quick Conroe report

Race update tomorrow...partly because results aren't posted yet and I'm curious to see those before I make a lot of comments...although I do have some thoughts already (I know, you are shocked!):
- Nancy, Karen, and Laura are AWESOME sherpas! And they showed up ALL over the race course today in Conroe with posters, cow bells, and VERY loud voices, even though they were only three of us racing
- Jim Opre is a machine when it comes to racing...seriously, neither flats nor leg cramps can get this guy to stop with anything short of a strong finish
- the Ironstar course is great...pretty much rolling hills all day on the bike...well, on the run, too...so it's not "easy" or "flat" (note - I wasn't really expecting either!). But it was beautiful! And the small race...loved that, too. No clue what next November holds but this will be on my radar again!
- wetsuit strippers rock my world when it comes to races
- forgetting your Endurolytes on a run that's a little more humid than you thought isn't the best idea in the world...silly me!
- hitting "the wall" at mile 12 instead of mile 10 on the run is a BIG improvement (even if my time doesn't necessarily show it)...and a negative split is a BIG improvement even if I started off too slowly to have the negative split get me to my ultimate time goal
- feeling strong and pretty happy the whole way is perhaps more telling than any actual race time

More to come...

new way to carbo-load?!

How do you carbo-load two days before a 1/2 Ironman when that day happens to be your birthday?
With cookies and milk in the morning from Tiff's Treats...thanks to Amy. They arrived warm and just in time for advisory. Really, how do you resist that? YOU DON'T...you dive in and enjoy in my book. It was just a question of where to start - peanut butter chocolate chip, chocolate chip, snickerdoodle, oatmeal raisin... I discovered there was NO bad choice. And just when I was sure that I had taken in enough carbs for the day, there was cake and ice cream at night at a wonderful party with my SAS family. White cake with white frosting and mint chocolate chip ice cream..yum! Made me glad I had passed up the muffin at Whole Foods that morning...but I'm sure I more than evened up carb-wise! Sorry, Meredith, I know this is not the pre-race nutrition plan we had talked about! We'll see how this race strategy works for me on Sunday...it sure tasted good on my birthday.

friday quotation

Sometimes, not often enough, we reflect upon the good times. And those thoughts always center around those we love, and I think about those people who mean so much to me and for so many years have made me so very happy. And I count the times I have forgotten to say 'thank you' and just how much I love them...

I'm not forgetting today.
Thank you for the outpouring of love and birthday wishes. I hope they all come back to you tenfold. Thanks, friends and family, for the many ways in which you love me - even when it's not my birthday! My life wouldn't be nearly as wonderful and I wouldn't be looking forward to my 36th year in the same way if it weren't for you...
I love you.

recipe for life

About a year ago my aunt put together a book for my cousin Logan for her 21st birthday. We were all asked to contribute a "recipe". Some people submitted actual recipes for food. I tried to come up with a recipe for "life" since I figured there were plenty of cookbooks with recipes for food. Anyway, as I approach another birthday I thought I should take a look at it, see if what I'd written made any sense...and if I was following it. Assuming it was worth following. I suppose the jury is still (and always will be) out on that although I know I sure am trying!

Recipe for (a meaningful) life
Ingredients:
- only things that matter to you...there are no set ingredients although these are some ideas:
family, friends, love, compassion, passion, selflessness, awareness, courage, humor, determination, acceptance, open-mindedness, forgiveness, faith, resilience

- use the very best quality that you can afford...you deserve it! But know which ingredients are just as good generic. If you can make your life more simple and less costly you'll probably end up being happier in the long run.

Directions:
- Mix everything together in a space as large as you have available to you. Don't be afraid if it's messy. Life is generally messy and that's okay...it usually turns out to be a treat in the end.
- Listen to people who you respect as you're watching it all come together. Hear their suggestions for improvement but do not toss in "extras" just because they work for someone else. Learn to hear your own heart.
- Stay flexible and don't be afraid if certain combinations come out different every time.
- Sometimes the recipe will come together after only a short amount of time...other times it will take hours, days, weeks, months, even years for it to come together. Trust that the ingredients are meant to be together and will eventually interact in just the way they need to.
- Speaking of those ingredients...don't be afraid to change them. At times, the result will not taste quite the same as it did originally. Just tweak something...don't throw away the entire thing. Look for ways to re-invent what you have.
- Accept whatever the end result is. This doesn't mean that you are complacent or that you are a pushover, but it does mean that you have some peace about working with the "hand that you've been dealt" and that you've figured out how to make the best of it. (And then do it differently the next time if you're not satisfied.)
- When in doubt:
> have faith that things turn out the way they are supposed to
> ask advice from people whom you respect
> be patient...with yourself, with others, with life
> reach out to someone else and see if you can help
> turn to love

eek! I'm doing a 1/2 Ironman in 4 days!

Warning: pre-race dump (not that kind!)
On Sunday, I'm doing a 1/2 Ironman...AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Okay, now that that is out of my system, I can move on.
I guess the good news is that I haven't been uber-focused on this race. (Meaning that I've had a nice balance between training and other things in my life.) But I guess the bad news is that when I'm not uber-focused on a race, I tend to be a little forgetful about it. So now all of the sudden it's almost Thursday and I have four days left. I've made a rough game plan - thanks to the help of my coaches Logan and Chrissie. But I'm not going to lose my mind if the goals I have don't get met. I know it's not my "A" race - it's more of a "maintenance" race. But all the same, I want to have some goals so that I can really "go for it". I want to make sure that I've pushed myself, challenged myself, and done the best I can at the end of the day. And sometimes having goals helps me keep myself in check that way.
In my head, I know I'm ready. I know I've put in the miles - on the bike and on the trails. I know I've swum the yards. I know I've practiced my nutrition. And deep down inside, I know I have what it takes...now to get my heart to stop questioning that last piece!
Just a part of the pre-race cycle for me...

national card and letter writing week

Whether or not it really is National Card and Letter Writing week is still up for debate. I heard it on the radio. I googled it. I came up with lots of different results. Best I can tell National Card and Letter Writing month is April. And there's a National Letter Writing week in January. But National Card and Letter Writing week appears to be this week...at least according to a website that posts a November "party guide". Never thought of card and letter writing as a "party" but to each his own...
Anyway, far and away the most prolific letter writer I know is Gran. Even with terrible arthritis and, as a result, nearly unreadable penmanship, Gran never misses the opportunity to send us a card, a letter, or a little note with a newspaper clipping or whatever else she might be sending us. As someone said, "writing a letter is the next best thing to showing up on someone's door." It's personal. It shows that someone took the time to do something for you that is a little different than an email or phone call or text message. It's hard to describe, but there is something different about a letter or a card. Maybe it's the excitement of having something in your mailbox that's not a bill? Nah. It's more than that. If you receive a letter or card from someone it's usually something special - either that you've done for them...or because they think you are special...or because something special (even if it's a sad event) has happened in your life and a card or letter is the appropriate way to acknowledge it.
And on that note, turning off the computer and picking up the pen and paper for a long overdue sympathy note to a friend...

monday...ahh....

Started my day with yoga which is always good...lots of stretching today...different teacher who had us in different poses. My neck is a little tight so it felt good to work some of that out. Want to be limber for this weekend!
No yoga epiphanies from this morning but I love this picture/quotation that I came across yesterday. I don't know about you, but I find a great deal of comfort in the idea that I'm not alone in this world - even when I might feel that way. I'm part of something "big and important and magical". Big? Sure...the world is a big place. Important? Questionable. Magical. That would be awesome!
Some days I get a glimpse of all of that. Today was sort of one of them. Still not sure about the "important" part although I guess you could argue that my work is important. And maybe I'm important to my friends and family. Does that count? But I know I always feel part of something bigger when we have a chapel service that includes communion like we did today. And I know that when daylight savings time kicks in and we're wearing reflective vests for run practice, that time of day feels almost magical. (And bizarre today being the only girl there...that was a first! It was not a first for me to go too fast on my race pace 900m repeats. Got to get that under control for Sunday.)
So, yeah, maybe my world was big and important and magical today.
It certainly was full of lots of smiles.
And lots of sweetness (especially from Praveeta...who gave me AWESOME socks for my birthday and upcoming race).
Pretty great day to be alive.
(Oh, it doesn't hurt that it's PERFECT fall weather now...40s/50s in the morning, warming up with the sun mid-day, and dropping into the 50s/60s again when the sun sets...I LOVE FALL.)