Only 7 Shopping Days until Christmas....

...and I'm done!!! it's a new record!!!

It's Beginning to Look...

...a lot like Christmas!!! WOW!!! It snowed in Sugar Land and the surrounding areas yesterday. The last time it snowed was Dec 24th, 2004. I know this because Josiah got a 4 wheeeler for Christmas (he was 18 months old) and rode it all over the snow covered yard on Christmas morning. It was awesome. Yesterday he acted as if it was his first snow because he was to young to remember last time. I was decorating the Christmas Tree when it started snowing and we went out and ran around in it for about an hour. FUN!!!

Josiah catching the snow on his tongue...

The roof of our shed...

The garden fence...

Garden fence again...

Hannukah

Last night's conversation:

Josiah: "Mom...who celebrates Hannukah?"
Me: "Jewish People"
Josiah: "Why can't we celebrate Hannukah?"
Me: "We aren't Jewish"
Josiah: "Well my choir teacher said that lots of Mexicans and Africans are Jewish..."
Me: "What is your choir teacher's name because she is full of shit..."
Josiah: "Well let me ask my dad"...(he calls dad)..."Dad...are Mexicans Jewish?"
Norb: "Mexicans are Catholic"
Josiah: (hangs up with dad) "Mom...can't we light some candles anyways?"
Me: "I light that good smelling cinnamon one every night"
Josiah: "No...I meant some tall skinny ones like Jewish people...."

WTF!!!! I will be calling the choir teacher later today after I have had my coffee.....

Michael Kors

I must have these shoes....I gave the SAT at school on Saturday and am giving the ACT this Saturday to pay for them....

It's Christmas Time...in Sugar Land...

Last night Josiah and I went on our annual Sugar Land Christmas Tree Lighting Adventure. We had a lot of fun as we were joined by Patty and family after we finished eating at Josiah's favorite Johnny Rockets on Town Square. A little pricey for burger and fries so we only go there twice a year, on Josiah's birthday and for the Christmas tree lighting....exactly 6 months apart! When we were done eating, we hit Starbucks on Town Square for my Vanilla Latte and Josiah's Hot Chocolate...YUMMY! We then met up with Patty and kids and walked around the little tents that were set up with kid activities. We then headed to the tree lighting and ended up in the perfect spot to see Santa go from one building top...to another...to the front of City hall where he pushed the button to light the Christmas Tree...that guy is magic in Josiah's words! It helped that one of the city workers in charge told us we were in the perfect spot to see all the action and to not move! Here are some pictures from last night...I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

Josiah in the snow / Josiah with Catherine & Jack

In Mourning...

My best friend in Cali, Terri, mom passed away yesterday from cancer. She was told last week 3-6 months with the new chemo.... At least she was able to have Thanksgiving at home with Terri and Kenny. She went back to the hospital Saturday night in major pain and not being able to breathe. She signed her own hospice papers Tuesday night at 6:00 and passed away at 3:30 am. I knew something was wrong all day yesterday....something kept telling me to call Terri, and when I went to get my phone to call her, the text came in from her that her mom had passed...talk about sixth sense....

Toy of the Year

Every year there is one toy out there that is so hard to find...because every kid in America wants it. I remember the year CABBAGE PATCH KIDS came out....my dad drove 200 miles on Christmas Eve to get one for me....everybody was sold out where we lived and I would have died if I would not have got one. I was 8 and it was the TOY OF THE YEAR!!! Christmas night at my grandmother's house, my brother colored my precious doll's face blue with permanent marker....I cried and cried, and my dad almost killed him....remember he had driven 400 miles round trip. My mom, aunt, and grandma scrubbed and scrubbed, trying every cleaner they had on hand to no avail. My doll's face always had a blue tint from that day on.

Now, 26 years later, I find myself trying to find that elusive gift for Josiah...the one he just can't live without. Last year it was the Optimus Prime Transformers voice changing helmet. This year....Eye Clops Night Vision Goggles.

Regular retail price:$79.99

Sale price before the holidays: $69.99

Target's price the 3 days before Thanksgiving: $50.00

Since I live halfway between 2 Targets, I went to both everyday, twice a day, looking for the goggles, only to have them sold out every day of the sale. They would get a delivery and be sold out 5 minutes later. It seems they are the TOY OF THE YEAR!!! AAGH!! So Wednesday morning I ditched Josiah for the 6th time and went back to Target for the last time...hoping they would have them. First Target...STRIKE OUT! Second Target...SCORE! YES!! To bad Santa will get all of the credit!

I can't wait to try these out on a nightime trail run!! They are suppose to be able to see up to 50 feet!!!

Ironman of the Year!!!!

Where do I start....with the big surprise. Saturday night was the TriPsyclones end of the season party and awards. So they gave out the male and female MVP's first. Awesome athletes won these awards, Mandy L. and Dave D. Then they started talking about the Ironman of the Year award...and it was me!!! WHAT?!?!?!?! IRONMAN OF THE YEAR?!?!?!?! At first when they said it was someone who had completed her first 70.3 this summer I thought it was Fast Shannon!!! I was so excited for her because she is such an awesome person! But then Patty and Tessy started crying and Fast Shannon said NO SILLY...IT"S YOU!!! OMG!!! So I made myself not cry...so I wouldn't fill up with more mucus!!! WOW!!! I am still amazed.

On Sunday I took Josiah to the Houston Aeros game for Chilly's Puck Pals night. He got to go on the ice at the 2nd intermission and pick up the pucks from the ice. He had a blast. Here are 2 pictures of him from the Aeros game.

Today I am going on a bike ride with Meera and then Josiah and I are going to start putting up our Christmas lights...It is a 2 day project for us so we need to do them now so they are ready to turn on Friday.

I hope everybody has a Great Thanksgiving an even better shopping day Friday!

NOLA 70.3 Update...

I am out...I won't be doing a 70.3 this year. Although I am motivated...it is not a good time for me. I have a lot of things going on that I need to get a handle on and will not have enough time to focus on my training. I do not want to do it unprepared. First of all, January - April is the busiest time of the year for me at work. All sports are a go then so I work at least 5 nights a week. Secondly, I need to focus on Josiah right now. He is at an age where he needs all of my attention and with me working so many hours....I just can't do it and train like I need to. So...there will be other races other years. I will still do triathlons next season, just not the big one! :)

Winter Swimming

Okay...I finally did it. I gave into the large corporation fitness business and signed up at Lifetime Fitness yesterday. I need to get back into swimming and I just couldn't see myself swimming during the winter outside at the YMCA. Plus, the YMCA's kid room is not open when I need it to be so I can swim and have Josiah be supervised. The kid room is 8am - 9pm on weekdays and 8am - 6pm on weekends at Lifetime! WOW!!! Plus, Josiah loved it there. He tried it out while I did the tour and thought it was so great...he asked when he could go back. He hated the YMCA's kid room...nothing to do! Now I have no excuses...I have to start swimming if I want to get my time down for NOLA 70.3. I am so excited. Now if I could get rid of this illness so I can workout! I think I'm pretty smart...my membership won't activate until next Monday...didn't want to pay for this week when I can't workout anyways!

On the weight loss front...I have lost 6 pounds since last Thursday...maybe I should be sick more often!!!!

Illness Continued....

The good news is Josiah is better...the bad news is...I am now sick. I have bronchitis. Don't you just love kids and the germs they pass on. He has been feeling good since Saturday whereas I have wanted to die. No workouts for me since last Wednesday. Aagh! No run this weekend because Josiah was sick Saturday and I was sick Sunday. I think the stars are lined up against me and running. Please let me get better soon! I just want to go run and get ready for the half marathon. It seems every time I take 1 step forward...I take 3 steps back. I know things will get better...I just need to have a little pity party right now.

And while I'm at it...let me complain about students and their parents. So two football players get in a fight last week before school. One of them is brought to me because he has blood everywhere from his nose. I get him cleaned up and call the campus police officer and the assistant principal. Both kids are suspended from school for 3 days and issued citations. The parent of the kid who beat up the other kid wants a meeting because he wants to know why we called the police and principals. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! That is why I am at school today sick when I should be laying in bed getting better....because I had a 7:30 meeting this morning to explain to the parent that if his kid wouldn't fight at school, he wouldn't be suspended and have a citation. That's ok...I coughed as many times as I could in that closed little office so now hopefully they will have suspension, citation, and a nice cold over Thanksgiving break!

Josiah Update

So...I made Josiah go to school yesterday even though he wasn't feeling great from the air conditioning fiasco. They called me after lunch to come get him from school, he wasn't feeling well. I babied him all night, gave him his asthma breathing treatments, etc. and he seemed a little better. I made him go to school again today. School called me at 10:25 to come get him, he has a 101.7 temp. I called the doctor and took him in immediately. Seems he has pneumonia in 1 lung. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! Doctor says extreme air conditioning isn't for people with asthma.... So here is my question....Can I send the California folks the bill since I asked them not to turn the air down after the first night and they did it again anyways????

Family Weekend

This weekend Josiah and I were off to the family ranch in Muldoon, TX. We went to celebrate my grandfather's 75th birthday. Lots of friends and family came in town for the occasion, people I hadn't seen in 15 years. Some things never change. The only differences I noticed were a lot of men with a lot less hair! My grandfather was surprised...he had no clue what was going on and I think he enjoyed the weekend.

Josiah got sick...and he was doing so good with the new asthma medicine. One of the guests from California decided he needed the air conditoning down to about 50 in the bedroom. My mom has 3 thermostats...and one of them controls the 2 bedrooms up off of the loft. So he was controlling his room and our room. Needless to say Josiah is now sick from going back and forth from the regular Texas weather to the air conditioning that is NOT NEEDED by us Texas folks in November!

I did get an 8 mile run in before I left for the ranch Saturday morning. It wsan't as strong as last week but I finished. My running hasn't been going great as it has been harder than I thought to get back into it. I have decided I really need to get serious this week as I need to start laying the base groundwork for New Orleans 70.3 in April. And I need to get some of this weight off....I look at food and gain weight these days. CRAZY! So starting today I am going to post my workouts on here to keep myself honest in my training!

Saturday - 8 miles

Tuesday - 3 miles

Soon To Be New Neighbors & Training Partners

Craig Alexander

MACCA

NOBAMA

Australia is looking like a nice place to live for the next 4-8 years.....and think of the shark infested waters I could train in for triathlons....

Vote

Before & After

At the begininng of the evening....

Three buckets of candy and six hours later....

Eye Candy

This is why I ran fast today.....I was running on the track, minding my own business, when this major league baseball player showed up to run also. James Loney. Enough Said! Couldn't have him lapping me right???? I even asked him not to lap me and got a laugh! Well...in 3 miles he only lapped me once! I was running faster than I ever had before. I love it when he shows up to run at the same time as me. This happens a lot in the baseball off season so I have 3 more months of eye candy on my week day runs! Lord help me to be strong!

Fall Mornings

There is nothing better than a nice crisp fall morning. I was so excited when I woke up, knowing I would have an awesome run in this weather. I put my favorite nike running tights and long sleeve running shirt in my bag and was off to work. I couldn't get the freshman football players out of my office fast enough after 1st period. Please go...don't you see I just want to run! As soon as they were gone, I got dressed, put on my favorite running gloves and Oakleys, and popped in my IPOD to my girl power playlist and was off to the track outside my office door. It was 41 degrees outside! I had planned on 2 miles...but 2 soon became 3...and the next thing I knew, I had run 4 miles! I almost kept going but had to remind myself this was suppose to be a recovery run from the half marathon relay this weekend. I feel great! And to top off my day...my favorite cold day lunch! Progresso Vegetable Classics 99% Fat Free Lentil Soup YUMMMMMY!!!! I can't wait for tomorrow! More running and more soup! I'm starting to get excited about this running thing again!

Luke's Half Marathon Relay

39 3672 FBF Girlz 2:42:33.6 2:42:33.6 12:25/M

What a beautiful day for a run! Thank god I only had to run half of the half marathon...I could have run more but finished strong like I wanted. You can see Tessy and I averaged 12:25...Tessy averaging 10:10 on her half so what does that tell you about my half...

I MADE MY GOAL!! If I run the half marathon in January like yesterday I will finish it under 3 hours...my goal for the year. My plan is to run the Houston half in January, the Austin half in February, the Seabrook Lucky Trail half in March...all leading up to the New Orleans 70.3 on April 5th! I have to get my run times down...that is why no full marathons in the near future! I am working on speed these days!

I actually ran up all the "hills" on Allen Pkwy! In the past I would deviate from my run/walk schedule when it came to the hills...but not yesterday! If it was time to run, I RAN UP THE HILL!!! I switched to 5/1's yesterday from 3/1's about 2 minutes before I started my half of the relay and that turned out to work really well for me. I was able to get in an actual groove before it was time for another walk break.

And thanks to Tessy for the awesome fajita post race lunch....it made it a great day!

Facts of Life

Lightning storms mean Josiah sleeps with mom which means NO SLEEP FOR MOMMY!!!!

Sleepy Wednesday

So I was up coughing all night...this cold is now on day 8! Last time I looked at the clock was 4:15 am...I thought GREAT!! 30 more minutes of sleep until the alarm goes off. Next time I looked at the clock was 6:50...SHIT!!! I was suppose to be at work 20 minutes ago!!!! I slept through the alarm. I have never done that before! It is gonna be a long day.

I did have a great 3.5 mile run yesterday in the warm afternoon after lunch. I had only planned on 2.5 but felt so good I kept going. I am excited for the half marathon relay this weekend! The weather forecast looks perfect and I am excited to get back into things after having so long off after Vineman!

Weekly weigh in....Minus 1 pound. I drank a lot of beer this week! 15 more pounds to go!

Weekend Recap

First...I need to say GO TEXANS!!! Two in a row...even if you only beat the Dolphins and Lions...YEAH!!!! Sio LaToya and I took Josiah and Champ to the game to watch Chester yesterday. Champ went in the kids care room and Josiah went to the actual game with us. He is such a big boy and loves going to the games. Yesterday was different. He must have been very tired because he fell asleep 3 minutes after the game started....and didn't wake up until we left our seats with 2 minutes left to go downstairs to the family room to meet up with Chester. What a waste of a field level ticket!!!!

I ran with Lurlean Saturday morning. I owe her a big thanks because she has 1. been running a much faster pace than me and 2. is running more mileage than me. We ran 7 miles...a big jump from 4.2 last week. She was fine with it because she isn't signed up for any races and was tired and almost didn't even get up to run. We had a lot to catch up on since we haven't ran together since the end of July. I feel good and am ready for my half marathon relay this weekend with Tessy...watch out for those FBF Girlz!

Elkins beat Clements this weekend in football 56-49...nobody could play defense! This is homecoming week which is so lame in Texas compared everything we did in high school for homecoming in Cali....man those were the good old days....

Rain Rain Go Away....

...I need to run!!! I do not run in the rain unless it is a race...I hate having wet shoes and socks. Before anybody questions this and triathlons....I don't wear socks on the bike, so that my feet will dry before the run....so no blisters.

Football + Running + Hockey + Triathlon = Busy Weekend

Elkins played our football game on Thursday night...freeing up the rest of my weekend. We lost in the last 36 seconds to the Travis Tigers. That is all I'm gonna say about that because I don't want to get all worked up again about sportsmanship.

Saturday morning I ran 4 miles. I saw Tessy when I was starting so we started together and then she left me in her dust. It was a much better run than last week. I had my ipod on and quickly found a rythm...something that never came to me last week. It feels good to get back in the groove of running. The Luke's Half Marathon and Marathon Relay is Oct. 26th. Tessy and I have decided to do the relay to get back in the swing of things again without overdoing it. Yeah...I will only have to run 6.6 miles of the race!

Saturday night I took Josiah to the Houston Aeros hockey game. It was opening night and Josiah's first hockey game. They won 2-1 in a shootout. He had a blast. They showed him 5 different times on the jumbotron dancing. I just know it was because he was the cutest kid there! He can't wait to go back and asked me today to go to tonight's game...I had to throw the whole not on a school night one at him! Maybe he liked it because we were 15 rows up center ice...he is soooo spoiled. Or maybe it was the fight 30 seconds into the game! He was jumping up yelling FIGHT FIGHT with the rest of the crowd! On a side note, have you ever seen the people that go to hockey games...I felt like I was in a 80's rock video with all that 80's hair surrounding me! I am including an example of what I saw!

Sunday morning I volunteered at Try Andy's Tri on the bike course. I was at the bike dismount line and almost got ran over 3 times. Slow down people...you are suppose to be off your bike by this point!Now for my weekly weigh in.....I lost 5 pounds in the past week. Only 16 more to go to get back to where I was!

Back to Running

This is how I felt running on Saturday....my first run back. Like a pig trying to run...not like a real runner. IT SUCKED!!!! I weighed myself and have gained 21 lbs since Vineman. ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!?!?!?! Granted 8 lbs were probably from Hurricane Ike and all the junk food....but the rest???? My jeans aren't even fitting right. All the cards are ligned up against me right now. I was injured and couldn't run, football started which meant eating out a lot, Hurricane Ike, etc. It is back to business today, I have to start running for real and get back in shape....I will not be successful at the New Orleans 70.3 with this weight on me.

Friday, Septmeber 19th

WE ARE BORED!!! How do you entertain a 5 year old for 5 days without cable???? We have watched The Sandlot 7 times....ugh! Well, things are going well. Teachers had to meet at the school today, but Elkins still is without power and air conditioning and the generators went out last night...sooooo....that meeting lasted 7 minutes...long enough for them to tell us we probably wouldn't be back at school Monday and to get the updated football schedule.
The plus to all of this is that my house is cleaner than it has ever been...not that it always isn't clean, but now it is spotless. I scrubbed the tile floors in my whole house on my hands and knees...it smells wonderful. And I threw everything away in the bathroom and bought all new stuff at Target on Monday....I'm thinking off painting later today or this weekend.
We are off to the park so Josiah can ride his bike and do some running....he says he needs to start training for the Turkey Trot kids mile....he thinks he might win this year! :)

My Evacuation so far....

I finally learned how to play this morning!!! WOOHOO!!! So much fun....so far today I have cooked breakfast for everybody, ate oreos, played guitar hero and mario cart, and took a shower... Just think, I should be taping ankles for the football game right now.
We are all safe and I will post another update tonight if we don't lose power at my moms...the wind is picking up...

Evacuation Update

Josiah and I will hit the road as soon as these football players finish lifting weights at 12:30. All Fort Bend ISD activities have been canceled effective at 2:30 pm today. I will leave earlier to beat everybody out of town. I will update my blog periodically so check here for updates on us this weekend.

Ike's Cone Updated

WE ARE NOW IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CONE!!! CRAP!!!!

Hurricane Ike

NOT AGAIN!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! We are watching the weather channel hoping to not evacuate again. We are the Channel 2 Friday Football Frenzy Game of the Week for the whole Houston area this week. That is what happens when you beat the defending state champions. Hopefully Ike will go beat up on somebody else so we can get some air time! Watch for updates!

Weekend in Review

Friday was the first official football game of the season and we won! We beat the defending Texas State Champion Lamar Consolidated Mustangs! WOOHOO!!!! What a great game...and nobody got seriously hurt! WOOHOO!!!!

Saturday my plan was to get up early, ride my bike, and then get to work for 10:00 am treatments. I didn't set my alarm because 7am is sleeping in to me so I knew I would be up in plenty of time. WRONG! I heard my phone beep that I had an email and when I looked at the clock it was 9:20. WHAT??? I hurried up, took a shower, and got to treamtent at 10:05. The boys gave me a hard time about being late. Dang. When treatment was done at 11:00 I headed to pick up Josiah. He had just layed down for a nap so I waited for him to wake up. When he woke up, he had a small cough. UH OH!

Sunday Josiah woke up with a terrible cough. CRAP! We stayed in all day in our pajamas so he wouldn't get worse. He had a breathing treatment about 7:30 and again at 9:30 because he was wheezing. UH OH! At 3:30am we headed to the ER. He couldn't breathe. When we got there is O2 level was 90...when we left at 6:00 his O2 level was 98. I rushed home, took a shower, threw some clothes on, dropped Josiah off at my freinds, and raced to work by 6:45. MADE IT! Josiah fell asleep in the car since he had not slept all night. Last night when I got home he was feeling much better. He is at school today and the long awaited (I made the appt in April) appt with the Pulmonologist is tomorrow.

Tina Turner is coming to Houston in concert on Oct 26th and I hope I get to go. It is a Monday night so no work...I just have to talk LaToya into it. And in more Tina news, Hurricane Ike is headed our way! hehehehehe

Hurricane Gustav

WE ARE OUTA HERE!!!! I get off of work at 2:25 today (actually 2:30 but I plan on beating the students out of the parking lot or else I'll be stuck in school traffic until 3:00), pick Josiah up from school at 3:00, pick up the dog and my bike, and we are outie! (You thought I would leave my bike here....HA! It is the most expensive thing I own, besides Josiah and my car!) :) I don't take chances with hurricanes.

Since I have the weekend off and don't have football practice until 3:00 Monday, I decided we would leave town and go visit my parents. If the storm hits H-town, then we will already be gone and miss the traffic. If it heads to LA, then we will head back for practice Monday. I finally convinced my brother and sister-in-law to leave also...they are new to town and haven't seen hurricane damage yet. My sister-in-law was finally convinced last night...my brother was convinced 3 days ago! hmmmm

One of the funniest things I read on the chron.com message board posted after a Gustav update:

"Houston can't handle another New Orleans hurricane!"

Class Clown

My son would be the class clown...the one who wants to make everybody laugh....no matter the circumstances or punishment. Yesterday Josiah came home from school and this was the conversation:
Josiah: Mom...I got in trouble at school today.
Me: What? What did you do?
Josiah: I was making snoring noises...
Me: What????
Josiah: I was making snoring noises....
Me: Why were you making snoring noises????
Josiah: I was trying to get my breathing right...I think my asthma was kicking in or something...
Me: WHAT????
Josiah: I couldn't breathe right....
Me: Who laughed?
Josiah: Landon
Me: What did the teacher say?
Josiah: Who is making those noises...and then everybody in the class laughed....and when I told her it was me she said we don't make those noises at school...go stand outside for 2 minutes.
Me: Josiah...you can't do that at school...
Josiah: But mom...it made everybody laugh...and I was bored and falling asleep....

It is going to be a long year.....

First Day of School

Today is Josiah's first day of school. What can I say? How did he get so old so quickly....I just gave birth to him a couple of days ago...right????? Wow...how time flies. Yesterday he asked me if I could cancel him....WHAT???? Cancel you???? Yeah mom...call them and tell them to cancel me out, I'm not going to school this year. WHAT???? Yeah mom....I'm gonna stay home with you cause I will miss you to much. WHAT???? Since when do I stay home??? I will be at my own school Josiah!!!!

This morning I got up at 4:45 and put the coffee on, took my shower, and got myself ready for work. Then it was time to wake up my kindergartener. Rise and shine it is the first day of school. He woke right up and a big smile came on his face. He got up and got in the shower right away. When he was ready, I made him his breakfast, he requested breakfast tacos, and dropped him off at my brother's house. Uncle Alton took him today. To make a long story short, my principal informed me that lots of parents don't get to take their kids to the first day of school. WHAT???? Anyways, more on that later when I am in a calmer state of mind!!!! So I sent him off with Uncle and the camera, I gave Alton specific instructions on picture duty, etc.

I can't wait to see him after school and post an update on his first day with Mrs. Levy....

Meet the Teacher Night

I can't believe it is here. We had to meet Josiah's Kindergarten teacher tonight...is he really old enough to start school???? How old does that make me????

He will be a Quail Valley Falcon....I guess they couldn't be the Quail's??? The Fighting Quail's...Oooohhhh I'm scared!!! Yeah...I guess I would have picked the Falcon's also.

He will be in Mrs. Levy's class. She seems nice...but a little gruff. Is she going to be able to keep Josiah in line, and give him the loving care he needs???? I hope so. My friend is the Asst. Principal at his school and put him in there because she says Mrs. Levy is the best. I trust Alena so Mrs. Levy it is. Plus, Alena put her own daughter in their also. Poor Mrs. Levy...she has Josiah and Kaleigh....hehehehe

Well....4 days until my baby's first day of school.....

Football Season

It is that time of year again...dreaded football season. Don't get me wrong...I LOVE FOOTBALL! But when you are an athletic trainer, the hours will kill you if you let them. Football season to me means working 17-18 hours a day between teacher meetings and 3 football practices. Then mix in some volleyball practices and games, Josiah time, and there isn't much "me" time left.

Not that I could do much with "me" time right now. I am injured again. I pushed it to make it through Vineman and am suffering now. I never let my knee heal when I tore the articular cartilage on my femur last year before the Marine Corps Marathon. I just kept running and am paying now big time. The doctor says no running for 2 months....so that means October. That also means, NO SAN ANTONIO ROCK & ROLL MARATHON, NO SUN MART 50K, etc.... My next race will be the Houston Half Marathon....not enough time to train to get ready for the full.

I am still able to ride my bike which is a great thing...my favorite thing to do anyways. I rode 35 miles with Meera on August 8th and then 30 miles on my own August 10th....then football started on August 11th...and it has been downhill from there. I hope to get a good ride in this weekend...probably Saturday morning if all goes well.

My next "BIG RACE" that I am looking forward to is the inaugural New Orleans 70.3 Half Ironman Triathlon April 5, 2009. I can't wait and am excited to see what I can do on a "flat" course....although I have heard about the dreaded Lake Pontchartrain. I will need full body armor to swim in that....eeeeewwwwwww......

Vineman Race Report

The alarm went off at 4:45...I had my first good night of sleep before a race. Usually I toss and turn the night before a race but this time I woke up after sleeping 8 1/2 hours in the same position. NICE!!! I got dressed and went to meet the others at 5:20 to take our bikes to transition to get them set up. I was one of the first ones there for my age group so I got a spot at the end of the rack. NICE!!! I went back up to the cabins to eat breakfast and use the restroom again. The rumors of the porta potties at Vineman are true. There are only about 15-20 toitlets for 2000 racers and others. I came back down to the beach and waited for my 7:50 swim wave. It was only about 48 outside and the water temp was 70.5 degrees. Great....I am swimming without a wetsuit.
I take my sweats off at 7:30 and get ready to get in the water at 7:42. When I get in I am pleasantly surprised.....because it is so cold outside, the water feels warm as bath water. The announcer tells us that we are the biggest swim wave age group of the day...147 women ages 30-34. Off I went on the swim. When I got to the turnaround I look at my watch at it is already 30 minutes....crap!! Why is this taking me so long. I walk around the turnaround bouey ( the water was below my waist) and start swimming again until bam. I swim into a guy walking. What the .... I look up and realize all of the men ahead of me are walking because every time you take a stroke, you scoop gravel unless you swim on top of the boueys....so if you can't beat them, join them. When the water starts getting deeper I resume swimming. Swim time: 52 minutes.
I run out of the water and hear Angie, Joe, and Jim yelling for me. I throw my goggles and swim cap to Angie...I still don't know why! I run for my bike but think they have already taken my rack down???? What is going on???? Then I hear Kevin yell at me to keep going, I am 2 racks away! I get ready and roll out. T1: 3:30 minutes
When you come out of T1 there is a steep hill. I already had planned to run up it and then mount since I had heard the stories of lost chains and people falling over. I got to the top of the hill and was off. What a beautiful bike ride! It was overcast and cold, but beautiful through the vineyards. I warm up right away as there are hills to be climbed everywhere....but where you climb up...you must come down. One time I looked down I was going 35...and coming to a corner that had a 20 mph sign for cars!!! CRAP!!! If they can only go 20 with 4 fat wheels...should I be going 35 with only 2 thin wheels???? At mile 28 I run over a powergel package someone had dropped on the ground and hear a pop...was that the gel or my tire. I stop and feel my tire...It is still full so I get back on. I head down a hill and as I come around the big red barn at mile 29 my tire flattens. CRAP!!! I am going to have to change it myself. I see 4 people across the street cheering on the atheltes. I yell across the street "Anyone want to help me change my tire???" One of the guys runs over to help me as his wife rides past me. Darn...I had just past her on the last uphill! Anyways, I picked an ironman to help me! He has done Lake Placid and Canada!!! His wife was doing her first 70.3. Anyways, you can be disqualified for outside help so I ask him to watch me to make sure I do it right, but he takes it from me and says to let him do it and to stand real close to him in case a race official comes so he can hand it off to me. As he changes it, a volunteer runs over and says he has a floor pump if we need it so no need for CO2 cartridges! It is my lucky day for getting a flat! They get me all set up and 9 minutes later I was on my way. 1 mile down the road a race official passes me on his motorcycle...by was that close. The next major event is Chalk Hill. I say this becasue it is a mile long hill at mile 45 on the course and has a grade from 7%-12%. Are you kidding me???? Is this someone's idea of a sick joke??? I try my hardest on this hill, bu 3/4 of the way up I am going 3 mph and am about to fall over. I have to get off and walk to a spot where it flattens out and then I get back on and ride the rest of the way up the hill. Next time I will make it all the way up!!! I finish the ride and head into T2. Bike Time: 4:00:07
I run into T2 and get my running shoes on. I had planned on changing into my running skirt but did not have time do to the flat tire. I head out on the run. T2: 5:30 minutes
As I head out ont he run I see Shannon coming in with only .2 miles to go...are you kidding me! She is awesome....her first 70.3 she pulss a 5:32. WOW!! I run out and see our support crew out there cheering us all on. The run course is an out and back so I pass Darwin at mile 1...his mile 12. At mile 2 I hear a lady yell "SNAKE!" WHAT??? I look down and see A 3-4 foot rattlesnake slithering across the street between us. Everybody else stops and I run around it. I have seen many rattlesnakes growing up in Cali and know that as long as it is outstretched you are safe if you give it room. If it starts to coil...RUN!!! Then I pass Pam, then Deb, then Patty, then Tessy, and then Jen (who was in the last swim wave!) At mile 6 we get to run through La Crema...how cool. I keep plugging along but start getting doubts in me head...what was I thinking when I signed up to do this. You think crazy things when you are tired! After I pass mile 12 I see Angie coming towards me yelling "There she is!" I then see everybody else at the corner. Angie stays with me until we catch up to everybody else. They push me along yelling encouragement. When I have about .3 miles left they take off to meet me at the finish line and I run around the school by myself.. As I come up to the finish Kevin handed Josiah over the fence and he ran across the finish line with me. I DID IT!!! Final time: 8:37
I want to say that I could not have done this without everybody who trained with me but most of all, the 12 incredible people I traveled with and went through this with....Tessy, Patty, Deb, Pam, Shannon, Jen, and Darwin, and our wonderful support crew of Kevin, Jim, Joe, and Angie. This is something I will never forget!

I FINISHED!!!!

I finished my first Ironman 70.3 today. VINEMAN ROCKS!!! But I wouldn't suggest it for newbies! It was hard for my first 70.3, very hilly. I will post more details and my race report later when I am sober!!!! We are celebrating and the Korbel we bought at the Korbel Champagne Winery tour.

Going Back to Cali....

Ahhh....to be back home again. Josiah and I flew into Oakland last night. We had a great flight...actually 2 flights...plane stopped in Pheonix to let peeps off and on. It was a nice 68 degrees when we landed. On the way to my brother's house my sister-in-law (Ori) asked what we wanted for dinner....like she even needed to ask! I gave her a look and she said nevermind. To the In-N-Out drive thru...double double with grilled onions and a strawberry shake. The things dreams are made of....
This morning we woke up to a temperature of 54 degrees. My nephews had swim lessons so we were off to the pool. Josiah wouldn't get in...it was cold outside and inside...poor Texas boy. He doesn't know summer temps so low. It is now 94 out here at the house by the lake....a dry 94! We aren't even sweating! WOOHOO!!
4 DAYS UNTIL VINEMAN!!!!