Since my injuries from when I was hit by a car earlier this fall have me sidelined, and knocked me out of any competitions for the remainder of the season (World 70.3 Championship & IM Arizona) I will talk about life without training and my transition from athlete (sitting on the Injured Reserve list is not all that fun) to Cheer Mom.

Back at our Team Training Camp earlier this season a few of you were quite surprised to learn that my youngest had taken up cheerleading. I was just as surprised, and honestly believed that this was just a phase that she would outgrow. Eight months later I am preparing to head to our first ‘official’ cheerleading competition this weekend. Funny how sometimes our life really does not go as we had planned.

Anyway, I survived the dress-rehearsal. At our team-parent meeting we learned how to apply the make up and do their hair. Needless to say, I felt like I was in preschool learning how to cut, and I was the kid who the teacher had to spend extra time with to figure things out. You know what I mean, like when the teacher is going over instructions and then specifically looks at you to make sure you are really getting it. I think I ‘got it.’

Through this down-time I have been forced to not only provide lip service with the notion that “Yes, I know I am not only defined by the races I do or the training I accomplish in a day, but that I am a mother, wife, friend, and I have other interests” but to actually BELIEVE it. Talking the talk is so much easier than actually walking the talk!

So in the meantime, I am enjoying the new sport that has come into our life. I am glad to watch my youngest find her passion, pursue her goals, and work hard in her pursuit. Every parent knows just how much pride and joy there is in watching their children emulate the discipline, perseverance, and tenacity it takes to be the best that they can be. The lessons I have learned through being involved in sports have shaped who I am today and it is exciting to watch my youngest child build character through her own adventures.

I will miss my Ironman buddies and the race-week festivities when November 23rd rolls along, but there is always next year!

With Hurricane Ike fast approaching the area, I figured that NOW is a perfect time to update things on our Team Timex Blog. I mean, what else is there to do except sit and wait for the inevitable to happen…

Brief Racing Update: My last race was mid-August in DeGray Lake, Arkansas. I decided to make the trip to race the Half Iron Distance because I heard the course was a tough, rolling bike course (nobody seemed to mention to me that there were a couple of small hills on the run as well!) and I needed to redeem myself from my awful swim at Lifetime Fitness. We had ideal race day conditions for August and lucked out with partly cloudy conditions and cooler weather (which only means it didn’t hit 95 degrees and 90% humidity). I think the most astonishing part of this race was the fact that I FINALLY had a decent swim. I actually made a wise decision as far as where to position myself at the start and it paid off…Sharpie would have been left speechless (has she ever been speechless?…oh, yeah…that’s right…when that one certain male cyclist stopped to help her)…I was actually the first female from the Half Iron distance out of the water. Miracles do happen.

Brief Training Update: With Clearwater 70.3 Championships and Ironman Arizona approaching, training had been going quite well. Physically I was doing pretty good and was excited for the upcoming races…when…I was rear-ended by an SUV! OH, and did I mention…I was on MY BIKE! Amazing how in a split second you go from being able to handle those long rides and runs to struggling with your daily errands. Instead of spending hours training and hanging out with my kiddos, I’m spending hours at the doctors office and PT. Sorry…if you sense a tone of anger…there is…I’m just a bit frustrated.

But there is never a dull moment down here in Texas…no time to throw much of a pity-party because we have bigger issues to deal with as Hurricane Ike is about to make landfall. Since I have gone almost a week without training, I have been missing my endorphins and grumpiness has set in. Poor hubby and kids…to think that we might be hunkered down in small quarters for several hours must frighten them. Good thing I purchased a camping stove (to make hot water) and a french press so I can keep my Starbucks caffeine intake regular just in case we lose power.

Last week we made our usual summer trip to Minnesota and Wisconsin to visit family, water-ski and get out of TEXAS! Every year I seem to grow more weary of the oppressive heat and humidity we have here in the Houston area, so a trip up north is a welcome reprieve. Unfortunately, this trip was shorter than in years past due to my girls’ activities, but nonetheless, still enjoyable. I even managed to fit in a race while visiting…the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon.

My last OLY was nearly 3 years ago. I do not race OLYs often because it is brutal distance for me, but I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to have a ‘legitimate’ reason to take my bike with me on this brief trip. The race is well-run, on a beautiful course (the fact that I could tell you more about the homes along the bike route would indicate a lack of race day focus on my part), with awesome volunteers and spectator support. I was quite impressed. The race experience itself was a reminder to me as to why I do not race this distance often and why I prefer the longer distances.

The best part of the trip was heading to the theme park inside the MOA the day after the race. Hanna and I hung out all afternoon and it was nice Mommy-Daughter time. I think riding on some of those theme-park rides is more ‘painful’ than training! The fearless wonder-child I used to be has turned into a fearFUL-I-think-I-am-going-to-puke-37-year-old. Every ride I went on I kept thinking “I sure hope the engineers knew what they were doing when they designed this ride” and after awhile I just couldn’t ride any more because my head was spinning and my stomach was churning and I felt like I had drank a little too much red wine! However, the priceless memory of having my 7 year-old tell me, “Mommy, let go of me you are squeezing my hand too tight” is now something I will never be able to live down.

Enjoy your summer.

Kansas 70.3…non-stop rollers & wind, but hey, at least the heat held off!

First, I am just so thankful to be out racing triathlons again, as it has been a long year. My coach told me to go into the race with no time expectations. Just embrace the race. And, I did just that. I was anxious to get back out and race, even if I was a little rusty. I had the pre-race nerves and jitters I remember having a few years back, prior to settling into that over-trained mantra of “I really don’t want to be doing this anymore.” My goal for this race was to find out where my heart was with respect to racing and recapture the joy I once experienced when racing.

A quick recap of the race:

Swim-My first time swimming with my new Blue Seventy Helix and while I was initially concerned I was stretching out the T I M E X lettering a bit too much, it was an ideal fit. Not a single mark on my neck, I had freedom of movement in the shoulders, and an overall very comfortable fit. You cannot really look at the swim times at Kansas 70.3 to determine if it was a good swim or not, but I was pleased with where I came out of the water with respect to my division.

T1-Hello…I forgot that the clock kept running during the transitions. This is where my ‘out of practice’ really showed. My story is that I was being methodical. :)

Bike-Ok, here I was a bit unprepared. Finding these kinds of rollers week in and out when training in Houston is just impossible (and I do not have the time to drive to Austin or elsewhere for training trips). The day prior to the race somebody described the course as ‘you are either going up or coming down.’ But, since I cannot train in the rolling hills, I may as well race in them. I see enough of the boring flatlands, so the terrain was a nice change. My new Madone was comfortable but I think I probably road too ‘comfortable’ with respect to my effort. I was so afraid of blowing up, and while sometimes we need to push our limits to reach our potential, I really did not want a DNF in this race. For today, I was ok with finishing with something left in the tank.

T2-Yes, I know…a ‘needs improvement’ mark.

Run-What has usually been my strength ended up being my nemesis today. It was mentally and physically tough for me. My nutrition must have been off some because I basically felt like throwing up. I was disoriented for the first part of the course, but not sure if that had more to do with nutrition being off, or the course itself. I didn’t expect the rocky-gravel portion and I got hung up on that for a bit…until I convinced myself that whining is for losers. I pretty much had to go to that ’spot’ where I just put my head down and focus on the people ahead of me, trying to run them down, and taking things one mile at a time. I kept repeating “I CAN do this.”

Finish-When I knew I was in the clear and going to finish (about 200 meters from the finish) I began thinking to myself that I would get a finish and NOT have to visit the med tent. I doubt this is something anybody else thinks of while racing, but I think I have seen more med tents than finish lines in my triathlon career. Well, I started celebrating a bit too early because about 2 feet from the finish line I went face down. Yep, right as the announcer was mentioning my name I did a face-plant into the ground. And, this wasn’t something I could just roll out of and pretend to do the Blazeman roll…no, this was anything but graceful. Thankfully I got back up, crossed the line, and then headed to the tent for some ice. I was so obsessed about my bum knee (hoping that all that PT had not gone to waste) that it did not dawn on me that my wrist was quite sore. Everything turned out ok, and it did not take me too long before I was laughing at myself.

Good news: Nothing broken, made it to the finish line
Bad news: I am afraid what my finishers photos might look like, typing by hen-pecking is slow

Thanks to Timex, Trek, Bontrager, Profile Design, Blue Seventy, hubby, Team STRIVE, Coach Clint and Tektonics for getting me to the start and finish line this past Sunday.

Keep Striving!

Happy Mother’s Day!

My wish for Mother’s Day-my 2 girls do not argue with each other for this one day (yeah, right!)

The homemade gifts children make for their moms on Mother’s Day can be quite revealing.  Since I have a 13 y/o I know that my years of receiving these special homemade gifts from my 7 y/o are limited…and while Hallmark cards can be quite nice, they just don’t make the ones that say things like this…

 My Special Mom: by Hanna

My mother’s name is Kim.  I call her Mummy.  She is 8 feet tall.  She looks pretty when she wears dresses (and not her workout clothes).  The thing my mom cooks best is CHICKEN NUGGETS.  My mom likes to run, bike, and swim.  My mom does not like to do dishes.  My mom is the queen of the world!

Have a good one Moms!