Starting fresh

Well, I just did something I haven't done in almost 6 months - I downloaded all my data from my polar heart rate monitor and deleted all the workouts. All of them. This includes the Ironman!!!! I almost wanted to go through and delete all of them except that one, but I didn't for a few reasons. First, I didn't really want to go through that painstaking process to delete every other one (at least 100+) except the ironman. And, two, with that big bar graph for the 15+ hours it took me to do the Ironman, I was a little tired of even 2-3 hour workouts looking so measly next to that 15 hour one. Even 30-45 minute runs were rather sad looking and almost not even visible on that bar graph. It's almost time for a new heart rate monitor actually. My watch is about to break off the front part of the strap and once that happens then it's over. There is no replacement for just the watch band itself. It's all kind of connected (I have the RS400 model). I suppose I will wait until it's either broken off or if it hasn't happened by Christmas then ask Santa for one. :) I do need to get a new battery for the strap though. It's giving me some odd readings, even on the weekend ride my HR was reading 181, 184, even 199 was showing up as the high reading. Um, nope. 171 is the highest I've ever seen my HR on the bike, so I know 180s was just not going to happen. And, I wasn't working hard. The battery is probably nearing replacement, which is a total pain on these polar models because a simple coin cannot turn the battery cover. We live close enough to drive to an official Polar authorized repair location, but it's still a good 50 minute drive or so, one way. I know people say to take it to a jeweler, but I know our jeweler doesn't do this kind of repair and so walking in to just plain ol regular jeweler that I know nothing about seems odd. Anyway, maybe all this will be justification to get a new watch sooner than later. :)

What's going on

Well, it's been a doozy of a week this past week. My beloved labrador retriever, Cassie, passed away last Friday. She's been fighting cancer since we found it last August and it spread pretty massively and she began exhibiting some bad symptoms on Wed evening/Thursday morning last week. I took her in to the vet on Friday morning and as I had suspected, the cancer was quite widespread and had overtaken her chest cavity where it was becoming quite increasingly difficult for her to breathe. We brought her home for a while, captured some memories with her on film, and waited for the grandparents to come watch Audrey for us. We couldn't let Audrey watch her dog die. Audrey is only 2.5 years old and she just wouldn't understand. She knows her Didi is gone and isn't coming home (outside of the box that her cremated remains are in), but she definitely just didn't need to watch her die.

So, that's been what's happening here. I'm sad. No question about it. It is getting easier now though, even though it's just been a few days.

I'm glad I decided not to do a spring half ironman as my training has been for shit these last few weeks. I'm just letting up a little bit after the "year of the ironman" that I coined for 2010. I decided to just have some fun this year and do some sprints and maybe even going to try my hand at a duathlon next weekend here. ha! That'll be interesting. I've actually never done a duathlon, outside of doing a few in training sessions which are super duper fun! I'm looking forward to it. It's a shorty one with 2mi run, 15 mi bike, 2mi run.

This weekend is going to be some fun as we are headed up to CO for some R&R a little bit and hitting the slopes. They've been getting some great snow up in the mountains it sounds like and so we're going to have a fun day hopefully. It's been 4 years since I've been - pregnancy, newborn year, etc. prevented me/us from going any sooner. I'm excited.

Hello 2011!!!

Man, I can't believe 2011 is already here and upon us! So cliche, but so true, it feels like the year went by way too fast.

2010 was a great year for me, and definitely a year I will coin as the year of the Ironman! I did my first Ironman! I finished, had fun and met my goals of finishing happy, healthy and with a smile on my face! There's nothing else that I could ask for from my first Ironman experience. Would I like to go faster? ABSOLUTELY! That is something that I will shoot for in the next one. I don't have any races on my 2011 schedule since we are hoping to expand our family to 4.

Audrey is 2.5 and is at a good age, we think, for us to add a little brother or sister to the family. I'm not pregnant yet, but we're hopeful to be blessed with another pregnancy soon.

It's been somewhat challenging seeing some races that I'd love to do this spring, or even having another Ironman on the schedule (seriously pondered AZ or doing FL again). It's difficult going from a pretty singular focus on one really big race, to not having many goals or no race goals really, for 2011. It's kind of left me feeling a bit of a void in my life, but I have found here recently that I can still work out and get some of those same feel good feelings even with no race on the horizon.

I did learn after Ironman Florida how much I love to race. I love to be out there on the course, be it a running event or an Ironman or triathlon, and participating. Late on the run in the IM it was so wonderful to be out there with other athletes, walking and some running, and talking with them. Where they're from, how old they are, etc. I don't know. Everyone felt like family to me. We were all kindred spirits out there. I felt that same feeling even the next morning standing in line for the finisher gear and talking amongst others around me in line. Anyway... I love to race and long for the time when I can attempt my 2nd Ironman. I'm not sure when that will be yet, but luckily IM is not going anywhere and I am sure that my love for the sport and love to be out there will find me back.