Back to Normal, then not, then back again...I think!

Wow! It's been a long time since I've blogged on here. It does make me feel better to write some thoughts down and perhaps share them with a few of you that read this:)!!

A lot has been going on since my last post. In late August I started training consistently for my marathon that is in 12 days. I'm tapering at the moment. I was able to get a few really long runs in and I thought I would only get one or WANT to do one, but I completed an 18, 20, and 22 mile run to help me finish this marathon. I guess finishing wasn't a big concern, but I wanted to prepare myself so I wouldn't end up injured and keep my motivation to train for the Austin Marathon which will be my "A" race for this running season. So far so good! The hiatus I took from training helped. It may have not helped physically, but mentally...I feel focused and fired up again. All is well in the training part of life.

The kids started school (that's probably why my training schedule improved) and that was nice, but always makes me a little sad. I'm getting old and don't adjust to change as well:). New year means new teachers (this year means REALLY NEW teachers...and whole other blog), new schedules and routines. It takes me a while to get used all of it and start feeling "normal" again, but by week 5....I was feeling "adjusted!" Then my mom needs to move in with us. WE all felt that this was the best option for her, but none of us (my mom and I) really want to be in this situation at this time of our lives. That probably sounds worse than it is, but I'd like to see my mom in a happier place in her life. Yes, she has good health, but mentally....she's not very happy and that can be difficult to deal with as well. As a mom, I have hopes and dreams for my children and as a daughter, I have those feelings for my mom as well....so it makes me feel a little sad to see her unhappy and often struggling. On a very positive side....I'm thankful that my children get to share more time with their grandmother. I didn't have a relationship with either of my grandmothers as a child. We visited them and they came to our house, but didn't spend a lot of time with them until I was an adult. I have a few special memories with my maternal grandmother and I cherish those moments. As an adult, my maternal grandmother and I became friends....a true blessing for me. I miss her everyday. I know...I'm digressing! I have to hang on to that positive thought for my own sanity:)....I love my mom and glad to have her in my life, but not 24/7:)!!!

Oh, and the "outdoor living room" (it's no longer called a patio) is (99%)complete!!

Life is good! I'm enjoying more time with family and friends. One of my good friends is moving. She and I run a lot together, most of the time we sign up for the same races, and our husbands and kids enjoy each other..... she will be missed in many areas of my life. The only positive thing about her move is that I can't wait to visit her in the East Coast:)!!

I (still) hope to get more organized with my weekly training totals so I'll try to post more often after the Nike Marathon with those training totals. I also got talked into "Facebook" which has been fun and really not as time consuming (and cheesy) as I thought:)!!

More Patio stuff......

It was nice to take a break over the weekend. I know we're not the ones doing the hard manual labor, but it's nice to have our back yard free of strangers. Tick and Toby don't like those strangers either and it's hard to not let them run free in their yard. Now we have to take them out to the front and/or walk them.....not what we or they are used to :)!!


Day 6:
It was a very busy day! They got so much done on Monday! I'm starting to relax more and trust the process. David is out of town so that is when I decided to start blogging about our project. It really has kept me busy with some fun searches for outdoor fireplace designs, furniture, and grills (I know that is David's thing, but I am the self assigned project manager). Marty, the paid project manager is actually very good at his job and has wonderful customer service skills so we are in great hands. He also has some expensive taste so it's not good to talk to him too often. The concrete slab will stay the same for a while until we figure out if we want flagstone (and save the money for it) or maybe stain it. I thought I would hate the way it looks, but I can totally look past the unfinished flooring.



Day 7:

Wow, I love it already! The roof is what looks different today. The shingles are on and now it looks like this extension has been here the whole time. We are expecting some rain and we need it, but I hope it doesn't slow our process too much.

Our new addition and my latest obsession!

We are extending our patio-actually not much of a patio existed, but it's an extension to say the least. I've been trying to keep up with my running, but not a whole lot of biking nor swimming. Our patio project has helped with my PIB...a new focus for me. It has been a little stressful, but very exciting. I didn't like seeing my house look so vulnerable and exposed when they were ripping out a small part of our roof.

I'll go back and start with Day 1:

It looked a little small so we told the contracters that we'd like to add an extra foot....no problem and besides bigger is better when it comes to patios in Texas :)! David thought they were so nice to just let us add to this and was not happy to hear the the extra foot of concrete would cost us extra. I'm not sure why he thought this would be free??!!

Day 2:

Nothing too exciting, but of course, I was nervous and thought it looked sort of weird and that it would not blend with the house! This part took all day and it seemed like a lot of work for those men on a very HOT day!

Day 3:

Day 4:

We had to go shop for our grill, fridge, and sink so we could give the contractor the dimensions. I had fun looking at all the cool outdoor stuff and David was a little overwhelmed and is not too happy at the thought of spending money :)! Next day is Friday so they won't work over the weekend. I was hoping they would make some progress. The slab of concrete was not very cute and looked very out of place with the house. I'm nervous and making changes to the placement of the fireplace. David and I did enjoy an evening out with friends. We watched The Dark Knight at the Alamo and it was just what David needed. I haven't seen him this stressed in a long time.

Day 5:

They were busy, busy, busy on this day. I do not like this picture and very worried that we are making a huge mistake. To me, it just sticks out like a sore thumb. I can't even picture it looking good at this point. Also, from inside my living room it looked too big.

A long run in the morning was just what I needed. I ran 10 miles and it didn't feel great, but it felt great to meet with a group and get it done! I can hardly wait for Monday!!!!

It's August!!!

I have my first long run planned for tomorrow morning!!! Thank goodness Rebecca called to tell me she would pick my a@* up in the morning (around 6:00am). I may have talked myself into having some wine tonight and enjoy breakfast with the family in the morning.

I'm actually looking forward to it and I know how wonderful I'll feel about getting my long run out of the way. Just a long run planned sounds so nice with no long bike ride and no recovery swim...actually a recovery swim sounds like a good idea . I might plan on taking the kids to LTF and I'll swim for a little while.

My left arch has been hurting a little bit. I still haven't had my post IM massage...something else that I need to work on. I'd also like to start my ST and core work a couple times a week starting next Tuesday. I also need to log my workouts at least weekly...if not daily....just to keep me honest until I decide to start paying someone to coach me. For now, I'm going to do long runs with Donnie at Runtex and follow the generic training schedule provided by Nike. I actually like the way it looks and matches a lot of what I was doing before. It has a few cross training days so I'll try to bike and/or swim for those workouts.

I feel better already!!!

So What is an Ironmom?

There’s an article in the back of this month’s USA Triathlon Life magazine called, “Ironmoms: Celebrating Motherhood through Triathlon” by Whitney Roosa. I know that my screen name was not very creative or anything, but I still feel like it was stolen:)!! I should have been more original….it was just too catchy.


Anyway, I liked this part of the article that read as follows:

So what is an Ironmom?
“An Ironmom is a mom of any age who has unlocked great physical and spiritual treasures gained by training for and competing in endurance events. She has tapped into her inner-girl. She relishes the achievement of crossing the finish line. She stretches her boundaries by seeking greater challenges. She doesn’t glisten. She sweats-in fashionable performance wear. She is busy managing her family and household, but has finally made herself a priority. She carves out time each week to train and craves the rush of the endorphins. She is a model of health and physical fitness for her children. She cherishes the solitude of an early morning run, the weightlessness of the swim, and the rhythmic pulse of the ride. This woman, this Ironmom, DOES NOT view life from the sidelines. And her family is all the better for it.”

The article is more about some company that sells fitness apparel, but I like this definition of an Ironmom. It was also good for me to run across this to validate my “why I train” reasons. For the past couple of weeks I've been trying to figure out where my training will go next? Ultimately, I do know that I have a good thing going with triathlon and running in my life and I think my family thinks so too!

It’s Friday so have a great weekend!

I am an Ironman!

On June 22, 2008 I did what I set out to do and completed my first Ironman race! It's been over a month since then and the transition has not been easy. I had full blown post IM blues (aka PIB). I never knew that a name or term already existed. I guess it wasn't ALL in my head.

I have a race report pretty much written, but I haven't had time to edit it. I'll have it for my personal reference...sort of like this blog...which is semi-private to me....or at least it feels that way. I do some blogging stuff on LiveJournal, but I use that more as a forum. The community on there is great and I learn a lot from others that are (constantly) training....like me. I always feel that I don't have as much to contribute to the world of triathlon and/or running, but then I read someones blog or post and discover that I've been dealing with some of the same issues. One thing that has recently come to my mind (and apparently the mind of other bloggers) is the question, "Why I train?" or to train or not to train....or to train solo or with a group....how should I train?? I've been contemplating this so it's nice to read that someone else has been pondering this. That's just one example...there have been many others recently...sort of weird.

Anyway, I have a marathon in a couple of months and I should be pretty heavy into that training by now, but I'm still in "active" recovery. The kids are out for summer break so it's been a bit of a challenge to get consistent again. I have the desire and I feel great, but after all of my IM training I don't want to take time away from the kids to officially start training again. Even if I had more motivation then it's still not easy since I either need to go very early in the morning or late in the evening. During the day doesn't work out for several reasons...it's too hot and the kids want to do summertime activities...or just hang out. I'll figure something out or just do what I can when I can until school starts or just do my famous weekend warrior thing???!!

I also had a conversation with a friend of mine and she mentioned that she told her family (or mom) that she wasn't going to train for a marathon again after we do Nike. Of course this made me think of my plans. Will I ever stop training?? I guess not because marathon season is my time to work on my running for any future Ironman or 70.3 race. I guess I'll always train so that I'm ready to start training for the next event?? It seems strange, but it seems even more strange to think of retiring from marathon training?? I know this blog seems strange or may not make too much sense, but it's been one of those days. Not feeling the happiest or just having doubts about where all this is going?? I do it to stay fit, have fun and socialize with my friends. It's a healthy outlet and it's obvious that I need it in my life. I just don't want my family to burn out (with my training) or for it to become a negative thing for them. I don't see how it can, but I'm just say'n.

Also,I know I should probably change this blog name or I should have at least considered that I would eventually not need the "2b" part, but I just didn't want to be presumptuous or jinx my race that hadn't taken place yet!

I'm off to do some summer time stuff with the kiddos :)!!! Maybe I'll run tomorrow!!! Or not!!

Going Through the Motions!!

Training is going well. Six months ago....I just wanted to say that my IM training was consistent, but I can honestly say that my training has been better than I could have ever imagined. The last week or so, I do feel like I'm just doing the workouts without as much excitement. There have been some very good moments, but they have more to do with the company than the actual activity. As soon as I feel a little burned out...then luckily something great will sort of lift my spirits. I have the best support...from family to friends...coach to training buddies....it's all good!

My husband and kids seem very excited to make the trip to watch me race so I guess that is a good sign that they are not burned out on my training.

I was going to write about my training a little more specific, but it's been a while since I've had time to journal. Basically, I could copy my training schedule and it would match perfectly....that has NEVER been true for me so I'm quite happy that my life has allowed for such great training. Kids are out of school now so I thought it would be a huge challenge to get all of my workouts in, but it's been even more doable this week and I've had more time to recover. No baseball, no gymnastics...just swim practice and meets, but our evenings are free! As good as it's been....I'm sure my family and I will welcome July with a huge smile and a bit of relief. Lately, every plan starts with "In July, we can....."

I also heard myself mention the idea of training for another Ironman...(Ironman France to be more specific)and I haven't even done one...yet! I'm certain it's the training that I love the most, but I also know that I'll never be able to re-create the beauty of my first IM training :)!!!!