What have I done?

So the Heart Zones payment hit my account... Even with my 10% off early sign up bonus, it's still a pretty good chunk of change. Hopefully the IRS will be quick with my prefund. It's nice that we're getting the money now, but I'm still kinda pissed that this means that NEXT year my refund will suck. Argh.

I need to get on my bike. I'm tempted to ride to work tomorrow. If my lovely wife stays home sick again tomorrow, I think I might. Only problem is, it might rain tomorrow. But I guess I better just suck it up because we'll be riding in the rain on race day of God decides to laugh at me for trying this thing.

More tomorrow.

Hi, I'm Sally

What an interesting lady that Sally Edwards is :) I met her last night at the seminar at REI. It was pretty much a rah rah rally but hey, it's what I needed to get me motivated. And I did hand over more of my money so that I can complete this thing. I met a couple of the ladies that are in my training group too, so that was pretty cool.

More later :)

Tri Training

So. I was at work today. And I was going through a pile of stuff my boss gave me before he left for vacation. One of the items was an application for pool use. For Triathlon training. DANSKIN triathlon training. So I call the lady, who happens to be the head coach for the team. I told her that I was signed up for the tri and so on and so forth...

So I'm going to REI tomorrow night for the seminar and to meet her and sign up for the training. Bye bye money, hello hope for surviving this thing! :)

Inspiration

Today was the Whipper Snapper One Lapper Youth Triathlon at the pool. It was a great turn-out, the weather was perfect, and everyone had a great time.

I was awestruck by one young lady. I saw her among the crowd, but didn't know she was a competitor. I wasn't there when she checked in, so I assumed she was there cheering on a sibling. I didn't notice her transition from bike to run, not sure why, but probably because I was getting ready to record the times at the finish line.

As I waited for last girl to come and cross the finish line, I had no idea what was in store.

There she was, moving as fast as she could on legs that weren't straight, weren't balanced. But she was moving. She was going as fast as those legs would take her. The whole crowd rallied around her as little G crossed the finish line, and her parents scooped her up into their arms. The look of joy on her face, the look of determination in those little eyes was humbling and humiliating at the same time.

I felt ashamed for all the excuses I've made. I felt humbled by her grace, her poise. She wasn't going to let anyone tell her she couldn't do it. She wouldn't let anyone else tell her, and she wasn't about to tell that to herself either. Her spirit was stronger than her body. She was like a little angel crossing that finish line, with her shoulders back and her head held high, and I couldn't help but get choked up.

I'm fat. That's my fault. I've been lazy. That's my fault too. But this beautiful little angel had real problems handed to her, under no fault of her own, and she triumphed. She glowed. She succeeded. She showed strength that most adults could only dream of.

No more excuses.

Monday Beating

So, I was introduced to the wonderful world of Jillian Michaels beatings this morning. No, I wasn't fortunate enough to get on Biggest Loser. My sister sent me some DVDs that she bought and she said it wasn't what she was looking for, so I got em! :) I did the Cardio Kickbox DVD this morning and I wasn't able to do everything perfectly, but I thought it wasn't bad for my first stab (or should that be jab?) at it... Tomorrow will be the Front Side DVD. I'm still recovering from y self-induced pain fest, but I think the cardio this morning was really good for getting the blood flowing and will help get rid of some of that lactic acid :)

On a completely separate note, I'm also taking guitar lessons from my brother :) My left fingers are on the first of blisters, but I have to build up my callouses. Matt was impressed with me progress for my first week and I'm now supposed to work on actual songs! WOO HOO :)

Now I better get ready for my day. Hopefully my morning workout will help energize me through the usual Monday Morning Mess.

Ouch

So after being Jenn the Wondersloth for a while, I went to the Buehler Y today and did 25 min on the elliptical and then did resistance training for almost an hour. I'm sore in ways I can't describe. But it felt GOOD. Then my lovely wife and I went to Frontera Grill for lunch which was DIVINE and then to Rauner Y for an event there (LW had to meet media) and then we met up with a friend for some beers and camaraderie. It was very fun :)

Anyway, just thought I'd check in and speak of my amazing feats of strength this morning *LOL*

Rain, Rain, GO AWAY

This weather is doing a serious number on my ability to log some biking miles. Yes, I know there are die-hards out there who will bike in the snow, but I'm just not one of them. The idea of catching pneumonia just to log some miles is NOT appealing.

This weather has just sucked. Winter sucked. Spring now sucks. It's cold and rainy and it's going to be like this through the weekend. Oh wait, I take that back... it's going to f'in SNOW.

Anyway... So, yeah. Hard for me to get into the training mood when all I want to do is curl up with cocoa and a blankie and take a nap.