a few days out

the next triathlon is sunday.  and i havent been on my bike in over a week.  i havent done anything in over a week.  my sinuses have gotten the best of me over the past 2 weeks.  i think it has lots to do with the crazy weather we are experiencing.  it is somewhere in the 60s in the morning and getting into the 90s by the afternoon.  there hasnt been any rain and the amount of sunshine hours is obviously decreasing... so the plants are doing some odd things.  i cant tell if some of the trees are doing their normal fall change or just dying.  and now my sinuses feel like all that is sitting in my sinus cavities from the front of my face all the way above my eyes and in my ears.  hence i havent done much exercising.  which brings me to thoughts on sunday.  i kind of want to just ignore the day.  i know i can finish but not sure that i want to make all the effort.  all of a sudden the antisocial side of me has kicked in and the notion to have to have a chip on my ankle to make it official just seem too daunting...
we'll see how much i can hack up today and keep deciding what to do next

Is It Worht It

A friend of mine has started a blog about the worth of things.  So far she has commented about books, movies, tv shows... and a man in a oversized hoodie (that one made me laugh)...
Perhaps you will find it enjoyable too.
http://isitworthit-mare.blogspot.com/

As for the hoodie comment....  ah the wrestlers in high school trying to lose weight.  That reminded me of a friend I havent talked to in a few months.  And at the risk of annoying him - he has taken the fit thing to a whole new level...  he has jumped in full force.  But I also beleive he was one of those sweat it out on the high school wrestling team as well.  Will have to give him a call.
and the awkwardness of having to witness other people's workouts..  I generally swim at the gym and take a spin class and an occassional run on the outdoor or indoor track.  I dont do much on the treadmill or elyptical.  I feel rushed and stared at.  And pick up weights - not happened in a while.  However, again another friend, and his buddies seem to monopolize their gym when they workout.  I am not sure if they toned it down for the benefit of the other members.  I know he mentioned at one point that that may be necessary. 

the f word

i know this should go on the bermuda blog but for some reason i dont feel like diverging much from this blog...  the news keeps comparing IGOR to Fabian.  I remember when Fabian hit.  I was at a different job.  And the news over the internet was pretty good but not like it is today.  I remember sitting at my desk at that job and watching projections on line but it was nothing in comparison to the stuff i have been able to watch today...  I only imagine what I will be able to see over the next 48 hours... and I kinda wish I couldn't... 
I remember still sitting at my desk on the other side of Fabian...  I remember a humourous story about being called up for regiment but not being able to get out of the neighborhood due to felled trees..  I think of that story every time I travel that stretch of road on my bike.  It still is overgrown and congested.  And kind of spooky when riding through it during a thunderstorm like I did on this last visit.
I remember the story of moving food and supplies to the home with the generator only to have ther non-generator homes not lose power.
There were the pictures along South Shore that had been washed away.  The damage to the roof of the Princess.  And those poor people that lost their lives on the Causeway. 
I visited a year later and was so shocked to see the damage that was still evident.  I recounted it frequently after Katrina because people just didnt understand how much work it really is to clean up after a hurricane.
I sit here today with my windows open and a warm dry breeze blowing  in.  I have 2 parties to go to this evening and need to motivate to wrap some presents and figure out what to wear.  But I continue to sit here and think of my friends and hope they are OK over the next 48 hours or so and the clean up that will follow.
I guess it's because I feel like my ties in some respects have gotten stronger or at least rekindled since Fabian.  I have visited 4 times since then.  Or maybe it's the 19 year mark of visits that gets me.  Or all my friend's who have toddlers at this very moment.  And of course at an older age the thought of no power or water for an extended period of time screams louder than the opportunity to have a hurricane party. 
So I suppose the F word will be replaced by I!
and all I ask is that you let me know how things are on the other side of the 500+ mile storm...

HNT - sunscreen

I think I havent posted this one yet.  I know I went back to find this a few days ago.  Well actually the search started a few weeks ago.  I had a dermatologist appointment.  It was the first one I have ever had.  Wanted a baseline etc etc to have someone else help with keeping track of my years of sun exposure.

So the doctor asked me - and do you wear sunscreen?  I said - yes.  But I have this snealing suspicion that he did not believe me.  Hence the need for a picture...  I wore sunscreen, a hat AND sat in the shade of a little "cave" on the side of the beach the day this picture was taken...

No workout today

I have been fighting a sore throat for a week or so now.  I have blamed it on the various travel and change in overall climate change of seasons.  It has been a consistent to my throat and sinuses for years.  So it doesnt surprise me.  BUT I try so hard to not let it get to me and I get so mad when I dont beat it.  That is today.
I really thought I had wokred through it.  BUT today with labored breathing (well for me at least) I realised I did not push through it.  So I spent a better part of the day drinking ice cold water and hot tea, along with the occassional citrus flavored cough drop, hot soup and toast.  I hope to be in bed soon and kick it this evening.  I should be so lucky!
I know that I overall dont feel well because I cant seem to kick the funk or stinkin' thinkin' as its called, running through my head...  mostly it is a sense of feeling overwhelmed with the upcoming test, parties, doctor's visit, race and eventual travel.  And I know that I am tired and unwell when I cant get it to shut off. 
Maybe in 2 weeks I will feel a few steps closer to settled down.  I am hoping a week from right now that most of it will have passed...
We shall see.

MMM - KoL

Figured I could at least take this Monday to promote the latest release that was played at Friday night's concert.  Did I mention how impressive the drums and bass were at the live performance?  Cant remember if I said that already or if I was recounting that to someone in person.

Bike Ride

I was struggling with the idea of riding my bike this morning.  My throat is just not cooperating.  It is very sore.  So I did a lot of mental prep for today and the week.  Realising that I need to get some hill work in I decided I would YUCK the bike over to KPs and ride around her neighborhood.  I doubt that it is the same distance as the back and forth at the park but the hills are VITAL at this point in the game.
So I ended up with 45 minutes around the neighborhood and that included the 4 main hills, 5 of the back hill and 5 of the medium hill.  So I am gald for the hill workout.  I have left my bike there to work in some hill rides the rest of the week as well... um havent quite shared that with KP yet.
BUT given the work travel schedule, leaving the bike there for Monday/Tuesday and Thursday is a good bet.
I am not sure what I will do next weekend with the bike thing.
That is a whole other story of stuff to tell.  Will share later.

Week In Recap

It has been a busy week. Leaving little time for training and even less time to blog about the little time for training.
Monday was a holiday so that gave me ample time to get a workout in.  Tuesday was a haircut day.  So who is going to go workout after spending money on having it straightened etc.  Wednesday was day trip to Syracuse.
That was a nice spontaneous approach to the day.  And it was pretty darned close to spontaneous.  I went for work.  But the nicety of it was I got a first hand tour of the city.  We didnt walk around but we did drive around to see the city and the campus.  It had an air about it that made me miss the north.  Cant explain it but it did.  I hope to have a reason to go back... although I know that it will be colder at some point but OK.
The long day trip and delayed flight (due to an oil leak - UGH!) did not lend me any time to train.
And the late arrival home on Wednesday did not turn around and result in me bounding out of bed to go running the following morning.
I suspected the client meeting on Thursday would motivate me to hit the pavement with the bike and feet.  But for some reason that did not happen.
Friday was the Kings of Leon concert.  I wonder if dancing around on the side of a hill for over an hour counts in any way towards a workout?  Probably not.  I havent been to a concert since The Police a few years back.  It was a good time.
And now we are here.  I am sitting at the computer at the dining room table.
The weather is threatening rain out there.  It looks like it could actually be spitting down just a little as I type.  My throat hurts a little.  It has all week a bit.  My left ear feels a bit clogged.  And I cant tell what the cause is...  I am conteomplating going running - dont want to ride a bike in the rain.
And then I need to get back here to hit the books.  I have a CE course I am studying for.  And just want to get that under my belt.

HNT - haircut

I have been slack on getting my haircut this summer as I have been spending so much time with the swim/bike/run thing.  Well truth be told it started over the spring with a significantly postponed appointment.  And now it worked its way through the summer.

So now today my hair seems to be longer than it has ever been.  And thanks to professionals it is straight for at least one day...

We can do "Left is Right"

But buddy...  you and your family are actually taking up all sides and the middle.  And let's not even get started on the dog with the long leash. 
These were the thoughts going through my head yesterday as I made my way down the path on the greenway.  As noted earlier in the season I have resorted to coming to the shorter less known greenway as it is generally less crowded.  Yesterday - not so much.
Now I must admit I got a late start.  I spent the morning studying some stuff and wanted to get that done before heading out.  So my ETA was a few hours later than usual and the parking lot sure did indicate as such.  Usually people are courteous on all counts - me on my bike and them with whatever mode of transportation.  But yesterday there was a guy and his kids that just were ignorant of others and were taking up the entire path.  I guess the take away is I have a good sense of balance even when I have to peddle slowly until everyone got out of the way.  I understand they have every right to be there just as I do...  But... 
There was another girl on rollerblades.  She was struggling.  I give her crfedit for making the effort.  Although I dont think her pace and her effort were quite up to the expectations of the others that were with her.  Poor girl.
AND LASTLY - I was shocked at how many people let their large dogs (I am assuming there were large based on deposits) use the middle of the path as a toilet and proceeded to NOT pick up after them.  I have a whole new view of butterflies - BTW - that seemed to be enamored with the piles of crap in the path. 
So I did 8 miles on the bike.  I did pretty good time.  I am happy to say that I have added - out of the saddle - as part of the drills at that location.
I did 2 miles on the foot - although the desire to run was very minimal.

From there went to a Labor Day cook out...  YUMMM!!!  The chicken and ribs were really good.
No run this morning.  The internal self talk and I were on different pages.
Haircut tonight!  So no workout tonight or tomorrow morning.  Gotta try to keep the hair straight for at least 24 hours :)

MMM - Inspiration

I have been enjoying the new Brandon Flowers song.  I wont give much thought to the success or future of The Killers.  I am just enjoying Crossfire.  And as always I find myself losing time on youtube looking up videos of songs I like.  I am always curious as to what concept the artists or the artistic input people will spin on a song and the video.  And sometimes - um the artists are just nice to look at...  Not that there's a pattern or anything...


This video has extra inspiration to it.  Well look who the female character is.  Since I still rally on the CZJ comment from years ago I had to ultimately find a new aspiration.  CT is definitely it.  Of course the truth of the matter is no matter how blonde my hair or how tan my arms - I am not getting any taller and will probably never meet Stewart Townsend.  But I can aspire for some kickass, ninja fighting arm muscles as displayed here.

Lone Workout

KP wasnt feeling well today and decided to sit it out to try to kick whatever it is.  I left my bike over there from yesterday so decided I may as well take advantage of their hills while I am over there.

If my pace is consistent - and it generally is.  And MMR is close to being correct - which is hard to say as not all Prescott roads are included.  It was close to a 7 mile workout.  The focal point being the hills.
OK - I know they may not be the same grade as hills others choose to ride OR have the opportunity to ride...  but there were hills none the less.  I did a series of loops...  it made me a bit dizzy on the MMR site.
And the hills got sequentially flatter as I moved my way into the neighborhood.  Four hills in all for the main part of the neighborhood... and the back hill that I mentioned yesterday was included in every loop.  It was a good workout.

From there I decided I would go for a walk.  The lack of humidity all of a sudden has been reaking havoc on my sinus and breathing.  I actually felt PARCHED when I came in from the bike ride.  So I took it easy on the run and mainly walked a mile towards town and then back again.

I figured after yesterday's workout that was sufficient.
And as a treat to myself - caesar salad, broiled shrimp in a garlic white wine sauce and  hot bath.
Tomorrow will try the 12 mile BRICK again.
Plus dinner/cookout plans with friends.

Hummus and House Cleaning...

My goal is to try to clean the house one unmotivated evening during the week so I dont have to do it over the weekend.  And I am somewhat successful.  The cleaning woman was nice that one summer but really for such a small house, one person and Bacchus it really didnt warrant the expense.  So it is back to fitting it in to my own schedule.  And like I said, for the most part, it is successful.  The only problem is my obsession with food and healthier eating - especially when I dont have to travel.
We can get on my on the road food obsession in a few weeks.  Right now I am reveling in the cook at home luxury.  Luxury?  You say.  I know most people find eating out a luxury but when I you eat out all the time for work...  home cooking is far more rewarding.
So last week's menu - and it doesnt vary much during a given week given it is only me and the pup - was shrimp boiled with Old Bay seasoning, tomato and avocado salad tossed with basil and white balsamic vinegar, green beans sauteed with onions.  The variation was dinner at a friends house and that frozen pissa previously mentioned.  I also reconsituted some dried chick peas.
So somehow after scrubbing everything down and cleaning everything up WHY OH WHY does the kitchen look a mess again??!!!  errr.... Not that someone else was in here fiddling with the food. 
Yesterday I decided to make homemade hummus from the ckickpeas.  I had eaten a good share with salad/lunch over the course of the week but wanted to do the hummus with the rest.  And so the mess began.  Garlic and red pepper roasting in the oven.  Braun hand blender grinding up chickpeas.  Olive oil.  Basil.  Cheese.  Salt.  Cayenne.  The2 varieties - pesto and roasted red pepper came out WONDERFUL!  But the kitchen - especially that darned hand blender - was showing the worse for the wear this morning.  I served with flat bread and it was tasty.  I have more cp frozen so it may be added to next week's menu as well.
This morning before I scrubbed it all down again I decided to venture into this week's menu...  PB&J and fresh strawberries are on the menu for lunch this week.  I feel like that goes hand and hand with the start of the school year and all.  Dinner will be some more shrimp - I am trying to ignore the creamy shrimp and pasta recipe in the Kraft magazine I just recieved.  Although I must admit the alternative I am toying with is scampi.  This week's biggest menu item is breakfast.... bulgar wheat and baked apples.  I slopped up the kitchen pretty good with that. 
And am glad to say - that since I am sitting here typing - it is indeed all picked up.  Just hope something else doesn't pop on the entertainment radar that warrants more messes.
I need to crack a book today.
And am waiting for KP to call to determine our course of again in today's work out.
DID I MENTION - YESTERDAY KICKED MY BUTT!?
I am going to blame it on hydration and lactic acid.  Just another thing to read about with the whole heart rate thing.

Snake in the pool

So Friday night's attempt to train did not happen.  I did manage to wash the dishes that were building up in the kitchen.  One of the downfalls of making lots of food from scratch when home for a week.  All tasty stuff however.  Scrubbed some countertops.  And vacuumed up an equivalent of a whole other pug from the house.  I have gotten somewhat obsessed with what other type of flooring I can put down that will minimize the work of collecting the pug hair.  Decided tile in the back room, hardwoods elsewhere.  A girl casn dream :)  So that was the friday workout. 
The intent was to do a mini-tri simulation this morning.  And it wa accomplished. 
It is nice to get in the water in an outside pool at 730am... Kind of peaceful.  We opted to snake the pool.  This similar to the way the race will be run.  You go up one lane and back down the next.  The best approach is to plan the switch back as soon as yo push off the wall.  Hence you swim somewhat diagnally down the lane.  And when you get to the end you push off diagnally into the other lane.  This has proved to be a major time saver in a crowded pool.  A lot of swimmers touch the wall - go under the ropes and then push off again.  This way you ensure better placement next to the ropes and easier push off bypassing those huddled at the wall.  We did this 3 times at 250 yards each.  That's the most either of us have swam in quite some time.  I will admit it has taken its toll. 
So there was no real snake in the pool - but there was a frog.  Just as an FYI.
From there we hopped on our bikes and did 30 minutes around the neighborhood.  The one hill in the neighborhood runs pretty close to parallel to the road/hill that I ride when I do my Pine Oak loop.  Last year this hill used to give me so much trouble.  Glad to say this year - not as much.  HOWEVER the hill that runs parallel to the HT loop I have yet to attempt is killing me.  I could hear myself starting to hyperventilate - well I think that's what it was.  It was rather unnerving for me.  And then I think that exasperates even more...  I start thinking about race day etc etc.  I really think it has more to do with pre-training prep than anything else.  But I left the bike there to tackle it some more over the next week.
Then we did a loop around the neighborhood on foot.  Not a great showing in a run but OK for the whole scheme of things.
Now my one ear and sinus are acting up.  Spent a good amount of time on the couch this afternoon - trying to figure out how best to get it to drain.  LOVELY I know.  Change of seasons and all.  Gonna give the sudafed a try...
Off to make some homemade hummus.  All in an effort to not go to Five Guys and eat an unreasonable burger.

night off was nice

to mentally give myself an out last night seemed to work nicely.  sure there are other nights where i dont do as much as i would like with my evenings.... but some of those nights i circle around kind of doing things and dont really relax... last night i just relaxed... i made myself a nice caesar salad and frozen pizza (I know oh so not healthy!) sat back with a glass of wine, played fetch with the little guy and watched - i think it was 3 episodes - of White Collar...  definitely relaxation...

so now to obsess about what today's list of things will amount to for the weekend...  swim, bike, run, clean, garden, study... it will make for an interesting list

motivation is just not kicking in...

i was thinking of just embracing it this evening...  lounge on the couch... eat some pizza...  drink a glass of wine...  catch up on White Collar, Covert Affairs... determine when Greys and VD will be starting up again...
just some mindless kicking back...
or maybe just celebrate what the news just called a "once in a lifetime holiday"  90210.......  where do people think up this stuff...

OK gonna go veg...

Youthanize

I know - a bad play on words but I couldnt think of anything else. 
I was near a college campus today and as I was driving through a bunch of guys ran by.  I found myself watching their form, contemplating how much longer I should continue trying to run, and wondering what sport they played.  BE called and said - hey did you see those beefcakes run by?  I dont know whether to be thankful or pathetic or both that I didnt really notice that it was shirtless guys running by.  I am thankful however that I have friends looking out for me to point it out.
So we got on the subject of making my car look more youthful when in situations like this.  Maybe I should throw the bike up on the car for such occassions - conversation point.  Maybe I could makeshift some stickers on the car that are youthful.  THEN we realised we didnt really know what those might be.  I had an OAKLEY sticker on my Nissan for a while.  Are they still around?  The plush Garfield is probably out of style, eh?  Billabong?  OP?  Local Motion? 
And then we had a good laugh at how old and out of touch we really are.  Oh well.
I turned up the radio and proceeded home.

Sugar High...

I went back and read what I rambled on about last night.  That has to be the effect of the blue bunny chocolate ice cream I ate last night.  I felt it in my sleep as well - always a contributor to some odd dreams.

This morning to work off some of the sugar I did the 530 - which really ends up at 600 - trek around the neighborhood.  It is the workout that I do just to get moving.  Try to get in a mile within 18 minutes atthe longest - hence a walking workout.

Going to try to get into the swim of things over the next 5 days.  I hope that comes together OK.

Forgot one...

A friend suggested I read Fast Food Nation just to keep me off eating too much fast food when I am on the raod for 6 weeks later this fall...  It might be a good scare tactic.

Required Reading..

Currently I am overwhelmed with my list of things to read...  At this very moment - and I mean VERY MOMENT - I should be reading chapters 8 and 9 of RPA 2.  This would be Cash Balance and Other Hybrid Retirement Plans and Retirement Plan Management...  Perhaps you understand why I am blogging at this VERY MOMENT instead.  I actually have 12 chapters to read and then study for a test in a few weeks.
So I have held off on going to the bookstore to keep my focus.
Then there are the Ireland books.  Planning a trip next year for my mom's 70th.  I want to drive it - left is right and all that.  Which also makes me in charge of coordinating.  So I need to get on that.  Ahhh but think I have enough OnePass miles at this point for free tix.
I promised myself I would read - The Girl Who Played with Fire - next.  I tried to watch the Swedish movie of the tatoo book but struggled with it.  The fire movie is here in town but I would rather read the book first.
Once I read that and watch New Moon - I know I am such a late adopter of fads - I mean how easy can I switch to "Team Edward vs. Team Jacob" when I am still pretty enthralled with "Team Louis vs. team Lestat"...  Anyways I digress into Anne Rice ramplings (get it)...  Once I do those two things I will pick up a copy of Eclipse.  I suspect I may be able read the last book before the movie actually hits theaters.  We shall see.
Then on to the last Millenium book - something about a hornets nest - which I find funny being from the Charlotte area...  I imagine her down at the old coliseum kicking the dirt...
So all well and good... but now I have a few more!!!  UGH!!! 
I would like to eventually finish reading the Total Immersion book I started over the winter.  AND actually apply the technigues.  And now a cycling book has been suggested.  Which will probably have me walking into a book store before I originally planned.  Hey if it addresses my obsession of heart rates it wont be long before I am at Borders.  And it probably be the one next to the Franklin Covey and I will be parting with cash to buy some new and improved organization insert to my dayrunner...

Or maybe all this is just the sugar kicking in from the chocolate ice cream I had earlier this evening and it will all seem minimal in the morning.  Well except for that test.

ABRA$ION?!?!?

That sounds painful.  And so technical.  Like I need to get out my first aid book or something.
Perhaps an injury - such as road rash - that one would get from cycling.
But hopefully no abrasions from swimming.
ALTHOUGH - I must admit when swimming in the pool in my friends neighborhood and the one at the hotel in KY - the shallow end does lend to scrape the knee every once in a while.  Not something that happens at the Y pool, that's for sure.  Oh and the one on race day - depending on seeding - could end up being the really deep pool.  The one they use for diving.  The one I convince myself is deep enough to hold a really large dangerous fish.  There's no chance of abrasions there...
BUT they all have that cement siding that just messes up the suit. 
Perhaps I should just resort to sitting peacefully on deck and watching others - NAAAH....

well this evening I did opt to not swim.... probably not the smartest decision...  but it was nice to have dinner with a friend and not rush through swimming....  and drying off....
swim tomorrow for sure - somehow