Fun in the Sun

This year we have had to do our triathlon training in some very hot temperatures. Don't get me wrong, I love the sunshine. But all that sunshine has left me with the most ridiculous tan lines which I affectionately call "my biker chick" lines and no amount of sunscreen has seemed
to help. I really do look silly when I go to the pool to swim and I have these really tan legs right up to 6 inches above the knee leaving many inches that are an interesting shade of white. John said I should be happy about it because it is my badge of honor...it shows that I have spent many hours riding many miles on my bike and Exactly ZERO hours lying in the sun by the pool...in fact the only pool I have been around is indoors and when I am there I am definitely not lounging around it. I do find it a mystery that I am the only person at the pool with biker chick lines...apparently everyone else has figured out how to avoid those crazy lines except me...or perhaps no one spends so many hours riding their bikes in the sunshine..or maybe, some people actually do lounge in the sun by the pool. What a concept...Relaxing...Hmmm, why would anyone want to do that?

He's Back!!

Last weekend was very eventful.  We drove to Spokane to attend Michael's thesis reading and graduation.  The trip was a whirlwind.  We arrived on Thursday in time to meet Michael for dinner and then we checked into our hotel in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho.  We decided this was the perfect opportunity to ride the Ironman bike course of the Coeur D'Alene bike course.  We had the perfect schedule planned. We would get up really early, ride 60 miles of the course, grab lunch, pick up the U-Haul and start moving stuff out of Michael's apartment. This would leave us plenty of time to check into our hotel in Spokane, relax, shower and meet up with everyone for dinner before Michael's thesis reading.  Doesn't this all sound perfect....I thought it did in my very organized little mind. Unfortunately, everything didn't go according to my perfect little plan.  We woke up early to get ready for our ride and it was only 45 degrees outside.  First problem. We didn't come prepared for that temperature so we had to wait... and wait... and wait until it was warm enough to ride. No worries, we could still pull it off and do everything else on the list, except perhaps...relax.  The ride was beautiful and fun and challenging and we packed the bikes back up and headed for the next thing on the list... grab  lunch.  We decided to grab some "fast food" but soon found out that in Coeur D'Alene, Carl's Junior is not a "fast food" restaurant.  As we waited and waited and waited for our food, I began to realize my perfect schedule was no longer perfect but it could still all work out right??  We ate our food on the way to U-Haul and everything went smoothly but I had no idea how long it takes to hook up the trailer, check the lights, sign the papers... blah, blah, blah.  At this point, the plan was shot.  We pulled to the curb of Michael's apartment with enough time to tell them we would move everything on Saturday, we rushed to the hotel, took drive-by showers, threw on our clothes and met up for dinner.  I will admit the rest on the night was great. Dinner was fun. Michael did a great job on his thesis reading and looking at all the Creative Writing and Poetry Graduates was priceless.  What an interesting group of people.  They are creative in more than just their writing and they are all very happy with their "uniqueness".  I loved it!!
I know I am Michael's mother so I would not be considered objective when it comes to his abilities, but he really is so talented. Not only is he a fabulous writer, but he is very good in front of a crowd.  Not that this is a big surprise to anyone who knows him.  He has been entertaining us all since he was three and he knows how to capture a crowd.  I will say, having sat through a couple of hours of readings, that is not the case with all Creative Writing students.  Perhaps, they didn't have the opportunity to practice in front of all their uncles and aunts complete with Top Hat and cane doing magic shows and telling jokes. And, might I add, not only did he graduate with his Master's Degree in Creative Writing, it is looking very promising that he will be getting a job in his field.  The entire Creative Writing Department at Eastern Washington University is pulling for him because for the last two years they have been telling the students, "this is a great degree but don't plan on getting a job".  Congratulations Michael!! I knew you could prove them wrong. 

There isn't enough time!

This past week went by so fast I have no idea where it went.  However, as I am sitting here writing this ( on an ice pack), my body is reminding me how some of the hours were spent.. Let's see, 2 1/2 hours of swimming, 6 1/2 hours of cycling and 5 hours of running...  no wonder I am feeling a little tired and sore. I do have to admit,  I enjoy the hours of training.  I love seeing the scenery from a bike that you never notice when you are driving. I love the feeling of accomplishment and exhilaration that you get from running.  And I love that almost nothing hurts when I am swimming. Most of all, I love that John and I are doing this together. John is my biggest fan. As hard as I can be on myself, John is just the opposite.  I can always count on him to tell me what an amazing job I did when I get to the top of some cliff he just talked me into riding up, and when we finished our 13.5 mile run on Saturday, he was there with a high five and a "good job babe!" He never admits how many times he actually laps me in the pool even though I am fully aware of exactly how many and he is always telling people how great I did instead of how great he did. He really is the best training partner I could ask for.  More than that, he is the best husband I could ask for.  I told someone the other day that after John and I spent five hours running, biking and swimming on a Saturday, I thought to myself, we are being such irresponsible adults. We should be home doing yard work, and cleaning the house and doing all those things responsible adults do on a Saturday, but you know what, the house is VERY clean, the yard looks pretty amazing and I spent five hours with my husband on Saturday, just the two of us, working really hard towards a goal... together.  I think that is pretty responsible. 

So we are three months out from the Ironman...85 days to be exact. Looking at our upcoming training schedule, we are going to be working hard. We started out our Saturday on a beautiful 40 mile bike ride out to the Draper Temple and back home where we quickly changed our shoes from biking to running and headed out for a run.. I realized some things very quickly when I started running: Number one, it was noon on the hottest day of the year..record breaking hot...93 degrees hot. Number two, I didn't drink even close to enough on my ride. It was a hard bike ride, lots of hills and lots of heat and I drank one bottle of Gatorade. It was immediately evident I blew it when I started running. I was so thirsty and my mouth was so dry. We had some water with us but it was too little too late. My muscles started cramping only a few miles into the run. I was able to finish but I learned a lot. Honestly, that is the beauty of training. You make mistakes in training so you don't make them on race day. As far as I am concerned the day was a success...oh and we did have alot of fun doing it. Did I mention we had the pleasure of swimming 60 laps just to complete our day of training? We got to finish out our day celebrating Mom's birthday with her by taking she and Dad out to dinner and having ice cream and cake afterwards. I can honestly say, I am pretty sure i worked hard enough to earn that ice cream and cake so I enjoyed every minute of it!