Ballou Skies Team Photo Shoot & More Tucson Pics

A few weeks ago, we met for the first time all year as a team and it was great to see everyone! Training and racing for a cause has been very rewarding and also has really helped me put everything in perspective. When I have a bad training session or race, I just have a bum day.. but Ryan Ballou struggles to just keep his muscles going on a daily basis. This helps me understand that while I certainly am allowed to be a little bummed, being too bummed when other people who have a real reason to be bummed are still happy and joyful, means I can't wallow in my own self pity for too long!

I think the Ballou Skies ad, that will be shown in Triathlete Magazine's May 2011 issue, turned out beatifully and I'm excited to see it generate some interest and following for the cause. If you don't mind, please click here to become a fan of our cause page!

Oh.. and I did match the donations received from the blog a few weeks back so thank you for those of you who donated! I appreciate it (and I will get out your hat and CD shortly! I've been behind the ball lately!).

Anyway, things are going pretty well otherwise. My training this week has been pretty haphazard due to so many other things going on in the evenings. However, after such a big week last week, I'm not too concerned. Hopefully, next week things will get back on track.

I really appreciated all the amazing comments I got on the blog about Tucson. I really feel blessed that you guys are so stoked for me and supportive. That means a lot! Thank you!!!

So, here are some more pictures from the trip!

Barb and Beth picking out what we will be consuming for the 4 day trip. I'm happy to report, we went through pretty much every whole wheat bagel, jar of peanut butter and banana in the place!! We also cooked some great dinners (ok, well, Barb cooked them, but we "assisted")!

Beth just HAD to play chicken with some young cross-country boys (without shirts by the way.. why do these little guys always run with no shirts!) and unfortunately, they won. I'm just kidding. We were just finishing up our 10 mile hill repeat run on Saturday and poor Beth slipped on the grass / dirt when we tried to get out of their way. She had some dirt burn on her side and a bloody leg to boot. She held up like a trooper though and didn't let it slow her down!

Of course, we had to hit the University of Arizona Wildcats store to check things out after masters swim. Beth threatened to wear this around for the rest of the day, but we tackled her and made her take it off (sorry Oscar, I know you're a big fan!). It was called (big surprise) The Cat Head.

After Saturday's ride I was excited to have another day in the books and still, no crashes or mishaps. It was a bit scary coming from months of not being on the bike to all of the sudden riding like a fiend. We decided it was "just like riding a bike :)" and got back in the clip in, bike handling skills groove, pretty quickly!

The girls pre-saturday (aka windy-as-all-get-out) ride. It was honestly so crazy a few times I almost got blown off.. no kidding. We were all pretty happy to be in a short sleeved jerseyes though!!

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Here's a mile 70 picture at the Circle-K where we were still feeling cold, but optimistic about the upcoming "climb out of hell" as I so affectionately named the Mammoth to Oracle portion of our trip. We look like a snickers advertisment, but sometimes, you just want something chewy and chocolate to get you through (and it worked until about mile 115 when those calories were kaput).

I tried to take the bike computer shot, but by this time, I was so tired, so hungry and so shot that I decided I didn't even care if it came out. Trust me when it says 120 miles, aka, one of my longest rides to date. So, that was a win.

Thanks for following along! Hope everyone is doing awesome!

So, who's in for a Tucson trip next year (even after what you read?!) Any takers!!? lol!!

What it is..

It’s always hard for me to put how I feel about the sport I love into words. However, weekends like I just had in Tucson make it easier…and well, and harder, at the same time.

Do you remember when you first started? When it was all new and you had to embrace the distinct feeling of extreme excitement and at the same time total fear? Do you remember thinking about the finish line but wondering how you would ever get from point A to point B? That's a little bit of how I felt on Wednesday before we tackled our huge training block.

Who we are, and what we do, is a combination of so many things. From people, to places to experiences, we become this mismatch of memories that shape and change us into the people that we are (good and bad). I have to say, the past four days were definitely something that shaped me in a way I cannot describe. I don’t mean to make it more dramatic than it was, but to be quite honest, I was profoundly affected, and dang it... I’m not ashamed of that!

The majority of it was due to everything from reconnecting with a old friend (Beth) who has a heart of gold, but that can turn around and impress me to the utmost with her ability to mentally bear down and make her body do things that most, quite simply, cannot. The other aspect was meeting someone completely new (Barb), but that honestly, I felt like I had known for a thousand years. Like an old friend I grew up with, if times were tough, I’m not lying when I say I would drive out to the middle of nowhere and pick up if she called me tomorrow in need, share some of my deepest secrets with and generally laugh until I almost cried and yelled out in stomach pain!

I had no expectations for the Wednesday through Sunday trip, except that I knew it would be hard, and it would probably be fun. I thought I was a planner, these two ladies took it to an entirely new level!! Beth would get “the voice” that always started with “Sooooo…” and we knew it was time to get our game faces on. What would follow was anything from discussing when we would be getting up (yep, the crack of dawn was the answer on most days), to what we would be wearing (long sleeve jersey? What temp do you think it will be at the top? What about gloves?), to what we would be eating at mile 65 of our final really, really, really, long ride. Each discussion was marked with an attention to detail, but yet the knowledge that the most important thing would always be true, we would have a plan, we and we would stick it to it, together.

There’s something about doing something that is completely unknown to all of you, like climbing Mt. Lemmon, while knowing that none of you has A. done it before, and B. will give up at any point no matter how hard it gets. You may not be together for the whole thing.. in fact, the chances are you will not.. but regardless, you will all be pumping legs of lead, fighting off the demons telling you that 8000 ft of climbing isn’t something that you’ve prepared for yet this season so you should definitely stop, to braving the temperature change from 65 to 35 as the ride wears on and the wind cuts you to the bone. I couldn’t see Beth, or Barb, but I knew they were both there, doing the same thing as I was doing, facing the same things, and most importantly, that at the top we would be together again, friends, athletes, and on some days this year, even competitors. For now though, we were just three women, believing in the power of friendship and our ability to conquer anything if we put our mind to it.

Thursday was the easiest day, with a swim at the University of Arizona Masters swim, trips to Trisports, building bikes while jamming to Pandora, and getting ready for what we was to come.

Friday began the real punishment with a 6:00am masters practice again, and then the Mt. Lemmon climb that at times seemed to never, ever end. Saturday started with Beth and I, side by side, running hill repeats and the familiarity that only comes with someone you’ve run beside a thousand times before and somehow even in the hardest of times, still it brings you comfort to hear their breath and observe their cadence. After a quick turnaround, Saturday brought some of the most extreme winds I have felt since my ride in Kona in 2008 (not as bad, but very close!) and 75 miles of riding in a short sleeved jersey (aka sheer joy in February!) and some kick-butt Mexican food served by a guy named, you guessed it, Chewy. There was also another gentleman that Barb so affection ally nicknamed “stash” the moment she saw him due to his, well, perfect Mexican, rolled up sleeves, sculpted mustache! I referred to that night as “the last supper” because I thought I knew what was in store, but honestly, if I had actually known, I might have just hid out in the condo all day sipping hot chocolate and watching TV. After a chilling forecast of 40 degrees at our 7am start time, and then the possibility of rain all day, we dressed (what we thought) was conservatively warm. Um... yeah.. not so much.

As we made our way toward Mt. Lemmon again, I was surprised that after 145 miles from the previous two days, my legs felt surprisingly good! Maybe all was not lost! Plus, it was overcast, but we seemed to be dressed appropriately and despite my lack of sleep (probably due to dreams of losing Barb and Beth in the desert and never seeing them again), I seemed to be feeling warm enough. At about an hour into the six hour ride I started to be using every bit I had to hang on, and things were, in a word, rough. We continued on. Cary, from my previous life as a Mark Allen Teamer, joined us and hung for a few miles before deciding to go her own way. I thought about joining her, but I decided that this weekend was about facing fears.. and mine certainly were severely evident over the next five hours. We rode out of Tucson to Oracle, and finally started descending for what seemed like 20 miles to Mammoth. I came out of my funk to finally relieve Beth of pulling for a few miles. We turned around at 3 hrs exactly. My better judgment told me this could be trouble, but I kept my mouth shut. “Everything would be fine,” I thought to myself…You’ll make it!. We tempted ourselves with a stop at the Circle K 40 mins back and then pressed on as the cold wind picked up and dropped the temps even more. The climbing never seemed to end.. we didn’t speak.. Beth just pulled us, relentlessly toward the top of a series of hills that had no promise of making any of us feel much better. Finally I had enough strength to surge to the front and help her, she needed me, and we all needed each other to be our best that day, even in the worst of moments. As the wind blew sideways and sent tears streaking out of my eyes, I just kept pumping... my legs screamed for a moment of rest, and I pressed them further than I thought possible. Our lowest moment was probably at the top when we pulled into a market for shelter that had no bathroom, no running water, and realized that with the headwind and hill we were already at mile 87 with at least 38 to go.. we had slowed down so significantly, that it would be well over a six hour ride.

Finally, something.. somewhere, convinced us to leave that store even after talk of someone hitch hiking back to get the car or calling Cary to pick us up. We would have to do this, and we would have to do it together…or not at all.

Barb stepped up and cut a path through that cold wind like a warrior on a mission. She never let up. I felt like we were racing and I held onto Beth’s wheel like I had never drafted so hard in my life. How she pulled those last 20-30 miles, I have no idea, but all that mattered was that she did. Honestly, if she hadn’t, I may still be sitting at that broken down market! When we finally saw signs for Tucson saying 15 miles, I started to believe we might actually make it home.

With five miles to go I started feeling dizzy and weak. It was so cold I’d really let my fluid intake slack and the thought of another gel made me want to hurl.. well, profusely. Barb noticed I fell off the pack and was at least 300 ft behind barely hanging on for dear life. By the time she pulled next to me, I was having trouble speaking a coherent sentence. Immediately, she assessed that things were bad, and rightfully so, they were. She made the call to stay with me as I just hung on and soft pedaled to the tune of 10-13mph until we reached the neighborhood. She talked to me about what we would eat, and how good things would be when we got back, how this was her longest ride ever, and how she knew she could do the ironman now. The lull of her voice helped bring me back to reality and stay focused enough to keep the bike upright until we made the final turn to the condo. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt that bad, but without some help, I know I would have just stopped the bike along the road in a parking lot and sat there for an indefinite amount of time.

This blog is an entirely too long way of staying that what it is... is hard to explain. It’s the intangibles, it’s the love of the sport, the friends that we meet, the people that believe in us, the experiences that push us to the limits, the strength we see in others, and even that we find in ourselves that keeps me loving the things I see and do, day in and day out. I’m so thankful I got to experience this past four day training block in Tucson. I’m convinced the best part I took from it was seeing the beauty of strong women that have both known each other forever or even just met; never give up on each other, even in their own darkest moments. It moves me so much that even sitting here, it’s hard to not smile a little, brings a misty tear to my eyes, and fills my heart with joy.

In your times of weakness, may you always have your Faith, and your friends, to strengthen you. Beth and Barb, thank you so much for this weekend (also a HUGE thanks to Jen for letting us use her condo and making this whole trip possible! We love you!)So much is locked in the Tucson vault, and I promise I will never forget how you helped me through “my dark place.”

Super Bowl XLV Pictures & TUCSON OR BUST!

Let's get one thing straight, I'm behind on my blogging for many reasons. Most of which include being too busy for my own good!! However, this will require some creative blogging by combining subjects and trying to condense what I am saying to a few paragraphs (yes, I know many of you are now cheering profusely!).

After the Super Bowl, I attempted to start getting back to a regular work/workout schedule and today is my first day off from training in, well, a long freakin time :) I also had a build up of work on the personal side with my Fuel Your Passion nutrition clients and athletes so it was time to buckle down over the weekend and really get things done. I'm happy to say, I'm mostly caught up, and after meticulously scheduling my life, things are coming back around (just in time for me to leave again!).

Don't dismay though - this will be another fun trip! Beth approached me about a month and a half ago regarding a little trip she was planning out to Tucson, AZ this coming weekend. When she left me the message I was knee deep in shoveling my driveway snow and the thought of riding my bike up mount lemmon on a sounded extremely appealing to say the least! We had a few things working in our favor to make the trip more affordable (including me FINALLY getting to use my airline miles that US Air has had their tight fist around for years!) so it was just a no brainer. The time has finally arrived, and the bike is packed and in my car, as is everything else to swim, run and generally train my hiney off for the next four days!

I'm so excited, I could literally pee my pants (I don't think I will though for the sake of 16B on the plane today!).

I hear Tuscon is amazing and I'll let you know more about it after swimming with the U of A masters team, riding the mountains and running in the hills. Just about every pro triathlete is either there, or has been there, in the last month, so that HAS to be a good sign. Barb, another stellar triathlete and person, will also be joining Beth and I. All I can say is "girl power!"

So, here are some pictures from the Super Bowl (the approved ones for your viewing pleasure!)

Lissa, my wonderful sister-in-law came with me as well (well, she's more a friend than a sister-in-law, but I guess that's her technical term!)

Thursday night was a big dinner our company holds every year for charity and it raises a lot of money for a great cause (solider's angels). Many who's who are in attendance, but we had fun just sitting at our own little table, eating our five course (yikes, that was a high calorie night!) and laughing with our tablemates, David & Andrew (also pictured - Tamie - my workmate!).

I met these people at the dinner and HAD to take their picture. If you wear this, you certainly are up there with some of the biggest Steeler fans.. well, ever. They match no less. Wow.. it was something else!

Lissa and I with the boss man.

This was a statue at our hotel. Lissa made me take a picture because of Kyle and his love of deer! Sorry it's sideways! You get the drift - it was very interesting to say the least!

Lissa and I with the deer!

We also attended some amazing parties. The GQ party was really spectacular. They were sponsored by Lacoste so we were able to make our own customer Super Bowl shirts! Very cool!

Then we found T.O. (Terell Owens) DJ'ing the party. Who knew football players could DJ! He was good!

Then Lissa spotted Andy Rocdick and he was nice enough to get a picture with her! She was in heaven. I will say, he is a cutie.

Of course, we took a lot of head magnetism pictures (girls always do this - just FYI for the men)! Those are always fun!

Then it was on to Playboy party!! I was so excited about this one.. It was fun, but I have to say, the Mark Cuban party on Saturday night probably took the cake!

Flo Rida was performing and he was riding some guys shoulders into the crowd! Loved it!

Pretty sure he sweated on me.. he was that close!

Then we found a bunny, so we had to get a picture!

Finally, it was off to Black Eyed Peas and our final party of the evening. By this time, my feet were hurting like a motha! I tried to suck it up though!

We ran into "The Situation" from Jersey Shore on MTV, and let me just say, he thinks he's too cool for school. That's all I say about that.

We have pictures from Usher, but I don't have them on my computer yet. It's safe to say, that show was really impressive. That man is one heck of a dancer! Finally, it was time for the big game. By this time, I was so worn out!! Too many late nights! We still had fun though.

We were hoping for a big Super Bowl win number seven.. but unfortunately, it was not in the cards. The Steelers didn't play their best game, but they are still winners in my book to make it this far!

Ok! With that said - look forward blogs about the adventures in Tucson!

Thank you again to those who donated to Ballou Skies last week! I sincerely appreciated your good will and support. You're just amazing and I am thankful to have you reading my blog!

Kicking Off the Year Right - Ballou Skies 2011

Wow. The Super Bowl almost killed me.. both in sleep department, but also in the training department! The Kim, Lissa and Tamie show traveled to Dallas to hang out and partake in the festivities in Dallas last Thursday - Monday, and unfortunately (and fortunately) most of the pictures and stories will have to be "what happens in Dallas, stays in Dallas!"

Let's just say, we saw Demi and Ashton, I set a new late bed-time record (4:15am) and even rode home in a squad car (no, I did not get arrested, but some nice police officers will be getting some autographed pictures to say thank you for the ride, that is for sure!).

Although we didn't have tickets to the game, there was plenty to do each day! Our room was an absolute pig-sty when we were there, shoes, dresses, makeup, jewelry - EVERYWHERE! I couldn't even handle it!!

Anyway, it was a great trip (even though the Steelers lost :( and I'll share some pictures if I find some that will not incriminate any parties involved!! So much fun!! I was really thankful to get the chance to go because who knows when it will ever happen again.

The other big news of this week is the Ballou Skies Team Photo Shoot and get together tonight. I am completely excited to be joining the team for another year to raise funds for research of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy for the 2011 triathlon season.

2010 was an exceptional year and we had a great team. This year we are adding some new members, that are also some of my closest friends!

It will be awesome to have Beth, Chad, Jason, and Matt to the team!!

The people pictured work countless hours in the OSU lab with the mice study to review the effects of various medicines on the heart. During the meeting Ryan and Ty Ballou spoke to these individuals about all the great things attached to the charity in 2010 and presented the check for $27,500.00. It was a good day in Columbus for Ryan’s heart!

I was thinking about how I really had fun last week, but it was a little selfish. All about me, me, me. Which is great sometimes, but it also makes you think about others and want to be a little less of that!! So, to kick off the 2011 Triathlon Team's evening with a bang, I would like to make you and offer. I personally am willing to match up to $125.00 of the money that comes in to the Ballou Skies charity through my biography page for those who are willing to donate this week! To the first three people who donate $25.00 or more, I will send you this amazingly awesome hat and a training CD that will get you through those long winter doldrums! Please email me at kxd185@hotmail.com when you donate and I will check my records!

UPDATE as of Friday Feb. 11th - We have two donations over 25.00! I need one more person to get this hat and CD!! Come on people!! Thank you in advance (PS Aunt Dena - you are not eligible - you already gave too much last year!! Recover well!)

I haven't nearly met my quota for giving this year, so let's get off to a great start, shall we!! It's for a great cause people!! Who's with me :)

Thanks in advance for anything at all you can do. If you can't, or are supporting other things, that's totally fine!!!

Hope everyone is doing well!

The Promised Post.. Continued!!!

Who was the long winded girl that was all fired up last week - oh wait! That's right! It was me :) ha!

Before I get to that.. Training pictures from this weekend at Top Gear - Jeremy and Jocelyn - or the Dynamic Duo as I call them!

The Computrainer

We had thirteen people come out on Saturday morning! It was hot and sweaty but so fun!!

Well, before I stray onto some other topic that may come to mind. I had better finish this thing. Honestly, I'm doing it as much to remind myself of what seems to work well and help the training go "more" smoothly, as much as I am writing to you fine folks who read the blog! You're very sweet with the comments by the way!! I appreciate them and most of all, I just hope maybe someone can take one thing that may help them and use it this 2011 season! So, without further ado.. the finishing touches...

Consistency

You've heard it over and over again... just getting the time in - in the lane, on the seat, or bounding down your favorite trail. There are times when no matter how hard you seem to try, this particular aspect is going to seem elusive. You'll struggle, and work will try to kick your butt, and you will get sick, and then you will have to travel and things will be all screwed up with your normal routine. These things are inevitable. The key is to do you absolute best and then move on and not beat yourself up over it. There are times when I really work to make sure I am prepared to travel to some random city and I call local YMCA's to find out their policies, I look for nearby running groups or trails etc. etc. These times are not usually in January. However, come Feb / March through October, I'm a planning chica!! That is for sure. There are some things that you can do to improve your consistency for sure (taking out the excuses like the last post), or sometimes you just need to improvise and cut out the fluff (a.k.a. the easy run, the easy spin). When faced with what I have time to do in a week, the first thing I always worry about is the quality sessions. These are the sessions that involve intensity or strength, then it's my long stuff on the weekends - that my friends, is a MUST, next it's the weight lifting / strength / core work and then finally, it's the easy time on the seat/running sessions. If something has to go, I cut those first. We would all love to have 15-20 hours per week to devote to training, but that just isn't life sometimes. So look for what you can do to make it work (cut the fluff OR even shorten the duration of some workouts) and do your best. I've said it before, it's the days the build into weeks, the weeks that build into months and the months that make for solid progression as athletes.

I was told today during my second hour of spinning while doing some strength work that I was "crazy" (not in a mean way - just in a joking, but yes I really think you are in fact - crazy)! All I could think of was:

"August races are won, because of the hard work put into February / March / April." Not that the rest of the year isn't important, but you must lay the foundation for being able to start racing like a fiend. You're body can't handle all that racing in May-October as well if you haven't laid the proper foundation of strength and endurance. Those are my thoughts - and that's just me.

Yep.. I believe that.

Doing the Little Things

Listen, I know sometimes we all hate the little things. I'm talking about the core work, the stretching, the eating at the right time right after a workout, the strengthening of certain stabilization muscles that do a lot of work but don't often get the time and attention they need, the getting the right equipment etc. etc. The problem is when you stop doing the little things for large periods of time, they become these huge colossal things that end up causing us a lot of grief and strive and generally make us want to swear and get really mad! Listen, I'm the first one to start cutting these things too when times get tough. The key is really listening to your body and adding these things back in just as soon as you can. In addition, think strategically about when you can feasibly do these things that won't mess up your current schedule / life. Can you use the roller while you and the fam are watching TV? Can you do self massage or strengthen your piraformis while you're talking to your Mom on the phone? For me, a time I really try to add the stretching in is after my pool workout but before the next workout in the AM. I go into the steam room, give myself 7-10 minutes and do the big muscle groups when I am already warmed up and the extra heat allows me to really get these groups limber. I TRY to do this 3 times per week (don't always make it). Just remember, the little things are what keep us going late into the season and help prevent injury while helping us to recover faster and in turn train longer and harder tomorrow. So, don't forget about them if you can!!

Nutrition

They don't call it the fourth discipline for nothing. I hate to beat the horse on this or the drum... especially since all of you know I am a dietitian, but honestly, it DOES make a difference. You put garbage in, you will get garbage out, that's the breaks. I'm not suggesting the everyone eats this Organic raw foods diet that takes thousands of hours to prepare and costs a small fortune. I'm just suggesting that making sure you have enough protein to repair and build muscles, at the right time can do you a lot of good. In addition, making sure you get your needed fruit and vegetable consumption can help with everything from antioxidants to help repair all those free radials we produce as athletes, to helping us meet our needed fiber intake, as well as provide the necessary micronutrients (vitamins & minerals) necessary for training. I'm not a saint. I don't always eat the perfect thing. However, I do have some habits that are good and keep me going in the right direction. Some are preparing food on the weekends to heat up during the week, others are eating a spinach salad with tomatoes, walnuts and feta cheese with a light poppyseed dressing EVERY single night to help with my vegetable intake. Yep, I'm a creature of habit. I do what I have to do.. I put it in, and I also pay attention to the timing of nutrients / calories and when will be the best / most important for my body. I also make sure I get enough healthy fats including mono & poly unsaturated and omega-3's, even if I have to take them in the form of supplements. So, don't forget this important side of things - it could make all the difference!

Heat Training

I don't know why I choose hot races when I have one of the highest sweat rates of anyone I have ever encountered. I'm the girl in the back of the spin class with sweat running down her arms and into the giant puddle of grossness that has to RING her clothes out in the swimsuit spinner when she is done from class. It's yucky, but it is what it is!! I can't help it! However, choosing races like St. Croix, Cozumel and Kona when you live in PA and have to train in 20-60 degrees most of the year doesn't exactly prepare you for heat and humidity while you are attempting to push your body beyond all possible limitations. What you can do - physically and mentally prepare to the best of your ability.

I took this principal NOT seriously before St. Croix 2008, and we all know what happened there (or if not, it involved a long crawl to the finish), somewhat seriously before Kona of 2008 and then really, really seriously before Cozumel 2010. I was NOT messing around last year. I had put in tons of training time, but I knew the heat would be pretty intense, and it would really separate the competition when it came to November 28th when most of the world had been dealing with temperatures in the mid-30's-60's for quite some time. Liz wrote a great article on heat training for Rev 3 entitled "Training for Heat in Cold Weather" that you can check out. She asked some of us for advice and one of the tricks I used was sitting in the steam room for a specified period each week. I took it on like training. At first I sat in there for 5 minutes (always well-hydrated and even drinking while I was in there), then 10 minutes, then 15 minutes. I worked up over a period of weeks and sometimes even took a break and then went back in. Please consult your doctor before trying something like this that you haven't done before, but do I think it probably helped.. yes, it was as steamy and way hotter than Coz. I did this very consistently for the four weeks leading to the race. In the mean time, I sat in front of my heater at the office, wearing a sweater and sweating my bagguettes off. Yes, I had pit stains.. were those pit stains worth it? You're dang right they were... every last second of them! When I got off the bike in COZ the heat was sweltering - knock em down, want to crawl out of your own skin, jump into a full ice bath so your head doesn't explode from the heat, skin crawling hot. I watched people suffer, and then walk. I suffered too.. but no walking for me thanks.. I got ice, put it down my top and under my hat, gritted my teeth and moved on..

Don't underestimate the value of preparing your body both physically, and mentally for the heat. It was hot racing last year, and it will be again. Give yourself 3-4 weeks to adapt (at least) and take it on like another element of training.

So, those are my biggies! I hope they helped you a smidgen!! So sorry this got long again!

Happy Training my friend! Make 2011 your best and most successful training year yet!!!!

Hey - I don't presume to know it all (or even a little really) so if you have some great tips on how you get it in and get it done every day - PLEASE SHARE! I would love to hear from you!!

When the roads in PA look like this.. You better be prepared my friends. These actually worked beautifully for my long run this weekend. What did not work so beautifully was me eating way to much food before I left and wanting to puke the whole time.. o well.. you win some, you loose some!
In case you didn't know, PA was hit with a huge ice storm just to make things a little more interesting for me to travel to the Super Bowl this week. Awesome. Ice is pretty, just not on the road while you are driving :)

On the good new front - My Aunt Dena is out of the hospital after her extreme battle with cancer and seriously crazy treatment of Chemo and Radiation all month and at home where she belongs! We did it folks - we prayed her home!! THANK YOU!