It's been quite rainy the past few days. But I don't mind the rain. Rain makes the grass grow so our cows can eat. It makes the crops grow that make the feed that feeds our cows that help feed the world. And it makes the flowers pretty. :)
It does, however, make for tough workout scheduling. I don't really even mind to bike or run in the rain. So long as its that biking and running appropriate rain. That is, more like a steady drizzle or light rainfall. Downpours, thunderstorms and other sorts of events that bring water from the sky, I'll pass on running or biking in the rain. There's really just no sense it. That's why they say, "she don't have sense enough to come in from the rain," silly.
Yesterday we had lots of thunderstorms. Dark skies, loud thunder, heavy rain, etc. The sky cleared up right above my office for a bit and I decided to risk it, even though the sky in both directions looked ugly. I ran 3.2 miles (maybe a little more) and tried to run fairly hard. And it was hard. Because of the storms there was pretty much no one else on the trail. When I was about at the finish, two men came barreling down the trail from behind me and passed me like I was moon walking backwards. They, however, looked as if they were just out for a Sunday stroll. Their 6-foot-something frames, slender build and feet as steady as a horse told me that they did this running thing quite a bit.
I planned to go swim after I ran but the pool was still closed due to the storms. And as soon as I got back in my car at the pool, it came another rat-drowning downpour. Close call.
Today the rain continued. I had to plan ahead because I was hosting small group at my house tonight and still had to get dinner ready for the group. I left the office a little early and it was pouring the rain. The rain drops were gigantic. I was drenched from head to toe before I got myself, my purse, and my laptop safely in my car - which was parked about 10 feet from my office door. I was leaving the office later than I had hoped, barrels of water were falling from the sky and I still had to get dinner ready for small group. And make my bed before company arrived. Ssshh! But after seriously considering skipping a workout today, I puffed my chest out and said, "No my dear. You're Going to workout!"
I went to the gym. Uugh. That place with so many machines I can't count them all. The place with super-fit people doing things that look like they're in a lot of pain. That place where there are trainers walking around with clients from machine to mats to pully-things. That place where obnoxious people wear their curled, flowing hair down and touch up their makeup while they "workout." That place where guys pumping iron take pictures of themselves in the mirror. (Seriously guys?) And Worst of all..... that place where the trainers, the super-fit people, the girls with their hair down, the guys pumping iron ..... are Friendly! WHhhaaat?! Don't speak to me! It scares me! Don't tell me to let you know if I need help with anything you nice gym-owner man! Gosh!!!! Don't smile at me cute girl with your hair curled when you're getting off the treadmill! Don't move your gym equipment out of my way trainer man! Don't Do It!
Why am I petrified of these people?! I have no idea. I always dread the gym. I have to see People! That are nice to me. It's horrifying. I know, I know. I'm working on it.
Regardless, I got it a pretty good workout. I lifted weights for a bit with the good ole' fashioned hand weights. 'Cause I'm scared of everything else. And then I did a hill-interval workout on the elliptical for half an hour. None of that left me time to shower before small group but that's okay. 'Cause that's how we Christians are. Come hungry, come thirsty, come dirty, come poor. Receive love. And sloppy joe's (tonight anyhow).
Another hump day down! And a long weekend coming! Enjoy loves!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
Courage
Today I was TiRed. Realllly tired. As the day went on, I didn't get any less tired. I began the day with the intent to workout at some point. By mid-afternoon I was much less unsure about that plan. I came home and thought that maybe after it cooled down some I'd go for a run. Then I cleaned.andcleaned.andcleaned the house. While I was cleaning, I kept telling myself, "just a little bit more. You're almost done." Like I was pushing myself through a hard workout. Psshh. I didn't workout.
I cleaned. I ate a sandwich. I laid in my hammock and read. Then I checked out ted.com. Ted.com, in case you don't know, has short talks by all sorts of fascinating people. Some talks are science based, some inspirational, and some simply informational. It's good stuff. Sometimes if I have lunch at my desk I'll listen to a Ted talk while I eat.
This evening I came across a talk by an incredibly inspirational woman, Diana Nyad. She attempted to swim from Cuba to Florida, I believe three different times (but don't quote me on that). Once when she was young and recently twice, at the age of 60. I really connected with her story (I know that sounds cheesy). It's so inspiring. We have one precious life. Make it count.
In part of her talk I listened to today, she shows a picture of her during training. She's smiling in the picture. She says that she doesn't recall this moment during her training - she doesn't recall ever smiling during her training. It's not fun. It's hard. It's excruciating. It's grueling work. But she has one life to live and one wild goal. Now that, I can relate to. When I'm training really hard, I'm not smiling. I don't even want to smile when it's done. Sometimes I want to cry, or at least whimper. It's hard. It's not fun some days. A lot of days it's not fun. But I try. I set a goal in this life I have to live and I'm going after it.
Diana didn't make the swim. She didn't reach her goal. Three times she attempted it. But you know what? She had the courage. She is courageous enough to live the life she's got. Courageous enough to set an outrageous goal and go after it. Even at the age of 60. She's an incredible inspiration. Live life. It won't always be fun, but it's always worth living. We get one shot.
Here's the link to her Ted talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/diana_nyad_extreme_swimming_with_the_world_s_most_dangerous_jellyfish.html
I cleaned. I ate a sandwich. I laid in my hammock and read. Then I checked out ted.com. Ted.com, in case you don't know, has short talks by all sorts of fascinating people. Some talks are science based, some inspirational, and some simply informational. It's good stuff. Sometimes if I have lunch at my desk I'll listen to a Ted talk while I eat.
This evening I came across a talk by an incredibly inspirational woman, Diana Nyad. She attempted to swim from Cuba to Florida, I believe three different times (but don't quote me on that). Once when she was young and recently twice, at the age of 60. I really connected with her story (I know that sounds cheesy). It's so inspiring. We have one precious life. Make it count.
In part of her talk I listened to today, she shows a picture of her during training. She's smiling in the picture. She says that she doesn't recall this moment during her training - she doesn't recall ever smiling during her training. It's not fun. It's hard. It's excruciating. It's grueling work. But she has one life to live and one wild goal. Now that, I can relate to. When I'm training really hard, I'm not smiling. I don't even want to smile when it's done. Sometimes I want to cry, or at least whimper. It's hard. It's not fun some days. A lot of days it's not fun. But I try. I set a goal in this life I have to live and I'm going after it.
Diana didn't make the swim. She didn't reach her goal. Three times she attempted it. But you know what? She had the courage. She is courageous enough to live the life she's got. Courageous enough to set an outrageous goal and go after it. Even at the age of 60. She's an incredible inspiration. Live life. It won't always be fun, but it's always worth living. We get one shot.
Here's the link to her Ted talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/diana_nyad_extreme_swimming_with_the_world_s_most_dangerous_jellyfish.html
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Now I'm Nervous
O.K. Now I'm really nervous. I'm 13 days away from Iron Nut. And I've ALWAYS WANTED TO DO A TRI-ATHLON! But I got a pretty dang good taste of what to expect today. And it wasn't pretty.
First, say it with me now: Shar is a freaking nut! Shar is woman, hear her roar. And I can't keep up. But that's besides the point. At church this morning Shar said, "Let's go do the full tri today." I stuttered a bit as I said "O.K., suuuuu-urrr-e." The whole thing Shar? Bike, swim and run like the whole way? Yup. I cleared my throat, rolled my eyes and said O.K.! It was a superior idea after all. Next week we need to taper down and we really need to push it this week.
Off we went. First up was the bike ride. We rode and rode and talked about what pace we should keep and dodged small kids on tandem bikes. We made it to our turning point, took a swig of what little water was left in Shar's water bottle and headed back. The up-hill back. Yuck. Of course it's yuck, but when you're with Shar it's !#%$%@#! YuCk! We were in high gear all the way back, I was chasing Shar as best I could. It was hot. My legs burned, my hard breathing came and went, and my legs burned some more. The last 4 miles, Shar suggested we do Indian Runs on our bikes. One of us would sprint ahead and after we got 20 yards or so ahead, the other one would sprint and catch up and get in front. And so on and so on. For.The.Next.FOUR.miles. And so we did. Until I couldn't catch up with her anymore. Luckily, we were almost done by that point. With a quarter of a mile to go, Shar commands me to race to the finish. With the teensy bit of energy I had left in me, I raced. I thought for sure that before I got to the finish my legs were going to catch on fire literally or my heart was going to explode.
We did it. Shew. 17 miles. Next up with no rest in between was the run.... Y'all. That was worse. I didn't even have enough energy to speak, or mumble, during the run. I just followed Shar. Step by step. We both wanted to walk but Shar said no way. It was really hot. I did not load up on enough fluids for this excursion I suddenly realized. The run was going to be rough. My nose was running. I couldn't breathe through my mouth for the phloem that was choking me. Gross, right? Three different times on the 3-mile run I thought I was going to yack. I kept thinking how I haven't thrown up from exercising since I was 8 when I was swimming the 100 yd Individual Medley in the city swim meet. Oh yeah I did. Came in 2nd. Touch the wall at the finish and yacked into the gutter. Nice.
We finished the run and walked another mile. I still couldn't speak. We got in the car to head to the pool and made a pit stop for water and Gatorade. I chugged nearly all mine before we made it out of the store. We checked in at the pool only to find out the pool was closing. That very minute. Exhausted but disappointed, we headed back to the car. We were both sooo tired but we really did want to finish our "full tri" out. Unfortunately, it just wasn't in the stars today. But we did have an amazing workout and got more than a taste of what this tri is going to feel like. It's going to hurt. It's going to be very hard. It's going to be challenging, physically and mentally. I could not have finished the run today without Shar. I'm not sure I could have much more than started the run without her. This tri will take a lot of sweat. Hopefully, there won't be any blood or tears. But there might be some of both.
I'm hanging in there. Thirteen days to go!
First, say it with me now: Shar is a freaking nut! Shar is woman, hear her roar. And I can't keep up. But that's besides the point. At church this morning Shar said, "Let's go do the full tri today." I stuttered a bit as I said "O.K., suuuuu-urrr-e." The whole thing Shar? Bike, swim and run like the whole way? Yup. I cleared my throat, rolled my eyes and said O.K.! It was a superior idea after all. Next week we need to taper down and we really need to push it this week.
Off we went. First up was the bike ride. We rode and rode and talked about what pace we should keep and dodged small kids on tandem bikes. We made it to our turning point, took a swig of what little water was left in Shar's water bottle and headed back. The up-hill back. Yuck. Of course it's yuck, but when you're with Shar it's !#%$%@#! YuCk! We were in high gear all the way back, I was chasing Shar as best I could. It was hot. My legs burned, my hard breathing came and went, and my legs burned some more. The last 4 miles, Shar suggested we do Indian Runs on our bikes. One of us would sprint ahead and after we got 20 yards or so ahead, the other one would sprint and catch up and get in front. And so on and so on. For.The.Next.FOUR.miles. And so we did. Until I couldn't catch up with her anymore. Luckily, we were almost done by that point. With a quarter of a mile to go, Shar commands me to race to the finish. With the teensy bit of energy I had left in me, I raced. I thought for sure that before I got to the finish my legs were going to catch on fire literally or my heart was going to explode.
We did it. Shew. 17 miles. Next up with no rest in between was the run.... Y'all. That was worse. I didn't even have enough energy to speak, or mumble, during the run. I just followed Shar. Step by step. We both wanted to walk but Shar said no way. It was really hot. I did not load up on enough fluids for this excursion I suddenly realized. The run was going to be rough. My nose was running. I couldn't breathe through my mouth for the phloem that was choking me. Gross, right? Three different times on the 3-mile run I thought I was going to yack. I kept thinking how I haven't thrown up from exercising since I was 8 when I was swimming the 100 yd Individual Medley in the city swim meet. Oh yeah I did. Came in 2nd. Touch the wall at the finish and yacked into the gutter. Nice.
We finished the run and walked another mile. I still couldn't speak. We got in the car to head to the pool and made a pit stop for water and Gatorade. I chugged nearly all mine before we made it out of the store. We checked in at the pool only to find out the pool was closing. That very minute. Exhausted but disappointed, we headed back to the car. We were both sooo tired but we really did want to finish our "full tri" out. Unfortunately, it just wasn't in the stars today. But we did have an amazing workout and got more than a taste of what this tri is going to feel like. It's going to hurt. It's going to be very hard. It's going to be challenging, physically and mentally. I could not have finished the run today without Shar. I'm not sure I could have much more than started the run without her. This tri will take a lot of sweat. Hopefully, there won't be any blood or tears. But there might be some of both.
I'm hanging in there. Thirteen days to go!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Pain Is Only Temporary
Pain is only temporary. It matters not what aches you. I am with increasing frequency reminding myself of that. Moving on now... Yesterday, I did a quick run before I met my small group from church. It was hot and a little hilly but because it was a short run, it wasn't too bad.
Today, the Shar Machine and I were going to do another killer brick workout (bike and run). BUT, it came a boomer-flash'n-downpour'n evening. Not suitable for biking or running. So I slowly drove home through the downpour and lightning streaks and decided on some yoga. Ahhh, yoga. My calves, quads, hamstrings and arms have all been very tight and sore for a few days. Yoga did me some good. It wasn't the cardio workout I was looking for, but it was something.
I'm going to be out of town again this weekend, which always make workouts hard. But I'll manage. Hopefully, I can get a run in Saturday and/or Sunday. ONLY ONE WEEK OF HARD TRAINING LEFT! The week before Iron Nut, I'll taper down and hopefully get in one or two swims in the 50-meter pool.
You know what I saw today? Something I have Never Ever seen before. A rainbow surrounded by nothing but dark dark clouds. I always thought rainbows came out after it rained when the sun was starting to shine again. I thought that I learned in elementary school (in addition to being a sign of God's promise) that rainbows were a result of a;kldjfahonfdakna;efndadnfadl and something having to do with the reflection of light off the rain or clouds or .... something of the sort. I listened well :) But the moral of the story is that THIS rainbow had absolutely no sunshine or light anywhere near it. And it was still shining. It was completely surrounded by really dark clouds with no sign of sunshine. And it was STILL SHINING! A rainbow shines even when everything around it is dark and gloomy. Even when no one expects it to shine. It still shines! Can I get an Amen? What a blessed day when God gives us little unexpected lessons. It means so much.
Go be a rainbow in dark clouds! Shine my loves!
Today, the Shar Machine and I were going to do another killer brick workout (bike and run). BUT, it came a boomer-flash'n-downpour'n evening. Not suitable for biking or running. So I slowly drove home through the downpour and lightning streaks and decided on some yoga. Ahhh, yoga. My calves, quads, hamstrings and arms have all been very tight and sore for a few days. Yoga did me some good. It wasn't the cardio workout I was looking for, but it was something.
I'm going to be out of town again this weekend, which always make workouts hard. But I'll manage. Hopefully, I can get a run in Saturday and/or Sunday. ONLY ONE WEEK OF HARD TRAINING LEFT! The week before Iron Nut, I'll taper down and hopefully get in one or two swims in the 50-meter pool.
You know what I saw today? Something I have Never Ever seen before. A rainbow surrounded by nothing but dark dark clouds. I always thought rainbows came out after it rained when the sun was starting to shine again. I thought that I learned in elementary school (in addition to being a sign of God's promise) that rainbows were a result of a;kldjfahonfdakna;efndadnfadl and something having to do with the reflection of light off the rain or clouds or .... something of the sort. I listened well :) But the moral of the story is that THIS rainbow had absolutely no sunshine or light anywhere near it. And it was still shining. It was completely surrounded by really dark clouds with no sign of sunshine. And it was STILL SHINING! A rainbow shines even when everything around it is dark and gloomy. Even when no one expects it to shine. It still shines! Can I get an Amen? What a blessed day when God gives us little unexpected lessons. It means so much.
Go be a rainbow in dark clouds! Shine my loves!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Love and Hate are Funny Things
Let's talk about a love-hate relationship. Her name is Shar. The game is exercise. Holy Schamolee y'all! Shar says yesterday, "wanna workout tomorrow?" Sure Shar. Let's do it.
My body was pretty sore from Jillian's workout yesterday. To make a long story short ('cause it's late, i'm TiRed and I wanna go to bed), Shar and I rode our bikes up Every hill we could find in town today. And we live in the mountains y'all. Not around the mountains. IN the mountains. Therefore, as deductive reasoning leads you to conclude, we biked up some BIG Ole' hills today. And lots of them. My quads were BuRNinGonFiRe!
We get back to our cars and I am WhiPPed. And Shar says, "let's go run now." Ah hem? Sure Shar. (whattheheckisshethinking?) "Lead the way Shar." Ha. BAD answer! She loopy-dooped me around the same daggum hills and mountain sides and then some, FORRRREVERRRR! Each hill we climbed and each turn we made that led us away from our cars, I wanted to reach out and smack her. But I couldn't. She was too far in front of me. So instead I just yelled out, "I hate you Shar!" :) I'm so sweet.
Ya know that gazillionth hill I didn't want to run up? Yeah, well, Shar literally smacked me to make me keep running. I said, "Shar, I'm gonna have to wa..." - SMACK! "I hate you Shar!" FINALLY she let us run back to our cars. HALLELUJAH! Or so I thought.... Ha! Shar says, "Oh yeah! We need to do push-ups and crunches." Ohhhh My GoodFreak'nGollyGeeWhiz Shar! And so we did.
The woman is a machine. A Scary scary machine. But I don't hate Shar. Not even a little bit at all. Even if she did almost kill me. The truth is, I LOVE a good hard workout. I LOVE having a workout buddy. I LOVE having someone to push me. And I'm SUPER DUPER TIRED!
Goodnight loves!
My body was pretty sore from Jillian's workout yesterday. To make a long story short ('cause it's late, i'm TiRed and I wanna go to bed), Shar and I rode our bikes up Every hill we could find in town today. And we live in the mountains y'all. Not around the mountains. IN the mountains. Therefore, as deductive reasoning leads you to conclude, we biked up some BIG Ole' hills today. And lots of them. My quads were BuRNinGonFiRe!
We get back to our cars and I am WhiPPed. And Shar says, "let's go run now." Ah hem? Sure Shar. (whattheheckisshethinking?) "Lead the way Shar." Ha. BAD answer! She loopy-dooped me around the same daggum hills and mountain sides and then some, FORRRREVERRRR! Each hill we climbed and each turn we made that led us away from our cars, I wanted to reach out and smack her. But I couldn't. She was too far in front of me. So instead I just yelled out, "I hate you Shar!" :) I'm so sweet.
Ya know that gazillionth hill I didn't want to run up? Yeah, well, Shar literally smacked me to make me keep running. I said, "Shar, I'm gonna have to wa..." - SMACK! "I hate you Shar!" FINALLY she let us run back to our cars. HALLELUJAH! Or so I thought.... Ha! Shar says, "Oh yeah! We need to do push-ups and crunches." Ohhhh My GoodFreak'nGollyGeeWhiz Shar! And so we did.
The woman is a machine. A Scary scary machine. But I don't hate Shar. Not even a little bit at all. Even if she did almost kill me. The truth is, I LOVE a good hard workout. I LOVE having a workout buddy. I LOVE having someone to push me. And I'm SUPER DUPER TIRED!
Goodnight loves!
Monday, May 14, 2012
My Momma
I know Mother's Day was yesterday, BUT, today I got to work out with my Momma! So I'm gonna talk about her :) Today was one of those i.cant.get.up Mondays. I was dog sitting at the farm last night 'cause my folks were out of town. This morning the dog tried to arouse me, the alarm tried to arouse me (5 times), and the dog tried some more. I was in that i'm-awake-but-don't-wanna-move state. And then a light bulb went off in my head that flashed a neon sign saying Work From Home Today! Psssh, totally! Five minutes 'til work time I rolled out of bed, started the coffee pot and plugged in my computer. And I kid you not, before I knew it, it was 5:00. My days in the office do.not.go.like.that. It was awesome.
Shortly before 5:00, my momma and my poppa came rolling in. I said, "Momma, before I have to go, come work out with me." And she said O.K.! My mom got through a KILLER work out today and I am sooooo proud of her. We got super sweaty with Jillian Michaels and kicked butt. My mom, who is not a real athletic type, pushed and pushed and pushed and did Soooo awesome!
You know those people in love that say they grow more and more in love each and every day, even when they're 75 years old? At the age of 29, I become more enamored with my mother every day. Every single day I see just how strong my mother is a little bit more. Heaven knows that my family has seen many trials. But over the past two months, we have been through the worst, longest-extending trial that I in my 29 years recall or could imagine my family going through. And y'all, my mother, my wonderful - amazing - strong - God fearing - brilliant - talented - loving mother, has handled it with more grace than I knew existed in this world. If I had the strength of heart, mind and soul that my mother has in just one of her pinky fingers, I would be blessed beyond measure. Momma teach me. Teach me to love like you do, to be as strong as you and to be as God-fearing and graceful as you. I may not have been willing to learn so much when I was that sweet, irresistible age of 14-now, but I'm ready. I'm gonna watch and learn. I've already learned so much.
Now go hug your Momma!
Three weeks 'til Iron Nut!!!! Ack!!
Shortly before 5:00, my momma and my poppa came rolling in. I said, "Momma, before I have to go, come work out with me." And she said O.K.! My mom got through a KILLER work out today and I am sooooo proud of her. We got super sweaty with Jillian Michaels and kicked butt. My mom, who is not a real athletic type, pushed and pushed and pushed and did Soooo awesome!
You know those people in love that say they grow more and more in love each and every day, even when they're 75 years old? At the age of 29, I become more enamored with my mother every day. Every single day I see just how strong my mother is a little bit more. Heaven knows that my family has seen many trials. But over the past two months, we have been through the worst, longest-extending trial that I in my 29 years recall or could imagine my family going through. And y'all, my mother, my wonderful - amazing - strong - God fearing - brilliant - talented - loving mother, has handled it with more grace than I knew existed in this world. If I had the strength of heart, mind and soul that my mother has in just one of her pinky fingers, I would be blessed beyond measure. Momma teach me. Teach me to love like you do, to be as strong as you and to be as God-fearing and graceful as you. I may not have been willing to learn so much when I was that sweet, irresistible age of 14-now, but I'm ready. I'm gonna watch and learn. I've already learned so much.
Now go hug your Momma!
Three weeks 'til Iron Nut!!!! Ack!!
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Happy Mother's Day!
My training hasn't been much the past few days. I was going to take a quick run Friday so I stopped by my office to change (since I had been working out of town). But instead of running I got stuck on a few phone calls and then had the most wonderful talk with my sweet friend that works in the office next to me. We talked and talked and talked and it was so completely lovely. Sometimes a good chat with s good friend is as good for the soul as Sunday morning.
Then yesterday I traveled to South Cackalaky to see my 3 year old niece dance her heart out to Mickey Mouse Club. And today I'm celebrating my amazing Mother and all the other wonderful women in my life that encourage me, inspire me and teach me. Thanks Mommas! Enjoy your day!
Then yesterday I traveled to South Cackalaky to see my 3 year old niece dance her heart out to Mickey Mouse Club. And today I'm celebrating my amazing Mother and all the other wonderful women in my life that encourage me, inspire me and teach me. Thanks Mommas! Enjoy your day!
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