both legs screamed at me the rest of the day so I need to work on getting those to release better. All in all my soreness is pretty much gone on day three out and I did opt to rest Sunday and just do my yoga/pilates class on Monday. I ran Tuesday and felt it some but pushed through to get almost 4 miles in.
So goals beyond that. I have two Olympic races on the books this year plus am going to attempt my first ½ Ironman in late July. I hope to do another half marathon run in October to close out my season and see where all this running can take me.