HEY!

hey folks,

i miss BT...and i miss tri training! i promise i will be back in a few months. i've still been riding a ton, 150+ a week (i stopped logging), mainly commuting in the snow. haven't been running much at all since the 10 hour tri last september, and no swimming to speak of...but my old pool should be openning again in a few months and i'll start training again then. hoping to do 3-4 local tris next year, and maybe some 12-24 hour type races. doing roller derby (http://mnrollergirls.com) has kept me busy, but its not an intense aerobic workout at all...mainly just painful but fun.

work is amazing. i will still be working at county cycles (http://www.countycycles.com) part time (i'm actually building up a new fixed gear bike w/ electric blue aerohead velocity rims!)...but my new full time job is awesome!!! i'm working in admin/customer service at northern brewer (http://www.northernbrewer.com/), a home brew supply company. i've brewed three batches of beer and really enjoy the process. my co-workers are all fantastic, and the commute route is pretty darned good. not that different from my commute to the bike shop. i was promoted before i even started, and already got a raise AND a bonus (after having worked for the state for so long, this is my first bonus EVER!). NB's quite season is summer, so i'll be able to cut my hours a bit and pick up a shift or two at the bike shop.

on the personal side of life, bill and i have now been seperated for 7 months and after counseling and co-habitating while seperated, we have decided to split up for good. its painful, but needed. my aunt just sent me a beautiful ornament that says 'one can not concent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar' - helen keller. sums up a lot of what i have felt in the last few years. its not his fault...just a difference in what we want from life and how we approach life. racing has been an outlet for my stress and unhappiness, but even racing 2x a month wasn't enough to fill the emotional gaps left by an unfulfilling marriage. bill and i have still been living under the same roof, but have both been dating a bit, so its time to make some changes. i'll be moving this week to a small, cute one bedroom apartment just a few blocks away. i'd love to keep the house, but i really don't want that financial stress right now. i've been an at home mom for 6 years and can't afford to buy bill out...nor do i really want to. bill wants to keep it, and emotionally i think he needs the house more than i do, so he's buying me out. hoping to find a small house close by in the next year or two. until then, i'll have my apartment and a room at the house too, so that the girls can have consistency of being in their own rooms, and having both parents around each day during the week. i'll have them a few nights out of the week at the house, and then at my apartment every other weekend. we worked with a mediator who was fantastic and we didn't fight about anything - custody, money, property - it all went very smoothly. we are trying to be friends to one another. its not easy, but so far its been working. we both love our kids so much that all our choices are steered by making things safe and as easy as possible for them. i sound a little 'rose colored glasses'. its not easy. its really hard, actually...but i feel more centered in who i am than i have in a long time. the last 6 months have given me a lot of clarity about who i have tried to be, and why, and why i haven't felt true to myself.

anyway, that's whats up with me. merry christamas and happy new year to everyone. sorry i haven't been around, but i should be around more once i start training again (i'm sure as i click 'submit registration' for a race, i'll be back here daily!).

peace!!!!!!

autumn