I've Got To Fly to St. Somewhere

Have I mentioned that I'm a huge Jimmy Buffett fan? I'm up late working tonight (well, right now I'm waiting for our mainframe to finish IPL'ing so I can work), and my daughter for some reason left four of my Jimmy Buffett CD's laying here... so I popped one in. Magically, I am transformed into another personality, in another world... life is good. Until I get to Changes in Latitudes... then I am sitting with my brother while he's strumming it on his acoustic guitar, and we're both singing, and just like that I'm crying, missing him and cursing him at the same time for what he did.

The tears pass, but I can still feel his presence and hear him singing. "Squalls out on the gulf stream, big storm's coming soon. I passed out in my hammock, and God I slept til way past noon. Stood up and tried to focus, I hoped I wouldn't have to look far. I knew I could use a bloody mary, so I stumbled next door to the bar."

Tryin' to Reason... one of the best songs ever written. Ha, I say that about 80% of JB songs; the one that's playing is always my favorite, until the next one comes on. My first album (I mean, the first album I ever owned) was A1A, given to me by Rob. So while I normally might get a little peeved if my daughter leaves my cd's laying around, tonight it worked out in my favor. And secretly, I'm taking pride... the family tradition will continue!

Coincidentally, I'm really identifying with the music tonight anyway. Mackenzie (daughter) and I are heading to Miami Beach on Wednesday for a vacation (staying at the same place as last year, which was awesome!). And like last year, we'll take a day and cruise down into the Keys, which are so incredibly beautiful. Last year I was with a friend, so we actually partied all night in Key West. I won't mention having to run to the convertible, jump in, and race away in the middle of the night... or the subsequent fines I got from the rental car company and the Florida transit authority (hint, a Winn Dixie card *cannot* be used as a valid Sunpass). OMG, we had fun. We made it back to Miami Beach in time to watch the sun come up over the Atlantic. I won't be doing that this year, but I'm sure we'll have a good time.

Mainframe is up, gotta go. Drink it up, this one's for you... It's been a lovely cruise! :)

There Is No Finish Line

Under the velcro adjustment strap of my Nike running hat it says "There is no finish line." Taking off my hat and reading that yesterday after my run, it gave me a mix of emotions. There is no finish line... because I'm not racing. But even when I was racing, I often wondered, are you ever finished in this sport? When is good good enough? For me that's been "when I know I'm as good as I can be". As Brad Kearnes put it, your personal "peak performance". Maybe I reached that point and never took notice, but I don't feel like it. So I prefer to think of it as being sidelined, not finished... Ha ha, there *is* a side line!

I did a ride\run brick yesterday; I rode 32 miles, followed by a 15 minute run. On my ride, I focused on breathing and pedal stroke. My goal was to maintain good cadence, and focus on keeping even pedal pressure for the entire stroke. And breathe, breathe, breathe... keep the oxygen flowing. Honestly, that part was an experiment to see if it had any impact on the abdominal cramping... and I either got lucky or it worked (or both!).

Pedal stroke is an interesting, and underrated concept. I say underrated, because as a new triathlete, I never heard anyone talk about it. Even with a little experience, only in reading did I learn of its importance and impact. A novice cyclist can go out and readily tell the difference between mashing (pushing hard on the downstroke), and equalizing the push on the downstroke and pull on the upstroke. Practice and maintain this mechanic, and you will go faster. Perfect it, and you will go faster, longer. I'm still wary of overexerting myself (for the price I pay afterward), but yesterday my ride averaged 19 mph. I'll take it.

The other thing I thought about, after realizing I hadn't taken one drink at the halfway point, was the importance of hydrating on the bike. I know this, but not being in training or race mode, I've not given it much thought. One of the hardest things for me when I started racing was drinking... anything, anywhere, during a race. When I finally invested in a Profile Design Aerodrink, I was amazed at the difference. First of all, with a straw sticking in your mouth, you tend to drink more. Not only that, you drink smaller quantities at more regular intervals. What this translated to for me was a quicker, less painful run.

Cheers...

Dock Life

I was at my parents house for a little R&R over the last week. My brother and his wife came out from Colorado, and my aunt from Iowa. Between my brother and my aunt, being around them is always therapeutic. They both have such a great sense of humor, and no matter how serious the topic, I usually wind up crying... from laughing.

While this isn't the best example, it's amusing for me to think about so I'll share it. I am a huge fisherwoman... I love the water, and the mystery of what lies beneath the surface. Missouri has some of the best spring fed rivers for not only fishing, but floating, swimming, hiking (snakes and all) and cliff jumping. Earlier this week I took my brother (a trophy fisherman himself) out to such a stream, where we seined for minnows and caught a few small mouth. When we got back to the lake (my parents are retired and their house is on Lake of the Ozarks), my dad cleaned our fish, and I told him to save a couple of the heads. My son was quite excited about the possibility of catching a large catfish.

I put the head on a treble hook, and cast it out to sit, and grabbed the minnows and my pole to fish for crappie (all off the dock). As I was fishing for crappie, my son wanted to reel in the catfish pole, because for some reason kids can't leave a pole sit for more than a minute. My mom and aunt had meandered down, and were watching the activity. When my son reeled in the catfish pole, the fish head was still on it (one prior to that had actually gotten a bite while we left it out, and disappeared). My aunt said "Wow, that's one big hunk a head". That made everyone kind of chuckle, and my mom says "I knew that was coming before it came out of your mouth." That brought bigger laughs... and I had to join in. Dock life with your fam, ain't it great!

(On a side note, my training took a hit with more GI bleeding, and I've given up the idea of racing this season. I'm still running, cycling, and swimming... but any sort of "real" exertion, and my body seems to cave. Colonoscopy next week, followed by more blood work. It sucks, but I'm adjusting...)

Got Milk?

I have always been a milk drinker; I drink it with everything. Funny thing, my daughter is just like me. We drink it with pizza, tacos, steak... doesn't matter, we like milk with our meals (all of them). Well, not with our meals, but after. Neither one of us touch it until we are done eating, and then we chug the the whole glass! Skim milk, please... save the fat for the cookies we dip.

So being a milk drinker, I can tout its virtues. It's great for heartburn; as a matter of fact, if I don't drink it, I get heartburn. I also drink a big glass with a scoop of Slimfast prior to a workout or long ride (that, oatmeal, and a banana, are my pre-race meal), and it sustains me.

What really made me think of all this is the milk ad with Dara Torres. Geesh, she rocks! If you have seen her swim, you know she is awesome. But if you haven't seen her milk ad, you are missing something else spectacular... her abs! I am on a mission to get those (truly). Check her out: http://www.whymilk.com/ad_pdfs/dara_torres.pdf

Now try this. Tell someone you are going to ask them a series of questions, and they need to answer fast. Grab a plain white sheet of paper and hold it up and ask, what color is this? White. What do cows drink? Milk! I have yet to see this fail... :)

Underwear

It's amazing the response you can get by leaving a pair of underwear in a co-workers desk drawer. Try it sometime... you'll see what I mean! (C'mon, clean ones, Brett!!!)

Speaking of underwear, I've noticed a direct correlation between underwear and blogging. If I ain't wearing any, I ain't blogging either! But workout gear typically does not include wearing underwear... accept for a friend of mine who actually wears a thong under her cycling shorts! That's just plain whacked, and I can't imagine how it's comfortable. As we all know by now, my ass has enough issues without adding that complication!