excuses, excuses

So part of the reason I haven't been blogging lately is that I've been really busy with major cleaning and reorganization of my house and a ton of work! :( I haven't wanted to blog because I felt like all I have is endless excuses for not training. I keep saying that once things calm down I will get a more consistent schedule and I will be able to train more and consistently but I don't know when that is ever going to happen and I'm beginning to think that I'm making excuses. If I continue at the rate I'm going, which is occasional runs and dips in the pool, I will NEVER be ready for any triathlon let alone GLE.

So today I decided that I can't make 'excuses' anymore. Just as my work responsibilities and home responsibilities contribute to my life and make me feel like I'm accomplishing things (think lists and checking things off! :) ), training also makes me feel good. And I've been wanting to do it, I just always feel like I'm running around crazy busy. So now is the time for me to get strict with myself and my time. I know that I do alot; between working (which lately has been like 50+ hrs the past few weeks) and volunteer stuff and then trying to squeeze in family and friend things, but I have to make time for me. I kind of feel like we are trained from a young age to feel guilty about spending time on ourselves. Maybe it is just women that feel that way, but sometimes I put things last. Things for myself. I have to put my foot down and just say, "No, this is important I have to make time for it."

So wish me luck bloggy friends! I'm determined, now I just have to stick with it!!! :)

O Canada....

I had the most wild dream last night!!! I dreamt that I was at the start of Great Lakes Escape, standing on the edge of the boat. I jumped in and starting swimming and kept swimming and swimming and soon I was alone in the water and kept swimming. I got disoriented and couldn't tell were I was going. I was exhausted and so confused. I started to tread water just looking around.

So I kept swimming and suddenly I saw the shore. I started to walk onto the beach but I didn't see anyone else around.

Suddenly the mounties came out of the woods onto the beach and sidy, "Welcome to Canada, eh."

Then I woke up. I know crazy huh?!

upside of down

The summer has been flying like crazy! I'm waiting to wake up and find that it is October. Seriously, people where are the days going!?

This weekend brought lots of fun in the sun; I swam (a bit) with Beth, Monica and Gary then thanks to a patient Beth, tried to 'master' the art of clipping in and out. (UPSIDE) And I got a GREAT sunburn. (DOWN) I knew I needed to wear sunscreen but I haven't had a chance (or made one I guess) to buy any and I just wanted to get to Aurora! It is starting to fade a bit, although I still have that great X from my swimsuit between my shoulders. It might be wishful thinking, but maybe I will have a bit of a tan. ;)

On a more personal note, things with the house have been....difficult...weird...unsettling. I think it is crazy how people change after a death and money is involved. I think it is disgusting actually. I'm disappointed that someone I cared about a great deal is being discarded essentially because she has no 'real' family. I understand everyone has different ways of dealing with grief, but for me, throwing everything away doesn't make my grief less. Thankfully, I can have her old pictures and keep my memories. I know she is gone and I know that her stuff needs to be thrown away and sold, but I guess the current manner things are being 'taken care of' is hard for me to deal with. Plus, it is the finality of it all. Obviously, it isn't like I think she is coming back but having her house the same makes things easier.

This also causes some concerns on my end. What is to come? Who will buy the house? How long will the downstairs be essentially empty? Will I like the new owner(s)? Will we be able to stay? Will we want to get out of the lease and move?

So many questions. All things that I can't really worry about but still do.

I'm hoping to get some more time in on the bike this week and once my shoulders and back don't feel so crisp, throwing my suit on and getting some time in the water. The running is still going slow but that is my weakest area and I'm hoping to master the swim and bike this year and once I feel more comfortable and stronger in those areas focus on the run, my weakest and by far least favorite area next year. I honestly could care less about my finish times this year. I just like being out there and having a good race. :)

I'm thinking of the GCT women's training day this Saturday with Monica. We can get some more water time in together. Which is always fun! It is nice to have someone that you can cheer for and who can cheer for you! :)

flashy flashy

I went to dinner tonight with my mom. We ate at Abuelo's which is this great Mexican restaurant off of Harvard. It was super yummy as was the margarita drinky thing I got. Then we ordered flan since my mom had never had it. Can you believe it?! She has become so much more adventurous since she started school. She LOVES tequila so she had this fancy petrone hand shaken margarita. Anyway check it out, it was very yummy and the service was excellent!

Then we met up with Steve at the dreaded Dick's Sporting Goods. I don't think anyone there has a clue how to even tie their shoes, but that is another story. So we bought these flashy things to wear while we ran tonight so people wouldn't run us over. I was actually surprised how well-lit the side streets were. I think it is still good we had them on though. Flashy-flashy. ;)

Oh and that's right you read it right Steve and I ran tonight outside. First, I must say that I never run outside except when I have a race. I'm not sure why but I just never do. I guess I don't really mind the treadmill that much and I never really was fast enough to run with any of my runner friends. With Steve I can be like "SLOW DOWN" or "SPEED UP" and I won't feel bad. He still doesn't get the concept that I'm not supposed to be running like I did preinjury so at one point I was like "Dude, back off." He had this great idea to 'race' from the church to my house. I said yeah that is exactly what I DON'T need to do.

Steve did track and CC in high school, he liked CC the best. Lately he has been talking about running again. He ran till the fall of his junior year and stopped. So tonight I was like, "Hey you want to go for a run?"

Hopefully, this is the beginning of things to come. :)

Have a great weekend everyone! It is going to be a hot one. I had originally planned on the Sunday in June ride but I have a shitload of work to do that is going to keep me busy this weekend. Good luck to my chicas doing the Clay's Park Tri (and all the other participants too!) Monica and Beth you girls are going to kick ass! :)

Oh if anyone wants a car wash Saturday/tomorrow (cheap or free I think) stop over at Bryan's Marathon on the corner of Lee and Essex. :)

100 posts already

I can't say that I'm too surprised since I am never at a loss for words! ;)

The summer is really starting to shape up and the weather has been pretty constant. I'm waiting for a little more to fall into place and I'm struggling to keep all those crazy balls up in the air right now. I have alot of projects going on but they are mostly enjoyable so I'll manage. ;)

Last night I finally made this yummy salad that I've been thinking about for a few weeks now. I saw it on a cooking show one day during lunch and it turned out really yummy! :)

I don't have a fancy grill top for my stove so I just used a pan. Everything still came out tasty! I do think though that half of a head of radicchio is plenty. Next time I'm going to go with less radicchio and throw some bib lettuce in too!

So I made that, some grilled chicken and ravioli. We had just (finally) gone shopping so I threw some delish blackberries that we got that night in with it all. Yum!!!

I have a short break from teaching so I'm home earlier and ready to make some good dins! Not for too long though. I'm excited to start again but I will miss my evenings! And you all know how I just LOVE pics so I had to include some. Eat your heart out Giada. :P

I'm hoping to get some cycling in this week. I'm still trying to master the clips. It will come in time and with practice but I just want to be past that whole thing. I'm running again which is nice and Monday's run was great and I felt the burn in all the right places, which is weird for me but it made me so happy to know that my muscles are finally listening!!! I still have time to get a short run in before dinner. I'm off! :)