101 in 1001

So, I saw this on one of the blogs I follow and thought it was a great alternative to New Year's Resolutions (which I never keep). I researched the idea, stole some items from other people's lists, added items, removed items and have finally came up with my list. It's going to be posted to the right so I can easily track my progress.

Info behind the idea:
The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days. My days are 1 Jan 2009 – 29 Sep 2011
The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

The fun begins tomorrow!

Squirrel Mafia

Sunday, 27 Dec 2008 - It’s a gorgeous day here in Northern Virginia. The temperature is in the upper 60’s – yes I said 60’s. It’s time for a bike ride. I head out to the W&OD – my old stand-by when I don’t like the team ride (and I sleep in like this morning).

About a 1 ½ hours into the ride I’m back near the dog kennel. I’m thinking about going in – just to look (I didn’t get one for Christmas :-( ). I decided against it since I can't figure out how to get the one that I would surely want back to the car on my bike. I’m unclipped from my pedal ready to cross the street when I finally start paying attention to my surroundings. That’s when I see them.

Two squirrels – conspiring, planning, waiting. I’ve slowed down to a crawl when they attack. The first one – stands up with his hands raised (I think he had a knife) and chirps (or whatever the noise that a squirrel makes is called). This turns out to be a distraction as the second one (I’ve named him Spaz) darts between my tires. I panic – as an animal lover I don’t want to hit either of them. I’m trying to bob and weave meanwhile I can’t put my foot down because Spaz seems to be everywhere. I also can’t unclip my other foot. I start to fall when suddenly Spaz pushes off my dangling foot to dart away as fast as he can. The first one just looks at me as I come to a stop, points, laughs and scampers away. Turns out it was just a warning. Next time, they might not be as nice. For the next 5 minutes I ponder what I’ve done to make the squirrel mafia so angry.

Then I spend the final 25 minutes wondering just what the heck am I going to think about during IMS for 112 miles!! Seriously, a 2 hour ride has me making up the squirrel mafia (the attack really happened but I don’t actually have proof they were part of the mafia. They may have just been high school kids goofing around). IMS will take darn close to 7 hours – oh the stories that should come out of that!

Kidney Stones Suck

'Nuff said.

Not Tri Related

Things I've learned/realized/thought tonight...
You can eat Edamame like popcorn

It feels good when the majority of your laundry is work out clothes...until you realize it's from last week

I have great legs and if I'm ever in some catastrophic accident and they have to be amputated I'm going to get them stuffed and make matching lamps a'la Christmas Story

Little Black Box Wine is surprisingly good

It takes surprisingly little time to prep for an Ironman when you skip all practices!

Christmas is 6 days away and I haven't put up a single decoration (but most of my shopping is done)

You can find people you haven't thought about in over 15 years on Facebook

Nothing makes a girl happier then when her "skinny jeans" not only fit but are kind of loose!

Excuses for Sale…

First the shoulder, then work, then a cold, now I’m back to the work excuse. As much as I try to be good I just keep coming up with excuses to slack off from training and apparently keeping up with my blog!

Since last post - the rest of Thanksgiving week did not go as planned. Skipped the spin, made Melody’s party. Due to too many wines, I slept in on Thanksgiving and missed the swim and 5K. I did run on my own that morning but certainly not at the speed that I would have had I raced. Meanwhile, my cold was getting worse but I forced myself to run 10 miles on Saturday and spin 2 hours on Sunday. I will say the run was my first test of mental strength. I felt like a Nyquil commercial and did not want to run. I did an out and back so for each mile I went I had to do the same distance back. My mental dialogue went something like this:

OMG I’m not even going to make 2 miles. Cough, cough, hack, snort.
Just make it the 1 ½ marker to get 3 miles in. Cough, cough, hack, snort.
You’re not stopping until you can get 4 miles in. Cough, cough, hack, snort.
Screw that, you can do 6. Cough, cough, hack, snort.
At this point I stopped thinking about the return trip. Dialogue continues:
First 3 are the hardest, see how mile 4 feels. Cough, cough, hack, snort.
If you finished 4 you may as well get another ½ in. Cough, cough, hack, snort.
10 was the goal, just make it to 5. Cough, cough, hack, snort.
Made it to the turn-around and felt surprisingly good. Still, with each ½ mile increment I had to convince myself not to walk. Finally made it back to the car without walking. But, if any of you are on the W&OD trail, be on the lookout for a portion of my lungs.

The next week was a recovery week in which I recovered from my cold. The only things I did Tri related was Happy Hour and the run on Saturday.

First build week – Let’s face it, I just haven’t found the schedule to include strength training – maybe someday. So didn’t do those, or the Tuesday run, or the Sunday bike. SLACKER! The Monday run I pushed myself and ran with Harriet at a much faster pace. – felt great though. Two tough swims – again pushed myself harder then usual. Track and spin included lots of speed work but felt awesome. By Friday I was looking forward to a day off of working out!

Sat. I ran my first 16 miles and have I mentioned that I love running. Felt great, stayed a little ahead of my pack with little to no pain. That was followed by the Team Z holiday party (mmm, Bloody Mary’s). After that I was just physically exhausted and still had another party to go to. Due to the sheer exhaustion I managed to lock myself out of my house but Dude saved me until I could get my spare key from Shawna on Sunday (hence missed the ride). I then had to work and never found time/energy to spin.

Second build week – Work got in the way - again. Let’s just say I made the Monday run and I will make the Saturday run. Beyond that, I either have already missed it or no guarantees that I will make it. Maybe I’ll do the build workouts during recovery next week. Hmmm…

Birthday is Saturday and Christmas is just around the corner. If you happen to win the lottery, or find some spare change and want to buy me presents here’s my wish list:
Cervelo P3C
Zipp 404’s
Zoot Compression Tights – Active and Recovery
Team Z Sweatshirt – Embroidered with Es
Add-on Fuel Belt nutrition bag (separate attachment for my fuel belt)
Extra Fuel Belt bottles
Maid service for a year

If you don’t like any of those ideas, how about
Loving thoughts and best wishes since that is what you’ll be getting from me!

Happy Holidays to all!!!