Can't help but smile....

Lately I need to give myself frequent reminders to keep smiling, and I have to say that this does it every time!

Can't wait until I'm able to take her running again so we can both be this happy!

I promise I'm coming back eventually...

I know, I've been absent from the blogosphere for a while. You would think with all of the couch surfing time I've had lately that I would have found time to write, but honestly, I just don't have a lot to write about.

I had surgery on my foot last week and recovery is proving to be MUCH tougher than I had planned on. The pain and inability to do things for myself is starting to wear on me. So until I am in a happier place and can find positive things to write about, I will spare you all my whining.

Peace out homies...

Thank happy thoughts on Tuesday Dec. 22

Tuesday Dec. 22 - it's going to be a big day - surgery day. I'm not looking forward to what comes after the surgery, mainly the hobbling around on crutches and not getting to wear any of my left shoes - but I am looking forward to getting closer to being healed.

Doctor says 3 months after surgery until I can get back to high impact activity. I'm marking my calendar - March 22, I plan on going to CrossFit in the morning and then running after work. It's going to be a tough and amazingly awesome day! :)

Big news...

So about that idea of wearing the boot and avoiding surgery....well that didn't work out so well. I went in to talk to the doctor again last night, and we decided that surgery really is the best option. This is what it comes down to, even if I can get the injury to calm down now, there is about a 99% chance that it would flare up again at some point when I go back to running and CrossFit. And frankly, I don't ever want to deal with this again. No date yet, but the plan is to get it done before the holidays. There really isn't a reason to put it off, I'd rather just get it done and start the healing as soon as possible! Unfortunately that's the tough part - the healing. Surgery will be easy, but recovery....well, not so much. Probably looking at 4 weeks on crutches, no weight bearing on the foot at all. Then another 2 weeks of light weight - meaning probably looking super awesome and walking with 1 crutch. After all of that I will still have to wait another 6 weeks before I can do any sort of high impact activity. Sorry CrossFit buddies, I'm still out for another 3 months. So sad. :(

So there's the news. I apologize now if I get a little whiny while dealing with this, it's going to be tough, and I just can't wait until it's all done.

Boot season...

I know it's boot season, but this is not exactly what I had in mind....

Turns out I have an "extra bone" that detached, and is causing all sorts of issues. It's not a break, because the bone didn't separate from another bone, but it's still a problem. So it's boot time, for anywhere from 2-6 weeks. (I'm rooting for 2!) And basically all (fun) exercise is off limits, even swimming! But I'll be good, and wear the boot, if this doesn't fix it, then it's surgery time, and I definitely don't want that!

The truth comes out...

Tonight is my appointment with the podiatrist, where I will hopefully get my MRI results (finally!). I don't really know what I'm expecting, but I know that I have 2 distinct worries of what the outcome could be.

1. They tell me that my foot is totally jacked up and I need to wear a walking boot for X number of weeks. This would totally suck. First off, wearing a walking boot is annoying, plus I will be highly annoyed that they didn't put me in the stupid thing 6 weeks ago preemptively and get the stupid thing healed. (Plus I recently bought 2 pairs of cute boots and I would much rather be wearing those!)

2. They tell me that they don't see anything wrong with my foot. Well then I will be totally confused! I would like for my foot to be healed and get back to normal, but I also feel a need for some sort of validation for the pain I am feeling. I really don't think it's all in my head (I think I proved that when I tried running), and I really don't think I'm making it out to be worse than it really is to use as an excuse to be lazy. I am really not enjoying being lazy, it kind of sucks.

So, ideally, they will tell me that X is wrong, but can be healed quickly and easily by doing Y. (I know, highly unlikely, but we'll see.) So keep your fingers crossed for me! :)

How I spent my Wednesday night...

This past Wednesday I went in for an MRI. It's finally time to figure out what's going on with my foot. I think at this point I am accepting that something is really wrong with it, I've tried resting it, and it's not getting better. So time to turn to real doctors to figure it out. The MRI experience was not pleasant. 2 separate tests, each 45 minutes long, and each had my foot in a painful position, and I was not allowed to move at all. Very un-fun! Hopefully I will have the results on Tuesday, fingers crossed that they will figure something out and be able to tell me how to fix it quickly so that I can get back to normal life. I'm so ready!!

In other news, yesterday was Thanksgiving. Mmmmm....turkey. :) As usual our dinner was delicious, but it was also kind of hectic. 20 people in one house! Yikes! It was interesting to say the least. But all in all, it was a good one. I'm already getting excited about the turkey sandwich I am going to have for dinner tonight. :)

And the best part of this is....there are still 2 days of weekend left!! Hooray! :)

Well...at least I was right...

It’s always nice to find out that you were right isn’t it? I used to think that was an accurate statement….until this weekend. I decided (stupidly) to go out and try running, in hopes that I would realize that my foot was fine and I had just been babying it and prolonging the injury only to avoid running. Part of me knew it was a stupid idea, but it was so nice out, and nice days in November in Chicago can make anyone do stupid things. So I Skirted up and headed out the door. ½ mile in and I thought I was doing ok (besides the fact that I was realizing quickly that I hadn’t run in 2 months), but after the first mile I felt the pain. Not good. At that point, a smart person would have turned around…. But no, not me. I decided to try walking a bit, and then start running again.

2 miles in. Yikes, ok, now this hurts. Time to head home. “But maybe I’ll try this new route instead of my usual that would get me home after about another mile.” Yeah, that was a brilliant idea. The new route put me on a very round-about path to home, and since I was starting to run late, I figured I needed to run some of it. After about 3 miles when the pain was shooting up my leg I realized I had made a very big mistake. But there was nothing I could do about it at that point. So I sadly limped the rest of the way home.

But at least I know it wasn’t all in my head, right??

A little bit crazy.....

I had another appointment with the acupuncturist last night. I've decided that she's a little bit nuts. Which really isn't helping the cause of me believing in this stuff.

The last treatment didn't help at all, which totally baffled her. She said that she was stumped. (Great, now I feel better about your skills...) So she tried a new approach last night, instead of just putting needles in the spots she thought they should go, she decided to use a poking maching thing and find the spots that hurt more than others, then she put needles only in those locations Yowzah!! It definitely was not a pleasant experience. Only made worse by the fact that she felt the need to stay in the room and "share her energy" since mine is so low. (she then complained about having to do that, since she really needed all of her "energy") Unfortunately she couldn't share her energy quietly....she rambled on about crazy things and how good she is at her job the entire time.

Can you tell I'm not a fan of this lady?

So far it seems to be another wasted hour of my life.... Anyone else have an idea for the miracle that will finally fix me?

A new approach...

Tonight I am trying something new. My foot is not getting better, so I figured it was time to branch out and try a new approach, accupuncture. I have my first consultation appointment tonight. At first I was a little nervous about it, but at this point my foot hurts so badly that I'm ready for her to just start sticking needles in it. Anything that may help make it better.

I weighed the financial aspect of this vs. MRI. While neither one is a cheap option, at least with acupuncture I feel like I am actively trying to make it better. While with the MRI, I spend all the money just to find out what's wrong. I won't have even started on the healing part. So, as my blog says, it's time for something new!

Gym locker room etiquette...

Ok, so I know that some people are more modest than others when in the gym locker room. I definitely fall on the side of more modesty, as I refuse to shower at gyms that have clear doors, no change areas, etc... But I definitely feel that there is a line of decency as well. Yesterday, after my swim, I encountered a woman that took a flying leap past that line of decency. So I would like to send a message to her through cyberspace....here goes.

"Look lady, it's great that you are confident about the way you look. Fantastic, congratulations, we're all happy for you. But that does not mean that we need to see you prancing around in your lacy blue thong, and admiring your giant fake books in the mirror from all angles. Seriously, do that at home. And if you plan on changing at your locker, please do not take a locker in the main aisle way where we all have to walk past you when there are plenty of other ones off to the side available."

Ok, I feel better now. And for those that are thinking "maybe you should just not look". Trust me, that was not an option. This lady really wanted everyone to see her. She was standing in front of the sinks in a room full of mirrors checking herself out. RIDICULOUS!

On another note....last night was another night of progress in the pool. I'm learning to break my workout into sets, instead of just trying to swim for a certain amount of time. Sunday was 6 sets of 10 with an extra 6 at the end just for fun, and last night was 6 sets of 12! Hooray for progress. Now that I'm starting to feel slightly more comfortable in the water, I'm looking for a little help from all of my fishy friends. Here is your assignment: Leave a comment with the 1 thing you think I should focus on that will help me the most.

Ready, set, comment!

Things I learned at the Ski and Snowboard Show...

This weekend was the Windy City Ski and Snowbaord show. So my sister and I went to explore all of the fun new stuff and get her boyfriend set-up for the season so he wouldn't have to use her old stuff. I learned a few things while there.

1. I really, really need to demo a Never Summer board at some point. They look pretty amazing
2. Tee (Veronica's boyfriend) can be very grumpy and stubborn when hung over.
3. I love the new Subaru Outback. Too bad I just bought a car, but congrats to Subaru for finally finding a way to make it not ugly!
4. I will probably be purchasing a new pair of Oakleys at some point in the near future. The new Trouble frame is awesome (available Nov. 1). Ridiculously huge, but still manages to not look ridiculous. I have 2 accounts that they looked good (from people who would definitely make fun of me mercilessly if they didn't look good). Now I just have to decide if I want them in black or turquoise?
5. I need to do more snowboarding this season! Even if it is just at the pitiful midwest resorts. More roadtrips are in order!
6. I am recruiting people to head up to Michigan with me on Dec. 18 for 6 for 1 day at Boyne Mountain! What better reason to skip a day of work than 6 for 1 lift tickets?? Who's in?
7. And most importantly.....the Oakley reps are hot! :) I'm still amazed that one in particular didn't talk me into buying the Troubles on the spot....although he did talk me into getting the Ravishing at the show last year. And yes, he remembered me.

New Toy....

Sometimes you just need to impulsively buy something for yourself. Today is one of those days. (Well actually there should also be a new fleece vest sitting on my doorstep from Sunday's impulsive purchase!)

Today's buy is a new Timex watch from Woot.com. I ran across someone's blog who mentioned that he had it for about 2 years and loved it, so I decided why the heck not? $25 for a watch that can record lap times (if I ever get back to running and ever go back to the track) and it can control my iPod?? Fun! So I'm in for an orange one! :)

At least I did it...

Well, I did it. I forced myself to swim after work yesterday. Putting my stuff in the car so I could just stop on the way home was definitely the right thing to do.

When I got there all of the lanes had people in them, and 1 guy offered to share. That made me a little nervous because I have no idea what I'm doing! But luckily another guy finished up just in time, so I wouldn't have to share. Into the water, goggles on and I started swimming. While I was swimming I tried to remember things that I hear my crazy triathlete friends talk about, but generally I just tried to swim. I have no problem staying afloat, I just dont think I swim efficiently.

I can't seem to get over how awkward I feel though. Amazing how I can feel like such a fish out of water when I'm in the water! Throughout the workout I found myself stealing glances through the window into the main gym area at all the people running and lifting and wishing I could be doing that!! Towards the end of the workout a girl in a lifeguard suit came in, and she looked like she knew what she was doing! I tried to watch and see if I could pick up anything, but all I noticed was how smooth she seemed while swimming. I feel like I am a splashing mess!

Oh well, there is only room for improvement since it looks like I'll have to continue doing this for a while. Helpful suggestions are always welcome! Otherwise I'll just keep swimming....I have no need to do it quickly yet. :)

Frustration....

Simply put, I'm frustrated. Enough is enough, my foot needs to be better now! Unfortunately though, it's not.

I was so good, I followed doctor's orders for the past 2 weeks. No running, no CrossFit, no extra walking, no barefoot in my own house, tried to sit or lean as much as I could when I worked at the bike shop, etc.... I was a good patient. And for that I should be rewarded with being all better and being able to get back to the stuff I like to do! But no, my foot has other plans.

So tomorrow I get to go to the doctor again, and tell her that it's not better yet. We'll see what new forms of treatment (aka punishment) she has in store for me.

All I know is that it means the Hot Chocolate run is out for me this year. Guess I'll have to wait until next year to get that sweet race packet with the awesome jacket. And the half-marathon is out too. So much for striking that off the list.

I have to admit that maybe it's finally time to force myself into the pool, I've been avoiding it this long, thinking I would be back in action soon enough, but that's not the case. My swim stuff is in the car....hoping I can force my car to stop at the gym on the way home...

At least it's useful...

Is it sad that that I'm pretty excited about my recent purchase this weekend??

I'm don't normally get to geeked out over cleaning supplies, but this one's pretty cool! I got all of the grout in my shower clean with very minimal effort. Thank you Sonic Scrubber!

Wow, that sounds exactly like a commercial....maybe I should think about a career change....

And you thought you were hard core??

So today at the bike shop we had some interesting visitors. A bunch of guys from the British Army who are embarking on a large adventure to raise money for injured soldiers and their families back home. Here is their schedule for the next 2 weeks. :)

Oct. 11: Chicago Marathon
Oct. 12 - 16: Cycling from Chicago to Toronto (~550 miles)
Oct. 17: Rest
Oct 18: Toronto Marathon
Oct. 19 - 23: Cycling from Toronto to Washington DC (~800 miles)
Oct. 24: Rest
Oct. 25: Marine Corps Marathon

Yeah these guys are seriously hard core.

And did I mention that the weather report for the start of their ride tomorrow is calling for high in the 30's and rain?? Brr.... They were all stocking up on cold weather stuff at the shop today!

Stupid Soft Tissue....

So the verdict is in on my foot, and unfortunately it's not a good one. Soft tissue/overuse injuries. Which means I am not allowed to do much of anything for the next 2 weeks. I can't even walk barefoot - seriously, I have to wear shoes in my house?? So no running, no CrossFit, no long walks, nothing.... I can only lift weights if I'm sitting down, and I cant do anything that causes me to exert extra force through my foot....elliptical, bike, rowing, etc... So I'm down to 1 option....swimming. Uggg. I'm giving myself at least 1 more day of this pity party before I revert back to that option.

Oh yeah, and I have to take prescription anti-inflammatorys. Just took my first one here at work and it may cause drowsiness and dizziness. Could be a fun afternoon!!

ACL report should be coming soon. I'll try! Long story short, it was a whole new kind of experience this year!

My ACL picks...

Ok, here are my picks so far for ACL this weekend:

Friday:
The Knux
Dr. Dog
Phoenix
Thievery Corporation
Reckless Kelly
Kings of Leon

Saturday:
!!! or Mute Math
Grizzly Bear
Citizen Cope (must you be up against Flogging Molly??)
Bon Iver
Mos Def or The Levon Helm Band (hearing some good things about that one)
The Decemberists/The Scabs/STS9 (ugg...this is going to be an hour of tough decisions)
Ghostland Observatory (yes I pick Ghostland over DMB)

Sunday:
The B-52s
Heartless Bastards
Arctic Monkeys
Passion Pit
Ben Harper and Relentless 7 (sorry Jack White with The Dead Weather)
Girl Talk
Pearl Jam

Hold crap it's going to be a good weekend.

Go check out the full line-up and weigh in on my decisions, input is always welcome!

A long one...

It was a very long day yesterday… Flying to and from Miami, FL in the same day is not so fun I discovered. I also discovered that the Miami airport ranks really high up there on my list of the worst airports! Apparently they are installing a train to take you from one side of the airport to the other, and it is very much needed!! I think they also need to do some training on what should and should not be a carry-on item, and how many carry-ons each person is allowed. I saw all sorts of people walking through the airport with tons of crap! I mean, come on, seriously, who brings a full size body pillow with them on the plane??

There were a few highlights from the flight home as well:

1. A flight attendant and a female passenger got into an argument before take-off. From what I could tell the passenger had a bag on her lap and didn’t want to put it in the overhead. The funny part though is that the flight attendant only spoke English and the passenger only spoke Spanish. They went on like this for a while and the stupid flight attendant just kept getting angry and threatening to turn the plane back to the gate and throw the passenger off, but didn’t even think to ask a plane full of people from Miami if someone could translate…. Pure awesomeness. Finally a guy a row back translated and they got the woman to put her bag up (after about 5 minutes of yelling). But then she continued to complain, in Spanish, to no one in particular. Boy was she mad!

2. There were 2 small twin girls (probably 5 yr olds) sitting behind me. At first they seemed like they may be well behaved as their parents were very calm with them. But then I realized that these 2 never shut up. Seriously! They “talked”/yelled/sang/etc… for the entire 3.5 hour flight. Even when they were watching a movie, they continued to make noise! And the worst part was they had those hippy parents that try to treat their children like adults. And speak to them rationally. “Please lower your voices”, “Now you just spit in my face, do you think that was a good thing to do?” I’m not kidding about that last one, it’s a direct quote. Either these parents are the most patient people on the planet, or they both have completely lost it. Oh, and did I mention the seat kicking??

3. Ahhh landing. (Accompanied by a countdown from the brats behind me) I thought I would finally get away from the blowhorns and get home at a decent time. Nope, we stopped on the tarmac. And waited. And waited some more. Then the captain said that there was a plane in our gate and it would be about 10 minutes. So we waited a little longer. 10 minutes turned to 20, then 30….. As it turns out we spent an extra 40 minute there waiting for our gate. With the 2 behind me still talking their heads off. When they started calling their parents boogers and poo-poo’s, the mom told her 2 “angels” that it was “no longer charming”. No lady, it’s freaking obnoxious is what it is!!

Throughout the flight I really just wanted to turn around and ask the parents to please quiet them down and tell them to not touch the seat. But I knew that it would get twisted and I would be the bad guy. So I quietly tried to ignore it. Secretly wishing I could steal the Bose noise cancelling headphones from my neighbor. (Although I found out at the end of the flight that he could hear them even with the headphones)

Here’s hoping that tomorrow’s flight to Texas will be nothing like that one!!

A PR kind of morning....

I love starting the day with new PR's! (although it kind of makes the rest of the say seem uneventful....)

Deadlift 1 rep max = 225lbs!!

CF Baseline: new time - 5:33 (previous 5:56)
500m row
40 squats
30 sit-ups
20 push-ups
10 pull-ups

I don't think anyone can argue the results from CrossFit. I'm definitely getting stronger and that's a very good thing. Now if only my left foot would heal up so I could get back to running, life would be good. The idea of running a half marathon seems kind of silly when I can't make it out for any training runs without lots of pain.

I picked a good one...

This morning we were give a choice for the WOD....and leave it to me to pick a doozie....(yes I just said doozie....deal with it.)

21-15-9
Box Jump
KB Swing (30lb)
Sumo Deadlift High Pull (65lb)

Time: 8:37

I knew after the first set of box jumps that it was going to be rough, and I was right! But it's good practice for Saturday's Fight Gone Bad workout. I think I forgot how brutal FGB is, but after doing the box jumps and SDHP's which are both a part of it, it all started coming back to me. Now the feeling of excitement is turning into a slight sense of fear/dread. Just one of those things that you remember as being awesome, but while you're doing it you realize just how much it hurts. So FGB is now added to my official list of things that I think are awesome but in reality totally suck:

1. Hill repeats on the bike (I still miss our Austin Wednesday night pain sessions!)
2. The Thursday interval ride at the shop
3. FTP testing on the bike
(are you noticing a theme??)
And now #4....
4. Fight Gone Bad!!

Please go away....

Ummm freaking out a little bit, apparently a man who has confessed to armed robbery escaped while being transported, he stole 2 guns and is now running around, possibly within a 2 mile radius of my house. Awesome...

So I'm throwing out a request, please Mr. Scary Armed Robber man, stay away from my house and run to the nearest police station.

Hey, it's worth a shot right??

CrossFit WODs...

Had to get these documented:

Tuesday, Sept. 15

3 rep max on back squat: 145 lbs

Thursday, Sept. 17

"Fran"

21-15-9 of
Thrusters (65#)
Pull-ups

Time: 12:25

Fran was definitely a wake up from my meat hangover from last night's dinner at Weber Grill! My arms weren't quite ready for it after my little break from CrossFit for the Ironman Wisconsin trip, but I'm back! And glad to be there! :)

My first run event!!

I did it, I finished my very first official running event! All in all it was a great day. I felt very nervous as I got to the start line, but as it turns out there was no reason to be. I knew I could do the run, but for some reason, having a number attached to my Skirt made this scarier than just heading out for a run on my own. I made a mental note to run my own pace and not try to keep up with anyone else, which worked out very well. For a large part of the run I felt like I was running in my own little bubble. Every time I turned a corner I had to check to make sure there were still people behind me, because I felt like I might be that last person out there. I felt really good through the whole thing, so I know I maybe could have pushed it a little harder, but it was great learning experience. Knowing when to push it and when to old back will come with experience!

Feeling good for my next challenge. Half marathon in Indianapolis on Nov. 7!! So glad that my new friend, Katie (My Skirt Sista's real sister) will be there as well. She will be doing the full, but it will ne nice to know someone else out there! So if you find yourself bored on Nov. 7, go to Indianapolis and cheer me on! :)

Brutal....

Wow, this morning's WOD was brutal. And I had to do a way scaled back version, no idea how anyone could make it through as RX'ed. Also, I learned that CrossFit 3 days in a row is rough....back to the 2 days then rest routine next week!

3 rounds of:

100m walking lunges with 20 lb. dumbells in each hand
20 Box jumps (we used the giant tire)
12 dead hang pull-ups

Time: 17:00 (uggg....)

(Now that I typed it out, it doesn't look that bad....trust me, it was, the transition from the lunges to the tire jumps was super sucky!)

This is what it was supposed to look like:

4 rounds of:

100m walking lunges with 30 lb. dumbells
30 Box jumps
20 weighted pull-ups with 30 lbs.

Umm...can you say no freaking way?!?!?

Now it's time to rest and get ready for the big run this weekend. Bring it on!!

Go guys go!!

Here are some of the guys from my CrossFit Affiliate. Way to go guys! Although apparently we need some boxes that stack!! :)



"Like jumping up on top the head of a 5th grader" :)

CrossFit WOD

Good one today....

"Helen"

3 rounds of:
Run 400m
21 Kettle Bell swings
12 pull-ups

Time: 12:31

I learned my lesson from the last workout that had KB swings and pull-ups and completely tore my hands up. So I taped the hands today. I really don't understand why taping has to be so complicated. Coach Jim has some grips for sale that I think I may start using. Same idea as the grips gymnasts use for their bar routines, but not as stiff, basically just a piece of leather that covers the hand. Added bonus is that it will help grip the bar and hopefully reduce my need for chalk! So next time a hand tearing WOD comes up, I may give them a shot.

And check me out.....I'm famous! :)

New CrossFit Total Score!!

Need to record CrossFit scores again....since it came in handy today being able to look back on it. 2nd attempt at CrossFit Total today! And I'm seeing the improvement!!

CrossFit Total
1 rep at max weight of:
Deadlift - 200lbs (+25lbs from last time)
Shoulder Press - 80lbs (+15lbs from last time)
Back Squat - 180lbs (+15lbs from last time)
Total Score: 455!!

Good start to my Labor Day! :)

The SkirtChaser Denver race report!

My trip started on Thursday, and I arrived at the SkirtSports headquarters in Boulder! I have to say, I was pretty excited to be at the center of it all. I arrived and was surprised by nothing; pink walls, Skirts everywhere, and Nicole walking around barefoot! I hung out for a while, ran a very important errand with Nicole (picking up lunch!) and did some warehouse shopping. Oh my goodness….so exciting and completely overwhelming to be surrounded by that many Skirts!! The fall line looks amazing, and I can’t wait to get my hands on more of it. I also snuck a peak at the Spring 2010 line that they were working on, and from what I saw, we should all be prepared to unleash our inner Surfer-Chick! :)

Friday was packet pick-up at a store called Outdoor Divas in Denver. Nothing special to report. Lots of people came, signed up, picked up packets, etc…

Now on to the good stuff… race day!! Absolutely perfect weather!! I started the day off by attempting to go for a run….but there is no air in Denver! Honestly Kristina and Jess, I don’t know how you ladies do it! Way to go! Race day preparations went well. All of the girls got a work-out by hauling all of the metal fences down a block since the rental company was nice enough to drop them in the wrong spot. Those suckers are heavy and really awkward to carry! Where were the boys of Red Rock Co. during all of this?? They were “supervising and organizing”. No worries, the girls Skirted up and got it done! :)

We had a great expo at the race! Some of my favorites… Sherpani (their new line looks great! So colorful and fun!), the guys that brought a tub of Silk Chocolate Milk (honestly, I don’t remember who they were or what they were there for, but that chocolate milk was a life saver!), Rocky Mountain Lab Rescue (who doesn’t love hanging out with cute dogs??) and of course Go Girl (www.go-girl.com seriously, check it out, I couldn’t make this stuff up…).

And then of course the race started. I made sure to get through the crowd of guys before they were “unleashed” and make sure they all knew what they were chasing, the “Chase Me Sticker”! These guys are very grateful that we go through and label the single ones for them! They all made sure they had their single stickers on as well and then were off. But none of them were fast enough….a Skirt crossed the line first….in 17:27!! The Skirts are definitely kicking booty this year!!

After the race we had a great block party. The band was rocking, the Oskar Blues was never ending, and everyone had a great time on a gorgeous Denver evening.

To sum up, I have my highlight and lowlight of the race day!!

Highlight: getting the 2 guys from the radio station to wear Skirts all day! One rocked the pink Uptown Girl and the other had the red Race Collection. And these guys loved them! They wore them all day… Lilly from Skirt made sure to get them on video discussing the “comfort factor”.

Lowlight: Aladdin water bottles…. Ugg… I know all of the participants enjoyed having their water (it was hose water…shhh don’t tell) handed to them in a reusable water bottle at the finish line. But us volunteers sure didn’t enjoy opening the 250ish boxes of water bottles, removing all 1500ish of them from the plastic, unscrewing the tops, filling them all with water and rescrewing the tops back on. Oh and did I mention breaking down all of those stupid cardboard boxes?? But hey, at least I got to keep one! :)

For all of my Tri friends....

(click on the comic to view it larger...)

A note to Michelle Obama...

Dear First Lady,

While I fully support your right to wear shorts while hiking in the Grand Canyon in August (seriously...it's hot there!!), maybe you should try stepping out in one of these next time. The SkirtSports Happy Hour skirt. It's perfect for hiking, it will keep you nice and cool, and, maybe most importantly, it will keep you on the "Best Dressed List"!

So next time, pull on your Skirt...and keep kicking butt! And then maybe those pesky reporters while start drooling and forget all about that silly "controversy".

Skirt on!!

Leave it to me...

Only I could find a way to do these kinds of things to myself....I am pure awsomeness. This morning at CrossFit I managed to...

1. ...not get my front rack position right and let the barbell hit my chest on the way down from a push-press while loaded with 95 lbs. I have a spot in the middle of my chest that is turning a lovely shade of bruise.
2. ...let the jump rope hit me in the arm repeatedly while practicing my double unders. I thought nothing of it until I was done and realized my arm looks like I was whipped repeatedly.

One word for me today....HAWT! :)

On track and double unders!

Last week, I was out of the game. I thought I had a cold, but it may very well have been just miserable, terrible allergies. I'm taking some meds now and they seem to be a little better....a little. But once I got to the weekend I was tired of not doing anything. So on Saturday I got myself off the couch, barely able to breathe, and decided to run anyway. Pulled off a short one with Ginger (3.7 miles) since it was hot out! But on Sunday I knew I needed a long run if I was going to pull off this Walter Payton run. So I woke up early Sunday, expecting some nice cool morning weather, but no such luck. I opened the door and was greeted with a wall of humidity....uggg... Oh well, no wussing out. So I suited up and got ready to leave. I had planned on leaving Ginger at home since she wouldn't be able to make the whole thing and I planned on carrying water, but she get's so excited when it's time for a run, so I just couldn't leave her. I have to admit it was a little awkward with the water bottle in one hand and the leash in the other...but we made it work. Did 3 miles with Ginger, then dropped her off at home and headed out once more. I had a goal in mind....but wasn't sure I would make it....the humidity and the lack of running lately and the allergies....but...

I MADE IT!

I pulled off another 3 miles for a total of 6 miles in 58:36. Not too shabby! And my longest run yet!! It was definitely tough, and I had to push myself through every single step... but I know I can do it now. And if I can make some serious progress in these next few weeks, then the Walter Payton run may be a possibility.

Now I just need to get CrossFit and the weather to cooperate with this plan. So far this week, CrossFit is on board. Today's WOD involved sit-ups and double unders. My first attempt at those. According to Coach Jim I had a pretty respectable showing. They were kind of fun and frustrating all at once. Apparently the big challenge is to string them together, I'm still adding single hops in between but now I know what to work on! :)

Weather may not be as cooperative this week. Rain predicted every day. Boo.... I will either be running in the rain, or making use of that gym membership that I still have and never, ever use....

An intermediate goal

So lately I've been slacking on the running....I've had good reason for most of it, injury, travel, etc... But I'm tired of it. And I think it's partly due to the fact that my goal of doing my first half marathon still seems far away (it's in December). So I now have an intermediate goal!! And holy crap, I'm a little scared by it!! Yes, it may be a little loong for me to do in a month (it's about 9.5 miles) but even if I have to walk, then I can finish it. And since I can walk to the start line from my house, it just seemed to convenient to pass up! So here we go....Sept. 12....the Walter Payton 16,726 Yard run....my first official run event!

And for those that don't believe it until they see it. I made it official. No backing out.

Not exactly....

So I tried the whole "get a good night's sleep, drink plenty of fluids, rest, etc..." routine to get rid of this summer cold. (BTW - colds during the summer just seem wrong and so much worse than a cold when it's actually cold out) And that didn't seem to be working. I woke up each morning feeling worse than the day before. So today I decided to try a different approach:

Beat the stupid thing into submission!!

So I went to CrossFit, with the hope that I would have a WOD that would get me moving, and make the stupid, icky, cold go away. No such luck unfortunately. It was one of the stupid "minute" workouts. 1 pullup in the 1st minute, 2 in the 2nd, 3 in the 3rd, etc... So basically for the first few minutes I did a few pull-ups and then stood around. Plus, non 5:30am people showed up and took the 3 blue bands, so I was relegated back to the easier green band. So I put myself through 14 minutes of this and 105 pull-ups when I decided enough was enough. It never got hard, but there comes a point where you just don't want to do any more pull-ups. So I went out for an 800m run and called it a day.

Got home and realized my new approach may not have been the best. Felt very dizzy, couldn't bring myself to drink/eat anything and had to go lay down. So now that I'm at work I'm back to the old method....pumping myself full of Vitamin C by drinking Emergen-C all day.... fun fun!

Evil Airplane Germs....

Ok, so I now understand why Mary won't fly within 2 weeks of her A race (unless she has to in order to get to the race!). Airplanes have evil germs! I was fine all weekend, but apparently it was that last flight from Austin back to Chicago that did me in! Woke up yesterday feeling terrible with my throat on fire. So I still haven't been able to make it back to CrossFit. That's a whole week off now! I miss it!

I'm trying to get enough sleep and drinks lots of water with a Vitamin Water thrown in for good measure in hopes that I'll get better soon. I don't like being sick. And for some reason being sick in the summer seems so much worse!

Grr....stupid airplane germs....

I'm a bad blogger...

Yes, I'm bad at this lately. It's been a busy couple of days. Flew out to Dallas on Wednesday, lots of work mainly until yesterday when I arrived in Austin!! Hooray! It's been far too long. But it's also far too hot here! Seriously, they have had 47 days of triple digits this year, and that number is only continuing to grow. As much as I love it here, that's kind of ridiculous, and I don't do well with heat. Which is why today's schedule will probably include time in the pool along with time in the A/C! :)

The only sad part about being out here is that I'm missing CrossFit. Yes, my addiction is bad. I keep checking the WOD's and see all the fun I'm missing out on. Back at it as soon as I'm home though!!

Oh yeah, and last weekend I was at the Tour of Elk Grove all weekend. I promised to blog about it, but that hasn't happened yet. Here are the highlights.

• Saturday was cold and rainy!! Who would think you would need jeans and a hoodie on August 1st??
• Sunday was so much better! Sunny, 80 degrees, barely and humidity. Perfect!
• I had a great time "working" Sunday - who doesn't love getting paid to hang out, talk to people about bikes, watch some great racing, and have access to the VIP tent.
• Got so close to Floyd Landis and Chris Horner! I seriously could have reached out and pet Chris during the call-ups, but I was a good girl, and I didn't

That's about it! Happy weekend everyone! :)

The blue band!!

Oops, looks like I have forgotten to blog since last Tuesday. What can I say, I've been busy! had a fantastic weekend...but I'll save that for a different post, this one is all about CrossFit! Woo hoo!

Today's WOD:
21-15-9 of
Pull-ups
Sumo Dead Lift High Pull (SDLHP)
Back extensions
800m run

Time 15:something....I didn't listen closely to coach....I was too busy walking over to the mat to collapse - and of course start stretching! :)

The big accomplishment of today (drumroll please)...I graduated to the blue assist band instead of the green! Woo hoo!! That's the last step before I start doing pull-ups without the band. Yes! Still have some practice to do before I reach that goal, but I'm working on the kipping motion, so I hope to be able to do at least a few at some point in the future.

I can also tell that my "dead leg" issue from last week is starting to get better. Finally! It started on Thursday last week and basically my left leg goes all tingly and feels "dead" when I try to run. I think I have narrowed down the cause to something in my hip flexor. Lots of stretching is in order! But today it didn't start bothering me until about 500m into the run, which is definitely an improvement over Friday when it started almost immediately!

Making Progress!

Learning new things...

Today's WOD was a clean and jerk workout, my last attempt at doing cleans was not so great, and kind of crushed my CrossFit confidence. So when I saw it written on the board today, I was not super excited. But there is no wimping out in CrossFit, so I knew I had to try even though I wanted to do anything else, anything!

The workout looked like this:
1 clean/jerk in the first minute
2 clean/jerk in minute 2
etc.....

I made it through 6 minutes!! Probably could have done 7 in a row right away, but after minute 6 I dropped the bar and bent one of the bumper plates, and lost some time while coach jumped in to fix it. After resting for a minute I did complete 7 reps in 1 minute. After that my back said no more, so I was smart and I stopped.

It felt so great to get the rythym of the clean motion though! I think with the heavy weight I was doing last time I tried to think about it too much, with the limited time I just had to do it, and I did! :) Woo hoo!!

Turns out that yesterday I had the 2nd highest score for the women on the WOD even though I did 5 extra squats per round. If only I could have followed the directions.... oh well! :)

And Lance makes me laugh....apparently he came across AC's comments that I mentioned in my last blog post, his response (through Twitter of course - Lance is a Twitter fanatic!):

"hey pistolero, there is no "i" in "team". what did I say in March? Lots to learn. Restated."

Lance also made a comment that Alberto really should be focused on thanking the team and not making stupid comments. Yes he's a phenomenal rider, but if he keeps building this reputation he's starting, teams are going to think twice about picking him up.

Seriously Contador??

Does Contador really think that statements like this will help his career, or help make people like him more?

"My relationship with Lance Armstrong is non-existent. Even if he is a great champion, I have never had admiration for him and I never will." - Contador

I understand they had a strained relationship as they both vied for the yellow jersey, but statements like that are completely unnecessary. Lance is being gracious and stating that the best man won, why can't Contador show a little class and at least just follow Thumper's rule? If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. (Seriously, all you really need to know you can learn from Bambi!)

He's certainly crossing the confidence line over to cocky and arrogant....and he's not gaining any points in my book. Way to go.

Oh yeah, and apparently my brain doesn't work all that well at 5:30 in the morning. The workout that I detailed below...well I apparently decided that it would be better if I did an additional 70 squats just for fun. Apparently it was supposed to be 15 squats per round....not 20. Oh well, my legs will thank me eventually, but probably not tomorrow.

And now I'm back....

I'm back! (I hope!) I'm finally getting back in action after almost a week of nursing the back injury (and by nursing I mean suffering through work and then coming home and laying on the couch unable to move without pain....it was awesome.)

I went out for a run Sunday morning. Perfect day. The run didn't go quite as well as I had hoped, but I guess that's to be expected after not running at all for over a week. Made it through 4 miles, and that's when the back reminded me that maybe I should come back slowly. That idea flew out the window when I went to CrossFit this morning though! I'm feeling good so far, just some general muscle soreness (no injury type soreness), but muscle soreness should be expected after making it through this!!

"Cindy"
AMRAP :20 (as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes)
5 pull-ups (assisted with the band)
10 push-ups (first 6 rounds were all military, after that I did 5 military and 5 "girl push-ups")
20 squats

Score: 14 5/6 - yes I am being that exact. I only made it through half of the squats on the 15th round, but they still needed to count for something!!

So glad to be back and getting back at it. As much as I often wish I could just lay on the couch instead of going out for the workout, it sucks when you aren't given the choice!!

On the DL....

And in this case....DL stands for disabled list. :( Monday's deadlifts made my lower back sore, but I was feeling ok when I tackled the Tuesday back squat WOD. I even felt good enough to throw in a short run and some pull-ups at the end of it. But when I got home, I realized something was wrong! So I have spent the past few days unable to move without pain. So that meant no CrossFit, no running, no riding, no nothing.... I'm going crazy!! Tuesday and Wednesday I was ok with sitting on the couch after work, just because it hurt so much. But as of yesterday and today, I'm just starting to go nuts. I know it's still not healed, there is still some pain there, so I know that I need to continue the rest. I really don't want to take chances with my back, it's kind of important. But I'm really, really hoping that I will wake up feeling fantastic tomorrow morning and can head out for a ride or run. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!

2009 ACL Fest schedule!

That's right...the schedule is out! Unfortunately it looks like some tough decisions will have to be made that weekend....I hate that!

WOD and Crowie!!

Ok, first off...today's WOD, what a way to start a new week of CrossFit!!

21-15-9 of:
Deadlift (135#)
Kettle Bell swings (30#)
Wall Ball shots (16#)

Time: 13:15 - and the first person to finish was.....wait for it......ME!!! Woo hoo! There were 4 of us this morning, and the 2 ladies finished 1st and 2nd! Way to go us!

Tonight is the Craig Alexander event put on by my friends at Runner's High n' Tri! I'm super excited, and I'm not even a triathlete. I'm hearing rumors that they will be raffling off some of his stuff so hopefully I come home with something good! :) Should be a fun night...my friend Becki is going with me, and I know that lots of other fun people will be there. Let's just hope I'm not hobbling around like an 80 year old after this morning's work-out!! I plan on taking frequent "walk around so my muscles don't completely tighten up" breaks today at work.

Happy Monday everyone!

Today's WOD....it was awesome!

I needed a good one after yesterday...and I got it! Woo hoo....back to loving CrossFit! :)

WOD (made up on the spot by Coach Jim since the main WOD called for 30 muscle-ups....ha ha, I don't think so)
50 wall ball shots (16# ball)
40 push-ups
30 kettle bell swings
20 waiter's walk lunges (hold the kettle bell above your heaad with one arm - 10 w/ right arm, 10 w/ left arm)
10 box jumps (on our awesome giant tractor tire!)
400m run

Time: 12:01

The 50 wall ball shots right off the bat wore me out! So I was pushing for the entire 12 minutes. I tried to "sprint" the last 100m of the run and got back into the gym and laid out on the floor! So exhausted, but it felt awesome.

I'm on a total CrossFit high this morning! Although it could also have something to do with the delicious conconction that I made afterwards, involving some Starbucks iced coffee and my chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast! Mmmm.... soo good!

WOD and other stuff...

I apologize that this has basically just become my CrossFit workout journal lately! But I promise that there is other stuff at the end of this post. I just need to write down the CrossFit stuff before I forget! :)

Today was a heavy lift day (uggg) so we did the full CrossFit warm-up.

2:00 min of light cardio (I went out and jogged 400m)
2 rounds of:
10 push-ups
10 sit-ups
10 squats
1o pull-ups
10 dips
10 back extensions
Then: 1 lap of walking lunges

After that we were ready for the real WOD:
Hang Power Cleans 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 (or something like that)

Turns out, I suck at these. My body does not like Olympic lifts. Part of it is the fear of the bar and the weights I'm sure, and part of it is that many of the movements go completely against what your body would naturally do. Leaning backwards, collapsing under the bar, etc... I just can't force myself to do these things yet. So it was a long morning of many unsuccessful attempts, with a few successes thrown in as well. Long story short, my max weight was 70 lbs. I really don't like the heavy lift (or not so heavy in my case) WODs they are definite confidence crushers. Here's hoping for osmething that will boost me back up tomorrow.

Ok, and now for the other stuff I promised. I swear I do things other than CrossFit and running occasionally! :) This past Saturday I went to Brewfest with Colleen and Nick and some of their friends. It was a blast. $30 to get into the tent, and then you had 4 hours to taste as much beer as you wanted. So many delicious choices. A had a few Belgian Whites that I really enjoyed, but my favorite of the entire day was the Blueberry beer from Roundhouse brewery. Absolutely delicious!! It sounded weird at first, but I definitely went back for 2nds and 3rds on that one! So good. I'm going to look for it at Binny's this weekend! :) We also finished off the day with a game. Everyone started at the table then had to run to any brewer, get them to fill your glass, then return to the table and drink your beer, no drinking until you are seated at the table. Last one to finish loses, and the losers had to write their name in the air with their butt. Yes, we're that original. I rocked the first round, and then realized that they were planning on playin gmultiple rounds. Colleen and I excused ourselves from the game at that point, because we wanted to be somewhat coherent to get all of the food back at her house ready afterwards. But watching the game was just as much fun!

Tuesday night was the Arlington Crits a few blocks from my house! Sadly I had to work so I missed all of the earlier races, but the pros didn't start until 6 so I made it home in time for that one. I decided to take Ginger with me, so we walked up into town. It was a great night, with some great racing! My boys from Team Hotel San Jose (an Austin team) definitely showed up and had a great race. Sean from the team took 2nd, and Carlos finished in the points to increase his overall standings. Way to go! Ginger really enjoyed it too. Everyone wanted to pet her and she loved the attention! I was reall surprised how well she did actually, I expected her to get bored of standing around after a while, but she made it through the full 2.5 hours we were up in town and never whined. I'm going to have to start taking her to more stuff like that! :)

And that about sums up the excitement in my life right now. :) Monday is the Craig Alexander event put on by Runner's High n Tri though! Can't wait. I'm not even a triathlete and I'm really excited to hear him speak!

WOD! (2 days in a row?!?!?)

Yes that's right....2 days in a row of CrossFit! I'm giving it a shot.

Today's WOD was definitely a tough one....

3 rounds of:
1 lap of walking lunges with plate overhead (25#)
20 shoulder press (15#)
20 pull-ups (assisted w/ band)
Run 400m

Time 18:01

Wow...everytime I got to the run portion my arms felt like spaghetti....very odd feeling. They are starting to feel like useless attachments hanging off the side of my body as well! Washing my hair was definitely a very difficult task this morning!!

And yes, I still owe you a recap of the weekend. It's coming! Lots of fun times at Brewfest! :)

I'm in love....

I'm completely head over heels in love.....with this Kings of Leon CD. I can't get enough of it. It has been on constant repeat since I got it on Friday. :)

WOD!

Today's WOD was really 2 CrossFit workouts!

CrossFit Baseline
Row 500m
40 squats
30 sit-ups
20 push-ups
10 pull-ups (mine were assisted with a band)

Time: 5:56 - Everyone's times are recorded on the board for this one, and this time put me pretty well in the middle of the pack for the women, and Coach Jim said that most did the pull-ups assisted. So I'm feeling pretty good after this one.

2nd workout
Thrusters 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Basically I maxed out at 85lb. It sucked. I was so close on the 90lb, just couldn't seem to make it happen. This workout crushed my confidence. Stupid thrusters....

I know it's early....

But can I just state how really freaking awesome and exciting this is???

Today's WOD

Another good one this morning....I'm still super sore from Wednesday's workout and even today's warmup was painful! But I made it through the WOD (and even beat the guy who was also there this morning!)

Row 500m
50 Thrusters (with dumbells, 12 lbs each - coach wanted me to do 15lbs but they were mysteriously missing...hmmm how did that happen? :) )
50 sit-ups
2 laps of Frog Hop Burpees (basically a burpee with a standing long jump aferwards)
Run 400m

Time: 15:53

I am not a burpee fan....especially after rowing and 50 thrusters! So I did everything I could to make those jumps as long as possible!! It was also a little humbling when I was out on the run part and the boot campers came out for their run and went flying past me....but then I thought back to their workouts and remembered that they aren't anywhere near the intensity of CrossFit!

As much as CrossFit hurts and makes me hobble around like an 80 year old sometimes....I love it! Woo hoo!

Tomorrow is Barrington Brew Fest! Can't wait to sample all the delicious beer and finish off the day with a BBQ at Colleen's! Fun day!

WOD (from Yesterday)

Here are the results from yesterday's CrossFit WOD!

AMRAP :20 (as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes)

4 dips
4 pull-ups (assisted with the band)
4 handstand push-ups
8 kettle bell swings

Score: 14 3/4 rounds

I was definitely feeling the effects of this work-out today! I'm actually amazed at how sore my legs were, when I really only used them for the kettle bell swings, but I guess when you do 112 of them in 20 minutes!!

But the good news of the workout (and the piece that gave me a good feeling of accomplishment) is that I didn't drop the pace. I did 7 rounds in the first 10 minutes and 7 3/4 in the 2nd 10 minutes.

Pulled off a run tonight....maybe more like a "CrossFit shuffle"! :) Can't wait to see what's in store for me at tomorrow's CrossFit session. It's a good thing I go early in the morning so I can't check the workout before I go and wuss out!

TTT day at the TDF!!

Ok, so I'm slightly excited that the TTT is back!! Love it!! It's a big deal too! Lance moved into 3rd yesterday and Astana could very possibly dominate this stage! Which means there is a chance that Lance could move into yellow today! That would be huge for the TDF!

Contador is probably not happy about this development at all. So I suspect there could be some division within the team today, which is pretty bad timing. They definitely need to work together. But Contador would be stupid to try and sabotage....any time advantage helps him as well!

Honestly, did any of us really believe that Lance could just sit back and work for Contador?? When he saw the opportunity to move up, he took it. I don't blame him at all....if Contador wanted to he could have been moving up towards the front during the stage to give himself that opportunity as well. Just proves how smart Lance is, Contador is an amazing rider, he just doesn't have the race smarts yet.

Come on Astana (and Garmin-Slipstream and Columbia-HTC as well!!) :)

New running shoes!!

So I finally decided to let my friends at Runner's High n' Tri get me into a new pair of running shoes. And of course I couldn't get the ones that were on sale, no, I had to get the other ones. But they're so comfy and pretty dang cool looking too! :)

Track Workout and CrossFit WOD

Last night I gave track workouts a try for the first time. Becki was right. They're hard!! They're run through EAD and Cody, the girl that leads them, is a beast (in a good way)!! She's an All American Heptathlete, and holy cow is she strong! Last night's workout was 6-10 400m repeats. I went out too fast on the first 2, and the asthma kicked in and I stopped breathing. Not good. So I slowed it down, and finished out the workout, ended up with 8 400m repeats, and all (besides the first 2 which were at 1:45min) were around 2:00min. So I'm slow, but at least I finished the workout. Still haven't decided if I want to keep up with the track workouts, slowly but surely, or just stick with improving my running endurance. We'll see.

And then I woke up early for CrossFit this morning, my body is definitely sore, but I know it's going to be a weekend of no workouts and lots of eating and drinking with the wedding. So I'm trying to get some quality workouts in beforehand. Today's WOD:

21-15-9 reps of:
Tire jumps (that tire is huge!!)
Wall Ball shots (16lb ball)
GHD Sit-ups

Then:
400m run
15 Burpees

Time: 13:14

Since I'm used to workouts that generally last an hour...this one seemed short. But I was so ready for it to be over after 13 minutes and 14 seconds, it's amazing how quickly you get tired when you raide the intensity and go at it full speed the whole time!

WOD - CrossFit Total

I started CrossFit today. The whole idea is that you get a scrore or time for each workout, so I thought it would be a good idea to record them so I can monitor progress as I go. Thought I would keep the record here so I can tag the posts and easily find them, and you can also track my progress if you feel like it. If not, then feel free to just skip these posts. :)

CrossFit Total
1 rep at max weight of:
Deadlift - 175lbs
Shoulder Press - 65lbs
Back Squat - 165lbs
Total Score: 405

It took me a few lifts on each exercise to find my max since I wasn't really sure of my starting point. I was feeling somewhat confident after the deadlift, although apparently my goal is 1.5x my body weight....so I've still got a way to go. The Shoulder press definitely humbled me. As I already knew, all of my power is in my legs! I was so close to getting the 70lbs, just couldn't quite get it. On the back squat, I did have to bail on my first attempt at the 165 lbs, luckily Jim was there to grab the bar as I fell backwards. I just laughed it off, shook it out and gave it another attempt, and got it!

Felt like an easier work-out although my muscles are definitely starting to let me know that I did something hard. I've never attempted a max weight lift before since I've always done reps, so lifting really, really heavy weights is a whole new experience for me. Hopefully I'll enjoy CrossFit as I continue to get stronger!!

Stupid Universe...

Over the past few days, I have felt that the Universe is seriously out to get me. The hits just keep on coming...

1. OAR concert on Friday: there was perfect weather on Thursday, but of course on Friday we had some seriously severe storms. The concert ended up being postponed, and because of some unhelpful announcements, Becki and I missed the first 30 minutes of OAR....sad. We also got rained on at the show....oh well, the worst part of that was that it made my beer very watery.

2. The power went out on Friday! Unfortunately I discovered this when I pulled in my driveway and tried to open the garage door....and of course I didn't have my house keys in the car! The only glimmer of good luck was that my back window was unlocked, so I was able to pry that open and climb on in. My dog just kind of looked at me a little funny...she's such a great watch dog.

3. The power continued to stay out all weekend! And did I mention that this was the weekend it decided to get super hot and humid here in Chicago??? My house was not a pleasant place to be.

4. Woke up on Sunday...short run...and then home to shower. Only to find out that since the power was still out, my hot water heater had run out of hot water....hello ice cold shower!!

5. Got the tragic news about Jason at the bike shop on Sunday.....the rest of that day was jus a blur. Still working on dealing with it....but I'm getting better.

6. Once the power came back on it became apparent that my A/C wasn't working. Add to that temps in the 90's and some serious humidity and my house was very uncomfortable. I also found out that my dog is a "fan hog" she kept sitting right in front of it!

7. The universe also seems to be vetoing my half marathon idea!! I'm having some really obnoxious knee issues lately that are keeping me from doing any real running... I really need to figure that out!!

So I have one message for you, Universe. BACK OFF!!! It's time to give me a break for a bit. Even if you think I can handle it....it doesn't mean I want to!

Enjoy it while you can....

Today has been a tough day. Checked my e-mail on the phone just before I pulled into the bike shop for work (at a red light of course), unfortunately I received an e-mail with very tragic news. Our shop manager Jason, the son of one of the owners, was killed yesterday. He was working on his car and because of the heat the jack shifted on the asphalt and the car fell on him. It's such a tragedy and one I haven't quite come to grips with yet. We were all kind of in a daze while working at the shop, Jason was supposed to be there with us today. Once we closed, a few of us stayed behind to have a beer and toast Jason. We will absolutely miss him.

Just another reminder to try and enjoy it while you're here. You never know when it could all be over.

Stormin'!!

Wow, when the weather man says thunderstorm...he means it!! We had some very loud storms that woke up me at 3am this morning!! I have slept through plenty of thunderstorms, I apparently even slept through a minor earthquake once, but this storm woke me up! Luckily my dog is a champ though and she slept right through it...not even the smallest whine from her.

I then tried to get up at 5 for bootcamp, but the knee is still feeling sore, so I decided to get some more sleep. Reset the alarm and dozed back off. When I finally did get up, I immediately felt guilty for not going to boot camp. I know that I want my knee to get better so I can run, but I also probably should have tried bootcamp and given it a chance, oh well. Nothing I can do about it now.

Now that I'm at work the storms have picked up again! There is some seriously loud thunderoutside, and I would swear it's 9:00 at night because it's so dark out there! I really just hope the hail stays away! I don't want dents all over my car!!

These storms now have 2 options. Move out in time for it to dry up a little and get nice for the OAR concert this evening, or keep on raging so that they have to cancel and reschedule the show! As much as we like OAR, Becki and I really don't want to stand in the rain for a few hours, and I would rather not waste the money I spent on the tickets.... I guess there is some irony there considering the original reason that I bought the tickets...

Seriously PETA???

Come on PETA, most of the time I agree with what you stand for, but if you want more people to take your organization seriously, you need to stop making statements like this.

Come on lightning....

So here's the report for tomorrow, it just keeps getting better. Did you see the part about large hail and strong winds?? Perfect weather for the outdoor OAR show. Is it bad that at this point I'm really wishing that if it does rain, there is also lightning so that they have to cancel the show?? I would much rather have it rescheduled or get a refund, then stand outside in the rain for a few hours....as much as I love OAR....that just doesn't sound all that fun.

Make it stop....

This is ridiculous....please just make the rain stop already!!! It's not looking good for the outdoor OAR concert on Friday!!

Lesson Learned...

So today I learned a very important lesson....take the opportunity when it shows up! For example, if the forecast calls for rain, and you wake up early to run before work and it's not raining.....then you should go run! Don't decide that you're too tired and you need some more sleep and you will run after work. Guess what....it could be pouring after work!!

The SkirtChaser race report...

At the beginning of the day we were all worrying a little! It was cold and raining….not exactly ideal SkirtChaser weather. We made the decision to set up in a large tent that had been provided and think positive thoughts that the weather would get better! Well, the power of the Skirt prevailed once again! By the time people were showing up for registration it was bright and sunny out! Of course this meant only one thing for me….outfit change!! I had started the day with the Sweetest Thing and lime green Runner’s Dream because it was so cold, but when it warmed up, I had to break out the limited edition Blue Tattoo GymGirl that showed up at my house just in time (thank you 2 Day Air!!!) Let me say….it was a hit! Everyone was jealous and wanted one of their own! Nicole definitely got it right again. It fits perfectly, and seems to fit the same as the other GymGirls I have purchased this season. Ok, so now that we have covered wardrobe (the important stuff)….on to the actual race!

We had plenty of volunteers for this race, so I had the fabulous job of “floating”. I got to meet plenty of fun people who were all very excited about the upcoming race. It turns out that SkirtChaser Chicago was quite the hot-spot destination! We had a couple from Virginia (they are shown in Nettie’s pictures – and they also ended up being one of our “newlywed/not so newlywed” game couples). She had a tough time deciding which Skirt to get….but ended up looking super hawt in her new white MarathonGirl. We also had 2 separate groups of girls on girl’s trips! One group from Bermuda (why you would leave Bermuda and come to the Midwest for a girls trip is beyond me….) and another made up of Ohioans and Minnesotans who had met in the middle.

Once start time rolled around, everyone was ready! My friend Jon who had shown up to volunteer made sure that all of the cute, single girls had their “chase me” stickers firmly attached to the backs of their skirts. (He’s such a good helper and very willing to do whatever is necessary!) The Skirts took off when the time came, and the Chasers looked a little worried – they weren’t quite sure if they could catch them! And they didn’t!! The Skirts came across in 1st and 2nd place, and then there was a battle between 2 Chasers and another Skirt for 3rd. Sadly, the Chasers had one last kick and crossed the finish line neck n’ neck slightly ahead of the Skirt. It was definitely a well fought race. The 1st place Skirt was actually married to one of the 3rd place Chasers!

Post race festivities were fantastic. The Dos Equis and Barefoot wine were flowing freely, and the “hot wieners” were definitely a hit (they may have even inspired some new “awards” to be debuted at future races!) :) The band was rocking inside the tent…but most people were hanging outside of the tent because of the gorgeous weather. We did have a great fashion show though….with some fantastic models. 2 girls at the end were brave enough to rock the Tri Bikinis, and one of them even pulled out a full-on toe touch jump in the middle of the stage! Awesome!

Oh, and SkirtSports and the SkirtChaser are now the subject of a dissertation! Claire, who is a Ph.D. student at Ohio State is traveling around to the SkirtChasers and volunteering or racing to gather information. She was a big help this weekend at packet-pickup and on race day (she was the first and last volunteer there!) and we are glad to have her and help her with anything she needs!

All in all it was a fabulous day. I’m so excited for the next one….Denver, here we come! :)

Holy Crazy Schedule Batman!!

Ok, this is starting to get a little but ridiculous....if I make it through this summer I may be amazed!

June 12-13: SkirtChaser Chicago!
June 19: OAR concert
June 20: Chicago Summerfest for Curbside?
June 27: Sara's Bachelorette Party
June 28: Bike shop BBQ
July 3-5: Sara's Wedding
July 9: Bastille Day 5K and block party
July 10: World's Largest Block Party for Collective Soul
July 11: Barrington Brew Fest and LATE Ride
July 26: Chicago Criterium
July 31-Aug. 2: Tour of Elk Grove (or Austin??)
August ??: Maybe run a 10K/10 miler??
Sep. 10-13: IM Wisconsin - cheering and hanging with the Entourage!
Sep. 26: my birthday! :)
Oct. 1-5: ACL Fest in Austin

Eh...

Titles for blog posts are really difficult to come up with when you don't know if you actually have anything specific to write about.....just sayin'.

This week has been somewhat blah so far, blah weather, blah mood, blah blah blah... Monday started out well, but it's amazing how something minor can turn it all around. Trying to keep my mind off of things but my brain just doesn't seem to cooperate. The dreams and constant thoughts that I can't seem to control do make things harder...but eventually they will stop right?

There have been a few highlights though.

1. I received a large envelope of my latest SkirtSports order on Monday! Hooray for new stuff! I'm super excited about most of it....I may return 1 or 2 things, not because I don't like them, just because I think I may want other things more. :) I wore the new Sweetest Tee to boot camp this morning, and I would just like to say that it is wonderful. I would like to exchange every t-shirt in my closet for one of these!!

2. Had a good solid ride last night. I knew that the Garmin was dead when I headed out, but oh well. Sometimes it's nice to ride with no feedback, but I do need to remember to charge it before intervals on Thursday. And I would really like to figure out why the cadence doesn't seem to be working! I have no idea how far or fast I went, but I was out for at least 90 minutes, and I felt strong and kept the cadence up the whole time. Definitely needed that.

3. Got a surprise very quick response form someone awesome who unfrotunately lives in another country. Normally he takes at least a couple days to respond, this time it was less than a day. It was a nice surprise. Can't believe we met almost 5 years ago and still keep in touch! :)

4. SkirtSports has new Limited Edition GymGirls!! Splatter print and Tattoo print. So fun! I ordered my Blue Tattoo print and put a rush on it to hopefully have it in time for SkirtChaser this weekend!!

I'm definitely looking forward to this weekend! I can definitely use some fun time with the SkirtSports and Red Rock crew! If you're in the Chicago area and looking for something to do on Saturday, come out to the SkirtChaser 5K!!

Summer?? Where are you??

This is really starting to get ridiculous. It's June, it's supposed to be getting warm and nice out! But we are 8 days into June, and I have had to turn my heat on for 4 of those days. I keep trying to avoid it, but then I realize that I'm sitting on my couch under a blanket since it's around 60 degrees in the house and I give in. Keeping my fingers crossed that it manages to get nicer for SkirtChaser this weekend!! :)

Today I tried a Grapple....and I have to say, they're kind of odd. Looks like an apple, has the consistency of an apple, but also has a weird, slight grape flavor. They don't taste like grapes....they taste like purple grape candy flavor. So bizarre. After my first bite, my mind was telling me "it's an apple, no it's a grape popsicle, no it's an apple....aaahhh!" I think I'll stick with plan old delicious apples, dipped in peanut butter please....even better!

Oh yes, and this weekend I learned why the phone locking app on the iphone is such a good idea. Don't you hate it when you start doing something that you know you shouldn't do, but you do it anyway! Arrgg....I fail! I also seem to fail lately at keeping my mind on anything else when I fall asleep. This process of moving on would be so much easier if I could just make the stupid dreams stop!!

Sushi Friday!!

I love Sushi Friday! Mmm sushi. The boys and I went out for lunch and it was absolutely delicious. Some spicy tuna, some dragon roll, red snapper, yellowtail, something called a Chicago roll, a Chef's special and the Firecracker roll! And we devoured all of it. Not a single piece left. Oh sushi....I heart you.

And apparently Sandra brought back some Dilly Bars for all of us. Mine is waiting patiently for me in the freezer. Shaping up to be a pretty good Friday!

Boot scootin' tonight at the Reckless Kelly show! Thanks guys for making the trip from Austin to show these Chicago people how it's done! :)

Why I started running....

I started running because my dog is a fatso and needed to lose a little weight. Apparently she gets tired in the middle of her meals.... We're working on trimming her down though! Taking a little longer than expected, because I recently discovered that she didn't like her new reduced amount of food diet, so she was sneaking in and eating the cat food too.... No more of that!

NRD report!

Here's my National Running Day report!

Started the day off with bootcamp, which usually means I don't run after work, but it's National Running Day....so I had to!! Got home from work late, and thought briefly about skipping the run to mow the lawn....but no.....it's National Running Day! I decided for this occasion I would wear one of my favorite skirts, so the outfit consisted of my Sapphire Blue GymGirl and black Tattoo tee. Sweet!













Since I knew it was just going to be a short run, I decided to go and run for the sake of running. No ipod, no measuring speed, no measuring distance. Just run! And it was perfect. 60 degrees and sunny. I sped up when it felt good, and slowed down when I wanted to, and even walked if that seemed right at the moment. Even took a break to talk to the great crew at Runner's High for a few minutes!

I'm guessing that's what today was really all about. No worrying about races, or times, or paces, or distances. Just go out and run because you can! And try to remember that it really can be fun if you want it to be.

Tomorrow I'll go back to worrying about how far or how fast, but today I'm content with just running. :)

Oh yes, and I topped off the celebration with a delicious beer, just for Mary! :)

Go out and run!!

Happy National Running Day everyone! Don't forget to go out and enjoy it, even if it is just a run around the block!! And don't forget your Skirt!!

Check out the new SkirtSports video! And then head to www.SkirtSports.com and join the Convert to Skirt revolution!

Deep thought for the day....

Trying to remind myself of this lately....

If you have no control over making it happen, it's not worth it to sit around and think about something that probably isn't going to happen....

Oh, and accidental dials can be just plan mean sometimes!

Weekends are not long enough....

I feel that all weekends should be at least 3 days, 2 just isn't enough. But since that doesn't seem to be an option lately, moving on....

Saturday wasn't looking good from the beginning. Woke up to head out for a ride and looked out the window. Sad....lots of clouds, looked like a very serious threat of rain. I really wasn't interested in getting caught in the rain on the bike, so I decided to try and wait it out a little. Checked weather.com and saw a large green area of where I live. Bad news. So I waited a little longer, still no better. So I decided to head out for a run isntead. Running in the rain is much more pleasant, plus I can get out of the rain much faster when I'm a mile from home rather than 20 miles from the car! So I skirted up and headed out. Surprised myself actually. Finished a great 4.2 miles after not running in about a week...nice!

After the run, my mom and I explored the local art fair. Nothing super exciting except the very cute yellow lab puppy I saw! :) After the art fair it was party time! Backyard party at Colleen and Nick's. Played some bags (I definitely carried the team - way to go Nick!) and ate some good food, and of course drank some beer. It was a fantastic evening of hanging out with 3 married couples, 1 couple that is living together and....me. Ah well. I was happy to be the 9th wheel.

Today was a shop day. Typical work day, except for one added factor....the "X factor". I did my best to not make a big deal, and I think I did a pretty good job of it. Was ok for most of the day, it got a little tougher towards the end of the day (aparently 3 hours of that situation is about my limit), and then everything kind of all hit me when it was time to go home, so I got the heck out of there. Apparently it's supposed to get easier. I'm waiting for that day. Today I was really tempted to take up a friend's offer to walk in and give him one of those "should've had a V8" bops in the forehead though. Ahh...that would have been good.

And with that....moving on....and signing out. Early to bed to get ready for the 2nd session of boot camp tomorrow morning! :)

A clear sign....

I think this is a pretty good sign that my drain pipe for the gutter is clogged...

Uggg... I don't even want to think about cleaning that out...

Check me out!

Ok, I'm sorry but I need to brag about this for a minute.

I did 30 real push-ups in a row this morning!

Woo hoo! Way to go me! Gotta say, I'm feeling pretty awesome about it! :)

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Wow, this has to be one of the craziest things I have read: Prisoners Cycle around France

Apparently they are letting a group of 196 French prisoners go on their own Tour De France. They will cycle 1,400 miles and stop in 17 towns along the way, and will stay in hotels at each town. Now to me, this sounds like a dream vacation and not a prison sentence. One of the inmates was quoted as, "It's a kind of escape for us, a chance to break away from the daily reality of prison" Now I thought the idea of prison was that you couldn't get away from the daily reality of it, it's supposed to be a punishment! Not a place where you get trained and get to go on cycling trips around the country. If that's what prison is turning into, then sign me up! Let me know what I need to do to get locked up there!

TGIF!

Ahh it's Friday, and not only is it Friday, it's a Friday before a long weekend! Does it get any better? :)

I finally decided to stop letting life get in the way last night, and I made it out for intervals with the guys. I fully expected to get dropped on every single one and spend the evening trying to catch up. The first 2 or 3 were like that, but then I figured it out and started to hold my own. I felt good about the ride, definitely plenty of room for me to improve and get faster, but in order to that I actually need to ride my bike! That's the plan for the summer. I'm tired of letting other things get in the way, I love the bike and need to get back at it.

No big plans for the long weekend, and that's probably a good thing. Hoping to have some friends over for some grilling on Saturday evening, working at the shop on Sunday, maybe more grilling Sunday night, and hanging out with Garrett from Red Rock after he gets the SkirtChaser truck up here on Monday. I so need a full 3 days away from work, and I plan to enjoy every minute of it! Nothing can stop me.

That's the new goal - stop letting life get in the way of life!

It really shouldn't be this hard....

Can someone please explain to me why I am having a super hard time finding these??

White plastic patio chairs....they're not really a rare item! I have been to 4 different places looking for them. Lowes, Home Depot, Wal-Mart and Sam's Club (with someone elses card). So far, I can only find tan plastic chairs. My table is white though! I want them to match! Next up on the lists: Target, Menard's and maybe Costco if I can get my sister to go with me. Hopefully I will find some before I invite people over for a bbq this weekend.

Which reminds me....I should probably get a grill before then too! :)

Weekend accomplishments!

I actually had a pretty productive weekend. I was able to get around to most of the things I needed to do, although a few of them were put off for more important (aka more fun) things.

Saturday: Woke up with the intention of heading out for a ride, walked outside, didn't feel too bad, although there was some wind. Checked the weather report: Saturday - 20-30mph winds, Sunday - 5-10mph winds. So I switched the workouts, and headed out for a run instead! Got in a good 4.5 miles. Yea! Wearing my race series skirt always makes me feel a little faster. :) After getting cleaned up, I went and met Mom and Veronica for lunch, and then off to get a pedicure with mom. Normally I'm a paint my own toes kind of girl, but when mom is paying pedicures sure are nice! :) After that I took my car for an oil change and a nice wash - hooray for a clean shiny car! Then I tackled the big project - making my old patio table look slightly less crappy. Project involved wire brushing and scraping the table, then priming and then painting. I probably should have spent a little more timing on removing the old paint, but it was a lot of work! Table isn't perfect - but it's definitely better and useable.

Sunday: Woke up for my ride! Nice and sunny, not much wind, but a little chilly. Needed the arm warmers and knee warmers, but all in all not bad. I did a solid 40 miles through the hilly area of Barrington Hills and could definitely feel it. I tried to attack all of the hills as best as I could since I apparently don't have the attention span for long rides anymore. After the ride, I stopped in the shop to pick up some stuff, then picked up some delicious Jimmy Johns. It always tastes good after a ride! After getting cleaned up I put Ginger in the car (so much for the nice clean dog hair free car!) and headed to Veronica's house so we could take our dogs for some play time. Walked over to the forest preserve and had a nice long walk and then let the dogs run and swim at the lake. Ginger was a very happy girl! After that, I really should have headed home to clean my house and do some laundry, but instead we went over to Matt and Tee's house for a bbq. Unfortunately the "grill masters" took FOREVER to cook, but I guess it was worth the wait, because it was pretty delicious. Finally headed home around 9:30 and passed out. It was a very long day!

Super early wake up call for boot camp this morning. I always hate getting up, but once I'm up I'm good to go. Tough day as my legs were pretty tired from yesterday since the foam roller time also got scrapped because of the bbq. It's going to be a long day at work because it's super quiet here. All of the branch directors are in town for a quarterly meeting so all of the VP's are over at the hotel for that. Maybe it means I can sneak out early?? :) Only 8 hours to go....