Nothing really new to report

With nothing exciting to report I just thought I would drop you all a line saying HELLO!

Training is still underway for my first indoor triathlon. Swimming is coming along. Not as fast as I would of hoped but hey I can make it down and back without drowning in the middle somewhere. Of course I am thoroughly disgusted with this but I am going to turn that frown upside down (that was for you Suzanne) and think of it this way, 8 weeks ago, I would of never ever thought I would swim at all. Biking, not a problem... Building strength to get ready to ride with the big boys come spring. Running.... well I love it and am happy I get to continue. I met my group on Saturday and ran 6 miles. It felt great to be running without restrictions. Not that I have done a good job of listening anyway. Time to get some miles in if I am going to run a half marathon in May. That part I am listening to the Dr. on.


Same old stuff I guess..... Happy Tuesday!

Come back only if needed!

I know I said I wouldn't write about my foot anymore but I had to today. I had my follow up with Dr. Bednarz at Greensboro Orthopedics this morning. He RELEASED me to run! Those were joyous words to hear.

Three weeks of physical therapy, lots of cream, anti-inflammatories and new orthotics and I am like new. OK well maybe not new but I am ready. I do have to have an adjustment made to my orthotics but other than that, I should be good to go.

He did put stipulations on what he wanted me to focus on first. I could train for a half marathon this spring and if all went well a full for the fall. He warned me of over training with the triathlons and marathon on my list of things to do this year. Listen to my body and slow down, rest, stop and come back if needed. He also warned that I would suffer foot pain for the rest of my life due to high arches but if I do the stretching and all that I have learned I should be fine. Just to know it will not 100% go away. OH and remember to get the right kind of shoes! VERY IMPORTANT.

Running group, see you on Saturday. Finally I don't have to worry when I run, what will my Dr. think!

My body is screaming stop it!

My body is screaming STOP IT! Well maybe not that loudly but boy this week I am feeling it!

Over the weekend I took it somewhat easy. Saturday when I normally run, I didn't. Call me lazy but it was way cold and I just needed a day off. Sunday was swim clinic. That went great. I am slowwwwwwwwwwly getting better. Not where I need to be but progress is progress. Monday being a holiday and having the day off from work, I made big plans for training. I was going to do spin class and power yoga with my coach Suzanne Duncan (www.suzanneduncan.com) OK well NEVER again will I make plans to do those type of activities with her again... EVER! Maybe never ever is strong but not for a while! I didn't make it to spin class but I did go to power yoga. Yes I loved yoga so much I thought I would give this power thing a try. I think I will stick with just plain yoga. It went very fast and very longgggg.... Today my upper body feels like I got in a fight and someone beat me up with a steel pipe. Literally it hurts that bad. I wanted to stay in bed today so badly. I don't think my boss would appreciate me calling in because I am fat and out of shape! I think the words suck it up have been used before and not just by him.

I am not quitting! I can do this... I am just going to close my eyes take in deep breaths through my nose of course and remind myself I am an athlete and the pain will all be worth it once I cross the finish line!

But until then I am going to complain, cry oh and eat Aleve like it was candy! I probably should make a stock purchase today.I can see the value in Aleve going up.

Transition Time

As you all know, a Triathlon is swim, bike and run. Switching from one sport to the other is called transition. DUHH... I know you all knew that. Well for us newbies seeing what that looked like was important. Suzanne (you know the awesome coach I told you about earlier www.suzanneduncan.com) had a video for us to watch the other night. Of course in this video they have the ELITE atheletes showing us how to do it and giving us tips on making transition times less. Could someone just be at my spot with all my stuff ready to go for me. That is the only way I am gonna save any time.

After watching this video all I can say is I see a broken leg or ankle in my future very soon. Heck maybe even a broken neck. Dr. Bednarz and I are going to be on a first name basis, Blue Cross and Blue Shield will probably cancel our insurance and I will be in a wheelchair. OMG! They got out of the water, ran to their bikes got on their bikes with the shoes already clipped in and they jumped off their bikes with no shoes and ran on pavement. Ouch.... your feet people! What the hell! I am a huge baby and my feet hurt bad enough. I need the skin on the bottom of them. I think??????

Suzanne says she will hold a clinic before White Lake to give us some practice. Oh yeah I am going to need some serious practice. On that day please someone have EMS on standby! If I weren't already scared enough, now I am like ok REFUND! Is there such a thing..... Set-up events, can you please consider refunds to the mentally challenged because somewhere in the process I lost my ability to make cognative decisions. I am sure my doctor will confirm all of this!

The little kids even laugh at me!

I have been struggling with swimming and yes I am not too proud to admit I am having trouble. I want to be good at it but hey I am human and am not gonna be good at all things. With that said, I seek out some one on one help. Our instructor Jessie Dull is a swim instructor at the Y so I asked her to help me. YEAH Jessie! I like working with her because she is very encouraging and I need all the encouragement I can get right now. Jessie competed this past Sunday in the first indoor triathlon and came in 3rd in the women's group. Maybe she can train me in the rest of it as well.

We met last night and of course I was a nervous Nelly! Why I don't know but I was. We start out with some simple stuff. Breathing! That should just come natural right? Well for all of you in blogworld it might but for me, the crazy curly headed blond just isn't happening so naturally. To quote Jessie "you have great kicks and the strokes are good until you go to breath then you drop your arm" or "your kicks are great until you panic then your feet kick really fast". Ok alot of panic happens!

Remember the post where I said don't just stop by my house because I might have my head in a pot of water practicing to breath. Well guess what? Really don't come by unless you would like to witness this happening. Jessie is sending me some instructions on how to get comfortable with breathing and water near my mouth. Oh this should be interesting and hilariously funny!

So we are in the middle of our lesson and the little kids come for their lessons. Can you say 5 year old kids looked better in the water than I did. I swear they were laughing at me. Not to mention their moms sitting on the side staring at me. I am sure they were wondering just what in the heck I was doing. Jessie says not to worry, she is sure those ladies can't swim at all so for me to be glad I am trying. See isn't she good!

I have swim clinic tonight and then work with her again on Friday night. Wish me luck.... I need it!

When we feel the struggles of everyday life

When you think you are struggling with everyday life, just know that someone else has a bigger and deeper struggle out there I am sure.

In the last week while dealing with my own struggles, I have seen two other families experience tragedy that doesn't even come close to what I go through. One family lost their family member and the other came close.

I would ask that you click on the link to a blog I follow and learn a little more about Nicholas. Lisa Richardson, Nicholas' mother is a very dear friend from church. I have sat here this morning crying over how bad I feel for complaining about the struggles I have with my daughter. Nothing compared to what Lisa goes through and I am telling you I have never seen a more shining example of God's love and faithfulness in someone. Lisa is everything I wish I were and more.

Life is precious! Don't take one minute for granted.

Up Dog, Down Dog TIRED DOG

Yesterday was the end to a long and tiring weekend. I need this week to recover. Not happening. Training has kicked into full gear and mental focus is also in full gear.

Saturday morning started out with a short 5 mile run with my group. I chose 5 because my foot had been hurting really bad all week. Weather was great! I so much prefer cold weather running to hot. I know you all won't believe this but I have decided to follow Dr.'s order and only focus on a half marathon for the spring and then a full for the fall. We will see how that works out for me. I have several events lined up for the year but that is another blog topic of course.

Sunday started out early due to our indoor Triathlon series starting. I did not particpate in this one as I am not swimming that well yet. I volunteered instead. Wanted to get an idea of how it worked and what it looked like. Boy was that interesting. John being adventerous particpated though. He did well. I am extremely proud of him. Of course I gave my speach on race yourself. The first time gives you something to work toward and all that..... Did he listen, probably not but I felt better hearing myself give it. So now I know what to expect and what how it flows. That to me is a huge help since I am totally a visual kind of person. After that was over, it was time for a quick lunch then off to the next thing. YOGA FOR ATHELETES at the Y. OK I go on and on about my feet and after being on them for hours they were killing me. I mean pain! I didn't have anything to take either, so I just suffered. We go to Yoga and Suzanne Duncan (our Tri Coach) put my body into all kinds of positions. I thought to myself oh no, I am gonna be so sore afterwards how am I ever gonna swim. Yoga went fine and I honestly want to do more. Because after swimming for an hour and that class besides being dead tired, my body didn't hurt at all. Normally when I get home at night I am taking pills and rubbing anti-inflamatory cream on feet and last night, NOTHING! My feet did not hurt. When the alarm went off this morning I hesitated before putting my feet down because I just knew it was gonna be hard. NOTHING! It was fine. Just like before I started running and got hurt.

Athelets, if you have never done a class like this you should look into it. Check out Suzanne's website. I understand there is a section of upcoming events so I hope she has more YOGA classes. Website is www.suzanneduncan.com or email her at suzanne@suzanneduncan.com. She is an excellent instructor and coach. Very motivational.

Today no pain at all......So far so good! Only thing I am today is one Tired Dog (wonder if that can be a new pose)!

Bike Trainer

Last week I purchased a pre-loved bike trainer from a member of our TTT group. This trainer will allow me to ride my bike inside when it is too cold to go outside. I have plenty of warms clothes to ride outside but finding friends crazy enough to go with me might be the problem. So therefore I am set up in our playroom. The girls have been moved out and the bikes moved in. John couldn't stand it so he bought one to. We can now train together, how sweet is that. Boy that should be very interesting as we both have a competitive streak in us....If you hear stories of him falling off the bike, no I did not push him! Well maybe I did but I am not admitting anything.

I bought this from a guy (Jeff McClintock) who had just finished the Wisconsin Ironman and is running the Houston Marathon next week. So you know I felt stupid asking him to show me how it worked... But he was very kind to not laugh at me. Thanks Jeff! I bought a DVD to help me and keep me focused. Last night I finally tried it out. I got on it and thought no problem. Well I have decided I am going to just stop thinking. This DVD kicked my big butt! I mean 80 minutes of hard spinning. Thank God for 90 second rest. Ally thougth it so funny she took my picture so I thought I would share. I mean the sweat was pouring off of me. I thought I would passout. I had to add Ducky to the blog. She sat and waited for the sweat drops and cleaned up after me. YUCK!

May 10th White Lake Sprint Triathlon

I have offically registered for my first real sprint triathlon. I hate to waste money so therefore I will finish this event if it kills me. I might drown in open water but I will finish one way or the other. They may carry me across the finish line in a body bag and you all can say I died tri'ing!! Keep Praying the body holds up. Cover the feet first.....

I am looking at training plans and have gotten a great start with our indoor series training that we are doing. With a little luck and alot of training I will be well prepared for this event. If any one has ideas on training plans that you would like to share, please do so.

I have vowed to work harder on my diet. I LOVE FOOD AND FOOD LOVES ME. I am normally preparing for the next meal before finishing the one I am on. I am not sure how to stay focused on this without becoming obsessed! I am keeping a log of what I eat as well as how the day went, training and how I slept the night before. I will say if I workout at night, I am not sleeping so well. Too energized I guess. Therefore I am working on dragging myself out of bed in the early a.m. John is so much better at this than I am. So he will have to just start pulling me literally from the thing. Be gentle though, you know my feet hurt when they first hit the ground.

John says to me the other night, I see some traveling in our future. He had a whole list of events he would like to do. Doesn't that sound like fun? I can't wait. But for now, it is White Lake!

Stay tuned.......

I need an update

Not that anyone in blog world is looking for an update, but I know for myself I need one. Yes I am loser and I go back and read these all the time to remember what is happening and if I actually made any progress!

Yes I have made progress. Swimming is coming right along. I am most proud of Pam though. I hope it clicks with me the way it has her. But who would of thought 5 weeks ago I would actually be swimming. NO ONE I AM SURE! This morning we did a brick (cycle/run). Crazy hard on my legs. But when it was over I felt so darn good. I felt energized and ready to go. Nothing extreme, we biked for 40 minutes then we ran for 15 minutes. That is what the schedule called for.

John has his first indoor tri this weekend. I was worried earlier in the week when he fell off of some steps, but after yesterday and seeing him swim then this morning, nope not worried at all. He is going to do great. So Sunday at 10 a.m. if you don't have anything to do come on out to the Ragsdale YMCA and cheer him on!

Well this week I am working on improving my diet. I need to really loose some weight and more importantly body fat! This should be an interesting week. I love food and actually am grouchy when I am hungry! So watch out, you have been warned.

Better late than never

Our computer at home is acting weird so I couldn't write my New Years Resolution in time......

I did alot of thinking and praying into what I wanted to see change in my life this coming year. 2008 was an interesting year and ended greatly! Lots of changes were made and lots of prayer answered. So this year I am giving it another try.

Unlike the normal resolutions, loose weight, stay more active, I have set goals that should effect my life more meaningful. Or at least I hope they do... so going in order of least importance here are my top 5.....

5. Be not so easy to judge others and situations (I hate to admit this but I am a very judgemental person. I don't mean to be and I have no reason to be this way. My life is full of things that could be judged by someone else, as I am sure it is, but I don't want to be that person. At least not on a daily basis. So I am giving this one a go!) Wish me luck.....

4. Watch my language (yes yes I can have potty mouth very badly, especially if I am mad! Which can be often due to the fact I am the mother of a 17 & 13 year old! Need I say anything else. But it is ignorant to use that kind of language and I am going to clean my act up) I want to be a good example to my children and I think this will be a good start.

3. Enjoy things more (I want to enjoy this life more. I don't want things to pass me by without stopping to smell the roses! I am always so hurry hurry busy busy that I don't seem to enjoy my life or certain areas of it enough)

2. Anger (If you don't know me very well than you would have no idea that I can be very quick to anger! Oh yeah it gets ugly sometimes. I am quick to snap! I always joke, at my house we don't have nic naks because if you make me mad enough you are liable to get hit with them when I throw them at you or in your direction. So sad but so true. I honestly can thank my father for this one. He was very sharp with the tongue and angry when I was small (life reasons I am sure). Thank God he aged out of it so therefore there is hope for me, but I don't want to be remembered that way by my children or my friends.)

1. Pray more (I need to be more diligent in my prayer life. Simple Obedience as our Pastor says. I seem to always remember to pray when I am in need of something, I want to pray when I don't and for others more. I want my friends to know that if they need a prayer lifted, they can call on me because I am faithful in that area of my life and I think if my children see me praying they may be more inclined to remember their own prayer lives. My actions will speak way louder than my words ever will.)

So with those 5 changes in my life, I think the rest will certainly fall into place. Will they make me a 7 min. miler! Heck no! Not that we ever have to worry about that happening, not in my DNA, but I think I have the exercise thing down pretty good. I have set those goals separately. I am making this year about "ME" changes. We will see how they go.

I have at least one friend (Christine) who is going to help keep #4 in check. I have to buy her a cup of coffee for every time she hears me say a certain word. She did say she would go easy on me and it didn't have to be Starbucks! Thank God for that. I might be broke soon......So friends and family, if you would all help me be accountable I would greatly appreciate it!

God Bless you and your families. May you keep your resolutions and may I keep mine. If I keep mine, I will be a much better person, friend, sister, daughter, wife and most importantly MOTHER! I hope that 2009 proves to be an outstanding year for each of you!