Patience Being Tested

Quite frequently not being a very patient person comes right up behind me and bites me in the ass. Today is one of those times. I was hoping to have an answer to something today. I was told the decision would hopefully be made by the end of this week. However, I just found out that it will be 1-4 weeks before the final decision is made. It's looking positive as far as a favorable outcome for me (I hope, I pray), but 1-4 WEEKS?!?!?! How am I supposed to survive? They said they are very hopeful that I don't give up on them, which leads me to believe good things, but give a girl a break. Luckily, I will be on vacation starting in less than 3 hours. The vacation is 9 days long, which I know will fly by. The following two weeks will be crazy at work so they will also fly by. However, if they extend this to the 4th week...I could be in trouble. That will be a slow, boring week at work. Wish me luck!

What a Year Can Do

Last night while I was running I came to a realization. A year ago if someone had asked me to go run three miles, I would have laughed at them, turned around, and walked away. If...by some chance there was a reward - yummy food, money, etc - I would have run those three miles at about a 12 minute mile pace. Working out for me was simply a way to be able to eat all the crap food I enjoy without feeling too guilty or having to buy new pants. About ten months ago, when I started getting serious about attempting a triathlon this summer, I talked to my trainer about how to start running without hurting myself. I didn't know where I should start, how much or fast to increase, etc. She gave me a plan to follow - she told me to start at 100 minutes a week (broken up however I wanted) and increase by 10% a week. I laughed at her. I told her there was no way I could run 100 minutes in a week. At the time I was trying to run three days a week and this would have required me to run more than 30 minutes each time, and that, to me, was insane. Slowly but surely I worked my way up in endurance and then she started helping me with my speed. Last night, I ran 4.5 miles in 36:10. I couldn't believe it. It's an accomplishment that I doubt I'll ever be able to do again. Afterall, adding another mile and a half without adding any time would require 6 minute miles and I really just don't see that as being realistic. But...who knows what the next year will bring! :)

A year ago I also had Alfredo picking on me because he could run further than me and he could spin better/longer than me. About a month ago, he was working with his personal trainer. I was also in the gym doing some stuff and Al (trainer) caught Alfredo watching me do something. He giggled and said, don't even try to keep up with her...just isn't going to happen! :) Alfredo did remind me last night that if we were sprinting, he could definitely take me, but had to admit that if we were going longer, I'd take him! Amazing what a year can do! Maybe next year Alfredo will be out there biking with me...on a real bike! Challenge!

More Waiting

As I've mentioned before, I hate to wait. This week has brought about a lot of waiting. Most importantly I'm waiting for a very important email/phone call. Each day I've been waiting for 5pm to come much more quickly than it actually did. Now that it's Thursday, I'm waiting for the end of the week so I can enjoy my vacation next week (CAN'T WAIT...SOOO EXCITED). Currently I'm waiting for 930 to come so that I can go to my meeting and have something to do. These last two days are going to be a struggle, marked by trying to make 1 hour projects take about 5 hours each. Sounds like fun doesn't it???

Time Flies

As Craig has pointed out at least five times....I'm overdue for an update. Last week at work was busy...gasp....but not to worry, this week is back to normal. I probably won't have anything to do all week long. The weekend also flew by, as we had more things to do than time in which to do it. Sunday was my first real triathlon. By real...I mean the swim was outside as opposed to my last triathlon where it was laps indoor. I intended to have a few open water swim practices under my belt before race day, but it just didn't happen and I paid dearly for it. I had plans of practicing last Thursday...but didn't get out of work until it was almost dark. I then planned on going out Saturday morning, but when I got there...the children's triathlon was going on and we had a wedding to go to Saturday afternoon, so I was out of luck.

The triathlon was a sprint distance (.25 mile swim, 15+ mile bike and 3.1 mile run). The swim took me about nine minutes according to my watch (12 according to the website, but they didn't time the transition) and was nine minutes of hell. The fact that I finished was actually a surprise to me because the sun was right in my face and I couldn't actually see the beach. Suddenly the person next to me stood up and it was at that point I realized that I survived. The rest of the traithlon was a lot of fun. There were definitely scary parts though. About .25 miles into the bike there was someone passed out with an ambulance coming to get them and closer to the end, a guy right in front of me flipped over his bike after hitting the railroad tracks at a bad angle. That was scary. But there were people in the neighborhoods all over cheering us on and spraying us down with their hoses...and that was awesome. The run was probably the hardest because it was so hot outside. But I still did it in 27 minutes which I was thrilled with. Overall it took 1hr 37 minutes. I'm pretty sure it's going to be my last triathlon of the season as I obviously really need swim practice before doing this again. My goal for the next year is to really focus on strengthening all of my muscles and getting my time under 90 minutes. Here are some pictures:

Waiting for my wave to start:














Standing up and realizing I survived the swim:














Taking off on the bike ride (passed out guy #1 was just right of that stop sign):














Such a lovely form on my run! ;)















And last, but most important, my cheerers:















Overall, it was a really fun experience - I can't wait to go back next year and kick some ass!

Happy Friday

Twenty minutes to go. The week flew by because I had so much going on, which was nice. However, even though I didn't work long hours, I had a lot to accomplish in the time I was here. I feel beaten down and exhausted and it was only a three day workweek. We had planned a date night, but Alf is exhausted and for the first time I don't mind cancelling a date night. Ordering in Indian food and having some drinks is just what we both need. 19 minutes to go...what will I do with these last few minutes?!?!?!

Only Me

Only I manage to get sick or hurt myself on every vacation, extended weekend, special event, etc. This four day weekend was no exception. Monday morning I woke up and noticed two very large bug bites on my legs. One behind my knee, one on the opposite thigh. It's not uncommon for my bug bites to turn into welts so I didn't think anything of it. I go on my bike ride, where I get bad sunburn, and then head to my aunt's later for a family gathering. As I"m getting dressed I notice that my quarter size bug bites now appear to be more the size of a lime. At the family gathering there are two nurses so I have them take a look. Panic follows. One says I might have Tics crawling on me, another says it may be a brown recluse spider bite and my uncle tells me if I don't take care of it, it may start eating my flesh. Fabulous. One look from Alfredo and it's clear he thinks they are overreacting. I let them mark the edges and go on with the evening. By the time we get home from summerfest it's the size of an orange and instead of a bullseye like appearance, it looks like a massive bruise. We decide to mark the edges again...and I let Alfredo have the marker. Two circles, a smiley face and another inappropriate picture on my leg later I go to bed. The next morning it's taken over most of my calf...and the ink is everywhere...my sheets, my other leg, my hand. FABULOUS. The outer color has begun to fade though so we enjoy our day of him golfing, me reading a magazine trying to stay in the golf cart...crazy ass driver. Today I go to the health services center at work where a nurse practitioner made the following comment, "Hmmm...I wonder if it could be West Nile. Let me look. (She now opens a palm pilot to look up symptoms). Nope...you'd have a headache or stiff neck. Keep an eye on it". THANKS LADY...I feel sooo much better now. It's still fading so I"m giving it one more day before I go to my real doctor. Only me...only me.

Other than that, the weekend was a huge success. We got to go to summerfest twice (love the new martini lounge) and saw the fireworks on the 3rd. I'm such a kid...I love fireworks. We could even see two shows from our balcony last night! It was a great weekend followed by only a three day work week. Can't get much better than that!