That's my big day. Surgery day.
Saw the orthopedic surgeon last week, who reviewed my MRIs with me in lightening-fast speed. He flipped through images like a comic book, pointing out structures still in tact and commenting on the lack of a cyst. Then he stopped dead on 3 frames, moving back and forth saying, "mmm hmmm...." My radiologist indicated a "linear oblique signal abnormality of the posterior horn of the medial meniscus," but also went on to comment that she could not tell if it penetrated the articular surface. In case you're not a science geek and didn't spend the last week googling these terms, if it even touches the articular surface, you have a meniscal tear.
Ortho basically said, "well, I SEE it. Don't know why she didn't." He points out the tear on the MRI, indicating that it's pretty deep. So he tells it to me straight:
"Missy, what we have here is a problem, but it's a problem I think I can repair. Now, if you go and do more damage to this between now and the time we go in to repair it, you may have a heck of a lot more than a problem and you're looking at arthritis at 45."
How's that for scaring the pants off of me? SO scared, as a matter of fact, that all I managed to do this week was some weight training and a few hour-long trainer rides. I'm scared!
So, the plan of attack is surgery, the afternoon of May 11th, the day after I get back from Vegas. He's going to attempt a meniscal repair, which involves glycolic acid darts and 8 weeks of non-weight bearing time on CRUTCHES!!! Nightmare. After that, it's a very slow and methodical rehab. Based on what I've read, you get cleared for swimming first (probably not much kicking), then stationary bike, then road biking. Running gets the shaft until 6-8 months out. Since the meniscus isn't highly vascularized, healing, if any, is slow.... So, patience shall have to be my name. Of course, this assumes he gets in there and still sees the tear. If he doesn't, he sutures me back up and back to PT I go....
The bummer about all of this, of course, is my season! I put in for a medical deferral on the 5430 series..... so now I have a credit for when I register in 2010. I've also downgraded from Olympic to Sprint in Las Vegas. At first, I thought it would be impossible to compete, but he DID clear me to swim and bike. He warned me about walking the hilly run course, so I'm thinking I may throw in my first DNF. I just feel like I paid my money and am driving an entire day to get there....I ought to TRY to compete, right??
So here we have the silver lining to DH's unemployment. We get to take one last mobile trip together to Las Vegas, and then he can help me maneuver around whilst I'm crippled for 8 weeks. Cannot wait.
Good thing I bought Guitar Hero. I have a feeling I'll be an expert in 3 months.....
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Out for the Count
So, MRI came back. While it can't positively diagnose a meniscal tear, I'm about 90% certain I've got one. I meet with the surgeon on Wednesday to discuss my options. Naturally, I don't want to injure it any further, and it's fairly impossible for me to continue my triathlon hobby without substantial pain and recovery that hinders my every day life.
It looks like Iron Girl might be out. If they do an arthroscopy and I have to wait until after Iron Girl, I might entertain the idea of downgrading to the Sprint and just walking the run....but those hills are so brutal that I question whether I'd be able to walk up them at all??? (Of course, the swelling and pain take 36 hours to get full-blown, so by then I'd be out of Vegas and on my way back to CO.....but if I hurt it worse, I'll never forgive myself...)
Can't you see how agonizing this is?
Quite frankly, I'd much rather scrap it all and go on an Alaskan cruise!
Hubby never heard anything. Back to square one. Oh, and get this. He gets a debt collector call from a uniform company.....apparently the airline he never got hired on with (that flunked him out of training on the last day, remember that lovely point in my life?) claims that he received a $600 uniform from them! Of course, rather than contact us first, they send him to collections for something he's never received. Knowing DH, he probably signed some stupid form that said his ordering the uniform on day 1 of training constituted receipt of said uniform. We are BEYOND devastated, shocked, and appalled by all of this. How can you get sent to collections for something you never received?! We're trying to work it out with the airline, but I'm not holding my breath. We were originally going to be having him on our loan application for a mortgage, but now I think I need to take him off while we deal with this disaster. I'm doing a lot of reading....tempted to just hire a lawyer, to be honest. But what a freaking nightmare. I mean, this airline already destroyed his career.....now they want to destroy his exceptional credit? How dare they!
It's just been a fabulous week in our household, let me tell you. If all this weren't enough, we're hit with yet another snowstorm. I've been housebound for 24 hours and am going a little nuts. Fortunately, we just bought Guitar Hero for Wii, so at least we have some duels to look forward to the rest of the day. (Not to mention I ordered Labyrinth on VHS, so now I can go on the trainer and totally jam out to some awesome 80's movies!)
And with that, Pity Part OUT!
It looks like Iron Girl might be out. If they do an arthroscopy and I have to wait until after Iron Girl, I might entertain the idea of downgrading to the Sprint and just walking the run....but those hills are so brutal that I question whether I'd be able to walk up them at all??? (Of course, the swelling and pain take 36 hours to get full-blown, so by then I'd be out of Vegas and on my way back to CO.....but if I hurt it worse, I'll never forgive myself...)
Can't you see how agonizing this is?
Quite frankly, I'd much rather scrap it all and go on an Alaskan cruise!
Hubby never heard anything. Back to square one. Oh, and get this. He gets a debt collector call from a uniform company.....apparently the airline he never got hired on with (that flunked him out of training on the last day, remember that lovely point in my life?) claims that he received a $600 uniform from them! Of course, rather than contact us first, they send him to collections for something he's never received. Knowing DH, he probably signed some stupid form that said his ordering the uniform on day 1 of training constituted receipt of said uniform. We are BEYOND devastated, shocked, and appalled by all of this. How can you get sent to collections for something you never received?! We're trying to work it out with the airline, but I'm not holding my breath. We were originally going to be having him on our loan application for a mortgage, but now I think I need to take him off while we deal with this disaster. I'm doing a lot of reading....tempted to just hire a lawyer, to be honest. But what a freaking nightmare. I mean, this airline already destroyed his career.....now they want to destroy his exceptional credit? How dare they!
It's just been a fabulous week in our household, let me tell you. If all this weren't enough, we're hit with yet another snowstorm. I've been housebound for 24 hours and am going a little nuts. Fortunately, we just bought Guitar Hero for Wii, so at least we have some duels to look forward to the rest of the day. (Not to mention I ordered Labyrinth on VHS, so now I can go on the trainer and totally jam out to some awesome 80's movies!)
And with that, Pity Part OUT!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Roadblock
It's that time of year, isn't it? When I try desperately to get back into racing form while taking too much time off over the winter, and then I screw something up and have to face down my first race whilst 50%.
Calf problem turned into Hamstring problem, although the jury's still out on what is going on. It's definitely put a damper on my training plan for the past month, sabotaging brick's and shortening runs. I should be lucky I can still do these things, but at the same time, it just gives me this "panicky" feeling that perhaps I'll disappear on the Iron Girl course out in the middle of the desert.
Old Coach and New Coach say I am fit, but that I need to throw the PR wishes away because it's not going to happen anymore. Old Coach says if I downgrade to Sprint, I'll cause even more damage to myself. New Coach, who doesn't even know me that well, pretty much said the same exact thing. I guess they are right. They both think the distance of the Olympic will make me slower and less prone to injury....
I have this long laundry list of things that cause pain these days : kicking in the swim (I have HeMan shoulders now after a month with the pull buoy!!), accelerations from 0 mph on the bike on the highest gear, walking in high heels, walking up hills, and running off of the bike. How's that for a mess?
Tomorrow I meet with an ART therapist who apparently works almost exclusively with triathletes. I have been told there will be tears. I have NO DOUBT that this will be the case.
On the biking front, I've yet to do a long bike outside yet. Yesterday was supposed to be a 30-mile hilly group ride, but when I showed up at the meeting place, it started raining horizontally! I made up my mind not to ride right then and there, but subsequent text messages made it clear that nobody else was planning to ride, either. So I went home, popped in "Naughty Marietta," a 1936 operetta with Nelson Eddie & Jeanette McDonald, and did a pretty hard 2 hour trainer session. I don't think I've ever ridden the trainer so hard in my life! Hubby says the downstairs smells like sweat and burnt rubber...he refuses to come down. Oh well. Wonder if I'll be prepared for Iron Girl on trainer rides alone?!
Oh, and to just kvetch a little bit more, this Colorado weather is killing me!!! Oh, I miss Orange County perfection so much it hurts. I have had more rides in the wind over the past few weeks than I've ever had. I've seen people blown over while clipped into their bikes. I've been pushed several feet in the trail by wind gusts. I've gotten my face chapped because of it. And it takes 10mph away from my speedy flat riding, making me want to cry. I've yet to have an actual time trial with no wind yet.... Right now, I'm convinced I'm the slowest cyclist on the planet. Who happens to be afraid of her tri bike.
On the personal front, my life is still exceedingly boring. DH is still job searching, although he did have an interview last week so we could use all the juju in the world that we will hear back this week. If not, I fear he will be devastated.....and that much farther away from getting him back to being occupied and feeling like a contributing member of the household.
The house hunt is on hold until June. It's hard to sit back and watch properties you like disappear, but it's the right decision for us. We'll be more stable with DH in a job, and the timing will be better to coincide with our lease. I still need to get over the fact that I may end up permanently living in the town I grew up in. Granted, the town has exploded in growth since the 1980's and you no longer run into anybody when you go grocery shopping, but I will know. I guess it doesn't count that I lived in several different states for the past few years.....
With that, I should stop procrastinating and go do my long run this morning. We're going to test out 5 miles today.... I suspect I'll be lucky if I can make it 1 without pain, but we shall see. Now, if only this rain would stop!
Calf problem turned into Hamstring problem, although the jury's still out on what is going on. It's definitely put a damper on my training plan for the past month, sabotaging brick's and shortening runs. I should be lucky I can still do these things, but at the same time, it just gives me this "panicky" feeling that perhaps I'll disappear on the Iron Girl course out in the middle of the desert.
Old Coach and New Coach say I am fit, but that I need to throw the PR wishes away because it's not going to happen anymore. Old Coach says if I downgrade to Sprint, I'll cause even more damage to myself. New Coach, who doesn't even know me that well, pretty much said the same exact thing. I guess they are right. They both think the distance of the Olympic will make me slower and less prone to injury....
I have this long laundry list of things that cause pain these days : kicking in the swim (I have HeMan shoulders now after a month with the pull buoy!!), accelerations from 0 mph on the bike on the highest gear, walking in high heels, walking up hills, and running off of the bike. How's that for a mess?
Tomorrow I meet with an ART therapist who apparently works almost exclusively with triathletes. I have been told there will be tears. I have NO DOUBT that this will be the case.
On the biking front, I've yet to do a long bike outside yet. Yesterday was supposed to be a 30-mile hilly group ride, but when I showed up at the meeting place, it started raining horizontally! I made up my mind not to ride right then and there, but subsequent text messages made it clear that nobody else was planning to ride, either. So I went home, popped in "Naughty Marietta," a 1936 operetta with Nelson Eddie & Jeanette McDonald, and did a pretty hard 2 hour trainer session. I don't think I've ever ridden the trainer so hard in my life! Hubby says the downstairs smells like sweat and burnt rubber...he refuses to come down. Oh well. Wonder if I'll be prepared for Iron Girl on trainer rides alone?!
Oh, and to just kvetch a little bit more, this Colorado weather is killing me!!! Oh, I miss Orange County perfection so much it hurts. I have had more rides in the wind over the past few weeks than I've ever had. I've seen people blown over while clipped into their bikes. I've been pushed several feet in the trail by wind gusts. I've gotten my face chapped because of it. And it takes 10mph away from my speedy flat riding, making me want to cry. I've yet to have an actual time trial with no wind yet.... Right now, I'm convinced I'm the slowest cyclist on the planet. Who happens to be afraid of her tri bike.
On the personal front, my life is still exceedingly boring. DH is still job searching, although he did have an interview last week so we could use all the juju in the world that we will hear back this week. If not, I fear he will be devastated.....and that much farther away from getting him back to being occupied and feeling like a contributing member of the household.
The house hunt is on hold until June. It's hard to sit back and watch properties you like disappear, but it's the right decision for us. We'll be more stable with DH in a job, and the timing will be better to coincide with our lease. I still need to get over the fact that I may end up permanently living in the town I grew up in. Granted, the town has exploded in growth since the 1980's and you no longer run into anybody when you go grocery shopping, but I will know. I guess it doesn't count that I lived in several different states for the past few years.....
With that, I should stop procrastinating and go do my long run this morning. We're going to test out 5 miles today.... I suspect I'll be lucky if I can make it 1 without pain, but we shall see. Now, if only this rain would stop!
Friday, March 27, 2009
I am not dead
I swear!
Just boring, that is all.
Sixtwothreetries reminded me that I've neglected the blog as of late, so I thought I should just get it all out there so that I can move forward.
Just boring, that is all.
Sixtwothreetries reminded me that I've neglected the blog as of late, so I thought I should just get it all out there so that I can move forward.
Two weeks ago, I went on my long run....and half way through, I felt a pull in back of my knee. Because I was out in the middle of nowhere, I continued to run, and then iced when I got home. By the next morning, there was noticeable pain, so I freaked out in typical fashion and got myself a Dr. appointment. Of course, my GP is an idiot and I practically had to twist her arm to get a PT referral, in addition to an ULTRASOUND because she was freaked out that I might have a blood clot. (I know, ridiculous, but it was free so I decided to do it anyway) Well, long story short, it's not a blood clot....it's a strained upper gastrocnemius.
Which meant no kicking in the pool, no pushing hard gears on the bike, and no running! Mind you, Iron Girl is coming up on May 9th. I'm probably supposed to be in the "speed" section of my training at this point. But here I am, convalescing, as usual. Why does the start of the season always end up like this?!
I have a new "Dude," aka Mr. PT and then some. He's part physical therapist, part masseuse, part dietician, and part shrink. He ultrasounds my calf like the old guy, but he's very hands on and this is quite painful..... He's also really into what I am eating, claiming that I could be causing all these injuries by not properly fueling my recovery! So, I'm on a food log to point out my "deficiencies" and also see if we can crack this weight gain code.
FYI, the GoWear Fit lasted a month. Very interesting. But after a month of seeing a 500 calorie deficit AND a weight gain, I'm freaking OVER IT!!!!
Today I got cleared to run, so tomorrow is the 15 minute "test run." I'm nervous, but hopeful I can get back to 6 miles ASAP and then start hitting the hills.
My other big news is that I bought myself a tri bike! Yeah, I know these are rough economic times...that my hubby is unemployed.....that we need to save every penny for a home.... But a girl has to satisfy her needs, right?? No frills here...just a basic 2008 model, but BOY does it fly. I've named her Jezebel, because together, we shall be eeeeeevil on the bike course. ;)
So, that's my scoop. OH! Work. Well, I have a job. I should celebrate that. I just hope that one of these days I can be busy again. After 2 weeks of surfing the internet and struggling for things to keep you occupied, you begin to think you are far too disposable.....
Tomorrow, we run and swim. Sunday, I attempt to ride my bike..... If I'm lucky, the past few weeks haven't caused any harm and I'll pull a miracle out of my hat at Iron Girl and race well.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Little Improvements
Well, just a quick update on the weight loss front. I'm down 0. According to the GoWearfit, I've burned in excess of 2100 calories a day since Tuesday. According to my nutrition tracker at Spark People, I've eaten an average of 1600 calories every day this week. This should equate to 500 calories a day, or 1 lb of weight loss a week.
What the HELL?!!!!
OK, I'm done with my little outburst. I shall continue tracking and see what is going on. It just pisses me off, that's all. It's not like I'm eating ho ho's here!
Training-wise, Wednesday was my 3rd swim practice. The fast girls didn't show the past two sessions, so I felt a little better about myself. Mr. Meanie Pants must have eaten dinner on Wednesday, because he only told me to add 50-meters to each set so that the others could keep up. Either I've fixed my head down problem, or he is over life.
I'm also a week into my personal coaching plan, and that is going okay. I've learned that my running still sucks, my knees get sore easily, and I need more flexibility because things come up with work and life and I need to rearrange my plan! We'll see how coach deals with this.... Still doing Yoga once a week. I can even get into Crow Pose now and hold it, so this is quite a bragging point for me. The swimming is coming along....Wednesday I swam 2500 meters in our 1-hour warmup, and that included quite a bit of time at the wall. I did a KILLER interval session on the stationary bike at work-- I had no idea I could work that hard! So all in all, I'm feeling like I'm making a little progress on the fitness front.
My old tri team in CA is kind of a mess right now. My old Coach decided to do her own thing, so half the team moved with her and the other half is staying with the franchise owner. So, the result is that training for everyone doing Iron Girl in May is slightly delayed. They probably won't get their plans until this week or next......will a 2-week jump give me enough so that I can stay in front of them in Vegas? Well, a girl can dream, right? ;)
We're also looking at house-hunting these days. Perhaps not the smartest thing in the world to do on one salary, but some of the deals out there are quite compelling. Am in a bit of a pickle with our lease and our landlord. He swears he's a broker and wants to be our realtor....I would rather be pampered. Can't get out of my lease before September unless I use him as our realtor. Oh, it makes me so cranky!!! I can't even talk about how I got outnegotiated on my lease extension. Anyway, perhaps waiting until this summer to buy is the smarter thing to do. More money in the e-fund, the foreclosures being held until March will have hit the market and we'll see what they do to the neighborhood prices, and maybe hubby will have a job by then? It's hard to sit and wait when you see massive price drops on houses you'd love to own, but what if they continue to drop? I guess they won't gain in value in the 6 months I sit on the sidelines, so I shall just calm down and study the market hard.
So, that's the update. Fun and excitement. Time for swim practice!
What the HELL?!!!!
OK, I'm done with my little outburst. I shall continue tracking and see what is going on. It just pisses me off, that's all. It's not like I'm eating ho ho's here!
Training-wise, Wednesday was my 3rd swim practice. The fast girls didn't show the past two sessions, so I felt a little better about myself. Mr. Meanie Pants must have eaten dinner on Wednesday, because he only told me to add 50-meters to each set so that the others could keep up. Either I've fixed my head down problem, or he is over life.
I'm also a week into my personal coaching plan, and that is going okay. I've learned that my running still sucks, my knees get sore easily, and I need more flexibility because things come up with work and life and I need to rearrange my plan! We'll see how coach deals with this.... Still doing Yoga once a week. I can even get into Crow Pose now and hold it, so this is quite a bragging point for me. The swimming is coming along....Wednesday I swam 2500 meters in our 1-hour warmup, and that included quite a bit of time at the wall. I did a KILLER interval session on the stationary bike at work-- I had no idea I could work that hard! So all in all, I'm feeling like I'm making a little progress on the fitness front.
My old tri team in CA is kind of a mess right now. My old Coach decided to do her own thing, so half the team moved with her and the other half is staying with the franchise owner. So, the result is that training for everyone doing Iron Girl in May is slightly delayed. They probably won't get their plans until this week or next......will a 2-week jump give me enough so that I can stay in front of them in Vegas? Well, a girl can dream, right? ;)
We're also looking at house-hunting these days. Perhaps not the smartest thing in the world to do on one salary, but some of the deals out there are quite compelling. Am in a bit of a pickle with our lease and our landlord. He swears he's a broker and wants to be our realtor....I would rather be pampered. Can't get out of my lease before September unless I use him as our realtor. Oh, it makes me so cranky!!! I can't even talk about how I got outnegotiated on my lease extension. Anyway, perhaps waiting until this summer to buy is the smarter thing to do. More money in the e-fund, the foreclosures being held until March will have hit the market and we'll see what they do to the neighborhood prices, and maybe hubby will have a job by then? It's hard to sit and wait when you see massive price drops on houses you'd love to own, but what if they continue to drop? I guess they won't gain in value in the 6 months I sit on the sidelines, so I shall just calm down and study the market hard.
So, that's the update. Fun and excitement. Time for swim practice!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Woe is me!
The scale. It is so evil, and it mocks me daily. Never mind the fact that I haven't had a monte cristo or a corn dog or a brownie for as long as I can remember. Forget the fact that I am exercising almost every day. Forget it all! That damn scale is higher than its been since the great weight loss of 2005.
This called for drastic measures. This called for..... the GoWear Fit.
You've heard of the Bodybugg. That thing the contestants of the Biggest Loser are wearing? Well, a lot of people on my new tri team have been dropping weight like flies and attributing it to their Bodybugg.
Me, loving a bargain, decided that it would be a good fit for me. All the fundamentals are in place, but there's a big question mark in terms of what I am actually burning. I had no idea how many calories I should eat in a day....I just knew that on Weight Watchers, I can only lose wieght when I am eating 1200 calories and not exercising. When I'm more active, I hang on to the weight. So frustrating!
So, I purchased the non-branded version of the Bodybugg, the GoWearFit. Part of me wishes it were more technical, but it's pretty much good enough! I even managed to sleep with it last night, and it told me I'm an 89% efficient sleeper. (I am in bed for 8 1/2 hours, but only sleeping for 7.5 of that -- super cool!) Today, with my run workout, I burned 2150 calories....and I ate 1530...... SO, I'm going to give it a week to see what happens with my weight loss.
If this doesn't work, I QUIT!
Just kidding.....I'm too obsessed....how could I ever let it go??
The scale. It is so evil, and it mocks me daily. Never mind the fact that I haven't had a monte cristo or a corn dog or a brownie for as long as I can remember. Forget the fact that I am exercising almost every day. Forget it all! That damn scale is higher than its been since the great weight loss of 2005.
This called for drastic measures. This called for..... the GoWear Fit.
You've heard of the Bodybugg. That thing the contestants of the Biggest Loser are wearing? Well, a lot of people on my new tri team have been dropping weight like flies and attributing it to their Bodybugg.
Me, loving a bargain, decided that it would be a good fit for me. All the fundamentals are in place, but there's a big question mark in terms of what I am actually burning. I had no idea how many calories I should eat in a day....I just knew that on Weight Watchers, I can only lose wieght when I am eating 1200 calories and not exercising. When I'm more active, I hang on to the weight. So frustrating!
So, I purchased the non-branded version of the Bodybugg, the GoWearFit. Part of me wishes it were more technical, but it's pretty much good enough! I even managed to sleep with it last night, and it told me I'm an 89% efficient sleeper. (I am in bed for 8 1/2 hours, but only sleeping for 7.5 of that -- super cool!) Today, with my run workout, I burned 2150 calories....and I ate 1530...... SO, I'm going to give it a week to see what happens with my weight loss.
If this doesn't work, I QUIT!
Just kidding.....I'm too obsessed....how could I ever let it go??
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Thank You Sir, May I Have Another?
On Saturday, I was filled with pride as I swam my 200 meter assessment in 3:30 and was placed in the "Advanced" swim group with my new triathlon team. Now, I missed "upper" advanced by :15 seconds, but I was still pleased with myself because it meant I hadn't gotten that slow in my many months off from swimming.
Fast forward to last night. My first "Advanced" swim session, at a local community college in a manky pool that smells like....well, it smells pretty gross.
I confidently hopped in a lane with a lady nearly twice my age (okay, maybe early 50's) and off we went on our 7 minute warmup. So far, so good. I was holding my own. Then our coach, a guy who doesn't even introduce himself, started yelling out instructions. 50 meters of "superman" with your arms out and not moving, just kicking. 50 meters of laying on your back and just kicking. 50 meters on your right side with your arms out, kicking. 50 meters to the left, kicking.
What? Did you say, "kick?"
Sorry, but I'm a triathlete. I've spent the past 2 years NOT kicking. You are going to kill me!
So I tried. Honestly, I did. I took on water like the Titanic, though. I was okay and streamlined in the first 50, but on my back, I totally freaked out and struggled to breathe. I hated the backstroke as a kid and consequently have never returned to the position. Last night brought back the very worst memories. And that f***ing lane line! Holy cow, I hate it so much.
Anyway, suffice it to say the first 200 was torture. When I finally got back to the end of the pool, Mr. Coach said, "YOU! You need to keep your head down." I didn't even look at him. Um, excuse me, but how can I keep my head down when I am so out of breath that I have to breathe every stroke??? I was pissed.
"Repeat," he ordered after a minute break.
What? Are you kidding me??
Nope, he was dead serious. So, off we go. My lanemate, Miss Lazy Butt, who only did 1/2 of the workout in the previous set, proceeded to do the same the second time around. She was sitting at the end of the pool waiting for me when we were done with the 2nd 200. I mean, who is she kidding? Does she seriously think everyone will think she did the full set and she was the fastest? Argh!!!!
And again, when I return, same comment. "YOU.....head down even more."
Dude, you gotta think about me here. I've trained primarily in open water. I'm excellent at sighting -- the very best! What is with this head crap?????
Next drill is more torture. 3 strokes of freestyle, then hold the 3rd and kick for 6 beats....repeat. 150 meters. Go!
I was a bit better at this one....but again, Mr. Meany Pants was like, "head down!" Man, I am trying. "Repeat!"
Off we go again. I worked on keeping that head so far down that my head ached. No comment on the return this time.
Next drill was some kind of stroke practice. Lengthening. Letting that first part of the stroke nonchalantly hit the water and extend. I tried to keep my head down. 200 meters. At the 50, Meany Pants was looking down at me. "You are crossing over with your left hand." What?!! No!!!!! So I focus on the left hand. Hard. What is with this? Am I just tired? At the 100, he's there again. "Better. Keep your head down."
Mother f***er. Will I ever get it right?
1000 meters later, I was spent. I felt like crying. Am I such a terrible swimmer that every part of my stroke is wrong? Did I really just drink a gallon of this manky water? Why do I feel like puking? My arms are lead weights!! HOW on EARTH am I going to be able to keep this up every week?
I was just totally, utterly destroyed. My very first swim practice, and I was practically reduced to tears. Nobody else around me seemed nearly as perturbed. Were they used to this dude? Were their strokes perfect? Can they handle criticism better than me? I mean, man, I know I'm not the fastest, but was I not trying to improve?
Triathlon season, welcome back. I have a feeling I'm gonna need to find some big girl panties, and find them fast. Because if this happened on Day 1 of swimming, I don't even want to think about what's around the corner!
Fast forward to last night. My first "Advanced" swim session, at a local community college in a manky pool that smells like....well, it smells pretty gross.
I confidently hopped in a lane with a lady nearly twice my age (okay, maybe early 50's) and off we went on our 7 minute warmup. So far, so good. I was holding my own. Then our coach, a guy who doesn't even introduce himself, started yelling out instructions. 50 meters of "superman" with your arms out and not moving, just kicking. 50 meters of laying on your back and just kicking. 50 meters on your right side with your arms out, kicking. 50 meters to the left, kicking.
What? Did you say, "kick?"
Sorry, but I'm a triathlete. I've spent the past 2 years NOT kicking. You are going to kill me!
So I tried. Honestly, I did. I took on water like the Titanic, though. I was okay and streamlined in the first 50, but on my back, I totally freaked out and struggled to breathe. I hated the backstroke as a kid and consequently have never returned to the position. Last night brought back the very worst memories. And that f***ing lane line! Holy cow, I hate it so much.
Anyway, suffice it to say the first 200 was torture. When I finally got back to the end of the pool, Mr. Coach said, "YOU! You need to keep your head down." I didn't even look at him. Um, excuse me, but how can I keep my head down when I am so out of breath that I have to breathe every stroke??? I was pissed.
"Repeat," he ordered after a minute break.
What? Are you kidding me??
Nope, he was dead serious. So, off we go. My lanemate, Miss Lazy Butt, who only did 1/2 of the workout in the previous set, proceeded to do the same the second time around. She was sitting at the end of the pool waiting for me when we were done with the 2nd 200. I mean, who is she kidding? Does she seriously think everyone will think she did the full set and she was the fastest? Argh!!!!
And again, when I return, same comment. "YOU.....head down even more."
Dude, you gotta think about me here. I've trained primarily in open water. I'm excellent at sighting -- the very best! What is with this head crap?????
Next drill is more torture. 3 strokes of freestyle, then hold the 3rd and kick for 6 beats....repeat. 150 meters. Go!
I was a bit better at this one....but again, Mr. Meany Pants was like, "head down!" Man, I am trying. "Repeat!"
Off we go again. I worked on keeping that head so far down that my head ached. No comment on the return this time.
Next drill was some kind of stroke practice. Lengthening. Letting that first part of the stroke nonchalantly hit the water and extend. I tried to keep my head down. 200 meters. At the 50, Meany Pants was looking down at me. "You are crossing over with your left hand." What?!! No!!!!! So I focus on the left hand. Hard. What is with this? Am I just tired? At the 100, he's there again. "Better. Keep your head down."
Mother f***er. Will I ever get it right?
1000 meters later, I was spent. I felt like crying. Am I such a terrible swimmer that every part of my stroke is wrong? Did I really just drink a gallon of this manky water? Why do I feel like puking? My arms are lead weights!! HOW on EARTH am I going to be able to keep this up every week?
I was just totally, utterly destroyed. My very first swim practice, and I was practically reduced to tears. Nobody else around me seemed nearly as perturbed. Were they used to this dude? Were their strokes perfect? Can they handle criticism better than me? I mean, man, I know I'm not the fastest, but was I not trying to improve?
Triathlon season, welcome back. I have a feeling I'm gonna need to find some big girl panties, and find them fast. Because if this happened on Day 1 of swimming, I don't even want to think about what's around the corner!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The Pain that is Yoga
For years, every annual review I've had at work was concluded with "you should really take yoga." Apparently I'm an intense person, and I must stress my managers out. But I *love* stress. Adore it! It motivates me and keeps me entertained. Why would I want to get rid of it?
I've often complained about my flexibility to friends and family. More often than not, their response is, "why don't you take a yoga class?" And I just roll my eyes at them, because they were part of the grand yoga conspiracy, too.
DH has played his part in this, too. Since I can't relax around the house for more than a day, he thought it'd be great fun to have his Mom get me a yoga kit for Christmas two years ago. You know, so I could be all zen in the house? It laid in its original packing materials for two years.
The final player in this great yoga push was my old triathlon Coach. The evil one. She told us it would help us strengthen our core. Stretch our legs. Make us faster. Yeah, you heard me right....faster. So this, I think, was an intriguing thought, but I was not ready to commit just yet.
Until NOW! After 2 months of strength training in the gym, I decided to add another facet to my off season. Something that would help me to stretch out my hip flexors, IT bands, quads, calves, and strengthen that pesky, fat core of mine. Something that MIGHT make me faster when I get to Iron Girl in May, or at the very least, just get me to the starting line injury-free.
One of the accountants at work recently became a yogi and started offering classes on Monday nights after work. Since it was free and in the building, I felt I really had no excuses not to give it a try. Heck, maybe I'll even learn to relax? (Nah! That would be a pipe dream)
So, I've been to yoga twice now, and I have to say, it's quite a challenge! My favorite word is "namaste." I have no idea what it translates to, but it basically means "class dismissed," which also means I made it through alive. I've been quite impressed with my ability to relax in downward facing dog.......sweat like I'm going to die while trying to do slow chatarangas.....show off my good balance to those flexible crazies in the room in tree pose....... My shoulders and back are always sore after yoga, as is my stomach, since we do a lot of core work. How exciting is this??
Now, why people think yoga is relaxing is absolutely beyond me. I shake the entire time. I get hot and uncomfortable. I fall on my head. But darnit, I'm doing it! And boy, can I feel the stretches in my IT Band and hip flexors. If this isn't good for me, then I give up.
So it was with great pleasure that I phoned my old boss last night to inform him that I'm finally taking his advice with respect to our annual review..... I'm taking yoga. :)
I've often complained about my flexibility to friends and family. More often than not, their response is, "why don't you take a yoga class?" And I just roll my eyes at them, because they were part of the grand yoga conspiracy, too.
DH has played his part in this, too. Since I can't relax around the house for more than a day, he thought it'd be great fun to have his Mom get me a yoga kit for Christmas two years ago. You know, so I could be all zen in the house? It laid in its original packing materials for two years.
The final player in this great yoga push was my old triathlon Coach. The evil one. She told us it would help us strengthen our core. Stretch our legs. Make us faster. Yeah, you heard me right....faster. So this, I think, was an intriguing thought, but I was not ready to commit just yet.
Until NOW! After 2 months of strength training in the gym, I decided to add another facet to my off season. Something that would help me to stretch out my hip flexors, IT bands, quads, calves, and strengthen that pesky, fat core of mine. Something that MIGHT make me faster when I get to Iron Girl in May, or at the very least, just get me to the starting line injury-free.
One of the accountants at work recently became a yogi and started offering classes on Monday nights after work. Since it was free and in the building, I felt I really had no excuses not to give it a try. Heck, maybe I'll even learn to relax? (Nah! That would be a pipe dream)
So, I've been to yoga twice now, and I have to say, it's quite a challenge! My favorite word is "namaste." I have no idea what it translates to, but it basically means "class dismissed," which also means I made it through alive. I've been quite impressed with my ability to relax in downward facing dog.......sweat like I'm going to die while trying to do slow chatarangas.....show off my good balance to those flexible crazies in the room in tree pose....... My shoulders and back are always sore after yoga, as is my stomach, since we do a lot of core work. How exciting is this??
Now, why people think yoga is relaxing is absolutely beyond me. I shake the entire time. I get hot and uncomfortable. I fall on my head. But darnit, I'm doing it! And boy, can I feel the stretches in my IT Band and hip flexors. If this isn't good for me, then I give up.
So it was with great pleasure that I phoned my old boss last night to inform him that I'm finally taking his advice with respect to our annual review..... I'm taking yoga. :)
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Overbudget
The New Year has brought about a lot of talk in our tiny little household. Not just about the usual mundane issues like paying bills, making dinner, or skiing on the weekends....no, we're talking BIG picture here. New house. Dog. Kids. Huge stuff.
So to prepare for all of that, we decided to do a major budget restructuring. We've been living off of one income for a while now, so I thought it would be nice to actually see our savings INCREASE for once without having to stockpile a bonus or a tax refund. So we have "traunches," if you will, for certain expenses. Stuff that is monthly, like rent, cell phones, and other bills, don't get counted, nor does gasoline -- I mean, seriously, am I going to limit how far I drive? So the obvious stuff was groceries, "slush", and our own personal allowances. Hubs and I are giving ourselves each a little somethin' somethin' each month so that we can be selfish yet controlled.
Unfortunately, we've both opted to zero out our allowances for the next 2-4 months by going overbudget in the very first 1/2 of the 1st month we've attempted our budget! Mine's totally legit, though. I'm getting a month-to-month personalized coaching plan from the head coach of my new team. She only takes 10 people a year, so I snatched her up for the next 3 months to get me to "Iron Girl Redemption." She thinks that I'll need more personalized attention now than I will for the 1/2 Ironman....and thinks the 1/2 Ironman Plan that she's written for general consumption will easily get me to the finish line in August. But kicking arse at Iron Girl is going to require lots of work...and she ought to be compensated for it. ;) Of course, this has put me in the hole. Until May. I have $0 to spend on myself until May, but I also need a bike fitting and new tires. Once that's done, I'll have $0 to spend on me until August. Or worse!
Hubby, on the other hand, after getting his snowboard for Christmas, plus boots and bindings on top of that, decided that he wanted a stupid miniature flat-screen HDTV to go in the "man room" with his brand new laptop! I mean, seriously!!! Would you like some champagne and caviar with that?! I just about killed him yesterday when I saw it, but it was 1/2 the price of my 3-months of personalized coaching, so what can I say?? At least my overage is in pursuit of a better body???
Needless to say, this seriously puts a damper on the "saving for a house" fund. And with his champagne tastes and need for new, I'll probably have to suck it up and buy a new construction with all the bells and whistles. We must get a hold of these "overages" NOW before we end up homeless and penniless.
Why must triathlon be so expensive??
At any rate, that's my rant for the day. If anyone in the Denver area has a job for a pilot, you know where to find me. I've got one you can have. For free! Because if he's busy, he won't have time to buy more "stuff." :)
So to prepare for all of that, we decided to do a major budget restructuring. We've been living off of one income for a while now, so I thought it would be nice to actually see our savings INCREASE for once without having to stockpile a bonus or a tax refund. So we have "traunches," if you will, for certain expenses. Stuff that is monthly, like rent, cell phones, and other bills, don't get counted, nor does gasoline -- I mean, seriously, am I going to limit how far I drive? So the obvious stuff was groceries, "slush", and our own personal allowances. Hubs and I are giving ourselves each a little somethin' somethin' each month so that we can be selfish yet controlled.
Unfortunately, we've both opted to zero out our allowances for the next 2-4 months by going overbudget in the very first 1/2 of the 1st month we've attempted our budget! Mine's totally legit, though. I'm getting a month-to-month personalized coaching plan from the head coach of my new team. She only takes 10 people a year, so I snatched her up for the next 3 months to get me to "Iron Girl Redemption." She thinks that I'll need more personalized attention now than I will for the 1/2 Ironman....and thinks the 1/2 Ironman Plan that she's written for general consumption will easily get me to the finish line in August. But kicking arse at Iron Girl is going to require lots of work...and she ought to be compensated for it. ;) Of course, this has put me in the hole. Until May. I have $0 to spend on myself until May, but I also need a bike fitting and new tires. Once that's done, I'll have $0 to spend on me until August. Or worse!
Hubby, on the other hand, after getting his snowboard for Christmas, plus boots and bindings on top of that, decided that he wanted a stupid miniature flat-screen HDTV to go in the "man room" with his brand new laptop! I mean, seriously!!! Would you like some champagne and caviar with that?! I just about killed him yesterday when I saw it, but it was 1/2 the price of my 3-months of personalized coaching, so what can I say?? At least my overage is in pursuit of a better body???
Needless to say, this seriously puts a damper on the "saving for a house" fund. And with his champagne tastes and need for new, I'll probably have to suck it up and buy a new construction with all the bells and whistles. We must get a hold of these "overages" NOW before we end up homeless and penniless.
Why must triathlon be so expensive??
At any rate, that's my rant for the day. If anyone in the Denver area has a job for a pilot, you know where to find me. I've got one you can have. For free! Because if he's busy, he won't have time to buy more "stuff." :)
Monday, January 12, 2009
Base
Well, it's been a wacky start to the year! The cold from hell returned after a 2-week hiatus, relegating me to the tired, snotty, coughing laziness that I just recovered from. To spite it all, I decided to attend my last running program practice of the season. Coach had been wondering where I disappeared to....and really, there was no fever, so would it hurt me to at least show up and have a nice snotty walk?
So, I got up at 8am and headed over to the trail where I met up with a lot of familiar faces and Coach. I was equipped with many Kleenex, and bundled up to fight the cold. But it was great to be back!
I admitted that I hadn't done much over the past month, so she sent me off on an aerobic 4-miler. Rather than stare at my heart rate monitor the entire time, I decided to just go "easy" and enjoy the beautiful but chilly morning. I have to admit, I have a great time out there. Yes, I was slower than you could possibly imagine, but I was so happy I got out of bed and went for a run! By mile 2, I was really in my groove and decided to keep going....I was curious if I still had my 10K "base." ANd you know what? I got it! It's a few minutes slower than it should be (like, 8 minutes slower!), but I was sick, and it's been a month..... The good news was that absolutely nothing was sore, and I felt like a million bucks at the end. Woohoo!!! Last year at this time, I had lost my entire running base....starting at a 10K is just so refreshing at this point.
Season starts in a few weeks. I am bouncing off the walls, but I have lots to do. Must hit the pool a few times so that I don't get placed in a lower swim level than I should be. Also need a tune-up on my bike, new tires since my trainer is destroying my old ones, and also need to schedule a bike fit at some point in time. Combine all this with my personal coaching, and I am WAY over budget at this point. Need to do the tax return and beg for forgiveness, I think. ;)
Well, that is it for me. Still sick. But still hanging in there. 5430 Long Course, I'm coming to get you!
So, I got up at 8am and headed over to the trail where I met up with a lot of familiar faces and Coach. I was equipped with many Kleenex, and bundled up to fight the cold. But it was great to be back!
I admitted that I hadn't done much over the past month, so she sent me off on an aerobic 4-miler. Rather than stare at my heart rate monitor the entire time, I decided to just go "easy" and enjoy the beautiful but chilly morning. I have to admit, I have a great time out there. Yes, I was slower than you could possibly imagine, but I was so happy I got out of bed and went for a run! By mile 2, I was really in my groove and decided to keep going....I was curious if I still had my 10K "base." ANd you know what? I got it! It's a few minutes slower than it should be (like, 8 minutes slower!), but I was sick, and it's been a month..... The good news was that absolutely nothing was sore, and I felt like a million bucks at the end. Woohoo!!! Last year at this time, I had lost my entire running base....starting at a 10K is just so refreshing at this point.
Season starts in a few weeks. I am bouncing off the walls, but I have lots to do. Must hit the pool a few times so that I don't get placed in a lower swim level than I should be. Also need a tune-up on my bike, new tires since my trainer is destroying my old ones, and also need to schedule a bike fit at some point in time. Combine all this with my personal coaching, and I am WAY over budget at this point. Need to do the tax return and beg for forgiveness, I think. ;)
Well, that is it for me. Still sick. But still hanging in there. 5430 Long Course, I'm coming to get you!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
The trip
Well, here's the long-promised rundown of our wonderful vacation! Excuse a few formatting issues....this was a long time in the making.
I had book club the night before we left for our trip. Memory Keeper's Daughter. We were all unanimously depressed and drank and ate and gossiped our way through the evening, finding it quite difficult to bring the conversation back around to the book. I had packed the night before, so thankfully all I had to do was enjoy myself.
We left home at 6am the next morning, my Dad coming over super early to drive us in to the airport. Our flight was on time, and by 2:00pm EST, we were in Miami. I found that the whole time I was there, I just couldn't help myself.....I needed to sing Will Smith's song, over and over and over again. "Welcome to Miami. Bienvenido a Miami!" THe airport is a hole, and the cabs are a total racket, but somehow cheaper than my darling SuperShuttle. So we cabbed it to our hotel, the Marriott Biscayne Bay, which I had secured with my long lost Marriott Reward Points for a grand total of $0!!! Yeah, I know, brilliant.
We got a room on the Bay side, and when we got to our room and looked out the windows, we could see all the cruise ships at the Port! It was very exciting to think that we would be on one at the same time the next day.
DH and I got comfy and then ventured out to the Metromover. It's Miami's way of connecting the downtown. A free monorail system of sorts. Unfortunately, there's not much to do in downtown Miami, and riding the Metromover is pretty darn sketch. I've been in most majors cities in the world. London, NYC, LA, Chicago, Boston......but Miami was unfortunately the dirtiest and most "spread out" of them all. We hit the Bayside Marketplace, an indoor/outdoor mall with a section of flea market type stuff and a Hooters. I'm shocked that people spend their time in Miami going to this place. Is that really all there is? We grabbed a quick bite to eat, tried to find some last-minute items, and then headed back to the hotel where I finished my Charlaine Harris book and DH watched loads of football.
The next morning, I couldn't sleep so got up at 6:30 am and peaked out the window....and what do you know, there was the Carnival Valor pulling into Port! It was a little disturbing to think that 7 days from then, I'd be getting up at that time and would have had to repack everything. Ugh..the worst part! But it was still exciting, because that was going to be our home away from home for an entire week.
We got to the Port of Miami via taxi around 11:45am. We were immediately greeted by a Porter, who slapped tags on our bags and waited expectantly for his "tip." You really shouldn't call it a tip at this point. The fate of your bags lays in the hands of these gentlemen. If you don't tip, you go naked for 7 days. Why don't they just charge $1 a bag and call it a day? Seriously, if they work 4 days a week, and there are 3000 people going out on each ship each day, these people are making a killing. Sign me up!
We went through security in 15 minutes, rushed through the "Sail n' Sign" card line, and then were allowed to board. We were on the Valor by 12:30pm, with an hour to spare until we had access to our rooms. Hubs and I headed upstairs to the cafeteria for lunch, where we tried the fish n' chips. It was exciting being on board. The ship was just humungous. They piled 3,000 people on board, but you had no idea! Plenty of nooks and crannies for everyone.
Muster drill was at 4:00pm, so we rushed to our muster station and just stood there like idiots with our life vests for 15 minutes. Afterwards, our bags were at our door so we did a rush job of unpacking. Once unpacked, we walked up 9 flights of stairs to the main deck and tried to find a spot at the railing....only to discover that we were already sailing!! Ooops. We missed our first sailaway. :) We were still in the channel leaving the Port, though, so it was fun to see everyone wave to the people on the highway. So exciting watching a cruise ship leave Port, I think --- so many people excited to be leaving their cares and worries behind them for a week of fun and adventure. It's the best kind of excitement there is.
Carnival does this cheesy dance party at sailaway. I have to admit, it was tempting to partake. I just watched and enjoyed it all. They videotaped it and then replayed it on a continuous circuit on our TVs in our room, so you bet I made up for not dancing in person by boogying in my cabin.
Dinner for us was late -- 8:15. We joke that we always eat with the old people, but to avoid this, I purposely chose the later of the two seatings. Since the Valor is themed, we were in the "Washington" dining room. Our waiter was a gentleman from Jamaica named Owen, and our assistant waiter was Fernando. I loved Owen from the start....so proud and professional. I just wanted to hug him every night! He quickly learned that I had a cappuccino after dinner with dessert.....needed a little somethin' somethin' to keep me up until 12am at least. He had a pretty good palate, too. Everything he recommended was really good. I guess I was pretty impressed with the food. It wasn't as fattening as I was expecting, and the portions were reasonably small. I had healthy options to choose from every night --- shrimp cocktail, broth-based soups, salads, steamed fish, grilled chicken -- and it made me feel less guilty when I ordered a naughty little dessert each night. They had this dark and white chocolate bread pudding called "bitter n' blanc" that was absolutely to die for. I'd sail Carnival again just to eat it.
ANYWAY, enough about food! We hit up every show on the ship, investigated every lounge, partook in copious amounts of movie and "name that tune" trivia, and even attended a few of the shore excursion clinics. We went to the gym on our two sea days, doing our best to stay upright whilst using the elliptical machines. (I tried to run, but I nearly fell off the treadmill and decided to just skip my run) I have to say we were never, ever bored. There was no sitting on the deck and basking in the sun for us. No, we were busy beavers, moving from one activity to the next with little to no down time. Hubby has serious ADD and cannot relax. Some vacation, huh?!
Our first shore stop was Grand Cayman. We had to tender ashore, as there is no Pier and the water is too shallow. DH and I snuck into the tender boat line (I'm usually a rule follower, but I just didn't have patience -- I was too excited!) and got to shore very early. It was a HOT day, partly cloudy but plenty of sunshine, and we had nothing planned. I was trying to save money, so I left Grand Cayman empty because I'd read that it was a Port you could walk around without having to do an excursion. Plenty of shopping and restaurants. It became very clear that DH had no intention at all of just walking around, so we began our search for a tour company. I'd only read about 3 of them online -- Captain Marvin's, Moby Dick, and Nativeway -- so I tried to search them out. We found Nativeway, but their excursions involved too much snorkeling. DH the non-swimmer refused to do more snorkeling than was necessary. So I found Moby Dick's by the Pier, and we signed up for the "Snorkeling/Sting Ray" excursion.
We loaded into a purple school bus and drove down the island to the Marina. Grand Cayman looked like every other Florida island. Gorgeous beaches, neat hotels, and American chains lining the streets. I was a little disappointed....it just had such an American flair to it. At any rate, once at the Marina, we got on the Moby Dick boat and headed out to the sand bar in between Rum Point and West Bay. It was a rough 30-minute trip, with choppy seas and a bit of a swell. When we pulled up, there were probably five or six similarly sized boats already anchored by the sandbar, so our group opted to do the snorkeling first. The reef here is supposedly the best 12-foot dive spot in the World. I think I can believe that.
The guides anchored the ship by the edge of the reef, and then told us to grab flippers, goggles, and a vest. And to jump! No instruction at all. I'd never snorkeled before, but the waves were pretty big and I was freaking out about DH. He put on his inflatable vest and followed me into the water, but he didn't let go of the boat. The waves were trying to push him under, so I flipped out again and then made him get back on the boat. I just didn't feel comfortable, and the last thing I needed was for him to drown! We were hardly with a group capable of rescuing him, I don't think....
Anyway, he let me go off on my own, so I tried this "snorkeling" out. I hate the flippers and refused to kick, so I ended up doing freestyle the whole time -- I must have looked like an idiot! The coral and the fish were simply gorgeous, and the ocean was so clear and crisp. I really, really loved it out there. But there were so many people running into me and swimming in front of me that I totally lost it. After 10 minutes, I gave up and swam back to the boat. Our guides totally understood why I was frustrated. :) Anyway, after we rescued our stray snorkelers, we headed back over to Stingray City where we saw even more boats on the sandbar! Ah, I guess that's what you get for being in Grand Cayman on Tuesdays, with 4 ships in town. (2 from Carnival, one from Norwegian, one from Princess)
We picked a deeper section of the sandbar to anchor, then got out carefully. There were big rays everywhere we walked. I was doing the stingray shuffle the entire time, and was not too keen on the touchy feely stingrays. I think they enjoy scaring the crap out of people. ;) I swear, they would swim close to the surface and just LOOK at you with those eyes. These are not stupid fish....these are pretty smart creatures of habit who live a very long time. I was impressed with how "domesticated" they were. But like our naturalist said, you'd put up with anything for free food, right? I kissed my sting ray for 7 years good luck....they willingly swim into the guide's arms and stay there, so I didn't think it would kill them to get a kiss form me. I'm sure it got some squid for its good behavior.
At any rate, after a half hour, we headed back to the boat and back to shore. It was definitely very interesting to get dumped in the middle of the Caribbean Sea and to stand amongst massive stingrays, but I can't say I'd do it again. Been there, done that.
We got back to Grand Cayman with several hours to spare before we had to be back on the ship. Rather than pay to eat, we decided to just walk around a little bit and then get a head start on the rest of our cruisemates in the tender line. It was HOT out there, so we didn't last long. I noted a cute restaurant right next to the tender dock, Eden Rock, that rented out snorkel equipment. They seemed to have very docile seas and a beach from which to access the reef..... I think if I ever went to Grand Cayman again, I'd go to Hell (how the "hell" are ya? We hope you have a "hell" of a good time) and then grab a bite and snorkel at Eden Rock.
We got back on the ship, changed out of our salty clothes, and then headed up to eat a late late lunch at the buffet. It was nice to sit up and enjoy our meal, watching the tender boats hurry to the ship to get people on board before the ship's departure time.
Day 2 was Isla Roatan. It was a 12pm arrival, so we had time in the morning to go eat breakfast in the dining room (bleh!) and then walk around Deck to check out the Honduran islands. They are so beautiful....it was like Jurassic Park. ;) Everyone says that if you are looking for topographical changes and beautiful scenery, you should pick an Eastern Caribbean itinerary. But I have to say, Roatan and its sister Bay Islands are just beautiful.
As the ship approached the Pier in Coxen Hole, we made our way to the side of Deck three..... The view was amazing, and we were greeted by a dancing show by the native Garifuna dancers. I know it probably sounds cheesy, but they were holding up the Honduran flag and welcoming us to shore. I was absolutely enchanted by these dancers and got even more excited for disembarkation!
Once we were secured to the ship, we jumped in line to get off the ship and were off in less than 5 minutes. Our excursion for the day, "Kayak & Snorkel," was chosen at random from our home computer, so we had no idea what to expect. We stood in the line that our guide had formed, and it turned out there were only 4 couples on the trip with us! The beginner scuba line was humungous, so we felt really lucky that we were going on a ship excursion that was small and intimate.
Our guide took us to our bus at the Port, driven by an American man who was originally from Chicago but had bought the Cannibal Cafe and Seabreeze Inn in Roatan. He was hilarious trying to maneuver us through traffic in our little bus. We watched in awe as we looked down the row of primitive shops in Coxen Hole and looked at the barefoot children playing in their rooster-inhabited front lawns. Poverty? Yes. But it did not bother me as much as the homeless I saw in Downtown Miami. These people may have been poor, but they are rich in family, culture, and nature. Again, I was fascinated and totally drawn in. Our guide told us about Coxen Hole's history......since it was the only place on the island where the reef allows access by larger ship, Pirates would come there and hide their loot and use it as a place to attack Spanish ships returning home from the Honduran Gold Coast. The people are a mixture of native Carib and Arawak Indians, descendents of African slaves, Spaniards, English, and other European influences that came to the island in the 16, 17, and 1800's.
The van drove us to the West End of the island, which is a gorgeous strip of real estate that is joined by a dirt road and dozens of little inns, cantinas, and touristy dive shops. Our home base for the day was the Cannibal Cafe, where we stashed our belongings and promptly changed to go snorkeling. There was a snorkeling crew there for us -- a certified Scuba instructor and 3 teenage boys who were there to guide us around Half Moon Bay. We learned how to adjust our masks, put on flippers, and inflate our life vests, then headed down to the beach where we jumped in the water and prepared for our trip. Our original guide got into the water in the "rescue" kayak, and he was always there in case we had issues. My non-swimming husband felt totally comfortable in these calm waters, and I was more at ease because of all the help around. If there was any place for a beginner to feel safe, this was it. We swam in a line, following our guide as he navigated us through the Bay. The waters were so clear and beautiful, and we saw many gorgeous fish and coral formations. DH sometimes just hung on to my feet and let me drag him through the water, and I liked this because I knew where he was. Towards the end of the Bay, where the boats were entering, it got a little rough and DH flipped out a bit there. But thankfully, he calmed back down and we were soon on our way. I think the trip was about 45 minutes? I got out of the water and immediately felt like throwing my snorkeling gear on the ground and going for a run. Gee, can't get the triathlete out of me anymore!
After snorkeling, we went back to the cafe, rinsed off, and then sat in the shade as we ate fresh homemade quesadillas and freshly-picked watermelon and pineapple. Holy cow, can you say delish? I was in paradise......this place was just too idyllic and amazing for words.
When our snack was through, we grabbed our oars and life vests and prepared for our kayak trip. I ended up knocking their beautiful Amazon parrot off of his perch with my oar and felt horribly guilty! I swear he glared at me with his birdy eyes the rest of our trip. ;)
DH and I were in a double kayak, amongst the three other couples and our 3 guides. We were pretty pathetic as we paddled down the West End. I have better rhythm than the hubs, so it irked me that he was in back and "in control." I felt like a little anarchist every time I put my oar in the water. Note to self: if we ever kayak again, get a SINGLE!! I loved it, though. Reminded me why I wanted to do Crew in college. So much fun to glide down the West End and enjoy the calm and beautiful ocean.
We pulled over to shore at the halfway point and dragged our kayaks up the beach a little ways. Apparently, this was our flora and fauna hike. Of course, it was a thinly-veiled attempt at getting us to rent our guide's cousin's beach bungalows, but it was still beautiful. We scaled the large hill leading up from the beach and into the thick jungle canopy of Roatan. They showed us two different types of banana trees, multiple types of watermelon, cashew trees, trees that produced such fragrant leaves that you could make teas from them.....oh, it was so beautiful. This island is literally FILLED with sustenance. And the people here are so proud of it, bragging about how hardy their children are to allergies because they live off the jungle in their youth....how they don't need much from the mainland because they can sustain themselves on the island. Oh, it was amazing.
So we headed back down the hill, kayaked back to the cafe, and then rushed onto the van because our day was over and we had to get back to the ship. It was so sad to leave.....DH and I made sure to tip generously, as the American dollar goes so far down there and our guides had been so attentive and kind. Really went above and beyond -- I felt depressed leaving them behind!
Once back at Coxen Hole, we realized we had about an hour before we had to be back on the Ship. Knowing I had Christmas coming up, we decided to brave the shops and see what we could find. Lots and lots of hand-carved wooden baskets, animals, well....you name it. I think the first place we went to was called "Yabba Ding Ding." It was so thick with Valor passengers that we immediately left. I wasn't that motivated, and frankly, wanted to change out of my salty clothes and get something to snack on! So back to the ship we went, to wash up and snack at Rosie's.
That night was the juggler/magic show. I initially didn't want to go because I hate BOTH of those things, but we were on a whole "do everything" kick, so off we went after dinner. The juggler was a cute, older Mexican guy who dropped quite a few things. Each time, he was like, "the sheep, it is moving!" Hahaha....yeah, I suppose it would be hard to juggle on a moving vessel. The magician was hilarious. He preyed on women in the audience, and I was totally entertained by him.....until he attempted the cheesy Vegas part of his show where he had a sexy dancer parade around and touch him while he made eyes at her. I laughed hysterically, telling DH "it has to be a joke! He must be mocking the Vegas acts." Oh, no. He was DEAD serious. It ended up creeping me out in the end, but I will say I was very amused and glad I went.
The next morning was Belize. Oh, Belize. The reason I booked the cruise, to be honest. I'd read about cave tubing and how cool it was, so I'd booked a private excursion with a group called "Major Tom" and for three weeks prior to the cruise went around the house singing, "ground control to Major Tom." Yeah, I was obsessed.
So it was a cloudy day in Belize City, and we were 4-5 miles off shore. Winds were buffeting the seas, and the deck was wet, so we could tell it had been raining. We snuck into the first tender line yet again, as we had a private excursion and had to get off first. All was well until I handed my FunPass over to the debarkation girl......the gentlemen overseeing the tender operation yelled "stop!" and chaos ensued for a few minutes. I stood there losing my mind, because I wanted to get on that tender boat so bad.
Eventually, they pushed us back into this room outside the infirmary, and accounced that tender operations had been halted due to the tender boats being slammed into the ship. They said the Captain was going to try to reposition and that we could wait. So the Captain moved us around, and I think he was talking to the Legend or Triumph captain as well, the other ship that was in Belize City with us. We waited a half hour before they told us to go up to the Ivanhoe theatre to wait. I flipped out. I knew our cave tubing was going to take 5.5 hours. With 8 hours in Port, this was a reasonable amount of time. But with each passing minute, I grew concerned that we weren't going to have enough time.
When they started the tenders back up, an hour or so had passed and we didn't have a tender ticket to get back in line.....so I gave up, made us drop our swimsuits back in the room, and then went upstairs to have a decent late breakfast. We got tender ticket #11, and it wasn't until 11:30 that we got to board the tender to Belize City.
The seas weren't all that bad, but people were getting wet! I must admit, Belize City was a dump and we never felt safe enough to leave the Port. It drizzled the entire time, and I moped the entire time about missing out on Major Tom. Oh, I was so depressed. I wish I'd had the foresight to research a backup tour, but no....I was an idiot. So Belize was a lost port to us. We lasted all of an hour onshore before we opted to go back to the ship.
Such a shame that so many peoples' favorite country was our worst experience! If only we could have gotten on a land tour.....I heard Lamanai ruins were beautiful. And the Jeep tour people had an amazing day. Ugh!
We spent the day playing all types of trivia. I regret to inform everyone that I never once won the coveted golden Ship on a Stick. Oh, it made me so mad! I think the old people were cheating.
We went to Scarlett's for dinner, the fancy steakhouse on board the ship that costs a little extra. It's supposed to be the equivalent of Morton's or Ruth's Chris, and I think they did a pretty decent job. I had a ceasar salad to start, but had to switch with DH because he didn't like HIS salad....then he complained about mine. For dinner, I had the surf and turf -- lobster tail and filet --- while DH had the 24-ounce porterhouse. He HATED his Porterhouse. Said it was too fatty. Complained the entire time. So I had to give him my filet to shut him the hell up. It made me mad....I felt like I was dining with a five year old. He didn't even order a side dish, so I just ate my baked potato and lobster and stewed silently. We were really full by then, but decided to order desert anyway. Oh, scratch that. *I* ordered desert because DH was upset it all sounded too complicated for him and he thought it was all gross. I didn't order what I wanted because I knew he'd want to try it and would complain, so I opted for the citrus cheesecake. I knew he'd like it. AND I suppose he did. A few bites in, he decided he wanted some and then proceeded to eat the rest of it. Of course, he complained the entire time that it wasn't good enough, but did that stop him?
So yes, a LOVELY evening with my adolescent husband. I enjoyed my meal, but I have to say that they did overcomplicate everything. I think that sometimes you need to let the flavors stay simple. Execute it well and it will be appreciated. When you fancify this stuff up so much that it's confusing to say and overwhelming to eat, it feels like you tried too hard. I'd probably not go back there given the opportunity again. I'd rather save my money and go on an excursion.
OK, so the next day was Cozumel. We were dragging by now, but I got room service every morning so that we could stay on schedule. They were perpetually early, but I caught on after the first day so I was always dressed and up when they arrived. DH was always in bed, groggy, and mad that he had to get up so early. We were supposed to meet our tour in the Ivanhoe theatre at 8am, but I couldn't get DH going until 8:05. As we were walking up the stairs to go to Ivanhoe, we ran into a huge crowd. I spotted a ticket that said "Ultramar," which was what was on my ticket. I asked the guy if he was going to Tulum, and he said they'd been dismissed and that we were to exit the Ship and head to the next Pier to get on the shuttle. I thanked him, got in line behind him, and then kept him in my sights until we were off the ship and had spotted the 400-person Ultramar catamaran.
It was a crisp day in Cozumel. The sky was a fall-colored blue. Deep, rich, slightly chilly. The ocean was churning pretty good. We were a little groggy, but we managed to get on the boat and then enjoyed our 30-minute trip across the ocean to the mainland, Playa del Carmen. When we got off the boat, we were immediately split up into groups of 40. Our group was claimed by a young Mexican girl named Li-Li, who ran our tour. She was a recent college grad who majored in history, so she was a whiz when it came to Mayan culture. Being part Mayan herself, it felt a little more authentic.
We walked single-file through the cobblestone streets of Costa Maya to our bus, then took our seats. For 45 minutes, we got a great cultural lesson and learned about the Riviera Maya and Yucatan Peninsula. Did you know Yucatan roughly means, "I hear you but I don't understand you?" Ha! We stopped at a Mayan Cultural Center along the way to use the restroom, and DH and I bought what we thought was a Mayan calendar. When we got home, the piece of paper that came with it described it as the Aztec calendar. Hmmm.....authentic Mayan Cultural Center peddling Aztec calendars? Doesn't sound so authentic to me.
Anyway, we ended up at Tulum very quickly thereafter and followed our tour guide through the village and 1/4 mile down the road to the ruins. They were stunning, sitting up on this cliff overlooking the ocean. We learned the differences between temples and palaces, tried to understand why they sacrificed humans, and got to see photos of how they really looked in the time that they were in use. (They were red!) We were given an hour to roam around after our tour, so we headed down to the beach for some "ruins on the cliff" photos, and then went back to the bus so that we didn't miss it. Overall, we are so glad we did this. I finally figured out that DH is a history buff, so if you stick him on a bus with a tour guide, he's a happy camper. Been there, done that.
We napped on the bus on the way back to Playa del Carmen, tolerated the Ultramar shuttle ride, and then perused the touristy shopping village at the Pier in Cozumel. We got back to the ship a little less than an hour before we were supposed to, had our token snack at Rosie's, and then prepared for dinner. It was at times like these that we were happy we had the late seating! if we had the early seating, we would have to take shorter excursions or skip the formal dinners altogether.....
That night, there was an early show, "Motown Sounds & Comedian," which I enjoyed. Dinner was really good -- I had lamb chops and Bitter n' Blanc -- and after dinner there was a deck party! They were doing all the sailaway dances, so I abandoned DH and joined everyone on Lido for some dancing foolery. Mississippi Slide, Cupid Shuffle, Conga Line.....I danced for a half hour and knew all the moves because I'd been practicing them. ;) So much fun!
The next day was depressing, as it was the last day of our cruise and time to get into "disembarkation" mode. We slept in, attended the disembarkation talk, and then proceeded to hit the gym. After the gym, we took quick showers and caught the tail end of the chocolate buffet. I ate chocolate for lunch, and felt like a cow. After gorging ourselves, we did more trivia, then went back to our rooms to pack. So sad! We chose to do the regular disembarkation, so we got our tags, #30 (that's the second to last group to leave the ship), and had to have our bags out in the hallway by 12pm. 
Valor had a holiday show around 5:00pm, so we attended and enjoyed the Christmas carols. We tried to get in the mood, but it was so sad knowing this was one of the last times we'd be in Ivanhoe! We did a little duty free shopping before dinner, then had our last dinner with Owen. It was yummy, too.....lobster and crab cakes with a spicy remoulade, panko crusted jumbo shrimp, and grand marnier souffle. Mmm.... We handed tip envelopes to Owen and our bar steward....and to that annoying assistant matre'd. He did nothing for us other than annoy me, but I felt bad and put some money in the envelope anyway. I refused to put our table # on it, as I didn't want to be thanked....or associated for the small dollar amount I put in there. (Sorry, I refuse to give $20 to a man who didn't do that much for me!) When he was walking around thanking everyone, I got up from my table and ran to the restroom to hide. How sad is that? Anyway, was sad to say goodbye to Owen. After 7 days, you grow attached to everyone. I sincerely hope he gets promoted one of these days....he's far too smart and on-top-of things to be waiting on people his whole career.
So, that night was the Carnival Legends show, where our fellow passengers perform with the dancers by singing songs by certain artists. I wanted to try out to be Britney Spears, but late seatings missed out on karaoke tryouts. Oh well! I think our cruise had some pretty bad singers.....the highlight was our cruise director as Dolly Parton. Overall, this was the worst show of our trip, but the only thing that saved it was seeing our entertainment staff....we'd grown attached to them, too.
After hanging out on deck, we decided to call it a night. Our last night at sea. We knew we were moving quickly and would be in Port within a few short hours. Ugh.
Our phone rang at 5:45am. I suspect this was a mistake, as Chris didn't come over the loudspeaker until 7:30am, when customs cleared the ship and the first two groups were allowed to disembark. DH and I finished getting ready, and were out of our cabin by 8:30am. We headed up to Lido with our bags and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. By 10:00am, our number had been called and we made our way to the American Lobby where we were held up for 20 minutes by Miami customs.....they got a little backlogged. Anyway, once off the ship, we picked up our bags and were out of the terminal in 10 minutes. Pretty painless compared to some of the stories I'd read.
DH and I grabbed a cab to our new hotel, the Courtyard Downtown, but there was something going on that blocked the streets so we had to get out and walk 3 blocks with our suitcases. So annoyed. We got a nice room at 11am in our hotel, so that was a relief. We decided to see the famed South Beach, so we walked to Bayside Marketplace to catch a cab and were swiftly driven over to Ocean Drive. I have to say, I expected a little more?? It was an overcast day, and we walked the length of Ocean Drive twice trying to figure out where we wanted to eat. We ended up eating at this hotel that wasn't that fabulous, then walked to the point where we could see the cruise ships. The Valor was smoking up a storm, so we knew it was close to leaving Port. How sad! Our home was leaving with another group of excited people, and we would be left behind in Miami. :(
We walked to a pedestrian mall somewhere near south beach, then walked a little while more until a taxi picked us up and brought us back to the hotel. I was sick at this point, so we sat around, watched football, read, and ordered pizza. Yucky night.
The next morning, we got a late checkout and then walked to Mary Brickell Village for lunch at Rosa Mexicano. Definitely not as good as the one in DC. We ended up walking back, packing up our things, and then taking a taxi back to the airport where we endured for many many hours until getting home.
So, that was our trip. Are you asleep yet? Well, it wasn't for public consumption-- I just wanted to document everything. :) We had an amazing time and I cannot wait to cruise on my next vacation! (South America? Alaska? Hawaii? Mediterranean? I cannot wait!)
I had book club the night before we left for our trip. Memory Keeper's Daughter. We were all unanimously depressed and drank and ate and gossiped our way through the evening, finding it quite difficult to bring the conversation back around to the book. I had packed the night before, so thankfully all I had to do was enjoy myself.
We left home at 6am the next morning, my Dad coming over super early to drive us in to the airport. Our flight was on time, and by 2:00pm EST, we were in Miami. I found that the whole time I was there, I just couldn't help myself.....I needed to sing Will Smith's song, over and over and over again. "Welcome to Miami. Bienvenido a Miami!" THe airport is a hole, and the cabs are a total racket, but somehow cheaper than my darling SuperShuttle. So we cabbed it to our hotel, the Marriott Biscayne Bay, which I had secured with my long lost Marriott Reward Points for a grand total of $0!!! Yeah, I know, brilliant.
We got a room on the Bay side, and when we got to our room and looked out the windows, we could see all the cruise ships at the Port! It was very exciting to think that we would be on one at the same time the next day.
DH and I got comfy and then ventured out to the Metromover. It's Miami's way of connecting the downtown. A free monorail system of sorts. Unfortunately, there's not much to do in downtown Miami, and riding the Metromover is pretty darn sketch. I've been in most majors cities in the world. London, NYC, LA, Chicago, Boston......but Miami was unfortunately the dirtiest and most "spread out" of them all. We hit the Bayside Marketplace, an indoor/outdoor mall with a section of flea market type stuff and a Hooters. I'm shocked that people spend their time in Miami going to this place. Is that really all there is? We grabbed a quick bite to eat, tried to find some last-minute items, and then headed back to the hotel where I finished my Charlaine Harris book and DH watched loads of football.
The next morning, I couldn't sleep so got up at 6:30 am and peaked out the window....and what do you know, there was the Carnival Valor pulling into Port! It was a little disturbing to think that 7 days from then, I'd be getting up at that time and would have had to repack everything. Ugh..the worst part! But it was still exciting, because that was going to be our home away from home for an entire week.
We got to the Port of Miami via taxi around 11:45am. We were immediately greeted by a Porter, who slapped tags on our bags and waited expectantly for his "tip." You really shouldn't call it a tip at this point. The fate of your bags lays in the hands of these gentlemen. If you don't tip, you go naked for 7 days. Why don't they just charge $1 a bag and call it a day? Seriously, if they work 4 days a week, and there are 3000 people going out on each ship each day, these people are making a killing. Sign me up!
We went through security in 15 minutes, rushed through the "Sail n' Sign" card line, and then were allowed to board. We were on the Valor by 12:30pm, with an hour to spare until we had access to our rooms. Hubs and I headed upstairs to the cafeteria for lunch, where we tried the fish n' chips. It was exciting being on board. The ship was just humungous. They piled 3,000 people on board, but you had no idea! Plenty of nooks and crannies for everyone.
Muster drill was at 4:00pm, so we rushed to our muster station and just stood there like idiots with our life vests for 15 minutes. Afterwards, our bags were at our door so we did a rush job of unpacking. Once unpacked, we walked up 9 flights of stairs to the main deck and tried to find a spot at the railing....only to discover that we were already sailing!! Ooops. We missed our first sailaway. :) We were still in the channel leaving the Port, though, so it was fun to see everyone wave to the people on the highway. So exciting watching a cruise ship leave Port, I think --- so many people excited to be leaving their cares and worries behind them for a week of fun and adventure. It's the best kind of excitement there is.
Carnival does this cheesy dance party at sailaway. I have to admit, it was tempting to partake. I just watched and enjoyed it all. They videotaped it and then replayed it on a continuous circuit on our TVs in our room, so you bet I made up for not dancing in person by boogying in my cabin.
Dinner for us was late -- 8:15. We joke that we always eat with the old people, but to avoid this, I purposely chose the later of the two seatings. Since the Valor is themed, we were in the "Washington" dining room. Our waiter was a gentleman from Jamaica named Owen, and our assistant waiter was Fernando. I loved Owen from the start....so proud and professional. I just wanted to hug him every night! He quickly learned that I had a cappuccino after dinner with dessert.....needed a little somethin' somethin' to keep me up until 12am at least. He had a pretty good palate, too. Everything he recommended was really good. I guess I was pretty impressed with the food. It wasn't as fattening as I was expecting, and the portions were reasonably small. I had healthy options to choose from every night --- shrimp cocktail, broth-based soups, salads, steamed fish, grilled chicken -- and it made me feel less guilty when I ordered a naughty little dessert each night. They had this dark and white chocolate bread pudding called "bitter n' blanc" that was absolutely to die for. I'd sail Carnival again just to eat it.
ANYWAY, enough about food! We hit up every show on the ship, investigated every lounge, partook in copious amounts of movie and "name that tune" trivia, and even attended a few of the shore excursion clinics. We went to the gym on our two sea days, doing our best to stay upright whilst using the elliptical machines. (I tried to run, but I nearly fell off the treadmill and decided to just skip my run) I have to say we were never, ever bored. There was no sitting on the deck and basking in the sun for us. No, we were busy beavers, moving from one activity to the next with little to no down time. Hubby has serious ADD and cannot relax. Some vacation, huh?!
Our first shore stop was Grand Cayman. We had to tender ashore, as there is no Pier and the water is too shallow. DH and I snuck into the tender boat line (I'm usually a rule follower, but I just didn't have patience -- I was too excited!) and got to shore very early. It was a HOT day, partly cloudy but plenty of sunshine, and we had nothing planned. I was trying to save money, so I left Grand Cayman empty because I'd read that it was a Port you could walk around without having to do an excursion. Plenty of shopping and restaurants. It became very clear that DH had no intention at all of just walking around, so we began our search for a tour company. I'd only read about 3 of them online -- Captain Marvin's, Moby Dick, and Nativeway -- so I tried to search them out. We found Nativeway, but their excursions involved too much snorkeling. DH the non-swimmer refused to do more snorkeling than was necessary. So I found Moby Dick's by the Pier, and we signed up for the "Snorkeling/Sting Ray" excursion.
We loaded into a purple school bus and drove down the island to the Marina. Grand Cayman looked like every other Florida island. Gorgeous beaches, neat hotels, and American chains lining the streets. I was a little disappointed....it just had such an American flair to it. At any rate, once at the Marina, we got on the Moby Dick boat and headed out to the sand bar in between Rum Point and West Bay. It was a rough 30-minute trip, with choppy seas and a bit of a swell. When we pulled up, there were probably five or six similarly sized boats already anchored by the sandbar, so our group opted to do the snorkeling first. The reef here is supposedly the best 12-foot dive spot in the World. I think I can believe that.
The guides anchored the ship by the edge of the reef, and then told us to grab flippers, goggles, and a vest. And to jump! No instruction at all. I'd never snorkeled before, but the waves were pretty big and I was freaking out about DH. He put on his inflatable vest and followed me into the water, but he didn't let go of the boat. The waves were trying to push him under, so I flipped out again and then made him get back on the boat. I just didn't feel comfortable, and the last thing I needed was for him to drown! We were hardly with a group capable of rescuing him, I don't think....
Anyway, he let me go off on my own, so I tried this "snorkeling" out. I hate the flippers and refused to kick, so I ended up doing freestyle the whole time -- I must have looked like an idiot! The coral and the fish were simply gorgeous, and the ocean was so clear and crisp. I really, really loved it out there. But there were so many people running into me and swimming in front of me that I totally lost it. After 10 minutes, I gave up and swam back to the boat. Our guides totally understood why I was frustrated. :) Anyway, after we rescued our stray snorkelers, we headed back over to Stingray City where we saw even more boats on the sandbar! Ah, I guess that's what you get for being in Grand Cayman on Tuesdays, with 4 ships in town. (2 from Carnival, one from Norwegian, one from Princess)
We picked a deeper section of the sandbar to anchor, then got out carefully. There were big rays everywhere we walked. I was doing the stingray shuffle the entire time, and was not too keen on the touchy feely stingrays. I think they enjoy scaring the crap out of people. ;) I swear, they would swim close to the surface and just LOOK at you with those eyes. These are not stupid fish....these are pretty smart creatures of habit who live a very long time. I was impressed with how "domesticated" they were. But like our naturalist said, you'd put up with anything for free food, right? I kissed my sting ray for 7 years good luck....they willingly swim into the guide's arms and stay there, so I didn't think it would kill them to get a kiss form me. I'm sure it got some squid for its good behavior.
At any rate, after a half hour, we headed back to the boat and back to shore. It was definitely very interesting to get dumped in the middle of the Caribbean Sea and to stand amongst massive stingrays, but I can't say I'd do it again. Been there, done that.We got back to Grand Cayman with several hours to spare before we had to be back on the ship. Rather than pay to eat, we decided to just walk around a little bit and then get a head start on the rest of our cruisemates in the tender line. It was HOT out there, so we didn't last long. I noted a cute restaurant right next to the tender dock, Eden Rock, that rented out snorkel equipment. They seemed to have very docile seas and a beach from which to access the reef..... I think if I ever went to Grand Cayman again, I'd go to Hell (how the "hell" are ya? We hope you have a "hell" of a good time) and then grab a bite and snorkel at Eden Rock.
We got back on the ship, changed out of our salty clothes, and then headed up to eat a late late lunch at the buffet. It was nice to sit up and enjoy our meal, watching the tender boats hurry to the ship to get people on board before the ship's departure time.
Day 2 was Isla Roatan. It was a 12pm arrival, so we had time in the morning to go eat breakfast in the dining room (bleh!) and then walk around Deck to check out the Honduran islands. They are so beautiful....it was like Jurassic Park. ;) Everyone says that if you are looking for topographical changes and beautiful scenery, you should pick an Eastern Caribbean itinerary. But I have to say, Roatan and its sister Bay Islands are just beautiful.
As the ship approached the Pier in Coxen Hole, we made our way to the side of Deck three..... The view was amazing, and we were greeted by a dancing show by the native Garifuna dancers. I know it probably sounds cheesy, but they were holding up the Honduran flag and welcoming us to shore. I was absolutely enchanted by these dancers and got even more excited for disembarkation!
Once we were secured to the ship, we jumped in line to get off the ship and were off in less than 5 minutes. Our excursion for the day, "Kayak & Snorkel," was chosen at random from our home computer, so we had no idea what to expect. We stood in the line that our guide had formed, and it turned out there were only 4 couples on the trip with us! The beginner scuba line was humungous, so we felt really lucky that we were going on a ship excursion that was small and intimate.
Our guide took us to our bus at the Port, driven by an American man who was originally from Chicago but had bought the Cannibal Cafe and Seabreeze Inn in Roatan. He was hilarious trying to maneuver us through traffic in our little bus. We watched in awe as we looked down the row of primitive shops in Coxen Hole and looked at the barefoot children playing in their rooster-inhabited front lawns. Poverty? Yes. But it did not bother me as much as the homeless I saw in Downtown Miami. These people may have been poor, but they are rich in family, culture, and nature. Again, I was fascinated and totally drawn in. Our guide told us about Coxen Hole's history......since it was the only place on the island where the reef allows access by larger ship, Pirates would come there and hide their loot and use it as a place to attack Spanish ships returning home from the Honduran Gold Coast. The people are a mixture of native Carib and Arawak Indians, descendents of African slaves, Spaniards, English, and other European influences that came to the island in the 16, 17, and 1800's.
The van drove us to the West End of the island, which is a gorgeous strip of real estate that is joined by a dirt road and dozens of little inns, cantinas, and touristy dive shops. Our home base for the day was the Cannibal Cafe, where we stashed our belongings and promptly changed to go snorkeling. There was a snorkeling crew there for us -- a certified Scuba instructor and 3 teenage boys who were there to guide us around Half Moon Bay. We learned how to adjust our masks, put on flippers, and inflate our life vests, then headed down to the beach where we jumped in the water and prepared for our trip. Our original guide got into the water in the "rescue" kayak, and he was always there in case we had issues. My non-swimming husband felt totally comfortable in these calm waters, and I was more at ease because of all the help around. If there was any place for a beginner to feel safe, this was it. We swam in a line, following our guide as he navigated us through the Bay. The waters were so clear and beautiful, and we saw many gorgeous fish and coral formations. DH sometimes just hung on to my feet and let me drag him through the water, and I liked this because I knew where he was. Towards the end of the Bay, where the boats were entering, it got a little rough and DH flipped out a bit there. But thankfully, he calmed back down and we were soon on our way. I think the trip was about 45 minutes? I got out of the water and immediately felt like throwing my snorkeling gear on the ground and going for a run. Gee, can't get the triathlete out of me anymore!
After snorkeling, we went back to the cafe, rinsed off, and then sat in the shade as we ate fresh homemade quesadillas and freshly-picked watermelon and pineapple. Holy cow, can you say delish? I was in paradise......this place was just too idyllic and amazing for words.
When our snack was through, we grabbed our oars and life vests and prepared for our kayak trip. I ended up knocking their beautiful Amazon parrot off of his perch with my oar and felt horribly guilty! I swear he glared at me with his birdy eyes the rest of our trip. ;)
DH and I were in a double kayak, amongst the three other couples and our 3 guides. We were pretty pathetic as we paddled down the West End. I have better rhythm than the hubs, so it irked me that he was in back and "in control." I felt like a little anarchist every time I put my oar in the water. Note to self: if we ever kayak again, get a SINGLE!! I loved it, though. Reminded me why I wanted to do Crew in college. So much fun to glide down the West End and enjoy the calm and beautiful ocean.
We pulled over to shore at the halfway point and dragged our kayaks up the beach a little ways. Apparently, this was our flora and fauna hike. Of course, it was a thinly-veiled attempt at getting us to rent our guide's cousin's beach bungalows, but it was still beautiful. We scaled the large hill leading up from the beach and into the thick jungle canopy of Roatan. They showed us two different types of banana trees, multiple types of watermelon, cashew trees, trees that produced such fragrant leaves that you could make teas from them.....oh, it was so beautiful. This island is literally FILLED with sustenance. And the people here are so proud of it, bragging about how hardy their children are to allergies because they live off the jungle in their youth....how they don't need much from the mainland because they can sustain themselves on the island. Oh, it was amazing.
So we headed back down the hill, kayaked back to the cafe, and then rushed onto the van because our day was over and we had to get back to the ship. It was so sad to leave.....DH and I made sure to tip generously, as the American dollar goes so far down there and our guides had been so attentive and kind. Really went above and beyond -- I felt depressed leaving them behind!
Once back at Coxen Hole, we realized we had about an hour before we had to be back on the Ship. Knowing I had Christmas coming up, we decided to brave the shops and see what we could find. Lots and lots of hand-carved wooden baskets, animals, well....you name it. I think the first place we went to was called "Yabba Ding Ding." It was so thick with Valor passengers that we immediately left. I wasn't that motivated, and frankly, wanted to change out of my salty clothes and get something to snack on! So back to the ship we went, to wash up and snack at Rosie's.
That night was the juggler/magic show. I initially didn't want to go because I hate BOTH of those things, but we were on a whole "do everything" kick, so off we went after dinner. The juggler was a cute, older Mexican guy who dropped quite a few things. Each time, he was like, "the sheep, it is moving!" Hahaha....yeah, I suppose it would be hard to juggle on a moving vessel. The magician was hilarious. He preyed on women in the audience, and I was totally entertained by him.....until he attempted the cheesy Vegas part of his show where he had a sexy dancer parade around and touch him while he made eyes at her. I laughed hysterically, telling DH "it has to be a joke! He must be mocking the Vegas acts." Oh, no. He was DEAD serious. It ended up creeping me out in the end, but I will say I was very amused and glad I went.
The next morning was Belize. Oh, Belize. The reason I booked the cruise, to be honest. I'd read about cave tubing and how cool it was, so I'd booked a private excursion with a group called "Major Tom" and for three weeks prior to the cruise went around the house singing, "ground control to Major Tom." Yeah, I was obsessed.
So it was a cloudy day in Belize City, and we were 4-5 miles off shore. Winds were buffeting the seas, and the deck was wet, so we could tell it had been raining. We snuck into the first tender line yet again, as we had a private excursion and had to get off first. All was well until I handed my FunPass over to the debarkation girl......the gentlemen overseeing the tender operation yelled "stop!" and chaos ensued for a few minutes. I stood there losing my mind, because I wanted to get on that tender boat so bad.
Eventually, they pushed us back into this room outside the infirmary, and accounced that tender operations had been halted due to the tender boats being slammed into the ship. They said the Captain was going to try to reposition and that we could wait. So the Captain moved us around, and I think he was talking to the Legend or Triumph captain as well, the other ship that was in Belize City with us. We waited a half hour before they told us to go up to the Ivanhoe theatre to wait. I flipped out. I knew our cave tubing was going to take 5.5 hours. With 8 hours in Port, this was a reasonable amount of time. But with each passing minute, I grew concerned that we weren't going to have enough time.
When they started the tenders back up, an hour or so had passed and we didn't have a tender ticket to get back in line.....so I gave up, made us drop our swimsuits back in the room, and then went upstairs to have a decent late breakfast. We got tender ticket #11, and it wasn't until 11:30 that we got to board the tender to Belize City.
The seas weren't all that bad, but people were getting wet! I must admit, Belize City was a dump and we never felt safe enough to leave the Port. It drizzled the entire time, and I moped the entire time about missing out on Major Tom. Oh, I was so depressed. I wish I'd had the foresight to research a backup tour, but no....I was an idiot. So Belize was a lost port to us. We lasted all of an hour onshore before we opted to go back to the ship.
Such a shame that so many peoples' favorite country was our worst experience! If only we could have gotten on a land tour.....I heard Lamanai ruins were beautiful. And the Jeep tour people had an amazing day. Ugh!
We spent the day playing all types of trivia. I regret to inform everyone that I never once won the coveted golden Ship on a Stick. Oh, it made me so mad! I think the old people were cheating.
We went to Scarlett's for dinner, the fancy steakhouse on board the ship that costs a little extra. It's supposed to be the equivalent of Morton's or Ruth's Chris, and I think they did a pretty decent job. I had a ceasar salad to start, but had to switch with DH because he didn't like HIS salad....then he complained about mine. For dinner, I had the surf and turf -- lobster tail and filet --- while DH had the 24-ounce porterhouse. He HATED his Porterhouse. Said it was too fatty. Complained the entire time. So I had to give him my filet to shut him the hell up. It made me mad....I felt like I was dining with a five year old. He didn't even order a side dish, so I just ate my baked potato and lobster and stewed silently. We were really full by then, but decided to order desert anyway. Oh, scratch that. *I* ordered desert because DH was upset it all sounded too complicated for him and he thought it was all gross. I didn't order what I wanted because I knew he'd want to try it and would complain, so I opted for the citrus cheesecake. I knew he'd like it. AND I suppose he did. A few bites in, he decided he wanted some and then proceeded to eat the rest of it. Of course, he complained the entire time that it wasn't good enough, but did that stop him?
So yes, a LOVELY evening with my adolescent husband. I enjoyed my meal, but I have to say that they did overcomplicate everything. I think that sometimes you need to let the flavors stay simple. Execute it well and it will be appreciated. When you fancify this stuff up so much that it's confusing to say and overwhelming to eat, it feels like you tried too hard. I'd probably not go back there given the opportunity again. I'd rather save my money and go on an excursion.
OK, so the next day was Cozumel. We were dragging by now, but I got room service every morning so that we could stay on schedule. They were perpetually early, but I caught on after the first day so I was always dressed and up when they arrived. DH was always in bed, groggy, and mad that he had to get up so early. We were supposed to meet our tour in the Ivanhoe theatre at 8am, but I couldn't get DH going until 8:05. As we were walking up the stairs to go to Ivanhoe, we ran into a huge crowd. I spotted a ticket that said "Ultramar," which was what was on my ticket. I asked the guy if he was going to Tulum, and he said they'd been dismissed and that we were to exit the Ship and head to the next Pier to get on the shuttle. I thanked him, got in line behind him, and then kept him in my sights until we were off the ship and had spotted the 400-person Ultramar catamaran.
It was a crisp day in Cozumel. The sky was a fall-colored blue. Deep, rich, slightly chilly. The ocean was churning pretty good. We were a little groggy, but we managed to get on the boat and then enjoyed our 30-minute trip across the ocean to the mainland, Playa del Carmen. When we got off the boat, we were immediately split up into groups of 40. Our group was claimed by a young Mexican girl named Li-Li, who ran our tour. She was a recent college grad who majored in history, so she was a whiz when it came to Mayan culture. Being part Mayan herself, it felt a little more authentic.
We walked single-file through the cobblestone streets of Costa Maya to our bus, then took our seats. For 45 minutes, we got a great cultural lesson and learned about the Riviera Maya and Yucatan Peninsula. Did you know Yucatan roughly means, "I hear you but I don't understand you?" Ha! We stopped at a Mayan Cultural Center along the way to use the restroom, and DH and I bought what we thought was a Mayan calendar. When we got home, the piece of paper that came with it described it as the Aztec calendar. Hmmm.....authentic Mayan Cultural Center peddling Aztec calendars? Doesn't sound so authentic to me.
Anyway, we ended up at Tulum very quickly thereafter and followed our tour guide through the village and 1/4 mile down the road to the ruins. They were stunning, sitting up on this cliff overlooking the ocean. We learned the differences between temples and palaces, tried to understand why they sacrificed humans, and got to see photos of how they really looked in the time that they were in use. (They were red!) We were given an hour to roam around after our tour, so we headed down to the beach for some "ruins on the cliff" photos, and then went back to the bus so that we didn't miss it. Overall, we are so glad we did this. I finally figured out that DH is a history buff, so if you stick him on a bus with a tour guide, he's a happy camper. Been there, done that.
We napped on the bus on the way back to Playa del Carmen, tolerated the Ultramar shuttle ride, and then perused the touristy shopping village at the Pier in Cozumel. We got back to the ship a little less than an hour before we were supposed to, had our token snack at Rosie's, and then prepared for dinner. It was at times like these that we were happy we had the late seating! if we had the early seating, we would have to take shorter excursions or skip the formal dinners altogether.....That night, there was an early show, "Motown Sounds & Comedian," which I enjoyed. Dinner was really good -- I had lamb chops and Bitter n' Blanc -- and after dinner there was a deck party! They were doing all the sailaway dances, so I abandoned DH and joined everyone on Lido for some dancing foolery. Mississippi Slide, Cupid Shuffle, Conga Line.....I danced for a half hour and knew all the moves because I'd been practicing them. ;) So much fun!
The next day was depressing, as it was the last day of our cruise and time to get into "disembarkation" mode. We slept in, attended the disembarkation talk, and then proceeded to hit the gym. After the gym, we took quick showers and caught the tail end of the chocolate buffet. I ate chocolate for lunch, and felt like a cow. After gorging ourselves, we did more trivia, then went back to our rooms to pack. So sad! We chose to do the regular disembarkation, so we got our tags, #30 (that's the second to last group to leave the ship), and had to have our bags out in the hallway by 12pm. Valor had a holiday show around 5:00pm, so we attended and enjoyed the Christmas carols. We tried to get in the mood, but it was so sad knowing this was one of the last times we'd be in Ivanhoe! We did a little duty free shopping before dinner, then had our last dinner with Owen. It was yummy, too.....lobster and crab cakes with a spicy remoulade, panko crusted jumbo shrimp, and grand marnier souffle. Mmm.... We handed tip envelopes to Owen and our bar steward....and to that annoying assistant matre'd. He did nothing for us other than annoy me, but I felt bad and put some money in the envelope anyway. I refused to put our table # on it, as I didn't want to be thanked....or associated for the small dollar amount I put in there. (Sorry, I refuse to give $20 to a man who didn't do that much for me!) When he was walking around thanking everyone, I got up from my table and ran to the restroom to hide. How sad is that? Anyway, was sad to say goodbye to Owen. After 7 days, you grow attached to everyone. I sincerely hope he gets promoted one of these days....he's far too smart and on-top-of things to be waiting on people his whole career.So, that night was the Carnival Legends show, where our fellow passengers perform with the dancers by singing songs by certain artists. I wanted to try out to be Britney Spears, but late seatings missed out on karaoke tryouts. Oh well! I think our cruise had some pretty bad singers.....the highlight was our cruise director as Dolly Parton. Overall, this was the worst show of our trip, but the only thing that saved it was seeing our entertainment staff....we'd grown attached to them, too.
After hanging out on deck, we decided to call it a night. Our last night at sea. We knew we were moving quickly and would be in Port within a few short hours. Ugh.Our phone rang at 5:45am. I suspect this was a mistake, as Chris didn't come over the loudspeaker until 7:30am, when customs cleared the ship and the first two groups were allowed to disembark. DH and I finished getting ready, and were out of our cabin by 8:30am. We headed up to Lido with our bags and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. By 10:00am, our number had been called and we made our way to the American Lobby where we were held up for 20 minutes by Miami customs.....they got a little backlogged. Anyway, once off the ship, we picked up our bags and were out of the terminal in 10 minutes. Pretty painless compared to some of the stories I'd read.DH and I grabbed a cab to our new hotel, the Courtyard Downtown, but there was something going on that blocked the streets so we had to get out and walk 3 blocks with our suitcases. So annoyed. We got a nice room at 11am in our hotel, so that was a relief. We decided to see the famed South Beach, so we walked to Bayside Marketplace to catch a cab and were swiftly driven over to Ocean Drive. I have to say, I expected a little more?? It was an overcast day, and we walked the length of Ocean Drive twice trying to figure out where we wanted to eat. We ended up eating at this hotel that wasn't that fabulous, then walked to the point where we could see the cruise ships. The Valor was smoking up a storm, so we knew it was close to leaving Port. How sad! Our home was leaving with another group of excited people, and we would be left behind in Miami. :(
We walked to a pedestrian mall somewhere near south beach, then walked a little while more until a taxi picked us up and brought us back to the hotel. I was sick at this point, so we sat around, watched football, read, and ordered pizza. Yucky night.The next morning, we got a late checkout and then walked to Mary Brickell Village for lunch at Rosa Mexicano. Definitely not as good as the one in DC. We ended up walking back, packing up our things, and then taking a taxi back to the airport where we endured for many many hours until getting home.
So, that was our trip. Are you asleep yet? Well, it wasn't for public consumption-- I just wanted to document everything. :) We had an amazing time and I cannot wait to cruise on my next vacation! (South America? Alaska? Hawaii? Mediterranean? I cannot wait!)
Happy New Year!
Oh, this year is going to be good, I can taste it.....
I have some big news, too.
No, I'm not pregnant! I'm signed up for this:
http://www.5430sports.com/long/course.htm
Yes, my first Half Ironman. At the stroke of midnight, I kissed my husband and then pulled out the credit card. It's the last race in the Boulder Triathlon Series, and I hear the Sprint sells out in 4 days, so I wanted to be one of the first. How sad. ;) So now I am slightly scared, but pretty freaking excited. This is the "iffy" distance for me. The one I don't know if I can do. The non-runner is going to attempt to do a Half Marathon, finally! I'm signing up for a monthly training plan from our head coach, which will be pricey, but I am optimistic that she will get me through the race season with multiple successes.
DH is on board. In fact, we are hoping against hope that he will be so busy working that he won't realize that I am out training 1/2 the week. We are hoping that the new year will finally bring him career success. He deserves it. The mental anguish has been punishment enough. So if you have any spare juju, send them our way. I need my man to be a happy, employed pilot!
I must first get through the ski season. It's been a decade since I've skiied, and not very well, I'll add. I didn't grow up on skis, I was enrolled in a ski club at the age of 14 and was in the beginner group with 6-year olds. My best friend at the time was with me, and together, we were teacher's pet because we could help discipline the little hellions. It was pretty pathetic at the end of the season when they all skiied better than me. Hubs is a snowboarder. Since the last time I skiied, snowboarding was "rebellious," I'm not sure what to think of this. I got him a snowboard, boots, and bindings for Christmas, so I'm invested in our Colorado lifestyle now. He informed me that snowboarding results in less knee injuries than skiing.....and for some reason, I am more interested in snowboarding NOW than I should be. ;)
Well, I must finish my cruise summary now. It'll be up shortly....hopefully with pictures.
Happy New Year!
I have some big news, too.
No, I'm not pregnant! I'm signed up for this:
http://www.5430sports.com/long/course.htm
Yes, my first Half Ironman. At the stroke of midnight, I kissed my husband and then pulled out the credit card. It's the last race in the Boulder Triathlon Series, and I hear the Sprint sells out in 4 days, so I wanted to be one of the first. How sad. ;) So now I am slightly scared, but pretty freaking excited. This is the "iffy" distance for me. The one I don't know if I can do. The non-runner is going to attempt to do a Half Marathon, finally! I'm signing up for a monthly training plan from our head coach, which will be pricey, but I am optimistic that she will get me through the race season with multiple successes.
DH is on board. In fact, we are hoping against hope that he will be so busy working that he won't realize that I am out training 1/2 the week. We are hoping that the new year will finally bring him career success. He deserves it. The mental anguish has been punishment enough. So if you have any spare juju, send them our way. I need my man to be a happy, employed pilot!
I must first get through the ski season. It's been a decade since I've skiied, and not very well, I'll add. I didn't grow up on skis, I was enrolled in a ski club at the age of 14 and was in the beginner group with 6-year olds. My best friend at the time was with me, and together, we were teacher's pet because we could help discipline the little hellions. It was pretty pathetic at the end of the season when they all skiied better than me. Hubs is a snowboarder. Since the last time I skiied, snowboarding was "rebellious," I'm not sure what to think of this. I got him a snowboard, boots, and bindings for Christmas, so I'm invested in our Colorado lifestyle now. He informed me that snowboarding results in less knee injuries than skiing.....and for some reason, I am more interested in snowboarding NOW than I should be. ;)
Well, I must finish my cruise summary now. It'll be up shortly....hopefully with pictures.
Happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
I'm Ba-ack....
And I'm sick!
But what a wonderful time it was..... My first vacation in eons, and it was just phenomenal. Am planning on doing a little travel blog for the trip once DH gets the pics uploaded, so stay tuned....
As for training? Well, do you know how hard it is to run around deck in 12-foot swells? Or to get up at 6am to run when you were up until 1:00am watching the "adult" comedy show and have to go on an all-day physical excursion at 8am?
It's hard! I managed 2 hours on the elliptical in my 7 days.....2 hours of snorkeling and kayaking, at least 4 hours of walking briskly all over Miami, Grand Cayman, and Tulum..... We also never once took an elevator on the ship. That means sometimes we'd climb 11 floors to get where we needed to go, since our room was on lovely level 1. :) So yes, I ate like a pig, but I was also as active as I could be.
Running coach forgot about the cruise and e-mailed to find out where I was the past few weeks. I feel delinquent! And slow..... Oh well, what's done is done.
Will post more when I have photos!
But what a wonderful time it was..... My first vacation in eons, and it was just phenomenal. Am planning on doing a little travel blog for the trip once DH gets the pics uploaded, so stay tuned....
As for training? Well, do you know how hard it is to run around deck in 12-foot swells? Or to get up at 6am to run when you were up until 1:00am watching the "adult" comedy show and have to go on an all-day physical excursion at 8am?
It's hard! I managed 2 hours on the elliptical in my 7 days.....2 hours of snorkeling and kayaking, at least 4 hours of walking briskly all over Miami, Grand Cayman, and Tulum..... We also never once took an elevator on the ship. That means sometimes we'd climb 11 floors to get where we needed to go, since our room was on lovely level 1. :) So yes, I ate like a pig, but I was also as active as I could be.
Running coach forgot about the cruise and e-mailed to find out where I was the past few weeks. I feel delinquent! And slow..... Oh well, what's done is done.
Will post more when I have photos!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
My Butt Hurts
Sorry, TMI. But it really does! Whenever I walk, I can feel it run down the side to my hip and OUCH. And the sad part? I have done nothing aside from ride the trainer for the past week. No running for me-- it snowed all weekend long and it's pitch black at night (and did I mention cold?!) when I finally get home at night. I feel like a blob. And my butt hurts.
On a different note, my bank account is noticeably smaller thanks to this lovely cruise idea I had. Sure, it sounded cheap at the time, but when you add on all the exotic excursions I've signed us up for, we're having one hell of a vacay. Dinner at the uber fancy supper club one night, and a new kayak/snorkeling adventure in Roatan. In the rain, probably, as the 10-day forecast is looking scary. We leave Saturday morning, and I haven't started packing yet. I did, however, receive the tankini I ordered from http://www.athleta.com/ last week. It's gorgeous! Very excited about it-- I think this is the first time I've ordered a bathing suit online and I actually liked how it fit. At any rate, this was the biggest stress on me.......but now it's done. Check it out:
DH bought a crazy camouflage "bonnet" for our excursions in the sun. I say bonnet, but he swears it's a "killing hat" because he bought it at an Army Surplus store. Honestly, all I want to do is break out in the Judy Garland "Easter Parade" song when I see him. Ugh! I will have to insist it gets removed for all pictures, as it's just too much to handle.
Work is cranking up again, right in time for my departure. I know my boss is upset that I'm taking a vacation, but it's my first one in years and I have 8 vacation days that I earned and would lose if I didn't take it. So here I am, taking my vacay. Woohoo!!! Now I just need to find the phone number to the ship in case of emergency.
So I suppose that's it from me. 3 more days!!!
On a different note, my bank account is noticeably smaller thanks to this lovely cruise idea I had. Sure, it sounded cheap at the time, but when you add on all the exotic excursions I've signed us up for, we're having one hell of a vacay. Dinner at the uber fancy supper club one night, and a new kayak/snorkeling adventure in Roatan. In the rain, probably, as the 10-day forecast is looking scary. We leave Saturday morning, and I haven't started packing yet. I did, however, receive the tankini I ordered from http://www.athleta.com/ last week. It's gorgeous! Very excited about it-- I think this is the first time I've ordered a bathing suit online and I actually liked how it fit. At any rate, this was the biggest stress on me.......but now it's done. Check it out:
DH bought a crazy camouflage "bonnet" for our excursions in the sun. I say bonnet, but he swears it's a "killing hat" because he bought it at an Army Surplus store. Honestly, all I want to do is break out in the Judy Garland "Easter Parade" song when I see him. Ugh! I will have to insist it gets removed for all pictures, as it's just too much to handle.
Work is cranking up again, right in time for my departure. I know my boss is upset that I'm taking a vacation, but it's my first one in years and I have 8 vacation days that I earned and would lose if I didn't take it. So here I am, taking my vacay. Woohoo!!! Now I just need to find the phone number to the ship in case of emergency.
So I suppose that's it from me. 3 more days!!!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Cruisin'
Guess who's taking a vacation?!
Oh, yes....that would be me. After years and years of taking vacation time to visit family over the holidays and to move across the country, yours truly sucked it up and booked a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise. I'll be visiting the exotic ports of call of Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel, from the comforts of my windowless interior closet. (Hey, I'm cheap, what can I say?) So far, I've book an exotic shore excursion to Tulum from Cozumel, and I'm on the verge of booking a Belizean cave tubing expedition. Yes, I know my husband can't swim....but I CAN! We leave on December 6th, so I am bounding over with excitement. It will be so nice to just get away and leave everything behind. And this time around, my beloved kitty can go to Grandma's house instead of staying at the Petshotel!
Life's been busy the past week or so. Have spent more time at work sitting on my butt than I'd like to, but I was forewarned about the time committment. I've done my share of screwing up, but overall, I feel like I'm holding the ship together.
In the 10-lb weight loss challenge, I've managed to gain 5. Insanity, I tell you. So this week, I am drinking loads of coffee and hoping to flush out my system.
The running is going alright. This weekend was a race out at Chatfield State Park, through the gravel ponds and along the streams. My first trail run, and what a blast it was! It was a 5-miler, starting out on a dirt road for about a mile, then meandering into miles and miles of singletrack. I ended up 5th out of 13 in my age group, and 18 out of 66 women overall...... My watch time was about 30 seconds faster than the time posted in the results, but the distance was also .12 miles shorter. I think there was plenty of room for improvement, considering I stopped and picked up a guy several times. (See race report below) Anyway, for your reading pleasure, behold my Chatfield 5 Miler race report:
Got to the race around 8:20am and there was no parking left at Kingfisher, so had to park up the road a bit. This ended up not being so bad, as we had our own toilets and bypassed the huge lines by the official parking lot. Got my number, signed my waiver, then took off on a quick warmup run. It was freezing cold.....apparently it was in the 20's when people left their houses, so we were probably running in the 30's. I was double-layered in my Skins and my running tights, and had my sexy Sugoi winter pullover underneath a windbreaker. I was comfy, but ended up dropping some layers early on.
This is my 3rd month at altitude, and I'm finally adjusting. I was shocked at how high my heart rate was, but I'm hoping it's just the monitor and not me, as I've been working on lowering it while running. At any rate, the race was a little frustrating for me, because I was behind this guy who kept tripping and falling over. Every time I asked him if he was okay, he'd pause, then almost angrily say "yes" but he wouldn't get up! so I took to grabbing him and getting him up, even though his legs weren't cooperating too well. I thought he was having a stroke or something, but he'd get back up and run faster than me, so I was confused?! At any rate, this happened 3 times, and I can't tell you how long it took each time, but surely it was a minute or more. You can see at mile 4 I had to pause. This is where I got him up and then left him-- there were plenty of people behind me, and he refused to let me get help for him. So off I went.... Found a guy whose pace I enjoyed, and stayed behind him through the twisty last portion of the race. When I came into the finish, there were four younger-looking women in front of me....but I had NOTHING and I even let the girl in front of me get me by 1 second. ONE SECOND!!! What was I thinking? In retrospect, I really should have hurt more and gone for her, but looking at my heart rate, I'm thinking maybe that wasn't the best move. ;)
Overall I'm pretty happy with this race. Once I dropped my jacket, I think I dressed appropriately enough. If I were doing the 10-miler, I would have shed the other layer..... I regret not staying with the guy who was tripping and finding someone with a cell phone. There were 2 ambulances that headed out into the woods, and since I never saw him again, I'm assuming he was in one of them. If I had recognized his symptoms at the sign of the first trip and run back to an aid station, perhaps it would have been better for him? Anyway, suffice it to say I am haunted by it still and hope that he is okay today. I finished the race in 47:20, which I suppose wasn't too bad considering we were running on trails and dodging rocks and roots and other debris. My splits got slower and slower as the race progressed, which is a first for me. But at least it means I put it all out on the table. Usually, I hold back too much and then regret that I didn't go for it at the end. So all in all, I can't complain. MUCH better than my first Colorado race, where I ran an embarassing 32 minute three miles. ;)
Oh, yes....that would be me. After years and years of taking vacation time to visit family over the holidays and to move across the country, yours truly sucked it up and booked a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise. I'll be visiting the exotic ports of call of Grand Cayman, Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel, from the comforts of my windowless interior closet. (Hey, I'm cheap, what can I say?) So far, I've book an exotic shore excursion to Tulum from Cozumel, and I'm on the verge of booking a Belizean cave tubing expedition. Yes, I know my husband can't swim....but I CAN! We leave on December 6th, so I am bounding over with excitement. It will be so nice to just get away and leave everything behind. And this time around, my beloved kitty can go to Grandma's house instead of staying at the Petshotel!
Life's been busy the past week or so. Have spent more time at work sitting on my butt than I'd like to, but I was forewarned about the time committment. I've done my share of screwing up, but overall, I feel like I'm holding the ship together.
In the 10-lb weight loss challenge, I've managed to gain 5. Insanity, I tell you. So this week, I am drinking loads of coffee and hoping to flush out my system.
The running is going alright. This weekend was a race out at Chatfield State Park, through the gravel ponds and along the streams. My first trail run, and what a blast it was! It was a 5-miler, starting out on a dirt road for about a mile, then meandering into miles and miles of singletrack. I ended up 5th out of 13 in my age group, and 18 out of 66 women overall...... My watch time was about 30 seconds faster than the time posted in the results, but the distance was also .12 miles shorter. I think there was plenty of room for improvement, considering I stopped and picked up a guy several times. (See race report below) Anyway, for your reading pleasure, behold my Chatfield 5 Miler race report:
Got to the race around 8:20am and there was no parking left at Kingfisher, so had to park up the road a bit. This ended up not being so bad, as we had our own toilets and bypassed the huge lines by the official parking lot. Got my number, signed my waiver, then took off on a quick warmup run. It was freezing cold.....apparently it was in the 20's when people left their houses, so we were probably running in the 30's. I was double-layered in my Skins and my running tights, and had my sexy Sugoi winter pullover underneath a windbreaker. I was comfy, but ended up dropping some layers early on.
This is my 3rd month at altitude, and I'm finally adjusting. I was shocked at how high my heart rate was, but I'm hoping it's just the monitor and not me, as I've been working on lowering it while running. At any rate, the race was a little frustrating for me, because I was behind this guy who kept tripping and falling over. Every time I asked him if he was okay, he'd pause, then almost angrily say "yes" but he wouldn't get up! so I took to grabbing him and getting him up, even though his legs weren't cooperating too well. I thought he was having a stroke or something, but he'd get back up and run faster than me, so I was confused?! At any rate, this happened 3 times, and I can't tell you how long it took each time, but surely it was a minute or more. You can see at mile 4 I had to pause. This is where I got him up and then left him-- there were plenty of people behind me, and he refused to let me get help for him. So off I went.... Found a guy whose pace I enjoyed, and stayed behind him through the twisty last portion of the race. When I came into the finish, there were four younger-looking women in front of me....but I had NOTHING and I even let the girl in front of me get me by 1 second. ONE SECOND!!! What was I thinking? In retrospect, I really should have hurt more and gone for her, but looking at my heart rate, I'm thinking maybe that wasn't the best move. ;)
Overall I'm pretty happy with this race. Once I dropped my jacket, I think I dressed appropriately enough. If I were doing the 10-miler, I would have shed the other layer..... I regret not staying with the guy who was tripping and finding someone with a cell phone. There were 2 ambulances that headed out into the woods, and since I never saw him again, I'm assuming he was in one of them. If I had recognized his symptoms at the sign of the first trip and run back to an aid station, perhaps it would have been better for him? Anyway, suffice it to say I am haunted by it still and hope that he is okay today. I finished the race in 47:20, which I suppose wasn't too bad considering we were running on trails and dodging rocks and roots and other debris. My splits got slower and slower as the race progressed, which is a first for me. But at least it means I put it all out on the table. Usually, I hold back too much and then regret that I didn't go for it at the end. So all in all, I can't complain. MUCH better than my first Colorado race, where I ran an embarassing 32 minute three miles. ;)
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Torture
Well, I've been absent for a while. Big shocker there! What has kept me so busy all these blogless weeks? Quite frankly, I'm being tortured.
First, I got my flu shot on Thursday. I've rebelled against the flu shot for as long as I can remember, but this year my company had the Visiting Nurses come to our office and they were giving them for FREE. Can you imagine?! So, I decided to suck it up on Thursday and get the flu shot. I'm not a needle freak and don't get scared about that kind of pain, so I was pretty much blowing it off. My only stipulation was that the shot wouldn't interfere with my track practice in 2 hours. The nurse explained that running would make it even better. What luck! So I filled out the paperwork and verified that I wasn't allergic to eggs, feathers (yeah, um, because I have lot of previous exposure to feathers), or that contact lense solution, although I don't have contacts.
My nurse was a sweetie. Poked my arm, didn't hurt at all, and then she told me to sit in the room for 15 minutes, since it was my first flu shot. She wanted me to tell her if my throat started getting scratchy or if I had trouble breathing.
Almost immediately, my injected arm started feeling strange.....like I had had it raised for 20 minutes and then brought it down, so that there was no blood in it at all. It was heavy, and painful. But I kept smiling and small talking with the guy next to me, because surely I was imagining it. 5 minutes in, the pain was worse, and I was starting to itch in random places. I had some weird stomach pains, too, but I thought that perhaps my yogurt from 1/2 hour earlier was bad? And then my HEAD was itching like mad. I must have had a panicked look on my face, because soon I had 3 nurses hovering over me, pulling up my sleeves and looking at the rash that started to take hold of my pale white skin. I insisted it was nothing, but I was definitely getting scared. My pulse and blood pressure stayed fine, though, and eventually everything but the itchiness and the pain in my arms (which spread to my legs). Nightmare! I had to take 2 Benadryl, which pissed me off because I wasn't entirely sure what that was going to do to me at track practice.
So, off I go to run after the flu shot poisoned me. I did my warmup run, but I was really, really tired. The track seemed like it existed in this weird dimension for me. Coach asked how I was doing, and when I said, "I don't know," she dismissed me! Insanity. I mean, I NEEDED this practice. I desperately needed to burn some more calories so I could eat dinner. :) Bummer.
Then today, I went to practice again. November is "strength" month. I had no idea what that meant when it came to running until today.... I hate Strength!!
So, we started out with a gorgeous 25 minute warmup run around the various lakes and marshes. There were dirt trails everywhere -- it was an off-road runner's dream. I saw herds of deer and all sorts of eagles on my warmup....which should have been calming, but I was so angry at my heart rate. (Which i've been trying to keep below 170 on easy runs....) It just wasn't cooperating. I kept having to walk, so of course, every time I had to walk I'd cuss at my watch. I must have looked like a total nut job.
We did 4 sets of 30-second strides on the trail after warmup, which was fun. I'm starting to see consistent sub 6-minute mile pace in my strides, which is a first for me. There's some speed in me!
After strides, Coach had put out a "course" that she said would make our day "fun." Liar! She had marked the various trails with cones, and we had instructions for every set of cones. The circuit was performed like this:
1/2 mile time trial
1/2 mile recovery run
1/4 mile time trial
1/8 mile recovery run
1/2 mile time trial
rest 3 minutes, repeat
Holy mother of all that is painful!!!! I felt pleased when Coach selected me out of the 25 some odd women to start off with the two other fast girls. I was stupid beyond belief and feeling fabulous, so I took off after the first girl with a fire in my belly. Of course, she's training for a marathon, and not just to get the distance....she's training to ROCK her marathon. Anyway, the girl kept us on a 6:30 mile pace for the first 1/4 mile, and then a 7 min mile pace for the second half. Even on a good day, when I can walk and then go home, this is fast for me. To say I was gutted by the time I hit the first "recovery run" is an understatement. I coughed, cried, hyperventilated.....but did I walk? Well, I tried, but Coach was chasing after us yelling "no walking! Run slow to recover!" Seriously, my poor little heart was not having this at all. I struggled, and it was a miracle that I finished 2 of those circuits. To think that we go back in 2 weeks and do it again.....UGH! Why do I do this again?
Hey, on the plus side, I'm still employed!
First, I got my flu shot on Thursday. I've rebelled against the flu shot for as long as I can remember, but this year my company had the Visiting Nurses come to our office and they were giving them for FREE. Can you imagine?! So, I decided to suck it up on Thursday and get the flu shot. I'm not a needle freak and don't get scared about that kind of pain, so I was pretty much blowing it off. My only stipulation was that the shot wouldn't interfere with my track practice in 2 hours. The nurse explained that running would make it even better. What luck! So I filled out the paperwork and verified that I wasn't allergic to eggs, feathers (yeah, um, because I have lot of previous exposure to feathers), or that contact lense solution, although I don't have contacts.
My nurse was a sweetie. Poked my arm, didn't hurt at all, and then she told me to sit in the room for 15 minutes, since it was my first flu shot. She wanted me to tell her if my throat started getting scratchy or if I had trouble breathing.
Almost immediately, my injected arm started feeling strange.....like I had had it raised for 20 minutes and then brought it down, so that there was no blood in it at all. It was heavy, and painful. But I kept smiling and small talking with the guy next to me, because surely I was imagining it. 5 minutes in, the pain was worse, and I was starting to itch in random places. I had some weird stomach pains, too, but I thought that perhaps my yogurt from 1/2 hour earlier was bad? And then my HEAD was itching like mad. I must have had a panicked look on my face, because soon I had 3 nurses hovering over me, pulling up my sleeves and looking at the rash that started to take hold of my pale white skin. I insisted it was nothing, but I was definitely getting scared. My pulse and blood pressure stayed fine, though, and eventually everything but the itchiness and the pain in my arms (which spread to my legs). Nightmare! I had to take 2 Benadryl, which pissed me off because I wasn't entirely sure what that was going to do to me at track practice.
So, off I go to run after the flu shot poisoned me. I did my warmup run, but I was really, really tired. The track seemed like it existed in this weird dimension for me. Coach asked how I was doing, and when I said, "I don't know," she dismissed me! Insanity. I mean, I NEEDED this practice. I desperately needed to burn some more calories so I could eat dinner. :) Bummer.
Then today, I went to practice again. November is "strength" month. I had no idea what that meant when it came to running until today.... I hate Strength!!
So, we started out with a gorgeous 25 minute warmup run around the various lakes and marshes. There were dirt trails everywhere -- it was an off-road runner's dream. I saw herds of deer and all sorts of eagles on my warmup....which should have been calming, but I was so angry at my heart rate. (Which i've been trying to keep below 170 on easy runs....) It just wasn't cooperating. I kept having to walk, so of course, every time I had to walk I'd cuss at my watch. I must have looked like a total nut job.
We did 4 sets of 30-second strides on the trail after warmup, which was fun. I'm starting to see consistent sub 6-minute mile pace in my strides, which is a first for me. There's some speed in me!
After strides, Coach had put out a "course" that she said would make our day "fun." Liar! She had marked the various trails with cones, and we had instructions for every set of cones. The circuit was performed like this:
1/2 mile time trial
1/2 mile recovery run
1/4 mile time trial
1/8 mile recovery run
1/2 mile time trial
rest 3 minutes, repeat
Holy mother of all that is painful!!!! I felt pleased when Coach selected me out of the 25 some odd women to start off with the two other fast girls. I was stupid beyond belief and feeling fabulous, so I took off after the first girl with a fire in my belly. Of course, she's training for a marathon, and not just to get the distance....she's training to ROCK her marathon. Anyway, the girl kept us on a 6:30 mile pace for the first 1/4 mile, and then a 7 min mile pace for the second half. Even on a good day, when I can walk and then go home, this is fast for me. To say I was gutted by the time I hit the first "recovery run" is an understatement. I coughed, cried, hyperventilated.....but did I walk? Well, I tried, but Coach was chasing after us yelling "no walking! Run slow to recover!" Seriously, my poor little heart was not having this at all. I struggled, and it was a miracle that I finished 2 of those circuits. To think that we go back in 2 weeks and do it again.....UGH! Why do I do this again?
Hey, on the plus side, I'm still employed!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Mega Cycle
So, I didn't make it to practice last night after all.
I left work. Got dressed. Then realized I was wearing a black shirt with blue pants. I know what you're thinking -- it's just a run, who cares? Well, I'm still meeting people. Building up the street cred. You know.... I can't exactly show up to practice CLASHING. The horror!
So I drove home, all pissed off and cranky. I checked the rec center schedule once I got home and noticed that there was a 1.5 hour spin class called "Mega Cycle" that I could go to, so I changed my clothes and off I went. I know that I was supposed to run last night, but I just don't enjoy being so cold! Surely the spin class couldn't be that bad for me....
Anyway, Mega Cycle. Filled with tons of old men, and one moderately middle-aged cyclist with a very nice butt....I sat behind him and stared the whole time. ;) Okay, okay, I'm not really that perverted. But it was right there in front of me. Kind of hard to avoid! Our instructor was a total psychopath. Thought it was fun to redline the entire time. I tried hard to regulate my pace. I want to maintain an aerobic base through the winter, that is all.....but I couldn't help testing out the resistance a little and seeing how hard I could push it. I think everyone in the class was a total pansy, though. 45 minutes in, one guy bragged about how he wasn't even sweating! I glared at him and said, "somebody isn't trying hard enough." Prick. I mean, seriously?! If you haven't broken a sweat in spin class, you are a lazy pig. End of story. You control the resistance!
Man, can you feel the negative energy surrounding me? I just can't help myself these days. My company laid off 25 people last week.....had I stayed in California, I would have been one of them. So I think I'm still suffering survivor's remorse from that..... I'm in this 10-lb weight loss challenge on BT, and I haven't weighed myself in 2 weeks because I'm so afraid of what I'll see. And no, I haven't exactly been on my best behavior, either. I'm stressed out and all I want to do is munch. And DH bought Halloween candy, opened the bag, and it's sitting in a giant pumpkin in my living room as we speak. Do you think I haven't touched it?
Oh, and to top it off, I am not an accountant or a CPA. It makes my current job excruciatingly painful and difficult. My direct reports think I am an absolute moron.....but sorry, I don't speak NERD! Ugh. Eventually I'll figure it all out, but until then, they shall continue to think of me as their idiot boss.
So, there you have it. I am a clashing, run-avoiding, mega-cycling, fat idiot. Maybe tomorrow I'll wake up on a better side of the bed!
I left work. Got dressed. Then realized I was wearing a black shirt with blue pants. I know what you're thinking -- it's just a run, who cares? Well, I'm still meeting people. Building up the street cred. You know.... I can't exactly show up to practice CLASHING. The horror!
So I drove home, all pissed off and cranky. I checked the rec center schedule once I got home and noticed that there was a 1.5 hour spin class called "Mega Cycle" that I could go to, so I changed my clothes and off I went. I know that I was supposed to run last night, but I just don't enjoy being so cold! Surely the spin class couldn't be that bad for me....
Anyway, Mega Cycle. Filled with tons of old men, and one moderately middle-aged cyclist with a very nice butt....I sat behind him and stared the whole time. ;) Okay, okay, I'm not really that perverted. But it was right there in front of me. Kind of hard to avoid! Our instructor was a total psychopath. Thought it was fun to redline the entire time. I tried hard to regulate my pace. I want to maintain an aerobic base through the winter, that is all.....but I couldn't help testing out the resistance a little and seeing how hard I could push it. I think everyone in the class was a total pansy, though. 45 minutes in, one guy bragged about how he wasn't even sweating! I glared at him and said, "somebody isn't trying hard enough." Prick. I mean, seriously?! If you haven't broken a sweat in spin class, you are a lazy pig. End of story. You control the resistance!
Man, can you feel the negative energy surrounding me? I just can't help myself these days. My company laid off 25 people last week.....had I stayed in California, I would have been one of them. So I think I'm still suffering survivor's remorse from that..... I'm in this 10-lb weight loss challenge on BT, and I haven't weighed myself in 2 weeks because I'm so afraid of what I'll see. And no, I haven't exactly been on my best behavior, either. I'm stressed out and all I want to do is munch. And DH bought Halloween candy, opened the bag, and it's sitting in a giant pumpkin in my living room as we speak. Do you think I haven't touched it?
Oh, and to top it off, I am not an accountant or a CPA. It makes my current job excruciatingly painful and difficult. My direct reports think I am an absolute moron.....but sorry, I don't speak NERD! Ugh. Eventually I'll figure it all out, but until then, they shall continue to think of me as their idiot boss.
So, there you have it. I am a clashing, run-avoiding, mega-cycling, fat idiot. Maybe tomorrow I'll wake up on a better side of the bed!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
I AM going to practice
It's freezing here. Literally, "see your breathe," legs are numb, need-a-jacket kind of freezing. And yes, I did grow up here....but I'm a pansy now.
To prepare for the cold, I am now in possession of a Sugoi Hoodie....to keep my neck and ears warm, and to protect my poor freezing hands. I bought windproof tights, but I can't seem to find them. I even have a weatherproof windbreaker. I am, on all accounts, prepared to face the elements....
But boy am I having a hard time talking myself into going to track practice tonight!
I usually do Thursday nights, but since I got Avs tickets for the game on Thursday, I needed to switch my run to today....new location....new coaches.... I just don't know. The mountains look gloomy (they usually give you warning when bad weather is coming!), my boss is on the warpath and probably will want me to work late, and I'm having trouble getting motivated..... Could I not run through this workout on the treadmill? Maybe? Or would I eff up my knees even worse?
Ugh. I don't know..... I'm thinking I'm going to treadmill it and see how I feel. Life happens, right?
Oh, I'm alive, btw. Just not up to much, so feel silly blogging about it. I'll be back, though....Soon.... I can feel the need to get it all out.
To prepare for the cold, I am now in possession of a Sugoi Hoodie....to keep my neck and ears warm, and to protect my poor freezing hands. I bought windproof tights, but I can't seem to find them. I even have a weatherproof windbreaker. I am, on all accounts, prepared to face the elements....
But boy am I having a hard time talking myself into going to track practice tonight!
I usually do Thursday nights, but since I got Avs tickets for the game on Thursday, I needed to switch my run to today....new location....new coaches.... I just don't know. The mountains look gloomy (they usually give you warning when bad weather is coming!), my boss is on the warpath and probably will want me to work late, and I'm having trouble getting motivated..... Could I not run through this workout on the treadmill? Maybe? Or would I eff up my knees even worse?
Ugh. I don't know..... I'm thinking I'm going to treadmill it and see how I feel. Life happens, right?
Oh, I'm alive, btw. Just not up to much, so feel silly blogging about it. I'll be back, though....Soon.... I can feel the need to get it all out.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Wii Would Like to Run
The past month and a half has almost been like a mourning period for me. We'd always knew we were going to move back to Colorado......and the time job-wise was right..... But I wasn't ready to leave the life I made for myself there, and forcing myself to give up my friends, my training, my Coach..... Well, it really took its toll on me and I've felt a little incomplete ever since.
Yesterday, I got a piece of that back. Thank goodness! It was my first practice with the triathlon team coaches and their off-season running program. The head coach for the entire program was there, and she was a hoot. Very knowledgable about running and triathlon, instantly zoning in on my goals and my weaknesses as she carefully assessed everything from heart rate to distance times. She picked up on my stiff shoulder (the one that makes it so I cannot hug my husband without crying out in pain, but I can still swim so I don't bother to get it looked at), my slight pronation of my right foot, my lack of flexibility......and the fact that I'd rather leave it all out on course than not try. We did 5 400-meter time trials with one minute of rest in between, and when I went off on #5, she yelled to me, "Don't kill yourself! Just get through it!" It made me laugh, because that's exactly what my old Coach would tell me. So, I've traded Coaches...the confident sometimes-Boston accented Cali girl to the sassy, short South American ex-uber athlete. I think we're going to get along just fine.
After practice, we talked about my inability to enjoy running. How my heart rate is really never low, even with a supposed "LSD" run. She said that's because I never took the time to build a proper base. Well, before I could get defensive about my old Coach, I had to think about that..... I went from being a non-runner (as in, never ran more than a mile continuously in my life) to running 3-mile sprints in 12 weeks. And then I stopped, took some time off, and went into the Olympic training plan for my 6-mile race distance.....I think we started end of January, and the race was the first week in April? There was no such thing as long slow distance for me....if I stopped and walked the majority of my 7-mile runs in order to keep my heart rate down, I would have never ever made it to race day. So yes, she is right. I never took the time to build a proper base.
Hello TIME!
Although I am sore today, I am excited about the future with this group and this new Coach. Not the same as what I had with the Divas, but it'll do for now.
In between this new run program and my Tuesday night spin class (insanity-- the teacher gets off the bike to refill water bottles --- it's only an hour class--- we don't need water!!!), I am pleased to report that I am finally using the Wii Fit that hubby bought for me after the move. We spent a gazillion dollars on this stupid gaming system, so I was bound and determined to make use of it. But I absolutely LOATHE video games, so it's been tough. When it does the body test and tells me my body isn't balanced and I must have trouble standing up, I seriously want to put a hole through my television set. When I gain weight (and i do -- let's face it, depending on what I've eaten that day, my weight DOES in fact vary!), it asks me to identify a cause of my weight gain. Do you think there's anything there that doesn't sound alarming? NO! So I have to say "I don't know" and then it lectures me on exercising and eating. And when that f*cker sees that I haven't been on it for a few days, it says, "have you been lazy?!" Um, excuse me.....I actually got off my rear and did real exercise. You know, us lazy people can think of better things to do than to stand in place and hula hoop.
But I digress. Yes, the Wii Fit infuriates me. Yet I continue to do it.... Why, you ask? For the yoga! I love the yoga poses. Unfortunately, this POS program only gives you 5 to start with, so I have to run in place, hula hoop, do lunges, and weigh in so I can unlock the rest of them. I don't find the yoga to be relaxing on the Wii, but it does give me a better sense of the correct form that I need for each pose and I love that it stretches and strengthens my problem areas, like my pesky hip flexors. If I could just turn on the Wii Fit and do yoga independent of the other crap, I think I'd be somewhat happy with it.
So that's my scoop. Work is getting busy. New run program and coaches rock. Wii Fit is MADDENING. And now it is time for me to go home!
Yesterday, I got a piece of that back. Thank goodness! It was my first practice with the triathlon team coaches and their off-season running program. The head coach for the entire program was there, and she was a hoot. Very knowledgable about running and triathlon, instantly zoning in on my goals and my weaknesses as she carefully assessed everything from heart rate to distance times. She picked up on my stiff shoulder (the one that makes it so I cannot hug my husband without crying out in pain, but I can still swim so I don't bother to get it looked at), my slight pronation of my right foot, my lack of flexibility......and the fact that I'd rather leave it all out on course than not try. We did 5 400-meter time trials with one minute of rest in between, and when I went off on #5, she yelled to me, "Don't kill yourself! Just get through it!" It made me laugh, because that's exactly what my old Coach would tell me. So, I've traded Coaches...the confident sometimes-Boston accented Cali girl to the sassy, short South American ex-uber athlete. I think we're going to get along just fine.
After practice, we talked about my inability to enjoy running. How my heart rate is really never low, even with a supposed "LSD" run. She said that's because I never took the time to build a proper base. Well, before I could get defensive about my old Coach, I had to think about that..... I went from being a non-runner (as in, never ran more than a mile continuously in my life) to running 3-mile sprints in 12 weeks. And then I stopped, took some time off, and went into the Olympic training plan for my 6-mile race distance.....I think we started end of January, and the race was the first week in April? There was no such thing as long slow distance for me....if I stopped and walked the majority of my 7-mile runs in order to keep my heart rate down, I would have never ever made it to race day. So yes, she is right. I never took the time to build a proper base.
Hello TIME!
Although I am sore today, I am excited about the future with this group and this new Coach. Not the same as what I had with the Divas, but it'll do for now.
In between this new run program and my Tuesday night spin class (insanity-- the teacher gets off the bike to refill water bottles --- it's only an hour class--- we don't need water!!!), I am pleased to report that I am finally using the Wii Fit that hubby bought for me after the move. We spent a gazillion dollars on this stupid gaming system, so I was bound and determined to make use of it. But I absolutely LOATHE video games, so it's been tough. When it does the body test and tells me my body isn't balanced and I must have trouble standing up, I seriously want to put a hole through my television set. When I gain weight (and i do -- let's face it, depending on what I've eaten that day, my weight DOES in fact vary!), it asks me to identify a cause of my weight gain. Do you think there's anything there that doesn't sound alarming? NO! So I have to say "I don't know" and then it lectures me on exercising and eating. And when that f*cker sees that I haven't been on it for a few days, it says, "have you been lazy?!" Um, excuse me.....I actually got off my rear and did real exercise. You know, us lazy people can think of better things to do than to stand in place and hula hoop.
But I digress. Yes, the Wii Fit infuriates me. Yet I continue to do it.... Why, you ask? For the yoga! I love the yoga poses. Unfortunately, this POS program only gives you 5 to start with, so I have to run in place, hula hoop, do lunges, and weigh in so I can unlock the rest of them. I don't find the yoga to be relaxing on the Wii, but it does give me a better sense of the correct form that I need for each pose and I love that it stretches and strengthens my problem areas, like my pesky hip flexors. If I could just turn on the Wii Fit and do yoga independent of the other crap, I think I'd be somewhat happy with it.
So that's my scoop. Work is getting busy. New run program and coaches rock. Wii Fit is MADDENING. And now it is time for me to go home!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Felt Invasion
You would think that visiting nine bike shops in one day over the weekend would be something I'd enjoy.
You would be right, if I was shopping for myself. But, alas, my husband commandeered the day AND the purpose, determined to purchase a road bike for himself so that he can follow me to the ends of the earth and back. Woohoo.
I should be happy. Really, I should. Except he's such a freaking copy cat!!! We went to 9 bike shops on Saturday, and at the very last one, he found a 63 inch Felt F75. Yes, that's my bike. Just ginormously bigger. And with a touch of red.....
My poor bank account. I really was hoping he'd say, "you know, honey....since I intend to be a busy working boy in the future, I will settle for this $700 bike and call it a day. Sora works for me!" But no. Only the best.
We went on our first ride yesterday, and he sort of kept up. I mean, it was on the narrow and winding bike trail, so it wasn't like I could drop him going 21 mph. But I tried. We only made it 8 miles yesterday, as his fitness level still isn't up to par. I think next time I just need to pack tons of food and keep luring him away from home so he doesn't have the choice to turn around too soon.
At any rate, meet the Buff's newest mate, Satan. (He hates red, remember?!)
You would be right, if I was shopping for myself. But, alas, my husband commandeered the day AND the purpose, determined to purchase a road bike for himself so that he can follow me to the ends of the earth and back. Woohoo.
I should be happy. Really, I should. Except he's such a freaking copy cat!!! We went to 9 bike shops on Saturday, and at the very last one, he found a 63 inch Felt F75. Yes, that's my bike. Just ginormously bigger. And with a touch of red.....
My poor bank account. I really was hoping he'd say, "you know, honey....since I intend to be a busy working boy in the future, I will settle for this $700 bike and call it a day. Sora works for me!" But no. Only the best.
We went on our first ride yesterday, and he sort of kept up. I mean, it was on the narrow and winding bike trail, so it wasn't like I could drop him going 21 mph. But I tried. We only made it 8 miles yesterday, as his fitness level still isn't up to par. I think next time I just need to pack tons of food and keep luring him away from home so he doesn't have the choice to turn around too soon.
At any rate, meet the Buff's newest mate, Satan. (He hates red, remember?!)
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