The good, bad and ugly..

H & I did our long bike ride/brick today with some folks we know that ride every Wed. I ended up going early in case I couldn't get my 3 and 1/2 hours in. It was COLD to begin on the bike trail but I ran into Amy on my little trek in the cold. She has a new Garmin cadence sensor and Garmin bike holder. I saw that and thought I have to have those! My Garmin was flapping around my aerobars the whole 51 mile ride-annoying. So I will be ordering those items soon.

The days' highlights:

1. I had to get in front of everyone to get my HR up above 110, only to have to drop back about a mile on the hills to keep my HR below 135. Quite comical actually. My loyal hubby stayed with me and my erratic training plan. I think these guys thought I was nuts, but they understood my crazy speeds..

2. I managed to wolf down 2 goos, 1 bar, a bunch of shot bloks and 2 oz. of Infinit Nutrition in my water. Practicing nutrition is an intricate part of the training for IM because basically you have to gorge on food on the bike to carry you through the run. I remember in Florida not being able to eat much on the marathon.

3. I actually averaged 14.5 miles an hour which for me lately, doing the HR thing, is an improvement. You can check out my bike profile on the sidebar..

4. They were doing construction on part of the bike path and I was in front. The very loud rat-tat-tat machine made it impossible for the workmen to hear me yell "Heads up, heads up!!" So one of the workmen stepped right in front of me as I passed with his back to me. I yelled, "Hold on to me, hold on to me!" because it was too late to unclip and I knew I was going down. He didn't get it so down I went. Only a scrape and a sore knee but man was I pissed! I said-"you need to watch out-there are lots of cyclists on this path!" He apologized profusely. I got up, dusted myself off and muttered about it for about 2 miles-don't think H was actually listening to my complaining. The more I think about it, the more I realize that bike accidents happen alot just because of stupid people! OK-got that off my chest.

5. We bricked into a 30 min run, where my legs felt great.

I actually skipped a workout this week because Coach Luis said since my legs were not recovering that it would be a good idea to take an extra day off. Now I really like him-he actually listens to me! All in all this was a good plan because I felt really good today on the bike.

The best part of this week is I ordered my new Cervelo tri bike and should be getting it in 2 weeks. I am so psyched!

Shhh...I have a new snuggle buddy...

I have a new favorite best friend..


Hartley knows about it.. he even uses it too..


It has been going on for about 2 months now.


After my long ass workout of 3 hours of spinning and 50 min of swimming) yesterday, I admit, I used it.


I use it almost everday. And here it is-so get ready:

It is called the "I-Joy" I suppose because of all the joy it brings as it massages your back, shoulders and calves. Yes, it is a massage chair. We bought it at Costco on a whim about 2 months ago, which is something we (or rather H) never does but we did. And low and behold it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I now believe this is a necessity for Ironman Training. The calf massager can also do your thighs if you position it correctly.

If you try it, you too will be hooked for life...

Our firehouse....

This is the Fire Station about 1 mile from our place in Brazos. It took alot of volunteers and care to build. This is really sad. We have met the fire chief and he was a sweet guy. As part of small community-it is devestating I am sure. We go by that fire station every time we do our run up there and we almost went up there this week. That is a scary thought. We have not been there for 6 weeks-not sure what we will find after all that snow, now this, when we finally get up there. Another senseless situation..
http://kob.com/article/stories/S351804.shtml?cat=500

Ghosts of the past..

I had a strange dream last night. I was at a high school reunion. All my best girlfriends from HS were there and they basically ignored me. They didn't save a seat at the table they were eating at-I was so hurt in my dream! Now some would say it was the full bag of Red Vines I had at the movies last night (this is my tradition at the movies-training be damned!). I think it has more to do with the memories I have of being on the swimteam in HS and being so slow. I think I have discussed this before-if so-don't read on..I was the fastest kid in my AG when I was 9 years old because I was so tall. Then as time went on, I became slower and slower. Now as a kid, this was traumatic for me! I could never quite get with the fast kids. This is a bit how I feel right now in triathlon. I want to train with the fast kids and my brain can be logical and say-yes I am female, yes I am "older", though I am in denial about this, I may not have the genetics to win (I prefer to look like a female thank you). However, emotionally, it sucks having to train so slow, not keep up, be left out of the fast workouts. I am realistic-I am not 35 or even 45. I am not feeling sorry for myself, I am way past that, but the deep seated hurt and feelings of inferiority do exist even on a subconcious level. Maybe this is one of the reasons I am attracted to training and racing triathlons. I want to prove myself at last! It is such a great journey for that reason. Hey if I keep going I can again be the fastest at age 70 just because I endured! Then maybe the fast kids will be old too.
:)

A song that pulls at your heart strings..

This is from my new favorite movie:
"Once"
Enjoy!