solar squirrel

Just wanted to write a quick post justifying my absence in both social and athletic venues…

My body is angry.  Rightly so - I slept an average of 3 hours a night and my eating was just as bad (forgot to eat a few times…) during my trip to Eindhoven.  Now I am being punished with a bad cold that started out with a sore throat, then turned into stuffy nose, and now it’s moved to *gasp* my lungs!  Argh.   Let’s see if I can have a miraculous recovery so that I can join E-Speed and Daisy for a 15 mile trail run tomorrow at SIX IN THE MORNING!!!!

I feel like I need a break so I am only working half a day on Friday and - yep - you guessed it - going to the spa.  It is about a once a year treat that I allow myself to indulge in.  I am going with a few friends and we’re meeting for lunch and then heading to Mario’s spa in Aurora for some pampering.

It’s like a different world there - eveything is based on appearance.  Hair, makeup, nails - those are for the every day people.  These people are all about Botox, chemical peels, bizarre concoctions that get smeared on your body to make you look younger, prettier, and of course, happier.  I’m sure they look at me like I’m a train wreck with my chewed nails, make-up free face, un-dyed hair, farmers tan from biking…  But that doesn’t mean that I don’t get complete enjoyment from laying on a soft warm bed and getting things of different textures smeared on, and then taken off of my face, chest and arms.  Different smells and sounds - it’s seriously an adventure!  The hard part is trying to stay awake towards the end so that you can enjoy it.  It seriously is THAT relaxing.  Of course you have to go back to reality afterwords, but it’s fun to imagine for a little while that you don’t have to work or go to school or worry about anything but getting pampered.  Usually you’ll get to change into a robe and put on little sandals.  Then you can drink a glass of wine while you soak your feet waiting for your pedicure.

I would take pictures, but something tells me that they wouldn’t like a camera!

My friend Judy is doing a 100 mile bike ride in November to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society.  She lost her uncle and childhood friend to Leukemia and is doing this in their memory.  I have participated in TNT events in the past and they are an incredible group - getting people in shape and raising money for a good cause - it’s a win-win.  Judy has never ridden more than 25 miles, so this will be very challenging for her, but I know she can do it.  Please, please consider donating - even if it’s only $1 - every penny counts.  You can donate online and read more about her training on her website.

Thanks everyone!!!!!

This morning I was going to add the summer buckeye 50k to my race schedule.  The last time I tried to add it I couldn’t find the date for it.  Well, the summer site has been updated and they have the date posted - it’s the same day as the winking lizard 4-mile and the day before the off-road triathlon!  Darn it!!!!  So…now I’m torn.  I don’t know what to do - obviously there is no way that I’m going to be able to do all 3.  I mean, even doing Winking Lizard was going to be tough with a race the next day since I like to hang out at the street party and drink afterwards.  (The 4-mile run is not the problem…)  I promised Joe that I would do the off-road tri.  Plus, it just seems like it would be cool.

I guess I’m just going to have to think about this.  I refuse to miss the Winking Lizard run.  It is fun and lots of my friends who aren’t ‘runners’ do it.  I have done it every year since it started and I want to keep it that way.  So I guess that means that I’m just going to have to be a cheerleader for the summer buckeye 50k.  I’m going to be the BEST cheerleader EVER!  Actually…this may work to my advantage…the winter buckeye 50k was freezing cold so all of the guys had their shirts on - I bet during the summer one I’ll get to see lots of skin - BRING IT - (can we have small print on the registration form that says guys with big guts must keep their shirts on?)

I’M KIDDING!

So I took today off because I felt like a 3-day weekend and I also had a few things I needed to get taken care of.  One being my moonroof on my car is acting weird.  If I have it opened when I turn off the ignition, it is supposed to automatically close.  Well, now when I turn off the car, it starts to close, and then it re-opens - and it will continue to close half way, then re-open, back and forth until I push the button.  To be honest - I don’t care if it closes automatically or not.  I just don’t want to be out somewhere and have the thing stuck open.  Well - now I’m sitting here at the Mazda dealership and this guy is trying to fix it - I don’t even want to know what the heck he’s doing…it’s a company that is outsourced by Mazda - so this guy had to come here to look at my car.  He pulls up in this totally CHEDDAR Chevy Cavalier that is trying to be pimped out with tinted windows and this big ugly wording on the back of the window - HELL NO.  So now this guy is sitting in my car - STILL - and obviously if he hasn’t figured it out by now, he probably has no clue………..

I am sitting where I can see him out the window.  I bet he’s thinking to himself “I have no clue what I am doing…or how to fix this…”  Well he needs to hurry up because I have better things to do than sit in a Mazda dealership all day!!!!!

Stay tuned for an update.

I long to live in the suburbs, a 2-hour drive from work, but how else can you live in a gated community with heated sidewalks and the best shopping around? The houses are larger than I would need, but it’s what everyone else has and I honestly believe that bigger is better when it comes to property values. To make the commute easier I would get an SUV…I know they aren’t as good on gas mileage and emissions as my 4-cyl Mazda, but my Mazda can’t haul around all of the things that I would need in a new house. I would have to buy a riding lawnmower (always wanted one of those!) Besides - tailgating is SO much better with a big vehicle. Speaking of which, I can’t wait to grill up some burgers! There is nothing like some good ol’ American cow. Mooooo!

What is the deal with all this talk of global warming like it’s bad? Hello! If it just warms up a little bit that would be great! I really need to work on my tan for this summer and I want some warm weather. Why do you think air conditioning was invented?  That reminds me I need to get to the mall and buy a new bathing suit.  The brand I really like isn’t being sold anymore because of some child labor thing.  Seriously - these people should be happy they have jobs!  It is because of our generosity that they have work and they need to quit complaining.

I don’t care about the rain forest, water or air quality, pollution, or my endless consumption of everything unsustainable.  It’s a problem that I won’t have to deal with in my lifetime.  If I want to see an endangered animal, I’ll go to the zoo.  I’ll just buy bottled water in plastic containers if the water is bad.  I’m unwilling to make any sacrifices for future generations.  This is the me generation and I’ll never be satisfied.  I will consume and buy it with credit if I don’t have enough now.  I will take and not give back.  And if you don’t like it talk to my rich, white republican husband.

Todd told me that I could have either cross country skis or climbing shoes for my Christmas present…but we never bought either - so today he decided to buy me a GARMIN! I am SOOOOOOO excited to get it - I can’t wait! Now I’ll be able to track my speed, distance, elevation, etc. AND upload the data to my computer to share and compare! WOOOHOOOO!!!

We compared them online and it looks like this one is perfect for what I want to do. Here’s a link to the specs for the 305. It also comes with a heart rate monitor, which will be cool because I’ve always wondered what my HR is during my spin classes. It says that it has a high sensitivity GPS so that it still works under tree cover - hopefully it will work on the Buckeye trail - that would be awesome!

In other news we are having the annual Easter egg hunt at my mom’s house. I will post photo’s of the event later today - trust me, it’s hilarious because my sisters and I always end up fighting over the last eggs that we find. (My mom puts money in them to make it more interesting). Last year Todd tried to be slick and pick me up - except he DROPPED ME - nice. I guess he underestimated how much I weigh after pigging out on Easter dinner!

This past week was pretty relaxed, but at the same time I felt like I had to make up for the fact that I didn’t really work out on Sat. and I didn’t work out at all on Sun. PLUS I pigged out at our SERC banquet at Primo Vino.

Mon: 40 min cycling class (REALLY easy)
1-hour Bootcamp

Tue: 4 mile med. effort run

Wed: Swim ~ 1 mile

Thurs: 6 miles med. effort run

Fri: 45 min cycling class

Sat: 5-mile St. Malachi

Sun: 12 mile run w/ SERC

Weekly Totals:

Run: 27 miles
bike: 24 miles
swim: 1 mile
other: 1-hour bootcamp

My car got completely covered.

Look at how much snow we shoveled on the sides of the driveway

Todd next to the piles of snow that he shoveled.

I want a reschedule for the indoor tri!!!

Well - today we were basically snowed in. We were supposed to go see “We Gotta Bingo” tonight with some friends, but the snow was just insane so we decided to cancel. Instead Todd and I (and the cats) played in the snow. I have only gone snow shoeing once before and boy was it tough! We took the little trail in Todd’s yard to the park and then played around. There weren’t any other tracks in the snow - we were the first one’s there! Todd thought he was being slick and threw snow on me - MULTIPLE times. So I got back at him and went on a rampage throwing snow all over him. It was HILARIOUS because he had it all over his face and eyes. I almost peed my pants I was laughing so hard at him. I tried to make snow impressions of my body in the fresh snow by laying in it, it kind of looked weird, though because my arms weren’t out all the way so it looked like a midget with a big body and small arms had laid there.  I sat on a few benches and made butt impressions.  It was a great snowy fun time!

The only bad thing about the snow is that it caused the indoor tri to be canceled. Oh well -at least I know ahead of time.

Here are some photos of our snowy adventures today: