Friday, September 17, 2010

La vie est belle = Life is good

oh blog, how i have missed you. i promise to never neglect you for this long again. this triathlon training, better said, this ironman distance triathlon training has been an incredible journey so far but at the same time, it has really consumed a lot of my life (free time). funny thing is, i'll be ready to do it again and again i'm sure. i've loved every second of it, even the going to sleep early and getting up at 3:30am on some mornings. i've learned more about myself this year than ever before.  my philosophy is this, take one day at a time. i intend on carrying that same philosophy into the race come October 23rd...tackle one mile at a time, especially those last 26.2 miles. sometimes when i'm running, i get goosebumps just thinking about running that last mile and running under that FINISHER banner. it's so close now, i can taste it.

time to catch you up on the last 3 weeks in bullet point style...
  • the weekend before my birthday, i went to rainbow river to float down the river on a raft and just relax. yes, i said relax...something i'm learning to do still and it is not easy but i had fun. the river is always 72 degrees so it felt pretty cold to me.
  • realized i should invest in bubble wrap. you remember my run in with the owl watcher a few posts ago? well, i had another little accident at rainbow river the next week. as i was getting off the raft at the exit ramp, i slipped on the algae infested bottom and landed hard on my left glute...the glute that has given me fits for years. it hurt like a mother driving home in the car for 2 hours too. all in all, it worked out and just seemed to be more of a deep bruise than anything else so it didn't hinder my training at all. another bullet dodged.
  • i have to learn to say NO to over the counter drugs. since 2006, i have had 2 really bad allergic reactions to aleve and tylenol gel caps and as of this week, i can add another to the list. it is unreal how just a few doses can turn into a week long nightmare of itchy welts/hives and swollen lips.
remember will smith in the movie hitch? this time wasn't that severe but the 2 others were, which scared the crap out of me. i thought i was in for round 3 this week but thankfully the reaction was mild in comparison and for that, i am thankful. another bullet dodged. for the record, after the big race, i'm going to see an allergist about this problem.
  • the weekend after my birthday, the j-man and i went down to sebring, fl to do the bok tower century. this 100 mile ride has some rollers but mostly flat and a very fast ride. we immediately got with the lead group and worked together very nicely to finish my fastest ever 100 mile ride in 4 hours and 36 minutes!!
  • this weekend (sunday) we are doing the assault on sugarloaf. this is a 112 mile course and a lot of the course we'll be riding is used for the 140.6 i'm getting ready to do-the Great Floridian. this will be a good training opportunity and i'm looking forward to it. i did this ride before and it is very, very hilly! there will be no PR here.
  • i'm very excited about my latest purchase. i bought the H2O audio thing for my tiny ipod so i can swim with music now. i need music! i can run and bike without it but man, this swimming is BORING me to tears. according to fedex, it should be at my doorstep today and i can hardly wait to test it out.
that's all i've got for now. i'll be back soon (not in 3 weeks). i want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes. i can't believe i'm 40! i sure don't feel like 40, whatever that feels like?? i do know that it puts me in an even more competitive age group...nice! bring it on ladies!

have a great weekend everyone...much love and peace out!

23 comments:

  1. SHE'S ALIVE!!! HAHA!

    Man, busy busy busy girl!!!

    Your bike time is going to allow you to WALK the 26.2 hahaha.

    Keep up the good work girl, glad you are enjoying your journey. That is THE WHOLE POINT after all!

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  2. So good to hear from you! Glad thinsg are going well!

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  3. YAY so [more like sooooooooooooooooo] happy you are back.

    Happy you are going great despite being so dang busy. :)

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  4. 4hr 36 minutes? You and Chris Leito. Let's see, add on 3hr 30 minute marathon and 1hr swim and you should finish GF in 9hr 30 minutes give or take.....
    Good job!!

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  5. Ah, it's so good to see you back, I've been wondering how you were and how your training's been going. So glad all is well :).

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  6. happy belated birthday and welcome back! 4:36 is an incredible time for a 100 miler!

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  7. Great to have you back! And sorry I missed the big day--happy birthday. Now you're older and wiser, right?

    Have a great ride this weekend.

    Oh, and loving Wild Horses right now thanks to your mix.

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  8. HEY! Happy Birthday late.

    Good luck at Sugarloaf!! Enjoy the ride.

    4:36 is crazy for 100 miles. You rock. I think I did 80 in that amount of time once.

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  9. This blogging thing is work when you are rounding up for the IM! Go ahead and slack. But give us the FULL report when you pass all the pros at the GF!

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  10. Sounds like you are in a sweet spot heading into the race!

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  11. Welcome back! Have I ever told you that I love your music:)

    I am so glad to hear that your training is going well! It will all be worth it in the end...just wait for making it across that finish line:)

    Happy belated Birthday to you! I turned 40 earlier this year too:)

    Good to have you back! have a nice weekend!

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  12. Great job on all the training!

    Enjoy the next couple of weeks!

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  13. no wonder you haven't posted in awhile - you've been BUSY! glad to hear training is going well!

    Off to my friday night date with the trainer!

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  14. So glad you've managed to dodge all 3 of those bullets. I think just getting to race day 100% healthy is half the battle when doing an ironman. Hope your ride this weekend goes well too!

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  15. The IM training is definitely time consuming, and I had my doubts if I'd want to go through it again, but after doing Louisville, I'm dying to do another one! I'm sure you will be too. Though I do have to say 3:30am wake-ups are intense... I think my earliest ever was 4:45am.

    I love the Rainbow River picture. I've never heard of it before but it's gorgeous!!!

    Happy Belated Birthday!

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  16. Oh, and I forgot to say congrats on your century PR... That is wicked fast!!!

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  17. You were missed! It sounds like you are going to have an awesome race.

    I'm interested to hear how the H20 audio works. Keep us updated! :)

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  18. Great news on the H2O tunz! I love mine:) nice riding as always!! and glad you dodged another bullets....no more bulledts.

    almost a month away ! !! !
    have a great weekend
    -Derek

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  19. Welcome back and glad to hear your training is going well! You were missed!

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  20. Missed you, KC. Swimming with an ipod. That's cool in the pool!

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