I will admit. I sent an email that I knew may or may not incite a response, and although "incite" has an official definition something akin to "stimulate or prompt to action." It has kind of a negative connotation. Like..."incite a riot." So yeah. I did expect a response. I was asking about who is this girl who's been babysitting my daughter all summer. I asked about skyping this weekend. I let him know that it was inconvenient that he (on purpose?) neglected to pack Lily's swim suit for camp. I did not expect the sarcastic, hate filled explosion in my email inbox this morning. Whoa. I really shouldn't let it bother me as much as it does. But it does. Can't we just be civil, even if we can't get along? No? Oh. It's really difficult to tell what parts are fact (did Linda* really pull a child from the pool last week?) and which parts are fiction (armed and unarmed combative training?) when you mix sarcasm and accusations in with actual discussion (can I really skype with Scooter on Sunday, or was that sarcasm, too?). I guess I'll have to ask? But who to ask?
Two months ago, I was attacked for asking Scooter too many questions. I was supposed to direct them to the ex. This morning, I was attacked for asking the ex too many questions. I'm supposed to ask Scooter. Or was that sarcasm? See the difficulty? But now, I'm hesitant to ask for clarification...hm. Maybe this is all sort of some master plan. Or not.
Yesterday's blog post was short because it was another busy day. It was veggie day! The CSA delivered green beans, romain lettuce, potatoes, zucchini, and carrots. Delicious. It takes some time to wash and properly store everything, though. Totally worth it, though. The potatoes they deliver taste like they already have butter on them. It boggles the mind.
Wednesday and Thursday nights were early nights for me: 9pm. Both nights, I slept like the dead. Only waking when the alarm went off. I hope the extra hours of sleep help me out a little. I'm a nervous nelly. At lunch today, I walked most of the way to Pioneer Square and all the way back to work. It's a mile and a half, one way. Happy bonus is that I found 12 cents on my way. Sad news is that I got a blister on each of my pinky toes and on the side of my right heel. Oops. I'm pretty sure it won't affect my performance tomorrow, which would have been questionable anyway. But really, my pinky toes don't really factor into the run or the swim (not sure about the biking shoes), and that part of my heel shouldn't matter to anything, either. I chose the wrong sock/shoe combination for today, I guess. I'll make better choices tomorrow.
Oh...so the days:
Wednesday: Insulin was isolated in 1920, and it was National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day. I hope you flew your flag. The holiday is mostly for American vets of the Korean War. Too bad technically, N and S Korea are still at war...
Thursday: The Oregon Brewers Festival began. It runs through Sunday, when (hopefully) we'll do a little sampling. WWI began in 1914. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on this day in 1914, which kicked off "festivities" for the rest of the war. Also on July 28th, the 14th Ammendment was adopted (in 1868), which, in addition to granting citizenship and rights to African Americans, also specified that citizens and voters were males. So...although a huge step forward in progress for people of all color, apparently it legitmized sex-descrimination. Crazy.
Today: NASA was established in 1958. Also, the first iron lung was installed at Bellevue Hospital in NYC (1927).
Tomorrow's a big day: Henry Ford's birthday, James Hoffa's disappearance day, Paperback books were introduced in 1935. In 1900, the British parliament outlawed child labor in mines and also created workman's compensation. Also, in 1956, "In God We Trust" was adopted as the US national motto - in response to the growing influence of the Soviet Union.
Sunday is a very religious day. The founder of the Jesuits was canonized in 1622. Also, in 2002 the first Indian (by which, I think they mean Native Mexican) saint was canonized by Pope John Paul II. Juan Diego claimed to have seen the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531. It only took 471 years to get him sainted.
And that closes out the month. I'm excited to find out what happened in August. Besides Barack's birthday, Scooter's birthday, the Queen mum's birthday and Bubba's 1/2 birthday...
* Linda is not her real name
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Grill power!
One of my sisters sent around a vocab quiz today. You put check boxes by the words that you actually know the definitions to (not just words that you've heard of), and it magically calculates the size of your vocabulary. This has lead to a lively conversation among my uber-competitive sisters and I. Mostly, about who the dumbest sister is. The jury is still out.
Besides Monday and Tuesday, I have decidedly *NOT* been training like an Olympian this week. Yesterday was spin class, but it was the usual Wednesday instructor doing the usual Wednesday stuff. Today, I went for a short, slow swim. Usually slow swims for me are also long. But today is a rest/recovery day, so it was short. I hope I did enough swimming in the past few months to keep myself from drowning on Saturday.
I created a playlist on my ipod today consisting of one (or two, but only from 1 artist) song from each female artist in my library. There were only 25 songs, and one of them was actually a man. I thought I was putting Astrud Gilberto (girl) on the playlist, but it turned out to be Joao (boy). Oops. Out of 3694 songs, you'd think I had more than 25 female singers on my ipod. But I don't. I guess. I was going to name it my girl-power playlist, but it seems more like girl-weak playlist. Maybe I should work on that.
Besides Monday and Tuesday, I have decidedly *NOT* been training like an Olympian this week. Yesterday was spin class, but it was the usual Wednesday instructor doing the usual Wednesday stuff. Today, I went for a short, slow swim. Usually slow swims for me are also long. But today is a rest/recovery day, so it was short. I hope I did enough swimming in the past few months to keep myself from drowning on Saturday.
I created a playlist on my ipod today consisting of one (or two, but only from 1 artist) song from each female artist in my library. There were only 25 songs, and one of them was actually a man. I thought I was putting Astrud Gilberto (girl) on the playlist, but it turned out to be Joao (boy). Oops. Out of 3694 songs, you'd think I had more than 25 female singers on my ipod. But I don't. I guess. I was going to name it my girl-power playlist, but it seems more like girl-weak playlist. Maybe I should work on that.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Black was a good choice for this one...
My tri suit came in the mail last night. Ben lured me into getting the mail by saying that there might be something special out there for me. That usually results in me running out to the mailbox only to find the weekly coupon circular or an electric bill. Last night was special, though, as a big, padded envelop was waiting for me. It was filled with ultra tight shorts and a tank. The website we ordered it from gave sizing specifications and said women should err on the side of a smaller size when in doubt. We ordered small shorts and a medium top. I had them out of the envelop before I even got back to the apartment.
I ordered black. The shorts only came in black, and I figured the black and grey top fit my personality more than the blue or red. Plus...it's slimming, right? After I stuffed my thighs into the shorts which fit like a sausage casing, I got a little nervous. Once I got the top on, I realized that I'm one of those people. You know them. The ones who have all the cool gear, but no real skills to back it up. I see them at least once a week at spin class. They'll come in wearing new bike shoes, new (tight!) bike shorts, some even wear gloves to class. Then, they sweat a lot while pedaling little. They leave early. Will that be me on Saturday? I certainly hope not. I at least, will not be leaving early. If anything, I'll be the one on the course till the bitter end.
I have no fear of getting a flat tire on the single track portion, though. I'm carrying what looks like 2 spare bike tires around my middle when I wear that top. It's not actually that bad (when I'm standing still and sucking it in). Ben said I looked tough - like a competitor. Don't judge a book by its cover, I guess.
In other news, yesterday was the birthday of the first test-tube baby. She paved the way for women like octomom to totally take advantage of medical advances. Today was the day the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed...in 1999. It didn't go into effect until 2001. I'm glad public facilities are now (supposed to be) accessible to everyone. It is also the anniversary of the first desegregated army training, in 1944. Say what you will about the Army, it at least was on the cutting edge of equality in the '40s.
And in even more news, babycenter.com sends me updates (weekly) about my kids' development. Scooter is nearly 8, Bubba is a preschooler. Yay. Today, it sent me an article on working mothers vs. stay at home. Studies have been raging over this topic since the first woman hung up her apron (or donned one) and stepped into a workplace. This study really just looked at long term effects of mothers working during the first year after birth. I'm happy (relieved?) to report that the kids are alright. If moms work, there is little evidence of behavioral problems later on. Girls actually did better in homes where both parents worked vs. "dad" being the sole breadwinner. Boys did better with either dad being the breadwinner or with both parents working, and worse when only the mom worked. Speculation exists regarding factors such as employed mothers being better educated, wealthier and less depressed than unemployed mothers. The biggest problems are with families where both parents struggle with unemployment and with single parent homes (the article says single mother homes, but I believe it cuts both ways). I would assume that this means if the mother (or father) is purposely not working outside the home, the kids are also alright? I could see how the stress of unemployment by either parent would be a bad thing on a kid over all. I can also see how the stress associated with being a single parent would wear on the parent (and the child). I was there. But I'll happily place myself in the better educated, wealthy and less depressed section, thanks.
I ordered black. The shorts only came in black, and I figured the black and grey top fit my personality more than the blue or red. Plus...it's slimming, right? After I stuffed my thighs into the shorts which fit like a sausage casing, I got a little nervous. Once I got the top on, I realized that I'm one of those people. You know them. The ones who have all the cool gear, but no real skills to back it up. I see them at least once a week at spin class. They'll come in wearing new bike shoes, new (tight!) bike shorts, some even wear gloves to class. Then, they sweat a lot while pedaling little. They leave early. Will that be me on Saturday? I certainly hope not. I at least, will not be leaving early. If anything, I'll be the one on the course till the bitter end.
I have no fear of getting a flat tire on the single track portion, though. I'm carrying what looks like 2 spare bike tires around my middle when I wear that top. It's not actually that bad (when I'm standing still and sucking it in). Ben said I looked tough - like a competitor. Don't judge a book by its cover, I guess.
In other news, yesterday was the birthday of the first test-tube baby. She paved the way for women like octomom to totally take advantage of medical advances. Today was the day the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed...in 1999. It didn't go into effect until 2001. I'm glad public facilities are now (supposed to be) accessible to everyone. It is also the anniversary of the first desegregated army training, in 1944. Say what you will about the Army, it at least was on the cutting edge of equality in the '40s.
And in even more news, babycenter.com sends me updates (weekly) about my kids' development. Scooter is nearly 8, Bubba is a preschooler. Yay. Today, it sent me an article on working mothers vs. stay at home. Studies have been raging over this topic since the first woman hung up her apron (or donned one) and stepped into a workplace. This study really just looked at long term effects of mothers working during the first year after birth. I'm happy (relieved?) to report that the kids are alright. If moms work, there is little evidence of behavioral problems later on. Girls actually did better in homes where both parents worked vs. "dad" being the sole breadwinner. Boys did better with either dad being the breadwinner or with both parents working, and worse when only the mom worked. Speculation exists regarding factors such as employed mothers being better educated, wealthier and less depressed than unemployed mothers. The biggest problems are with families where both parents struggle with unemployment and with single parent homes (the article says single mother homes, but I believe it cuts both ways). I would assume that this means if the mother (or father) is purposely not working outside the home, the kids are also alright? I could see how the stress of unemployment by either parent would be a bad thing on a kid over all. I can also see how the stress associated with being a single parent would wear on the parent (and the child). I was there. But I'll happily place myself in the better educated, wealthy and less depressed section, thanks.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Blues Monday
I don't really have the Monday blues. Nor am I listening to Blues today. I just needed a title for this brain dump.
This weekend was a busy one. No, we didn't go through any drive-thrus. Nor did we celebrate parent's day (sheesh! How unAmerican can we be?!). We did walk and run and play at the Relay for Life that was in Beaverton this weekend. Ben's bjj gym had a team, so we helped out (I guess?) by walking and running a few laps. We also had Bubba with us, who, if I remember correctly, walked nearly a mile and ran over 1/4 mile. He's better conditioned than I am, and I have a triathlon to compete in in less than a week.
We FINALLY brought the last load over from storage and closed our storage unit account. No longer will I pay some unknown entity $115 a month ( that's almost $1400 a year!!) for the priveledge of housing our junk. I'm hoping to sell some of it, give some away, and find a place for the rest of it. Actually, the house isn't looking too much worse for the wear (so far). I am glad that we have 3 more weeks before our first official visitor, though. It's a little bit of time to figure out the last of the nonsense. Hopefully, Ben's friend doesn't mind a stray rubbermaid (or big wheel) laying around.
I ran 4 miles yesterday. I got a facebook update that one of my good friends from Omaha ran 16. He had a torn labrum repaired a little over a year ago, and I remember not too long ago, him being excited about a 1 miler. At this point, I figure if I can run 1/4 the distance he does in the same amount of time it takes him, I'm doing pretty well. I tease him that he got a hip replacement from Bea Arthur. I guess that means I can't keep up with a dead woman. Hm...I failed to swim this weekend, though. I might try to get to the gym tonight, instead. I have a good reason why I skipped it, though. There are only 2 lanes at the pool at my gym. There were 4 people in the pool. Normally, that wouldn't phase me. I'd hop in and share a lane with a couple of people. Eventually, I'd shame them out of the pool. Yesterday was different, though. 2 of the people in the pool were having a "sword" fight with noodles. In different lanes. Across the lane line. Blocking the other two people who were legitimately trying to swim laps. I didn't feel like getting mixed up in that. Especially after gasping out 4 miles on the treadmill.
This week is "train like an Olympian" week at my gym. 1/2 way through spin class with a guest instructor this morning, I wondered if I was training like an Olympian. It was a tough workout. Like...real tough. As the day goes on, my legs are getting more and more tired (sore?). Hopefully, I can make the walk home tonight. One (or two) more tough days of training before I focus on recovery workouts. I'm starting to get excited.
This weekend was a busy one. No, we didn't go through any drive-thrus. Nor did we celebrate parent's day (sheesh! How unAmerican can we be?!). We did walk and run and play at the Relay for Life that was in Beaverton this weekend. Ben's bjj gym had a team, so we helped out (I guess?) by walking and running a few laps. We also had Bubba with us, who, if I remember correctly, walked nearly a mile and ran over 1/4 mile. He's better conditioned than I am, and I have a triathlon to compete in in less than a week.
We FINALLY brought the last load over from storage and closed our storage unit account. No longer will I pay some unknown entity $115 a month ( that's almost $1400 a year!!) for the priveledge of housing our junk. I'm hoping to sell some of it, give some away, and find a place for the rest of it. Actually, the house isn't looking too much worse for the wear (so far). I am glad that we have 3 more weeks before our first official visitor, though. It's a little bit of time to figure out the last of the nonsense. Hopefully, Ben's friend doesn't mind a stray rubbermaid (or big wheel) laying around.
I ran 4 miles yesterday. I got a facebook update that one of my good friends from Omaha ran 16. He had a torn labrum repaired a little over a year ago, and I remember not too long ago, him being excited about a 1 miler. At this point, I figure if I can run 1/4 the distance he does in the same amount of time it takes him, I'm doing pretty well. I tease him that he got a hip replacement from Bea Arthur. I guess that means I can't keep up with a dead woman. Hm...I failed to swim this weekend, though. I might try to get to the gym tonight, instead. I have a good reason why I skipped it, though. There are only 2 lanes at the pool at my gym. There were 4 people in the pool. Normally, that wouldn't phase me. I'd hop in and share a lane with a couple of people. Eventually, I'd shame them out of the pool. Yesterday was different, though. 2 of the people in the pool were having a "sword" fight with noodles. In different lanes. Across the lane line. Blocking the other two people who were legitimately trying to swim laps. I didn't feel like getting mixed up in that. Especially after gasping out 4 miles on the treadmill.
This week is "train like an Olympian" week at my gym. 1/2 way through spin class with a guest instructor this morning, I wondered if I was training like an Olympian. It was a tough workout. Like...real tough. As the day goes on, my legs are getting more and more tired (sore?). Hopefully, I can make the walk home tonight. One (or two) more tough days of training before I focus on recovery workouts. I'm starting to get excited.
Friday, July 22, 2011
The days
So I guess I've neglected to give you my historical facts for a while, now.
I forgot to blog on Wednesday, which was the 42nd anniversary of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon (for those who believe it actually happened). It was also the first interational Special Olympics competition, which was held at Soldier Field in Chicago (home of the Bears!). And, of course, the 137 year anniversary of the start of the Locust Plague of 1874. Apparently, so many of them swarmed that it went from Canada to Texas and blotted out the sun. bummer.
Thursday was Hemingway's birthday. Also, the anniversary of the founding of the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, NY. I'm not sure why we need a Women's Hall of Fame. I mean, sure. I understand pioneers of the women's movement should probably be recognized. I'm just not sure a "Hall of Fame" need be created. It kind of acts as another barrier to equality, don't you think? But maybe we don't need to be equal. I would have liked recognition in a more universally accepted forum, like the Smithsonian, or something. You know...a plaque or painting or bust along with Alexander Hamilton and Lincoln and other important figures in American history. Because they were all important for all of us.
Anyhow, today is kind of a slow day in history. In 1982, the largest wedding ceremony in history occured in New York City. It's also Spooner's Day. Apparently, England has a lot of colorful characters in its past. Spooner (born today in 1844) had frequent slips of the tongue that made for hilarious speeches (for the British. In the 1800s). These include: "blushing crow" rather than crushing blow, swell foop (for fell swoop), and half-warmed fish (for half formed wish), among others. What a silly Brit.
Tomorrow is the birthday of civil disobedience. Thanks, Henry David Thoreau. He was thrown in jail for refusing to pay $1.00 poll tax.
Sunday is National Drive-Thru Day. Wow. Great. Let's celebrate the most universally accepted misspelling of all time by driving "thru" a Jack in the Box (the first ever drive-thru chain). Also, I learned yesterday that as far as commercial buildings go, fast food ranks #1 as far as energy users. Hospitals are #2, but at least we suck energy while saving lives. I assume fast food ranks #1 because there are so many of them. So that's gross. Sunday is also Parent's Day. Don't forget to thank your parents for molding you into the people you are today. Additionally, Sunday is the day Brigham Young declared, "this is the place," to start building Salt Lake City. And, of course, the first successful lung removal operation took place in 1933 on Sunday. What I would like to know is...what happened next? Did the person live with only 1 lung? Or was the person hooked up to some sort of (steam powered) breathing machine? My calendar kind of left me hanging with that one.
Scooter is successfully at camp right now. I'm guessing she is having the time of her life. I'm hoping she is OK, and she'll be able to forget herself and just be a kid and have fun for 5 days before going back to her life. We're 3 weeks down, 6 to go. 1 week until my triathlon...
I forgot to blog on Wednesday, which was the 42nd anniversary of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon (for those who believe it actually happened). It was also the first interational Special Olympics competition, which was held at Soldier Field in Chicago (home of the Bears!). And, of course, the 137 year anniversary of the start of the Locust Plague of 1874. Apparently, so many of them swarmed that it went from Canada to Texas and blotted out the sun. bummer.
Thursday was Hemingway's birthday. Also, the anniversary of the founding of the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, NY. I'm not sure why we need a Women's Hall of Fame. I mean, sure. I understand pioneers of the women's movement should probably be recognized. I'm just not sure a "Hall of Fame" need be created. It kind of acts as another barrier to equality, don't you think? But maybe we don't need to be equal. I would have liked recognition in a more universally accepted forum, like the Smithsonian, or something. You know...a plaque or painting or bust along with Alexander Hamilton and Lincoln and other important figures in American history. Because they were all important for all of us.
Anyhow, today is kind of a slow day in history. In 1982, the largest wedding ceremony in history occured in New York City. It's also Spooner's Day. Apparently, England has a lot of colorful characters in its past. Spooner (born today in 1844) had frequent slips of the tongue that made for hilarious speeches (for the British. In the 1800s). These include: "blushing crow" rather than crushing blow, swell foop (for fell swoop), and half-warmed fish (for half formed wish), among others. What a silly Brit.
Tomorrow is the birthday of civil disobedience. Thanks, Henry David Thoreau. He was thrown in jail for refusing to pay $1.00 poll tax.
Sunday is National Drive-Thru Day. Wow. Great. Let's celebrate the most universally accepted misspelling of all time by driving "thru" a Jack in the Box (the first ever drive-thru chain). Also, I learned yesterday that as far as commercial buildings go, fast food ranks #1 as far as energy users. Hospitals are #2, but at least we suck energy while saving lives. I assume fast food ranks #1 because there are so many of them. So that's gross. Sunday is also Parent's Day. Don't forget to thank your parents for molding you into the people you are today. Additionally, Sunday is the day Brigham Young declared, "this is the place," to start building Salt Lake City. And, of course, the first successful lung removal operation took place in 1933 on Sunday. What I would like to know is...what happened next? Did the person live with only 1 lung? Or was the person hooked up to some sort of (steam powered) breathing machine? My calendar kind of left me hanging with that one.
Scooter is successfully at camp right now. I'm guessing she is having the time of her life. I'm hoping she is OK, and she'll be able to forget herself and just be a kid and have fun for 5 days before going back to her life. We're 3 weeks down, 6 to go. 1 week until my triathlon...
Genius logic
I'll go ahead and say it. I have smart kids. Really smart kids. I was reading through some old journal entries from when Scooter wasn't much older than Bubba is now. Fantastic. And so logical. When she was Bubba's age, she had a puzzle/map of the United States (Uniter States, as she called it). We would take it apart and put it back together all day long. She loved it. And shortly after that, she could tell you, by shape, the name of each of the states. That has translated, in her elementary years, into "book smarts." Scooter is a bright kid in school.
Bubba, on the other hand, might be what one would call "street smart." No...he can't quite navigate mass transit on his own, yet, but he knows the art of manipulation. Last night, as I was tucking him into bed he patted the mattress beside him and said, "Mama lay down." So I did.
Then he said, "Daddy no lay down. Mama lay down today."
I said, "Oh. That's right."
He went on, "[Bubba] cry in the dark, THEN daddy lay down with [Bubba]."
Hm...apparently, he remembered the night before when Ben went in there to be his "superman" and he knows that, if need be, he can always summon his dad to his side by calling into the darkness. Dad might not lie down with him in the evenings when it's bed time, but surely he'll appear when it's most inconvenient - the middle of the night.
Bubba, on the other hand, might be what one would call "street smart." No...he can't quite navigate mass transit on his own, yet, but he knows the art of manipulation. Last night, as I was tucking him into bed he patted the mattress beside him and said, "Mama lay down." So I did.
Then he said, "Daddy no lay down. Mama lay down today."
I said, "Oh. That's right."
He went on, "[Bubba] cry in the dark, THEN daddy lay down with [Bubba]."
Hm...apparently, he remembered the night before when Ben went in there to be his "superman" and he knows that, if need be, he can always summon his dad to his side by calling into the darkness. Dad might not lie down with him in the evenings when it's bed time, but surely he'll appear when it's most inconvenient - the middle of the night.
2007 recap
In honor of the offroad tri I will be "competing" in on July 30th, I thought I'd re-post a blog from 4 years ago, when I did my last "real" tri.
WARNING! This is a rather long, and detailed description of a rather long and boring race...
Well, I did it. I've thought about it in the "wouldn't it be cool" sense since I watched my first Iron Man Triathlon on TV nearly 15 years ago. Back then, it was done on Alcatraz island, and not in Hawaii. But I've been watching it every year (on TV, of course, so I can get the nice, human interest stories on the competitors) as it grew in popularity and prestige. My dad has regalled me with stories of watching it live (he lives in Hawaii), and I've dreamed. I did a little research about a year ago about sprint triathlon opportunities in the area. There really aren't many. I let the dream sit in the back of my mind, comfortable in its home of 15 years.
Earlier this year, I was presented with the opportunity of participating in the sprint triathlon at the Cornhusker State Games. For the small price of $34.00 (and a fortune of sweat and ibuprofen), I too could be a triathlete. Hooray! I signed up. I started training. I got derailed several times (I always did have a short attention span), but win lose or die, I was going to do this.
Fast forward to Sunday, July 29th. I was up at 4:30, and I got my daughter up around 4:45. According to my calculations, we had to be on the road by 5:15. I figured she'd sleep in the car, but no such luck. That girl is a chatterbox. I believe the term that described her best later in the day was, "blithering." We made it to the competitor parking lot, which held maybe 50 cars. We were the only ones there. It was raining and 70 degrees. The forecast? Sunny and 80. Hmmm...
I signed in, and got my numbers markered on my left arm and right calf. On the back of that calf, they also wrote my age in big, bold numbers. Great. Next year, please put my weight on there, too, would 'ya? They also gave me an anklet to strap on. I suddenly felt like Paris Hilton on house arrest. I put my bike on a rack, with my backpack containing shoes, socks, shorts, shirt, buff and water near the front tire. My helmet, I hung on my bike's handlebars, and then gathered in my "women under 40" grouping for the pre-race briefing. There were over 360 competitors signed up for this event, and they split us into four categories for the start. Suddenly, my mom was standing behind me.
"Lori! Lori! Hi!"
Me: Mom! You're not supposed to be in this area! (competitors on my left and right turned to look.)
Mom: Oh! Ok. Well, I just wanted to say good luck!
After a quick hug, she was gone, and the pre-race stuff started. Boys started first, 34 and under. We started 3 minutes behind them. What a rush! It was one of the most difficult things I've ever done. I would consider myself a rather strong swimmer, but I don't think anything can prepare you for a mad 1000 meter dash with 60 other competitors surrounding you 60 more in front of you and 120 chasing your tail. The lake was a murky green. I could not see my own hands in front of me, much less my fellow swimmers. I accidentally grabbed ankles, I was elbowed in the face at least 4 times, someone clawed my watch off. It was mayhem. Rather than lose my watch, I snagged it from the water and stuffed it in my swim briefs. Every once in a while, I popped my head up to make sure I was going in the right direction. Once you get out of the mass of bodies, you feel strangely alone in the lake. I passed a few boys in their green or yellow swim caps, but for the most part, all I could think about was staying afloat and finding the bouys. I swallowed more than one mouthful of that putrid water. I was the 73rd person out of the water, and the 18th girl out (3rd in my age group), in 17 minutes and 47 seconds.
"Lori! Lori! Hi!"
Me: Mom! You're not supposed to be in this area! (competitors on my left and right turned to look.)
Mom: Oh! Ok. Well, I just wanted to say good luck!
After a quick hug, she was gone, and the pre-race stuff started. Boys started first, 34 and under. We started 3 minutes behind them. What a rush! It was one of the most difficult things I've ever done. I would consider myself a rather strong swimmer, but I don't think anything can prepare you for a mad 1000 meter dash with 60 other competitors surrounding you 60 more in front of you and 120 chasing your tail. The lake was a murky green. I could not see my own hands in front of me, much less my fellow swimmers. I accidentally grabbed ankles, I was elbowed in the face at least 4 times, someone clawed my watch off. It was mayhem. Rather than lose my watch, I snagged it from the water and stuffed it in my swim briefs. Every once in a while, I popped my head up to make sure I was going in the right direction. Once you get out of the mass of bodies, you feel strangely alone in the lake. I passed a few boys in their green or yellow swim caps, but for the most part, all I could think about was staying afloat and finding the bouys. I swallowed more than one mouthful of that putrid water. I was the 73rd person out of the water, and the 18th girl out (3rd in my age group), in 17 minutes and 47 seconds.
Once I was ashore, I jogged over to the transition area. I looked down briefly and noticed what looked like a small penis in my swim briefs. Alarming! I reached in and pulled out my watch. I managed to get it back on my wrist before entering the transition. It felt like I spent too long getting my shorts, shirt sox and shoes on. I threw my buff onto my head and plunked my helmet down on top. Ahhh, the dreaded bicycle portion. I just started riding my bike in March or April. Before that, it'd been about 15 years. I am not very fast, and after the 2nd lap of 3, I realized that my legs don't go as fast as my mind thinks they are going. In fact, I saw so many people passing me, I thought perhaps I was doing this wrong. As I started my 3rd and final lap on the bike, I saw the first of the finishers on the return lap of their run. Wah-wah...
But the upside of 3 laps was that I could go by the transition area and the spectators 3 times. On my second lap, I heard my daughter screaming, "Go mommy, go mommy, GO MOMMY!!!!" She was so loud, I turned around to make sure that it really was my little girl making all that noise. But her voice is unmistakeable. It had to have been her. There she was, wearing my mom's sweatshirt for warmth. Shoes, sweatshirt, umbrella was about all I could see of her.
I finally finished my third lap. It took me an hour and 4 minutes to complete 21 kilometers. Ugh. I don't have split times, but I know my terrible rate was 11.5 miles an hour. Um, yeah. I knew it wouldn't be good when the kid on a tryclycle zoomed by me. But I hadn't given up, yet. The next transition felt much smoother. All I had to do was hop off my bike, take off my helmet, and start running. Except what I did do was hop off my bike, take off my helmet, hang up my bike on the rack, start to head out, and turn around to grab some water out of my backpack.
And I was off and running. Only, I was stiff and sore and tired, so it was more like a lurch. I was off and lurching! I hobbled along at a pretty steady pace. I talked myself out of walking several times. It was hard, though. And in my area in the pack, it seemed as if everyone was walking. I passed and was passed by the same girl several times. She would stop to walk, then catch and pass me, then walk, and I would pass her. Finally, somewhere on our 3rd mile, she caught me again, and I told her that now that she's running again, we should catch "big red." She laughed and agreed. Big red was a rather rotund fellow who was 25 yards ahead of us. We did catch him. And we passed him. And then we passed a few more people. It was nice to have a running partner on that last stretch. Finally, she passed me for good.
I spotted my mom up ahead. She said that she was allowed to run with me, as long as she stayed off the crushed limestone path. Sweet! She whispered to me that she'd try to run, but was scared she'd pee her pants. I chuckled, and then confided in her that I, too, might pee my pants. We jogged along for a bit, and I wondered aloud where the finish line was. I was beat. And then it was there. Salvation in the form of a red pad, which beeped my final time. 2:01:33. Only 30 minutes slower than my goal. Oops.
There were girls at the end whose sole job it was to take off the dreaded house-arrest anklets. She said, "just put your foot on this, and I'll take that off for you." Easier said than done, but I got my foot onto the ledge 6 inches off the ground eventually. And then I went to gather my stuff. Everything was soaked. It had stopped raining during the bike portion of the race, but then I was sweaty and lake-y, and all around gross.
So in conclusion, I have a few lessons learned from this year's event
1. Go to the bathroom before the race.
2. Don't wear a watch, or put it on during the swim to bike transition, if you absolutely need to wear one.
3. Bring flip-flops or other sandal-y shoes for before the race
4. Bring a change of clothes!!!
5. Go to the bathroom after the race, before the drive home.
I was nervous about it, but in the end I'm really glad that my mom, boyfriend, boyfriend's parents, and daughter came out to support me. It meant a lot to have a cheering section, even if I wasn't going to win any awards. And even though my body and mind are screaming "NO!" my heart knows that I will, again, attempt to conquer the triathlon.
1. Go to the bathroom before the race.
2. Don't wear a watch, or put it on during the swim to bike transition, if you absolutely need to wear one.
3. Bring flip-flops or other sandal-y shoes for before the race
4. Bring a change of clothes!!!
5. Go to the bathroom after the race, before the drive home.
I was nervous about it, but in the end I'm really glad that my mom, boyfriend, boyfriend's parents, and daughter came out to support me. It meant a lot to have a cheering section, even if I wasn't going to win any awards. And even though my body and mind are screaming "NO!" my heart knows that I will, again, attempt to conquer the triathlon.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Blackbeard
Bubba is really into pirates lately. He may like to pretend to be a dog or cat, but he loves to talk about pirates. It might stem from his obsession with the Wiggles. They have a friend named Captain Feathersword, and they all like to sing songs and dance together. Who wouldn't love pirates, if that's all you know about them?
I could be a pirate of my own: Blackbeard the pirate. I'm not sure if it's because I'm no longer on the pill (mirena is an interesting thing), or maybe it's just because I'm getting older, but I have a beard. Well...maybe not technically a beard. It's more along the lines of four, extremely dark, course hairs that grow out of my chin - two per side. Annoying. And as someone who is currently growing her head-hair out, I can say that the chin hairs grow extraordinarily quickly. Like...I pluck them at least once a week. Maybe I actually have 16 of them, but only 4 grow at at time or something. Either way, it's embarrassing and annoying to have more (and courser) facial hair than my husband. He's such a babyface. I have a constant 5 o'clock shadow.
Bubba woke up last night. He called, "daddy! daddy!" rather than crying or calling for me. Ben was Johnny-on-the-spot, and Bubba was quickly quieted. So quick, in fact, that I was asleep before Ben came back to bed. After my run this morning, I asked Ben about last night. He wasn't sure why Bubba was sad - maybe he had a bad dream. Then Ben stretched out on the bed, put his hands behind his head and said, "I'm like Superman to [Bubba]." So proud. It made me chuckle.
It also reminded me of when Scooter was 3, and we were on a bike ride with then, "Mr. Ven." Scooter was in the chariot with her whistle (she liked to encourage me to pedal faster), and we were riding a pretty wide (8 or 10 feet) paved trail in Omaha when we came upon a group of people stopped on the path. There was 1 biker and at least 2 joggers standing, looking at something on the ground. It was a bull snake, and it was HUGE. One end was off one side of the trail, and the other end was hanging off the other side of the trail. This monster was sunning its wide-body on the sidewalk. Not wanting to pass on my insane fear of snakes, I mostly tried to keep quiet, but I'm sure the fear and tension seeping from my body wasn't lost on Scooter. She knew I was freaking out. To calm me, she said, "Don't worry, mom. Whatever you're scared of, Mr. Ven can take care of it." And for the most part, he has, ever since.
I could be a pirate of my own: Blackbeard the pirate. I'm not sure if it's because I'm no longer on the pill (mirena is an interesting thing), or maybe it's just because I'm getting older, but I have a beard. Well...maybe not technically a beard. It's more along the lines of four, extremely dark, course hairs that grow out of my chin - two per side. Annoying. And as someone who is currently growing her head-hair out, I can say that the chin hairs grow extraordinarily quickly. Like...I pluck them at least once a week. Maybe I actually have 16 of them, but only 4 grow at at time or something. Either way, it's embarrassing and annoying to have more (and courser) facial hair than my husband. He's such a babyface. I have a constant 5 o'clock shadow.
Bubba woke up last night. He called, "daddy! daddy!" rather than crying or calling for me. Ben was Johnny-on-the-spot, and Bubba was quickly quieted. So quick, in fact, that I was asleep before Ben came back to bed. After my run this morning, I asked Ben about last night. He wasn't sure why Bubba was sad - maybe he had a bad dream. Then Ben stretched out on the bed, put his hands behind his head and said, "I'm like Superman to [Bubba]." So proud. It made me chuckle.
It also reminded me of when Scooter was 3, and we were on a bike ride with then, "Mr. Ven." Scooter was in the chariot with her whistle (she liked to encourage me to pedal faster), and we were riding a pretty wide (8 or 10 feet) paved trail in Omaha when we came upon a group of people stopped on the path. There was 1 biker and at least 2 joggers standing, looking at something on the ground. It was a bull snake, and it was HUGE. One end was off one side of the trail, and the other end was hanging off the other side of the trail. This monster was sunning its wide-body on the sidewalk. Not wanting to pass on my insane fear of snakes, I mostly tried to keep quiet, but I'm sure the fear and tension seeping from my body wasn't lost on Scooter. She knew I was freaking out. To calm me, she said, "Don't worry, mom. Whatever you're scared of, Mr. Ven can take care of it." And for the most part, he has, ever since.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Legs
My legs are sore today. I am at the point where there is a little worry in my head about the possibility of lactic acid poisoning. But logically, I know I'm ok. I hope. They're just WAY more sore than they were yesterday.
Last night I had a dream that I woke up and discovered that my legs had been tattooed. Not just a little ankle tattoo, either, but full-on tattooed. Like full sleeves, but for my legs. And the prominent design were two samurais. One on each leg, and they ran from above my shorts line to my ankles on the fronts of my legs. I was shocked and a little horrified (in my dream). I mean...if I'm going to get a huge tattoo, you'd think I'd take a moment to design it such that an average person would be able to see the design. Why have headless samurai bodies? Why not shrink them down a little so I can wear shorts and the whole man will show?
But who are we to ask ourselves the purpose of dreams. Yesterday was the beginning of Restless Leg Syndrome Education and Awareness Week. Today is the anniversary of the rosetta stone being discovered by one of Napolean's troops. Also, the birth anniversary of Dr. Charles Mayo is today. Happy birthday, co-founder of the Mayo clinic!
The ol' ex caused a bit of a rumpus today. He emailed to tell me that Scooter couldn't go to summer camp this year. Ugh. Camp is the one thing the out-shines the rest of the year for Scooter. She talks about the 5 short days of camp all year long. She makes plans for the next summer starting the day she gets back. It's the one place where she can hang with her cousins and have some wholesome fun. The girls have one cabin, the boys have two. They have flash lights and pool time and a camp fire and all the cliche's that go with camp. And Scooter and the 8 cousins that are old enough to go own that camp. They are a gang of smart, good looking kids, and they are charming and fun. And the ex wants to take that away from Scooter. Even if it wasn't in the court order saying that he had to let her go, why would he want to stop her?! What purpose does that serve? Other than to upset her and isolate her from her family and further damage her relationship with him. It makes no sense.
But never fear. I'm sure his lawyer is educating him on what a court order means. Maybe he can also talk to him about their chances of winning appeal, and this can all end sooner rather than later. Somehow, I doubt that, though...
Last night I had a dream that I woke up and discovered that my legs had been tattooed. Not just a little ankle tattoo, either, but full-on tattooed. Like full sleeves, but for my legs. And the prominent design were two samurais. One on each leg, and they ran from above my shorts line to my ankles on the fronts of my legs. I was shocked and a little horrified (in my dream). I mean...if I'm going to get a huge tattoo, you'd think I'd take a moment to design it such that an average person would be able to see the design. Why have headless samurai bodies? Why not shrink them down a little so I can wear shorts and the whole man will show?
But who are we to ask ourselves the purpose of dreams. Yesterday was the beginning of Restless Leg Syndrome Education and Awareness Week. Today is the anniversary of the rosetta stone being discovered by one of Napolean's troops. Also, the birth anniversary of Dr. Charles Mayo is today. Happy birthday, co-founder of the Mayo clinic!
The ol' ex caused a bit of a rumpus today. He emailed to tell me that Scooter couldn't go to summer camp this year. Ugh. Camp is the one thing the out-shines the rest of the year for Scooter. She talks about the 5 short days of camp all year long. She makes plans for the next summer starting the day she gets back. It's the one place where she can hang with her cousins and have some wholesome fun. The girls have one cabin, the boys have two. They have flash lights and pool time and a camp fire and all the cliche's that go with camp. And Scooter and the 8 cousins that are old enough to go own that camp. They are a gang of smart, good looking kids, and they are charming and fun. And the ex wants to take that away from Scooter. Even if it wasn't in the court order saying that he had to let her go, why would he want to stop her?! What purpose does that serve? Other than to upset her and isolate her from her family and further damage her relationship with him. It makes no sense.
But never fear. I'm sure his lawyer is educating him on what a court order means. Maybe he can also talk to him about their chances of winning appeal, and this can all end sooner rather than later. Somehow, I doubt that, though...
Monday, July 18, 2011
That's what the weekend is for
We didn't do a whole lot around the apartment this weekend. I know. It's been over a month, and we're still not completely "moved in." This stuff takes time. Especially when you're downsizing from a 1300 square foot house with 4 bedrooms, an unfinished basement and a garage and shed to an 1180 square foot apartment. But mostly, I'm sick of trying to figure out where everything should go.
I did a couple of hours of work in my little craft nook. There's almost enough table showing to do a craft. But not quite. Ben put a bunch more stuff on craig's list. Someone buy our stuff! He also did some work in the office/guest room. Other than that, it was a fun-times weekend filled with the gym and a hike. Oh, yeah. We also bought bunk beds, assembled them, and skyped with the in laws and Scooter (but not at the same time).
The gym was fun. Ben gave me his gymboss, which is this little timer thing where you can set how long an interval you want, how long of a recovery you want, and how many intervals you want to do, and it yells at you until you're done. Just like a real trainer! Ok, it doesn't really yell. It beeps at the appropriate times until you're done. But it was fun. I followed that up with a 1km swim, which took me a lot longer than it should have. Bummer. I'm a little nervous about the swim portion of the tri coming up in 2 weeks. And, of course, I'm a lot nervous about the bike and run. Oh well. This will be an experience, at least.
Yesterday, we went on a hike. It was 5 miles round trip with 1600 feet of elevation gain (and then loss). So...it was rather steep. I carried Bubba on my back (in a baby hiker backpack) for pretty much the whole way. I think he walked down about 100 meters. He weighs about 22% of my body weight. He, at random, would swing said weight to and fro, or up and down by standing on the back support belt and leaning. Once in a while, he'd shift his legs so that his knees were in my back (not as bad as you'd expect it to feel), or he'd stand up and lean WAAAY back (at least it felt like it). But mostly, he sat nicely and put his head on my shoulder *sigh*. What a cutie pie. We stopped often (for me to rest), and we would kneel down to look at bugs or slugs. We saw 4 slugs that were over 6 inches long. Gross! But cool, too.
The summit was clouded in (due to the rain), so we couldn't see for miles and miles, but it was still a fun hike, and definitely one that I think Scooter could do and would enjoy. The wild flowers were wonderful. Today, my shoulders, back, thighs and right calf are sore. I'm hoping the walk to (and back from) work will help losen things up. Maybe I should cash in that bikram yoga coupon that Ben bought me. 20 90 minute sessions for $20 is an unbeatable deal, and the heat might also help my aching muscles. It was so nice to get out and do something, though, after weeks of spending time unpacking and cleaning the apartment. I'm excited about more of those kind of weekends in the weeks and months to come.
I did a couple of hours of work in my little craft nook. There's almost enough table showing to do a craft. But not quite. Ben put a bunch more stuff on craig's list. Someone buy our stuff! He also did some work in the office/guest room. Other than that, it was a fun-times weekend filled with the gym and a hike. Oh, yeah. We also bought bunk beds, assembled them, and skyped with the in laws and Scooter (but not at the same time).
The gym was fun. Ben gave me his gymboss, which is this little timer thing where you can set how long an interval you want, how long of a recovery you want, and how many intervals you want to do, and it yells at you until you're done. Just like a real trainer! Ok, it doesn't really yell. It beeps at the appropriate times until you're done. But it was fun. I followed that up with a 1km swim, which took me a lot longer than it should have. Bummer. I'm a little nervous about the swim portion of the tri coming up in 2 weeks. And, of course, I'm a lot nervous about the bike and run. Oh well. This will be an experience, at least.
Yesterday, we went on a hike. It was 5 miles round trip with 1600 feet of elevation gain (and then loss). So...it was rather steep. I carried Bubba on my back (in a baby hiker backpack) for pretty much the whole way. I think he walked down about 100 meters. He weighs about 22% of my body weight. He, at random, would swing said weight to and fro, or up and down by standing on the back support belt and leaning. Once in a while, he'd shift his legs so that his knees were in my back (not as bad as you'd expect it to feel), or he'd stand up and lean WAAAY back (at least it felt like it). But mostly, he sat nicely and put his head on my shoulder *sigh*. What a cutie pie. We stopped often (for me to rest), and we would kneel down to look at bugs or slugs. We saw 4 slugs that were over 6 inches long. Gross! But cool, too.
The summit was clouded in (due to the rain), so we couldn't see for miles and miles, but it was still a fun hike, and definitely one that I think Scooter could do and would enjoy. The wild flowers were wonderful. Today, my shoulders, back, thighs and right calf are sore. I'm hoping the walk to (and back from) work will help losen things up. Maybe I should cash in that bikram yoga coupon that Ben bought me. 20 90 minute sessions for $20 is an unbeatable deal, and the heat might also help my aching muscles. It was so nice to get out and do something, though, after weeks of spending time unpacking and cleaning the apartment. I'm excited about more of those kind of weekends in the weeks and months to come.
Friday, July 15, 2011
No. I'm a kitty!
Bubba has been asking me nicely to carry him in the mornings from the car to his daycare class. It's weird. It's been going on since shortly after we got back from Cancun. Prior to that it was "[Bubba] do it!" for everything. Opening the car door, getting into his seat, getting out of his seat, closing the car door, etc. He wanted to do it all. Now, it's a bit of the opposite. He throws a fit if my hands are too full to carry him to the car and put him in his seat (back breaker!). He hops out of the car and immediately says, "Up, please, mommy!" and stands there blocking my path with his hands in the air.
When he asks nicely, I generally comply, but after 10 straight daycare days of this, I finally asked him, "are you a little baby?" He answered, "No. I'm [Bubba]. I'm a little kitty." Oh. I guess that makes sense, then. ?? He's been on a kitty or doggy kick lately, where he crawls around and mews or barks, pretending to be an animal. He's advanced. Scooter didn't go through that phase until she was 4.
So today. It's Buck Moon, which is funny to me because my husband has a good friend named Buck. It's also Rembrandt's birthday. So...go on a Night Watch tonight in honor, I guess. Most importantly (I hope), its Saint Swithin's day. There's really nothing known about his life, but rumor has it (in England, anyway) that if it's raining on St. Swithin's day, it'll be cloudy and rainy for the next 40 days. If it's sunny on St. Swithin's, you can be assured of sunshine for the next 40 days. It's beautiful in Portland today.
So I just got done reading "Less Than Zero" and "Imperial Bedrooms" by Bret Easton Ellis. I would not recommend either book to my mother or my daughter - too much violence and questionable morality, but they were compelling nonetheless. They were written and set 25 years apart, but with the same characters, and it turns out, some people never change. Or if they do, it's probably for the worse. To get over my new fears, I'm now reading "A Short History of Women." The style is completely different, which is to say, it's slow and hard for me to get into, but we'll see, I guess. The subject matter is interesting to me (women's sufferage), and it's short enough that I should be able to finish it before it's due back to the library.
In other news, the storage unit is almost empty. Hooray! It is probably not possible to completely empty it this weekend, but wouldn't that be a nice goal to have. I guess that, and bunk beds, and more craig's list sales can be the goals for the weekend.
It's been 3 weeks tomorrow. We're 1/3 of the way done until Scooter comes back, and we still have so much to do at the apartment. Bubba has gone from correcting us, "It's not home, it's our new apartment." to begrudging acceptance, "It's new home." Maybe after the bunk beds are set up, he'll finally embrace where we are...
When he asks nicely, I generally comply, but after 10 straight daycare days of this, I finally asked him, "are you a little baby?" He answered, "No. I'm [Bubba]. I'm a little kitty." Oh. I guess that makes sense, then. ?? He's been on a kitty or doggy kick lately, where he crawls around and mews or barks, pretending to be an animal. He's advanced. Scooter didn't go through that phase until she was 4.
So today. It's Buck Moon, which is funny to me because my husband has a good friend named Buck. It's also Rembrandt's birthday. So...go on a Night Watch tonight in honor, I guess. Most importantly (I hope), its Saint Swithin's day. There's really nothing known about his life, but rumor has it (in England, anyway) that if it's raining on St. Swithin's day, it'll be cloudy and rainy for the next 40 days. If it's sunny on St. Swithin's, you can be assured of sunshine for the next 40 days. It's beautiful in Portland today.
So I just got done reading "Less Than Zero" and "Imperial Bedrooms" by Bret Easton Ellis. I would not recommend either book to my mother or my daughter - too much violence and questionable morality, but they were compelling nonetheless. They were written and set 25 years apart, but with the same characters, and it turns out, some people never change. Or if they do, it's probably for the worse. To get over my new fears, I'm now reading "A Short History of Women." The style is completely different, which is to say, it's slow and hard for me to get into, but we'll see, I guess. The subject matter is interesting to me (women's sufferage), and it's short enough that I should be able to finish it before it's due back to the library.
In other news, the storage unit is almost empty. Hooray! It is probably not possible to completely empty it this weekend, but wouldn't that be a nice goal to have. I guess that, and bunk beds, and more craig's list sales can be the goals for the weekend.
It's been 3 weeks tomorrow. We're 1/3 of the way done until Scooter comes back, and we still have so much to do at the apartment. Bubba has gone from correcting us, "It's not home, it's our new apartment." to begrudging acceptance, "It's new home." Maybe after the bunk beds are set up, he'll finally embrace where we are...
Thursday, July 14, 2011
spin cycle fail
Not much happened in history today. Just Dr. Spock's, "The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care" was published in 1946. It became America's 2nd best seller of all time, behind the Bible. Interesting, no? I've never read it. Hopefully, I'm caring for my babies/children with common sense.
This morning was not a spin class morning. I ran instead. The route that Ben planned for me only took me 26 minutes, so the rest of the time, I walked around the apartment complex (found a penny) and did some track stands on my mountain bike. Ever since I got the pedals that you have to clip into, I've been falling down a lot. Ben thought it'd be a good idea if I worked on my balance. I agreed.
To that end, it was decided that on run days, I'd spend 10 minutes or so working on bike skills. At this point, I need to know how to ride my bike almost more than I need the cardio work. Race day is 15 days away. I'm not completely ready, but it'll be good to see where I am in my training and what I need to work on. Compared to my last tri, I can already tell that my swim isn't quite there. I'm feeling more confident about the bike portion - with the exception of the single track. My last tri was a road sprint. This one is a bit shorter, but it's off-road. In other words, I need to learn how to stay on my bike.
Tuesday was pouring rain. The "work out" area in our apartment complex was closed, and I didn't want to run outside (I'm a baby), so I slept in. Today, however, it was nice out (and the treadmill area is open again), so I went for my run. After cooling down, I got the bike out of the apartment and went to work on my balancing. On the first track stand (where you brake and pedal at the same time and stay still), I fell over. At the first sign of tipping, you're *supposed* to ease up the brake and start riding. What I *did* (and usually do) was panic, brake even harder, and in slow motion, fall over to my left. It's always to my left. Somehow, I managed to skin my left knee, bruise my left thigh, and hurt my right wrist. Note to self: put on the bike gloves even if you're just doing track stands in the parking lot. After that, I contemplated just hanging up the bike for the morning, but then climbed back on and tried again. And again, and again, and again...
All in all, I did 14 minutes of "track stands" which mostly included me riding as slowly as possible in a circle in front of our apartment, slowing to a stop, and taking off again. Each individual "track stand" lasted about 3 milliseconds. But it's a start. And I only fell once.
I refused to run after my train this morning, so I had to wait 2 minutes for the next one. As I was getting off at my stop, I noticed the guy (or girl?) that I used to see everyday on my walk in. It turns out, he (she?) gets on at the same stop I get off. I don't think he saw me, and either way, he probably wouldn't have recognized me, since I haven't seen him since I got my hair chopped off in May. Which reminds me...last night's cut is even better than the one I got in May. Even though it's longer (I am growing it out, again), this one is sleeker, more chic, better. I can't wait to see what the next one looks like.
This morning was not a spin class morning. I ran instead. The route that Ben planned for me only took me 26 minutes, so the rest of the time, I walked around the apartment complex (found a penny) and did some track stands on my mountain bike. Ever since I got the pedals that you have to clip into, I've been falling down a lot. Ben thought it'd be a good idea if I worked on my balance. I agreed.
To that end, it was decided that on run days, I'd spend 10 minutes or so working on bike skills. At this point, I need to know how to ride my bike almost more than I need the cardio work. Race day is 15 days away. I'm not completely ready, but it'll be good to see where I am in my training and what I need to work on. Compared to my last tri, I can already tell that my swim isn't quite there. I'm feeling more confident about the bike portion - with the exception of the single track. My last tri was a road sprint. This one is a bit shorter, but it's off-road. In other words, I need to learn how to stay on my bike.
Tuesday was pouring rain. The "work out" area in our apartment complex was closed, and I didn't want to run outside (I'm a baby), so I slept in. Today, however, it was nice out (and the treadmill area is open again), so I went for my run. After cooling down, I got the bike out of the apartment and went to work on my balancing. On the first track stand (where you brake and pedal at the same time and stay still), I fell over. At the first sign of tipping, you're *supposed* to ease up the brake and start riding. What I *did* (and usually do) was panic, brake even harder, and in slow motion, fall over to my left. It's always to my left. Somehow, I managed to skin my left knee, bruise my left thigh, and hurt my right wrist. Note to self: put on the bike gloves even if you're just doing track stands in the parking lot. After that, I contemplated just hanging up the bike for the morning, but then climbed back on and tried again. And again, and again, and again...
All in all, I did 14 minutes of "track stands" which mostly included me riding as slowly as possible in a circle in front of our apartment, slowing to a stop, and taking off again. Each individual "track stand" lasted about 3 milliseconds. But it's a start. And I only fell once.
I refused to run after my train this morning, so I had to wait 2 minutes for the next one. As I was getting off at my stop, I noticed the guy (or girl?) that I used to see everyday on my walk in. It turns out, he (she?) gets on at the same stop I get off. I don't think he saw me, and either way, he probably wouldn't have recognized me, since I haven't seen him since I got my hair chopped off in May. Which reminds me...last night's cut is even better than the one I got in May. Even though it's longer (I am growing it out, again), this one is sleeker, more chic, better. I can't wait to see what the next one looks like.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
polygamy, cancer, candidate, geek, boy's town, virgin mary, live aid
The past two days were busy ones for the calendar of interesting events.
Yesterday (July 12) was the anniversary of Joseph Smith sanctioning polygamy as well as the anniversary of surgeon general reporting a direct link between lung cancer and smoking. Also, Geraldine Ferraro was announced as the first female VP candidate on July 12 (1984).
Today is embrace your geekness day. I'm pretty sure it's a made up day, but I'll embrace it anyway. I am pretty geeky. I prefer to classify myself as a nerd, though. Somehow, it seems a little nicer/more relatable than geek. Today is also the birth anniversary of Father Flanagan, who founded Boy's Town. That'd be important for a few Omaha folks, I guess. In 1917, a vision of the Virgin Mary appeared to the children of Fatima, Portugal. I have no additional information on that. Sounds weird, though. Why only the children? How many children? Where's Fatima? I'm going to have to do some google research...Also, on this day in 1985, the first LiveAid concert was kicked off by Prince Charles and Princess Diana. remember when they were an item? Life was so simple back then...
Today's spin class was a pace work workout. Generally, spin class does a lot of hill work (fitting for around here) or intervals (also good for training). But today? Pace. Find a pace that's faster than your comfortable riding pace and hold it. For an hour. While we make the resistance harder or easier. While we stand up or sit down. Active recovery involves keeping that faster than normal pace while easing up on the resistance. It was a nice switch from the norm, but I couldn't do it every day.
I'm getting my hair cut today. It's been 10 weeks. I'm ready, even though I'm not COMPLETELY sick of my hair, yet. It'll be nice to get it cleaned up a bit. Scooter's bed is gone!!! Crib gone, bed gone, Bubba LOVING the mattress on the floor thing. But it's a little wild, so we might be looking for beds before this weekend. We'll see how the next few nights go...
Yesterday (July 12) was the anniversary of Joseph Smith sanctioning polygamy as well as the anniversary of surgeon general reporting a direct link between lung cancer and smoking. Also, Geraldine Ferraro was announced as the first female VP candidate on July 12 (1984).
Today is embrace your geekness day. I'm pretty sure it's a made up day, but I'll embrace it anyway. I am pretty geeky. I prefer to classify myself as a nerd, though. Somehow, it seems a little nicer/more relatable than geek. Today is also the birth anniversary of Father Flanagan, who founded Boy's Town. That'd be important for a few Omaha folks, I guess. In 1917, a vision of the Virgin Mary appeared to the children of Fatima, Portugal. I have no additional information on that. Sounds weird, though. Why only the children? How many children? Where's Fatima? I'm going to have to do some google research...Also, on this day in 1985, the first LiveAid concert was kicked off by Prince Charles and Princess Diana. remember when they were an item? Life was so simple back then...
Today's spin class was a pace work workout. Generally, spin class does a lot of hill work (fitting for around here) or intervals (also good for training). But today? Pace. Find a pace that's faster than your comfortable riding pace and hold it. For an hour. While we make the resistance harder or easier. While we stand up or sit down. Active recovery involves keeping that faster than normal pace while easing up on the resistance. It was a nice switch from the norm, but I couldn't do it every day.
I'm getting my hair cut today. It's been 10 weeks. I'm ready, even though I'm not COMPLETELY sick of my hair, yet. It'll be nice to get it cleaned up a bit. Scooter's bed is gone!!! Crib gone, bed gone, Bubba LOVING the mattress on the floor thing. But it's a little wild, so we might be looking for beds before this weekend. We'll see how the next few nights go...
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
CSA is for me
Actually, I'm a novice. I constantly have to look up what CSA stands for (Commuity Support Agriculture). That doesn't mean I don't love it, though. Every week, fresh produce gets delivered to my work. When I remember, I pick it up and carry it with me on the train home. When I don't remember, I drive back into work to pick it up and drive back home before 7pm. Either way, my husband salivates as he looks up recipes to use for our bounty.
Cost-wise, it's about the same as what we would normally spend at the grocery. The benefit is organic produce, and a chance to try things that we would never buy on our own: hakurei turnips, chard, joi choi, and mizuna are a few of the things we've tried this year. So far, these new experiences have been overwhelmingly positive. Ben's been geeking out on veggies and their storage, prep, and final resting place (our plates).
Don't get me wrong, though. We have had our share of waste. For example, we didn't eat all of the radishes before they got soft and weird. It's a work in progress. But so far, we are proud CSA shareholders. We've kicked around the idea of doing the family share next year. We signed up for the "individual" share this year, which come each week in a 10 gallon rubbermaid. With the exception of the fresh herbs, which would be wonderful, the problem with the family share is the amount of food. We'd have to eat vegetarian meals for every dinner, and even if Scooter were around, there's no way we'd finish it all. Well...maybe we would. That girl can eat some veggies.
Cost-wise, it's about the same as what we would normally spend at the grocery. The benefit is organic produce, and a chance to try things that we would never buy on our own: hakurei turnips, chard, joi choi, and mizuna are a few of the things we've tried this year. So far, these new experiences have been overwhelmingly positive. Ben's been geeking out on veggies and their storage, prep, and final resting place (our plates).
Don't get me wrong, though. We have had our share of waste. For example, we didn't eat all of the radishes before they got soft and weird. It's a work in progress. But so far, we are proud CSA shareholders. We've kicked around the idea of doing the family share next year. We signed up for the "individual" share this year, which come each week in a 10 gallon rubbermaid. With the exception of the fresh herbs, which would be wonderful, the problem with the family share is the amount of food. We'd have to eat vegetarian meals for every dinner, and even if Scooter were around, there's no way we'd finish it all. Well...maybe we would. That girl can eat some veggies.
Monday, July 11, 2011
that lovin' feeling
I haven't lost it. In fact, I've got it. I've got it bad.
With the exception of the "missing" member of the family, life is about as good as it gets out here. Ben and I were just talking the other day about how content we are. Finally. We're finally in a happy place. Was it a new mattress, coming in to solve all of our problems? Maybe. That new mattress is pretty awesome. In fact, I've been sleeping so soundly, I often wake up wondering what happened to the night.
I'm pretty sure that this contented, happy feeling is a result of moving out here, though. Let me give you a small list of reasons why my life in Oregon is better than my life in Nebraska:
1. No airconditioning. On first glance, this might be met with horror. Until you realize that if you open the windows in Oregon, the humidity in the house actually drops. Amazing. Wonderful.
2. No road rage. I walk/ride the train for my daily commute. This takes about the same amount of time as my Omaha commute. It just costs 1/3 as much (maybe 1/4 as much with high gas prices), and affords me an extra 2 miles of "exercise" daily. Pretty sweet.
3. BJJ 5 times a week. This is not so much a plus for me as it is for Ben. But it IS kind of a plus for me because in Omaha, if Ben were to do 5 hours of bjj weekly, we wouldn't see him for 10+ hours during the week. Here...he can do 5 sessions of bjj and only miss about 3 hours of family time.
4. Farmers markets. Ok, there was a pretty good farmers market in Omaha. The difference here is that there are 3 within walking distance of either our house or my work throughout the week. And we belong to a CSA that delivers to my work. The one in Omaha was a 20-30 minute drive on Saturday morning, only.
It's not all happy contentedness, however. We miss our moms. We miss our Scooter (for the summer, at least). We miss our Omaha friends. We're still getting settled into the new apartment. But you know what? Neither Ben nor I have taken any allergy medication this year. Unheard of in Omaha. I ride my bike to the gym. Not unheard of, but definitely dangerous and/or time consuming. All in all, I'm probably the happiest I've been since Scooter was born. And I'm alright with that.
With the exception of the "missing" member of the family, life is about as good as it gets out here. Ben and I were just talking the other day about how content we are. Finally. We're finally in a happy place. Was it a new mattress, coming in to solve all of our problems? Maybe. That new mattress is pretty awesome. In fact, I've been sleeping so soundly, I often wake up wondering what happened to the night.
I'm pretty sure that this contented, happy feeling is a result of moving out here, though. Let me give you a small list of reasons why my life in Oregon is better than my life in Nebraska:
1. No airconditioning. On first glance, this might be met with horror. Until you realize that if you open the windows in Oregon, the humidity in the house actually drops. Amazing. Wonderful.
2. No road rage. I walk/ride the train for my daily commute. This takes about the same amount of time as my Omaha commute. It just costs 1/3 as much (maybe 1/4 as much with high gas prices), and affords me an extra 2 miles of "exercise" daily. Pretty sweet.
3. BJJ 5 times a week. This is not so much a plus for me as it is for Ben. But it IS kind of a plus for me because in Omaha, if Ben were to do 5 hours of bjj weekly, we wouldn't see him for 10+ hours during the week. Here...he can do 5 sessions of bjj and only miss about 3 hours of family time.
4. Farmers markets. Ok, there was a pretty good farmers market in Omaha. The difference here is that there are 3 within walking distance of either our house or my work throughout the week. And we belong to a CSA that delivers to my work. The one in Omaha was a 20-30 minute drive on Saturday morning, only.
It's not all happy contentedness, however. We miss our moms. We miss our Scooter (for the summer, at least). We miss our Omaha friends. We're still getting settled into the new apartment. But you know what? Neither Ben nor I have taken any allergy medication this year. Unheard of in Omaha. I ride my bike to the gym. Not unheard of, but definitely dangerous and/or time consuming. All in all, I'm probably the happiest I've been since Scooter was born. And I'm alright with that.
** EDITS** Zippers
**I added a link to my 2007 race results because I had erroneously stated previously that I had finished in just over 3 hours. It was actually just over 2. I guess it just felt like 3...
I get an email at work every month laying out notable tidbits about each day. The first Quaker immigrants landed in Massachusetts today, for example. They were later deported. Also, Dr. H. Harlan Stone used zippers rather than stitches on 28 patients today, thinking that would be better in case there were complications from the original operations - just unzip and go to work, right?! Hm...sounds like a pretty horrific idea if you ask me. And it kind of was. They don't do that, anymore.
I signed up for an offroad triathlon today. Mark your calendars, folks. July 30th, I'll be swimming, biking and running my way to exhaustion. I'll be 1/2 way there on the drive down, I'm sure. It's in Newport, so I'm fairly certain we'll have to go down the night before. Either that, or get up super early for the 9am start. I'm sure there'll be a pre-race briefing I'll have to go to as well. It's been a while since my last tri. I'm kind of excited. I'm also kind of scared and wondering why I signed up. The last one of these I did was a little longer (1000m swim, 20k bike, 5k run), and it took me 2 hours (I know, I know...). This one is 800m swim, 12k bike and 5k run. Last year's slowest person finished in 2:30. Yipes. You might be reading a blog post from the 2011 slowest racer from the Olalla Lake off-road tri. Congratulations! I'll keep you updated.
In prep, I've hopped back into the spin class routine. Today was my first day in over a month. I did a mini-backward-tri yesterday (run, bike, swim), and after spin this morning, my thighs were so tired/sore that my knees ache. Ugh. That's not a good feeling. I biked to the gym this morning. We only moved about 2 blocks away from our first apartment here, but for some reason, it has added about 9 minutes to the walk to the gym. Biking eliminates that. Next step is to figure out how to bike to work.
And last but not least, 10 weeks after getting my hair cut short, I'm going in for a trim up on Wednesday. So excited. Mostly b/c this haircut has lasted so long. I'm generally dissatisfied by week 4, and getting it cut by week 6. I just this weekend decided that I'm sick of my hair and ready for a trim. It's time to grow it out, so we'll see how creative my new hair guy can be...
I get an email at work every month laying out notable tidbits about each day. The first Quaker immigrants landed in Massachusetts today, for example. They were later deported. Also, Dr. H. Harlan Stone used zippers rather than stitches on 28 patients today, thinking that would be better in case there were complications from the original operations - just unzip and go to work, right?! Hm...sounds like a pretty horrific idea if you ask me. And it kind of was. They don't do that, anymore.
I signed up for an offroad triathlon today. Mark your calendars, folks. July 30th, I'll be swimming, biking and running my way to exhaustion. I'll be 1/2 way there on the drive down, I'm sure. It's in Newport, so I'm fairly certain we'll have to go down the night before. Either that, or get up super early for the 9am start. I'm sure there'll be a pre-race briefing I'll have to go to as well. It's been a while since my last tri. I'm kind of excited. I'm also kind of scared and wondering why I signed up. The last one of these I did was a little longer (1000m swim, 20k bike, 5k run), and it took me 2 hours (I know, I know...). This one is 800m swim, 12k bike and 5k run. Last year's slowest person finished in 2:30. Yipes. You might be reading a blog post from the 2011 slowest racer from the Olalla Lake off-road tri. Congratulations! I'll keep you updated.
In prep, I've hopped back into the spin class routine. Today was my first day in over a month. I did a mini-backward-tri yesterday (run, bike, swim), and after spin this morning, my thighs were so tired/sore that my knees ache. Ugh. That's not a good feeling. I biked to the gym this morning. We only moved about 2 blocks away from our first apartment here, but for some reason, it has added about 9 minutes to the walk to the gym. Biking eliminates that. Next step is to figure out how to bike to work.
And last but not least, 10 weeks after getting my hair cut short, I'm going in for a trim up on Wednesday. So excited. Mostly b/c this haircut has lasted so long. I'm generally dissatisfied by week 4, and getting it cut by week 6. I just this weekend decided that I'm sick of my hair and ready for a trim. It's time to grow it out, so we'll see how creative my new hair guy can be...
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Flakes
Well...we're all moved into our new apartment. Kind of. We call it home, and Bubba corrects us that it's not home; it's our new apartment. There's still boxes everywhere and junk piled up on every surface, but it's not from lack of trying. We've been slowly (but surely) emptying our 10x10x10 storage unit into our living room (and bedrooms and office and...). We're almost there.
We've decided to sell (or donate) all of our garage-type stuff that would have to be stored in a storage unit. We priced out those things, and at $65 a month (minimum - for the smallest one), we could replace all of the stuff IN the unit w/in a year for the cost of storing it. Bummer. After this move, though, I'm not in any hurry to do it again next May. We should probably go ahead and sign on for another year now, before they jack up rent on us.
We've also put up half of our belongings on craigs list. Actually, just the big items that we want to get rid of: Scooter's bed, Bubba's crib, etc. We've had 4 or 5 people "extremely interested" in the crib, arranged times for them to look at it, only to have them completely not show up. But I'm hopeful that the crib and the bed will be gone by Monday.
We've been busy unpacking boxes and hanging up pictures. It's almost like a real home, now. All that's left (besides about 15 more boxes and a TON of organizing) is Scooter. Once she's back here (in 7 more weeks), this really will feel like home.
We've decided to sell (or donate) all of our garage-type stuff that would have to be stored in a storage unit. We priced out those things, and at $65 a month (minimum - for the smallest one), we could replace all of the stuff IN the unit w/in a year for the cost of storing it. Bummer. After this move, though, I'm not in any hurry to do it again next May. We should probably go ahead and sign on for another year now, before they jack up rent on us.
We've also put up half of our belongings on craigs list. Actually, just the big items that we want to get rid of: Scooter's bed, Bubba's crib, etc. We've had 4 or 5 people "extremely interested" in the crib, arranged times for them to look at it, only to have them completely not show up. But I'm hopeful that the crib and the bed will be gone by Monday.
We've been busy unpacking boxes and hanging up pictures. It's almost like a real home, now. All that's left (besides about 15 more boxes and a TON of organizing) is Scooter. Once she's back here (in 7 more weeks), this really will feel like home.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Do you ever get that feeling...
I wrote this in June (June 13th, I think)...I'll post it today, but it's all out of date. Hopefully, I'll have more later today or this weekend. I need to get back into the writing of things.
I'm pretty accustomed to juggling several balls at once. I used to be a single mom. Sure, I'm a little out of practice, now that I have an incredibly helpful husband who also works, but somehow finds time to take the kids to the park every day, the library once a week, and swim lessons twice a week. But for some reason, I'm completely overwhelmed right now.
I'm overwhelmed to the point of inactivity. I have so much to do that I can't do one thing. I know it's not just me. I have a co-worker that was discussing this same phenomenon with me last week. At work, we're both so swamped that we've kind of just shut down. It has now crossed over into my "home" life, as well. At work (if you care), I've got 3 "high" priority priorities in addition to 4 "high" priorities that I've kind of put off. The 3 super-high (I'll call them) priorities are due by the end of June, except I'm going to be gone next week, so I basically need to have them done this week by Thursday. The other 4 are probably expected to be done by the end of June, too, but they're not going to be complete. At home, we're moving, getting ready for vacation, and trying to juggle after school activities (including homework) and playdates.
Yesterday, Ben's aunt and uncle and 2 of his cousins were kind enough to come up and help us move. Their help was MUCH appreciated (and needed). We're basically out of the old place, but now we've got to clean it. Ugh. And the new place is a total pit. I think it'll all fit, eventually, but it'll be pretty disorganized and awful until after we get back from vacation. We worked all day yesterday (with a couple of hours break for a playdate with one of Scooter's friends from school). By bedtime, I was walking in circles trying to decide what to tackle next. I did manage to get some shirts in a drawer, but that's about it. The story of my life, lately.
My sister nearly cut her thumb off last week. Surgery is today. I'm going to call her later, to see how it went. Her husband is out of the country, and apparently, a volcanic eruption has grounded his flight back. Additionally, my mother in law is having retina problems. Luckily, she's clear to fly to our vacation destination. The downside is that she can't carry anything (including her grandson). Hopefully, we can place him in her lap w/o too much stress on her.
Unfortunately, Scooter will not be coming back to Portland from our trip: she'll spend the rest of the summer at her dad's. It has kind of put a damper on the whole vacation for me. I'm really looking forward to some quality time with her before she goes, though. I'm glad we'll have next week w/o work OR home to distract us.
I'm pretty accustomed to juggling several balls at once. I used to be a single mom. Sure, I'm a little out of practice, now that I have an incredibly helpful husband who also works, but somehow finds time to take the kids to the park every day, the library once a week, and swim lessons twice a week. But for some reason, I'm completely overwhelmed right now.
I'm overwhelmed to the point of inactivity. I have so much to do that I can't do one thing. I know it's not just me. I have a co-worker that was discussing this same phenomenon with me last week. At work, we're both so swamped that we've kind of just shut down. It has now crossed over into my "home" life, as well. At work (if you care), I've got 3 "high" priority priorities in addition to 4 "high" priorities that I've kind of put off. The 3 super-high (I'll call them) priorities are due by the end of June, except I'm going to be gone next week, so I basically need to have them done this week by Thursday. The other 4 are probably expected to be done by the end of June, too, but they're not going to be complete. At home, we're moving, getting ready for vacation, and trying to juggle after school activities (including homework) and playdates.
Yesterday, Ben's aunt and uncle and 2 of his cousins were kind enough to come up and help us move. Their help was MUCH appreciated (and needed). We're basically out of the old place, but now we've got to clean it. Ugh. And the new place is a total pit. I think it'll all fit, eventually, but it'll be pretty disorganized and awful until after we get back from vacation. We worked all day yesterday (with a couple of hours break for a playdate with one of Scooter's friends from school). By bedtime, I was walking in circles trying to decide what to tackle next. I did manage to get some shirts in a drawer, but that's about it. The story of my life, lately.
My sister nearly cut her thumb off last week. Surgery is today. I'm going to call her later, to see how it went. Her husband is out of the country, and apparently, a volcanic eruption has grounded his flight back. Additionally, my mother in law is having retina problems. Luckily, she's clear to fly to our vacation destination. The downside is that she can't carry anything (including her grandson). Hopefully, we can place him in her lap w/o too much stress on her.
Unfortunately, Scooter will not be coming back to Portland from our trip: she'll spend the rest of the summer at her dad's. It has kind of put a damper on the whole vacation for me. I'm really looking forward to some quality time with her before she goes, though. I'm glad we'll have next week w/o work OR home to distract us.
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