13 - Should be 39 Since It's Been 3 Weeks!

1. It’s been 3 weeks since I posted…did you miss me? Actually a lot (by a lot, I mean not much) has been going on I just haven’t had time to share.

2. Working out update: I did...
- An 8-mile running time trial a couple weeks ago. It was great – negative split by over 5 minutes and my last mile was at a 9:40 pace (shut up all you speed demons out there).
- Swim practice twice. I vowed to go once a week but I missed this week…and last week.
- Rode for two hours – easy going.
- A Thirsty Thursday Turkey Trot – Drink a beer, run a quarter mile, repeat 3 more times. My time was 16:40 – first beer/quarter mile in less then two minutes; last beer/quarter mile 5 minutes 40 seconds.
- Some miscellaneous trips to the gym, and
- A 4-mile hike with close to 800 ft of elevation gain.

3. Have I ever mentioned that I love Thanksgiving? Well, this year I was lucky enough to celebrate twice. I cooked for some friends on Thursday (and other then the green beans it was fabulous) then we spent the weekend in Shenandoah and had a second Thanksgiving. Mmm, mmm good!

4. Weight – 21 days since the last post, 6 workouts, 2 Thanksgiving dinners, 1 Wine and Food pairing dinner, and 2 Happy Hours. I don’t want to talk about my weight!

5. House should be going on the market within a week. I waffled between selling and renting and after getting another notification about an increase in HOA dues I just want OUT!

6. I’m so proud of Dude – this Saturday he is getting promoted to Purple Belt in Jiu-Jitsu! YEAH!

7. I wonder what belt I’d be if triathlon had a Belt System. What would it be based on? Different Belts for different distances? Ability? Years experience? Speed?

8. I wish Coach Ed would post next years race schedule so I can figure out my plans. Doesn’t he know it’s All About ME!

9. I am finally getting a hair cut tomorrow – at least 3 inches off! I have never had hair this long and it is driving me CRAZY! (But I still like having it long)

10. This time of the year I really miss Colorado. A couple reasons – the snow, the skiing but mostly because I miss my friend Linda. I have friends out here but (aside from Dude) none that I am as close to. I just really miss having a “girlfriend”!

11. I have NO IDEA what to get Dude for Christmas. On the other hand, I have no idea what I want/need either. ***I’d like for us to give each other a trip out to Colorado!!!***

12. UGH! I should have stuck with my Lean Cuisine for lunch. Skipped it and went and grabbed a turkey wrap from the café. Holy Upset Tummy!

13. I managed to avoid the Croc craze because, well, I like cute shoes (especially heels) and those are just UGLY! Now, I’ve been reading about those Vibram shoes and I start thinking, hmm, I like being barefoot these might be cool. But then I look at them and I have to back to I like cute shoes (especially heels) and those are just UGLY!

13

1. Middle of the week holidays RULE! Happy Veteran's Day yesterday to all those who are serving/have served.

2. Work is busy so exercising, sleeping, and quality time has gone to the wayside.

3. But because I had to be at work by 0730 I decided to go to swim practice this morning. Yep, you heard me right, swim practice...at 0530. And today is the day the coach decided to video tape me and critique my stroke. Um, hello, this was my first day back after a four month break. I'm more concerned with survival then stroke technique. (But I did notice the increased speed once I corrected to what use to be natural)

4. I forgot the side effects of morning swim - goggle wrinkles for half the day, starving ALL DAY LONG, and the joy of a neon red left eye. Oh, and I am exhausted!

5. I seem to have hurt my right knee by sitting on my ass for 8-hours. A couple weeks ago when we went to Williamsburg I spent Sunday working on my laptop in front of the TV. Something about the way I had my leg, I pulled the tendons behind my knee. But, after months of PT for IMS I apparently learned something. I am doing the same exercises, taking the same OTC pills, and doing the same icing of the leg and it seems to be healing.

6. Oh, I forgot to mention my temporary wading pool. I got a call from my neighbor at around 0700 on Monday morning saying there was water leaking from my garage door. Hmmmmmmmm..... My water heater faucet completely broke off and by the time I got home my single car garage had about four inches of water built up. So, 8 hours and $900 later I am the proud owner of a new water heater (thanks Lowe's) and a clean/organized garage (thanks Dude).

7. Lesson learned from #6 - Give your neighbors your contact information! If I hadn't done that (just this summer) I wouldn't have known about the leak for a good 12 hours. Imagine the damage (and the water bill)!!!

8. Looks like everyone from Team Z had a great race in FL (and Holly is now an Ironman after her Beach 2 Battleship (B2B) race). It was fun tracking them on-line and there were some fast times - I still think if I do another Ironman sanctioned Full Ironman it will be FL (or Arizona).

9. Thanksgiving menu is ALMOST finalized. So far we are having 7 people over, possibly 9.

10. Men Who Stare at Goats = GOOD (and not just because they show George Clooney's naked arse). Where the Wild Things Are = BAD (and not because it's a kids movie - it was just depressing and seemed to reinforce bad behavior)

11. I made an incredible Rachel Ray recipe of Pasta with Pumpkin & Sausage (Cook 101 #23) on Friday night. By incredible I mean 4/4 FRC's. The only changes I made from the link are used spicy Italian turkey sausage instead of sweet Italian, used light cream instead of heavy cream. I served this on its own and it was quite filling. And did I mention incredible?


12. I met with a realtor about my townhouse. It seems I was overestimating the market. It looks like I can break even once all the fees are paid. I'm now seriously considering is renting it out. I can definitely cover my mortgage and I know having a rental is a great tax benefit.

13. I can't believe 2009 is almost over. Where'd it go?

I'm Back - Even if it is just for Thursday 13

1. I’ve become one of those “bad bloggers”. If it makes you feel better I no longer update my Facebook status daily either. Yes, I know, I suck.

2. I’m kinda-sorta getting back on track with training. OK, now I’m just a liar! But I do try to do at least 2 workouts a week. Yes, I know, I suck.

3. This weekend is Ironman FL and Beach 2 Battleship Iron-Distance Race. Team Z has quite a few folks out there racing. Best of luck to everyone but most of all to my blogging friends Cat (FL) and Holly (B2B).

4. I finally got a new boss at work. YEAH!

5. It is officially 5-days after Halloween and I have not had one piece of candy. While that’s good on the fat-front, I’d really like a baby Twix!

6. I took a Classic Tuscan Dinner cooking class last night at Open Kitchen (my new fave place). It was pretty damn awesome – no earth-shattering new knowledge gained but I did learn some knife handling skills and got some great recipes. Now that I have the recipes I have to host a dinner party!

7. Did I mention Dude and I are buying a house together? No?! My bad! Of course this entails selling two townhouses so it may be awhile until we officially start living in sin.



8. Thanksgiving is coming! Thanksgiving is coming!

9. Pet Peeve alert: I hate, hate, HATE when people back into their parking spot. What’s the point??????

10. Congratulations shout out to blogger Running Fool for PR-ing the NYC marathon this past weekend! Rock on Lady Fool!

11. Speaking of marathons I’m kind of thinking about upgrading my Virginia Beach Half to the Full marathon. See, I just can’t get excited about 13.1 miles and I can’t convince myself to go train. Whenever I think about it I just think “it’s JUST 13 miles”. I signed up for the half because I want to work on getting my speed back but all I’ve done so far is found my way to the sofa. Should I take the plunge and upgrade to the full?

12. If you haven’t been to an amusement park lately I recommend it - gives you a chance to act like a kid again. Check out peopleofwalmart.com before you go because I guarantee you will see some of these people while waiting in the lines!

13. This weekend’s plans: 10 mile run, work on both houses so they can be put on the market, bike (?), finalize Thanksgiving menu, work, cyber stalk IM-Florida peeps, do some cooking, and find a couple moments to just relax.

Cutest Blog On The Block

So something happened to the last blog background that I had so I did a quick search and found this super cool Triathlon inspired background at The Cutest Blog on the Block!!!

It's official, I DO have the CUTEST BLOG ON THE BLOCK!

Thirteen

1. My jaw is getting better. Headache has essentially subsided - it only hurts after chewing but I got quickly got tired of the soft diet.

2. Weekly Fall is the Best Season Remark: Sandals are put away for the next 6-months. No more obsessing over cracked heels (I do still get my pedi’s, I just don’t worry about what my “ugly runner’s feet” look like)

3. I’ve worked out TWICE this week (after nothing last week, or the week before, or…). Granted it is still transition time so those workouts were 40 minute spin, 45 minute run. And tonight will be another 40 minute spin. This weekend will be an hour run and a two hour bike ride (weather permitting).

4. I’m 37 years old and I still feel like a little girl playing dress up when I have to wear a business suit to work.




5. While I was laid up with the Worst Headache Known To Man I managed to finish two of the books I was reading and have started another. I also watched 4 movies, way too much Food Network, and almost caught up on my DVR shows.

6. I did not win the chili contest. I was robbed! The guy that did win said he actually voted for mine, as did another person that entered a chili. Oh well – I tasted all of the entries and there were some good ones but I think mine was the best.

7. Here are pictures from my cubicle contest (also did not win) of my Team Z paraphernalia. I did get asked a couple times “what’s Team 2”?



8. The guy in the cubicle next to me has his (annoying) cell phone ringer on AND an alert that goes off every 5 minutes when he has a voice mail. And he’s never at his desk…BEEP!

9. I wore my contacts for the first time in a LONG time yesterday and I loved them until about 4:30. Dry, itchy eyes - drops would be a good idea.

10. I re-read my Ironman Race Report last night…and got teary eyed remembering that AWESOME day! This is still my favorite picture...look how happy I am coming to the finish line!

11. BEEP!

12. I haven’t mentioned it lately, but Dude is the greatest! *SIGH*

13. I just realized I have my (annoying) cell phone ringer ON and I’m rarely at my desk. At least it doesn’t beep when I have VM! (And people rarely call me)