Okay, first I'm going to take a little seque away from training news:

Today I registered Booger for Kindergarten. As I watched her going through her Kindergarten testing I was struck by two things: one, my little girl -- my last, little, sweet baby is growing up. I could not be happier and sadder at the same time. Thank God I have Tri-Girls to help me look forward to all the things in my future instead of woefully looking at how the days of the past are going by too quickly.

The second thing I was struck with was who makes up these Kindergarten tests? My Booger is sweet, caring, shares with others, has a fantastic sense of humor and is genuinely KIND. I could care less if she knows the sound of every letter of the alphabet or if she can count to 100. I mean, really, this lady was pointing to the bottom of her face in some kind of an attempt to get Booger to recognize that she was pointing to her "jaw". She asked Booger if she knew what it was and Booger looked at her like she was nuts. I'm sure she was thinking, "Uh, yeah, crazy lady, that's your face." It was quite comical! She has the rest of her life to learn the "little" things in life -- she already has a fantastic head start on the most important things.

Let me give you an example: today we were driving to registration. Derek was in another car since he had to go to work right after we were done. Being the competitive people we are, we try to beat eachother to any location if we happen to be driving separately. Now, we don't break the speed limit and we would never admit that we're really "racing" eachother, but there is a quiet sense of satisfaction for the one who arrives first. (Yes, we know we're weird -- but it works!) Anyway, as I'm pulling down the main road to the school I see Derek trying to make a fast break in front of me from a side street. I say to my little Booger, "Look at Daddy! He's trying to beat us! But he can't beat us 'cause we're too fast!" She replies, "Yeah! He lost!" Being the super-mature person I am I say, "Yeah, he lost! He's a looooooser!" Um, yes, I fully realized as this was coming out of my mouth that it was a BAD thing to say!!! Booger scolded me and said, "That's not nice Mommy." I admitted my error and said "Yes, you're right. I'm very sorry. That was not nice and Mommy won't have very many friends if she treats people like that." My sweet angel looked at me with a concerned little brow and almost whispers, "I'll be your friend Mommy and I will never ever quit." I was suddenly floored by how lucky I am to share space with this amazing little person! So, anyway, my point is perhaps they need to check kids for kindness, caring and generosity instead of jumping right into "who can beat the benchmark and by how much".

Okay, now back to training. I have a secret. Shhhh. Don't tell anyone but I'm in love with my bike!! Last Saturday I took on my longest ride in the Blue Ridge Mountains! It was AMAZING!!!! 50 miles of wonderful weather, great company and fabulous views! There was a lot of climbing (which I love) but, unfortunately, I was having some shifting issues so I couldn't use my granny gear or the gear closest to that. I ended up having to hard pedal a lot of the hills but I guess I ended up with quite a confidence boost -- I mean, at least I was able to do it and end up with a smile on my face.

On Sunday morning I woke up and went for a run that afternoon. It was hotter than hell and I realized that I need to start acclimating to warm weather training. Sunday evening I went to Som's swim -- which was the first time I'd been in the pool in 3 weeks!!! Since swimming seems to be my most relaxed discipline I tend to slack on that more than anything else. I know that I will have a much better race if I swim more often but it's just so hard to find the time to fit it all in. I guess if something has to give, it should be the area I'm not as worried about, right?

The rest of this week's workouts were difficult for me -- not to complete necessarily but simply to get started on. I don't know about the rest of you but there's one week a month where my energy level plummets and it takes everything I have just to muster the energy to think about working out! This week is that week. Hopefully next week will be better.

This Saturday we have a 28 mile bike and 12 hour run followed by an open water swim on Sunday. I'm very excited to try out my new TriGirl wetsuit!!! Hopefully the water and river will cooperate and the swim won't get cancelled. I'm sure I'll have more to report after a fun-filled TriGirl weekend!!!

I will have you all know that I represented the TriGirl dedication in style this past week!! Let me paint a picture: 6 adults on vacation in the OBX with our kids. It's a gorgeous day, the pool is heated to 90 degrees, we are in a HUGE house with a tiki bar next to the pool, overlooking the sound. Music is blaring, margaritas are flowing and where is TriGirl CD? That's right, baby, on my bike!! Here's my girlfriend holding the snacks and a margarita while I chill out TriGirl style:



Okay, truth be told, I split my bike ride up into an evening and morning workout. Friday night, I rode for 90 minutes and Saturday morning I ran my 10 miles. Alright, alright, if I'm going to be totally honest, I also celebrated my dedication by getting downright drunk on Saturday night!! But, to continue on my path of honesty, I've got to admit -- it was worth it!! I managed to get all my workouts in and STILL had a nice vacation! I was good when I had to be good and was bad when it was alright to be bad.

We got back on Monday and, of course, that was a horrible day for all of Virginia. I thought I'd write about my thoughts but nothing I could say truly encompassed how I was feeling. So, I guess I can't blog about some things -- I just can't put those feelings into words -- at least not on a computer. At times like these the feelings are so strong that I can only withdraw into my own emotions so I can find some solace where I can search for feelings of hope and peace. I simply pray that others who are more intricately involved in this tragedy will someday be able to find their sense of faith, joy and security again.

Tomorrow I have 10 half mile repeats. Uh, yeah. That sucks. But, still, I will be out at the track tomorrow evening, cursing through every one of them. On Saturday, there is the Blue Ridge ride which I am VERY excited (and nervous) about. Oh, and I guess I need to fit that whole swimming thing in there too!!! Ah, so much training and SO little time. . .

Wetsuit is here!!!

My super-cool Sockeye has just arrived!! Woohoo! I ripped the box open so that I could immediately try it on. And, let me put it this way, if I paired it with some Catwoman ears and some high heel pumps, Derek would be in heaven!! Granted, he'd never be able to squeeze me back out of thing but he'd at least like the costume. I know that wetsuits are supposed to be tight but I have yet to try one on that is comfortable. No matter what wetsuit you get, trying to squeeze your ass into the thing could really give someone a complex!! Anyway, it's super cute and I'm going to bring it with me to the beach tomorrow so I can try it out (for those who know me, no, I have not suddenly come to my senses and decided to swim in the actual ocean with the innumerable spawn of Jaws -- I'm simply going to go into the shallow little bay area by the beach house -- uh, Deanna L. do sharks linger in the bay, too??????) I will make sure to bring the wetsuit to the next workout if anyone wants to try it out.

Oh, and by the way, despite my "blah-ttitude" I did manage to enjoy my 30 min. bike and 90 minute run last night at West Creek. Thanks for the positive mojo JRo & Melissa!!

Cyndi

Blah.

My motivation is at an all time low right now. I'm totally unmotivated to jump out of bed and hit my training. I find that I'm asking myself whether I even want to work out. I start to dread it and when I'm doing it, I am not focused. I'm thinking about how long it is until it ends. How does this happen so quickly? Last Saturday I was "I am woman hear my roar" and now its "I am tired put me to bed." This feeling is completely new to me. I'm not exactly sure how to handle it. I think it's simply because I've felt like crap lately. My allergies are out of control and it triggers my asthma. During Saturday's bike I actually got off my bike 3 times so I could go into the bathroom to catch my breath (and cough up a lung)!! Then I stopped to walk for about a minute during the 10 mile run because I was wheezing so badly.

So, yesterday I was looking at my training schedule this week and thought, "Ugh. This is going to suck. How am I going to do this while on vacation at the beach this week? Do I even want to do it?" Then I realized that I needed to change my perception. The question is not "do you want to train". That is not even up for discussion. I'm doing it so I need to just suck it up, change my attitude and get it done. Training is supposed to suck sometimes. It's supposed to hurt at times. Every once in a while your body is supposed to feel like throwing in the towel. But, I suppose, continuing to train through these feelings is what dedication and commitment are all about. I imagine that there will be a time in the Half IM or IM when I feel all of the same emotions times one hundred! Hopefully, having these same feelings during training will help me when I really need it and remind me that I can persevere. Maybe right now I'm mentally training more than anything else. Oh, where has my itty bitty Kenyan gone when I need him the most? Perhaps, I've spilled my chi somewhere. :D

TWO MONTHS TIL EAGLEMAN

Can you believe it???? There are only two months left until Eagleman -- in other words 9 more Saturdays. Holy crap!!!!! Am I ready? Ahhh! Heart palpitations. I never thought I would look at a 1/2 Ironman as a step in training. I mean, let's not underestimate what we are about to do! It's a FLIPPIN' HALF FREAKIN' IRONMAN!!!! To everyone who is undertaking this feat, I'm going to let you in on a little secret: I NEVER would have believed I could do this if it weren't for you amazing, strong women. Seriously, I always hoped and wished I would "one day" do an Ironman. You know how that goes? Like "one day" I will buy a house in Italy, "one day" I will drive a convertible that's not suited for kids, "one day" I'll Spring clean my closets . . . Well, all of the sudden I saw these kick ass women signing up for my "one day" dream and I thought, what the hell is stopping me from doing this? And, I got my answer pure and simple: I was scared. So I decided to pull on my big girl pants (in pink) and join the fantastic women athletes on the playing field. And, now, here I am. On my way. AND, I actually Spring cleaned my closets this week, too!!

Here's my favorite quote: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt

Rock on my fellow Tri Girls!

Weekend wrap-up . . .

Okay, if you read the TG Blogs, you already know that Tri Girls completely kicked ass at the Monument Avenue 10K!!!!! I was amazed by everyone's times!! Mine weren't too shabby either! Here are my stats:

5K Split: 26:51
10K Final Time: 53:57

This was BY FAR the best time I have ever had on a 10K. Here are previous year's Monument Ave. times:

2006- 59:47
2004- 1:04:23
2003- 1:03:33

The one thing that I learned is that I tend to set goals that I know I can achieve. And, I don't push beyond it. Half way through the race I felt great and knew I could pick up the pace. But did I? Nope. 'Cause I was comfortable. I wasn't breathing really hard, legs felt good, why ruin that? Well, cause it's a RACE!! It's the time to put all your training to the test. To really see what you can do. So now I look at my time and I'm still disappointed. Not because the numbers aren't good but because I know that I didn't try as hard as I could have. For once in my life, I would like to come through the finish line knowing that I put out 100%. That is something that definitely needs to be worked on this year.

On Saturday night I had a friend's 40th birthday party to attend and I did a pretty good job balancing the drinking thing! I had a couple glasses of wine and left by 11:30. The next day I still had the energy (and the hydration) to do my 2 and half hour ride. Albeit, I did it on my trainer to the 3hr endurance Spinervals DVD. But, seriously, since the workouts are coached and done specifically for "real" bike riders (as opposed to Spin classes) it was one of the hardest rides I've ever done -- indoors or out!!

Sunday night I skipped swim. Yep, I admit it. I totally played hooky. Couldn't help it. I spent all of Friday night at the first night of a work retreat, Saturday was the 10k and then straight to the second day of my work retreat. I came home for exactly an hour so that I could change and get ready to go to the 40th b'day party. Sunday I woke up and spent 3 hours on my bike. All this is great except that my two littlest ones kept asking me if they could spend some time with me because they missed me. So, it was an easy decision to skip the swim so I could spend some time with the kids.

Today I have a 1.5 hour bike ride and 1 hr. run ahead of me. It's a gorgeous day so I'm looking forward to it. I'll let you all know how it goes!