Good: I didn’t drown or throw up at the pool Monday.
Bad: After the first 200 yards, I fervently hoped for either of the above to save me from more swimming.
Good: My first run – out in the dark and the cold – felt lovely.
Bad: The bike fell off the trainer, while I was on it.
Good: I got my first round of winter strength training in.
Bad: I cringe every time I move and hobble around like a little old lady.
Good: I’m leaving for Hawaii soon.
Bad: Taking my car into the shop for that minor stuck door problem has turned into $1500+ of repairs.
Good: Hot yoga with my mom tonight.
Bad: My yoga mat is in the car. At the dealership. Oops.
Good: Waking up early for workouts has been easy this week.
Bad: Because I haven’t been sleeping.
Good: Tomorrow is another day. I will tackle the pool again and it will be better.
Bad: My swim bag? In the car. At the dealership. Where the service department has already closed for the night.
Good: I will overcome all this crap and take the relaxed approach. Things will work themselves out. My mom has an extra yoga mat for me. Instead of packing my swim gear for Hawaii, I’ll just hit a Walmart near the airport and buy a pull buoy and paddles for the week = less to carry on the plane!
I will be zen about life’s ups and downs no matter how many beers it takes!
I realized that the infamous (well, in the beardie world anyway) Max Video was created before my blogging days and I should share it! The first video I ever put together and a labor of love, this only covers the first 3.5 years of his life (and he’s 7 now!) but I think it conveys the joy of life with my first dog, my first beardie, my first agility/show/everything dog…my one and only beloved Max.
Also…oopsie. Remember when I said how bad we did at the agility trial? I was just informed that Max’s team qualified, therefore qualifying him for 2010 USDAA Nationals. Too bad it’s going to be somewhere on the east coast so I won’t be going.
It’s been 3 weeks since Ironman Arizona. It feels like a million years ago right now! I still get a little tingle thinking about the joy of that finish line though. I suppose like (I’m told) childbirth you start forgetting the hard parts of the day and just remember the good ones.
It’s been a nice recovery period. I’ve done most of my Christmas shopping and even gotten a start on holiday cards (with any luck they will actually get mailed on time). I’ve done a lot of sleeping, consumed a decent amount of alcohol, spent a week sick with a cold (like just about everyone else did 2 weeks post-race), and haven’t done a bit of swimming, biking, or running.
All that changes tomorrow.
well at least the no training part (I can’t commit to no alcohol at this point)
Tomorrow I slowly begin to get my body used to training again. My next couple weeks look nice and light – very easy swims, bikes, and runs with focus on form, drills and technique. Perfect. Just the things I want to work on! (And I’m not even being sarcastic) I’m sure the first time back in the pool will hurt though :-) Amazingly I haven't gained any weight since the race...I guess my healthy-ish eating the last couple weeks has helped.
The beardies and I spent Saturday at an agility trial in Santa Rosa. I guess just like getting back to training, getting back to trialing will take an adjustment period too. We’ve had better days, that’s for certain. And if we’ve had worse, I have blocked them out of my memory! I’m sure my feelings were amplified by the fact that I had not one but two crazy boys to run in every event. It was cold and pouring rain (perfect for drivey insane dogs), I was COVERED in mud from head to toe, and I think I just wore down mentally by the end. On the positive side, I know my dogs had a lot of fun and really I suppose that’s the whole point of this.
After the trial, we went to Beth’s house so the boys could run like crazy with their sisters Maude and Beatrix. Beth also has a 3-month-old brown puppy named Bean right now – totally adorable little boy! I had dinner with Beth and her husband and amazingly you didn’t even notice there were 5 beardies in the house, other than the endless swish of hair and supply of warm bodies planted on your feet.
Sweet Bean zonking out close enough to keep an eye on the action
None of them exactly show-ready but 5 wet happy dogs nonetheless!
I did not go back to the trial today – when I woke up in my hotel room after 10 hours of sleep, I felt awful and just couldn’t imagine another day out in the cold. And then I had major car issues. So yes, I wimped and went home. Boo me.
After our visit with Bean, I found myself looking back on videos from when Stanley was little. I made up this compilation of his puppy antics. It’s amazing how fast a dog goes from a little tiny creature wobbling around to a big hairy beast! He was SUCH an easy little guy. Ah the good old days! (Sorry for the parts where uploading to Youtube seems to diminish the quality)
I was flipping through my photo files, looking for something specific (bad show photos, for a forum I’m on, and I couldn’t find any!), and I rediscovered quite a few that I’d forgotten about. So, it’s random picture day!
Max at 6 months old, and I still carry him around this way
Cujo at the old water fountain at the high school, waiting for someone to turn it on
Skydiving (I had a HUGE fear of heights) for my 27th birthday
About 2 miles from the end of my first 1/2 marathon (April 2006). If anything, this picture just emphasizes to me those 10 pounds of muscle mass I’ve put on since then! Triathlon really does do a body good.
Formal portrait of my old man. I need to get one of these done for the puppy.
Engagement photos with the best photographer ever, in my favorite state!
Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! Stanley’s first day home.
My 2010 season has been working itself out in my head even before i wrapped up 2009, but I’ve had more time lately to finalize it, work out race dates, start looking at dog event dates, and so on.
I’m quite glad I committed before IM AZ that I would be doing all short-course next year. Because I really really want to do another Ironman – despite any and all mentally low and physically slow moments, I loved my race day experience. And I will do another Ironman, but it’s the best choice for me to wait a year and work on my speed and form and try to score some PRs at shorter distances.
Selecting races is another area where I have to do some scouting to find the best choices for me. I could have done more races with friends, in perhaps some new and exciting locations or on courses that I know well, but I decided they were not the best races for me, with my goals for the year and the weaknesses I want to work on. The same will go with my choice for an Ironman in 2011…I really need to do some research and find the best course for my strengths and weaknesses.
Without further gabbing, here’s what 2010 is shaping up to look like for me! I’m looking forward to revisiting some courses I know well and doing races/venues I haven’t tried since my beginner year in triathlon.
Racing
2/7: Superbowl Sunday 10K, Santa Cruz, CA
3/21: Benicia Run for Education 5K, Benicia, CA
4/17: Vineman Showdown Triathlon, Marin, CA
5/9: Rev3 Olympic Triathlon, Knoxville, TN – Tri camp reunion
5/16: Morgan Hill Sprint Triathlon, Morgan Hill, CA
7/25: Catfish Open Water Swim, 1-mile, Morgan Hill, CA
8/8: Santa Cruz Sprint Triathlon, Santa Cruz, CA
9/26: Almaden New Times 10K, San Jose, CA
10/24: SOMA (1/2 Iron) Triathlon, Tempe, AZ
Sherpa/Pacer
2/13: It’s a milestone birthday for Melissa and I agreed to be her pacer on the way to a new 10K PR at the Mermaid San Diego Run. Then, we celebrate at Disneyland!
7/18: Assuming they all registered before it filled up, I’ll be playing sherpa to a whole group of friends coming out to California for Vineman 70.3! I even promised to be the post-race designated driver when they go wine tasting.
11/21: There’s no way I can’t pop down to Scottsdale for the weekend and cheer for all my friends racing Ironman Arizona!
Dog Events
16 AKC Agility Trial Weekends – Some 1-day, some 2-day, and a few 3-day entries, totalling about 34 individual days of competition over the year
2 All-Breed Conformation Shows – I have picked a couple shows to special Stanley for fun; he’s still maturing but it will be good practice for us both
1 Regional Specialty (Conformation and Agility) – Pending judge selection, I am planning to take the boys to Washington for the Northwest Bearded Collie Club’s regional specialty, show Stanley in Breed, and trial both dogs for 2 days in agility
1 Regional Specialty (Agility Only) – Agility for both boys in the Northern California Bearded Collie Club’s agility trial (I will not show Stanley in Breed because we know the judge too well and it would appear improper!)
1 National Specialty – A big maybe due to work and training for my last big race of the year, but I’d like to road-trip to Colorado for the Bearded Collie Club of America National Specialty and show/trial the boys.
Suffice it to say, it’s going to be a fun-packed year. I think 2010 will yield a better balance between training, racing (more races = yay!), my dog hobbies, and work (yes, the bills have to get paid somehow).
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