Dear Deployed Hubs

A letter in photos:

This is all I've been doing this last year while you've been gone:

Ok maybe I've been doing a little bit of this too:

I wish you were here and miss you tons and wish we could be doing things like this:

Guess who else misses you?

Should I tell her you're not hiding under there?

I'm counting down the days 'til you get home and we can talk in person instead of this:

Stay safe and take care of  yourself  p.s. don't forget I have this in writing now:

That moment when I realized I had no brakes.....

One of the recurring dreams I have is where I'm driving a car really fast on the freeway and right when I'm coming up on a really sharp turn is when I realize I have no breaks!  The dream always ends right before I go off the road.....  This time it was on my bike and it was for real (gulp) !

Luckily this story does not end with tragic road burn or with me on the hood of someone's car just with a lesson well learned!

My favorite part of my commute is when I leave the house to head to work the first thing I get to do is go down a long fast hill.  I may have on occasion kicked my legs out and yelled Weeeeee as I go down it.  This time I head out as normal and about half way down this hill there is an intersection I usually slow down at to make sure there are no cars, when I went to press on the brakes there was NOTHING!!!  I realized that after fixing my flat tire last night and put my wheels back on I had forgotten to reconnect the brakes on both the front and the back!  

So what now I still had half of the hill left to go down.  The road was too small to let me turn around at that speed to go uphill, I tried weaving back and forth really big to slow myself down, if I bailed I'd have some major road rash and I'd be late for work..... so as the turn at the bottom of the hill came I took it really fast and wide and hoped that there wasn't a car on the other side coming towards me!!  I made it and the road went flat for a while which slowed me down then I put my foot down to stop me just in time before the next down hill!  Safe and sound with a HUGE adrenaline rush!  I reconnected the brakes and made it to work.  I don't think I'll need any caffeine today to get started! :-)

I guess it could have been worse right!?

Have you ever found yourself without brakes, car or bike or other?

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Yup it was one of those weekends, whimsical and unpridictable yet fun.  So of course I went with my mom to  go see the musical Mary Poppins and it was fantabulous!  They did a great job with the set and the props and it took me back! 


As for my bike ride.....  As I yelled man down, flat, woooaaahhhhooooo anything to try and get my dad's attention he just kept right on going.  The guy coming the opposite direction laughed cause he realized I was getting dropped.  Dropped by my own dad, he said he didn't realize I wasn't there anymore until about mile 10 and this happened about mile 3!  Then he just thought he was that much faster and figured he'd see me on the way back :-)  This time it was a blowout from a pinched tube!  I'm getting really fast at changing flats but it gets really old not getting a ride in without stopping and not to mention the cost.  Still managed to get a decent ride in 27 mi.  The bosque wasn't closed from the fire which was good. 

Sunday was run time and my dad went with me to that too.  It's great having family visitng and everyone even got to Skype with hubs which was some much needed laughs.  We had a belated Father's Day and I gave my dad a road ID so my mom could quit panicking everytime he goes for a ride or run.  My brother treated us all to a big breakfast!  I realized I don't think I had eaten out for breakfast since hubs had left!  The run was supposed to be 8 but my Garmin decided to die on me before I even started so we did just a lil' over 6 cause I didn't have anything to go by but it was still a good run.  I'm not too stressed over my training lately as long as I get out there and gt it done.  But I know that will change as the race gets closer...  It's just becuase my last one got cancelled.

What fun things did you do this weekend?

Ironkid to Ironman

Lately my parents have been going through this phase where they're trying to get rid of old stuff.  When they find stuff from our childhood that they would feel guilty getting rid of they try to just give it to us, that way we have the guilt associated with getting rid of it.  :-)  One of the things in my last box of stuff was an old medal they had from when I was in Ironkids.  Now on my medal hanger I have my Ironkids medal hanging right next to my Ironman medal! 

I thought this was pretty freaking cool!  I can say I've been doing triathlons for over 20 years that's more than half my life !!  I love that!  Of course there were some breaks from triathlons here and there throughout those years but I always come back to it.

I can honestly say this has become a lifestyle for me and I love everything that triathlons have done for me from keeping me on my toes, keeping me interested and challenged in life, staying healthy, staying grounded, relieving stress, introduced me to some AMAZING people, bonded me with friends and family, reminds me of all the good things I have in my life and how lucky I am for being able to do the things I can in my life and not take them for granted.  I could go on and on but those of you involved in any sports endeavors already know what I’m talking about.  I thank my parents for getting me involved in every sport imaginable (tee ball, soccer, dance, triathlon, basketball, hiking etc)  and for encouraging an active lifestyle.  So even though there were times I didn’t appreciate being told let’s go hike the Osha trail when all I wanted to do was sit in front of the TV now the thing I looked forward to most when I visit home is hiking the Osha trail!

That is another reason raising money for the Special Olympics seemed like such a good match for me.  Being a part of something special and challenging themselves physically makes a huge difference in a lot of people’s life’s and I am grateful that there are organizations out there that provide these types of opportunities!

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/NatashaArnold/special-olympics-new-mexico-over-the-edge

  

What has an active lifestyle done for you?  

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my Dad!  You have always been there for me to help me get back up, to keep going, to lend a helping hand, and soon we will be crossing that Ironman Finish line together and you will have the official title of IRONDAD but I already know you are an IronDad!    Thanks for being the best dad anyone could wish for and for putting up with me even when I may have been a brat!

It's finally Friday!

I'm almost too exhausted to do a celebration dance but I am ecstatic that it is finally Friday!  Trust me I'm dancing inside! :-)


So I finished the week off with having to get a ride home from a co-worker because my bike went flat for the 2nd time that day as I tried to get home and I ran out of air in my CO2 cartridge.  I am thankful I have good friends!  On a positive note I did make it to Diva Night at a local sporting goods shop and helped talk up our local running club and the upcoming Women's 5k!

So have any of you heard of this book?

 Don't let the cover scare you away.  It's lots of fun and ideal for many different situations.  For example, road trips!  You know when you have to drive to a race and you have so much time to kill that you start to get pre-race jitters?  Well entertain everyone in the car with this little book 'o fun!  Some are family appropriate but some are adult themed.  Either way I have found myself laughing hysterically at some of them.  And you might even learn something new about your travel buddy.  :-)

So how it works is they give you a scenario that you read to everyone then you are either give a set of answers to pick from or given an open ended question.  You go around and have everyone answer.  Then you turn the page and read the interpretation of what each answer means and says about that persons personality.

Example scenario:  You are sky diving for the first time.  You are nervously watching from the ground waiting your turn while others go.  What are you thinking while you're waiting?  It's your turn, you jump, what do you scream as you jump?  Once you've made it safely to the ground your sky diving instructor walks towards you what do they say to you?

Enjoy!  Happy Friday!  What are some of your favorite pre-race pass times?  Do you have a Happy Friday dance?

So that happened...

The last 5-7 days have gone by kinda in a blur.  Work = Stress latley, Workouts = Good but tiring, Home Life = Hectic so I've just been keeping my head above water.  One thing I can say through all of this is thank goodness for a good workout it helps keep me balanced. 

Have you ever had those weeks where you remember something and you have to think did that happen or did I dream it?  It's just been so busy lately I find myself having to remember what happened.  I'll dream up a solution to a work problem and then get to work and expect it to be done then realize it was just a dream! 

So this happened (or did it?)

1.  I went to put a file up, then later when I needed it again I couldn't find it.  The next day I went to put my lunch in the minifridge in my office and guess what?  There was the file!!

2.  I went for a run then a bike ride and was sooooo tired that when I saw this in the parking lot:

I got really excited thinking I'd be getting some chocolate but it turns out they were just handing out flyers for a race in September...



3.  My stove sparked, made a loud bang, and died!!!  I've been cooking noodles in the microwave for dinner, beans in the crockpot, and protein shakes for breakfast till I figure it all out. (that's all I want to say about that!)

4.  I'm getting closer to my fundraising goal for Special Olympics Over the Edge event but I'm also getting closer to the deadline!!  Please check out my page and if you can help out in any way and spread the word!  Thanks to those of you who have already donated!!!  http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/NatashaArnold/special-olympics-new-mexico-over-the-edge

5.  I wrote a bunch of great blog posts with some of the great ideas I've had on my runs and rides, wait Doh!  I have to work on that one...

6.  There have been horrible fires taking over our state and I hope the people who have lost their homes are doin ok.

7.  I'm normally a good driver but lately I've been so zoned out I've almost gotten into 2 accidents. 

8.  I recently ran the fastest mile I've ran in over 5 years but barely remember it.  One minute I'm lacing up my shoes the next my watch beeps at me that the mile is done :-)

What's new with you?

To sprint or not to sprint

Ok so when I do a running race I usually do sprint at the end just because it is ingrained in us that we need to finish strong.  But when I do a triathlon/duathlon and the swim or bike is at the finish sometimes I don't feel like I sprint to the finish.  Especially on the bike, I push as hard as possible throughout the whole course and the slowest I go is usually at the finish.  This is due to my clumsiness with clips.  It is embarrassing when you are so exhausted when you cross the finish line, forget to unclip, and just fall over.  YES this has happened to me.  :-)

But I also think it depends on the distance.  If I'm doing an IM or Marathon where I probably took several walk breaks and I feel that I am lucky to finish I feel a little silly sprinting at the finish and even when I do the finish line picture always looks like I was walking anyway.  But then who wants to cheer you on if you aren't sprinting and let's face it it's pretty awesome getting cheered to the finish!

I do remember one triathlon where I didn't do a full out sprint at the end and this one girl in my age group stayed behind me until the last shoot and passed just as we crossed the finish line.  Now I didn't react a la Lance when it happened to him :-) but I also wasn't a contender for this race.  If it had cost me a place on the podium I would have been a little irked.  So I guess my conclusion is I will try to always leave it all out there on the course no matter what and if I still have enough in me to sprint at the end I will do that also.  But if I have enough in me at the end to sprint and don't collapse after the finish then it probably means I could have pushed harder throughout.

Thoughts?  Do you always sprint at the finish no matter what?  Would you pass someone at the very last second during a race?  Is that part of your race strategy?

An Ordinary Weekend...

So have you ever found yourself not wanting to blog, post, etc. about things that are just ordinary?  That word "ordinary" just sounds so boring right? blah?  Well, I had an ordinary weekend and let me tell you it was just what I needed!  You know that feeling like something is wrong but you're not sure what it could be and you get that uneasy queasiness in your stomach?  Well, I kind of had the opposite happen to me this weekend.  My entire weekend was just ordinary yet I had this feeling like everything was going to be all right.  This year has brought many ups and downs and I have found myself desperate at times but this weekend was like things were going to fall into place.  It was a calming feeling that I loved!

Saturday I had a so so 10 mile run, lots of laziness in between, then an evening hike with my dog.  I went to get some sunset photos but went to early and ended up with these:

This is what you get when you try to get too close when taking pics of cacti... I was still finding these on me the next day!

I took a nap Saturday between getting up to eat a salad for lunch and watching another mini marathon of a TV show I had fallen behind on during the past season.  I NEVER NAP!  and my dog took a nap with me.  It was a glorious day of workouts co mingled with laziness.  Not to mention a great skype session with hubs before he was out of reach for an undetermined amount of time!  I miss him lots!

Then Sunday I felt a little guilty so I got out of bed at 6am and started pulling weeds in the back yard.  3 hours later my legs and arms were shaking from exhaustion because it was more like pulling mini trees.  Thanks to my dog digging my xeroscaped back yard it has turned into a hotbed for weeds!  So shaky and hot I decided not to risk it and go to the gym for an 1:30 spin class with plenty of hill repeats and 35 miles.  I came home and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned, grocery shopped, cleaned and didn't sit down I swear between 6am an 8pm!!!!!  I finally got to sit down to edit some photos!

So there you have it an ordinary weekend that left me satisfied!  It's times like this that make the phrase "it's the little things in life..." make sense.  btw my dog seems just as satisfied. 

What are your little things that make you happy?