Still on the Wagon...

Where the last 20days have gone has been somewhat of a blur. A delightful, tiring, yet inspiring blur. 

The ice & snow has now melted, the river levels have lowered & while the temps range from 30-80 degrees I have spent a good portion of my time training outdoors on foot or bike.

On bike: Bicycle commuting has been my primary mode of transport.  It is just as enjoyable as last year, but I am still in the "spring" phase of having to steel myself against inconsiderate motorists mixed with roads dusted with gravel/sand.  The looks I receive when I walk into the gym or a place of business all decked out in my cycling gear are fascinating. The elderly in general have an expression of intimidation paired with confusion, children think I am spandex clad super hero & tend to follow me around, the rest of the public just wonders why I walk so funny in those shoes and stare at them trying to figure out what type of shoes they are. It makes me laugh.  

On Foot: Marathon training has swallowed the majority of my mental focus in regard to training.  The Fargo Marathon is only 10days away & though I am looking forward to race day finally being here, I do not feel this way because I am sick of the weekend long runs or running.

Granted I have felt sick when running, but an odd thing happened after I spent the first 10miles of a 20mile training run feeling horribly green because I had foolishly over eaten at brunch & it had not settled before I set out. (Bacon, Cheesy hash-browns & Caramel rolls are not advised pre-run fuel.) Once I had reached that tipping point at mile 10 getting over the acid burps/nausea and went on to finish the final 10 miles beautifully I knew not only would I be ready to run the 26.2, but I want to go further & run an ultra. The strength I have to hold it together mentally when physically I my flailing definitely inspired me. 

After Fargo my running will need to taper in order to train well for the cycling portion of the 1/2 Ironman in June, but once that is finished I will start adding the miles back on in hopes to run the Lean Horse 50k in August. The 50miler is tempting, but as my hubby lovingly pointed out, probably not that attainable considering the terrain for the race & the average temp during it. 

Jeremiah has an amazing way of helping me to train smart & race well.  He is incredibly supportive, but can also be the voice of reason when I am over doing it or setting goals that I need more experience to realistically meet. It used to drive me nuts. But I've grown to really appreciate & need it. 

Work has swallowed up what is left of my mental focus. It is spring & with that comes a flood of a different sort for a wedding/portrait photographer. My first big shoot of the '09 season went very well. Now I have the challenge of balancing a busy training schedule & editing which thus far has been successful. I should be settled into that new routine in the next couple of weeks here.  :) 

Adventures in video blogging- Episode #2

This week's episode features highlights of a handful of the stellar training sessions logged so far. For more details (if you want them) check out my training log!

As a side note, at some point I should post a gag-reel of all of my bloopers. Hopefully I will become more comfortable in front of the camera soon. Until then feel free to laugh with me at my deer in the headlights expression & be happy that I have corrected the mic volume issues from last week. Also, ignore the wetsuit in the background. I haven't found closet space for it yet.

Without further ado Episode 2!

Video Blogging- Episode #1

I figured it was time to give this a shot. Hope you enjoy the video blog post for this week!

*After posting I realized that the final few seconds got caught off. Oops! Nothing terribly important, just blah blah about getting a hydration/fuel belt as the hand mounted water bottle isn't comfortable or sufficient for the longer runs I've been doing/will do.  Also, the Red River is supposed to crest again later this month which may interrupt some training, but I am trying to remain optimistic! Sorry about the glitch, I will keep things shorter next time to avoid that. Oh, and talk louder. 

Not so bad!

While most people wouldn't give a second thought to the way they swim, those of us that do triathlons spend hours in the pool each week trying to improve it. Since I was insanely curious about my form I talked my sister into taking some video (Thanks Ash!)

The swim was a very weak area of me last season, I just didn't enjoy it. Thankfully this season it is becoming more enjoyable and my form, judging by the video is better than I expected which is very encouraging.

Keep in mind it was filmed only a few hours after a race.







Any input or suggestions you triathletes might have for me would be great, feel free to leave a comment!

Floods & Blizzards

It is difficult to put to words the trials and triumphs I along with countless others in this area experienced last week in our battle against a rapidly rising river.

Lines of laborers & laughter outlined this city. We have been exhausted physically & emotionally. But we have rallied together & embraced what looked to be an impossible feat at times.



At the beginning of the week I did what I could to maintain a reasonable amount of training in the morning then sandbagging in the afternoon or evening. Eventually the need became too great & the toll on my tired/sore muscles wouldn't allow for that. I am not disappointed about missed training, it was necessary, but I am longing to get back to a normal routine.

It is hard to believe looking at the miles of sandbag levees & over a foot of fresh snow that in just 38days the Fargo Marathon will be run. I am looking forward to it now more than ever. Side-by-side the people of this city, knee deep in mud, covered in sand & falling rain (or snow) put forth a monumental effort to save the very ground thousands of runners will tread.

Yes, there are neighborhoods here that are almost unrecognizable due to the flooding. Wednesday I found myself in a sandbag line along a portion of the scenic route I run nearly every weekend. I was shocked when I finally realized where I was. It is now under at least 8-10ft of water.

Trails have been flooded or crumbled, houses have been lost, a few levees have been breached, but overall we have been successful & that is something to celebrate!

A few words...

Since roughly 124 miles of training amongst the three sports has left me with limited time & energy this week to blog I thought I would keep it short & use pictures to say the majority of the words for me.

As you can see my week has been beautiful & yummy.

On Tuesday Tangerine made it out of the garage for a ride around the parking lot. Still too much gravel & snow to ride far. I am hopeful for next week!

On Wednesday Jeremy surprised me with my mystery birthday gift that he could barely keep secret until it arrived. The new Ipod Shuffle. The card attached read "May this fuel your efforts & remind you that I am with you each step of the way." the engraving on the clip reads "For My Beloved Swim, Bike, Run".

The start of this week was a struggle to find solid ambition for training. (I'm in one of those grind weeks.) Between the encouragement of other triathletes/runners at the gym, during my Thursday group run & the gift from DH I was in good spirits for my 12mile run today. My body felt great, the conditions were perfect & the playlist function on the shuffle made it easy to listen to sermons along the way.

Now for the really sweet stuff. CAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Or breakfast as it turned out this morning.) My Birthday is on Monday and since Nichole's isn't open on Monday Jeremiah brought a Sea Salt Chocolate Charamel Almond cake home for me early. Yes, it is as good as it sounds. And no, there is none left.

Some things remain the same...

While catching up with an old friend I hadn't spoken with much over the past 2-3 years a prominent question was raised...

Is there anything about you that is the same?

On the surface there is very little, but the core remains the same.

Opposed to previous plans & desires I am not living alone in a canvas tent isolated somewhere deep in the wilderness writing about the joys and struggles of primitive life all the while compiling a vast work of photographic art to go along with the novel.

Instead I am living with my husband in a 3rd story apartment in suburbia writing about the joys and struggles of training for a 1/2 iron & marathon all the while compiling a vast work of photographic art that captures Other's life moments & whatever I find beautiful in my daily life.

I never did spent over a month on a three part tour of New Zealand, Fiji & Australia relishing in the beauty and culture of those wonderful places.

Instead the engine on the car I had just bought seized eating up all of my trip funds that were then needed to replace a vehicle. The month I would've spent on the tour I spent getting to know the amazing man who I would later marry & his family.

I no longer define the closeness of a friend by how much we agree on topics of life & religion. We are all imperfect people. I delight in how those imperfections reveal character and have the capacity to spur another person on. If we all agreed how would we grow in knowledge & understanding?

My appearance is no more anchored on trademark hair. Function has come before vanity. Function equaled to 2ft. less hair, no perms & no color, but I can fit it into a swim cap, under a helmet and run without being slapped by it.

My life, as it has always been, is one driven by passion & what my God has blessed.

The life I live now, while drastically different than what it used to be or what I thought it would be, is not a compromise to previous passions. Passion itself has not been relinquished, but rather morphed into other loves, adventures and activities.

Of course the quip of stubbornness has not relinquished either. (Only goes to prove the comment I made earlier about the imperfect.)