Don't Be Jealous

You know that post Christmas warm fuzzy feeling that you have as you drive home from seeing all your family, eating lots of food, and opening gifts or sharing memories, then BAM back to reality you have to go back to work?   Well I still have 6 more days to recover from that! Hence, the "Don't Be Jealous" Title!!!  Yes, that is one of the wonderful things about my job we usually get more than a week off at Christmas time this year it's a week and 2 days and with any luck it looks like a snow storm will be coming in the day we're supposed to go back to work and we'll have a snow day.  Ok Ok I know don't push my luck.  But I have to say the most wonderful part about having this time off is that EVERYONE has it off at the same time so you don't come back to a completely ridiculous number of emails and urgent phone messages!

We spent the last 5 days at my parents house in the mountains and it was awesome!  I usually relax the whole time I'm up there.  We went for some hikes and I went for a little run but what I found out is that although it is easy and enjoyable to run in snow it's not so much fun to run in that weird mush/ice/snow mix that you get in between storms so while I was up there I didn't do any long runs.  On one of the hikes my dog came across a carcass that was hideous some one had obviously not done a good job of taking care of their probably illegal kill!! Grrrrrr and my dog started to lick some of the bones before I got her to come to me.  Thank goodness she didn't try to eat it!  YUCK!!!  Half of it's face was eaten off but the other bones were pretty clean!  Other than that the hikes were uneventful.  Ahh the joys of growing up in a small backwoods town. 

Ice skating was the highlight of the outdoor activities while we were there.  It was a popular place to be.  It brought back lots of memories from my childhood!

I also convinced my fam to go to an abandoned horse stables right after it snowed for some family pics.  Someones dog got out of their house and wouldn't listen to them to come back when they called for it.  So we stood their patiently waiting.  But as it kept getting closer we started getting nervous for little Lexi and my husband slowly went near it and it started to back off but the owner yelled "It will bite your ass" which is ridiculous, I picked Lexi up off the ground just in case but then the owner finally got his hands on his dog and said "Sorry about that Merry Christmas" which unfortunately didn't quite make up for the first comment but at least nothing happened!  But by then everyone was getting cold including the dog and we packed it up.  Which if not I might have kept on trying until we got a pic where my dog actually looked happy, check out her face in all our pics...

Now we're back home, going to volunteer for a couple of hours at a food bank, and get back to the gym.  Yesterday's spin class is just what I needed after a long car ride home.  But as for the format of the spin class I'll have a whole nother post about that!!  Have you ever taken a Les Mills RPM Spin class? 

Merry Post Christmas!   Do any of you hit the after Christmas sales or do you avoid it as much as I avoid Black Friday Sales?

Merry Christmas, Ironman Style!

We woke up to some white snow which made my husband very happy, he says he's never had a white Christmas (he grew up in California).  For me it was like most of my Christmases growing up!  It was good to spend the Holidays up in the mountains!  The only thing missing was the rest of the family!  But for my dad and I my brother made us this video of our Ironman Race and we loved it!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Watch out for the ELF!!!!

Santa checks his list to see who’s been naughty or nice, but while he’s checking it twice…. the elf on the shelf is already there….. so for goodness sakes be NICE!!

   MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Happy Holidays from the Arnold Family!

I'm getting so excited for the Holidays and even more for the 7 days I have off from work!!!!!!  I couldn't contain myself any longer.... Happy Holidays blogger family!!!   

A Case of the Mondays...... SIKE!

Am I dating my self by using old slang?  I don't care, you know you're a child of the 80s if...

So interesting fact I have a post that talks about a Case of the Mondays and has a picture of the lady from the movie Office Space that says that.  Turns out that is one of the most searched phrases that sends people to my blog.  I often like to post a "Happy Friday" post and that one never gets searched!!  So I thought I'd surprise them.  Someone have a crappy monday will now find one of my Happy Friday posts!!! :-)  Only interesting to me?  Ok well at lease it's still Friday!

December to Remember FITspiration #14: Change gears every once in a while!  "Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use."
- Charles Schulz

It appears I am on gym bag overload.  I got a surprise package in the mail yesterday and it was, guess.... another gym bag!!!  So I gave my mom one that I had been using since it's still cute and fairly new and switched to my now favorite one.  Hubs needs a new one so I told him he could have one of my extras.  Boom Christmas shopping half way done! :-)

Happy Friday!!  I'm hoping this rain turns into snow!!!

Top Gifts for Tri Chicas

Ok maybe not the top for all but I thought I'd throw my two cents in since 'tis the season for giving.  Which is kind of ironic that I'm creating this list on a year hubs and I announced to the fam that we aren't doing Christmas Gifts.  I think it's good every once in a while to do a gift free Christmas and maybe do a little extra giving of your time instead.  I've done that before where I had asked everyone in my family instead of giving me a material gift they volunteered 8 hours some where in my name.  This year we are also bracing ourselves for hubs to go back to school and to be on one salary so it serves more than one purpose.  I've been so lucky in everything I've been able to do and experience this year that I truly feel I've gotten all my gifts ahead of time any way so maybe that's cheating a lil' but I'm ok with that.

So here it goes a list if you have a hard time thinking of what to get the Tri Ladies in your life:

*  Endurance inspired jewelry

*  A race entry
Make sure you know her favorite distance or this could go wrong :-) 

* A comfy post race outfit

* A personalized medal hanger (because you know she's going to rock all her races next year)

* A bib belt

* A fun transition towel to make her laugh during the race

* A giftcard to an online tri/bike store most girls do like shopping but it's hard to get tri stuff at a store out of the mall

* A bike/wine tour through pretty scenery in case you need a break from all that training

* A personalized gym bag (you could get her name or favorite inspirational saying on it)

* Post race massage & spa day

* A tattoo (ok maybe not for all but for someone who's accomplished something like say an Ironman this might be appropriate)

* Or of course my personal favorite a great technical shirt or tri inspired greeting cards by yours truly! :-0

Bonus!  Enter coupon code: 20%off  for a great discount!!  From now until the 1st of the year!  at my shop  http://cautiouslyaudacious.blogspot.com/p/shop-cautiously-audacious.html


Happy Training & Holidays!!  What would your favorite gift be?

Nutcracker Sprint Triathlon

Happy Monday!! Just go with it, if you pretend like you're happy for Monday and smile real big eventually you can convince yourself you're having a good time! :-)  So over the weekend I did a little sprint tri called the Nutcracker and I had fun despite feeling tired!  There was no pressure and I was just doing it because I figured why not I'm trained up anyway from the IM and it will be a good way to start next season!   This counts as the 1st one towards the Southwest Challenge Series for next year.  But here's a question if I was in the 30-34 AG this triathlon but the rest of the series and season I will be in the 35-39 AG will they still give me the point for this one?!?!?!!  I hope so!

There was supposed to be a storm coming in on Sunday so people were a little nervous about this one but luckily it didn't hit until the afternoon.  It ended up being a perfect brisk morning for a triathlon and it was a reverse tri which meant the swim was last so we got to run and bike dry.  What else could you ask for?

They haven't posted the splits yet but I know my run was slower than normal somewhere around 28 versus 23-24.  Side note: my Garmin refused to work the night before so I ran naked! It will turn on and turn right back off even when it's fully recharged!!!  The run was pretty hilly and my lungs were screaming so I was still happy with this 5k time.

The bike had some hills and there was a head wind on the way back for the uphill part but it was so short of a ride that it didn't bother me.

The swim was a little out of control but I just tried to go with it.  It was in a pool and you did it one way in each lane and went under, then had to get out of the pool and get a rubber band on your wrist so that they'd know you went through once then you had to run back to the start and jump back in and do it again!  There were bottle necks to jump in and climb out on the stairs they made you do that and everyone was getting elbowed and kicked.  One poor guy got hit so hard they had to pull him out cause he had a major nose bleed.

Now I have to tell you hubs was an awesome cheerleader for me on this one and I was so happy he actually made it to watch me race even though it wasn't an important race.  He wanted to get a ride in so he left the house before me and met me at the race start.  But on the way he had a pretty bad wreck that bent some of the teeth on his chain ring, tore through 3 pairs of clothing and scraped his bum and elbow.  But he still got up and made it because he didn't want to call me and have me not start the race.  What a trooper!!  Thanks!  So of course I wanted to make sure he didn't show up for nothing. :-)

Disclaimer it was a small race especially being winter but I was still happy.



1st in AG:

  1  248  Natasha Arnold                 1:18:39
   2  233  Kateri West                   1:20:02
   3  240  sherie crupper                1:32:23
   4  236  Kate Hicks                    1:33:02
   5  197  Rebecca Stair                 1:36:33
   6  302  Crystal Begay                 1:40:39
   7  318  Anita Foutz                   1:43:44

Now one thing I noticed is Over All female I ended up in 10th but look how close we all were:

  6  350     F60-64    tove shere               1:17:25
   7  295     F45-49    Laura Powers             1:18:06
   8  182     F35-39    Marisa Snyder            1:18:15
   9  275     F25-29    McKane Sharff            1:18:27
  10  248     F30-34    Natasha Arnold           1:18:39
 
If only I hadn't stopped to pick my nose during transition!!! Just kidding but really I always kick myself for taking my time during transition or not jumping into the pool with out waiting and being nice...

So with that I officially end my 2012 triathlon season and what a season it was!

Happy Training!  Let it snow!
 
 
 

Happy Friday!

Are you having a December to Remember filled with FITspiration!?!??!  I made it through week one of our month of gluttony at work and didn't eat anything all week other than today I had a serving of fruit that someone brought in.  So I think it's helping me to have a daily reminder! Yay!

Today's word of the day is:  DANCE

It's fun, it burns calories, and sometimes even the people watching can burn calories laughing.  So dance away my friends!

Here is a rundown of some of the favorite one's I've found:

#1 Dog Dancing  who doesn't love that?!?

 
#2 My one and only mother loves dancing more than anyone I know and if you ever play anything by Santana she can't control herself no matter where she is!!!

#3  Ladies if you ever wander how ridiculous you might look doing your "sexy" moves on the dance floor just have a guy demonstrate for you...

Happy Friday!! 

Lasagna Rolls Recipe and Work Joke

Do you love how creative I can get with my titles?  Ok I'll work on it but at least this way you are getting exactly what it says! :-)

Lasagna Rolls

This one is quick, easy, yummy, and lo cal!!

Box Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles (follow directions on box to cook)

Filling
Fresh or frozen spinach 1 bunch or 1 bag
1-2 tblsp Olive Oil
Garlic 2-4 cloves peeled and crushed
1/2 white Onion diced
Spices as desired salt, pepper, caraway, oregano, parsley, basil, thyme
Low Fat Ricotta Cheese

Saute garlic and onion and add spices to olive oil, slowly add spinach until cooked.  Let this cool then add to the Ricotta cheese and mix together until smooth

Spread about 2 tblsp of the filling on each noodle and roll.  Put in a glass oven container

Spread freely with marinara sauce, this can be store bought or my favorite homemade sauce I posted here.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese then bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

For 2 rolls it is 310 calories and about 6g fat.


Work Joke

When I walked into work this morning I found these on my desk:

At first I was a little weirded out wandering who left that there, thinking maybe I shouldn't eat them in case it was a disgruntled employee.  Then in a meeting later that day my boss asked, "Did you like the tic tacs?" and started laughing.  I said "OOOOHHH that was you? Whew!"  See we are always joking because I startle him, he can never hear me coming and there's times I'm standing all the way in his office and I think he's seen me so I just wait for him to be done with what he's working on but then he looks up surprised because he didn't know I was there. 

We are also both big Seinfeld fans and we talk about that episode with Elaine and the Sideler.  She got him tic tacs to put in his pocket so she could hear him coming.  So when he saw those he had to get them for me! 

How is your December to Remember coming along?  I'm happy to say one week down and I'm sticking to my fitness/nutrition goals.!!!

Happy Training!

December to Remember: FITspiration

Let's make this a December to Remember!    Remember being FIT that is!  I figured everyone was doing a thankful post each day in November why not do something for December.  I remember I use to always hear people talk about the "holiday" weight gain but I had never experienced it until last year.  I gained about 4 lbs last holiday season.  See where I work starting the first of December they assign 2 people for each day to bring in snacks.  There are 2 separate holiday parties where we eat and they still have 2 people bring snacks on those days too!  So I thought I'd be careful not to partake everyday but obviously I wasn't careful enough. 

It's also the beginning of "off" season for most of the endurance community and it is normal to gain a few pounds for that but if you add holiday weight + off season weight = slow runner!

So who's in?  Let's post something every day on our FB or other media pages that will help us remember to stay fit this off/holiday season.  If you want like my FB page and tell me you are going to participate then I'll make sure and link back to your page each time you post a December to Remember FITspiration or just come on over and share mine that I'll be posting each day!

Today is the 3rd so I already posted one the 1st & 2nd

December 1st was:   December to Remember FITspiration #1: It may be too warm for snow but don't fret "Frosty the snowman knew the snow was hot that day So he said lets run and have some fun before I melt away" Did you go for a run today?

I see this guy everyday now driving to work!

December 2nd was:  December to Remember FITspiration #2: with the long winter months ahead usually off season you forget what you look like under all those comfy layers. SO go try on a cute bathing suit at your local fitness store (they are really cheap right now) since you are in awesome shape from a whole season of training, and stay ready to fit into it as soon as spring is here!

... today's will be:

December to Remember FITspiration #3: December to Remember FITspiration #3: Find inspiration in unexpected places and act on it. Every time I'm going to get a new pair of tennis shoes I remember this book and my first run in my new shoes is always exciting and I may even try to jump over a few things! :-)



































My new tennis shoes, and yes, yesterdays run was a fun one!

The Afterglow

Found this gem at trexrunner's blog

Now that it's been a few weeks since Ironman Arizona I am still basking in the after glow that is Ironmanitis!  This means you feel invincible, you figure you can conquer any challenge, why not I did an Ironman!  You think you are an expert in all things endurance.  You are so confident in yourself that it oozes into other aspects of your life.  And maybe just maybe you annoy a person or two with this attitude :-)   I can't tell you how many times in the last 2 weeks that my dad has called me and said "that was fun!"  I wander if the Ironman erased some of his memory, but he is loving it more than me!

But what has been nice this time around is that it not only did I finish I didn't let it beat me down!!  Sure I may have almost considered dropping out but last time I remember it took me two weeks to even think about doing easy workouts.  This time I was back into the swing of things 4 days later and am loving it!  Last time it took me almost 2 years to shake the burn out feeling, this time I signed up for a race almost as soon as I was back.  Next weekend I have a sprint tri and can't wait!!!!

My main goal is to not gain any off season weight then I will start thinking about next year's race goals.  It has been really hard to stick to eating less.  I'm CONSTANTLY hungry and am keeping a food log to assure myself that yes, I am eating the sufficient amount of food despite what my body is trying to tell me.  Apparently my body didn't get the MEMO!  Hello you are no longer training for an IM you can eat less!!!

So for now I will enjoy this feeling and keep my fingers crossed that we actually get a ski season, I can't believe how warm it is here for this time of year!!!  55 degrees really!?  The only thing I love more than triathlons is skiing! 

Happy Friday!

Ironman AZ Recap Part III

Ok so I didn't get these out back to back as I had hoped but still catching up at work which means I've been exhausted by the end of the day!  If you missed it here are the previous two Part I  and Part II.

Run 6:26:10

Apparantly the sunscreen felt gross going on...

This is where the real gut check came (literally and figuratively) I definitely got to know myself really well and did some desperate soul searching.  I had trained more for this Ironman than the last but I have to say the run is where I had trained up the most and I felt the well prepared.  However, this was the only leg that was slower than the last time I did it!  As I had mentioned in my previous post I was dizzy when I got off the bike at transition.  I thought no big deal it will go away and I'll power through, which is what I did on loop 1 of the run.  I jogged most of it and only had to walk a little during some of the aid stations.  At the end of loop 1 I was so excited I was on track to finish the race 2-3 hours faster than last time and my goal had been to finish 1 hour faster.  I also had made up half of the 30 minute gap my dad had put between us on the bike so I knew that meant I'd get to see him soon!

My bro studying between our bike & run loops...

SIL & Bro taking a much needed break..

Loop 2 between the second and third aid station is where it hit me hard.  The dizziness had subsided but a little too late it had caused me to get severely nauseous!  My stomach was not happy with me!  I could feel the blood drain from my face and at first I thought I'd just make a porta potty stop and it'd all be better.  Wrong that didn't help at all.  I tried to sip a little bit of water, wasn't going to stay down, tried to eat a pretzel, made it worse, tried to sip a little bit of soda, my stomach didn't care.  So I walked for a while.  Then as I thought it had subsided I tried to start jogging again.  I even had my dad in my sights but it was just too much too handle I had to walk again.  Every time I'd try to pick up again and jog it would set my stomach off.  I was seeing spots and feeling ill.  I started thinking I haven't noticed where any of the medical tents are.  I started to look around for one.  Then I thought no way I have so many people depending on me, I've made it to half way on the run not much more to go, I can't not get that finishers medal!!!  I kept walking and towards the end of loop 2 I walked along side someone who was on their 3rd loop and almost done but had been experiencing the same race as me.  He had an inner ear infection the week before IM, was given nausea medication but didn't like the side effects so hadn't taken it, did well the first 2 legs, got dizzy off the bike, had been walking it in since lap 2.  He told me not to quit he said if you walk it in you will still finish without getting sick and it's better to finish than to give up.  This gave me hope!  When I saw my husband on the 2nd loop I asked him to walk with me for a minute and I told him what was going on so I told him I'd be slower than expected but that I was going to walk it in and finish!


I also ran (walked) into someone else who was their with his daughter and he was trying to catch up to her.  They had also trained together, for them it was their 1st IM for both.  He had also had a bad bicycle wreck in March right before ramping up training just like my dad.  He caught up to her and said "good luck now go find your dad!"  I found him and he did not look happy.  But looks can be deceiving!  We had a few laughs he kept telling me to go ahead I didn't want to tell him what all was going on I wanted him to concentrate on his race but I told him trust me you aren't holding me back.  I finally gave in and walked ahead.  I kept walk/jogging having to stop whenever I'd get too nauseous.  At this point I was no longer able to hydrate at all I couldn't keep anything down.  But luckily I had hydrated and fueled very well during the bike.  As I rounded the corner in to the finishers shoot I was ecstatic, to think at one point I had actually thought I wouldn't make it here that night!  PShhhh what was I thinking!  I smiled jogged it in forced people to high five me, saw my sister in law and best friend with huge smiles, then my mom, finally my husband waiting at the finishers line.  He quickly whisked me away from the catchers at the finish because I had told him no matter what don't let them take me to the medical tent.  I knew what was wrong and that I'd just need time to recover.  Then I asked if I could stay and wait to be the one to put the finishers medal on my dad.  THEY LET ME!!!  Not even 20 minutes later my dad came running down the finishers shoot!!!! YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!!  My dad is a very laid back mellow man that doesn't show much emotion but this is the biggest smile I have ever seen on his face!!!!  I was so proud to put the finishers medal on him!  I new he'd finish because I had to have gotten my stubbornness and determination from somewhere!

He kept saying my feet feel like mush!  I told him it's ok that's normal.  But then when he took off his shoes he had tennis ball sized blister on each foot!  My family had already picked up our bikes and gear bags and had them in the car.  I had the BEST Support crew ever!!!!!  I also know so many people were watching us online and I knew there was no way I could fail with friends and family like this.  So dad "you are an Ironman" at 64 and as he said I have created a monster.  You started me in triathlons by introducing me to Ironkids when I was 11 and I didn't let you leave the triathlon world by introducing you to Ironman! 

Finish time 15:44:22  45 minutes faster than last time for me so just missed my goal by 15 minutes...
Dad's finish time 15:56:14

Thank you to everyone who has loved and supported me I appreciate each and every encouraging word you've ever given me.  I told my husband "your wife is a badass!" ;-)  He posted this on his FB "What's that? Your wife is training for a 5k?? That's cute, mine just finished her second Ironman..... "  I love that we can both be so proud of each other for our accomplishments.  My mom who has made it as a spectator through two of these and worries way too much about us is a trooper for putting up with our training!  My brother who has inspired me to overcome obstacles and doesn't even know it was there with his wife to see us finish.  When he gave my dad a hug at the finish and the two normally stoic faces broke out into huge smiles that was priceless.  And my best friend who has been at the finish line of EACH of my major milestones as an age grouper was perky as usual.  I can't say thank you enough to everyone!

BFF and her hubs!

Oldest finisher at this year's race 78 from Santa Fe, NM

"You can quite and no one will care, but you will always know."

Ironman AZ Race Recap Part II

All righty now that the Thanksgiving festivities are over, I managed to get way to full which I hate doing note to self don't let that happen again, but I redeemed myself at the gym the next day, maybe?  I'm beginning to be able to think straight again.  In case you missed part I of my race recap you can read it here.

Bike 7:21; avg pace 15.21 mph


After I managed to get my face to warm up a little and not be in this permanent frozen look of fear and shock (which in my head I thought was smiling) I had my bike handed to me and took off.  This is a 3 loop course which can be good or bad.  There is a part that goes through town (which I hated) and a part that goes on the beeline highway (which I loved).  I think the reason I liked it better on the highway is because I could just keep my head down and pedal, not too much thinking I could just detach myself from what was going on and just check my pace every once in a while.  One guy didn't like it so much as I passed him mumbled "Flat course my ass!"  It was all I could do to not laugh histerically, this false flat had caught me off guard the first time on this course as well but this time I was ready for it.  

Loop one was my slowest I think because I had to warm up.  Loop two was my fastest and I felt so good going both up and down I even was whistling and singing on the way back down!  I felt so good and happy at this point and I realized I was steadily keeping my pace at about 2 mph faster than the last time I did this race.  On both loop 2 & 3 there was a headwind on the way back down but the downhill helped neutralize the effect on my pace.

Photographer #1 my awesome mom

Photographer #2 my awesome husband

Loop three my right hip started to hurt and it was radiating down to my right ankle and foot as well as that foot kept going numb.  I have never had this problem before on this bike so I know it's not a bike fit problem.  I'm thinking it was left over complications from my bike accident a few weeks before.  My shoulders and neck hurt by the end but not like I had remembered last time where they had felt like they were on fire.  No this time what hurt the most was downtown from sitting on that seat for so lond and deciding not to change into bike shorts this time I rode in my tri suit which has much less padding!  I kept spinning and standing on the way down to try and get some blood flow down there and a break from the pain... but that is expected.  I had to stop and pee on each loop of the bike course which I suppose is a good thing because it meant I was staying hydrated. 

When I got to the dismount line they were yelling at me to get off my bike, which I did with no objections.  But then they wanted to grab my bike away from me and I wouldn't let go!  It turns out I was instantly dizzy when I got off the bike everything started to spin.  So I had to hold on to the bike for a minute to stabilize myself.  I finally let them have it and took off to transition still feeling dizzy but at least  knowing I wasn't going to fall over.

My dad blew me away on the bike as expected I think he finished about 30 minutes ahead of me on this!  Way to go!


Transition 2 4:41 quicker that the 1st one even with a quick pee stop.  I took my Advil on this one and debated taking one of my anti-nausea motion sickness pills but decided the side effects wouldn't be worth it.

You are an Ironman! I survived!

So this is the first time I've sat down to write a race recap and feel like I need a multi post race recap!!  I figure if any race deserves it it's an Ironman that you did with your dad!  But for those of you who are looking for instant gratification or don't want to read someone else's boring antics about their race, I gave you a freebie in the title! :-)  So we finished and that's all that matters, THE END!

But for my own edification ok not really for my own narcissistic tendencies I will break this down:

Pre-Race

It was Thursday night, my parents had already come into town and I had to pack my bag.  I pulled out my special tri towel that has a checklist on it and did the usual ritual of laying out all my stuff into piles, pre race warm up gear, swim, special needs 1 & 2, bike, run, after.

All along feeling nervous and a little sick to my stomach I have no idea why nerves took over on this race I think it was a combination of several things: my dad was counting on me and it was his first Ironman, would I wipe out my 1st IM finish if I didn't finish this one?, I had a bike crash only 2 weeks before and I still couldn't sleep on that side cause it hurt, I had an inner ear infection 1 week before that had been making me dizzy and nauseous, I had so many more people that knew I was doing it and would be tracking me, I had trained much more for this one in hopes of finishing 1 hour faster than last time (last time was 16:24), etc.

Friday morning we took off in 1 car with my dad, myself, and my husband at 7 am to make it in time to Tempe for mandatory athlete check-in.  My mom was waiting for my bro & SIL to get off work to drive there with them.

We made it & checked in:

interesting they didn't make us weigh ourselves in front of everyone this time like they had in 2008 we just had to write it down which I appreciated.  :-)

Went to the athlete dinner and meeting.

Saturday morning we slept in a little 7am, went to the hotel breakfast then headed to the practice swim which I had not done last time but I wanted my dad to be as prepared as possible.  We just got in long enough to know how much we would be dreading the cold water, gulp some gross lake water, and do a few strokes.  My dad and I were both in a better mood after this I think because the cold water energized us and for just a moment we weren't nervous just excited about what was to come....

Sunday up bright and early at 4 am and one awesome thing was we had signed up for spot on the hotel shuttle so didn't have to worry about parking and road closures!!!  My stomach was doing somersaults.  I had a bagel with peanut butter and honey for breakfast.  Once we got there checked the bikes, safety pinned our chips on, got body marked (he asked if I was a pro) cute I know he had to ask to see if I needed a P on my leg but I still had to chuckle.  Put on a neoprene cap that a nice guy in the lobby the night before had given me because it hadn't fit him.  I know you aren't supposed to change anything before the race but the water was so cold I was willing to risk it, they were all sold out of booties in the local tri shop.  I had a sleeveless wetsuit same as last time which had been my dad's back in the day, he rented his. 

Swim 1:43 As everyone was jumping into the water I got my feet wet and just walked along this ledge to get as close to the start as possible and didn't jump in to tread water until 5 minutes before race start.  They did the national anthem everyone cheered, they announced you will be an Ironman today, more cheering!!!  Then we were off!  I just kept thinking slow and steady, slow and steady, don't look up there's no point just wastes energy an slows you down.  I got kicked and punched way more this time there were about 800 more people in the race this year compared to last time but I didn't mind I new it was part of the race and at least I knew I could still feel it which meant my face and body hadn't gone completely numb or FALLEN OFF YET from the cold! :-)  The water seemed a little choppy for some reason but I kept thinking I was imagining it since it's a lake.

Got out and held on to the guard rail for a while and took my steps carefully because I was determined not to fall like I had last time and I didn't, goal 1 accomplished.  I survived the swim.  My hubs said I looked pissed when I got out and my face was swollen, but I remember I was trying to smile and wave guess my face was just too frozen to show it.  They tried to get me to into the warming tent but I refused.  I just took a blanket and kept going.

8 minutes and change:  Transition the volunteer did have to help me put my socks and shoes on cause my hands wouldn't function.  I didn't get to take my advil though cause I couldn't get the foil open and decided to forget it same with the tri sleeves I was going to wear but it turned out to be a good decision.....

My dad finished the swim about 5-6 minutes faster than me but was slower in transition.

Next post will have to wait until after Thanksgiving festivities wear off!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!