A Little Tri Training...

Yesterday morning, I went with my friend Diane and a group of gals down to American Fork to do a preview of the Women of Steel Triathlon course.  This triathlon takes place next Saturday.  Since my favorite Chalk Creek Bike ride got cancelled due to flash flood conditions and high winds, I thought I would tag along with them.  All of them are doing this Tri next Saturday.  I was the odd man out and just wanted to get out and do something.  We met at the American Fork Rec Center where the Tri will start and finish.

The pool was closed and all of us took a gander at it through the fence.  But the main focus was to check out the bike and run course.  The bike route was comprised of two 6 mile loops, and the run was one lap of about 3 miles. 

We all got on our bikes first and started out on the course.  I quickly took to the lead, partially because I was familiar with the area and partially because I'm such a strong rider; my sport of choice.  The course was done in a clockwise loop.  The first part there was the wind at your bike as your climbing a bit of a hill; not too bad.  I will admit it was pretty with a little cemetery and fields with horses grazing. 

As you turned the corner to come back, BOOM the wind hit you full on!  It was blowing pretty hard and cut down the speed we were riding.  The wind was a definite issue.  I did my usual making myself small and focus on the pedaling.  I built up a distance from the gals that had been keeping up with me.  It was almost with a sigh that I took the turn back to the start for a second loop.  We waited for all and then started the second loop.

This will be Alex's (in blue here) first Tri!

Next was the run, which was basically the same route as the bike but with an earlier turn.  I had changed into my running shoes and stripped down to a sports tank under my bike jersey.  It was getting a bit warm out but still pretty windy.  All of us waited and started out at the same time.  Quickly most of the gals passed me on the run; not my sport of choice especially when going up hill.  I've never been good running up hill even with the wind at my back.  I will admit that I managed to keep the gals within sight until the last turn when they still had the energy to sprint to the finish.  Not me!  I discovered after about 2 miles in that my darn butt cramp from last week came back.  There must be something about running that's making it come out.  Because I had managed to bike almost 60 miles this last week and had no problem with it.    

Strange Dreams Again!

I'm blaming it on the Cajun pasta I had for dinner last night... Or maybe I should blame it on what I saw at the opera last night?  Hmmmm, it is curious.  But here's the strange and ever ridiculous dream that I had last night...

So I'm on a large 70-3 triathlon but a girl friend and I get lost half way in the 13.1 mile run.  We end up in what's like a ghost town in the desert.  But there's a bright shiny red phone booth at the end of a row of abandoned wooden buildings.  Of course, neither one of has a map with us.  We figured we would follow along with the rest of the group on the triathlon.  Well, THAT did work!  DUH!?  There's no one in sight.  They (the other competitors) left us quite literally in the dust; in a barren desert ghost town.   

The sun is beating down on us as we are standing and looking around.  There's nothing but sage brush and sand for miles around.  I feel like I'm boiling just standing there; and the thought of running has gone out the window.  "Should we see if the phone works?", I say to my friend.  She shrugs and we go to the booth.  I open the door and it's air conditioned!  WOW!

We both squeeze into the booth, and I pick up the phone.  There's conversations all ready going on.  It's like a party line, a few woman are gossipping about a neighbor.  I speak and excuse the interruption.  I tell them that a friend and I are lost during a triathlon race and are in what appears is a ghost town with this bright red shiny phone booth.  They knew right where we were.  One gal says that someone is on their way.

Within a few minutes a beat up green Chevy pickup pulls up next to the booth.  A skinny tall guy with a big straw hat climbs out and says," You ladies looking for a lift?"  The hat is so big all you can see is his mouth that has a toothpick hanging out and a square jaw line.  "Sure", we timidly say.  We climb in and keep close to the door on the other side of the truck.

Next thing I know we are outside an old farm house, and the truck door is being held by an evil Aunt Bee.  "Wells!  You all juss' come on in and make ya self at home."  We enter the old farm house and both start to sit on the old rose colored sofa.  "Now why don one a ya help me in the kitchen!," as she grabs my arm.  "We'll put somethin' to drink.  Yous got to be thristee."

It's a huge warm yellow kitchen with cute matching gingham curtains.  "I'll make ya some of my MAR-Ga-Ritas!"  The evil Aunt Bee sneers (maybe it's a smile)," They are FAM-ous in thess here parts!"  She grabs glasses and fills them with ice.  Then comes what looks like small pellets of salt that she mixes with the ice.  Then out of the freezer she grabs a bottle of peppermint schnapps.  OMG!  I think my stomack just turned over!  She pours it over the ice/salt mix and then grabs some sliced lemon and garnishes the side of the glasses.  She hands me two of the glasses and we head out to the front room.  I hand one to my friend, and I cough to cover the laugh as my friend's face first puckers then grimaces.

AND then I wake up!  Talk about leaving you hanging! Darn!

Quarterly Year Reflections...

Back in January, I set some goals for myself in 2010 and here it is all ready the last day in April. I can’t help but pause for a bit and reflect on my progress so far on those goals. (It’s also a S-L-O-W-W Friday afternoon here at work.) So here are the goals and some reflection on my progress so far.




1- Save More Money- This goal has been progressing quite well, and I really feel a sense of accomplishment from that. From each paycheck, I have been putting about 15-20% into my savings account. With what I was able to save towards the end of last year and combined with this year so far, I have started having a bit of a nest egg. It’s not a really big nest egg but enough that if I lost my job tomorrow I could survive almost 4 months. (This also probably shows how small my income is that I can all ready save enough for 4 month wroth of living.) But all in all I find that rather eases my mind especially when you just don’t know what is going to happen with the economy the way it is right now. I have heard of people that have been years at a position that would be considered “secure” and they’ve been handed the pink slip. So I feel like I’ve got a bit of a buffer zone now. That’s good.

2- Do a half marathon in the Spring and maybe work towards a full in late Summer- I finish my first half marathon on the 17th of this month. I accomplished part of this goal so far. BUT I really have to question myself whether I REALLY want to do a full marathon. After finishing the half marathon, I couldn’t see myself really wanting to do a full one. The half marathon took enough out of me. A full marathon? I think it might be the death of me!?! I am signed up to do another half marathon this August up in Park City. I would like to try to be better prepared for my second half marathon. So I guess in a way this goal is being tweaked just a little bit. Two half marathons in a year, and see if I can improve my performance on the second half marathon. I feel that’s very doable.


3- Survive and maybe do better on the Slow Salty Dog Tri-  I don’t think there’s going to be another Slow Salty Dog Tri this year. Diane has been experiencing injuries and I just couldn’t imagine trying to do this event without her or on my own. And, the thought of signing up for an official event just does not appeal to me. Too competitive for me and too expensive.

4- Do at least one century bike ride-   The bike season is finally starting here “somewhat”. I say "somewhat" because it’s been snowing and raining off and on for the last two days here. I did however manage to get in a 38 mile bike ride in this last Sunday. It was a good ride with a fair amount of climbing.  I really feel like I’m on track for this goal.

5- On my bike go up and over Little Mountain then Big Mountain to East Canyon and all the way back- This kind of reminds me of a song that that goes on to sing..."To grandma's house we go!"  I'm hoping that if the weather gets it’s act together this Sunday I'll get to the top of Little Mountain.  I figure I need to work through this goal section by section; bit by bit and I’m pretty confident that I will accomplish this goal. But only time will tell.


Wow! As I look over these, I’m kind of bit surprised. It looks like overall I’m doing all right so far. It’s a respectable quarterly reflection. What do you think? Any suggestions?  Maybe I need to come up with something else for the #3 goal ?

Do You Ever Slow Down?

This questions was thrown at me on Monday night as we were walking from the restaurant to the opera. I took the night off from preparing for my Art Show that takes place this Saturday. But the question has been rather plaguing me since.

"Do you ever slow down?"

At the time I stopped cold in my tracks in the middle of State Street (a busy downtown street). The ladies I was with just cracked up at my reaction. I'm standing in the middle of a downtown street with my jaw hanging out, and a perplexed questioning look on my face. I quickly recovered with a laugh and continued on.

As we were chatting and catching up during dinner I had revealed over the meal all that I had been up to... training for a marathon, possibly training for a 70.3 triathlon, preparing for a solo art show, and volunteering, with my friend Diane, as a volunteer coordinator for the Little Red Riding Hood Ride (which has all ready filled up in a month's time with 3000 female riders). Then on top of this I'm working on a schedule with one of my dinner companions about leading bicycle rides up Emigration Canyon for the cycling season.

"Do you ever slow down?" The question has been haunting me. With my art show coming up, my whole world is in STRESS mode. I keep on thinking that I just might need a retreat or something. I remember a while back Diane mentioned on her blog about going on a retreat. At the time I checked out that retreat and got to thinking about the idea of it. But it was mainly just pipe dreaming. I looked at a couple of running retreats that looked interesting but then again would THAT really be considered a retreat? Hmmm....?

I would like to find something inexpensive and retreat-like. Maybe a "Day Spa"? Though, I don't really consider myself the pampering type. Earlier this month I had to forgo the yurting expedition because of getting ready for this show. Darn! Anyone have some suggestions out there?

The other issue that came up with this haunting question

"DO you ever slow down?"

Am I my own worst enemy? I am creating all of this stress for myself. It's all on me and no one else. It's like one of those "Aha!" moments. It's all true and it's all my fault... Now what am I going to do about it? The funny thing is that I always classified myself the type "B" personality but it seems that I woke up from a dream and discovered I'm really the "A" type personality. YIKES!! What happened? Was I deluding myself before? WOW! Talk about pipe dreaming! There must have been something real good in my pipe!

"Do you ever slow down?"

I think I need to ponder this....

Resolutions/Goals for 2010 & The Perfect 10...

I know. I know… everyone is inundating the Internet with resolutions and goals for 2010. It like an endless barrage and you are SO tired of it all ready. Well, sorry to say here’s one more of those. If you don’t want to read any further, I will understand perfectly. Enough is enough is enough and believe me I know because I’m there myself. But for those of you that continue on, there are reasons that this occurs. The success of these goals and resolutions are greatly improved if you follow a few fundamental steps…

1) Make it public! The accountability factor does amazing stuff, and well, that’s why there are so many stating it out on the Internet like I will be below some where here.
2) Write it down. Just by forming it into actual words on paper, it clears up the ideas and narrows it down that resolution or goal.
3) KISS! Keep It Simple Stupid! Don’t get complicated and make it hard on yourself.
4) Celebrate your achievements. You’ve worked hard towards them, and you deserve to reap the rewards!
5) Make reasonable resolutions/goals. They should be close enough to be attainable but still enough out of reach to challenge you.

Follow those above and you have managed to beat the odds of success. Don’t and you might as well be flipping a coin.

Normally, I’m not a resolution type of person. I tend to be goal orientated, and once I have set that goal I tend to be stubborn and tenacious like a Pit Bull with its jaw locked on something. So with that in mind, here’s my list…

1) Save more money, honey! Last year in August, I accomplished a financial goal that I’ve been working on for two years. I became debt free. Now, I want to start putting that money into savings that I’ve been using for paying off these debts with. I have a number in mind, but for fear of being hit up for a loan, I will not state that number here.

2) Run a half marathon. I want to run in half marathon in the Salt Lake City Marathon this Spring, and maybe even give the Park City Marathon a whirl too. Who knows maybe even push myself towards a full marathon in that one but lets get the first one under my belt first. Then we’ll see…

3) Do at least one century on my bicycle. Last year, I only did an 80 mile ride at the Little Red Riding Hood Ride, and that was as close as I got. Two years ago, I did 8 centuries on my bike. Maybe I can manage a happy medium in there somewhere?

4) Participate in the Slow Salty Dog Tri (70.3) and see if I can do better than 10 hours and 25 minutes.

5) Conquer Little Mountain and then Big Mountain, and back on my bicycle. I want to make it up and over and then back up the other side and down. I’ve managed ¾ of this but the backside is a climb that can prove relentless even for someone that likes to climb like me. (I usually climb a canyon once a week during the cycling season.)

6) Participate in the Perfect 10-- For the first 10 weeks in 2010, I want to give this a real go for the money. AND here’s my list for the goals of my Perfect 10…

(1) Lose 10 lbs over the 10 weeks. I think this is doable.
(2) Build up to 10 miles running in under 2.5 hours. I think this will help me train towards doing the half marathon.
(3) Do exercises at least twice a week that work on my balance. For all of you that have read my Boot Camp blogs, you know that I have some MAJOR balance issues.
(4) Make it to the gym at least 3 times a week. I bought that gym membership, and I need to make sure I get my money’s worth.

If you would like to learn more about or participate in the Perfect 10. Here's the link...

http://logmyloss.com/?p=2544

So there! That’s my list and for those that are still reading this posting. I ask for your help in encouraging me and holding me accountable to these. Thanks and Happy New Year!

An Update, A Recap, & Gee, What Am I Whining About?

I thought I would continue with the monthly totals update like I did last month. Some of you will find this a little "dry" reading but I'm going to be a little selfish here and use this as a record of what I did. Who knows it might prove to be interesting to you too?

Totals for Sept.2009 ...

Cycling miles-- 337

Running miles-- 23.5

Swimming miles-- 3.5

I looked up my cycling miles that I did last year. I did 475 miles of cycling the month of Sept. 2008. Now keep in mind that last year I was only cycling, I wasn't doing any of these other "disciplines".

FINAL RECAP--the SLOW SALTY DOG Tri (1.2M Swim/56M Bike/13 M Run)

Swim--1 hr. 7 min.

T1: 46 min (I was totally dry for the bike.)

Bike-- 4hrs. 22 min.

T2: 19 min.

Run--3 hrs. 50 min.

Okay, that's the last of the SLOW SALTY DOG. I'm sure all of you are sick of it by now. Now onto the...Gee,What Am I Whining About? I've been dealing with some tiredness of late but last night I watched a video that put all of this into perspective for me. It really made me think-- what the heck am I even whining about.

I watched Running On The Sun. It's a 2000 documentary film about the Badwater 135. The Badwater 135 is an Ultra-Marathon race that's 135 miles through the Mohave Desert. The race is limited to 40 people, and the film focused on 13 of the entrants through their experience. It was just amazing to watch all of these runners test their limits. The emotions ran from despair to joy. I found myself crying as one of the entrants, a man who had lost part of his arm and a leg from volunteering to remove landmines, as he crossed the finish line. It was just amazing and I would recommend the video to anyone that is into any kind of endurance sport. It always amazes me what a person can do when they set their mind on something, and it gives me hope.

Sleep-Walking & Eating My Veggies...

I have really felt good that I managed to finish the SLOW SALTY DOG. That was an accomplishment. How many people can say that they've swam 1.2 miles, biked 56 miles, and run/walk 13 miles in one day? Well, maybe there's quite a few people that could claim that but not everyone...



That's a full day! Whew! And here I am, still feeling that full day three days later. I feel as though I'm sleep walking. I have this overwhelming tiredness that just won't be shook. I have had to cancel doing things with friends, and I haven't even began to see about a swim, a run, or a bike ride. I'm dozing and about drooling at my desk at work. Why consider anything else?

I went to bed by 8:30PM last night. That's something that I haven't done in a LONG time. I tend to stay up until 11-12 midnight then turn around and get up at 4-5AM. I don't really sleep. I'm always going and going and once in awhile darn it I HAVE to rest in that furniture that's called a bed. Okay, I'll say it... I'm an insomniac!


But none of this has prepared me to be almost the complete opposite which has now happened since the Tri. How many days does it take to get back ... 3, 4, 5? I hope soon! This rather feels like that first day of Lent when I give up the coffee, chocolate, and caffeine. But I've been enjoying all of that good stuff since the Tri. Or it kind of reminds me of that last bit of lingering mono that I had years ago. It's like my giddy-up and go has gone kaput! What's up with that?

I've been eating more balanced meals with vegetables and salads since the Tri. I also have tried to consume more water too. But any of you that know me know that I'm rather picky when it comes to veggies and I consider a salad okay but given the choice; no thanks. I've never had what most people would consider a well-balanced diet. Gee, I'll consume a bag of microwaved popcorn as lunch, and would consider that a meal. I always just figured that was why vitamins were created. I know that's really bad of me.

That could maybe explain why I might not have done better on the SLOW SALTY DOG Tri. Though, I did consume plenty of simple carbs the night before, AND water. In my defense, I will say that in the last couple of years, I have added more veggies, fruit juices, and even some fresh fruit to my diet. Yep, I was the kid that sat at that dinner table all night because I didn't want to finish those soggy peas and I couldn't control my gag reflex to consume any of that liver...Ugh! Thus, the next morning, I was still seated at the dinner table. Some might say I was a bit stubborn. Hmmm? Maybe so, or I guess I could be called a stubborn picky eater. I'm not sure how my mom ever put up with me! Sorry Ma! I was a real pain; wasn't I?

Well, either way I hope to shortly get back up to my normal pace of life of Go! Go! Go! Until then I guess I'll be the reitred Go-Go-Girl....?

Still Among the Living...

I’m happy to announce that I am still among the living upright. I survived the SLOW SALTY DOG Triathlon yesterday. It was quite the ordeal, and this morning I’m really feeling the effects. In fact, I think that a 93 year old woman could outpace me on a walk right now. Most of my muscles are Stiff with a capital “S”.

Yesterday, the SLOW SALTY DOG Tri started at 6AM at the swimming pool. Diane and I found ourselves waiting for the doors to be opened along with several other early morning swimmers. By 5 min. after the two of us had claimed a lane and were off. The swim really went well. It only took me 1 hour and 7 minutes to do the 1.2 miles. I really surprised myself, and felt good afterwards. I finished almost 3 laps in front of Diane, and Sofia who had arrived late was still swimming as I headed off to Diane’s house. Maybe I was going too fast? I know that I’ll probably over analyze everything over the next few days.

The bike which we started at 8AM from Diane’s house. Nice; I had about 45 minutes to dry my hair and put on my bike gear. It gave me a chance to partake a second granola bar and a second GU packet. I periodically forced myself to eat and drink during the whole event. My fellow bike club member Ron was waiting for me to begin. He had emailed that he wanted to ride along with me on the bike portion of the Tri; the sweetie.

Diane had arrived after a bit and told us to go ahead; Sofia would still be a bit before she showed. Off Ron and I headed north the route which would later be the run portion of the SLOW SALTY DOG. We took it at a mild easy pace of 13-15 mph. I wanted to ensure that I had something left over for the run. At about mile 18 into the ride, Ron had a flat. We pulled over to repair. As Ron was repairing his flat and I eat another granola bar; the gals (Diane, Sofia, and Kim) passed us. I told them to continue on, and that we would catch up.

Oh, those famous last words. The tire changed; Ron and I stepped up on the speed to try to catch up with the gals. We picked up the average to 18-20mph. But we never did see the girls. We got down to Draper Park, the southernmost part of the route, and stopped for a few minutes. I finished a water bottle and refilled it. Then off back we headed to the north. We had figured by this time that we must have somehow passed the gals and kept an eye for them heading south as we were headed north. But we never did see them. As we got closer to Diane’s house we were a bit short on mileage so we looped around through some neighbor hoods to get the needed 56 miles.

Finally, at Diane’s house, I thanked Ron as I put my bike in the back of my car. It was really nice to have someone to talk with during the bike ride. Now came the running part and I found myself alone. As I changed at Diane’s house, I had some peanut butter, a GU packet, and a granola bar. Oh what a combo! I put on my head phones; a water bottle along with a couple more GU packets in my fanny pack, and off I went.

I walked the first blocks, and then I tried to run. I say try because I was starting to feel everything by this time. My arms and legs were feeling heavy. What I was doing was a “wog” as Diane and I had called it. It’s kind of a fast walk- slow jog type of thing. I managed to do almost 5 miles of this total during the whole run portion. Otherwise, I just did a brisk walk.

Almost 4 miles into the run I saw Sofia and Diane. They were a part of the route that I had all ready done. We waved and I yelled that I think I would be doing more walking than actual running. They laughed and said that they would probably just walk most of the thing also. I continued on but thinking back now I should have gone over and joined them for the rest of the event. A couple of miles later, I stopped at a Shop-n-Go. I purchased some Gatorade and water. Up towards the University of Utah I went, with busy traffic of a football game in process. This slowed me down quite a bit, and at one point I was going opposite of all the foot traffic. It was an upstream battle, and I was losing. I had a few guys carrying cases of beer stopped me and told me to turn around to join them for some pre-game fun. I smilingly thanked them and continue on.

With about 3 miles left to go, the heat of the day and the ordeal really started to wear me down. My pace slowed. My feet were really starting to hurt. I concentrated on one foot in front of the other. At a mile left, I sent a text to Diane. I turned the last corner and there was Sofia and Diane all ready done with their medals on. They had arrived about 15 min. before I did. How did they manage this when they were almost 2 miles behind me? They had been able to change up the run course because they had their GPS wrist watches on. They kept to shadier flatter streets, and had even taken two laps around in an air-conditioned Albertson’s grocery store. I’m sorry but I just thought that was totally wrong! Lapping around a grocery store as part of a Tri? I could even imagine them enjoying ice cream bars while they did it! Gee maybe I was doing it wrong? I should have driven over to the air conditioned mall and joined the mall walkers? I will admit that I was a bit frustrated when I heard all this because I couldn’t have done this. I had no GPS or device to tell me how far I had gone. Thus, I stuck to the original route.

I could barely manage to move when I arrived at Diane’s house, and meanwhile Sofia was almost bouncing around like a cheerleader. I found this very irritating to say the least. From talking with Diane she said that Sofia was getting peppier as the event went on. Strange, and very annoying! Gee, I guess I didn’t get this gene. Darn it anyway.

I was SO glad that I had gotten a hotel room for the night. There was no way that I could have made it up the three flights of stairs to my apartment. I managed to eat a couple of brats and drink a diet coke. I was off to the hotel. Shortly after checking in I took a long hot shower; then, down to the hot tub to soak for a soothing two hours. Just when I thought I would be a cured prune for life, I got out and went to the hotel restaurant for a late dinner. Then it was off to bed by 9PM--- a VERY early night for me.

But as I think on it this morning, I find myself asking questions like—what I should have done in the training? Am I just not cut out for this type of endurance stuff? Then I think--- well, I only did have three months in which to train for this and considering that it was amazing that I finished. So take it easy on yourself! Now to make arrangements for a full body massage…. Ahhhhhhh!

Down Time in Park City

Well, this morning I'm enjoying a cup of joe up in the beautiful area of Park City and enjoying a little vacation before the SLOW SALTY DOG. Saturday afternoon before we drove up here we went to an Art Sale down in Lehi. A friend bought a couple of lovely paintings. Then a group of friends went and had dinner at the Olive Garden. My friend Jean is engaged and moving to Washington State. Lucky gal! I wish her the best and I'm hoping to be going to a wedding in the Spring. She's pictured here enjoying her wine during dinner. She LOVES her wine!!

Yesterday, I wondered around with my friend Laura at the Silly Sunday Market that takes place on the lower end of Park City Main Street. I took a ton of pictures and bought a wonderful loaf of cranberry walnut bread that I'm enjoying with my coffee this morning. Oh, the life! I wish I had more vacation days in my life. I think we all deserve more vacations! Well, anyway, here's a few of the pictures that Laura and I took (also the photo at top)....

Heading Down That Home Stretch...

It's about 1 week now until the SLOW SALTY DOG Tri. Now it's down to a point where I hope that I've trained enough to survive the event. I've got a little more training planned for this weekend but after that it's all about tapering off, and resting.



Last night, Diane and I were out figuring out the last little bit of the route for bike and the run. I think it's a good course with some nice scenery through the Salt Lake Valley to enjoy as we do the event. There are plenty of access to store stops and parks with water and restroom facilities. I'm planning on having my cell phone with me during the event just in case. But now we are heading down that home stretch, details have been taken care of as much as possible, and it's time to start taking it easy. The end of the road is in site, and I find myself getting a bit nervous.

As of Saturday afternoon, I'm treating myself to a little vacation time up in Park City. Some down time and relaxing sounds good. I'm hoping that the higher elevation will help me on the SLOW SALTY DOG Tri. Higher elevation and thinning air and all? I'm not sure what effect if any it will have but hey I wouldn't complain for any little bit of help that I can get.

I'm also hoping that a little vacation time will help take my mind off the upcoming event too. A little bait-n-switch for the mind? We shall see if this works to help keep my nerves in line. It's not as though I'm frazzled but this kind of feels like the day before my first century on a bike. (A friend had talked me into the century the day before.) It's that anticipation working on me. It's like before Christmas with that anticipation where you worry if you got the right sweater for your Aunt Betty. It's that mixed feeling with a bit excitement and a bit of fear but you've put thought into the sweater, and you hope it's her favorite color, and you hope it fits just right. It's sort of like that, and this may not be the best analogy but you kind of get the picture.

So tomorrow morning, I'm planning an easy going 25 mile ride then one more long swim. Then Sunday, another 20 mile bike ride and a 5 mile run. Then I might do a little walking/sightseeing around Park City, and of course, a bit of leisurely swimming and hot tubing. Ahhhhh! Now that sounds real good!

Rest, Thoughts, and Swimsuit Contortions....

It's raining and my bike is in the shop so I feel justified in taking a night off from my Tri training. I'm enjoying a day of rest; a whole day off. Not that partial day that Diane is always teasing me about where I still get in a 11 mile bike ride in the early mornings. She refers to them as "Jeanne Day's Off" versus everyone else's day off. I will admit that I push myself a little too hard sometimes. I'm convinced that it is genetic. This last summer my mom was supposed to be recovering from foot surgery. She painted the entire outside of her house, and planted a new tree in the backyard. What can I say---"It's in the genes!"

But I am learning. (Or at least trying to...) One thing I am learning through all of this training is that you need to listen to your body. Respect it and it'll work well with you. Don't respect it--- and you can be in a world of hurt. Though, I know that there's some hurt that naturally comes with this type of training. I can't help but feel (or imagine) that after the SLOW SALTY DOG Tri that I'll be in a whole world of hurt. I'm going to feel like dog meat that's been put through the grinder. The amazing thing is that this is a "grinder" of my own making. I'm purposely doing this to myself. I REALLY must have one twisted mind!

As I'm thinking these twisted thoughts last night, I remember that I got my new swimsuit in the mail yesterday. I need to try it on. I had a plastic hook that broke on the old one. It was almost 8 years old. It was time for a new swimsuit; anyway that's my excuse. It's not as though I don't have a couple of other swimsuits. It's just that I don't feel that a tropical print bikini, or a black monokini are appropriate for lap swimming. ( Some more twisted thinking?)

So out comes the new swimsuit. It's a ClubSwim Lycra one piece (pictured above). Right away I notice that it doesn't have the plastic hook. A good thing, I think. But it is then that I 'm standing with suit in hand trying to figure out how to get this small Lycra one piece on me. At least with the plastic hook I could figure out how to get the suit on. Now in the back there are solid straps that don't move. I look at the tags attached to the suit in hopes of some kind of hint or at least a suggestion? Nothing on how to put the suit on but plenty of directions on the care of the article. My mind is boggled! We live in a culture where there are directions on how to open cereal boxes but not even a hint on how to put on a one piece swim suit.

Well, I guess it's trial and error time. First, I put my feet through the lower back and pull up the suit. Okay... I've got the bottom part on. Now to figure out the top.....hmmm. So I decide to bend over as much as possible and put my head as close to my waist as I can in hopes of fitting my head through the same hole as I just put the rest of my body. Nope! NO CAN DO!

Okay, I think to myself. There's more than one way to skin a cat. I take the suit off and decide to put the top part on first through the same hole in the back. Okay, the top part is on.... now the bottom half, hmmm? I lean against the wall and raise one leg to put it through one of the leg holes. I'm sure this is some kind of yoga position where your foot is close to your waist and your holding your ankle there to hold it. Meanwhile, my knee which unfortunately is not double jointed is as far from my body as possible and at almost a 90 degree from my waist. My balance is terrible and I'm leaning more and more on the wall. I catch myself before I almost fall. This is not working! I take off the suit and look at it.

And then the light bulb goes on! I, of course, am calling myself an idiot by now. Gee, what about the top hole you dummy! Amazing! I pull the straps off to the side and slide my feet through the holes at the bottom. The swimsuit pulls right up. Then I loop my arms through the under the straps, and tad ah! The swimsuit is on! WOW! It looks good!

Not one of my brighter moments... and maybe I shouldn't be sharing this with you and the whole wide web world. But you know we all have are moments where we are just plain IDIOTS! And well, that was mine. Hopefully, they are few and far between.

To Lance or Not to Lance?

That's the question, as I sat Sunday afternoon on my love seat staring down a couple of good sized blisters on the bottom inner insole of both my feet. OUCH!



I did 11 miles-- 8.5 miles running and 2.5 miles walking on Sunday morning. I felt really good during the run except for this darn feeling that I had a pebbles in my shoes. At mile 6, I took the shoes off and looked for those darn pebbles. It was just a mild irritant and I could not find any pebbles--- so, on went the shoes and the running, then walking continued.


You know it's rather funny. These blisters did not actually hurt until after the run when I took my shoes and socks off and discovered them. Is my brain short circuited? I should have maybe been screaming "Bloody Murder" all along the run? Or was I just so high off of the exercise endorphins that I couldn't feel any pain? Hmmm, that's some food for thought at the very least.


So any way, when I got home I immediately got my Home Remedies book out, and looked up blisters. Well, this is where I ran into the question--whether to lance or not to lance the blister. It turns out that there's some controversy on whether it should be done. And I couldn't even remember the last time I had a blister. Years in which I forgot what to do. So I try to call some friends that are runners, and various others with some degree of medical knowledge. I was having a hard time because it's Labor Day Weekend and mostly everyone I knew was out of town for the weekend. So, I turned to one that I KNEW would have the answer. MOM!! Mom's have the answers and I knew that they never steer you wrong.


The verdict? LANCE! These blisters were large enough. I guess that size really does matter! The smaller blisters you allow to heal naturally but the larger ones you lance. Mom told me to get a nice clean needle or pin, make sure it's dipped in rubbing alcohol, and prick the blister to drain it. "Make sure you have a clean cotton ball or towel handy to absorb the liquid, " Mom emphasized," and don't prick it on the edges keep it to the middle." Another thing was to leave the "roof" as it's referred to; that top skin of the blister intact as much as possible. This promotes the growth of new skin cells, and keeps out infection. That's good to know.


Before I lanced or pricked, I decided it was best to treat to a good dinner before being stuck not wanting to walk. So I did some take out at the local Olive Garden. Yum, yum! After dinner, I got all the supplies and well, did the "deed", and I lived!

Shortly after that, I received a call from a friend that was a former runner. They suggested future ways of avoiding blisters--- because let's face it, I still have almost a month more of training. There's a couple of options---Vaseline smeared lightly all over your feet or foot powder on you feet and around inside your sock.

Today, Tuesday, my feet are doing much better. Thanks to some extra cushioned socks, and foot powder; I'm managing through the day in my comfy Disneyland Crocs. The blister on the right foot, which was a bit smaller--1"x.5", is almost totally healed. The blister on my left foot, which was larger--2"x.5", is healing nicely, and almost there. Early this morning, I managed through a swim training. It's rather nice; don't need to worry about being on the feet for this. The real test will be the bike ride up Emigration Canyon tonight. Yah, I'm crazy!

A Slam Dunk Moment...

I had one of those moments last night where it couldn't have worked out better if I had planned it. The universe was in alignment, the clouds dispersed, and everything that normally would have gone wrong didn't. It amazes me when these moments happen because usually the opposite holds true for me. As I'm sure quite a few of you have had found it holds true for you also. This is not the norm. This is unusual, and well, I was WOW'd with amazement. Thus, I refer to these few and way too infrequent moments as a SLAM DUNK! But anyway, here's what happened....

I was waiting in the foyer area together with my fellow BCC cyclists waiting for a table at a local restaurant. We had just finished doing the regular weekly Thursday night bike ride. As I was waiting I notice one of the servers looked like a plumper version of my ex-brother-in-law's wife. She was always a sweet gal so I thought I would go ahead and say hello. Her family nickname was the Magnolia Queen. She's from the south and was always just a nice easy going gal that was easy to talk to.

When she got closer to the foyer area, where I might add, I'm standing with 4 male fellow cyclists, I wave. She comes over,"OMG! You look TERRIFIC! OMG! How are you? What have you been up to?" I proceeded to tell her that we had just got done doing a bike ride, and that I was doing some training for a triathlon. Her eyes just got big,"OMG! Wow! What Tri are you doing? You REALLY look terrific!" I tried to quickly explain the SLOW SALTY DOG to her, as our table was announced. We gave each other a quick hug, and then I walked off to the table.

It had been over 8 years since I had seen her. Here I am 75-80 lbs. lighter, tan, with long hair, and with 4 men standing in a restaurant. A SLAM DUNK moment! What are the chances? Now I can just imagine the conversation she had with her husband later that night when she got home. AND then a further conversation that might be taking place right now as my Ex is learning about the run in. Needless to say, I was in VERY high spirits as the meal progressed along last night. It made my night! The only thing was I had a bit of guilt that I didn't ask more after her, but I was thrown off and didn't know what to say.

Still Struggling....Towards SLOW SALTY DOG

Early this morning I struggled through another swim training. Ugh! I've switched it up a little with the training schedule. It's been getting lighter later and later in the mornings. Running at the park alone in the dark is not a good thing. I think I may have improved my speed partly because I've been imagining a serial killer chasing me around the park trying to slay me~! OH, NO!! Run, Forest Run!! ;-) So thus I switched my training schedule around a little.

But I was also hoping that doing the swim earlier in the day would make it --possibly-- a little easier? Well, no such luck! It's all the same. But I will admit it was rather nice having a lane all to myself. At the same time, I wonder if some of the swimmers that were joining other lanes were avoiding me for fear that I would slow them down; or bring them down?

I'm actually looking more and more forward to the SLOW SALTY DOG Triathlon, if only to seeing an end to this swimming laps thing. Isn't that terrible, but I am not finding any JOY in this part of the event. I find myself concentrating SO hard on the strokes. I try to be constantly working on my form that sometimes I almost feel like I'm getting worse on the whole as to better. It's like taking one step forward and two steps back. Yikes! Maybe I should be working on my backstroke!

A date has been set for the SLOW SALTY DOG event. September 26th is "D" Day! I have a month to pull this whole thing off. I'm progressing on the running quite well. I'm up to 7.5 miles, and hoping to push towards 8 or 9 miles this weekend. We've been working on a t-shirt design, and some medals have been ordered. A whole month... It's almost here, and I have to admit I'm getting just a bit of stage fright. Or should I say performance anxiety? But I keep telling myself to just breathe, and concentrate on the training for now. That's half of the battle, or maybe more.

A month-- seems like a such a short amount of time...

Not Drowning & a 10 Min. Mile...

Well, I wasn't a drowning victim last night during my Wednesday swim training session. I am however drinking more than my fair share of chlorinated pool water. Ugh! It was my first training since the panic attack that I had last week. I got to the pool a little sooner than normal and there were more open lanes(the master swimmers hadn't showed up yet), with---now get this--SLOW swimmers like me! Wow! I managed to get in a lane with two other slow swimmers, and it worked out pretty well. I swam my 1/2 mile in about 28 minutes. Of course, I still need to work on my crawl stroke that goes without saying. My breast stroke is getting better and better. I even did a little work on my back stroke without running my head into the wall; wonders never cease!

But what really has gotten me all pumped up today was this morning's run. I decided to take a lap this morning and go as quickly as I could manage. I timed myself and I actually ran a 10 Minute Mile! WOW! I was surprised, and I tend to wonder if I might have done a little better but I kept on having to pull up the capris that I was running in. With all the inches I have lost, I found myself having to safety pin the waistline this morning. I continued to run the lap, and periodically would grab with one hand (or the other) pulling my pants up. I'll tell you this is not an easy feat. I don't want to even imagine how this was appearing to others that were running/walking/biking at the park this morning. Or the effect it may have had on the young University of Utah ROTC that were working out. " Hmmmm... must be a new workout? A pants fire drill?" But all that stuck with me---- a 10 MINUTE MILE!! YAHOO! I'm getting faster!

Ancient Chinese Secret....?

An old man looks solemnly onto his new recruit,
" Apprentice Grasshoppa, you have much to learn but let me tell you this ancient Chinese secret. The key to a quick recovery is plenty of stretching, water, and a good soak in a bath tub, preferably with Epsom salts.”

“Yes, Master Kemoswabi!”

Well, I survived another “Mini” Triathlon with my friend Diane. These have been fun to do at a slower and relaxed pace. We started our slow little triathlon at 7AM in the parking lot of Steiner Pool. We started with the bike ride, and we started to do a little climbing up towards the zoo. But soon we needed to turn around because Diane’s legs were not up to climbing after doing a 9 mile run the day before. Go figure! And here I thought I was the only Nuts-zoid! Well, we turned around and I lead the way for a flatter route. After about 11 miles, Diane was ready to head back but I was on fire to push myself some more. I had just come off of a day of rest; so I went on a little further and ended up getting 27 miles in. Diane was wonderful that she was willingly to wait until I got back from my little bit further bike ride.
(Photo: Myself and Diane before the bike ride.)

Well, the pool was not opened up yet. So we decided to go ahead and do the run after the biking. Even though, I was a little bit leery of having the swim at the end again. (I drank too much chlorinated water the last time.) But off on the run we went. Diane was the smart one. She turned around and did 2.6 miles. But me?!? Well, I was still “on fire” and I had to push it! I did 5 miles, and that was surpassing my longest run by a ½ mile. Not too shabby, but I did discover that it’s easier to run on a slight downhill than to run back up that same hill. (I wonder what Master Kemoswabi would have to say about this, hm?) I ended up walking about 4 blocks of the way back up the hill.

Diane was already enjoying the refreshing pool by the time I finished the run. In fact, she mentioned that she was about ready to come out and check on me. But oh, my brain was not operating at any kind of optimum, and my legs were a bit like noodles by this time. I stretched really well after the run. Finally after the third trip back and forth between the car and the pool, I had everything I needed. You know, I think there maybe a good correlation between hard exercise and dumbness!

The swim went relatively well which surprised me. It was easier this time; a good sign. Also, I didn’t drink as much pool water and I didn’t feel like I had 20 lb weights on my arms. Diane managed to do ¾ mile swim while I splashed my way through ½ mile. I need some more practice on my strokes. They are a bit sloppy to say the least. I might have to see about a class.

On the way home, I called Mom to let her know, again, that I didn’t die of a heart attack from the “mini” triathlon. Then, I calorie splurged on a Whopper with cheese and onion rings at Burger King drive thru. After snarfing down the fast food, I stretched some more. Then there was some more stretching, drinking of water, and a nice hot bath. In one triathlon book, it was mentioned to soak in a tub of hot water and Epsom salt. Well, I didn’t think table salt would fit the bill; so instead I added some lovely raspberry scented bubble bath. Then after the bubble bath, I did some more stretching.

Well, I’m feeling relatively good today. I think I might have discovered an “ancient Chinese secret”? At least I can hope that I've discovered a way to recover relatively quickly? But I’m taking it easy today, just in case. On another note, so far this month I've biked 364 miles, ran 16.25 miles, walked 6 miles, and swam 2 miles. Sheesh! That's a lot!

“Let me tell you something else, Grasshoppa.”
“Yes, Master Kemoswabi?”
“Woman on fire… you let her go and allow her to suffer the consequences. Do not get in the way. Otherwise, you risk life and limb.”
“A good thing to know, Master Kemoswabi!”

A Day of Rest After a Day of Discoveries...

I know, I know traditionally Sunday is the day of rest. But believe me after a day of doing a Mini- Triathlon (or Sprint Triathlon), my whole body is SCREAMing for a day of rest! Do I dare say I'm dog gone tired?! So for all intent purposes my body is having a Sunday, while my brain is enjoying a Saturday. Yes yesterday I survived the Mini-Triathlon. Diane and I did 22 miles biking, 3 miles running/walking, and almost ½ mile swimming.(Diane did do ½ mile swimming, while I went kaput a lap too early.)

Yesterday was a day of discoveries and fun. But oh, how my body is feeling that fun today! OUCH! Yesterday started with me at Liberty Park preparing my bike and gear for the Tri. While I was checking for the 15th time that my car keys were in fact in my fanny pack (I have a fear of locking myself out of my car); a third person had come up to me and started talking away. Strange, three people in 20 min. When Diane pulled up, I asked her if I had a sign on my forehead that said, “I’m lonely. Please talk to me!”(Photo: Myself and Diane before we started the "Freedom Festival Tri" Check out the Downhour Family Chronicles blog for more pictures.)

Oh this day of discoveries and fun. Diane got to discover the gates and the bike path out at the Salt Lake Airport. We had fun shouting and yelling through the tunnels at the golf course section. While I amazingly discovered that I could still manage to run a 1-1/2 mile in 17 min. after biking 22 miles.

Then we both discovered why they don’t put the swim at the end of a Tri. Besides the fact that people can drown, and I was certainly drank more than my fair share of chlorinated water. We also discovered that your arms can feel like they have lead weights attached to them. I ended up using a paddle board for two of the laps, and felt like I was totally regressing when I passed a little girl in the next lane using her paddle board. A little 5 year old was putting me to shame! Another discovery that I made was that swimming goggles make me feel Closter-phobic. So no swimming goggles for me. Sorry eyes you’ll have to deal with it.

Diane and I ended up having lunch at Emigration Market. It was a nice little local grocery market that I had driven and biked by but never been in. They have a little café up front and then a cute little store in back. We explored the store after we had a light lunch of sandwiches with plenty of beverages. I shouldn't have but I bought bread pudding with caramel sauce. YUM! After that I proceeded home where I called Mum. Yes Mum, my “ticker” did not give out and I had managed to survive the Mini-Tri. Then I laid down for a well deserved short nap. Then as a “celebration” I went to a movie and dinner with my friend Laura. Oh, and just FYI--- My Sister’s Keeper is a good movie but is a REAL tear jerker.

Yes, it was a full day, and I had even planned more but my body was not cooperating at this point. I was going to bike over to Granite High school to watch the 4th of July fireworks display, but at the appointed time I found myself sitting in a chair on my balcony with my feet propped up. Ahh, I was too comfortable, and starting to get stiff. So I sat and watched what fireworks I could see over the trees.

Today I finally crawled (literally)out of bed at 9AM due to the call of nature. I staggered to the kitchen to make a pot of joe. And was stared down menacingly by a bag of garbage that needs to go down to the dumpster 3 floors down and across the parking lot. All I can think is OUCH! And sometimes I REALLY hate living on the third floor. Gee, maybe I can bribe one of the neighbor kids?! Or maybe I can drop it from my balcony and hope a Good Samaritan will take it the rest of the way? Nah, not how my luck runs. This might be an all day event... the "Garbage Tri" where I'll try to go down the three flights of stairs and across the whole expanse of parking lot. Meanwhile, I might be ambitious enough to swing by the mailbox that I forgot to stop by yesterday. We'll see... but in the meantime, let me wish you all a Happy Fourth of July!

Triathlon! Are you CRAZY!??!!?

Here I found myself agreeing to do a 1/2 Iron Man Triathlon, and I don't even own a pair of tennis shoes! I MUST be crazy!!

For those of you are not aware a 1/2 Iron Man Tri consists of 56 miles biking, 13 miles running, and 1.2 miles swimming. I feel I have the biking part in hand, but it's the running and swimming parts I need to work on.

Now I also want to say that this is not an official Iron Man Tri put on by any organization. This is just a group of friends loosely putting on the event together to see if some of us can just do it. It's not a race or a competition. It's just a test of endurance. The challenge is to finish. (Photo above: My new running shoes!)

So thus I entered the Salt Lake Running Store on a Saturday afternoon and tried on new running shoes while a salesman was giving me suspicious and questioning looks. Yep, I made the mistake of telling him I was training for a 1/2 Iron Man Tri and that I haven't ran in 20 years. I KNOW he thought I was a nut case! He seemed to calm down a little bit when I mentioned that I bike about 150 miles a week. But as I was talking with other friends who have done these, they said that most people most often take anywhere from 6 months to a year to train for this event. Gee, and here I am planning on doing it in 3 months! Yeah, maybe I am NUTS!

I found myself on Saturday night, trying out the new shoes. Hey, I gotta take these new babies out for a test spin. Boy! Could I tell that it had been 20 years! I huffed and puffed my way through 1 and a half miles. First running 1/2 mile,and then I speed walking the rest. My time was 19 min. OUCH! At that rate it would take me three and a half hours to do the 13 miles; if I can even manage it. (Above Photo: Some of the Tri Contenders on a training bike ride this last Sunday morning. We did 5o+ miles on our bikes.)

The reason that I stopped running 20 years ago? A combination of things-- my shins didn't like it, I moved away from the track that I used, and well, I'll admit it, I got LAZY! But I really did missed the track. It was one of those older gym building on the college campus that had the elevated track upstairs and was open to a floor below. There was a basketball court below, and often, you could find shirtless college boys playing a game of basketball. Yes, I was in my own version of heaven on earth--- getting high off of exercise endorphins,and voyeurism of yong musled male chests. Aw, I really admired all those nicely muscled young male chests. I would purposely time my runs to go during basketball games. Going for 4-1/2 to 5 mile runs and keeping my eyes on the action below. I would fight for the inner lane with the best view. Hmmm, boy do I miss THAT track!

Well, training is getting into full swing, and I'm all ready seeing some improvement. This morning I woke up at 5AM, and managed a mile and a half around Liberty Park. Hey I even improved on my time--- 17 min. That averages out to 11.33 mph. I'm hoping to work towards at least a 10mph mile. But it just goes to show that there's hope for me yet; at least for the running part. Next, I need to figure out the swimming part. But it looks like I'll find out about that on this Friday when we attempt a mini-triathlon. I'll keep you posted on how we do.

Oh, and P.S.--- If any of you happen on a track like I had above in college, let me know. It would do wonders for my running! ;-)