Someone asked me about American Idol…I said (while acting appalled at the suggestion that I would watch such useless television), “I don’t watch that crap!”
The next time I pulled up the DVR, I realized that I’ve been recording (and watching) “American Gladiators”.
I’m a jackass.
I’m concerned that my husband is afraid of me. Here’s why. When we first started talking about building a deck in the backyard I knew I wanted it to be BIG (by the way, we starting making plans for this deck before the house was even completed…almost six years ago.) I wanted it to be big because I wanted family and friends to feel welcome – my house is wonderful for my husband and I but add two more people and the “entertaining” area is down right cramped.
Now when we began revisiting the notion of building a deck early this spring my husband and I stood out in the backyard and he asked “How big do you want it?”
“I want it to run along the whole back of the house”, was my response. This seemed like a logical size to me. I don’t live in a palatial estate. I live in a ranch-style house that only contains 4 dining room chairs so I felt rational while standing in the backyard with my arms stretched wide to indicate the scope of my dream deck.
“How wide do you want it?”
“Wide enough so we can have your whole family over.”
Our completed our deck measures 41 feet long x 19 feet wide. It is bigger than the apartment my husband and I lived in when we were first married.
This spring, summer and fall we were able to complete most of the deck – there is just a bit of “finish work” to be done next spring. It is monstrous. A sane husband would’ve said “You know the size you’re suggesting is a bit large for our yard…and our purposes.” My wonderful husband is clearly petrified of me…he continues to respond to my crack pot ideas with, “Okay.”
We're still going strong over on Mamas In Training. Swing on over this morning to read my personal take on smart snacking.
No matter where you call home your remaining summer days are fleeting - make the most of them by taking a look at the TodaysMama.com Calendar page (shameless plug). You can find OODLES of fun things to do with your family in the following areas:
Arizona
Houston
Nevada
South Florida
San Diego
Seattle
Spokane
Utah
Washington, DC
On Saturday morning at approximately 9:30, I crossed the finish line at the Women of Steel Triathlon! I saw my Mom first as I rounded the corner on 400 North and approached the finish line, then I saw my Dad and my husband…and long before I actually saw Rachael and Stephanie I heard them screaming for me. Having my friends and family at the finish line meant a lot to me – seeing my Mom, in particular as I rounded that corner…well, it got my weak little legs the rest of the distance.
Doing this race was an amazing experience (notice I didn’t say “competing in this race” I’m SO not a competitor yet) I was very surprised at how good I felt during the swim and bike. I wondered if this race would be torture from start to finish, but it wasn’t…it was just torture at the end!
The swim went well – we were able to position ourselves according to our swim time, Rachael and I sought out the 7 minute group and parked our lycra-clad selves among them. Lucky for us the “traffic jam” that occurred early in the pool had worked itself out by the time we jumped in. The swim felt great – Dave’s coaching kicked in and it was a piece of cake.
This is where I must admit being a bit naïve. I foolishly thought that because this was a women’s event I would be able to run in my wet lycra from the pool to the transition area in relative comfort. What I failed to realize is that where the women go – men follow. So as I exit the pool building in my totally hot outfit I’m greeted by camcorders and cameras being held by supportive husbands and boyfriends. Uh...I didn’t sign up for THAT. But I told myself that these men were no different from my wonderful husband and I got over it.
When I got off the bike to do the run, I crammed 2 Clif Shot Bloks in my mouth and took off running. I felt like I was back in the pool – my legs were heavy and it felt like I was running underwater. I walked for about half of the run. I feel no shame. I ran as much as I could as often as I could. I, like many, were surprised to learn at the walk-through on Friday night that we wouldn’t be permitted to run with headphones. WHAT? Yes, running to angry music has been my running crutch…without my crutch I was forced to listen to my own pathetic breathing. Now I know. And now I’ll train for my next Tri without headphones!
This Triathlon was a big deal for me – it’s given me a different perspective on my “Athena” body and made me stretch my idea of what I’m personally capable of. I’m now obsessed with swimming and biking…my Mom is helping me look for a used touring bike. But I’m not giving up on running; I’ve seen what I can do with swimming and biking so I there might just be a runner hiding inside me somewhere.
Sixteen days until the Women of Steel Triathlon. Reading that makes me a bit more excited that you might imagine. Or it did until my one-piece race suit arrived on my doorstep yesterday afternoon. For some reason, before that…before I held that tiny spandex getup in my hands, I didn’t realize I would actually be running in all spandex.
I’m still enthusiastic and committed to the race – now I just have some attire anxiety. Is it really THAT bad if my transition times are 10 minutes and I run in sweatpants? I’m going to have to ask Coach Dave about that.
I thought that getting my picture taken in a swim cap and swimsuit for this Salt Lake Tribune article would be the highlight of my triathlon “stardom”. Now I’m told that we’ll be joined by a reporter and photographer from the Deseret News during our training on Friday. Someone is coming to photograph me in my head to toe spandex so. Oh…hey…wow…all my wildest dreams are coming true and it’s not even my birthday yet!
Let me preface this post by saying that I don’t have a particular love of The Karate Kid. Any chuckle that I get at seeing a pop culture reference to the movie is solely based on the fact that two of my dearest friends are WILDLY obsessed with the movie. So much so that a few years ago for Halloween, Amanda and Dal tried to convince me to dress up as the skeleton gang from Karate Kid. When I told them that slapping on a skin tight unitard didn’t sound like a barrel of fun they suggested that I go as Daniel...complete with the shower costume. As you can imagine, that plan didn’t really pan out.
They also have a fondness for the Karate Kid soundtrack. Amanda has been known to reenact, with admirable accuracy, some of the fight sequences. It is truly a site to behold. I’m pretty sure that one day she’s going to accidentally give me a black eye.
Once they went to the Bahamas (oh, don’t feel bad for me, I was invited, but I had to work) and the FIRST thing they told me upon their return was not of the beautiful beaches but of meeting a Johnny look-a-like at a casino. They took pictures to prove it.
So when I come across something like The Karate Kid Cliff Notes, I simply have to share it. How could I not?
My latest post for Mamas In Training...
For me, training for the triathlon has never been about speed. It’s never been about beating my “best time” or improving my technique…let’s be honest…it’s been about groping around in the dark to FIND a technique. My goal for the TriUtah Women’s Triathlon has been very simply to finish the race (without walking during the run.) I don’t care how long it takes.
That’s not to say that I’m not attempting to move
quickly. It’s just that when you choose
to train with two women that are in considerably better shape than you are, you
spend an awful lot of the training time coming in last. My times are consistently the least
impressive of the group…but don’t cry for me
Just as I was getting comfortable bringing up the rear I got to sample the sweet taste of victory. During swim training I, Erin-the-Athena, managed to land at the end of the lane…wait for it…FIRST!
Okay…it wasn’t even one lap, it was only one length of the pool and I was “first” by one measly second (I’m tall so I’m pretty sure that one second was in body length, but whatever). Coach Dave told us that we’d be doing “speed work” that morning which consisted of five rounds of the following; 100 meters at our regular pace then two 25 meter sprints. I finished my first 25 meter sprint swim in 20 seconds. Hell, I don’t think I could run 25 meters in 20 seconds. I wish I would have had a camera to capture the look on Coach Dave and Stephanie’s face – to say that they were stunned would have been an understatement!
Now don’t worry, I’m not delusional…I DO realize that a quick 25 meter pace won’t amount to a hill of beans on race day. But it is sure nice to keep up with the group every once and awhile.
I bought “I Trust You to Kill
Me” by Rocco DeLuca & The Burden a few months ago after seeing a promo for
a VH1 Roc Docs special featuring the story of the band and their very famous
road manager, Kiefer Sutherland. The
promo immediately caught my attention because, for ONCE, Flavor Flav wasn’t in
it wearing that stupid Viking helmet. After listening to the album for months I figured it was time to
highlight it as a Staff Pick of The Week on TodaysMama.com.
The first impression I got
from this album is that it was cool without trying…like the kids from college whose
dorm room or apartment seemed to be constantly humming with the sound of great
music. It was different and wonderful
and you couldn’t identify because it wasn’t like every other homogenized tune
playing on the radio. This album makes
you feel like that cool kid. A fantastic
mix of blues and rock with enough of a variety that you’ll be able to pull
tracks from “I Trust You to Kill Me” for every play-list mood you can dream
up. “Colorful” now lives on my list of
all time favorite songs, “Soul” is a new standard for me when I run and “Swing
Low” and “Mystified” are standouts on this album and will be perfect for the
evenings that I spend sitting on the deck with a cold beer.
As an added
bonus, it’s not “chick music” making it ideal for mixed company activities
(such as deck building) if the men in your life are sick of you trying to get
them to appreciate the subtle nuances of a John Mayer tune.
I was beginning to think that I would never, ever have the opportunity to write the following statement: I’m improving. The swimming practice is starting to pay off!
Now, I don’t want to give the impression that I’ve turned into some sort of world class swimmer, I’m simply not flopping around as much as I did when I started training. Oh, and the oxygen deprivation headaches from my incorrect breathing technique have subsided so there’s another one for the “success” column.
If I said that my swimming has improved due to the long
hours of work and toil at the
This week we’ll be doing a “brick” training session at In Training which means that we’ll be alternating between biking and running (ride the bike, hop off to run for 10 minutes, back on the bike, repeat). Personally, I think my brick session will look more like this – ride the bike, run for 3.5 minutes, walk for 6.5 minutes, ride the bike, lay on the ground, cry, bargain, shout, ride the bike, go home.
