Insert end of static Fuzz here...

It's been so long...
Sorry work called last Monday...I tried to pretend not to be home, but!!!!

Triathlon Update:
That night I realized something- I forgot my shoes, running skirt and socks @ the venue. Luckily I tracked them down and have to go pick them up. When? I don't know...

Also I celebrated the big 3-1. After this one, I've realized something. I put way too much thought into my husband's birthday. This year he too will be getting a card that says, "Happy Birthday, go buy yourself something." How easy is that?!? So I sang silently to myself, then made James sing to me, too.

Drum roll please....

So here is my recap-
I'm in the red suit in the back.
Can you spot me?

500 yard swim: 15:25
My buoy mantra worked really well. I did stop @ 2 buoys to fix my goggles that were kicked off my face. If they were cheap, I would have ditched them. I spent a lot of time breath stroking- WTF? I hate that stroke. I think I did it because I had so many issues siting. I'll work on that more.

T1- Swim to Bike 3:18- Pretty slow. I had to dry off and put on socks, shoes and clothes. Many others just hopped on sans shoes and clothes...I was afraid of a wedgie. Nearly tripped over my bike running it out because I forgot to start the Garmin. Why aren't they waterproof by the way?

12 mile Bike- 44:12- pretty flat, rolling course. I averaged 18 mph according to the bike computer. Was passed by only 1 other female. She was on the same bike as me. I really need to learn to push myself more. I get into a "comfortable" pace that I could do all day and never really hit race pace. I dismounted the bike and ran it into transition for T2. No whistles- no penalties!

T2- bike to run- 1:21 Hung up the bike, took off the helmet and traded it for a hat and grabbed my water. Glad I did- it was pretty steamy.



3 mile Run: 27:36- Who put the led balloons around my ankles? Here I am passing Matt my #1 supporter. I reminded him to call mom and let her know I was outta the water. Whoops- sorry Ma! They lady behind me was 65- there were a ton-o-Senior Citizens in the race. I remember telling myself the last mile, "This is a race Granny, move it." There are some bad a$$ SC's out there. With the help of fellow runner Tom(57)- who huffed and puffed the last mile w/ me we averaged 8:39 . Most of the run was in the sun. We went up and over the bridge and turned into the finish line.

With that I walked around, picked up the bike, showered, grabbed Matt some cookies and posed for a picture with the bike. Note to self- drink Gatorade after running in the heat, I finally feel better now. I drank a lot of water...but just not enough I guess. Overall, I'm happy with my finish. I spent most of the time dreading the swim, the swim time dreading the swim and the bike and run beating myself up over how poorly I swam. My nemesis...

Final Results
6/8 in my division
53/82 females
1:31:49 finishing time. My goal was 1:40...can't I be satisfied?

Make-up Tri--CHECK

So I finished my tri today- I'll do a full recap of the event when my official time posts, I'm guessing 1 hour and 30 minutes. Here is a pic of the transition area and my my dangling bike- Triathletes are as superstitious as baseball fans- how wacky...

Time flies

Wow- it's been a while. We got back from a week long vacation at Grandma and Grandpa Farm's and we are exhausted. My friend Janene got married and Marge flew in from Colorado. We went to the Shed Acquarium with Marge and Grandpa farm. We also went to Grizzly Jack's an indoor water/ amusement park at Starved Rock and had a blast. James declared it, "The best party ever." I'll always remember Carly and Dad shooting down the mini slide like a bullet off the tarmak almost taking each other out in the process.

So my make-up tri is tomorrow in Springfield. We are leaving by 4:30.

My swim mantra will be "Get to the first bouy...get to the first bouy... get to the first buoy..." Then it will be, "Get to the next buoy, get to the next buoy get to the next buoy..." Once I'm out of the water it will be smooth sailing. Hopefully.

I'm walk'n on...eggshells OOOHHHH

And it doesn't feel good...

OK the Beaver house has been one hotbed of crankiness(If that's a word) anyway It's gotten really steamy outside this week and Matt has been a tad crabby because of working in it- so really between the hours of 4pm and 6 am, James and I are hiding in the backyard between the bushes like a bunch of safari idiots.

J-Boz update- because of my new job we had to find day care in Quincy. This was really a hard search. LeeAnne who cared for him over the first three years is like a grandma to him so no matter what we find, nothing will compare. After 35 phone calls 6 site visits, we finally found a wonderful structured environment the we feel comfortable with. Maria- or as James calls her, "Marnarnia," watched him for a half a day yesterday so he could get his feet wet and all went well. SIGH- my "Lady of Leisuredom" is over in two weeks when training sessions begin.

I ran 7 this morning and am dropping back to 10 tomorrow, so far so good. Knock on my periformus- ok bad joke. I am off to the Y to swim (which still needs work) then home to load of 3 coolers and 12 bags. We are headed camping with Matt's parents this evening. Hope it's relaxing.

Weight update- So I dropped the 10 extra pounds I was carrying by cutting out processed foods and traking my Points. So it's mostly water weight since it's been so damn hot, but it's 10 pounds and 2% body fat according to the scale...We'll see what the effects of 5 s'mores will do...

Long Runs

What to think about on a long run? A grocery list, things I haven't cleaned in 2-3 years, chafing, not chafing, does this fuel belt make my ass look big, weird objects I've seen on the side of the road. arguements my husband and I have/have not had, the list goes on and on.

Randomly weird objects list: baby bottles, safety pins, shoes (singular and plural), any type of clothing you can think of, scissors, razors, and stickers. That was just this morning and no I wasn't running in the ghetto.

Defunkdified

So, if you haven't noticed, I've been in a slump...especially since my last "failure to launch." I have a new mental attitude and I have found a real swim coach. My Master's Class at the Y was canceled in May(What do you mean closing the pool for 2 people is not a "good business decision"- plus my coach moved), so I had been attempting a few solo swims. As most Phelan's will tell you- we need schedule, order and structure, kind of in an OCD type of way. And I need people waiting for me or...I won't show up! SO after 2 months, I have found a swim club in our town. It starts Monday. Sure their master's class is from 3:30-4:30 3 days a week, so most "Normal" full time employees couldn't go, but when you are a "lady of leisure" like myself 3 months a year, it shouldn't be too much hassle. All I have to do is figure a new nap schedule, find a babysitter and wallah- there I am.

At the Y Laura was the only other swimmer and she refused to put her face in the water to swim. I used to laugh at her until I tried doing it for 2 laps to work on siting, then she was the one laughing at me- That's tough stuff. Sure, I may be in the slow lane, while the others lap me, but I'm there, and improving- hopefully.

Here's another tid bit. I have/want to lose the 10 pounds I've strapped on since the last marathon. The slightest amount of sugar sends me into a feeding frenzy and the overeating then sends me for the bushes during my runs, (sorry neighbors!) so I've started weight watchers online. I'm not sure this was a good expenditure since I get 20 points a day, 35 flex points a week and by the time I log my activity daily I end up with 12 extra points a day. OK- maybe I just need to practice a little self control. So here's the stats...141 lbs and 27.7% Body Fat- YIKES! That's a lot of jiggle.

I'm off to the Y to swim before James wakes up and I decide to stay and play with trains. He has quite the setup.