Taking a Break

John and I decided to take a break from the same ol' routine so we headed to St. George for a 3 day weekend. Of course, our vacations are similar to Boot Camp...but that is our idea of fun! What better way to enjoy the scenery and the sunshine than a 57 mile bike ride with 3500 feet of climbing...in the wind!! Honestly, it was a tough ride but the scenery was amazing. After our ride we decided to go for a swim in the reservoir but by the time we got our wetsuits on, there were white caps rolling across the lake. We still thought we could attempt a swim but it was somewhat hysterical..it was more like body surfing than swimming. To many people, this probably doesn't sound like fun but we were laughing at our feeble attempt at swimming in A lake that made the ocean look calm..

By the way, For anyone who has Had the pleasure of putting on a wetsuit, you will agree that it is not an easy feat...trying to squeeze my body into all that neoprene is exhausting. After that, who has the energy to swim?

One Day at a TIme

Since my last post, I have seen a Sports Medicine Doctor, a couple of physical therapists and have visited Google search on numerous occasions to find out how to get better. I did discover from my visit to the doctor that the sharp pain I was feeling in my leg was a torn hamstring. So, with that diagnosis,  I took a month off from running outside and spent many very LONG moments running in the pool.  Running in the pool is not a very exciting activity.  It makes running on the treadmill seem like a party!!  I did have the opportunity to bond with all the older people that exercise in the pool.  And all the younger people at the pool just kept looking at me like "too bad she doesn't know how to swim.  I am now back running outside and when I am out of breath and my legs are tired, I remind myself how much better it is than running in place in five feet of water.  Oh, and a bit of advice...when you go to a specialist for an injury, it is best not to tell them that you are pretty sure what your problem is because you searched it on Google.  Doctors LOVE patients that diagnose themselves on Google...

I Can't Start Falling Apart....

So after making the committment to Ironman Canada my body deciced to rebel. This past month I started having aches and pains in places I have never had aches and pains before,,,but last week everything got worse. I rode on my bike trainer for an hour and a half and my knees were aching for the rest of the day.... My knees never bother me unless I need new running shoes so this was not a new phenomenom. Two days later, I went out for a run and really felt awesome until mile two when my left hip really started bothering me. It felt like a charlie horse so I was sure I could just "run it out" so off I went down the road until mile 3 when I realized, "this is definately NOT a charlie horse. This is trouble." So here I am, 3 miles from home wondering how I am going to survive the 3 miles back. It was freezing of course, so walking wasn't an option and it hurt just as much to walk so I ran home all the while thinking, "seriously, what now??" In evaluating all of this, I realized that I did take a pretty good fall a while back and I didn't do anything about it. I am sure that is when all the trouble began. Everything was out of whack and I just kept running, biking and swimming without taking care of it. NOTE TO SELF: it is better to address one little pain right when it happens than wait and have to address several big pains. So, I am now in the hunt for the perfect Sports Medicine Doctor that can help get me back on track....and I am swimming way more than I want to be swimming.......

A New Year Begins

2011 was a year of many changes. I went from having the wonderful noise of all the kids and grandkids filling our house every Sunday to a very, very quiet house. My daughter's husband graduated and found a great job in Portland so she and her husband and all my grandkids moved to Portland. My oldest son is up in Spokane getting his MA and my youngest son is in England serving a mission for our church. I have to say I miss all the noise, the fingerprints, the sweet little voices, the hugs, and handing out treat bags to the grandkids as they leave the house. I miss breakfasts with my sons, and lunch with my daughter, and Einsteins with the family. I miss picking up my grandson from school and seeing how excited he was that "Grandma was picking him up"! Even though my work keeps me very busy and to fill the void I could just work all the time, I decided instead that this was the perfect year for me to do a full Ironman triathlon. I am not sure it was a concious decision but when my husband decided he was going to do it, I didn't want him to spend all that time training without me...and what better way to fill all those lonely moments than swimming laps, running miles and riding my bike up the canyons. And so it is official..IRONMAN CANADA 2012 here I come....but I am pretty sure in the midst of my training I will have to make some trips to Portland for the hugs and the noise and the precious moments with my kids that make everything else I do just that much better.