"Master Spreadsheet"

LifeTime Fitness tri is tomorrow. I'm excited and "ready" -- I think.

I have a larger issue occupying my brain today, though.

I'm a cat person. Hubby and I have four of them -- Lefty, Callie, Kirby and Gorby. We love those fur balls of wonderfulness.

Gorby and Callie were my cats; Kirby, Hubby's and Lefty is "ours". We adopted him after we were married.

When I adopted Gorby, he came to live with me and my first cat, Dinki.

Dinki came in to my life in 1977. I was going in to my sophomore year at Wisconsin and was moving in to my first "off campus" apartment. She was abandoned by her former owners and was hanging out near the porch of the apartment.

I took her in, we shared a lot of tuna (I was following the Weight Watchers program then as well...) and that was that. She stayed with me until she died, 22 years later.

Gorby came to live with Dinki and I during a very difficult stretch of time for me. My father had passed away and a very good friend of mine, Marlene, had been killed in an accident while we were on a trip to Chicago.

Yes, we. I was with her when she was hit by the car.

So it was a particularly bleak time in my life then when I went to the Humane Society and found Gorby. He was a very welcomed and loved addition to my life.

So I have a l o n g history with these animals. And, as any animal lover will tell you, they have a way of wiggling in to our hearts as true members of the family.

Gorby developed a mast cell tumor on the top of his head about a year ago. Typically, these tumors are not a big problem for felines.

I saw my vet and then took him to the University of Minnesota Veterniary Teaching Hospital -- an amazing place. Because of some additional issues with Gorby (a heart murmur and a bout of kidney disease), I opted to not have the tumor removed. It wasn't bothering him and there was no evidence of any other issues.

About two weeks ago, I took him back to the U for a recheck. The tumor had grown and I wanted to see what my options are. The doctor said the tumor was really not an issue, but went on to find a mass in his belly during the exam.

Gorby had an ultrasound on Wednesday and it revealed a large tumor, which is wrapping itself around his intestine. His lymph nodes were also enlarged. The Vet took some samples and I got the lab results yesterday.

The news is not good.

The cancer is "aggressive" and the prognosis is not positive.

At a minimum, he'll have to have the tumor removed. (If not, either the cancer will kill him, or the tumor will eventually get so large it will constrict his intestine or block it or rupture.)

The Vet said that surgery and chemo won't cure him -- but could give him 5 to 15 months. I am still waiting to find out more information from an oncologist about what treatment options are available, along with the risks, ramifications and issues treatment will bring.

I hate this part of owning a pet.

So what does this have to do with a "Master Spreadsheet"?

The year that my Dad was sick was obviously very stressful. It is hard to watch some one you love start to fail and everyone in the family was very worried about him.

I went to the bank one day to take money out of the ATM machine. I put my card in and when to punch my code in to the key pad and I could not remember my PIN. The same PIN I had had for many years.

No recollection. No hint. No clue. No nothing. That piece of data was permanently erased from my brain at that second, never to return again.

Yesterday, while waiting for the Vet to call me with results, I was composing an email to our Management group about reporting some information back to me for a project. I included an Excel spreadsheet that they could use to report their data.

I was trying to explain that they could use the spreadsheet I attached to the email for their data and then they could return it to me and I'd enter the info in to the......

Ummmmm........

Ahhh...........

"What do you call that again?"

The BIG spreadsheet? No..... The MAIN spreadsheet? No..... The one that is on the Web???? Noooo....

For the life of me, I could not remember what the dohicky was called.

I knew then that the same stress and preoccupation had returned.

Bleah.

At least my memory bank retrieved the word by the end of the afternoon.

The MASTER spreadsheet....

Doesn't really help with Gorby's health issue, nor does it help me understand the Master Plan...

What a Weekend it Was...

The Forth of July has come and gone.

Kaboom. (ohh, ahh)

It was really a wonderful weekend, full of great activities. Hubby and I golfed, grilled and gardened.

We also got together with friends and went on a 39-mile bike ride along the Cannon Valley Trail

The trail is wonderful. Well paved and mostly shady, it winds (downhill) to Red Wing, another wonderful Minnesota river community.

It was wonderful to ride with Hubby, Marcia, Marty, Kathy, Marc and Matt.

Nat and her boyfriend, Rich, were going to join us, but her toe is still on the mend. Hopefully she'll be back in the bike saddle soon.

Like every other "endurance event" I've participated in, we were all chatty and peppy on the way to Red Wing.

Here is a photo of us on the way there:

Note the happy, smiling faces, the great postures, the "let's go get 'em" expressions.

Once we got to Red Wing, we took a well deserved lunch break. Food and conversation were both great.

Then we started our way back to Cannon Falls. Although the trial is not really hilly, there is a slow, steady grade. Now were were winding our way BACK UP the trail.

Here is a picture of us on the way back:

Note: less smiling faces, less enthusiasm, less pep.

Regardless of our energy levels, we got back to Cannon Valley without incident.

(Well, except for seeing a snake along the trail, which freaked me out totally....).

Good news for me is that the ride, just shy of 40 miles, helped me with my confidence of being able to handle 56 miles during Pigman. I know that 16 miles is a lot -- and that precedes a 1/2 marathon, but I still have 5 weeks of training to go to prepare.

After we all got back to Minneapolis, we went to a BBQ hosted by another good friend of ours. We ate lots of great summer foods. Always a favorite part of mine...

I also got together with my good friend Mary K., who has been busy (overwhelmed) with managing kid activities this summer. We had a chance to catch up over coffee and to make some plans for a picnic dinner for later this month.

-------

Training continues...

I did a course preview yesterday for LifeTime.

Rode my bike to Lake Nokomis, then hopped in to the water for a test swim without my wetsuit. The temperatures have risen and I'm not sure that, by Saturday, wet suits will be legal.

I've gotten to rely on the buoyancy of the suit and if we can't wear them, I want to make sure that I feel comfortable in the water.

It was hot and humid yesterday -- our first 90 degree day of the summer. The beach was packed and lots of recreational swimmers were splashing close to shore. Past the ropes, where the water runs deeper, were "my people" -- other triathletes getting ready for Saturday.

I got in the water, got past the ropes and swam for about 20 minutes. It went pretty well.

Then I ran the 10k course, which loops the lake twice.

LifeTime always seems to happen on the hottest day of our summer (one year it was in the high 90s and the water temp was 82...). This year, it is expected to be hot and humid (again). Being out there yesterday was good practice for this weekend.

I'm hoping to have a better finish time than at Rochester, but I'll be happy to just participate and enjoy the day.

Oh, what a beeeauuutifullll morning!

Lots of great things today:

1) I'm on PTO (taking a Paid Time Off day -- vacation; not at work; FREE!). I have a long stretch of days ahead of me, as I won't go back to the grind until Tuesday, July 8th. Hurray.

2) The weather is great. Although it is cool today (low 70s, which is highly unusual for Minnesota + July), it is not raining; birds are chirping, sun is shining.

The good weather is supposed to last throughout the weekend. Hurray!

3) I met Greg, one of my tri coaches, this morning at 6:30 am for an open water swim and bike practice. It rocked. HURRAY!

We met at Lake Ann Park in Channhassen -- a suburb close to Minneapolis. The lake is very pretty -- no motorized vehicles allowed, so it is pretty clean.

It was only in the 60's when I got to the park, so I was a little nervous about getting too cold doing the swim. Thank heavens for that wetsuit!

Greg is a young, very fit guy. Was a swimmer in high school and college. (He swam with my swim coach, Dave). Did all sorts of athletics pretty much his whole life: skiing; biking; swimming; boating, you name it.

The last tri he did, he placed 9th. In the whole event. I'm lucky to not be 9th from the bottom.

He works with Ben, the head coach of Endurance Athlete. Ben is a skier, biker, marathoner, ironman, etc. Again, built for power and speed.

I LOVE these coaches!

They have never been condescending or doubtful about my (aka "middle-aged, back-of-the- pack, Athena-weight-ranged") abilities. Always encouraging, always challenging, always great.

I highly, highly, highly recommend them.

Anyway: Greg's plan was to swim across the lake. He said we could get to the other side and then, if I wasn't feeling confident, we could walk the path back to our starting point.

My plan was to splash a little bit around the swim buoys.

Greg's plan prevailed.

We started out and (again or as per usual) my goggles leaked. I was nervous -- but this time, no buoy to swim up to to rest. Instead, I had to just tread water or sort of dog-paddle/breast stroke (dog stroke?) until I could move forward.

Greg would wait and rest with me. Or he'd float on his back. Or he'd otherwise occupy himself while I got my act together.

We paddled to the other side and then he says: "let's swim back".

Huh? What happened to "walk back"?

He said "You can do it".

And I did.

In fact, I swam all the way back without stopping once!

The goggles found their seal, my stroke felt good, I could site the beach end-point easily and I just did my thing.

HURRAY!

Even Greg was impressed that I made it back with out stopping. (At least that is what he said).

After the swim, we went on a short bike (about 40 minutes). Did some hills, got some pointers and burned some calories.

All in all, it was a great workout and a great way to start my PTO.

I've got a couple of fun and challenging workouts on my training plan to complete this weekend, including a long bike ride that I'll be doing with Hubby and some friends.

Hopefully I'll have some photos of that one.

Hey, if you have a minute, give a shout out to Nat. She is still on the toe-mend. She has more really wonderful pictures on her blog.

Happy holiday weekend everyone!

Victorious and EWWWWW!

I am victorious!

I did send in an inquiry to the Timing Folks about my swim time at Rochester. The record had me taking 6 minutes longer than my watch recorded, which I thought was odd...

Here is their reply:

"You were listed as going off in the 4th wave. I have switched you to the 6th wave, which will show up in your results on the next upload."

Yippee! I took less than 40 minutes to complete the swim (39:53, NOT 45:39).

My finish time also gets dropped by six-minutes, putting me at 3:42:06 -- less than two minutes off from last years LiftTime Fitness tri.

...

On a second note: check out the really gross photo of Nat's toe! EWWWWW!

Natalie takes One on the Toe...

The post after this one has my full, exciting, race report from Rochester.

Short version: Swim=45:53; T1=4:34; Bike: 1:44:09; T2= 1:34; Run=1:12 Total: 3:48:06. (I may dispute the swim time. My watch had me at 39:53 and there was a mixup with my swim cap being a different color from my wave. Don't know if my chip was attached to my actual wave or my chip...)

I've included some interesting photos: Including the one above of poor Nat's toe, that she stubbed after the race, after we got back home, as we were trying to reassemble her bike carrier and get it back on her car.

She basically tore the toe nail off and actually had to have her boyfriend drive her to Urgent Care tonight to have it removed....(yech).

Steve in a Speedo?! Gross would be proud!

Here is another blurry (thank heavens!) of it:
She is out of commission until a scab forms on the toe -- should be a couple of days at least.

Here is the "pre-toe incident" story: we got to Rochester about 5:30 pm on Saturday -- just in time to pick up our race packets. Got to the hotel, checked in, made two trips to the room with all our STUFF.

We were both amazed at how much stuff we needed to bring with us for one night at a hotel to take part in a little Olympic distance triathlon!

And the stuff didn't really include all the FOOD we brought:

Even with all that food available to us above, we wanted to have a a nice pasta dinner so we went to a restaurant called Victoria's. Quite yummy. Then back to the hotel, then to sleep.

We got up at 4:45 am and got ready to get to the race.

It was cold (60 degrees), cloudy, drizzly and windy (17 mph) when we went to get in the car. I know the exact wind temps because I looked them up on Google after the event. This was just the beginning for us!

We were not particularly psyched about doing the event in the cold and the rain. I'm sure if we weren't with each other, we would have turned the car around, gone back to the hotel and ordered room service...

By the time we got to the park, the weather had not improved at all. Now over 400 triathletes were contemplating joining us for room service.... (Note grey skies in the photo.)

Then, miracle of miracles, 20 minutes before the race started, the clouds parted -- the sun poked its head out and the temps came up.

"Windy"decided to keep "kicking around the streets of the city" though: by the time we were on bike course, winds were NW at 25 mph, gusting between 30 and 32 mph. YIKES!

Combine that with hills and it was one tough, but beautiful course. (see comments in Race Report below).

Suffice it to say we both finished the event. It was a challenging course, but very well organized and a lot of fun. We even got medals, which is always a nice touch.

We drove back to Minneapolis -- stopped at DQ for a little treat. (Gotta love the crunch cone...) and then home.

And then Nat stubbed her toe....

rochester

Brief race report: Info basically posted to the log I send to my coaches: 

Mixed bag of results at Rochester.

Good news: cut time off of my swim compared to last year's Lifetime Fitness tri. Last year, did the .9 swim in 50.50. This year at Rochester, my official time was 45:53. BUT, I am not entirely comfortable with that time. My watch, which I started when we started the swim, had me finish the swim in 39:53, so I'm not sure where the extra time came from. (Was not transition; more about that in a bit).

The swim was two laps in the lake. First lap was pretty disastrous. My goggles leaked and I was not smooth in my swimming stroke. Stopped alot.

Second lap was a confidence builder.

Got that dang seal to fit and then just swam. I really did not stop at a buoy or noodle line (well, I did once). Felt much better and was NOT last out of the water. Pretty dang close though.

T1 was 4:34. (Greg, Natalie told me that you are watching our transition times. While I know that 4:34 may seem like I took some time to eat some bon bons, I really didn't. My T1 time for LTF last year was 5:35, so I was a minute faster.... still can improve, however).

Bike was very disappointing, especially in light of how much work I've done on the bike. However, in my "defense": the course was incredibly hilly and it was very, very, very windy today. My chain also fell off TWICE, which added some time as I got of to track it back on the chain.

My MPH was a very disappointing 14.2 (last year at LTF, I averaged 15.6). LTF is much less hilly, so I'm hoping to improve on that on 7/12. I did manage to pass three people on the bike course. Quite a feat for a slow poke.

T2 was 1:34. Last year at LTF it was 1:56, so it was slight improvement there.

Run. I thought I was out on that run course for a million years.

Although my legs did not feel too terrible at the start of the race, I did not have a lot of mental steam working for me. I had several long conversations with my self: "What hurts?" Nothing. "Why aren't you running better?" Because. "Because why?" No real reason in particular.

I did have a "horse moment" when I turned a corner and found myself at the bottom of a big hill. I just stopped. I had had enough hills on the dang bike.

I was very surprised to see my time. Honestly, I thought it was going to be a pathetic 1:20 or more. Although 1:12 is a big drop from last year's LTF (1:02), it really was much better than I thought.

All in all, my time was 3:48:06. Last year LTF: 3:40:09. I was second in my age group. (There were only two, so this is not that big of a deal, but will score points with my sedentary co-workers...)

I think if I can keep my swim up; get my cadence up on the bike and not drop a chain (twice) and get my head in the game for the run, I should be able to improve before 2008 LTF on 7/12.

"Those girls can swing!"

Quick post before I leave for Rochester to do the Rochestfest Tri tomorrow.  Nat and I are doing the event together to help us get ready for our 1/2 iron distance event in August.  

We both are doing the Olympic distance (.9 swim/24.something bike/6.2 run).  It will be Nat's first Oly -- my third.  

I'm also using Rochester to help me gauge how my training has been going.  I've been very diligent with my training plan over the last few weeks.  It's been very helpful working with Greg and Ben.  Most days, I'm biking in the morning (for a minimum of an hour) and then either running or swimming in the evenings (also minimum of an hour most days).  Of the three disciplines, my running is the most problematic.  I'm slower and it is much harder than last year.

I finally have my weight down in "reasonable land" -- that is the range of pounds where, when I get on the scale,  I am reasonably comfortable with the number.  I am very close to my WW lifetime goal number again, and within site of my weight last year at LTF.  

Yet, I'm running much slower.  

When I really look at it, last year I had been on that dang treadmill three times per week for three months before marathon training started.  (I was on a weight-loss/fitness program through my health club last year).   I had a much more solid base before training for Chicago/New York started.

This year, my running has been spotty.  I was pretty good when training for Fargo 1/2, but got lazy there too.  I can't blame everything  on my running club falling apart... my motivation really has to come from me.  

Anyway, I expect the run tomorrow to be fairly slow...

My swimming feels stronger -- thanks to longer workouts at the 50-meter pool in Richfield.  Coach Dave has put together some nice workouts for that venue and I think it has helped me with my water endurance.  

The swim tomorrow will be two loops in the lake.  We even have to get out of the lake after the first loop,  run 200 yards to the water entry point, and then do the second loop.  I've heard of that happening at some tri's but have never experienced it.  

I'm trying to use that as a psychological edge to get me through the swim:  "I only have to swim less than 1/2 a mile before I can get out for a small break".

(uh oh.... as I'm posting this, a big thunderstorm is blowing through.  Rochester is about 100 miles to our south -- maybe it isn't raining there and the roads will be dry...)

I'm excited and nervous about the event -- pretty much SOP for me...

---

The real reason I wanted to post today, though, was to give a "shout" to the LPGA.  Yes, the Ladies Professional Golf Association. 

The U.S. Women's Open is being held at a course located within a hop, skip and jump from our house.  

I picked up tickets to the event as a holiday present for Hubby and me.  Hubby had other plans, however:  his son just graduated from High School and turned 18 (woo woo), so the two of them went to some weird game convention in Ohio.

His loss!

I invited my friend LaVeta and we had a blast.  (LaVeta and I play golf on Friday nights with our husbands in a Couples League.)

I got a chance to see all of my favorite, rocking women players:  Lorena Ochoa, Annika Sorenstam, Paula Creamer, Kerri Web, and Christina Kim and Natalis Gulbis (Love the first five for their playing; love Christina for her sassiness; Natalie is Natalie).  Also got to see Michele Wie.  Although Wie is a good player, I've never warmed up to her.  I know I'm not alone.  

It was awesome.   

If only I could hit the ball like they do.....

Wonder how they could do competing in an Olympic triathlon?

Nice weather -- FINALLY!

After our cold and rain during April, May AND June, we finally have had some nice weather. Hurrah, hurrah.

I'm hoping that the sun and warmer temps will work some magic on the water temps in our lakes so open water swimming won't be so cold.

Although I shouldn't complain: Geekgirl is doing Couer d'Alene Ironman this weekend and the lake temps are in the 50s. BRRRRR. I wish her all the best of luck.

My training is going pretty well. I'm enjoying the variety and am feeling stronger with the bike and the swim.

Ran last night for 90 minutes. First "long run" in a long time. It actually felt pretty good. It was a beautiful night to run around the lakes. Lots of great people watching and nature watching.

Tonight's plan calls for a bike and a swim. It may rain, so I may have to take a "rain check". Ha ha.

Avoiding like the plague....

Yes, I know it has been an abnormally long time since I've posted any thing.

I've been avoiding my blog like the plague for two "very good" reasons.

1) I did my first outdoor tri on June 7th and had pretty pitiful results.
2) I have LifeTime and Pigman coming up and wanted to avoid looking at the countdown timers I've posted to help me manage the days before the events.

Yes, I' was heavily in to the "eyes-averting, if-I-can't-see-it, it-doesn't-exist, what-me worry?" methods of issues management.

But, like all good ostriches, I pulled my head out of the sand last week and got rolling on an official tri training plan -- with coaches and every thing!

They put me on a plan where I'm training six days a week, doing some "two a days". I actually like the training so far.

Of course, it's been one week.

But what a week it was!

I did three swim workouts (over 2200 meters); biked for over five hours (probably 75 miles or so); ran a couple of times, included a hill workout after a bike session.

This is more training activity put together than I've done in months. Yee ha.

It did come on the heels of a pretty lousy showing at the New Bri Tri on June 7th. I could blame it on cold lake water (65 degrees) or a hilly course or some other nonsense, but the truth is I was just not very prepared.

I did finish and I was not last of all participants, but I was pathetically slow in the swim; just marginally okay with the bike and much slower than last year in the run.

My next event is on June 29th in Rochester -- an Olympic distance event that I'm doing with my friend, Nat. It is one of our warm-up events before Pigman 1/2 iron distance, scheduled for August.

The only really good thing about having a lousy finish time for New Bri is that there is hopefully nowhere else to go but UP from there.

I just have to get the sand out of my mouth...

Far Go-NE with the wind......

Fargo 1/2 marathon was yesterday. It was a very well run, fun event.

My race was not very well run, however....

The truth of the matter is that I just didn't train particularly hard or well for this event.

My original goal, when I signed up last fall for the MARATHON was to finally have a personal best time, having missed it at New York Marathon by 3 seconds.

Ha!

I was in much better shape last fall. I've lost some conditioning and gained a bit of weight since then, due to the happy, seemingly never-ending Minnesota winter of 2007/2008.

I finally threw in the Marathon towel about six weeks ago and switched over to the 1/2 marathon distance. I had done several long runs covering 14-plus miles, so I knew I could cover the distance.

I just didn't do it very well.

----

The event itself was a blast. I drove up to Fargo, North Dakota with two friends, Marc and Kathy T. Marc was going to run the Marathon and Kathy, who was not racing this time around, came along to cheer us along. Hubby was going to come too, but ended up having to stay in Minneapolis. His work schedule has been a bear lately and he just couldn't get out of a couple calls in order to join us.

We stayed at the Days Inn across from the Fargodome, which was both the site of the start and finish for the races.

After I checked in, I changed in to my Team Stay Put uniform and went over to pick up my race packet. I handed out a bunch of Stay Put elastics to very enthusiastic women.

Marcia and Marty, two other very good friends, had also signed up to run the 1/2 marathon. We met them at the Fargodome, along with some other runners from our club, and enjoyed the pasta and Lefse feed. (Lefse is a traditional Swedish bread... it is very flat and pretty tasteless...Fargo is FULL of Swedes, so this was a very traditional item to have at dinner.).

The weather was clear and temps were warm, but the wind was incredible! Pretty steady at 20 - 30 MPH, with gusts over 35 mph. Race day was expected to have pleasant temps, but again, very high winds.

Race day morning was beautiful. Cool, crisp and sunny. The winds were very calm when we lined up for the start. Marathoners and 1/2 marathoners all started our events at the same time and we ran together for much of the race. The course veered off three times to add the extra 13.2 miles for the marathoners.

Crowd support was wonderful. We ran through many residential neighborhoods where the entire block was full of residents out cheering and having a great time. There were lots of bands and entertainment along the course, which is always very helpful as you're plodding along the course.

It was interesting to me that parts of the course reminded me of sections of other courses including New York,Chicago and Twin Cities.

We also ran through parks and the downtown area, having a pretty good tour of Fargo.

I ran with Marcia for a little bit at the beginning. She was going to do a six minute run/one minute walk routine and I had trained doing a 7/1 routine, so we soon split up.

Despite having a bit of a cold (picked up two days before the race), I ran pretty well until about mile 9.5. My 7/1 routine served me well and I was not feeling too tired or sore. The winds had started to pick up though, and running head-long in to them was very tough and tiring.

I caught up to Sarah Reinertsen, an athlete who is missing her left leg. She was charging right along the course. I ran past her, said 'hello', told her I liked her commercial and she said "thanks". What an inspiration!

I stopped at a portapotty and after that, I could have very well been done with the race. I'm not sure if I was just tired, or hungry or what it was, but I had very little "stuff" in the tank. I ended up taking two walk breaks for every 8 minutes of running.

I kept plodding and by the time I got to mile 12 -- one lousy mile to go, I was really spent. I tried to muster some thing to get me going in to high(er) gear, but nothing came.

Alas.

The finish for both the marathon and 1/2 marathon rounds the outside of the Fargodome, eventually turning in to the building, where spectators are sitting in the stands and runners 'Finish' is captured on a Jumbotron screen. That was pretty cool.

My time was 2:38:59. Certainly not my personal best, but it was what it was.

(You get what you train for, no?)

My friends had mixed results. Marty kicked some serious butt. Marc and Marcia both said they had tough races. The rest of our crew also had some serious challenges with the winds and the day.

But, we all got through it and we all agreed that the race was fun and a great event.

So now, I start training in earnest for my next two biggies: LifeTime Tri and Pigman.

Let the training begin!

I am a Goody Girl!

I'm being sponsored again this year.

I'm part of Team Stay Put, by Goody. Goody is the company that produces all those really cool hair products. Stay Put is the brand of products designed for active women. The elastics, headbands, claw clips and other products really do work well.

I have very thin, fine hair and the elastics hold like no one's business! I just LOVE them!

There are 225 women across the US and in Canada that are on Team Stay Put. There are about 10 or 12 women across Minnesota and Wisconsin that make up the MN chapter of Team Stay Put.

Our commitment, as part of the team, is to participate in at least six events between now and the end of the year. Their commitment to us is to provide us with a uniform, samples, a website to post info and blogs.

We also get to help by participating in Girls On the Run 5K events. GOTR is a non-profit organization that works with preteen girls helping them to develop self-respect and healthy lifestyles through running.

Team Stay Put has a number of "official" events to work throughout the country, but both events that are near Minneapolis happen on days that I'm already committed.

However, there was a GOTR event today in Eau Claire, Wisconsin that I got to participate in. Another MN team mate, Caro, also worked today's event with me.

It was a wonderful and inspiring day. There were about 120 participants -- mostly girls between the ages of 8 and 12-- many of whom were running their first race.

The course was very pretty, starting in a park on the edge of Eau Claire's downtown area, and winding next to the city's river.

Caro and I were paired up with a runner -- Mercedes, who has been part of GOTR for about a year. Today was her first 5K and she was very excited about the day.

When the race started, Mercedes kicked it immediately in to high gear. (Apparently none of her coaches talked to her about the wisdom of starting slow.... or maybe that is a technique only for people older than 12....)

I ran with the kids for about a mile and then went back to the finish chute to cheer them on as they crossed the line. I got to hand out festive lei's to the finisher -- a big hit with them, let me tell you.

It was very inspirational to see the kids running with all they had, crossing that line with such a look of pride and determination! I was very happy to be able to be part of their day.

The race also provided medals to finishers. I think this look on this finisher's face says it all...

On a slightly scarier note: I realized that within three-month's time, my tri season will be all but over.... I'm vastly unprepared and will have to kick it in to high gear myself if I'm to be successful events.

Looks like it's time for Amy On the Run...

North Carolina and Tri Baselines

Long time, no post.

Hubby and I took a mini vacation and went to North Carolina. He found some information about a golf community where, if we sat for a sales pitch, we could stay for $20.oo night and golf for $40.00 per round. We cashed in some frequent flyer miles and went to NC for a fast, fun trip.

Our winter was so L O N G and spring has been cold and wet so we were very excited about the proposition of feeling the sun on our skin, being outside without a coat, seeing the beach and golfing.

We flew in to Raleigh and then drove down to Calabash, where the resort is located.

Calabash is part of Brunswick county, which is home to a lot of golf communities -- and not much more. There were some restaurants (mostly fish places), one coffee house and a couple of very nice beaches.

The golf resort was lovely -- lovely homes, well kept, nice golf courses. We had a blast playing golf. I had some trouble with a couple holes, but had one par and putted pretty well throughout both rounds. Hubby did really well golfing. This was a good warm up for him for his upcoming tournament season.

We had thought that there would be an actual "town" or "square" or something close by with a little zip, but.... no.

The closest to "zip" we found was about 8 miles away: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Myrtle Beach was not really our cup of tea....

It reminded us of the Wisconsin Dells on steroids. Hotels, motels, cheesy "resorts", souvenir shop after souvenir shop after souvenir shop.

On our last day, we drove in to Wilmington -- a very charming city that we both really liked -- and took a side trip to Carolina Beach.

Carolina Beach was the opposite of Myrtle Beach. Really great beach houses all painted in vibrant pastel colors, cute restaurants, really great beach.

We took a walk on the beach and down one a long fishing pier so we could take in the sites. A row of pelicans dotted the railing of the pier. We were able to get very close to them. They are really incredible birds.

---

Got back to Minneapolis and the weather is just starting to warm up. Thank heavens! Tri season is just around the corner. My first event is on June 7th -- about 1 month away.

I know that I'll finish Fargo 1/2 -- may not be pretty (or a PR), but I'll get through it and am looking forward to the event. Some of my running buddies are also running Fargo, and I'm looking forward to spending some time with them.

I'm looking at Fargo as part of my tri "benchmarking" -- seeing where I am before I get in to heavy training. (Sounds good, at least, yes?)

I also benchmarked a 400 yard swim (9 minutes 14 seconds) Okay, say it with me in your best Amy Winehouse voice: "Slow.. slow... slow";

a one-hour ride (15.60 miles ) Sing it Amy: "Slow, slow...slow";

and a 2 mile run (21.10.... but the first mile was 9:45...) Bring it home, Amy "Slow, slow, slow!"

I have a lot of work ahead of me to get me in to 1/2 Iron distance shape...

Let the fun begin!

Brief Update

I switched from Fargo FULL to Fargo 1/2 marathon.

The distance just seems to be so much more agreeable.

Been running with some friends again -- which makes all the difference.

Well wishes to my friend NAT, recovering from her surgery.

Warm well wishes to my friend Bev, who is working through her own health challenge...

Will post more this weekend, when I actually have some "time".

Yeech!

Lazy Bones Me (my "Saturday" name) did not get up to run with my running group yesterday morning.  I woke up at 6:30 am to feed our army of hungry cats and then promptly turned off the alarm and went back to sleep.  

Got up about 11:00 am (ahhhhh) and then hit the roads about 1:00 pm for my Long Slow Distance run.  My course took me from near our house out to Minneahaha Falls and back -- basically following a large section of the Twin Cities Marathon route.

Although the thermometer at our house read 44 degrees, it did not take in to account the blustery winds that whipped across Lake Harriet and remained as a constant "in my face" reminder for the run out to the falls.  Brrrr.

I felt pretty good on the way out and it was very nice to run the parkway.  The path, which runs parallel to Minnehaha Creek,  is quite beautiful any time of year, and yesterday was no exception.  The creek was open and there were lots of ducks huddled along side the bank.  Snow is melting, people were out and about; it was great to be outside. 

I got to the falls and took a peek at them....Lovely.  And then waited in line for about 10 minutes for three people to use the one available portapotty.  (The park pavilion -- and all its inside bathroom space -- isn't open for the season yet.)   

I lost pretty much all of my mojo waiting in line and by the time I was ready to head back, I just couldn't get my head around the run back.  

I had to do a lot of pep-talking to myself on the way back.  I vacillated between toughing it out; calling Hubby to have him come pick me up; finding a cab; finding a bus or otherwise throwing in the towel.  

I did make it back on my own, but it was quite discouraging.  I had vivid flashbacks of those very dismal miles of the marathon, where I question my sanity and my ability to hold it together.  And this was just a lousy "little" 14-mile run!

I also spent a lot of time debating dropping down to the Fargo 1/2 marathon.  I have still not exactly determined if I'll switch races, but the idea of switching really sounded appealing yesterday.

Today, I plotted the actual course on MapMyRun.  Turns out, I ran 14.87 miles -- so slightly longer than I anticipated....and I don't really feel too rough today.  Not very sore; not too tuckered out.

I have until April 11th to make up my mind about switching distances.  

The question is:  do I run the marathon to just run the marathon (with a very small chance of PRing) or do I move down to a more comfortable distance because I'm a weeny?

Holy Moley -- less than 50 days!

Till Fargo Marathon!

• Yikes, Stripes!
• My, oh my!
• Mercy, mercy me!
• For real?!?
• Whatchu tawkin 'bout Amy?

You get the drift....

I'm still on the fence about doing the full or switching down to the half. My training has been pretty half-hearted, if the truth must be told. Traveling for work and the "flipping winter that won't end" have really cut in to my enthusiasm.

Also, since I'm on an honesty kick, I really miss running with my gaggle of running friends. We are all training for different things -- we have different schedules / commitments right now -- and I've been L A Z Y on cold Saturday mornings, preferring to sleep in and run when it is "warmer".

And yet, the hands of time tick ever forward, leaving me with 49 days until the marathon....what to do, what to do?

---

Okay, I'm done with the melodrama.

I did particpate in a swim clinic last weekend. About 15 folks met with Dave, the Total Immersion coach I've worked with from time to time. Got videotaped, learned some new drills and techniques and got re-excited about swimming.

I also met with a tri coach that I'd been considering working with -- Ben Popp. We had a great conversation and I'm seriously considering working with him as I prepare for Pigman 1/2 Iron . He gave me a couple of swim/bike workouts to do while I'm finalizing prep for Fargo.

AND! I finally bought bike shoes! Once I get the pedals attached to my bike, I'll take a picture and post it. All I can remember at this point is that they are Shimano. (Yeah, like 1 billion other pairs of biking shoes....)

Finally, although Toyota is not going to sponsor athletes in 2008, Stay Put elastics by Goody is, and I just found out I was selected for that team! Yippee! Another free uniform that can be easily coupled with "performance anxiety".... Now I have to do reasonably well this season.

Ohhhh, the pressure! (back to the melodrama).

Tomorrow, if I can drag my butt out of bed early, I'll run with my friends for part of their training run and then do an addition lag on my own.

Tomorrow night, Hubby and I have a night on the town with my good friend Mary and her beaux, Tom. Dinner and the theatre....

Maybe having the theatre on my brain is why I'm so melodramatic...

The end......(applause, and....curtain!)

Spring Snow

It is March in Minnesota and that means SNOW.

We never seem to escape this last ditch effort made by Miss Winter to blanket the landscape (and roads) ONCE AGAIN with the white stuff.

The WET, HEAVY white stuff....

The good news is that the temps are warm enough that it doesn't stick around for too long and it is really quite pretty.

The bad news is that it is SNOW and, if I may speak for all Minnesotans, by this time of year, we have HAD IT.

It also makes running a bit of a mess.

We had a snow shower earlier this week that dropped about 3 inches -- which promptly melted the next day. Last night, the flakes started falling again and they haven't stopped yet. Looks like we have had about 2 inches fall so far and it isn't scheduled to stop until late tonight. By the time this ends, we could have 6 inches to contend with, just in time for my Long Slow Distance run.

I've got scheduled a run of about 14 -15 miles. If it is really snowy in the morning, I will decide if I should go out for 2 plus hours and get wet feet or potentially do the run on the dreaded treadmill.

I'm hoping to get outside and to even run with some of the folks at my club...but...my Evil Twin is trying to convince me to not get up early, not get wet feet and to spend the morning in bed, under the covers with Hubby and the kitties.

I also have a swim clinic tomorrow afternoon, which I'm looking forward to. It has been awhile since I've been at a clinic or had a lesson, so I'm looking forward to some structured time in the pool.

I've been doing a lot of research to try to find some structured programs to help me with tri training and general fitness issues. (I'm on a personal strike towards my Health Club at this point, being a little self-righteous and sanctimonious for a multitude of real and perceived reasons, which means I'm in no mood to hand over any more cash to them then I possibly have to right now....)

There are some options I'm considering, but have not made a commitment yet.

I'm also having a really hard time (still) with regulating my weight. I've been off the sugar for about a month and no weight loss has materialized. I've been counting my portions and the issues seem to arise in the afternoons if I don't plan my food well enough and also in the evenings after I get home from running.

I'm going to give it one more more week of accelerated workouts and going back to counting Weight Watcher points to see what happens. If there is no result then.... I'm not really sure what I'll do.

For now, I'm going to log off, get a cup of tea and watch the snow fall.

A little speed....workout, that is

Back in Tempe and actually had a good workout last night.

I did a nice warm up for about 20 minutes and then did four pickups.

I started at the corner of Alameda and Priest and ran to Broadway (.48 miles, according to MapMyRun). Got my heart rate up to a hair below AT (171 bpm) and then shagged back to Alameda. Repeated this three times in total with the pickups equating to:
4:16 min
4:10 min
4:10 min.

I felt good about the pace. I felt as if I actually was running and not just plodding along.

I started my last shag back to Alameda and decided to do my pickup from Alameda to Southern, which -- magically -- is also .48 of a mile. My pace was slower 4:21, but I got it done!

Then just a little jog back to the hotel, feeling good.

---

Glad to be going home tomorrow. Still no sugar has passed my lips and it has been very hard. There are cookies and candy everywhere I look in this office!

---

Also found this cool count down timer thingie (see sidebar). As if I'm not worried enough about Fargo Marathon, I can now count down the seconds until I line up for the race.

As the young people I know would say: Sweet!

Slightly over 11 and apparently, I'm IT!

I spent the majority of the week in Tempe, doing some final work for a systems conversion project that I've been part of for several months.

Here are the successes from the week:

1) I did not have any candy, cookies, desserts or other refined sugar during the week. Honestly, it was very hard. (see below)

2) I worked out several times: I went to the gym twice (first workout was treadmill and weights; second was weights and a 600 yard swim). Also did a run of about six miles or so.

3) Played nice with others. (see below) The project has been stressful and many people are involved. That means many personalities, many opinions, many opportunities for problems. Fortunately, every one involved is very dedicated and, outside of the project, they are a lot of fun, so it went very well.

4) Enjoyed very nice weather. Sunny, in the 70s and 80s. I was very grateful to be out of the cold.

I go back to Tempe tomorrow for the final phase of this part of the project. I'll be there until Wednesday. Although it will be nice weather (again), I will be glad to be home for a while, with Hubby and the kitties and some normal routine.

It was GREAT to come home for the weekend -- although poor Hubby has been sick all week. Still, all in all, nice to be comfortable with him and the cats, in our own little house.

I had to get in a long run today and was considering going with my running club. The class that will train for Grandma's Marathon started this morning. But, I had not slept well all week in Tempe, so I elected to enjoy being home.

I did go out this afternoon and got in 11.37 miles, according to MapMyRun.com. The temps were in the low 30s, but it was very pretty out and there is just the slightest hint of spring in the air.

I also stopped during my run to watch one of those Polar Bear Plunge charity events that was taking place at Lake Calhoun. A very large number of people elected to jump in to a section of the lake that had its ice layer removed.

I watched the first several groups jump off a perfectly good wooden pier in to freezing water, bob up like corks and then high-tail it out of the lake and in to one of several waiting, bubbling hot tubs.

BRRRRRR.

I've done plenty of seemingly crazy things in my life (see below), but jumping in to ice cold water has not -- nor will be - one of those things. I absolutely hate to be cold.

Anyway, my run was okay -- but I'm still not running very fluidly or comfortably. I'm getting a little concerned about doing a full marathon. I'll have to give that some serious thought. Anyway, here is the route.

Below

So my good friend, Nat, has tagged me and I'm supposed to write down 7 "interesting" things about me....

Here were the rules are as follows (I'm required to post them):

# Link to the person who tagged you

# Post the rules on your blog.

# Share seven random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.

# Tag seven random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.

# Leave a comment on their blogs so that they know they have been tagged.

So here are my weird things:

1) My enough-o-meter is broken. By that I mean I really don't under what "enough" means. Be it shoes, chocolate, food, alcohol, whatever, I don't seem to have the normal regulator that tells most of you that you've had enough. I've had to completely give up some things in order to "regulate" them; for others things, its been sheer will or pain that has enabled me to stop. (For example, the realization that I just can't bear the pain any more of squeezing my feet in to those oh-so-sexy spikey heeled shoes any more...I still lust after them every day, though...)

2) I am much better in a crowd. I can do presentations in front of hundreds of people at a time, but have a very difficult time feeling comfortable with small numbers of people or one-on-one. It is a weird, low-self esteem thing, I'm sure. Enough said.

3) I peeed on a State Capitol building when I was 17 years old and drunk. I thought, at the time, that it would be one of those really "cool" things that I could share with my grandchildren. Since I don't have kids, and therefore will not have grandchildren, I get to share that "fun fact" with you.

4) Famous people I've met include: Gloria Steinem (cool), Todd Rundgren (WAAAY cool) and Rick Nielsen from Cheap Trick (don't ask). I'd gnaw tree bark for an opportunity to meet John Cusack.

5) If it weren't for the math part of the GMAT or GREs, I'd take the tests and go back to Graduate School in a heartbeat.

6) I've recently moved in to the 21st century and enabled my cell phone to allow me to text.

7) I'm a secret MTV/VH1 viewer. Programs I love to watch include: Celebrity Rehab, Celebrity Fit Club, The Flavor of Love, that really bad show with Brett Michaels, True Life and Made...

The folks I'm tagging are: Megan, Dennis, Waddler 26.2 and RunnerGirl

"Spirit of the Marathon" -- inspiration renewed!

Finally, finally, finally the temperature got above zero this week!

As a matter of fact, we hit the mid 30's today. This was in incredible welcome relief, as we've had 21 days below zero since the beginning of the year, most of which happened during the very short month of February.

The rotten weather has created havoc on my "get-back-to-a-regular-workout routine" intentions. My workouts have been sporadic to say the least.

The really bad news about that is that Fargo Marathon is only 12 weeks away.

Gulp.

Combine the whole "not really training" thing with my knee and back issues that have been bothering me since December and you can figure that I'm a little scared about having signed up for the event right now.

However, three things have come together to form the Perfect Motivational Storm, if you will:

1) nicer temperatures today encourage me that spring, indeed, is coming and parkas will be shed.

2) I'm going back to Tempe for about 10 days in total over the course of the next two weeks. I have fully committed myself to getting my workouts in and am pledging to use my blog to keep me honest and accountable.

3) I got a chance to see the "Spirit of the Marathon" movie last Thursday.

I went to see it with my very good friend, fellow runner and blogger, Dori. Dori moved to California last fall and, although we keep in touch via blogging and emails, I've really missed seeing her.

She was in town with her SD and it just so happened we were both free to see the movie. I think we both walked away inspired and ready to get back out there and train.

The film covers the training and preparation of six marathoners getting ready to run the 2005 Chicago Marathon. Two were professional athletes -- Deena Kastor, who went on to win the women's competition, and Daniel Njenga, a Kenyan who trains in Japan.

The best part for me, though, was watching the "regular" people training for the event. A couple women were doing their first marathons. One young guy was hoping to qualify for Boston and then there was Jerry -- a 70 year old man training to run his 5th marathon. He ran his first when he was 65! He finally inspired his daughter to run her first with him, so they trained together.

The movie really was well done. Great stories weaved together; wonderful commentary from many of the legends of running: Beardsley, Switzer, Weitz, Galloway, Burfoot, etc.

Dori and I both got very caught up in the movie and we both ended up very teary-eyed.

I also got wistful and sentimental for other reasons. Although Chicago Marathon was a disaster last year due to all the problems with heat, humidity and lack of water or resources, I have a very soft spot for that event. It was my first marathon and I still am in love with that city. (I lived there for three years and had the time of my life).

I also got sentimental about my training partners. We've all been living our various "off-season" lives since last fall, that we have not had a lot of time to see each other over the last few months.

(Perhaps more accurately stated, I've been "off-season". Mary, Marica and Cheryl have all done at least one 1/2 marathon since last fall. Nat joined Marcia and I at Tri-U-Mah a few weeks ago. It's really been me who's been the slug.

In any event, I got nostalgic for my training friends and for a big, organized running group. I also got inspired to get out there again and to really prepare for Fargo.

To help, I also had a massage today from a guy who owns The Fix. His company is offering my tri-club a discount on massages. Larry, the owner, has worked with Pro and Olympic cycling teams and was very knowledgeable about my knee/back issues.

My plan is to work with him a few times to try to workout the "kinks". He also has a Coach on staff that works with triathletes. I may check that out too, so I can be fully ready and prepared for tri season and my first 1/2 Iron.

Inspiration rocks!

Tri U Mah -- kickin' off the year...

Today was one of the coldest days of the winter for us here in Minnesota, so it must be TRI U MAH!

Tri U Mah is an indoor triathlon held at the University of Minnesota. The event is held at the U's Rec Center and participants spend 30-minutes each swimming, biking on a stationary bike and running on a treadmill. The total distance covered over the entire 1 1/2 hours is then calculated as results.

This is the fourth year that the event has been held and it seems to always happen on the coldest day of the winter. Today was no different. When I got up this morning to get ready to go to the Aquatic Center for my heat, the air temp was around -18 degrees -- windchills were more than 20 below. Brrrrr...

Even though it is always such a cold day when this event happens, I love the fact that we can do the swim a pool (makes site-ing so much easier!) AND the sponsors have really great give aways. I've received some really nice gym bags and shirts plus the post-race food always rocks.

This year, some of the sponsors set up some booths to hawk their wears. There was a woman who designs "tri" jewlery and items. I got a couple of bag-tags and a key chain. The photo a the top of the page is of the key chain.


My heat started at 10:20 am. Several of my running/tri buddies were also signed up for the event. Gary's heat started before ours -- Marcia, Nat and Marc were in my heat, along with a friend of Nat's, Heather, who was doing her first tri.

The U has a GREAT aquatic center. The pool is wonderful. I felt very confident in the water and swam well. My swimming has really improved since I started this whole triathlon thing a few years ago. Not that I'm a great swimmer (meaning I'm not very fast OR confident in open water), but I am happy that my endurance is stronger and that I really do like the activity. Except for the whole "goggle-eye" thing, which is HORRIBLE for me, swimming is a wonderful activity that I can see doing for many years to come.

I am glad that I have been doing some spinning over the last few weeks. I'm always surprised at how tough spinning can be. I keep thinking that, because I have bigger-than-the-average-bear legs that I would have a lot of power in them and that biking should be much easier. Ha! I was just glad that I got through the 30-minute segment.

My run went pretty well, considering I'm really not running well right now. I kept my heart rate at a comfortable Zone 3 level (about 163 bpm) and ran for 20 mintues before I needed to take a bump off my inhaler. I slowed down the belt but then had a problem with my treadmill. I couldn't get the speed adjuster to move up or down.

Some of the volunteers came over to try to help me, but no one could get it to work, so they moved me to a different treadmill. I lost some time/distance having to do switch machines mid-race, but am not really sure how much of either I really lost.

I cranked up my pace for the last 8 minutes or so and had an "okay" time for the 30 mintues. (Although I am still much, much slower than I was last fall.).

My friends all did very well in the event. Gary blew everyone away with his biking -- covering over 9 miles during his 30 mintues. Nat, who says she hasn't been training much, really did very well; Heather had fun during the event and covered a lot of territory. Marcia, who has done 2 other winter events already (including a 1/2 marathon) looked very strong. Marc did really well too.

Here are my final stats:

Tri U Mah Over the Years

Year:	2008	2007	2006	2005
Swim	.74	.76	.61	.58
Bike	7.07	6.42	6.16	6.35
Run	2.93	2.49	2.48	2.44
Total	10.53	9.67	9.25	9.37

After the event, we all went out for lunch. I had a great time catching up with everyone. Traveling so much has taken me out of my normal "friend" time and I really miss it.

I have to travel again this week -- going back to Las Vegas for a Sales Conference. At least I'll get out of the cold for a few days. But, I'll miss my Hubby and my buddies.

What happened?

I'm in Arizona (again). I'll be traveling here quite a bit over the next few weeks. I'm involved in a project for work which involves a lot of travel time. The good news is that the people are nice, the project is coming along and I get a little break from winter.

The bad news is that I'm away from my Hubby, the cats and my normal routine more than I would like to be.

I still have to get in training runs while I'm here.

I went out for what I thought would be a six mile run, but ended up only doing about 5:86. LOVE that Map My Run!

But WTF?

I'm running so sluggishly and so slowly compared to last summer and fall. My breathing is horrible. My heart rate zooms up, but my pace is slower. Its bumming me out in a big way!


My weight is up from the summer -- that may have an impact -- although it is still down from this time last year.

The really bad thing is that my slowness grates on my mind, telling me I've bitten off more than I can chew athletically this year ---

I've got to figure out a strategy to turn ouff hte commentary and to just zone in on the joy of being out there, continuing to plod along.

My first event of the year will happen on Sunday -- Tri U Mah indoor triathlon, where we swim, bike and run for 30 minute segments each. I'm excited to getting back in to a 'real' season, but am nervous (already) about the results.

First things first.

I'd just like to get home.

O-bama O8 and more

A quick update to the weekend and then something cool:

With John Edwards out for the bid for Democratic nominee, I was sort of torn between Hillary and Obama.  

Like both candidates -- thought Hillary's experience could be beneficial, but there was that spark about Obama that I just couldn't ignore, ever since I first heard him deliver that wonderful, rousing speech during the 2004 Democratic Convention.

I've also thought that he's carried himself very well during all the recent malarkey the Clinton campaign (aka "Bill") was throwing his way.  (Honestly, if she was going to sling at all,  I felt that Hillary was sort of stuck in a lousy place.  If she had done the slinging, she'd be labeled a bitch.  Instead, she (or her campaign advisors) had Bill do the mudslinging, which made her look as if she was having her husband do the heavy lifting).

I also love the message of CHANGE that Obama is promoting.  I think he has some real ideas about how to make things better and he isn't afraid to tell people that CHANGE will be HARD.  (Ask any person who came to athletics in middle age after years of eating McDonalds and sitting on the couch.  They can attest that change is HARD...)

The announcement came the Obama would visit Minneapolis yesterday came out last Wednesday.  I jumped at the chance to go to hear him in person.   

I was one of 20,000 people that filled the Target Center to hear him.  The doors opened at 1:30 pm and he got up to the speaking platform about 4:00 pm.  

Yes, 20,000 people waited 2 1/2 hours to hear him speak.  

He was very engaging and very inspiring.   In his 54-minute speech, he talked about why it is so important NOW for change.  

We are at a defining moment where we have the ability to turn around our economy, our health care and education systems, our image and place abroad, our environment.  

I think he can inspire us, unite us and lead us and I'm proud to say I'm a Obama supporter.  

Other cool things:

Hubby and I went to watch the Luminary Loppet event last night on Lake of the Isles.  There were hundred of cross-country skiers carving pattern in the snow and ice on the lake.  The event sponsors lined the lake with hundreds of luminaries made out of ice blocks.  It was really beautiful.

Final cool thing before I leave for a Superbowl party:

I DID get my goofy 1st long-slow-distance run in as part of my Fargo training.  I was hoping to run 7 miles, but ended up going about 8.35, according to MapMyRun.com.

This 'training on my own' thing is going to be very difficult.  I'm going to have to come up with some good alternatives to get me through.

Anyway, MapMyRun has a feature that allows you to post your run, so... here it is.  

I think that is flippin' cool.

Reality -- and below zero temperatures -- Bites

Well, I did do the follow-up I committed myself to doing in my last post:

I tired to book an session with Dave (swim coach), but found the "Y" had changed their appointment website and my info (and three-remaining appointments) have been lost. Dave is looking in to this, but has not resolved the issue yet. Despite this, I have been in the pool a number of times. It feels good to be back in the water.

I also got on the scale. Yuck. I had been doing so well up until we left for vacation on December 20th. I put on a few lbs over the holidays, which is no fun and really wrecks havoc on my self esteem.

I should know by now, after more than 40 years battling my weight, several long, long years struggling with big, bad food issues and all that crap that is attached with it, that I'm more than just a number. But, that stupid number still has a lot of power over me -- especially when it is not one I want to see.

The funny thing is that my body fat percentage is in a very good range. I was participating in an indoor training class at my gym and we got measured three times during the 12-week session with the dreaded pinchers. Can I hang on to that number?

No.

I see and measure my self by the one on the scale.

Stupid...

----

On another topic: training for Fargo Marathon started last Monday. There are only 15 people in the training group. Fourteen of them want to run 4:00 hour marathons; one wants to run a 4:30. I'm shooting for 5:30.

So, I'm the slowest poke out there.

One of my good friend's husband is the coach for the session and, as much as he wants me to be part of his group, there is no way I'll be able to keep up with them. I'll have to do this training on my own.

Fortunately, I've got a number of other friends that will train for the Fargo 1/2 marathon and they've generously offered to do some running with me. A couple of them have even offered to provide support for me when I start getting in to the long runs by riding beside me on a bike. I'm very lucky to have that support.

I've also checked in with my Tri Club to see what they do for training runs. Apparently they have a number of members that meet on Saturday mornings at a lake near my house. I've been told that the speeds and distances of the runners cover a wide range, so I think I'll check them out too.

The weather has been really awful lately. We are just finishing the second very cold snap of January. Air temps yesterday ranged between 14 below and 2 below zero. Wind chills were like mines 35. Brutal.

But, the days are getting longer, which means there is hope for spring's speedy return.

Starting Over -- again

New year, new look.

Not sure I love the new layout yet, but... it will do for today.

We are in the middle of a HUGE cold snap here in MN. Over the weekend, we were lucky to break zero degrees. It was mostly below zero with really ugly wind chills (-25 below).

I hate this time of year. Horrible cold; crunchy snow that isn't even pretty any more; still more darkness than light during the day. The doldrums are here for sure.

My workouts have been spotty since the holidays. I've been a little run down and my energy level reflects it. I've also been very reluctant to go to the gym once I'm bundled up in my warm jammies in my warm house.

It is not all bleak, though. I have hit some workouts and have even started to Spin and Swim again.

There are some Spin classes at the club near my office that happen over the lunch hour. I've gone to a couple of those and like them. I also got back in to the pool last week, which was a real dose of reality. I moved very slowly in the water.

I still have a few lessons left on my last swim package, but have been relucant to call him because I've been out of the loop (aka pool) so long.

Same excuse that I've been using for actually getting on the scale. I got on about mid December and felt okay about the results. I hadn't gained any weight since the summer. But then came Las Vegas, Santa Fe, Hubby's Mom's Birthday, Freezing Cold Weather, a few Chili Extravaganza's and POOF. I'm feeling sluggish and chubby and really don't want to see the number on the scale.

It is probably time to just face the music -- get on the scale and call Dave for a lesson.

The other pieces of hope came in small packages: I got my 2008 Membership card for the MN Tri Club. I've been a member of this club since 2006 -- mostly using it for open water swim clinics. I'm planning on getting more involved with the group this year, especially for bike rides.

I also got my first online newsletter for the Fargo Marathon.

Both of those small events reminded me that spring will indeed come and so will my events. I better be ready.

My first event will be Tri U Mah indoor tri. My friends Nat, Marcia and Mary will be doing it too. Hubby is registered but even further behind the training 8-ball than I am.

My biggest event for the year will be my first half-Ironman -- Pigman -- in Iowa on August 17th. i'm excited about the challenge and nervous about all the training.

Well, you gotta start some where... I'm going to log off now and make an appointment with Dave.

I'm still working on getting on the scale...