HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008!!!

Happy New Year! Time to do the yearly stock of where I've been and where I'm going.

2007....survived it. Not a stellar year for my athletic performances. I allowed professional and family pursuits interfere with some goals, but more realistically, I lost my way, lost my passion for working out and pursuing my personal goals.

I did however get a very big promotion and raise and I have managed to double our income in the three years since we moved from Tulsa.

My mom successfully sold the house I grew up in NJ, a market going south really fast and moved in with us the first week of November.

My mom ALSO found a condo near us(30 minutes) and will be closing January 11th!! Something to celebrate in 2008!

Hmmmm.....is that really it? Seems like the only thing I managed....but I survived...oh yeah, I did do the WAR AT THE SHORE triathlon in NJ this summer a sprint race.


2008

Okay, this shall be my year. Some resolutions...

1. This August, my partner and I will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary, so this year, my focus is going to first and foremost be a better partner, do more stuff around the house, share the workload, etc. My Cara bear, takes such good care of me and puts up with soooo much between me and my crazy family, time to repay and be a better partner.

2. I really want to focus on my health and getting my eating habits and workouts in balance with my life. I let 2007 run over me like a freight train, I cannot physically and mentally afford that this year. It is affecting my health and my relationship and eventually, it will impact even my job, that I cannot find balance in my life. SOOO I have hired a life/fitness/nutrition coach to help me get jump started. I will keep you up to date.

3. I WILL do the Delaware Diamondman Half Iron man on September 7, 2008. That is, if my coach and I find it a suitable goal...see #2 above.

4. Okay, total confession time....quit smoking, there I said it. Time to kiss this habit good-bye for good.

SO to all, have a wonderful New Year. God Speed, Good Health and Good Love.

Peace out!

Back in the Saddle

Well, here we are. I'm back in the saddle again, trying to get refocused on balance after a rocky six months of career craziness and family craziness. I got my promotion after fighting for it for over a year and I got the raise and responsibility that goes with it so I got a little sidetracked. I got my mom moved down here near us after selling the house I grew up with and now she is living with us until she moves into her new place in January...THANK YOU JESUS! It hasn't been too bad but all this upheavel has been draining and really knocked me off the proverbial horse. I have hired a life fitness coach, but we haven't started yet and I hope that she will help me get back on track and back on the track.

Back to Training

Okay, I guess the weather has FINALLY broken and it feels like spring here in the mid atlantic area. I officially signed up for the NJ State Triathlon Olympic distance so it's on now!!! I signed up for cycling seminar with the BBC and I also signed up for the Bike to Work Day 2007 which is May 18th. I am really nervous about riding in rush hour traffic in Baltimore, not only the crazy drivers, who scare me to death in my car, but some of the neighborhoods are iffy at best. Well, I'm sure that I can stop and get something along the way to 'enhance' my performance. I will use my mountain bike though, I guess I should get some road slick for it to help, but I will take it out on a trial run this weekend and see how it feels with the nobbies.

Lack of Motivation

This is me when I think about going to the gym...........

What is my deal???? I was sick with some kind of funky cold/sinus thing...but now that I am feeling better, I just can't seem to get my mojo back on. I am getting swimming lessons which make me feel MUCH more confident about the swim. All winter, I have been training and cyphering about which race, which training program, which book, blah, blah, blah, but now that it's time to literally put the pedal to the metal...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I really wanted to do the half ironman in September but at this rate??? My office moved last week and I HATE the new space, which I have been railing against since before we moved, plus I am taking on a new higher management role which I have to deal with personnel and client issues as well as getting my work done, which has been overwhelming. EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES. I need to just sign up for my first race and get 'er done!

My new Baby...

I would like to introduce you to Mavis! My new mountain bike....isn't she a beauty??!!

I got a few extra bucks after Christmas...I call it the Griswold bonus, getting your bonus the week AFTER Christmas...anyway, who can complain about extra money. I thought I could put road tires on this and use it for commuting once the days get a little longer and it is somewhat safer to drive thru the streets of Baltimore.

I took her on the NCR trail Sunday on a 65 degree day, I rode for 11 miles, could have gone all morning.

On another note I am trying to figure out a plan for next year and how to go about training for my races. Off season plan, then train for an olympic distance and then bridge to half-ironman? Or train for the entire HIM and use the other in-between for training races? Any suggestions? Thoughts? I think I've spaced them far enough apart to do either one.

The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting their bad advice
--though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles."Mend my life!"each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff finger
sat the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.It was already late
enough, and a wild night,and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,determined to do
the only thing you could do
--determined to save
the only life you could save.

~ Mary Oliver ~

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007!!!

It's New Years Day, GO HOGS GO!!!!! PIG SOOOIEEEE!!







Now is the time to set my goals for the new year and set up my race schedule.

Did I mention, I just bought a brand new MOUNTAIN BIKE!!! I will post pictures of Mavis at a later time

I AM A TRIATHLETE!!!

I DID IT! I am an Iron Girl! 3:28:56...it ain't pretty but I finished! I did the .62 mile swim, 17.6 mile ride(hills abounding), 3.4 mile run!!! It has been so hard to stay focused these past months but the training worked. I got there at 5:00 am to get body marked, then set up transition, then I had to wait until 7:40 until my wave started. A lot can happen in your head in 2 hours. The fist wave started and finished in 16 minutes...WHAT HAVE I DONE, I CAN'T DO THIS! Kept going over and over again in my head. I can still go get my bike and we can go home, right??? I was near tears by the time my wave started. I kept looking at the swim course thinking NO WAY! This wasn't the hardest thing I had done in my life, that was earlier this year when I along with my mother decided to take my father off of life support, that's real, and this was for him, for life, for the gift of being alive. I got in the water and away I went, about 300 yards from the finish, I looked up and when Holy Sh*t, I'm almost there! A woman next to me asked, 'Are you OK?" Hell yeah, I'm almost done with this....33:17 finish time. The bike course was challenging but I had ridden the course before, so I knew what to expect, the hill from Hell...ain't no hill gonna beat me is all I said the whole way! Nope not this day. I rode rather conservatively on the bike, although I love roaring down those hills, they were still a little wet and I had seen some people go sliding away, not me, not this day.

Got off the bike, Are those my legs??? Funny they don't fell like mine? Him, well gotta run now. The course was hilly but shaded and populated with cheering fans, village people with Gatorade and the sound of a man announcing finishers....and that was going to be me, this is the day, MY DAY!

Me and my Iron Mate!!!

The Countdown to IronGirl!!!

3 days and counting!!!!! I have trained and stayed focused, my body is ready, but is my mind?? And when can I have a leisurely afternoon Triathlon, what's up with the 5:30 am roll-call. I think I am going to write the USAT! I am SOOO nervous about the swim, but I figure if nothing else I will doggie paddle. I am a WARRIOR and I may not me the fastest, the smartest, the most talented but I am the most determined.

This is for you Dad...I love you always.

Getting My Act Together??

OK, my knee has been really screwed up, no clue what is going on...a recurrence of my arthritis? What am I 80 years old? I took an 11 day vacation and came back no less refreshed than I started. I got to swim tons and got some helpful tips and practice from my sweetie and my friend. I loved riding my bike to the beach everyday, THAT ROCKED! Unfortunately trying to fit 4 people's agendas into one vacation did not always make it easy to get training in....excuses, excuses, excuses! I got back to work and have had a hard time getting back in the mode and I swear to God if I cannot put down the cancer sticks, I am going to SCREAM!! Do I want to be serious about my goals or not? Do I want to be a triathlete or not? Do I want to reach 40 being fabulous or not? I haven't officially signed up for my triathlon yet...they are expensive by the way. I was going to do the New Jersey Triathlon, but that is in two weeks, I am not sure my knee or my swimming are in shape for that one. I want to do the Iron Girl in Columbia and the Cape Henelopen triathlon in October. I must just plunk down the lettuce and get on with it. Can I rant about one more thing?? It's my blog, why not? I must get the nutrition thing under control. I keep an eye on how many calories I am expending thru my Polar HR monitor, but then I also use it as an excuse to add one more frappaccino. Those days have to end. The other thing is to steer clear of the treats that my sweetie keeps in the house 24-7. M & M's vs. rice cakes...hmmmm. Well every day is a new opportunity to begin again..right. I can do this! I WILL do this I am TRI CHICK WARRIOR!!!!