Fripped Again!

Really, we are at the beach. Shrimp shouldn't be that hard to come by. It is South Carolina after all--home of the low-country boil and shrimp and grits. We are leaving this morning and sadly we just never figured it out. We tried to buy shrimp yesterday too. And when the fresh seafood place says they close at 6pm they really mean 5pm. So we give up. We get it. We are not allowed to have shrimp. Maybe shrimp is something you get to have on your second visit. That's okay. Hot Dogs are good too. If I drink enough beer they are actually quite tasty.

Here are some pictures from my Island exploration yesterday. I tooled around on Lance for about an hour and took pictures along the way.




Deer crossing in front of me.

Some photos on the beach of the kids yesterday.
Carmella showed me her ballet moves.



And Beau had some moves too.
But silly faces are better.

And sharing is low on his list of things to do with his cousin but reluctantly he does it anyway.
Then we did the photo shoot at sundown. And here is where we were originally Fripped. See, we rented a house that was advertised as Oceanfront and silly us assumed that that meant there would be a beach. It did say beach 50 yards away but we failed to understand that they meant the beach was underwater. Apparently the beach washed away and is in the process of coming back. It is hibernating, I guess??
So rather than get in the car and drive to a beach with cranky kids who the bribe of Popsicles and cookies only had a small window of working we utilized the view of our oceanfront walkway to the beach.
Then we came back and Uncle Pat wrestled with the kids and I took pictures.

The End.
Now I need to go pack and prepare myself for the ride home with the child who not only read but I think wrote the latest edition to How to be the Most Annoying Child in the World, Ever. Seriously, Beau is a cliche of "I'm not touching you" and "are we there yet? I'm Bored!!!" Be jealous. Be very very jealous.

Some Lessons on Vacationing

We are so uncool. We are not "in."
I think we are being hazed and going through some sort of initiation process. It is like I am finally rushing that sority and if in, I'll get to go to all the best parties. At least that is what I am hoping because that is what happens when you are in a sorority, right?And it is pretty annoying since we are only here for a few days. We were not briefed about the "rules" of the island and despite Meme's and I exhaustive googling we missed some very key points about vacaying on Fripp Island. So just in case you'd like to come here let me be the one to help you out.

The first is that you have to have a golf cart. We don't have one and we are very jealous (we tested one in the parking lot out last night at the restaurant, you know, just to see what it would be like if we did have a golf cart). These people are crazy in their little carts. I feel a little like I am in a cartoon and that there is some theme song that goes with the carts but I can't think to what it would be. They drive all over this island completely wasted. You think that paparazzi shot with Brittany Spears driving around with a baby on her lap was crazy? Well, yesterday I saw a man driving around in his golf cart not only with his baby in his lap but was holding the baby just outside of the cart while he drove.

Second, woe onto you if you go anywhere without your amenities cards. Amenities smenities. Go somewhere without that card and not only can you not get into the pool or the potties but you also cannot eat at restaurants. This is very perplexing since you had to go through security gates with armed guards to even get onto the island. So unfortunately for us we saw these amenities cards as superfluous and did not take them seriously. After about 600 embarrassing incidents where we were caught without the amenities card we've since been schooled. Thankfully, last night, we met a long lost "relative"--Keven Lewis--who graciously put us all on his card and gave us the 411 on rules of Fripp.

Oh yeah, one last thing. South Carolina has some confusing ass laws--like you can buy beer on Sunday but not liquor and you can never buy liquor after sundown--well except in restaurant or a bar. But the one that I am most baffled by is that you cannot buy shrimp or really any fresh seafood on Sunday. Well, this probably isn't actually a law and I am guessing you can get seafood from Publix but all those local seafood stands are closed on Sunday. Why? Why? Why? Hopefully they will be open today and we can have our Frogmore Stew tonight.

Despite all these hardships we are carrying on and managing to have an absolutely lovely time.
We are, if nothing else, a family that is known to rise above such adversities.

My View This Morning

Hi!

We are at Fripp Island, South Carolina for the Memorial Day Weekend. There is lots of deer. Awesome weather.

And my other view this morning--Go fish anyone?
Yesterday afternoon:
Do not! Underestimate a girl with a bubble gun.
Kids having a pic-a-nic dinner on the porch last night.

The bunk room or wait, is it the butt plug room?
More later. Off for a run and a spin on Lance to explore the Island before I get properly sloshed on Corona light the rest of the afternoon.

Tri log- Mid week update

Since I've added the swim and bike I've been having some new soreness but I've decreased my running a bit so I am having more energy. Running everyday is very hard on me--unless I am doing low mileage and then I can usually go about 10 days before I have to take a rest day.

So here is what is sore--ankles, mostly on the right side on the outer part. Really this is more tightness. I also have a knot in my right calf but that I think is probably from running. I am also having some calf cramping at the beginning of my runs--in both legs, and maybe not true cramps but they are really tight. I don't know, it seems to resolve itself after a few miles so I am choosing to ignore it. Also, right below my butt towards my outer thigh is achy. Doesn't seem like it is really the hamstring. I've had hamstring soreness from running but that is usually more towards the inner thigh and lower down the leg. This is higher. I am assuming it must be from the bike and also assume it will not be a problem once the muscles there get developed. I've seen those bike girls' hips and outer thighs and they don't look like mine. They seem to have a curve there that I don't have. I also have some tenderness from the bike saddle in the groin area and I just hope this gets better. Surprisingly I have no soreness in my arms, back or shoulders. Little in the wrist and forearm-- probably from both bike and swim. It is all mild, just new stuff that I am noticing.

So my workouts this week thus far:
Sunday: I was pretty sore so I only ran 3 miles-- let's call it a recovery run from Sat's race--ended up at about 26 minutes. Then I swam laps at the pool during adult swim a few times (we spent the day at the pool hanging out). Probably only totaled about 800m in all.

Monday: 1 mile swim (30 minutes), 20 miles (56 minutes)hill work out on the bike at the gym, 3 mile run (23 minutes).

Tuesday: rest. I was just worn out. I can't remember the last time I took a day off but it has been close to 2 weeks I think so I needed it.

Wednesday: 9 mile run in under an hour 20. It was rough the first 3 miles and I really struggled with calf cramps but by the last few miles I was completely pain free and felt great. If I had had time I would have gone on longer. Then Beau and I headed to the gym. Got on the bike for 35 minutes (13 miles, hill workout) and realized my legs felt beat but again by they end of the workout they felt fresh. Got in the pool swam a mile, 30 minutes. Started having foot cramping at the end so I sat in the suana afterwards and stretched for a few minutes.

Mid week totals:
Running: 15 mpw--I am little upset that my running total is so low as usually I am at about 25+ miles by Wed. I am hoping though that the swim and bike are helping me maintain my endurance level. If that makes sense.
Biking: 33 mpw
Swimming: 2.5 miles

Not sure what all I can get in this week. Beau is out of school and is being a pill about going to the gym in the mornings. Childcare is hard to come by. Take it when I can get it. Also we are going to the beach so I'm getting ready for that. So we'll see what I can work in before then.

The Ushering in of the Age of Awkward

Big sigh
It is upon us.
Or rather, it is upon Carmella. We have gap.

No more are the perfect little Chiclet rows.

The tooth? Well, the tooth has been loose since oh, . . . early April, gosh maybe even March. So we knew it was coming but honestly I was beginning to doubt that she was really going to let it come out.

On the way home from the beach she realized it was loose and completely lost her marbles over it. I pretty much had to peel her off the ceiling of the car. Even though nearly every single one of her friends have all lost several teeth I guess she thought it wouldn't happen to her. It completely freaked her out that it was loose and then when we told her, excitedly, that it was going to come out and that she would be getting all new teeth, well, it wasn't pretty. And I am not kidding--hyperventilating, crying, wringing of the hands and shaking of fists at the inequalities of life sort of freaking out. I can't even begin to imagine how she is going to react when she starts her period. Being human is too creepy for her. It probably would be wise if I get a prescription of Xanax for her and have it ready that milestone--you know start slipping it into her juice or something as soon as she hits 13. I think adolescence will go much easier for her.

So the tooth has been hanging on by a thin root for about 2 weeks now. It has been giving me the heebie jeebies every time she opens her mouth. This past weekend she was so dramatic about food--corn, apples, hamburger, pizza--all impossible choices! Ice cream, popsicles-- the only safe bets.

Last week I chased her around the house trying to pin her down so I could pull it out but she was too hysterical at the very thought of it so I let her go. No need to completely traumatize her, well at least not yet. There will be plenty of other opportunities (let's not forget I got menstruation to look forward to with her. Yes, honey totally normal. And guess what! It happens every single month! And I can just imagine how the tampon conversation is going to go over too.)

So anyway. . .Finally, this morning the tooth just fell out.

She tells her story here:

Triathlon Forum

FYI I started a triathlon forum.

Here is the link. You will probably have to register. (Chose your member name carefully as you will be stuck with it.)

I just figured since so many of us have begun training and there seems to be a high interest in tri-ing in general that it might be a good place to swap info, get training feedback and most importantly to ask questions --and God knows that I have a bazillion questions.

Right now it is not private but I might change that or I might just close it if there is no interest.

Thoughts? Opinions?

10k Today

I did this 10k.

Eh.

This morning when I got up at 5am I really did not want to go. I can't quite put my finger on it but maybe it was the beers I had at the 4 year old's birthday party in the afternoon yesterday. Or wait, maybe it was the glass of wine I sipped while I danced and got my groove on in my kitchen after I dropped the kids at my parents; showing Ryan all the fancy new moves I've been practicing. No, maybe it was the dirty martini I enjoyed over Ryan and I much needed adult dinner. Or maybe it could have been because I knew this race attracts some of the fastest local runners and I didn't want to find out how slow I really am. But, you know, I think it mostly was because while I knew I wanted to run today I really didn't want it to be at 7am--especially since the kids weren't here it was a golden opportunity to acutally sleep until 7. Oh well, I'll sleep when I'm old and feeble and can't run.

So I went. I ran. I finished.

You'd think with most people that would be the whole story but you know me, I gotta drag it all out.

I was the 7th woman finisher and 3rd in my age group--gotta little plaque. I think the 1st and 2nd place overall winners were also in my age group. My time though sucked: 45:43. I had set Garmin to pace me and he finished the 10k at around 43:08 with the finish line no where in sight. I wasn't entirely surprised by this since it seemed the markers were off from the first mile and I had thought it would work it self out but they kept being more and more off. Garmin read 6.88 miles when I did finally get to the finish. I know my Garmin acts a little crazy sometimes but that is because I often lose the signal. I didn't today--had it the whole time. I asked about and a few runners said their times were off by a few minutes and one girl said her GPS said 11.5K-- so I think the course was long. Doesn't matter as it wouldn't have changed my placement since we all ran the same course.

The course was pretty easy compared to most courses in Alpharetta as it is relatively flat. Which is also why I am further suspicious of my time since I regularly run a 10k faster than 45 minutes on the treadmill.

Okay, I'll let it go. It is what it is. And a PR is not what it is.

Best friend came out too and ran the 5k. Yeah Tara! Very proud that you and skirt were out there representing the kick ass girly girls.

It was also nice to see Tracy, Rod and Virginia who all ran the 10k and did just super!

After the race I went over to the Greenway and rode Lance for 12 miles. This came in pretty slow as there were was some sort of 5k or school fun run going on at the end near the YMCA (read lots of little kids and parents.)

First week of triathlon training totals:
MPW: 44 (ran everyday)
Swimming: 2,600 meters (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday)
Bike: 24 miles (Wed, Sat)

Miss I

Miss I's itch
cannot be seen;
It is up and down and in between.
It keeps Miss I
in itchy stitches,
Wiggle hopping as she itches.

Today at Carmella's school was the letter person parade. It is the Kindergarten finale. All the kindergartners give a presentation--they wear a (homemade) costume, recite a poem, sing some songs and then parade through the whole school. All the other grades line the hall and cheer and clap as the kindergartners make their rounds.

It is pretty much the cutest thing ever.

Here is Carmella on parade:
That is Miss H with her "horrible hair" in front of Carmella. I know Carmella was very relieved to not have been Miss H.

She really liked her costume but not the crown so much--too itchy (honey, that's the point). We did iron-on's and I cut and sewed felt objects on an old dress. That is right, I sewed. Moi, sewed--as in needle and thread. And I-- nor anyone else-- got hurt. Unbelievable, I know.

On her dress-- in case you can't see are: Insects, Ink, Italy, Igloo, Ice Cream, Itchy and on the back, with a nod to her heritage, is a shamrock patch that says "Irish" and the word "Italian" under it. The crown is a big pink I.

Oh yeah, and only girls get to be vowels. That totally makes sense. I mean after all, everyone knows vowels are what makes a word. You certainly couldn't depend on the boys to do that! neener,neener, neener

And here is Carmella with the other Miss I's reciting their poems on stage.


Look out first grade!

Butt Plug

Eye-catching lead, isn't it?

Okay, so I know I have mentioned Beau's speech issues many times and how they result in many, many misunderstandings--kitty poops anyone?

And you know, I could choose to be really sad about it every time we have communication break downs because it is sad and frustrating and just heartbreaking that such a smart little boy is having such a hard time getting his ideas across. Big huge sigh though, as with everything else in life it is just easier if you try to find the humor and laugh about it and move on. So that is what I have chosen to do.

Yesterday on the ride home from school Beau and Parker were talking play dates and Parker said he wanted to have a sleepover at my house (Parker is working his way to living at my house I think). I pointed out for the 1 millionth time that they are too young for sleepovers. But nonetheless the topic persisted. And Beau said something to the effect that Parker could do something with a "butt plug". It was all garbled but I clearly heard "butt plug." (Sorry no links, too inappropriate, go Google for yourself if you have any questions.)

Butt plug? Surely that is not what he said.

So not entirely certain of what I heard and most definitely not wanting to repeat the taboo yet very popular with the sandbox set word "butt"-- much less the combination of "butt plug" -- I asked him to repeat what he said.

Again, it was garbled but my ears clearly heard what sounded exactly like "butt plug."

Parker too heard something amiss as he too asked Beau to say it again.

And again it sounded like "butt plug."

So not really believing that my 3 year old has any real understanding of what a butt plug is but most definitely very interested in finding out what he thinks a butt plug is and exactly how on earth it relates to a sleepover, I asked him to explain what he meant and show me if he could.

So Beau, slightly exasperated at having to explain-- yet again-- something that is apparently quite simple; mimed the motion for sleep and said something to the effect that he will sleep up on the top butt and Parker will sleep on the bottom butt.

Light bulb over my head flicks brightly on.

Duh!

Me: Ohhhhhh! You and Parker will sleep in your bunk bed!!! You on the top bunk and Parker on the bottom bunk?

Beau: YES!!!!

Parker: YES!!!

Me, crossing myself with relief: Uhm yeah, maybe when you guys are 5 or something. So hey, Parker, want to come play at our house today?

On riding Lance and eating humble pie. . .

So I rode Lance today. And I know that just sounds all sorts of inappropriate. I brought Lala with me too. And yes it was because I was scared to go by myself.
She ran and I rode. So technically I was alone but it helped knowing that there was someone else out there with me. See, I'll go on 20+ mile runs all by my lonesome but I am chicken shit about a little old bike ride on the Greenway Trail.

For those not from this area the Greenway is a relatively flat concrete trail in Alpharetta. It is 6 miles long probably 12 feet wide. Most importantly there are no cars but I did have to tango with the stroller brigades that for some reason must walk 3-4 a breast and take up the whole trail. And even though I called out loudly and gave plenty of warning that I was "on the left" one mommy was a little slow on getting out of the way and I had to off-road it and barely caught myself before I face planted into the trail. I heard them snickering as I got back on the bike and rode away but I was all kinds of pissed off and hoped that they were not laughing at me because of their complete lack of understanding of trail etiquette. Bitches. In the not too distance past I too have been part of the stroller brigade and ran with both Carmella and Beau in the jogger yet never once have I had an incident with a cyclist. But that is because I understand the etiquette and know how to share the trail and can read the posted signs clearly stating the specifics. Bitches.

Okay, so I am still little mad. But moving on. I think I am going to stick to the Silver Comet Trail and the Greenway until I get more confident on the bike. I am definitely not road ready as I did not once change gears today. I was just too nervous. But it was pretty flat and the resistance was fine where it was. I did 12 miles in 45 minutes. Not sure how that averages out but Garmin reported for the most part a 15-16mph pace (the posted speed limit is 10mph so I was going too fast, not paying attention to the signs but in my defense there were others that were going much faster than me out there today). I guess this means that I will have lots to make up for on the run.

Speaking of runs I wanted to see how it felt after the bike so I logged a 5k immediately after the bike.

Oh.My.God.

My legs.

They were broken.

I mean I knew that this happened-- as I have heard others mention it but I guess I didn't believe it or didn't think it would happen to me after only a 12 mile bike ride that I really didn't push that hard on. I wasn't even the slightest bit tired after the bike but when I started running I wasn't even sure my legs were moving. I felt like I was going soooooo slow. Not to mention that about a quarter mile into the run my calves started cramping. That has never happened before. The first mile came in just over 9 minutes and I was pushing hard but just could not make my legs go. After the first mile I could feel them coming back to me and I kept pushing the pace. I finished the 5k just shy of 24 minutes. I was not happy with that. I had expected to be faster. It was very humbling.

I have lots to work on. I guess it is good that the tri I am looking at is in August or I'd be asking for extra helpings of humble pie for certain.

In other news Pop bought Lala a new bike. After he found out she gave me hers on Monday he stopped by the bike shop that night and they decided on this bike. They didn't have her size so they got one in and I went with her after our bike/run so she could test drive it. She bought it and is picking it up tonight. So I guess Pop will sleep better tonight knowing his bike fleet is no longer diminished, its number restored.

In the pool again

Still no bike workout. Maybe tomorrow. This was my last opportunity for a long run for awhile. So this morning I ran 14 miles. Not spectacular and came in pretty slow--2 hours. Shrug, it was hot. I was tired. But it was fine. Nothing to complain about--just a slow run. It happens. I mean, not that any of mine are super fast but I usually manage 15 miles in 2 hours.

Then the kids had play dates. Well, technically Beau did: Parker, Chase, and Sophie. Sophie and Chase's mommies were here; so was Chase's baby sister Ellie. Having extra adults around makes afternoons with young children much easier. Especially when I don't have to be the only peace maker. Even still, a few hours with 4 3 year olds and a six year old and I was left feeling a little tense; my brain a little fried.

So I went to the gym to swim again. I timed my 400 today. I did 3. The first was more of a warm up and came it at 7:34. Eh, okay. The second 400 I pushed harder and that came in at 6:43. I am a little suspicious about that one. Even though I definitely swam harder it seems too fast-- like maybe I was off by a 50??? I mean I thought I counted right but like I said, my brain was fried. The third I counted more carefully. It came in at 7:09. That seems about right and maybe the second 400 was too. I suppose it doesn't matter. I think I will improve.

I shared the lane with a guy who just finished the gulf coast half ironman. He came in right around 5 hours. I was worried I was to slow for him but he was encouraging about my swim saying it was "spot on" or something to that effect and even told me not to let him get in my way as he was just working out the kinks. I picked his ear a bit about swim workouts. All very helpful. It is weird but the pool is a completely different scene than the rest of the gym. Maybe it is the closed setting, maybe because everyone is half naked but people are a bit chattier than they are when you are on the treadmill or lifting weights.

Thank you everyone for your tips. I didn't practice 'sighting' but will next time I do a mile swim. Which will probably be next week. I don't know if I can stand to be in the pool more than twice a week. All I can smell is chlorine. Not to mention, I'm beat.

Introducing. . .

Lance . . .
Lance is not my name pick. Lance is, er was, Lala's bike. She is a Lance fan.

Lala called this morning and told me to come pick him up. Pop bought Lala Lance a few years ago. Lala has osteoarthritis in her neck. Apparently this makes Lance painful for her to ride. While we were at the beach she told me I could have Lance. I didn't take her too seriously as I didn't think Pop would at all go for that. Pop is pretty possessive about his things and while he bought Lance for Lala it still falls under the category of Pop's things.

See, Pop is a man who firmly believes in the adage of whoever has the most toys when he dies wins. He has a tool museum (cement mixer anyone? double edge miter saw? framing nail gun? pressure washer?), a couple of cars ( okay just 3 now but when I was selling my Jeep he considered buying it from me because he hated to see it go but I said no. Just seemed wrong to sell a man a car he bought in the first place. As it ended up I sold it to my cousin and the fact that it remained in the family was good enough for Pop).

Pop likes to own things and lots of things he does have: boats, computers, camping and fishing gear etc etc. In our family there is a saying and it goes like this:

Why buy what you can borrow from Beau?

But lest you get any ideas about stealing from Pop I should warn you that not only is he a black belt in karate but he also takes very seriously his right to bear arms. I've only seen them a few times and only one time all at once when he had them laid on the kitchen table admiring? cleaning? I don't know, but I do know that he has a safe taller and three times wider and deeper than me full of guns of all calibers and gauges.

When I began thinking about doing a triathlon I really wasn't too worried about the fact that I do not own a bike because I knew that Pop has at least 4 maybe as many as 6 Trek bikes--definitely 2 mountain bikes and 3 or so road bikes. (If nothing else Pop is brand loyal.) Pop does ride regularly and has for as long as I can remember; but does not ride as frequently as the number of bikes he has suggests. And I figured surely he can spare one of his bikes for his oldest and favorite child (Sorry Pookie, Justin.)

I definitely did not have my eye on Lance since I thought no way would Pop be ready for Lance to go. And I can't say for certain that Pop actually knows that Lala said I could have Lance nor that she called me and told me to come and take him. See, while Pop is a toy hoarder-- Lala, on the other hand, is happy to let any of it go and actually tries to get rid of as much stuff as she can get away with. If you want something Pop has it is always best to ask Lala for it.

So the short of this long is that now I have a bike; well, yeah, sort of. It is a Trek and has the number 1200 on it. What this means? I have no idea and Lala didn't either as she was not at all helpful on instructions on how the gears work or anything else other than that there were extra brakes and it is silver, like a rocket. This means that I am going to have to ask Pop about Lance's specs and that is going to be a pretty painful experience where I get way more information that I ever will need. I will probably walk away from that conversation knowing how to build a Trek bike. This is what happens when half your relatives are engineers.

But in truth I could probably use the advice. So far my future with Lance is not too promising. First, after I went and fetched Lance, I came back in the front of my parent's house to find my children leaping over the sprinkler, fully clothed. Oh well. Lala bought me a box of Allen wrenches and I worked on lowering the seat (I'm shorter than Lala). I thought I had it about right and climbed on: only to immediately topple sideways over into the mud.

Told you I was an idiot on the bike. Ryan thinks I am sandbagging about my specialness on the bike because I occasionally do a spin class and one time I rode from Roswell to Atlanta on a mountain bike. But in spin class the bike is bolted to the floor and it is just a miracle I didn't get killed on that ride downtown.

After some further adjustments to the seat and my pride, I finally managed to get on the bike and took Lance for a test ride on the street--just 2 miles--2 miles during which I could not figure out the gears at all but otherwise it felt fine enough. With "fine" being based on nothing. I have no idea what I am talking about.Whatsoever.

When Lance and I returned from our spin I found my kids completely naked and leaping over the sprinkler. I thanked Lala for her generous gift and crammed Lance into the back of the Explorer and strapped wet naked kids in car seats and drove home thinking that I most certainly would get pulled over for something random and dumb--because usually that is how things work for me. But I didn't and I am grateful that I didn't have to explain to a police officer why I had naked kids in my car. Small favors.


I know I didn't post much last week. I have been running. Boring. Same old same old: Running. Little cross training, some walks, little weight lifting--nothing new. I think I did 45 or so miles last week. I am trying to organize some sort of training program for the summer. I think I am going to have to cut the mileage if I want to incorporate the biking and swimming. And it is hard for me to give up the running. It is my security blanket. I feel like nothing is as hard as running or keeps me in as good of shape. I know that this probably isn't true so I am trying to wrap my mind around that and trade a few running workouts for a swim and a bike workout. So far that hasn't happened. I just run before the other workout.

I ran 10 miles yesterday--easy. This afternoon I ran 4 miles on the treadmill in under 30 minutes and then hopped in the pool for a workout. And I learned some things.

First the pool at the gym isn't a 25yd pool like I thought but is a 25 meter pool this is per the gentlemen in the lane next to mine that I pestered. So that mile I swam 2 weeks ago in 30 minutes? It was actually more than a mile. Pats self on back. Second, I am pretty certain that I was a faster swimmer when I was 10 than I am now at 35. I can't remember my times for the 100 but I think it was faster than what I did today. I definitely remember it being much more effortless.

My original plan today after my run was to just do a 400yd swim and see how long that took--just to get an idea of where I was starting and what I needed to work towards. After a warm-up I changed my mind and decided to test out my speed at 100 meters--especially since the pool is meters not yards and I don't know how many laps I needed to do. I asked nice guy next to me but he didn't know. This whole meter/yard/mile/lap thing is confusing. I am having to do more figuring and math than I generally like to do.

I warmed up with an easy 100m.

Then I did 100m x 4 with about a minute rest between each 100m. Please note that I was not scientific with the rest whatsoever. Mostly, I spent the rest time asking the nice man in the lane next to me a bunch of questions and had him doing my math for me. Not sure what sort of workout he was doing but he was standing there every time I finished a 100.

I borrowed Beau's stop watch (my Beau, not Pop. I should also tell you that I am wearing his goggles too--again the 3 year old's not the 56 year old's. They are Nike though. And they totally suck.)

Here are my results--again not scientific since I had the watch sitting on the pool edge and to manually paw wet handed over the pool's edge to stop it:
The first 100m came in at 1:30
The second 100m came in at 1:25
The third was 1:28
The last was 1:29

Really this workout was harder than I thought it would be and brought back memories of the time clock and pyramid intervals and the chaos of diving swimmers and the muted echoes of coaches screaming go!go!go! I wished today I had had someone to yell at me when to go. It is hard to push yourself in the quiet and calmness of the gym pool. Especially with polite man in the next lane who patiently answers all of your annoying questions.

I cooled down for 200m and called it a workout.

So now I have a starting point and I think a reasonable goal is to get 100m below 1:25 and shoot for 6-7 minutes for the 400m. I don't know how lap swimming translates to the open water. I am assuming you are slower in the open water but then again you don't lose time for flip turns and you've got that race day magic going on. There is race day magic in triathlons too, right?

Okay, so I guess I am tri-ing. On to the bike. So nervous. . .

Feeling Better

Maybe I was really sick and it wasn't allergies. I don't know. I refilled my prescription for nasal spray when I filled Beau's antibiotics (apparently I have like 20 refills!) so I am back to nasal doping and while I am still coughing here and there my energy level is back up and I don't feel dizzy or have any of those other symptoms. The air quality yesterday and today was good ( though pollen count is still high). So it could be that. Who knows. At any rate my runs the past 3 days have been much better.

I got in a 6 mile run both Sunday and Monday mornings. And also walked a few miles with the kids in the wagon and then went to the gym for some weights and elliptical cross training in the evening on Monday. Today though(I am so proud after how I struggled last week) I got in 16 miles at 2 hours and 19 minutes. 8:42 pace. In the last few miles I alternated sprinting (Garmin at one point said 5:13 mile!) and walking. First 6 miles I averaged a 8:55 mile-- so a negative split workout. Not too shabby in the rising heat of the day. I should admit though that the first part of my run has much more uphill than the last half. Though all is hilly, just the first half is harder.

I have my eye on a couple of 10ks this month and I am seriously thinking about jumping that tri-train this summer. But I need advice--big time. Here are some of my questions:

--What would be the best distance for me to start with? I can easily swim a mile but have never ridden a bike more than 30 miles and that was only once. Running I think I would be fine with anything less than a marathon.
--Do I have to have someone help me with all the staging or can I do this by myself?
--Good books on training?
--What is up with the fins? I see people at the pool using them. Are you allowed to use them in competition?-- if not what purpose do they serve in training?
--Can I bike in my running shoes? I can't do clips, I fall off the bike.
--Does it matter what sort of bike?
--Do I have to have a wet suit?
--What else?

Retail Therapy

Cheering self up for missing race.
Bought new skirt in daiquiri ice.

FYI for my runner girlfriends:
Swimoutlet.com has the marathon girl 06 on clearance for $35--regularly $50.
They say to size up. I find this is not necessary.

Be skirt; run fast, like a girl.

Sigh, no race today

Beau has strep throat. Ryan has to work. No one wants to watch the kids and their germs--not that I can blame them. So no 5k for me today. Good luck to everyone who runs. I hope you have a great race.

Superstar!!

As promised photos of tap outfit.
My clip was too big to upload on youtube. I'll figure it out later.

Another at home. She said " Mom! No close up! You'll see my boogers!" I had to show her that her boogs were not in the photo.
Can you believe the make up? I seriously don't know what those pageant moms are thinking when they do their little girls up like this and make them compete for beauty. Creepy. I mean, Carmella looks pretty but I just want to say it is wrong to encourage a 6 year old to wear make up and compete in beauty pageants. I only put this much on her because last time I didn't and she did look very washed out in her pictures.

At GA Tech.
We love the gloves best. The positioning and affixing to the head the hat was quite the learning curve. There are like 5,000 barrettes holding it in place.
Another close up. Again the make up. You can see it better in this picture. We had just reapplied the lipstick.
Waiting for their turn to rehearse.
Blurry on stage pictures.
I couldn't get the setting right with the stage lighting.
Carmella is the one on the very end.


I just like this one. At Lala's house-- in front of the irises.

I can't believe I forgot to include this when I first posted this but I just realized that I forgot to mention the reason for the shopping cart in the stage photo.

It is because their dance number is to Lost in the Supermarket by The Clash:
This just cracks me up. My little girl, who is 6, is doing a dance routine to a Clash song about being lost in a supermarket. It is all coming together for me. It is like she--and the other little girls are mocking me. Why would I think this? Well, because when Carmella was 3 and her teacher asked her what her mommy's job was she said: "to go to the grocery store." (Ryan's is to go to work.)

I guess I know what my theme song is now. What is yours?