Friday, October 31, 2008

Payback's a B*tch!

So if you recall back on October 1st I wrote about how a friend of mine coerced me the weekend before to get my sorry ass back on my bike and ride? And that this friend put me through my paces? Decent distance, a few hills, a hell of a lot of gravel, and a construction sight?Right. Good times.

Well, as the title indicates, Payback's a B*TCH!! That's right, this friend of mine, quite out of the blue, decided to run with me last night. I'm pretty up front and honest with people about my snail like pace, and had been mocked endlessly for this by said friend. Well it's not so slow when you're struggling to keep up now is it buddy?

That's right, I was looking to do 4.5-5m at my usual pace. We met at my house to start the run, at which point I was informed that they've never run that far before. Interesting. Suddenly their game isn't quite what the talk would have you believe. So we headed out walking to my normal start point, you know, my normal warm up walk. Got there, and game on. Suddenly my slow wasn't so slow now was it. Truth be told, I felt great running, and having this friend along helped motivate me to keep my pace up.

Around 1.5m we had to stop briefly so my friend could stretch....around 2.5 we had to stop so they could tie their shoe.....not to mention all the brief stops at intersections.... Man! There was a lot of stopping.

So in the last quarter mile, as usual, I slowly started to ramp up my speed. "So you wanna race?" To which I replied, "No, no. But go right ahead." But in that last 100 i was ready for my normal all out sprint to the end. It's just what I do. I believe in finishing strong and leaving it all out there. Not all of us were prepared, and by the end point of the run my poor friend was keeled over thinking they were going to vomit. (Awesome!)

Later that night a few friendly text messages were exchanged, and the gauntlet has been thrown! The goal is to take on the Lake Monona Route (again for me, first time for my friend) before the year is out.

Bring. It. On

Thursday, October 30, 2008


So to go with the sweet new Pro Series Trainer's CycleOps is rolling out this fall they're asking "What's Your Mantra?"


To me it's very inspiring to see what keeps other's going, to know I'm not alone, to know that someone else is chasing Kona, to know that someone else just wants to look hot in a swimsuit come spring....

Check it out! See what keeps other's going, and if you have your own personal mantra, put it out there for others to see.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Just as Tom Hanks said "There's no crying in baseball," and Hillary Biscay said "There's no walking in Ironman," I too am pronouncing my rule. I'm putting it out there for all to read, and more importantly, to hold me to.

There is no quitting in Katie.

That's right, I've taken my blows and I've felt crummy. We all do. Other's have doubted me and voiced their ignorant opinions. And inevitably I've done the feeling sorry for myself bit every time, but at the the end of the day, where has that gotten me? Nowhere. So I decided that come hell or high water, my new #1 rule in life is "There is no quitting in Katie."

These last few weeks have been rough. The 2 for 1 ear infections are kicking my ass, and leaving me drained and ornery. When the wind hasn't been howling over my fragile ears and making me want to cry, I've been cramping on my runs because of my inconsistent running habits. If it's not one things it's always going to be another. That's life. Suck it up sista!

So last night I took my tired self home from work, thought of about a 100 reasons not to go, but instead I bundled up, and took my sally ass running. And you know what, I liked it. I get so bogged down with splits and times and distances and averages and heart rate and on and on and on that I tend to forget how much I like to just get out and run. I wish I could say that I went sans my GPS like IronMin, but she is just a better woman that I am. (I did however tuck my watch up my sleeve so I couldn't see any of the info I just can't live without.)

I ran to clear my mind. I ran to take in the cool crisp fall evening. I ran to get one day closer to my goal. I ran because, well, I hadn't in a week. But most importantly, I ran.

At the end I got home to see that I had run a little slower than normal, but I was ok with that. I had overdressed as usually and sweat like a hardworking hooker, but noting a shower couldn't fix. I was a little sore from taking a week, but I felt good. My ears hurt, but didn't feel any worse. I was definitely done for the night, but I was actually looking forward to my next run.

Its easy to stay on track when things are going just as planned. But it takes a whole lot more to keep going when the odds are against you. But I can always take that next step and make that effort (however small it might be), and that's why "There is no quitting in Katie."

Tuesday, October 21, 2008


So I finally broke down and went to the doctor. I've been feeling like I'm getting sick and just worn out exhausted for weeks. The straw that broke the Katie's back was the ridiculous amount of ear pain I've been in. I can't hear, the pressure and throbbing are constant, I can't sleep on either side, and god help the person who dares touch my ears.

Malaria? Not likely. The plague? Quite possible. Amputation of the ears? An option. Death? Imminent! Allergies? What? Really? Hmmm.....

So the doctor thinks its just allergies gone wild. What am I allergic to? Not sure. Little did I know but according to doc allergies, untreated, can give you that same worn out icky I'm getting sick feeling, but it won't go away until the allergies are treated. Nice. So let's add other pill or two to the morning regime, and now, wait for it, a nose spray! Because who doesn't want to squirt stuff up their nose. That's hot!

And the brain pain? Well that'd be all sort of fluid and such just hanging out in my ears squishing my eardrums and creating a whole lot o fun! But once my sinuses clear it will all be smooth sailing....

In the meantime, finding the energy to do, well, anything is tough. Let alone go for a run or bike (both of which create all sorts of violent air flow over my sensitive lil ears). And going near water until the pressure decreases is just not going to happen. If the juices in my ears aren't draining now, why add more? Really, I'm just not into S&M.

So if you have an awesome at home remedy to ease the pain and get my life and training back to normal, I'M ALL EARS!!


Monday, October 6, 2008

Moab....maybe not.


Flights went up over $200 from last week to this week. $200!!!

Looks like this gal will be forgoing the much needed vacation in attempts to be financially responsible.

When it rains it pours my friend.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

How Stella Got Her Groove Back.

And by that I really mean, How Katie Got Her Run Back

One word: FALL!!
Something about the change in the weather has brought life back to my run. And it's wonderful...

After struggling for a few hours to find the motivation to actually get out there and run last night, it was amazing when I did. It was a bit breezy, but all in all quite nice. And the cool weather evening run was better than I've done in months. I cruised at a great pace, did a handful of miles, and felt good when I got home.

I'm actually back to looking forward to running again.


.......


Now if only I could say the same for my biking.

Biking to the bar aside, I have been on maybe 2 bike rides since my crash, aka the "bear attack." One of those rides was this past weekend when I went with a friend of mine.


After not nearly enough sleep the night before, and several hours of standing at the Farmer's Market in the morning, I allowed myself to be talked into a casual Saturday afternoon ride. After eating some question left over mac and cheese I found in my fridge I geared up and headed over to meet my partner in crime for said ride. I was promised that it would be relatively flat and just a mellow ride. should have thought to ask who it was going to be mellow for, but I didn't.

There were a few little climbs that left me out of breath and feeling lame, especially as my friend was able to cruise up them holding a conversation with me (and by holding a conversation I mean that I was talked at/to while I huffed and puffed up the hill). There were equally as many time on the ride where I thought I was going to lose my mac and cheese, but I really think that has more to do with it being questionably good to start with.

Then there was all the gravel. Now for a girl who has recently sent herself flying across the pavement gravel is sort of a deal breaker. Especially when its on windy down hill country roads. Seriously people, just pave the road. There were more than a few profanities and expletives used while on this section of the road, both at the road conditions and the friend who dragged me there.

OH! And let us not forget the off roading through the construction. Apparently some consider "Road Closed" to be more of a suggestion. When the sign came into view and we still turned and headed that why I started to wonder if this so called friend of mine was trying to give me a heart attack. Don't worry, its totally ride-able. Just some loose dirt. Riiiiiiight. Then there was that giant hole that we had to squeak by by climbing on the giant dirt mound.....

Overall the ride wasn't too bad. I certainly didn't set any records or impress anyone, but I managed to get myself from start to finish. It didn't do much to calm my fears on the bike, but every little bit helps. Only time will tell if I get myself out on a bike this weekend.