Monday, May 30, 2011

Pro.crast.in.ation.

I am SUPPOSED TO BE packing for our trip to California tomorrow while the hubby, the sitter (aka. Uncle Fox) and the kids are melting, um, I mean enjoying the Brewer Vs. Reds game. I am behaving, by putting away some dishes. Testing some dark chocolate and making sure the remote control works correctly for the crew.

So far so good. (I am super excited for Extreme Makeover, fat people edition!! Yay!!)

I just finished a swim at the gym, met a another local triathlete... yay! I was a bit surprised that I didn't drown considering how sore my arms and shoulders still were from Saturday.
Our Trainer gave us a 'challange'...
Run 5 laps (a half mile) with 2 ten pound weights.
Do 50 push ups
Do 25 Burpee's
Do 75 Air squats
Do 25 pull ups
Run 5 more laps with 2 ten pound weights.

Oh, yeah, that was work. A youngster that took pity on my joyfully finished her workout as I was on my 2nd lap in the last set. She said "I'll run with you" in her, oh so-happy-to-be-done-already way. I said' Ok, only if you don't expect me to talk'. I felt a little better as we rounded the last lap and she said to me "Wow, I am really impressed, you didn't even slow down. I was walking on the corners". I may be SLOW but I can endure. : )

Ok, back to work...
I am preparing myself to menatally pack the correct clothes for the cooler temps in Cali. It is going to be in the high 50's the entire time we are there. I REALLY feel bad for those athletes that signed up for the Alcatraz Triathlon. Brrrr!! At least it is nice temps for the bike and run! (um, once they dry off)...
ok, I guess my mental break is over.

Back to procrastinating, opps, I mean PLANNING!
: )

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Why I Don't Like Playing in Dirt

1. Spiders. They grow 'em UGLY here in Kentucky. Fuzzy, big and mean looking. Not you typical 'garden' spider. Just the LARGEST JUMPING SPIDER IN NORTH AMERICA. They are also called 'bold' spiders. Yep. I agree. I came over TO ME, pretty sure it wasn't saying 'Hi!'.

2. Dirt. It is dirty. I smelled like manure most of the evening. Even AFTER washing my hands multiple times and showering. Kinda reminded me of the dairy state.

3. Blisters. I h9urt. 1 on my thumb and ALMOST one on my palm just below my pinky. (Poor thing,Cry. Cry. I know)

4. Big Feet. I got big feet. Dirt tends to get uneven when you move it around. Not nice to people with big feet.

5. Sore. My arms and shoulders hate me today. Boot camp probably didn't help yesterday morning. But handling 8 bags of mulch and 20 bags of topsoil, ow.

BUT, it is DONE! Now, we wait. With water and love, we hope to grow some
Zucchini
Canteloupe
Tomatoes
Green peppers
Cucumbers
Corn
Pumpkins
Watermelon
and
Squash.

Hopefully, the 90 degree temps and some humidity will help the seeds take root this week!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Thursday Thirteen

1. Overheard on the way home from our trip to Wisconsin this weekend... ‘Oh, no! She’s putting something down. NOW the seatbelt is coming off... Brock quick USE YOUR LEGS!’. All because someone wouldn’t share his twizzlers with me.

2. 5 days until San Fran, I am so excited!

3. Chocolate Raspberry creamer...not a fan. Neither is my family. Zeb said “Why don’t you just throw it out?’

4. 2 crayons + 2 dress shirts, undies, socks, ties, shorts= lots of now red and green marks and Oxi Clean (One full spray bottle and half oxi stick) let’s hope it works!

5. We are storm ready. Last night we had a tornado watch until 5am. Since it the weather likes to lay it on us, we purchased a weather radio. I have batteries in it for back up and figured out how to set it up. I sleep with it next to my head. Sucks having to silence the ‘thunder storm warning’ signal 4x during the night. I have to now figure out if I can have it only alert me of Tornadoes.
We also have blankets and pillows ready in the basement, just in case.
We cleared out a space under the stairs and a heavy metal beam in the basement as our designated ‘go to’ area.

6. My new car was listed as one of the SAFEST small cars!! By the dudes that test cars,not because I said so either!.

7. I had a manicure and pedicure recently. I feel so sorry for those people. Lets just say it wasn’t pretty and my feet are very ticklish. I messed up my thumb 2 x before I left the store. I didn’t say anything after the second time. I felt bad enough the first time. I kinda don’t like that you have to pay before they paint your nails. I feel like they will judge your paint on the tip you give... bad tip? bad nails.

8. Bricks. I did my first Brick (bike and run, er, jog) yesterday! Woo Hoo! 18 mi bike and a short run in da’ hood. I passed many dead reptiles. In Wisconsin, I passed many dead furry creatures. Here, more reptiles. Maybe that explains why I don’t get as many bugs in my face on the bike here.

9 Bugs. Wisconsin has ‘em. Lots. We rented a white car to drive to Wisconsin this past weekend. I forget how many bugs get plastered on the front of your car there. We don’t get ‘em as bad down here at all. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I washed my husbands truck.

10. Apparently a plane crashed back in 1967 near my house. Hmmm. Interesting. This new sign on my bike ride explains it.

11. Only one more day of school. Yay!!! I get my quiet time at the begining of the day again!!!

12. “Everyone remember to thank billie for the bagels. Rock On.” - this the note everyone in the ED saw today as they logged into EPIC. I love my job. (yes, Rock On, was in the note)

13. On Wednesday, (because of #11) I actually made breakfast. ***GASP*** I know. It was bacon and Pancakes. I know. I go ALL OUT. My kids were so excited they asked me to do again the next day. Um. Sorry, not happnening... way too much cleaning is invovled.... unless a maid was involved...hmmmm.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Rachel vs. The Spider

I set out last week to work. I had planned to not make my Starbucks stop, since I had coffee and breakfast at home. I still didn't hit Starbucks, but thanks to a freaky looking spider that decided to ride shotgun, specifically on my driver side door, then wander on the the dash while I am driving down the busy morning highway... I was FORCED to make a stop in the parking lot of my favorite Starbucks.

This is no ordinary spider. It is a JUMPING spider. I know it can do that since it jumped from the windshield to the dash with direct intent. Not 'falling' but JUMPING.



Now, I don't know if he was 'scanning' me as prey, lol... but once I pulled over and stopped he rested on the dash, while I stood outside of my car and debated how to handle this situation. He moved quick. I am a SLOW twitch person. I am not quick. He was little, and able to fit anywhere. So, I waited and watched. And thought. And thought. And thought. He must have sensed my quandry and decided the drivers side air vent made a lovely home. I waited about 20 minutes. He didn't move. People just drove past. I was hoping someone would come save me. No one did. *sigh*



So, I closed the door and wandered to the first victim, um, I mean person I could. It was a young man in his twentys, getting ready to head into work at Moe's Southwestern Grill. I asked him if they had any spray in his work that would kill spiders.






I had just heard a joke on XM radio about how the comedian sprayed a spider with cologne (it didn't work), then deodarant (it too, didn't work), so then he used AQUA NET. His joke ended with "I didn't kill him, I just got him ready for prom!" I was wishing I had anything to try at that point.



The Young Knight, didn't think they had anything but he said he wasn't afraid of spiders so he offered to 'kill' it for me. After putting down his cigarette, he attempted to get the spider. Fail.



Of course that bugger went deep into hiding... in my dashboard. grrrr. I am about 25 minutes late at this point.



He helped me by trying to tell me the closest place I could find the bug stuff at. Walmart. The next exit up. I thanked the kind sir and cautiously got on my way.



I get in the car, watching for that thing. The spider came up as I started the engine. OF COURSE! I drove to Walmart praying, and holding my right hand side of the wheel...only. The Walmart, of course, was on the side of the road that required 3 stop lights to get to. Thankfully, he stayed put.

I quickly grabbed Eliminator -Ant, Roach and Spider Killer and went out to my car. I had left my window down all the way hoping he would find a new home, outdoors. When I came back to my car he was no where to be found. I still sprayed the vent. I was so intently looking for him, I didn't noticed the guy getting into his car infront of me until he laughed and said "Spider?"



Yeah, I replied.



He then kindly went on to say "What color was it? Brown or black" I went on to describe the bright orange back end and he shrugged his shoulders and said "Well, if it bites you, don't go to your primary physician make sure you go to a dermatologist instead".


Um, ok... (??) And got in to his car. Lovely.



I swear I put on deodorant that day, but by the time I got to work, I was SO READY to take a shower. I quickly sprayed the vent some more and left the car.


I haven't seen him since but now, I am ready. I have a can a my work and in my house. Now I am even ready for those roaches in my office!


Oh, yeah...

Monday, May 16, 2011

All kinds of Crazy

Start yer engines race fans... here we go!
I trying to take in all the craziness that is about to start for the next 6 weeks or so!

1. We head up to Illinois to visit my friend Dez! I miss my try friend. We began the craziness of triathlon together way back at a Sarah Reinertsen fun run in 2008. We complemented each other well since we are both not speedy in the sport and both loved biking! She has been out now for 6 months due to a slipped disc in her back. She was supposed to have surgery, but thanks to insurance companies, it was delayed.

2. My big sister is gettin' hitched this weekend! I am SUPER excited! My kids love Jason, aka, soon to be Uncle... and anytime we can get together with family, especially since we live out of state now it will be fun! My other sister just had a baby in April and I hope I get to meet lil' Logan there!

3. Garden! We are behind due to all the wet weather we had, so we are hoping to get our garden planted before we leave for California on June 1. We have peppers, tomatoes and cantelope plants ready to go in our basement, we just have to get them planted now... *sigh*

4. Alcatraz Triathlon! My friend Jesse is competing in the triathlon and the hubby and I are meeting them in San Francisco to cheer them on! I just love San Francisco. We have been there about 4 or 5 times. There is something about the hills and buildings and water that I just love. We are leaving the kiddos in the very loveable hands of Uncle Ron. He is a sweet guy that 'retired' thanks to the economy and volunteered to fly down and watch the boys for us. It should be easy since their last day of school is May 27th and they do nothing all day. Um, unless I ask them to.

5. High Cliff Triathlon! Two weeks after Alcatraz is the High Cliff Triathlon in Wisconsin, so we will be heading back up to Wisconsin for me to complete the sprint distance on June 18th. So in the gaps and spaces I will be trying to get some miles in for that ordeal. Yikes!

6. Orthodontics! Somewhere in all this crazy I need to get my 8 year old booked at the orthodontist. He is missing 3 adult teeth. The dentist says they are the more common teeth to be missing. Apparently he takes after the hubby in that regard. So, we have to sit down and find out what to do with those spaces and how to make sure the teeth go where they need to. So, on that note, please send your donations to the "No Hillbilly teeth for Zeb" fund. Ha.ha. Ouch.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Spoiled Rotten

So, Friday night my hubby decided he wanted to get dressed up in a shirt and tie and take me out on a date. Like, for real. Like to a place that I can't even pronounce the items on the menu. Kinda like I went to for prom. Yeah, I think that was the last time I was at a 'dress up' type place.

I was absolutely giddy. I was trying to be all, "ok, that will be fun.... but really I was like 'ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I WOULD LOVE TOO!! I WISH IT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED YEARS AGO!!'

He told me to pick out a new dress and get him a new shirt and tie. It was fun taking pictures of dresses and sending them to him at home to vote on them. It was like he was shopping with me but didn't have to suffer too much.

I was impressed with the hubby for actually researching the place to eat at. He was using an online website and read reviews and made an online reservation for 8:15pm.

After dropping off Brock at D&D we headed to the Primavisita resturant.

The reviews called it Cincinnati's best kept secret. 4.5 out of 5 stars. I haven't been to many fancy places like this so I couldn't disagree.
We were seated at a table that we could sit next to each other and directly face the beautiful view!!

As we glance at the menu I noticed the wine list on the table. I knew immediately that I was going to have the Moscoto as soon as I saw it. Yum. I don't drink wine much but when I saw that... I knew it I had to have it. The hubby thought he would try one with the name 'Greg Norman' in it. It was sweet of him to try something new, but he made an awful choice. It was SEVERELY dry and bitter. He did drink it but it wasn't easy.

I warned our server that I would not be able to pronounce the names of the food, she was sweet and said "We have a lot of pointing that goes on around here." Whew.

We ordered a brushetta appetizer. I ordered Pine nut crusted Salmon, the hubby ordered the chef's Veal special.
I don't know what it is about a 'big city' view, but I love it. Especially as it gets dark. When we sat down it was still light out but as the night progressed, the view got better and better.

This was one of those places that you could just hang out all night, enjoying the view and the company.
We decided to take in a movie at Newport on the Levee. Cincinnati Reds were finishing up 10 innings at home and we could hear the cheers and the crowds from across the river. As we headed into the Theater we head the fireworks go off. The Reds had won the game.

We could have ended the night after that and it would have been perfect. We took in a movie. We both were disappointed with the movie. It was the first time I ever thought about walking out of a movie, if we were closer to the front of the theater I probably would have.
But, it was still the best night I have had in a LONG time.

Looking forward to doing it again, soon... <3 <3 <3

Friday, May 13, 2011

Choices.

Life’s full of ‘em. Easy ones. Hard ones. Difficult ones. Pleasant ones.
We can not ‘choose’ what happens to us. We CAN choose how we react.

We gain 25 lbs.
We can decide to throw ourselves pity parties with a party of one, maybe bring another into it. But what does that help?

We lose our temper.
We can grumble about how ‘they’ deserved to get ripped apart, to try and make ourselves feel better. But does it really work?

We eat that bag of salty chips. The entire bag.
We can count each and every calorie and add up how many pounds that is going to add, but will that help you burn those calories?

We regret decisions…huge problem for me.
We can replay those events in our mind like a movie, only replacing the bad parts with those ‘woulda, coulda, or shoulda’s. How will that change the future?

We hold those grudges against people.
Because we ourselves are so PERFECT, RIGHT?

I get soooo sick of ‘pretending’ we have it all together. We are not perfect. We ALL have flaws. We all can’t be a size 2, heck, or even a single digit number! We will call each other names. Really, honestly, it is OKAY to apologize. Pride is a hard pill to swallow, but humble pie is calorie free!!

It is ok to forgive. It’s great! Wonderful! It is what we are supposed to do. But Forget? Not so much. After all, what will we learn if we forget everything.

I love every one that has come into my life in one way or another. Some are MUCH harder than others. Some, I am still trying to eat that humble pie. But, I do forgive.

I forgive that elementary school classmate that called me fat. (who turned into a hottie)
I forgive the comment from my mother telling me in not so many words to ease off the food those pants are tight. (that propelled my obsession with the scale)
I forgive my high school sweetheart for breaking my heart (but saved me in other ways)
I forgive my sister-in-law for hating me since the day we met, as she so nicely told me when she was getting a divorce from my brother in law. (I feel sorry for her, really, I do.)
I forgive my other sister-in-law for not talking to me for 18 months while she was made at me for a misunderstanding, that she would not accept my side of the story. (which taught me I can not please everyone, lesson learned)
I forgive my husband for not talking to her on my behalf, even though I begged and pleaded. (he made a mistake, he has regrets too)
I forgive my husband for calling me ‘obsessed’ when I wanted a treadmill. (to which now I say ‘heck yeah, I am obsessed!”)
I forgive my mother-in-law for talking about me behind my back. (some people have such insecurities they need to make themselves feel better in different ways)
I forgive that doctor I worked with, for chewing me up and down, for what I can not even remember. (ego’s are powerful, I try to stay away)
I forgive my employer of 10 years for firing me, without warning. (I would be stuck in a job that I didn't love, and would never moved to this beautiful state if I still was there.. with a job that I do love)


I am still working on those regrets. It is a nasty circle. I regret, then I regret that I regretted, then I regret that I was wasting so much time regretting and then back to regretting. *sigh* grrr. I am soooo sick of it.

One thing I CAN change is my future.
I can workout, I CAN eat more veggies and less sugar.
I CAN allow a FEW treats here and there.
I CAN enjoy today and my family.
I CAN realize I am wonderfully and beautifully made, by a creator who is perfect. God made me with those things that I call ‘faults’ on purpose. It is my journey.

Right now. I am very much enjoying the view.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

'Cause I Wanna, That's Why!

I am enjoying my diet.

Er, or lack there of. Getting back to da' gooooood stuff!

I am working out, enjoying FUNCTIONAL FITNESS (in addition to my bike,swim and run stuff).
I eat when I am hungry and stop when I am not.
Maybe 'cause it is a lifestyle, not a diet.
BE sensible people.
Oh, and I love fooducate! and Paleo foods.

I do love my salt. And dark chocolate.
Did I say not eat a bag of chocolate chips at 9pm? NO WAY! But with almonds? or Walnuts? Yum!
Balance is the key my friends.... okay, okay... and maybe some portion control. HA.HA.

Oh, and WATER, WATER, WATER. My boot camp instructor carries a gallon jug around with him. It says "NOT VODKA!" on it. lol.

I am lucky because I have never been a fan of pasta or bread. Unlike my 16 year old who filled his plate with Mac-n-cheese, rice, and mashed potatoes TWICE on Sunday at Golden Corral! And this kid is skinny!

Last night, I managed to swim some laps for the 2 time in over a year. It was fairly painless! Now, I have no clue how fast or slow I was going. I was going for endurance. I guess you could say I used the 'Galloway' running method. 5 min on and 1 min rest. The best part was, my head didn't feel like it was going to pop off!!! That's never happened before! I do have to get used to breathing again... a bit rusty there.

I am much happier when I avoid the scale and calorie counting. I need to pay more attention to moving, being active and downing my water. Not calories and the stinkin' scale.
I do have a ways to go, but it is getting better and better every day!

Now, please excuse me... it is now time for my weekly beating with my personal trainer.

Monday, May 09, 2011

Back to Boot Camp

This Saturday was my triumphant return to BOOT CAMP. I missed getting beat weekly from JD.He is a former military dude. Very fit. With an insane love for Burpees.
EVIL. Pure and simple.

He said he took it easy on us this week. Ha!

Lets see, Spiderman lunge? Easy?

Burpees for on minute straight? Easy?

The REAL bonus part was when he partnered us up. One of us was to do as many push ups as we can while the other ran around the track once, with a 25 lb weight over head! He made it into a competition to see who could do the most push ups, over a TEN MINUTE time frame. Yep.
So we had to do this for 10 minutes straight. Like hundreds of push ups.
Now, correct me if I am wrong, but something about weaking your arms before you hold heavy weight over your head seems scary. Especially for this girl.
I did GREAT the first lap, only rested my arms once. Did 30 (modified) push ups.
Yes. I did MODIFY the push ups...it was allowed.
The second lap, I rested my arms more. Did about 20 push ups.
Third lap, rested arms a lot. Did about 15 push ups. (begin whimper here)
Fourth lap, lifted weight briefly. Tried to muster my way through 10 push-ups.

Total we managed 146 pushups between the both of us. We do have boys in our class, but the winners of the challange were two girls!! With over 215 pushups!!!! CRAZY Awesome!

When I told my kids about how tired my arms were and why, they asked "Did you cry?". LOL.

And next week is supposed to be 'more challanging'. Oh, Joy!!

New Family Traditions

One of the things I really liked about HIS Mansion, was how they ate dinners.

Each table had about 8-10 people. The people on the ends were the 'excusers and scrapers'... If we ever wanted to get up, we had to ask them to excuse us. If on of the 'excusers' needed to leave the table they would ask the other to excuse them. It was more a show of respect then anything else. It also made us more aware of how we just leave the table without considering others. It really seems small and meaningless, but it really matters.

I have institued this rule since coming back from HIS Mansion. It has proved great fun and awareness from my kids. We laugh more, and talk more at the table. It has been an awakening for us. The kids get a kick out of having the 'parents' asking the kids to be excused. It is also humbling as a parent to have to ask you kids to excuse you.

As we finish our meal, one of the people on the end of the table is the 'scraper'. When finished eating you pass your plate to the end, where the person at the end will scrape off the plate and place the utensils into a large cup. Then you ask to be excused or wait until everyone is done eating.

When I am an excuser, I make sure whoever is finished first... meaning the kid that inhaled his food to quickly get back to video games... helps by cleaning up the kitchen before he gets excused. They are actually highly motivated. : )

Sometimes, it's the little things... ya know?~

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Trainer Tuesday!


This weeks episode of Trainer Tuesday began right off the bat with a beautiful display of my lack of grace and um, memory. Two words. Turkish get-ups.

In addition to making my flaws painfully obvious, it required WAY too much mental control to maintain the perfectly straight arm for this girl. After trying that twice on each side my trainer too pity on me and said, "lets do something else".
Now, THAT is how I spell R-E-L-I-E-F.

Next up? Weight. Room. As in the BIG 'boys' area. I really try to avoid this area, but she lead me straight into the JUNGLE at rush hour, right up to this nice machine that makes you feel like you CAN do pull ups, by putting your knees on a counter weight. The counter weight was like half my weight.
Yes.I.am.Weak.
Hey, that is why I train!

Then she gave me a 10 lb weight and told me to hold in front of me and circle it around my head. I swear, she must have been a cheer leader. When she does it, she has such force and controlled movement. Not me, can you say awkward? Apparently it didn't look like it was too much work so she added 15 more lbs!!! So, there I was swinging a 25 lb weight around my head.
AS IN, the most important part of my body. 8 times one way, 8 times the other. GOOD times.

And to complete that set out, as she was 'trying' to be nice to my legs... she had me do wall sits while holding the 10 lbs out in front of me. Amazingly my tired legs held up well!

And back to the pull up machine... we did that 3x, by the end of the 3rd time my arms felt like I had been braiding my hair for three hours. Ouch.

After that set she worked on the abs. V sits and flutter kicks....grrrr. Flutter kicks are also a great way to showcase the missing athletic ability I have. Also, I was still a bit sore from the half marathon on Sunday, some of the muscles I needed to lift the legs revolted and said 'WTH, WE ARE IN RECOVERY HERE!!' They refused to listen to what my brain was telling them. It was odd thinking 'I will do this' and the legs just sitting there... falling to the floor. Really???? I started to laugh watching the lack of control I had.

It is kinda like after the bike part of a triathlon and get off and start the run and you can't feel the legs for the first mile or so...my legs were moving, but without the connection between the brain and legs.

When I told the trainer 'I can't.' she, very sternly, said 'YES YOU CAN' without missing a beat. I tried. Weakly. Very pathetic. After I said ' I felt that in the legs', she said 'Oh yeah, you ran on Sunday, (giggle) we can be done now'.

Evil, I tell ya! But I still love her and think she is the perfect fit for me!!

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Going The Distance



It is hard to describe the feeling you get when you complete an endurance race. Even if you are slow like me. Especially when you have friends in the sport.


Something inside just clicks.


Kinda feels like 'Hey, I CAN do that!'...



It creates a spark to go the next distance. The past two weeks all I could think about what how scared I was since the last half marathon I did I finished with a painful side ache and didn't want that to happen again, or how the arches of my feet ached something awful the last few 'long runs' that I did. Worried about a possible injury.



I kept thinking about how glad I would be when the race would be over so I wouldn't have to think about it anymore. And it was painless, aside from the blister on my left foot and hip ache (probably from over compensating from my blister).

Now? I am excitedly searching for MORE races to sign up for. [gulp]


But I haven't been in a swimming pool much in over a year. I did it once. I get bored. I like company. It's kinda hard to talk and breathe while swimming.



Plus the whole 'get over yourself' in a speedo thing.




I miss my road bike. Roads here are going to be a challenge, the are narrow. And hilly. Hills are good for speed work. I just have to keep that in mind. I am in search of a bike group that has weekly rides to train with. (that doesn't drop riders, as I am a slow biker too, 15 mph is slow.)



My next race is June 18th. High Cliff Sprint, in Wisconsin. A 1/4 mile swim, 22 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run on trails (mainly). The swim is chilly, with tiny green floaters that find there way into all kinds of places in your swimsuit. The bike has some rolling hills but after the first one, there are pretty minor hills. It is a beautiful run, after you go up the half mile 'incline', with trees and smells and stuff.


I am hoping to do another Triathlon in July, the a mudathon in August, Duathlon in September, and who knows, maybe another half in October!

Look out NKY, crazy triathlon girl is gearing up again!!

Sunday, May 01, 2011

Flying Pig '11 Race Report

I went. I got wet. I waited.... and waited... and waited....
Finish time: 2:45, new PR.
Short version.

For those of you that would enjoy MY (and son's) picture and all of the entertaining details, please continue reading.

Forecast: Rain, Thunderstorms
Temp: Balmy 66 degrees

After 'setting' my alarm to go off last night at 4:30 am, I woke up on my own at 2:49, with an unsettled feeling. Thankfully my hubby had set his alarm as well, since mine was set to go off on MONDAY! grrr.

I stress out, it's genetic.

Last night, I had everything set out. Pants, socks, shoes, gu, sport beans, watch, shirt... you get the picture.

A 'pre race' tradition is to have oatmeal, a banana and peanut butter 2 or 3 hours before the race. No Banana or Peanut butter was in the house for this year. So it was only oatmeal for breakfast. Breaking the tradition made me nervous.

Contact malfunction. Stress number#1.

I left the house 30 minutes later than I wanted. Stress number #2.

Construction traffic. We opted for a longer route to the starting line to avoid such. Stress number #3 (it took me HOURS to get my race packet yesterday, which was only 17 miles away, due to traffic)

Unknown directions. I was ill prepared. I had never done this race before. I was not familiar with the downtown streets of Cincinnati so I didn't know where my husband should be dropping me off. In the race packet they would use landmarks to describe some locations, but I don't know the area that well. We ended up 'winging' it. I saw a mass group, I left the truck and joined them. No clue where they were heading. Stress number #4

It was sprinkling. I had checked my phone's radar before leaving the car. A nice clump of yellow/green was headed this way. Thunderstorms were fore casted. Stress number #5.

Port-a-potty's... lines... and water bottles. No explanation necessary.
Stress number #6.

I was in a sea of 30,000 people. That is what they announced anyway.
I knew about 7 doing the race that day. I love seeing people I know and being able to cheer them on. Heck, I love to cheer for people I don't know. The best part of racing, in my opinion.

They had us in corral's, or pig pen's as they affectionately called them. Upon signing up for the race, they asked us a prediction for our finishing time. My previous finishing times were 2:17 and 2:32.
The faster people were in corral's A, B, C. I was put into D. After my lack of training properly, I decided it was just better off if I would start in E. I would rather pass people than to have people pass me.

I was scanning the crowd for Geek Girl, and shortly after the race began, I had thought I wasn't going to be seeing her. Too many people. Impossible.

It took about 10 minutes to cross the start line, I began my watch and just slowly started out. I knew I was not going to be able break any records and it was going to be a long race, so I started slow.
We hadn't even gotten off the first road and I glance to my left about 20 feet away I see 'the tatoo'. Shortly after completing her first Ironman (which happened to be in Kentucky) Geek Girl got herself the tat. Well, well, well! Looky here!! There she was! We began running and chatting. Yes, it was THAT kind of a run. Easy and nice. Walking up hills, and fidgeting with stuff. For the first 8 miles we ran together. She was using the Galloway method. Run 5 minutes, walk 1. Loved that. I wish I had the discipline to do that on my own. I get too bored doing that myself, but with her it was GREAT!

We kept in pace with Wonder Woman and Mr. Incredible. No really! I wish I had pictures. I hear there was to tube of toothpaste, complete with a toothbrush. I saw a gorilla with a sign for the runners saying 'Run Humans Run!'. Lots of pigs and piglets. Lots of pink stuff.

I was lucky, because after mile 10 it was all down hill! Oh, yeah... I made up some serious time there. AND since I had run/walked the first 8 miles the last 5 were great!! I had much energy and I was passing people all over!

Even though I had tanked my training and had my 'worst run' time, it was still pretty great experience, um, once the race began... for me. I feel bad for the girl at mile 10 that was on the side of the road crying in pain. And the girl at mile 12, so pale sitting on the side of the road, I SERIOUSLY thought she was a statue 'cause she was so pale, until she moved. She did not look good at all, I have never (even working in health care for 13 years) seen any one that pale. I hope they both are ok tonight.

We met Geek Girl and her hubby, Sweet Baboo at Skyline Chili for a post race celebration and then they were off to Nashville to fly home in the morning. I would love to head to New Mexico again, this time 'race' with them in there town.

Just before splitting up, she asked what I had hoped to finish with. I had said between 2:30 and 3:00. She said if you pick it up you should be able to finish under 3 hours. Which I seriously was in the middle. 2:44:59 (according the the Flying Pig website)

Once, finished, I had a quandary. I had no cell phone and seriously, thousands upon thousands of people. How was I supposed to find the hubby? I walked a bit. I REALLY didn't want to ask a complete stranger to borrow their phone, but after a while I got colder and tired. So I called. And waited. And waited. And waited... finally called again and we connected.

After eating, nap time and eating again and treating (Dairy Queen) it is now time to go to bed again. Ah. My favorite part of race day.

Nite y'all!!