| it's been a while |
[Jul. 9th, 2010|07:23 am] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  crappy | ] |
it's true, when life is good, i don't find myself needing the lj much at all.
today, life is not good.
one of the dearest, closest people in the world to me is very ill.
i didn't know how bad this could feel.
she supports me, listens to me, inspires me, cares for me, comforts me, builds me up, and most of all, loves me in a way it seems few ever have.
i have never been very religious but now i am praying desperately for her survival and strength and for my own strength to help her through this in every way she needs me.
cancer sucks. |
|
|
| I quite don't know why |
[Nov. 11th, 2009|04:09 pm] |
but this week hurts a little.
I'm going to go hop on a spin bike and give it some thought. |
|
|
| Vineman post #1 |
[Sep. 30th, 2009|05:05 pm] |
Okay, as per 1 or 2 requests--I am working on a Vineman write-up.
Part 1 is over at my tri blog. It's obscenely long, so instead of putting it here (even behind a cut), I'm just posting the link.
http://liztriblog.blogspot.com/ |
|
|
| Countdown |
[Jul. 22nd, 2009|09:50 am] |
Not counting today, I have 9 more days until Vineman.
Of course I'm anxious as all hell. No one ever knows for sure if they have done enough training to finish comfortably if they have never done an Iron-distance event before...so that can't really be helped. Anyway, if I didn't feel any anxiety, I wouldn't be ready.
The best I can do now is reflect on the past five months worth of training and what THAT has done for me...because really, race day is only one day, after all. It took MANY days of hard work to get this close to race day.
Back in March, I could comfortably swim repeat 100's on a 2 minute sendoff. Yesterday, I could comfortably do it on a 1:40 sendoff.
I can now ride my bike 40 miles in 2.5 hours.
I ran a PR for a half-marathon....during a 16-mile training run.
I haven't lost any weight, but on Sunday, my massage therapist and longtime friend, while working on me, said that may be true but right now I am pure muscle.
There are bad things, too, of course. I am battling a fledgling case of chondromalacia patella that I fear could be my undoing during the cycling leg. My posture has suffered the consequences of riding for long stretches of time, and as a result I've had recurrent muscle spasms in my neck, shoulders, and upper back that require lots of attention. This is an expensive endeavor, and not just because of the gear. I have spent the past 5 months getting physical therapy, deep tissue massage, and regular chiropractic adjustments to help me handle my steadily increasing training volume. A couple of weeks required that I trained over 20 hours in the week, as much as 25.
Above all, I acknowledge how lucky I am. Lucky to be well enough to pursue this goal. Lucky to be able to make room for it in my life. Lucky, most of all, to have friends and a loving partner who have supported and encouraged me the whole time. |
|
|
| a small slice of iron life |
[Jul. 8th, 2009|09:37 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  amused | ] |
I was in line at Target this evening at 8pm smelling strongly of chlorine, having just come from an evening swim. I looked over my purchases and had a bit of a laugh.
1 prescription methimazole (for the cat)
Assorted cat food (Also, obviously, for the cat)
2 boxes Smuckers Uncrustables (bike food)
1 box Fig Newtons (bike food)
1 18-pack Pringles snack stacks (bike food)
1 6-pack lemon-lime Gatorade (need I explain?)
1 bottle Dove body wash
1 can Neutrogena spray sunblock, SPF 30
1 2-pack Hanes women's stretch boxer briefs (which I recently observed, at Dolores Park on pride weekend, is the preferred underwear for many other 20-and-30-something lesbians...who knew???)
On that note...I left the store and ran across a 6 pack of teenaged, white trash, wannabe gangster dykes. 3 butches, 3 femmes, nary a one of them over 18. Hilarious. I fucking love the bay area. :-D |
|
|
| check in |
[Jul. 1st, 2009|04:01 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  contemplative | ] |
I haven't posted here in a long, loooong time. My last post should serve as a pretty good explanation as to why!
Today is July 1st, a month to the day before I head up to Santa Rosa to participate in this year's full Vineman.
My two longest workouts will be next week...a 120 mile (give or take...well, really just give) bike ride, and an 18-20 mile run. Then I will start my 2.5 to 3 week long taper. Then it will be go time.
I hope, after all this is over, to have more interesting things to post about. More importantly, I hope I find more inspiration to post!
Send me good vibes from now until August 1st. It's been a journey, already rewarding for the training and what I am learning about myself along the way, but I'd really like it to culminate in a successful finish! |
|
|
| am i looking for meaning? |
[Apr. 3rd, 2009|05:06 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  melancholy | ] |
I have begun to wonder if there's a reason why I currently feel the need to fill every waking moment with some sort of activity. I fear that there could be, and that I should figure out how to deal with it head on.
In the meantime, I have adopted the schedules of a full-time trainer, part-time coach, and Iron-distance athlete in training. My commute is sometimes an hour each way. I joined a masters swim team that has 7am workouts, a track team and spin class that meet at 7pm, and I have to ride between 50-120 miles every weekend from now until August 1. In many respects I suppose I have dropped off the face of the earth.
Sometimes I feel selfish and guilty about it. Sometimes I am filled with joy and can take ownership of my right and desire to play hard if I can make the time. Most of the time I am somewhere in the middle. Always, I'm trying to figure out what I'm trying to prove and more importantly who I'm trying to prove it to...or, since I guess I know that already, what it is I need to prove to myself. |
|
|
| OMFG |
[Mar. 3rd, 2009|12:52 pm] |
I signed up for Vineman yesterday.
An Iron-distance triathlon.
It's on August 1st.
That would be, um, in 5 months.
Time for me to shut up about overtraining and put my money where my mouth is.
Now to go meet with an Ironman veteran and coach to map out my training program.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
|
|
| Things I love about rainy days |
[Feb. 16th, 2009|05:06 pm] |
- Running. The trail near my house is empty and you can usually see some great birds out by the creek.
- Long, hot showers after the above running activities.
- Cocoa. Recently I'm diggin' on the mix I got from Penzeys. Not too sweet, has a little cinnamon for kick.
- Listening to the Cure while I drive to work. It just goes so well with a gray, rainy commute.
- Listening to the sound on the roof and the windows while I'm falling asleep.
- Doing the laundry. I find this strangely relaxing, particularly when it is raining.
- Hiking--pretty much for the same reasons I like running when it's rainy.
- Curling up with a book or a movie. When it's raining I feel more justified in doing this, not like I'm wasting time.
- Wearing my rain gear. It doesn't get out much.
|
|
|
| Okay, I'm officially a grownup. |
[Jan. 23rd, 2009|09:53 am] |
I just found out I have to get body parts surgically repaired.
I just purchased term AND permanent life insurance.
And...I just cancelled a backpacking trip because it's too fucking rainy.
Wah! |
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
| |
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.2){kind=small}
ravenwater's journal