Can we push back my birthday?

I love LOVE my birthdays.  Doesn’t matter what year I am coming up to, or what I do. I just love that I have one day that belongs to me and President George W. Bush. 

Well, I don’t really love my birthday this year.  I don’t mind turning 34, I like the fact that I have one more year till I am 35.  Great things happen to 35 year olds.  It hasn’t however been the best last week of being 34.

Our family lost a Great Grandma, Grandma, and Mom, last Tuesday, June 29, 2010.  Dorothy Gene Dangerfield Gerth, went on to the place our souls go when our bodies are no longer able to care for them.  We are sad, really really sad.  Dorothy Gene Dangerfield Gerth    January 12, 1926 – June 29, 2010   We love you Cookie Girl.

As if one loss wasn’t enough, two families lost their wonderful furry family members.  Again we are sad.

Then, two different families have had terrible accidents happen to someone they love and need.  Again we are sad, and we are praying. 

I just don’t think I can handle anymore sad news this week. 

Everyone is asking “what do you want to do for your birthday, how do you want to celebrate?”  My soul wants to sit down in a quiet place and be thankful that my family is safe and healthy, and that Grandma was able to have a wonderful 84 years of laughter, fun, family and love.

Maybe I will just skip this birthday and have year 34 & 35 next year.  That sounds like a good idea.

Isn’t it beautiful

Tri training has changed locations for the summer.  We now train at Folsom Lake.  We were at Beales Point before the Triathlon, now at the Granite Bay entrance.  I am a tad bit intimidated.  I here the hills there are excruciating.

Look at this.  Isn’t it beautiful.  I love exercising outside.  So much more than at the gym.  There is something about seeing the trees and listening to the birds sing.  And I am a sun baby, so there is nothing more wonderful than getting an overdose of vitamin D.

Hello? Where did my mojo go?

Oh, I am having a terrible time finding the energy and drive to exercise.  Where did my mojo go?  I looked under the bed, in the closet, I even looked in the fridge.  I found that when I couldn’t find it I went for the food.  Yep, I have NOT been eating clean or exercising.  And we all know what that means.  My legs are getting soft and my bum is getting softer.

Last week I signed up for the Urban Cow Half Marathon.  It is in October so I do have plenty of time for training.  I am excited for it I just wish I was more excited to train for it.  I have missed all my tri training in a week and a half.  Mostly because I have been feeling crappy from a cold. I would be lying if I said this wasn’t effecting my mind and spirit.  It is amazing the power exercise and good food do to your overall health.

So, I am dressed to exercise with a runny nose and nasty sore throat, I have to put on my shoes and head out to Maidu for bootcamp this morning.  I am looking forward to seeing the lovely ladies that make up the Wednesday am group.  Wish me luck.

 

This is what we did for nine days prior to me losing my mojo.  Maybe that is why.  Nine days of camping, boating, drinking, and eating.  I actually did pretty good.  I ran with my friends 4 times, 2.75 miles each, kayaked from across the lake to this very point twice.  My eating was very mindful and my drinking well, better than you would expect.  I gave up alcohol a month before the tri.  So my body wasn’t prepared for the drinking and did not care to much for it.  Which is good. I was so exhausted when we returned home, I believe the  mojo just slipped away.

More Pictures

I thought I would add a few more pictures of my Triathlon.  Ok a lot of pictures.

 

Setting up my “hotel” the place that I will head to after I finish each section and leave to start another.

Getting greased up with my numbers.  Race number 307 (which my Mom’s said were her favorite numbers) and my age. At the end of the day I didn’t want those numbers to come off.

Heading to the swimming area. I was so excited.  You wouldn’t have believed that two days earlier I was hyperventilating and sobbing in open water.  I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do it. 

My biggest supporter and love.  There was NEVER a doubt in his mind that I could do this (well, a little the Thursday before; when I fell apart at Folsom lake)  He was there at every transition, cheering me on and telling me how proud he was.  He ran to catch me and take pictures. That gorgeous smile never left his face.

 

Almost done with the swim.  It took longer than I thought, but I did it and I was so proud.

  

I had done it!  I had conquered a fear.  Swimming in open water, with my head in the water.

 

Getting on my bike.  I am on my way.

A little over an hour I was back at the transition area.  I was excited to start the last section of my day; the run.

I have pictures of me starting my run, but I wasn’t smiling and I look like I was defeated.  I like these photos of me finishing.  I am smiling.  I did it. However, I wish someone would have told me to take my ears out of my visor.  I forgot about that during the run.  They were getting sun burnt.

I finished.  

This is one of the reasons I did this.  My girls.  I wanted them to see there Mommy accomplished something big.  Kelsey was so proud of me.  She knew how hard this was for me and how much I had to sacrifice to get here.  I missed her field trips, last week of school parties, and the last day of school.  My girls always come first.  This was the first time in 9 years that I put myself first.  I did feel guilty and sad.  But I know that there will be more last days of school and field trips for me to do with them.  This was very important to me and because of that it became very important to them too.

My sweet proud Kelsey

Lorri Ann and I Holly and I

These two ladies are my angles.   They (and a lot of other coaches) have guided me through this wonderful process, teaching me to trust my mind and my body and to know that I can do anything, not matter what.  Around the end of March I started having problems with my colon and beyond.  I had had blood tests, CT Scans, Ultrasounds, Colonoscopy, I was sick, hurting, bleeding and scared.  There support and love never failed.  What I learned from these women was that I could persevere and that I was a strong woman.  I did it and I am so proud of myself. 

Two years ago I would have given up, and been ok with it.  It is my health, I need to take care of myself, is what I would have said.  Well this time I knew that if I gave up and didn’t push myself to conquer that mind game I was playing, it would have been the end.  I would have lost all respect for myself and I would have fallen into a depression.  I needed to prove to myself that I am that woman I always thought I was, but have been way to scared to believe it.  I was scared of failing.  Well I am no long scared.  For the first time in my life I can say with a smile and believe it – I AM PROUD OF ME. (thank you Mama Bootcamp)

I Did It…Now I Can Do Anything

June 5, 2010 came and went.  What did it leave me with is this.

and then this.

For the last 6 months I have been training for that day.  5 days a week focusing on my goal.  Not only did I find courage in myself, but I found determination, trust, love, acceptance, and excitement in pushing my body to places it has never been.

It was one of the best days of my life.  Yes it was only a Sprint Triathlon ( .5 mile swim, 16 mile bike ride, 3 mile run) but hey a beginner needs to start somewhere right? And YES I got that negativity from some. There have been some not nice people to me and yes it hurt my heart.  But I am keeping my head held high and moving on.

I will do more.  I will train for the August Tri.  I would be doing the July, but I have started a class on Saturdays and I don’t want to miss it.

I might even tackle a 1/2 marathon.  The possibilities are endless.

Training Day 50!

Wow can you believe it has been 50 days since I have started this process?  Doesn’t feel like it has been that long.  Amazing.

Thursday morning we headed to the park, not knowing what was in store for us.  The sun was shinning the air was crisp, perfect for a serious crazy butt kicking workout.  My trainer was way to excited about what she had up her sleeve.  We warmed up and then we were told to head to the hill. UGH!  Really hills again.  Secretly I was excited. 

I headed to the hill we ran our .50 miles to the final destination, where we were told to do a warm up and stop at the top.  The our trainer strategically placed two orange cones breaking the stretch into 3 sections.  We were to start at the bottom run up to the first cone and turn around and run back.  Without stopping we then had to run back up the hill to the second cone turn around and recover to the bottom.  Again without stopping we were to run back up the hill to the top and turn around and recover run to the bottom.  When we reached the bottom, we had to start all over again 4 times.  WOW.

It was amazing.  I am pretty proud of myself.  I made faces, grunts not so nice words.  but I did it. 

4.25 miles of hills.  Yay me!