Irrational Fear???

This conversation just happened. And by just, I mean like 8 minutes ago.

Earlier today I spoke with my coach about races for this season. I assured him I didn't need or want to race a lot, but some are fun and break up the monotony of training. He agreed and suggested Lake Logan 70.3 (preview video) in August. The timing is right as well as it's a hilly bike course which will be good prep for IM Louisville, which is a HILLY bike course.

Have I shared I don't like climbing. I suck at climbing. Or maybe I don't. But IMFL was flat. Not pancake flat and maybe with the Florida Hills (aka head winds) I should have practiced climbing more, but I didn't. Ironically the two group rides I did had a bit of elevation. There was the GA 400 Hospitality Ride where I had to walk one of the hills. Big Sister is a bitch.

Metric Century

My first 100 miler was the MACC Century and while I didn't walk any of the hills, I may have shed a tear or two and definitely used up more time than they allocated.

First 100 mile ride

Is being intimidated by climbing really that irrational? I mean, if you slow down too much, you can tip over. When I first tried to climb a hill, I was in the wrong gear, tried to power through it, and broke the chain. Oh yea, and came crashing down. That was the year when a successful ride was one where I didn't spend time with the ground.

So I guess this is the year I learn how to climb. Curtis and crew at Cannon Cyclery are helping me get set up with a different cassette. I'm going to try and take off the weight (that's another topic all together) that I put on post IMFL and while training for Dopey. The new coach is going to going to give me the tools to succeed.

Need a pep talk? Let me know. I can totally psych you up for ANYTHING....however I have a hard time silencing the voice in my head. Here's to another race season of trying to shut up those damn voices.

Another Trip Around the Sun

Friday was my birthday. Nothing monumental I just survived another year.

The festivities kicked off with getting to go out with my favorite iRONman, while he was in town for business. He came and watched me referee and then we grabbed a great dinner.

Friday, the actual day of my birthday I was able to take most of the day off and even managed to get a massage. I'd love to tell you it was at a spa with a white fluffy robe and sparkling water, but it was deep tissue and it feels best when it's over. Truth. Today she decided to try cupping on me.

This is from after the cups were removed. Out of modesty and not wanting to scar anyone's retinas, I won't post what my ass looks like.

Remember when I said I was done with online dating, but that I had dinner plans with a friend and we didn't know if it was a date or not? It was a date. We had a good time. We continued to hang out to see where things might lead. And things were going well until Friday when on my birthday, he told me he was really busy and we should just be friends. This coming after he wished me a happy birthday. Just like last year....yes, JUST LIKE LAST YEAR, I got the friend speech, or I don't want to date you speech on (or the day before) my birthday. Surely this is a rare and special talent. After all before I turned 39 the guy I was dating disappeared (ghosted) about a week before my birthday. I'm sure it's me.

Friday night some girl friends were supposed to come over and hang out for a girls' night in. Fridays are tough and paved with good intentions. My phone started chirping about 5:30 with multiple varying reasons as to why someone wasn't coming. Most were very good reasons that I completely understand. Kids get sick, sitters cancel. It was unfortunate that so many had similar issues. The good news is the few who were able to make it got to enjoy some great food and good laughs.



 

Saturday started off GREAT! I met Adam (RH) at Kennesaw Mountain for some trails. We were able to merge his workout and mine to hopefully, make both coaches happy. Adam is this close to going for his first belt buckle (100 miles)! I'm so proud of his determination and perseverance. I know he's going to have a great race! After our run we went to Martin's for biscuits. If not for the stench of cigarette smoke, I might have met my next ex boyfriend while standing in line. Moving on...We had a great breakfast and then headed on our separate ways. I headed up to ref a lacrosse game and then home to meet up with some great friends for more birthday celebrations.

Much much fun Saturday continuing my birthday celebrations and celebrating Pratagonia's birthday as well.

 

Sunday was a beautiful day outside. Coach had given me an option of a trainer rider or 2-3 hours outside. Posted in the local tri group and got a handful of people to come ride the Silver Comet with me for some Zone 2 base miles. Lane (who needs a haircut) did my whole ride with me. He'd take off for an interval and eventually let me catch back up. It was so wonderful to be outside!

 

Lane didn't have running shoes with him so I was on my own for my short brick. However, he did hang out and wait for me to finish and we got to chat a little bit more hanging out on the back of his pick-up truck. I didn't even notice if the fountain was on yet, it wasn't that warm out today!

 

I can't believe I didn't get a picture of me and Stephanie! She and her husband took me out to a most wonderful dinner to cap off my weekend of celebrations. I'm still full a few hours later! Look at this cake!

 

 

Finally, the Ironwilled t-shirts and stickers are in so I'm trying to get them all packaged to be shipped.

I think I'm almost there and hopefully will be able to get about 75% of them mailed out tomorrow. We are currently working on a second order of shirts if you want one, let me know...A labor of love, but now...I need sleep.

 

Thank you all for the birthday wishes and especially those who went out of their way to spend some time with me this weekend. I swear I don't look older than I did when I was 40.

 

Anniversary Addition...

My blog just recently hit its one year anniversary so I guess that means I have another birthday coming, like tomorrow. I haven't written much lately because I'm not really sure what to share. I do believe some things really don't belong on the interwebs and a lot of those things have been going on.

I was out to dinner with a friend last night and I was stating, lamenting, whining, that it's been a year and everything seems the same. Yet, so much is different.

When I started this blog I was sleeping on a mattress on the floor of my sister's office waiting, just waiting, to be told I could move back home. And I did, the end of March.

I started this blog to share my journey to  becoming an Ironman. And I did, Nov 1, 2014.

I started this blog thinking only my mother and few select friends would read it. And I was right. JUST KIDDING. I'm constantly amazed when people I know or haven't met yet tell me they read it. I am completely HONORED when some one shares a post. I think this one summing up what my life is like training was shared the most: No, I don't want to come out and play...

Because of this blog my hoo-ha is a normal topic of conversation with ANYONE.

ended up picking up a different Cobb Saddle.

Through this blog I have made new amazing friends. Through this blog I connected with Janie and Ironwilled: Women who TRI was born. Through Ironwilled: Women who TRI I have met more amazing people.

And finally when I started this blog I was pretty much single....and we all know how that goes.

 

The reality is that while many things are the same as they were a year ago, I am not. I know the journey to Ironman and every other small (or big) journey I've taken this year has helped me get closed to where I think I want to be.

Thanks again for sharing last year's journey with me and for sticking around to see what this year brings.

It's all About Perspective...

I rarely blog 2 days in a row. I honestly don't think I have that much to say to capture your attention that often. But this... this just needs to be shared.

Last night in Ironwilled: Women who TRI (yes, there it is another plug, stick with me) I posted this picture....

It was posted with a message to keep this in mind when you start seeing and hearing about other's training. We are each on our own path. Stay true to your plan, your race, your goals!

I had to learn this the hard way and Jason (#mycoachisadork) had to beat it in to me. My race, my training, my plan. Don't try to keep up with others. Don't worry about others. Worry about you. I used to say I was putting my blinders on to focus on me and not compare myself to others. It's soooooo hard! DUH...just like life!

We got some snow in Atlanta this morning. My sister posted this awesome snowman she and her son built once school was canceled.

 

What a cool snow man! Wow, how much snow did you get?

 

And then she posted another picture....

 

Oh....not that much, huh?

 

And then another....

Oh.

It's all about perspective.

 

Especially as triathlon season kicks up (and life continues) keep this in mind. Your friend who just spent 3 hours on his trainer may be going to Puerto Rico for a 70.3 in 2 weeks. The woman in your group who just ran 20 miles this weekend and is doing the same race as you in 6 months might have a marathon coming up.

 

You do you and remember....

 



A Decision has been Made....

As you may or may not know, my first coach and I broke up after Ironman Florida. I started shopping for a coach but then decided I was going to proceed without one, at least for awhile, at least until April (6 months out from IM Louisville). After all, my relationship with my coach was the steadiest relationship of my recent adult life and I needed time to grieve. Just kidding, I needed to save some pennies and figure out what I wanted in my next coach, if there was going to be a next coach. I digress....

The decision to proceed without coaching was purely financial. I expected some major income changes to come my way and knew that coaching wasn't going to be an optional expense I could afford.

Before this decision to proceed without a coach was reached, I spoke to a handful of different coaches. Some I reached out to, some reached out to me. Some were easier to talk to than others. Some seemed more interested in working with me than others. I was very put off by a friend's coach that I reached out to who, at one point, was talking to me, and then when I said I'd like to talk about coaching never returned my message. I felt like another coach I was chasing to see if it could work. Then there was Brant from Dream Big Triathlon Coaching. He is in Indiana and was very responsive to my questions and took the time to chat with me.

I let Brant know in December that I wasn't going to be going with a coach for now. Financially it wasn't a commitment I could comfortably make. He alerted me to a contest on his coaching page where he was giving away a free month of coaching and asked me if I would like him to enter me in it. SURE!

In January I got an email: You won a month. Want it?

I let him know I was headed to Dopey and he agreed we'd get started after I recovered. He kept tabs on my progress and we chatted some after. He encouraged me to do stuff that was fun. I spent the 2 weeks after Dopey spinning, yoga-ing, running with friends and masters swim.

Then it was time to get started.

Brant gave me some great workouts. Wrote them in a way I hadn't seen before (learned something new) and kept me moving. Even in 4 short weeks, I learned from him.

While working with him it became very apparent I do better working with a coach. I am starting to get into coaching myself, but even the best surgeons don't operate on themselves. Things that were supposed to happen in my personal/professional life didn't (yet) and I realized I would be able to continue on with coaching after all.

Now the decision: a virtual coach (long distance) or local. My first coach was local. That was the relationship I was used to. I'm thankful that Brant gave me the opportunity to experience a virtual coach.

I weighed out the pros and cons. The options were: stay virtual and continue on with Brant and Dream Big Triathlon Coaching or find someone local. There was an amazing thread in Ironwilled: Women who TRI about the pros and cons of each (like how I plugged that?). For me, the decision was to find a local coach: a coach I could get an in person skill session from if needed. Someone who knew the roads I would ride and could really guide my workouts to best prepare me for race day.

By the suggestion of my metallic haired sister from another mister I was going to speak to a coach she recommended. Knowing both of us, she thought we'd work well together. I was planning to seek him out, but hadn't had the time yet.

Then last week I walked in to my favorite ice cream store bike mechanic's shop to pick up my new-to-me bike rack and as fate would have it, he was there. He stopped what he was doing and we talked a bit. I was sold when he said: I read your blog. I've read your race reports. I understand what this sport means to you and that the process is just as important to you as race day.

Woot-woot! I'm completely ecstatic to announce I'm going to be training with Brent and DYNAMO MULTISPORT!!!

How else does one celebrate than with a posed photo op!

So now the question remains....Does he know what he's gotten himself in to????

0 to B!tch in 14 minutes

If you remember early last week I announced I was done with online dating. I deleted my accounts and removed any apps from my phone. I also told a couple different people I wasn't interested in communicating any more.

One guy was a guy named Tim. He would send me a message, I would reply and I would hear nothing from him for a week or two. We almost met on Superbowl, but that didn't happen and I didn't hear from him for another week. I told him I wasn't interested in someone who could only remember I existed once in a while. Plus, we had been talking for over a month and I was not looking for a text buddy.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day and I felt loved and appreciated as I a few friends reached out. I'm sitting at brunch with my folks and I get a text from a number I don't recognize. You know, the best way to tell this story is to just post it:

 

As you can see, I decided to play along for a little bit. But then, I was done.

 

 





 And then I wasn't amused anymore.

I mean, I'm annoyed. I'm frustrated. I don't like being in the complete dark. And that's where I was...I Googled the number. I entered it into Facebook to see if it was connected to an account. No luck with either. I think this was about the time I posted his phone number on my Facebook account to see if one of the people I'm connected with knew who it was. I even tried calling a friend of mine who is a police officer to see if he could trace it. More on my Facebook post in a moment.

 

I often joke with friends when the tell me they Facebook stalk me that it's okay. It's nice to have stalkers because then I know I'm never really alone. HOWEVER, I can joke because it's never really happened to me. I say I live my life out loud (a lot of it's public). He crossed the line when he played the Stalker line. Not funny.

 

I'm pissed off. I'm a bit freaked out. And he wants to know if I want to hang out? Despite all this I still managed to reply with my favorite line of the week: No, thank you.

 

Later in the evening, one of my friends on FB comments, "Hey, That's Tim." Crazy.

 

Want to meet me? Want to maybe date me? Don't be an asshole. WTH was this guy thinking? What the hell are most of these guys thinking? I'm pretty sure I made it perfectly clear I wasn't amused. I'm so pissed off at this jerk that I almost left his phone number on the screen shots as I promote this blog throughout the cyber world.

 

Meanwhile, I'm leaving his self identifying information up, because he earned it.

 

End of rant.

 

 

I Give Up...

I quit. I'm throwing in the towel. I'm raising the white flag. I'm taking my ball and going home. I'm taking my clubs and moving to Cleveland (I had a manager that used to say that all the time).

I'm retiring from online dating. I know this disappoints many of you as the anecdotes will be limited, but I assure you, if I stuck with it, I'd be shopping for a mental institution.

Means by which I have tried to meet  someone significant since I've turned 30: It's Just Lunch. Match. Eharmony. Plenty of Fish. OK Cupid. Jdate. Tinder. Craigslist (I'm not proud, but true). I have disabled all of them. I think. I hope.

I'm not ready to completely give up on dating because I do try to be an optimist about it. But, let's be real for a moment...the last 2 guys who REALLY took an interest in me (other than 5th Date and well. that's another can of worms) in the past 4 months were both attached. One is Facebook official and the other is MARRIED. MARRIED. WTH? I confess, I got caught up in the attention. It was flattering. But it's wrong. I'm not that girl. Wow, lots of confessions today apparently. I was that girl. One time, loooong time ago. It never felt right. It always felt wrong. Never again. Never. I'm completely offended that he thought I was 'that girl.' When I finally told him to stop, he was stressing me out, he said he was just joking with me. I assure you if I share pictures he sent or screen shots of what he said to his wife, she wouldn't find them funny. Again, he reminded me he was just joking. Maybe he is trying to convince himself.

Additional conversations I have had in the past 24 hours:
Mr. Maintenance...I called him that because he kept in touch just enough to keep my attention. I've been hanging out/dating with him for about 15 months on and off. Finally last night I decided I was done. This is the same guy who a few months ago after being out with me the night before sent me a text the next morning saying he needed a break. It was my turn. I sent him a text. (Fair's fair. Right?) I assured him I wasn't mad at him but I have never been a priority to him and I never will be. 7 hours later he texts me. I reply. He wants to know what I'm up to. I tell him that I'm just off my bike and I need to shower and eat. He asks me if I want to come over. I say no thanks. He says ok. Guess he didn't want to see me that much.

Then there's Mr. Screen Shot. I shared a bit about him yesterday on Facebook. He's the guy who told me that he would not be buying my dinner when we met up. I told him then it wasn't a date just 2 friends meeting up. He says so it's a date if I pay? I said yes. This plus many other things had red flags waving high, but you know, I'm slow on the uptake. I give him the benefit of the doubt. He suggests we meet in Midtown. I counter with Perimeter. He asks for Kennesaw. Fine. I pick a restaurant he says Ippolitos. I said fine. A few more exchanges last night and I'm about to hop on my trainer so I tell him I'll catch  up with him later. He replies, maybe. (Arrogant SOB). We catch up this morning. Random topics of conversation, nothing exciting. He asks if I want to meet on Thursday at Chuy's (my original suggestion he rejected). I replied I thought you said Scallini's... and living up to his name.... (he's yellow, I'm bluish)

So no more. If you know someone you think I should meet. Sure! Why not? I have one requirement: He must be single: LEGALLY, MORALLY, ETHICALLY, and EMOTIONALLY. And one request: You actually think we will get along. We should have more in common then we are both single.

Tonight I have dinner with a guy friend. I have no idea if it's a date or not. I do know it will be fun. And that, is all that matters.