Garmin

When I read the news regarding the shooting at Garmin's Kansas office, my heart sank.  It sank a little deeper than it normally sinks every time I hear about gun violence and senseless deaths.  No one can say whether or not this incident would have happened independent of who was in the White House; I know the person that pulled the trigger is responsible for the shootings, but I can't help but blame the current President of the United States for what happened in Kansas.  Thanks to his tone, hateful speeches, exclusionary words, anger, constant complaining and overall bafoonery it helped give this lost and hurtful man an outlet to channel his anger.

I worked for a company and the gentleman in charge of our office was never there, seemingly didn't care about the employees, had a "I'm better then you" air about him and only let you in if you were part of the "good ole boys club".  The company saw a mass exodus of good employees in a short period of time (including myself) and during my exit interview the HR manager asked why I was leaving so I told her the truth on how I felt and what I observed.  She said she had heard similar things from the others she interviewed.  My point being, the success and growth of a company starts at the top and unfortunately America has a man full of hate and anger at the top right now and it's setting the tone for our country.

I'm not inherently a violent person, but every morning I wake up and want to shoot the fucking president in the head. I literally need to take time to calm myself down.  I find myself scrolling through my twitter feed not able to even read half the articles on Trump because it makes me so mad.  I believe there a lot of positive people in our country and people are coming together like never before to organize, stand up for what they believe in and speak out.  But, until the man at the top is removed, I can't honestly say that I'm sure things will get better. And I can't honestly say I'm sure our country can survive 4 years of this.

Building a House Part 3 - Halfway Done?!

Well, construction is well underway! Latest schedule from the contractor shows finishing last week of December, I can't think of a better way to bring in the New Year!

Progress!!!

Electrician Speak

I've been able to meet some of the contractors the past month. The framing "dudes" - I can't remember their names, but two guys basically framed this whole house in a month and during one of the hottest summers SoCal has ever seen. They were amazing. Scotty, the plumber, used to race bikes. He started his own plumbing company a few years back so he could be his own boss and have the time to raise his kids and "be a good dad". Zach the Electrician has pretty much thought of any possible thing we may want to do in the future and has planned for it. Spare power in the garage for future electric car - done; Conduit stubbed underground for future electric gate at the drive entrance - done; Spare power and another conduit stubbed underground for building on the 2nd pad - done; Space to connect future solar panels - done. Every time I ask him a question, he's on top of it - his response, "I just think of what I would do if it were my house".  I haven't met the HVAC dude yet,

Air Flow

but bless his heart. Since we're building a house with a flat roof, it's more difficult to run the ductwork than it would be in a traditional "sloped" roof house. But he's making it work and it looks great.

While the house is being built, I've been doing some "google"-ing on-line to try and figure out the best way to build the "future training center" and came across this fabulous website called "Studio Shed" (http://www.studio-shed.com/) Seeing how the main house is fitting on the land, I can visualize better how the training center and future structures could be positioned... I have some great ideas and as usual getting ahead of myself, but you always have to keep dreaming.

Souped up RV

Jaw and I turned in our notice to move out of our Apartment at the end of our lease (Nov 30), so we're getting ready to live it up in the RV for a month. Jaw put solar panels on the RV, tore out the old carpet and put in vinyl tile flooring and put in a new WC. It'll be small and cramped, but I think it'll be awesome. We'll probably take it down to the coast on the weekends and "camp". Can't beat that!


Some things are keeping me up at night - the process is amazing, but I find myself wondering "have I forgotten anything"? I'm trying to let it go and just keep reminding myself that we're creating something great - for us and for our friends / family. And then I always come back to the "view". And can I put a coffee maker and wine fridge on the 2nd floor deck??
Cheers!
Mer-OO
xox

The VIEW!

Building a House - Part 2...AIEEEEEEE!!!!!

Today is a good day. I finally closed on the construction loan for the house. This process was the most painful thing in my life. I'm the type of person that likes to make sh*t happen, and with this loan, there was absolutely nothing I could do. If there was ever a lesson in "letting go", "not worrying about what you can not control" or "stop trying to force things to happen and just let them happen", applying for a construction loan or mortgage now-a-days will teach you those lessons.

At any rate, I also have an address for the house. It was assigned when the builder submitted for the permit. WOOOHOOOOO!!

I've been spending a bit more time at the property and there are a lot of bunnies there. I like bunnies.

I'm meeting the builder on Thursday to finalize everything.... There are some things I'm really really (ahem really) particular about and other things I don't care about. But somehow when you're spending time and money to build your own house, everything seems to be of the utmost importance. Do I have all the electrical outlets in the right place? Where to put the towel racks in the bathroom? Are 15" deep upper kitchen cabinets a standard size because some of my dishes won't fit in the standard 12". The linen closets need to be deeper because I just measured the depth of my big towels when they're folded and I need deep shelves. OMG - I wake up every day grateful for what I have and know that there are a lot of people suffering out there in the world - how can I possibly be worried about the shelves in the linen closet not being deep enough? But one thing I've learned lately is not to feel like I don't deserve what I *have*. I'm not huge on having materialistic things, but this house is a dream and when it's all said and done, I hope it serves a greater purpose than just a place for Jaw and I to live. I want this house to be a place for our friends and family to come any time they want / need to. I want this house to be a place full of light and joy and happiness. I want this house to be a place where people can be and create their dreams. When the training center is built, I want this house to be a place for friends, athletes, neighbors to come and train (ahem - Midwest friends - have you signed up for a spring race and need a place to train in the winter??)  That's the dream. That's the vision.

Hopefully, the next post will include a picture of something resembling the frame of the house being built!!

Cheers and XO
Mer-ooOOo

Building a house...Part 1

For a long time I've had the yearning to build a house. I think it actually started when I first had my cat. I remember thinking to myself, "when I build a house, I'm going to cut an opening in the wall and create a space for the cat box that had like a little kitty door in front of the opening so that the litter box would be hidden and out of the way". There's just no good place in a house to put a litter box and hence my whole first idea of a house plan revolved around where to put the cat box.

Things have changed a bit since then.

It didn't become clear to me until last year why exactly I wanted to build a house. Now the vision is clear and I'm just pushing forward as best I can. I can't control this. If it's meant to be, it'll be.

Archie, the neighbor's dog :)

Jaw and I found a property in Fallbrook, CA which is way way way north county San Diego. It's an unincorporated town, known for it's avocados and history of artists. There are also about 10 churches of various demoniations along this one stretch of road and the first time we explored the area, we encountered a "preacher" of sorts giving a speech in the parking lot of the corner gas station.  So with divinity on our side, we purchased the lot. It's a pretty amazing piece of land. Situated on about 3 1/2 acres, it had a graded building pad, septic layout and all the makings to be an extremely peaceful and wonderful place to build.

Jaw set his RV up at the property and we spent some weekend days up there, got to know most of the neighbors and were feeling pretty good about things. I (more than Jaw) wanted to get started on the project, so I made contacts with a loan guy and got the skinny on construction loans. We would be approved - it was just a matter of getting a design and a budget over to the bank and then poof - we'd have a loan. So, I hired an Architect and got them going on a schematic design.

In the meantime, I did some research on the other utilities for the house.  Water was not a problem - there was a meter for the property and that was set to go. The house would be on septic, so all we had to do was update the old septic layout and submit it to the county. There's no natural gas to the site, we would be using propane - that's easy to set up... Finally, there's power. I mistakenly thought that since there were houses around us and a "road and utility easement" along the north side of our lot, that power would be readily available. I was wrong. But with multiple meetings with the electric company, the contractor and the neighbors, we finally (after about four months) got it sorted out. Needless to say, we'll be looking into solar systems to get off the grid as soon as possible!!

Next up - meet the fire department to make sure they're happy. You need a happy fire department or else you're screwed. The Architect and I met the Fire Department and worked through a couple of

issues. The fire marshall is amazingly nice and I pray to the Gods above he doesn't retire before my project goes through! I need to pave the driveway (this I knew). The driveway needs to be 16' wide, but if it's not in some places because of the terrain that's ok (Phew - because I'm pretty sure it's on the brink of being barely 16' in some places). I don't need to put in a fire hydrant (the nearest hydrant is more than 1000' away) as long as I have a fire water storage tank (wayyy cheaper than extending the water line to a hydrant and installing a hydrant). Yay!

I took the schematic drawings to a builder in Fallbrook to get pricing input and have been working with them to finish the plans. It's starting to come together and we hope to start construction in July. Yay!

Our vision is to build a house along with a secondary structure to act as a training facility / music studio / yoga room. The house will get built now and then sometime in the (hopefully not so distant future) the second phase will get built.  It's all very exciting!


Cheers!
Mer-ooO

I got on my bike today!!!

It's been 49 days since I rode my bike. Even went I went to Africa to hike up Mt. Kilimanjaro, I don't think I took 49 days off from riding.  But, this break was necessary...

Shortly after registering for Ironman New Zealand, I got hurt and then slogged my way through Vineman 70.3 (see Vineman Prep and Vineman Race Report). So I decided to listen to my coach and shut it down. No running and no biking until September. I worked on my swim, I did yoga, I hiked, I did a lot of mobility exercises and skipping. I sat on a LaCrosse ball..... My legs got squishy and un-muscle-y, but my injured leg started feeling better and I saw light at the end of the (injured) tunnel.

So with 24 weeks until race day, I survived my 1st "return to ironman training" weekend. Go Me!!! Saturday I did a 1-1/2 hour hike / jog (I ran 10 minutes in a row, yo!!) with the hubby, then we sweated it out with a fat-busting strength session at the gym. Today I got on my bike. I managed 2 hours, 30 miles, 1500' climbing. Yes, it took two hours to go 30 miles, but I survived. My legs remembered how to ride and the conversation in my head (don't you have a conversation in your head when you ride alone??) went something like this:  Me: "Legs - I'll make you strong again...I'll foam roll you every day, find a massage therapist and eat properly. I'll do my functional strength training exercises and mobility exercises... all you have to do are the workouts I tell you to (no quitting when the interval workouts get "hard") and stay injury-free. OK???" Legs: We can't talk. Me: "I'll take your silence as an agreement."



I also took time off so that I wouldn't get burnt out on training. In my first two ironmans, I trained nearly a year for each one and was burnt out oh about 3 months before the race. Re: I had multiple mental breakdowns...My 3rd ironman, I had a

much shorter training period, but also had my best IM race to date (might also have something to do with the bike course not being so hellishly hard..).

The 4th race, my training volume decreased, but the intensity shot through the roof and I was ready to tear it up... Unfortunately I did not finish and I'm not re-capping that here :).


As I throw myself into training for the 5th race,  I have a new sense of wisdom (hello turning 40!) and sense of self and purpose. And I am supported by the most amazing husband a person could ever have and I look forward to training for this race not for any specific time goal, but for the continued path of self discovery.

Cheers and keep riding!
xo

Vineman 70.3 - 1st completed triathlon in two years... swim + bike + blaaahhhhhhhhruuummmpphhhh

First, let me say that this race was a success because.... I finished. Yipeeeeeee! I haven't completed all three disciplines in a triathlon in two years. And, ask anyone, I'm not a big racer, I'd rather just train (i.e. ride my bike), but I really just wanted to finish a damn race!  So, when I managed to register for Vineman (it sold out in 8 minutes), I was looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

Everything was going along great until I injured my left leg running. Between the beginning of June and race day, I backed off any hard bike training and stopped running. I couldn't even run if I wanted to, the pain was so bad. I couldn't stand on just my left foot without my leg shaking and giving out on me. I had no idea how I was going to get through the run course at the race, but that didn't matter. Last words from my coach were "race aggressive on swim and bike, see how leg feels on run. If any pain, shut it down so New Zealand not compromised". So that became my plan.

The week before the race, I took off work. I really needed a vacation. Working 12 hour days, weekends, 4th of July... It was getting to me. Jaw and I took the RV up the coast and camped, rode a little, walked, slept in, etc. Thursday we came home, I packed up my race junk and we left for Windsor about 3 AM on Friday. Wanting to avoid all the Cali traffic, it was a nice road trip up north. We took some back roads to get to Windsor and it immediately became clear to me why the race is so popular. The area is so incredibly beautiful. Saturday Jaw became sherpa extraordinaire and came with me for a little practice swim, short ride to verify all on the bike was OK and packet pick-up. He was so amazingly supportive through the whole day and my usual pre-race neurosis were less than usual (although he'd probably say I was a wreck :) ).

Race morning - got up early and ate some yummy oatmeal from Thrive Foods Direct. I have been getting my meals delivered from them the past month or so (all gluten free, plant based food - I'm not a vegetarian, but I like eating clean, unprocessed foods and I don't want to cook, so this is a lifesaver for me). Got to the race early to snag a premier parking space (and I had an early wave start). Set up transition with lots of time to spare, so we just hung around and enjoyed the atmosphere.

Swim:
This course suited me for a couple of reasons. The water was as calm as can be and the course is a simple out / back. Some people like it because the water is so shallow you can stand up and walk / rest if you need to, but when I made the turnaround and my hands were hitting the bottom of the river, I found it really annoying and was praying for some deeper water. I had been working on my swim a lot and while my swim time still wasn't stellar, it was my best swim time (time per 100 m) in a race to date (excpet for the half at the Triple T, but I'm convinced that course was waaayyyyyy short). I was feeling very good on the swim. Pulling hard, breathing easy, good technique. I even passed a girl in my wave towards the finish. Woooo! I was hoping for a little better time, but I'll take it. Out of the water, short walk to my bike (longer walk to the bike start) and I was off...
Swim: 37:09 (1:55 / 100 m; 39th in AG)
T1: 3:38

Bike:
Beautiful course!!! The weather was mostly overcast the entire ride, which helped me tremendously. I don't do well in the heat. I tried to settle in, but was anxious to get off the main road and make the sharp turn into the backcountry. I got to the turn and managed OK, but then dropped my chain on the 1st big steep climb. Instead of losing it, I just did a quick glance behind me, turned around back to the bottom of the hill, re-set my chain and up I went. No worries - rookie mistake, but all is OK. Now, I tried to settle in, but the roads are very very very bumpy and everything on my bike was rattling. So, I stopped briefly to check my between the bars aero bottle and sure enough, the velcro (I recently purchased a Profile Design HC Aero Mount / Bottle) was loose. So, I tightened that up and NOW, I was ready to rock-n-roll. Still, the roads were very very very bumpy, but damn beautiful so no reason to get all upset. Finally around mile 40 something, the roads cleaned up a bit and just my luck, I hit one little bump and my bottle finally flew out of the holder. Oh crap - I was too in the zone to go chase it down and frankly, I think it fell off the overpass into the valley below. I was past all the aid stations, but had about 1/2 bottle of water with me so figured that was good enough.

Right after that, something big smacked me in the lip and I almost fell off my bike. I don't know if it was a bee or a rock or some other bug, but my lip swelled up (hello free botox) and hurt like hell. Ok - this is fun!!!! Anywho, made my way to transition, happy-ish w/ my bike time ( was hoping to average 20 mph, but 19.7 is good). I had a long way to walk to rack my bike, so I took off my bike shoes right after the bike dismount line and...... jogged to my transition area. Wait - I'm "running". Weeeeee!
Bike: 2:49:47 (19.79 mph; 13th in AG)
T2: 5:24 (I was in no rush... :) )

Run:
Beautiful Course!!! I put on my pillow shoes (i.e. Hoka's) and actually started running out of transition. But just past mile 1, my leg reminded me that it was not happy and I came to a screeching halt. It's the type of pain that stops you dead in your tracks. I talked to my leg... told it just get me jogging from aid station to aid station and I'll let you rest and walk through each aid station. This worked a bit, but at some points the pain was too much to handle and I walked some between aid stations as well. As my coach said, if it was too much, shut it down so I can train properly for IM New Zealand. At some point while I was hobbling along, I noticed my toes were on fire and hurting, but too scared to stop and take off my shoes, I just put that out of my brain. I saw my good friend Jay from Chi town around mile 10-ish... he looked good and strong and gave me a bit of energy boost (thank you Jay!) Around mile 11 or so, I figured I could be done in 20 minutes so I started jogging and told myself it's flat and straight to the finish so just try to get in some sort of rhythm and get 'er done. And so I did. I got passed by so many people on the run course, but it didn't bother me. This wasn't a race for time.

Run: 2:30:21 (11:28 min / mile; 54th in AG)
Total: 6:06:19

Side notes:
I didn't have any GI issues at this race. I don't know if it's due to changing my diet or being in a better mental state of mind, but I was very pleased with this.

Since starting triathlon in '06, I've only done four other half ironman races and this time was actually my fastest. My other halves were: American TTT in 2010 (6:21), Pucon Chile in 2009 (6:20), Las Vegas Half in 2007 (6:16) and Steelhead in 2006 (6:06:37). I sort of wonder what I can do when I'm actually not hurt...

Omelette Express in Windsor makes the most amazing day-after race omelettes you'll ever eat!

Cheers and XO!
Mer

Rambling thoughts while getting oil changed in preparation for road trip to Vineman 70.3

Hi!!! It's been so long since I wrote a blog post thingy and I thought since I'm sitting in the oil change place not doing anything productive, it's the perfect time to write.

This weekend is Vineman 70.3. I don't remember when I signed up, other than this silly race sold out in about 0.5 seconds. I haven't done a complete triathlon since August 2011, and since I signed up for Ironman New Zealand I thought I should do a half just to get back into race mode.

My training had been going well and I was up to running 9 miles. I sat down with my coach and we had a plan that included working with his wife (former all-American record holding swimmer) to fix my swim technique and build some strength. My biking was going well, watts creeping back up and I was getting comfy again on the Tri bike. But as luck would have it, I went out for a run back on June 2nd, and my whole left leg just collapsed and I nearly fell.

So, training went on a bit of a hold while I rested and tried to figure out what happened. Sports Dr. diagnosed the injury as IT Band Syndrome and basically said I could forget about running. I accepted that for a few days, then got depressed, then got angry. I went to my ART guy and endured some excruciating pain, but we pinpointed the problem to my lower hamstring. I didn't run (hello aqua jogging!!) and laid off biking hills and hard intervals.

Now Vineman is three days away. Yesterday I ran for 20 minutes. There was some pain, but it was manageable and felt OK if I mixed in some sideways skipping, backwards jogging and walking.

So as I sit here at the oil change place, I'm trying to come up with a game plan for the race. So far, I've got "swim as hard as I can". After that I don't know. I'd like to run and finish the whole race. In order to do that, I need to bike pretty conservatively. I don't really know how to bike conservatively in a race though. Even when I'm not injured, I always bike too hard and blow up on the run. Maybe for this race though, I should put my ego behind me and bike "easy-ish" so that I can at least finish. On the other hand, maybe I should bike my brains out, live in the moment and worry about the run when the run happens. After all, I'm a biker not a runner, dammit!

I have a feeling my game plan will take shape on race day. If you see or hear about some crazy girl sideways skipping out of transition or backwards jogging out on the run course, that would be me.  I'll post an update after the race - stay tuned!

xo
Mer-OoO

Cleanse!

It's February and folks are settling into their year. The San Diego "winter" is over. It actually was chilly here for a few weeks - in the 30's in the mornings! Everyone survived, including me, with my now thinned out non-Chicago blood. Did you make a New Year's Resolution and are sticking to it? (keep at it - whatever it is!!) I didn't specifically make a resolution this year, but three weeks ago I decided to do a cleanse.

I have mentioned my dear friend Annette in a few posts in the past. She's a nurse, nutritionist, life coach, therapist, life saver... an all-around God-send to me. She recently expanded her business to include cleansing and to teach people how to cleanse in a safe way, that promotes changing eating habits and your relationships with food for the long term. Not just "fad" cleanses that, for people like me, don't do much.

The cleanse I am in the midst of is broken down into two segments. Basically the 1st half and the 2nd half. Easy enough! For the first half, a diet consisting of only raw foods is followed as closely as possible. Protein is consumed through a specific protein powder blended in fruit or veggie smoothies. Meals consist of smoothies and salads. I "cheated" a bit and ate a hard boiled egg once a day or once every two days as I felt very weak because I was trying to stay on somewhat of a training plan for some races I have coming up. The 2nd half of the cleanse is the same as the first, however lean meats (chicken, fish) are slowly added in. Protein smoothies and salads remain the focus. All throughout the cleanse supplements are taken to rid the body of the toxins that have built up. Hence the "cleansing" aspect.

So I have three days left of my 3-week cleanse. I feel great and have confidence (more than I've had in the past with cleanses) that I'll be able to continue on with my new habits "post-cleanse". Some things I have learned are:

• I can't do nuts. Well, at least not the cheap-y salted nuts. I ate some two weeks into my cleanse and the rest of the day and into the night, I felt like crap. That's sort of the point though... to figure out what foods you are sensitive to that you may have not known about in the past.

• I can go to a party and stay away from the sweet stuff. I went to a friend's Superbowl Party yesterday and managed to resist the sweet goodies and chips that were offered. Granted, my friend hosting the party is an awesome chef (foodsensenow.com), a Kona-Qualifying kick-arse Triathlete and a very clean eater. She had Vegan Cesar Salad and homemade pizzas as food options (Thank you Leslie!) So even though the cookies looked freaking delicious, I managed to stay away. Not so much because one cookie is bad for you... but because I wasn't ready to eat just "one".

• Green Tea with some steamed soy is pretty good and reduces my desire for coffee. I think there are studies about the dangers of too much soy and intolerances but I'm trying to practice moderation. So a bit of soy in a tea (hopefully) won't kill me.

• The new Hammer Strawberry Vegan Protein is awesome. Just mix a scoop w/ some water in the AM or if feeling low-energy during the day. It helped provide me with some energy or get a workout going. I'll be experimenting with some various training nutrition in the next month and hope to discover what works for me for those long training days - especially riding. Have I mentioned that I LOVE TO RIDE! 

• Prep goes a long way! I work a standard 8-5 weekday job and prep has been the the key for me to not grab crappy lunches or sugary / salty snacks. Sunday afternoon, I throw on my favorite playlist and cut veggies, put salads in baggies, roast some vegetables, hard boil some eggs, measure out fruit for smoothies... voila - my meals for the week are pretty much done and easy to grab for work or for going out or for snacks.

• I crave apples for dessert. :)

So there you have it. For more info, the link to Annette's website is: www.thecleanseexpert.com. She has clients all over the world so if anyone is interested, look her up!


XO!
Mer-OoO

Grand Columbian

A little late, but here's a re-cap of the Grand Columbian......
The Venue: Grand Coulee, WA
The Race: Grand Columbian ironman-distance realy

I asked my sister over a year ago if she had any desire to do the swim portion of an ironman race. I would ride and we'd find a runner. She was completely into the idea and when my cousin said he would run, we had a team. We were "Team SPT" (splash / pedal / trot)!! I picked the venue of the Grand Columbian because, well actually, I'm not 100% sure why anymore. It's a small, independent race and had a similar vibe to Silverman (except even smaller!) and they offered a relay division so that was it. And later I found out it was on my cousin's b-day so it was meant to be.

I had done some course review from the info on-line and the bike course really didn't look all that bad to me. The site had the course mapped out at 3,967' climbing. My long rides in San Diego mostly consist of 5,000' or more of climbing, so I figured I was good with hill training. So for the months leading up to the race, I made my own make-shift bike training plan (note to self: you're no good at creating your own training plans...). I did long rides on the weekend, and did indoor trainer rides during the week. I wasn't swimming due to my injured shoulder and I was running only 30 minutes at a time 4-5 days / week. I was actually enjoying life and going out and having fun. Woe is me!

The race was on a Saturday and on Thursday we all got emails that the wild fires in the area were threatening to force the race director to cancel the event. A decision would be made Friday. On Friday, we got another email saying things were generally OK and we were good to go. I drove the bike course Friday with my mom and sister. And my thoughts of "this won't be too bad" diminished in the first 10 miles of the ride. There's a long 2 mile climb from T1 out to the main road. No big problems there, just starting out slow. Then at about mile 5 there's basically a cliff you have to ride over to get to where most of the ride takes place. It's about 3-4 miles, grades ranging from 6% to 10% with some switchbacks. After that, you do about 70 miles of rolling hills, false flats, headwinds and the only thing to look at is fields of wheat. But at mile 80 you hit the scenic part of the ride and go north along Banks Lake and it's mostly flat.... oh except a headwind is guaranteed and then finally at mile 110 you hit the fun descent to the base of the Grand Coulee dam.

Friday afternoon we met up with my cousin and family and got our race logistics down. We went to the grocery store to get food to make our own pre-race dinner in the "motel". Chef Jenny took charge
on the food front. I proceeded to get flu like symptoms (fever and achy) and wonder why I seem to be 2 for 2 on getting sick the day before the race. I hit the sack around 7:30 PM.

Saturday we woke up early and thankfully I felt much better. Let's do this, y'all! I said goodbye's to Jenny as she wandered down to the lake to get ready. I hung out at transition and tried to keep warm and do some stretching. The swim was two loops, so my mom said she'd come tell me when Jenny was starting her 2nd loop so I'd know when to be ready. Well, she was done in about 30 minutes. Crikey - guess I better be ready! Nothing like doing your first ironman-distance swim in an hour! I saw Jenny run up towards transition and we hugged, exchanged the chip, took some pics and I was off.  I made it out on the main road and up and over the "cliff" (which turned out wasn't *too* bad. Made it through the miles and miles of rolling fields of wheat. One thing I noticed was my Garmin registered 3,900' of climbing right around mile 40. WTF - I've got 70 miles left to ride and I know it's not all flat! Oh well, carry on.

My mom, sis and cousins were waiting for me at strategic places for photo ops and cheering. Thank God because the race was even more desolate than anything I've ever done before - and I've done some lonely rides.....). I got to mile 80-ish all happy to finally get to some scenery and flat road, but the headwind kept me from going very fast. And also every little hump of a hill felt like a freaking mountain because of all the climbing so early in the race. But Mile 110 was ahead and I could finally descend the long curvy road to T2. I rolled in right around 6hrs 25 min later. Might I mention that from about mile 50 to the end of the ride all I kept thinking was how happy I was I didn't have to run after this. How I ever trained for Ironman, I have no idea... At any rate, chip exchange with my cousin, more photos and I was finally on vacation!  Matt went out for his run and we tried to
watch / cheer. But most of the run was in a secure area of the Grand Coulee dam and people weren't allowed down there. So, that sort of...sucked. But we manged to get in some strategic places for cheering and bring him in for the finish! Team SPT was in just under 12 1/2 hours. Woooooo!

Top 10 (errr - 14) Songs to Listen to on the Computrainer

Ahhh - Labor Day Weekend... the sign of the end of summer. Although in San Diego, does summer ever really end? Temps go from 85 to 70... I'm OK with that! So, this post is for all my midwest friends as they prepare to hunker down and spend those Saturdays on the trainer.  Although I'm a firm believer that all those days on the trainer during my winters in Chicago is what made me the bad ass rider I am today.  So get 'er done folks!

Here are my favorite heart pounding / energy creating / come on legs! / one more interval songs to listen to while riding inside.  These are my go-to songs and are on practically every play list I have for indoor riding...

They are (in no particular order):

"Kerosene" - Big Black

"The Missing" - Ministry

"'Til I Collapse" - Eminem

"TFWO" - Skinny Puppy

"It Doesn't Matter" - Chemical Brothers

"Family Affair" - Mary J Blige

"Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" - Beastie Boys

"Raise Your Glass" - P!nk"

"Mountain Song" - Jane's Addiction
"Speed" - Atari Teenage Riot
"Know Your Enemy" - Greenday
"Attack Ships on Fire" - RevCo
"Decade" - Delerium
"One Fine Day" - The Offspring

Shoes and Being a Girl

Last weekend I went to Northern Michigan for my cousin's wedding. The ceremony and reception were amazing. Beautiful and simple and elegant. I had loads of fun catching up with my family, cousins and Aunts / Uncles. I don't see my family very often and every time I do I'm reminded that I have a superbly fantastic extended family.

I flew home Sunday night and contacted a friend to see if he wanted to meet me for a drink. My car was parked at the airport and I thought it would be fun to extend my vacation a few hours at one of the cool local neighborhood bars.  He agreed and so we went to Brooklyn Girl in Mission Hills.

I hadn't seen this friend in a few months and there was lots to catch up on. The conversation was good and the drinks and food were fantastic. At one point in the evening the talking turned to relationships and dating as I suppose more often than not, it does. I told my friend I just couldn't do it anymore. A few recent happenings just sort of did it in for me. Although, the wedding did reaffirm my faith that true love can happen and Cinderella stories still exist. My friend listened intently and made a couple observations / suggestions. He said I shouldn't write the end of my book, because frankly, you can't. He said in a round about way, that I'm an amazing person, but maybe I ought to try and put forth a little effort every now and then. Reading between the lines, I believe he meant that the next time I go out I should try to put on something nice, leave the track jacket at home and maybe even wear some lipstick; show off the confidence I exude while riding my bike...

My first reaction was pretty defensive... "Well, that's not who I am!". I can certainly put on a dress and look nice, but I do that on special occasions (i.e. wedding!). But now that a few days have passed I think my friend gave me some pretty damn good advice.

So, I'm wearing a skirt today at work and I put my only pair of  heels in the car. After work, I'm making myself look nice and going out with a girlfriend. Maybe at age 38 and 10 months I ought to try and be a girl. "They" say do things that scare you... well, this scares the sh*t out of me! I'll walk into the restaurant like I own the place... and if I fall on my ass then so be it. Might make for a good Part 2 to the story.

Cheers!
Mer

Sh*t That Goes Thru My Head While On The Trainer

My weekday long ride screwed up my system, so this morning instead of doing my usual Saturday long ride, I did a trainer session. To compliment my previous post about Sh*t I think about while riding alone, here's what I think about while on the trainer....

*What shall I listen to.....
*Legs feel good - that's a relief
*I need a GU
*ALL OF LIFE COMES TO ME WITH EASE JOY AND GLORY
*400 Watts - suck on that! I'm a fucking machine!!!
*Tres Cool from Greenday fucking rocks
*My hoo-haaaaa hurts
*One day, that guy walking his bike up the hill outside my house is gonna ride up.  I just know it
*I can't wait for Grand Columbian - I'm gonna rock that course
*Come on Legs!!! GO!!! GO!!! GO!!!
*I need to ride with the Coyotes next weekend. Whatever they're doing, I'm doing it
*No more sugar for me....ever....well, after this GU
*Why am I doing this
*1 minute intervals - GO! NOW!
*I need to buy apples
* I wish DZ was interviewed more. Cracks me up. "...messes with my night's sleep...". Hahahahaaa
*What am I doing with my life
*IM New Zealand 2014....If I can swim by the end of the year, I'm signing the fuck up. Fuck this shit.
*Why did my coach's wife send me a link to a free subscription to Fitness Singles? Shitballs, if I ever do that again, someone fucking shoot me
*ALL OF LIFE COMES TO ME WITH EASE JOY AND GLORY
*Oh my god - 10 more minutes.  It's like hell
*Done.  I'm fucking awesome

July 4th Ride

Yesterday was the 4th of July. Instead of plopping myself in front of the computer to take on-line traffic school I went for a bike ride and did 103 miles. I had mapped out a 100 mile ride from my house so I knew what I was doing, but I didn't really *know* what I was doing.  I had worked up to 80 miles over the past month, but have just been putting in the miles and time. No interval work or hard efforts. My partially torn Rotator Cuff has kept me from swimming or weight lifting so all I've been doing lately is riding and a little bit of running.

As I rolled out, my body felt off and I thought about shortening the ride quite a few times. I wasn't drinking or eating and I knew that was not ideal. Thankfully, the weather was cloudy and overcast and cool. Around Mile 50 I was on a road I've been on before, but it turned out to be a dead end, so I turned around and made my route an "out and back". Around Mile 70 I started to feel better and was forced to decide whether to take a right and go down Palomar Airport road to the coast to get home or my original plan of going up San Elijo, back through Elfin Forest / Del Dios.  The first plan would be a much easier route, but with lots of traffic lights and stop / go. The second plan would be lots of hills, but a nicer, more scenic route.  I chose the 2nd option. I made it up San Elijo without too much difficulty, which surprised me. I stopped at a gas station at Mile 80 and for probably 10 minutes wandered up and down the short isles in a daze.  Finally I bought a water and an Oats and Honey crunchy granola bar. After a short break, I got back on my bike and made my way home. I got sidetracked in Rancho Santa Fe by a parade, but found a way around it.

Post ride I realized I just rode 103 miles with 7,300 feet of climbing and ate 4 gels, 1/2 a Lara bar, an Oats and Honey granola bar and 1 1/2 bottles water. Seems light, but I think the "less is more" nutrition plan works for me.  I do feel a little dehydrated so definitely more water should have been consumed...

I hope everyone had a fantastic 4th of July.  Keep riding.....
Cheers

Inspired

One of the perks of living in San Diego and participating in the sport of triathlon is being part of the largest triathlon club in the country. Well, I think it's the largest...don't quote me on that.  So, even though I'm taking time off from racing, I'm still interested in what's going on in the sport and volunteering and being part of the lifestyle.  When the June club meeting was scheduled and was going to feature Chrissie Wellington, I jumped at the opportunity to hear her speak and purchase her book, "A Life Without Limits".

The interview was great.  Bob Babbitt (Competitor, CAF) usually mc's the interviews at the club meetings and he's a great interview-er. Chrissie is very articulate, smart, funny and an all-around pleasure to listen to. She told a few stories of her pre-triathlon life and they were quite amazing. So when I started reading her book I had a little bit of a clue it would be awesome.....but when I finished, I was left feeling that I had just read the most amazing and inspirational book I had ever read.  Seriously.

First off, the whole first part of the book talks about her studies, work abroad, crazy adventures (mountain biking to the base camp of Mt. Everest - what??!) and a topic that hits home for me....eating disorders and body image issues.  While I don't consider myself ever having a true "eating disorder" (i.e. I've never made myself throw up or went anorexia), my relationship with food has definitely been a bumpy one. And my relationship with myself as far as body image goes, well that has also been a bumpy one. I felt that it was extremely brave of Chrissie to share that part of her story in the book.  Eventually the book switched gears to her triathlon career. I read the stories about her early races, working with a coach for the first time and being the newcomer to the sport. All of which I felt like I could relate to. (Well, except for the part of winning nearly almost every race I entered - heh heh!). The stories of pains and struggles and mental fortitude to keep going were familiar to me.  I can't help but find it ironic that Ms. Wellington decided to take this year off racing and so have I. By no means am I comparing myself to her! But I feel that I put so much pressure on myself and I have ignored parts of life I don't want to ignore anymore and that's my reason for taking a step back. I *think* that's part of Chrissie's reason as well.

If you get a chance, I highly recommend reading her book.  It is quite amazing.  And very inspiring. And I now know that when I'm ready I'll race ironman again. Probably a destination race! Anyone up for Switzerland or New Zealand??

Cheers!

Discover, learn and grow

This past weekend I wandered down to the Solana Beach Street Festival. At first I thought it was cool. But then I realized it just wasn't my thing. I wandered around amongst the crowd...tried to be interested in the booths and see what things were for sale or what businesses were being promoted. I was going to get some food, but none of the food choices nor the beer tent really appealed to me.  I came to the conclusion that I'm not a street festival type of gal.....and that's OK.  So, I wandered up the street and sat at Java Depot...sucked down a delicious smoothie, hung out and enjoyed the moment. Much more my style.  Low key...no crowds....just chill.

While I was wandering around the festival, I asked myself, "why am I here". I came up with two reasons...The first was I felt like I *had* to be there.  It's a street festival...in my neighborhood...I need to check it out.  The second reason was I was bored and didn't want to sit around the house and didn't want to do chores.  I'm happy I went to the festival. I always thought I liked that sort of thing.  But I don't.  That's not to say I'll never go to another street festival again.  I would most certainly go with a friend and have a good time and laugh and hang out....but the festival would be the backdrop to the more important activity of being with the friend and connecting, sharing, laughing, talking, etc...etc...etc. In this world of facebook and twitter and everything else, let's not forget the simple joy of connecting with people face to face and talking!  I digress from my original thought when starting this post.  Next time I do something or try something new for that matter, I'll take a moment to make sure I'm doing it because I want to....not because I have to, or expect anything, or think it'll be cool to post on FB.  Final thought....also this past weekend, I took a Stand Up Paddleboarding class.  Now, that was amazing. And I'm so glad I tried that because I ended up discovering a new thing I like to do. Life is all about discovery, learning and growing.

Cheers!

Today I ran

...because I woke up and felt like it!  I know - such a simple thing.  Why would you do something if you don't want to.  It's not that for the past six years I've swam and rode and ran because I didn't want to....but I did those things mainly because I had to in order to achieve the goal I set out to achieve.  Well this morning, I woke up and I felt like running so I ran.  An easy 30 minute cruise down the street to the ocean and back.  But it was awesome. I listened to the birds.  I listened to the morning traffic. I listened to myself breathe. I don't know how fast I was running or how far I went and I don't care. I didn't log it in Training Peaks or any other training log. I just enjoyed the moment.

I remember when I first moved to San Diego (1 year ago this week), I was having a bit of a crisis.  I struggled a bit with being in a new place, finding my way around, working in a new job environment.  All of the typical things a person would feel when picking up and moving across the country by themselves.  Reflecting back, I was also going through a bit of depression and god knows what else and I made things more dramatic than they needed to be. I was dealing with nagging injuries and couldn't fully do the one thing that was my safe-ground which was train.

I've come a long way in the past year. With the help of some truly amazing people I've gone through some self discovery and acceptance. I'm learning to stop judging people and myself and just be aware. I'm learning what makes me happy, what my strengths and weaknesses are and that I'm not perfect and that's ok. My screen shot on my phone says, "I forgive myself. I don't get to be more perfect than anyone else. I am human".  I have a more positive outlook on life, what I want to do, who fits in my life, who doesn't. I'm excited for the future and new experiences. And running because I want to...not because I have to.

Cheers!

American Zofingen - My finest hour(s)

Well I'm home and a little recovered from the race.  I feel the need to jot down my experience to remind myself when things get tough, they can't really get any tougher than this!

I left San Diego Thursday AM feeling happy and excited and stress free.  I was knowingly "undertrained" for this race due to taking time off to try and properly heal my knee and hammie / glute issues. But I decided that I would just do the race, not put any pressure on myself and really for the first time set no real time goal other than finish and have fun. As the Slowtwitch banterings started (AmZof pre-race smack talk), I knew I was going to meet some amazing, nice and funny people so I made peace with myself for just going for the fun of it.

So back to Thursday.....I board the plane, we depart from the gate and then the pilot tells us a bird flew into the plane the night before and they had a mechanic on the way to check things out and clear us to take off.  OK fine....this takes oh I don't know, about an hour.  We get cleared and then we sit on the taxiway because we missed our opportunity to take off and now there are too many planes on approach (the joy of living in a city with an airport with only one runway).  So we sit another, oh I don't know 30 minutes.  Finally we take off and land in Chicago.  I missed my connection (no surprise), but got re-booked on the next flight. Well, the next flight flew from Chicago to Indianaoplis to Baltimore (3 hour layover) to Albany. So, by the time I landed in Albany, got my suitcase, rented my car and drove to the hotel, it was 1 AM. Ok fine.  The bad part of the trip is over. Let's get some sleep and start having fun TO-morrow.

view on the bike course

me...at the ga-zeeee-bo

Friday I head over to Catskill Mountain Multisport to see if they had my bike. I met John (infamous race director) and Don. They had the bike and everything was in order so Don said he would build it up for me and it would be ready in the AM.  Yay! I knew right away after meeting John and Don this was going to be everything I wanted. A super awesome, low key, fun race....and really really really hard. Don printed out some course maps for me and I took off to drive the bike loop. My first reaction was this wasn't going to be too bad. There are definitely some challenging climbs, but overall it looked manageable. I found the park where the run course and start / finish is. I didn't venture into the woods to actually see the run course. I basically just took in the views and hung out at the gazebo for a bit. The views are spectacular. I had no idea what this part of the country looked like. Spectacular.

Finally I got hungry and ventured into town (New Paltz) and ate at this super cool cafe called Karma Road. The mneu was all organic and full of cool salads, wraps, smoothies, etc.  I ate the kale / avocado salad feeling really good and relaxed and happy. Drove around a bit more and then back to the hotel to chill and sleep.  Sometime in the night I woke up with stomach issues, but they didn't bother me 'til early Saturday morning...when all hell broke lose. No details need to be written.  Let's just say the kale / avocado salad was doing everything it could to get out of my body. Doubled over in pain, I left a message for my friend Lee who was driving over from NYC to say "hi" and hang out for a bit. I told her I was sick, but to call me when she got here. I felt a little better when Lee arrived and we went to get my bike and then did a little exploring. I tried eating a little with some success but as the afternoon was approaching I felt like I wasn't getting much better.

I went to bed Saturday night not really knowing what to do. I was in a state of emotional turmoil. I called my mom and she told me to get some medicine and saltine crackers.  "Mom" I said - "The nearest store is 20-30 minutes away.  I can't get in the car and drive anywhere right now". 99% of the time I'm fine with doing things by myself. I enjoy traveling on my own. I can do whatever I want, see whatever I want to see.  But I must admit, in this moment on Saturday night, all I really wanted was someone there to take care of me. But I digress.  I didn't get much sleep Saturday night.....

Sunday morning I woke up completely confused. I was still feeling a little queasy, but I managed to eat a bagel with some peanut butter and my gear was already packed so I made the final decision to go to the race, get on the start line and just see what happens. The bike and second run are multiple loops so I told myself, if I needed to, I could bail at any time.

setting up

When I arrived at the race, I saw Don who was super happy I showed up which in turn made me super happy. I met a couple of folks who were setting up near me in transition. Everyone was so nice and friendly and happy and not too stressed out. I felt a bit more calm. I chatted with a couple folks who racked their bikes near me and as it turned out we all (well, me + two others) worked in the construction industry. We were chatting about the 'effed up industry we work in....not anything about the race or gear or equipment or the weather or time goals or what races we've done or what races we're doing or how fast can you bike / run or any of the bullshit you usually hear in transition before a race. It was refreshing...

long course start

The long course race started at 7:30....before the race, John gave us some final instructions. Which quite honestly I don't remember and then he played the National Anthem on the bagpipes, which was awesome, and then we were off.

1st Run - 5 miles (trail)
I had no idea what the run course was like so I was excited to venture into the unknown. 47 crazy people started the long course. I put myself at the rear of the pack. My only thought at this point was I wanted to keep a couple folks in my sites because I was deathly afraid of getting lost in the woods. I stayed with a couple folks during most of the run. The course was well marked so those worries faded. But when I wiped out (ahem - twice) on the FLAT section of the course I knew it was going to be a long day. The run course is amazing. The trail is awesome. The hills are impossible to run up. The downhills weren't bad (my knees were grateful for that). I finished the 1st run and headed out on the bike

Bike - 84 miles
I made my way out of the park on the gravel, taking it slow....if I wiped out on the flat part of the run course, the last thing I needed was to wipe out / crash on the bike.  Once out of the park the steepest climb on the bike loop awaits you. So I made my way up and then settled in to the super fast and curvy downhill. More hills, some long climbs, awesome views, a few flat / fast sections and then short of two hours later I found myself at the start of the loop again. I told the volunteers at the aid station I'd catch them on the next loop. As I made my way up the steepest hill for the 2nd time, all I could think was, "how the shit am I going to get up this hill on the 3rd loop". Ah but never mind. I'm over it now and that's what counts. One moment at a time. I made my way around for the 2nd time. I checked my watch and I think I did the 2nd loop just under two hours so I was happy I was at least being consistent on the bike. But looming ahead of me was the "hill". I tried to break it down into sections. But the bottom line is, this is what was going through my head, "You've never gotten off your bike in a race before and I'll be damned if you're going to do it today". "C'mon legs!!!", "Are you f*cking kidding me", "Move! Move! Move!", "f*ck this shit", "oh look - a squirrel". "just get over this stupid f*cking hill...you can do whatever you want after that". At any rate - you get the idea. I made it over the top and collapsed into my aero bars and nearly passed out. I gathered myself and made my way around the final loop. Which I don't remember much of....but I made the turn back into the park and into transition. I racked my bike and said, "what the hell do I have to do now????"

2nd Run - 15 miles (trail - 3 loops of the 1st run)

run course arrows

I stared out on the run and my stomach and legs let me know right off the bat that any thought of running was not going to happen. So I accepted that fact and mentally tried to prepare myself for a 15 mile power hike. During my first loop I met quite a few folks who were either on their 2nd or 3rd loop. They looked fresh and happy and were bounding along. It was hard not to get discouraged, but I gave them well wishes and good jobs because I needed their energy to keep me going. I made my way around the loop, stumbled into the gazebo and saw Don. He asked me how I was doing. I told him I wasn't doing so good...that I'm going to have to walk this entire course. I told him as long as you guys are still here and not tearing down the arrows, I'll keep going. He told me to keep going that he was super proud of me for being out there and that's pretty much all I needed to hear.  The 2nd loop was a repeat of the 1st. I tried running a little, but it wasn't happening and I felt much better just doing a power hike. As I walked through the gazebo the 2nd time, I asked John if I had time to finish and he said I most certainly did so I headed back out. The 3rd loop was very serene. I don't think anyone else was on the course. It was still daylight out, but the animals and critters were much more vocal. I became much more aware of my surroundings. The trees, terrain and everything. I was washing away inner demons. I was going to finish this race. It would have been so easy to quit. It would have been so easy to say, well since I can't run, I might as well just give up. But once I started out on the 3rd loop there was nowhere to go but finish. As I made my way around, I kept telling myself, "how does it get any better than this"?

I was the only crazy F35-39 to do the race :)

I approached the gazebo for the final time, John yelled out - 4th lap?! I probably would have gone out a 4th time...just for the hell of it. But the timing dude took my chip off and John gave me a huge beer stein and I was done.

on the pipes bringing in the final athlete

Most of the post-race party and shenanigans were over, but I did talk with some folks who were lingering about. It was nice just to sit down and chat and share experiences. As it turns out, there was another gal who was finishing behind me and as she approached, John got back on the bagpipes to summon her to the finish. It's that kind of image that will stick with me and in my head. The crew that puts on this race really, truly care about the athletes. Here's another reason to do the race...the live updates (I read this after the race - funny shit here!)

Before this race I decided to take some time off and not sign up for anything big for awhile. Finishing this race was the perfect ending to my first phase of triathlon life. I got into the sport to run away from a lot of things. I have met some truly amazing people the past few years, but I'm not sure I'm having any fun. So I'm going to try some new things and see what I like. The cool thing about living in SoCal is there are triathlons every weekend so I can always sign up for one on the fly if the urge hits me. I do know that I love riding so I see a lot of riding in my future. And I signed up for a stand-up-paddleboarding class. And joined some hiking groups. And cooking classes...and yoga...and volunteering...and wine tastings....and I still want a dog :)

Cheers to all and much love....just keep telling yourself, "how does it get any better than this?"

Smile-y post of the day...with ducks!

This email was sent out on the Tri Club San Diego's email newsgroup.....a very simple act of kindness makes me happy...plus, I just love ducks.

"After the Olympic waves had set off, I walked over to the swim exit just in time to see a duck and her 7 tiny ducklings dash across the racers' path; they made it across, no harm done. Then a tiny 8th came skeetering along, well behind. By then, mom was in the water and paddling like mad to get away from the swimmers. I tried (unsuccessfully) to get #8 reunited; mom was too far from shore. Enter TCSD's own Ray Barrios...he was getting ready for his race, scooped the duckling up, and headed out to open water with it. After several attempts (including a dash along the cove's shore), Ray managed to get them all back together, safe and sound. One of life's minor triumphs. I'm really pleased to be in a sport and organization with such kind and ready-to-pitch-in people!

Thanks, Ray!!"

Ask Questions

Turn negative thoughts into positive ones
Every time you ask a question answer yes
Anything that does not allow that am I willing to destroy and un-create? YES

I've been experimenting with opening up myself to idea of changing the way my mind has been thinking my whole life.  It's a fine line between putting things out in the universe that you "want" and making them happen for yourself.  But, I think by specifically putting things out there that you want to happen you are subconsciously making them happen.

Stay on course
Put forth the effort and take some personal responsibility.
BELIEVE
That which you put out there comes back to you so better to put out positivity
Help others and ask for help when you need it.

The past couple of days I've been wondering if I truly enjoy my job.  Today my sister brought up the fact that for now, even if my job isn't my dream job, it's giving me a paycheck that allows me to focus on the things that are important right now.  Being happy, positive, healing my knees, learning about food and how it affects me. For example today I was feeling great.  Then someone left some cookies in the lunch room at work.  I took two and ate them.  Ten minutes later I was crying.  For no reason.  Sugar really fucks with me.  I forgive myself for eating the cookies because I love myself first and foremost.  And I draw on that love to resist eating the cookie next time.  I have come to terms with the fact that it (sugar) is just something I can no longer have.  Like people who allergic to peanut butter.  Life goes on.  The world will not end!

Back to my original thought when starting this post.  I believe I will run again without pain.
What energy, space and consciousness can my body and I truly be to run pain free as long as I like and advance my personal goals? Anything that does not allow that, am I willing to destroy and un-create? YES

I love this statement I read on twitter yesterday:  "If it is important to you, you will find a way to get it done.  If it's not, you will find an excuse."--@darkhorsetri

And this one: "How can it get any better than this?"--@ZenEnterprises

Make it count,
Mer-ooo

Sh*t that goes through my head while riding alone

--WTF
--Please turn green - I'm not stopping in the middle of this hill
--I'm a rock star
--I need to fix the garbage disposal
--I need to scoop the cat litter
--I need to buy lettuce / veggies
--I need to make a massage appointment
--I need to stop making my "to do" list in my head
--Where am I?
--I should stop and take a picture and post it on FB - ah fuck stopping
--I need to pee
--HTFU
--Oh brilliant - some ass clown drafting off me down the 101.  At least say 'hi" fucker
--Smiling - "Good Morning" :):):)
--I smell bacon
--use.your.ass.muscles.
--I'm hot
--I'm cold
--Wow - that's beautiful
--In Annette's voice - "C'mon legs!!!"
--Nice turn single, ass-wipe
--I miss riding in Wisconsin with the cows
--How can I avoid riding up TFH (that fucking hill) to get home
--C'mon knees - I still need you....don't quit on me now
--Please don't whack me with that surfboard
--I need to stretch more
--I need to do more strength training
--I need to foam roll the crap out of my legs
--I need to quit my job