2009 Livestrong Austin

This post has taken several days to write just because there were so many thoughts swirling around in my head that I did not know where to begin. Livestrong was such an incredible event with so much emotion wrapped up into it. I guess I should have prepared myself for that but I was so worried about the hills and the bike riding part, that I never thought about how sentimental it would be.
There is so much I could write about the Livestrong weekend. I think the whole reason why I was doing this hit me in the beginning of the ride. It was one thing to pass someone in their 50's who had a "In Memory of Dad" sign on their back. It was a different thing all together to pass by two 8-10 year old boys with that kind of sign on their back. Sadly, they were not the only children I saw with "In Memory" signs on. That part was tough, but it made me really think and be grateful that everyone in my life who has had to fight cancer won.
In my head, this was going to be a one time event. I hate fund raising and asking people for money, but I will be back next year. It is too important not to go back.

LIVESTRONG AUSTIN!!!

It has been a few weeks, but I did actually do the 5k I talked about awhile back. It was slow, cold, and miserable. My usual running partner, Julie, had some pathetic excuse like being sick and was not able to run, although she did show up and was an excellent sherpa as she lent me headphones when mine broke and had an extra pair of gloves when I realized my hands were going to freeze off.
The run itself was uneventful except my foot really felt like it was on fire the whole time. I ignored it and kept on, but kept having to walk more and more and was pretty frustrated by the whole thing. It was not until I got home and examined it that I found this:

I have never had a bruise on the bottom of my foot before. I remember stepping on something a day or two before that really hurt but had forgotten all about it until that moment. I felt a little better about my constant walking and miserable time after that. It is still a little sore, but I am going to attempt to redeem myself this weekend at Austin Livestrong.

I have signed up to do the 5K run on Saturday and the bike ride on Sunday. I am excited not about the running or the riding, but about maybe getting a chance to meet Fatty. Oh yeah, that Armstrong guy will be there too…..but FATTY! Seriously, this guy is a rock star and I am stupid excited about being at the same event he is at. I am even considering purchasing a new camera that is thin enough to go in my jersey pocket for picture opportunities. I have actually wanted one for awhile, but this may be the reason I get one!

If you have not donated to LIVESTRONG yet and would like to, there is still time. Please visit my page here.

Princess Grace, I Am Not

I am not someone who is known for her gracefulness. I am constantly tripping over my own feet and hit the ground a lot. I am used to it. Last Sunday I was playing tennis and was actually thinking about writing this blog entry and talking about how when I play tennis, I actually do feel graceful. It was going to be a wonderful, flowery, feel good post about running and leaping and just feeling great.


I obviously tempted fate and gave the gods too much of a good reason to point and laugh.

You see, I was VERY focused on getting to the ball as we were down in the second set and I really wanted to win. Not to mention I was serving this game, and I refused to lose a game where I was serving. I was flying back and forth across the court like a champ and getting back things I never should have been able to reach. In other words, I was feeling fantastic about myself.

The cross court shot came fast and low. I ran hard, hit the ball….and then ran straight into a metal fence. More specifically the metal fence POST. The next few seconds were pretty black and then slowly changed to fuzzy as I staggered around. I now understood the term “punch drunk” a little better. I do think the first clear sentence out of my mouth was, “Did we win the point?”. Alas, no. I did get the ball back, however, my partner was a little more concerned about her idiot partner having brain damage than she was about the getting the ball back. She has really messed up priorities.

I was able to clear my head enough to resume play although we did lose that set. I was just achy enough that the blow was not that bad. All I could think about was a bath and ibuprofen. Two days later I am recovered, and just talked to my tennis partner about playing tomorrow. She suggested I get football pads first.

Ready for the weekend!

First of all, I will apologize to Powerbar. They did send me a nice letter in the mail along with two coupons to try their new crap replacement for my cola gel blasts. Ok, I should be open minded about the raspberry flavor and since they are free, I will try them. Never the strawberry banana though. Yech.

I have started back on my swimming lessons and I can tell a huge difference from swimming on my own all summer to having someone sitting there with a stop watch. I need to figure out a way to keep that drive even when I don’t have a coach there telling me to speed it up. It was nice to report to her that since starting lessons with her, I took almost 6 minutes off of my swim time from my first triathlon to the same one a year later. That is kind of crazy, but you have to take into account that there was absolutely no swim training before my first tri. After that appalling first swim, I decided that would be one part that I would not be able to “wing-it” and needed help.

I am running ( I use that term VERY loosely) a 5K this weekend. My only goal is to do it faster than last year. I have no idea how long it took me, but I have a feeling it should not be too tough to beat it.

LIVESTRONG Austin is in a few weeks. I have been taking a few spinning classes to help get ready and I forgot how much I really love those classes. I love the pounding music and seeing how hard I can push myself without worrying about having to have the energy to ride back home. It is just fun and I feel like I grin like an idiot the whole time. It will be good to keep with those through the winter when I usually slack so hard on my biking because of the lack of light in the evenings.

Is anyone else having a week that is dragging??