If It Fits, It Ships!

This morning while I was outside weeding my garden, my almost adult teenage daughter (who was doing the A.M chores) hollered for me to come. I immediately stopped what I was doing because I knew that "something" was up (she never calls for me).  When I got there, she told me that our yearling Boer Goat Buck had passed on over night.

There he was, bloated, feet up, and dead as a door nail.  This wasn't a big shocker to her and I, for we both knew before hand that something had been up with him. He had been listless, and lacking overall vigor for quite some time.  Other then being dull, he wasn't showing any other signs of illness.  Not to mention, all of the other goats are very happy and healthy.

Upon spying my "A.D.D" (All Done Dancing) goat, my initial reaction to my daughter was to jokingly ask "Oh My! How much dewormer DID you give him yesterday??"  After that quick bout of humor, I learned that the drug/dose wasn't anything out of the ordinary. 

Then my mind started to reel, and I started to think: Great, NOW what do I do with him?? He's big, and it's already close to 90 degrees out! *I'm* not digging THAT hole!

And in the near distance I heard my answer...

Luckily, Fridays are our garbage collection day, and on our street I heard the garbage truck approaching.  I told my daughter to quickly run to the end of our driveway and grab the can. And so she went. (Well, er.. about as quick as a 17 year old generally moves - like molasses on a cold winter day!) In the meantime, I started to drag this adult, over 150 lb stiff goat up from the lower field, through the backyard, heading toward the driveway.  What a challenge this was!  Because I was pulling his back legs, every pull by me made his horns plow the earth like a Farrow Plow, creating a drag.  

Meanwhile, the garbage truck was just a few houses away, creeping ever closer with each passing second. My mind was starting to race with panicky thoughts;  If I don't get THIS goat in THAT can TODAY- it will be stuck here another 8 days! (collection is delayed a full day due to a Holiday during the pick-up week)

To ad to my frustration, my daughter came back WITHOUT the garbage can and said; "The garbage man hasn't come yet, so I didn't bring the can" (LOVE the mentality of teenage kids! *NOT*) I of course replied with a "DUH!" (My plan was to get that goat inside of it BEFORE the garbage man came.)  I sent her off yet again to quickly fetch the can.

When she returned empty handed for the SECOND time-she proceeded to tell me that the can was full. ARRRRR! So I said: "Fine! We will wait for him to empty it, THEN we will load the goat into it, and THEN I will drag it across the street and wait for him to come."

And that's what we did! 

That goat was SO heavy that her and I could barely pick it up and put it in the over 4' tall automated garbage can!  Once we finally managed, I wheeled the can across the street. I sat on the shoulder of the road with it and waited....

While I waited, I kept thinking to myself what if he see's that it's not garbage the automated arm is dumping into his truck?  Then I had an idea.  I left the can sit and quickly ran back across the street to the garage, grabbed some garbage and threw it on top to try and "hide" the little bugger, and waited. 

As he pulled up, he looked at me wryly as if to wonder what the Hell I was doing standing on the side of the road with my garbage can he had JUST emptied a few moments ago.  As I looked at him I was instantly wondering how on earth I was going to pull this off?  I kept envisioning feet flying through the air into his mobile rubbish bin!  This is NEVER going to work! 

And so I did what any female with half a brain cell in her head would have done... 

I turned on my CHARM!  Granted, as much "Charm" as I could muster up in the very early A.M, wearing my PJ's, while standing on the opposite side of the road, with a dead goat in a garbage can.

I knew as long as he kept his focus on me, and NOT the flying feet flipping out of my can into his mobile bin, this should go smoothly.  With that, I worked my magic... The first thing out of his mouth to me was; "Didn't I just empty this can?" And I replied: "Oh please take my garbage again. I am SO sorry to make you have to do this a second time. I REALLY feel bad for putting you behind schedule. But with the Holiday weekend coming up, I just didn't want this to sit here a week and an extra day with this hot weather".  

And with that plea (or whine, kinda depends on how you look at it!), he was nice enough to empty it a second time.

Never once did I break eye contact with him and look at the flying goat. A person's natural reaction is to look in the direction you are looking, and if I looked at the can being emptied, so would he. Once the can was safely back on the ground I Thanked him again, and was on my way. 

Whew! That was a close one! Hey, I didn't lie to him, it really DID need to go.  But I didn't offer up any incriminating information either! 

Now I know most of you are thinking how disgusting to throw a dead animal of "larger size" into our local landfill. But in my defense, let me mention a few things.  I had previously checked our County's Waste Management Website just to make sure I wasn't breaking any laws.  There are plenty of things listed that you cannot throw away, but fortunate for me livestock and dead animals were not listed.  Second, this is organic matter. Way less of an evil then most everyday household rubbish. And lastly, the local landfill is where most livestock goes when you hire a commercial hauler. Here in my community dead horses, and cows with antibiotics that cannot be a food source ("food source" for things like Mink farms) get tossed away to decompose at the local landfill.

All I can say is Thank You God for Automated Garbage Collection! .... If it fits, it ships :)                 

   

Ice Cream Is For Sissies

Now that I have spent a complete week acknowledging and wallowing in my "Anti Birthday" (Urban Dictionary it!) I am slowly coming to terms with the reality of the big event.

The reality is that NOTHING will change when the clock strikes 12:01 am (3 hours from now- YEAH!! I'm not a senior citizen yet! Hey, I'm not perfect, I said I was slllloooooowwwwwllly coming to terms with it)

I've spent all of today, the last day in my 30's, thinking about my life. Where it has been, where it is going...

And quite frankly, 

I've had an INCREDIBLE life!

The more I had thought about it, the more I had realized that I've done more things in my ONE life, and have had more experiences that most people only dream about!

So CHEERS to me! 

And in celebration I will (quickly) list the top 40 things in my life that have made it a memorable ride.

(In no particular order!)

#40. (This one is one of my 2 "Claims to fame"):  I can suck start a waterbed off a 50' hose. When I was 20 and had my first apartment, I had a super single waterbed. When I was moving out, it of course needed to be drained. I screwed one end of the hose to the bed, and the other end I ran into the bathtub in the other room. Being young/dumb I didn't have an electric pump to get the bed to start to drain. And so I sucked, and sucked, and sucked, on that hose until the siphon started and the bed drained. A HUGE feat! I damn near passed out trying to get that bed to drain! 

#39. (This is my second "Claim to fame"):  My ass caused a car accident. Yes, you did read that correctly! When I was in my early 20's I was a C.S.O (Community Service Officer) for a local Police Dept. I was bent over outside of an officer's vehicle talking to him through the window while he was parked along side a busy intersection. Moments later you heard the crash. Being right there, he of course went directly to the accident. The driver of the car confessed right away that the reason he hit the car in front of him was because he was staring at MY ass. Hey, what can I say.. Everyone is HOT in their 20's- including me!

#38. I've puked out of a Police Squad car I was in early pregnancy with my first child when I was completing my ride along hours for school- The Sheriff's dept. I was riding with was located in a very hilly, windy road community. Motion sickness got the best of me- made the officer pull off the road, I opened the door and heaved my guts out! Not a proud moment in my life. lol! 

#37.  I've rolled (with) a monster truck tire down a big hill while holding two $20.00 bills.  I tripped. The huge tire, the money, and I went flopping all the way down the hill. While laying on my back at the bottom of the hill I held my arm in the air- and long behold, I NEVER dropped the money! My friends laughed hysterically because I never dropped the money :) 

#36.  I've seen my father cry, and saw my first dead person. When I was a pre-teen, my parents and I were at his company's summer picnic in a park, on the lake. A couple of kids came running up to the table that my parents and their friends were at. They were frantic and said that one of their friends didn't "come up". The kids were trying to float across the channel on a picnic table. My father and his friend quickly jumped into the water to search for the missing boy, but they searched without success.  Luckily, one of my father's friends was an avid diver and again as luck would have it, had his dive equipment in the trunk of his car.  The diver fished the drown young boy out of the bottom of a "V" shaped channel. My mother then proceeded to do CPR until the ambulance had arrived. I remember standing watching this horror story unfold. I saw the blueness of the boys lips, his lifeless body, and his blue fingernails. I also watched the wailing mother of the dead boy lose control of her emotions over the loss of her son.  That was the first and only time in my life I have seen my father cry. 

Ooof! That's a sad one, let's get back to happier times!

#35.  I shot my first deer (hunting) when I was 12, with a 222 cal. ONE shot, 200+ yards through the heart. Oh yeah! Made my daddy proud!  I grew up shooting from around the age of 9. My father was (is) an expert marksman and had always made sure I knew how to shoot/use firearms. I grew up shooting, even being on a youth shooting league. 

#34.  I was fortunate while driving one night to look in my rear view mirror at the exact moment to watch a car flip end over end.  Late one night a friend and I were driving out of town to go to a friend's house.  I just happened to check my mirror.  No cars were immediately behind me, only the one I saw flip about 100' behind us.  I was dumbfounded at what I saw. I quickly turned around. When we arrived, I jumped out of the car, and had my friend take my car back into town where we had just passed an officer running radar. I ran up to an upside down SUV on it's roof. It had gone off the road and hit a driveway culvert dead on, and flipped end over end. Luckily, there was only one adult male occupant in the vehicle.  The car was still running and leaking gas. Fortunately, the driver wasn't hurt- Just drunk. I spent what felt like eternity trying to keep him from fleeing the scene until the officer arrived to haul him away. 

#33.  I passed my Paramedic State & National Registry Exam on the first try. I spent quite a few years as a licensed Paramedic. Unfortunately, because I wasn't willing to relocate to find a job... I never could find a job in that field, and let my licenses lapse (stupid, stupid, stupid move on my part!)

#32.  I've jumped off a 40' cliff. Yup, at the local quarry. Some friends and I had a "dare" to see who would jump off of it into the water first. After lots of rounds of teasing, I made a run for it and was the first to jump. Granted, I hurt myself BAD on the landing (my legs hit the water and I hyper extended both knees). I couldn't walk for almost a week. And to this day I still have pain in my knees when the weather is bad. 

#31.  I went to school for Law Enforcement.  But then decided to go to school for EMT & Paramedic. People love the girl with the Band-Aid far more then they love the girl with the gun! 

#30. My old CB radio "Handle" is still my email address to this day. Um.. not really proud of that one, just thought I'd toss it in here :) 

#29. I've had the COOLEST cars! My first car was a German made 1973 Opel GT. I got it right after my 16th birthday (paid for it myself) It was my first adventure at driving a manual car. My second car was a 1971 Ford Maverick "Grabber" 302, V8 that I got as a HS graduation gift. I used to street race the "grabber" for fun. Guys didn't like to believe that that was MY car.  I actually still own the the Grabber. It's been in storage for a zillion years. 

#28. I have my cycle license and own a motorcycle.

#27. I used to go paint balling

#26. I was a CPR Instructor

#25. I was a Girl Scout troop Leader

#24. I've gotten pulled over for numerous offenses: Mainly for speeding in my Maverick! I used to have a knack at getting them to let me go without a ticket *bats doe eyes* I was even able to get out of a speeding ticket from a state trooper (unheard of!) But I've been pulled over for stupid things too like: too small steering wheel in my maverick, tinted windows (when I didn't have any) etc..

#23. A Turkey got me an underage drinking fine. Yes, a real live turkey! As you already know, I am not a big drinker. It was 2 months before my 21st birthday and some friends and I were camping at a local state park. At our campsite we had this wild tom turkey that was enthralled with us. It just wouldn't leave! It jumped on the vehicles (the claws leave NASTY gouges in car paint by the way), it strutted all round.. all day long it sat by us. Unfortunately, someone driving past thought we had it tied up (we didn't) and called the Warden on us. Long behold, "said" Warden sat in the brush and watched underage me take a drink of a beer. I got what I deserved, but I did make her write on the citation (for whatever reason) that I only had half a can of beer.

#22. I've had a Pulmonary Embolism. (Blood Clots in my lungs) I went four days with it before I finally gave into the pain (I thought I had just pulled a muscle from throwing hay) before I went to the ER. They immediately wanted to hospitalize me for a week. I was so shocked that I asked them if I could go home and come back because I didn't have anything at the hospital. They of course said "Heck No!" Needless to say, I learned later that a PE is very serious and can have a 70% death rate because the clot technically has traveled through your heart before it lodges in your lungs.

#21. I've broken one bone. My clavicle

#20. I've went from a life in the city, to a life on a farm. Well, I would think we all know this by now! But I had never even seen a cow (outside of a county fair) before I lived where I live now.

#19. I've gone Repelling I will not lie! It's scary stuff to back yourself off a cliff!

#18. I was (until recently) an avid Diver. I used to be a rescue diver for the National power boat races, and spent one summer as a rescue diver for our local air show. I know, airplanes?? Rescue diver?? how do they match?? In case of emergency, planes were instructed to ditch their aircraft in the local lake where we stood by. 

#17. I'm a Paranormal Investigator Not one I really talk about "openly". People either like the idea, or think you are wacky. 5 years I have been doing both residential/commercial investigations. I am a skeptic. I always believe their is an explainable explanation for their experiences. 

#16. I like Sushi - love trying different foods! Granted, I won't eat crickets, or bull testicles.. or anything outlandish like that! But I do find that most of the time weird food is just mind over matter. 

#15. I've had my first child at home on purpose. Cried when I had to have the second one in the hospital because of past medical conditions (clotting history)

#14. I've been body pierced and I have 1 tatoo

#13. I love going fishing! I fish all the time! I love to catch rough fish (sheephead etc..) to plant in my garden next to my tomato plants

#12. I've gone White Water Rafting I've also body surfed smaller rapids, and have canoed larger rapids.

#11. I've flown in a Sea Plane

#10. I've done a 1 mile solo Canoe portage in the Boundry Waters of Canada with a big ass, heavy aluminum canoe!

#9. I've gone 4 wheeling, jet skiing, tubing, snowmobiling, skiing, snowshoeing.

#8. I used to own snakes, and have been bitten twice

#7. I've been on a Ride Along with the Vancouver Police Dept. Where I saw hookers (never had seen one before!), and a man beaten to a bloody pulp with a crow bar.

#6. I've been to New Orleans - Twice. I was fascinated with their cockroaches! They are HUGE and everywhere!

#5. I've experienced the Miracle of life watching things be born, and the sadness of death. 

#4. I've cried during sappy movies

#3. I've been in Love, have been Loved, and have had my heart broken.

#2. I've swam across the Menominee River The other side never looks that far away until you have to swim it!

#1. I've applied to be on Survivor. Season 2. Glad I never got that one- It was in the desert! Not my cup of tea!

Whoo! Hoo! What a ride it's been!


Those of course aren't the ONLY things I have done with my life. Basically they are the ONLY ones that came to my mind during writing this! I have had plenty more "OMG!! Get this!!" moments. Granted, proof reading this blog entry has made me wonder if I am actually "female", given most of my experiences aren't something most girls would do! LOL!!

I'm Grateful for my "Bat Shit Crazy" life!

My free will, and love for life & adventure, has given me the ability to to turn an ordinary life into an extraordinary life! SO... So what if I'm 40! I don't foresee myself slowing down any time soon. (Besides, I've been told that 40 is the "new 20")


Now you are probably wondering what on earth does Ice Cream have to do with all of this?

When I was wallowing in my own misery (aka: Peeing in my own Happiness Pool) regarding my upcoming birthday... I really was planning on laying in bed all day, covers pulled up, watching sappy movies, all while eating Ice Cream. But FACT is, I'm too strong willed to let something as simple as a number keep me down! Why wallow when I can make memories today! Not to mention I pretty much hate Ice Cream anyway. :)

           

"Cougar"... Is that French for "Old Whore"??

Do you know how hard it was to find a picture of a Cougar without coming across a picture joke of some old lady with her breasts hanging out while looking like she is trolling the kindergarten looking for a date???

Oh Look! Here she is! Told you they're everywhere!

In four days, the biggest bomb of my life gets dropped on me. It is my 40th Birthday. Oh no, I said it out loud! (just typing the words is making my stomach feel queezy again!)  Can't I just tell you my weight instead?? I feel by far more comfortable telling you something that should be WAY more worse then measly AGE.

I just cannot believe how this ONE looming birthday has put me under so much duress that I feel as if my head is going to pop off- I can't sleep, I can't concentrate, I can't think straight, I'm impatient, I'm easily rattled, etc., etc... 

Why do *I* have to be 40? I don't look "old" (or so I've been told), I don't act "old", and I don't feel "old".  Are we sure their isn't a major typo on my birth certificate? You know, it was published in Canada "Aye", anything is possible. (joke!)   

So now what do I do? The majority of my friends are significantly younger then me. Do I stop having & making friends that are younger then me because now I will look like a "creeper"??? I'm not saying I'm trying to be something I'm not.  Do not confuse me for immature. Because frankly, THAT I am not. I'm just outgoing & social.  But my mind keeps imaging an old SNL skit scene with a 20 something yr old man, wearing his old letter jacket to a beer party held by a bunch of HS kids. Is that what I look like? (Well...er... Minus the Penis). Or is the above picture what I now look like? A female "Cougar" dangling some candy out in front of her... "fishing". Well, theoretically she is using her boobs as candy. And yeah, she has way better boobs then I do! Amazing what money can buy! 

Crap. My train just derailed. I better get back on point.

What to do on my "Monumental Day Of Horror" has been on the forefront of my mind for the past week. I am tossed between two things; carry on and pretend like it's not happening? -Or-  Lay in bed all day with the covers pulled over my head eating a gallon of chocolate ice cream- Wallowing in my own death.

Most people I know have a big whoop-de-doo at the local pub.  I don't want to do the bar thing.. I'm not very good at drinking, and I'm a lightweight.  That experience would be short lived leaving me home early and puking my guts out. Not exactly what I call "fun".  Not to mention I like dance clubs, not belly up to the bar, type of bars.  

So, I thought about disk golfing during the afternoon.  That sounded fun, and a lil non typical -spur of the moment.  (And that would leave the evening open to spend with my kidlets/fam). Unfortunately, it is very hard to organize an outing on a Tuesday afternoon when most of the general population works during the day/week. Plus, I didn't want to sucker people in with answering "Why" Tuesday. Again, not really wanting to acknowledge "My Death", having people only go because they felt obligated, or "sorry" for me :)  I am a firm believer in Free Will. You either can/want to go, or don't. It shouldn't matter the reason for it.  Or perhaps I didn't want to say "Why" because I just don't like being the center of attention. 

Hmm... Center of attention.... Maybe that's the true reason I didn't want to have a huge get together ?? It's possible. *poof!* Epiphany... 

It's amazing how much age plays a factor in life. Just the other day I was going to register for my first Triathlon.  But when I entered in my birth date, it registered me as being 39 (cause I am). It would have been a stupid move on my part to have registered then, and so I didn't.  When registering, everyone gets tossed into specific age brackets, 30-39, 40-49, etc.. From a competitive standpoint, I would have been one of the oldest in my age bracket come race day. By waiting until after my birthday to register- it makes me one of the youngest in my new OLD age bracket.     

YEAH!!!! Happy Birthday to me, here's your new age bracket. ((bangs head on desk)).

I admit, I've silently wished the Mayans would have predicted the end of the world to happen on Monday, June 18th.  That way I would forever be NOT 40. But instead, it is of course predicted for the winter months (if you believe that crap) and LUCKY ME- I will be 40 FOREVER.  *sigh*    

  

       

It's Looming...

6 more days until it happens. 
Time is running out for me.
The clock is ticking.
This one will be impossible for me to just "brush off".
I'm supposed to enjoy these final days... but honestly, they have been a living Hell.
I don't know what the big deal is, I've watched this happen to other people.
They have all gone through it with a smile.
I just don't feel like this "fits" me.
It's not meant to be.
It's inevitable.
It's not fair.
The pressure is mounting.
I feel like I could stand on the highest mountain and just scream WHY ME!!!


  

The "Spark" That Set My World Ablaze

Summer around the farm this year has generally been a boring place.  The babies are all born, there are no major projects looming, and the animals are most content by spending their time munching on grass and soaking up the sunshine. Life has pretty much come to a slow crawl.  Granted, there are always little things that need to be done: Hoof trimming, vaccinations, deworming, but these are quick things that only take a few hours here and there. *sigh* B-O-R-I-N-G... Now what do I do with my time?

And then it hit me...

Here's a novel idea!

Let's take a "Middle Aged" (*gulp* VILE words! My eyes are bleeding just from reading them!), "Lethargic", grossly "Overweight" (how come those two roll off the tongue so much easier than the first one!?) farm woman, that's never been into fitness, and turn her into a Triathlete! 

Yes, you read that correctly... a Triathlete.

Is this even POSSIBLE?  Maybe not by the average couch potato's standards, but my feeble mind seems to think so!  And to top it off- Here's a kicker!

I'm not a runner. My only experience with running stems from a HS Health class where they take a non conditioned, typical lazy teenager, and out of the blue expect them to run laps around the school's track.  I of course was "rebellious"- or unfit... (Tomato/Tamoto) and walked the entire mile completing it in roughly 25 minutes.   

I'm not a Cyclist.  My only experience with cycling comes from when I took it as a credit in a HS Gym class.  To this day, I still remember that class!  Because they were all cyclists, I was pretty much "dropped" (when you cannot keep pace- and they leave you in the dust!) in each and every class.  I remember riding many lonely miles by myself back to school, hoping to get back before the start of my next class.

And then there is Swimming... The ONLY of the 3 disciplines I have any REAL experience with.  All of my young life I was fortunate enough to grow up living a block away from the local city pool.  I was a fish! I spent every waking minute in the water.  Because I grew up by the city pool (which bordered on a lake), my parents insisted that I took a lifetime's worth of swimming lessons. (Well played Parents, well played...) Because I loved to swim SO much I went further with it taking course after course in Advanced Lifesaving.  When I was a teenager I joined the YMCA's Swim Team.  I swam competitively for a year or so.  It was nothing to go 3 times a week to swim practice and lap swim for hours.  It was easy to bang out 1500 meters of this stroke, or that stroke. But, my demise of competitive swimming came when I just couldn't take the chronic "Swimmer's Ear" infections that constantly plagued me. I never stopped swimming though. I went on to further my skills, (being an avid canoeist) and became cert. in advance canoe rescuing. In my adult hood I picked up the sport of diving becoming cert. in basic open water, advanced open water, ice diving, rescue diving, and completing all of the requirements to become a dive master. 

ANYWAY, you get the point...

This little Triathlete "Spark" started on an ordinary day of going to my YMCA fitness classes. I saw a flyer on the counter advertising a self paced indoor/outdoor Ironman Triathlon. With a small fee of $25.00 you could choose to take on a half Ironman or a full Ironman, and if you completed it within the allotted time of 28 days, you received a T-shirt.  And my mind went: "Hmmmmm...". I took the flyer home and contemplated a schedule to complete a FULL Ironman. A full Ironman consists of: 2.4 mile Swim, 115 mile Bike, and 26.2 mile Run.  After a couple hours of plotting, I went to the Y, paid my money, and enrolled in the challenge. I was excited!! I couldn't wait for it to start! 

Once it started I was off and running! (well, more like walk/running. lol!)  I set a personal goal to complete this Ironman challenge at least 3 days ahead of the 28 day deadline.  I had a plan that I had to stick to, and if I got behind just one day, it would be difficult to catch up. At the start of week 3, I had already completed the running portion.  I had 6 laps left on my swimming portion (I would have finished them in my earlier lap swims- but I miscounted thinking I only needed 80 laps, not 86. Glad I caught that mistake!), and 46 miles left of my cycling (yup, I fell behind in cycling.) 

My final push came the Monday of week 3.  I decided to go "all or nothing" and finish my Ironman.  I first took my usual morning hour long spin class (that knocked out 16 cycling miles). And then I got this big idea to take my mountain bike and go on a 30 mile road trek.  After 3 total hours of cycling in one day, I had officially finished the bike portion of my Ironman.  But I wasn't going to stop there! I still had those looming miscounted 6 laps of swimming left.  WHY would I torture myself bike riding 45 miles in one day only to finish the next day?? THAT wasn't going to happen! Sooo off swimming I went.  After my final lap, I stopped at the side of the pool and smiled brightly. I had actually finished a full Ironman!  Even after such a grueling day of "self abuse" I quickly ran up the stairs to turn in my paperwork.  I finished my Ironman 8 days ahead of closing, and 5 days ahead of my personal goal.  There were less then 15 participants in that challenge, and less than half completed it. And I was of course one of the finishers. Finishing ahead of half of the finishers.  

Once my self paced Ironman was over with I felt lost. I missed the mental push to be better. I missed the purpose of exercising. 

Yes, I was still going to my Y classes 5 days a week, but I felt as if I needed a new challenge. I needed a never before tried, impossible feat, (for me) kind of a challenge. 

And then I saw it.. The YMCA was hosting a Sprint Triathlon in mid July.  This Sprint is smaller than a normal Sprint. It consists of a .8 mile swim, 13 mile bike, 2 mile run.  What a PERFECT place for me to start! 

The once small Spark had now started to smolder into a tiny fire.... and I caught the "Tri Bug".

The morning that I mentally decided that I was going to accept this new challenge, was actually pretty challenging in itself!  I literally started BAWLING my eyes out the moment my brain quit debating and made the decision of "Yup, I'm going to do this".  I was terrified! My mind was full of so many "what if's", and "how on earth", that I felt overwhelmed with emotion.  Before falling into a pit of self doubt, I picked myself off my bed and got to work on planning. Fortunate for me, the internet is chalked full of information on beginner Triathlon training. And being the mental sponge I am I soaked it right up!  

My first purchase was my Garmin 310xt heart rate monitor/trainer, and a foot pod accessory. I purchased this during my self paced Ironman, and frankly, it has been my best "friend" ever since.  Next came 2 thick books on Triathlon training. (One of which I read almost to completion the first night I owned it!). After that came a new TYR lap suit (I was currently swimming in a goofy suit with a "skirt" on it- can we say DRAG? lol!), training fins, goggles, and swim cap. I was set! 

-Or at least I THOUGHT. 

I learned really quick that it doesn't matter what the book says about having fun, you cannot be a competitive cyclist with a mountain bike!  I was working my tail off riding that bike to go basically nowhere fast.  And to top it off, my bike had quite a few issues: Heavy as a house, gears that grind, and a back brake that drags. The fastest I could go was 12 mph (downhill, with the wind to my back! lol!)  

I needed to go "Balls Deep" and find myself a road bike.  

Bike shopping was an experience! I knew absolutely NOTHING about racing bikes. I had never rode on one, and just looking at the tiny skinny tires was daunting enough to make me run the other way!  These bikes are so light weight that I can pick them up with just a few fingers, and I wondered how on earth this speck of a bike was going to be able to hold my...*ahem* "Mass".  And then there is a little matter called "cost"! Holy cats! They just don't give these things away! I knew instantly that I wanted just an entry level road bike- because frankly, anything entry level was WAY better than the steal tank I was currently using!

After internet searches, hours spent reading customer reviews, trying different bikes, and being fitted,... I took out a small (yeah right!) loan and purchased a new Trek, Lexi. "She's" beautiful! White with blood red writing on the frame, and black handle bars.  Unfortunately, it doesn't stop there... Next came new cycling clip in shoes, and new peddles to accommodate said shoes. And just when you THINK you have purchased everything, something else pops up to nickel your money away... A helmet being one of them. And the list still keeps growing. Next up for me will be gloves, replacement tubes in case I pop a tire, a way to inflate said tire.. blah, blah... Mind boggles at expenses!

All in all, the bike was the best investment I could have made! It is lightening fast! Much faster than I am comfortable with, and skillfully able to go at this level. But with time and practice, it too shall come.

Training, Training, Training!

I knew from reading that I wanted to incorporate swimming 2 x/wk, cycling 2x/wk, running 3x/wk (cause frankly, I suck), and weight lifting 2x/wk into my already seemingly bursting exercise schedule. After thinking myself into a migraine, I had a plan. I could fit in all of the above all while maintaining my indoor cycling schedule 2x/wk, zumba 2x/wk, and pilates once a week.  My plan was to do all of the above, (in english that 's 2 hours a day) 6 days a week (one day of rest) with a 10% increase in my Tri Training each week, and the 4th week completely off. 

So far, i'm on week 2 of my training and it has been going well. I'm learning what makes me "tick" and how to overcome mental weaknesses.  Triathlon Training seems to be mainly about focusing on endurance, form, speed, and dealing with your inner demons. There always seems to be an inner voice that says "quit" or "can't" when things get tough.  How you choose to deal with that voice is what makes you who you are.  They do say that Triathletes are the most stubborn, compulsive people on earth- and I can see why!  

I will not be setting any land speed records for my first Triathlon.  Let's not forget the fact that I am toting 100lbs of extra body weight for this race.  There will always be someone younger, leaner, and more skilled then me. But with a solid plan, consistent training, and an arsenal of knowledge... I no longer have that fear I had when I first committed myself.  I know I can do this, the seed of self doubt is gone, and has now been replaced with being not just the "best that I can be" but "better than I could be". 

I am finding that I really enjoy this sport. It's more then just swimming/biking/running. It's physical, it's mental, it's technical... It's me.  

At this time, I am considering a second Triathlon this summer in August. This is a longer sprint: 1/2 mile swim, 20 mile bike, 3.1 mile run. I'm still on the fence about this one. If only I would have caught my Tri bug just a few months earlier, I wouldn't be having this debate.  A few more weeks should tell me if I'm in the condition needed to complete a longer distance one this summer. 

My goal is spend this summer into mid next summer doing Sprint distance Triathlons, next summer into the third year doing standard (Olympic) sized Tri.'s, and to complete my first FULL Ironman within the next 3-5 years.

There is no stopping me.... My fire is Ablaze!!!