First Race Looming...

My first race of the year is here- the Alabama Coastal tri this Saturday in Gulf Shores. The distance is somewhere between a sprint and an oly- 1,000yd ocean swim, 19.5 mile bike, and 4.5 mile run. Short enough to start the season, but long enough to make me hurt I am sure!

I decided to do this race mainly to get some ocean swim practice in before Ironman Florida. I have never been swimming in the ocean before, so I thought it was really important that I try it at least once before the big race.

Me and swimming=good friends. I am not fast, but I really like to swim. It is fun! I don't always like doing it at 5:30 in the morning, but I like the way the water feels. I think all kinds of thoughts while I am swimming and plan all kinds of things. I sing to myself too. When I was a kid, I wanted to be on the swim team at the EMCC, but my mom had to be at work in the summer too early, so there was no one to bring me to practice. So, I didn't get to sign up.

Two and a half years ago I decided to start swimming so I could enter a triathlon. Like everyone else that didn't do swim team, I could make it 25 yards and then exploded-holding on to the side of the wall gasping for breath after my whole minute of swimming. I am not sure why I didn't quit! I remember the first day I went to master's swim at the downtown Y. I was in the beginner class, but the "good swimmers" were still finishing their swim. I took one look at them and called Dave to tell him I was coming home. There was no way I was going to humiliate myself! He told me to get my butt in the pool-no excuses. And, here I am almost in my 3rd year of swimming, still waking up while it is dark- before any human should wake up to go swim.

This weekend I have some swim goals- not necessarily in this order:
1. Don't get sick from swallowing too much salt water.
2. Don't drown.
3. Don't get sea-sick. (I have gotten sea sick just standing in the ocean before!)
4. Don't get eaten by a shark.

If I can get through the first half of the swim without the previous problems, then my final goal will be to try to swim hard and strong. Not too hard (which isn't a problem because I am not fast) but just a good, even effort. You know, make all of those 5:30 am swims count! I am also going to try to look for pretty fish- take in the scenery if I can. I guess I should really be finding feet and hanging on instead of looking for fish. Oh well, we will see how it goes!

Gombos' Wedding

What a fantastic wedding. Awesome!! I danced my arse off and partied harder than I have in a long time. The reception was right by the beach in Biloxi. There is nothing better than ocean air! The food was fanstastic- all cajun southern cooking. The band was amazing and kept the party going forever. The bride, Aerin, was gorgeous and shook her booty all night long. I got to hang with all kinds of old college friends. And, I was not the first to pass out. I am very proud of myself! I hung in there and even made it out to the bar afterwards! Here are just a few pictures, but I have many, many more. I didn't post any really late night pictures. Boy do we look scary in those!



The start of the night: Becca, Laura, Damie, Kristin at the Beau Rivage...headed to the wedding. Why is everyone tanner than I? Ok, Becca admitted to having a fake tan. I never knew I was so pale!











My college girlfriends....let's get the party started! This is 7 out of 10 of us- everyone lives all over the country.










Gombos in true form.






There is a story behind the pashminas. There was a $15 store (no, not a $1 store, a $15 store where everything costs $15) at the casino selling these. When we realized it was an outdoors reception, a couple of us went to go buy one so we wouldn't be cold. When we got to the wedding, everyone had on the same pashmina! A bunch of us went at separate times and got one- not realizing every other friend would have one! We all got different colors too. I don't know, seemed funny after a couple of drinks!

I am home now. The ride home stunk- my body is soooooo tired. I had such a great time this weekend with my friends. Congratulations to Aerin and Reed!

Heading to Mississippi

I don't have much to post about since I am super boring.  I just ate half of a pizza and I have no regrets.  The big Friday night issue is finding a cute dress to wear to my friend from college Aerin 'Sahquan' Gombos' wedding tomorrow evening in Biloxi.  I don't have any cute clothes.  Nothing.  I have nothing to wear.  It is too late to scramble around town to borrow from friends.  What do I do?  The only clothes in my closet are 5-10 years old and from the juniors department.  I don't think I can get away with that look anymore since I am 30.  At least my sister is coming over tonight to wax my eyebrows so I don't look like I have caterpillars on my face.  My friends are coming from all over to go to this wedding- 5 from Chicago, 1 from New York, 1 from Miami, 1 from DC.  They are all fashionistas.  I am clearly not.  Lovely.  At least I don't think they expect anything more from me.  They know me too well.  

The most humorous part about the wedding is I can't even talk to my friends about what I do with my life.  They would just look at me dumbly if I said:

• No I don't go out because I wake up at 4:50am- to train
• Why get my hair done at a salon?  It will just get ruined in the pool with all of the chlorine
• No, I have not bought a new car.  I would rather save for a bike.
• What do my friends in Memphis do?  Train
• Why didn't I get in town earlier to hang out?  I had a tempo run scheduled.  
• I just ran a marathon in April because I felt like it.  It was fun.  I know that doesn't make sense.
• I am doing Ironman Florida in November.  I won't even bother telling you the distances of the events.  
• And the list goes on-

So I usually don't mention any of this.  Yes, I say I am doing a few races this season.  Oh, and I still run some.  

What a different world?  But isn't it great to have friends with a whole other life?  I will post some good pics as soon as I get back.  I do plan on partying my A$$ off this weekend-something I don't get to do very often anymore! :)

A Matter Of Attitude

Last night Dave and I played in our weekly outdoor co-ed game. It is a good mixture of competitiveness and fun. The competitiveness comes from the fact that there are a lot of players out there that are ex-collegiate players and still have some things going on- and the fun comes from the fact that we are all getting old..."has-beens" if you will. Dave and I are so lucky to have the same sport that we have loved our whole life and can share together.

Like any sport, as a player you have ups and downs. I have read a lot about the psychology of sports, particularly team sports like soccer, over the past years. The thing about having a bad game is you have to find some way to pull yourself out and make do something successful. That is what separates the best players in the world from the guys that are on the reserve rosters. For instance, a couple of weeks ago, Torres on Liverpool was non-existent the whole game. But, he found a way in the second half to get himself back into the game and score an amazing goal.

Dave has been having a mental block with shooting lately. He is an amazing player with the capacity to win games single-handedly (although that is not the point of team sports, some players just have that quality). He is one of the best players I have ever played with or met- and I am not just saying that because he is my hubby:)

Anyhoo- to the point. This whole week Dave has talked negatively about his shooting. "I just can't score. I don't know what's wrong. I should've won that game for us. Wha wha wha." I always come back with something positive. "You are a goal-scorer. You rip shots that other people couldn't dream of making. You have the ability." Last night at the game, same thing. Dave starts missing some shots that he would normally put away. He says the f-word or something negative about himself. I retort with something positive. "Great shot. Keep 'em coming."

At the end of the game, I finally told him: "you're only problem is your attitude. If you want to play well, you have to treat yourself well. All of the negativity is only bringing you down mentally. Be kind to yourself and say positive things. Don't you dare make one more negative remark about yourself."

So, what are you feeding yourself? Negativity? Don't think it doesn't have an effect on your person. Spend time practicing replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. I think you will see that it really makes a difference. It really does work. Read some books on sports psychology and get yourself in that positive frame of mind. Many national level athletes practice positive self-talk before big games, meets, or races. Instead of saying "I am such a slow runner; I never get any faster." How about this: "I am running farther than I ever did last year. I am a committed runner." Think about it. Start saying great things to yourself, and I know it will pay off.

And, Dave has promised not to say one more negative thing at the game next week. If he misses a shot, he has to immediately get back on defense and start playing hard again. Him missing the goal will be replaced by him immediately working to win the ball back.

As for me, I have promised not to get in a fight with anyone next week. Yes, I exchanged some words with a guy last night after he did a slide tackle from behind on a teammate of mine and did not win the ball-it was dangerous and I was mad. But, I have promised to walk away next time. Umm, and that will be a challenge for me, but what does that say to my team if I react so negatively? Lose the negativity!!!!

Here are some old pictures from New Orleans. These are some members of our co-ed team Many Lixx Maestros. We sure did have a lot of fun. You can probably see me on the very left with long pig tails. Dave is first guy on the left-look how young! I think we were 24 here? This picture is not our whole team, just some of us from our team (along with some guest players) that played in a 7 v 7 tournament. I don't have many soccer pictures b/c there weren't really digital cameras when I played a lot. I will try to get some more recent soccer pictures and post them, though.

Crawfish Festival

Damie, Laura, and Joy- fellow bloggers, friends, and Memphis triathletes participating in arm strengthening by drinking some beer at the Crawfish Festival.

How lucky I am to have a good group of friends, training partners, and party buddies right by me in Memphis. When Dave and I were forced away from New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina, I left every single friend behind. Some were displaced so far away I don't know if I will ever see them again. Memphis was sad and lonely for me...for a while. But, somehow I stumbled upon a great group of friends, and my time in Memphis has been good and fulfilling.

So here we are doing what we do best- enjoying life and each other's company. I see these girls most days of the week and it never gets old. We are each so different, and we compliment each other well. Yeah to girlfriends and beer!

Dave's Got Garden Fever...doo do doo

When Dave was a kid, his father had a huge green thumb. Their yard was an oasis of day lillies and other beautiful flowers that were actually tagged with name plates. Dave said that he would make fun of his dad, along with his cousin Chris, by singing "Dad's got garden fever...!" I guess you would have to hear the tune, but it cracks me up to think about it.

Funny how you make fun of others and then become that person. Our wildly romantic, passionate weekends are spent in the yard and garden now. Weekend dates have become, "hey, do you want to go to Lowe's with me?" I say 'no' 9/10 times. Dave does most of the gardening. I plant one flower to his thirty, and then feel proud of myself as if I have contributed. Mostly I spend the time in the garden looking for snakes. One day I found 5 of them! They were just tiny things so I left them alone. Then my mom pointed out that they will grow, and so now I move them over to the ditch at the end of our street. I bet you have snakes in your yard and garden and don't even know it! Look under the rocks, that is where I find them.


So, here is a picture of the front of our house. This is the beginning of our first flower bed. I will post some pictures after everything blooms. If everything blooms. Dave's will probably bloom because he plants them with love. Mine will probably not bloom since they know I have better things to do.

3 Down...

And 1 to go.  It is around 9:45 pm on Wed, and I am studying for my 4th test of the week...Ortho III.  I figure I will be up until 2:00 am when my body finally shuts down.  Then I will wake up around 6:30 feeling like crap, cram in my last 45 minutes of studying, take the test, and then shoot myself.  Just kidding, I won't shoot myself, just go into a deep coma after the test.  Please, no one call the helpline on me.  Maybe the study helpline.  Do they have that for older students?

I am too old for tests.  Seriously.  No 30-year-old should be up past 9:00pm.  I know Mira hears me on this one.  I know you are probably wondering why I am on my blog writing.  I am delaying my final stretch of studying the spine-  

Memphis Thunder Racing- A Team With A Purpose

Dave and I are currently reading The Purpose Driven Life.  Chapter 1:  It Is Not All About You. That is so much to ponder, and I have really been thinking about it all day.  I have been thinking about how this applies to my life at school and at home.  I sure to have a lot to work on!  

How does this translate to triathlons?  I feel very, very fortunate to belong to an amazing triathlon team, Memphis Thunder Racing.  Our team is open to all individuals, regardless of skill, which is unique in this area.  Although we have some amazing triathletes, all-americans, and world qualifiers, we also have beginners that are just learning to swim, bike, or run.  We are a team for all different types of individuals.  

I had to throw this old picture in. This is a picture from my first year on Thunder, and I think that this was my first group ride too!   That is me and Andi, my first friend on Thunder.  She has moved to Colorado and I never see her anymore :(  But, she is coming in town for Memphis In May!  Yeah!!!!

The thing about my team that I have been most proud of lately is the focus it has on helping others.  That outward focus...the "it is not all about me" focus.  Check out the next two months on our schedule.  

• Fit City Dash and Splash at Wellworx Friday April 18 at 6:3o.  This is a painful but fun race that consists of running and then swimming.  It sounds like no big deal, but it is really hard!  Although Thunder is not hosting this event, we are helping out the race since the promoters are one of our sponsors.  The proceeds go to St Jude... how awesome! Worthwhile to say the least.

• Thunder Special Olympics Field Day Saturday April 26 from 10-1.  We are having participants from special olympics come and participate in some games and athletic contests.  We are also setting up some buddy systems where we get to mentor an athlete in triathlons!  This means I get to coach an athlete 1x a month for 2 hours.  It is so cool.  

• Cycle for Safety in Memory of Cory Horton May 4 at 10:00.  This speaks for itself.  We want to raise awareness for the safe treatment of cyclists in the community.  The money we raise goes to 3 different Memphis organizations to help make this a safer place to ride.  Cycle for Safety is a 25 & 50 mile sponsored ride.

• Memphis in May- Raising money for the Church Health Center.  As a team, we are going to race for donations to give to this Memphis organization that provides health care to those individuals that work, but still cannot afford health care.  The Church Health Center also helps educate and promote fitness- just ask Joy, premier health specialist!   

All four of these events are so great.  It reminds me that while I do the things that I enjoy and have my own goals I would like to reach, there is always room and space to give to others.   

I Heart Charlie

I deleted my recent post- a plea to fitness to come back to me like a long lost lover.  In its place, I am posting a tribute to Charlie Duke.

Charlie B Duke III (sounds smart, doesn't it?)

Chemist extraordinaire... he went to work the other morning to check on his molecules!

Member of Terrapin Racing (we won't hold that against him, though).

Awesome cyclist (and runner...and swimmer)

Always has a smile- I have never seen him in a bad mood

The kind of person that won't let anyone get dropped, even though he could ride about 7 mph faster than the current pace, on a fixed gear bike

Member of the coffee club (our post Master's Swim decompression)

Attendee of my birthday party- thank goodness or it would've been too much estrogen

Future finisher of Ironman USA

And, good friend.  

He would never tell me I am out of shape (wink wink).  He is a firm believer in my abilities as an athlete.  This is a much better post than my whining satire about my loss of fitness.  

A Continued Conversation

A huge thanks to Clark Butcher for helping with my bike last night. I can actually shift some gears again and head out on the roads. I foresee some beer coming his way.

I ride a Giant OCR road bike. 2004 model? That sounds about right. Your bike is probably lighter than mine, unless you have steel. Mine is aluminum with a carbon fork. I have heavy spd pedals, no dura ace, etc. For the past year I have combed ebay, read classifieds, and called bike shops in search for a carbon tri bike I could afford. Nada.

The solution: I need to ride more. As Clark put it, I need to ride the shit out of my bike. My bike is great. Two nights ago I counted my total bike hours for the past year and it was very sad. I am surprised I can actually ride a bike to be honest. I don't think the 1 time a week or 1 time a month is going to cut it anymore. Okay, sometimes I would ride more than that-you know, twice a week the week before a race.

I love to ride. I don't love riding in Memphis. I don't like people screaming at me or trying to run me off of the road. I don't like coming home in tears because I almost lost my life to some a-hole that couldn't get to his red light fast enough. I do love riding on the country roads outside of the city. But, I don't always have the time to get out of the city, so I just need to make the bike miles happen. MAKE IT HAPPEN! No excuses, just get out there.

I have decided to spend my tri money (or lack thereof) elsewhere this season. No bike. I have a bike. I have legs too. I just need to ride- and ride with a purpose. My Giant will probably pass some $3,000 bikes this year, and I am excited thinking about that.

Lurking

I am a lurker.  It is strange.  If other people do it, does that make it okay?  

I did not even know what a blog was until after the 2007 Hawaii Ironman.  Someone named Bree Wee (with a great blog, by the way) had a fantastic finish at the race.  Since she was American and close to my age, I wanted to find out about her.  Well, type in Bree Wee to google, and guess what comes up...her blog.  

It was such a great read!  It was motivational and inspiring.  Weird, too, since I was reading all about someone that I don't even know.  Look to the left, and there are links to other triathletes.  Read their blogs, and you are connected to even more!  I wonder how many other people were introduced to the blog world in the same way.  

  I have since become a lurker.  I have read great stories and gained inspiration from people that I have not met in person.  I have even had a chance to meet some really neat athletes like Mira and Jen Harrison through blogging.  It has been a great way to connect to other triathletes in the community- directly or indirectly.  I will try to be more direct in the future and not quite such a lurker.  

Thank you to all that read my blog.  Have a great Tuesday.  I hope the post-Tiger blues have gone away.  They are still #1.

Bling Bling!

I have a new finisher's medal! Hooray! So that makes 5 marathons, and I guess maybe I could set a goal to do 50 by 50?



Damie finishing. See the three people in the background? Those were the only 3 spectators at the end of the marathon (besides Dave). ;)  That is seriously how small this marathon is with no spectators hardly at all.  


This is me at Mile 6 dropping off gear. Dave and I planned to meet here if I wanted to shed clothes and/or grab anything. Notice how I am all by myself? That is because there was no one there! 60-70 people in the race maybe? You literally ran by yourself almost the whole time. I did buddy up with someone for about 6 miles which was fun.


Damie and Gina post race. Do you love the Memphis Tigers symbols on our face? We wore them during the race.  GO TIGERS! Final Four tonight!!!!

Goal accomplished.  Low stress, fun day with my hubby as my caddy.  He still needs a little training, though, as he completely forgot to meet me between miles 20-26...leaving me with absolutely no nutrition or liquids.  But, he was joyfully waiting for me at the finish line so that made up for everything.  He is such a sweetheart.  

Oh yeah, and this is how they started the race.  "ummm, someone stole the marathon markers, so just make sure you follow the person in front of you.  If you get separated you might be in trouble." I ran straight to my car to get a map...oh my gosh!!!  And, I completely would've missed some turn-offs if I didn't see the person in front of me turn.  It was quite an experience.  I really did enjoy the very, very small race experience and would recommend this to anyone that just wants to go out there and do something different. 

This is the start of the race.  We just all gathered around. 

And then the guy says "go!" And that is how we started! Believe it or not, in this last picture I am about to cry. I don't know why, but I looked over at Dave taking a picture and felt so grateful that I have a husband that is so proud of me. And, I in turn felt so proud of myself for going on another adventure. I was really choked up at the start of the race.  I am such a weenie.  Someone toughen me up!  :)

Lazy Friday

I did not have class today- yeah!!! It is our one free Friday of the month. It is steadily raining outside, and I am loving it. I am the type of person that can sit at home all day long and not be bored. I don't understand how some people (ahem...my husband) cannot sit at home. There is so much to do around here-or I can do nothing. What could be better? (Plus, I don't have to run or do anything today! Just drink water!)

However, the dogs have had other plans for me. They would not let me sleep in. Both got on the bed and wrestled. I tried to pull the covers over my head and ignore them, but they wouldn't let me.

Finally I get up. And there is Zinny dog pee all over the floor of the kitchen. I mean, I huge puddle on the rug and a nice, big stream down the kitchen. Arghhh!!! Thanks, guys, for waking me up. Thanks a ton for the pee, too.

So, here are some pictures of the dogs on lazy friday. I am trying my best to entertain them since they can't go outside.

Jan "Vining" Johnson

Do you remember the first time you met someone? I distinctively remember meeting Jan (Vining at the time- now Johnson).

She is a great triathlete. Before we actually met, she was one of the girls that was "on my radar." You know, the girls you don't know, but they are in your age group and you know what their race results are, strengths and weaknesses, etc. Okay, some of you might not have a radar, but I do! (Yes, I can be laid back, but I can be very competitive too!)

Jan and I raced each other at CATS sprint in 2006. We didn't know each other, but we came into contact for sure.

Check out the picture above. Jan is in the green shirt and I am just to the left of her in blue shorts and a white hat. Jan actually had a picture of us on her camera at our "first meeting." We are at the table trying to figure out who gets the first place medal.

This is how we remember meeting-unofficially. I was waiting on the side to be called up for awards. I was pretty sure I had won my age group based on the results. But, my name wasn't called anywhere, and they called Jan Vining up for 1st place. I promptly walked up there and said there must be a mistake, I was first, check your times. Sweet Jan is forced to give her medal back so I can have it. And, that is our first meeting.

So, months later I am in contact with someone named Jan Johnson. We are going to meet up at track and workout some together. She is awesome, fun, and great to be around. She is also a badass runner. By that, I mean she was the girl that won everything in high school and went to state in everything. She also ran D1 track and cross country for Samford. We really hit it off because she is also really cool!

Then-we figure out that we are the other girl from CATS! I mean, it was really easy to remember that incident because it was kind of embarrassing for both of us. And, Jan had a picture of it to boot! How funny is that!!! So, we have a recording of our very first meeting- and the start of a great friendship.

BTW, the fact that I beat Jan was luck. If the run had been longer I would've been toast!

I Run For Medals

This is a long-winded post. Please bear with me.

There are many reasons to run and race. The past year, my focus was mainly on running fast times, getting a BQ, and placing well. I figured out that in 2007 I did 27 races- 20 of those were running only races. Ummmm...I was a little burned out by the end of the year. But, that is a topic for another post.

Out of those 20 road races, 3 of them were marathons.
1. April- St Louis: came off of a broken foot in December-6 weeks no running. Minimal time to train but had a strong 3:44. Felt great until mile 23...then uh-oh. Lungs were fine, legs could not make it up the hills. Very proud of myself for a strong marathon overall. Recovery was fast too! Couldn't wait to blow out the next race.

2. October-Chicago: Hello? Self-explanatory. I was in the best running shape of my life. I had a new PR in every distance. I felt as thought I was ready to run in the low 3:30s or faster. Instead, I made it to mile 20 where I sat in the middle of the road with the tetanizing cramps in my legs with spectators messaging them for me. I was dehydrated and completely sodium depleted. 2 med tent stops and 6 miles of barely walking followed. 4:35. I was lucky to be functioning...but demoralized after all of the training I had done. Chicago 2007 Marathon-the race from hell...literally- I lived through history!

3. December-St Jude: I decided to jump into this one 7 weeks later. I knew it was a mistake. I never had an interest in running this marathon. But, I was so upset that my fitness was wasted in Chicago and I did not get my BQ. I won't even go into details. No BQ. I even tried to quit the race-something I had never done before. Horrible way to finish the year after such a great, positive year. 4:00

So, what is running for medals? What does that mean?

• You run a marathon because it is a great accomplishment. The medal means something. Marathons are hard and you have done something wonderful- no matter how fast or slow.
• You don't shy from a marathon because you are
  
• worried about how "slow" you might be-you get a medal regardless
  
• worried about what your friends might think of your time- do they have the medal?
  
• feel inadequate if your clock time doesn't blow people away. The medal will blow them away.
  
• You don't DNF a marathon unless you have an injury-not wanting a slow time on your record is no excuse. Remember, you are running to get a medal, and you can't get one if you don't finish.
  
• Who do you think your grandkids are going to look up to? Gramps who has run one 3:10 marathon, or Granny who has run 56 marathons that were all over 5 hours. Bling speaks loudly to kids. Just show them all of your medals and they will know who the "real" athlete is in the family.
  

So, this weekend I am running the Andrew Jackson Marathon. I didn't follow any plan and my miles are quite a bit lower than what I normally like to do for marathon training. - You know that pretty much freaks me out b/c I like to be really prepared. But, I think this is a great opportunity to go out there and have a great time, work on my nutrition, work on my mental strength, and bring home a finisher's medal. It is great Ironman Florida preparation, and it is a good chance for me to mentally get back in the game by hanging tough the whole way through.

May the weather be nice and the hills even nicer!