Let's get back to basics. . .

Just a week of review for some "not-really-training-for-IMAZ" training:

5/23: Rode for 2-plus hours with Vit. We did hills, hills & more hills. It was fun.

5/24: Walked/ran/hiked for 2 hours with Lola. Nice little workout.

5/25: Rode with Vit & Pimp Daddy J-Z. We did about 34 miles. A nice easy ride since Pimp Daddy has not been riding much. Still, a good ride all in all. Then Vit & I lifted.

5/26: Swam approx. 2,000 yds. I even beat Vit to the wall a few times - a rare occurrence, one I will relish.

5/27: Water walking with Lola. Do not let this exercise fool you; it is a tough workout AND it is easy on your joints.

5/28: Yet another ride with Vit. We did more hills . . . about 20 miles' worth. Boy, are my legs feeling tired!!

5/29: Swam . . . okay, I'll come clean - we did approx. 1,000 yds. until I talked the coach into letting us quit practice early to drink beer. So the 3 of us swimming took our coach out to eat & have a beer.

I love corruption. I am so good at it. hee-hee

5/30: Went for a 7.30-mile walk with Becky C. Nice & casual . . . ya know, just us girls gossiping.

5/31: Oh, and I end my 9 days in a row with an hour swim & another ride with Vit & Pimp Daddy J-Z. I had a headache & was extremely hungry, so I only lasted 1:45 and change. Then got back to my car only to find out I locked my key in there. So I had to ride the extra 2 miles home!!!

I ate toast & eggs. YUMMY.

Well, tomorrow I rest. Finally.

So, for now . . .

Peace & love,
TracerX

Let the insecurities begin . . .

I am not a Marine battling for my life & my country. Nor am I someone battling cancer. I do not have to battle an abusive relationship, or drug or alcohol abuse . . . maybe an addiction to training. BUT, hey - I know I'm not the only one.

So why is it that when I get a call from a writer for the New York Times - to follow me for a story about the leadup to Ironman - I get worried that I am just a 44-year-old, plain suburban mother, married with two teenaged girls, who averages 15 miles per hour on her bike? That I feel like a pimple on an elephant's ass?

Seriously, are there not hundreds of thousands of people just like me trying to get by in life & train for an Ironman, too???

This is where the insecurity lies: that I am a nobody! Average Jane! Who would be inspired by me and my training for an Ironman?

And the answer comes to me: Perhaps other Average Janes or Joes. Perhaps some of the people I work with who think it is "insane," but who have a certain respect for me knowing what I am doing. Or maybe my daughter's friends who think I am "awesome"!

What does it all mean, Basil?

Maybe that I need to just accept it that I am signed up, gonna do the training & do my best to kick some Ironman ass!

And by "kick ass," I mean, "get to the finish line with some semblance of a huge smile on my face & try to do 'the running man' down the finish-line chute!
My daughters get really embarrassed by my dancing when I do it . . . so I thought it would be appropriate. I may just forget &/or fall on my face. We shall see.

Well, gotta get going - tons of errands - then dinner with Vit & Lola.

Much peace & love, TracerX

Girls gone Wildflower. . . .

Or in my case, GIRL gone to Wildflower.

I had a different title, but I forgot what it was. I saw this saying on a T-shirt the past weekend at "Wildflower".

So, I got back the other night after having spent a lovely weekend with the boys. Again, it was just me & my boys. It was not too bad, but I did miss Lola, who had a nasty case of lymphangitis.

I had decided to take a bunch of testosterone (I know, I have enough already . . . ) and just get up to the triathlon & camp like a real man!! That included eating dinner at Big Bubba's Bad BBQ, having it rain on us, setting up my own tent, farting & belching. All of which I managed to do very well. I also got to share a tent with G-Money, & my hubby was O.K. with it. He even really likes G-Money.

Well, Friday night of the weekend was a bit of a restless night - no, not because of G-Money - because I just have a difficult time sleeping when I am camping. OH - and also because Vit's bro-in-law, B-Meister, snored louder than a cat in heat.

Anyway, got up early Saturday & had a great breakfast made by Vit, gathered my gear & took off to the transition area. This was going to be my first-ever sprint triathlon done on trails using a mountain bike. I was nervous & excited. I had done some riding with the bike to get used to the gears, etc. And since this was a .25-mile swim / 9.7-mile ride / 2-mile run, heck, I was just gonna have fun.

I racked my bike like they told me, got my gear in order, chatted with some of my fellow 45-49-year-olds & even had the dumb chick (bitch) that knew everything tell me that the bikes were racked wrong & it was triathlete preference - coughbullshitcough - but she really was trying for a podium spot & has been doing this for 10 years .. . . blah blah blah . . . you get the picture. I told her not to give me any attitude, just explain how she wanted my bike & hers to be placed, since I was just here to have fun and was NOT "going for a podium spot." She did settle down & it was off to the swim.

It was a fun swim start, but I felt so cramped in. I did O.K., felt decent when I got out - thank God, because we had to run up the boat ramp to transition, boogied thru that & jumped on the bike & took off. The bike was 9.7 miles and I had a complete blast!! I just felt good and was having fun! Now onto the 2-mile run. Back into transition, change & get out . . . and up!! STAIRS??!! I love Vit for these little tips he keeps hidden from me. Oh, well - it's only 2 miles & I just go. Again, thank God it's only 2 miles.

I ended up with a total finish time of 1:23:09. And - I had a really fun time! Met a nice lady that I ran with to the finish line & just enjoyed the race.


I reunited with Vit & B-Meister & we hung out in the spectator stand to watch the pros finish.









Andy Potts redeemed himself with an overall win. Nice job . . . and he looked good doing it - I mean he really "looked good."

And I got a picture with him:


He is super nice. Did I mention that he is really good-looking??











After the pros came in we made the long haul back to the campsite to watch the rest of the "age-groupers" run through the campground - it's around Mile 9 for them on the run. I got a great picture of G-Money, who was kind enough to stop & pose.


And, as it turned out, G-Money finished in under 6 hours!!! A PR for this course for him . . . go G-Money!

Saturday night we all had a nice spaghetti dinner & went to bed early. Keep in mind that B-Meister & Vit had a race to do on Sunday.

Sunday morning we all woke up, packed our gear & headed down to the race. I got to be the photographer for the day. I was busy running all over the place to get the best shots I could.

Here is a good one of Vit & B-Meister -



Vit took a minute-plus off his time from last year, & due to mechanical difficulty, B-Meister had to DNF. BUMMER . . . but I must say he took it very well. When he finally came in off the bike he decided to do the 10K run anyway . . . just for the workout aspect of it. Good for you, B-Meister!! Way to get it done!

All in all it was a great weekend with great friends.

I will be going back next year . . . maybe a longer distance?? The long course perhaps?? We shall see. But I will be bringing Lola with me next year. And my hubby, too.

Quite frankly, I love my "boys," but I want some estrogen with me next year. Missed you, Lola.

Here are me & my boys:



Well, that's all she wrote . . .

Peace & love,
TracerX

Oh, by the way - I podiumed with a 4th place finish in my age group!