Dig Deep...Stay Strong!

HAPPY 2010 (year spaceship!)

2010-01-05T20:17:00.000-08:00

I simply cannot believe its 2010 already!?!?! where has the time gone?? 2009 flew by!!!
I guess the old saying is true...the older you get the faster each year goes!
2009 had some really good times though! I finished 6 tri's this year...3 indoors at lifetime..the mayor's tri in la vista...the lake manawa team tri and the Tri for your Cause in Boulder, CO.
This year its on to even more! i've signed up to do my 1st 1/2 marathon in Lincoln..hoping the injury holds out as I begin to train and look forward to May 2nd...Carrie is going to do it with me, she's going to walk.
I"m also planning on competing in another indoor tri in April, and the Mayor's tri again...and the big goal is the Omaha tri on Aug1st...which we need to sign up for, but 1st i have to pay off the 2 cars i wrecked in the last month! eek!! i'm not that bad of a driver, its just been an icy mess around here....
So the New Year holds big things to come! We're going to celebrate with my mom as she receives her hall of fame award in Feb in Tennessee..and the big dream hopefully come true this year..will be our trip to Austrailia..sooo hope we can work it out! I have to stop wrecking cars i guess!! hah. (knocks on wood)
The other big thing i'm planning for the year is to start my Legal interpreting training thru Front Range Community College. most of it will be online training...so I need to get working on my application! I also plan to hit the Dew Tour in Chicago again if its there! (fingers crossed!)
I'm hoping our job survives at the VRS center...thats a big what if in our lives right now, but all we can do is hope for the best, and if it doesnt work out, we pick up the pieces and move on.
I hope it works out though, cuz I love the people i work with!
So here is to another great year in the life...I hope all my family and friends are safe, happy, and healthy in the new year...i hope that injuries dont plague me and Donny like they did last year, and I hope we all have the BEST year ever!!!
Ps...only 3 months til paddys day! the countdown begins!

December already!?!?!

2009-12-02T11:11:00.000-08:00

So last time we talked, we were just a week away from the Tri..and now its been over and done with for 3 months!! craziness! it was such a huge thing for all of us and we all made it thru despite some shitty weather!! we got there a week ahead of time to get used to the altitude..had gorgeous weather every day.the 1st day we arrived we drove the course, and then went to the reservior to check it out...unfortunetly we didnt get to swim....got to ride the bike course on one day..it was a lot of fun...felt like riding thru really thick air at 1st, but then got better as we got used to it...the rollers were a lot of fun, and the scenery was beautiful (the haystack mtn aka teat was always to our right!). we also took a day to run the course...it was pretty flat and easy...but a little hard with the altitude...it was sooo pretty to look at the water and see the clouds reflected in it...poor Donny struggled a lot with his knee though...and he ended up going to the urgent care to get a cortisone shot so that he could make it thru! We got to go on a hike and went to REI in Denver and had a great week. Carrie and Kim got there Friday and we drove to pick them up at the airport then went to one of my favorite pizza places for our pre-race dinner Bo Jeau's.
We woke up to a cold and rainy day the day of the race and worried it wouldn't clear. We had time for a nice breakfast and then did a little shopping for some arm/leg warmers just in case.
We grabbed a quick lunch and then headed to the Resevoir to get our stuff set up and see what was up. When we got there it was raining and cold and there really was no place to warm up..it was also lightning and thundering..which does not make for good swimming conditions.
the race was supposed to start at 330...and right up until the last minute they were holding out to see if it would quit lightning and we could swim...but they held out as long as they could..to no avail...they announced the swim was off and we would be able to run/bike/run instead of swim bike run...we were all pretty disappointed but decided we came all this way and it was ON!~
so the new race was 2 mile run/23 mile bike/4 mile run. Wasnt really looking forward to it, since running is what makes me and donny hurt the most, but we didnt come all this way to just give up...so be it!!
The 1st run went pretty well... got to the bike and forgot to grab my glasses so had all kinds of crap flying up in my face the entire ride..wasnt quite as pleasant as the 1st time we rode the course. did talk to one lady for a while about our causes and that made the time go quickly. I was able to ride with Susie a lot of the time too so that helped a lot! By the time we got back to the transition area though I was so cold i had to have people help me get my helmet off and tie my shoes becuz i couldnt move my fingers! took off for the final 4 miles and man did it hurt like hell! everything seemed to hurt...but somehow i managed to push on..i just reminded myself why i was there, about the year of work i had put into this and i kept pressing on!! When I got to the last hill,it was thank God a downhill, i remember passing a girl with dreads, and i remember seeing Rebecca's whole family on the corner and I remember thinking.."stay strong whatever it takes" and I was able to push it in to the finish line. what a feeling of accomplishment I had coming across that line...when I got there i wanted to laugh, cry, jump up and down kiss Donny and hug everyone who came with to support us! It was an amazing feeling! Then when Becky came across the line in tears, I knew exactly why were were all there doing this...the sacrifices we had all made, the pain we all felt, and the extreme happiness that we did it!!!
Now, I think i'm addicted to these triathlons! Crazy as that seems, even though i've been struggling with this injury I feel like I want to keep going! I finished another indoor tri in Nov and will compete in another one in Dec...Then we'll see how things go in the upcoming year...I would really like to do the Omaha tri. its the 1st one here...but Its sooo pricey! so i guess we will see what happens!!
Now we're getting ready for the holidays! we jsut finished Thanksgiving last week...the Cooks and the Helmbergers joined us for dinner...we attempted our 1st turkey! it was delicious! Thanks to the Cooks for their help!! Tonite i'm hosting a tastefully simple party in hopes to get some snacks for the upcoming New Year's bash!!
Can't believe how fast this year has gone and how much we've done! Looking forward to 2010...

ONE WEEK TO GO!!

2009-08-30T09:46:00.000-07:00

WOW!! its hard to believe this was all just a thought in Rebecca's head about a year ago...and now its a reality!! One more week til we load up and head to Boulder!!! I"m excited, nervous, sad and sooo relieved all at the same time. I've had this injury in my SI joint and low back so long, i'll be soo relieved to have some time off to heal and rest! I'm sad because our week in Boulder is going to go sooo quickly! I just want to enjoy every minute while I'm there...without stressing!!
I'm nervous because of my injuries...I know I am ready for this. We've trained soo hard and come sooo far! My body is ready for this, and I won't let the injury stand in my way! Rebecca, Susie and I went for our last lake swim before the real deal. It went really well..and then we transitioned to the bike and rode about 11 miles. In my heart I know we can all do this! I know we're going to be sooo proud of ourselves once we cross the finish line. The times we finish don't matter...its just that we have worked so hard, and come so far for our individual causes...what a thrill its going to be to come across that line and know what we accomplished!!
I am soo stoked at all the support from family and friends donating to the cause, and just being there for us along the way,understanding how hard this has been for us all, and how much time and effort we've all had to sacrifice to get here! Boulder here we come!!!!
Can't wait to hit the road!!

wheres the motivation come from?

2009-06-15T11:43:00.000-07:00

I've been asking myself this question a lot lately...It seems like we've been training for this Tri forever!! It al lreally started last summer when we got our new road bikes and decided..thanks to Becky..we're doing a Triathalon...now its a little less than 3 months away..i've raised a bunch of money in honor of my cause..but sometimes I just feel like...man...i'm ready to do this..I don't want to train anymore..I want to get out there and race...well....patience grasshopper..its going to be here soon enough!
I purchased a training plan on active trainer...i've been doing the free one for a while now..but the real one started yesterday...and it is going to be tough!!! The 1st day was pretty rough..swimming and then running...it looked a bit daunting, but somehow, i talked myself into it..and I got it done!! Today is a bit lighter...I'm on the bike for 50 mins with a few intervals in there...I've been trying to ride my hybrid on the trail becuz its a lot heavier than my road bike, and well..it kicks my ass!!! We've also had a few hill rides with the nuggets..and i'm going to have to start getting out on the hills by myself now too...Its a little nerve wracking for me out on the roads by myself...but i know i can do it!
As far as the swim goes, I think i'm doing pretty well..sometimes I feel like my breathing or form isnt quite right, but i'm trying to work on improving that and practicing swim drills and balance drills.
The run is the part that i'm least worried about..i've been running for a long time, so I don't feel like my form needs to improve here at least...but i do have to get used to running after a swim and a bike ride! so we're going to be practicing a lot this summer...by doing some local tri's and some local rides as well....its all pretty exciting becuz after a year...we are getting down to the wire!! But i know we're all going to go out there and do our best and most importantly have a great time doing it!!

Tri-ing Times!

2009-04-30T06:12:00.000-07:00

well its been a rough couple of weeks for this old body of mine!! I went to Des Moines a few weeks ago and bought a gym pass for the week and worked out like normal with a swim one day with a short run...then the next day was stretching and running and then a spin class..and then friday I ran for 30 mins...with a few stops becuz my right side back and leg were starting to hurt...I was also sleeping in a hideabed all weekend...and standing for 3 hrs at a time for interpreting a show...well it seems all these in combination really aggrivated my right side, back, hip and hamstring...so I went to the PT the next monday and he said no working out for a bit, stretching and pt exercises only...so after 2 weeks off, the pain was still there, as well as some annoying tingling down my leg...so it was back to the orthopod for another (the 2nd!!) MRI...this time for the right place though...lower back, SI joint, hips and pelvis....once again however..the MRI showed NOTHING!?!? how can that be? I guess its a relief that its not showing anything terribly wrong...no inflammation or extra fluid or herniated discs, but at the same time...its still hurting..and i have no answers!! so the next step is on to the spine specialist to find out more about pain management and possibly injections..(coritzone) to see if that helps with the pain...
so this week is another slow week on the workout front...which isnt good since Rebecca and I ...and now Donny are all doing the indoor tri on Sunday..and we picked the longer course! so this time our tri is going to be 20 mins swimming (which I think I can handle with not much pain) 60- mins bike ride...which might give me some trouble, but at least its no resistance...and a 40 min run...which is giong to be where the problem lies!! I 've told myself that I have to take it easy, that this isnt the "main event" but its going to be hard to keep myself in check and not let my competitive nature get out of control and take over! I have to keep telling myself that I don't want to injure myself more by going all out this weekend and then not being able to do the Tri in Sept...since it is the most important thing!! So I'm repeating Stephen's motto to myself over and over "Dig Deep and Stay Strong" and I'm listening to my jam a lot..."Don't Stop Believing" and trying to convince myself this is all going to work out! In the meantime I'm going to the PT, the Chiro and the Spine Doc all on Friday! Wish me luck!!!

the saga continues...

2009-03-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

maybe I should title this "the injury continues..." except its decided to switch from my left to my right leg/hip/back....this is just getting more and more frustrating!
soooooo...after several weeks of PT and Chiropractic therapy...I decided with my PT that it was time to see an orthopaedic doc...so we went today...and confirmed what the pt already said...ciatic nerve is irritated..piriformis muscle is irritated...she did an xray and didnt find any joint issues in the hips or pelvis.
however..the good news is..she didn't say no working out..and she didn't say I can't do the tri..she just said to workout within reason... and if i notice numbing or tingling then we're going to do another mri, this time of my hips...so for now..i'm going to be continuing PT...continuing to work out as much as possible...taking new anti inflammatories that hopefully won't hurt my tum as much as the others did...and keep 'tri'-ing....
thats the latest and greatest! i'm also following the new golden rule in my life straight out of the lips of Stephen Murray, whom i'm doing this tri for..."Dig Deep and Just believe!!"

frustration!!

2009-02-02T12:58:00.000-08:00

Life is super frustrating right now! I'm so excited about the Tri in Sept however right now i'm struggling with a lower back injury..its affecting my leg and is really driving me crazy! i've worked out my whole life and now am trying to let myself rest and not workout while i go to the chiropractor..which i'm not even sure is working. I went on friday to the chiro and my back was hurting pretty good on friday after work. I got pretty darn down on myself about it, becuz i want to be training now with everyone else and I want to be getting ready for the Tri but I feel like i'm at a stand still and cant.
This weekend I did try Yoga and it actually seemed to help a bit. The stretching seemed to help a bit that day..but now here I am back at work and sitting is bugging both my back and leg again! ugh! I feel like I can't win! I'm headed back to the Chiro again tomorrow..and I believe the Physical Therapy is starting this week too! gotta get back out there and get training!! I also have to get my head back in the positive. I'm pretty down about this injury going on for so long, but I can't let it force me to give up! I have to remember its mind over body! I'll figure this out...at least its happening early in the game...and not right before the Tri! I have plenty of time...gotta keep telling myself that. and maybe i'll start to believe it!!

training in pain

2009-01-23T13:26:00.000-08:00

Well..I decided to switch Chiropracters....the other one i was going to didnt seem to be helping with this back/hip/leg mess i have going on...so now i'm at a new guy..seems to know what he's doing..he helped Donny with the same injury..so i'm trying to be positive. i've had 4 visits tho..and so far...same sitch! Today however i've been sitting here for 2 hours..which is when it normally bothers me the most..and so far so good...so hmmmm? we'll see!! fingers crossed!!

Got my tri site up! super stoked about that!! I'm going to send it out in mass after a while...we have a long time to go before the tri but i'm excited to get it up and running!!
http://www.active.com/donate/TFYCSep122009/BKoubsk

This week's training included swimming twice and biking twice..i'm taking today and tomorrow off per chiro's orders..and then swimming again on sunday!
Hoping this starts feeling better so I can workout without restraint!
Happy FRIDAY!

its for real folks!

2009-01-15T15:15:00.000-08:00

well what we've been talking about since last year..has now become a reality! the nuggets are registered for the TRI!!! Sept 12th,2009 is the date...Boulder,CO is the place!! yes...we are crazy..but its going to be AWESOME!!
The Tri will consist of 1000 meter swim (equal to 40 laps) 29 mile bike ride...and 5 mile run.
Now is the time to start getting serious about training! So far this week i've swam 50 laps...rode on my trainer last night for a little more than an hour..and again today for about 45 mins. tomorrow will be my weight workout and then more swimming this weekend. Laying off the running for a bit..1st becuz its WAY too cold out..and 2ndly becuz i'm still on the injured list until i figure out whats up with my back and hip. I"ll be going to a new chiro tomorrow..hope he can help..if not..its on to Physical Therapy!

My cause for the Tri is the Stephen Murray Family Fund. I'm excited to start fundraising, and I'm working on my fundraising page so people can donate. Its hard to believe we are all registered now! This year is going to be filled with training and working hard!!
GO NUGGETS!!

busy busy busy!!!

2008-12-02T12:00:00.000-08:00

WOW! holiday season already! where has the time gone!! its been a long time since i've written and lots as been going on! On Turkey day we did the turkey trot with several friends...it was a 5k and we trotted along in about 1/2 hours time..
We've been doing lots of training lately...last week did a couple days of swimming...50 laps one day! yay!! the trouble is..now they are closing my gym's pool for remodeling for a few weeks! ugh! so willhave to hit the other location and hope for the best since there are only 2 lanes!
what can you do?
we've been training with the Cooks' on our bike trainers at least once a week and thats going great! we did about an hour and 10 mins last sunday..and this week sunday going for 2 hours...go NUGGETS!! hoping to get a run in sometime this week as well...i'm working on interpreting 3 different shows right now so life is a bit crazy! also working on getting my AMERICAN BULLDOG..NOT PITBULL to pass her pitbull canine good citizen's test! she's taking it this evening...we're calling this the practice run....and hopefully we'll just pass and be done with it..at least for this year!
Happy Holidays!!

OUTRAGED!!!!

2008-10-02T07:00:00.001-07:00

Really not happy that becuz some jerks out there don't know how to be responsible pet owners that my puppy has to suffer! My dog has never and will never hurt a soul..and yet becuz some pitbull owners out there treat their dogs terribly, teach them to fight, train them to be aggresive..my sweet girl has to wear a muzzle, have some stupid microchip put in by the city, and we have to carry liability insurance on her...even though she has never done A THING wrong!
Its not fair that those of us who are responsible pet owners, who keep their dog on a leash, who register their dog, keep them healthy and treat them like a member of the family have to be punished for what a few irresponsible people do!!! and its also not fair that this decision was left up to a bunch of so called "elected officials" rather than the entire city being able to vote on the issue in the next election!
Now becuz I am a responsible owner, and I love my pet like a family member and best friend, I will follow the rules so noone tries to take her from me, I will do all the things i'm supposed to do...including taking the obeidience classes they suggest and taking the test so that she can wear some silly vest instead of a muzzle when we take our daily walks.But those of you out there that think a pitbull is some sort of weapon to use against people or other dogs...wake up!!Dogs are living breathing things that should be treated with as much respect as you treat your family...or maybe thats the problem..you see no value in life that you think pets and animals in general should be treated as worthless...something you can tie up and abuse. YOU are the people that should be punished! Not responsible pet owners that love their dogs and take care of them!
Any dog can become aggressive, it doesn't matter how big or small they are..its how they are treated...how they are trained...so the finger should be pointed at the owner of ANY dog breed that is actually aggressive! there shouldnt be some blanket legislation to cover ONE type of dog just becuz ONE owner doesn't know how to take care of their pet and leaves it chained outside for hours on a 2 foot chain! This legislation is ridiculous...and thanks to Councilman Frank Brown the only one to see that this legislation causes undue burden to those pet owners who do take responsibility!

$4000 dollar bike not too shabby for my 1st mtn bike ride!

2008-09-09T03:24:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday several of the local bike stores set up camp at Swanson park in Bellevue and gave us the opportunity to test ride some super sweet high end mountain bikes.
I picked a Gary Fisher Superfly as my sweet ride....the 1st lap on the trail I was pretty nervous..had to put my feet down a lot..and even took a spill on a really stupid part of the course...but no injuries and i was able to get up and keep going for 2 more laps...well really half laps...but itw as a blast. i was pretty muddy by the end of the ride, but had a great time..and what a workout! Didn't seem like we were getting our heart rates up...but we were working hard! my legs were pretty sore after the ride and I went home and had to take a short nap!

This week is a crazy one for work so i'm hoping to get in some good work out time...today is Kickboxing...and hoping to get out and run a bit tomorrow and thurs..I'm working at 5am this morning...don't know what crazy person took that schedule..oh wait..it was me!!

corporate cycling challange!

2008-08-18T07:42:00.001-07:00

Well we did it! the Nuggets went to the Corporate Cycling challange yesterday and we rocked!!
We got downtown about 715 (some of us earlier than others...some of us forgot our water bottles!) and met at Susie's garage..headed down to registration and grabbed some bagels and bananas for the road. We headed down to the starting line a little after 8am...and they hadn't actually started yet...there were TONS of people so i was a bit nervous with my feet clipped in..but managed to keep it on 2 wheels at the start, even with the tandems and the chairs on wheels all around! (i packed bandaids to ward off the falls!) the weather was awesome for our ride! the 1st part of the ride was quite bumpy! all sorts of holes in the road as well as rough train tracks! lots of people were pulled off on the 1st couple of miles fixing flats! we got lucky on the ride up and didnt have any problems...the road was pretty flat for the 1st part of the ride...until we got closer to ft calhoun on the highway then we had some hills to contend with...but none were too horrible that I felt like I couldn't do..we rolled into ft calhoun and regrouped. had to wait forever to pee...but other than that everyone was feeling good! Leaving ft calhoun there was quite a hill going out of town...but we all survived it pretty well too! the next several miles were rollers, that were a lot of fun and the scenery was awesome! we seriously got lucky with awesome weather, nice and cool and breezy, not too much wind.
We regrouped again back at the highway and then headed down and up of course for a while on our way back towards north O. Met back up with Jeremy and Mike and then while back on Abbott Drive i started to feel my left hip cramp up...this is pretty normal for me, my hip really aches a lot of the time i ride or run but this was becoming unbearable...i tried to ride thru it...unclipped that leg a couple of times and shook it out but nothing seemed to be making it better, then all of a sudden my knee started to cramp along with it...it was getting so bad i could barely push down on the pedal without a shooting pain down my leg from my lower back all the way down to my knee..the boys had pulled away from us again, and we saw them up a head with what looked like a flat tire...as we got closer the pain was unbearable and when we caught up I had to jump off my bike and lay down in the grass and have Donny stretch my hip and thigh...I was able to get up after a few mins but was still pretty sore...Jeremy finished fixing his flat and we headed out again...I had to take it pretty slow, with about 5 miles to go I was still hurting...about 2 more miles and I had to start unclipping my left leg and pedaling with just my right becuz i couldnt stand to push down on my left leg. after about 2.5 miles of that we finally reached the end! (after going back over the train tracks and bumpy road!)
Rebecca and I were lucky enough to run into the massage tables and got a quick massage...while the others went to get the cars! Donny came back and picked us up and we headed to Jazz for lunch with the Nuggets! Other then the hip and knee problems the ride was awesome! had a lot of fun and loved the route! Hoping to get this mess with my hip and knee figured out so when we get back from Portland we can head out on the hills again!
Tonite is going to be a light swim and the hot tub for me, before I start packing!

"taco riding" our own way!

2008-08-15T13:52:00.001-07:00

Last night was a blast! we had the whole group of nuggets over for a nice easy trail ride on the west papio trail. got in about 17 miles and then headed back to our house for an awesome meal of tacos..and yes...we actually got to eat! we had tacos, made by yours truely, guac that was awesome,made by Rebecca, yummy roll ups made by Susie, saffron rice made by Adrian, and Carrie brought our dessert yummy chocolate chip cookies...are you seeing the theme here..yum yum yummy!
today Rebecca and I met for swimming...the pool was quite murky today..something was up with the filter in the pool..so it was a bit sketchy...but we made it through. I was working on my "talk to the fishes, listen to the fishes" not sure i do it exactly right...but it will get better with practice i'm sure! we did our 500 meters and then kept going for a bit for a total of 700.
Sunday is the corporate cycling challange..hoping for no falls, and everyone to make it safe and sound! can't wait!

ok guys tell me if you get this

2008-08-14T22:10:00.001-07:00

experimenting with sending this to you...let me know if you got it!!

running AND swimming

2008-08-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

well today Rebecca and I decided to go big or go home!! we hit the treadmill for a 2 mile run (did some intervals with hills) then jumped in the pool for our 500 meters. I tried the "talk to the fishes listen to the fishes" i'm not quite sure how often to breathe but i did feel like i was going faster! my goal is to definitely be able to go all 500 meters without stopping...i didnt stop too many times just a few breaks here and there...but managed to finish in about 22 mins for the swim and 20 mins for the run. all in all not too bad of a workout. hip is a bit sore this evening though.
tomorrow is our make shift taco ride...we're starting from our house and riding around zorinsky and back...

my 2nd spill

2008-08-12T14:01:00.000-07:00

so the nuggets went riding this last sunday. we met in Bennington at the school and headed towards Waterloo. It was a gorgeous ride! Adrian saw a large deer up close and personal, luckily they both missed eachother! We got to waterloo and got some snacks and then headed back..on the way back after the bitch of a hill i had one foot clipped out and had moved over on the side of the road but before i could get the other foot out i took quite a tumble...bruised and scraped my left knee and bruised my arm. ugh. you live and learn right? it was more embarrassing than anything! but we went 26.1 miles burned about 1011 calories and we all made it back safely!

the day before donny,becca,susie and i hit the pool at 24 hour fitness for our 500 meters, it went really well. i tried to do some underwater swimming. i 've got a long way to go on that one! but at least got some practice in!
last night did some cross training with step class, however the ac wasnt working so it was pretty hellish in there but we made it! taking today off and rebecca and i are swimming tomorrow!
this weekend sunday is the big corporate cylcling challange...42 miles of fun! i've heard rumors theres going to be like 4000 ppl riding! pretty scarey! hopefully they dont knock me down!
my hip and knee have been bugging me a bit this week. probably becuz of my fall, so i've been icing. i ordered some shoe lifts. im hoping they help with my hip! should be here in a week or 2.

this week has been the 1st week of the olympics in bejing china. its soo cool to watch. i love watching the swimming with mark phelps kicking all kinds of ass! the best was the 400m relay when the frenchies were talking smack about beating the USA and then we ended up with the Gold! it was awesome to see!its also very motitvating while i'm training for the tri!!!

my training so far this week...

2008-08-06T12:30:00.000-07:00

2nd try at swimming went really well..i bought a new suit that morning..not a tangerine one..but a speedo..its black and blue like a bruise but fits well!!! it was a little slower going and a little tougher after the 40 miler this weekend...but still not too shabby..finished 500 meters in about 22 mins...and kept going for a total of 600. Becca came with me and did awesome too. we had a little trouble with one lady in our lane that was sort of half ass jogging or standing there, but we seemed to manuver around her without too many troubles. note to self...120th gym is a lot bigger so i will plan to swim there as long as theres no aqua class! all in all it went very well and we rewarded ourselves with thai food!

yesterday was my cross training day..I did my leg weights...squats,lunges,dead lifts and then took kick boxing with Carrie. it was tough and i'm sore today so i'm going to take the night off..besides, i have to shop for Donny's bday! and then tomorrow its running time! not sure if i will do outside and try for 3.1 or if i will do inside and also do some weights . it all depends on how i feel tomorrow morning! hah

1st OFFICIAL RIDE

2008-08-04T14:33:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we headed out on the 1st official ride for our "bike team"!! it was me,Donny,Rebecca,Jeremy,Susie,Amy and Adrian. We're still trying to decide on our "official"team name...we've come up with things like "team shake and bake" then we changed that to the "black sheep squadron" our motto is now Shake and Bake!!! and we've also taken to calling our team members Nuggets...after our last not so successful "taco ride w/o the tacos"
anyway....our ride started at the butt crack of dawn...we fueled our bodies and got ready to ride...everyone was on time and when we got there they told us they had just ripped up the trail headed to harrison street so there wouldnt be a stop at the trek store, which was a bummer, but we made do..
we headed out... all together at 1st..the boys went off on their own a bit..kept a pace with susie and becca of about 15mph..not too bad...met up with the others about 13 miles in...
we kept going..got a bit off track. i was feeling pretty good with my new seat except for my hip was bothering me a bit..stopped at 19..but i kept going quickly so i would have 20! then it was time to turn around...we tried a pace line to keep everyone together becuz the headwind was horrible on the way back...luckily the heat wasnt bad at all though...
had to really push it back...pace line didnt relaly work out for us too well...so we kinda got all split up..i decided in the last 8 or so miles that i wanted to be done so i took off and kept a pace of between 18 and 23mph...it took about 3 hours and 9 mins and i burned about 1300 calories! yay!
all in all it was a great ride, lots of fun! we have our next one on aug 17th for the corporate cycling challange! tonite rebecca and i will do some swimming! i bought a new speedo! hee hee..though its not tangerine and its not gross like a guy's speedo..but i feel better swimming in that than in a bikini! hah
more soon...

swim training...

2008-08-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

my 1st swim!! YAY!!! I did it!! our swim for the Tri is 500 meters..which i figured in the gym pool is 20 laps...well when i got there an aqua aerobics class was going on so i decided to join in with them...it was cake...but i figured a good warm up...and good becuz they stretched at the end...so after they cleared the pool i started swimming my laps!
I decided to just try and finish the 20 laps...time myself but not "go for time" just see how long it took me. I didn't do one stroke the whole time. i was doing the back stroke, side stroke, front stroke...you name it! but i ended up finishing the 20 laps in 17 mins! pretty awesome! i just swam continuously back and forth and didnt allow myself to stop! after the 20 was done I decided to keep going so i took a 2 lap breather with the floating device and swam til i had 32 miles! I met a lady named Chris who was swimming too and just talking to her while i did laps made it go quickly and in no time at all I had 800 meters (took me about 35 mins!) yay! so the part of the tri I was the most leary about i feel a lot more comfy with now! YAY! i know i have a long ways to go and its probably going to be 100% different in a lake..but now i dont feel so intimidated by it! Now...the run outside...thats my toughest part to conquer! But I CAN DO IT!!
tomorrow is our 40 mile ride (wear yellow ride for lance armstrong foundation) 2nd time in my clipin pedals so wish me luck! will let you know how it goes!

my training....

2008-07-30T08:11:00.000-07:00

well its slow going...but i'm in the midst of training for a triathalon! yes...i said a triathalon! wow...what crazy person talked me into this...well i guess i have noone to blame but me!
yesterday i did some cross training with a kick boxing class...not sure if this was the best idea since it kinda hurt my back...but today i went out for my run...i started out feeling pretty good..but then got a stitch in my side...and it was all "up hill" from there! not really up hill but mentally i was beating myself up pretty bad! i did manage to run/walk for 3.5 miles in about 40 mins...not great...but its a start!
tomorrow is the taco ride..which is basically a blow off workout since we drink middway! hah.
friday i plan to do some swimming and then sunday we are riding the "wear yellow" ride. its a 40 miler..but pretty darn flat...its the keystone trail..however..its only my 2nd ride "clipped in" so not sure how well i'm going to do! we'll see!!
today: 3.5 miles 469 cals 42 mins.

Toto...we're not in kansas anymore...

2008-05-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

well this is my last day at work for the week...at vrs anyway...one short job on sat and then sunday working on the show...other than that i'm free for the weekend! friday is scrapbooking day for me and i'm sooo looking forward to it i must say! i just hope i can get things in order tonite and have the motivation to work on stuff!
today i'm trying out a new class at the gym called shadow boxing..hoping it doesnt kick my ass...we'll see i guess. hah. its the 1st day so it may just be a demo on how to do it. bu ti'm hoping for a hard workout...will report back on that one!
donny is out of town this week until next wed...which really sucks! Vegas and i are "baching it" as my Grammy would say! gotta watch the season finale of lost tonite! cant wait to see what happens! hopefully the storms they are calling for wont knock the power out or something stupid! hopefully i wont wake up in oz either...unless of course its austrailia...then i wont complain a bit!

its another day for you and me in paradise..

2008-05-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

well we're half way thru the week and its actually going pretty quickly! gotta love those long weekends with mondays off!! yay! the weather is craptastic..but what can you do!
having din with my sis tonite since hubby is out of town for the week now..then Vegas and I are bachelorettes until next week wed!

tomorrow is the season finale of lost!!! i cannot wait! its been sooo crazy this season! i'm sure they will leave us hanging and it will be frustrating as ever!!

skipped the gym yesterday due to my back..tsk tsk..must quit doing that becuz i'm getting to be a fat ass...well to my standards anyway! i feel fat and squishy and out of shape!! gotta get back at it in full force!
we're taking step and doing wts tonite so thats a good start!
anyway..just checking in!

it may not be monday..but it FEELS like monday!

2008-05-27T07:22:00.000-07:00

ok so we got this 3 day weekend...and it was nice...but why does it feel like when you get back to work you never really had a weekend?? you just jump head first into the deep end of the pool all over again and its sink or swim...i feel barely awake from my irregular sleep schedule this weekend...i feel barely alive becuz my bed is a piece and my back is killing me...but yet...here i am back at work! at least i have this friday off too (yes..i'm my own boss and decided that its summer and time to give myself a few days off)
unfortunetly my hubby leaves town yet again for another week so i wont get to see him at all til next wed!
THis week consists of mostly working VRS...we do have a concert to look forward to on saturday when we'll be checking out Panic at the disco...motion city soundtrack...the hush sound and phantom planet...however..it being at an outdoor venue makes me worry a bit...since its been raining just about every other day! not fun! so hopefully we will get lucky and saturday will be the other day when it doesnt rain!