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December 31, 2007

That Time of Year Again

So we are back in PA and it is cold. Actually, it isn't too bad. But certainly a far cry from sunny SC! I'm telling you - those people have it good down there in the south! That is until around May when the heat and humidity become so oppresive that breathing takes much effort. I'm not sure if we'll ever move from Pittsburgh but at least for now, it's very nice knowing if the winter becomes too much to bear I have southern living family to take me in!

We had a wonderful vacation visiting my parents, grandparents, aunt and uncle and sister and brother in law. Oh, and I won mini golf so it really doesn't get much better than that. During the (very) long drive home on Saturday I was thinking to myself what a great off season I've had. Pretty much every single weekend since my last race in early November I've enjoyed visiting family, or old college friends, holiday parties, weddings, high school reunions, time with O that we usually don't have. It's really what the off season should be all about. Growing up as a runner I didn't really know an off season. The runner's year starts in the fall with cross country which runs directly into indoor track which runs directly into outdoor track which runs directly into big miles in preparation for the following cross country season. There was always another race right around the corner. But triathlon is different. You end the season and then wait another 4 or 5 months to start again. I'm still not quite used to the idea but it's growing on me. :)

But as of today, the off season is over for me. I have been training sure, in November not much at all and then in December just a little bit more. But today started my first 20 week cycle leading up to my first A race. Not that my training this week or even next week or the week after looks that much different. I still won't have any speed work (probably not until March) and I'm not all of a sudden going to start having 5 hour long rides. But the 20 week countdown has started and the volume will slowly start to rise and then the intensity and then before you know it, that first big, important race will be here.

And I couldn't be more excited.

I haven't sat down yet to really write out my goals for each race. I've thought about it a million times over and over. But soon I will deliberately sit down and write out what I want for each specific race. And I will post those goals here. And I will put them right in front of my face of where I'm sitting right now typing. I think I'm to the point where my goals are not just thoughts anymore, or hopes or wishes, but to that point where I can write them down and believe I can make them happen.

And so it is that time of year again. To think about the past year and to look ahead to the new one. To set some goals and have faith in your ability to achieve them. To leave the habits that hold you back, behind and to step forward into a new you. I for one, have made it a goal to get out of my own way!

Of course it wouldn't be a December 31 blog entry without the year's highs and lows. If you've been reading my blog for a bit you might remember that I do it each year. You can read old highs and lows here, here and here.

This little exercise started with my father several years back. He would make everyone in the family list their highs and lows and I think it's safe to say we all hated it. But somewhere along the way I started to like it. Because it's really nice too look back on a year and realize how many highs and how many lows you really do have. And how those highs and lows shaped your year and your life as a whole. And then how all the time in between the highs and lows is REALLY what living is. :) So what are my highs and lows of 2007?

Well the low is easy. And I bet you could guess. Getting hit by a truck on June 1st wasn't my best day ever. :) And although a lot of good came from overcoming a challenging situation like that, I would say the lowest part of my year was riding in the helicopter and being really and truly scared. At that point I didn't even know what I should be scared of. I didn't even feel pain then. But I also realized at that point that something bad had happened and even though there were people ALL around me (I swear there was like 15 flight crew medical people in there but there was probably just me and like 2 other people), I remember feeling really, really alone.

And my high? Well, there were a lot of them. I enjoyed many successful races and several wonderful trips, biggest of all, the trip to Germany for ITU worlds. An experience of a lifetime to say the least. But I would have to say that one of my biggest highs of the year was crossing the line in Michigan at the Steelhead 1/2 IM. I'm not sure why it was such a wonderful experience. Sure it was a good race and sure I performed better than I thought I would on that day. That race came at a time when it was a relief to have a good race again! And it was my first 1/2 IM. But this race was one of those rare experiences where I felt like on that day, I could not have gotten 1 more ounce out of myself. And that's a really satisfying feeling. I can remember running down that last stretch toward the finish line and just truly, truly being overwhelmed with emotion and joy.

And so it goes! I hope everyone has a wonderful start to 2008. Here's to stepping out in faith that you will achieve all you want and more and enjoy the ride along the way!

Posted by beth at 4:49 PM | Comments (3)

December 28, 2007

Happiness is...

...riding outside in shorts and a sleeveless jersey and NOT being cold, or hot, but rather just right. A blissful 45 mile ride around the Island in 65-70 degrees temps and sun. Sometimes the warmth of the sun is the best feeling ever.

Now excuse me while I go swimming and then it's MINI GOLF time!!! AHHHHH!!!

Posted by beth at 11:01 AM | Comments (4)

December 27, 2007

Definition of Vacation

PS Roxy loved the beach and the ocean!

Posted by beth at 3:30 PM | Comments (2)

Masters Swim HHI Style

Yesterday I had a plan to go to the masters swim team practice here on the Island. I had contacted the coach about 2 weeks ago to inquire if visitors were allowed of which she replied a resounded "SURE!". So I wanted to try it at least once.

But yesterday I chickened out. I set my alarm, got up, started to worry about the whole situation and then went back to sleep instead. I did my ride first and then went swimming later. By myself. Big boo.

So I told myself that today I WOULD GO TO MASTERS SWIM. No excuses. No ifs ands or buts. I wasn't quite sure what I was so fearful about but taking on new challenges and going outside of my comfort zone are two goals for this upcoming season and what better time to start?! I told O last night that if I started to hedge about going in the morning that she should drag me down to the car, drop me off at the pool and drive away. :)

But he didn't have to do that. I still didn't want to go this morning but go I did!

Once there I introduced myself to a few people and they were all very nice and welcoming. It wasn't a big group (due to the holidays) so I had my own lane. I wasn't quite sure what to expect next. At my masters practice we sort of do our own warmup/cooldown and just wait for the workout. But this appeared to be a little different. Nobody was doing anything. That is until the coach came over and gave directions for warmup. "400 free, 400 choice." And with that we were off. See - this isn't so bad....

We finished that and the next directions were 4x300 as 50 drill/200 free/50 drill for the 1st and 4th, and 50 drill/200 stroke/50 drill for the 2nd and 3rd. Okay, I can do that... And about 200 into the first 300 I realized that this was still a part of the warmup. Doing the math quickly in my head I made the next realization that we would have 2000 yds in and won't have even started the main set. Hmm. I haven't been swimming too much. This could get ugly.

After the 300s I was really hoping for some sort of repeats with an interval that resembled a main set. Otherwise I was pretty much going to have to get out of the pool after the warmup!

The next directions were 20x100...okay, I can do that...but what did she say...20x100 PULL?! Uh oh. 2000 yds of pull? This could get REALLY ugly.

The pull was supposed to be with paddles but I decided against that since I wanted to keep my shoulders attached to my body. The pull bouy would be harsh enough for these weak arms! After the first 10 there was a 200 easy free, then the 2nd 10. Around #17 I was seriously starting to wonder if my arms were still moving? Not sure, I can't feel them that much. :) The 2nd 10 were supposed to be faster than the 1st 10 but I settled for maintaining. More math revealed I would be up to 4200 yds after these and I really wasn't too sure what was next. And I was too afraid to ask.

I finished my 20x100 pull. Good deal! I'm surviving this! I was sort of afraid of looking around or up at the coach because unless the next directions involved the words "cooldown" or "kick" I was going to be one hurting puppy. But luckily it was "200 easy cooldown." Oh yeah!! And with that, quite a long workout for me at this time, but still a very good one. More pull than I've ever done in one workout (and quite a bit faster than I've ever done too I might mention) and my shoulders are still attached...I think...

I came home to O and Roxy waiting to go running. Luckily it was only a 30 minute run. And then I was so hungry I wanted to eat my arm...if only I was certain my arms were still there... :)

And now we are off to the local triathlon store to check things out and also to the beach to see what Roxy thinks of the ocean!! I sure do love vacation... :)

Posted by beth at 9:40 AM | Comments (1)

December 25, 2007

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Please click here to view a picture of what I wore on my ride on Christmas Day last year.

Now, contrast that to this picture before my ride this morning:

What a difference 750 miles due south makes 'eh?! :)

Now as for the "it doesn't feel like Christmas unless it's snowing and cold" argument...to that I say - riding in shorts and a long sleeve shirt is a WHOLE lot better than 2 pairs of tights, 4 layers up top, gloves, booties, and a baclava! That's just an excuse northerners use to make themselves feel better. Besides, it doesn't snow in Bethlehem anyway!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas with wonderful eats, great times with family and friends and of course, celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Posted by beth at 3:47 PM | Comments (1)

December 24, 2007

Happy Christmas Eve!

We made it to South Carolina and even in one piece! It was a long drive. Very long. Especially long for someone (ME) who thinks driving in the car for 2 hours is long. But I was so happy to finally get here last night and have a good night's sleep at my parent's house! And Roxy was a dream. We had never travelled with her in the car farther than 4 or 5 hours so we didn't know what to expect but she was just fine, sleeping most of the way.

This morning O and I made our way to the Island Rec Center where I had planned to do my swim workout. The pool was absolutely packed but we found our way and got the job done. Not before I had a little run in with the mean lady in lane 2 though. When I asked her if she minded sharing her lane with me she replied "yes, I mind." Hmmm...could this be why every lane had 3 or 4 people in it and she was the only one in her lane? I should have known... But it all worked out and I can say that besides mean lane 2 lady, everyone else was really nice.

I love the holidays! And I love the south! (in the winter that is :) It is so nice and warm here. We drove home from the pool this morning with the windows down in the car... Ahh...the good life. :) Hope everyone has a great holiday!

Posted by beth at 2:31 PM | Comments (1)

December 23, 2007

To HHI We Go!

The minivan is loaded! Presents, suitcases, 1 bike, 1 dog, 1 husband and 1 me! Now we just have to pick up my grandparents and we will be on our way to Hilton Head.

But first I did my long run this morning in...shorts and a t-shirt! It was 48 degrees here! Good preparation for the even warmer weather of South Carolina I say. Plus, tomorrow the high in Pittsburgh is 33. Cold front moving in, just in time for us to leave. Mmmwhaaaaaaa!! :)

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!

Posted by beth at 7:44 AM | Comments (1)

December 22, 2007

Quite a Conundrum

So this morning I was up and surfing around on the internet waiting for the pool to open. I clicked on my link to the Best of the US Triathlon to see if it had been updated. Because you see I'm anxiously awaiting to see what the Pennsylvania qualifier for BOUS is going to be. In case you don't already know, BOUS is a race you must qualify for - each state has a designated race in which the top female and male in that race is invited to attend the championship race. It seems to me like QUITE an honor to represent your state and the competition is fierce at the actual championship race with some of the very best amateur triathletes in the country.

So anyway, two years ago the BOUS qualifer for PA was the Philly Tri. Last year it was Pittsburgh. But it had yet to be decided where 2008's qualifier was going to be. Through my email discussions with the very nice BOUS race director/promoter, I knew it would not be Pittsburgh again (thank goodness - even though it's my hometown race I really don't like it that much). And so I was really, really, really, really hoping the qualifer would be in Philly. Mostly because I am definitely already doing Philly and so I could try and kill two birds with one stone.

But that was not to be. Dang.

When I opened up the BOUS page I saw that all the qualifing races were announced. YIPPPEEEE I thought! I quickly scrolled down to PA, hoping, hoping, hoping Philly would be the race. But instead - "Black Bear Sprint Triathlon"

What. The. Heck?!?!

I was disappointed right away for 3 reasons:
(1) Our qualifier was a sprint instead of a full Olympic distance race. Not so good for me. I would have a much better chance of qualifing in a LONGER race, not a shorter one.
(2) This race appears to be in the Poconos, as in close to Wilkes Barre, as in just about the farthest point in Pennsylvania away from where I live as you could possibly get. URGH.
(3) It was a race I certainly hadn't planned on so fitting it into my schedule was going to make things tight, in addition to the added expense of entering and traveling to an additional race.

But then I came to my senses. Because you see, qualifying for BOUS is one of my very top goals for my 2008 season and you better believe I'm going to do what I have to do to get there. So it's a sprint? That will be good - shorter swim - and to that I say YEAH! A sprint will be good for me anyway because it will get those speed engines burning! And because it will just be an extra race in the schedule it won't be that big of a deal as sprints are much easier to recover from. Plus, I haven't been to the Poconos in a long time and I'm sure it's a beautiful race. AND it doesn't fall on the same weekend as any other race I already planned/paid for so I'm lucky for that.

And then I noticed something very exciting. The BOUS championship race was moved from Florida to Tempe, Arizona! How exciting would it be to get to race in Arizona?! AND THEN I noticed something even more exciting - the championship race distances were just a little off a true Olympic distance race with a 1000 meter swim, 30 mile bike and 6.55 mile run. Does that race spell Beth Shutt or what?! A shorter swim with a longer bike and run? I couldn't ask for anything better!

And so to the Black Bear Sprint Triathlon I will go! Ready to race and hopefully earn that PA slot!

Regardless, after all those exciting discoveries this morning it was off to the pool for O and I. Just a quick swim and then home to do my long ride. My long ride isn't very long right now (2 hr) but that's just fine with me! It was already above 40 degrees and dry so there was no doubt that I was riding outside. And I had a wonderful ride. I actually wore a little too much and ended up being hot (still trying to figure out how to dress properly for cycling) but it felt WONDERFUL to ride outside again. I look forward to riding outside all next week in South Carolina.

And on that note - I must start packing! O threatened to pack his stuff in another room and then lock me upstairs to do my own packing. Could be because I absolutely hate packing for anything and complain non-stop until it's all done. Hmmm...could be... :)

Posted by beth at 2:10 PM | Comments (1)

December 21, 2007

WHOO-HOO!

I was very excited to leave work today knowing it was my last day before VACATION!! Yipppeeeee!!! It was especially enticing since this was my first 5 day work week in a very long time. I usually work 4 days/week which doesn't seem that much different but that one extra day off helps A LOT! Anyway, working 5 days this week reminded me of how tired I always was trying to fit in training, school and work and it wasn't something I necessarily wanted to be reminded of! I told O last night that I didn't think I was cut out for working full time. He laughed at me and told me I was pathetic. Guilty as charged! :)

Regardless, only 1 more day until we leave for sunny South Carolina! Again I say - WHOO-HOO!

As for training, yesterday I did a swim in the am and then in the evening met my friend Kim at the local bike shop to use their computrainers. I almost always train by myself which sometimes can be a good thing (you do what's good for YOU and not what's good for everyone else) but I knew to get through this winter I was going to need some occasional companionship on the trainer! Plus, computrainers are really cool. Unfortunately they are also very expensive and I've promised myself my next big triathlon purchase will be RACE WHEELS, not a computrainer! So the next best thing is using someone else's computrainer for a small fee. :) Anyway, Kim and I had fun and my 1:15 ride when WAYYYYY faster than it usually would.

This morning I woke up and went to the YMCA for a pool run/lift. If you are a very astute reader of this blog as of late (which I expect not one of you to actually be :) you may notice I no longer seem to have a day off. You would be correct in your observation. I'm trying something new this time with 2 workouts/day EVERY day. This is very nice in that no one day is HUGE and requires 3 or 4 workouts (except later in the season when I restart bricks) but rather that things are more spaced out. Now this could be disasterous because not ever having a day off is...well...disasterous. So I've decided that every 2-3 weeks I will take my easy Friday (which is just a very easy, short run and lifting) and either pool run (which is easier on the body) and lift or just take the day off altogether and put my easy run/lift on other days. So far so good. And I really like not having 4 hr days on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays like I used to. But as the volume increases I will have to pay very close attention to how I'm feeling and make sure I take a day when I need it.

And that's that! I'm pretty excited because tomorrow I think I'll probably do my long(ish) ride outside! I haven't ridden outside since my last race!! :) But tomorrow is supposed to be in the low 40s/high 30s and DRY and that's definitely rideable. On that note, I must go dust off the old road bike and make sure it has pedals! :) Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

PS - Oh, almost forgot! I also had my appointment with the sports MD yesterday to discuss my hamstring/foot. Just as I expected he attributed my tendon pain to weak/tight muscles around the tendon in both the hammy and foot. This is usually the case for 99.9% of my injuries. He makes it very obvious to me though because he'll test my strength/flexibility of each leg and it's so funny to see how much weaker the injured areas are! Regardless, this time he didn't let me off easy with some home exercises to do, he actually wants me to see a PT to make sure I do my exercises correctly. Because we are going away next week I made my first PT appointment for 12/31. I am determined to make it through this season 100% healthy!

Posted by beth at 6:44 PM | Comments (0)

December 19, 2007

Bloody Noses & Karaoke

It's getting to be that time of year when the cold and dry air is starting to take it's toll. I can always tell when this time comes because I wake up with a nose bleed and skin so dry it literally sucks up the lotion and screams for more. Somehow I don't think this happens to people that live in Florida (although those of us here in Pittsburgh never have to worry about sunburn - so there - ha! :)

Regardless, my nose was also bleeding after my run this afternoon. Yuck. I see blood all day long (I do work in a hospital afterall) and it doesn't make me blink twice but I see my own blood and...well...that's a whole 'nother thang! My nose bleeds never last that long though so I shouldn't complain.

In other news, today we had our department holiday party at work. Always a very fun time. And because I work for the Food and Clinical Nutrition Department (which includes CATERING) we always get the best food. :) Regardless, an added bonus to the party this year was a DJ (sort of weird since it was a middle of the work day type of party) and KARAOKE! My co-workers and I were all quite intrigued with the thought of karaoke and taking bets as to who would be first. And oh did we have a blast! We thought it was lame at first but then people really started to get into it and...well...imagine your boss's boss's boss belting out Sweet Caroline at the top of his lungs...and you get the picture. I, of course, mostly just laughed at everyone else and wasn't brave enough to do any singing of my own. Perhaps if they had the Chipmunks Christmas Song available I would have partaken. :)

As for training I did a little swim (lots of pull!) this morning and ran when I got home from work. I tried out my favorite trail just to see if it was still runable and not too snowy/icy. It's not perfect by any means but it was definitely runable. As for my foot, it was okay - not great but not bad. I see the MD tomorrow.

Hope everyone has a great night!

Posted by beth at 7:30 PM | Comments (2)

December 18, 2007

Injury Update

So lately there has been nary a mention of my aches/pains/injuries. This is presumably a good thing because that probably means I haven't been thinking about it too often. But I have an appointment with my sports med doc on Thursday so I've been thinking about which aches and which pains to ask him and the PT about. There are so many to choose from. :)

Here's the thing. Just about anyone who has been running for a significant amount of time, and especially those that put in a good number of miles at some point in their lives, just have aches and pains, all the time. Running is rough like that. I'm sure there are those that are exceptionally biomechanically gifted that never suffer from any niggles. But I'm also sure those people are few and far between. And I'm also 100% sure I'm not one of those people. That's why I'm a triathlete now. Trust me, if I could have stuck with running I would have. Shoes cost $80. Bikes cost $8000.

Lest you think I'm lazy and haven't explored all options of staying healthy, trust me when I say, every avenue, street, major expressway and back alley has been explored. I've seen just about every kind of doctor for just about every kind of injury. I've done every strethening exercise, every stretch and every PT induced regimen prescribed. I've worn custom made orthotics for YEARS to try to correct my biomechanical issues. But the fact remains - my body will only take so much running. Simple as that.

And that amount of running goes down in the winter. Whether it be the cold or running on the (much) harder pavement more often (because trails are covered in ice/snow) or whatever it might be, my aches and pains are definitely worse around this time of year.

I am happy to report that my hamstring has been feeling much better. Like most of my injuries, it just needed time (the very LAST thing I wanted to give it).

On my run this morning though, the foot pain that I dealt with last winter around this very same time, was back. It's the tendon that runs along the top of my foot from toe to mid foot. It gets very aggravated with me and then just causes the whole foot to hurt.

But the good news is I pretty much get all the same old injuries (the foot, the hamstring, the IT band, the aching left shin) and because of that I'm very well aware of what they need and how hard I can push. Doesn't mean I always do the right thing to make the injury go away, but I usually do know the right thing to do. :)

So I'll watch this foot and maybe be running in the water some here and there. That's the beauty of triathlon. I only have 4 runs/week, at the very most 5, so I can handle doing half of them and supplementing the other half, all the while continuing my cycling and swimming like nothing is wrong. Contrast that to my former running days when I usually ran 12 times/week and you can see how this is a much better set-up. :)

In other news Christmas is only 1 week away!! Warm South Carolina is only 5 days away!! Did I mention that I still have the Chipmunk Christmas Song in my head?!?!?! (and now my co-workers are REALLY annoyed with me, more so than usual... ;)

Posted by beth at 7:33 PM | Comments (7)

December 17, 2007

Christmas Comes Early

I think each one of my blog entries up until Christmas will be about Christmas, mostly because I have Christmas on the brain. AHHHH!!! Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!!! :)

Regardless, I got quite a kick out of how many people also admire The Chipmunks Christmas Song. I was singing it all day at work and was asked (on more than one occasion) to please shut up thank you very much. I also was informed that there is now a Chipmunks movie out. How about that? Think O will go with me? :)

Anyway, we had a bit of a early start to Christmas this evening because O's parents, O and I all had dinner together and exchanged Christmas gifts since we will be heading to South Carolina for Christmas and they will be heading to Phoenix, AZ. I am now the proud owner of two very nice running and/or cycling tops that will keep me warm this winter! (I think maybe my mother-in-law heard me complaining about our cold winter?) O's mom also offered up an airplane voucher that she got (she flies often for work) for taking a later flight. Sweet! It is very generous gifts like that that help O and I get to some of my races. Now we know we can fly to St. Anthony's this year instead of hitch-hiking! ;)

As for training, this morning I went to Masters Swim! and had a very nice time swimming 600,500,400,300,200,100 at increasingly faster paces. I am really growing quite attached to my swim partner who just happens to be a little bit faster than me but not so much so that I'm swimming way, way beyond myself. He also happens to be incredibly encouraging and that cannot be underestimated. I also lifted today after work.

And now someone it's almost time for bed again! Have a great night everyone!

Posted by beth at 8:30 PM | Comments (1)

December 16, 2007

Christmas is Officially on the Way

Why now you ask? Well, you see, while I was scrubbing the kitchen floor tonight I heard The Chipmunk (you know, Alvin, Simon and Theodore) Christmas Song. Love it. Can't get enough of it. My favorite part is when one of the little furballs says "I just want a hoola-hoop". Definitely reminds me of my younger days when my sister and I used to listen to that song over and over again on...get this...the RECORD PLAYER! Now someone in my family can correct me if I'm wrong, but I distinctly remember us having the record of that song. Not the tape or CD or the DVD (or DVR or CEZ or MEUG), but the RECORD. Man, feeling a little old right now.

Anyway, a few other items:

1) HUGE CONGRATS to the Penn State Women's Volleyball Team on their 2007 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP! When we got home from the wedding Saturday night O and I watched the match on tv (okay, I fell asleep) and it was just awesome. I was a big volleyball fan in my PSU days. My teammates and I would always go watch their games (along with soccer games and field hockey games and swim meets and...) and then later once O and I started to date we would often go watch them play. They also won a national championship when I was a student there in 1999. Anyway, another reason I'm a big fan is a player by the name of Lauren Cacciamani. She was on that 1999 championship team and also the leader of our Athletes in Action Bible study on campus. I really, really looked up to Lauren. She was pretty much the best player on the team but just the most down to earth, wonderful person in the world. And she taught me a lot of what it means to be a Christian. I can still hear the announcer in Rec Hall calling out her name when she made some crazy play - Lauren CACC-iamani...

2) The wedding was a rather huge success. I was also rather crippled by the end of the night but both O and I really enjoyed ourselves and watching our cousins start their lives together. Definitely the fanciest wedding I've ever been to (our wedding doesn't even come close) but still very cool. I agree with Bree though - you can definitely count "wedding" as a workout for the day! Didn't help that the weather was AWFUL but everything turned out beautifully (Only SNAFU was when one of the bridesmaids went down - hard. I attributed it to lack of nutrition - she needed a gel before she came down the ailse - but we later learned that her shoes were too tight and she lost feeling/circulation and fainted. She was fine though). I promised pictures of me the most dressed up I've ever been (besides my own wedding day), so here they are:

Exhibit A - dress (and yes, I was very, very cold)

Exhibit B - shoes (and yes, my feet still hurt)

3) As for training today - I did a little of that too. When we woke up this morning it was 34 degrees and pouring down rain. If you've read this blog any time within the past 3 days, you know by now this is my definition of "worst weather ever". So I decided to switch my workouts and do my trainer ride in the AM before church and then my long run sometime in the afternoon when the weather improved. Things were working quite well until we got home from church O informed me we should leave for the run ASAP because the weather was only going to get worse. So instead of rain and 34 degrees we ran in 33 degrees and rain/snow/sleet and WIND. Good trade huh? :) Oh well, you can't win them all. :)

And that's that. Another week is upon us and it will be a busy one! I hope everyone has a great one!

Posted by beth at 8:32 PM | Comments (8)

December 15, 2007

I'll Be Doing the YMCA

So we're off to the wedding! Although there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth in order to prepare for this shin-dig I'm pretty excited to see everyone all dressed up in their formal attire. That excitement will last about as long as it takes for my feet to start aching in the heels that I'm wearing. Which won't be too long. I plan on taking flip-flops along to wear when we are in the car to and from the wedding and in between the church and reception. My feet are very spoiled - only comfortable shoes for them - so today will be a shock!

Regardless, I did get in my swim and my trainer long ride this morning and all went well. I had to swim some hard backstroke this morning! What's up with that?! I was surprised to see it on my schedule because I usually only do the "other" strokes when I'm swimming easy warmup or cooldown. I'm sure my shoulders will be feeling it tomorrow!

Alas - time to go get primped and primed. I will be doing some dancing tonight!

By the way, speaking of weeping and gnashing of teeth, I locked myself out of the house AND the car last night. When it was about 25 degrees outside. And O was in the middle of nowhere returning home from NJ. And my cell phone was locked in the car. Not too smart on my part. Needless to say, I was cold and not too happy. But it all worked out in the end, like things usually do... :)

Posted by beth at 1:02 PM | Comments (4)

December 14, 2007

Run, Lift, Run, Walk

I have today off work which, I have to admit, is quite delightful. Nothing like sleeping and getting 10 hours of sleep to help you feel REALLY good. :)

Regardless, once I finally did get out of bed the furball named Roxy wanted out, some breakfast and a walk (in no particular order). This is one reason why I don't like it when O goes away. I have dog walking duties. I feed dog. I let dog out. I wash dog. I brush dog's teeth. I do just about everything for dog. But I don't walk dog. Just don't like it. But nevertheless, when O's gone, I'm on. And I didn't walk Roxy yesterday because it was pouring down rain and I had to leave for masters practice at 5:00 am.

Anyway, I did finally get around to walking her but only after I did my core exercises, ran to the YMCA (16 minutes), lifted at the YMCA, and then ran back home (15 minutes). That took care of my easy run and my lift. And then it was time to walk Roxy. It actually wasn't that bad, just really cold. We met a bull terrier (think Target dog) and a big old hound dog that threw his head back and howlllllllllllllled when he saw us coming. It was quite an eventful jaunt.

In other news, I just fixed the toilet. This is big stuff because I am in no way, shape, or form capable of fixing anything. And I did have to call O to tell me how but still, I'm pretty proud of myself.

Also, our squeaking came back. But luckily that happened while O was still here and he got to the bottom of it. Turns out it was the smoke detector. Who knew? Sounded like a bat to me... :)

Anyway, I have a few things on the "list of things to do" to accomplish and then I'm off to happy hour tonight with my co-workers. Now you might wonder - she didn't work today so why happy hour? Yeah - that never stops me. The fact that I don't drink doesn't stop me from happy hour either. Luckily my co-workers always pick good eating places too (tonight we'll be dining at "the church" as we lovingly call it) so that non-drinkers such as myself can go along for the food. Besides, after about 5 or 6 diet Pepsis I'm just as hopped up and goofy as my drunk co-workers. :)

Speaking of co-workers, they recently came to my rescue. I tell you, I really do love the people I work with. Because they are everything I am not. I am not very fashion concious. They are. I don't know the difference between a bronzer brush and a stippling brush. They do. I don't know what to wear to a formal wedding. They come to my rescue.

You may remember me mentioning said wedding several weeks back when I was trying desperately to find a dress for it. Well I did get a dress but I was starting to have second thoughts about whether it was dressy enough. So I aired my concerns to my trusty co-workers and the next day I had 4 different dresses to try on, 3 different wraps to go with the dresses, matching jewlery and even matching makeup. (you may be wondering if we actually work to which the answer is - sometimes :)

Amazingly enough one of the dresses fit perfectly and it is definitely appropriate for a formal wedding. I was sure nothing was going to fit my odd body size. One of my co-workers is about the same height and weight as me but is...well...how shall I say...much better proportioned than me. Most of my weight is in my legs, good for running and cycling, but not so good for looking nice in formal dresses.

Regardless it all worked out and I now I have in my possession a dress, shoes, a wrap (it is cold around here you know!), makeup, a purse and jewlery for the wedding tomorrow night. Not one item is mine. I told everyone in the office that was contributing that if they ever needed running or cycling shorts I was the one to come to! :)

Alas, time to get to that "to do" list. And O will soon be home from his trip! Cheers!

Posted by beth at 1:28 PM | Comments (2)

December 13, 2007

Best Average

This morning was masters swim and I have to tell you I got a little lesson in "best average".

The workout started off simple enough - the first 10x100 were varying drills mixed with some hard swimming and some easy. Then came the next 10x100 which were supposed to be done at "best average" on an interval that would give us 40-60 sec rest. Holy cats(!) I thought, that's a lot of rest! This isn't going to be so bad. Hey, I wonder what best average is anyway?

Because you see I don't now what a lot of swimming terms mean. After some thought I decided best average for 10x100 was probably something like the fastest you could swim for 10x100 without dying and slowing down but without holding back and speeding up. Of course I had no idea what that number might be for me but let's not get ahead of ourselves here.

Coach strolled by our lane and told us to swim the 100s on a 2 minute interval. Cool.

So off we go and I swim the first one in 1:14. Now this is really fast for me, especially knowing I have 9 more to go. But I was feeling good and the 45 seconds rest felt like an eternity. I can do this - no problem!

Let's go ahead and fast forward to #5 where my whole body is tingling and all of a sudden 45 seconds is going by a lot faster than previously thought. I'm definitely laboring now and wondering how I thought this was somehow going to be easy?

Coach is really encouraging us to keep it up and I'm still swimming 1:13-1:14s. This is good, very good, hang on just a little longer!

We get to #7 and now I'm having to treat each one like it's the last one. Survivial mode we'll call it. I've been in this place SOOOO many times on the track, so, so many times. But as a relatively new swimmer who is still trying to figure out what the workouts even mean, I haven't been to this place very often in the pool. I know I need a little dose of this every once in a while to push myself to a new, higher level in swimming.

My lane mates and I are all encouraging each other - almost there! (meanwhile down a few lanes there are some crazy real swimmers doing their "best average" 100s in something less than a minute!)

And finally, the last one, in 1:14 high and I am done! Tough workout for sure (arms are still feeling it) and now I know NEVER to underestimate the best average workout, even when a large rest interval is involved!

And so it goes. I still have an hour on the bike tonight which will be done on the trainer considering it's about 34 degrees, raining and pitch dark right now. Let's hope for some good tv to watch!

Posted by beth at 5:09 PM | Comments (0)

December 12, 2007

Living Large

So O is off in Atlantic City gambling away our life savings while Roxy and I are at home living the single life. Very funny that last statement because (1) we don't have any life savings to gamble away and (2) O is about the last person in the world who would gamble.

Actually, he is in Atlantic City for the next couple days but it's for a track coachs' clinic. The last time I talked with him though he had more to say about the awesome wrap he had for dinner than anything track related. Hmm... :) Seriously though, it looks like a great clinic with Frank Shorter as the keynote speaker and distance coaches Marcus O'Sullivan, Matt Centrowitz and the coach from Florida State whose name is escaping me right now (Bob Braman?).

One morning there is a run on the boardwalk with Frank Shorter. Of course I asked O if he would be joining that run. And get this - he wasn't sure!?! How in the world could you pass that up? That's the difference between O and I though. He's not really too impressed with any one thing or person. I, on the other hand, am quite the star-struck, oh-my-god-is-that-frank-shorter?!?! type of person.

Regardless, I'll be interested to hear all about it when he returns!

Before he left this morning he joined me for both my swim and run workouts. I again did both before work. It's very nice to come home from work and relax instead of heading straight into another workout, but I know this will soon be ending. My workouts will start getting too long to be jamming both of them in before I leave for work.

Regardless, both the swim and run were good. The run was done in my least favorite weather conditions - raining and about 38 degrees (the only worse conditions are rain and 34 degrees...:) but it actually wasn't that bad. After my hands warmed up and my feet were totally soaked (and I therefore gave up on trying to avoid puddles) I was just fine.

And that's that! Tomorrow morning is Masters Swim! and that's very exciting.

Good night everyone!

Posted by beth at 7:57 PM | Comments (0)

December 11, 2007

Heat Wave!

It's not even winter yet but we have had our first official heat wave! Hate to be bragging about this given the awful conditions in the midwest but it was actually 60 degrees here today in Pittsburgh! Of course it was wet, rainy at times and very gray and cloudy but 60 is 60 and I'm not going to complain!

Of course being the brilliant planner that I am, I did my OUTSIDE run this morning when it was still in the 30s and saved my INSIDE trainer workout for this evening when it was in the 60s. Can't get anything past me! I did take the opportunity to wear sandels to the grocery store tonight though. Because wearing sandels everywhere is probably my favorite thing about warm weather.

In other (very) exciting news I am going to go to a triathlon clinic in January! This is very, very exciting for me because I've never been to something like this before (running or triathlon) and I've always wanted to try it. I know I still have much to learn about triathlon and so it's time to start a learnin'! The clinic is in Chicago and put on by these two triathlon coaches. Very cool. And even though I had convinced myself that I could drive to Chicago by myself my always awesome husband O has decided he would come with me to drive. Very devoted yes, but I think part of him just wanted to avoid the desperate, sobbing phone call asking him how in the world I ended up in Kansas!?! :)

Nonetheless, nothing much else exciting happened beyond all that. I did get my training accommodations all set up for when we visit my parents in South Carolina over Christmas week. I'm going to be swimming at the rec center they have (outdoor pool!) and I even contacted the masters team there to see if I could join in! Now isn't that craziness? I was scared to death to go to my own masters swim team practice and now here I am inviting myself to other teams' practices! I've definitely come a long way... :)

Good night everyone!

Posted by beth at 8:41 PM | Comments (2)

December 10, 2007

Things That Go Squeak in the Night

The morning started off normal enough. I had this grand plan that I was going to get in both my swim and my lift BEFORE work. Not usually a problem because I can't really be late for work per se (I have flex hours so whenever I get in is fine, just as long as I finish my work) but the problem is if I don't get in early enough I'm no where near ready enough to present my patients for rounds and that just leads to ugliness.

So anyway, I get to the pool and have a great swim, change quickly and get in a great lift. Things are looking good.

I'm home, iced, fed and in the shower in excellent time. While in the shower though, things start to take a turn for the worse.

Because that's when the squeaking started.

The first time I heard it I didn't think much of it. And then the second time I thought I was hearing things. It certainly wasn't giving me any urgency to hurry things up and investigate.

And then Roxy came rushing into the bathroom with a look of terror. Uh oh.

I finished up and grabbed my towel and as I opened up the shower door Roxy jumped into the shower with me. This was not good. I had never seen her like this. She was obviously very scared of whatever was squeaking. And of course O had already left for work.

I contemplated just standing in the shower with the dog for the rest of the day. But my dripping wet hair and the fact that it's really cold in our house and I was really wet made me think otherwise.

As I summoned up the courage to confront the squeaking I asked Roxy what was out there.

No reply.

So I start tip-toeing out into the hallway and what does our fearless guard dog do? She continues to cower in the bathtub of course! :)

To make a long story short, I still haven't figured out what the squeaking was (and yes, I was very late for work). My first theory was the smoke detector. But it was working just fine. Then I thought the CO2 detector. Again, nothing wrong there. Then I got really scared because I was convinced our bat was back but try as I might I couldn't find any bats or mice or other squeaking varmits. And then the squeaking stopped and I really had no hope of figuring it out.

The problem was, Roxy was beside herself. She was literally shaking and WOULD not remove herself from my leg. I felt horribly doing it but I finally REALLY had to go to work and to do so I had to shut the door in her face! The squeaking really had her! I even considered calling off work but didn't think "my dog is afraid for me to leave the house" a good enough excuse. :)

I was imaging all day what Roxy might be up to and really hoped some little wild animal wasn't attacking her or tearing apart our house. (is this how people feel when their children are sick at home? :) After work I had a massage scheduled but I raced home first to make sure Roxy was still alive.

And you know what? She was absolutely fine. Begging for dinner like always.

I will admit she is still a little skittish but I have yet to hear the squeaking again so I'm hoping that by tomorrow morning she will have forgotten everything. Either that or she totally played me all day long seeing as how she got a very large amount of treats because I felt so bad for her. Come to think of it - that is starting to sound like quite a viable theory....

Posted by beth at 7:07 PM | Comments (0)

December 9, 2007

Where to Start?

Well a lot has been happening the past two days!

Yesterday I was quite excited because my "mystery gift" to O was finally going to take place! I started planning this surprise Christmas/thank you gift about 2 months ago and I was very excited about not having to keep it a secret any longer! I tell O everything, so keeping my lips sealed was tough.

Unfortunately, my mystery gift turned out to be quite a bust!

Now that O knows, I can tell you all, my mystery gift was a airplane tour ride over Pittsburgh. Probably doesn't thrill everyone but O would absolutely love this! He's the one fighting for the window seat on any flight so that he can watch the landscape out the window. This is his type of thing. So anyway, all week I was really worried it would get cancelled because of our weather. I called Saturday morning just to check and make sure it was still a go and it was! But then, about 30 minutes later, I got a call back saying the pilot had a family emergency and would be cancelling all his flights for the day and all the other pilots were booked. Major bummer! At this point I had to tell O - couldn't keep it secret any more! He was pretty excited and so we rescheduled for a January weekend. Oh well - I tried. Maybe next time I will really surprise him with something good. :)

So after all that excitement I did my 2 hour trainer ride and then we watched a movie and hung out the rest of the afternoon until it was time for my work Christmas party that night.

This morning O, Roxy and I all went for a run. It actually wasn't that cold! In the low 30s, high 20s, but that is already starting to feel much warmer than it did even a week ago. It's a good thing the body adapts.

After church and lunch we went Christmas crazy! We finished our shopping (online of course :), wrapped the gifts we've already purchased, decorated the house and wrote out Christmas cards. It was fun to get the Christmas music on and the decorations up and also (of course) to get all our shopping and cards done and taken care of! Christmas will be here before we know it.

And then, after all the festivities, O and I headed to the pool to do the swim that I was supposed to do yesterday but couldn't since the pool was closed for a swim meet. It was just a short moderate workout but the real fun begin after I was done when I asked the lifeguard if I could try diving off the blocks. Must start practicing for my big meet in February you know! O was laughing at me already before I even started!

The lifeguard was so nice. After explaining that I didn't know what to do, she actually showed me (must have been a swimmer herself). Those blocks are actually pretty high up there! I was sort of scared I was going to do a big belly flop but it turned out okay...except for the fact that my goggles ended up around my neck!!! I inquired of my new swim instructor how to keep my goggles on and she just sort of shook her head and said "just really tighten them up." Hmmm... I tried one more practice dive with tightened goggles and just about the same thing happened. So - all you swimmers out there - how does one keep their goggles on while going off the blocks? I assume all benefit gained from going off the blocks would be immediately lost if I had to take the time to fix my goggles. :)

And so it goes! My first full week back of structured training and it felt really good. It didn't add up to be much - maybe only 10 hours total but it was nice to get back in the groove. This upcoming week will be much of the same - maybe a little more but not much.

Hope everyone has a great start to their weeks!

Posted by beth at 6:11 PM | Comments (1)

December 7, 2007

Sad Goodbyes

Today at work one of my good friends said goodbye as she is moving along to a different position at a different hospital. Boo to that. Very happy for her of course (so glad to see someone get out!) but very sad for me. The only good thing about the day was the carrot cake and burnt almond torte we celebrated with from the Oakmont Bakery. I don't like carrots but trust me when I say, I can put down a carrot cake like none other.

Regardless, this is a very alarming trend - friends leaving at work - because in January and then again in February two more friends are gone on maternity leave. Winter is looking bleak. This leaves me with no good options and really only one choice - yep, you got it, I need to quit too! I haven't presented this idea to O yet and of course there is no way he'll go for it, but I can certainly try.

In other news Roxy just ate a part of a book and one of my socks, all while I was away for a mere 35 minutes at the YMCA lifting. That dog is just no good.

Not much else to report. (very boring today aren't I?) We have lots of snow and it's still cold and I've been running, swimming and biking and blah, blah, blah. Tomorrow, however I will have a little excitement because O's surprise gift will be taking place! He still has no clue what it is and I'm just delighted I've managed to keep it a secret this long...

Have a great weekend everyone!

Posted by beth at 4:56 PM | Comments (0)

December 6, 2007

Masters Swim! Again

I think from now often any mention of masters swim will be connotated as "Masters Swim!" because I really do like it and it's quite a bit better than just "regular swim."

Anyway, I'm getting off topic and I haven't even started yet.

Masters Swim! this morning was delightful. Thursdays the pool is always set up for SCY (boy, look at me, I just used a swimming abbreviation!) and practice is shorter, faster stuff. I'll probably usually go on Thursdays through the year because the short, fast, really hard stuff is when I really need others to push me. Mondays the pool is set up for LCM (I admit, I had to google LCM just to make sure I didn't make it up) and practice is long stuff. I'll probably throw a Monday practice in there every once in a while.

Today's workout was various sets of 75s, one set of which was on a 1 minute interval. That was a rough one for me. I survived but let me just mention that I did not have lots of time to sit around on the wall and chat during that set.

The very last 75 was "all out" which is always fun (if the all out is 100 yds or less of course). My main goal for that one was to try to keep up with Ryan, the guy in the lane next to me that must be at least 7 foot tall. I estimate that I stroke about 6 times for every one of his. It's just no fair for us short people. :)

Regardless, I'm pretty sure he beat me to the wall but it was close at about :52.

In other swimming news I'm sending in my registration form for the 1650 (do swimmers just call that "the mile" like runners would call a 1600 meters on the track "the mile"?) tonight. I'm still not exactly sure what to put for my seed time. Of course I wouldn't be in my best swim shape ever in February so I can't expect some sort of fantastic performance but I'd like to think I might be able to hold 1:25 pace. Still thinking about that one, but I've promised myself it will be in the mailbox tomorrow!

Posted by beth at 4:59 PM | Comments (2)

December 5, 2007

Putting it to the Test

So I had an opportunity to put my new found "I love winter, it will make me stronger" attitude to the test today. Why you ask? Well, because it's still snowing (we're up to maybe 6 or 7 inches now?) and it's still really cold (low 20s with some sort of nasty windchill)! Yeah for winter!

But I made a very smart move this morning. I had both a swim and run on the schedule for today. I did the swim this morning and then made a last minute decision to do the run in the morning before work as well (I usually would have left that for after work). Very good move. When I ran the snow was just restarting and although it was cold with my wet swimming hair (of course I had a hat on!) it was nice and peaceful and the snow was pretty just dusting the roads.

Of course trying to fit both in before work left me not so much on time for work and not so ready for rounds (and add in there the 90 minute commute in as the roads got sloppier and the drivers got dumber and I was REALLY not so on time for work and REALLY not so ready for rounds). Still, worse things have happened.

I was so glad I got both in though because driving home from work the roads were much worse and conditions were quite sloppy. Yeah for no slush in my shoes!

And then I actually got home and walked into the house and I thought "boy, it's quite nippy in here". And I looked at the thermostat and it said 52. What. The. Heck?!?!

I love winter, it will make me stronger!

I finally figure out that the gas company had turned off our gas AGAIN and I had to call them to turn it back on (thankfully, I think this is the last of our gas line leak woes). Poor Roxy - they had turned the gas off around 9 am so she was shivering inside all day!

And so it goes! The furnace has now been running long enough that I'm starting to feel like I can take off my coat and hat. Maybe...

And tomorrow is masters swim and I'm really looking forward to it!

Have a great night everyone!

Posted by beth at 4:41 PM | Comments (1)

December 4, 2007

"The" Talk

So it's only December 5 and not even officially winter yet but I already had to give myself "The" Talk - you know, The Winter Talk, as in The Winter Pep Talk. Because you see when I woke up this morning we had about 4-5 inches of snow and it was 20 degrees with the windchill in the single digits.

Now I know it can and will get much worse in other places. Like say, Minnesota and Montana and Vermont. But my problem is that I ALSO know of places where it's much better. Like Florida and Hawaii. I could be wrong but I don't think the people that live in those places even know what snow is.

So here's my issue. I wish all winter long that I lived some where warm and feel sorry for myself. NEVER a good thing to do.

I haven't always been like this. I didn't used to hate the winters so badly. When I had a chance to get away in college where did I go? Penn State, which is even colder and snowier than Pittsburgh. And my college coach was from Minnesota and ran for the University of Minnesota. Yeah, not too much pity there. I only remember her once letting us run inside and that was only because it was so super icy we all nearly killed ourselves getting to practice.

So where did I go wrong? When did I start to hate winter so badly?

My theory is this. It all started last winter when, for the first time in my life, I had to do a significant amount of bike volume when it was really crappy outside. And that meant one thing - THE TRAINER!

Now I'm someone who absolutely abhors treadmills and avoids them at all costs. Why? Because it's so boring I'd rather poke my eyes out. Enter the trainer. Pretty much just as bad as the treadmill only in some ways worse. Why? Because although treadmills are dreadfully boring the longest I would ever be on one is probably 2 hours. The trainer, however, could be 3 or 4 hours or *gasp* even longer!

Anyway - I think I've gotten off track. The moral of the story is, all of a sudden I hate winters.

So as I was driving home from work this afternoon and the wind was whipping so hard across Route 28 that I had to hold onto my steering wheel with both hands and I was thinking of how many layers I would have to put on for my run once I got home...the self pity started. Why do I have to live in this blasted place?! There are people running in shorts and a t-shirt some where in this world right now!

But it wasn't too much longer down the road that I realized I needed to stop and I needed to stop now. Because, if for no other reason, it was going to be a REALLY long winter if I didn't adjust my attitude. And so started The Winter Pep Talk.

I told myself to turn it around and turn it around now!!! No more negative cold thoughts. Embrace winter and be happy for it! Because now is my chance to use my environment to make myself tougher. It's not easy to get up at 4:45 am and then go jump in a cold pool when it's so cold and dark outside you feel like you might be living in Iceland. But I will be stronger for it. It's not easy to do mile repeats on the track when the windchills are in the single digits and the headwind is so strong you think you might be running backwards. But I will be stronger for it. It's not easy to ride on the trainer for 4 hours. FOUR FREAKING HOURS. But I will be stronger for it. It's not easy to fit it all in when your commute is twice as long because of bad roads. But I will be stronger for it.

Elizabeth recently wrote about some ineffective habits that triathletes (or really any athlete I guess) have and one of them was "getting in your own way". As I was reading it a little *ding, ding, ding, ding* went off in my head. Yep, guilty as charged!! I get in my own way in more than one way, but a negative attitude is a big bad habit. And I think I generally have a pretty positive attitude about most everything. But it's time to expect even more of myself. Because to achieve what I want to achieve in this sport I HAVE to expect more out of myself. And that's all there is to it.

So from this time on - no more negative winter talk! My mantra will be "it will only make me stronger". And if I say it often enough I just might start believing it. :)

PS I think I'm going to try that with swimming too - "I am a good swimmer. I am a good swimmer. I am a good swimmer. I am a good... "

Posted by beth at 6:55 PM | Comments (5)

December 3, 2007

Back on the Horse

So let's review. It's been 3 weeks since Clearwater, my last race, and I've (1) taken one full week off of doing absolutely nothing and (2) done 2 weeks of 6 workouts/week, all of which were very short, easy and light.

That brings us to now, the first full week of December. Back to structure! Yippeee for that!! I now have a schedule again from my coach and although everything is still very light and easy, and still relatively short, I am back to 14 workouts/week, lifting, HR ranges, and some semblace of order. This makes me very happy.

Today called for a swim and lifting and then I switched some things around and added a bike too (just because when I was supposed to do said bike later in the week I will not have the time due to a church meeting). It was a simple 2000 yarder in the water and some very light lifting just to get back into the swing of things. Then home for 1:15 on the bike. Nothing major but it feels good to get back a little focus and purpose. There is great potential for soreness tomorrow morning though seeing as how I haven't lifted for about 6 weeks. Regardless, the excitement of my 2008 season is starting to build within and even though I know it's a long way away, a little excitement sprinkled here and there can go a long way!

In other news, you might notice I added a "Blogs I Read" listing on the sidebar of my blog. From glancing at the list it's fairly obvious that I'm addicted to reading blogs. I actually have a few more blogs that I check out occasionally but that I didn't list because, well, my list was getting very long and very incriminating. Suffice it to say, I do love a good blog. I owe a big thanks to Greg and my sister for helping me figure out how to add the blog listings because I'm rather useless when it comes to figuring anything computer related out. Greg gave the initial direction but then I still needed my sister to make it look right (which involved her actually logging onto my blog editor and just fixing it herself). Good thing I know smart people!!

Have a great night everyone!

Posted by beth at 5:01 PM | Comments (5)

December 2, 2007

The Best Friends a Girl Could Ask For

I've been blessed my whole life with having really good friends. They're hard to find but once you do, well, you hold onto them for a life time.

I have to admit that I didn't do a good job of keeping in touch with high school friends but college is a different story. My 3 very best friends in the world were all from Penn State - roommates and teammates all 3. The kind of friends that have seen you at your very worst but still love you anyway. The kind of friends that cried with you and laughed with you and mourned with you and celebrated with you, so many times you can't even count. The kind that were in your wedding and you in theirs. The kind that you could trust telling absolutely anything too. The kind that anytime you have really great news you call first! The best of best friends.

And today, all 4 of us finally got together again. We've kept in good contact but it's hard to get together all at the same time. Krista has a little one and is expecting another, Mary Beth lives in France part of the year and Kim has a job with a lot of travel. We all live in Pennsylvania but not that close together. We all have busy lives. But today we finally managed to pull it all together and meet up at Krista's house near State College.

And it was like we had never left.

There is something about training with someone, running hundreds of miles with someone that just allows you to pick up right where you left off.

We had a blast. Just talking, catching up on life and remembering a lot of very fun, very wonderful memories.

Thanks for being the best friends a girl could ask for guys. I love you so much!

Posted by beth at 7:26 PM | Comments (0)

December 1, 2007

Plan B

So it's December already?! How about that? And with it came the REALLY cold weather. Actually, I know it will get much worse than this, but the breaking in period is always a rough one.

I had planned to go on a ride this morning and I really wanted to go outside. It's far too early to begin the never-go-outside-always-ride-on-the-trainer routine. Because yes, it's cold, but the roads are just fine to ride on. Come January and February when we get snow, ice, slush all the time, riding outside will not be possible AT ALL. So I told myself - cold is not a problem. Do the best you can. Because it's going to be a long winter of the trainer and it's best you hold off as long as possible.

But then last night I was perusing weather.com and I saw that around 9 or 10 in the morning when I planned on riding the temps were supposed to be 20-25 degrees with windchills in the mid teens.

And so what did I do? I changed my plan altogether and decided to run instead!!

Running in windchills of 15 = very doable. Riding in windchills of 15 = not there yet.

And so it goes. Really, this was my last weekend of having the luxery of skipping a ride in favor of a run because come Monday we are back to structure and training plans!! And so I gave myself the permission to do as I pleased. And then I realized since Clearwater I've ridden my bike 3 times. Oh well. I guess if given the option it looks like I pick swimming and running over cycling the majority of the time. In my defense, the weather hasn't really helped. :)

So instead O, Roxy and I drove to the trail this morning and we ran and even though the wind was so cold it brought tears to my eyes, we had a great run. It was sunny and bright and beautiful.

As for my hamstring, it's hanging in there. It is many times better than when it first started to hurt me and really doesn't hurt much at all. But I can tell it's not 100% still because it gets much more sore than the other hamstring and...well...a runner can just tell when her body isn't right. So I still have the appointment with the sports doc in 2 weeks and hopefully some PT to get it on the straight and narrow.

In other news, O and I are going to an Ironman party today!! This is very, very exciting. It is hosted by my friend Chad and his wife Jen. On the docket? Well, watching the coverage of Kona on tv of course!! Chad qualified for Kona this year so I'm looking forward to hearing some of his good stories along with watching what is probably my favorite 1.5 hours of tv all year. I'm like most people in that I grew up watching NBC's coverage of Kona on tv and dreamed of one day getting there myself. I'm definitely a lot closer to that goal than I was back then, but I still have quite a ways to go.

Regardless, it should be a great afternoon because who doesn't like hanging out with really great athletes that just happen to be great people and watch some really great tv while eating really great food? Um - sounds perfect to me!

And finally I would like to tell you that it's currently 57 degrees in our house right now and my teeth are starting to chatter! Our gas line is being fixed (I think I might have mentioned that little gas leak we had a while back) and in order to do so, our gas had to be turned off. Did I mention that it's about 25 degrees outside? The very nice man that is in our basement right now fixing the gas line told us that he should be able to turn the gas back on soon. Oh good. Because I just noticed my lips are blue too... ;)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Oh - one last thing. I REALLY appreciate everyone's encouragement with the swim meet. I'm definitely going to do it and I'm definitely going to practice the diving starts off the blocks at my YMCA to give that a go as well. I'm sure I'll have a meltdown or two before the actually meet comes along so you'll hear much more about it.... :)

Posted by beth at 11:43 AM | Comments (1)