1 Month Down and 8 more to go

Well, I'm now finished with the first month of "official" IM training. Until this week I hadn't missed a workout. Then the "ick" started knocking on my door Tuesday and I replied "the lady of the house is not home." Wednesday, I said "I'm not interested". But the thing about the "ick" is that it is the most persistent creature I know. So by Thursday I had invited it in for a cup of hot chocolate and missed my run. Then Friday was my day off, and the "ick" was polite enough to leave me alone temporarily. Saturday was a good workout, then the "ick" came back and said "uh hum, excuse me Angela. I enjoyed the hot chocolate so much, I'd like to stay for dinner and wait out the snow storm with you since you were so generous." Me and my stinkin' generosity! So I had to miss my brick session today. I'm drugged up, delirious, tired and just feeling like complete dog poo.

I've come to find out over the years, that the "ick" is not such a good house guest. It sucks you in making you believe that your are so nice and loved (with a false quick courtship) and then just smacks you around like a red headed step child bringing you back to the reality, that you too will eventually fall victim to it's inevitable filth and disgusting ways.

So to the "ick" I say...like the distant cousin that doesn't know when to leave...you are no longer welcome in my house. Please leave before I take drastic measures and call the doctor and really kick your @$$. Thank you and have a nice day. I'm ready to be back on training track thank you very much.

And before I completely forget...I haven't heard but I'm pretty sure that Dan and Natalie have had their baby. I'd love to know the stats and how things are going for you both. Natalie, hope you're feeling well and enjoying motherhood as much as you possibly can the first month!

Winter wonderland

This is what our Saturday morning was like today...sledding in, what is referred to as "the village" by all the neighbors. So the "villagers" were out in mass numbers this morning.

mommy, ryan and brayden. Notice who always has their eyes closed? But he loves it and can't wait to go again.

Alex, Brayden and Ryan in the wagon.

Me and Shauna

Mommy and Ryan on the linoleum sled...we ran out of regular sleds and had so many people that some of the neighbors (uh hum..Jonathan) decided to get old linoleum. By the way, it was the best slide out there for sure...except that your butt felt every bump on the way down.

Again, Ryan with his eyes closed!

Oh, I was wrong...the one shot with his eyes open, but notice there is no sled. He's on his bottom scooting down inches at a time. He so got that from me!I lovingly refer to this as the Brayden sandwich shot.

Big boys left to their own devices...we adults had as much fun as the kids. These are some of our neighbors Jonathan and Brian.
And following suit are Stephanie and Shauna...can't leave the girls out!

So all was well until Ryan threw snow and it hit Brayden in the face. Then it started snowing again and Brayden had had enough. So we came home, dried off and had some home made broccoli and cheese soup! Yum. Now Tim is watching Goodfellas with Chris and I'm about to embark on a 90 minute treadmill run in the garage while the kids nap. We've got poker and MMA tonight at our house. It should be a fun way to survive the snow storm...well at least for us it is one.

Little Green Thumb

Today is "Mommy/Ryan Day" as Brayden spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa last night and will not return until lunch time. When asked what he wanted to do today he replied "plant flowers." Uh, well it is the middle of winter and it is cold out but I knew immediately that he would not accept fake flowers or indoor planting...that's just not Ryan. Do it right or don't do it at all is he theory and he's too smart to pull one over on.

So off to Lowes this morning. We found some beautiful dark blood red pansies for our hanging porch baskets and some deep purple/white pansies for the flour beds out front. The next thing out of his smart little mouth "mom, we can't plant flowers without some water, they need water to grow. I think I need this sponge bob watering can." Seriously how do you say no? So we got the watering can. But I stopped him from getting the planting gloves, the spade and the pumpkin seeds...he was on a roll.

The entire car ride home he was so excited about planting his flowers and watering them...but I knew what was about to happen and he didn't let me down. When we got home, he helped with the first one and then sat down and said "I'm so proud of you mom, you're doing such a good job planting my flowers." And he just watched. Well, he kept yelling to the neighborhood "Hey everybody, come look at my pretty flowers." Then he proceeded to sing happy birthday to me at the top of his lungs for 15 minutes while I finished. He hasn't gotten the concept that birthdays are only one day. Oh well, it was fun and he sings really well so how can I complain.

Now he's on his third oatmeal, raisin almond cookie and I've got to hide the rest of them so daddy can have some tonight. I love Mommy/Ryan day!

Busy is still to come

I knew heading in to 2010 it was going to be hectic, working 20 hrs/week from home, at home full time with the boys, Tim training for his marathon and 1/2 IMs and me trying to train for IM. But I never really knew HOW hectic it would be and probably don't know the full extent of it yet.

Since I've started working with Marty from OSB, my days have been very regimented and for me, structure is the way that I thrive. I need that schedule and I can knock stuff out with the best of them. And so it's been that way since the new year. I find myself more motivated knowing that somebody else is holding me accountable and less likely to say "well I can just squeeze it in tomorrow". Doesn't work like that now, there is no room to play "catch up" later, I either do or don't. Right now I do.

Don't get me wrong, I've already used the "I'm really tired, maybe I can just double up tomorrow" with Tim and he politely said "you'll thank yourself in September if you do it now." Right he was, I thanked myself later that night actually.

But back to the busy. Because of all this training for both Tim and I, it's hard and will probably continue to get even more difficult to do fun things or just spend some good old fashioned one on one time with each other. Not that it will come to a complete stop, just another thing to juggle. I need my Jo time (My nickname for Tim). Here's my day:

4:45am: Tim leaves for work
5am: get up to work before boys wake up
7am: Boys wake up, breakfast and play and trips out/ clean/ laundry
10am: round boys up to head to gym
11am: work out
12:30pm: lunch
1pm: boys down for quiet time and I work some more
2:30pm: Tim home and either I keep working or workout again depending on the day
3pm: boys up from nap more play time
4:30pm: start dinner and clean up
5pm: dinner and time with boys and Tim
6:30pm: bath time
7pm: Boys in bed and time to either work again or workout again depending on the day
9pm: downstairs to clean kitchen and spend time with Tim
10pm: Bed time

Weekends are an absolute mess. Between Tim's need for 2 hours or more of running right now and my need for 1.5 to 2.5 hours both days right now, it's crazy. Luckily I have wonderful parents that are willing and love to watch the boys for us almost whenever we need it. Which works out great for days like this Saturday when both Tim and I need a long run (with hills), so we get to go run together while grandma and grandpa watch the boys.

I can already tell how important Tim's nudging and flexibility with my schedule and my parents helping out with the boys is going to be for the success of my IM in September. I honestly don't know how some of you do these longer races. It's more than just time consuming. It's energy depleting, mind numbing, family time taking, snuggle time breaker, meal time stealer, fun time snatcher and oh yeah....probably the biggest of all, ultimate experience maker! I can't wait. I just hope my nerves can make it through the next 8 months and all the business and chaos that is sure to ensue.

"Booo'd" at mile 2

Let me set it up for you. Tim and I are in Nashville NC visiting his family. He had a duathlon today in Greenville so it worked out well for a nice family visit. After getting back from his race at 3:30 this afternoon, I had to get my run in...slated was an hour and twenty minutes, increasing speed basically.

It was like a scene out of Forrest Gump...you know the scene I'm talking about; back country roads, open plowed land where crops have been harvested and resting for the winter, a large country house with fence, dogs and various other live stock. It was cloudy and the temp was quickly dropping from the days high of 50. 3:45 and off I go. 1 mile and feeling good, then right as I hit mile 2, I pass a cow pasture infront of a large country house. They were quietly eating grass and as the first one noticed me, he moved to the fence and "MOOOO". Then following was the other 10...and not only did they "moo" or "boo" me, they actually started running with me along the fence line. Crazy cows...what's up, so I "Moooo'd" back at them and they stopped and looked at me like I was a "crazy human".

Phew, glad there was a fence. So fast forward to mile 8 and I pass goats...and they start "baaaa" and trotting around. Okay, was the world taken over by aliens or something. Or have these animals never seen a person run before.

Anyhow, finished the run and was greeted by Brayden "Mommie, my mommie, i uh you." What a way to finish a run. Chicken wings and a sub followed by playing some Wii game with drums and a microphone with Ryan.

Time for sleep.

Out of virtual into reality

I can't say that I'm just meeting people that I know from blogging since I'd known Bri, Marty and had met Rebecca once before. But I had the chance to meet Alicia yesterday for a short run. Now I can say that I was a bit intimidated by the idea of running with her...well you know, you've seen the race results so you know why and you may be asking yourselves "how on earth did that work?"...well it's this nice little thing called a jogging stroller. Hehe.

Alicia assured me that we would be about a 9:30 to 10 minute pace, and since I was slated for an easy run, this sounded good to me. After Tim so graciously got off work early yesterday, I was able to head over to Durham to meet Alicia at her house for a neighborhood stroll. I don't know if it was the excitement of running with somebody else or if I felt I needed to work harder because it was her, but our first mile was pretty dang fast. We slowed it down after that but ended up at a 8:12 average over just over 31 minutes. Faster than it needed to be but a great run for me.

I'm not much of a conversationalist, especially when running...I need every little bit of oxygen to go directly to work and not be wasted, so I don't think I was as talkative as I would have like to have been, but it was really nice getting to meet somebody for blog land. And after meeting her, Alicia is a very down to earth and warm person. Absolutely no reason for intimidation...unless you plan on racing her and that, I have no ill guided fantasies about.

So, hopefully I'll get to meet others of you, if I knew who you all were, or if I were ever in the state where you all live. But there's an ugly little rumor that a few of you have signed up for the Valentine's Day Marathon Massacre in Greensboro...Tim and I will be there again this year AND I am volunteering at the Tobacco Road Marathon and 1/2 Marathon in March. So sign up people!

Training vs. Racing

I'm not a training person at all. Don't get me wrong, it feels good and keeps me energized; but I find it very tough mentally. I contribute most of this to the fact that I have absolutely no training partners. I fly solo 100% of the time and that my friends is devastating.

Even when I attend the Tuesday night track sessions, there are other people, but none apparently that run my pace. I mean there are those that are running my pace, but when I've asked several of them if I can run with them...they actually told me no. Who does that? Seriously, are track groups that selective? Wow, get a grip people, we're all out here for the same reasons.

A while back I posted about a friend that I met a few times for long rides on the weekends, but that only lasted for 3 rides if I remember correctly. So no bike partners either. It's frustrating because I don't want to have to slow down too much to get people to train with, but at the same time...I can't keep up with the majority of the people around here. And as for swimming, if you consider the 70-90 year olds that do the water walking in the lanes beside me company, well then I don't even have an argument and should just stop this rant now.

Tim has on occasion tried to run with me and even once we biked together, but it's agonizing for him (or at least I imagine it is) because my 5K pace is still slower than his warm up...so it just doesn't jive well. The bike is marginally better but let's not kid ourselves I just can't keep up with him over a course of any decent distance.

My problem then lies here: To get better, I need to be pushed and quite honestly, there is only so much pushing I can do on my own. I need to be around people who are slightly better than me or at least my same ability level so that we can push off of each other. What's a girl gotta do???? Is there a website or something I can go to for hooking up with training partners? Throw me a bone, somebody please.

And this is why I like racing more than training. In a race, I am surrounded by people; faster, slower, equal and the spectators. I'm never alone in my experience, I'm surrounded by like mind individuals and can pull off of every one's energy, story and motivation; not just my own. Racing rocks, training sucks! :P... Sorry for the sour post.

Happy Birthday

Today I turn 32. And to my recollection, I've had some pretty awesome birthdays before...mostly with family. I never tend to really 'celebrate' my birthdays as much more than family and maybe a few friends. But this year I decided to have some girlfriends over last night when Tim said "I wanted to host a poker tournament on Saturday".

Well dang...let's just make a gathering of it shall we? And we did. Work friends, girlfriends, poker friends, and neighbors. It was a lot of people, and if you read this blog with any frequency, when the crowd gets much over 5 people, I get overwhelmed and clam up. Not last night. We had close to 30 people show, in addition to 6-10 kids. It was so nice. Kids running around, playing, eating, adults chatting, drinking and laughing. Awesome. I had a blast actually. The most fun I've had on at a birthday function of this size in a long time. The only thing I really got uncomfortable with was Tim calling attention to me so everyone would sing happy birthday...not a fan of being in the spotlight, so that was a little weird...but nice.

Don't get me wrong, I still prefer the small family gatherings, but the big party served my mental state well last night. Maybe it's because I've come to know all these people through small gatherings that I didn't mind it getting so large, but needless to say it was more than enjoyable.

So to anyone who reads the blog that also stopped by last night, a huge THANK YOU for the well wishes and making my birthday a great day!!!

Full Circle

My conversation with Ryan this morning in the car: let me preface by saying that I took the Christmas tree down yesterday and put it in the garage until trash pick up next week. So it's in the stand in the garage with my car.

R: Mommy, why is the tree in the garage?
M: Christmas is over, it's time to take it down.
R: Why is Christmas over? Where is Santa?
M: Christmas is baby Jesus' birthday; our birthday is only one day and now Santa went back to the North Pole.
R: Oh, right mommy. I think Santa must be tired from bringing me all my toys. Will I get more toys from Santa?
M: Well, only if you stay on the 'Nice' list. Santa keeps a 'Nice' list and a 'Naughty' list of all the little boys and girls.
R: Well mommy, I'm a big boy...I'm not naughty. Naughty is bad, right mommy?
M: Yes, naughty means bad. But you were a good boy this year so Santa brought you presents. Santa watches us all year to make sure we're being good and he talks to mommies and daddies to see if "big boys" are being good or bad.
R: Mommy, will you tell Santa I'm a good boy so I can get a robot next Christmas?
M: I can do that.

15 minutes later in the car:
R: Mommy, Santa must be tired, I think he's fishing to feel better. He's using his fishing pole and putting his feet up in his boat.
M: Is that how Santa relaxes?
R: yeah, but we have to be careful so he doesn't pull the trees down when he's fishing. Mommy, why are those men pulling the trees down? Are they taking down those Christmas trees because it's not a birthday anymore?
M: (we passed construction of a new highway where they are clearing trees out) They are making room for a road. What do you think they will use the trees for?
R: To make Santa's fishing pole, silly mommy.
M: What else can we use the wood for? Maybe to make houses, boats, or a fire in the fireplace?
R: Oh no mommy, we don't make fire. Fire is a bad word. We have to call the fire mans so they can put the fire out like this...stop drop roll, mommy. Can you say 'stop, drop, roll?
M: Stop, drop roll.
R: No mommy, you're not saying it right. Say 'stop, drop, and roll arrow pointing up.'
M: (he was looking at a street sign with an arrow pointing up) 'stop, drop, and roll arrow pointing up.'
R: good job mommy, that's right. Now we stopped the fire and Santa can have his fishing pole so he can rest and bring me my robot because I'm a good boy on the nice list because I stopped the fire.

3 hours later at home
M: Ryan, what are the next three steps?
R: Lunch, my video game, and then quiet time
M: Good job buddy. Let's finish all our lunch okay?
R: Mommy, thank you for making my lunch for me. You're a good girl, I'm going to tell Santa that you are on the 'nice' list then he will bring you a robot too on Christmas. Okay? Now let's take a nap so I can have quiet time and talk to Santa.

Seriously, how would I ever win a battle with him???

Dusted off the goggles

Well it was my first swim since B2B, 2 months ago. Let me start by saying that the beautiful pool that I posted a picture of a while back, where Tim and I went to master's class...that place is no longer in our plans. We did some math and turns out it's cheaper for us to join a wellness center owned by the hospital that has complete gym facilities (pool included) rather than pay for 3 swims/week only at the aquatic center. Sucks because the pool at the wellness center is a 5 lane, 25 yard, warmer (that's a plus), salt water pool. I actually like the warmer water and salt water (shocking right?) but only because it's easier on the swim gear, my hair and my skin.

So tonight, I got to the pool, licked the inside of my goggles and to my dismay, there was still salt from the B2B race in them...yuck. Then I get in the water, in only 10 seconds. Amazing, it normally takes me no less than 5 minutes to get in the pool at the aquatic center because of the temperature. I start my workout and wow...I can still swim. Arms were a little heavy but it felt good.

Not only have I dusted off my goggles, but the boys have dusted them off too. I've got to get a picture of it, but Brayden decided that he wanted to wear the neon green kid goggles we bought this summer, to the bank. Tim and I went to take care of some things and Brayden walked into the bank with his goggles on, in the middle of the freezing cold, no hat but neon green goggles. The looks we got were priceless. He's on a glasses kick....goggles, sunglasses, mr. potato head glasses...he wants to wear them all. Very cute, very funny and hard to take life seriously when you see him in any of them.

The Three D's

Desire, determination and dedication. That's what Coach Lamb always taught us girls for softball in high school. You've got to have the desire to accomplish something new and challenging, the determination to carry you through the training and preparation and the dedication to stay with it regardless of what obstacles arise. So that's my mantra from now until I cross the finish line on September 25th.

After two months off, I feel rested, rejuvenated and revitalized. I'm ready to go. To start it off, I watched the broadcast of Ironman World championships 2009 last night with Tim. As always, very inspiring and motivating. And now I begin my quest to join the lot of you Ironmen out there.

I've received my first week's worth of workouts from Coach Marty! I'm excited to get started. I just hope the boys are excited as I am when they have to play in the garage while I bike and run...well it just depends on when I fit it in.

Merry Christmas to everyone and happy new year! Here's to a wonderful start to 2010.