Picking my battles

It never fails....Joel Osteen seems to know what I need to hear each week and this past Sunday was no exception. It's all about picking my battles. I don't think it relates just to people either. I was biking home this morning and was thinking about the upcoming hill...do I want to work hard and "attack" it as Dave says or do I want to just ride it casual and climb slow? I remembered the the message I heard on Sunday about picking my battles. I chose to fight today and pour my heart into getting better on hills - no matter what the size. Whether it's my fitness level that causes me to be slow or my head I was prepared to fight both battles. I felt really good when I was finished and I appreciate my body not giving in to the discomfort.

So this week I think I have PMS. Yeah, bummer I know. I feel introverted, cautions and I crave sugar. ugh. The drain on my emotions is really wearing me out...poor Rick! He's locked in the house and he can't get out!

Oh, so there is this woman who rides Dreamy Draw all the time. I see her at least four times a week right. She's super focused and serious looking, has a tricked out bike and goes up and down, up and down the hilly parts. The second or third time I saw her I thought, "well, she's got to realize we pass each other all the time" so I started smiling at her and giving her the road bike wave right. Nothing...she has the grumpy face ALL THE TIME! I named her Fly Like Wind Grumpy Face. My name is Happy Girl With Green Coat, since I ride with a green fleece by the way. Anyway, she makes me sad when I see her. Like her frown is trying to reach out and slap the smile off my face. She's picking the wrong battle here! I think the next time I'm going to say Hello Neighbor as she whizzes by me...won't THAT piss her off :0

Here is the deal. Sometimes I wait to blog because I have some things going on inside my head that I need to understand first. (I wish I could turn it off but it makes for good blogging!) I have distractions that I have to clear out again. The battle I choose is no battle at all so it's back to business as it was a month ago. I decided that my long bike days will be Saturday instead of Sunday. I need to get my weekly message that feeds me for the week and it comes Sunday morning. It also gives me time to spend with Rick doing fun stuff...he is too busy during the week. Riding with NWLB has been good for me and I'll miss it. I didn't get to ride too much but it was enough to build my confidence and get me started on the road.

Nothing too funny today... it's almost 10:00pm and I'm tired. MRI on my shoulder tomorrow so I'll miss my swim with Brig and I'm bummed.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Hey, can you turn the lights off please?

Summits Challenge

I can't believe what an awesome day I'm having! So I challenged Rick to 4-summits today... Piestewa Peak (aka Squaw Peak), Shaw Butte,
Lookout Mtn and North Mtn. We started with the biggest and best, Piestewa Peak...it was PACKED. I have never seen so many people hiking. Is that our next summit in the distance of this photo?







Summit 2 was North Mtn. It was pretty easy up but after comin down summit 1 my knee was pretty sore now. I started to think this challenge was going to be too easy and was thinking about doing summit 1 again after we were finished...the day was still young!
Summit 3, Shaw Butte. I didn't mind this hike too much but it's not one of Rick's favorites. The trail is pretty torn up and nasty so we busted this out as fast as we could. Okay, now I'm getting a blister on my toe and having second thoughts about revisiting summit 1....






Our last summit was Lookout Mtn. I've never been to the top of this summit so I was looking forward to it. My calf muscles are pretty tight now and my original idea about doing summit 1 was swiftly removed from my thought. What a terrific feeling when we reached the top.

I really put the smack down on my expectations. I knew it would be a mistake to start fast so I took it slow and steady (I have a constant ringing of Dave's voice in my ear telling me watch my pace). Once the climbing started I put my head down, put my whole heart into it and impressed myself. I feel pretty good hours later but I expect I'll be pretty sore tomorrow. Rick and I are dedicated to an easy 20 mile bike ride to work out the lactic acid we both expect to have in the morning.

Happy Valentines Day!

Nice way to end a week

A very good friend of our family told me late last week to give my troubles over to God and everything else will fall into place. Boy, he sure was right! My week turned out better and less stressful on the personal side then I thought it would and I'm so glad. I don't need the distractions - that's for sure. Joel Osteen's prescription for the week was to laugh out loud at least three times a day... I did and I could feel the laughter run throughout my body - it was amazing and fun. But you certainly don't read my blog to find out about my renewed relationship with God do you...you want the juicy details of how my training has gone...

Let's see...where did I leave off? Oh yeah, Dave and I running. Well, yesterday I met Cliff for my last swim lesson. I'll miss him...he's really taught me a lot. We used the paddles again and I have to put my foot down and say firmly that I don't like using them. They are really hard to use and I just get tired really fast. I can't seem to swim well after I've used them a few times. At any rate we swam lap after lap after lap...(well, I think you get the idea) until our session was done.

Laureen and I went for a 26 mile ride and with a horrid headwind it should really count as double. It's tough to bike and shiver at the same time. This is the first time Laureen and I have spent time alone together and what a hoot she is. We seem to see things eye to eye so it was super easy to relate and feel comfortable right from the start.

Following our bike we did a 3 mile run loop. She's a die-hard! With just 3 minutes left on the clock it didn't matter that we were approaching our vehicles, we had to pass them and keep going until the clock ran down. NOOOO!!!! She's just like Dave! She never stops short!! I don't mind. It's good for me to be around stronger players. The time went by so fast that I was a little sad when we parted.

I'm not sure yet what I'm doing today. I have a Dr. appointment at 2:30 for my knee and shoulder so with a full weekend planned I might take the entire day off....we'll see how it goes.

I'll see you again this weekend!

The smack down on breakfast!

I sure can eat a TON of food! Let me just say this....my favorite part of IM training is how much food I get to eat. Don't get me wrong, I don't eat cookies all day (well, not most days) but when I sit down for breakfast and everyone looks at me like, she did not just eat all that, holy smokes I can't believe it either. My stomach is a bottomless pit waiting to devour anything and everything I shove into it. FEED ME!

Side note - I get a lot of emails and comments about my training & blog and I'm so appreciative! But sometimes they come from people that I don't' know...like my latest one from "lifting iron". Who are you?? Please tell me who you are and where you live. I like to keep track of how far my blog goes. We've made it to Tennessee before. - End note

So here is a knee update for you. Dr. appointment is Friday. Tuesday was HELL! I felt like a cow by the end of the day for not working out. I met Dave for a run (Dave style of course) and although I was aware I had a knee situation it didn't hurt like it did on Monday night. This whole thing really does lead me to believe that it's my foot position on the pedal. I'm biking tomorrow an easy 25 so we'll see how it goes.

Yep, I ran today. Running with Dave always gives me anxiety and I don't know why. He scares me! It's one of the few times I have a really hard time focusing my head. I worry about falling over and having road rash all over my face or my breathing is too fast....I'm going to faint or he's going to get even faster...STOP!!! All these things flood my head until I just want to stop and say those words....you know, those words I hate to say.... I can't. I think sometimes not knowing how far or how long we go makes our workouts hard for me to wrap my head around. It's really a complete loss of control when we are together. WAIT A SECOND!!!! hummmm maybe I'm on to something here....

Yes, yes... swimming, biking AND running tomorrow so it's a tri day. Looking forward to LM puttin the smack down on me for all three. eekks

Frustration and worry

So today is not my best day...You all know I've been having some shoulder problems and now, well, my knee is giving me problems too. I've been working though these pains for a while hoping they would go away as I got stronger but as it turns out I'm just playing games with my head.

For the first time since I started last April I had to cancel my workouts for today because of my knee and shoulder. I'm trying to find an Orthopedic Dr. today. I did some research and it really could be a number of things, however, I'm hoping it's just the position of my cleats, bike seat and hill work I've been doing. Keep your fingers crossed because I cannot take another day off.

I'm almost certain my should pain is my rotator cuff...not good. Sometimes the pain wakes me up at night and all the swimming has created a constant ache that I just can't take anymore. It really does stink to get older. We'll see how it goes.

Weekend fun

Brrrrrrrr - there are some days where I just don't want to ride my bike to the gym because it's so cold... Let's weigh my options. Ride and get the miles that are required for the week/month (REWARD) or not ride and end up on the dreaded "machine" (NOT A REWARD) and have Dave ask me where my bike is (double whammy!). This machine leaves me swimming in sweat, unable to feel my legs or rear and just all around beats the hell out of me. Let's seeeee......which do I choose??? Sometimes I start to choose the machine but then the quilt hits me and I start packing my backpack for the bike.

I was thinking on my way home, why can't the IM include weight lifting? I could do well in that category. It started to sprinkle on my way home and I thought, YEAH, I get to call for a ride home. As quickly as I thought it though, I could hear Hollon's voice say, "no you don't, riding in the rain is training for something" and I just kept going. How do I get the voices out of my head???

This weekend was awesome. I played a little cat-n-mouse with Butch, Vickie and Hollon for 55 miles. I left B & V's about 7:00 and the idea was to see if they could catch me...they left at 8:00. SUPER FUN! I was a lot faster on the uphills then I thought (though still slower then most people I know) and my nutrition was spot on so I really learned alot, besides just having saddle time. As I approached Pima something competitive happened and I just kept going. I wasn't sure how far behind they were and something inside said to not let them catch me until we get home....so I jammed on Pima, got lost after Pima and they took me out....they made it home about 20 minutes before me and WOW - what a day. I can't wait to play it again. We do need to shorten the time...maybe 30 - 45 minutes next time.

I'm excited about the week. Brig and I meet for regular weekly swims, Dave and I are progressing on the bike and I'm always working on my internal dialog. Maybe he'll have another group workout soon?? Always something to look forward to.

53....

53 bike miles tomorrow. I'm packed and ready....and nervous...and excited...but mostly nervous!

It's Hollon, Butch and Vickie's job to try and catch me tomorrow so it's a little cat -n- mouse we are playing...and it will be fun. I leave 1.5 hours before they do so we'll see how fast they go. I'm hoping to be close to Pima by the time they see me and able to ride the down hill home together. Keep your fingers cross...