Stares and laps, cribs and strollers

Now that I'm showing more, and look more like I'm pregnant and not just gained a few unnecessary pounds, I haven't minded wearing belly-hugging shirts instead of billowy tops. And for the last few weeks I've been going to the Y pool, in my two-piece Nike suit to swim laps and lay by the poolside (still gotta try to keep tan lines to a minimum!). Each weekend I've been getting about a mile swim in and about an hour to relax and read. Today was no different, but I felt that I was getting a lot of stares, more so than before.

What, had they never seen a pregnant lady in a two-piece swimming laps before?

Got 1700m in, nice and steady.

Whatever. I loved it!

Later on, Bryon and I stepped foot in a local baby store, shopping for our baby for the first time. Kinda makes the whole thing that much more real - and scary! I think Bryon was getting woozy with the "$200 here, $200 there" products. We had some great help looking at the cool strollers and car seats. We already registered for the Bob Revolution (duh - we told the saleslady we don't even need to sold on it - we're athletes, we need it. :) ) and got ourselves excited about the UPPAbaby Vista stroller (never considered before she showed it to us, I had looked at the Maclaren and Bugaboo). But while looking at Peg Perego carseats, I started looking at their strollers and for two hours online trying to figure out the difference of features between each. So, if anyone has any suggestions/thoughts between the UPPAbaby vs. Peg Pliko or Skate, let me know! :)

Tomorrow morning I plan to run/walk about 5-6 miles. I'm going to try to beat the heat and get up early for once. We'll see how that goes.

Surprise, surprise

I usually hate suprises. HATE THEM. I can't stand them. I was the kid who would go through mom and dad's closet before Christmas to find all the gifts before they were wrapped, or even worse, carefully peel back the wrapping if they were already under the tree. Even as an adult, I would find gifts hiding in closets or drawers. I considered myself a very good sleuth.


But my husband recently surprised me with a trip to an island - all I knew, for two weeks, was my Passport was required and I would need to pack my bikini. I had no input into where we were going, what we were doing, where we were staying, and I was actually kind of enjoying it! There were 20 different ways I could have found where we were going, but I didn't. I held my tongue, or rather my snoopy fingers, to not find out. My colleagues, however, were doing their own sleuthing and even got the exact location from my husband. (They were having a little too much fun taunting me!)


We ended up in Jamaica, and it was beautiful! (My guess were the Bahamas.) I hadn't been in more than 15 years. I'll post photos from the trip later on; they're on my other laptop.

Did we get any training in? Yes, many bicep curls and good calf work walking through the sand. We did get in some laps in the ocean; it was so clear and crystal blue and smooth, and the hotel had roped in their swimming area, so we bought junior-sized goggles from the beach gift shop. They were tight, but they did their job. I guess we swam about 20 minutes until we were ready to take our afternoon nap. :)


On the way back, in the Jamaica airport in Montego Bay, I went through the gift shop and bought Islands magazine to pick out our next spot. I'm thinking Kauai or Costa Rica!

Does swimming 250 out of 2,500 miles count as crossing the Atlantic?

Last week I blogged amazed at the woman who swam across the Atlantic Ocean within a month's time.

It turns out the whole story wasn't told.

It seems that Jennifer Figge swam approximately 250 miles out of the 2,500 mile distance between her two destinations of Africa and the Caribbean.

I'm still amazed at someone planning and attempting to do something so grand, but I do not believe swimming only 10% of the Atlantic counts as crossing the Atlantic.

What do you think?

Woman swims across Atlantic

If given the chance and the support, would you ever dream of swimming across the Atlantic Ocean, dealing with 30 foot waves, storms, high winds and the unknown below the surface?

Um, no thanks.

But a 56-year-old woman took nearly a month to do just that.

My hat's off to here, but just thinking about it gives me horrible thoughts of looking down into the deep, dark waters of the Atlantic and seeing sea life that would make my heart jump out of my throat. I'm getting shudders just thinking about it!

Only one man has ever attempted and successfully completed such a risk.

Now, I have had thoughts about the English Channel.... Anybody want to be my support team?

The ho-ho-holidays and what it did to me

Well, it's back to the grove, now that the holidays are over, right? Well, not so fast for me unfortunately. Seems like I didn't quite survive the frequent run-ins with shoppers, extended family members and kids, along with the -4 degree weather in Chicago. Yep, I'm sick. And not just whimpy ol' sick, but bronchitis!

I never get sick.

But, apparently, somewhere along the way I did.

I will say I did complete a great 5.5 mile run on Christmas Day. It was sunny and WARM in TX and I was running in shorts and a tee! Go figure. (Gotta love TX weather.) Then the following Monday, before New Year's, I decided to pull myself out of the house and go for a run, and I had the worst run I've had in years.

I was so tired. I had to walk in the FIRST MILE! I knew something was wrong when that happened. I hadn't had to do that in a really, really long time. My chest was heavy and I was spitting out a lot of phlegm (not to get too into the nitty gritty details for ya). I stopped at the Y and considered calling my husband for a ride back, but I thought maybe - for some strange reason - I lost any amount of endurance since the Thursday before, which is completely doubtful. I decided to do some weights and run back instead. The run back was a bit easier (of course, this was all down hill, unlike the first 1.5 miles uphill), but still wasn't easy.

Tuesday I took another try at running to the gym before doing a swim. A little easier than Monday but still not good. My swim was as good as it could be for a workout on my own and a couple weeks out of the pool. And then I hitched a ride back with Bryon, who was doing weights (and drove my swim bag up to the gym - thank you! :)).

After Tuesday, I went completely downhill from there. My sinuses kicked in, which led me and our tri group to say it was the over-chlorinated indoor pool at the Y, but then by Friday I was exhausted. Saturday and Sunday were spent in PJs all day long and on the couch.

So much for my last week of vacation.

Fast forward to this week. Monday and Tuesday my chest wasn't feeling much better and now I was exasperated when walking down the hall in the office or talking. FINALLY went to the doctor Wednesday and did several tests and an X-ray to determine I have bronchitis. Gee. Good times. I asked when I can start training again and she laughed at me and said "Please, give me one more week!" Ugh, fine.

Well, I didn't quite listen to her - I did weights this morning while Bryon ran for the first time since the Turkey Trot and his back injections. Then one of our training buddies said I better be careful or I can enlarge my heart. What?!? Yikes! I slowed down after that.

Anyways, due to the unfortunate event of this illness, it looks like I have to bail out of my group's 100x100 swim on Sunday. Yes, that 100 100yds swim, which would equal out to 10,000 yards of swimming. Which equals 5.68 miles. Bryon and I were going to relay it, but we'll see how I feel...

Hope everyone else made it through the holidays healthy and moving!

Football and training

Thanksgiving has come and gone. Nothing like Thanksgiving with family and the Dallas Cowboys! We had a fun time tailgating and hanging out at the game.


And with Thanksgiving gone and Christmas coming soon, nearly two months have passed since my last training program. Yeah, I've done a few gym sessions here and there, but nothing related to swimming or biking (I did have a few runs - and they were great! Funny how some time makes you feel better. :)).

Well, Sunday I finally kicked my rear into gear: I swam. Yes, I got into the pool for the first time in two months. In ANY body of water, for that matter. It was Sunday, it was by myself, and it wasn't too bad. And the way I always think, it had been so long since I had swum with the group that I had to swim by myself and "get my toes wet," no pun intended.

Monday I had the day off so I did the 8 a.m. spin class and listened to all the moms talk about their holiday. One mom seemed to be welcomed back to the class - must have been gone on hiatus for a while - and she said "Yeah, well, my youngest started kindergarten this year and I just haven't used my time wisely." Gag.

Today was a successful day too! Swim with the tri group - FINALLY! - and spin class after work.

I figured I'm on a roll, so I should just keep going... Is it too much too fast too soon? I don't know, but I'm feeling good during all my workouts, completed all the workouts. Could it be I haven't lost too much of my endurance? Possibly, but I don't think I had a good enough training going into Longhorn. Oh well. I just knock on wood I don't get injured.

Here's to the holidays and trying to catch up to the food-consuming and partying!

Let there be light

It's been unseasonally cool in Dallas nearly the past week now, but you won't find me complaining, although that cool weather has been brought in by storms - lots of them. But it's been a nice change... and made some of my recent workouts quite, um, interesting.

Now, the last two days haven't looked quite like that, but swim Tuesday and track today was a little too close to nature for my comfort.

Tuesday swim had me running into the wall. It was a tough set and during one of my kick sets, I was on my back and staring up into the gray clouds, wondering when the sky was going to break open and pour down on us in the pool, and BAM - my hands are in the wall. How I missed the flags I have no idea, but it made for a good laugh. I can't believe I was daydreaming during my swim workout, but I guess I was nice and relaxed!

The workout was:

300m warm up

400m kick

10x100m on 2:05

300 swim

300 kick

100 cool down

Today was track, and again, dealing with bad weather, lightning all around. But I survived. Whew. :) I have to give myself a pat on the back for that one - I did contemplate going back to bed as I was standing in my driveway, car door open, looking to the sky and trying to determine how far away the storms were. However, I didn't have time to get a full visit to the loo, and so I did one of the weirdest things - no, take that back, THE weirdest thing - I've ever done on a run: I stopped in an alley between houses during my 1 mile warm up to the track and went. Yep, I visited nature in the most natural of ways. It was quite liberating, really. You should try it... :)

Track was:

1 mile warm up

10x30 sec pick ups with 30 sec recovery

5 min recovery

4x1 min pick ups with 2 min recovery

1 mile cool down

This afternoon was supposed to be a 2 hour bike ride, but rain has been off and on so I'm pushing it to tomorrow afternoon. Swim masters tomorrow morning and group run Friday morning. Saturday is 20 min open water swim, 3.5 hour bike and 15 min. run; Sunday is 30 min. bike followed by 90 min run. All this in my designated HR zones, of course.

Oh, and my workouts this past weekend?

Saturday was 3.5 hour bike and 10 min run; Sunday 30 min bike followed by 90 min run (which actually turned into 105 min!). Whew! And I have to say, my training appetite is back in full force - Sunday Bryon and I had two meals within 2 hours of each other, one of which included having chips and salsa, share of chicken fajitas and a side of fries at Chili's! Hey, we get to because we train, right?? :)

Mid-week check up

It's Wednesday and I'm emotionally drained. Work the last two and a half days have been rough, to say the least. However, I have been able to do a couple good workouts so far this week that have helped me release some of the stress.

Tuesday was swim - my lane got in 3,000m! It was hard but absolutely great - and needed due to the above statement. The workout went like this:

Warm-up:
100, 200, 300, 400, 300, 200, 100 = 1600m

Set:
100 (1:55)
200 (4:20)
300 (1:55x3)
400 (2:10x4)
*had to skip 300 for time reasons*
200 (4:20)
100 (1:55)
=1300m
100 cool down

Wednesday (today) Bryon and I did our heart rate test for Coach Jason for our 70.3 schedule that starts (officially) on Sunday. It was 10 minute warm up in 140-150 heart rate zone. Then 20 minutes all out to get average and maximum heart rates during that 20 minutes. Man, was I feeling that not only during the last 3-4 minutes of the all out, but also mid-day today at the office! But - I hope it will help me get faster. Plus, I saw that the average pace for that 20 minutes was 7:56/mile I believe which means I could possibly do a sub-24 minute 5k...that would be HUGE! So, maybe I'll work on that. Hopefully I can get rid of the puke feeling though... I'll try to work on that too.

Also, we're nearly done with our floor! It's starting to get a little more difficult since we have to cut the boards now to fit the other wall, but, soon enough it will be done. WOOHOO! I'll post photos of before and after eventually...

Got the swim, got the bike...where's my run?

I've had some great workouts this week. And yes, I've done a full week!

After Tuesday and Wednesday's workouts, Thursday was a good workout - morning swim, covering 2000y.

Friday was a 4.5 mile group morning run. Luckily, I felt strong enough to make it through without walking.

Saturday was an early (6:45 a.m.!) 60 mile bike ride. I rocked it and felt great, up until my quads starting screaming at me. Big group today too and it was fun, which always help get through the workouts a little easier. I've kicked up my Accelerade use, after being off of it for two years. I haven't quite been able to tell if there's a difference yet for me, but I've got something working for me. I think my timing in taking nutrition has gotten better. It probably helps that I just like the bike much, much more than running!

A full week of workouts - and just in time! I've got confidence in my swim and bike distances for the upcoming 70.3... I really need to get the running miles in now (as always!!).

We did miss our morning long run today (didn't get out of bed until 8!!) but we did A LOT! Put in new wood floors, laundry, dishes, cook breakfast and dinner, groceries.... it was a busy day. But, I do plan on getting up early and getting a good distance run in to make up for today.

Nothing like remodeling your house while training for a big distance race... Anyone else tried that? It's quite exhausting... Next is our kitchen!! :)

Out of place

I felt out of place today in swim.

Yes - I went to swim practice this morning. After a month 'hiatus'.

It didn't help that I was so stiff/sore from painting all weekend. And I had no speed. Agh!

I felt like a beached whale, I felt out of my element and in a different environment. I wasn't used to it and hadn't been in the pool for a looooong time.

But, it felt good. Although I almost ran the other direction when coach said "800 warm-up" - you know that doesn't lead to no good when it's a huge warm-up like that!

Anyhoo, I could only swim 40 minutes as I had an early start to the work day. It's really hard to get up for this morning's workout, since my dogs like to wake us up every morning at 12:30 a.m. barking outside, waking the whole neighborhood. Not only does it freak me out and get me all worked up, but it's annoying! Maybe they're trying to get us used to waking up in the middle of the night for a baby... not that that's anytime soon...

One-eyed swimming

Swimming with one eye closed, one eye open is not the optimal way to get laps in.

But I guess that's what I get for not realizing goggles weren't in my swim bag. Luckily, another Brian had an extra pair and saved me from kicking the whole workout or wearing kids' goggles. Ouch.

Every turn more and more water seeped in to my right goggle. And that makes it tough for timing 4x100s and working to do each one faster and faster.

But during my time with one eye open, I got a lovely view of the pool floor. Do they ever sweep the pool?? Disgusting.

Tomorrow's Friday. Anybody have a rita on hand for me?

Swimming with kiddos - not a good idea

Didn't make it to tri swim this morning as I got a head-start on work at about 5:50 this morning, got 1.5 hours in, showered, quickly ate, and got to the office.

So I packed my swim bag to make sure I make it to the pool after my last meeting of the day, and got the workout from Coach Jason (thank you!). And Bryon actually met me up there! (He likes to swim with masters as he doesn't like swimming by himself.)

Swimming at the local Y is always an adventure, especially in the height of the day or after work - lots of kids swimming, splashing and running around, and lots of other 9-5ers trying to get laps in. I actually swimming at this time of day - I get to do a nice transition from work to home by numbing my mind with laps and get a little Vitamin D in at the same time.

What I don't enjoy about it is sitting at the end of my lap lane watching kids swim under the ropes, and today was no exception. Lap after lap, I kept eyeing kids peering under water, waiting for us to pass by and then make their escape from the shallow end of the pool to the deep end. I told one girl - passing under the ropes while on a NOODLE of all things - to not cross over, as she stops in front of Bryon coming in. I've yelled up to a lifeguard before about whether that's allowed or not (which it isn't), but he ignored me. Well this time, they couldn't ignore me.

I've been very worried about the liability I would be under if I were to not notice a kid passing through and happen to push them under during my stroke (or kick them or whatever) - what if they drowned because I whacked them in the head? The parents would yell at me, no doubt (although they should yell at themselves). I should not have to worry about that nor worry about my legal issues while churning out laps.

Well, it happened.

I was coming in to the last quarter of the 400 I was in the middle of (at this point, we were at about 2700m, trying to go 10-15 seconds faster than the last 400 we timed), and next thing I know I run into something, but it wasn't the wall - I wake up from my counting of laps from a scratch across my cheek.

I just got injured from a kid while swimming??

And that was it. I stop my set, turn around to find the nearest lifeguard sitting in her guard chair across the shallow end of the pool and YELLED. I can't remember what I said, but I know I got the attention of at least some of the parents nearby. I'm SHOCKED that they didn't even bother walking up to my lane to shoo the boy out as I was obviously coming in fast and not looking. Amusingly, I think it sounded almost like a shrill because of me being shocked and being nasaly at the same time. She finally blew her whistle, very quietly, and the boy left the lane (but not without swimming through the lane next to mine). Horrible.

Well, if you know me, I wouldn't let something like this slide and I let several people know, including the Director of Membership and Marketing, that this needs to be handled better. I even mentioned I'd donate $500 to buy a net or two to separate the sections of the pool so they can't swim below. (Bryon thinks that would be fine until a kid gets tangled up in it. Ugh - Mr. Negative.)

This has got to stop, or I'll take it to the Dallas Y office and complain more. I am not about to be put in a position whenever I swim laps of the possibility that I can injure a child. Signs should be put up and parents should receive flyers. I'm in PR damnit - let me handle this!

And parents - get your head out of your rear and start discplining and giving your children rules. Grow up!

So I got up this morning

Bright and early. Really wanted to stay in bed. But I got up, checked the radar to make sure rain wasn't a block away before heading to the pool. So what did my swim workout look like this morning?

30 minutes. 400 warmup; 4x100, 50 drill, 50 swim; 400 easy... and then we get kicked out.

Darn lightning. I learned that when we get kicked out of the outdoor pool, we can't even go swim in the indoor pool, as they can't find the papers to show if the indoor pool was built grounded or not. Nice record-keeping, huh? We were trying to coming up with some interesting ways to prove it is or not, but those really wouldn't work...

Maybe I'll get a run in or a trainer bike ride in this evening. I'm on a roll and I don't want to break it now! :)

To be organic

To be organic, I have discovered tonight after shopping the aisles of Whole Bucks, is you have to spend a fortune. And for what? For crackers that are organic? For chips that are "better for you?" Organic dog collars??? I don't mind going green in some aspects, buy is buying organic dish soap really making a difference in our environment?

But, what I really went to the store for was to try out gluten-free food items. I could be leaning toward a bit of hypchondria, but sometimes I wonder if I have a wheat allergy. So, I'm going to test out some common bread food I eat on a regular basis that is gluten-free: rice bread, gluten-free pasta, gluten-free frozen pizza meals. It was difficult to look throughout all the shelves to find the different gluten-free options but I found a few (even chocolate chip cookies!!) and so I'm going to try them out. I probably have to be pretty consistent in eating a gluten-free diet in order to really see any difference if I am in fact allergic to gluten, but we'll give it a shot anyhow.

In one aspect I see as being organic - in this case getting back to nature - was my second morning swim in the outdoor pool this morning. With the sun coming up so early, it's quite awesome to be swimming laps with the sun rising. Too bad you can't really get a chance to enjoy the view, but it's still nice nonetheless. This morning's swim workout was a nice change of pace - lots of drills! It went a little like this:
500 warm up
4x25 kick with one arm out
100 easy
4x25 one arm drill
100 easy
4x25 fist drill
100 easy
12x25 easy, moderate, hard, 45sec
100 easy
400 kick
100 easy
200 finish
I may be missing something in there, but it should add up to 2300-2400m total.

Last Thursday morning's swim, I did really well even after a couple week's break. I find that my swim is awesome when I've had a week or two off, but going consecutively for a month or more and my body is too tired sometimes to do a whole workout. I need to work on that...

California dreamin'

Santa Cruz board walk, 2006

This morning's swim:

600 pre-warm up

500 warm up

3x100, 1:50

2x200, 3:50

1x300, 5:20

100 easy

Total = 2200y

Then I had to leave. Not too shabby though.

Ugh, and it's so humid outside. Like Houston humid. Totally gross. For someone who sweats an awful lot without doing anything, it's annoying. I hate it when it just hangs around like it is. Dreaming of cool, beautiful, sunny weather... I have to keep saying it to myself...

Two race options this weekend - half marathon and aquathlon. Pretty excited and love the options we have. Of course, it'll all be a last-minute decision, but I want to do something! Never done an aquathlon before. Do you just leave your shoes in the transition area like you would your bike and shoes for a tri? I'm assuming so. We'll see how that goes.

"Heel Duke! Heel!"

Bryon's out of town again. Which meant shorter swim workout this morning. Got in 1950 yards and had to leave in the middle of a 15x100 at 1:50 pace (was doing them each in 1:30 or so though - and leading the whole time. That's hard work!).

I did take Duke, our rescued 2-year-old Lab, on a short run this afternoon. He's been through training and we're currently working on him and would like him to be our running dog, but hadn't taken him out on a run since he had been trained. He did awesome! There was only one or two instances that he was getting a little too close to me, but he heeled at stop signs and for cars when I stopped and kept a good pace! Yay! Of course, we really need to run him because he's learned how to get into the container of dog food... We're going to have to fix that. Took him back home (didn't want to stress him out too much on the first run) and went out again. Ugh - it was hard, with the humidity from this morning's storms (and the ones looming for tomorrow) and allergies, it wasn't fun. But I got a good 3 miles in. Didn't want to do too much since tomorrow's track if it's not raining.

One more week until LA! I'm excited - I love SoCal and I miss the beach. I miss surfing. I miss my nice golden tan. I miss the cool breezes. Bryon's actually been in San Diego the last two days and teased me this morning by calling me right before a 6 mile run on Pacific Beach.

Not cool, Bryon, not cool.

One day...

Anyways, still have two options to race next weekend, a running road race on Saturday and an aquathon on Sunday. Not sure which night we'll be out late celebrating my sister's college graduation, so it probably be a pretty late call. Can't wait!

I'm back!

For now, at least - until I get that lazy spell again. BUT, this morning I completed the full swim workout. It also helps that Bryon got back into town late last night so I didn't need to cut it short.

My workout was:
200 pre-workout laps
50 basic drill
3x100 build up to hard (hardest: 1:25)
400 kick
3x200 build up to hard (hardest: I think 2:55?)
300 pull
3x300 build up to hard (hardest: 5:00!Just as my race last Sunday)
50 cool down
TOTAL: 3100y; 1.76 miles

Not too shabby! And I've got to admit, I do love swimming. You realize how peaceful it is with just you and the water when you're hanging on the wall between sets and see the arms flying in and out of the water and water splashing everywhere. But soon you get to go back under and it's quiet - except for my random whimpers. Can't wait til we get in the 50 meter outdoor pool though!

Triathlete killed by shark

My deepest sympathies to Dr. Martin's family...

SOLANA BEACH, Calif. - It was a perfect spring morning for an ocean swim.
With the sun shining in a clear blue sky, Dave Martin and his triathlon training group swam past the surfers at Tide Beach on their regular Friday course through cool glassy waters about 150 yards out.

Somewhere below, a shark — presumed to be a great white — was lurking, possibly on the hurt for a seal or sea lion. It struck around 7 a.m., charging at Martin from below and lifting him vertically out of the water, both legs in its jaws, its serrated teeth slicing deep, fatal gashes.

"They saw him come up out of the water, scream 'shark,' flail his arms and go back under," said Rob Hill, a member of the Triathlon Club of San Diego, who was running along the beach when the attack happened.

Martin, 66, was rescued by two swimmers who had been 20 yards ahead. They raced back and dragged him to shore in a little cove shielded by 50-foot bluffs. A lifeguard truck took Martin up to a lifeguard station on the bluff where he was pronounced dead at 7:49 a.m.

A terrifying but rare attackMartin, a retired veterinarian, was the victim of a terrifying but exceptionally rare attack. Only person worldwide died in a confirmed, unprovoked shark attack last year, though the annual average in recent years is about four, according to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File.

Authorities immediately closed eight miles of popular beaches for 72 hours, heading into a warm weekend. Red emergency helicopters flew over the blue swells trying to track the shark, though experts said the chances of finding it were slim.

"The shark is still in the area. We're sure of that," said Joe Kellejian, mayor of Solana Beach, a quiet suburb of 13,000 people and million-dollar homes.

Martin's family members visited the lifeguard station in small groups, emerging in tears, before his body was transported to the county medical examiner's office. A man who identified himself as Martin's son answered the telephone at Martin's home a few blocks from the beach but declined to comment on the attack.

Busy as a bee

I knew this blog thing would be hard, and it shows, huh? It's been a while since a posting, but a lot's been going on in my world so I'll try to sum it up short and sweet.

• I last left you feeling lethargic, like I'm not getting a good night's rest. Well, nothing's changed on that front. Had to wake up early once again on Saturday morning (6 a.m.!) - and not for training - which I go into further detail below. Still haven't gotten a good workout in since last Tuesday. Here's to hoping I make swim masters tomorrow morning...
  
• Friday night was the rehearsal dinner for Bryon's friend, but before I got there, it was a full day (more than 10 hours!) of work at the office for me. I had to leave dinner early too so I could get at least 7 hours of sleep.
  
• I volunteered for TeamStayPut at the WonderGirl 5k in Coppell, which is why I had to wake up early. Put it was fun - we had a tent set up to do the girls' hair and put Goody products in their hair before and after their 5k run. And they looked great out there running - some better than me!!

• After my morning event, it was Bryon's friend's wedding at 2 and their reception at 6. Let me tell you, I would not have been able to handle worrying about whether my guests would make it with 3+ hours between ceremony and reception! It took a while for the guests to trickle in to the reception hall, and a while to get the party started. It was a great time to get to spend quality time with Bryon's friends, but Bryon and I were the worse critics since we just went through everything! And I was a trooper, as Bryon says, as I stayed til 12:30 a.m.!

• And since I stayed so late, I slept in on Sunday and didn't run. Go figure. But I did manage to finish my front door project and paint the inside of the door and trim. Woohoo! Amazing what a little paint can do to spruce something up! We also did manage to drop off my bike at the shop to get some TLC before the race this weekend.

Until next time, please pray to the tri gods that I get up nice and refreshed tomorrow morning and swim! And maybe I can fit in a run tomorrow after work... but then again, lets not push it!

Volunteers get no respect

Anyone who ever races - be it a tri, 5k, bike ride, whatever - I believe you should return the favor and volunteer at an event. Volunteering gives you a much different perspective as an athlete on what goes on while you're prepping for your race and thinking about only yourself.

I'm a swim coordinator for a local tri group here in Dallas and help put on two of their big races each year. Today was the last day of a two-day event where we held nearly 10 different races. Putting on a race is stressful, and racing itself is stressful. But by putting on a race, I know what it takes to get it right for the racers, yet the crap you get from the athletes is unreal no matter how good you get it together for them. Hello, I'm a triathlete too. I've probably done just as many races, and as many big races (hello, Ironman), than you, yet you give me attitude like you are coming out in first place every race. Come on. We both know you don't, and we both know you only care about yourself, but what's with the attitude man?

Not only do you get yelled at for being a volunteer and making sure everything and everyone is running smoothly, but the last struggling athletes get no respect either. People who have been finished for an hour or two can't wait another measley 30 minutes to get their bike out of transition while we wait for the last few bikers come in. Why don't you pushy people put yourself in their shoes - why don't you see what it's like to be the last biker to come in to transition and see all the bikes are gone only because everyone else has left? Where's the camaraderie and tri spirit?

I say lighten up and hold your horses. Enjoy the post race party. And if you don't have anyone to hang out, why not make a few friends who enjoy doing the same thing as you?

And don't forget to thank your volunteers. They've been out there a lot longer than you and busted their butt just to get the thing in place for you.