Espana!

I feel that it is important for all of the blogging chicks (and guys) out there to know that:

Spain won the European Championship 1-0 vs Germany yesterday. This is a huge deal (everywhere else in the world, except the US). As you can see, I represented yesterday with my Spain shirt. I actually got this shirt in 2006 when I watched Spain play in the World Cup in Germany.

Impress your friends by telling them that Spanish hottie, Fernando Torres, scored the only goal in the game. I mean, he is not horrible to look at. I guess I will post a picture;)
I had a great weekend. I painted pottery, rode my bike, went running, played some soccer, watched some soccer, went to a wedding shower, ran in a 10k, went to Celtic Crossing to get bloody mary's and watch my dad play some music, hung out with friends, hung out with Dave, etc...

And now it is Monday. I get to do this all over again! What???? I get a whole week off???? Hell ya!

Your Personal Legend

Book Club! A meeting of the minds on the Alchemist.

The question of the night, of course, was what is your personal legend- and are you following it? After a few glasses of wine, I couldn't really give anyone an intelligent answer- the brain cells weren't responding. I did mumble something about an animal farm, which is something I have always wanted.

Sober now, what I also wanted to say was that I don't think a personal legend has to be a single thing. My life is made up of many accomplishments, dreams, and goals. I hope to fulfill 100 personal legends, at the least. Someone asked me at the book club meeting, "So what does being a PT have to do with animals?" meaning "You are not following your personal legend." Well, it has a lot to do with my personal legend. I have followed all of the signs and omens in my life that have led me to PT. I look forward to my upcoming career. And, I think that an animal farm will have a part in my life too. It does not always have to be one or the other. I have lots of loves in my life. I want to go for all of them.

I also think fulfilling a personal legend, in my mind, is to be great at something. Now, I haven't figured that one out yet. Hopefully I have a lifetime ahead of me to find that true hidden talent and passion. :) I would love to accomplish something that rocks me to the core- the way an Olympian feels when the medal is put on her neck, or a Nobel Prize winner feels receiving the award. - What will be the pinnacle of my life?


Book Club Pics

Damie and Bekah- my sister. Do you love the matching pink? We love to read- we are nerds.


After wine, we are convinced that that kitty loves her boa. She is a princess.


Lisa, the best hostess, is in green. Notice the wine bottles on the table.... I did not feel 100% the next day :)


When Lisa hosts book club, you always get goodies from the prize closet. Since she works for a sunscreen manufacturer, we loaded up on all kinds of SPF. Pale is the new tan, you know. And, don't mind my weird pout in the picture. My sister said that the Olsen twins say "prune" when they pose for pictures to give them a pout, so I was just trying out the prune pout. Not so good on me.

A Friend Indeed!

I know I am the only person blogging almost every day - everyone probably thinks I have nothing to do. And, they are right. I have the rest of this week and next off of school! In my defense, I did ride this morning. And, because I am on vacation and cannot wake my lazy self up early, I suffered in the heat-cursing Memphis. I made it back home in one piece, though, and I am going to have to speed read to finish my book for Book Club (aka Drink A Lot of Wine Club) tonight.

Remember the over priced $42 5x7 pictures that I really, really wanted? You know, the ones where I look young- look like I have muscle- can't see the wrinkles or grays- the good angle pictures? I received so many comments and emails from friends telling me that I really should buy them. Several people said it is so hard to find pictures that you really like, and you will appreciate them when you get older. Well, I couldn't do it. I refused to pay that much for them.

Last week I received a package in the mail. Inside the package were:


My pictures!!!!

One of my very best lifetime friends (former college teammate), Patty, bought both pictures and sent them to me. I did not know that she even read my blog. To my knowledge, I didn't even know she knew I had a blog. But, apparently she reads it and keeps up with me.
Patty and Damie at Patty's beautiful beach wedding. Patty is a beach baby- raised in Gulf Breeze Florida.

Patty has been so supportive of me and my recreational pursuit of triathlons. She says she is proud of me, which really means a lot to me. She said she may even try to do a half marathon in the future (post-baby of course, she is 22 weeks preggers right now). Hearing Patty say she would like to run a race sent shock waves through the earth's core. Along with Whitney, Patty would do anything in college to get out of running for soccer. Don't get me wrong, both Patty and Whitney are the fastest, strongest athletes I know. They just don't think running to run is fun. At least they didn't use to think that way. Funny how Whit just did her first tri and now Patty is looking to the future to take on a new challenge.

So, a huge thanks to Patty. She is such a great friend- the kind that takes care of me and loves me for the flawed friend that I am. Every day the world reminds me just how lucky I am....

A Better Race Report- and some important stuff too

I realize my first post about Race of Grace was below sub-par, if there is such a thing. I sometimes get embarrassed talking about results.

Today, though, I realized that it is part of the female culture to hide accomplishment- a part of the female culture I don't want to embrace. I want all of my friends to enjoy their victories in life- we don't always get a lot of them! I know I should do the same for myself, I just don't always do it. So, Lenore and Jen called me out (thanks tons, guys) for minimizing my weekend.

A Better Race Report
I won Overall Female for the first time ever on Saturday.

Swim: It was a TT start and I was number 22. I somehow came out of the water 1st, before the 3 other women in front of me and the ones behind me. I still don't know how that happened.

T1: What can I say. This is my best event.

Bike: Steady day. Rolling hills- many of the competitors complained about the hills post race. After doing 56 miles of rolling hills a couple of weekends ago, this didn't phase me. I passed a about 4-5 guys and got passed by 6-7 guys. Good ride- not stellar, but good- I have lots of room to improve. Still no girls around. It was weird.

T2: Not as smooth since all of my race gear was stuck in a bag (this was a point to point race), but I still had a quick time.

Run: A good 5k. Last mile slowed significantly, but I was good with my time and the way I felt. I was able to cheer on my teammates and other athletes when we passed. It was a much better run than I had 7 weeks ago at Gulf Shores. I just felt stronger. My running legs are starting to return- and since I love to run this makes me happy. It was really weird having people yell at me "you are the first female!" (With a TT start, it was possible I was not first, but they didn't know that). I could tell, though, that unless someone started way in the back and was hammering it, I was probably going to be first.

And that is it! I felt honored and lucky. I just had a good day- a day where I was able to put all three sports together. I will keep trying to enjoy the victories- big and small. Sorry for being such a weenie girl earlier.

The Other Stuff- which is really more important

My great friend, Christy, broke her pelvis in a bike accident this past week. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. She will most likely not be doing Ironman Wisconsin now. We all know how hard it is to not be able to train- and to be forced to release some goals you really wanted to accomplish. She is a stellar athlete and amazing person.
Christy and Damie: This is Christy post IM Louisville 2007. She qualified for Hawaii on her first IM!!!! There are going to be so many more great races from her in the future.

Happy Weekend

Today was sprint tri day at Race of Grace. It was a super, down-home, Mississippi church race with a small crowd but lots of fun.


Exhibit A: This is the finish line of the race in the church parking lot (picture taken the day before the race). I had to get a picture of the PVC pipe finish. The race packet consisted of a t-shirt and a bib number. That is it! It was really a cute atmosphere, though.

I made some progress today in the race. I felt some of my old strength return and just felt better overall about the direction I am heading. I haven't done a sprint in what seems like forever (and that is ALL I used to do), so it felt like an old friend.

Exhibit B: post race with Barbara "Diet Cola" Zoccola, Jeff "Skippy Cheeto" Skinner, and me (I do not have a nickname as of yet. I hope to inspire one soon. Go Thunder!

Almost Done

Roo Roo and I are just chillin' out tonight. I finished my second to last final exam today- and passed. So, that is one more step closer to graduation. My last final for this semester is Monday, followed by a two week break, and then more school.

On a sad note: I am not feeling very proud of school. My accomplishments in the past 2 years are very limited in the scholastic department. I am learning to deal with lower grades- and a lower academic self-esteem. My friends know I have battled this for the past two years. It is a tough pill to swallow.

On a better note: I am putting some of my life energy towards taking care of myself in other ways. I am running, racing, spending time with my husband, going to movies with my sister, reading The Alchemist, and walking Roo. Life is about balance.

On the best note: I think Dave might have done the nicest thing for me in our whole relationship Monday. I was coming home on an empty stomach from the gym, and he volunteered to get dinner. He lets me know he got a veggie burger for me from Back Yard Burger. That is fine, I think- not my first choice since it was so late and I am really not into buns and sandwiches lately, but I am grateful-I will just pull off the bun and try not to feel guilty for wasting food. I get home and pull out my sandwich- and there is NO BUN! He specifically asked them to make a sandwich for me with lettuce as the bun.

I asked him- how did you know that tonight I did not want a bun? This is not something I have ever verbally expressed or made a big deal out of it. Sometimes I want one, sometimes I don't. He said he noticed over the weekend that I did not eat my bun, and he thought maybe I didn't like them very much. I couldn't believe he paid attention to that AND acted on it! It earned him HUGE points in our house to know he paid attention to me. He didn't even need to ask me what I would like- he just knew. HUGE points.

I hope everyone has a good rest of the week. I am going to finish my wine, watch the Russia-Sweden Euro game (soccer) for the second time today, and fall asleep whenever I feel like it. Thanks for reading.

Back From CO

I had the pleasure of spending my weekend at altitude in beautiful Colorado. Our friends, Sean and Jenny Vandergriff, got married on top of a nice mountain spot in Boulder. It was such a gorgeous weekend- full sun, great weather, a happy couple, and good friends.


While there was a rumor out there that I was in Boulder to train (I swear Jeff Skinner started that rumor)- unless premier altitude training consists of vodka/grapefruit, mimosas, cosmopolitans, fat tire, chardonnay, champagne AND one 80 minute run up a mountain, I would say my competition is safe for the year.




I will say that running in Colorado is absolutely amazing. It was a beautiful experience- and I am jealous that the residents get to run in that weather and on that terrain 6 months out of the year.

Our group stayed in a big cabin on top of a mountain outside of Boulder. We were above 9,000 feet which is pretty amazing. I had an 80 minute run to fit in Saturday morning before the 11:00 wedding. Everyone was impressed that I woke up in time to get a run in, given the lingering hangovers. I seriously wondered how I was going to run up the side of a mountain. Forget hills- the SIDE OF A MOUNTAIN- we were 14 miles straight up a mountain! wow! And, if I decided to run down, then I still had to get back up. Oh yeah, and the lack of oxygen was a consideration. Oh, and the night before everyone scared me with mountain lion stories.

So, I decided to stay on a traveled road- NO trails for me. I wanted my wildlife experience to stick with rabbits- no mountain lions. And, since I was running alone, had no food, and there were NO cell phone signals- I took my mace in case I ran into a mad mountain man. Oh, and I wrote my name and the cabin's address on my hand just in case....

The first 3 minutes of the run at that crazy altitude were interesting. Hello oxygen? Seriously, though, it ended up being so beautiful and fun. Once I got through half of the run and realized I would not pass out from altitude problems, I loved it! I had two main thoughts on my run:
1. I will never have this single run back again. Make the most of it and enjoy it!
2. Deena Kastor does this every day (in Mammoth Lakes altitude) at 5:30 pace! Holy crap that is amazing.


So, hopefully my one day of altitude training will carry me on to a fantastic ironman. :) The mountains were so beautiful, and Dave and I started plotting in our heads how we could have a summer home there one day (after, of course, I get a job- minor detail).

Hello Everyone

Not much blogging going on by me this week. I am wrapping up this semester at school, so we have had a lot of tests and projects. But, I think I am finally adapting to the stress so everything is going a-okay.

Workouts have been going well post half IM. I was lucky to not be sore, but I was certainly tired as demonstrated by my 12 hour night of sleep + nap this past weekend. I even went to track yesterday. At first I thought, oh no...I am just going to have to take it easy. I am not recovered. Coach Paul encouraged me to just go with it and I would probably feel fine after the first lap (we were doing kind of like a 1.5 mile time trial- not intervals since a lot of people are racing this weekend). Sure enough, I got into the groove and I was fine. I had a slow time when compared with past results, but I feel that some speed and maybe even a small bit of stamina are starting to creep back into my legs- it was not near as hard as it was 4 weeks ago when I returned to the track and my times are starting to get back down. Yippeee!!!!!

Then it was off to the Redbirds game (minor league baseball) with everyone that runs track. It was fun to run hard and then kick back to some baseball and hang out with everyone on a beautiful night. What a reward!

This morning was a hard swim with the main set as 40x 50s- each with their own dern interval and instructions to "kill myself." Sweet. I made the intervals, which in itself is a huge success. I don't seem to ever get any faster in the pool, so making intervals is a good accomplishment for me.

Oh, and here are the baby versions of the pictures that cost $42. I couldn't get them off of the net any bigger than this. Oh well. I guess I really need to take that $42 and buy a new saddle for my bike -puleasssseeee send some suggestions and recommendations. Dave promised to take lots of IM pictures for me this time around (although I am not sure if I trust him- he usually gets about 1 real picture of me and 3 of my back, a tree, or someone else).

Cashing In On Memories$$$$

The only documentation-proof, should I say- that I have done marathons and triathlons is stored on the web in the form of race results. When the web no longer hosts these results, it will be as if I never raced. I don't have any pictures of myself in races- well, I have a butt-shot that Joy took recently. I think I have a couple of transition pictures that Dave took in a race, too. But, that is it.

There are some pictures of me that I don't want. They are the "bad angle" pictures. Some of you will intuitively know what I am talking about. I have some good angles and some bad angles- at least that is the way I look at it. And, the fact that I race in my bathing suit ups the odds that a bad angle can be forever recorded on camera.

The Rock-N-Roll Half Ironman actually produced one or two good angle shots. And, since it was my very first half ironman ever- my only first half ironman ever, I thought that maybe I should order some pictures. Show the grandkids, you know, how awesome grandma used to be.

And just when you think triathlons can't get any more expensive....two 5x7's can be mine for one low price of .....$42.90. Yup. That includes the $7.00 shipping charge- normal, regular, snail mail.

I am appalled.

Here I am thinking I would like to have a picture of me in a triathlon- just a little something besides my memory to cement my pride in finishing forever on paper. So, what do I do? Do I bend over and offer myself and my very limited student loan money for two 5x7s? Or, do I say F-this-no way am I paying these prices for 2 pictures? How can the cost be so high? How can they get away with this? Outrageous!

Kitty Found A Forever Home

My classmate Jill came over and adopted kitty- now named Patches- yesterday. I couldn't be happier for the both of them. She is a great girl, and I know she will give Patches lots of love. Patches is awesome too, and I think he will give it back to her 17-fold (my lucky number).

Jill and Patches- True love!

I must say that Dave and I miss the kitty hanging out. He just fit in really well with the dogs, if you can believe that. I think he thought he was a dog, too. We are happy someone wanted to take care of him and love him. Thank you Jill!!!!

I feel like I have really accomplished something in my life by rescuing the kitten. I know that sounds silly, but I took a risk by going back to get him with my personal life- yet, it was the right thing to do all along. Funny how when you just follow your heart and do the things you know are right, everything works out for the best. I feel like I have made a real contribution and brought some happiness to the world, just for a moment.

Mile 6

I know Jan is anticipating this post, so I won't delay any longer.

I am not sure how to write about this. It is funny and sad at the same time? I guess I will just come out and say it and then try to justify it. Hopefully everyone will not think I am totally gross. My parents are probably reading this too. Great.

I peed on myself. (I did look this up in the dictionary to see if peed is a real word).

I didn't mean to. I didn't plan it. I have three friends (that I know of) that have peed on themselves by accident in a race. I know people that have peed on themselves in the middle of races on purpose (usually professionals trying to win the race). I never quite understood how that could happen, planned or unplanned.

I run up to the mile 6 water stop and grab some water, heed, and maybe something else too. Next thing I know, I have peed on myself. The honest truth is I was incredulous and then relieved. It was just a little pee, so the water I had just poured on my head covered everything up.

What was that about? It was not an overdoing it issue on my part. I was keeping a simple pace with lots of hydration. I wasn't pushing my body to the maximum limits through my efforts. The only thing I can think of is that my body was working so hard just to maintain itself in that heat that my bladder just decided it was tired of holding on and it would be easier if it just relieved itself. I hate to think that my bladder just gave up on the race, but it just checked out.

The scary thing is that I realized how easy it is to do that in the middle of a race. I started to wonder if anyone else around me was peeing on themselves too- maybe even on purpose. Think about that the next time you race!

So, now I am the gross girl blogger that has peed on herself in a race. I have no excuses since I have not had children. Now I am going to go into the next race worrying if my bladder can hang on...or if I turn this into a tool for saving time.

Oh me...

I Am Half of an Ironman!

The beginning: an hour wait in line to register. This was really a huge pain after traveling eight hours. They only had 2 volunteers working packet pick up when we arrived. Ughhh....I love standing in line in the hot sun.


Check out the packet pick up lines. Ouch!

So, Joy and I opted to NOT go out to dinner. It was already 8:00 at night and we were so tired. So, Subway sandwiches PLUS a cookie each filled our tummies.

Next we had to get our stuff ready for the morning....what should I choose for nutrition? Chocolate or banana- which one will I like tomorrow? Decisions, decisions.

Off to the race! Here is the report.

Swim: wetsuit swim...yes!!!! I had a good swim...no panicking, just swimming. I came out of the water around 35:20. (The results add about a minute and a half b/c they added part of the transition time which included a huge run up a hill to the swim times). I was happy with my time...I wasn't sure if 35 minutes was a reasonable goal for me, but I did it! AND, I discovered why Joy is sometimes slower in the swim at races even though she is soooooooo much faster than me at practice. It is because she piddles and daydreams in the swim at races! She was playing with her wetsuit when she should have been swimming- she knows what I am talking about!

T1: really about 3 minutes, but results will say around 1:30 since they calculated it from the mat at the top of the hill. No big news here...on my bike and off I go!

Bike: Here is where the race begins. I decide to go very, very easy the first 10 miles. 17 mph average...low HR. I have never done this distance so I am not sure what to expect. Joy passes me at some point very early on looking strong. I watch all of the athletes ride like mad men at the beginning of the race. The race is very, very hilly. I LOVED it!!! I felt so strong on the hills. At mile 20ish, I decide to pick it up another notch because I am feeling good. I pass all kinds of people on the hills. I feel great. Mile 30, I say what the hell...this rocks. I pick it up even more. I now have passed dozens and dozens of people that went out too hard. I pass tons of girls that I drop easily. Never once did I feel bad on the bike. I am so glad I was conservative- especially since it was my first half IM. I now know I can push it more on the next race, and I am glad I was super smart for my first one. I felt like I could've kept going on the bike. I wasn't sure what kind of goal to set since I have never ridden this distance or these kinds of hills, so I thought that under 3:00 may be doable- or maybe not, I didn't know. It was totally doable- 2:57.

T2: I am dismounting from my bike and a shoe flies off. I just ask a volunteer to grab it for me and I keep going. I make sure to put on some extra body glide and sunscreen on my shoulders (too bad I forgot to get my back). I get my stuff and start running out. Shoot...I get to the mat and no race number, so back I have to go. ughhhh that was painful. Grab my number and head back out of transition. This was around 2 minutes.

Run: My plan is to run 9 min miles. Start off easy and try to pick up the pace later. First 3 miles I settle into pace. I start off at about 8:15 and then slow down some to stick with the plan. THANK GOODNESS I did before it was too late. Hilly run (the first half especially) with FULL SUN beating on us and NO SHADE. By mile 4 I know this is going to be a bad day for a lot of people. People were walking within the 2nd mile. My goal was to run the whole half marathon, no matter what it took.

Mile 3-6...I used to laugh at Joy for walking water stops. I am now enlightened. I am used to sprints- you run through a water stop, grab some water, take one gulp- keep going. But at these longer distances in the heat, you can't do that. You have to make sure you are really drinking and taking in everything you need at the stations. That meant I had to walk up to the table (since no one was handing anything out- you had to get it yourself). I figured the extra 15-20 seconds I spent at each station would be better than the hour I would lose in the race if I skimped on hydration. I took everything- water, heed, ice towels, e-caps....I did it all! Every station was a new towel over my shoulders. That is all I could think about was getting to the next towel!

*****I promise to write the next blog on the very exciting thing I did at the mile 6 water stop. It is so funny it gets its own blog. I did something I never thought I would do or was even capable of doing. I don't want to leave you hanging, but I must finish the story.*****

Mile 6-9...more of the same. The only thought I have at this point is- I WILL NOT WALK. (grabbing water did not count). I would not stop running to walk, even for a second. Tons of people were walking and puking. It was the mental challenge of the day, and I was determined to win. And I did win. No walking. (Although I did make a pact with myself that I would not race in devastating heat ever again). I was maintaining my 9ish pace, getting in tons of fluids, and moving. The flats were wonderful...I felt like a runner. The hills sucked and I felt like a penguin.

Mile 9-11...I am going to finish. Then I see a girl in my age group that passed me at mile 4 of the run, just laughing and talking. She is not laughing and talking now. Guess she didn't realize how destructive heat is. Wonder if I can catch her?

Mile 11...I get on her back and hang on. I really don't care at this point who comes in front of me, I am just so excited to finish my first 1/2 IM- alive.

This is me in my final mile-

Mile 12...it is now or never. We pass the last water stop and I skip it- the only time in the whole race I skip a stop. The last mile has the last big hill in it. As strange as this is, I think of something Bree Wee posted in a blog when she was told that her race was over the hill. I realize that if I am going to stay in front of this girl, I have to drop her on the hill. I am not sure if I really care or not, since my main goal is to finish. I throw off my magic blue towel- the one that has kept me alive in the heat. Then I go. I run my last mile in 7 minutes and voila...I have finished my first half ironman in 5:40.

Yahoo! Then I get the WORST calf cramps after the race. It was sooooo funny as I yelled, "help, help!" to a spectator who came and tried to stretch me out! It was the Chicago Marathon all over again, I swear. The ONLY time in my whole life I have gotten cramps like that have been the two hottest races I have ever done.
Here is my friend Hamid...he makes the legs all better!

Damie and Joy, Rock N Roll Half Ironman Finishers! Joy ran an awesome race to place 2nd overall!!!! I have complete sunburn on my back and butt from the race- like I need any more wrinkles to go with my gray hair.

I had a great time (doesn't it always seem that way when you are finished?). I loved the swim and bike. I hated the heat on the run, but I was glad that I had the ability to stick to my pacing plan. It gave me a lot of confidence for the next race, and I am really glad that I was able to finish the race with a strong last mile instead of a miserable shuffle. So, what is next? Tons more of the long stuff and lots of fine tuning :)

Thank you for reading, and thank you for all of the positive comments, emails, and phone calls. I appreciate the wonderful support!