TAG YOU'RE IT NOW!

I guess I'm it now (thanks LeAnn) and for everyone reading my blog...tag, you're it!
(just copy and paste into your blog and put in your own answers)

10 years ago I was:

Living on a farm in Dayton Oregon, working in advertising for a newspaper, raising five children.

5 years ago I was:

Living in the desert in Silver Springs Nevada (the worst place I have ever lived), working in advertising at the Carson City Newspaper (the worst job I have ever had), raising four children (one had moved out & was still living in Oregon).

1 year ago:

I became the seasonal dept. manager at Walmart.

5 things on my to do list today:

go running
go to work
ride my trainer
fix dinner for my family
call my parents and email my sister

5 snacks I enjoy:

Blueberry Dream at Jamba Juice
Hot Tamales
ice cream
popcorn
cheese & crackers

If I were a billionaire I would:

Help Brown Bear and Sunny with perscription/ medical costs, Buy my kids houses of their own, Pay off all of my families bills, do a little traveling, quit my job and enjoy Hawaii, just to name a few.


6 People I want to have lunch with tomorrow:

Randy, LeAnn (I can't wait to meet her), My parents, my 3 sisters, Debbie and Marilyn, all my nieces and nephews. (That's way too many so I guess I'll just have lunch with Randy tomorrow).

5 places I have lived:

Southern California
Albany/Salem/Ashland/Dayton/Willamina & Medford, Oregon
Beaumont, Texas
Silver Springs & Carson City, Nevada
Kailua Kona, Hawaii

5 jobs I had:

I ran a daycare
I was a shift manager at Jamba Juice
I worked in advertising for 3 different newspapers
I was an accountant for a Large Christian school and Daycare
I was an accountant and sales clerk for a fruit stand/ gourmet store

RELAXING DAY

You never work out and regret it. You never go for a run and when you are done say I wish I would have just stayed home. You never climb a mountain, get to the top and say I should have just been content to stay where I was.
1997 Nike ad

Today was a good day. Randy didn't want to do too much since he has the Kona Marathon tomorrow so we mostly stayed home and relaxed. Kind of. I rode my indoor trainer for an hour. It was sooooo hot. I don't think I've sweat that hard in a long time. After resting for about an hour, Randy and I went to the pool. I was too tired to do much swimming but I worked on my stroke and even tried a few flip turns. I'm not great at it but hope to figure it out soon. I know Randy said I am better at flip turns than he is but that is only the somersault part.
Anyway, I'm tired tonight but it is such a good tired. We have to get up early tomorrow for the Kona Marathon. Good luck Randy, doing the full marathon, and Rebecca doing the 5K. Good luck too, LeAnn in your swim meet. I'll be praying for all of you.

STILL GOING

"If you can't run, then walk. And if you can't walk, then crawl. Do what you have to do. Just keep moving forward and never, ever give up."
Dean Karnazes, Ultramarathoner

It's amazing how much better you feel when you work out. During the three weeks that I didn't train because of my injury, I was feeling so tired, out of shape and fat. I was just dragging through each day, anxious for it to be over so I could go to bed. For the last two weeks I have been training again, and I feel so good. I have more energy and I feel so much better.
I am trying to get more serious about my training and am doing much more training than I was before my accident. I've doubled my running time every morning and either ride my bike (on my indoor trainer) every day after work or go swimming at the pool. I'm hoping to start riding on the road on Saturdays after Randy and I swim, just to get in some hill training. Plus, it's so hot and boring riding the trainer all the time.
My swimming is getting a lot better but I still have a LONG way to go to do any real triathlons. I really need to work on distance. I'm still really slow too, but I'm hoping with distance will come speed.
My goal is to keep going, even if I don't feel like going. I really want to do the Lavaman next year and hopefully Honu, which means I have a lot of work to do. Right now I feel like my training is just training to get me to where I need to be to really start training.

SUNNY SKIES, CALM SEAS AND OLD A

This morning Randy and I swam buoys at the pier. The swells weren't too bad, and the water was crystal clear. After swimming went for a hard run up Hualalai. At least it was for me. My HR was at 181 the whole way up. It wasn't anything for Randy since he runs this course a lot. I'm sure I ran too slow for him, but he was a good sport and ran my speed.

After we rested for a bit we took Rebecca to Old A so she could practice in her wheelchair for the Kona marathon fun run.

If you haven't been to the Old A walking path lately, you should go check it out. They have been doing a lot of work there since the last vandalism. It looks better than ever. They even have a covered exercise station with fitness equipment.

You can also 'adopt' a plot of ground to beautify for yourself. You can plant trees, flowers, even add some outdoor decor. Several people have been doing this either as individuals, groups or clubs. Once a month they have a beautification day where people join together to weed plots and just to clean up the path and area. You can click here www.friendsforfitness.org for more information.

MOTIVATIONAL TRAINING

I believe that everyone should have a Randy in their life to keep them motivated to keep up with their training. He's extremely motivating. He makes you WANT to train, even if you're exhausted and don't feel like it.

It all boils down to this.

He will come home from work for dinner every evening and ask if I trained. If I say no, he gives me 'the look'. He doesn't say anything. He doesn't have to. That look he gives says it all. It's like I better make sure I train just so I don't get that look. As if that isn't enough to make sure I train it didn't take too long to figure out that I better make sure that I trained long enough because if I tell him that yes, I did train, his next question is "how long?"

I noticed it tonight with Rebecca our daughter. She's training for the wheelchair race at the Kona marathon. When he came home for dinner, he asked her if she practiced with her wheelchair. He had that same look that he gives me. I know she noticed it too because even though she didn't practice, she got a sheepish look on her face and gave her excuse that she used her manual chair to check the mail instead of her electric mobility scooter. I'm sure that tomorrow she'll make sure she practices before he comes home.

I love you Randy and thank you for being my motivation. Even though I joke about it, I really do appreciate that you keep me going. So keep asking if I worked out, and keep those looks coming when I say I didn't, because that really is my motivation.

THERE IS ALWAYS TOMORROW

"If it were easy, everybody would do it."

Author unknown

Today I decided there can be no more excuses for not training. A moped accident three weeks ago left me with a lot of neck and spinal pain which I have used as an excuse for not training. I have been telling myself for the last week that I need to start back up but everyday, there is always a tomorrow. "I hurt too much today, but I'll run for sure tomorrow." Or "I'm too tired today, but I HAVE to ride after work tomorrow." I tried that riding line today. I did a lot of heavy lifting at work and my back and neck was really hurting. I came home from work and sat down for a little bit. My indoor trainer was staring me in the face and I kept giving myself excuses for not riding today. Tomorrow really sounded better. But a quote popped into my head that I had recently heard.
"Somewhere in the world is someone training when you are not. When you race him, he will win."
I really want to get better in races. I hate being at or near the back of the pack so I forced myself get on my trainer. After 5 minutes I was ready to quit, but I thought of that quote again and told myself I had to stay on for at least 15 minutes. Well 15 minutes arrived, but I told myself that quiting now was just making excuses again. After all, I have always ridden for at least 30 minutes. So I rode for the full 30. It's surprising how hard a bike seat can feel after not riding for 3 weeks.
I feel good that I forced myself to ride. Physically and mentally. It's hard to start back up when you quit. Even if it was only for 3 weeks.
I had planned on running this morning before work but (here's the excuses again) I stayed up too late last night, and then I coughed a lot during the night (don't know why) so I didn't sleep well, BUT, there is always tomorrow.......

MY NEW BLOG

Well Randy has been at me to start a blog, so..........
I've been hesitating to start one because it would be weird for people to read my thoughts, and because sometimes I feel like my life is so boring.

Randy started getting interested in triathlons several months ago and although I want to do them too, I'm not as dedicated with my training as Randy. It's so hard to work all day and then try to train when you are exhausted from work. So, I started getting up early (while it's still dark out) to go running. I found that I arrive at work feeling more invigorated and ready for a long day of work than when I don't get up to run.

Randy goes swimming at the pool with me two evenings a week and we go to Steve Borowski's swimming 101 class on Wednesday mornings. We also usually do ocean swimming on weekends. Learning to swim has been interesting but I think I'm finally starting to get the breathing and stroke half way down. Now to work on distance.

Biking is my favorite part and I don't do it enough. I usually just ride on my indoor trainer in front of the TV or occasionally with a book in hand. I think it helps with my endurance but it doesn't help much with the hill climbing. Hills are what I need a LOT of work on. That and riding in the wind.

So, Randy, here is the blog you've been prompting my to start. Happy Father's Day, and thank you for being so encouraging all the time.