Manatee Mentors 2014--CLOSED (begging & bribes MAY work) (Page 48)

From my blog....my take home thoughts from the Richmond Endurance Symposium I attended yesterday

Michellie Jones:  spoke about her disappointment over not making the Olympic team for the Athens games.....but also how it sparked her to challenge herself to longer distances.  Race day disappointments---it is what it is, just keep moving forward.

Chris Carmichael  --recognition of the signs of overtraining.......that which I completely missed in the midst of that marathon build.  That plan was definitely NOT of me....even the easier one I switched to....too much.

Frankie Andreau--positive self talk....how we psych ourselves too much before events and how to stay in the moment but stay focused and not be a bundle of nerves.

Few doctors--some very good, one a total buffoon and one who blew through the subject of VO2 max/ FTP like we were all subject matter experts.

That's great!

January was brutal here just like it was in the great frozen north.   February started much better.  Less that four days after the highs were below freezing and the lows were in the single digits,  yesterday, the 1st, was golden.  The high was in the mid 60's with abundant sunshine.   Today awoke with light rain and an over cast sky with  the temps  still being decent. It's 52 outside.   The only problem is that the sun room,  where the trainer and treadmill are, has the aroma of wet dogs.   They like the warmer weather too and this morning we went down to the creek to play.      Methinks we are over the worst here as February isn't nearly as harsh as January.     January is the only month where most all of the days are winter days.    January is over.....

The new semester has been busy and with nursing a sore knee I haven't trained as much as I would have like.    My knee is healed and there is a routine to work so it's full steam ahead.    Might do the half marathon in Birmingham in two weeks, and if not,  will do the Huffin' Puff on the Bluff in March.  It's a 15K with a two hour time limits.   As the name suggests it's mostly up and down the length of the course.  Also I have decided to ref high school soccer for one more year.  Just to say I have done it for 20 years.    

Well...that was th most fun I have had racing in a long time! For quite some time, I have only enjoyed the 'atmosphere', or the friends, etc. Of the races I have attended, without really connecting to the activity. I still struggled-no surprise with all the non-training of late-but like I said, I had a great time running, and...tooting of horns please: New 10k p.r.!!!! Ok it was only a couple minutes faster, but still! 

Woot woot! 

"A couple minutes" over 10km is huge!  Congrats on that, and on having fun!

Glad you had a great time! Congrats on the PR.

Originally posted by mtnbikerchk I'm BACK! Hope you all missed me. As I expected there was a TON going on here and I have zero chance of catching up I've been skiing for 30 years and I have NEVER seen snow like this! We stayed at Keystone in Colorado for the week and skied around various areas. Wednesday night we got DUMPED on - and Thursday and Friday were EPIC. I today I feel like I was run over by a truck - but in a good way Hope you all stayed out of trouble and are doing well. Let's catch up this week, k? :D

Welcome back!  That's a great picture.

x2

Woo hoo!  New PR!  By MINUTES!

Thanks for all the Manatee love guys!  ---and I just sent in my application for Reptile Supervisor at the Fort Worth Zoo.....whoo boy. We shall see what happens.  Who knows? Maybe I will be becoming a Texan. On one hand I would be working with ALL the animals I have dreamed of working with, but its also true I would be leaving behind some other dear friends and animals....Truth be told, I am more worried about how we would go about moving--selling the house, getting animals from here to Texas, etc....Yeah, I haven't even interviewed and I ALREADY worry about that crap!!! I am a nutcase, I admit it!

Yes--Clint is his name Easy way to remember---Full name is Clinton Gore ---Just like the president/vice pres. back in the day....Funny as he is a staunch republican! . He was originally not terribly keen on the idea as he was not wanting to live in that part of Texas--AND he was thinking that it might be possible for him to start his own pool business her in California when the company he currently works for falls apart (yeah....something to look forward to???) Anyway, we had a thorough discussion last week, where I basically told him that yes, it would be a risk cause we would have t move and start over, sell this house, etc....BUT...I could possibly make more, taxes are WAY less in Texas and so is the cost of living....Also, I would get to work with animals there that I will NEVER see here. For his side of things, I pointed out that he would have to deal with every part of the business if he ran it, including paying taxes, buying equipment and talking to his customers...I also pointed out that he can't be relied on to pay household bills (He forgets, so I get to do all of that), so how would he remember to do the business stuff...He agreed. I am all for him trying to see that through, as my job possibility is not guaranteed, but it does worry me as he is the breadwinner...I am just the organizer. 

I told him today when he got home that I submitted my app....he is definitely more accepting than he was...so now, time will tell. 

Originally posted by StaceyK Hi my dear Manatee friends. I just wanted to say thanks for all the inspires and checking in on me. I am finally starting to feel normal and like I can face the world (and exercise) without crumbling into a sobbing heap. I am sorry I dropped the ball on the JOGO thing. I will go back and work out who's participating and where you are all at with it. Me I'm at 0 from like a million or that's what it feels like. I hope you all have a great day and there aren't too many Super Bowl hang overs. Who won anyway? The blue and green team or the blue and orange team ?

No worries---We ALL hit rough patches from time to time---I know I certainly have. You will rebound back and be doing well with all of this in no time--we got your back!

The Blue and green team won---quite handily, in fact. I didn't really care as my team didn't even come close to the championship--they actually lost all of their games until halfway through the season. I only watched the game for the nifty commercials. No hangover here though.

Race report is up! I am trying to get back on the horse doing my race reports...so yay! one down! ( I don't count the duathlon, as it wasn't timed, and I forgot to check...) Here it is...

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=510385&posts=1&page=1

Love it!!!  I'll bet the puppy loved it, too!

So while I was away playing in the snow, Kirsten had a swimming breakthrough (WOOOO!!!!), Kate set a new 10K PR handedly (WOOOO!!!!) and Randee returned from hanging out with the abominable snowman on her skiing adventure!  I'm actually surprised by the lack of manatee madness in my 4 day absence.

There is a small chance I will be playing in net this weekend for my team as long as ART guru gives me the green light tomorrow and snow doesn't cause a cancellation (as far as the other team travelling up from Philly/NJ).  My hamstring isn't 100% but it surviving the activities I put it through this past weekend give me a little hope.  It hurt(s) but it survived.

And finally, I fully, 100% endorse visiting Lake Placid if you are an outdoor activity lover, no matter the season.  We had a fantastic time, even better than I could've imagined.  It was really special.

Signed up as a volunteer for Ironman Chattanooga today.   I will be working the swim as a lifeguard from 6:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.  After a short break I will be working the first bike aid station from 12:00 p.m to 6:00 p.m.   Also volunteered for the scuba team as a second choice.  Made sure I clicked on the icon that I will be doing Ironman Chattanooga in 2015.

I'm going to make a long weekend out of it and have fun.   

Are you staying on the boat???

Not sure yet.  I need to check out marina prices and availability.  My boat is rather small and is really only designed for two people.   I would rather stay on a proper house boat so will need to rent.    The swim is down stream from the dam and there isn't really anywhere to dock overnight.   Most marinas are up stream of the dam.