My phone, FB and residential mail has been increasingly filled with baby announcements and shower invites as of late, simultaneously making me really happy and antagonizing my feelings of wanting to have my own babies. I'm so happy for all my pregnant friends! It's an exciting time. I want to join the club. Your pregnancies are feeding my excitement. Specifically, I selfishly want my Kansas sister to have her baby before we move so I can meet her.
For now I will sit here and drink wine with my family, consisting of my husband and 2 fur children. No babies. NO BABIES. It's fine, haha. Until we get to England. But then there will be several pubs I would like to check out........dilemnas.
I remember when having kids was a distant thing in the far future. "When I'm 27 or 28, I'll have kids. Or something." And that was "forever" away. Well now I'm 28. Closer to 29. I know I'm still "young" (whatever). I'm extending my deadline.
I miss being 22, not even thinking about babies and having what seemed like forever to start. ENJOY YOUR EARLY/MID-20s, KIDS! :-p
But I also love being 28. I'm so much better than I was back then. And I don't view babies as ending your life. I'm ready. But I think me getting pregnant right now could potentially make our move a hot mess.
Maybe soon, you can find me in the pub. With my English baby. They do that there, apparently??
I know Dave is more excited for the 3-4 year old phase so maybe we can trade off 3 years at a time. I'll take the newborn phase. Planning is important.
Anyways, CONGRATULATIONS to all my pregnant friends. You know who you are :)
Ok, but seriously. Where did my 20's go? It's like my alarm is going off and I'm just hitting snooze.
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Monday, September 23, 2013
Friends, Canvas & Finger paint
This weekend we went to dinner with Mike & Aimee and celebrated Homecoming with the rest of Wichita's high schoolers at Red Rock Canyon. We toasted to the kids with some dirty vodka martinis. This was unplanned, but fun. My last homecoming was 11 years ago. What??? I will say, we looked less like prostitutes at our dances back in the day....and Dave was unimpressed by the guys (well they looked more like 10 year old boys) not in suits. Maybe he will feel differently when we are asked to pay for our kid's suits and dresses one day :) Then we introduced Mike and Aimee to the game Cards Against Humanity. Fortunately they did not get offended, so we can all still be good friends. Not that I thought that would be a problem. Needless to say, we had a great night with plenty of laughter and outbursts. As if that game isn't good enough, there is something even more special about playing with first-timers :)
And yesterday...the first day of fall. Autumn. My favorite. I'll give it to Kansas....the weather really attempted to acknowledge the occasion :) It just so happened that I was getting together witth my friend Rachel for our Second Annual craft day. It was so much fun we may even throw in a second craft this season! :)
As I browsed Google and Pinterest for ideas, I have to say I was more drawn to the crafts intended for small children than to the more complicated, adult projects. Maybe my inner 5-year old just needed to get out. I sent Rachel a few ideas but in the end we decided on this paint project. We made our trip to Michael's to get the whole list of 2 supplies we needed (canvas and finger paint :) We threw in glitter to really spice things up. We grabbed some Chipotle on the way home to fuel our bodies and creative minds (critical for a real artist.....obviously).
It was so. much. fun. catching up and using the right sides of our brains. At first, I thought it was impossible to go wrong with this craft. How can you mess up an outline of your arm/hand (which most of us learned how to do when we were 5) and a bunch of dots? Much to our surprise, the arrangement of the dots do not necessarily look like a tree. It's not a given. Hilarious. You had to be there. But with Rachel's guidance, we were able to turn random dots into trees. I am going to MISS THIS GIRL.
There are few people I can talk to about absolutely anything. Well, and not feel weird. We can talk about pregnancy, babies (no I'm not pregnant and no I don't have a baby, but she's about to teach me everything :), our visions of parenthood, sex scandal Dateline stories, school, work, life goals, family, it doesn't matter......so glad we met 3 years ago. She's like my Kansas sister. We might need to craft over Skype next fall when I'm in England. :(
And yesterday...the first day of fall. Autumn. My favorite. I'll give it to Kansas....the weather really attempted to acknowledge the occasion :) It just so happened that I was getting together witth my friend Rachel for our Second Annual craft day. It was so much fun we may even throw in a second craft this season! :)
As I browsed Google and Pinterest for ideas, I have to say I was more drawn to the crafts intended for small children than to the more complicated, adult projects. Maybe my inner 5-year old just needed to get out. I sent Rachel a few ideas but in the end we decided on this paint project. We made our trip to Michael's to get the whole list of 2 supplies we needed (canvas and finger paint :) We threw in glitter to really spice things up. We grabbed some Chipotle on the way home to fuel our bodies and creative minds (critical for a real artist.....obviously).
It was so. much. fun. catching up and using the right sides of our brains. At first, I thought it was impossible to go wrong with this craft. How can you mess up an outline of your arm/hand (which most of us learned how to do when we were 5) and a bunch of dots? Much to our surprise, the arrangement of the dots do not necessarily look like a tree. It's not a given. Hilarious. You had to be there. But with Rachel's guidance, we were able to turn random dots into trees. I am going to MISS THIS GIRL.
There are few people I can talk to about absolutely anything. Well, and not feel weird. We can talk about pregnancy, babies (no I'm not pregnant and no I don't have a baby, but she's about to teach me everything :), our visions of parenthood, sex scandal Dateline stories, school, work, life goals, family, it doesn't matter......so glad we met 3 years ago. She's like my Kansas sister. We might need to craft over Skype next fall when I'm in England. :(
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Stay Soft
I saw this on the FB yesterday. When I was in the Air Force, they used to say "10% of the people will take up 90% of your time." It was true. I think the same goes for the world. We can focus so much of our attention on tragedy & evil and forget about all that is good and all who are good.
On a personal level, I have definitely allowed myself to become hard to people I come across. I've put a guard up because of bad or broken relationships. But I was just thinking the other day that I'm so grateful for people in my life who knowingly or unknowingly break down that guard by just being great friends. Great people, really. They seem like they are willing to risk pain and put themselves out there. They are vulnerability role models (I just Brenee Brown-ed that). And then I'm reminded to be softer.
Don't let the world make you hard. Don't let people make you hard.
Are you hard or soft?
Friday, September 20, 2013
Colorado Flood Experience Part 1
The last time I checked in we were about to list the house. A lot has happened since last Wednesday, but I still haven't gotten used to seeing this:
I read somewhere when I was trying to figure out how to get the house ready that when you put your house on the market, you can no longer think of it as yours. I know the context of that was in terms of decor, taking down family photos (which we didn't really do) and sort of un-personalizing everything. But once the sign went in the ground and the listing surfaced on the internet, a feeling of sadness came over us as we realized we were actively trying to sell our house to someone else. Of course it isn't ours anymore.
We put the sign in the ground and drove away immediately after. We were heading to Colorado for about 5 days for a Running Coach Certification course I've been wanting to do for a long time. And this is where I would get some perspective on "house" and "home."
Fast forward 8-9 hours and we arrived in Arvada, CO where we were staying with some of my family. We had a nice dinner with them but then the focus quickly sort of turned to the weather that seemed to be turning into a problem. Rain, rain, rain. It's kind of blurry now so I don't remember how serious it got that evening, but by the next morning it was bad. My class wasn't scheduled to start until 1 p.m. in Boulder and all morning we watched the news and the flooding that was developing. I hadn't heard anything from the instructors at about 1145 and was about to get ready when I got a call from Lorraine Moller, one of the instructors. She said they had been evacuated from the Newton building and to standby. She called back shortly after and gave me an alternate location to go at 3. It was a Newton employee's house, still in Boulder.
That afternoon was Dave's first glimpse of his chauferring job that weekend. Getting me there was fairly painless. I got a warm welcome when I walked in the door from several of my classmates who were already there. We all quickly became comfortable around each other and were having a lot of fun in this cozy little setting, curled up with blankets and watching the lecture on a flat screen tv. I kept looking out the window, but honestly wasn't thinking too much about the flooding. By the time Dave came to pick me up at 7, he had a hell of a time getting back. He was frustrated. Then, we had an even better time trying to get out of Boulder and back to Arvada. 2 hours of running into road closure after road closure and turning around to try something new, going further and further out of our way. If we had been returning any later I am fairly certain we would have gotten stuck somewhere. I think my aunt was a little worried when I called and told her we were having problems getting out. Water was rushing everywhere. At one point, we were trying to go down a side street to go further east and all these cars were turning around in front of us. When we got up there, there were no cops or police cars so we decided to creep along and see why we couldn't go that way. All of the sudden, someone was blasting a huge spotlight at us from a house....blinding. I guess that was a resident trying to tell us "bad idea." There were so many road closures that we started seeing ambulances, in addition to cops, blocking off roads.
Between my aunt and uncle's navigation, my handy little smartphone (that thankfully still worked even though every single person in the immediate area was probably using theirs), and sometimes driving on the opposite side of the road to avoid flooded roads, we got back. That felt good.
For the next couple of days, Dave drove me to class the long way due to all of the road closures. There was only one open road into Boulder. In the evening we would watch the news and see all the destruction in Longmont, Lyons, Boulder and other areas of the state. Sad and heartbreaking. Families evacuated out of their homes, over 1,000 people unaccounted for and fatalities (up to 7 now). Fortunately, for them and us, my aunt and uncle live in an area that was not severly affected along with my cousin who goes to school in Golden.
I also felt very fortunate that despite the weather, we were able to complete our course. Despite everything going on, it was an absolutely fantastic experience. The instructors invited us to return and retake the course during one of the later dates if we would like, but we had a great group of people in our class and I really enjoyed getting to know them a little bit. I'll post more about that later. Here are a few photos of the area just across the street from where we were still able to do our drills for class. The water was up to the road. In the grand scheme of it all, this was minor.
It really felt odd to have such a great experience in the middle of chaos. We also had a wonderful time with my aunt, uncle and cousins.
I felt guilty that I got so much out of that 4 days when so many people lost so much. And when we drove up to the house, I felt so grateful for our home...even with a sale sign in front of it.
Here are ways to help & support the victims of the flooding.
We put the sign in the ground and drove away immediately after. We were heading to Colorado for about 5 days for a Running Coach Certification course I've been wanting to do for a long time. And this is where I would get some perspective on "house" and "home."
Fast forward 8-9 hours and we arrived in Arvada, CO where we were staying with some of my family. We had a nice dinner with them but then the focus quickly sort of turned to the weather that seemed to be turning into a problem. Rain, rain, rain. It's kind of blurry now so I don't remember how serious it got that evening, but by the next morning it was bad. My class wasn't scheduled to start until 1 p.m. in Boulder and all morning we watched the news and the flooding that was developing. I hadn't heard anything from the instructors at about 1145 and was about to get ready when I got a call from Lorraine Moller, one of the instructors. She said they had been evacuated from the Newton building and to standby. She called back shortly after and gave me an alternate location to go at 3. It was a Newton employee's house, still in Boulder.
That afternoon was Dave's first glimpse of his chauferring job that weekend. Getting me there was fairly painless. I got a warm welcome when I walked in the door from several of my classmates who were already there. We all quickly became comfortable around each other and were having a lot of fun in this cozy little setting, curled up with blankets and watching the lecture on a flat screen tv. I kept looking out the window, but honestly wasn't thinking too much about the flooding. By the time Dave came to pick me up at 7, he had a hell of a time getting back. He was frustrated. Then, we had an even better time trying to get out of Boulder and back to Arvada. 2 hours of running into road closure after road closure and turning around to try something new, going further and further out of our way. If we had been returning any later I am fairly certain we would have gotten stuck somewhere. I think my aunt was a little worried when I called and told her we were having problems getting out. Water was rushing everywhere. At one point, we were trying to go down a side street to go further east and all these cars were turning around in front of us. When we got up there, there were no cops or police cars so we decided to creep along and see why we couldn't go that way. All of the sudden, someone was blasting a huge spotlight at us from a house....blinding. I guess that was a resident trying to tell us "bad idea." There were so many road closures that we started seeing ambulances, in addition to cops, blocking off roads.
Between my aunt and uncle's navigation, my handy little smartphone (that thankfully still worked even though every single person in the immediate area was probably using theirs), and sometimes driving on the opposite side of the road to avoid flooded roads, we got back. That felt good.
For the next couple of days, Dave drove me to class the long way due to all of the road closures. There was only one open road into Boulder. In the evening we would watch the news and see all the destruction in Longmont, Lyons, Boulder and other areas of the state. Sad and heartbreaking. Families evacuated out of their homes, over 1,000 people unaccounted for and fatalities (up to 7 now). Fortunately, for them and us, my aunt and uncle live in an area that was not severly affected along with my cousin who goes to school in Golden.
I also felt very fortunate that despite the weather, we were able to complete our course. Despite everything going on, it was an absolutely fantastic experience. The instructors invited us to return and retake the course during one of the later dates if we would like, but we had a great group of people in our class and I really enjoyed getting to know them a little bit. I'll post more about that later. Here are a few photos of the area just across the street from where we were still able to do our drills for class. The water was up to the road. In the grand scheme of it all, this was minor.
It really felt odd to have such a great experience in the middle of chaos. We also had a wonderful time with my aunt, uncle and cousins.
I felt guilty that I got so much out of that 4 days when so many people lost so much. And when we drove up to the house, I felt so grateful for our home...even with a sale sign in front of it.
Here are ways to help & support the victims of the flooding.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
In the midst of crazy, it's wonderful
The last couple weeks: a whirlwind. We have been working so hard to get the house ready to list and I'm exhausted. Dave and I have different styles, though. Dave's routine looks something like this: go to work all day, come home and eat, calmly work on projects. I look more like a freak spinning in circles bouncing from room to room unable to complete my current task before deciding that something else is more important, and so on. More spinning. I have to say, once again, his patience, encouragement and reassurance that I'm working really hard and getting stuff done has been critical. Because in my mind I'm not efficient at this. Because I'm not. He is so sweet. Or fears a total meltdown. Regardless, I must give credit where credit is due.
Newsflash: selling a house is 100% less fun than buying a house.
The first phase was just going through boxes and boxes and boxes of stuff and purging. You know, the impossible for me. Then I slowly entered the cleaning phase and really thinking about staging. I love actually cleaning because I can quickly see the results of the work :) But the less stuff we had in the house and the more I looked around, the more dirt I saw. Then I came up with a growing list of things to clean.
Somewhere in the middle of all this we took a trip to Vegas. Long story short, we decided to go because we had flight reservations to use from a trip we previously had to cancel and, AND we got a "deal" on a hotel through the Holiday Inn for their Desert Club Resort because Dave has been a rewards member for so long. So we decided it would be an anniversary trip...one last U.S. fling before moving to England. This deal included a 3 hour presentation about how we should invest in Vacation Ownership (like a timeshare, but SO MUCH BETTER, our shady presenter tried to convince us). So, turned out we had to go on this tour/presentation or we owed $641 (the original deal was $199 for 3 nights and $100 cash back for attending the tour). We found out about this ridiculous $641 when we missed our original appointment (we thought it was the next day). They rescheduled us later in the afternoon. So we showed up to the appointment a little annoyed. $641? Really? That's a bit overboard. They called us after our first appointment to see if we attended, but they couldn't bother calling us before to remind us of the time? I smelled scam.
Caveat: I'm going through some of this to serve as a warning to others of what you might face if you decide something like this is a good idea.
Caveat: I'm going through some of this to serve as a warning to others of what you might face if you decide something like this is a good idea.
It began with smooth-talking I could see right through but I kept an open mind. It ended with Mr. Business Man basically telling us we are not taking care of our marriage if we don't get this timeshare, and that it will end in divorce and, ultimately, him being pissed off and telling us that he doesn't get paid if we don't buy (oh no he didn't!). So. Professional. This is just a small summary of the obnoxious things said to us. Of course in the beginning he told us there would be no pressure at the end..........yeah, after saying no about 20 times while he continuously asked us how we would like to make the down payment for this $21, 000 investment, we took our $100 cash from one of the girls in the administrative office and ran. It was hardly enough compensation for the torture. But it did buy us a nice dinner before Le Reve.
I really have to do a better job of doing official reviews of experiences and businesses, both good and bad. This was just so unbelievable and, like I said, hopefully me sharing it is enough to serve as a warning to others who may get pitched the same or similar deal in the future. Even if it saves one poor soul. In the end Dave tells me he sort of knew what we were getting ourselves into by taking the deal....ha! Oh man, I wish he would have enlightened me before we accepted. The location of this hotel wasn't even that great and there are great deals right on the strip.
Ok, that was a long story kind of long. I planned on doing a Vegas Feedback Sandwich post about how our trip started and ended great with seeing some wonderful friends and awesome Vegas shows, with this rancid piece of meat in the middle. So that was mostly the negative. Here are the awesome buns:
 |
| Vegas Jump |
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| Terminator |
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| LOVE this lady |
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| Beatles "LOVE" Cirque show |
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| :) |
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| Le Reve |
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| Le Reve |
Who doesn't come home from Vegas a little exhausted? But we got back to cleaning and staging, with a few days left before our realtor, Todd, came over to take the pictures for the listing. Fast forward through a busy weekend seeing friends and watching some important football games, and there I was Monday morning at 0800, a sweaty freak who had been running around the house for a couple hours scrambling before Todd pulled up. I threw a hat on my head, the dogs in the car and asked Todd if I was any kind of normal for someone about to list their house. Of course he laughed and said I was "normal." What a nice guy. But really, we have been so happy with him during the buying and selling processes. If you ever find yourself looking to buy a house in Wichita, you'd be silly to not ask me for his info.
Even after he took the pictures, I continued to deep clean (I started feeling like I was participating in a competition to be the best house on the market. I mean, that is pretty much what this is...). But time is up. We will put the sale sign up this morning at 0800. The house isn't really ours anymore. Time to stop the constant cleaning madness, at least at this pace. As we've worked so hard to get the house in top shape and closer to tomorrow, we've gotten sad about selling our first home. We've created so many memories here as a family. (It's amazing, I think our marriage has even gotten stronger in the last few years, even without holiday inn vacation ownership! Sorry, just a splash of my sarcasm. For now, I still love their regular hotels and they've been good to us during all of our travels around the states).
While we still have some great friends here who we will miss, many of the friends we made over the last 4.5 years have already moved away. Today, we said goodbye to some of the last Air Force friends who got here about the same time as us as they move on to their next duty station. I feel like we're next in the queue....it really is time to go. It is weird to be leaving, but a big part of this lifestyle is moving around and meeting great people everywhere. I am grateful to have good friends here and in so many places...it provides comfort in the process of constant change. And when we're living across the ocean in England, we will become friends with others who are also missing their best friends back home. The ones who can't just drive 4 hours from L.A. to Vegas to visit you for a day anymore. They call this the Air Force Family and I'm cherishing it more and more over time.
This chapter of our lives is starting to close and it feels surreal.
Friday, August 23, 2013
the post where I tell a story and then link to other bloggers who write a funnier version
I'm fully aware that title is too long.
My husband literally does everything. He flies planes. He fixes stuff around the house. He calms down his wife who might start having a panic attack about life at any given moment. He can even do that from another state. It's impressive. He's superman, really.
In general I'm pretty used to him being away. But with the whole being-an-adult-and-trying-to-sell-our- first-house-and-move-to-England thing, I really miss my partner. Maybe more so because there is so much to do, and in my head I have "plenty of time" because I'm not working right now....somehow that adds to the pressure. No Excuses, housewife! But it doesn't change the fact that the to-do list is a little overwhelming and sometimes confusing and things in the house seem to be breaking right about when we're trying to leave and blah blah blah.
Sometimes I wonder...how did I get here? I wasn't supposed to be a housewife. What is going on? HOW DO I ESCAPE? WHY IS DAVE ALWAYS FLYING HIS PLANE TO FAR AWAY PLACES???
Buuuut, I know the answer. I chose it. It's hard to remember why sometimes, but I chose to be where I am right now. I so do not regret the decisions I have made. Sometimes I do have to rewind a little and remind myself, otherwise I spiral into labeling myself as a quitter or something else terrible, untrue and useless.
I fell in love with superman at age 21 and never looked back. I went into the Air Force super blue and in love.....oh, how perfect. Off we go, into the wild blue yonder...But 4 years later superman was still by my side when I wanted to rip my hair out daily. I so wanted to hang on to the Air Force for all the reasons I wanted to join in the first place, but life is not about being miserable at a job where you don't feel like you are making a difference. Many argued I was....but that's another internal battle in my mind :) I was definitely overly-confident about how "easy" it was going to be to have my own career in the civilian world with that whole moving around part, but I think it was good I had those blinders on. Dave is always a voice of reason and a source of endless support....good qualities to have in a spouse. And that is why I feel content with where I am & how I got here. I am excited for the near future....we finally get to go on our European honeymoon. For 3 years, woot! I have seen so little of the world. And we've had so much fun so far that I'm even fairly confident that the more distant future will be fun as well...whether that means housewife, mom and/or super career woman when Dave is retired at age 42. I'm keeping my options open, haha.
So when I read this post by one of the most hilarious bloggers I follow, it was pretty amazing. Seriously, if you took the time to read my post, you'll appreciate this comic relief (caution: do not drink liquids while reading). No kiddos yet, but that moment in life when you wonder "How did I get here?" and then realize you are actually happy at the same time....
While I'm referencing blog posts that I love, this one about letting go is also worth a read if you are in some sort of "oh-my-god-how-did-I-get-here" stage in your life. I love her closing remarks.
Superman flies back home today. Win.
My husband literally does everything. He flies planes. He fixes stuff around the house. He calms down his wife who might start having a panic attack about life at any given moment. He can even do that from another state. It's impressive. He's superman, really.
In general I'm pretty used to him being away. But with the whole being-an-adult-and-trying-to-sell-our- first-house-and-move-to-England thing, I really miss my partner. Maybe more so because there is so much to do, and in my head I have "plenty of time" because I'm not working right now....somehow that adds to the pressure. No Excuses, housewife! But it doesn't change the fact that the to-do list is a little overwhelming and sometimes confusing and things in the house seem to be breaking right about when we're trying to leave and blah blah blah.
Sometimes I wonder...how did I get here? I wasn't supposed to be a housewife. What is going on? HOW DO I ESCAPE? WHY IS DAVE ALWAYS FLYING HIS PLANE TO FAR AWAY PLACES???
Buuuut, I know the answer. I chose it. It's hard to remember why sometimes, but I chose to be where I am right now. I so do not regret the decisions I have made. Sometimes I do have to rewind a little and remind myself, otherwise I spiral into labeling myself as a quitter or something else terrible, untrue and useless.
I fell in love with superman at age 21 and never looked back. I went into the Air Force super blue and in love.....oh, how perfect. Off we go, into the wild blue yonder...But 4 years later superman was still by my side when I wanted to rip my hair out daily. I so wanted to hang on to the Air Force for all the reasons I wanted to join in the first place, but life is not about being miserable at a job where you don't feel like you are making a difference. Many argued I was....but that's another internal battle in my mind :) I was definitely overly-confident about how "easy" it was going to be to have my own career in the civilian world with that whole moving around part, but I think it was good I had those blinders on. Dave is always a voice of reason and a source of endless support....good qualities to have in a spouse. And that is why I feel content with where I am & how I got here. I am excited for the near future....we finally get to go on our European honeymoon. For 3 years, woot! I have seen so little of the world. And we've had so much fun so far that I'm even fairly confident that the more distant future will be fun as well...whether that means housewife, mom and/or super career woman when Dave is retired at age 42. I'm keeping my options open, haha.
So when I read this post by one of the most hilarious bloggers I follow, it was pretty amazing. Seriously, if you took the time to read my post, you'll appreciate this comic relief (caution: do not drink liquids while reading). No kiddos yet, but that moment in life when you wonder "How did I get here?" and then realize you are actually happy at the same time....
While I'm referencing blog posts that I love, this one about letting go is also worth a read if you are in some sort of "oh-my-god-how-did-I-get-here" stage in your life. I love her closing remarks.
Superman flies back home today. Win.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Oink Oink
Today I had sort of a slow, off, feeling unproductive-type day. Mostly I was getting frustrated that I couldn't find things around the house...and that makes me go a little crazy & I turn into the tazmanian devil and lose focus on what I need to get done. But anyway, as I was going through my card box, I found this. Just at the right time.
An old laugh (from 2007!) from one of my favorite cousins who happens to live in Germany right now. We're gonna be Europe buddies! Really excited.
The oink oink part is a bit of an inside joke....but you don't even need to be on the inside. Look at that kid :)
I found so many old thoughtful cards and notes from friends and family. Don't undersestimate the power of a thoughtful card or a funny face :)
Good night, Monday!
An old laugh (from 2007!) from one of my favorite cousins who happens to live in Germany right now. We're gonna be Europe buddies! Really excited.
The oink oink part is a bit of an inside joke....but you don't even need to be on the inside. Look at that kid :)
I found so many old thoughtful cards and notes from friends and family. Don't undersestimate the power of a thoughtful card or a funny face :)
Good night, Monday!
Monday, August 19, 2013
Cupcakes & Salads
If baking has become a relaxing stress reliever, does that mean I am getting old? I don't know. But I can definitely see why so many people cook, bake and blog. I could do this all day.
I've been having somewhat of a...cupcake obsession.
I guess it started a couple weeks ago when I made some Margarita Cupcakes. Oh. Em. G.
My first attempt at making Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes failed. NOT BECAUSE OF THE RECIPE. Because my experiement with the recipe. They were going to be for a friend's 1 year old's b-day par-tay that we didn't end up making it to. I made them with almond flour instead of all purpose...an unplanned and fatal move for the cupcake. I didn't realize I was out of all purpose flour and had just bought (the really expensive) almond flour to experiment with a couple other low carb recipes. I even googled substitution rules, thinking I was avoiding the upcoming disaster. This one:
The only precaution I took was adding more baking powder. As the "cupcakes" were bubbling and overflowing, they smelled awfully good. Seriously. So I decided to scrap out this mixture into a bowl and taste it. I ended up with what I would call somewhat of a very tasty almond crumble crisp.
A friend recently sent me an article with a bunch of healthy living tips and reminders, one being "Decorate Your Plate." I'll be honest, I didn't have the article in mind per se when I threw this salad together, by it is super colorful and healthy and delicious. I made it 5 times this week. Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, green onion, sliced almonds, some (ok maybe too many) sunflower kernels, chickpeas, BLUEBERRIES and some lite balsamic dressing. I'll be honest...it's pretty amazing. Add chicken or salmon.
Yesterday I did a local 4-mile road race, and then I ate another cupcake. I guess I'm not completely over it. Ok the race isn't REALLY relevant to the cupcake. But I did run really. hard. After, I went wedding dress shopping with a friend and we went to this bakery recommended by her boss. SNICKERS!
Today was my rest day for Insanity. But I have regularly been thinking about engaging my core more in everyday activities, I found myself doing squats as I knelt down to wrap the vacuum cord up this morning and I just started doing the Heisman in the kitchen while waiting for water to boil earlier this evening...a healthy kind of addiction, Shaun T-brainwash I think. Loving Insanity and feeling fantastic. Thanks, Shaun T.
I love the colorful fruits and veggies, but I LOVE cupcakes and Insane workouts. Be healthy and enjoy life. Balance.
I've been having somewhat of a...cupcake obsession.
I guess it started a couple weeks ago when I made some Margarita Cupcakes. Oh. Em. G.
I can't do more than pictures for you here. Just make them!
My first attempt at making Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes failed. NOT BECAUSE OF THE RECIPE. Because my experiement with the recipe. They were going to be for a friend's 1 year old's b-day par-tay that we didn't end up making it to. I made them with almond flour instead of all purpose...an unplanned and fatal move for the cupcake. I didn't realize I was out of all purpose flour and had just bought (the really expensive) almond flour to experiment with a couple other low carb recipes. I even googled substitution rules, thinking I was avoiding the upcoming disaster. This one:
The only precaution I took was adding more baking powder. As the "cupcakes" were bubbling and overflowing, they smelled awfully good. Seriously. So I decided to scrap out this mixture into a bowl and taste it. I ended up with what I would call somewhat of a very tasty almond crumble crisp.
I would have to refine the recipe to avoid another volcanic overflow of the muffin pan, but I thought "maybe I'm on to something here...." Just not cupcakes.
Round 2 with all purpose flour worked much better.
Wa-la! Delicious. Except the frosting was kind of off. Probably because I used coconut oil instead of shortening, and it wanted to melt. Delicious flavor, though.
My obsession has apparently also applied to my choice in dog treats. I got home after buying these and thought 'what is up with the cupcakes?!'
Ok, let's get healthy.
And the workout recovery drink I've been making for post-Insanity....COLOR! I stole it from here. But the color really is energizing.
Yesterday I did a local 4-mile road race, and then I ate another cupcake. I guess I'm not completely over it. Ok the race isn't REALLY relevant to the cupcake. But I did run really. hard. After, I went wedding dress shopping with a friend and we went to this bakery recommended by her boss. SNICKERS!
 |
| Jrae's Snickers Cupcake. Token Oreo cake pop. |
Today was my rest day for Insanity. But I have regularly been thinking about engaging my core more in everyday activities, I found myself doing squats as I knelt down to wrap the vacuum cord up this morning and I just started doing the Heisman in the kitchen while waiting for water to boil earlier this evening...a healthy kind of addiction, Shaun T-brainwash I think. Loving Insanity and feeling fantastic. Thanks, Shaun T.
I love the colorful fruits and veggies, but I LOVE cupcakes and Insane workouts. Be healthy and enjoy life. Balance.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
My mouth is cleared to move to England. Progress.
I've been out of the Air Force for almost 2 years now. I'm starting to forget my own SSN. #dependentproblems
At the same time, the Air Force still won't accept me as a dependent. For medical appointments I don't come up as Dave's dependent, I come up as a Reserve Captain. Perfect.
Also, without "complaining" too much about fraud, waste and abuse, I'm going to mention that it is something that really irritates me. It always did when I was on Active Duty but now I still see it as "the spouse" in the very few encounters I actually have directly with the base. And we have no room for fraud, waste or abuse anywhere in this country or in the military.
Ever since I left the Air Force, I've felt fortunate to get to see off-base providers for my eye and dental exams. Yeah, I'll say it. My exams have been the most thorough since they were when I was still under my Dad's insurance before coming into the Air Force. Heck I get two cleanings per year now instead of one. In December I had the little wing x-rays at the dentist. Last month, I got the full x-ray. Now that we are PCSing overseas to England, I have to get medically cleared by the base to go, which is fine. But instead of recognizing that dependents aren't seen on base for things like eyes and dental and asking when I was at the dentist last, if/when I had x-rays, and possibly just requesting them from the off-base provider (seriously, even the place we board our dogs is this "advanced" and pulls records from our vet), they have me come in and tell me I'm overdue for a dental exam. Uh, well yeah. In YOUR antiquated way of doing things. But my teeth and eyes are spectacular, if you're wondering. So I take up a half hour appointment to get x-rays I just had to hear "your teeth look great. you are good to go." Yeah. I know. I'm sorry, but this is not the first or second or third time I've felt one of my appointments is just a complete waste. Of my time, yes. But more importantly the dentist's and his crew.
We should have been proactive and asked questions about what the appointment was all about and prevented it ourselves. I forgot, that's the only option in being efficient.
This isolated incident is not that big of a deal in itself, but it's the fact that I think there are some critical thinking skills missing and this has to be affecting other processes and operations.
Maybe I will call them and tell them. I won't get into how I think that would go.
But my mouth is cleared for overseas travel, so that's good. I just hope my sarcasm fits in perfectly with the dry humor.
And although fraud, waste and abuse ticks me off, the only thing really stressing me out and bringing me to tears about once a week is trying to figure out how the hell to get the dogs to the UK (really, more trying to coordinate with our travel as well). I'm still finding new and different information all the time, and you can only go in circles for so long before you get dizzy and fall down.
I'm less worried about the vet and health certificates...that is pretty clear. Travel logistics is the horrendous part. But I'll get my puppies there as scary and nervewracking as the process may be. Too much love for them.
Flash that healthy bright smile...we're moving to England, we're moving to England.....
At the same time, the Air Force still won't accept me as a dependent. For medical appointments I don't come up as Dave's dependent, I come up as a Reserve Captain. Perfect.
Also, without "complaining" too much about fraud, waste and abuse, I'm going to mention that it is something that really irritates me. It always did when I was on Active Duty but now I still see it as "the spouse" in the very few encounters I actually have directly with the base. And we have no room for fraud, waste or abuse anywhere in this country or in the military.
Ever since I left the Air Force, I've felt fortunate to get to see off-base providers for my eye and dental exams. Yeah, I'll say it. My exams have been the most thorough since they were when I was still under my Dad's insurance before coming into the Air Force. Heck I get two cleanings per year now instead of one. In December I had the little wing x-rays at the dentist. Last month, I got the full x-ray. Now that we are PCSing overseas to England, I have to get medically cleared by the base to go, which is fine. But instead of recognizing that dependents aren't seen on base for things like eyes and dental and asking when I was at the dentist last, if/when I had x-rays, and possibly just requesting them from the off-base provider (seriously, even the place we board our dogs is this "advanced" and pulls records from our vet), they have me come in and tell me I'm overdue for a dental exam. Uh, well yeah. In YOUR antiquated way of doing things. But my teeth and eyes are spectacular, if you're wondering. So I take up a half hour appointment to get x-rays I just had to hear "your teeth look great. you are good to go." Yeah. I know. I'm sorry, but this is not the first or second or third time I've felt one of my appointments is just a complete waste. Of my time, yes. But more importantly the dentist's and his crew.
We should have been proactive and asked questions about what the appointment was all about and prevented it ourselves. I forgot, that's the only option in being efficient.
This isolated incident is not that big of a deal in itself, but it's the fact that I think there are some critical thinking skills missing and this has to be affecting other processes and operations.
Maybe I will call them and tell them. I won't get into how I think that would go.
But my mouth is cleared for overseas travel, so that's good. I just hope my sarcasm fits in perfectly with the dry humor.
And although fraud, waste and abuse ticks me off, the only thing really stressing me out and bringing me to tears about once a week is trying to figure out how the hell to get the dogs to the UK (really, more trying to coordinate with our travel as well). I'm still finding new and different information all the time, and you can only go in circles for so long before you get dizzy and fall down.
I'm less worried about the vet and health certificates...that is pretty clear. Travel logistics is the horrendous part. But I'll get my puppies there as scary and nervewracking as the process may be. Too much love for them.
Flash that healthy bright smile...we're moving to England, we're moving to England.....
Monday, August 12, 2013
Rev3 Williamsburg Race Report
I'm now a few weeks into a new fitness journey (Insanity....loving it, actually. I just think Shaun T should affiliate himself with a different company:)). I thought I better wrap up my Rev3 triathlon race report before I forget that fun little adventure. Race day was completely exciting and enjoyable. A blast! I totally stole this race report format from an Ironman finisher, too. This is pretty detailed, so maybe those thinking of doing a tri will learn a few things and experienced triathletes may just be amused.
LEVEL 1: PREPARATION
As we prepared to leave for the almost 3-week trip to Virginia, Michigan and then Chicago, I tried to have my priorities straight and first made sure to use my USA triathlon membership card race day checklist, along with the one provided by Rev3, to make sure I was packing everything I needed for the race. This was way more complicated than preparing for a run. I guess I knew this from doing the sprint tri a couple years ago, but this triathlon was across the country not across the street, and I didn't want to forget anything critical. Like my bike. Plus all the little things. In the end I did forget little things, like baby powder. But nothing too expensive that I couldn't grab after we left Kansas.
Real preparation started when we got to Woodbridge, VA. When we could finally stop driving, see our good friends and relax for an evening before driving down to Williamsburg. Being able to relax of course starts out with getting the dogs a little worn out. We met Jack at a dog park by their house where Teddy and Ellie met up with Tater. Jack and Angela took us to dinner at Cock and Bowl, a quaint little European bistro in Occoquan. Mussels and 60+ Belgian-style beers. Sounds like race prep to me.
This also included Friday's crash course on changing a flat given by Dave & Jack. I said many small prayers that I wouldn't have to change my first during this race.
LEVEL 2: PRE-RACE
Pre-race started when we got to Williamsburg late Friday after fighting lots of traffic (this happens throughout the entire state of Virginia, during all times of the day. You can't get away from it). When we arrived, I loaded up on a 1/2 pound of carrot cake at a bistro called Second Street. Nik ate the other half. We had each ordered a "piece" not realizing it was Colassal, so the waiter made a good assumption that we only needed one. Funny. And it was fabulous. A 1/2 lb was plenty...I didn't need to be hulling around a carrot cake in my stomache Sunday morning. Oh yeah, I had Quail for dinner. Dave drank a bottle of wine. I was "good" and had one local brew.
We headed back to the hotel to get some sleep so we could get up for the practice swim. Fast forward to the morning. This is when it got real! It was a long, fun day of prep. First we drove out to T1 (transition 1....where you get on your bike after getting out of the water)/the water. It was then that I realized my packing was horrible as usual and that things were not properly organized. I had a bunch of stuff in my bag that I didn't need to take down there, making the bag heavy. A massage stick, extra clothes, extra goggles, caps, etc. Note- don't use the bag you want to carry around as storage for everything you brought. So I was just throwing stuff everywhere in the back of Dave's truck. A sight, I'm sure.
It was about a 5 minute walk down to the water at Jamestown Beach Park. Triathletes were swarming everywhere. Some getting in the water, some getting out, some just looking at the water :)
People were visiting and talking about triathlete things....things that were probably not even thoughts in my little triathlete rookie mind. But the biggest topic of conversation was "wetsuit or no wetsuit." I had paid to reserve/rent one a couple weeks before, in my mind assuming we would definitely need them and not really thinking about the possibility of not needing them. At dinner Nik had told me that the water temperature was borderline for the rules. The USA triathlon rule states:
So, there ya go. After Nik headed in the water Jack and I walked in. I didn't have my wetsuit yet because we were picking them up later that day. I hadn't been too concerned about how the water would feel since Nik told us it was almost 78 degrees anyway. It felt so good! After getting used to swimming while looking at blackness below me again, I swam out to the first buoy just to see how far that felt. By then, I was thinking there is no way I would want to be wearing a wetsuit at this temperature. Interesting! Like I said, I hadn't even thought of this scenario as a new triathlete a bit overwhelmed and unfamiliar with all the ins and outs.
We got breakfast at a bakery called Aromas in historic colonial Williamsburg. I had the breakfast burrito with Chorizo. Right choice. So good. We walked around the quaint little downtown area, which literally took about 6 minutes :) We then headed to the "expo," near T2 (the area where you drop off your bike and start running during the race). We checked in and picked up our registration packets/bags full of crap we needed....athlete wristband, race number bib, body marking tattoos, timing chip, bike stickers, swim to bike bag, dry clothes bag. Being a triathlete is complicated :). It took me a while to wrap my head around the idea of the "swim to bike" and "dry clothes" bags, both of which were for T1. But no bag for T2? The dry clothes bag was for the stuff you were wearing in the morning before hopping in the water. The swim to bike bag was for stuff like cap, goggles and wetsuit after getting out of the water. Simple enough, I guess. But what about T2?? Haha. Here is T2:
We ate some seriously fabulous Italian food at Maurizio's (you can see that food is critical to my race weekend experience. Duh :) I seriously fought the urge to get just one fabulous glass of wine to go with it....I beat the urge. We were running out of time to get a good night's sleep. We headed back to the hotel at about 8:30 and the rain had started. I don't think that during all of the race prep chaos I had even BOTHERED to think about the weather. Or I at least wasn't tracking it that day. And apparently in my mind it was obviously going to clear up by morning. Obviously.
LEVEL 3: RACE DAY
My alarm went off at 4:15. The adrenaline reminded me that hitting snooze and sleeping longer than I should would only add to my nerves, so I popped out of bed and got dressed. Lights on. Nik made pancakes (I don't know how many triathlons it takes to build that step into your 4 a.m. wake up routine, but wow). And we notice it is raining. Grreeaat. I'm still not panicking....just do what everyone else does, Breanne. Nik was ready to leave on time, I was almost ready and Jack was definitely not ready :-p Dave drove us down to T2 (to drop off stuff at our spot where we start the run) at about 5:20. It was raining good....luckily I found a plastic grocery bag in the door of Dave's truck to throw my shoes and socks in....HOW DID I NOT PLAN FOR THIS? Haha. Shocking. Although let's face it, I was the one still grabbing baby powder for my feet at 8:45 the night before. Most people had big garbage bags. I felt like such a newb!
We got in line for the shuttle to take us to T1, but it was very very long and we were just becoming a soppy mess. Excellent. While Dave parked, Jack and I made the best of standing in line and we spent most of the time waiting talking to an older couple who noticed my U of M shirt. They had a Michigan connection and loved to watch U of M swimming. The woman was watching her husband race the Olympic distance. Just a really friendly couple. Really helped distract me from the fact that I wanted to puke as I got nervous. We finally got on the bus shortly after Dave walked a mile from where he parked (seriously, so many logistics....yet I still found this race pretty awesome). As the bus pulled away, someone said "well, we made it on the bus. that's the first hurdle." Without missing a beat, Jack yelled "what? there's hurdles in this race??" Everyone busted out laughing. The comic relief was good at that point because everyone was a little on edge about the long line and the shuttles being backed up. T2 was supposed to close at 6:40 (meaning you had to have everything set up in that area by that time...the dry clothes bag and swim to bike bag, and be out of there).
SWIM
We made it out of T1 with some time to spare, but they did have to leave it open a little longer as buses of athletes were still en route. We went to the bathroom one last time, threw a bunch of sunscreen on and walked from T1 to the water (a good 1/4 to 1/2 mile as well, haha). At this point I realized I didn't have any water with me and of course was thirsty. There was a table of drinks and volunteers set up for the transition and they gave me some gatorade. The race start was delayed a little bit, but the rain had stopped and that was pretty awesome. The Half distance racers started first in waves by age and gender. They closed the gap between waves from 5 min to 3 to make up for a little lost time. Um, I had to go to the bathroom again pretty close to our start times. Jack made the "joke" that those hanging out in the water were taking care of business and I don't think I caught it at first. It wasn't until I actually took his advice and went and sat down in the water that it occurred to me....that is why people are sitting in the water. Yup.
I watched the waves start in front of me and got more nervous/excited. I lined up in the chute when the announcer gave us the 3 minute warning. I pressed my goggles onto my face and threw Dave a couple smiles. The announcer counted down to our start and I casually started walking out into the water after crossing the timing mat, getting my bearings. I walked as far as I could, why not. I remember being paranoid that the chip tied around my ankle would fall off during the swim. Between constantly checking that, looking to make sure I was going the right direction, looking to make sure I wasn't about to plow over someone (only happened once), there was enough to focus on during the swim. The current was pushing us out a bit, so that helped a little from the start to the first buoy. But then you had to make a right, and then another right to get back to the beach. So the water pushing us out on the second and third legs was not helpful. Too confusing? Anyway, I just kept thinking about how I swam to the island on the Big Manistique Lake as a kid. This was cake! It helped me to not freak out. After turning around the second buoy, people were fairly spread out. And I had to pee again! I quickly thought...pee now while still swimming- 2 birds with one stone. Or waste time in the porta-potty when I get out and lose momentum? I looked behind me to make sure I wasn't peeing in someone's face. I was considerate.
T1
It was a great feeling running out of the water with everyone there cheering. I ran over the mat and followed the path across the field to T1. I was trying to move at a pretty good clip, but in the back of my mind I was also thinking "shit, this is the bike." I wanted to get clipping into my bike OVER WITH. Between running from the water to T1, getting my shoes, gloves and helmet on and getting to the mounting line, I used 7 1/2 minutes. Not bad (for me). I ran my bike up to the road, passed the mounting line and hopped on. This was it! I was on.
BIKE
This is what really sticks out in my mind from the bike: Me going pretty damn slow. A lot of people passing me, some even asking me if I was ok, especially when I would stop just so I could take water from my water bottle (people were SO nice). Everyone being so spread out that sometimes I wondered if I was even on the correct route. The moment I realized that while the interesections were blocked off, the roads weren't closed and a couple cars seemed to be those ones who don't care about bikers (I was always as far to the right as I could be...cars scare me). The lady who decided to pass me ON A SHORT HILL and then not give me the required distance between us (3 bike lengths). Instead, she passed me and then drastically slowed down right in front of me....on the hill. I thought I was going down. Seeing the sign for 14 miles and thinking I had gone more like 20. The Rev3 signs that said "CAUTION," but nothing else.....what was ahead?!?! And the volunteer who was yelling "rough road ahead" after I had just gone over what I would call rough road.....so really, what was ahead?? I breaked on a lot of hills. And the sweet relief of being at the end and knowing all I had to do was dismount and run :)
T2
This one was pretty simple....throw shoes, visor and running belt on and go! Apparently it only took me 1:05. I still wonder if this is accurate, but I don't think I wasted too much time.
RUN
I really tried to keep my pace up in the beginning because it is easier to get a good pace and hold it than start slow and then feel tired anyway. I knew once I got to the turn-around at 3.1 (it was an out and back) I could definitely let my mental strength carry me. For the Half distance athletes, the run route was the out and back x 2. That sounded a bit like mental torture to me, but it was really cool seeing all the athletes at different points along the course. You were constantly passing runners going in the opposite direction. I really pulled from my running strength as well as the strength I was watching in others to get me through the 6.2 miles. I felt pretty good overall. The last 1.5 was rough, to be expected. What was really awful was getting back to the finish line area/chute and having to go past it, run down another hill and then back up before actually going down the chute. These race organizers were sick! Haha. At the athlete briefing the day before, the guy said "there are a few hills along the run course to keep the athletes honest." Hilarious. A few? It was very hilly. But a good challenge for me.
LEVEL 4: FINISH
It was so awesome getting to the chute. Rev3 is big on allowing athlets to run down the chute with their loved ones. I wish I would have thought of this and grabbed Dave! But it felt so good finishing and I didn't have much left I guess. The announcer mentioned my name as I came through, but then immediately after crossing the mat and slowing down, the second place male pro finisher (yes, for the Half distance....more than double what I did :) was finishing and totally stole my race finish thunder! Haha. The finish area was split into two lines on the left and right. I was in the slightly backed up right line (as people got towels, medals and shirts), and one of the volunteers said I could go to the other side. That would have required walking across camera and interrupting the pro finisher interview. Maybe that was my moment of fame and I should have taken it, hehe. But then no one gave me a medal and I was starting to wonder if they were only for the Half finishers. It was like panic set it...this would have been so upsetting! Then a lady finally asks me what size shirt, and asks me if I got a medal.
*Sigh of relief.*
I wanted some Williamsburg bling for my first Olympic distance race.
LEVEL 5: POST-FINISH
I snapped a few photos with Dave, my support crew. We waited for Jack to finish to cheer him on. We got some pasta and salad, and then watched more finishers. Watching people finish was a lot of fun. Great atmosphere. People finished with their spouses, kids, newborn babies, unborn babies/pregnant wives, dogs. The best one to watch was a lady who raced with her special needs daughter. She pulled her in a kayak, she pulled her on her bike and she pushed her in a running stroller on the run. I get choked up just thinking about it. Here she is finishing:
Now if you want, back up with me. My training journey wasn't really a blast, but it is important for me to reflect on it because in the end it was worth the pain. Every time I train, I learn. And so should you!
18 Jun: Depart for Virginia! That night, in a quiet little Sleep Inn just past St. Louis, my ear pain returned with a vengeance. Excruciating. Swallowing woke me up and I was in tears within a few minutes. I found urgent care the next morning and figured out that, like I was hoping for the last couple weeks, I didn't need antibiotics. But there was fluid in my ear wreaking HAVOC. Wow I all of the sudden felt so badly for babies & kids with ear infections. Because if that wasn't an ear infection, holy crap I don't ever want to feel one in my adult life. I'm sure I had one as a baby? I got all of kinds of stuff from the Doc to relieve the pain and keep things moving through all the canals and was feeling 100 x better throughout the day. T-4 days until the race, haha. And the rest is history.
REV3 WILLIAMSBURG OLYMPIC TRIATHLON
LEVEL 1: PREPARATION
As we prepared to leave for the almost 3-week trip to Virginia, Michigan and then Chicago, I tried to have my priorities straight and first made sure to use my USA triathlon membership card race day checklist, along with the one provided by Rev3, to make sure I was packing everything I needed for the race. This was way more complicated than preparing for a run. I guess I knew this from doing the sprint tri a couple years ago, but this triathlon was across the country not across the street, and I didn't want to forget anything critical. Like my bike. Plus all the little things. In the end I did forget little things, like baby powder. But nothing too expensive that I couldn't grab after we left Kansas.
Real preparation started when we got to Woodbridge, VA. When we could finally stop driving, see our good friends and relax for an evening before driving down to Williamsburg. Being able to relax of course starts out with getting the dogs a little worn out. We met Jack at a dog park by their house where Teddy and Ellie met up with Tater. Jack and Angela took us to dinner at Cock and Bowl, a quaint little European bistro in Occoquan. Mussels and 60+ Belgian-style beers. Sounds like race prep to me.
This also included Friday's crash course on changing a flat given by Dave & Jack. I said many small prayers that I wouldn't have to change my first during this race.
LEVEL 2: PRE-RACE
Pre-race started when we got to Williamsburg late Friday after fighting lots of traffic (this happens throughout the entire state of Virginia, during all times of the day. You can't get away from it). When we arrived, I loaded up on a 1/2 pound of carrot cake at a bistro called Second Street. Nik ate the other half. We had each ordered a "piece" not realizing it was Colassal, so the waiter made a good assumption that we only needed one. Funny. And it was fabulous. A 1/2 lb was plenty...I didn't need to be hulling around a carrot cake in my stomache Sunday morning. Oh yeah, I had Quail for dinner. Dave drank a bottle of wine. I was "good" and had one local brew.
We headed back to the hotel to get some sleep so we could get up for the practice swim. Fast forward to the morning. This is when it got real! It was a long, fun day of prep. First we drove out to T1 (transition 1....where you get on your bike after getting out of the water)/the water. It was then that I realized my packing was horrible as usual and that things were not properly organized. I had a bunch of stuff in my bag that I didn't need to take down there, making the bag heavy. A massage stick, extra clothes, extra goggles, caps, etc. Note- don't use the bag you want to carry around as storage for everything you brought. So I was just throwing stuff everywhere in the back of Dave's truck. A sight, I'm sure.
It was about a 5 minute walk down to the water at Jamestown Beach Park. Triathletes were swarming everywhere. Some getting in the water, some getting out, some just looking at the water :)
 |
| View of starting area |
People were visiting and talking about triathlete things....things that were probably not even thoughts in my little triathlete rookie mind. But the biggest topic of conversation was "wetsuit or no wetsuit." I had paid to reserve/rent one a couple weeks before, in my mind assuming we would definitely need them and not really thinking about the possibility of not needing them. At dinner Nik had told me that the water temperature was borderline for the rules. The USA triathlon rule states:
4.4 Wet suits. Each age group participant shall be permitted to wear a wet suit without penalty in any event sanctioned by USA Triathlon up to and including a water temperature of 78 degrees Fahrenheit. When the water temperature is greater than 78 degrees, but less than 84 degrees Fahrenheit, age group participants may wear a wet suit at their own discretion, provided however that participants who wear a wet suit within this temperature range shall not be eligible for prizes or awards. Age group participants shall not wear wet suits in water temperatures equal to or greater than 84 degrees Fahrenheit. The wetsuit policy for elite athletes shall be determined by the USAT Athletes Advisory Council. The AAC has set the wetsuit maximum temperature for elite athletes at 68 degrees for swim distances less than 3000 meters and 71.6 degrees for distances of 3000 meters or greater. Any swimmer wearing a wetsuit with a thickness measured in any part greater than 5 millimeters shall be disqualified.
So, there ya go. After Nik headed in the water Jack and I walked in. I didn't have my wetsuit yet because we were picking them up later that day. I hadn't been too concerned about how the water would feel since Nik told us it was almost 78 degrees anyway. It felt so good! After getting used to swimming while looking at blackness below me again, I swam out to the first buoy just to see how far that felt. By then, I was thinking there is no way I would want to be wearing a wetsuit at this temperature. Interesting! Like I said, I hadn't even thought of this scenario as a new triathlete a bit overwhelmed and unfamiliar with all the ins and outs.
 |
| Post-practice swim |
We got breakfast at a bakery called Aromas in historic colonial Williamsburg. I had the breakfast burrito with Chorizo. Right choice. So good. We walked around the quaint little downtown area, which literally took about 6 minutes :) We then headed to the "expo," near T2 (the area where you drop off your bike and start running during the race). We checked in and picked up our registration packets/bags full of crap we needed....athlete wristband, race number bib, body marking tattoos, timing chip, bike stickers, swim to bike bag, dry clothes bag. Being a triathlete is complicated :). It took me a while to wrap my head around the idea of the "swim to bike" and "dry clothes" bags, both of which were for T1. But no bag for T2? The dry clothes bag was for the stuff you were wearing in the morning before hopping in the water. The swim to bike bag was for stuff like cap, goggles and wetsuit after getting out of the water. Simple enough, I guess. But what about T2?? Haha. Here is T2:
 |
| T2 |
It was time to go back to the hotel and grab our bikes, which needed to be dropped off back at T1 where we had been that morning. Back and forth, back and forth (it was about 6 miles between the 2 locations). As we were loading up the bikes, Jack noticed a gash in one of Nik's tires. Oh s***. This stuff does happen right before the race, people! So we went back to the expo where there is a bike mechaical support team. Nik's bike goes in the queue. When it was ready we took the bikes down to T1 and dropped them off in the swarm of bikes, to be guarded by some Marines overnight. So weird to have so many crazy expensive bikes in one location overnight.
 |
| T1 |
We ate some seriously fabulous Italian food at Maurizio's (you can see that food is critical to my race weekend experience. Duh :) I seriously fought the urge to get just one fabulous glass of wine to go with it....I beat the urge. We were running out of time to get a good night's sleep. We headed back to the hotel at about 8:30 and the rain had started. I don't think that during all of the race prep chaos I had even BOTHERED to think about the weather. Or I at least wasn't tracking it that day. And apparently in my mind it was obviously going to clear up by morning. Obviously.
LEVEL 3: RACE DAY
My alarm went off at 4:15. The adrenaline reminded me that hitting snooze and sleeping longer than I should would only add to my nerves, so I popped out of bed and got dressed. Lights on. Nik made pancakes (I don't know how many triathlons it takes to build that step into your 4 a.m. wake up routine, but wow). And we notice it is raining. Grreeaat. I'm still not panicking....just do what everyone else does, Breanne. Nik was ready to leave on time, I was almost ready and Jack was definitely not ready :-p Dave drove us down to T2 (to drop off stuff at our spot where we start the run) at about 5:20. It was raining good....luckily I found a plastic grocery bag in the door of Dave's truck to throw my shoes and socks in....HOW DID I NOT PLAN FOR THIS? Haha. Shocking. Although let's face it, I was the one still grabbing baby powder for my feet at 8:45 the night before. Most people had big garbage bags. I felt like such a newb!
We got in line for the shuttle to take us to T1, but it was very very long and we were just becoming a soppy mess. Excellent. While Dave parked, Jack and I made the best of standing in line and we spent most of the time waiting talking to an older couple who noticed my U of M shirt. They had a Michigan connection and loved to watch U of M swimming. The woman was watching her husband race the Olympic distance. Just a really friendly couple. Really helped distract me from the fact that I wanted to puke as I got nervous. We finally got on the bus shortly after Dave walked a mile from where he parked (seriously, so many logistics....yet I still found this race pretty awesome). As the bus pulled away, someone said "well, we made it on the bus. that's the first hurdle." Without missing a beat, Jack yelled "what? there's hurdles in this race??" Everyone busted out laughing. The comic relief was good at that point because everyone was a little on edge about the long line and the shuttles being backed up. T2 was supposed to close at 6:40 (meaning you had to have everything set up in that area by that time...the dry clothes bag and swim to bike bag, and be out of there).
SWIM
We made it out of T1 with some time to spare, but they did have to leave it open a little longer as buses of athletes were still en route. We went to the bathroom one last time, threw a bunch of sunscreen on and walked from T1 to the water (a good 1/4 to 1/2 mile as well, haha). At this point I realized I didn't have any water with me and of course was thirsty. There was a table of drinks and volunteers set up for the transition and they gave me some gatorade. The race start was delayed a little bit, but the rain had stopped and that was pretty awesome. The Half distance racers started first in waves by age and gender. They closed the gap between waves from 5 min to 3 to make up for a little lost time. Um, I had to go to the bathroom again pretty close to our start times. Jack made the "joke" that those hanging out in the water were taking care of business and I don't think I caught it at first. It wasn't until I actually took his advice and went and sat down in the water that it occurred to me....that is why people are sitting in the water. Yup.
I watched the waves start in front of me and got more nervous/excited. I lined up in the chute when the announcer gave us the 3 minute warning. I pressed my goggles onto my face and threw Dave a couple smiles. The announcer counted down to our start and I casually started walking out into the water after crossing the timing mat, getting my bearings. I walked as far as I could, why not. I remember being paranoid that the chip tied around my ankle would fall off during the swim. Between constantly checking that, looking to make sure I was going the right direction, looking to make sure I wasn't about to plow over someone (only happened once), there was enough to focus on during the swim. The current was pushing us out a bit, so that helped a little from the start to the first buoy. But then you had to make a right, and then another right to get back to the beach. So the water pushing us out on the second and third legs was not helpful. Too confusing? Anyway, I just kept thinking about how I swam to the island on the Big Manistique Lake as a kid. This was cake! It helped me to not freak out. After turning around the second buoy, people were fairly spread out. And I had to pee again! I quickly thought...pee now while still swimming- 2 birds with one stone. Or waste time in the porta-potty when I get out and lose momentum? I looked behind me to make sure I wasn't peeing in someone's face. I was considerate.
 |
| Finishing the swim |
T1
It was a great feeling running out of the water with everyone there cheering. I ran over the mat and followed the path across the field to T1. I was trying to move at a pretty good clip, but in the back of my mind I was also thinking "shit, this is the bike." I wanted to get clipping into my bike OVER WITH. Between running from the water to T1, getting my shoes, gloves and helmet on and getting to the mounting line, I used 7 1/2 minutes. Not bad (for me). I ran my bike up to the road, passed the mounting line and hopped on. This was it! I was on.
BIKE
 |
| Starting the bike |
T2
This one was pretty simple....throw shoes, visor and running belt on and go! Apparently it only took me 1:05. I still wonder if this is accurate, but I don't think I wasted too much time.
RUN
I really tried to keep my pace up in the beginning because it is easier to get a good pace and hold it than start slow and then feel tired anyway. I knew once I got to the turn-around at 3.1 (it was an out and back) I could definitely let my mental strength carry me. For the Half distance athletes, the run route was the out and back x 2. That sounded a bit like mental torture to me, but it was really cool seeing all the athletes at different points along the course. You were constantly passing runners going in the opposite direction. I really pulled from my running strength as well as the strength I was watching in others to get me through the 6.2 miles. I felt pretty good overall. The last 1.5 was rough, to be expected. What was really awful was getting back to the finish line area/chute and having to go past it, run down another hill and then back up before actually going down the chute. These race organizers were sick! Haha. At the athlete briefing the day before, the guy said "there are a few hills along the run course to keep the athletes honest." Hilarious. A few? It was very hilly. But a good challenge for me.
LEVEL 4: FINISH
It was so awesome getting to the chute. Rev3 is big on allowing athlets to run down the chute with their loved ones. I wish I would have thought of this and grabbed Dave! But it felt so good finishing and I didn't have much left I guess. The announcer mentioned my name as I came through, but then immediately after crossing the mat and slowing down, the second place male pro finisher (yes, for the Half distance....more than double what I did :) was finishing and totally stole my race finish thunder! Haha. The finish area was split into two lines on the left and right. I was in the slightly backed up right line (as people got towels, medals and shirts), and one of the volunteers said I could go to the other side. That would have required walking across camera and interrupting the pro finisher interview. Maybe that was my moment of fame and I should have taken it, hehe. But then no one gave me a medal and I was starting to wonder if they were only for the Half finishers. It was like panic set it...this would have been so upsetting! Then a lady finally asks me what size shirt, and asks me if I got a medal.
*Sigh of relief.*
I wanted some Williamsburg bling for my first Olympic distance race.
LEVEL 5: POST-FINISH
Yes, I do it all for the bling. And having fun with friends. And seeing amazing people like Jenna above, along with people who overcome all sorts of obstacles in training and racing to finish. And the post-finish beer.
Cheers to more triathlons in the future!
My Results
Now if you want, back up with me. My training journey wasn't really a blast, but it is important for me to reflect on it because in the end it was worth the pain. Every time I train, I learn. And so should you!
After the USMC Marathon, I was in pretty awesome shape. But then, in post-marathon fashion, I sort of got lazy. I took a "break." A 2 month break. When we got to Washington, I was really looking forward to building up my fitness level before my official tri training began. I got back in the pool after many years.....weird. I biked (spinned) my butt off in the safety of the gym, all the while thinking about the clipless pedals I would have to eventually face. And of course, I ran. Outdoors on base whenever I could.
4 Feb: Official training plan started. I was on a little training high! I looked forward to checking each workout off and felt really accomplished afterward. There were 9 (3 of each swim, bike and run) workouts per 6 days (1 rest day). I would usually swim and bike on the same day since I was going to the gym anyway. And then the run day was somewhat of a "rest" (stress-free) day for me since I'm obsessed with it; it's not only a workout for me but a stress-reliever. Sunday was the day of rest... but I eventually changed rest day to Saturday since that is the only day of the week Dave had free.
18ish Mar: Burnout after about 6 weeks. I don't recall doing much for about 3 weeks. And I didn't even care. It was a weird feeling, because I DIDN'T EVEN CARE. Never happened before. Granted the training for the first couple marathons I did was shotty, but for the last couple, I would have been FREAKING about my lack of caring. Because I know how necessary the training is from experience/the pain of not training and, well, my education. And common sense. It wasn't until I was in Seattle visiting some friends that I realized what happened. I was possibly slightly buzzed ranting to my friend Mike about how I didn't understand what had happend and he casually suggested "It sounds like you just burned yourself out." Huh. Burnout. I had heard of this thing....but it was foreign to me until now. It's true....I did train really, really hard for 6 weeks and didn't focus on much else. That in itself I found out didn't work for me. When training is the only thing you have going on, or your only "obligation," it's not that great. Things were out of balance.
20 Apr: I started getting back into things. Missed a few weeks, NBD (eeeek). I decided there was nowhere to go but up and I HAD to go up or this triathlon wasn't happening. I also decided to add some weights into the mix and hang out with the meatheads. I really think if I had my own weight room at home I could get into it big time. But I hate the weightlifting environment. And I hate how most lifters see little value in aerobic fitness or endurance. I know I'm generalizing, but it's pretty accurate. A lifting buddy definitely helps too. I made zero effort in finding one of those. I have to admit, this routine only lasted about 2 weeks (not proud. NOT PROUD). But at least I was getting back on track with the 3 main disciplines.
6 May: Pinched nerve
Or was I?? I was swimming my laps and all of the sudden BAM. I felt a sharp pain in my right upper back/shoulder (the exact location is kind of fuzzy now) as I stroked with my right arm and started to pull through. I couldn't keep swimming because the pain hardly allowed me to. I stopped at the wall and started rubbing it. But I could feel it; this was serious. I got out after only about 400 meters. I continued rubbing it throughout the day, used Icy Hot, used ice and heat. But I could barely sleep because whenever I rolled over/moved my head I felt excruciating pain. I scheduled what I call an emergency massage (because I still hadn't started the responsible routine of getting one regularly when I'm beating up my body 6 days a week. I did have one on March 25th but hey-yo, I skipped April). I already had one scheduled for 2 weeks later and I kept that appointment as well. I vowed: from now on- Posture, water, stretching.
3 Jun: Sick! Seriously. While we were trying to eat fairly healthy while in WA (both in training that demanded a lot), perhaps I was enjoying too much fantastic wine and beer and going out too often :) After Dave's graduation weekend, we were dragging a bit on Sunday packing up the whole house. Our departure all of the sudden came so soon and we were trying to see friends/say goodbyes, use gift certificates, pack up and I, of course, was scrambling to acquire some local wines and brews to take back to share. By the time we got to Missoula on Monday night, we were beat. We had vouchers for a free drink at the bar and as I sat back and relaxed, I noticed my throat was sore.....dun dun DUN. No bueno. Sore throat, ears and complete exhaustion took over my body over the course of the drive back home. We managed to enjoy Yellowstone a bit, during which time I started a nightly dose of NyQuil. Throughout the rest of the week and weekend, I decided to inquire with Rev3 about switching to the Olympic Distance (instead of the Long Course or "Half IM"). They wrote me back giving me the option and until Monday morning to let them know.
9 Jun: Swallowed my pride and decided to race the Olympic distance. The training I did put in + some of setbacks was a better recipe for a strong Olympic race than a miserable Half.
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