busy!!!

not going to be long...just wanted to recap the weekend...friday was long run day since lauren was moving and i wanted to go out saturday night....5.30 am 13 miler around campus...nice steady run chatting with logan...never felt too hard...but was happy to be done....quick shower and food then off to school...home at noon then off to the internship at whole foods..interning there four days...and one with meredith...yeah!...it was my first week at wh foods...nothing too exciting...but just getting to know people and figuring out where i fit in...

saturday ride was rosedale ride...weather was warmish and misty rain...started with the 20 mile loop just to be sure the rain didn't get worse...it didn't so we headed out to do the 45 miler...me and jim were out there together...fun to ride somewhere different....last 5 miles were tough....wind started to pick up and i was getting tired...

sushi and drinks out saturday...yum...and a little too much fun...but fun none the less...

training seems like it is going well...keeping a good focus on my daily nutrition...and recovery nutrition too...doing a behavior modification for a class and will be cutting sugar from my diet starting today...keeping the training foods the same but nothing in the daily diet with more than 10g sugars on the label or sugar (or any sweetener product) in the first 5 ingredients...we will see how that goes...

now off to study for a test...we!!

rather odd week...

my poor mom has been getting hammered with snow...and my dad had been in arizona (getting his fair share of atypical AZ weather too)...and schools and everything else in the North had been canceled...so i did a lot of chatting with mom this week just to make sure she was able to get out of the house and that she still had power...thank goodness she could and did...

j flew from a conference in savannah to seattle for a meeting then back to austin mid-week...he hopped on a flight a day before the rest of his co-workers...and i bet he was glad (i know i was)about that...because everyone else got stuck in seattle until late friday...

i got a cold...and took one open water swim out of the workout schedule this week...and we were on a recovery week so hours were a bit less...that worked out really well...suffered through the sniffles but nothing too bad...great long ride and run this week...

got an internship on friday with Whole Foods...i will be working in there Quality Services department and in their Healthy Eating department doing a wide variety of nutrition related research and whatnot...i'm very excited about this opportunity...

so now i have two internships, school full time, ironman training, family, husband and two cats...oh yeah...and i have some friends out there somewhere too...i was just saying to j yesterday...i feel sometimes when i am not busy i don't do the things i need to do very well...like if i don't have too much to do i do everything lazily...weird...

ran the austin half marathon yesterday...and had a really great run....felt strong and solid the whole way...i started with the 3.50 marathon group (8.46 pace) just so i would not go out too fast...and so i could see how i was feeling....head cold is still hanging around but i am on the up and up...but you never know how this is going to hurt/help the run...toughed it out through the first 5k trying to get around the people who start way too far front for the pace they are going (read three groups of 2-3 walkers starting near the 3.40 pace group)

hit the turn down south first back into down town and started to open it up...i felt really good...and just hit a comfortable pace and stuck with it...it will be interesting to see my 5k splits...i never got bored on the course and kept thinking about how i felt running 3m a few weeks ago...i was struggling...and yesterday i was just having a blast...i really was running this as a training run...rather than trying to race it...so i guess having no expectations was good...

hit the turn for the half/full split and was still feeling strong...but this is where the hills really hit...one was just tough! my car needs to be in 2nd gear going up this hill...funny to run it :D...finished the race with a huge smile on my face....i just had so much fun...ended up running a 1.51 (3m a few weeks ago was 1.48)...with an 8.33 pace that never felt hard...i guess it helps that the day was just perfect...cool (33) ok cold to start....then sun and much warmer at the finish...

walked through got my shirt, medal and some chips and water...grabbed my dry clothes...put them on...hopped on my bike and was home by 9.15am...good way to start the day..

this week will mark some changes...mostly schedule stuff...we will see how it all goes down...

i have issues...

still i have issues with perfectionism...lame i know...i was mad at myself this weekend because i got a 92 on a test when i probably could have done better...and was ticked for a bit that i missed a question on a quiz...because my brain wasn't functioning when i got to class this morning...just having an off morning i guess...and this all put me in a not great mood today...

but all was saved by a little run practice...got there a little early to get an extra warm up in...and really attacked the hills tonight...thinking well i can get this right...

i know...i need to relax...i try...really i try

week 4

i can't even believe that we are a month into training so far...well my stomach can believe it...we are getting to the hungry phase of training :D

this past weekend was finally a good weather weekend...the week was a bit of a challenge since it just rained and rained and rained...and now is raining some more...saturday was a little chilly to start...but warmer than we have ridden in lately so that was nice...and by the end to the ride the sun was out...i had my gloves off and arm warmers off too...it was great...

i also had a really great ride...went out to do the dam loop (57 miles) with PLENTY of hills in the middle and end...(that picture really is the dam i rode over) well and beginning too...i wanted to push it on the hills to see what i had...man...it was fun...i get stronger and stronger each time i do this ride...i remember doing it at the beginning of IMAZ training and thinking that the hills never end...and this time around i was just cranking up them and pushing through...

i felt the burn seriously on the last big climb from mopac up southwest parkway to william cannon...always a tough one...and i had a rear brake rubbing my tire...which made the top of the hill even better :D

got through my first accounting assignment, got an a on my first nutrition test, and watched three movies intended for much younger age groups...did a nutrition analysis of my gluten free three days and had a dinner out with some friends at vino vino

also had a pretty good run on sunday...15 miles....10 on the road then some more on the trail...was pretty done by the end of it...my legs were tired...and like i said to ETG when we were out there...i just didn't have the same spring in my step when we got done...we were rewarded with great coffee and breakfast tacos after...

all in all a good week and weekend...but with a little something missing...don't worry...he's back home in a few days... :D

week 3

so it was kind of a big week....monday was a baking class with peter reinheart (wrote bread baker's apprentice among other things) with amy and a few of her friends...so much fun...meeting the baker and having him match the him i had in my mind....always refreshing...

tuesday was tattoo day...it's big...and not done yet...but a work in progress to finish out my left arm...so far...i love my tattoo artist....scott ellis from triple crown on the east side...and i love the work...bamboo...panda bears...lotus flowers...puts a bit of a dent in my swim training (a week out of the pool) but all of this has been discussed with my coach and artist... :D

training has been going well despite the really cold weekend weather...i was able to borrow erin's computrainer and with carrie's help got it up and running for a three hour ride on the virtual 3d IMCDA course in the comfort of my guest room/tri crap area...sunday was 10-11 maybe 12ish miles on the town lake trail then out to the green belt for a cool down of trail running....a quick hi to mark and amy at the start of the town lake loop....too cold to stop and chat(sorry guys!)....like 30...and someone yelled "it's snowing" as we were finishing...ok a few flakes in the air...i would not consider that snowing...

hamstings were tight all week...post 3m half and track practice so i have been careful to roll...ice and heat when needed and when i can...

this week...test one...assignment one...things are going...