My Favorite Time of Year!

Oh how I love this time of year. I love it more than Christmas if you can believe that. My favorite things about this time of year are: the beautiful fall colors, the cooler temps where you can break out those sweaters, dressing up in costumes, and scaring co-workers. As for example earlier today I scared a co-worker who was singing along with his iPod and didn’t see me sneaking up. Boo! Boy, did he jump!

Awwww…. It almost makes me miss those days (five years) when I used to work (volunteer) at a local haunted house. The ultimate compliment for a haunted house “employee” caused a need for the mop bucket. Yes, I did my share of scaring the piss (quite literally) out of people; and loved every moment of it. I may have a bit of a sadistic streak in me.

What I love more than scaring the piss out of people is dressing up into costumes. I have several different costumes that I have hanging in my front closet that I can pull out at a moment’s notice. But this year I have opted to purchase some new items for a new get-up. I’ve been a patriotic clown, Medusa, a variety of Cruella Deville’s, a murdered ghost bride, a flapper, and a mysterious masked caped female. Its fun dressing up and going out into public, a vampire, and watching how people react to the costume. I enjoy getting into the roll of the character of the costume.

So, I’m preparing my last details of a new costume which I will not reveal until the Halloween Bike ride that I put on. (I just hope that the weather holds out for it.) This is the third year that I’ve had the Halloween Bike ride. Some of the photos that have been taken during these have ended up being in one of my paintings and who knows I may have enough inspiration from this years ride to make another painting hopefully better than the painting below. And see if you can figure out which character I was above in the photos.

Runner's Block and/or Lonely Shoes?

Great weather ( mid-70's and sunny) and a wonderful weekend! Got two bike rides worked in among a BBQ, a "DE-Commissioning" Mass, and a champagne social. But with all this I kept on coming up with excuses on why I shouldn't run. I rather felt like a total procrastinating prolific lying wench! (Oh, boy! I might have to go to confession over this one?)

I just can't get motivated to put on those running shoes and go. But yet, I all ready have 115 miles on the bike. It's strange. I'll go to all the trouble of putting on my gear-- shoes, gloves, helmet, arm warmers if necessary. But gee, just to throw on a pair of running shoes with socks and go? It seems like too much trouble! Gee, am I experiencing "Runner's Block"? Is there such a thing?

I hate to force myself to run for fear that I'll hate it, or I'll grow to hate it. At the same time I do need to get out and do it. I've signed up for a 5K at the beginning of November, and then I have another 5K that I'm doing on Thanksgiving day-- the Cold Turkey. (It sounded like fun.) So I need to get it together and keep my running up to prepare for these runs. I, also, have been playing with the idea of trying a half marathon in the Spring. So, I need to get in the game. Hit the road running!

I've heard that if you don't use it you can lose it. So I wonder how much I have lost in the 3 weeks since I've last ran. When do you get to a point where you have to start all over again? I have found that with cycling that it's about 2 months before I really notice much in the off season. But I generally make sure I don't reach that point with cycling. But at the same respect, I trained up enough in 3 months to muddle my way through a triathlon 70.3 with just coming from cycling background.

But those running shoes that are hanging are staring at me, I almost feel like they are glaring at me. They've been hanging around untouched like that since the day after the Slow Salty Dog Tri. Maybe they are just getting lonely, and I'm reading them all wrong but I can't help but feel guilty in the whole affair.

And so I think to myself," Next weekend! I'll run next weekend. Most, most definitely--next weekend." Or maybe I need my bike to go missing and give the motivation that I need? Hmmmm....

Bosses’ Day and Mom’s Birthday, ….hmmmm?

Today October 16th is both my Mom’s birthday and Bosses’ Day. Is it coincidence that they occur on the same day? I don’t think so! Not that my Mom’s overly bossy (though I think we all have our moments) or anything but… come on! Who is the ultimate boss and go-to-person when you are growing up… MOM! And so each year I find it rather fitting that my Mom’s birthday falls on Bosses’ Day. After all, she was my boss the whole time I was growing up, and she still is quite often the authority figure that I go to get answers.

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

And thanks ! I hope it’s a wonderful day! I, also, really hope you’ve gotten your birthday card from me in the mail. (I don’t want to end up in the dog house on this one!) And I hope I wasn't too off key when I sang on the phone this morning? Above you'll find a picture of your favorite cake. I wish I lived closer so I could bake it and deliver it. Lots of love!

At the Weather's Whim & Nicknames...

So I'm sitting here at my desk at work and looking out through the windows. There are these dark gray clouds floating in the sky. No blue skies in sight and I'm hoping that it doesn't rain. Please don't rain! Tonight is the last of the Tuesday night bike rides up Emigration Canyon for the season. So here I am at the weather's whim.... please, please... Don't rain!

It's that time of year when there's not enough light to catch a bike ride after work before it turns dark. Darn winter! The sun rises later and sets earlier. It's the opposite of burning the candle at both ends! But I just want to catch one more bike ride after work up the Emigration Canyon, and I'm definitely planning on bundling up for this one!

It's not as though I won't be going up Emigration Canyon the rest of the year. There's still weekends, but it's harder because weekends get SO crowded with other things. I'll probably also be going out for short rides durning my lunches too when the weather is nice.

Oh, did I mention that I bike year round outside? I've had some people call me a hard core bike babe. If the roads are clear, I'm out there! You'll find me all bundled up and pedaling along. What can I say....? I LOVE to bike!

Thus, the nickname that a great deal of my friends call me-- Biker Chick! I can't begin to tell you some of the reactions that I've gotten when new people meet me after most of my friends introduce me. (I tend to wonder if some of my friends have forgotten my real first name.) I think these new people expect me to be in leather, and really tough... perhaps burly with a little bit of chin hair. I smile at the reaction and then say that I'm a cyclist. Then, they say,"Oh!" Like this explains it all. Then I feel like they are looking for the spandex ware. I've been half tempted to lean over and say," I'm prepared I have spandex underware on!" Just to shock them further continue on and say," I left my helmet in the car, but if you really want I can run out and get it. It's pretty cool! It's got Superman stickers on it!" Nah, maybe not!

NOTE TO SELF...

It's always easier to take off layers than to be caught flying down a canyon at 30MPH on my bike and freezing. Yes, the high of the day was 58 degrees and there was a frost warning for the night. There I was racing down the canyon trying to beat the setting sun. I must admit there was some beautiful views all along the way. The leaves turning combined with the red lights from the sunset made for an amazing color combination. (Picture - I got from bing but please imagine it with more yellows, and then the sky turning pink and reds from the sunset. Then you've got the beauty of it.)

I arrived at the bottom as Lady Chattering, but my teeth were chattering so fast I could not have carried on much of a conversation if I wanted to. I had my "light" winter gloves (glove liners), no wind vest (mistake), and one pair of socks that proved not to be enough without my toe covers to cover the mesh part of my cycling shoes.

To say the least, neither my toes or my fingers fared very well at all. In fact, I almost felt like I had experienced hypothermia (but this could be exaggerated). But in this state of mind, I imagined a conversation going on between my fingers, toes, and my delirious brain. Such as follows...

( ***maybe I should be writing a disclaimer about the voices in my head? I actually prefer to blame it all on my artistic nature. There enough said!)

"Hey Mac! (nickname for brain) You need ta haV a talk with dis crazy wench.", says my right pinky with a Bronx accent. " Sheeshh! For crying out loud! Hanging with des boys goin' down da canyon lightly squeezing da brakes. It's CRAZY with a capital "C"! Just a thin layer between me and freezing da death. Whatz wrong with dis broad anyway?!"

"Yah! What was she thinking!?!", pipes in the middle right toe with a Mid-west accent(is there such a thing?). "You bet-cha, we were just freezing down here. One pair of socks is not enough with that mesh in these shoes. She should know better! I hope she considers taking a hot bath after this one."

There are murmurs of agreement all around from all of the body parts.

" Sorry to disagree Chaps!" States the little toe on the left foot in an English accent (don't ask me why?) " But this cold felt downright bloody good! I'm still black and blue from that run in with that chair leg a couple of days ago."

There's an audible silence from all for a bit.

"Ahhh! You oyz was da bit unhinged!" Yelps the right pinky to peels of laughter all around.

Well, that's the short version of the conversation of the voices that I heard in my head on the drive home. I tried to warm up as much as I could in my car, but the heater has never worked very well. When I got home, I started a pot of coffee, and some hot bath water. Ahhh! Now that felt good and hit the spot.

You know, I keep thinking that my learning curve will improve over time but sometimes I wonder if that is possible. Maybe my learning curve is like a credit card and I've just maxed the hell out it. Well, that's one theory.

Oh, and P.S.... I'm getting some flack from Mum about the eating the veggies thing. She doesn't want to be accused of being a bad mother and she was not a bad mother. So let me state this for the record. I at no time was sitting at the said dinner table the entire night. It was just until bedtime... but I will say that to a kid a few hours sitting still at a dinner table can feel like all night long. I was exaggerating with what it felt like as a kid. Sorry mom!

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!

Park City's Iron Villa Cook Off!

What does a half hour, one chicken breast, a LARGE zucchini, a bottle of salad dressing, and a secret ingredient have in common? Well, the short answer is the Iron Villa Cook Off. The long answer... read on....

The Marriott where we are staying in Park City has activities that they put on. Earlier in the day yesterday, Laura pointed out one of the activities as the Iron Villa Cook Off. The activity involved picking up a secret ingredient at 5PM and then returning with a cooked dish at the clubhouse to be judged. The winner got a bottle of wine. She said that I should enter it, being that I like to cook. I was like that's nice but I'm on vacation and that sounds like work.

We did a little sightseeing over in Heber in the day. Then came back to our hotel room. Laura laid down for her afternoon nap and I managed to get a little oil painting in. Well, shortly after 5PM, Laura wakes up. "So did you enter the cook off?" She asks as I'm sitting reading a book. To which I had to respond as the smart alack that I am,"Do I look like I'm cooking?"

She calls down to the activity desk and asks if there was anyone who entered the cook off. There's one other couple that has entered the contest. Laura hangs up and says that I should do the cook off just to give the couple a chance to compete. She said consider it a service project. I laugh," A service project?" Sometimes, she's a little TOO much, if you know what I mean.

Well, she has decided to run down to the Clubhouse; which I have to give her directions to. (She has the highest IQ of anyone I know but she could get lost in a paper bag.) Well, shortly afterwards, I get a call. The secret ingredient is rice. Do I want to give it a whirl? And could I give her directions back to our room? As I'm laughing I say,"Sure."

It is now 5:30PM when she gets up to the room. The other couple have a whole half hour ahead of us, and all that's in the refrig.---a uncooked chicken breast, a zucchini, and a bottle of Cheddar Chiptole salad dressing. Well, there's no time to run to the grocery store that's six blocks away and cook up something. So I guess I'll have to wing it with what I have.

I start some water on the stove for the rice, but I have found that at this higher altitude it takes FOREVER to get water to boil. I say to Laura, I wish I had some salt maybe this water would come to a boil faster. Before I knew it she was out the door. I assumed to the front desk to see if there was salt packets some where. In a few minutes while I'm sauteing the cut up chicken breast she returns with a palm full of salt. I look at her questioning.

She went out to a steak restaurant near by. She walked in, and said," Quick! Odd question. Can I get a teaspoon of salt?" And held her palm open. The host who was on the phone, opened a lid to a salt shaker and poured salt into her open palm. I can only imagine that he stood there perplexed as she immediately turned around and headed back to the hotel. Then, she gets back to the front desk and asks for directions back to our room.

Under stress, and desperate to have a good presentation for our recipe. I allow Laura to cut up the HUGE zucchini, core it out, and microwave it. Even though she had all ready made one zucchini explode the night before in the microwave. What can I say... I was desperate! While she is doing that I'm cutting up smaller pieces of the zucchini to add to the dish. The water is finally boiling and I add the rice. I take the chicken out of the pan, clean it and put the chopped up zucchini in the pan with a bit of salt.

As that going on, we have decided to make a boat for the dish with the HUGE zucchini. Laura has cut it in half and cores it out. Then puts it in the microwave for a minute at a time for it to cook. Amazingly, no explosion has occurred! I add the chiptole dressing and the chicken back to the pan, and allow it to simmer. Check the rice that's almost done.

With less than 10 min. left, I add the rice, and a little more dressing to the dish. Transfer it to a covered dish to transport down to the clubhouse. Laura finds a serving platter in the cupboard that will hold the HUGE zucchini boat. Quickly, I grab my camera, room key card, and the covered baking dish.

We race down to the clubhouse. It is now 5 min. till the 6PM deadline. The other couple is there, calm and with a glass baking dish covered with aluminum foil. The judge, Jennifer--activity director, is laughing. "So, you talked her into it?" Laura quickly explains that we only had a half hour in which to create our dish. Meanwhile I'm carefully putting the chicken chiptole rice in the zucchini boat for the presentation.

Jennifer, gets paper plates, and forks. Everyone tries a bit of each others dishes. Jennifer is put in a tough spot. Both dishes are pretty good. She says both are winners--- our for creativity, and there's for taste. She hands them a bottle of wine, and we get a bottle of sparkling apple-cranberry juice. We end up talking for a while afterwards, with the nice couple from Illinois. Jan and Ron are taking an extra week out her after visiting their daughter that lives in SLC. Photos are taken and Laura gets their email before we head back up to our room. I'm still laughing about the whole experience!