Roo Roo

Not much to say on such a rainy day. I am supposed to run a good run, but I am not sure how I am going to make that happen in this weather. Back up goal #2...order pizza for lunch!!! Oh yeah, and I am going to work on my quilt.

I wanted to share this picture of Rooney (aka: Roo Roo, Roo Poo, Rooster). Wasn't he so cute as a puppy! Our sit and stay is going very, very well. I can tell him to stay and walk into another room and he will stay until I call him. I am sure when we go back to class, though, he will pretend I never taught him any of this.

Hope everyone is having a great day. Bad weather can be nice because it forces us to relax and rest. :)

Didn't Get Dropped!

Today I went riding with a group of guys. I was nervous that I would not be able to hang on, and we were going 40 miles. Sure enough, the guys started hammering up the hills. I just let them and quickly caught back up without much worry at the top of each one. This has always been my style in track, cycling, and swimming. I usually start off slower (because it takes me a while to warm up), but by the end I am doing great and passing people that started off too fast. I try not to worry what others may think about me if I am not near the front. I think this comes with inner focus and knowing that I am not competing with others in training. Or, maybe that I only have to prove my worth to myself, not to others. (And don't be fooled, proving things to yourself can be much harder sometimes than proving to others!) Of course with cycling, I would love to get faster in everything and get the speed to start off more quickly, but I know this will come with a couple of months (or years, really!) of solid training.

By the end of the ride, one guy was dropped...but not me. I was right up there. :)

Of course, they could probably drop me at any time if they wanted to. I am sure they were being nice to the "new girl."

These Days

So, what is going on in my life right now?

Family: Dave and I are doing great. Rooney is in dog school (well, I guess Dave and I are really the ones in school). We are working on "sit and stay" and "loose-leash walking". Good luck to us on that one! Dave and I are becoming super boring as we get older, but we are happier than ever. For those of you that don't know, Dave and I have known each other for 12 years, and we have been sweethearts in one way or another for almost all 12 of those. Our 3 year wedding anniversary is this year...where does the time go?

School: This is my biggest challenge of the year. I am trying to graduate with my doctorate in physical therapy. This is my last year of classes. School has really been a struggle for me this time around, but I am hanging on like a one-armed monkey that just won't give up!

Extra-curricular: Well, this probably takes up most of my life because I am all about having fun! I like to keep a full plate with lots of variety. When I am a grandma, I want to be running marathons, visiting other countries, staying out till 3:00am... just kidding, I can't even stay out past midnight now! Most of my time is taken up these days by marathon training and pre-IM training (I am doing my first Ironman this year in Florida). I guess I am not officially training for the IM yet, but I am getting in a pretty good base. I am still waiting for my coach, Joy, to tell me when to step it up.

So that is it! Besides an occasional work shift at Breakaway Running, I will be going to school, running, biking, swimming, training Rooney (and myself), and begging Dave to bear with me through 2008 as energy slowly drains away!

Happy Tuesday to you!

Gina V.

Picture 1: Damie and Gina at Tupelo 14.2
Picture 2: Gina's BQ

Yesterday, my friend and running partner Gina "forced" me to run a 5k. Neither of us have raced since 12/1/07, and we have only been to track twice since then. The plan was to cut back running in December and gradually return to training in January. So, I guess it was time for the moment of truth to see where our fitness was and make some plans from there. I was dreading the first race back. I wasn't prepared! I haven't done any speedwork!

Gina is the best sort of friend...positive, accepting, loving, and striving. She is an incredible athlete and person. Many of our PRs are almost exactly the same, so we really make great running partners and friendly rivals. She usually has something very "wise" to say about our running, and she knew I wasn't too thrilled to line up for a 5k when I felt so out of shape. So she said, "we are going to accept whatever our times are." Very zen-like of Gina!

So we lined up for the Lisa Lassandrello 5k on a very cold, slightly wet morning. And I was happy to run! I was ready to accept whatever my time would be. Gina and I both exceeded our expectations. I ran a 21:32 with a very strong 2nd mile and was happy with my effort. Gina and I are both in a better place at the beginning of this year than we were at the beginning of 2007. We now have our beginning of the year, short distance baseline. It is time to get to work!!!

And, in typical fashion, we ran another 12 miles after the race to get 15 miles in for the day. We always have the best conversation. I hope that everyone will have a chance in life to have such a great friendship. Oh, and by the way, Gina is training for Boston. She had her BQ this past December. She is a bad-ass!