Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Another one bites the dust..

Thats right. Another weekend has come and gone with a race in sight. Well that's not quite true. I had a race in sight this past weekend. I was all set on heading out to High Cliff and kicking the 2008 race season off finally. I even had my favorite SAG and personal photographer all geared up and ready to support me at my race. But at the most inconvinient times, life happens. There's boat loads of laundry to do, errands to run, a farmers market to work at. And before I know it, I've punked out on yet another race. I did however, manage to do a great training run and spend some quality time with friends.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

When it rains, it POURS!!!

So lately we've been getting nothing but dumped on here in the fine state of Wisconsin. Not to overlook all of the overflowing rivers, but we had an entire lake overflow and wash away!

What this means for training? I've had to reroute my runs as the roads are flooded, biking is a little hit or miss these days, and worst of all...NO OPEN SWIMS!! Why you ask? Because as a result of all of the rain and run off water the lakes are overflowing with toxic algea. And the weeds! Don't get me started on the over-abundance of weeds.

For all ya'll out braving the weeds and toxic blue-green algea, you are better more dedicated athletes than I am.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Home Sweet Home

So I survived yet another expo. And this was the expo that almost wasn't.

Who really wants to get on a plane in crazy death storms and promptly fly in to another storm? As I walk into the office to let me coworkers know that I'm headed to the airport and out for the weekend I am drone out by crazy vicious thunder. Trust me, the irony was not lost on me. I couldn't help but flinch at the thought of being in nothing more than a aerodynamic tin can flying through the storm clouds, and lets not forget the potential turbulence.

But I made it through the storm and the flight. That was until I reached my destination.

I get to Kansas City MO to be greeted by tornado warnings and golf ball size hail. As I signed my life away for my rental car I just happened to catch a glimpse of the fine print that says "hail damage is not covered by out insurance." Really? WTF! Its not like I'm the one pelting the side of the rental car with giant ice rocks. Puh-lease. On that note, no, I don't want your stupid insurance.

The expo itself, well, let it suffice to say that I'm glad its over. I went. I saw. It sucked. I went home. End of expo.

Other than that my trip was pretty friggin sweet! I get to check out Kansas City on the back of a rockin motorcycle. I saw a handful of local dealers and bike shops. I got to check out a local brewery or two, and I FLEW A PLANE! (How many people can say they did all that on a business trip???)

The short and sweet of this weekend is that yet another weekend we by with no training or racing to be had.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

This weekend was a bust!!

So after traveling last weekend, work and life, I spent the week feeling pretty run down. There was a mid-week stomach bug that was less than pleasant, and by Friday I was nothing but coughs and sneezes. And let's not overlook the fact that Saturday was predicted to have crazy winds and death storms. What a way to go into my first race of the season.

As I left work Friday I needed to head straight to registration before it closed at 7pm if I was to race the next morning. Needless to say instead of registering I proceeded to drive home and crawl into bed, and that is where I stayed until late in the day Saturday.

Sometimes health and has to come first I guess.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Tri Clinic

My first triathlon clinic of the season was tonight, but I definitely thought about not showing. I was feeling pretty under the weather and spent most of the day trying not to toss my cookies on my desk at work....

So despite the fact I have the touch of the stomach flu and almost threw up on my audience, sweat through my t-shirt, and was dizzy, I'm glad I did it.
It was definitely reinvigorating to talk about doing something I love and sharing my enthusiasm with others. To hear the questions asked that I asked before my first race, to see others take on a new sport...so worth volunteering my time to do. I love to share my experiences and thoughts on things I do with others.

Now if only I can shake all this by this weekend in time for my first race.

Never believe someone when they say "they're slow"

A coworker, and partner in crime, of mine happen to be in Boise together working the Ironman Boise 70.3 expo. Checking out all the ultra sculpted rockin' tri bods everywhere motivated me to lace up my running shoes and hit the trails. Just as I'm about out the door, my coworkers decides she's game for a run. While she's gearing up for this casual run she keeps reassuring me that she is very out of shape and hasn't run in months. Riiiight. I should've known better. At the very least this 5 foot nothing, 100lb nothing gal is built much more like a runner than I ever could be. But it's too late to turn back now.

We decided to drive down to the Greenbelt trail where the Ironman run had taken place just earlier that day. We start out stride for stride, nice and easy. Then it starts to get ugly. I just can't keep up with this girl. And while its great to have a challenge and someone to chase and motivate you, but come on! Talk about humiliation. On many occasions I thought about turning around and meeting her back at the car. But I pushed on.

Long story short, I survived the run. But I will never again believe someone when they say they're slow. They lie.