carlag8r

O.k., I lied AGAIN…

2010-11-23T07:55:00.000-08:00

So, seven months ago I promised to keep this blog up & running. And then life intervened (as I knew it would – I just figured I’d be able to keep this up too). So now there’s even more catching up to do before I can start anew. The story left off mid-March 2010…

April 9-11 – Tau Beta Sigma/Kappa Kappa Psi Southeast District Convention (Gainesville, FL). I’m the sponsor for the Beta Xi chapter of TBSigma at UF, so I stopped in as they hosted the district convention, and lo & behold there was a triathlon at the same time! The TriGator Super Sprint Triathlon was a 250m swim in the outdoor Olympic pool at the O’Connell Center, 4 mi bike ride around Lake Alice (didn’t see any alligators – bummer), and 1.5 mi run around the ODome. It was surreal riding my bike up the very same hill I used to ride up from band practice to my dorm 24 years earlier…

This was the first of 4 weekends in a ROW of triathlons! Crazy? (um, yep)

April 18 – FAU Wellness Triathlon (Boca Raton). Last year, this was the first tri I’d ever attended when I went to go watch Tami compete. The water was pretty rough – yes, everyone was saying “I’ve seen worse!” but you can’t see what currents lurk below…[cue spooky music]. First time using the wetsuit I’d purchased on ebay – the plus is that it makes you more buoyant and lifts up my forever sinking legs; the minus is that is constricts your chest & makes breathing more difficult, esp. if you’re prone to panic. (In the photo, you will see a can of Pam – how else do you think we slide these things on? I prefer the butter flavored spray, makes me smell like a tub of popcorn). But to return to the tri – going out and turning north wasn’t so bad. Then when I/we turned left/west to return to shore, the riptide/currents kept pulling me out to sea and north. I could see the run-out to transition was waaaaay down the coast! (I wasn’t the only person freaking out a little that I could NOT get any closer to shore, and that each time my toe touched sand for a moment, I was pulled back out). The rest of the tri was uneventful, not one of my better outings.

Besides the wetsuit, I did get to wear my new Pearl Izumi kit from ProjectOne/SportsGrants.org. Since I missed the registration deadline for St. Anthony’s (see below), the only way to get in was by raising funds for charity. I chose Project One because you could choose from many different organizations to receive the funds, and the University of Florida’s Shands Cancer Research Center was on the list. I’m not a good fundraiser (hmm, something to do with not being a band director anymore? Ha ha) but my friend Donna promised to make up the difference to my goal, so I achieved the amount needed to register for St. Anthony’s AND donate to cancer research AND get the cool new duds – kinda like being a sponsored pro! Having all my friends, family, and esp. Donna contribute to make my participation possible was truly awesome (and figured prominently in the actual tri, as you’ll see).

April 25 – St. Anthony’s Olympic Triathlon (St. Petersburg). This is one of the premier events on the triathlon calendar – many pros and elite amateurs participate in this one. 1.5K/.93 mi swim, 40K/24.85 mi bike, 10K/6.2 mi run.

Maybe sometime soon I’ll write a longer “report” about this one, but for now I’ll just summarize. Last year, they cancelled the swim portion for all but the pros due to surf conditions (in a bay? Weird.). This year, they shortened the swim for the last third of the participants because the conditions got steadily worse. Myself, I noticed on the final leg that the bay had waves in it, but by then I was chugging along pretty well so would just try to time my breathing & spotting with being on top of one of the waves that were coming from side to side. But right after I went into the water, I panicked. Big time. Biggest problem was my mouth/throat were so dry I couldn’t swallow. (Too bad this wasn’t a freshwater lake or the problem would’ve been solved – this was a stinky saltwater bay.) I was definitely going to quit. I really was. I looked for a lifeguard (they’re out there on kayaks & pole boards) to pull me out, but there weren’t any close by. I think because I was in the wave just behind the physically challenged athletes, the lifeguards had most of their attention – deservedly! – on them. (I was able to get some motivation from that fact alone – if a guy with no arms or a girl with a missing leg could swim this, I could certainly keep trying). But I kept looking. None within shouting distance. I thought about how my friends & family would react if I quit – they would all understand, they knew I wouldn’t quit if I really didn’t feel I HAD to. But then I thought about telling the other donors – esp. Donna – that although their $$ still went to the charity, I didn’t capitalize on the fact that their donations made my participation possible. I thought of the thank-you note I was going to compose: “Thank you so much for your donation! Sorry I wimped out. Oh, and I was going to include a photo of me at the finish line, but they don’t let you do the bike or run if you bail, so here’s a picture of my friend(s) who DID finish.” So I said to myself, make it to the next buoy and then you can tread water until a lifeguard comes up and then you’ll be allowed to quit. I doggy-paddled (‘cause you can’t call what I do “swimming”) to the next buoy, and made the same promise to go to the next buoy & quit. But when I got to that next buoy, I could see the orange buoy up ahead that indicates where to turn to start the 2^nd stretch. I figured, what the hell, I made it this far, might as well keep chugging along! So I did. End of swim story. The bike was a long one for one who rides a bike she bought on ebay for $400 that doesn’t really fit me, but it wasn’t difficult. The sun had come up by the time the run started, and during this 4-week stretch of triathlons I found that by hydrating too much towards the end of the bike I’m giving myself side-stitches & midsection cramps during the run. Something to fix next time. One thing that helped, though – at the very beginning of the run, I saw them setting up the beer truck! Woo hoo! (Turns out, there was no limit on the number of beers you could have, unlike other races I’ve done. That was a very nice touch!)

So now I’ve done an Olympic distance tri. Pretty cool.

Here is a blog entry by Brian Brode, who announced the race for an online broadcast:

http://triboomer.blogspot.com/2010/04/oh-people-youll-meet-pt-1.html

May 2 – Tri Miami. I mainly signed up to do this one because I had enough volunteer credits from working at Tri Miami last year that I could do this one for free; plus, I was going to be moving away at the end of the month, so what the heck? A tri for free? Cool! (Talked Tami into it too.) Because there was a backup at the entrance to the parking lot (it cost $$ to park? Cash only? Handy info to have had beforehand, don’tchathink?), we were already running late (so was everyone else, though). We took the bikes off the rack; I left the bungie cords just sitting on the back of the trunk. Went to shut the trunk, and something’s preventing it from shutting – I figured it was my purse strap or something, so I opened it, rearranged stuff, and SLAMMED it shut. Turns out the hook at the end of the bungie cord was wedged between the edge of the trunk and the rear windshield. We heard this strange noise (like in “The Day After Tomorrow” when stuff would progressively freeze from top to bottom?) and there was this odd look to the windshield (it was still pretty dark outside, and I’m half blind as it is). Tami asked, “Did your window just shatter?” I looked closer and, indeed, it was completely spider-webbed (or whatever you call it when it’s safety glass). I’m in a bit of a panic because, well, I’m broke. I was going to pull out of the tri, call Geico, etc. But Tami (and Lynn and Carol and Richard) all said, go ahead and race – nothing you can do about it now; we’re out on an island, the bridge is closed for the race, it’s Sunday early morning so no one’s coming to help. So I did, and it was the easiest swim & bike I’ve done to date (because I was ticked and so my stress & worries were elsewhere). Too bad the run didn’t go better. On the way home, we were going to see if we could leave the glass where it was in the frame, but then Tami shut the passenger door and it all came cascading down. So we took surface roads all the way back to WPB – took two hours, but we had yet another funny (at least to us) story to add to the lore that is Tami & Carla’s Great Big Tri Adventures.

Next up, the Floridian moves to Georgia…

O.k., I lied...

2010-04-30T19:43:00.000-07:00

Apparently I did forget all about you, my dear blog... almost 8 months with no posting? Shame, shame on me. I just went back and re-read every post - remembering how much fun I had writing all this! And with my life at a (positive) crossroads, I should - no, NEED - to come back to my old friend here.

For those who don't follow my every breath on facebook, a summary of events since the last post (well, a little before):

July 25, 2009 - met Tom at Duffy's. I only started talking to him because (a) he sat next to me, (b) he was (is) cute, (c) he was wearing an Arizona State ballcap, which gave me an opening as a former Pac-10 student, and (d) he was apparently willing to converse with me.

August 21, 2009 - started working at Fit2Run, a running specialty store in the Wellington Mall. Is it what I studied for during my 9 years of college? No. Do I get paid anywhere near what I was paid to teach? No. Do I have fun (a blast, actually), work with fun people, and have NO job stress whatsoever? YES, YES, YES.

September 6, 2009 - ran in the Rock 'n Roll Virginia Beach half marathon in 2:16. Very happy with my time, and had a blast hanging out with Fred!

September 27, 2009 - Tropical Triathlon, Lake Worth. Short version: panicked during swim (which was against the current and apparently almost twice as long as it was supposed to be). But I did it, and Tom & my cousin Kathy were there cheering me on, which was cool.

October 2-4, 2009 - vacation with Tom in the Keys. Pure bliss. That's all I have to say about that. ;}
October 18, 2009 - Miami Nice triathlon - freezing air temps! Warm water, but washing machine. #@$%@$ Rickenbacker Causeway Bridge! (had to walk my bike up it the first time). I did the sprint, Tami did her first Olympic distance (meaning she had to go over that #@$%@$ bridge twice - or four times, depending on how you look at it) - WOW!
November-ish, 2009 - convinced Tami I could be ready to run a full marathon in February (she was thinking NEXT fall, like October '10). Then convinced Tami to run in it with me.

November 8, 2009 - Miami Man triathlon. International distance - swim in clear, freshwater lake was, well, refreshing. Wind on the bike? YIKES! Averaged 10 mph for a couple of those miles. During the run, looked at my Garmin and saw I'd been at it all for almost 3 hours - I'd never done ANYTHING physical/athletic for 3 hours before! (Tami said later, "Oh yeah, that never occurred to me that you've never done a marathon" - ha!). Felt like quite an accomplishment when it was all said & done, and a fantastic close to the '09 tri season. Not to mention the awesome fish swimcaps!

November 21, 2009 - Gator Band Alumni Day. Awesome to see all my old friends! (And Tom going with me? Priceless.)
November 29, 2009 - My 40th birthday party at the Palm Beach Ale House. Yes, I turned 41 on this day, but my 40th birthday (for lack of a better word) sucked. Those in attendance included my best friend (from high school & the present, with a 13 year gap in between), another high school friend, his wife (whom I've never met but we are sorority sisters and have several friends in common), a friend/colleague from UW, and a new friend from Fit2Run. The situation involving the birthday Key Lime pie that wasn't was just too funny...

December-ish, 2009 - Tom is offered a better job in the Atlanta area. Total bummer. But then he asked me to join him there. Still bummed he's leaving but it's all good since the separation has an end date!

December 6, 2009 - Palm Beach Half Marathon - first few miles were awful, last 4 were incredible! Shaved a whole whopping 2 minutes off my previous PR.

January 15-17, 2010 - travel to Atlanta to find an apartment for Tom (and me). Bittersweet since it's still not definite I'll be joining him.

later in January, 2010 - hell yeah, I'm gonna join him! In late May.

January 28, 2010 - Tom moves to Duluth, GA. Much sadness on Abbey Rd. in WPB.

February 21, 2010 - 26.2 with Donna marathon in Jacksonville. 5:09. Was really not all that difficult. Loved it! Also loved seeing all my old St. Augustine friends & former students.

February 26-28, 2010 - weekend trip to Duluth. ;}

March 13, 2010 - audition for the Air National Guard Band at Dobbins ARB in Marietta, GA. SO MUCH FUN to just PLAY in a band again! Audition was successful, too...

March 14, 2010 - Shamrock 10-miler, John Prince Park - between my having arrived home from ATL late the night before, subsisting on a dinner of nachos, 6 Delta peanuts, & one very expensive Bud Light, and Tami needing the use of "facilities" along the route (of which there were none, except for the gas station across Lantana Rd), we finished dead last in our age group - and had an absolute BLAST! There's a reason we're laughing as we cross the finish line. POO!

Well, that's enough for one night...PROMISE to continue on later this weekend, 'k?

I haven't forgotten about you, blog...

2009-09-05T06:33:00.000-07:00

...but just haven't found the time to update it lately - sorry!

Virginia Beach Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon is tomorrow! I'm ready...

Hopefully will be back to blogging here soon.

The next thing...

2009-08-18T17:21:00.000-07:00

It's been 10 days since the tri, and I think I went through a normal (if anything about triathlons can be described as "normal") period of post-race blues, which was relieved with (in order) a night out with high school friends, a pancake breakfast, more time spent with old and new friends, and back at the training.

So, the next "thing" is the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Virginia Beach on September 6th. Training-wise, I ran 12 miles, for the first time ever, on Saturday. Now I'll continue to run three or four times a week, but that's my last long run. Next Sunday will be 8-10 miles, then the next will be 6-8, then the next is the race. I'm continuing with short runs two or three times a week, the swimming three times a week, spin class once or twice a week, and biking on Saturdays; in part because it's great cross-training, but also because the next triathlon (the Tropical Tri in Lake Worth) is three weeks after the half marathon, and I'll be in my normal age group this time (as opposed to grouped with first-timers) so I need to try to be competitive!

Any race not near your home is called a "destination race" - however, since I used to live in Virginia Beach I won't be sightseeing but rather visiting with old friends. I fly in to Newport News on Friday afternoon to spend time with my best friend, Bryan (whom I haven't seen in a year & 8 months, the longest we've ever been apart); will stay there, then head to Va. Beach on Saturday (stopping by his nephew's birthday party for a short while) to meet up with Fred, my Marine Corps friend from my Navy days - we were at the Armed Forces School of Music together, fellow clarinetists - who'll be driving down from Washington D.C. This will be his first race of any distance, so he's excited! [Be very impressed with him, he started running AND quit smoking at the same time, and is now training for the Marine Corps Marathon.] We're staying at a hotel next door to the starting line (and within stumbling - I mean, walking - distance from the festivities (incl. beer garden!) at the finish line).

I'm told there will be a way for interested parties to follow my progress - from the event's website: "Live Web Results are available on the race website, where family and friends can track your progress during the race." The event website is here, and I will post more info about how to track me once I have it.

I'm off on a roadtrip to Gainesville tomorrow, looking forward to a nice run there Thursday morning - hills & pine trees, my favorite town in the world!

Loggerhead Triathlon - recap

2009-08-13T02:22:00.001-07:00

If you’re reading this (all three of you! lol) then you know that I ran my very first triathlon on Saturday. I wanted to recount my experiences of the event, and I figure the best way is through a timeline, so here goes nothing…

[please note that the three photo proofs from BB Action Photo have been duly purchased, but I have not received the digital downloads yet. I will replace these with the real photos once I receive them]

Friday, 8/7/09
9:03am – first facebook message (in response to some frantic stupid question on my part) from Tami telling me, “okay, breathe and relax.” I warn her that that wouldn’t be the last time she would have to tell me that in the next 24 hours.
4:15pm – carboloading at Carrabba’s in Palm Beach Gardens. Limiting myself to one Michelob Ultra – it’s part of my pre-race tradition at Carrabba’s, so I can’t skip this part.
5:45pm – Garmin GPS sends us to the wrong place
5:59pm – arrive at event HQ (Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa) to pick up registration packet
6:00pm – attend mandatory first-timers meeting; the room is full so it’s SRO outside the door. This “meeting” was very un-helpful, so I’m oh so glad I went to the pre-event meeting at Tri Miami which was much more informative, and also glad I already had a head full of the correct info from experienced friends.
6:20pm – spend $ I don’t have at the expo, buying a runner-girl necklace and orange & blue sunglasses (Go Gators!)
8:00pm – home again, lay everything out that I need to take with me, using my meticulously created checklist (if you can’t guess, I can be just a little anal retentive about stuff like this…)
9:18pm – am admonished to get off facebook and go to sleep, but I still have so much to do and there’s no chance of any real sleep anyway.
10:23pm – am admonished again to get off facebook and go to sleep. It’s thought that I’m a vampire…not really, just unemployed (therefore no need for sleep at night when I can grab power naps in the afternoons, etc.)
11:15pm – attempt to sleep, and actually catch a couple hours’ worth.

Saturday, 8/8/09
3:00am – 1st alarm (Blackberry) goes off, hit snooze because I can’t remember why I set the alarm for so darned early.
3:01am – 2nd alarm (old cell phone) goes off, then I remember…oh yeah, the tri is today.
3:15am – consume bowl of oatmeal, can of Coke Zero
3:40am – get dressed (since this involves lots of spandex/lycra this is time consuming and can be messy because of all the Aquaphor applied to…various places)
4:02am – leave home, hoping I didn’t forget anything
4:16am – arrive at Tami’s house, transfer the bike & gear to her car (by flashlight, it’s still dark – duh)
4:30am – leave for Jupiter; trying to tell myself that any nausea is from being a passenger (a rare event for me) and not because I’m going to, you know, go do this tri thing.
5:00am – arrive at Carlin Park, get the primo end spot in transition, which is awesome.
5:10am – listen to annoying 20-year-old first-timer broadcast his every (clueless) thought to his mother or sister (other than this, everyone else there was really cool!)
5:25am – go get body markings. It takes a particular kind of self-confidence to have your age written in permanent marker on your calf…
6:00am – last food (half of a Clif bar, that’s all my stomach could handle)
6:15am – head to the shoreline to swim a little bit. We remark that the buoys aren’t much farther apart, north to south, than the distance we had been swimming on previous days. Oops, come to find out there are three buoys, so the ones we saw were only half the distance.
6:20am – Water is warm but kind of choppy. Which means only kind of scary. (Who am I kidding? Still very scary.)
6:55am - National Anthem is performed by a soloist. Y’all probably know how I feel about anything other than the strictest of ‘interpretations’ of this, so I’ll refrain from commenting…
7:00am – First wave enters the water (men 20-44)
7:05am – Tami’s wave enters the water. So now I know a special kind of loneliness – she got me into this mess and now I’m standing here all alone? (j/k, Tami, if you’re reading this, yes I’m an adult who did this of my own volition.)
7:10am – For the first time in my life I’m giving myself a motivational speech (yes, actually mumbling it aloud to myself). I tell myself I’ve trained for this all summer long, I can do this, if all these other people here can do it I can too, people are counting on me, I’M counting on me, I can do this. (and I’m a big ol’ dork)
7:20am – Our wave enters the water. I try to stay to the back & outside to avoid the crush of people at the buoy, but this is a wave full of first-timers, and that’s pretty much the same idea everyone else has. With the current pulling to the north, the whole group is drawn to the buoy like iron filaments to a magnet (or spilled cat litter to a vacuum cleaner hose? I have more experience with that). But because we’re all inexperienced, everything seems to come to a screeching halt at that point; I did get a couple of mild kicks to the head, and someone grabbed my ankle once. But it could have been much worse.
7:21am – As I get up to the buoy, to turn left/north, the line holding the buoy to the ocean floor gets wrapped across the top of my knee. Then my heel gets caught in it lower, and it’s pulling me under. Meanwhile I have people behind me and to the side trying to keep swimming. The buoy (it’s a big inflatable orange thing) is smacking me upside the head. This whole thing took approximately three, maybe four seconds; I know, I’ve gone over it in my head again & again. I was able to reach down & free my ankle and scrape along the top of the line and break free, while calling out to the people behind me “Rope! Watch out!” But this was three/four seconds of SHEER PANIC AND TERROR! And then it was over.
7:22am – I think to myself, if I can get past that (see 7:21am), then I can do anything; I can certainly just keep swimming!
7:32am – It's ugly – all technique went out the window – but I made it past the 2nd buoy, turned at the 3rd, then swam to shore. I hoped to catch a wave but no luck. Once my forearms hit sand I stood up, staggered (I’m sure it was pretty!), then ran up the beach. I heard someone call out my name – it was my dad! I know I had a big ol’ grin the whole time I was heading up the beach.
7:44am – exit transition & start the bike ride. I'm just hoping not to get any penalties when passing slower riders, because this is my first ever bike race; the advice I was given was to worry more about those penalties than my time, but if you know me you know I couldn’t stand being behind “slowpokes”.
7:46am – I hear my name again, it’s my friend Lesleigh from UF! She lives in Jupiter so decided to go to the beach to cheer me on…
8:29am – finish the bike ride; take a few extra seconds to finish my water bottle from the bike because it’s getting brutally hot. Amazingly you don’t completely dry off from the swim while riding the bike for 47 minutes…
8:34am – start the run. Someone is stabbing me in my left side with an ice pick – or at least that’s what it feels like (and continued to feel like during the entire run). I’ve had this side stitch since the day before, I don’t know if I pulled something or if I’m dehydrated or just tired. Hmmm, why would I be tired? This is maddening because I kept thinking previously that I would do best on the run, and now am thinking I may have to walk all or part of it. But I keep on running, although at a slow stagger (averaging 11:44 minute miles, but the 2nd mile was 12:18. On my morning runs I go about 10:15 miles, and in 5K races less than 10).
8:51am – (around mile 1.5). Ooh lookie, it’s Dubois Park. I remember going there in high school, just hanging out and lazily floating down the ‘river’ to the inlet. Look at the pretty water, the shady trees. Maybe I should just take a break and just lay out by the water and reminisce. It’s soooooo pretty. I used to have so much fun there. And this…this is not fun, it’s mega-hot, I’m tired, I’m in pain. And there’s a HILL here?! Seriously? And I have to go over it twice?
9:01am – I pass this guy (I’m guessing he’s in his 30’s, and he looks to be in good physical shape) who is…well, he’s puking. As a sympathetic hurler I avert my eyes. A minute or two later he and the woman he’s running with pass me. And then another minute later he’s puking again. So all I can think is, I may have this sidestitch and it may be Africa hot, but I don’t feel nauseous and, all things considered, feel pretty good. Certainly better than this poor guy!
9:09am – Sprint (well, as close to a sprint as I can manage) across the finish line! No, I’m not going to raise my arms up for the photo, as I still have some “toning” to do in the tricep area. I get my first timer’s medal, high five Tami, and greet my dad and Lesleigh.

Official results:
Total time: 1:42:17
Swim: 13:01
Transition 1: 3:40
Bike: 46:55
Transition 2: 3:02
Run: 35:41

Placements:
Out of first timers: Overall 29th out of 48. 34th on the swim, 13th on the bike, 38th on the run.
Out of everyone: Overall 448th out of 535.

Loggerhead Triathlon - quickie post-event posting

2009-08-10T19:00:00.000-07:00

Loggerhead triathlon is over & done! It went really well, all things considered. I plan on writing a LOT more about it soon, but have been recovering, celebrating, and then busy with job search related stuff today.

Until then, click here for a link to my facebook photo album (only 7 pictures for now, more when the professional photos are available).

Click here for the Palm Beach Post article about the event (there's a cool photo gallery too).

Click here for race results (I'm listed under female first timers).

Countdown to Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon - Virginia Beach

2009-08-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

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T minus 9 hours to Loggerhead Triathlon

2009-08-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

"One must learn by doing the thing; for though you think you know it, you have no certainty, until you tri." - Sophocles (with my apologies for modifying the last word)

Loggerhead in 9 hours...not much else to say now. Thanks so much to everyone for all the words of encouragement!!! ;}

Countdown to Loggerhead Tri

2009-08-07T21:58:00.000-07:00

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T minus 1 day & a wakeup to Loggerhead triathlon

2009-08-06T22:38:00.000-07:00

"Don't allow anyone to tell you what you can and cannot do. Be tough, be stubborn, love yourself, and find friends who believe in you." - Joan Benoit Samuelson, first Olympic women's marathon champion

On our bike ride this morning, we ran into (not literally, that would be painful) a 59-year-old friend of Tami's who has run so many triathlons she's lost count - including something like 25 Loggerhead's. When told this was going to be my first, she reacted the same way many of the other athletes I've encountered have: with a big ol' smile and so many comments that make it seem like it's up there with my first date (or more) or getting my driver's license... It's a wonderful community of people I'm meeting through this activity, and am looking forward to being even more involved in it for years to come.

Tonight was the rescheduled Dreher Park Dash 5K. It was soooo humid. But it was a nice little run to close out the week. No more training - next up, Loggerhead!

T minus 2 days & a wakeup to Loggerhead triathlon

2009-08-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

"Anyone can dabble, but once you've made that commitment, your blood has that particular thing in it, and it's very hard for people to stop you." - Bill Cosby

This afternoon Tami & I went to the pool to get in a last swim before Saturday's tri. I was doing my usual one or two laps at a time, then stand up at the end of the pool trying to breathe, clearing out my goggles (which is just a delay tactic). Tami had done some math on her previous laps that she wasn't quite sure about, so she said she was going to do 12 laps again (600 yards); I said I would try to do the same laps alongside her to help her "keep count". Basically, a challenge had been thrown down before me: swim 12 laps without stopping and try to not get lapped. Mind you, I've never really done 12 laps in a row without stopping. But at some point, around lap 3 or 4, I found my rhythm, found my breath, and the rest were all just like running 4-5 miles - so easy!!! This was the best thing that could happen to me going into the tri, because I've been worried about being able to swim that 3/8ths of a mile. So now I'm soooooo ready to go! (Granted, I can't lift my arms right now, and can only type this with my forearms propped on the desk, but it's a good burn.) I included a photo of Dara Torres with this posting because she is one of my heroes and an inspiration to me - we were at the University of Florida together (o.k., I've never met her, but we were both there at the same time!) and she's a year & a half older than me and yet still...looks like that and can swim 50 meters faster than most other humans. I don't swim fast, and I don't think I'll ever have abs like those, but I can certainly keep striving for both!

Tomorrow morning: 10 mile bike ride
Tomorrow night: Dreher Park Dash 5K (last month's race was postponed due to the most incredible amount of lightning ever seen; I won't be going all out at the race but rather will use it as the 3 mile run I would've done that day anyway. Plus it will be the first race of mine that my mom will be able to attend...)
Friday: NO TRAINING. Race packet pickup in Jupiter, plus first-timers' meeting, then carbo loading at Carrabba's!
Tonight, tomorrow night, & Friday night: try not to panic! (today's swim went a loooooong way in helping this...)

T minus 3 days & a wakeup to Loggerhead triathlon

2009-08-04T20:31:00.000-07:00

"Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body." - Arnold Schwarzennegger

It's funny, my day was two opposite ends of the spectrum: on one end, I went for a run this morning then spin class this evening (my last full-out effort training until after Saturday). On the other, I'm walking on eggshells (actually, that might be painful and counterproductive considering why I'm "walking on eggshells"). I have this fear of hurting myself before the event...and not like pulling a hamstring while running, etc. (although that would be very, very bad), but rather by doing something stupid, like tripping over something while trying to walk and use my lackberry simultaneously. [Regarding the "Crackberry", I have to share something a dear friend messaged to me the other night: "Dating 101 - turn off the blackberry!" Of course I received this message while I was checking my messages at the dinner table...]

So the funny thing is, I did cut my foot this morning (on the outside, about an inch down from my little toe). Actually, let me clarify - I did not cut my foot, but rather my cat, Alex, did. He tumbled into the bathtub while I was taking a shower. As he freaked and tried to scramble out, he launched himself off my foot. It's all good, it's all o.k., it's not deep but bled a lot because of the water. Anyway, I sealed it up with liquid bandage and I'll survive to walk on those eggshells for three more days.

My run this morning was only supposed to be 5 miles, but once I've crossed the bridge over into Palm Beach I feel this need to run all the way to the ocean (another 3/4 mile). So it was a 6 mile run - felt great (although very hot & humid).

"For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean." - Forrest Gump

I passed this woman walking her dog - I've seen her several times before. This time, she was singing along with her ipod at the top of her lungs - I listened in (couldn't help it); turns out she was singing Michael Jackson's "Off the Wall"...very badly but with great enthusiasm! So it was o.k. that it drowned out Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf" on my own ipod for just a moment.

Plan for tomorrow: swim for 30 minutes
Plan for tonight (again): to not panic!

My Fundraising Page

2009-08-03T22:12:00.000-07:00

My Fundraising Page

Light The Night Walk is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's evening walk and fundraising event. Please make a donation to support my participation in the Light The Night Walk and help save lives. Be sure to check my Web site frequently to see my progress, and thanks for your support!

T minus 4 days & a wakeup to Loggerhead triathlon

2009-08-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

“The difference between being nervous and being excited is that when you’re excited, you breathe.” - Jessi Stensland, pro triathlete (quoting an unknown source, when asked if she still gets nervous before an event)

So it's crunch time now! I would say that I'm excited, nervous, confident, scared to death, prepared, and clueless, all at the same time.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go through all three events as close to "gameday" conditions as possible. Obviously you can't simulate everything (like all the people in the water with the potential of getting kicked in the face, but then again I'm not sure I would want to simulate that!) but I needed to go through the transitions.

The following is a not-so-quick explanation of the order of events on race day for those unfamiliar with triathlons (if you're familiar, please scroll on down). [note: in some places these explanations are for what I'll be doing, not what elite athletes & Ironmen would do...]

Pre-race: Participants (o.k., I'll call us "athletes" - just sounds better!) have a designated spot in the "transition area" (like home base), where there are rows and rows of horizontal poles to be used as bike racks. Each athlete puts their bike on the rack (propping it up using the seat or frame), and has the space under it and within about 10 inches on either side to set up his transition area.

Swim: The athletes are grouped in "waves" - designated by swim cap color - so that everyone doesn't enter the water at the same time. At this event, I will be in the last wave, which includes all first-timers (white caps) as well as relay team members and mountain bike participants (black caps). [note: I like the idea that the first-timers are in their own color cap; that means the lifeguards will be on even more alert than usual to make sure we're all doing o.k.]. At the appropriate time (starter's gun or horn or just an official hollering) we enter the ocean, swim out to a buoy, turn left or right at the buoy (depends on the current that morning, we'll be told ahead of time), swim parallel to the shore to the next buoy, then turn to shore; swim until you can't swim any more, then run out of the ocean across the beach to the transition area. As the athlete runs, she removes her cap & goggles. The swim distance at Loggerhead is 3/8th mile.

Transition One (T1) - Swim to Bike: At the transition area, the athlete puts on socks, bike shoes, sunglasses, gloves, and helmet, then takes the bike off the rack and runs with it out of the transition area to a designated spot where he mounts the bike and takes off.

Bike: At Loggerhead, it's a 13 mile ride. Somewhere along the way the athlete will hydrate (water bottles carried on the bike) and maybe fuel up (often with energy gels - taste like pudding!). At the end, there is a designated spot to dismount, then run with the bike back to the transition area.

Transition Two (T2) - Bike to Run: The athlete racks the bike, changes from bike shoes to running shoes, puts on a belt with the race number bib, changes from helmet to hat, possibly grabs some water, and takes off running.

Run: It's a 5K (3.1 mile run). Pretty simple... run run run to the finish line!

~~~ explanation over - if you skipped it you can rejoin us here ~~~

So yesterday, Tami helped me figure out how all this works; how to set up the transition area, etc. Then she volunteered to stand watch over my stuff while I went through the events myself. See, you can't just leave all your stuff (including a (relatively) expensive bike, a Garmin GPS wristwatch, plus your car keys, etc.) sitting there on a public beach, so you can see this is difficult to practice unless someone's there to babysit. (And, in Tami's case, coach.). It's a bummer we had to wait until 9am when the lifeguards came on duty, but you can understand why this might be important! (This means that the bike & run portions took place when the heat index was already in the 90's.)

The plan wasn't to do full race distances but rather to get a feel for (a) the transitions, and (b) what one's body feels like going from event to event.

So I entered the water at one lifeguard station, went out a little ways, then swam north to the other lifeguard. The sea was choppy - not "rough" by most people's standards, but it was the choppiest I've had to swim in since I started this crazy business. I think I swam about a fifth of a mile. Ran up the beach (which is hard, legs are pretty wobbly and still trying to catch my breath - actually, I never did catch my breath until about 5 miles into the bike ride...), up a set of stairs (ugh!), then to the "transition area". I attempted to walk from the stairs to my bike but my "coach" was hollering for me to keep running...

Let me just say this... putting on little thin, stretchy Under Armour socks onto sandy, wet feet, while trying to breathe and control one's limbs is MUCH more difficult than playing the Mozart Clarinet Concerto ever was. Just sayin'.

Biked up A1A from Lake Worth to Southern and back (about 9 miles) - it was uneventful; fast going north (turns out there was a tailwind), actually getting up over 25 mph in several instances. Then I did the turn-around and the wind smacked me head on and I averaged about 15 mph. I did see a dead iguana, though... (I just wanted to share that.)

Another side note: running in bike shoes is almost humorous.

Running, which is my strongest event, is a lot easier when it's the first thing you do in the morning, all fresh, clean, bright-eyed & bushy-tailed. Running after swimming and biking is a whole 'nother story. I've practiced this, running after 30-mile bike rides, but this was different. Anyway, ran 2 miles at a pretty slow pace, but I did it. And survived.

So that was yesterday. Not bad for someone who was laid up sick for three days with a closed-up throat and a 102F fever just a few days prior!

Today was laps in the pool for half an hour (o.k., it was more like 25 minutes with all the stopping to chat and to try to catch my breath). This cute guy did tell us, "You guys are like dolphins! Wow!" (o.k., he was talking about Tami I guess).

Tomorrow: 4-5 mile run in the morning, spin class in the late afternoon.

Tonight (and every night this week): try not to panic! ;}

Marching Band officially eliminated due to budget cuts - FIUSM.com

2009-08-01T17:08:00.001-07:00

Marching Band officially eliminated due to budget cuts - FIUSM.com

Shared via AddThis

Somehow I never saw this article before last night (someone told me you should Google yourself periodically, just to see what's out there about you; this popped up on my latest search). It's from FIU's campus paper; the reporter spoke with me at length before the previous article he did on the subject, and I believe he was very thorough. (He asked me for info on this last article, but I had already left campus.) Anyway, there are some interesting facts brought to light in here (stuff I already knew of course), and some downright funny stuff too! (High school bands? Seriously?)

Well, if any GPB members are reading this, I wish you nothing but the best in the future! As for the rest of you, you know that I've already mentioned that, although I feel regret for the students, disappointment that I couldn't save the program, and sadness that the university feels the band is an unimportant part of the collegiate gameday experience, this has truly been a blessing in disguise for me personally. I've already moved past it and am having the time of my life this summer!

(...and when I see my colleagues' facebook statuses mentioning how they have been working on drill all summer, or attending budget & scheduling meetings and leadership camps, or already starting band camp, I honestly - truly! - don't miss it ONE BIT. Many people think it will hit me when football season starts, and what I'm thinking is that I can enjoy football season like a normal fan for the first time in eleven years!!!)

We will return to our regular programming shortly...

2009-07-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

My apologies to the two or three readers of this blog for not posting any updates... thinking back, I was slacking over the weekend because I was busy training and just having too much fun! Then, as payback, I somehow acquired tonsillitis/pharyngitis/middle ear infection. I haven't been sick - not even with a cold - in over six years (I think, since I can't really remember), so this has not only knocked me off my feet figuratively but literally...as in I haven't been able to train. And the triathlon is in 8 days + a wakeup! So one would think this would be a good time to wax philosophical and update my blog, but (a) I can't seem to concentrate on much of anything (must be either the medication or the fact that I haven't had any real food in a couple of days), and (b) being sick has put me in a lousy mood so I wouldn't want to "infect" any of you too!

So, I'll leave with a promise to get back to this one of these days (hopefully sooner rather than later), and a picture taken from my sick bed (actually a sick "futon") of my princess, Baby, stealing my Gatorade! (it's always the quiet ones...)

Birthday/Anniversary/Class "Reunion" gathering

2009-07-29T20:00:00.000-07:00

Updated w/ a clearer photo (and includes husbands & fiancees): This is from a mini TLHS Class of '86 reunion downtown (actually was a birthday gathering for Angie, Paulina, and Tammy, as well as My-Hanh's anniversary). At Roxy's on Clematis 7/17/09. L-R: Tammy's husband, Tammy (Van Dyne) Johnson, me, Angie Weber, Dawn (Rhodes) Harrison, Chris Harrison, Paulina Parraga, Michael Barbire (Paulina's fiancee), My-Hanh (Bronko) Stewart.

Gimme a break!

2009-07-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Without my realizing it, I had somehow (voluntarily!) done some form of training for 15 to 18 straight days (the 3-day difference is if you count those days of quote-unquote "training" I wrote about in June involving the carrying of furniture and boxes up & down the stairs...). This is not the best or the smartest of ideas! But I honestly didn't notice. So I took off Monday, then was forced by familial circumstances to take off another day and only do a short swim on the third. But I was able to get outside today and run, so life is back to (so-called) "normal" and I can tell you that the break was much needed - but now I actually wish this first triathlon was less than three weeks away...

So, I'll leave you with two articles: on the benefits of "funemployment" and the possible benefits of what I've called my "sailor words" (while exercising).

Miami Nice Triathlon - October 18, 2009

2009-07-11T10:06:00.001-07:00

I'll be competing in this triathlon - sprint distance (750m (or .47 mile) swim, 12.4 mile bike, 3.1 mile run). And yes, it does go over the Rickenbacker Causeway bridge, which I've run before but haven't biked...should be interesting!

Click here to see the official website.

Tropical Triathlon - September 27, 2009

2009-07-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

Just registered for this triathlon... 1/4 mile swim, 11 mile bike, 3.1 mile run.

Click here for the link to the event's website (it plays a cheesy version of "Eye of the Tiger" that you can't turn off - I apologize in advance...)

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming

2009-07-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

This will be a relatively short one, I promise... just wanted to share that I have finally figured out how to swim! As in, how to make it more than one lap without hyperventilating and seeing little black & white spots. I just had to apply the same technique one (namely, me) uses to play an instrument - more specifically, contrabass clarinet or bari sax. Not a simple fix, but once I figured out what I was doing and what I needed to do, it was definitely an "aha!" moment (or rather, an "oh ho" because diaphragmatic breathing is lower pitched - seriously, I'm fully aware I'm a music geek, but I have to make sure the actual pitch of my inhalations is lower! And it worked, so you can tease me for this all you want, I don't mind...)

So just like it did for my running after the first few weeks, I've gotten to the point that I can enjoy it and let my mind wander a bit. While doing laps this morning, instead of thoughts running through my head such as "OMG, I can't breathe!", "Maybe I should just do duathlons", "Why can't I do this?!", "If I were to drown, who would take in my cats?"... they're now, "Keep your head down, watch your technique" (because you can't even begin to think about technique if you can't breathe), "This is awesome! My shoulders and arms are gonna look incredible really soon!" (better than the First Lady's!), "I have to remember to pick up cat food at Publix", "I wonder when Pat Conroy's novel is coming out?" and, well, some other pleasant thoughts of people/occasions/etc. that I feel no need to share here!

For the record, I swam a total of a little over a mile, and for a timed segment, did 400 yards in 10:36.

I'll leave you with a little dialog from Finding Nemo... [thank you, Tami, for introducing me to this movie; don't know why I didn't watch it long ago!]

Dory: Hey there, Mr. Grumpy Gills. When life gets you down do you wanna know what you've gotta do?
Marlin: No I don't wanna know.
Dory: [singing] Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim.
Marlin: Dory, no singing.
Dory: [continuing] Ha, ha, ha, ha, ho. I love to swim. When you want to swim you want to swim.
Marlin: Now I'm stuck with that song... Now it's in my head.
Dory: Sorry.

Go Navy! Beat Army!

2009-07-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning I went for a 6-mile run up & down Flagler. There were the usual folks out there - runners, walkers, bikers, fishermen. [I've been meaning to mention these fishermen - they're out there every morning, and it is so cool that they always say "good morning" and even sometimes offer up some other comment or encouragement, such as "Keep goin', girl!" or "You almost done?"; the only thing I worry about is hoping they hear me coming, because I could just see me getting the business end of a wayward cast and ending up with a fishhook in my eye...]

But I digress...

Anyway, these Army guys were out there preparing to run - two young guys (one was possibly a recruit, but I'm guessing either reservists, national guard, or DEP (delayed entry program)) and one older man ("older" meaning over 30 or more, lol) who was obviously their leader, commander, sergeant, OIC/NCOIC; whatever the Army calls the guy in charge. Before I get to the bridge this leader blew past me, obviously a good runner & very fit (not that I was lookin' of course...o.k., I was - I'm single after all). To make a long story relatively short, I crossed paths with the other two guys several times during the course of their two mile run (because of the way my route loops around). Somehow I got way ahead of them after the bridge (I'm somewhere on mile 4, 4.5). Soon I hear footsteps behind me and the leader has come back to meet them to pace them, so that they pass me. And boy, those two young guys were breathin' hard! (Me, not so much, this was a short run.) One of the young ones up ahead kept taking walk breaks (I hope this wasn't his official PFT!), but each time when I almost caught up he'd find the energy to run some more (maybe the sound of my approaching footsteps was motivational?). At the end of their two miles, they were still trying to catch their breath, hands on hips/knees. I just waltzed on by (not literally), keeping my usual 10 minute pace, smiled, and said "good morning" for the last time. (No, I did not call out "Go Navy" because that would've just been rude...)

I only relate this story because I would've loved either to hear what their leader might have said to them ("See, that chick is hardly winded and she's been out here a lot longer than you losers!") or to know what thoughts were running through their heads ("Oh, she must be training for a race"; "Sheesh, how does she keep up that pace in this heat?"; "Wonder if she's single?"). O.k., maybe this is all wishful thinking on my part!

I just really, really enjoyed that this 40-year-old former sailor, who couldn't pass three out of her last four PT tests in the Navy because she couldn't run a mile and a half, smoked these young guys...

Go Navy! Beat Army!

[Disclaimer: if it were to turn out that these guys were actually, like, home from Iraq or Afghanistan, rehabbing injuries or something, I would feel really awful and take all this back.]

[Another caveat: not putting down those who protect & serve our country! Just cheering myself on a little bit here... ]

Web Site Story

2009-07-10T10:56:00.001-07:00

When I saw this video (click below), I literally spewed beverage out my nose because I was laughing so hard...

Collegehumor.com's web site story

(Unfortunately I'm having flashbacks of having played in the pit for WSS in Jacksonville, which means getting every...single...song stuck in my brain for the rest of the day.)

Big Loser

2009-07-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

[warning: this is gonna be a long one!]

So I hit a major weight loss milestone yesterday - I have lost 60 pounds since January 2008! I weighed 190 lbs then (I'm 5'2" - the magazine articles & tv shows rarely mention the loser's height, which takes it all out of context, in my opinion). I've been asked how I'm doing this, and the answers are: Weight Watchers online (sometimes diligently, sometimes not so much) the whole time, running since January '09, and triathlon training for the last couple of months. Motivation, for me, is present in many forms from many sources - one catalyst was a scary-bad cholesterol test in June '08 - but mostly has come from the encouragement and support of friends and family, as well as from within myself.

One of my former students at the University of Washington asked me for advice, and here is part of my response to her (I see no need to paraphrase, so I just copied & pasted my facebook message to her...so I'm either being lazy or efficient):

"Thank you so much for the compliment! I feel great, too. I'm not sure why I didn't start doing this while I was at UW, surrounded by all those fit people (and where the weather wasn't so brutally hot & humid!) but I think the timing of all this had to happen this way.

That is so great that you've made the commitment! It's funny, this is the first time I've been asked for this advice, so here goes: For one thing, you just have to get up/out and DO something almost every day. On the days you don't want to, just tell yourself you have to do it for 10 minutes and then you can make the decision to do more or to call it a day. Regarding food, I let myself go crazy one day (actually, one night) a week; it messes with your metabolism, plus gives you something to look forward to. As for "social networking", I have facebook friends who are all in different stages of fitness/training and we all cheer each other on online. For me, it has helped that I have reconnected with my best friend from high school (yes, we were in band together of course!); turns out she's been running marathons & doing triathlons the last few years. So now she's my unofficial coach and has encouraged me to seek out stuff I never thought I could do. (And we have a blast at the same time!)

The main thing I would want to share is this... I have become much more narcissistic, self-reliant, self-absorbed, etc. I was reading an article about how facebook, etc., has made all of us more narcissistic. But what I mean is, this is something that is ALL about ME. I have complete control over almost all aspects of it. Any successes I've had are because of stuff I'VE done. And if I don't take care of myself, look out for myself first, who will? Everyone talks about self-importance like it's a bad thing, and of course it can be, but in this case I think it's a good thing. So what I'm saying is it's o.k. to make everything about this lifestyle all about YOU, and to make yourself a priority - if you have to blow something or someone off to keep your training schedule, it's o.k. (I used to feel really guilty about that) because that something or someone is still going to be there afterwards."

And so to continue with this "narcissism"... I'm including a link to a photo album that chronicles all this (click here). One thing I like about "The Biggest Loser" is that you get to see most of the contestants' weight loss over time, rather than just 'before' and 'after' pictures like they have in magaines. However, below I've put the 'before' and 'after' photos that I would send to Weight Watchers or Runner's World or something...

Thank you so much to everyone who's helped and encouraged me! I ain't done yet (have a few more pounds to go) but you all helped get me here.

Before:

After:

Happy 4th

2009-07-04T07:49:00.000-07:00

So I started out the day with a 10-mile run up & down Flagler; the first 7 miles were easy; the last 3 weren't (both from heat/humidity and from, duh, it's still a long way to run for me!). But now I can join in on the feeding frenzy later today guilt-free. Yes, I'm actually cooking (at my parents' house, my place is still not ready for "people". For those of you who're surprised (or appalled) at the fact that I'm cooking, here's the menu: Latin burgers with red pepper mayo and caramelized onion and jalapeno relish, spicy french fries, tomato & mozzarella salad. Also tortilla chips & my "famous" (at least in a few circles, St. Augustine being one!) white salsa. And mom made Key lime pie!!! (o.k., is it time to eat yet?)

Hope you all have an enjoyable, relaxing, and safe holiday!

c

Here is the obligatory "patriotic" picture (couldn't figure out which one to use, so here's one from boot camp...God bless America indeed! ;}

13 things I never thought I'd hear myself say...

2009-07-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

1. Wow, gas prices sure are dropping; I found some for only $2.79 a gallon!
2. No thank you, I wouldn't like another slice of pizza/a cookie/some fried cheese/butter on my popcorn/another beer.
3. S/he's only 30 years old? I didn't know s/he was that young.
4. [to my students, or anyone under my charge:] Because I said so.
5. I don't really want to drive that far just for dinner/a party/a date/[insert fun event here].
6. I'll have the blackened mahi-mahi with the Caesar salad; no fries. (And could you please only bring a HALF order of the garlic cheese biscuits? Thanks.)
7. Could you turn on that light? I can't read this.
8. Uh oh, these size-2 jeans are getting a little loose.
9. I'm trying to decide between getting a tattoo or getting something pierced...
10. I need to wait until my unemployment check is deposited.
11. Why are we only biking 30 miles today?

What brought all these to mind? These two thoughts, which came to me this morning when I was somewhere on mile 4 of what was supposed to be a 5-mile run:

12. I feel great; why not run another mile to make it an even six?
13. Man, I wish today was my long run day, I could go 10 miles easy!

[just so you know, I did make it an even six miles.] ;}

Photo from mile 2.6:

It's an All-Skate!

2009-07-02T18:40:00.000-07:00

[sorry once again for any redundancy from various facebook postings...]

Like most of the world I was sad to hear the news of Michael Jackson's death. As a musician I appreciate the entertainment he provided. Yes, I still own "Thriller" on vinyl! (See photo). However, I've been saddened for many years (since the mid-80's) when he stopped being a musician I enjoyed listening to. When it comes to popular music, I'm always disappointed when a performer (or more than likely his/her "people" - handlers, producers, etc.) doesn't seem to realize what it was that we, the audience, liked about them and their music, so they go and change those very things.

Anyway, moving on to why I'm even mentioning this (because at this point I'm really tired of the media blitz on this whole story)... The instructor of the spin class on Tuesday decided to play only MJ music for the whole class. (Why oh why she had to use a remix of "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" I have no idea, though...). But when "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" came on, I was instantly transported to the skating rink. (Tami said that all we needed was a mirrored ball and disco lights to complete the image.) How many hours did we (as in "my generation", at least in WPB) spend at the Galaxy, or the Atlantis? (or, more oddly, the Gold Coast or the Gaiety, the one with the wooden floor). Eating bad pizza, playing Donkey Kong, drinking slushies, doing the "hustle" (not the disco dance but a form of skating to the beat of the music; I'm cringing just picturing myself doing this), entering the limbo contest, conspiring to skate with some specific boy for "Moonlight Couples"... (I won't mention the dark, secluded corners at one certain rink :)

So I've been scouring my photos and coming up with zip, nada. How could we have gone to those rinks so often and I have absolutely NO photos? (I have one from the ice rink at Sunrise; I only went there like three times...weird). Therefore, here are the only roller skate photos I have - these silver skates were a birthday or Christmas gift from my parents (complete with pom-pons!); to give you an idea of the year, I also got the "Xanadu" soundtrack that same day. These were taken at my sister's house in Pensacola - me & Jeremy (yes, that's a big, giant headset radio! just to complete the look), me & Carol (w/ Julie), and then Carol actually tried out my skates! (Karen, I know you'll just love these...)

Funemployment!

2009-06-30T13:25:00.001-07:00

I know some of you probably saw this article on my facebook page, but of course not all of you are on facebook: it's from the Times of London, "America revels in 'funemployment'". This is soooo where I'm at right now. I especially like the part about the guy who used his government money to buy a $3000 racing bike (just so you know, I bought my bike on ebay for waaaaay less than that), and in the last paragraph mentions that he's going to be in a 129-mile race - "Not everyone’s idea of fun is the same." I'm with him there - that sounds like fun to me!

Running made easy

2009-06-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

I had the most awesome run this morning! Not because it was long (5 miles), or because it was fast (52:00, a little slower than I've been doing), or because it was different scenery or anything (every time now I'm looking for manatees but haven't seen them yet). It was because I didn't really want to run at all today. I woke up in the middle of the night with a headache and said to myself, no way you're gonna get out there in a few short hours. But it was the most - I guess the best word would be comfortable - run I've had in the last few weeks. So that's my nugget of motivation to share with anyone who actually reads this: even if you don't really feel like it, just get out there anyway. Tell yourself you can quit after 10 minutes if you want to. If you do want to quit at that time, then it just wasn't meant to happen today; but I'll bet that most of the time you'll keep at it and feel all the better at having accomplished something.

On Tuesdays I pull a double and go to a spin class in the late afternoon; sometimes it's a little too "perky" for me (which is why you'll never, ever see me in an aerobics or step class!) but otherwise it's just like marching: I have to have my left foot (pedal) down on the downbeat, and I have to go with the beat of the music. (It is nothing like dancing, something else you'll probably never see me do...)

On the personal side of things... just got off the phone with a national publication who wanted to interview me regarding the band situation. I hope I didn't say anything stupid or incorrect! If the story actually gets published, of course I'll let y'all know.

Training log

2009-06-28T16:53:00.000-07:00

This morning's training was a brick workout. (I'm going to explain this to those who don't know about or pay attention to or care about this stuff; if you know what it is, get over it and skip to the next paragraph!). "Brick [brik] - noun. A workout frequently done by duathletes and triathletes that involves biking and running consecutively. The workout is helpful to train the body to change from bike to run, as well as to cut time off the transition changing from bike to run." Or, as Tami defines it, "Bike+Run+ick!"

30 mile bike ride down A1A to Lake Worth beach (below left), then back up to the Palm Beach inlet (below right) - we increased our average speed, now we (I) just need to get that speed more consistent. We did utilize the short "hills" better - I love flying down those! You know those extreme snowskiers that get to the tops of mountains via helicopter & then just fly down? I'm wondering if it's possible to somehow be deposited at the top of hills and/or bridges via some other means to avoid that pesky climb. Oh well, the downhill is the reward for the uphill. (Like the burly guy says in that Nextel commercial, "No rain, no rainbows.") (And I'm certainly don't mean to imply that there are any REAL hills here, just gentle rises and the occasional bridge, but still...)

Then a short run afterwards up Flagler - interesting how one's legs don't want to propel you forward for the first few steps but rather buckle and ask of you, "what the hell are you doing to me?!"

So that's that... now I just have to learn not to pig out afterwards and cancel out all of that calorie-burning. But how can you pass up a generously offered bagel, then (15 minutes later) mom's offer of a grilled cheese sandwich & Golden Oreos afterwards? ;}

Congrats to my friends: Melissa (my sorority sister from UF who now lives in Ohio) ran her first triathlon today! And in less than 2 hours - wow. And Amy (we went to high school together) who completed a triathlon in Orlando today with an awesome time - however, her tales of lake weeds wrapping around her neck & legs ("gross!") and earlier fears of amoeba make me like the idea of swimming in the ocean that much more...

...where all I'll have to worry about are riptides. And sharks. And sea lice. And losing my sense of direction and heading for the Bahamas or Cuba. And, well, drowning.

"Training" (without actually training)

2009-06-28T15:49:00.001-07:00

So I finally moved this weekend... My cousin Kathy and I loaded up the truck on Friday in Miami (thank you Kathy!!!), then yesterday I unloaded it myself for about four hours until Tami came by to help get the rest of it up the stairs (after she had already gone to the gym - now that's a true friend!). So now it's all done. (In the truck photo you can see the stairs we had to carry everything up on every single trip). Towards the end, for some reason, Tami & I found every single thing hilariously funny; halfway up the stairs with the mattress we started laughing so hard we had to stop before I went tumbling backwards. Gotta find ways to have fun and stay sane, I guess!

Anyway, I was regretting not being able to "train" on Friday or Saturday. [Side note: every time I "choose" to take the day off, various people will tell me, "it's o.k. to take the day off, you need to, you deserve it, you've been working hard," blah blah. But they say this every time! Even when it's the 2nd (or 3rd?) day off in a week? I guess I have people fooled regarding how much I actually do... ] But I realized throughout the day that I did get in some weight training for sure (not to mention climbing those stairs) - last night every muscle was screaming a testament to that fact.

I was reminded of one of my favorite movie montages: the training sequence in Rocky IV. Rocky trains using what I would call "organic" means - stuff from the environment around him - while Drago is using all the training "aids" the Soviet Union athletic machine could provide. And we all know who won the fight in the end, right? Click here for a video clip (gotta love the 80's music too!). And is it just me, or is Sylvester Stallone one of those guys that looks really hot with a beard?!

So that's what was running (no pun intended) through my mind as I was lamenting my lack of traditional training over a 72-hour span... but as much fun (ha!) as it was to haul all my stuff up the stairs (the accumulated crap of 40 years; you'd think I'd've weeded out more, what with this being my 18th move since I left for college at 17), thankfully I was able to get back to "normal" training this morning.

Local media reports on the end of an era (for me, at least)

2009-06-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

For last night's news feature, click here. And for the Miami Herald's article (more about cheer than band, but still), click here.

Added 6/26 at 6:24am: Two more articles of interest, from rivals.com/yahoo sports and from a blog in the Miami New Times.

First "real" blog entry...

2009-06-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

So the difficult part of this whole blogging thing might be finding the right balance between my general topic (athletic training and the like) and more personal themes. Because it's about "me", I won't always be able to separate the two. After all, let's face it: it's ME who is doing the training, and stuff that happens in my life will affect the training as well as everything else. If I were working full time right now, and/or if I'd been ecstatic with my job previously and throwing myself into it 24-7 over the last few months, would I be where I am now? (I'm pretty sure I know the answer to that.)

I mention this because this was the first evening I was going to write some stuff about everything I'm doing "athletically" in a general sense. But then I had a conversation at dinner that made me stop and think for a moment regarding my so-called professional life. A good friend, former student, & colleague (all one person!) told me that he had been discussing my job situation with another former student. They both felt that one of the biggest bummers about my possibly leaving the music teaching profession was that (and I'm paraphrasing here) "future bands won't ever get to experience [your] teaching." I certainly had never considered this! I truly didn't think anyone would really care if I never waved my arms around in front of an ensemble ever again... This doesn't change anything, but it does make me feel both better and worse at the same time.

O.k., enough navel gazing! And hey, at least I can SEE my navel these days!

Segue to triathlon training (see, I still have to use musical terms): took the day off as every joint & muscle was screaming "please, just one day off!". Tomorrow I'll try to fit in a run very early, then to the beach for an open water swim at 9am (weather permitting). Wish I could reverse the two activities (because I'll have to be careful not to be dehydrated for the swim) but the lifeguards aren't on duty until 9am, and it's too hot to run after that. Plus, I'm now spoiled by swimming in the ocean so I'm going to choose it over the pool whenever I possibly can! Being "between jobs" means I can just chill out and recover all day after and/or in between these spurts of activity. [Yes, I'm actively looking for jobs, too, but that only takes an hour a day, really, at this time of year.]

For years, Thursday has always been my favorite day of the week (well, maybe not the day but the end of the day, the unofficial beginning to the weekend!), so happy Thursday to all!

Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon - September 6, 2009

2009-06-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

My first half marathon (for those who don't follow this sort of thing, that's 13.1 miles) will be September 6th in Virginia Beach (where I used to live for three years). Here is a link to the official website.

Loggerhead Triathlon - August 8, 2009

2009-06-23T20:39:00.000-07:00

I'll be competing in my first triathlon on August 8th. Here is a link to the official website. If you click on "Who is registered?" yes, my name is there! Also, a link to an article about it.

It's all happening six weeks from this Saturday! ;}

Yes, I'm starting a blog...

2009-06-23T06:46:00.000-07:00

...but before I can really get it started, I have to do a little more research on HOW to do this, and then I have to get in sync with Comcast regarding a stable internet connection.

Primarily, this blog will be a means for me to share my training for a couple of endurance events coming up. This is because (a) so many friends have told me they enjoy my facebook status updates, etc., about the training (and have even gone so far as to call them "inspirational" which I find both amazing and flattering), and (b) as I'm "on sabbatical" at the moment (a/k/a "between jobs") I have time on my hands and need a creative outlet - that is, besides facebook. Basically, I'm trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up!

So, for those who are interested in this sort of stuff, stay tuned!