In the throws

Never did I expect IM training to be like this. "This" is not a bad thing, it's just more than I anticipated. Granted, at the time that I began training I was only working 20 hrs/week...which made training easier to manipulate around. So when I started working full time again right after the early season 1/2 IM, it kinda threw a kink into things.

My time is so consumed now I can't even account from one day to the next. Aside from early morning workouts, lunch workouts, and after work workouts (depending on the day), I get about 3 hours a day that are not spent either getting myself and the boys ready for work/school or getting ready for bed. Typically those hours are spent picking up around the house or throwing laundry into the wash or vegging out on the couch. We don't really put laundry away anymore...we just have a dirty pile and a clean pile. Since the end of April, last weekend was the first time we've swept, mopped, wiped or dusted the house. Sad thing is we didn't have enough time to get to the bathrooms. Needless to say, I only get online maybe once a week now.

I actually met a woman at work today who is training for IM Wisconsin. It was so nice to talk to somebody else who is at the same stage of training as I am and who has done it before. She gave me names of local long group rides, run/swim training nights and wants to get together again to talk about what she went through with her first IM. I'd like hearing the stories and little "ah ha" moments people have...it helps to get me prepared I think. So this lady asked me "how are you feeling with everything right now?" My reply, "I'm tired and hungry". and she said "well then, sounds like you're right on target, your coach is doing it right".

I guess that sums it up...tired and hungry and right where I'm supposed to be. More than I thought it would be but well worth it as far as I can tell for now. The only reason I say that, is that I'm a complete "water head" every time I see one of the televised IMs right now...all teary eyed wondering "how will I react when i finish", "how many times will I want to stop" , but most of all "what will it feel like to be an ironman". I want it so badly, I want that honor.

I don't even think I will begin to comprehend the things I'm learning during training from a physical, mental and even emotional level until September 25th has come and gone. But as my co-worker said today..."that day is a party, celebrating all the hard work and pain you've put in. So just smile and enjoy the fact that you can even try to finish." I'm ready for my party.

Brown bear, Brown bear what do you see?

Last weekend was fun. Tim and I took the boys to the Pamlico River and spent time with my parents, his parents and his sister Jennifer. Saturday morning was filled with sprinklers, spiders, coolers filled with Ice and a pig pick'n.

After lunch, little boys found their way to a nap, big boys found their way in the shade of a tree drinking and talking or in-front of a tv to watch soccer and the girls (Jen and I) found ourselves sailing with my cousin Chuck. It was fun, I've never sailed before. It's one of those little boats that you sit on and manually handle the sails and steering...I'm boat dumb so I'm not sure what kind of boat it was. But we had a good time. Jen went out by herself with Chuck and on their way back in the boat was vertical and they were laughing. Very good times.

Back to the trailer and I headed out for my 90 minute run. Tim decided to ride his bike with me while I ran...the company was nice. What was nicer was what happened in the first 1.5 miles of my run...here's where the caption should be BLACK BEAR. We saw a black bear walking out of the woods about 200 yards in front of us. I stopped dead in my tracks and so did the bear. Tim's reaction "Angela turn around now, go, turn around now". My reaction...uh I'm not moving until he moves and he wasn't moving.

He stared us down as if to say "I see you, what are you doing? Do you want to play with me? I like to play chase." No thank you Mr. black bear. So finally, a few cars had stopped behind us, which provoked a response from said black bear. He decided to move along. Tim and I proceed with extreme caution and just kept wondering...WHAT THE HECK is a black bear doing on the east coast of NC? Mountains, yes...coast, um no.

The rest of the run was uneventful other than a blister that covered my entire pinky toe. This was followed by nearly a 4 hour ride Sunday morning. It was pretty hot, flat, windy, Hot, sunny and HOT. The one place I forgot sunscreen...a little place on my back where my shirt slides up and my shorts slip down. It's still got mini blisters and extremely tender to the touch nearly a week later...and still NC state red. OUCH, note to self for this weekend's rides!

After the great training we got in, (it's nice having both sets of parents and aunt jen around), we took Ryan out on the lake in a big inner tube. Tim and I sat in this thing while Ryan was in Tim's lap. He loved it! I seem to recall when I was younger that my dad couldn't try hard enough to throw my sister and I off the floats. Now we were slightly older than 4, but still...it's was no joke. Hold on for dear life and when you couldn't hold on to the inner tube, you held your nose for fear of water shooting so far and fast up your nose that it stung. So the point is, dad wasn't going super fast, but he was going fast enough to get some good waves and that Ryan said he felt like he was in a hot rod.

Now that's a good weekend.

Finders Reward

It's different for everybody in our family. Examples:

1. Ryan finding his lost "ball bumper" = hours of entertainment and anxiety as he tries to keep brayden from taking it from him.

2. The dogs finding their tennis balls = 5 minutes of wild anticipation of being able to play fetch, followed by 2 minutes of playing fetch because the boys can't throw the ball more than 10 ft.

3. Brayden finding a "chocat" muffin in the backyard= happy screeches of "mommy I find it...chocat muffn" (insert dog poop where you see the words chocat muffin) followed by smiles as he smears it all over himself...yeah for water hoses.

4. Tim making new friends through FSSeries = Tim getting new bike toys.

4a. Tim and Angela making friends with FSSeries = Ryan getting his very own "dancing man" for his 4th birthday...how cool is that? That's why FSSeries rocks!

5. Angela finding Suzie (spin instructor from 5 years ago) = a break from the garage once a week and a room full of other miserable, tired, sweating, puking triathletes!

6. Angela finally finding someone to run with at track practice = workouts go by more quickly and are actually fun.

7. Finding more time in the day to spend with all my boys = when I find that I'll let you know. Seems as though working full time again, IM training, keeping house, keeping husband and keeping boys just requires more than 24 hours in a day.

What's your find and reward? If it can beat the chocolate muffin, do tell!