Flying Pigs Here We Come!

My stepdad and I have registered to run the Flying Pig Marathon in May 2013 in Cinncinati, OH. I have registered for the half while Richard registered for the full. I will be happy to finish the half actually. I feel great working out at the gym and practicing yoga but training for a half will really test my commitment to stretching and caring for my areas that are tweaky.

By the way, I have become the Kathy Bates character from The Waterboy - the highly acclaimed Adam Sandler movie from 1998. I have her voice in my head, "Foosball is the DEVIL!" My middle son, Nick, suffered a concussion during his Friday night game. He had all of the symptoms in the book; slurred speech, photophobic, unstable gait, awful headache, cranky...and he continues to have some symptoms but he is starting back to school for half days this Monday so that is good news. I guess I should consider him lucky since this is his first football injury and he is a senior. His senior season is probably over, but he has indoor and outdoor track to look forward too...oh and all those college essays that he is so excited to write ;)

Warrior Dash Race Review

HOLY MOLY that was sooooo much fun! I can not wait till my next adventure race. I know I have increased my strength with weight training and power yoga, but while climbing over those 20feet walls and cargo nets, I really felt how strong my core has become. All of the obstacles were easy for me and I felt so excited to feel so strong and accomplished.

I am totally registering for another adventure race asap!

Mid-life crisis!

Today while I was cleaning the house, I decided I "might" want to complete an Ironman Triathlon in 2018, the year I turn 50! OMG I have a hard time even saying that age! It is more incomprehensible for me to realize I will be 50 in 6 years than for me to imagine completing an Ironman length tri! LOL

Triathlete Data Team :)

Anyone in education right now knows that the new trend is to analyze our student data to help improve instruction (a model adapted from the medical field). After yesterday's triathlon, I decided to conduct my own data driven decision making meeting on my performance...LOL. Let me preface this ridiculous analysis with the statement that I had a totally awesome experience on Sunday and enjoyed myself thoroughly. I loved the race experience(very organized and lots of support) as well as the time with my sweet athletic friends. I just had a blast!

Here is that data:
2007
July Danskin Sprint    16:40swim 43.29bike 22.42run
Sept Women's Sprint 18:44swim 37:52bike(only 10m) 28:01run

2008
July Danskin Sprint    12:11swim 43:38bike 23:08run

2010
Aug Cranberry Olympic  36:41swim 1hr31m bike 1:03run

2012
Sept Women's Sprint   24:50swim 41:36bike 31:55run

So my swim was pretty awful this past Sunday but honestly it didn't feel as slow as the time reflects. I haven't changed anything and my training was great. Oh well...

My bike continues to be consistent and actually has become my favorite part of the tri race as well as my training. I love my bike. I feel like the little pig in that insurance commercial when I am riding down hills :)

I am nursing a psoas injury on my right leg so my running is almost nonexistent so I am fine with the running time on Sunday, especially since the run was on trails that were sandy and wet.

This race is highly recommended; it was well organized and so much fun. The volunteers were very supportive and the water was clean and beautiful. Oh my the bike ride is fast and scenic. The run was hard but also beautiful.  

Pre Race Jitters

Tracey, Cindy and I picked up our race packets at Central Bike Shop in Farmington, CT today and got totally psyched up for tomorrow's triathlon.

We also went to the race site to check on the swim. It looks doable and not so stress inducing. I love swimming but when I jump in the water with all those swimmers, I panic! I keep my eyes trained on my destination and I can usually keep my wits about me.

More details and hopefully pics to follow post race time!

Obituary For: Alfreda Kowalski | McDonald Funeral Homes of Weymouth

Obituary For: Alfreda Kowalski | McDonald Funeral Homes of Weymouth

She was one amazing woman.

I am tired...

On Thursday,  I woke up at the crack of dawn to head to the gym. I spy a strange mark on the floor of my kitchen, it is red and liquid. I am only half awake so I don't really know what is going on. I go to check on my kids and wake the oldest to help me. He starts to freak out that the liquid might be blood and goes upstairs to check on something, I am not exactly sure what he was checking. LOL. While he was running around, I wake up enough to know I need to be the grown up and figure this out. I apprehensively touch the fluid and quickly realize it is not blood, it was too thin and more brown than red. I realize it is probably a leak from our old pipes.It was 5am so I decide to go workout and plan my strategy upon returning home.

I find a nice plumber that says he will come over that morning. I head to work, it is only day 4 of school and I am brand new to this school, so I am very grateful my oldest son, Tommy,  is able to stay home and deal with the plumbers. I have no office at my new school, so all day I am hiding in the bathroom to get updates from Tommy.

The updates are NOT GOOD. The plumber starts with a 5" by 5" little square and has to keep cutting. Now we have a 6' by 2' hole and the plumber still can not find the bad pipe :( The cabinets have to come down to gain access to the pipes. So from the bathroom, I am coordinating and giving permission to plumbers and carpenters as well as hunting down insurance officials! Not easy!

Then at about 3pm, my sister and mother are blowing up my phone, but I have already spent way too long on my phone! So I call from my car in the parking lot at the end of our school day. My sister tells me my 92 year old grandma has passed away.

Too much for one day...

So after meeting with insurance adjusters, plumbers, carpenters, clean up guys, my three boys and I trek up to Boston for our gramma's wake and funeral. It was a beautiful service and wonderful celebration of her full life. My boys were her pallbearers and I was so proud of them.

Now I am back to reality...my kitchen has machines drying out the water damage, half my cabinets are gone, there is no water upstairs so that means no showers till Tuesday....

Oh and tomorrow I am moving Tommy to UMASS for his sophomore year...just one more thing

Thank goodness this is a long weekend, I am lying on my bed all day Monday...well after I grab a shower a some generous friend's house.

Hello blog world...it's high time I revisited my old blog! I have been trying to google my results from my past races to help set a goal for my upcoming triathlon. It is a lot easier to write about my races here and document progress or bumps in the road :)

Currently I am in a slight drought in my racing success. Last year I was diagnosed with a low thyroid and have been trying to regulate it with supplements and diet. My low thyroid problem has effected my athletic performance quite a bit. In the beginning, I was very tired and had little energy to work out...well little energy to do anything but nap actually! Then the supplements increased my energy level, but I still am not competing with the same intensity I once did. It is like I don't have the mental edge. It is very frustrating, but I am glad I do feel better. We'll see what my next blood sample says!

Another exciting aspect of my life is I am starting a new position for the school system I work for in CT. I will provide English language support for children that speak other languages in the 3, 4, 5th grades. I am pretty psyched. This will provide the change I needed both intellectually and physically. Working with preschoolers the last 15 years has taken its toll on my body, that is for sure! No more diaper changing, shoe-tying, nose-wiping, coat-zipping!!!! Yahhhoooooo! No more adorable stories though either...which will be sad but I am pretty sure 8, 9, and 10 year olds are pretty funny sometimes too.