TGIF Photo Friday

It's a little late, but I here are my photos!

They are obviously from Halloween.



My college roommates came to visit...



We got ridiculous...



Good times had by all.

Speaking of good times, I'm going to write a REAL post... tommorrow! I bet you're all just peeing yourself with excitement.

Get ready!

TGIF Photo Friday

I can't believe it's been a week since I've posted.

To answer all your questions (well... question, singular, since you all asked the same thing), this is what we bought Ryan's niece for her 3rd birthday:



It's a Fisher Price digital camera. HOW COOL IS THAT? Ok, maybe I'm a little over-excited, but I didn't have a camera when I was her age... much less a DIGITAL one! It's waterproof and practically indestructible (perfect for a toddler). I'm pretty sure she liked it. She immediately took a bunch of photos of all of us. Although, her aim needs a little practice.

We had a great whirlwind weekend on the east coast. It's crazy that Ryan and I have been dating for 1 1/2 years, but I had only ever met his parents.

It goes without saying, however, that I didn't track my calories while we were away. But I got rolling again when we returned, and I'm a WHOPPING 1/2 lb down. (I'll pause for your Oooos and Ahhhs...)

We are going on ANOTHER trip this weekend... this time down to Cincinnati for my college roommate's wedding. And because Maggie is on medication, and because we feel guilty boarding her, she will be coming too! Yay!

Training? What's that? There are 2 weeks and 2 days until my final triathlon of the season, and I've been lazy (or busy? Yeah... I'll go with busy). I've only worked out 4 times since my last triathlon almost 3 weeks ago.

So, I really don't smell any super duper PRs or anything. I'll just aim for finishing in one piece and not hating myself.

Happy Labor Day weekend, everyone! See you on Tuesday!

TGIF Photo Friday

(Theme courtesy NikeMom.)

Last weekend, Ryan, Maggie, and I drove up to Michigan to stay at a cabin with some family. We thought there would only be 6 or 7 of us up there... but at some points, there were more than 15 people at the cabin. Phew!

So here is our weekend in pictures...

"Are we there yet?"


A view of the cabin from the dock.


One of my cousins braved the water... but it was 60 degrees out, and so windy that there were white-caps.


The rest of us stayed warm and dry.


I forgot pants, so I had to wear borrowed sweatpants all weekend.


We are a family who likes to eat.





Maggie loved the cabin and the wonderful smelling woods surrounding it.


On Saturday night, the power went out. We played Balderdash in the dark.


It was a little warmer on Sunday.


My Dad insisted the water wasn't that bad.


But my mom knew better. She stayed on the dock.


Sunday afternoon, it was time for Maggie's swimming debut. I bought her an adorable life vest so she wouldn't drown.


And she's off!


We even tried it without the vest, and she did pretty good (but headed straight for shore).


Despite the chill in the air, it's not a weekend on the lake without a little boating.


Maggie loved the boat. So peaceful and windy.


It was nice and warm in the sun.


My Dad jumped off the boat and went for a little swim.


It was his open-water swim training.


Maggie saw my Dad in the water and it peaked her interest.


In she goes.


Swimming like a pro.


And she gets to wrap up in a big towel on the way home.


Overall, it was a fun weekend. And I'm proud to say that I DID workout while I was up there...

• On Saturday, we went biking. I used my mom's hybrid, which was hard to get used to. I thought we would be biking along the roads, but next thing I know, my cousin has led us straight into the woods. I officially had my first mountain-biking experience. How was it? Horrifying! It was hard to go up hill, it was hard to go downhill, and every time I hit a patch of sand, I was DOWN. 7 miles later, I was totally exhausted.
• After the bike ride, someone convinced me to go for a run. So, in keeping with the Michigan-style of working out, I went for a 3-mile cross country run in the rain. WOO!
• On Sunday, Ryan and I went for a leisurely 8 mile bike ride around part of the lake.
  

My overall training has been going really well. I finally stepped it up and I'm starting to feel better about where this is headed. I've done 9 workouts in the past 9 days (not every day of course). We only have about a week until our race. My only goal is to beat my Dad!

TGIF Photo Friday

I Googled it.

Question: Googled what?

Answer: "How to use clipless pedals"

That's right. I didn't know what I was doing. I naively assumed it would be easy and self-explanatory. But when I arrived home after Reagan's tune-up, I was baffled.

I sat on the ground trying to force my shoe onto the clip. It just didn't look like it would ever fit.

So what did I learn from my Googling? The only way to get your shoes onto your pedals is to put them on your feet.

Hmm... seemed simple enough.



So Reagan and I hung out in the garage for a few minutes... clipping in and clipping out. Clipping in and out. In and out.

I was surprised to find out that it's harder to clip in than to clip out. Despite the horror stories, out seems to be the easy part.

So we went for a mini test-run.



(My lovely boy, Ryan, was there to document the whole thing.)



Clip in. Clip out. Clip in. Clip out.

Obvious question: Did I fall?

Surprising answer: No.

Truthful answer: Almost. I unclipped my right foot with every intention on leaning to the right. But gravity had other plans, and pulled me left. With my left foot still clipped in, my life flashed before my eyes (actually, all I could think was, I hope Ryan is getting a photo of this!). But he DIDN'T get a photo... because at the very last moment, my left foot magically unclipped and I saved myself from a concrete face-plant. WOO!



And that's the story of my extremely uneventful first time using clipless pedals.



A few days later, I went for a nice 10-mile bike ride to REALLY test them out.

Verdict? Crossing busy streets now scares me more than usual. With my inability to clip-in on command, I often find myself flailing and riding too slow in front of speeding vehicles (plus, during a street-crossing attempt yesterday, my chain fell off!).

Also, my feet got sweaty. Gross, I know. I took a mental note to wear socks next time.

And speaking of my feet, I found that after about 7 miles, my toes starting getting numb. Not sure what's causing that... maybe the vibrations from my shoes? Who knows.

But overall, I'm thrilled about all this. I feel more powerful going up hills (although, it also hurts a little more... I'm using muscles that I didn't know I had). I can't wait to ride more and see how this impacts my overall abilities.

TGIF Photo Friday

(Topic courtesy Nikemom, and guest-hosted by Michelle.)

Even though this was a week ago, I got my hair cut!



As a girl, I'm liking it. But as a triathlete, I'm cursing the decision because my hair no longer goes in a pony tail (at least not without 1,000 bobby pins also). This is quite annoying.

On a different note, I began Maggie's training yesterday to learn to sleep on the floor (HA!).



I practiced with her yesterday afternoon, and she did quite well. I only had to pick her up and put her back in her bed twice.

But when nightfall came and we tried it for real, she would have none of it. I don't mind her up and walking around so much as I mind her whining and barking (especially when Ryan needs to be up at 6:30 in the morning).

So after an HOUR of monitoring her and keeping her in her bed and keeping her from barking, exhaustion got the best of me, and I caved.

She slept soundly in the big bed again. Curses.

Maybe I can do this every night, and she will eventually get the hint and stop freaking out. MAYBE.

TGIF Photo Friday

This is Flapjack...




He is a Basset Hound mix we met at the shelter. He was a sweet boy, but isn't the ONE.



Ryan and I looked at Ozzie again, but decided he wasn't the one either. He was a little too crazy and hyper for us.

This is Judy...



She is a purebred dachshund who is being fostered here in town.



We have an appointment to meet with her tomorrow morning. If we like her, she might be our new pet by tomorrow afternoon.

Ryan moved in on Tuesday, and we've been trying to get our place all set up. So far, things are going good.

My June workouts have been non-existent, so I think I will go for a run here in a bit. My watch broke and all those internet satellite photos were taken before the jogging path was built, so I'm not sure how far or how long I run. Oh boy.

TGIF Photo Friday

(Theme courtesy Nikemom.)

Today I present you with proof that I have indeed been packing. These photos are actually a few days old, which means I've gotten even MORE done since then (and my place is no longer a mess).







I need to run today. I'm thinking 3 miles (I'm so far off my schedule that I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing). Everyone have a good weekend, and Happy Mothers Day to all the ladies!

TGIF Photo Friday

(Theme courtesy our guest host, Diana.)

I'm sure everyone has heard about the pirates who are holding that guy captive in Somalia.

Well, I have a message for those pirates...

You're ruining it for the rest of us! Being a pirate is supposed to be cool and fun. Pirates hang around with parrots and drink a lot of rum. Why do you have to go and KIDNAP someone? Way to be lame, pirates.

So in honor (or disgrace) of them, I present you with photos from college of me dressed as a (cool) pirate...



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My training has been going decently. After setting my new 1/4 marathon goal, I realized I need to seriously vamp up the mileage. Yesterday, I ran 3 1/2 miles at a slow pace (slower than I even realized... cause it took me 41:34 to complete). It's hard to tell myself not to worry about time right now. I'm not used to that.

I have a 10K training schedule that I'm using to get ready for the marathon. I'll be increasing my mileage by about 1/2 a mile each week until I get to 6 1/2. The only thing I'm unsure about is how to incorporate my triathlon training into my marathon training. I don't want to do all this running and have it negatively affect my biking and swimming progress (or lack there of).