The Slowest Triathlete -- on SNOW!

Greetings from Colorado! I'm very much enjoying "off season."

Ladies....

here's something that'll add a little heat to the this cold, bitter winter....

The top ten hottest male triathletes

I was so distracted by the collection of hotness that I almost forgot I was reading this in the pajamas I've been rockin' all day, with a kleenex box under one arm and my greasy hair going every which way from being in ever-changing horizontal positions for the past 16 hours. Ugh. Two colds in six weeks. How does that happen? I'm ready for flu season to be over!

Twenty levels of hell

I'm gonna feel this one for sure. This morning's boot camp was circuits. 90-seconds (read: an eternity) per activity the first time around, and 45 seconds the second.

Ouch.

I had a hard time holding my arms up long enough to blow-dry my hair after class. The likely culprit -- well, there are a few offenders, but I think walking push ups are the most guilty. Ya, who thought those up? Like regular push-ups weren't enough to make my wimpy little arms feel noodle-icious, lets add a core component and sideways motion. These were definitely directly out of the devil's playbook.

And can we talk for a minute about my bottom? Cuz that hurts too. There seemed to be a lunge theme throughout the workout. Pick a format for workin' the booty and I think we did it.

If that's really what hell is like, and I end up there, I'll probably have a very nice ass.

You've got mail

I love mail. Especially when it comes in box form. And especially boxes that contain gear. Look what the friendly UPS person brought me today. Brand spankin' new trail runners. Love them. Supportive, stable, yet surprisingly cushioned. Perfectly sized. Oh, and did I mention they are waterproof. Oh yeah. Gore-tex. Bring it on winter. These puppies are gonna cut through sidewalk crud like my sweet K2's cut through the spring slush on the last run of the day. No need to join a gym now.

In fact, I kinda justified my purchase based on the fact that I got them for about the cost of one month of a gym membership. Wouldn't you rather have new gear and the opportunity for fresh air over a previously sweated-on treadmill? I would.

And I should be able to pair them up with my gaiters for snowshoeing in the mountains. Hmmm.....mountains.....that makes me smile. Did you know I leave in less than two weeks? 12 days from now actually. Not that I'm counting.

Chasing Santa

This weekend's workout.....chasing 150 santas down Michigan Avenue. No, I'm not kidding.


Throw in a little shopping and window viewing at Macy's, some puddle jumping in the rain (so wish it had been snow), and some great Indian food and it adds up to one great winter weekend in the windy city.

Colorado on the brain

Came across this little gem of a mini-ski video today.

I cannot even tell you excited I am to have two whole weeks to play in the mountains. That's many, many chairlifts to ponder life. And many, many hours of driving across Nebraska....uhh, lets not think about that part.

My goal is hit the workouts hard right up until I leave. Then, that drive across middle america isn't just 18 hours of horrible-ness -- its my taper. :) I'd like to think I'll be using the chairlift for solving all life's little problems and not administering Advil.

However, based on how I feel after my first week of "hitting the workouts hard" I think my Colorado scene might look a little more like the crash reel from the filming of Under the Influence.

Actually, right now I feel like I may have been in the crash reel. Ouch. Amazing how a couple boot camp classes can make you feel like you're body's been pummled by an avalanche.

This will be good for me

In another week, I will feel really buff. But right now, putting on my sports bra seems to be a bit more of a challenge than it used to be. Did you know there are muscles around your rib cage? Ya, I never thought about those muscles either....until now!

Another muscle group I enjoy forgetting about....abs. Those are demanding attention today as well. Did you know that you use your abs to turn corners IN YOUR CAR? Well, trust me, you do.

I actually think I would really enjoy this boot camp nonsense, if it wasn't so - freakin - early. I'm struggling with the mornings. I like the class, I like the people, I think the workout is exactly what I need and I enjoy getting it out of the way before the day starts. But round about 2pm there is not enough caffeine to keep me alert.

Maybe the mornings will get easier as my body adjusts to it, but right now I just feel a little....off.

And *bonus*, I told a friend I would do spin class with her tonight. What was I thinking? Tonight could be my first spin bike injury....when I fall asleep in the middle of class and fall off my bike.

But this is good for me. I will thank myself for this later. Just like I'm now thanking myself for buying that ankle length down coat in August. This will pay off later. It will. In the meantime I'll be stocking up on Ibuprofen and coffee.

More Than Running

A great post from conversation with myself. Sometimes people don't really get it. The running. The triathlons. All the workouts. But I think I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again....its so much more than just workouts.

As if I wasn't annoyed enough today....

I just saw my favorite little (and by 'little' I mean totally epic but undeveloped) secret ski spot get a big fat mention in The New York Times.

Crap.

Well, maybe the current state of the economy will slow development....even if just temporarily. I may have just found the only perk to this little recession.

Had it not been FIVE IN THE MORNING...

I like to think I'm a pretty easy-going girl. But there are things that try my patience just by their nature. The two that come to mind are mornings....and wasting time, especially when this is not by choice but caused by someone else.

I knew this morning would be rough. I don't even try to be a morning person, and my sleep schedule is adjusted accordingly, so I was ready for a little early morning pain on day one of boot camp. Something like jet-lag but without the fun travel part.

The alarm goes off at 4:37am and from there I partake in a series of major accomplishments that get me out the door. You know, big impressive feats like getting my feet on the floor....brushing my teeth.....and finding something to wear.

The bleariness of morning doesn't lend itself to luxuries. Actions become minimized to survival. Roll to the edge of the bed such that you must put your feet down or fall on your face. Fumble for the light. Overcome temporary blindness. Locate clothing. Then water. Food. Car keys.

As I was standing in the dimly lit kitchen contemplating nutrition....seemingly monumental decisions like cereal? or banana?.....I tried to pretend I was traveling....or maybe getting up early to catch the first chair on a powder day. In the dark, your mind can't prove that their aren't mountains out there. Then I daydream a bit about my upcoming trip. That is, after all, why I'm up at this hour.

So in a nutshell...I'm having a pretty successful and tolerable morning.

I pull into the parking lot of the location that was specified on the website's google map. And wait.
I'm about 10 minutes early so I figure, maybe its a small group and they're just running late? I wait some more. I drive down the road wondering if maybe I got the wrong building. No. I'm definitely at the only school on this road. I wait some more. I think about a nap, but decide I don't want to be found frozen to death in my car by a bunch of school kids. About one minute before class is supposed to be starting another girl shows up. We converse a bit about what the deal is and then conclude that we are most definitely at the location on the website map, but either class was cancelled or the map was wrong.

We head off to the only other school I know in the area (not really nearby either....so this was an entry error not a google error) and manage to find where we are supposed to be on the third attempt. 25 minutes after class started.

I could have stayed at that point, but I was annoyed. And if you know me you know I'm not good at hiding my emotions -- annoyance in particular. I tried to be at least pleasant about the mix-up but I didn't think I could put on a happy face for another 30 minutes. And realistically by the time we warmed up we'd have about 5 minutes of workout before the cool down probably started. So it seemed rather pointless to me.

I knew I had a speed workout planned for after work anyway so I went home and enjoyed a nice pre-work latte.

I'll give it another try tomorrow. But it is supposed to snow buckets tonight (6-9 inches by the end of the day tomorrow) so we'll see. I won't be surprised if I end up doing a shoveling workout instead. Ugh. Oh well, the important part is doing something. I'll try not to think about the fact that shoveling is FREE.

Boot Camp

I might hate myself for this.

But then, I might hate my upcoming two weeks in Colorado if I don't do this.

For the next two weeks, this non-morning-don't-talk-to-me-'til-I've-had-my-latte girl will be getting up at 4:45AM to attend "boot camp." And when I say "the next two weeks" that means EVERY BLESSED MORNING for the next two weeks.

I guess that's just what I get for my serious lack of self-motivation. If I knew I could force myself onto the treadmill in my office building a couple times a week I wouldn't have to do this. But the truth is, I lugged my workout bag to work more than once over the last two weeks and failed to make it on the treadmill once.

So I had to throw down my $100 for the privilege of rolling out of bed in the cold, cold, darkness at obscenely early hours that no one should see unless they are catching a flight for an unbelievable vacation.

I know it'll be good for me AND for my upcoming two-week mountain adventure. But right now the only thing that looks good about this idea is it being over.

I'm sensing a renewed addiction to caffeine in my future. And possibly ibuprofen.