Health!

It has been almost 14 months exactly since surgery. I think things have been going really well as a whole, and I am looking forward to 2011. :) I am running and enjoying it, so life is swell.

Dave and I have been having a lot of conversation lately about our bodies, our ages, and our future. We both hurt a lot, especially in our bones/joints. It is the result of decades of soccer, and Dave and I are the same player- we hit hard. Dave is at his crossroads right now. He is really hurting on a daily basis. Does he continue on at this pace and risk a hip replacement later in life? It is tough to know when to say when, especially when you enjoy sports.

I came to this crossroad 6 years ago, but I was too immature to think beyond my 20s. I am proud to say, though, that I finally submitted my alumni status to the soccer team. I know now that I want to be able to do triathlons in my 40s, and I am starting to see the bigger picture for my body. I am so grateful that Dave and I can share these physical challenges together.

What we have realized is that at this age, it has to be more about health. Yes, goals and accomplishment can fit in there, but we must place more emphasis on health. We are not spring chickens, and we need to take care of our bodies. They have worked so hard for us over the past years- we have demanded so much from them. We need to take care of them.

My 2011 vision for health will focus on letting my ego go and racing only when healthy. It means letting go of my athletic past and forging a new, healthy future. It also means doing what it takes to take care of my knees. I have so many goals, and I think if I do a better job of respecting my knees, they will try to accomplish everything they can for me.

The little bugger is doing okay. We had him drained today because fluid has been sitting back there for 14 months. I am going to do everything I can to appease him and keep him healthy!

Wrapping it up! Christmas in New Orleans was great fun. I still get to have a little Christmas in Memphis this week, so it is not over for me yet.
This is the funniest picture of the weekend. I had just finished some mile repeats in Audubon park on Christmas eve morning. The temp started to drop and all I could find in the car was an orange shirt and blue sweater. Dave and I went straight to Port of Call- a burger for him and a Monsoon for me. I look so happy- I guess I forgot it was the middle of the day! (Dave raised an eyebrow at my order)

little voice again: way to make good choices, Damie!

We spent the rest of the day in the French Quarter. I kept getting heckled as an Auburn fan but could not figure out why. I finally figured it out and just decided to take my orange shirt off and freeze to prove my Louisiana loyalty.

I made it to church and dinner that evening, but I fizzled out and did not participate in the caroling and other festivities. At some point, I told Dave I was a little under the weather and calling it a night. I heard him mutter something about a Monsoon....

But I was back on track for Christmas day. It is debatable whether or not I have been good this year, but as long as I keep getting presents, I will continue to have my current behavior reinforced.

A new pair of Vibrams- I already have the Classics, and now I have the KSOs. I wore them all day long and just having them on my feet made me want to go for a run. I have recently been running all of my miles in shoes and have never quite been consistent in getting in more barefoot miles. All I have to do is make it happen and reap the benefits.

A painting from Key West's Sharon Wells. Key West has some good similarities to New Orleans in color and style with their homes. This is a great picture and can't wait to add it to our art collection.


I can't wait to wear this to swim practice tomorrow- my new Saints Superbowl Champions towel and my new TCB suit. Everyone, please tell me that you know the lightening bolt symbol with TCB is from Elvis and it means TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS. TCB to me is like HTFU. Dave did not know what TCB meant and I almost had a heart attack.

My favorite gift so far- James and Steph donated to a rescue group and saved a dog! The ornament with the dog's picture in it is the exact dog that was given a home in a New Hampshire rescue- a no kill shelter- on my behalf. This was such a touching present- definitely meant a lot to me.

And a Kindle. I have refused to buy a Kindle- I love holding a book- going to the library, collecting piles of books, etc... I guess no one will know now if I am reading a real book or a romance novel. hmmm..... but just for the record, the first book I downloaded was The Count of Monte Christo- one of my all time faves and it was free. Of course I am only downloading free books right now because I am thrifty like that. If anyone knows how to download free books for the kindle, please let me know!

Merry Merry!

Friday morning in New Orleans is all about recovery. The family is sitting in the living room watching "America's Game" on the New Orleans 2009 Saints. All of the guys have tears in their eyes. I just ate a strawberry pastry thingy from PJs and some sushi- all in an attempt to recover from the Carousel Bar and hit the road for some mile repeats. I can hear a little voice on my shoulder saying "way to make good choices, Damie."

2011- the year I start making better nutritional choices. You heard it here.

My mother-in-law just clapped at the TV- at a taped Saints program- so funny.

The Roberts family at Antoine's in the quarter last night.

Spending some holiday time with Dave's Pop Pop

Seriously- I am still watching the Saints on the road to the 2009 Superbowl, and I have chills. My mother-in-law is still clapping. And I want Sean Peyton to be my coach. I think he has the right combination of cojones, curse words, and superstitious beliefs that would fit right in line with me.

I recently found a great blogger- Bourbon Feet. Extremely fast runner with a great love for the sport and respect for his body. I absolutely love how he runs a lot of 10 minute miles, yet can crush races (2:3o something marathoner). I have never thought it was necessary to pay homage to your Garmin and force yourself to run a certain pace in every training session. Some of my fastest races have come on the back end of my slowest training. Bourbon Feet has some very wise words on listening to your body to determine training and race paces as well as keeping a healthy perspective on running and getting faster. Plus he enjoys life and doesn't take himself so seriously. So, I stole the picture below from his blog- some good thinking.

Racing

(health vs ego)

Merry Christmas to everyone- have a great weekend and enjoy your friends and family!

My Christmas list, in no particular order:
1. A Saints win over Atlanta
2. A pair of 808s
3. Ability to run long in 2011
4. The perfect home for Shelby Angel

Last year workouts for this week in December: run- 5 minutes. trainer- easy 30 minutes spin.

This year workouts for this week in December: run- 12 miles. bike-3 hours.

I sometimes forget, as I slog through the winter- but yes, I have made progress.

PRs

The holiday parties have almost passed. I think towards the end I burnt out like a bright fallen star. It was fun, but I am sure ready to rest! It has been a great holiday season thus far.

It is time to talk about training again, the topic on the back burner.

On my mind todays- PRs. Personal records.

Personal. And Records.

Personal, because running is personal. Right? Do you run to impress others, have a certain time published, or look down your nose at the next person who does not have a "PR" as fast as yours? Or do you run because you enjoy setting personal goals, enjoying the journey, and feeling pride in accomplishment?

I started running somewhere in middle school. I am sure it tied in to soccer somehow, and I remember my cheerleading coach had me run as well. I always enjoyed it, to the point where I remember reading Runner's World in middle school. Was I fast? Heck no! Meredith was fast. Melanie was fast. I was a clumsy, weird kid. I just happened to enjoy the way I felt when I ran.

As a freshman, I joined the track team for the first time. I never particularly liked the actual track workouts, but I really liked it when the coach told us to go run for 20 or 30 minutes. I liked the steady-state running- and I shied away from the "racing in practice" mentality. Maybe it was because I was used to playing soccer with the Meredith's of the world- the genetic speed I would never have. I was resigned to going long rather than going fast. (I am the typical center midfielder- let me use my brain to compensate for my lack of speed.)

Back to PRs. The first PRs I remember is: 6:39 in the mile as a freshman at the Latin Club Convention. Not even a track meet. And I ate pizza right before I ran- that is something I will never forget or repeat. That PR stood for the next...oh....13 or so years? One day, right after a 3000 yard swim practice I met a friend on the track for some running and ran a 6:16 mile. So, that is now my PR. Not an intentional one. I would hope my body's true PR is a lot faster than that, but until I actually go time a mile, that one will have to stand in the books.

As a freshman, I also ran my first local 5k with my two track buddies, Tara and Christine (years and years later, I still remember which buddies ran the race with me). I was an 800 meter runner at the time, but 3.1 miles didn't seem like a big deal. And I am sure I went out at an 800 meter pace as I remember walking somewhere during that race. I also remember my friend's mom passed me. Here I was- my first year in track- and a mom was passing me. (It would be Ms. Allen, BTW- some things you never forget). My new 5k PR was a 28:??. This PR stood for the next 13 years?!!! I never did another 5k until I started doing triathlons. And boy do I remember that 5k at Rebel Man 2006. I was ssooooo excited to run the whole 3.1 miles. No walking- no sireee!!!!

PRs are a symbol of my journey with running. I do my best to not let the number define me as a person or a runner, except for defining my persistence and determination. I have been as proud of a 24 minute 5k in 2006 as I have anything else- because it meant that for the first time I ran faster than an 8 minute mile in a 5k. I was uber-proud earlier this year to run a 23 minute 5k- I am sure other runners thought "boy Damie has gotten slow!" but I thought "yea!!! I can still run after surgery!"

PRs- Personal. and Records. Records are a static period in time. Runners aren't static- we are dynamic and changing. Don't let a number- a recorded place in time- be the definition of your talent and capabilities. I have too many PRs that I know are NOT the reflection of my true running ability. But if I want to change them, I better start racing!

PRs are the guideline and map for your running journey. Don't judge yourself worthy or faster than the next person based on PRs. Use head to head running to race others if you want to compete! Set new PR goals for yourself, and go get them! There is always someone faster and slower than you, so let your PRs be about you and your journey, not the next person's number.

Changes!!!

Yes, new job. Day #1. I am happy to be home and a little exhausted- mostly mentally. I have switched from geriatrics to pediatrics. From a 6 mile commute to hours of driving per week. To knowing how my week will play out with my patients- to having no idea how my week will play out as I build my caseload. To creating my own schedule- to having someone make the schedule for me.

They type A in me hates loss of control. I am a huge worrier. Dave told me yesterday my "only" fault (he initially said "only" but retracted the word later) is that I am glass-near-empty when it comes to the unknown. He said I stroll through life with my glass half-full, but the minute I come to a closed door with the unknown on the other side, I immediately prepare for a thunderstorm instead of a rainbow.

So big changes in jobs are super scary for me. And whoo hoo!!! I chose to make a job change around Christmas, thus adding to the seasonal stress. (hello Christmas cookies and candy!!!!! and an extra 5 pounds by January, I am sure!) Seriously, though, I am definitely stressed, but I think this will have a great outcome and will be worth the tough transition.

There have been some good changes going on as well for me. For one, I now have a new master's swim coach- Gil Stovall- totally awesome and I am loving practice again. His practices give me that sense of a accomplishment I crave. Gil and I have talked about that 41/55 swim stat from AG Nats- not going to happen again.

I have also turned another small corner with running- last week I ran 5 days in a row. I haven't done that since Feb 2009. And I felt great. (there is a small debate at this time as to whether my slow progress in running has been psychological or physiological, but that requires a whole other blog post. Both Dave and Joy adamantly believe it is physiological and I tend to listen to them as they know me best. Take home message- less is still more for me right now).

Alas, despite everything going on, Christmas is still on its way- bringing cheer and friendship. It is moving too fast for me right now and I can't keep up. But I am trying.
Brandon and Alisha- new Los Locos members, had a marriage celebration this past weekend. I am really looking forward to having them on our team.

Dave and I also went to our soccer team's Annual Sweater (tacky) Party this past weekend. Super fun. And yes, that is a side-pony tail.

Before I tackle Christmas, I need to finish Thanksgiving and the beginning of holiday tradition. Here is our 2010 picture of the Annual Turpin Turkey Trot. Papa was in charge of shirts this year, and in accordance with his personality, he had them screen printed. (and my shirt from 2006 is still voted worst shirt- I will have a chance to redeem myself in 2012). And papa dressed up as a turkey...laughs all around :) I think there was supposed to be a contest where the loser had to wear the turkey suit around the neighborhood for the Turkey Trot, but somehow papa just took ownership and wore it with pride.

Okay- so on to Christmas-

The Turpin family decided to do donations this year to the Porter-Leath Toy Drive instead of buying a lot of stuff for each other. It was a lot of fun filling up a basket with kids' toys and making a worthwhile donation. I hope we make this our new annual Christmas tradition- it felt good to give.

Next up- Stumbling Santa 2010 for the Ronald McDonald House
My girlfriends from work and I dressed up in our Christmas gear and pranced down to Beale Street. We exchanged our donated toys for shots (a fair trade) and went bar hopping. Dave was being a party pooper, so we left him at home to watch ESPN. (wife in short skirt, or ESPN....priorities, you know?)

Did I mention how sad I am to leave my friends from work next week to start my new job? ;((((

I kept texting Dave how much fun I was having, blah blah, too bad he is a party pooper... and next thing I knew, Dave showed up in the most hilarious outfit to have some fun. (all you have to do is make something a competition, you know? Guys fall for that every time).

Sunday- Me on the couch, the dogs on top of me (not on the open side of the couch), a romance novel in hand, still in my pajama pants at noon, hair a mess. Total happiness.

More fun to come ahead with the Annual Christmas Sweater Party this weekend and the Los Locos Christmas party next weekend. Whoop whoop!

St Jude Marathon- someone else's RR :)

Quick post on a great St Jude Marathon morning.

My morning- ran 8 miles on part of the marathon course with Gina and other friends for some pacing and good cheer- then cut off to my bike for some spectating. So, I can now run 10 miles again (will I be stuck here forever?) I did not feel great today, and I was 100% thankful I was not racing. It was just one of those days where I felt tired, out of shape, no pep, and ready to be off of my feet and on my bike. Training days are not always magical! But, I am glad I got to run with some of my friends and get in the spirit of the race.

By the way- haven't run St Jude in a while (I haven't since 2007)? There is now a great section that cuts right through St Jude. It is lined with families and children- everyone thanking you for your support. Of course I cried the whole half mile- it was really emotional.

On to the good stuff-
Huge congrats to Laura for her big PR today. I really don't know what her time is, but I am assuming it was around 3:30. Words cannot describe how great she looked when I found her at mile 19, 23, and 25. I was a total friend heckler:
"Your ass looks great, Laura. You have the best butt out here!"
"Hurry the f@ck up! I am going to need you to pick it up! HTFU"
"Come on- push it! Do NOT drop your pace. Let's go. Move your arms. Pain is inevitable- suffering optional. Let's go!" (this is like at mile 23-25...ha ha! like anyone wants to hear that at those miles- but guess what, she listened and picked it up even more than her already great pace!)
- "Your form looks really great- which means you will have good race photos which is really important!"

At mile 25 she was surrounded by a great group of Los Locos teammates- running/cycling her in. I absolutely love my tri team- we have such great support and athletes that get it! We all push each other to do well and have high expectations for each other.

This picture of Laura was stolen off of facebook. I forgot my camera.

So- Laura ran so well- so strong- because she earned it. Good days aren't gifts- they are earned. She has worked hard for an entire year to build up her mileage. Her marathon did not start 4 months ago, it started last year when she started running the trails more. She stayed injury free (I think- at least I never heard her complain!). She did the work and pushed herself. Congratulations Laura on your more than BQ!!!!!

I am stealing from Angela (some good bullet posts lately)- here are my bullet points for the night- I just can't seem to put the 100 things on my mind into a paragraph or two in readable format.

1. Just had dinner at Los Compadres and a margarita for Wednesday night dinner. No need to wonder why my body composition is never that great. I sure did have fun though!

2. Kari- you rock too. Thanks for the email. I agree that this is all good stuff.

3. Here is a picture from my cousin. (teenager- love her. teenagers sometimes get it so right). I have now planned a trip to Heber Springs, Arkansas to spend some time with her. I asked her to plan something fun for us (is 32 years-old too old to crash a high school party?). And I think I want to go shopping with a teenager- it has been a while.

4. I turned in my two- week notice to work. On to something different. I had to pull my big girl panties up and just really try something new, challenging, and scary.

5. The leg is fine. No more soccer for the year, though. (someone please help me quit. I swear it is easier to stop smoking cigarettes).

6. I am ready for an Ironman. Seriously. I mean, not ready to do one tomorrow, but ready to do one in the near future.

7. Get right- or get left. My new saying.

8. I am starting to get in that frame of mind where I .... like to swim. Not that I am getting any faster, because I am getting slower. It is just the satisfaction of someone barking a workout to me, and me completing it. Although I fail to see what could be fun about this process, I am secretly enjoying it.

9. Has anyone read "The Art of Racing in the Rain?" Every day Rooney sniffs and kisses my face in a very concerned manner. He really takes his time to investigate everything that is going on with me. Every time he does this (which is daily now), I start to worry that I have a brain tumor or that something is wrong with me. I guess you would have to read the book.

10. My song of the week is "Malibu" by Hole. It is stuck in my head.

Going to bed- alternating between a romance novel and Lamb by Christopher Moore. Good luck everyone in the St. Jude Marathon.

Been busy- doing all of the fun stuff. Here are a few pics from our LSU/Saints weekend.

I am now officially on detox.

The leg (femur/dumb soccer injury) is doing fine. I didn't run for 16 days, stayed completely off of it, all of the good-girl stuff. I can now run again and I am pain free. I just have not-so-conveniently lost every bit of muscle I regained this year, and that stinks. It just takes a day for me to lose muscle, but a month to put a fraction of it back on.

My stupidity cost me a good half marathon in the road race series, the play-offs of my soccer season, and 5 extra pounds of fat. But I got to watch the Saints and LSU win, so I think my life has returned to a place of balance. :)

More Importantly

Tales of training (or not training) seem to hijack this blog most of the time. I am not completely defined by triathlon or consumed by improving as an athlete- although I do enjoy both and feel grateful that I still have the opportunities to define myself and grow as an athlete.

I thought about this today as I went to visit Shelby Angel. How do I come across to those friends that know me only from master's swim, or bike riding, or road racing? Do I come across as a person that is passionate about athletics, but void of other life passions? Do I live a meaningful life?

I don't really have the full answer to that question yet. My life is meaningful, but could probably be even more so. For the weekend, my most meaningful hour was the hour I spent with Shelby Angel. It was involving myself in her care and her love. It was my small moment in time where I made a difference in the world- the world of one animal.

Shelby Angel has adjusted well to the Memphis Humane Society. She is still a beautiful, loving dog. Nothing fills my life with more gratitude than spending time with animals in need. And nothing hurts more than leaving and KNOWING that I have not made enough of a difference.

Shelby Angel goes crazy when I come to visit. I go at least one time a week to see her. She just can't contain herself when she sees me. It is pure happiness- reserved for me. She loves me.

And after we snuggle, and kiss, and play, and snuggle...I have to walk away. And boy is that awful. My most painful tears are the ones I reserve for her. Or are they for me? Mad at myself I have not done better- found her a home- given her every single thing she deserves.

She gets so upset when I leave. When we are separated, she sometimes even tries to bite and chew through the fence in a panic to get back to me. And at that point I am crying like crazy. And I do the best I can- and I will be there to see her next week, and the next....until we find her a loving home.

So I enjoy triathlons and training- they teach me discipline and accomplishment. I love my animals and friends- they teach me love and kindness.

When I was racing IMFL08, I posted pictures of my dogs on my bike- with the mantra-"Please let me be the person my dog thinks I am." I don't think I realized what the quote really meant in relation to racing, but I think I do today. It means- "don't let my swim, bike, or run be the most important part of my day."

Girl's Night

A great start to my weekend- a night out with some of my high school friends. I have known Mindy- second from left- since we were 6 years old.

And right after this picture was taken, Lisa- 1st on left- yelled across the restaurant to some guy that was laughing at us (or was he? I didn't even see). "What are you laughing at, asshole?" I was dying- some things never, ever change and how funny that we are saying the same things years later.

Left to right: 1 kid, 2 kids, 2 kids, 2 kids, 0 kids.

Part of the night was spent explaining the whole pregnancy- delivery thing to me including the need for epidural. Second quote of the night, again from Lisa "The best things ever invented were tampons, DVR, and epidurals."

Good times.

Blah, blah. I am super boring right now. Nothing interesting to put in a blog. I think I am already starting to get the winter blues. I hate the cold and I hate having less sunlight. I know I should be living in a different hemisphere, but since we all know I am geographically challenged, I can't tell you which one.

I rode my bike this morning- in the mid-high 40s, so not miserable, but cool enough to suck the energy out of my ride. I was supposed to be putting in a hard effort, but I found myself looking up and down Watkins for stray animals to take home. I think it was a subconscious defense mechanism employed to keep me sane in the cold, dark, early hours. Rescuing puppies and kitties= good. Riding into a cold head wind when you are hungry and sleepy= not so good. But hey, at least I don't live in Chicago.

But I have all kinds of good parties coming up so that will keep everything cheerful around here. Plus I get to watch the Saints and LSU play next weekend, so more fun. There is also a slight possibility of some tattoo parlor action, but again, that is just a rumor. (mom, please don't start commenting on that one).

A view from my computer. Seriously- Rooney and Cayenne are the best of friends. We have 4 dog beds in this house, yet they end up sharing 1.

Goodnight!

No fracture- great news! After a week of not being able to walk, we finally scheduled the MRI. 8cm bone damage (medullary bleeding, etc) but no crack in cortex. Lots of vastus intermedius damage. So one way to look at it is that I am lucky the guy did not break my leg. I tend to look at it the other way- I am a rockstar that can handle a big tackle. Except I don't heal as quickly any more- as Dave likes to point out- I need to reverse my mindset of 23 to my real age of 32. And as perverse as it sounds, I am even more eager to go play another game.

I finally got to get on my bike a little bit today. I love my morning rides- this time of year it is easy and social. I have a small 4:55 am crew that meets for a few extra miles. McKee and I talk about our dogs the whole time and how much we love them. Every single morning we have a new "I love my dog" story.


Tim talks about how he doesn't sleep because he has kids, the kids were sick, the kids wouldn't take a bath, etc. Every ride I do with Tim puts me one more week behind in family planning. McKee and I interject from time to time with a statement about how great our dogs are. And we repeat these conversations every single morning with hardly any variation. Tim is tired, and McKee and I are happy with our dogs.

So the ride was doable. Obviously no running for a bit- I am a little disappointed to be out of the Road Race Series as I was starting to run well and ready to blast out a good half marathon. But I think I am going to come back around pretty quickly- maybe a late winter half marathon will be in the works.

Ugh...I am just delaying the inevitable with work. Off I go.

I haven't had a good Smithy picture post in a while...

I am often asked why I play soccer. I am asking you why you don't? You are foolish! Not only is it the best sport in the world (hence the World Cup), it has the finest looking men on the planet. And yes, I think Dave is extremely hot on the soccer field. (for the record, Dave said I am my hottest in my cycling shorts- who knew?)

But soccer and triathlon don't always go together.

For example, Smithy- hot on the soccer field. Dork on a bike. I so wish I hadn't seen this picture.

And apparently soccer and triathlon don't go well together for me either.

Last Tuesday I went into a tackle that looked like this. Pretend I am Smithy, and the guy in blue is a keeper getting ready to take my legs out. And it really did look something like this. Easy to imagine that I am injured. Again. From soccer. (every single injury I have ever had has been soccer related- I don't think I have ever had a true triathlon/running injury).

And as Kevy said, it is hard to have sympathy for me when I have soccer injuries because I know to stay off of the field. Ughhh.... I know. I was pretty sure my left leg was fractured. It in fact is probably not fractured according to x-rays but my femur is extremely bruised- and I am hurting. This has been my most painful injury to date.

I have taken 5 days off completely- haven't even gone into work, and I am still in pain. I have thrown everything at this injury: pineapple smoothies, arnica, acupuncture, nsaids, the good meds, epsom salt baths, B-12 shots (limited research on osteoclast production?), heat, ice, Lucia (she rocks), and complete couch rest. I have read 5 romance novels and I have also started Christopher Moore's Lamb (Awesome!). What I haven't done is train- and this was my first week back to structured training. Instead, I am winning the contest in the house for the chunkiest monkey (Roo was holding the title, but I now own it).

Great, so now I am not only in pain, I am out of shape. Shoot!!!

So Lucia asked me today if I am going to finally give up soccer. And I thought, why lie? If I say yes, I will just have to eat my words a year from now when I am back on her table asking for help from a soccer injury. But for the immediate future, yes.

So, what have I learned about myself through all of this? That it is really hard to get a lesson through my thick skull. :)

Happy Friday everyone- best of luck to Jarred, Tom, Billy, Jeff, and Mary in Ironman Florida this weekend!

Does anyone else think Kari has been exceptionally silent?

Looks like Drew Brees DID dress up as a quarterback for Halloween.

I am a gracious, winner, though. And I will let Kari decide if she wants to be a Saintsation or a Brees fan for her bike ride. The Brees earrings add a nice touch, don't you think?

Anniversary- 1 Year Out

Happy Birthday to me.

Just kidding- don't send birthday wishes.

It is, though, the 1 year anniversary of my right knee surgery!!!! It feels like my birthday- such a great day! I am able to run and grateful for everything that I am able to do physically.

This morning the girls ran for MC at the Race for the Cure 5k. We love you MC!!!!!

And thank you knee for holding up. I am finally starting to run again!

Another fun Saturday night at Miriam and Richard's wedding. Here is part of my co-ed soccer team.
And my soccer team chicas!!!!!! Thank you knees for letting me play another season and for holding up even when I can't control myself and slide tackle big guys.

Morning View

I woke up this morning to ride, and steady 25 mph winds this morning left me on the trainer. Well, the winds actually put me back in bed, and I had to force myself back up an hour later to get on the trainer. Dave was chanting "ha ha, ha ha! winter is coming. the trainer is out!"

Nothing like some Simply Stu to get the morning going. I better get used to this view- it will be pretty regular for the next few months.

And this view from my trainer. What good spectators I have! Ha! They are just tempting me to fall back asleep on the couch with them. I will have to keep my guard up for their sabotage of my training efforts via snuggles.

Another week come and gone...I just woke up from a nap and a romance novel. (It was called Slightly Scandalous, and I think I would prefer the Super Scandalous version... slightly is just not even worth it. Oh well, another 300 pages of trash in my brain. love it). Dave is watching LSU and the "Battle of the Unbeatens" at 17-17 right now. These games make him bipolar, so I can't watch the whole thing with him. I am sure everyone with an SEC team husband understands.

Joy was in town this week and that was wonderful. We have decided we should all move to Little Rock in 2-3 years (she has family there, I have family there, Jeremy can do a fellowship there, we can ride and do outdoorsy things all of the time, etc...). I told Dave our plan and he said he is not leaving me along with Joy to plan anymore. Alas Joy has returned to her "new home" in Los Gordos. Haven't heard of Los Gordos? Geography was never my strong point (nor is history) and I actually told someone that Joy lived in Los Gordos, so that is my new big joke on my dumb self. (She actually lives in Alamogordo and shops in Las Cruces...).
Saw Joy and Jeremy off last night with a few drinks and sushi. Bye bye! See you around Thanksgiving!

Today I rode Trinity and enjoyed the gorgeous weather. Before Nationals, I rode Trinity to get in a little suffering before the race and to work hard. I don't seem to have the same mentality out there now, and it is not easy to maintain big effort riding with no race on the horizon. But, I hate to not ride when we are blessed with the sun. I got gapped today on the big effort (thanks JT- that effort was sweet)- and ouch if a guy behind me wasn't pissed- and he made sure I knew it (although he and the other guys behind me offered no assistance in catching the group...and then they just totally dropped off the ride). So I got aero, caught a handful of guys ahead of me in the next few miles and we got a small group to the store to rejoin the big group. So, I am batting like 75% now as my keeping up rate, whereas I was at 90%, but I am still loving it.

Tomorrow is the RRS 10 miler. Two weeks ago I ran pretty quickly, but tomorrow I am just going to get in some miles. In the past two weeks I never made it over 4 miles in training, so no need to try to race or drop my time tomorrow. I did, however, take 30 seconds per mile off of my 3 x 1 mile repeats with Caroline and Rachel this week, so that was positive.

And that is it in my boring world of training. It seems as thought LSU is going to lose, so Dave is probably going to be all grumpy for the rest of the night. I could use another Saints win tomorrow to put the household energy in good order.

On Playing Like A Youngster and Disposable Income...?

I spent some great time with my family in Little Rock today. I got to watch Anna throw some pitches and then hang out with my family and her team in between games. (By the way, think you're tired? Sometimes they play tournaments till 2:00am...and they are 12- years old).

I LOVE hanging out with my Arkansas family. I would move to Arkansas if Dave would allow it- I love it there. It is my home away from home. Plus I want to be permanently adopted by my aunt and uncle.

So Anna's team happened to be 1W-1L when I left for the day, with at least one more game to play. I got to watch them roll their eyes on the field during a loss and get lectured by the coach. So funny- I remember doing that. They are learning how to lose and still keep a focused attitude (not easy to teach!). But, as we all have learned at one time or another, if you keep your head in the right place, you just may turn your game around. Lose your focus, and you have lost the battle.

Of course in between games they were searching for different shaped rocks. How easily they can let things go! We all need to train and play in the moment and then move on just like our younger counterparts.

I came home for "date night." It had an interesting start, as Dave had planned date night (a week ago when he was proving how romantic he can be) and then forgot we had it. I don't think you can teach an old dog new tricks, and I think I can count on my hands our "dates" in college. We ended up at Pete and Sams (always a good choice if you like to BYOW). So we end up talking about money- GREAT topic for date night as we are broke and mainly because I chose to go to college for 11 years with 3 degrees- 1 of which I use. And we will be in debt forever.

And I have this triathlon wish list- and it sounds reasonable to me. But again, I am the very educated debt creator and I don't have a leg to stand on. I want to race- go to the big races- get a coach- get race wheels- just the basic stuff, right? I promise to ride my bike forever! And Dave is just laughing in my face (but not a ha- ha laugh, but a dark, sinister, "no way in hell" laugh).

I bargain. I will start working extra shifts and take on a second job. I will use all of my fun money and will not ever stop at Chik-fil-A again. This is where Dave really chimed in. "If you spend any money on this stuff and I see junk food in the pantry I am throwing it out and you are in big trouble. You can't tell me you want all of this triathlon stuff and then eat crap." I agree, as I bring my glass of wine to my mouth- just a few more empty calories, please.

I do play powerball every week, so maybe my "disposable income" is right around the corner. I will pay off all of the student loans, buy Dave a new soccer bag and let him order as many satellite channels as he wants, and then sink the rest into all of my triathlon crap.

Date night ended with full tummies but nothing fulfilled on my wish list. So, the plotting continues....

Addicted-

So I have this opportunity to do something really cool- go with my gut kind of thing. Something that makes me feel really excited and happy and yes!!!

And then the proposed day was Saturday.

And my first thoughts.... "but I have a run planned with Gina!" "but I can't miss the Trinity ride!"

I can't miss all of the things that are so fun! And it has really all been fun lately. The more fun it is, the more I do. It reminds me of when I was a little kid and used to show horses. If it would rain on a Saturday and I had to miss riding/showing time, it was the end of the world to me. I was so unhappy and sad. I would cry. I was truly, profoundly sad. How could I miss a single day of something so great?

Because it was more fun than anything else in the whole world. And right now training with my friends is more fun than anything else in the whole world! :))))))

Speaking of training friends- Joy is coming in town to see me this Friday! (okay, to see her family, but I am totally going to monopolize her time while she is here!!!!!!). And, don't forget if you didn't already know- Girls' Ride 9:00 Sun from Miss Cordelias. (No Jarred, you cannot come).

It is Sunday afternoon- complete nap time. Even my coffee is not convincing me to stay awake right now. The weekend has been full and wonderful. If I could just find a way to make my week as fun as my weekend...

A few glimpses-

Friday night girls night: make-up and Merlot

Rebekah, my sister as well as our Mary-Kay make-up fabulous consultant. She made our night fun with some make-up and skin-care lessons. She has always been great with make-up and is enjoying her new work with Mary Kay. I am proud of her. (and of course we are like alter-egos as I hardly ever wear make-up.)

Lavonne and Marissa

Jeanie and Laura

Kathy and me

Okay- so once make-up lessons were over, Dave and Justin came over and crashed the party. It was fun :)

So once again I got maybe 5 hours of sleep on Friday night and then turned around to ride my bike early on Saturday. Following the ride, I planted myself in my bed with IM Hawaii and did not move except to eat dinner. Laura joined in on the lazy day fun.

One computer for tracking, one computer to watch the race, mimosas, jelly beans, one good friend, and a cheetah blanket are all you need to have a fabulous day watching IM. I enjoyed cheering all of my friends, especially Maggi Finley, Mark Newman, Kerrie, and Angela. I am so proud of you guys!!!! The ironman is never easy- you guys are awesome.

Again- just about 6 hours of sleep and then the 10-miler this morning at Shelby Forest. Well, 10.19 miles for me...or an extra 1:15 of running since I cannot run tangents, apparently. I even had a guy come up to me at mile 7 and explain to me that he had been watching me take the long way around the course and he started to point out the tangents to me. Ha! I think I was in la-la land. All I know is I ran 10.19 miles at an even pace- started around 7:45 and avg was 7:40 so some things are going right for me with pacing. I continue to remind myself that I am looking for strength and good form, not speed when I run right now. It is good as I could care less what pace others are running and maybe the speed will come around next year or so. Or maybe not, but let's hope it does! It is really refreshing to not "know my competition" out there. I can't even point out may of the girls in my age group now, so I get to continue to run with the clock and just do my thing. It has taken me almost exactly one year to run 10 miles- I am really excited to be in the double digits (barely!) again.

But now my body is telling me to take a nap- so off of the computer I go. Again, congrats to all the IM racers this weekend- as well as the Chicago marathon runners. :)