25 Things About Me (I know, I'm lame)

Always swore I'd never do this...but since I've added playing on Facebook as one of my hobbies, and 2 people "tagged" me today, I decided what the heck. I needed to do something entertaining and mindless to decompress for a few minutes today. And since I wrote them once, I figured I'd share them here, too.

So, things about me...
1. I got glasses in kindergarten...they were bifocals.

2. I skipped the first grade (not an easy social experience for a nerdy kid wearing bifocals!).

3. Together with my brother, we are godparents to our youngest cousin, Katie. She's awesome.

4. One of my great loves is coaching Girls on the Run.

5. I'm also a USA Triathlon certified triathlon coach.

6. I love to cook, but am a terrible baker.

7. Although I did make and present dessert once to the President's National Security Advisor.

8. I was the intramural racquetball champion at my university two years in a row.

9. My first car was my grandfather's 1976 sky blue Chevy Caprice convertible. I loved it!

10. I'm left-handed, but use a computer mouse, scissors and corkscrew right-handed.

11. Although I've intensively studied Russian, German and to a lesser extent Italian, I'm not currently proficient in any of them.

12. I still have a bottle of wine from a tasting in an underground winery in Moldova.

13. My road bike and triathlon bike both have names.

14. I have a not-so-secret crush on pro triathlete Craig Alexander.

15. But I still love my husband more than I ever thought it possible to love someone. (he's very understanding of #14)

16. I think my springer spaniel Ally might be my psychic twin.

17. I developed a seizure disorder when I was 26.

18. When I had my last seizure five years ago, I was driving and totaled my car.

19. I've developed a love of gardening, and we had our first organic vegetable garden last summer.

20. Other than me, no one knows whether I voted for McCain or Obama.

21. The two major personal goals I have right now are to complete an Ironman and find a way to live abroad for some period of time.

22. When we first met, my husband thought I was married to my brother.

23. I shattered my own tooth playing tennis by hitting myself in the face with my racquet.

24. I also broke my finger playing field hockey, and have matching gear scars on both my legs from falling over on my bikes.

25. I owned a hot pink bowling ball as a kid, and it now serves as a white-trash garden ornament in my vegetable garden.

Spin Class Redux

Now that I've showered, eaten (awesome omelets a la Stuart) and had a nap, I'm ready to think rationally about today's workout.

The planned workout today was a 3hr bike ride, which I knew wasn't going to happen either outside or on the trainer. Best we could hope for was to drag ourselves out of bed and do the 8:30 and 10am spin classes back to back, shooting for at least 2 and 1/2hrs. We succeeded in obeying the alarm clock, and were on the spin bikes and pedaling away by 8:20. Good start! First hour was pretty good - a motivating instructor, someone who acknowledged that she was a cyclist and therefore did cycling-like workouts. I held back a bit, knowing I had a much longer workout scheduled than the instructor did, and redlining it for the first hour would make the next 90min sheer hell. Holding back didn't mean soft-pedaling, though...my quads were burning by 9:30.

First class over, all but one other girl cleared out. Stuart and I took quick turns refilling our water bottles and popped a couple of shot bloks with a nice Zone 2 effort.

Second instructor arrives, this class is much more full than the previous one. She asks if anyone minds if we use an 80s mix. I'm a little skeptical, but what the heck. First song comes on and it's "Kyrie Eleison", which I happen to love and is on my iPod. So, I'm smiling. The hour goes really quickly - she actually chose a great selection of music, but I'm less than thrilled with her. To me, when the instructor says "On a scale of 1-10, with 10 as the toughest, spin at a 5." Ok, I'm there. "Now, crank it to an 8 and speed up! Now to a 10. And then harder still!". Um, wasn't 8 supposed to be really damn hard, and 10 has me about to die and fall off my bike? Then how come you are still spinning at 90rpm and you want me to go even harder than 10 which is supposed to be the hardest amount of resistance I can still pedal against? We decided on the way home that instructor girl wasn't very good at faking working hard, or at understanding what a RPE scale is about.

In any event, we survived the second hour. Didn't get the full 3hrs, but I did the equivalent of 40-something miles of biking. And boy are we feeling it! This is the longest nonstop ride I've done since October. A good kick in the pants that I have a half ironman in less than 4 months.

What a Week

Somehow, 168hrs have gone by since I last wrote here. I say somehow because life feels like it's at breakneck pace right now - if I had the time to write, there's lots to say. Lots of stuff at work, which is good. I mean, if you have to be there for 40-ish hours per week of your life, it might as well be productive time, right? I've had my share of jobs/projects where, due to my efficiency or just the project itself, I spent way too much time twiddling thumbs, dreaming of how I'd be spending that time if I weren't stuck at a desk for an arbitrary amount of time.

On top of that, the days are ticking until I officially assume my role as president of the Board. It's mean interviews, meetings, strategic planning, and EMAILS beyond all comprehension. Seriously, like 50 a day. In addition as an example, I had a meeting Friday after work, one yesterday afternoon, one today, and a conference call tomorrow night. Luckily, as I get to know individual Board members bit by bit, overall it seems like a good group of smart, passionate people to be working with. I don't expect this tempo to last, but while it does it's definitely going to challenge my multi-tasking and self discipline skills!

Surprisingly, I've actually managed to fit most (not all) of my scheduled workouts in. Enough that I feel like I haven't totally slacked. 2 swims, 2 bikes (including a 2-1/2hr spin session this morning), 2 runs, 2 strength sessions and 7 days of core. That's right, happily I'm still on track for the 50 Days of Core challenge. When the abs reach the breaking point, I'll dial it back to a simple 25 or 50 reps for a day or two...basically enough to keep the streak but still have a recovery day. I'm not sure I'm seeing a change, but I can definitely feel things happening under all that "adipose tissue". And, maybe it's just a placebo effect, but my swimming seems to be improving, too. My stroke count is dropping and I at least feel faster when I'm in the pool.

All is good. Few complaints. But apologies to readers for an even less introspective set of posts than prior....time for deep thinking is probably one of the victims of my current schedule.

Stay warm....eight weeks until the official start of spring!!

A Surprising Run and a Surprise

Saturday afternoon I waited until the temperature had reached the warmest part of the day -- warm being relative since it was only 21 degrees. Nonetheless, I wanted to get a run in, so I put on fifteen layers of clothes and headed out the door. It was too cold for Nick, so just me and my iPod. I told Stuart that my goal was somewhere between 5 and 8miles, but that I expected it to be very slow and much of it would likely be walking.

Living right off the trails, I can head in virtually any direction and get a decent workout in. My plan initially had been to do the 5-mile "Columbia Pike" out and back, and then if I felt like it head in the other direction for the 3-mile "Van Buren" out and back. As I headed towards Columbia Pike, I suddenly got nervous that I was biting off more than I could chew, and took the detour for the 5K "Bluemont Trail" out and back, figuring that I could do 6miles if I also went to Van Buren. But when I returned and could have turned right towards the shorter run, I realized I was feeling good, so headed left to continue the 5-mile route.

Slow and steady I jogged along, and after completing that 5-mile loop (now 7 thanks to the Bluemont addition), and decided to start towards Van Buren and see what happened. But after a few minutes, I realized the sun was setting, and that while I could have done a 10-mile run, 8 was probably sufficient and so turned towards home.

EIGHT MILES!!! And it felt great! I haven't run that far since the half marathon with Erin last October. Not quite as far as the time that coach called for, but still the longest run I've had in ages. I'm paying for it now, though. Once I thawed out and came down from the runner's high, I realized last night how sore I was from that jump in mileage. Not sure how today's bike session will go as a result, but I'm feeling good.

Before that though, I need to pull my yummy pumpkin muffins out of the oven and prepare for a Board committee meeting. The other surprise is that, as of yesterday morning, I am the new president of the Board of Directors of Girls on the Run of Northern Virginia. I'm excited and honored to have the role, but also a bit overwhelmed as this is a critical crossroads in the organization's growth. And a 10am on a Sunday meeting is a pretty good indicator of that.

Coldest Night in Ten Years

That's what I heard on the radio tonight on my way home from the pool. It's already only 10 degrees, and should be potentially close to zero by the time the sun rises tomorrow morning. This is ridiculous. I mean, Virginia fought as part of the South in the Civil War. South means warm, right? So why the heck is it 10 degrees here!?!?!?

Despite the Minnesotan cold, the =PR= run last night rocked. Amy (the official caboose) couldn't make it, so I unofficially took on the role and ran with Christie, who only started running this past August. We ran through the neighborhoods of Maywood and Cherrydale, so it was fun to see all the architecture and keep ourselves distracted from the wicked Arlington hills. And tonight I almost bailed, but managed to drag myself to the Wakefield pool for a 60min swim session. Yorktown was closed due to a high school swim meet, so I drove down to South Arlington and hopped in. 100WU, 10x50 kick, 4x300 easy, CD. It actually felt pretty good, and it was fun to watch the Wakefield swim team practicing. The down side is that even though I brought a change of clothes, the one block walk to my car was horrible. The tip of one of my fingers burned for over an hour -- seriously, I think it was a mild case of frostbite!

I'm working from home Monday and Tuesday, so my plan is to spread the workload over the next four days. Which also means I should have the time to log in a pretty goodly number of hours of workouts. Stay tuned on that one.

"What It Takes"

If you do triathlons, you've probably already heard of or seen or own this movie. What It Takes came out a few years ago, and is a documentary following the 2005 season of four pro triathletes. Stuart and I own both the movie and the spinner edition, and pull them out during winter as entertainment and motivation while stuck on the trainer.

Today was actually not bad out - high 30s and partly sunny. I could have ridden outside, but just wasn't feeling the cold weather. Yesterday's run with Nick was sufficient outdoor time for one weekend. Plus, for some reason I woke up thinking about that movie (probably because I had a very weird triathlon dream). Anyway, after watching the last part of some cheesy Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, I popped it in to make my Zone 2 aerobic trainer ride less boring. I got about half way through before cutting the ride a bit short (sorry, coach!) but am now eagerly looking forward to Tuesday's interval session to get through the second half.

Estimated 21miles on the bike trainer (based on time and effort), plus another 275reps of core work made for a decent Sunday.

And 2009 is underway...

That's right. No more of this "oh, I'm in the off season." "Nah, I'll leave that heart rate monitor at home and just meander." "Not so much feeling like a workout today. And that's okay because I'm in the off season."

Nope. Nada. Over with. Last night I plunked down almost $140, and another $140 for Stuart on our first half ironman of the year. That's right -- our first. As in, rather than going for a full IM this year all at once, I decided to break it into two. 2007 was HIM #1 down at Ironman 70.3 Cancun. 2008 was all about Rhode Island 70.3. This year, if all goes according to plan, I'll be crossing the finish line of TWO half ironman races -- the Kinetic Half here in Virginia in May, and then the Ironman Augusta 70.3 in September down in Georgia. With a few other races and fun stuff thrown in the mix. We originally had planned on the White Lake Half in NC instead of Kinetic, but time and money seemed to make the local race make more sense. A few DC Tri clubmates have also promised that they're signing up, so it'll be a fun day albeit a bit more hilly than the flatlands of rural NC.

And if all of that goes well....well, on August 31st I'll be online with my credit card in hand for the big one. Stay tuned to that sidebar listing my 2009 races. Right now it says Tentative, but there are definitely changes afoot.

So, a few more weeks to go in the off-season training plan, and then it's time to really buckle down under the direction of a new coach. One way or another, 2009 is gonna be a BIG year.

Post-Christmas Blues

Cadets at West Point call it "Gloom Period". Mids at the Naval Academy call it the "Dark Ages". I just say it sucks. To me, it's that timeframe between taking down the Christmas tree and seeing the first signs of daffodils and azaleas blooming. And yesterday we took down the tree. Somehow I always seem to trick myself into thinking that it means winter is almost over. Wrong. The holidays are over. Winter...gray, gloomy, windy, cold winter has another 2-1/2 months to go. Every year I begin to daydream about changing careers just to get myself closer to the equator. What would it take to relocate south -- even a little bit to someplace like Norfolk/Va Beach, or even further south to the Carolinas or Tampa. Most of the time, I know it's just a day dream, but every now and then I page through the real estate pages or peruse my company's job openings to see what options *might* be lurking. It's like playing the lottery, you can't win if you don't play.

Anyway, it took every ounce of motivation to suit up and head out the door with Nick for a 5-mile run, and by the end I was glad I did. Poor Nick has been neglected as a running buddy lately. Between the various races, travel for Christmas, and the Thursday =PRR= runs, I haven't put much time in with him, and I know he's been sad about it. He was so joyous yesterday. We didn't move fast, I even stopped and walked just to look around for a bit, and he was pulling as if to say "C'mon, Mom. I don't get this much anymore. I want to enjoy it!". I'm starting to see a few more white hairs on his muzzle, and I know that our days of running together are probably numbered. Ally hasn't run with me in over two years and I still really miss her when I have to leave her behind. The day when I have to leave all three dogs at home because they are too old and infirm to run will really make me sad. In the meantime, I need to remember to look for these opportunities to give him that joy. I may tri for joy, but Nick runs for joy.

As for me, race registrations are starting to open, which means my 2009 season is coming together. I'm throwing in a few dates to volunteer, or go cheer for friends as well. And, my catalogues from Cook's Garden and Burpee Seedee are starting to arrive, so I can begin to plot out my even bigger and better garden for this year. It may be winter, but I need to remind myself that the sun still shines and the work I do now is laying the groundwork for a stronger, healthier and happier 2009.

2009 Off to a Good Start

My coldest ride ever -- we met up with Bill and Julie when the thermometer was still reading only 28 degrees. yikes! Luckily the sun was shining, and trying to hang on to the wheels of three speedsters got me warmed up pretty quickly. We'd agreed on a 30mile laid-back ride, and when we got to the Reston turn-around, it seemed appropriate to stop off at Starbucks. I got Stuart and Julie to pose for a pic while Bill was taking care of business on the side of the trail! ;-)


I've never been a big coffee drinker, but have somehow acquired the habit in a minimal way this year. Last winter, Annie who is a super awesome Girl on the Run, gave me a Starbucks giftcard as a thank you at season's end but I never used it. This fall, though, I pulled it out and started getting into those tall-skim-no-whip-gingersnap-lattes and other holiday tasting treats. And Stuart and I have made it a habit to grab Starbucks on our way to the farmer's market every Saturday. But between the cold and the need for caffeine to give me some extra "juice" for the ride home, I gulped down TWO coffees during that 30min break.

Needless to say, when we headed back to the trail, we were all shivering. Our sweat had dried so we were cold, our fingers and toes were burning. Time to really up the pace. Although the three of them did eventually temporarily drop me, we were rocking at 22-23mph there for awhile.

It took a while to thaw it, and still get in a few reps for my 50 Days of Core -- I haven't missed a day yet, but no sign of that six-pack abs. :-) We finished the day with Julie's awesome chili and some wine while watching Penn State lose the Rose Bowl. Too bad for the Nittany Lions, but a good way to start the new year for the rest of us!

Fairfax "Sorta" Four Miler

"So Tamara, what are you guys doing New Year's Eve? There's this new race out in Fairfax at 7pm that night, wanna join us?" Sure, why not. We've had athletically-inclinded New Year's before. On December 31st 2002, we played tennis that afternoon before heading out to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants where Stuart made a magical resolution to love me forever. We didn't have any other plans, so we signed up for the Fairfax Four.

Needless to say, we ended up running an altered course in brutal conditions. High winds, with gusts up to 50mph had downed power lines along the original route, and the winds were continuing as we arrived at the running store to pick up our packets. I've never dressed so heavily for a race (or even a regular run) in my life. Running tights and running pants. Fleece lined long-sleeve running shirt. Heavy fleece Nike running jacket. Fleece and wind-resistant Lands End vest (hadn't planned on wearing this in the race, but am glad I did). Ear warmers and gloves completed the oh-so-attractive ensemble. Kayla got a shot of the now familiar running crew huddled inside before the race.
What the race director neglected to mention, or maybe he did but I didn't hear, was that the revised race course was 4 1-mile loops. 4 HILLY 1-mile loops.

I started with Nikki and Michelle hoping to pace myself to a slowly building run, but instead went out way too hard for not knowing the course length or composition. But ego wouldn't let me stop. I'd forgotten to start my watch, so had no idea how fast I was running, but my HRM would later tell the story.

At about the halfway point of the third lap, the tendonitis started to flair up so I slowed a touch and hobbled, willing it to hold together for that last lap or so. And somehow it did. The last mile I just kept saying to myself "you're just running around the block. Run faster. It's just a jog around the block." As I stumbled across the finish line, I heard Stuart, Kayla and Erin calling my name. They surrounded me with congratulations, but I was too busy trying not to hurl to really enjoy the knowledge that I'd run about a :38min race. Totally awesome!

Erin and I got in line to turn in our timing chips and get our finishers sweatshirts, Kayla went back to the finish line to wait for Nikki and Michelle, and Stuart headed off to find hot chocolate for all of us. I glanced down at the heart rate stats on my watch, and learned that my average heart rate was 171bpm. Unreal. No wonder I was hurting.

But, what a great way to end the year and ring in a new one. Doing something healthy and sweaty together with friends. If you look in my drawers and my closet, I own more Coolmax than silk, more spandex than lace. Bodyglide and Heart rate monitor gunk share space on my sink with my makeup bag. But that's who I am. I might not be fast. I still lack in self-discipline. I still wonder if I have reached the limits of my potential, but I don't think so. I am an athlete. Most of the people I spend my time with are athletes. They are men and women I admire and respect. People I try to emulate. People I occasionally hope that I can inspire or encourage as well. And so to end 2008 running with my husband and a great group of women, and know that I'm starting 2009 with a bike ride with Stuart and some dear friends, I know it's indicative of my values and priorities. May all have a blessed and happy 2009 filled with those things and people that matter the most to you.

6yrs ago tonight, he promised to make me

the happiest woman in the world if I would

marry him. So far, he's succeeded.