Redeemed!!

My last long run, as I wrote about was just bad all the way around.

Today I ran my longest run yet (18 miles) I ran with friends from my team, definetly think that helps. Also I ate quite a bit a this morning, so I had some energy!! Yeah. I can be taught!

I am so worried about running out of steam that I tend to run a little slower than normal for my longer runs.

Here is the breakdown:

18 miles
4:11:05
calories 2321
Avg HR 143
Max HR 172

Not too bad for me~! I tend to run a higher HR in a race, but I think that is normal.

I wish I had a pic of us all sitting in the river after the run, pretty funny sight 6 women sitting in the river. A man and his son were down at the river, looked at us like we were nuts! River is still pretty cold, but it felt good on the muscles. I did enjoy it better than pouring ice in the bath tub. We were joking saying during the winter we will have to have someone come and sit in the bath with us, with our ice!

Wanna race?

This is my new head band! I *heart* it!! I bought it at the Danskin expo, the gal that makes them, had some really great ones, but this is what I ended up with after much deliberation. I posted this for you Lisa!

This is me today after my 8 mile run!! I am sporting the farmer look with the braids! It was a very wet day today... I have very long and very thick hair that frizzes in the rain... so braids work!

Th company is called Bondi Band, you can custom order for your teams, or for a race, or what ever you'd like.



Some of my other favorite quotes they had:

Will run for wine

Iron Goddess

Iron Diva

Run like a girl - it was a toss up between this one, and the one I got!



They had a ton to choose from, I wore it yesterday running my 4 miles and today on my 8 miles... very nice. I like it a lot!

Go ahead, laugh! I still am.

We all try to post the best pics of ourselves up on the blogging circuit.
Well any of you know me know that I am always honest and truthful.



This was sent to me on my phone.... go ahead, laugh out loud... roll on the floor laughing it is ok, I did.



My mom called and I couldn't understand what she was saying she was laughing so hard after she saw it...



Yes it is me. The Keebler elf.


Derrick thought I should post it, as he was doubled over laughing on the floor!


That's right.. I'm bringin' sexy back! yeah.

Pics

Julia's hubby took pics today @ Danskin.

Here are a few

Pre race in the bike area - this is one of 9 sections... craziness!

Finish line smiles

Julia coming across the finish line - - tears of joy!

We did it!

Seattle Danskin

I had three goals for this race:

1. To go all out!
2. To kick my previous years time on the bike (really not too hard, last years time on the bike was not pretty - for me!)
3. To run the 5k without walking.


Every time I felt like slacking off - I would remember my first goal, seriously I would kick it into gear!

I only had a hard time on 1 part of the bike loop so I felt really good about that. I went all out on the bike, for me this meant a 17.9mph pace! Yeah!!

The first mile is always tough for me, my feet don't seem to cooperate after the ride, but I kept running anyway, in the past I have always walked until my feet felt "good". Not this year I began to run (I actually said to a lady next to me, "we are moving forward right?" she laughed and said, we were!

The swim: In past years the swim has been short on the distance about 200m. This year it was not, it was right on a 1/2 mile. So it was the first time during a race that I have done an actual 1/2 mile. My practice swims, I wasn't sure if I was doing a 1/2 mile or not, the life guards weren't all on the same page on exactly how far the two docs were I used to practice. One said 5 lengths in a pool, one thought it was longer. So it was hard to gage how fast I could do the 1/2 mile in. Swim started no problems, I stayed way in the back, knowing I would get run over if I didn't. I have had continual rotator cuff issues for a while, so I can't swim free style very long, I have to switch to side stroke. Around the first buoy, I finally found my stride and just kept to my pace, no panic attacks for me today! Last year I had a bit of a panic attack when I got kicked and choked in water, this year I remained calm. Second buoy I looked at my watch, and was thrilled that I was going as fast as I was, then the second wave back came up and it became a bit of a shark fest in the water... seriously it was hard to swim I kept hitting feet and and I grabbed a few butts too, I just wanted to get out of the mess, but I couldn't.. so I just kept going. My friend Kalei was in my wave this year, and she kicked my butt last year, so this year I wanted to at least keep up with her.... we came out of the swim with the same exact time! Not bad....

Ran/walked into the transition area, got shoes and a drink and ran out with bike, I felt great. I had a mission to accomplish on the bike, I started off strong and never really wavered for me. I felt good the whole ride, the last incline (bridge) was a bit tough but I gutted it out and even passed people! Last year the entire ride I heard, "left", "left", "on your left" "coming on your left, to the point it was beyond irritating to me. This year, I was shocked I was the one passing people! Of course I had people pass me, the younger ages are behind us in the waves, and some of them gals are very fast! But it felt good to know I had a great ride.

Off the bike, long way to the bike rack, oops. Changed socks and shoes and drank and went on my way - I was a running! (You have to say that like as in Forest Gump, I was a runnin' ) I felt good going into the run too, that was a plus. I have put so many hours into training I was happy they have all paid off. I was strong. Legs finally cooperated after about a mile. Then I just went at my slow steady pace. My friend Kalei, I had beaten on the bike, and I knew I had to get pretty far ahead of her as she a 9 min mile, and I am a 12.... obviously I needed to make past mile 2 to have a shot. There is a hill towards the middle of mile 2 I think.. and I thought if I can make it up the hill I may have her. Right before the hill, I hear, "I caught up to you, can we walk now?" as I turn to look it is Kalei passing me! Darn it, I yell! You can walk, I am running! I yell back to her as she goes off towards the hill. I was bummed, but happy I knew we would be close on our time. I didn't quite reach my goal of running the whole race, right at the top of the hill I stopped running. Yes I looked at my watch when I did it, I stopped for a minute 30, then I looked back at my watch and said to myself, no you don't ~~ finish this!! so I picked up and ran again. You can hear the crowd as you come to the final stretch it is pretty cool. I gave it all I had in the last .2 miles, and ran through the chute.

Great race this year, I felt strong at the end. I know I have come a long way, I feel stronger than ever.


Final Numbers: 1:49:16 Goal was to make it under 2:00 hours! Yeah.
Swim 1/2 mile: 23:20
Trans 1: 5:04 I could use some work here
Bike: 40:11 17.9 mph I kicked butt over last year - improvement of 37minutes! (I still stick to something was wrong with my bike!)
Trans 2: 3:26 not too bad??
Run: 37:14 Pace 12:00 My PR in a 5k until now was 36:20... you think I have improved? Heck ya!


It was great to race with so many ladies from the Raise the Bar and Raise the Hope teams. One of the gals from RTB took 4th over all and quite a few names in the top 10 I recognized and thought were from the team as well. Then I see a gals name who came in 8th.. she wasn't an elite either... she was a year older than me in high school, and had a wonderful race!

Congrats to everyone who competed this weekend.

A big shout out and congratulations to Julia~ she completed her first triathlon today!! She did awesome, I will let her tell you all about it, give her a "way to go" she deserves it!

Light the Passion Share the Dream

Another virtual race down... I don't think I won the gold!

Non Runner Nancy hosted another virtual race event (8 miles on the 8th - with the Olympic theme no less)... Nancy thought up the event when she was looking for a race during the winter months and needed something to train for, ofcourse her idea took off in the blogging running world, and she has hosted many more, some with prizes! I am not really a contender for prizes (ok, really in any race) but obviously I don't run for the prizes. (Just the free t-shirt and medal to wear around my neck!) I was on my long training run for the week, a 16 miler. Wow, it takes me by suprise I ran 16 miles. OK I ran/ walk 16 miles. Actually I walked 15 minutes of my 3:44 minutes of torture! I didn't fuel correctly before I left the house and well, it was a recipe for disaster. I have learned my lesson the hard way - the very hard way, and will not be doing that again! As I was coming to my last mile, I had a nice deer in the headlights look about me, I was passed (she was on her bike, training for World Championships in Nov. for her Half Ironman) one of the elite athletes that helped me do my schedule for the marathon a few weeks back. I was horrified when I saw her. I happen to be walking when I saw her, I was horrified I saw her, because I was done, you know put a fork in me done, finito, adios, kind a done! She asked how you doing? I responded, "good" and put a smile on my face.... then I had to come to the fact, that I had given up. Seeing her, well it shamed me into digging deep and getting my head straight! Yes I was tired, shouldn't you be after running 15 miles with one more to go? Maybe some people are not, but I was... so what I thought to myself. Suck it up! Get your head back in it and finish this.

(A picture from china for you to visualize the Olympics!)

So I mustered a bit of energy and ran (at a snails pace) back to the house... to finish the 16 miles. Lesson learned. EAT before you run! Won't have that issue again, only have to go through it once, to know you don't want that feeling again!

In the spirit of the Olympics opening on 8-8-08 enjoy the pic!
Also a shout out to my friend, Kalei - she turned 35 on the 8th!!

Light the Passion Share the Dream
The Olympic Motto

Fishing.

We had a great family vacation this past weekend. For the past 5 years we have gone fishing around this time of year in a little town called Sekiu (see-Q) It is a beautiful area. The town is 19 miles from the Makah Indian tribe - the tribe made national headlines for killing a whale this past year, illegally. I won't get into the politics of this, I will instead say, this is one of the most gorgeous areas of Washington state.

We forgot our camera, so I am waiting for this pics of the kids, and boat, etc. As soon as I get the photos I will post them.

We caught 11 salmon that we could keep. Coho and Chinook were legal, hatchery. (meaning they have to have a clipped fin) We caught many wilds, but couldn't keep them. It is fun just catching fish, so it is always exciting getting them to the boat! After two days I was in the zone, I was catching and also able to get the hooks out of the mouth and release the wild ones, no not as good as Grandpa does it, but hey I was doing it!

Fun story: Remember the hiking shoes I was so excited to get? They are red, cute and great to hike in.... not good for boating. not good for boating at all! My dad (grandpa) had a fish on, I went and got the net, we start doing the whole drill... you wave the net around, try to get the fish in the net with out losing fish, and with out throwing yourself over board. Well grandpa led the fish right to the net (he is good like that) and I lean over to net the fish..... both feet slip, darn shoes! I (for a second) thought I was going over board. I caught myself on the side of the boat. (with my elbows - ouch!) With out missing a beat, my dad turned and said the family line, "what the hell are you doing?" Yes dad I wanted to throw myself over the boat, with the net, it is easier to net them if we are all in the water! In case you were wondering... yes my elbow is bruised! Yes. We got the fish. It is a family tradition when someone does something really stupid, or clumsy, or gets hurt, what ever the situation to look at them and say, " what the hell are you doing?" you have to have a serious tone though when you say it, like you are irritated they just hurt themselves. My mom once stepped off the side of the road, when it was snowing and threw herself down a ditch... yes mom it is still funny! Yes, dad asked the question as he was helping her out of the ditch.... we are a nice bunch of people.

See the two towns in bold print? Sekiu and Clallam bay they are 2 miles apart... That is where we were on the coast. The dotted line going across the bay from the town of Port Angeles - is going to Vancouver, BC.... to give you all a reference of where we were.
The only tough part of the trip was trying to get in my run... Since I write the blogs, you get to hear about my part of the trip!




As you can see from the map on the right. This is it... this is all the road I had to run on. Yes there was the highway - but not much a shoulder so it made me nervous. Derrick drove me over to the town for my adventure. As he pulled away I turned on the ipod to find out, all my songs were magically erased. Great a nice 15 mile run with no music. I am not a purist here, I like me some music to run too! Ugh. Oh well first two miles ( a small loop out to the light house and back to town) was great. Then I decided to run the rest of the town. Well one trip down each road, kept my pace up - no one chains their dogs or owns a fence, so the animals run free. I guess they aren't used to runners, cuz I got them all stirred up! I even got chased a bit... nice heart rate booster! So once down each road was all I could take. A quick jaunt out to the prison... yes state prison in the middle of no where. I didn't go all the way out just up the first big hill, I didn't want a full four miles of hills.... ick. So yes I cut the run a bit short, I figure I made it 12-13 miles. not too bad for a town of 3 miles of road!





Let's see we skipped rocks each night after dinner, we decided that Detrix could take all state for rock skipping, 7 skips! he is a natural! Mom well not so good with the rock skipping. We ate and ate and had so much fun! Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for hauling the boat all the way out there - it is very much appreciated. We always have fun.

I will save the story of my mom and I watching an old fellow dock his boat. . . Always entertaining to watch people dock boats....







On the way home we got stopped on the Hood Canal Bridge. (they were letting marine traffic go through - all though we never saw a ship.... hmmmm) I have never been stopped on the bridge before... we got out and looked around. It was so cool to see the views from the deck of the bridge. Picture is from my camera phone.

Do you see the chip on my shoulder? Put up your dukes!

I have come to the conclusion that I *may* have a chip on my shoulder about this whole exercise stuff. Hmmm, I know you are all probably shocked to hear that, coming from me. I realized after writing the previous post, and then letting it marinate over night, that I *may* be a little sensitive and on edge, when the discussion of exercise comes up. I *may* jump to the conclusion that the person - who ever it is that I am talking too - assumes I am not capable of doing a triathlon, or a running event. I *may* be the one with the problem, not the other person. Can it be? Could it be I have my cackles up and my claws out before the person says a word? hmmm.

Before jumping to my defense and saying no, no, no you are in the right the whole world is against you and thinks you can't exercise.

Let's back up a bit. It *may* be that I have this preconceived notion that I can't do it, lingering somewhere in the back of my mind. This thought that people think I am a poser in their athletic world. But alas this self doubting me has not been seen in so many years! why now? Could it be my late 1980's - early 1990's self is trying to get back at me? Could it be that person the late 80's exercise poser is just ticked off, because this stronger healthier me, has won the battle? I am thinking that the chip on my shoulder *may* come up ever now and then, and I think it is OK. I have faced my non- exercising self, and I have won. I have thrown down my own doubts and fears and beaten them into submission. They *may* rear their ugly head now and again, but I think that is OK. For now I am smiling, knowing my future is brighter than ever. My goal is bigger than today. (that is by the way my new favorite saying!)



9 mile ride last night
swim - no idea how far?
7 mile run today
9 mile ride tonight
swim tonight

A Real Marathon? The Nerve of some people!!

I write this with a very light heart, a heart of someone that knows what they are going after, and knows how hard it has been to get to this point.

Today (I work at a gym part time- in case you missed that) at the gym, a little boy came in wearing the STP (Seattle to Portland bike ride) coat. So I ask, is that the new one from this year? Yes, said his dad. I have known his dad since I started going to the gym, very nice man works out all the time, very nice boy as well. Anyway, so I say, " I am trying to find a new challenge for next year, maybe I will do the STP next year. " so we have a conversation about this year's ride, how he did, how he felt... you can either do the ride in 1 or 2 days I believe it is 209 miles. He did it this year in 1 day, last year in 2 days. I said I have friends that did it two years ago in 2 days. That is great you did it in one day. Then I mention (not sure he didn't know this ) that I was training for a marathon in October. (Seriously I think the people that drop their kids off our sick of hearing about from me! - Hey the more people that know, then I know I can't back out, well I am way past the backing out stage now!) Anyway the point to my babbling here is to say this... he said it, I kid you not, " A Real Marathon?" Many things went through my head on how to answer after the fact, you know what you wish you would have said. I replied, "yes a real 26.2 mile marathon". I could tell he regretted how he responded, well one word comes to mind is, well, RUDE! But I will forgive him, as I really think he meant well. He did go onto explain that although he could bike 200+ miles in one day, he can only run 5 miles at a time. So after that I was happy I didn't respond with an incredibly sarcastic remark, I think he was shocked ANYONE would be undertaking the task, not just me singled out. So I will put my claws back in, and let the man have a mulligan. (Don't know what a mulligan is? Click on the word mulligan!)

Learning from the elites

Last night, 8 of us, Raise the Hope gals got to sit down with some elite athletes from our tri team (Raise the bar) and go over our marathon training plans. First let me tell you who we were in the company of;

• a marathon winner and record holder,
• two people who have (ran - oops) run many marathons

**grammar police caught my air, ha gotcha! error**

• and who just qualified for the half ironman national finals

I wanted to soak up everything they said, I wanted them to say that the marathon is a piece

(peace - oops again)**I am pointing out that the grammar police missed this one! **

of cake for them, not to worry it is pretty easy at their level. Nope. Not what I got. I got exactly what I needed to hear.

• This is a tough race, most people don't make it to the starting line.
• This is crunch time in the training, these are crucial weeks, as the miles begin building, you cannot slack off.
• This is a serious run, take the training seriously.
• Be prepared for the race, so you will want to run again afterwards.

We got so much great information! It was overwhelming. I really didn't want the night to end, as I could have asked a million questions. I wanted to also know what these three elite athletes were thinking? ---As I asked my newbie questions,

For other newbies here are some of the questions we asked;

• How much do you eat and how long before the marathon start do you eat?

Eat 400-600 calories 3 hours before the start of the race. Start time is 7am, you are eating at 4am. Yes you can go back to bed after you eat!

• Do you stop at all the water stations? Do you drink the water and the electrolytes at each station?

This answer varied a little bit, but all agreed, we for this marathon should stop at all water locations and drink both the water and the electrolyte drink provided. Or at least drink the electrolyte drink, and pour water over head. Important: Have tried the drink on your long runs, make sure you are familiar with everything they are offering on the course!

• Do you take gels during the race? of so how many how often?

This answer of course varies depending on the person and how fast they run, as a general rule we got this answer, take a gel every five miles or so. (For this person it was every 40 minutes...obviously I would need many more than that! As my 5 miles is at about an hour!)

• How do you carry the gels?

Clip them to your shorts. Or put them in a running belt. Also had the idea to put them in your bra! I will probably need around 18 gels if I go by the 200-300 calories an hour rule.... hmmm think I need an entourage following me handing me gels!

• Do you wear a water belt during the race?

All of them, I believe said no, that there is typically enough water on the course. Of course they are in the front of the pack, so I assume there will be enough for the back of the packers too!

• Newbie question I am sure! What do you do when you hit "the wall".

With a straight face , they answered, "you keep moving forward"

• After the race, what is the first thing you should do?

Eat something, within 30-60 minutes, keep walking right after you cross the finish line, do not sit down immediately. Ice your legs, as soon as you can to prevent swelling. Go out for a short walk/or run that evening 15 minutes - for them it was a couple of miles!

Anyone have other newbie questions we didn't ask, and should have please let me know.

Any tips would be nice too, for those that have ran before.

** Grammar police you ask??, well it is my mom! Bless her heart, retired school teacher loves to catch my errors Yes, the 4 years at the University served me well! I laugh when I catch the errors myself, but dang it when she calls to tell me my mistakes! Eagle eye - missed a funny one this time... **

what's in a song?

While running yesterday, 7 miles may I add - 12:14 mile average (rockstar fast, for me!!) I was listening to my ipod. Many songs, keep me going when I run. These songs I tend to play over and over again, I find inspiration in the lyrics, or in some of the songs, they just make me smile and laugh and that is enough to get me through a 1/2 mile or so, back up and repeat and I am through a mile!


The Distance by Cake
He's going the distance, he's going for speed...

Baby one more time by Britney Spears (that's right, Britney Spears!)
Hit me baby one more time....

Shackles (Praise you)
You broke the chains now I can dance....

Extreme Days by Toby Mac
These are extreme, extreme days...

Sexy Back by Justin Timberlake
I'm bringin' sexy back... (just that alone keeps me going for miles!)

I actually have these on my ipod, back to back, then it repeats a few times, these songs have meaning to me. I feel like they are anthems for me when running. It is my life, what do I choose to do with it.

Stand, well I feel like after all I have (and my family has) been through we still our standing. No matter what gets thrown at us, we pick ourselves up and brush off and come out of the situation stronger than ever before.

It's My Life by Bon Jovi
It's my life, It's now or never, I ain't gonna live forever, I just want to live while I'm alive...
Stand by Rascal Flatts
cuz' when push comes to shove you you taste what your made of,
on you knees you look up and decide you've had enough, you get mad, you get strong, wipe your hands, shake it off and you stand...

So I crank the ipod up, and I run. The songs, just remind me when I want to stop and quit, that nope, I need to keep going. My goal is bigger than today.

The full marathon is fast approaching.... sure I am nervous, but also excited too. I know the Marathon doesn't define me, but it helps to shape me!

I take it back!

A while ago I posted how I thought I was hardcore....

I take that back!!

I shamelessly stole this picture off of Bree Wee's blog... she was probably in the water! Wow I am in awe.

Thank you to Julia for meeting me at the crack o dawn this morning for our bike and swim! Rockstars, we are rockstars!!

Kept it off

Well it has been 7 months this month since I lost 35 pounds, and I have kept it off!! I ran two days ago 6.5 miles then did 13 miles on the bike today and am swimming 1/2 mile tomorrow and running 7 miles... I am pretty determined not only to keep the weight off, but to add some more pounds to the weight loss as well. I feel better than I have in years, and I am way more active too! The fun thing about this summer has been been putting on summer clothes that are loose or too big!! Yeah. Pretty darn exciting if you ask me! Ever take out the summer pile of clothes and start trying them on, only to shove them back in the closet, knowing that the dryer shrunk them?~! Well not this year, not for me! Yeah me.
I own more spandex now than I did in the 1980's - is that scary? It makes me laugh everytime, I laugh when I put it on and I think "I make this look good!!" Yes, then I laugh again... You have to have a sense of humor!

That is all, just a fun update!! Raise up the glass - Here's to keeping it off!!

Back at it

As I make my way back to my long run (for me a long run is 10+ miles) , I am mentally battling what it takes to get there. As I have run 3 - 5 milers in the past few days, I can't help but think about the mental side of the sport. What makes you go out and do things that other people won't even try? Truly I can say this in other areas of my life as well. I have told people what my hubby and I have been through over the years, (baby born with tumors, house burning down, stroke) most often there response is I could have never gone through that. My response is typically, well what choice did I have? Life happens and you have to deal with it. I think there is always a reason we go through hard times, whether or not it is training when we are preparing for a race, or in life when something just comes at you and knocks you off your feet. How do you handle it? I must confess I am lot better equipped at handling what everyday life throws at me than I was two years ago. I don't have that sense of panic anymore when something comes up like I used to. I used to freak out, and panic and worry, well what does that get you? nothing. It leaves you stressed and worried. Now when something happens, I may worry and I may have a few moments of panic but it does not consume me. I missed a couple of weeks of training. I am not panicking... I am know I have a base built, and I will be back on track in no time. Just like in life. You may get thrown off a bit, but you will be back on track soon enough.

Know that impossible things happen. Do you have a dream of running a 10k? Go out there and make it happen! Do you have dreams of a family unified together? Go out and make that happen, impossible things are all around us, you just have to believe in the possibilities! I have myself run a 1/2 marathon something I thought was impossible at one time. How did I do that? I believed in myself. I also took the required steps to make it happen. Sure there are days you don't want to do things, you don't want to run, but you run any way knowing that you have a goal that is bigger than today....

Just some thoughts!!

Let's see on Saturday the Grandma 'Scilla and the kids and I went to Symphony!



They had a special guest at this performance a fiddler, who was amazing. (Mark O'Conner)The hour is geared towards the kids to teach them about music. Both the kids had lots of fun. We learned about the violin, viola, and fiddle. Grandma plays the violin, so it is always fun to hear it played.

After the symphony we all went to the Market. We hadn't gone yet this summer and it was packed full of people and fresh fruit andbeautiful flowers. We watched the famous fish throwers for a little bit. It was a great time walking around and seeing all the nice attractions that Seattle has to offer.

While we were out at the symphony Derrick officiated a wedding, and then entertained the wedding party with his DJ-ing! How is that for one stop shopping?

Today I got back to running! Yeah. Toe didn't bother me at all. So that is great news. I swam a 1/2 mile and later I ran 5 miles. Felt good to get out there running again.

Go diego Go! Live

Friday night, we got tickets to go see Go Diego Go Live! It was in the WaMu theater down between the Seahawks and the Mariners Stadiums. Very cool. It was very interactive and grownups and kids alike had fun.

Yes, we are fun parents and made D get in the picture too! I love having pictures of all three of them together! He is always a great sport and goes along for the ride.

Detrix mom gave us the tickets, and is a state farm agent, with her own office and since state farm was the main sponsor friends and family got tickets... very nice of her to think of us. We wish we could get some kind of special rates from her, but after our home burned down, we were dropped by State Farm in the middle of construction. Darn insurance companies! Obviously State Farm had to pay out a pretty penny for our policy, so I guess that is how it works, you make a claim and get dropped. I have heard that from other insurance companies too. So it is just the industry. They did cover everything, so I can't complain other than they won't give us insurance!

The performers were really good. They had all the kids entertained. I think the funniest character (not shown in the pic) was the Rescue Pack. If you watch the cartoon, the Rescue pack does a whole song, when he comes to help Diego. Well during the show this guy comes out in a suit with a huge rescue pack on him, and starts dancing. This guy did mostly the old school dancing and had all the kids and adults rollin' laughing. He did the sprinkler, I think I saw the running man and Derrick's favorite the shovel. Detrix and I looked at each other as we were watching and said this is Derrick (Dad) to a tee! I could so see Derrick in this costume bustin' out all the old school moves, it was priceless. On the cruise a couple of years ago, Derrick was caught on video tape bustin' a move doing the ever popular Shovel Move! Too fun!

So this was the kick off to our weekend. Another post to come soon.... we had a packed weekend!

Confession time!

So saturday I was walking by our couch, tripped on the computer cord, fell into the coffee table and jammed my toe into the couch....

I sat all day on the couch icing my very swollen and bruised toe! I can walk on it, with out limping now, and I went for a 1/2 swim today. So that is the good news. I am going to try to bike tomorrow. I still can't quite run on it.... it is still lovely purple color in spots, with that great looking yellow all over my foot. I don't think it is broke as I can put some pressure on it - I think I just jammed it very nicely.



Me being the type of person that I am, hurt toe and all -

I officially signed up for the Portland Marathon today!

Bib #2186

I figured it would keep me more than motivated, if I had paid the entry fee, cuz as you know once I pay, I just have to do it! So no excuses on the toe - I will be out there soon!!

As our Independence day was yesterday I thought this was a fitting post!

BOGOTA, Colombia - Former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt embraced her children for the first time in six years Thursday, saying the thought of them helped her stay alive until a daring rescue plucked her and 14 other hostages from the jungle.
"Nirvana, paradise — that must be very similar to what I feel at this moment," Betancourt said, fighting back tears as her son reached over to kiss her. "It was because of them that I kept up my will to get out of that jungle."

All around the world there are people being held against their will. I pray that those captured and being held against their will, will soon have their own independence day. I celebrate for with these families, can't imagine what the 6 years of torture were like for all involved.

Truly an amazing story!

Happy 4th!!

The things we do for our team! My wonderful group of ladies RTH, had a girls night out last night. It was well timed for me. I needed a night out with adults! We had much food and lots of fun, and even invited strange men to our table (it is was all for the points!)
We moved over the weekend, and I was pretty tired and worn out, so a night out with the girls was fabulous! We went to the Buca de Beppo in Seattle, and then some of the ladies did the midnight run.

Warning read at your own risk: A little note to those that volunteer, I was one of the first people at the finish, to help cut off the timing chips.... the first group of runners came in - 15 min... for a 5k! Wow they are fast! Anyway the guy who came in 5th comes in, stops, turns towards me and then gets sick ... uh hello??? what are you doing??? I guess the look on my face was pretty priceless, so I moved my little stool away from the sickness, and proceeded to help people!! Just a thought if you are running so fast that you are sick at the end of the race, slow down! Unless it is the Olympic trials.... then I say spew all you want, but no prize money? hmmm I wouldn't go all out like that.... ok, done on the gross out story....

I got to volunteer to help out with registration and hand out shirts and timing chips. Pretty easy and fun job, and the bonus is I get a free race! Score on that one. So I am trying to figure out if I will be up for the annual UW Dawg Dash @ the University of Washington! Since I am an alumni I thought that might be a fun run to do.... but it is a week after the marathon in Portland, so I am not sure how feasible it will be for me to do.... we shall see. That is about it for now.
Have a Happy 4th of July!

Too funny!

Since I don't have a big follow up to the ironman post with my own training... these should make you laugh.

For Paula

for Marcie - bike riding diva!

This last one is too funny for words!