Coffee in My Cereal and Thunder Thighs

Thank goodness it's Friday.

The good part of this morning: I got up and completed my scheduled swim. Done with workouts for the day.

The not-so-good part of the morning: I poured coffee in my cereal. Perhaps I was a wee bit tired and mistook the coffee for milk? Who knows. I must have spaced out for a minute because before I knew it I had coffee in my cereal. So sad to have wasted good cereal and good coffee.

Something else I've been noticing over the past week: my thighs are growing. Bigger. The growth of my thighs brings back some unpleasant torments from my dear brother who used to call me "Thunder Thighs." Not nice, I know. Sadly, I can't even blame the growth on too much Mexican food, my bike is the culprit. All of the biking I have been doing has been building up the muscles in my thighs, making me look like some sort of She-Wolf super hero.

The biggest issue with this exponential growth of my thighs is wearing pants. My pants are too big in the waist, too tight in the leg/thigh area. Like seriously, my thighs are bursting out of my pants. If I go another size up to accommodate this growth, they will be way too big in the waist. Perhaps I will just start wearing spandex to work....

Tomorrow morning, I will attempt to ride 55 miles (and watch my thighs grow), followed by a 4 mi run off of the bike. Let's all keep our fingers crossed for no flat tires, 'k?

Happy weekending!

A New Level of Crazy Part 2: Death by Bike Trainer

I reached another level of crazy this morning: I used 4 hours of precious vacation so that I could get in all of my scheduled Ironman workouts this morning. This included an 8.5 mile run, followed by 2.5 hours on the trainer. Yes, I used vacation to wake up at my normal 4:45 am and workout all morning. I do not know if this is dedication or lunacy, but I am leaning towards lunacy. I should have taken the whole day off because the workouts left me completely wiped out and only half way functional at work this afternoon. Thank god all I have is a swim on my schedule for tomorrow.

Speaking of work, I wonder what they think. Only 2 people know I am training for an Ironman. I come in every day looking like hell because I have permo bags/goggle marks under my eyes from waking up at 4:45 am/goggle marks from long swims in the pool. Not sure if they think I've been out all night partying or just generally look like crap lately. Anyho, it will be nice when the sun finally starts to shine consistently so I can get a tan to hide some of these lines. I have never been this pasty white in February (p.s. It was 28 degrees running this morning. Insane for February).

That's all I've got. Just in case you were wondering, riding on the trainer and staring at the same 4 walls for 2.5 hours really sucks.

A New Level of Crazy

I officially reached a new level of crazy this morning. Actually, I am not the only crazy person. There are several of us. I went to run group in the sleet. I ran 8.5 miles in the sleet. That stuff hurts. Of course, after being pelted with sleet for 1.5 hours, it turned to snow shortly after I returned home. I tried to walk the dogs when I got home, and even they did not want to go for a walk (which is unheard of for them)!

Oh yeah, did I mention, our heater is not working. On a day when the high is 30 degrees. I'm hoping for an early release from work, but I don't know - it may be better to stay at work where it is warm!

I am ready for spring. I am very ready for spring. I will not bitch about the heat. I will not bitch about the humidity.

I promise.

Technical Difficulties

Long story short: Saturday morning I met a group out at Brushy Creek to ride. I had 50 miles on schedule, they were planning to ride about 20 - 10 miles out and 10 miles back. At the ten mile turnaround, I decided to just keep going by myself with the plan to ride 25 miles out, and 25 miles back. I'm feeling great, excited that I am having a good ride. Mile 25 happened to be at the Andice General store, and I spotted an outdoor bathroom so I stopped to use the bathroom. Getting to the bathroom required riding over a gravel trail, which turned out to be a bad idea because the next thing I know I had a flat tire. My first flat ever on my road bike. Guess who did not know how to change a tire or even have the proper equipment to do so? Yep, me. At first, I think no big deal, I'll just call Dan and have him come out and change my tire for me, then I will finish my ride. I try Dan. No answer. I try calling Dan again and again for the next hour. I try calling a few other people. No answer. Finally, I reach Dan and he comes to get me. At this point, my ride is over. It's raining, and I am wet, cold and pissed off. That was the end of my ride.

So yesterday I am done pouting and march myself over to REI and buy a tire repair kit. And get a lesson on how to change a tire. It might take me awhile, but now I can do it. And I have the proper equipment to do so. Plus, I also scored some great bargains while I was there so it was a little bit of shopping therapy as well.

Even though I did not finish my ride, I know I could have. And, something is always better than nothing. Things don't always go as planned, so I will put that ride behind me and there is always next week!

Happy Monday!

You Know You're Training for an Ironman When...

• You get excited about "sleeping in" until 6:30 am on a Saturday.
• You're excited about a Friday evening on the couch with the dogs eating pasta and catching up on DVR'd TV shows.
• You're always hungry and tired.
• You always smell like chlorine and it looks like you have goggle marks tattooed around your eyes.
• You refer to your scheduled 10 mile training Sunday run as "only 10 miles."

Friday has arrived! I've hit all of my workouts this week, and if I can make it through my 3 hour bike ride tomorrow, then I am home free. Tomorrow morning I am riding with a new group a friend started. They are leaving from Cedar Park at 8 am, which will be nice - even though it will be a bit cold - to get my ride done with earlier in the day. I think they are riding about 20 miles, so obviously I'll have to ride for about an hour and a half by myself, but it will be nice to have company for part of my ride. Sunday, I have a 10 mile run, followed by a rest day on Monday to prepare me for a very heavy training schedule for the next two weeks.

Dan's working basketball this evening, so I will have the house to myself which = catching up on my girly shows and watching a movie of my choice. If I get adventurous I might stay up past 9 pm, but it's probably not likely.

Have a great weekend!
Erin

Inspiration

This morning at run group, I received a very nice compliment: someone told me I am an inspiration to them. I was both flattered and honored, especially considering it was from someone I never would have expected. It got me to thinking. When you hang out on triathlon message boards and read triathlon news and talk triathlon every day with triathletes ... you tend to forget that it's a very (very very very) small group of people who do what we do.

Sometimes I feel like everyone I know has done a marathon and an Ironman and has qualified for Boston/ Kona/ podiums/ wins. It's what happens when a lot of your friends do what you do. and while we shouldn't rest on our laurels and our past races and our past PRs - it is, of course, our goals and ambitions that drive us to the bigger and better - we should remind ourselves that what we do is pretty damn cool. And pretty damn impressive.

I will never be elite. I will never run a sub 3 hour marathon or a sub 4:30 HIM. But: I can encourage and support and pass on what I've learned to others.

I came across the article below and wanted to share...

[from bikesportmichigan.com]

That Guy. You know him. He can also be That Girl, and often is.

It is that guy (or girl) who you see at every race. He's at every one. Everywhere in the country.

He is always more tan than you are. He is usually a good bit thinner too. His calves have those mysterious vertical striations that define each individual muscle; as if to say, "I have spent hours training each individual muscle in each calf- each individual muscle fiber in fact."

He/she has triathlon clothing that is super cool that you've never seen before. You have no idea where it came from. If you were to ask him- if you mustered up the courage to approach him- you would get some vague answer like, "Ahh, well, I know Dave McGillicutty at Sweetass Trisports and he got these samples, prototypes really, that he….. blah, blah, blah…." And you just wanted to know where you could buy a pair of those cool trishorts he has. Maybe they would make your ass look like Michalangelo chiseled it too. Prolly not though.

So this guy (or girl): His bike is clean. It is also weird. It has parts you think you may have seen in a magazine and, is that what carbon fiber looks like? Half the stuff he has, no, all of it, is stuff you've either only seen in magazines or never even heard of.

He's wearing sunglasses. But he didn't buy them. They just kind of "got there". He drives a special car just for doing what he's doing now: Getting ready for a ride, a run, a swim workout or the triathlon you're at now. He has stickers all over it.

You know when he talks about "Hawaii" he isn't talking about the state as a vacation destination, but rather, an event that you've only seen on TV. He is either talking about getting into it, having already gotten in, or why his last race there wasn't as good as it should have been. It had something to do with some chemical in his body you've never heard of. "Too much polychondrotineospandoplasm in my maldochondriacts during the last ten miles of the run. I should have know better." Yeah, an obvious mistake for someone like that guy (girl). Another thing that guy knows that you don't. Polywhat in his maldowho?

So you get to the race and there is that guy. Setting up all his stuff in the transition area like he's done probably a thousand times before, or so it seems.

And that guy is the reason why so many people are afraid to give this sport (and many others) a try. Because you know you are not That Guy (or girl) and they will look at you and think "Oh, another novice athlete…." And maybe you are embarrassed by that. I know I have been.

That guy is experienced, dedicated, accomplished, fit, knowledgeable, well versed and respected in the sport. You are a beginner. So you are at the bottom of the food chain here. You may be the big woman or man at work and at home. But here you feel like the first day of kindergarten and you don't even know where the bathroom is but you have to go. It's been a long time since you felt like that.

And you'll feel embarrassed in front of that guy.

Consider this though: You are that guy. You are that girl. Don't understand? Let me explain.

On the hypothetical morning we're describing you got up early, loaded up whatever bike you have (the old mountain bike you've had since you were 16, that old ten speed from college, whatever), put the gear you scrapped together in your car and went to the race. You stood there in your sweats and registered, set up your transition area as best you could.

Welcome to the show my friend. You are walking the walk.

You made that monumental leap off the couch and into the realm of That Guy. And now you, to millions and millions and millions of people- you are That Guy.

The next time you go to work when the conversation comes up about what you did Sunday morning you will say, "Oh, ahh, well I did this little triathlon, my first one, I'm not really any good, I was nearly last…."

But to the people at work, and your family, and your friends, and everyone else not there on Sunday morning (and some that were…) you are That Guy. The guy who does those endurance races. Who works out all the time (even if you don't). Who eats right (even though you don't).

Pretty soon it will get around work, what you did Sunday morning, and someone will ask you, "Hey, ahh, have you ever done that one in Hawaii?"

And then you answer, "Oh, Hawaii, no, I'm not that good. I've never done Hawaii…" And to you now it is just "Hawaii". You are That Guy. To someone out there you are That Guy.

Everyone has That Guy. He's better, faster, smarter, luckier. The interesting thing about That Guy is, to someone- you are that guy. No matter who you are, there will be That Guy. Don't let him bother you. Do what you do. Remember, to someone, you are that guy.

131 days...

....until Ironman C'ouer D'Alene!! I'm starting to get more excited and less nervous by the day. After every workout, I am becoming more and more confident that I can do this thing.

A day of rest did me good yesterday, and I was recharged and ready for this morning's workout at run group. I absolutely love Tues/Thurs morning run!! And, Dan came out to run this morning. What a nice surprise! At lunch, I came home and did my spin workout on my bike trainer. I love working so close to home!

Also, it's Fat Tuesday, ya'll! Laissez les bon temps roulez!
(unfortunately, I am eating this (left) instead of this on Fat Tuesday)



Happy Tuesday!

Austin Half-Marathon Race Report

Hi blogging buddies! I'm back and with good news. After a bout of the sickies last last week, I bounced back and ran a PR at the Austin Half-Marathon on Sunday in 1:32:36. I was the 22nd woman out of 5,086 ladies.

And, the best news is that I won my age group in the distance challenge. I actually think I was the 2nd overall female finisher as well. I get to attend a fun race party on the 27th and receive a nice jacket and trophy for my efforts. Super excited. Here are the top 3 results in my age group. Looks like I had some time to spare.

Female 30 to 34
Name	Series Age	Cumulative Time
Erin Ruyle	31	06:15:11
Anne Drees	31	07:12:00
Aspen Kralich	31	08:12:53

I had a really good run yesterday. Everything just clicked, and afterwards I was bummed that I did not run the full marathon. I really think I could have run a 3:15 or better yesterday. But, being in the middle of Ironman training, a marathon was not what I needed.

Speaking of training, I think Shawn has been taking it a bit easy on me until I finished the Distance Challenge, and so now I expect my training to ramp up quite a bit....starting with a 3 hour ride on Saturday. Today is a rest day to recharge my batteries, but I'll return full throttle to workouts at 4:45 am tomorrow!

Have a great week!
Erin

Back to the Grind...

I shouldn't call it that. Training makes me quite happy. I had a little (unwanted) reprieve from training this weekend due to a little something called work. However, I think my 2 hr torture workout on the bike trainer this morning, followed by a run at lunch more than makes up for it.

I'm running in one of my fav races this weekend, on Valentines Day to be exact -The Austin Half Marathon. I'm a little sad that I am not running the full marathon with some of my run group friends, but at least I can be there at the finish line to cheer then on.

So, training is going well. I'm getting much more comfortable swimming longer distances, and am even getting used to biking on the trainer. I like having a schedule to follow and the satisfaction of checking off those workouts when they are completed. I'm even used to the 4:45 alarm that goes off every single day. In fact, I really do not even need my alarm clock anymore - I've gotten to the point where I wake up on my own.

However, there are a few things that anger me right now. Like scream profanities at strangers angry. Look out folks, I consider you all one degree away from being a stranger.

• For startsies. I feel like I am getting sick. And it's pissing me off. I can't get sick. Triathletes who like to workout and stick to a 6x's a week training plan can't get sick. So WTF?
  
• The weather. Oh my dear word. My blood is boiling. It is cold and windy and cold and rainy and cold and sunshine-less in Texas. It has been this way for like 4 months. This is Texas. It's supposed to be 65 and sunny this time of year. I need to ride my bike outside. Mother nature is not making this possible. If it's going to be so damn cold, then please snow so I can get out of work. Snow days would make everything A-Okay.
• Work. I just finished a big event which deprived me of sleep for several weeks. I want a week to do nothing but surf the internet and scout the Austin area for bassets up for adoption. Do I get that? No. Another big project needed to be started immediately, and off I go back to crazy town. Dear God, I thought I asked to be a house wife when I was little??

Okay, that is enough for now.
Happy Wednesday!
Erin

MIA

I'm still here. I'm still alive. I'm still working out. I'm still busy. :( More to come later this week, I promise.

My name is Erin and I am a Control Freak

group: "hiiii Erin"

I have come to terms with my "I do it all better than anyone else" attitude. I like to call myself a control freak, but I guess it is really more like I kind of think the rest of the world is incompetent. Even the husband- I do everything better than him, it's a fact (ok maybe not mow the lawn- but that's just because I don't want to. If I put my mind to it, I could get our lawn looking like fenway. true story).

So anywhoos, I have actually decided I need to seek help for this bad attitude, and bitchy behavior- which is a huge step in itself. A control freak admitting they need help is like the tanners not solving a family crisis in thirty minutes.

So I mosey on over to amazon and search books for some self help for control freaks. There are 6, one of which is about math and two others are for someone else dealing with a loony like me. (apparently, not too many control freaks seek help- and the ones that might, enjoy numbers like myself). i think i am going to hit up a legit bookstore. I will keep you posted on my transformation.

edit: You may not think I seem like a crazy controlling loon on my blog, so I should specify. some notes about crazy me: the reason why work is killing my soul is because I feel the need to do everything myself because I think others will do it wrong.

No time for Titles

Friends. I hope you had a good weekend! I'm swamped at work this week, so this update will be quick. In the meantime, I am dreaming of next week when my life will become a lot calmer (at work). Well, actually not really, because I have another big project that I have not had time to start yet that has a March 1 deadline, but come March I will go back to being lazy.

• Had a good weekend with Ironman training. Saturday it was cold & windy as hell, but I bundled up with ear warmers, 2 pair of gloves, 2 pairs of socks, 2 pair of tights, 2 fleece pullovers and a wind jacket and went on my 40 mile bike ride. Erica was kind enough to ride with me and being the over achievers were are, we rode not just 40 miles, but 41.4 miles. Just FYI, biking in the cold and wind does not equal a good time and it took several hours before we could feel our toes afterwards, but we got it done.
• Sunday my schedule called for an 11 mile run at 8:00/pace. Again, being the over achiever that I am, I ran 11.21 miles at 7:48/pace. Sweet.
• I'm determined to get in all of my scheduled workouts this week. My biggest challenge will be the 50 mile ride scheduled for Saturday which will have to be done sometime after I get finished with Cupid's Chase.
  
• I'm ready for Saturday's work event to be over. Keep your fingers crossed that everything goes well!!!

:)