Lubbock or Bust!

The man & I are off to Lubbock today.Not called for jury the rest of this week.Yea! Now one more week of being on call for that and I am done with my ever so strenuous jury duty. I have decided the only ones who really WANT to do jury duty are those that work and their bosses pay their wages.

I had my chiropractor adjustment, my massage, my pre-race pedicure (which is crucial) these past 2 days. I have all my stuff, just need to pack & we are out of here this afternoon. i feel excited and glad to be on the road. My daughter asked me if there was anything to see or do in Lubbock and I said absolutely not but that is unfair. There will be other athletes, a few good restaurants AND the Buffalo of course. Well, I haven't really found the Buffalo yet at the lake but I am sure he is there. Probably right after that 8th hill I will be climbing on the bike!

More on the road...

Three more days-

til the big race. I bagged my workout yesterday. I am really sore and tired this week for some reason and am erring on the side of rest. I have a quick 30 workout today, massage (YEA), and have to go to the dentist. Now this is something I would not normally do-go to the dentist 3 days before a race but I had 2 teeth break weeks ago and they are going to finish that up. You know it really SUCKS getting older. I don't like that I have to get poked and prodded like a cow-have you ever had a colonoscopy? Now that is fun! Have to have one after 50-of course they found a polyp in mine so I get to go again in 5 years! then the whole teeth thing getting older, the back getting more arthritic. I mean these are terms too describe OLD people, aren't they? I refuse to get old!! I guess I have the Peter Pan syndrome and alot of denial. I have had my body pretty much x-rayed, ultrasounded, scanned to the hilt this year probably because my hormones are changing and to me it feels like I have some deadly disease. Well, one Dr. told me that training is the one thing I should never give up! That will keep me young!
So Lubbock-here I come!

TriSoulCollage

OK-so if you are turned off by soul/woo-woo stuff, read no further. My friend Esther told me about "SoulCollage"which is an art project you can do to get in touch with parts of yourself. So I decided today to do one on the race coming up this weekend. I loved doing it! This is my collage. Then there are questions you ask about the picture (it is on a 5X7 card).

Who are you? I am the 8 year old that won all the time, that beat them all. I am the one who is athletic, an athlete. I believe in myself, I am good enough. I stay confident and strong in races. I am a winnner.

What do you have to give me? I give you mental, physical and psychological strength to do even the hardest races, the part of you that never gives up. I give you the wisdom to know when to eat, drink, push yourself, back off, listen to your body. I give you permission to have fun and be lighthearted.

What do you want from me? I want you to have fun racing, feel like a winner, don't get discouraged. I want you to believe you can do your best and be with the best. I want you to feel proud of yourself no matter what.

Is there anything else you would like to say to me? Think: Slow, steady=fast, calm. I am a runner. My bike and I are steady and strong. You have what it takes to win.

How will I remember? Remember when you see each mile marker, pass each bouy and each time you read this card.

Other info on this:

www.kaleidosoul.com/soulcollage-cardmaking.html

New Weather Update & No Jury..

Here is the way to get out of jury duty: If it is a suit involving buying a bad car from a used car saleman, just say that your opinion is that "buyer beware" is your motto. That is what I did anyway. Plus I told the judge I had a biopsy in the afternoon. So no jury duty yet. The whole process was surreal-a different universe in the Courtroom. All formal and everything. i knew one of the attorneys-that helped too. Where is my civic spirit these days??

Here is the new forecast in Lubbock this weekend: http://www.buffalospringslaketriathlon.com/forecast.pdf

OK so my new race plan is to be done by noon so I don't feel that 98 degree heat-HA! I also wondered if you would be disqualified if you jumped in the lake while you are running around it in the beginning and the end. I have spent some time in that IV tent at the end. The only problem is then I am swollen by all the sodium for about 3 days. I really never understand people who LOSE weight during a race. I usually gain about 5 lbs, no matter what. Something about electrolytes. I am stocking on Hammer electrolytes and sunscreen..

Civic Duty Calling

i have to go to Court today. Oh not for anything I did-it is Jury Duty. Now as a good citizen who is unemployed, I should think this is a privilege, right? But seems I am too busy to do this thing they call civic duty. (Shut up all of you)..I will get out of it today because I have a medical procedure but then tomorrow's chiro appt, Thursday's massage, dentist appt. I mean all these things are important pre-race rituals! (Except the dentist). Maybe they will feel sorry for me and let me out of the whole thing when they hear my medical plight. I just realized I resent having to be anywhere i don't wanna be right now. Call it spoiled, call it selfish, that's just the way I feel. Anything that even sounds like a job-jury DUTY-makes me resentful. Wow-wonder if i have any nice clothes left? what is one suppose to wear to jury duty? Do you think they will allow my pajamas cause I don't get dressed before 9:00..
Stay tuned..

Goals and Secret Goals..

My friend Michael & I trained for Ironman Florida together in 2004. Long 100 mile bike rides create alot of philosophy you know..Anyway, we talked about how everyone has the "public goal" of a race. "Oh, I just want to finish" or "I want to beat my time from last year". These are the things you tell your friends, family and other trifolks. Let's stay humble here now. And then there is the "secret goal" that only you know. "I will have the race of my life and do under 6 hours in this half IM!" or "I, just this once will come in first in my AG at this really big race!" You know what I'm talking about if you have been in the sport long enough. I'll bet we all do this. Do you?

Weather and other deep thoughts by Debi..

Here is the weather forecast for Sunday in Lubbock:

http://www.weather.com/outlook/health/coldandflu/wxdetail/USTX0809?dayNum=6&from=weekend

So I ran at noon to simulate the conditions yesterday. Man I was hot! Sweating, tired-oh did I mention it was a 30 min. recovery run? Geez! I am having my doubts now as to how I am going to pull this off. But I have done it before..I want to finish. I love the finishing part! All the training and sweating is sure worth it when you cross that finish line. I worked for a group of doctors for a few years once. They were horrible at human relations but as i gave my notice to one of the smartest, jerkiest ones (they are sometimes the best Dr.s unfortunately)-he told me I was too smart for the job. He said I should pick something that seems too hard to do and do that thing. This has stuck with me for all these years. Why can't I do an Ironman? That is a too hard thing-so I did. Why can't I get my Master's degree? That was pretty hard so I did that. Why can't I do the Big Buffalo this weekend when I am not in the best shape? I thrive on challenge ever since Dr> A*%^&hole told me this. I also am trying to prove to my father once and for all that I am good enough! Oh, did I mention he has been dead for 17 years? Oh, so it is the dad in my head, my soul that constantly drives the machine, heh?

Do you have cyberchondria?

Well, I went for a 25 mile bike ride or so with some of the Outlaws yesterday AM and really did not feel very strong AT ALL. I am hoping this is a temporary taper situation otherwise i will be suffering one week from today in a big way.. I have some other health issues going on that may or may not be signifigant-awaiting test results before further worrying. I do have a bad case of "cyberchondria" at times. If I have a headache then I have been known to link that somehow to brain cancer on the internet, depending on how anxious I feel on any given day. My kids and I tease each other because apparently I have passed this tendency to over diagnose myself on to my daughters. On any given day, we can talk each other into the worst possible diseases just based on our minor or major symptoms. "Gas? Oh no-you must have colon cancer!" Stuff like that..I think menopause and middle age is making this worse. When do you worry about symptoms? Being in the nursing profession previously doesn't help at all. I can take the most basic ailment and all of a sudden it could be a heart attack ( I use to be a cardiac nurse-back in the day). Now I can usually talk myself down from these worried with logic..I use to be worse. I can laugh it off. Now I am probably exhausted and need a rest from writing all this. Oh no-I must have mononucleosis!