Going the Distance

Doug finished the ING Atlanta Marathon yesterday, with a time of 4 hrs 30 minutes. He looked good coming up Marietta Street to the finish and kept running the whole time. He's a rock star!

I was better trained for the half than last year and managed to achieve a 3 minute PR even with a potty break. While I ran a better race this year because I paced myself (amazing - have never really done this before) and held off on the sprinting to allow a strong finish, I was lonely as I ran. Next year I'll have to talk someone who doesn't mind potty breaks into running with me.

Here's the report:

I got up at 4, ate Joe's magic breakfasts (steel cut oats with soy milk followed by an immodium), and rode to the GA dome with Doug and Jerry. We arrived at 5:45 to find a ghost town. There were no people anywhere and it was freezing. Signage was absent so we blundered our way to the Team 65 Roses meeting place to have our photo made. We checked our bags and I lost everyone. Doug, Jerry and I were to meet back at the potties after bag-check and we were right there with all of my neighborhood ladies. The next minute, I was alone. I waited around for a while and searched the crowd for Doug, but couldn't recapture him. I trudged to find my corral and some nice man gave me his trash bag to wear. Bless him. It was freezing so that helped a lot. I found a line of open potties, visited there and ran into Nat on my way back to the corral. I was so happy to see a friendly face, whew!

In my corral, I met a nice guy from Dacula who is doing Ironman Arizona in two weeks. He was doing the ING half as a training race and was aiming for 7 minute miles. HOLY COW. Anyway, we finally started - after some guy yelled "go" (no fireworks, no cannons). Only my group was corral #2, so we didn't go. We shuffled up to the start line. THEN, we got to go about 6 minutes later - no explanation from the race folks on this. It was weird. The corrals were much improved from last year's chaos but ING could do better with signage and directions because many people were wandering around with no direction.

I had planned (with coach Doug) to run 9:15 the first mile, then settle in for 9:00 miles and turn it up at the end for a fast finish. Alternatively, Doug recommended using the training partner function on my Garmin and keeping up with that to see if I could beat last year's time. I didn't quite remember last year's time and I don't know why the training partner didn't work but I was adrift from the start. I knew I had seeded myself OK (a little behind the 3:50 marathon pace group, who said they were doing 8:45 per mile) but people passed me like I was standing still. It was hard to slow myself down.

Mile 1: 8:13 - Oops. Need to slow down. Mile 2: 8:24 - Not such a bad pace. Breathing OK - this is the downhill part of the race so it's OK to go faster (rationalize, excuse). Mile 3: 8:25 - Maybe I'll try to slow it down a little but stick generally with this pace.

I saw the King center up close and that was really neat. We came upon it from the back and it's really a cool design. I don't remember seeing it last year. Then, we turned into the Sweet Auburn area where the Lupus foundation was manning a giant water stop with the "Rocky" song blaring. It was awesome. Those folks were so happy. I got all choked up thinking about them.

I got hot between miles 2 and 3. I took off my thermal shirt (which I was wearing over my Team 65 Roses shirt for the start). Then I put it back on. Then I put it back on underneath my team shirt. Then I got hot and took it off again. All while I was running. Without showing my jog bra. Idiot! I carried that shirt on my waist or in my hands until mile 8 until I dropped it at a water station. Little did I know that I'd need it later.

In Mile 4, I started to hurt. It was cold but I had not worn tights. AGAIN. We all know what my IT bands do in cold weather. Miles 4-6 were OK, but not as pleasant as 1-3. I averaged about an 8:45 pace while people still streamed past me. My tummy got angry in mile 5/6 and I had to stop at the place where the marathoners and half-marathoners diverged in mile 7/8. I put it off as long as possible because there were lines at all porto-potties, but it was for naught. I had to stop, and wait, and potty. SIGH. I ate my GU while I waited. The GU and the break helped me rally a little and some good songs came on in mile 7 (Wagner - Flight of the Valkeries), which helped also but miles 7-9 were my dark zone. I hobbled along and tried to hold some energy in reserve for the last 5K.

My stated goal for this race was under 2 hours but the super-secret goal was under 1:50. My running book said I could do 1:38 (HA!) so I thought the 1:50 was a stretch, but reasonable. At the 10K mark, I was at 53 minutes. I did some math, out loud, then re-did the math and came up with the conclusion that 1:50 was a virtual impossibility. This brought me down, inexplicably, because I know it was a dream to begin with. But still, I was down. The hobbling didn't help. I tried to talk to some folks around me as they asked each other questions but no dice. I was an island.

At mile 10.25, after we exited Piedmont Park and went up some big hills (which were really hard), I gave myself permission to speed up. Amazingly, it hurt less to run faster. Maybe the faster running made my legs warmer? Mile 10 was 8:41, Mile 11 was 8:00. I started to pass people and good music came on my i-pod. Mile 12 was 7:44. Whew, this part thru GA Tech was tough. I saw the best sign there: "Your feet hurt because you are kicking so much ASS!" It made me laugh out loud and then the girls holding the sign started cheering for me because they were Team 65 Roses too. Awesome! What a boost, right where I needed it. Mile 13 was mostly on Marietta St, I think, and it seemed to take forever. It wasn't a ridiculous climb like last year, but I was getting to the bottom of my tank. Mile 13 was 7:37. The drive to the finish was slow because of the sidewalk and twisty fence maze but that was because of tornado damage to the park. Next year will be better.

Garmin said 1:52:53. Chip time was 1:51:32. That's a PR by 3 minutes. Still a win despite not breaking 1:50. I'll bet I would have broken 1:50 if I had worn tights and not had to potty.

After I finished, I declined a space blanket (again, an idiot!) because I was hot, got some water and hit the potties. Then, I stood in a freezing wind to get my bag. Thank goodness I put an extra shirt in. I changed shirts in the middle of the sidewalk into a clean fleecy shirt and put the team shirt on top. Then, I high-tailed it to the appointed intersection - which was missing! I never found Thurmond St so I stayed at Marietta and Baker Street. I passed a Starbucks on the way there and used their potty. I stood in line for hot chocolate for a while, but the line wasn't moving so I left. As I was texting my location to Jerry, Joe and Nat, Jerry came by and yelled at me. He looked awesome. Strong and happy. Yay! I had missed Jennifer and Virginia because I was slow getting to the meet-up. Then, Devon and Mickey came by together. I cheered for them and all of the 65 Roses runners and anyone else who had an identifier on (Clemson shirt, pink skirt ladies, etc). The marathoners started to come thru and they looked so fast! After I thought I had missed her completely and given up, Sarah came by. Jerry joined me with some hot chocolate and then Joe came and blocked the wind while we waited for Nat. I got to introduce Jerry and Joe to Sarah as she went to hang with the Peachtree Tri Club folks. At about 3:30, Nat came by. She wasn't smiling and didn't wave so I knew she was irritated. In addition to the sea of half-marathoners, there was a group of high school kids running at the same time so the marathoners were dodging everyone. We abandoned our post and went back to the Carvel store for hot chocolate. Mmmm. The best hot chocolate ever. And a warm chair. We used Joe's phone to track Doug online. The tracker estimated a 4 hr 24 min finish so we headed back to the meet-up at that time after lingering in the warm store. Right on time, there was Doug! Hooray! We went and got his bag of stuff and met him as he came down from the finish. Then, we hiked back to the car and met at Taco Mac for post-race beer and nachos. mmm.

Doug and I have been talking about the race a lot yesterday and today. I ran a good race but was really sore yesterday. Better training would have helped this, and tights, and not eating spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner the night before. But, I think I would have had more fun with a buddy. I was lonely out there. Maybe I need to make a better distinction between my "A" races and the other ones. This was supposed to be a "B" or "C" race and I ran it like an "A". I'm sure sore like an "A". Overall, though, it was good and I'm pleased with my time. Here are times for the peeps, minus Sarah and Maja, who I couldn't find.

Marathon
Doug: 4:27:38
Nat: 3:38:18

Half-Marathon
Jennifer: 2:15:24
Virginia: 2:13:01
Jerry: 2:15:42
Devon: 2:26:19
Mickey: 2:22:42

All Geeked Up!

Doug and I have dropped off the girls, been to the expo, we've got the bibs and have set out the outfits. Ready to GO!

If anyone wants to meet me post-race, I'll be at the southeast corner of Thurmond Street and Marietta Street (or as close as possible to that on Marietta St) cheering for all of the other finishers and waiting for Doug to finish the marathon. I'll be wearing the Team 65 Roses shirt (grey with red rose), hot pink running skirt, and light pink visor.

I'm bib #12056 and Doug is bib #819 if you want to track us. Here is the link: http://www.inggeorgiamarathon.com/Race_Info/Race_Day_Results_and_Tracking/Map_Track.htm

Have a great race, everyone!

Pick Your Poison

At long last, I'm IN!

I've been trying to get on Team 65 Roses since we talked about doing the ING race this year. Unfortunately, I registered for the race with Active instead of the team. So, today, FINALLY, someone responded to all of my pestering and I'm in.

So, now when you go to Team 65 Roses to do your donation (I already did mine), you can put Doug's name in or mine. Apparently I was wrong and they do keep track of how much each athlete raises, but there is no minimum. We will see who is the better fund-raiser, but I think Doug has an advantage since I posted his plea here, and on both of my mom's boards and only sent mine out in an email. I'm crossing my fingers, though.

In other news, Annika has her first official after-school playdate today. We discussed more than three times the need for her best behavior and listening and following directions. I'm crossing my fingers for this too.

And, so that it doesn't get lost - go over to the Becoming Ironman blog because XT4's post is beautiful today. I'm repeating this in case it gets lost because I've posted twice today. And that never happens.

Beautiful

XT4 has a beautiful post today on his blog. Go and check it out.

Don't Worry - Be Happy

The UPS store near us has a slogan (which does not appear to be on the internet) that says "Don't worry, we'll take care of it." Please allow me to tell you again that I LOOOVE our UPS store. Today I hot-footed it from my swim to Target to get the present for my cousin's wedding shower (on Saturday), picked up the girls and then dashed to the UPS store to ship the present. I had purchased a box at Target, which I picked out by assembling all of the boxes in the packing aisle and testing to see if the gifts fit in them. The girls and I packed the gift and wrote the card in the car and were ready to go once we got to the UPS store. We had an appointment to meet my Grammy, you see, to try on the bodice of Annika's dress, so we needed to hurry to make it on time.

I clunked my box on the counter while the girls headed straight for the stash of toys they keep to occupy youngsters while their parents are shipping things. "Oh, no" I thought, "the guy isn't here." The guy is the man who owns the store. He is very tall and solves every problem I bring to him. He is the fairy godmother of shipping.

Clink.

The Pyrex loaf pans were banging against each other in my very carefully packed box. Crap.

"Is there glass in there?" the UPS lady asked, in a matter-of-fact tone while she gave me the eye. She was not looking very friendly. I started to get nervous.

"Um, yes. Just these two pans, but I've got the dishtowels folded between them. Do you think they need more cushioning?" (Pursing lips and wrinkling brow)

"If they are glass, they need bubble wrap." "And this box is way too small." "You need one two times this size." I'm was frowning and envisioning how we are going to repack and not wanting to do it. But, there was no arguing with this woman. She didn't want the pans to get broken.

"OK," I sighed and bit my lip as I fought the idea that the shipping would cost more than the present itself.

So the woman took my stuff in my box and bubble-wrapped those pans like they were going to the moon. Seriously - one was as big as the whole box I'd wrapped everything in before. Then, she packed them with the other stuff (all supplies to make the recipe that I was required to send with the present - pretty good idea, eh?) in a gigantic box, which she taped on all sides and filled with packing stuff. For $6. Including the cost of the box. And shipping wasn't that much - even though I had waited until the last possible moment to send the gift to get there the day before the shower.

So, don't worry. My UPS store will take care of it. Even if the guy isn't there and you are a dumbass and wait until three days before the shower and pack incorrectly in a too-small box.

I don't know if the recipe/supplies thing was what we were supposed to do or not. The instructions just said to send or bring a recipe. But, I remember when Doug and I were in college and first married and how I'd have to buy a pan or some other piece of cooking equipment every time I tried to make a new recipe. We even used a Waffle House cup as a measuring cup because someone (Mike, I think) told us it was 8 ounces. So, after I wrote my recipe this morning, I thought I would just include stuff from the registry that my cousin would need to make that recipe. I think I covered all of the bases except for a liquid measure and cooling racks. : ) Hopefully someone else will take care of the liquid measure. Jen, Emily?

And, by the way - did you know that Target's registry prints out with the aisle numbers on the page next to each item? How cool is that?

In other news, I know I can do my swim! For the 5K swim in June, I've been increasing the distance of my long swim by 500 yards every 2 weeks. I don't know how you are supposed to train for a swim of this distance, so I've been trying to do a long swim every week just like my long run. Then, the other days, I do a recovery swim or drills just like I would if I were running. So today my long swim was 5,500 yards, which is just slightly over 5k (5,468.066 yards, according to the internet). I did it! I know that the pool is way easier than the open water and I could easily have miscounted because 220 laps is a lot of counting and I get loopy when exercising that long but wow, that is a big hurdle. Now, to get faster. . .

Stephie Don't Preach

I've been telling everyone - Nat, Wes, and Charlie among others about how they need to be doing more recovery time and tapering.

So, did I listen to my own advice?

Nope.

Yesterday, I couldn't decide how much to do for my pre-race long run. I consulted my running book and decided that all of the half-marathon training plans were inapplicable to me because of their weekly mileages (40 miles a week!). Regardless, I settled on 6-8 miles for my last long run before the race next week. I ran in the morning and it was not a fast run, but it wasn't overly painful.

Annika was at the GymDogs with Grammie and Grampa, so Dagny and I went shopping and to the park and ate lunch. Then, Doug smiled upon me and kept Dagny while I rode bikes with Natalie. We had two hours so we rode for 30 miles. Oops. I thought my legs felt a little tired, but it was at easy pace and we had an awesome ride. It was probably a bit dumb to do on the weekend before the race. Then again, I'm only doing the half and it's not even an "A" race so who cares if I'm tired. I'm so excited about watching all of the finishers. If I have a decent race, I'll get to watch everyone come across this line while I wait for Doug's finish. FUN!

Annika adored the GymDogs and spending the night in the RV with Grammie and Grampa. We had a great time at Easter church, brunch and the egg hunt. Annika and I did a recovery walk today to keep the streak alive. A lovely weekend overall.

Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

I've got some favors to ask, dear reader.

Favor #1: Internet and triathlon goddess Sarah is once again hard at work on a contest with folks at Evotri. Please link over to her blog and follow the directions to vote for her. No cash required - just an email. If you have not watched her video yet, do it now. It is truly inspiring.

Favor #2: My dear husband recently sent the following email to all of his friends:

Dear Friends,

At the end of this month I will be running my first marathon as a way to remember a friend that passed and to raise money for a cure for the disease that took her. I've done the training to get myself ready for the race, but I haven't started my second goal. I need your help to raise money for a cure to cystic fibrosis. If you are interested in helping, please follow this link to learn more about cystic fibrosis and to donate. http://www.milesforcysticfibrosis.org/

Thank you,

If you can spare some cash, could you please link over there and donate what you can. 65 Roses is not a fancy organization and they aren't keeping track of what each athlete raises, but runners are requested to seek donations for the team. Those of you that are running, keep an eye out for the runners on the 65 Roses team (purple shirts with red roses) at the ING Marathon/Half Marathon and give them all a big shout-out. Doug didn't publish the story about our friend, so I won't either but she was truly an amazing person and we are lucky to have known her.

Thank you for your support.

I'm a Loser, Baby

Yesterday, I fell down on my exercising and laid a big fat goose egg for the Challenge.

I have any number of excuses, but the fact remains that I chose to abandon the search for the yoga DVD and get in bed after we put the girls down at 8pm. I felt the heavy mantle of guilt, especially since I promised to fight Paul for the 10th place spot and Wes got up at 11pm on Monday to get his 30 minutes in. I did get up once, but only to remove the soccer beverages from my car and stow them in the fridge in preparation for being the snack mom at soccer today. Then, I fell immediately to sleep because today is a big day.

It's 8:30am. I've run 12 miles, made oatmeal, fed myself and the girls, filled goodie bags for Annika's party, checked the RSVP list twice and arranged my sister's visit this morning. All that remains now is to hit the Publix to pick up the cake and ice and get us all dressed. Thankfully, this morning's rain has cancelled Annika's soccer practice and game so I don't have to leave the house ten minutes ago like I thought I would.

Which is good, because I am back in my pajamas. Now there will be time to shower!

Name, days in current streak/goose eggs in 2008
Steph Bachman, 0/4

Relaxation - Not for Me

Yesterday I had planned to do my long swim if I got out of jury duty in time. Alas, no. So, I came home and put on the Yoga for Triathletes DVD so that Annika and I could get my 30 minutes in for Paul's streaking challenge.

All of the folks on the BT boards are always talking about how they love the yoga and how it helps them and keeps them healthy (uninjured), etc. My friends love the yoga. I'm not disputing that some flexibility work would help me, but really?

I just would rather sweat than yoga.

Annika insisted that we do all 3 sections of the video (Energy, Strength and Flexibility). That is an hour and a half of yoga, folks. Without even sweating much. What is the point? Dagny was napping or we would have gone out for a walk instead. Luckily, I was able to fast-forward through the "Strength" section while Annika wasn't looking. She didn't follow the directions or even face the TV. She thought it was fun to sit on me while I did the poses and make forts out of her sections of the mat. Then she got mad when I used part of her mat (she wasn't on it at the time) to cushion my knee. She really wanted to watch Madagascar more than do yoga. So, I got through my hour and quit.

Yoga might make you more flexible and ease your muscles, but it doesn't make any endorphins. None. At all. I might still have to log a goose egg for this. It feels like cheating to count yoga as working out.

In better news, today I did my long swim (thanks to Doug) and rode my bike on the trainer. I watched "Kill Bill Vol 1" at full volume. This is not a bad trainer movie. I bought it after Annika was born and we hadn't watched it yet. It had good music so I was able to get my rpms up to a 93 avg (for me, this is awesome) even without the spinups. And, since I couldn't read the subtitles for the japanese language parts of the movie, it won't be annoying to watch again. : ) Please note, however, that there is way too much violence to watch while kids are in the house.

And now, Annika and I are going outside to run. She has Mark's camelbak on and wants to try it out.

Technology

I'm in jury duty today. And they had Wifi in the jury waiting room.


How cool is that?


You guys all need to update your blogs now because I've already done the work I brought with me and I'm bored. So far I've met some characters here. In the interest of privacy, I won't tell you about them, but very entertaining. Lots of people want to talk politics, but I'm avoiding that stuff. I'll have to break out my newspapers in a minute. My group was required to be here at 7:45am. I was worried about traffic so I was even early. My buddy that works in the record room is in the office now so I have no one to talk to. It's nearly 10 after 10 and we haven't done anything except watch the Brenda Wood orientation video. SIGH!

While I'm sitting, here are some photos that were stored on my computer for your viewing pleasure.

The first is a photo of Annika with her basketball coaches. Bless their hearts. You can't even tell that she was the worst one on the team. They really tried hard to have every player get involved in the games (keeping a chart on who had been in, who got to take the ball down, who got to shoot, etc).

For all of you who've not done a triathlon yet, here is a photo of my bike in the transition area at my first race last year. Notice that I'm the only idiot who put her stuff under the back tire. Duh. You want your stuff to be where the handlebars are (even though there is less space) because you take your bike off of the rack from that direction. Otherwise, you have to run all the way around the rack to get to your stuff or take your bike down to ride. Annika lent me her blue strawberry towel because it matched my outfit.

Annie - what about that triathlon? Have you picked one? Are you registered? Do you want me to run with you? Volunteer and cheer you on?

To update on my sickies, Annika had an ear infection. She is doing much better now. Dagny's fever finally broke on Sunday night but her chest was crackly so we went to the doctor's office yesterday. She seems to be doing better and only woke once last night. Doug isn't even sore after his 17 miler on Saturday and I'm starting to get rid of my soreness today (finally!).

The Wonder of Running

Taking down the Christmas lights gives you a lot of time to think. So, the thought that I just couldn't get out of my head as I wound the strands around my arm on Saturday was this -

"Can you believe that fat-ass Steph just ran six miles at a 7 minute pace? Boy do I ever owe Ty Robinson an apology!"

Ty Robinson was the kid in my 4th grade class who beat everyone in the President's Physical Fitness Test with a 7 minute mile. I barely finished my mile in 14-16 minutes that day and it hurt like heck, I tell you! I remember giving Ty a hard time because his dad was a runner and he was a fool for running when no one was chasing him. I just wonder if the gym teachers were dismayed at the pathetic shape we were all in (except for Ty, obviously).

My fitness did not improve until after the 40 lb weight gain from 7th-8th grade and Kim Thompson's comment about my fat ass. Yeah, the kid I "went with" in 7th grade did call me Fat Albert upon the inevitable break-up but it was Kim's comment that stung. We had been friends since kindergarden. I was even present for her first kiss in the exploratories hall one afternoon. She didn't mean anything by it - it was an offhand remark to a mutual friend about something that was clear for all to see but it was a wake-up call for me.

I started walking the summer after 8th grade. I walked all over our neighborhood - until I was sore, even. Granted, I had ulterior motives because the boy I liked lived only about a mile away, but somthing changed. We moved at the end of the summer and school started and I made sure I was in some kind of activity (band, tennis, swimming) every season so that I had to move. Even in college. And that is how I escaped the fat Steph. She comes back, sometimes, and I have to outrun her but I can do it now. She can't do 7 minute miles : )

So, Ty Robinson, I'm sorry I gave you a hard time. You were right.

In other news, Dagny's fever seems to have broken (finally!). She was still up 4 times last night but never with the glowing-heat of the fever. Pshew! We are going to the doctor today, to have them listen to her chest because her cough sounds really scary.

And, we took the ride-along for a successful test drive at the river yesterday. Doug (with his superior balance and grace) took Annika with that while I towed Dagny in the trailer. It was really fun and now we know that we can risk a longer ride at the Silver Comet. Whoo! Thank you to my boss for giving us this marvelous toy.

The title is from the Innocence Mission's song "The Wonder of Birds." I still love that song.

Super Duper Fly

or, the Chattahoochee Road Runners 10K race report.

I was late leaving the house (surprise) and had to book it to get to the race site on time. Doug had given me excellent directions and I got there with time to spare with extra clothes, my visor, a towel, my i-pod, my garmin and water.

Warm-up was two trips to my car from the porto-potty area where Nat's car was and a quick loop around the parking lot in which I had to slow Nat down with the "this is the warm-up" reminder. I met Dani, a blogger friend fo Nat's but never saw any of the BT crowd. Luckily I wore my blue running skirt because Nat had on her pink one. Can't be all matchy-matchy. I had eaten Joe's magic breakfast (steel cut oats with soymilk) for breakfast but the takeout chinese dinner from Friday was not helping me. Stood in the potty line 3 times.

We dashed from the potties and ran to the start line just before the start. It was not marked with a banner but we quickly figured out where the front was (they had a tape in front of them) and jumped into the crowd behind them. We fought the humanity to get back from the front. Nat stopped about 50 yards back from the start but I kept going back. I was worried about being caught in a flood of 6:30 pacers like Doug did last year. I got to a lady who said she planned a 9:46 pace and figured I was safe. Until the lady on the other side started talking about 10:00 pace. Oops.

Oh well, too late because we were off. I dashed in between the other racers and allowed several men to "break the trail" for me. It was hard to breathe from the start - I felt like I could only draw shallow breaths and my phlegm kept coming up. Doug and I later decided that this is because I ran most, if not all, of this run at or above my LT. Meaning, that I kicked ass.

Anyway, the clouds were parting and the sun was starting to come out and I got to mile one just as Garmin beeped and it showed a 7:09 first mile. All right! Not the 6:46 it felt like! Hmmm, could I hold this pace? I decided to give it a try, but I turned up the tunes to give myself a mental boost.

Mile two was equally fun. Nice rolling hills, beautiful homes to look at, nice volunteers and police to wave at. 7:18. I was trying to catch up with Nat, but I didn't have her in sight.

Mile three started to get hard. I found Nat and realized that either (1) I was running over my head or (2) her legs were killing her. I tried to shorten the distance between us because it was HUGE but it was slow going. This mile was 7:10! I gave myself some raise-the-roof for keeping such a constant pace. Only 3 miles to go.

Doug had told me the mile 3 into mile 4 was the big hill. It didn't feel horrible, except that I was gasping for air. The sun started to get in my eyes and I wished aloud that I had brought my visor. No one around me responded. Tough crowd. I had some water and was gaining on Nat more steadily now. I argued with myself over whether I should stay behind her, pass or run together. Would staying behind be cheating since she was pacing? Would passing make her mad because her legs hurt or would we run slower if together? Turns out, all of the conflict was for naught; I couldn't hold the pace anyway. I caught up to Nat, said hello, told her I was sucking it (which I was), heard that her legs were locked up and then fell back again. Mile 4 - 7:04.

Doug said after mile 4 was all downhill except a small rise at the very end. Whee!! I figured I could hold the pace if going downhill but it was very hard. I spent a lot of time with my eyes closed. Pigtail girl in the black hot pants left me in the dust. Turn, turn, turn, I chanted to myself (not like the hippie song, more like a drill sergeant). My running book advises quick turnover with small steps on the downhills so I tried to do it. I got a horrible side stitch. I tried rotating from side to side, breathing on the other foot, lifting my arm in the air - nothing worked. Some kid passed me like I was standing still. He made it look easy. Later determined that he was 11. Mile 5 - 7:00; Mile 6 - 7:17. Ow, this was getting hard. A big guy in a red shirt ran next to me for a while. Then, he hung right on my left elbow. I couldn't shake him off! I don't like people to run that close to me. We came down a long curving hill and turned up into a parking lot. The announcer cheered for me, which made me laugh. He joked about my big smile. I knew I was running fast, so I was thrilled. Then, I turned the corner and could see the clock. 44:13. Holy cow!

Could I do it? I put on every bit of speed I had and sprinted to the finish. Small steps gone, I dashed like my life depended on it. Whoosh! I got under the clock at 44:45:90.

I walked for about a minute to outrun the stars that were crowding my eyes, found Nat, stopped my Garmin and we grabbed water and headed for the buses. We turned in our bibs but realized that we were supposed to keep the numbers. Ooops. The chips were in a pocket behind the numbers like a Fedex or UPS envelope. Do over. The guy collecting numbers dropped them all on the ground for us to paw through. Got our numbers and hit the bus. Nat and I got our shirts, the nice race volunteers helped me get Doug's shirt and we decided that since there was no possible way for us to place, we left.

I was thrilled. My stated goal was under 48 minutes. All racers have a super-secret goal, though - one that is probably outside of the realm of possibility but which we'd really love to hit. 45 was my super-secret goal. I had not even told Doug about it - only Nat, in a fit of trail running weakness. Nat was not so happy because she thought she could have gone faster but her calves rebelled. We calculated that her optimum pace was actually 8 seconds per mile faster than she went (HA!) but she will get it next time when her legs are healthy.

Great race! Will definitely do it next year!

Results:

Nat: 44:33:05 for a 7:11 pace, #262 overall, 36th woman, and 1st in the 35-39 age group
Me: 44:45:90 for a 7:13 pace, #266 overall, 37th woman, and 2nd in the 35-39 age group

WHOO! I've emailed the CRR club and said that I would meet them at a time and location of their choosing to pick up our hardware. : )

And, Doug ran 17 yesterday and I FINALLY took down the Christmas decorations. Neighbors, you can thank me now.

Back in the High Life

We had a marvelous evening planned for yesterday. It was Virginia's 9th birthday (leap year baby - she is actually 36) and we were going to drop the girls off at Nana/Papa's house for a sleepover and run the Chattahoochee Road Runner's 10K race this morning. Then, the plan was to go to Sarah Anne's birthday party at lunchtime and then to Pete and Sara's house for homemade lasagna dinner.

Alas, the plan was foiled.

Dagny had a fever on Thursday but nothing to worry about. When I got home yesterday, Doug said that her fever was 105 degrees. With the ear thermometer.

Holy cow.

Party plans and the shower gel that had spilled all over the back of my car were forgotten. We dosed her with Tylenol and held her while waiting on hold for the doc's office to answer the phone. Then Katie called and I had to hang up. Luckily, the fever started to come down (to only 102) while I talked to Katie. However, while Dagny's fever was coming down, Annika's complaints about her ear intensified to the point of crying.

So, I loaded Annika in the car after Doug triaged the soapy mess and took her to the minute clinic at CVS. Ear infection. This is not a surprise since she's had a cold/cough for a week. We are still medicating Dagny with tylenol and motrin, but she is completely OK when her fever is down. I'm guessing roseola.

Doug took Dagny and went to pick up chinese food. We met back at home 45 minutes later to share the takeout goodness and start Annika's antibiotics. The food was awesome - click here for other reviews. We know the owner and he is a nice guy, too!

Doug decided to take one for the team and sit out the race so I could run. Instead, he's out doing his long run now in the beautiful sunshine. Annika is feeling better and is at the birthday party. I'm having leftover singapore vermicelli noodles and listening to Dagny watching Oswald. I had a blast running the race with (behind) Natalie, and Doug used the results to figure out my approximate LT. I'll post a report on that once the official results are posted and I've collected Annika from her party, but the upshot is that things are looking up today (that's a 5*8 song, in case you were wondering - almost used that for the title but I enjoyed my High Life so much last weekend that I used that instead). Champagne of beers, indeed.

Not Crafty and I've Got a Gripe

Preschool requires homework. Really.


Monday morning, while I was checking my email, I read the reminder from Dagny's teacher and remembered that I was supposed to have covered a shoebox with paper for school - in addition to putting Dagny in her pajamas with her bear for her pajama picnic and Annika in her spirit shirt because it was early release. And, don't forget that I had to return the book of decorated foot shapes (homework from last month) from the whole class and their families.


Here is the result:







I suck at crafts. And interior design. And all decorative arts. So this was not a bad result, if I do say so myself.

However, it was very depressing on Sunday to drop off the food for the new moms in my life only to find their magazine-photo-shoot-perfect homes in complete, beautiful order (even the fridge!). No messes, no disarray, everything complimentary without matching, etc. Made me feel inadequate with my messy, non-matching, laundry not done, holiday decorations still up house.

I was down.

But, then when I got to school to pick the girls up, Dagny's class was having a parade with their boxes and stuffed animals. They pulled them along the ground with the strings. It was adorable.

Then, I got to ride my bike. OUTSIDE! I even wore sunblock. Craziness. I felt much better and happier after my ride. Seems I was just low on endorphins. In fueling news, I ate a Larabar before my swim and that went, well - swimmingly. HA! And for the bike, I ate a Powerbar gel and a mint-chocolate GU. I was worried that I might like the powerbar gel better than the GU, but that problem was solved when I ate it. Ugh! Mint chocolate is my friend. I always thought the choclate GUs would be gross, but I love them.

Here is a photo from this morning. The girls wanted to play in the snow flurries. I made them wear gloves and pose for a photo. My Grammy made the pink mittens for me when I was a kid. In a minute, I'll see if I can add the action shots of them doing laps around the car because I was trying to get them into our car by saying "OK, do two laps and then we have to go!"

Feel the Burn

Did you know that you could chafe while SWIMMING?

Yeah, so I did my endurance swim yesterday and didn't notice any problems. I don't love the new suit, but it kept my bottom covered so that is something, anyway. Time passed. I picked up the girls and rode my bike in the beautiful weather (more on that later). We had dinner and I cleaned up. Jumped in the shower with Dagny and OUCH!

I have raw places on both sides of my torso where that suit rubbed my skin off. Almost didn't even wear a bra today but sucked it up for the good of the company.

The good news is that I did 4,500 yards continuously yesterday plus the 500 warm-up. : ) Whoo! The warm-up is not truly necessary because I swim so slowly. It is actually a fog-up because that is about how long it takes for my goggles to fog so I use the break to clean them, put spit inside and get a drink before starting my main set.

While I was lamenting my chafing in the shower, Dagny was counting her shower toys. "One, two animals!" "One, two, animals!" Then she counted to ten (there are four animals). After I explained that you only count each animal one time, she re-counted "seven, eight, nine, ten!" There you go. Who cares if you don't start with one?

Roll With It

It was a beautiful day yesterday. While the girls were in school, I swam, ran two errands and had an abbreviated run. The run would have been fine except that I was starving after the swim and ate my lunch (PB&J) in the car while doing errand #1. PB&J, apple slices and an orange slice is too much to eat before a run. GI issues ensued. SIGH.

Anyway, Doug and I had planned for me to ride my bike in the afternoon. I picked up the girls, ran errand #3 and came home. We did the post-school recovery drill (emptying of bags and lunchboxes, loading of dishwasher) and colored until Dagny lost her marbles and went down for her nap. We also had an impromptu discussion of postage when Dagny found some stamps and stuck them all over her teddy and herself because she thought they were stickers. Annika wanted to do a little run with me so we changed our clothes and were on our way outside when Doug got home.

Now, the original plan was for Doug to get home at 3 and I would leave for my bike ride immediately. I even called Nat to see if she could go. However, we ran late, Doug got home early and Annika got it in her mind that she and I would ride together. She was so excited. How could I deny her?

So, my bike ride was abandoned. I ran/walked with Annika on her bike up the hills to my parents' house (they were not home) for water and then ran home (Annika is faster on the downhill). Next time, I think the Greenway would be a better venue because I had to push her most of the way up the hills. She kept pedaling the whole time, but I still had to add some force to keep her moving. We saw vultures and a very dead possum. The possum was a good lesson on why you need to keep to the side of the road and listen when Mommy is telling you to move to the side. Whew. Watching your kid on a bike is not necessarily a physical workout, but it sure is a mental one.

Annika was very envious when I told her that Chase could ride a bike without training wheels. Maybe that will be our spring project. . . after we get the Christmas decorations down.

Two Things

One:

My internet friend (Sarah) has made a video that you need to watch. She created it to enter the Evotri team contest, but it is inspiring whether you vote on the contest or not. It makes me cry every time I watch. Go and watch it here and follow Sarah's directions to vote for her. I posted this message to both of my mommy group boards, but it didn't seem to work right because my post never appeared on the "recent posts" lists so I'm re-posting here. I just love Sarah's message. She is a great ambassador for getting healthy and also for triathlon. If you are going to vote, go fast because the round one voting ends at midnight.

Two:

Doug taught me to do spin-ups this week on the bike trainer. There is a discussion of this biking drill here, but basically they are periods of high revolution riding sprinkled into your trainer ride with the goal of increasing your bike cadence (how fast you pedal). Doug's drill was to do 2 one minute sessions of this per ten minutes of biking. He alternated between increasing the RPMs by 10 (95 rpm in regular riding to 105 rpm during the spin-up) in the same gear and doing it in a gear 2-3 higher. Of course, I did one minute per ten minutes of biking because I misunderstood the directions. Seriously, this phlegm is making me stupid.

Anyway, the spin-ups were fun! Long-term, maybe they will help me get faster on the bike. Short term, they make the trainer ride go much faster, which is always a good thing. We DVR'd NBCs rebroadcast of the Kona race so that is a great thing to watch while on the trainer. Annika liked it too once she understood that no one was going to die. Seriously, this child is morbid.

Note to self - no pepperoni/cheese sandwiches prior to bike rides. It turns spin-ups into spit-ups. Ick.

In other news, Annika has a new chore (which she pronounces "cho"). She and Doug take the dog out for a pee/poo walk after dinner. This is good because if she behaves badly during the day, Annika does not get to do her chore. And, if you are Annika, that is bad. Really, really, bad. So the chore/cho is good. Really, really, good. Nat was right, Nat was right. La, la, la, la, Nat was right.

And, Doug has also started taking Annika for walks at the park while Dagny is taking her nap. She LOOVES the walks and comes home tired enough to sleep at night. Whooo!

It's a Small World After All

On Sunday, Doug ran in the coolest race. It was the Red Top Rumble - an 11.5 mile trail run at the Red Top Mountain State Park. The girls and I loaded up on snacks and drove up to watch Doug finish. You'd be surprised how much stuff you have to pack for breakfast and snacks on the road.

We found a good place near the finish and watched the front runners come through. While we were waiting, a girl that I graduated high school with came by (we were in the band together, even). We yelled for her and then a guy from law school came by before Doug showed up and we left to hang out with him while he fueled. We drove all over the park before finding the right place, so we got to see several areas of the run. It was awesome - you couldn't even see the trail from the road, just a line of runners looping up and down the tree-covered hills. Doug said the race was really fun and the park looked like a great place to go for a trail run or day hike. Really beautiful. They also have a lodge if you felt like staying longer.

Come to find out, the girl from high school (Maja) was parked next to Doug and her coach is none other than the famous Matt Russ (Paul's coach). Small world, eh? So, Maja has an ironman sticker on her car. She is a realtor and also a 5 time ironman! And also a coach at the Sport Factory (she didn't mention this - I googled). If you are looking for a house in DeKalb or the surrounding areas, or a life or athletic coach, click the links above and she can hook you up! She also introduced me to a bunch of the other Sport Factory folks who did not act like I was an idiot in my jeans with my snack-filled stroller and two rugrats in tow. Doug even snagged a hat in the schwag giveaway which I got to wear on my run today. Score!

I didn't see the law school guy again but he was really fast and so was Maja. Brian specializes in civil litigation and fiduciary law so again, follow the link if you need that kind of lawyer.

Today was my non-office day so I got to run at the park (AND, Doug watched the girls so I could get my long swim in this morning). I just love the trail running. So peaceful. I did two loops for 4.5 miles (forgot to charge Garmin so the mileage is approximate) and could have kept going but cooler heads prevailed and I quit while I was ahead. I can't go injuring myself before the ING race.

At Doug's race, we got flyers for a 1/2 marathon trail run in Conyers - the Granite Grinder. It is the weekend before our first triathlon of the year so we could not sign up. Too bad, because I love the trail runs. Next year, I will be on the lookout for more of them.

In other news, we are madly preparing for Valentine's Day over here. We've finished the cards and are now working on the cookies for the teachers. Dagny's teachers got candy from Starbucks because her party was today and I wasn't ready. You didn't realize that Valentine's Day presents for the teachers were required did you? It's competitive in the preschool. Those other moms will make you look like a jerk in a flat minute in you don't think ahead!

And, we had to do teacher appreciation day cards this week at school for the kids to present to their teachers in the morning of the big day. Annika did her own and wrote "i lav y" on it. Her teacher read it and said "did you write 'I Love You'" on my card? I know I love her just for knowing what Annika meant. Wait until she sees her Valentine's Card, labeled: "MES BACE." That's "Ms Betsy" to you without young kids.

I Love to Ride My Bicycle

Sunday's high was predicted in the 60s. PERFECT biking weather. After Doug's race (more on that later) and lunch, I donned my gear and got ready to go. Doug pumped up the tires for me since the crappy bike tubes I bought have smooth nozzles so it takes two of me to pump them up. Note to all - don't let the bike shop people sell you the smooth nozzles. Take them out and look. I thought all tubes were the same, but it makes a difference.

When Doug came back in from the tires and I came downstairs, he said "you might want pants" so I reluctantly ran back upstairs and got some. Couldn't find the running tights to I put the capilene long underwear on over my bike shorts. What a looker!

Anyway, off I went. I rode out of the neighborhood (the most challenging part of any ride) and down to the river. It was a beautiful day and I was doing very well until the wind hit me. It blew me out of my lane and into the next one - I was a sail! Since there were three lanes at this point in my ride, this was not a big deal. I wanted to go to the left lane so I could turn, but figured it would be OK to just turn right and then turn around to get to my road. Some jerk in a gold/beige Honda Accord buzzed me here. He had two other lanes to use, but had to use mine. SIGH.

After about 45 minutes, I decided to eat something. I'm working on my nutrition for the race this fall, don't you know. I ate this bar and it was very tasty, in the way that rum balls are tasty. A bit thick, though, and I think I should have cut it in half or drank more water with it because it threatened to revisit me about 30 minutes later. Note to Clif, walnuts have peels that get stuck in your teeth. I finished the flat part of the ride after being passed only once and began the long climb out from the river. It was so hard. My legs felt like lead and I couldn't get any speed up. My plan had been to practice my aero position while in the bike lanes but it was just too windy. I had to let a nice guy in a blue pearl izumi shirt pass me at a light because I was toasted by the time I got done with the bike lanes. I decided to eat again as I followed the blue guy up the hill. Gu's Christmas flavor (Mint Chocolate) is really good. Mmmm. It stayed down fine. Maybe the other was just too dense.

My original plan had been to take a nearby neighborhood loop if I got back home early. I even wrote that in my note to Doug. However, wind = slow. I finished my ride almost exactly at the two hour mark (which was all of the time I had because of the internet vacation research I did before leaving). It was a lovely day and I was filled with endorphins from watching Doug's run and my nice bike. How great is that? A ride in February. Who gets to ride in February?

Wind, schmind. Just gave me a better workout.

King of Wishful Thinking

In case you were wondering why folks who work in an office have such a hard time not gaining weight (with the obvious exception of sitting on our butts all day), here is a photo of one example:

We had king cakes in the office today. It's Mardi Gras, don't you know!!

I tested both and have to say that the one on the right was more my style. I don't know what king cake is "supposed" to taste like, but this one was yeasty and crumbly and only a little sweet. It was from Gabriel's Desserts in Marietta. My friend who brought it said that the Italian Cream Cake is even better. I don't know how you could top this, though. Mmm, delicious. The one on the left was not bad either. It had a more cinnamon roll-y texture, but was definitely prettier with more bling. Icing lovers would prefer the left one.

In all fairness, I have to confess that I brought more than my fair share of baked goods to the office before I had kids. I used to bake to calm myself before tennis matches and would bring the results to the office. Every week. Now, no time for such behavior!

In other news, while Dagny and I ate dinner last night, I browsed the foodie blog links from Anna's blog. I found one lady that makes some really cool stuff. Her blog is called "Not as Good as Pork Cracklins" (how could you not check that one out!) and not only can she make perfect loaves of bread, she is also a 5-time Ironman. And, she finished Ironman Coeur d'Alene with a broken finger last year. Tough as nails!

Both girls are home sick again today. Annika had a fever and felt rotten and Dagny's tummy was . . . unsettled. She may have drunk some old milk, though, so I'm not willing to say she's really sick. Before you freak out, please let me explain that sometimes Dagny hides her milks in the cabinets. We couldn't find her milk before retiring to bed last night, so I just made her a fresh one. But the old one is sitting on the little table right now. Ooops.

Cry, Crybaby

I called Natalie today to say that I wouldn't be able to bike this week. I left a message and it was whiney. I was frustrated because my biking for the week is all messed up because of my schedule. There are some warm days coming and I'm going to miss them all. But, then when I came home from the errands and picking the kids up from school, Doug said "why don't you go ride?"


And my response was "Thank you, but I'm too tired."


Wuss.


I suck.


Now, as Doug and Annika left to go to basketball practice and Doug was preparing for his run, I wish I had biked. Sigh.


I did get a new suit:

It's not my favorite color but the selection of training suits at Dick's was minimal at best so I got the best I could find. Next time I'll order myself a suit online BEFORE my old one wears out. Let me tell you, though, that shopping for training suits is just as humiliating as shopping for regular bathing suits. At least I can swim tomorrow, though. Thank goodness the REI dividend is coming soon. I want a cuter (and preferably purple) suit. Maybe for Mother's Day, we can buy me one.

A note, though, on swimsuit sizing. Speedo suits have two sizes on them: (1) the dress size that you'd wear in the misses dept, and (2) the inches you are around your bust. Do not look at the dress size. It is a lie. Go immediately to the bust size that you are - that's your bra size. Those will fit. Looking at the dress size will just waste valuable time and make you feel fat.

I don't know why I'm so low today. I ran 4 miles this morning and it was lovely once I'd waited for the rain to stop. Maybe just tired.

In other news, my dad went to Annika's basketball game with Dagny and me on Saturday. He got to witness just how little she is interested in the game. Bless him for coming, though. When she pays attention to the game, Annika is really a good little defender but that whole attention thing is not happening right now. Anyone with advice on the attention-paying, please send it my way. Seems like my voice sounds like the teacher from Charlie Brown so I need to do something to decode it.

Cheeseburger in Paradise

Here is yet another opportunity for you to laugh at me instead of with me.

However, if you are squeamish, you might want to leave now and come back tomorrow.


- - - - - - -

OK, wussies gone?

Here is the story.

For dinner last night, we had hamburgers and fries. I had gone to work early because of the rain and came home early so I could get my run in. My sweet Doug found some delicious plain curly fries in the freezer dept that bake nicely in the oven. He grilled burgers, and added cheese and bacon. He seasoned the fries with Lawry's Seasoning Salt. Yum. They were very good and the burgers were heavenly. Mmmm, beefy goodness.

Because he knows that I prefer crispy fries, Doug cooked the fries longer than usual. This caused the fry that fell on the floor of the oven to ignite and we had to open the doors and fan out the smoke. Ooops.

Anyway, the girls ate well and so did Doug and I. We cleaned those fries right up. I even ate the crunchy crumbs that fell off of the fries after dipping them in the extra salt on the plate. After a run, I crave salt.

While I was looking at the plate, though, I noticed some odd brown spices mixed into the salt. Hmmm. Those were weird. Maybe they were uncrunched peppercorns?

Then, one started moving.

This is what I thought they were. I've edited to add that further research indicates that these are more likely. Cigarette beetles - they like paprika. That salt went in the trash and now I have to examine the other spices and bread crumbs and what-all in the pantry to make sure that that was the only hiding place. Admittedly, the salt was probably well past its sell-by date (like 5 years past) but we know from my past pantry incident that these beetle eggs just come in the food (especially corn and spices) and eventually hatch if conditions are right. Bleaching of flour and spices and storing them in the freezer "neutralizes" the eggs, but doing that also make stuff tasteless. So, there you go.

Watch out for the moving peppercorns.

Doug was so grossed out that he nearly got sick, but I thought the whole thing was funny. Just can't think too much about licking tiny dead bugs off of my fingers with the salty fries.

In other news, I got to do a 7 mile trail run today, which was lovely. Our city is good with the parks. Now we are preparing to shower and go to Annika's basketball game. Cross your fingers for her.

I See You Baby, Showing That Ass

When I was a little kid, my dad referred to any foolish or embarrasing act in public as "showing your ass." Tantrums, spilled beverages, shouting matches, sloppy drunkeness or generally acting like an idiot are all "showing your ass." I don't know if this is a southernism or not, but in my world someone "acting a fool" is "showing their ass."


So, I showed my ass at the pool today.


Not in the way my dad meant, though.


No hissy fits, no tantrums, no diva-ish behavior.


Instead, my trusty purple Speedo finally gave up the ghost. It was pretty ratty and getting transparent in the back but since the background of the pattern was a light color you really didn't know whether it was my skin or the suit. But the suits we've bought on e-bay were not the right size. I'm not small, I tell you. And, it's almost time for the REI dividend so I was waiting.


My suit was of a similar style to this one

Anyway, I was swimming along on my planned endurance swim. My 500 warm-up went fine. Midway through my long set (3,000 yds), I felt like my suit was doing something weird. Maybe it's getting a runner, I thought. Or, maybe I dropped some toilet paper in my suit. However, this was my endurance day where I do the non-stop swimming in preparation for the 5K race so I kept going. You wouldn't think you could feel a breeze in the water being all wet anyway, but I thought there might be a breeze.

The guy in the lane next to me was hanging out on the wall for a really long time, which was weird because he was sharing a lane. I ignored him. This was an endurance swim and that means no stopping. I even tread water to adjust my googles. No stopping.

Then, some feet appeared at the end of my lane. I burst out of the water in surprise and there was Doug.

"Your suit is ripped," he said.

"Oh, did it run?"

"Um . . . "

"Can you tell?"

"I can see your tattoo."

"Oooh. I have another 1,000 to do." Thinking that it can't be so bad. No one is looking at my bottom.

"Want me to bring you my towel after I shower?"

"No, that's OK. I'll be all right."

"I'll bring you my towel."

"OK," I said while I thought that perhaps the run was really bad. No matter, I had a swim to do and I was going to do it. I finished the 3,000 and would have kept going to 3,500 because I felt good, but Doug was waiting for me.

I got out of the pool and sat on the edge and assessed (HA!) the problem. So you see the seam that runs vertically from the bottom of the back area down and around the bottom? My suit ripped along that seam from the beginning all the way around to the midpoint. If you know what I mean. All of the pool had a good view of my bottom and stretch marks and all of that stuff every time I did a flip turn. For 3,000 yards in a row.

Ooops.

So, now I'm in the market for a new suit. I'll be wearing a bikini for my swim tomorrow. Not very cool for the swim crowd but better than having my bottom hanging out.

PS I was going to post a link to a site to explain a "run" or "ladder" to the non-nylon familiar folks, but all I found were folks who are REALLY into laddered stockings, with videos. Ew.

Leita, Leita, Leita

You know how my knee has been bothering me? And I have been running in the flats (back and forth in front of our house)? While Doug has been kicking ass with the long trail runs?

On Saturday, I got to get back to the trail! It was a very cold 30 degrees but the trail was delightful. I love to run through the trees. There were five dog-walkers on the trail and I saw three other runners at a pretty early hour. Sure, my knee complained a little, but it actually felt better to run on the nice squishy (relatively speaking) trail than on the asphalt I had to follow to get there. I ran for a total of 6 miles - about 3 on the trail and 3 of travel because running to the place to run is faster than getting in the car and driving there to start the running. However, if time were no object, it would be more fun to walk to the trail and then do all of the running there. But that time, it is an object.

Since I had to work on Monday, I had yesterday "off" which means that I dial in and work on my computer from home and talk on the phone a lot but don't have to shower/blowdry/dress nicely and go into the office. Doug suggested that I have the day of fitness to celebrate being done with my presentation and although I felt guilty about taking the whole day since he had stayed home with sick Annika on Monday, I complied. I was late leaving the house (surprise) and swam for only 20 minutes but still, a swim! On the same day as a bike! Whoo!

Then Nat and I drove to the Silver Comet for a really really long ride. 40 miles. That's a record. And then we ran. Whew. Very tiring. I made Nat buy Powerade and we got back on the road. Since I was drinking the Powerade, I did not buy myself a Cliff bar because I knew that I was heading home just to eat dinner. However, in my car I found . . . MY LUNCH! I'd totally forgotten about it. I've never been so happy to see a sandwich. PB&J joy! And apple slices! In retrospect, I think that we should have been eating my lunch during the ride since we were riding through the lunch hour and all. Next time I'll pack some up and we can practice eating on the go. Surely the fuel would have helped us feel better on those interminable last 10 miles. And while we are on the subject of fueling, please allow me to geek out for a moment.

Single-serving Gu packages, while convenient and leak-free, are hard to eat while riding a bike. Maybe not so hard for people with grace and coordination, but very hard for me. I can veer off the road and crash just fine without any distractions. I need to reattach the Gu flask to my bike and fill-r-up before my rides. Swigging out of the mini-bottle is a LOT easier than trying to rip the tiny envelope open with one hand and my teeth and then trying to roll it up like a toothpaste tube without crashing.

In other news, Annika is feeling much better since being sidelined by the tummy bug this weekend. We've re-laundered everything and will hopefully remain vomit-free for a while. And, now that basketball is in full swing, Annika wants to talk about soccer. I've already signed her up for a spring league and hopefully her interest will continue when she's actually doing the soccer.

And Dagny told me the other day that Daddy has a tail. HA! I asked her if she had a tail and and if I had a tail and she said no. I asked where Daddy's tail was and she told me "it's in him underpants." Anatomy, we can do. The potty training, not so much. I just don't know how to help her understand the feeling of "time to go" - we just skip to "I went." One day . . .

Snowflakes That Melt on Your Nose & Eyelashes

At long last, here are the snow photos:

First, Dagny and me after her very first ride. She wasn't sure about the sled (really a plastic saucer), but we convinced her after Annika took a couple of rides. This isn't snow, but cute anyway. Grammie, Annika and Dagny reading books in the RV when we went to Cordele last summer.

Here are Annika and me, post ride.

Then, Dagny tells us how the snow makes her feel. HAPPY! She just kept screaming with glee.

Annika comes down the hill solo.

Annika and I on our way down. Dagny waiting at the top for her turn.

Doug took all of the photos. I tried to capture him with the girls but my photo skills are pretty rotten. I got his arm, but not much else.

No time for more reporting today. The pot roast is in the oven and I'm off to fire up the work computer to practice my presentation for Monday. It's powerpoint, with a remote. And a pointer. OK, not really on the pointer but I do have a pen flashlight in my computer bag to shine on the screen instead of standing in front of it and pointing with my hand. Think good public speaking thoughts.

Doug Rules

Last week after I missed some days of exercise due to the tummy bug, I walked with my dad on Wednesday. Thursday I got up too late to go to the pool, so I decided to swim during my lunch hour. However, the meeting with the boss got postponed several times and I didn't get the time to go swim. I thought I might yoga at home but was quickly de-motivating on my drive there. Thursday is stay-up-late-and-pay-the-bills night. SIGH. Another goose egg.

Then, I walked in the door and Doug was cooking dinner. He poo-poohed my de-motivation and proceeded to tell me all about the bike trainer he bought us. I point out that it's Thursday. He said, "well, if you'd quit putzing and go pay the bills, you can ride for an hour after we give the girls their baths." So, I went down and paid the bills while he made a lovely dinner. And then, he set my bike on the trainer for me and set up a movie on the DVR for me to watch. "Edward Scissorhands." This trainer - it opens so many windows for biking. January is just not conducive to riding outside. I'm willing to ride in the 50s but 40s are questionable and 30s are just too cold. I can't keep my hands or feet warm enough. So, the trainer rocks and so does Doug.

So, you all know about my knee issues. My bike saddle was too high and it was making my knee sore. I lowered it and thought I was OK. After Thursday's ride, though, it was angry again. So angry that I had to run really slow on Friday and Saturday - with the knee brace on. I hate the knee brace!

On Sunday, I set myself up for a two hour ride while watching "Ratatoille" with Annika. Good movie, if you haven't seen it. Annika had a good time telling me what was going to happen. Then Doug came down to check out my position and said "Holy Cow! Do you always ride like that?"

"Like what"

"With your toes facing out? It looks like it really hurts"

Turns out, I ride with my right toes facing out. Just like I walk. Like a duck. On Sunday's ride, I tried to concentrate on not turning my toes out but it really hurt. My knee got very sore even though I didn't do the concentrating for the whole ride. Monday's run was short and slow and involved more neoprene. SIGH. However, my friend the internet told me that medial (that means the inside of the joint) knee pain is sometimes caused by too wide of a position on the pedals. The sites (because I looked at a million) suggested narrowing the pedal position by moving the cleat on the bottom of the cycling shoe. I did this and tested it out today. So far, so good. Cross your fingers.

And lastly, this fall Doug told me to go online and apply to be on Team Zoot/Gu. This is a promotional program by Zoot Sports (triathlon clothiers) and Gu Sports (sports nutrition sellers) where members of the team get the opportunity to represent the companies at events and buy stuff at a ridiculously good price. With Gu retailing for $1.00 per package and the average person consuming one per hour of biking, this is an awesome deal. To get on the team, you don't have to be an elite triathlete or duathlete - just an enthusiastic supporter of triathlon or duathlon and these companies. Enthusiasm, I can do. So, I got the email last night and I'm in!! Whooo! Hooray for Zoot and Gu!

But wait, there is more. Not only did Doug turn me on to the team thing and will get to share in my soon-to-be stash of cheap Gu, Gu2O and assorted gear, he also bought me a wetsuit for Christmas and we've scheduled ourselves for a race in April. Watch out for me in the cool ZOOT wetsuit. : )

In other news, we have some cute snow photos but I haven't had time to upload them. Sorry to be tardy.

And, I was so proud of myself for doing Nat's 10x100 drill at the pool today. She said you are supposed to do your 100s on 2:00 intervals and aim for 1:30 on each 100. I managed to do 1:35 for the first and last 100s and 1:38-1:40 on the others and was dying. This is a huge improvement, though, so I was congratulating myself with some water when I started talking to the guy next to me. Who can do his easy 100s in 1:10. Wow. Competition is quite the humbler.

Whatca Waitin' For?

OK, people. Dorothy posted about this last year (can't believe it was that long ago), but January is Volunteer Blood Donor Month.

Get your bottoms out there and give a pint. The Red Cross has a new advocacy campaign about excuses. The pamplet (which I cannot find on the internet) lists all of the different excuses people use for not giving and when you see them all in writing (which is, obviously, the point), they all look really lame.

Here are some good reasons to roll up your sleeve:

1. You might need blood someday.
2. Your kid or your mom might need blood someday.
3. 2 words -Nutter Butter. Seriously, I've never been to a blood drive or collection location without Nutter Butter cookies. And, Nutter Butters have the same nutritional value as the "healthier" cracker alternatives on the table - I checked them all, except for the Lorna Doones because Lorna Doones were not a viable Nutter Butter alternative.
4. The calorie spend on the blood replacement has to be greater than the Nutter Butters. That is what I tell myself anyway. The internet says 650 calories are burned donating, but I could not find validation/substantiation for this claim.
5. Mondays are free Dominos Pizza day at the Alpharetta donation location. All donors get a coupon for a free pizza. Way to go Dominos. When I expressed my appreciation for such a program (I was there on Friday), the nice volunteer lady gave me coupons for free waffles at Waffle House. Whoo! Further research indicates that Waffle House has a donation campaign too - T.G.I.W.F. Guess who's going to Waffle House?
6. There are a bunch of plush new donation centers in metro Atlanta. Recliners, TV, potties, selection of canteen foods. Make an appointment or just walk in. I got to watch the Tyra Banks show as I reclined in cushy comfort - Hillary Clinton was the guest.
7. Blood donation (or the slight dehydration caused by giving blood) makes you a cheap date. Not necessarily a good thing, though, so keep in mind regardless.
8. Long run ability (within reason) for the next day is not affected. I ran 6 miles yesterday morning after donating on Friday without feeling bad - just a little thirsty. Motivation, however, was a different story.
9. They give you a sticker for donating. My kids love stickers.
10. You meet neat people. Volunteers, blood services workers, other donators. Very fun and all folks you might never meet otherwise.

So, go. Quit making excuses and get out there. And while I'm on the subject of excuses . . .

Challenge update: I had 2 days without working out for at least 30 minutes last week (stupid tummy bug), but have subsequently made 4 days in a row without a missed workout. Back in the Saddle, baby!

Update to the previous post - no one stole my lunch. They stole someone else's fruit cup and ate their tuna salad (apparently licking the bowl clean). Ew. The theft prompted a retaliatory poem that was posted on the fridge. This is an ongoing problem at work. No one wants to eat my lunches, though, which is good for me.

So Disappointed

It's odd how life comes full circle on you.

This morning, Doug and I were up at regular time to get on the internet to see if school and work (mine) were cancelled. Oh, how I was hoping for a snow day. A run around in the cold, get wet and drink hot chocolate day.

Alas, no.

We had such fun making hot cocoa last night (thank you, Trader Joes!) and catching snowflakes in our mouths. OK, everyone but Dagny had fun because she was cold and had to be carried inside my jacket. Even with that, she was still an ice cube by the time we finished our short walk. But the snow - she could have watched it for hours.

Annika was hoping for a snow day today too and got up at 6:13am to check out the snow.

Alas, a tantrum ensued because (1) no snow, and (2) she was too tired to be up yet. Our little buttercup is not a morning person.

I'll have you know, though, that I'm not the only person in the office who was out sick with the tummy bug on Mon/Tues. Maybe Dagny was not the giver after all! It could be that the sickness-giver and the lunch-stealer are the same person - who is obviously rotten to the core. Here's hoping that the bad karma from stealing lunches at least gave the stealer the yucky tummy bug.

I'll Keep Comin' Back Again

Dagny is a giver.

She shared her tummy bug with me.

So, after I wasted the very delicious Pasta Amatriciana that Doug made for dinner on Sunday and went back to bed (3am?) after many hours contemplating the tile and paint in our bathroom, I thought to myself, "I can walk in the morning while the girls are at school and then I won't goose egg on the challenge." This challenge, it's a lot of pressure.

But the walking, not so much.

My mom always told us that if you were not sick enough to want to stay in bed, then you weren't sick enough to stay home (barring any vomit or fever, obviously). I was sick enough to stay at home, in my room, in bed. All day.

Doug got the girls up, dressed them, made lunches and took them to school. He even brought me some ginger ale, the paper and the remote for the TV. I felt too crappy to use anything but the ginger ale. After some napping, I checked email and was so exhausted that I had to nap more. All day Monday progressed in that fashion. I did finish Annika's school application but who knows if it was right because I was so loopy.

Tuesday I was supposed to have jury duty. I knew a full day was out of the question so I rescheduled the jury service and thought I could still make it to work at least for a little while. So, I got up, showered, dressed and made it to the kitchen. Then, I had to rest. To be perfectly honest, I had to rest several times while getting showered and dressed. Still, I thought I could make it. Doug and the nanny expressed doubt. Finally, after the rest did not give me any more energy, I saw their wisdom and went back to bed. By mid-afternoon and after a half-sleeve of saltines, improvement! For dinner, oatmeal!

And, lemon ice! Did I mention that my husband is amazing? No? Well, he is.

So today, I wasn't up for a swim or run but I did get to walk at Leita with my dad. We had a nice walk and I got back in time to pick up the girls. I'm back! Whooo!

Take that, silly tummy bug.

I Am the Barf God(des)

Usually I am the poop goddess. You have to know my family to understand this, but just take my word for it. I know everything there is to know about bottoms and poop and regularity.

But now, I can add barf to my repertoire.

Tuesday night, Annie got sick. She must have escaped from the nanny outside during the day because she spent the evening barfing sand all over our house. Sand? Why sand? No idea, but it is really gross and messy to clean up barf that contains sand. And, it smells.

So, on Wednesday after a lovely bike/run with Nat, I finally finished up cleaning the carpets, washing the area rugs and towels and dog bed. We had dinner, I packed up my swim bag for the morning, started Annika's lunchbox and was in bed by 8:45. YES!

At 9:15, a weird sound erupted out of Dagny's room and then she started screeching for me: "MOOOM!" Yep, I heard the gross burp noise and the liquid hitting the sheets of her crib before I even got the door open. Upchuck city. Calmly, I stripped her and put her in the tub and removed the offending linens to the laundry area. No big deal. She calmed down in the bath and seemed to be doing better. As I put clean sheets on her crib, I sat her in the rocking chair. Bad move. Soon the seat cushion, blankie and teddy that she sat with were all in the laundry room and I had Dagny back in the tub. "No problem," I told Doug "just a little barf."

When we went down to the kitchen to get a cup to swish water in Dagny's mouth, things went haywire. Not five minutes after we got down there, the kitchen was covered with barf germs too. I gave Dagny a sponge bath in the sink and stripped her down. She continued sickness as I rinsed her in the tub, put on new jammies, and tried to calm her down. This continued for what seemed like not a very long time, especially since I knew that the kitchen was wearing a moisturizing mask of Dagny's dinner. Luckily, my dear husband helped me by administering bath number 3 and holding Dagny and her barf bowl while I scrubbed the kitchen. The time, when I finally got downstairs to attack the goo - 12:15. I called the nanny (who was still up!) and told her to sleep in and got to bed sometime around 1:30.

Thursday is one of my work-at-the-office days and I pay our bills at night so this is a very long-winded and detailed way of saying that I fell off of the wagon. I'm sorry Team Super-Women, I didn't get to swim or walk or anything yesterday.

And today, I got a lesson in hydration from the on-call nurse at the pediatrician's office because the adventure continues. Buy some stock in Clorox now.

So U Wanna Be a Baller, Shot Caller

On Saturday I took the girls to the gym to practice basketball. I thought I could help Annika learn to dribble better. Doug mentioned a good passing drill that the coach used at the last practice so we could do that too. Have I mentioned that I'm sports-retarded? Or that I have Annika in sports already so that she does not become as uncoordinated as I was as a kid?

Well.

Maybe the lack of coordination is because of her age, or maybe it's just genetic.

We arrived at the gym and proceeded to discover that Annika can't dribble or concentrate when there are other people in the gym. You know that movie scene where the coach yells at the kid to focus and points right between his eyes? I did that. Not pretty.

We got to four bounces in a row, though, which is not bad.

The wall drill and bounce pass were more successful. I had imagined that we would be able to dribble around the lines on the court, but no. Not yet. Maybe we will spend some time bouncing the ball here today instead.

Dagny didn't feel great but she spent most of the time running up and down the bleachers and chasing her soccer ball around. Who knew a big open room was so much fun?

So, after all of this joy, a grocery trip, lunch, and my flats (read: back and forth in front of our house) run, I searched online for some basketball drills. Surely there is a resource or two for coaching newbies? There are zillions of drills online, but they all want you to pay for them. What? I just want some dribble drills for kids. Mad handles are not in our future.

What are mad handles? No, nothing related to love handles (that is what came to my mind). Mad handles are apparently excellent ball-handling moves. Yep, we don't have any of those yet.

But just wait.

In other news, while I was doing that flats run on Saturday, I turned around at our neighbor's house to be surprised by a gang of triathletes on bikes speeding down our hill towards me. COOL! I waved and said hi to all of them. : ) They even came back the other way later. I'm such a groupie.

New Year

Natalie and Wes have posted about joining challenges to get moving 30 minutes every day. This is a wonderful idea and I encourage you all to join up and do it. However, I'm going to copy wholesale from this idea without obligating myself to check in on another site for a 2008 goal. I'll make it my goal to move every day - minutes are irrelevant and yoga counts. So far I'm doing great. Here is the link to my training log. Check out the graph. : ) Today's run will be in the afternoon and that always makes me nervous so cross your fingers. Of course, now that I've added the challenge guy to my blog roll (at right), I'll probably be checking him regularly anyway. Also, the girls and I are heading to the gym this morning to practice our basketball skills.

OK, we are going to practice Annika's skills and I'll bring a ball for Dagny too. We got an email from the basketball coach to remind us that practice is starting back up and that we are supposed to be practicing. ooops. Got to get back on that wagon!

In other news, after much conferring with my coach (Doug) and the race director, I've signed up for the Ridges Resort 5K swim in June. It's a 3.1 open water swim across Lake Chatuge. Nat? You in?

I was worried about embarking on this adventure while trying to train for the SC half iron distance triathlon in September, especially given my extreme suckiness on the bike. Training for a century or other bike race would contribute a lot more to my training because I'm already at the half iron distance on my swim. However, as Doug pointed out, I'm not going to win the half iron distance race (ever) and I'll be thrilled to finish without pain (whatever the time is) so why not train for this swim? I'll enjoy the training and it looks like a fun race. And, the tri club that sponsors this race looks amazing. Maybe I can even train for the Beast of the East half iron distance race in 2009. I won't be able to ramp up my train volume to a full iron distance (if at all) until at least 2010 and probably later anyway so it's not as if my training will be delayed. Wow, there are so many cool races that we could do . . . it's fun just to think about them all.

In entertainment news, I spent the New Year's holiday investigating YouTube while watching football and eating junky food. Here are some really cool things that I found:

• The triathlon song
• XT4's Ironman journey
• USC Trojan Band
• Lassiter HS Band

I just gotta say - I love the band. Lotzie, you must admit that you love the Trojans too. So much fun! And a shout out to the Lassiter Band - they were our arch rivals when I was in high school, but still going strong. A couple of our friends have kids in this band now and I love to watch them.