I finally found the one....

I know you have been waiting for years to hear me declare that I've found 'the one'. Well, it has been a long time in coming, but I found what I've been looking for.

Black with a little bit of silver shining through....likes to go for long bike rides with me...not too tempermental - yet...on the right course...has been molded to be a perfect fit for me...is lots of fun to be with...makes me happy!!! I could go on, but you will have to meet 'the one' yourself! I'm sure you will have the same amount of love and appreciation as I have found!

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tada!!! My new Cervelo P2C! Ironman Coeur d'Alene, here I come!

Ironman Arizona and Thanksgiving

Ironman is finally behind me. We had a great race! I had more volunteers than I knew what to do with, which was a great problem to have! Everything was 'nearly flawless' on race day! I was very happy with the results and am glad that I only have one race to organize in 2009! (we had 2 races this year!)

Just as quickly as Ironman was over, Thanksgiving was here. I spent the day cleaning, putting my life back in order, and eating with Amy's family. It was a nice day.

On Friday, I headed to Magic Mountain in Southern California with 16 other people. (I have gone to Magic Mountain every year for the last 4 years!) Some of them I knew, some were new faces. We loaded up about 4:45AM and drove over to the park. We stayed until it closed at 8 PM! We rode almost all the roller coasters - and some multiple times. One of my favorites, Goliath, I rode 5 times! The fifth time was a stretch but I was coaxed by my fellow riders to stay on the ride. The last three times we rode, we didn't even get off because there was no one waiting in line! It was a great way to end the evening. We stayed in a hotel that night and then headed back first thing on Saturday morning to get people back that needed to be back. It was a great trip! I had a great time and I met some great people!

(I love roller coasters! This is Goliath!)

Now, it is back to life and work. I'm getting ready to put all my Christmas decorations up, too! That is always fun!

Hope you each had time to reflect on all you have to be thankful for and are looking forward to celebrating the birth of our Saviour this Christmas season!

(ps - my foot is all better!)

Yes, it is gross.....

So, this may be more than you want to know but I am currently battling with a plantar's wart issue on my foot. This is the third time I have had to go get injections to try to make the virus go dormant. I have no idea how I initally got it but each time it comes back, it gets worse. NOT my idea of fun. So, on Thursday, I went back to the podiatrist for another round of injections. They inject an acid called Bleomyecin in to the affected area. The black areas you see in the picture are just where they did the injections and now those areas are bruised. It is very sore and still swollen. I can't put any pressure on my heel. It should take about 2 weeks to heal. That is a killer for me since I am so active. It drives me crazy not being able to exercise. I'll come up with some alternatives until my foot gets better. In the meantime, I am a bit immobile and, if I am up and about, it is for short periods of time. I guess this is one way to slow me down!!!

Vancouver (BC), Seattle, Ironman AZ

Last weekend, I found myself again in Vancouver, BC to attend another stretch therapy workshop. I really love this line of work and have seen the techniques really help my clients. I am tying to gain as much knowledge in this area as possible. Vancouver is a great city! This time, I stayed with a few other ladies who were taking the workshop. It was a nice change from staying by myself like I have the previous times I have been up there. We stayed right downtown. It is a great city, bustling with life, culture, and energy! It was really nice to get out and do a few runs while I was there.

I made this trip a bit of a vacation as well, spending time with friends in the Seattle area and in Yakima. I needed something of a break from the routine here in AZ. It was nice to get away. I loved seeing all the fall colors! It is refreshing in SO many ways!

Next on the agenda is getting through Ironman Arizona, which is on November 23rd. Hopefully I will have something interesting to blog about before that! I am the volunteer coordinator for the event so I am quite busy with all the preparations. I am confident that we will have all the volunteers we need and that my captains are competent to run their areas well on race day! It is a long day, and actually more like a long week. 4 weeks to go!

Tumultuous Waters.....

i went rowing this morning on Tempe Town Ocean - I mean Lake. Because it is a man-made lake, it has some very interesting patterns of movement. Where we launch our boat, the water was like glass (the picture to the left is right by where we launch - with perfect water!)- the kind of water I always like when I am out wakeboarding! Just a few hundred meters in to the row, the water turned choppy and just proceeded to get worse as we rowed further East on the lake. (I was in a double this morning with one other lady, Helen.) We approached the mile mark, where we usually pass under the Rural Street Bridge. Well, much to my surprise, we had to stop somewhat quickly, as there was a large boat in the way. Boats with motors are not allowed on the lake, which is why I was caught off guard. Well, a passerby told us that there were divers below, looking for a murder weapon. OK - that is not a pleasant thought as I am out on the water. About the time we were discussing this weapon that they were searching for, the wind started carrying our boat quickly to the East. I wasn't paying super close attention, which resulted in an almost-dump of myself and Helen. We ran in to one of the pilings of the bridge - just with our oars, not the boat. It was a bit scary as I had to let go of one of my oars completely. Fortunately, the wind kept pulling us around the piling so we were able to maintain the right balance and I was able to get my oar back. I guess I need some more practice on choppy seas! I really like to row when the waters are calm - and don't like to row as much when the waters are choppy. Hmmm....see any parallels to life in this little scenario? We got back on track and had an ok workout. I did go for a run when I got home just so I felt that I got my heart rate up and so I could burn a few more calories!

Did I really just commit to that?

Well, the time has come. After 5 years of volunteering, and now getting paid to work for Ironman, I have decided that I am going to race one myself!

On June 21, 2009, I will embark on racing at Ironman Coeur d'Alene in Idaho! I am in denial that I have committed to this! A 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run! Am I crazy? Don't answer that just yet - I already know what you are thinking! I just got my confirmation that I am registered. Wow!

I decided that I have the time in my life now to train for one so I might as well do it. I won't start my official training until December and maybe not even until January. It will be a solid 6 months of training, but I think I can do it! Good times await!

Grasshoppers and 500k

This morning I was out on a run - shorter than it should have been - but as I was running, there were a lot of grasshoppers. They were quick to jump out from under the potentially deadly wrath of my foot. What I was reminded of as I watched them jump is that FALL is almost here! The mornings have been really nice here in AZ - only to get better! This is why I live here! :) Well, at least a small part!

I run with a nike+ system. This system is one in which I have a transmitter attached to my ipod and a receiver in the bottom of my shoe. With this system, I know how far I've run, what my pace was, and how long it took me to complete the run. It is pretty nifty! Another part of this gadget is that it talks to me! This morning, Paula Radcliff's voice came through my earphones to congratulate me on completing 500 Kilometers! That is just over 310 miles. That has been done over a total of 51 workouts and 46 hours of running! That is a lot of short runs and quite a few longer runs (10 miles or longer when I was training for the 1/2 Ironman back in the beginning of the year!). And to think that is only running - I would be curious to know what those totals would be if I added my cycling and rowing in to the mix!