Well, that's a first

This past week has been chock full of a bunch of “firsts” for me.

I had my first swim in my wetsuit which was not *sigh of relief* the…..
……same day I had my first open water swim race.

I also had my first really long ride…
….which was in conjunction with my first animal attack.


On Tuesday of last week, my friend offered to go with me to the beach so I could practice swimming in Lake Michigan in my wetsuit. I was overjoyed at her offer as I was quite nervous about swimming….

swimming in my wetsuit….

swimming in my wetsuit for two miles during a race….

swimming in the open water….

swimming in Lake Michigan….

If was related to open water swimming, I was nervous about it. Before she even had a chance to reflect upon what she had just offered, I jumped on it. She had just signed on to watch 8 children ages 9 and under at one of the Great (Drowning Risks) Lakes while I practiced wetsuit open water swimming.

We met at the beach got the children slathered in sunscreen and settled. Then, I set about the task of suiting up. If you ever want to have lots of people stare at you like you are an alien, go to a public beach on a 90 degree day and start pulling on your wetsuit. As I was struggling to get all the parts and pieces placed correctly in the suit, I noticed that I was garnering many weird looks. My friend lovingly confirmed that wasn’t just me being paranoid as she noticed that everyone was looking at me as well. She took a picture to document the absurdity. G.R.E.A.T.

As I waded in, I was pleasantly surprised. The water was not that cold. There were no dead things (or people) floating in it. It wasn’t too choppy. The suit was not too binding. As I started swimming parallel to the beach, I concentrated on staying smooth and focused on my stroke. I was amazed at the buoyancy of the suit and felt the additional effort on my arms. With each stroke, my unease was melting, revealing some strength and confidence beneath. I thought that I could not only complete my 2 mile race and my HIM swim, but complete them somewhat respectably!

Relieved, I trudged back to the beach (have you tried walking in water in a wetsuit? Now, that takes practice!), stripped off my suit, and profusely thanked my friend for her generosity. I, undoubtedly, will pay her back as I have convinced her to “tri” a sprint this year and she wants to practice some Lake Michigan open water swimming as well. Then, my new found confidence and I breathed a sigh of relief about the weekend’s race. We packed up the munchkins, making sure we had the (best behaved) right ones and headed home.

My confidence was not my confidant for long as it hit the road the night before my race, The Pleasant Prairie Open Water Challenge. This race was the cherry to my race insanity sundae called the month of June. Although I was just calling the race wetsuit practice, no amount of “talk” could camouflage the fact that it was indeed a race. A race that I, could quite possibly, end up DFL. The Open Water Challenge was a private swim team, master swim team, and open category race. Most of the participants, in my head, were serious swimmers and serious swimmers were fast--me, not so much, even in my wetsuit.

I have never started a race thinking that I could be last and I have to admit, I was having a hard time digesting the prospect. I arrived to the race early and watched all age group and master events. When it was time to suit up, I waded in the water and found a friend to help me. Talking to others helped, but I was still quite unsure of the outcome. Would confidence return? Or would I be buried under doubt once again. As the horn sounded and I trudged into the water (It was a beach start and I have that walking in the wetsuit problem), I mentally decided that whatever happens will happen, I just needed to stick with my mental game plan of settling into a rhythm and to focus on not panicking which would equal the breaststroke.

Once I stopped worrying about the outcome and started focusing on the process, everything fell into place. I was sighting well, I found some feet and drafted, I passed people; I got swam over and did not break my rhythm. I only breast stroked once on the final leg of the swim to remove a stick that was stuck to my face. Confidence returned and swam with me the entire way! It is always much nicer when you are racing with someone! As we crossed the mat together, I breathed a sign of relief as I now knew that confidence will be joining me for my swim during my HIM too as we have made a pact to always swim together!

YOU: Awww, what a nice inspiring story, but what about the animal attack?

ME: Are you all only about gore and drama? I thought you read my blog to be inspired! Not to laugh at me.

YOU: Yeah. Yeah. We are inspired. Now, get to the funny stuff.

ME: *hummph*

ME: FINE.

On, Friday of this past week I rode my final really long ride before my race. I decided to ride multiple loops of a regular ride so I would not get lost. As I was riding on the frontage road northbound next to I94 (the "I" if you are from WI), I heard a squawk and then felt a thump on the back of my helmet. My first reaction was "What the blazes was that?" Then, it happened again.

SQUAWK.

THUMP.

Then, I heard the squawk and I noticed the shadow starting to swoop down on me once again.

THUMP.

I was being attacked by a bird. My heart started racing and my cadence increased to rpms that I have never achieved in any of my training videos. I started flailing my left arm above my head and began screaming "SHOO, SHOO" at the top of my lungs.

Now, as you are imaging this scene, remember where I am riding -- on the frontage road next to the interstate.

Or, if you happened to be driving southbound from WI to IL, you would not have to imagine it as you were one of the 40 -50 drivers who were probably a witness to "When Avians Attack" Wisconsin version.

Thank goodness I have never seen Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds as I am sure that I would have soiled my pants. I almost did without the help of the movie.

I did finally out sprint the bird and stopped to gather my thoughts. As I was on the phone to Mr. Spie to letting him know that I was just attacked by a bird, a gentleman in a truck stopped and asked if I was okay. I told him what happened and he said that I was probably attacked by a red winged blackbird as they have attacked him in this area as well when he rides.

For the duration of my 4 hour ride, I avoided that frontage road like the plague. After my loops were complete, I headed for home but I had pass by the red-winged gatekeeper. My plan was to go as fast as I could and if I heard squawking, I was going to go faster. As I turned off the frontage road, my heart skipped a beat as I noticed a red winged blackbird perched upon the street sign watching me.

I can't be sure, but I think that I heard a bird like chuckle as I rode away.

When it rains....

it really rains...

Well, summer finally stormed in. After months and months of winter and the absence of spring, I had become acclimated to 6o degree weather. This past weekend, Wisconsin greeted summer with two days of on again off again tornado warnings, severe thunderstorms, flash flooding, and 90 degree weather. There are so many unfortunates to summer's grand entrance.

1st unfortunate -- The first 90 degree humid day of the entire summer also was the day of my 10 mile race. So, I was not only battling legs that had not fully recovered from the MC200 relay, it was really, really hot and I was no way acclimated to such temperatures.

I am sure you are asking yourselves why I would undertake a race so soon after my relay. The 10 mile course almost mirrored the run course for my HIM next month (NEXT MONTH?????), and I,being a very good girl scout, always try to prepare for my races by knowing the swimbikerun courses.

2nd unfortunate -- I called home to give my race report and was greeting with a

"Guess what?"

Apparently, when the power goes out for 8 hours during severe thunder storms it equates to 8 inches of standing water in your basement. How nice! We had talked about refinishing the basement for several years and last year, I convinced Mr. Spie that the refinishing money would be better spent on redoing the kitchen. (So, at least I was right on that count.)

Thus far the casualties are several moved boxes (you know the ones that you move from house to house but never unpack), some outdated electronics (wet tape deck anyone?), two carseats, Mr. Spie's die cast car collection is now without most of their boxes, some of his power tools are working questionably, 1/3 of our Christmas decorations, hand-me down books from my mom, and a completely devasting loss (even more than the Christmas decorations as Mr. Spie pointed out that I stopped decorating for Christmas when we had children) was that my treadmill was downstairs -- in 8 inches of standing water.

My treadmill. The one that has seen me through marathons and triathlons. The treadmill which has protected me from thunderstorms and black ice, been with me for runs at dawn and runs at dusk. My steady, belt regulated training partner no longer works.

It actually is a non athlete's dream now as it still inclines and declines and the "cooling breeze" fan still runs. The belt does not turn, but mileage and calories are still counted. So essentially you could stand on the belt at an incline for 30 minutes not moving and still burn upwards of 400 calories or at least according to the treadmill.

3rd unfortunate -- because it is now finally warm, we are unsure how the furnace fared as it resides in the basement too. We are taking a wait and see approach to this as heat is no longer a pressing need. (At least until next week when fall arrives!)

Fear not, life is not all doom and gloom. I am in the highest intensity of my training and ticking off my workouts as they appear. I am trying not to look too far ahead or I will become overwhelmed and may freak out a little.

This weekend I have my 2 mile open water race -- or try to see if I can swim in a wetsuit as I like to call it. Nothing like testing out your wetsuit skills for the first time in an actual race. I am sure that you will all look forward that race report as it is sure to be hilarious and full of chafing!

Lastly, a couple weeks ago my youngest daughter Cheese celebrated her 5th birthday. We gave her the Target version of an American Girl doll. Now upon reflection all of our terrible luck has happened after the doll appeared.

Are we paranoid?

What do you think?

(Look at those evil eyes and the way she is reaching for the fire!)

(I believe at this point Cheese has realized the power she possesses, heh, heh, heh)

(Getting their next instructions from Little Miss Chuckie)

(Please send help as I think it is already too late for No. I Son!)

day at the track

A photo essay by No I Son, age 9

When life gives you...

My MC 200 relay was this weekend.

I had a fantastic time.

But, as with anything in life, it was not without drama and trauma.

The weekend was quite memorable for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately, this race really does not lend itself well to the traditional race report.....

(My first leg went rather well, but it was hot. I maintained a comfortable pace and made up some ground for the team. T1 was brutal as I was forced to sit an air conditioned van for 8 hours and snack on s'mores brownies, eat Subway, and shop for produce and bug spray at WalMart)

Rather than give you the play by play, I am going to give you a really brief synoposis of the race, in poetry form.

THE 2009 MC200

I ran A LOT.
The morning was hot.
Looks like we will be last -- I say NOT!

Middle of the night run
Not so fun
MP3 player dropped where you empty your bum.

Catnap in car
Too short as tires must hit the tar
Now we have to run how far?

Last leg in rain
This is insane!
Now, I am home and legs are in pain.


Since that is much shorter than my usual lengthy posts, I have decide that the balance is going to more for me than you (an electronic diary entry) as I am going to list all of the things that made me chuckle this weekend.

1. Using the TomTom as a flashlight to read the MapQuest map
2. Someone constantly texting --
3. Texting your finance to update your blog, (because tweeting that you've arrived is just too narcissistic.)
4. M and I (who are apparently idiots) being labeled the "Map Girls"
5. McDonalds sells ice.
6. McDonald's Power Meal #1
7. Twin take downs and unsportsman like body counts
8. Galloway and Fartleks -- use the word in a sentence and then you will own it
9. Imagine how fast you will be when you read a book about running
10. Running in Chuck Taylors is like running barefoot
11. Obsessive potty talk
12. Lost movie and TV references
13. Dropping my MP3 player in the port-o-potty.
14. Cat-eyes.

And lastly -- my favorite quote of the race -- "It's easy to pass them when they are walking."

I made friends, ran in some strange places, and laughed a LOT. The memories I have and the people I met will forever be cherished in my heart!

I cannot wait for next year!

Oh and if you were part of the Sandbagger team, feel free to post your favorite memories or quotes in the comment section!

It's about gnat time....

... for a random rambling post.

Some of the thoughts buzzing in my head this past week have all been about time.

And not having any.

As my children attend parochial school, they are already out for summer vacation.

Already.

This sounds great. In theory, it sounds relaxing. No early wake up calls for them. Even though I still need to get up early to return before clock striking 7 so my worker bee, Mr. Spie, can get to the hive, I envisioned myself relaxing when I returned from my early morning workouts. I would be propping my feet up, sipping a smoothie, and reading blogs to my heart's content without remote control negotiations, providing suggestions about breakfast, and reminding littles that we are not a nudist colony.

As we have all learned “in theory” is not reality. This week (I did not have the opportunity to relax uninterrupted in the morning) my poor children did not have the opportunity to sleep in much at all this past week. On Monday, Cheese had speech. On Tuesday, I had physical therapy. On Wednesday, I had a morning planning meeting. On Thursday, speech again. On Friday, I think they were finally able to sleep in, but I believe they were up at 6:30.

It wasn’t just the morning either. The afternoons were taken up with gymnastics, taekwondo, and afternoon meetings.

Tuesday typified the craziness this past week. It was Cheese’s 5th birthday. In the morning, the kids were woken up and rushed to the babysitters for my PT appointment. Upon my return, we ate lunch and because Dad did not come home for lunch, Cheese could not open her birthday presents. We then waited for Dad to come home from work with enough time to open the presents before my oldest and Mr. Spie had to leave for the gym for taekwondo. It did not happen as Mr. Spie was “coming in hot” and I had to have my oldest ready to jump in the car the minute the tires hit the driveway. The girls, Captain Destruction, and I ate dinner and then had to leave the house at 8:00 p.m. to meet Mr. Spie and my oldest at the auto shop (35 minutes away) so we could drive them home after they dropped off the car for its Wednesday morning appointment. So, finally at 9:00 p.m., my very patient 5 year old got to open her birthday presents….

.......aaannnnndddd she promptly had to go to bed and couldn’t even play with them. I kept of saying over and over in my head, I hope she doesn’t remember this birthday, I hope she doesn’t remember this birthday; I hope she doesn’t remember this birthday. (So far we are batting 1/3 for "good" birthdays as my oldest daughter had the stomach flu for hers!)

This week has not been much better and we have been crawling with activity once again as I awoke my children this morning with the task of going grocery shopping. I actually was dreading this as you all know I do not have the best of luck in the grocery store. But, shopping with my four children does have its advantages. The greatest advantage being that most customers and store personnel look as my brood comes screaming down the aisle (literally and figuratively) and turn as quick as a wink on their heels and fly the other way. So needless to say, today we managed to shop without much to buzz about.

The countdown to my race is flying by and I have finally have felt some flutters! I had a personal best time in a swim time trial and I swam my longest continuous swim ever in preparation for an open water race that I insanely signed up for. In addition, on Saturday, I ran a cross country trail after a really windy and hilly ride (kind of a crazy brick I know) and even though I was plodding along at a snail's pace I was very excited about the additional workout that I gained from the terrain and intend to incorporate cross country running in my training to work on my core running strength.

During Sunday's long run, I encountered a flutter of another kind. It is gnat season where I live. It is one of the most annoying seasons ever! Why do gnats travel in clusters at head level? How many facial orifices can a gnat fly into? I am sure that I looked a bit odd as I ran sputtering gnats out of my mouth and waving my arms in front of my face to avert gnat inhalation. After my run, I looked like a windshield after a night drive in the country. I had gnats in my teeth, my eyes, stuck to my face, clinging to my shirt, dangling from my hat. I certainly was "gnatty".

I fear that tomorrow's workout will not bring the futterby butterfly feelings that I am craving, I am fairly sure the only flutter I will feel is the "danger Will Robinson" pit in my stomach, as I have decided to take my children with me to my track workout. My babysitter is out of town..... Here's my thought process... There is plenty of space for them to run around (the track and the inside of the track), it is fenced in, and there are bleachers to play on. The two olders really want to run on the track with me. What could possibly go wrong? (please don't answer as it is truly a rhetorical question)

Finally, I am a buzz with excitement as the week crawls towards one of the best flutters! The MC200 relay is this weekend! The Sandbagger swarm is heading toward Madison on Thursday. I don't know if I grew a strong enough exoskeleton to leave my children, but it is time for me to use my wings and fly off for an adventure on my own. I am looking forward to meeting some great people who share my passion for running and endurance sports. Hopefully, I will emerge from this experience with a few new friends to "bug" in the future!