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?