2012 Goals

It is so hard to believe tomorrow is the last day of 2011. This year has both flown by and dragged too, if that's even possible. I was going to do a non-racing recap of 2011, but I realized nothing exciting happened to me over the year, and pretty much all of it would have involved photos of Julia doing something like this:

She is totally Rob's kid



So in lieu of boring you again with more Julia, I thought I would chat about the year ahead! I'm not much of a resolution person, but rather I like goals better. The past several years, I have had a "big event" to aim for - either a race, the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk, or having a baby! 2012 is no exception for me - and I may throw in a few "big events" - we'll see!  

via Google -so true.

Racing goals

via Google - this is going to be me

• Finish Ironman Arizona in November - I'm not sure yet what my goal time will be, but as I get further into training, I will identify a goal for each portion of the tri. I'm very excited/nervous/terrified/worried about this race and it will consume me for most of the year!
• Seattle Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon - enjoy running with my friends! I can't wait to have everyone come visit us in our new home and have a blast!
• Race 4 or 5 other triathlons - depending on my training schedule, pick a few(sprint, Olympic and half Iron) to compete in - maybe in Seattle, maybe back in Michigan - and try to improve with each one
• Other races - Throw in a few other running races for good measure - again, depending on my training schedule

Personal goals

via Google - kind of how my list looks!

• Sell our house in Michigan - I love my house - hope someone else will love it as much as we did
• Find a great house to call home in Seattle - and actually move here permanently so my little family can be together again
• Find Julia a pre-school in Seattle -  if I find anything even half as good as what we have in Michigan for her - and she'll be thrilled (as will I!)
• Get hired on full time with the company I'm contracting with- and I'd still be able to work from home!
• Spend more time cooking meals for my family
• Exploring our new area and taking advantage of the beautiful surroundings/activities available
• Make new friends in Seattle - and spend time with those I've met already (ahem, TriGirl!)
• Keep up my relationships with friends in Michigan 
• Plan trips back to Michigan to see family and go to some Michigan State events  

I think these goals are attainable, and I hope I can do it without going too crazy.

CHEERS!

Question:
What are your exercise and/or personal goals for 2012?

The year in review - racing style

Happy almost New Year, everyone!

Although there are still a few more days left in twenty'leven, I figured I'd put my thoughts down now in case I get wrapped up in more house hunting over the next few days while I'm in Seattle. Yea, the dream house is not looking good at the moment. Bummed out but the builder is being a PITA (a great acronym for many occassions - if you don't know what it stands for, just ask me and I'll send you a note!) and only budging about .7% off their list price. Really? Come on. So back to square one.

But I digress.

So, 2011 was a busy year for me with races, starting way back in February with the Super Bowl 5k I ran with Megan and Rob. Rough math tells me I did just shy of 357 miles in races. Wowzers.

Here's a recap of my races:

• 8 triathlons including:
• 6 sprint distance
• 1 Olympic distance
• 2 Half Iron distance (with one only being 69.1 since the 1.2 mile swim was canceled)
• 3 half marathons
• 3 10ks
• 2 5ks
• 1 10 miler
• 1 Iron Turkey (5k and 10k back-to-back)
• a partridge in a pear tree

There were many highlights amongst those races too including:

• Improved my PRs for each distance
• Finishing in the top 3 in my age group in most of my tris
• Winning the T-Rex Triathlon series age group
• Winning my age group at one of the 10ks
• Running with my friends Nancy and Melissa for Melissa's first ever 5k
• Doing 4 tris with my dad - less than 10 months after his hip replacement surgery
• Running many races with Megan including pacing her to her first sub 2 hour half
• Racing a sprint tri with Rob - he's a natural triathlete
• Racing one of my half marathons on behalf of Team Awesome and First Descents - and got to meet my new friends Adam and Brad
• Getting to meet other running/tri bloggers like Megan, Matthew, Matt, TriGirl, Melissa, etc... such great new friends!

A few highlights in pictures:

My support crew after my first 70.3 in June

With Melissa and Nancy after Melissa's first 5k!

My dad and I after one of our 4 tris we did together

My Iron buddy Matt at Steelhead

Finishing Steelhead 69.1

Rob's first triathlon and clearly his "game face"

Megan and I at the Solstice 10 miler

Team Awesome - with Adam and Brad

After Megan's first half!

Turkey Trot with Nancy, Chrissy and Melanie

And really, the only big disappointment was the swim being canceled during Steelhead 70.3 in August. I was so ready to tackle this one and really upset that the 7 foot waves wreaked havoc that morning. I know, I know...better safe than sorry but I was still bummed.

Overall, I'd say 2011 was a great year for me and I'm looking forward to 2012 with the highlights including the Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon in Seattle with a bunch of my friends and my first 140.6 at Ironman Arizona in November! Yay for new challenges!

via Google

Happy 2012!

Questions:
1) What was your biggest racing accomplishment in 2011?
2) What was your biggest disappointment?
3) What is your "A" race for 2012?

Christmas re-cap

Happy last week of the year!

Ihope you had a wonderful holiday celebrating the holidays with your family and friends. It's still hard to believe Christmas has already come and gone...all of that preparation and stress and then boom. It's over. Kind of anti-climactic actually!

A re-cap of our holiday for you:

Thursday we spent time shopping downtown Seattle and enjoying the sights and sounds of the city. After a VERY long day working, (although I did manage a 5 mile treadmill run too!) it was great to get out in the fresh air and buy some stuff too. I got some Christmas gifts for myself including a super fun pair of tall brown boots (yes, I've given into the skinny-jean-with-tall-boots trend), a sweater and some new perfume.

I just loved this of Julia and Rob

Friday we went out looking at houses again with our realtor and finally came to the conclusion that our dreams of living in the city were squashed. After seeing the super cute older but renovated homes, we couldn't justify the cost with how much work had to be done. So to the eastside we go! We are hopefully putting an offer in on this awesome house today - it is about 20 minutes east of downtown Seattle:

Fingers crossed....love love LOVE this house

We took Julia for a run along Puget Sound on Friday afternoon as well which was great - except for a bit of wind, it was perfect.

Christmas Eve we ventured out with Julia in the stroller to do a "city sightseeing run" with the intent to get some shopping done along the way. Well it was so nice out that we just kept going and going. We went all the way around Lake Union - a beautiful lake lined with boats, house boats and parks. I loved it.

Julia was smuggling 2 binkies in her hat, which is why it looks all wonky!

We ended up all over the city after this, weaving through streets, hitting REI on the way and then back to our apartment. After all was said and done, we probably got closer to 9.5 or 10 miles in! It was tough after a while but great to see the city.

Dinner was a seafood extravaganza with mussles, clams, oysters, crab legs, pasta. Ah-Mazing.

Christmas morning was great watching Julia open presents and see what Santa brought her - she was SO excited to get her Kermit and Miss Piggy dolls!

She was still a bit tired here!

Christmas through the eyes of a 2 year old is wonderful

We were able to Facetime with our family and friends too which was great - got to feel like we were part of their Christmas celebrations as well! After a quick 4 mile run, we then went to Rob's friend and colleague Dave's home for Christmas dinner - and enjoyed MORE seafood! So, so yummy!

Yesterday we enjoyed the Woodland Park Zoo and another fun dinner with our Michigan friends who now live in Seattle!

So fun to be able to feed these beautiful birds

One of the crazy monkeys!

We definitely made the most of our days and were exhausted each night! And except for a day off yesterday, I managed to get a run in every day which was great! Gotta start thinking Ironman soon!

Looking forward to a short work week and 2012...oh and my birthday on the 2nd :)

Happy Holidays!

Questions:

1) What was the best part about your holiday?

2) Do you set resolutions for the new year?

3) New Year's Eve...fun or overrated?

TTT Christmas edition!

Happy Thursday, everyone! Hopefully most of you are almost done with work for at least the next few days here soon. I'm all sorts of screwed up with this West Coast time change over the last 24 hours or so. But hopefully I'll get back on track by tomorrow!

Because I know you've been waiting, here are my 3 things for today!

1) Surrounded by awesome 
I was humbled and honored to be sitting next to 9 Air Force officers yesterday on my flight to Seattle...who were all heading back home permanently from Iraq!!! How cool is that?? Officer Elliott, from Fairbanks, Alaska, who was sitting next to Julia and me, was so kind during Julia's small fit absolute meltdown/temper trantrum/freakout. He explained he had a daughter, and the gentleman across the aisle had 3 girls too and understood.  He was so helpful and awesome.The flight attendant announced that we all thank them for their service and welcomed them home. The entire plane roared with applause. I cried. True heroes. Made me so happy that they would be home with their families this Christmas. Proud.

via Google

2) What time is it agan!?
I'm all sorts of screwed up today with the time change, work/travel craziness, Julia's schedule, etc. I finally got a break and went for a 5 mile run at the gym (just under 8:00 pace-I'll take it) around noon (which is my body clock's 3pm). I haven't eaten all day. I haven't had my usual Diet Coke. Julia just fell asleep so we can't go grab anything for lunch. There is really no food in the apartment, so what do I grab? Microwave popcorn. Oh yes. Lunch of champions, my friends! Sad.

Ha! via Google

3) What day is it again!? 
I'm in complete denial that Christmas is 3 days away. Someone needs to stop the clock for a couple of days! We have no Christmas stuff at the apartment so need to figure out a way to at least get a tree so we can put Julia's presents under something! Maybe the coffee table will have to suffice. Awesome.

Yes! Via Google

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday - whatever you celebrate - and enjoy some downtime. I know I'm looking forward to it at some point soon!

Oh and special congratulations to my friend Ann who just had her twins today - a healthy boy and girl each almost 6 1/2 pounds! Wowzers - she is amazing for carrying them to 39 weeks!! Yay!!

And yes, they're this cute! via Google

Cheers!

Questions:
1) What are your TTT?
2) Do you cry when you see military personnel heading home? I could not hold it together!
3) Are you ready for 2011 to already be history?!

The good parts of insomnia...yes, there are actually some!

Top o' the morning to you all! Although to me, it already feels like 2pm!

Yet another night of insomnia for me. It wasn't quite as bad as Sunday night, when I was up at 2am for 2+ hours (oh and let me just say: Pinterest at that hour, when half asleep, is about the greatest thing ever. I pinned a ton of stuff that I was SURE I could replicate with no problem. Looking back on some of them? HA! Clearly sleep deprivation makes me think I'm artsy fartsy - and I'm so not)

via Pinterest

But I may make these for Christmas - how cute are these using the little Entemann's donuts?!

This morning middle of the night, I was awoken by "Mommy?" just before 4am, as Julia came walking into my room and wanted to snuggle in with me. I know I shouldn't allow it, but when it's just the 2 of us and I've had a tough go recently, I cherish these times.

I tried to get back to sleep, and after 3 failed attempts, I gave up my cozy, warm bed and got up to hit the bike trainer. My parents got me the trainer for my birthday last year and it's the best. So convenient and easy and I can spin while watching bad infomercials and catching up on my bloggy friends and Twitter. (I actually tweeted Robin Meade from CNN this morning and she tweeted back! Love her! She's so smiley and peppy at 6am - how does she do it?!)

via Google

Before I knew it, I was an hour in and decided to keep going. I really try to ride hard and not stop for the entire time. I keep a very steady pace and time actually goes quickly. I ended up going for 90 minutes this morning and I figure I did about 28 miles. I need a new bike computer though (gift idea hint!)

Ha! via Google

After that, I cleaned up my kitchen after my cookie baking extravaganza, organized paperwork I need to take to Seattle, 2 loads of laundry, cleaned up Julia's toys, did some work, and am writing my blog.

All before 8:30am.

As a treat for myself, I'm going to indulge in a Cocoa Carmella from Biggby Coffee.

It. Is. Heaven.

My dear friend AJ introduced me to Biggby, as I am not a coffee drinker but wanted to get a hot chocolate before our pedicures. And there it was on the menu - calling my name. Now, it's all I want. More than my beloved Diet Coke, even! WHAT?! I know.
And there is a $1 coupon to boot - even better.

Feel free to print this and use it if you have a Biggby near you!

So I have the rest of the day to do more work, pack for Seattle, drop our rabbit off to my sister-in-law, clean the house and prep it in case we have showings while we're gone.

Funny how all of this seems feasible when you don't sleep!

Questions:
1) How to you handle insomnia? Embrace it or fight it?
2) What was the best exercise related gift you've gotten?
3) Are you excited for Christmas?!

Small Christmas victories...better than nothing!

Hello all -

Hope you have had great weekends so far and are enjoying the last week before Christmas!
WWHHHAAATTT? How is that even possible? 7 days until Christmas?? Pure insanity, I tell you.

I've been trying like hell to keep up with all that is Christmas while life is in a bit of disarray. I actually consider myself to be fairly successful and here's why:

• I got a 4 foot tree and let Julia decorate it - she was so proud of her work! Also put a few random decorations up, since ours are all packed away in the attic right now

• I mailed about 110 Christmas cards and tried to write notes on every one of them....although some got missed (sorry in advance to those who only get the photo card)
• I made my homemade Christmas ornaments - my 15th annual one! Didn't make as many this year due to time constraints, but hey, I tried my best!

This actually is one of my favorite ones!

• I made these yummy treats for Julia's teachers and my friends

Chocolate covered pretzels and Rolo bites - awesomeness

• I shipped a few gifts to Seattle for Julia to open on Christmas day and hope to find a few more when I get out there on Wednesday! She deserves a great Christmas!
• Managed to get Julia to smile with Santa - twice! This time was at her school party on Friday

• Took Julia to see The Nutcracker ballet yesterday...actually presented by the same dance company I danced for 25 years ago. Wow. I. Am. Old. She loved it up until the last few minutes which I consider a success!

with her Nutcracker doll...which she managed to break in about .15 seconds...

thank goodness for hot glue guns!

So although I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed, tired and a little sad, I will remember this holiday as one where I made it work the best I could with what I had.

Oh and I've managed to fit in some decent runs/workouts too to help clear my head. Even though I may not have a ton of time, anything is better than nothing!

Happy Holidays to you and yours - I hope you've deamed this holiday season a success in whatever way is important to you.

Cheers!

Questions:
1) What has been the best part of the season so far?
2) Have you had a tough time fitting in workouts? How do you remedy that?
3) Do you send Christmas cards? Do you like receiving them or do you feel they're a waste?

"You Are An Ironman" book review

Happy Wednesday, y'all!

Sorry I have been MIA - it's not you, it's me. I promise. I'm actually writing this from my hotel room in lovely Fremont, California. Why? I'm glad you asked. I flew here today via Salt Lake City for a client meeting tomorrow.

Then I fly home via Phoenix tomorrow night. 24 hours in Cali total with about 15 hours of travel. Not ideal, but hey...gotta do it! And so far I haven't seen anyone famous.

BUT! I did enjoy this small piece of heaven for dinner:

The amazing In N Out burger/fries. It. Was. Awesome.



The good thing about traveling all this way without my 2-year-old begging for me to entertain her? I got caught up on magazines and books that I've had for months! The first order of business was to finish the book, "You Are An Ironman" by Jacques Steinberg.

via Amazon.com

As I think I mentioned in a blog eons ago, I ordered this book (from Amazon, of course!) about 10 minutes after I saw the author interviewed on The Today Show several months ago. I was so excited to hear about it and couldn't wait to start reading.

Fast forward to today...and I haven't been able to pick the book up in months. Frustrating! But thanks to my long travel day, I finished it on my flight to San Jose!

It's basically about 6 average Joes training for Ironman Arizona (hey! just like me!) in 2009 and their stories of training, personal struggles and race day experiences. The subjects don't know each other, but two of them actually cross paths during the bike portion of the race and are able to meet and chat as they suffer through the 112 mile ride.

I won't ruin the book for you, but the portions towards the end of the "play by play" of the 6 athlete's race experiences kept me turning page after page, hoping for more. I was nervous/excited/smiling reading the stories and how the author really brings the race to life.

I really enjoyed this book: the stories of how these 6 got to IMAZ, a snipet of their training and personal lives, the scene on that morning/day/night, etc... 

As an aspiring Ironman, I appreciated this book as it was different than some of the others that I have read about Ironman or the books by professionals like Chris McCormack. Sure, his book was ok but was very "hey, it's all about me...look what I can do"

via Amazon.com - cocky, much??

This book seemed very humbling and real to me and truly showcased the sport of triathlon and the craziness that is Ironman to those of us who aren't pros.  

Even if you're not a triathlete...if you know someone who is, or would like to eventually do one, I recommend you read this book! After finishing it, I'm all sorts of pumped up for my race, which is in a mere 341 days! Yikes!

If you do read it, let me know what you think - would love to hear other perspectives!

Also, I did not receive any compensation for this review - I purchased the book myself and wrote this review just for fun!

Questions:
1) What other racing-type book would you recommend?
2) Do you find traveling stressful or relaxing?
3) What book inspired you most?

Dreaming of Kona...and exciting news!

Happy Monday, everyone...wait, is that even possible to have those words in the same sentence?? Not sure these days, but hey - worth a shot as maybe it I say it, the day WILL be happy!

The past few days have been super busy but fun too and included (but was not limited to): pedicures and visits with some closest friends and their kids on Friday, a nice 10k run on Saturday while Julia played with her BFF at the gym, finishing my homemade Christmas ornaments for friends/family (pics to come), a 1-year-old birthday party for my dear friend AJ's daughter, celebrating AJ's birthday, the Lions/Vikings game with my dad on Sunday and a nice 70 minute trainer ride on Sunday night while watching the Muppets In Space movie with Julia! Throw in a bunch of hours working and that pretty much sums it up.

Whew.

But! Luckily I was able to sit down last night after Julia went to bed and watch NBC's 90 minute recap show of the Ironman World Championships in Kona.

via www.ironman.com

And yes, I cried. A lot. Don't judge me :)

I started watching it and my heart started pounding. I kept looking at the people getting ready for that race and thinking to myself:

"This is going to be me in a mere 343 days in Arizona!

I'm going to (hopefully) be an Ironman, too!"

me finishing my 70.3 69.1 in August

They had amazing footage of the pros doing their thing, including Chrissie Wellington who suffered a massive bike crash just 2 weeks before the race, her road rash still raw on her legs, among other injuries. She said she was only competing at 80%, was more than 20 minutes back when finishing the bike and she won by 4+ minutes. She is beyond incredible. And note that she seems to ALWAYS be smiling. I want to be her in my next life.

via Google - you can see the road rash on her left leg!

But they also had the footage of the average Joes, like me, racing for their own personal reasons: to showcase their victory over cancer, racing after losing both legs in a car accident, being 80+ years old and determined to finish for the umpteenth time because they have never quit anything in their lives. And amongst the 1,800 athletes, about 65 minutes into the show, my friend Matt appeared in his Spartan tri outfit! So excited to see him on this show and re-live his great accomplishment. Yay, Matt!

And I cried. I cried because I was thrilled for the people who finished that grueling race and beat the elements. I cried seeing all the volunteers helping people who were injured, exhausted, dehydrated, and victorious. I cried because I am one of the lucky few who will get to experience this in Arizona in November. I know it's not Kona, the pinnacle of Ironman...but it is Ironman nonetheless.

I can't wait to figure out my training plan and get started to my quest of being an Ironman!

So the OTHER exciting news is that I was selected to be a FitFluential Ambassador! My friend TriGirl introduced me to it, as she is an Amabassador as well...and I just found out Megan is one too! Way to go, ladies!  

I loved what I read about them, and asked if I could join their team...and they said yes! You can learn more HERE and as soon as I get all of the information from them, I'll be posting more about it! Thank you, FitFluential!

And with that, I am off to face the day. Have a good one!

Questions:
1) How was your weekend?
2) Did you watch Kona? What was your reaction?
3) How is it possible that Christmas is 13 days away??

My Christmas wish list...triathlon style!

Hello all!

It has been an busy absolutely ridiculous week. I'm sitting here, it's almost midnight, I'm still working, and I haven't slept in days. And it's almost a full moon outside. So I already know I won't sleep tonight...so why not catch up on my blog? I will sleep when I'm dead.

I'm not sure about you, but I can't really believe that tomorrow is already December 9th. That means Christmas is only 16 days away. Um...how the hell did that happen?

I have no idea, either.

Although Christmas will be a bit disjointed this year - with Rob being in Seattle, Julia and I flying out there on the 21st, none of our decorations available, etc. - we are going to make the best of it! And since we're not really doing gifts for many people this year, I thought I would put together my Christmas list with a spin.

via Google - this is perfect!

Here's what I want for Christmas:

1) A great Ironman training plan. This sounds simple on the surface, but I need one that allows me to continue working, being a mom, enjoying some free time, exploring my new city, spending time with my husband, flying back to Michigan... you get the idea. Maybe the solution is to add 5 hours to every day. Can someone help me with that? What do you mean that's not possible? Dammit. Back to researching my magazines and websites then!

2) A super sweet, fancy, faster than hell bike. Don't get me wrong - I love my little bike but that's part of the problem - it's a little too little for me! I think I need a slightly larger frame and maybe some of those Zipp wheels. Or maybe not. But it would be nice to have something like this bad boy:

via www.cervelo.com

Wowzers. She's a beaut.

3) To earn a spot in Kona at some point in my life. Clearly, since I'm just starting to train for my very first full Ironman, Kona is an absolute pipe dream right now. But it will always be a goal of mine, even after I'm done competing in triathlons. I will always wonder what it would be like to race on the lava fields, deal with the heat and the winds and be amongst the best of the best. I guess I can dream!

via Google

4) To win a race in 2012. I would love to be able to actually win one of the races I hope to do in 2012. Obviously not Ironman Arizona, but maybe a smaller sprint or Olympic distance tri! I've come close in the past - 2nd, 5th, 10th... but 1st place overall has eluded me. It's going to be a goal in 2012.

via Google

Chrissie Wellington is my hero.

5) To finish Ironman Arizona in less than 12 hours. A calculator that I used told me based on my pace, how many miles I plan to train, how flat the course is and a few other factors, that I could possibly finish in 11 hours, 51 minutes. I would be floored if I could go that quickly and I'm guessing it won't happen, but as I pull my training together (see point #1), I'll have that in the back of my head and work towards it.  

I look forward to 2012 and seeing what it brings for me in my triathlon life!

Questions:

1) What is on your exercise wish list?

2) Do you have a #1 goal for 2012?

3) What is your favorite Christmas tradition?

Big 80s movies and junk food solves it all

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Hope you had a fantastic day. We actually got a dusting of *gasp* snow last night! It didn't stick to the roads, but it made for a pretty drive this morning:

Last night Megan, Megan, Julia and I had a "Fearsome Threesome" par-tay at my house. We were wild and crazy and may have had ample amounts of booze Slurpees, candy and my famous popcorn.

If you haven't had my popcorn, you're missing out! Just sayin'...

Thanks, Megan for taking the pictures!



My child refuses to stay clothed. Excuse my horrendousness too

We learned that Megan (blonde) hadn't seen Sixteen Candles all the way through. Um...hello?! That's like saying you've never eaten a Hershey bar! I kid, Megan... I haven't seen all the Rocky movies and Rob is convinced I am a Communist because of that!

via IMDB

So for $2.99 we popped that baby up on the HDTV and enjoyed a good laugh at the crazy clothing, hair styles and phones of 1984.

Some classic quotes from that movie:

"No yankie my wankie. The Donger needs food!" - Long Duk Dong

Via Google

"Would you please hurry up? I'm breaking like 30 laws here."

 - Anthony Michael Hall's character, which is apparently only identified as "The Geek". Ha! That is funny though that despite that, he actually went on to a successful career!

But I digress...

 

via Google

via IMDB - he looks a *little* better than at age 16!

"Relax, would you? We have seventy dollars and a pair of girls underpants. We're safe as kittens"

 -The Geek, while standing with a super young John Cusack...whom I adore!

via Google

Some days, it's all about sitting down, hanging with friends and not thinking about life.

Thank you, girls, for making my day!

Questions:

1) What is your favorite '80s movie?

2) What makes you forget about life for even a couple of hours?

3) What movie quote do you love?