It all starts January 1st

I hate the "I'm going to start on January 1st" excuse. Too funny because I'm so guilty right now of this! Anyone else? Anyone? (I know you are because I've read it in your blogs... I won't call you out, but you know who you are...)

It's probably funnier to think that I've worked out over 27 hours this month (which is a low month, I know) and I'm still saying "But starting on January 1st, I'm REALLY going to start training. And eating better. And lifting. And stretching." Yeah, you get the point. I'm packing on the pounds now so that my weight loss is more dramatic after the first of the year. I'm going to be the biggest loser (in my own competition).

Maybe I'm already a big loser.

Anyway, I digress.

Tom and I ran 7 miles today. Thought I was going to ralph. My calves were in knots because we did step ups and wall jumps at kickboxing yesterday, then I ran last night. I'm using that as my excuse as to why my run sucked. I know it's really because I have put in very little run training since the marathon (again, I'll start on Saturday). But it was warm here (47 when we left the house), and I was with my hubby so it didn't matter that it sucked. I enjoyed it.

One last thing - creative people, I need help. I want to change my blog layout and look for 2011. Where do you get your templates, and how the heck to you add pictures that aren't a gazillion pixels to the top? Help a girl out, please!

Hope you all have a great NYE. Eat lots. Drink lots. Be careful. And remember...

It all starts January 1st. :)

Welcoming 2011

Whew... it's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone! We had an absolutely fabulous holiday - probably one of the best to date. It was just quiet, relaxing and fun. I was spoiled by Santa (got everything on my wish list and then some) and had a lot of fun spoiling those around me! I'm gearing up now for a fun New Year's Eve at a neighbor's house and then a lot of football watching the remainder of the weekend. I'm trying not to get too used to the downtime and relaxation. We all know that it can't last forever (but wouldn't it be so nice if it could???)

I've been thinking back about my 2010 a lot these last few days. It was a great year and one in which I realized how blessed I am. (**Cue sappy music**) A lot of fun things happened. Tons of great things to be exact. But of course there were some hard things to deal with too. Eh, the way I look at it - the hard things definitely shaped me into a better person (or at least taught me a valuable lesson!)

Here are some highlights:

• In February, Tom and I traveled to Gatlinburg with some friends for my 30th birthday. 30 didn't bother me as I thought maybe it would. 31, well, that's a little harder to stomach!
• In March, Tom and I helped organize and then raced the Grady Indoor Triathlon. All proceeds benefited the local hospital. Tom and I continued the winning streak of overall man and overall woman too which was fun! Gotta love free shoes which were part of the winning swag!
• We started April with a PR in a local half marathon. We ended the month with a week of chillaxing in Honolulu. Could there be a more perfect month?
• In May, we got ready for spring. I ran another half marathon and Tom prepared for RAAM.
• In June, I raced my first 10k and came in 4th in my AG out of 70+ women. I won my first triathlon, which included a police escort on the bike and everything (a women's only race here in Columbus). I placed 3rd in my AG in a 5k. Tom was on the winning eight man RAAM team. We traveled to Orlando for some speaking engagements and relaxation.
• In July, we both raced the inaugural JCC Independence tri and I came in 2nd in my AG and 3rd OA female. Tom placed in his AG too. We also celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary! Later in the month, I PRed at an Olympic distance tri and had a blast racing the Trek Women's Series Columbus race.
• August was spent preparing for Ironman Louisville which well... didn't go quite as I expected (remember I said that there were some hard times that shaped me as a person... yup... this was one of them)
• In September, I PRed in a half Ironman by 14 minutes! I also chaired my second High Heels and High Hopes event which raised over $60,000 for women's health at our local hospital.
• October brought more PR's - Tom and I ran the Columbus marathon - he broke 4 hours and I got a little closer to that goal with a 14 minute PR. We also traveled to Austin and dreamed of living in a place with so many fit and active people someday!
• November and December have flown by, but I've realized how blessed I am to have the life I have.

Business grew in 2010 - something that many people can't say happened. Tom and I are lucky to have the freedom of working from home (him with his new job and me with the company), and we're lucky that we like each other enough to spend 24 hours a day together (yep, we do and yep, it works for us)

A tough lesson in 2010 - just because you share blood doesn't mean that you are family. Tom and I have a lot of friends that I would call family before those who are "family" by definition. And that's alright. I realized how amazing my true friends are (I found out the hard way that I can't force a friendship that really isn't there and that losing a group of friends at one time can really hurt... again, something that made me stronger) True friends are to come by. I've said it a million times... I'd much rather have 3 or 4 REALLY great friends than a world of acquaintances that wouldn't stand by my side when things got a little rocky. And cleansing your life of people that suck the energy out of you can really be refreshing.

I learned that blogging friends, although maybe people I'll never meet in real life, are the most amazingly supportive and understanding people around (some of you are crazy and I like that too...). I wish that all of you lived in Delaware Ohio (heck, I'll even considered moving to where ever you live - especially if it's warm and there is a beach nearby - one days like today when it's 20 degrees and windy, it wouldn't take much convincing) so that we can hang out, train together, shop, drink, and cause trouble (because really, what fun is it to live without causing a little trouble here and there???).

I look ahead to 2011 and it's going to be an amazing year. I'm excited to share it with you all - following your journeys and sharing mine with you.

Hang on tight because I'm sure it'll be a crazy ride!

Things that make me happy...

It's Tuesday, and here are some things recently that have made me happy...

• The fact that the chicken story is still making me laugh. I got this in the mail today from a very good friend:It totally brought a smile to my face! :) I haven't heard the autopsy reports yet, but will let you know if I hear anything.
• Getting a fun package in the mail from Trakkers Teammate Kelly , filled with these goodies:You rock girl and my lips thank you very much! :)
• We had a little get together on Friday night with some fabulous friends for dinner and a cookie exchange. One of the girls got me this: If you can't read the bottom, it says "How Naughty can I be and still get what I want?". HA! So perfect!
• I went to spin this morning (it's been like 2 months since I've gone) and convinced Tom to try it out. I knew that he was skeptical about how hard of a workout it would be. I'm sure hearing that it was going to be a "Holiday version" class with all holiday songs made him even more doubtful, but like Mikey, he liked it! And the holiday songs were awesome with the class.
• Speaking of holiday songs... this one was played and always makes me laugh. I think I laughed out loud in class today!
• We are supposed to have a white Christmas. That hasn't happened in a long time here in Delaware. As long as I can get to my mom and dad's to spend the day with them and my sister and brother-in-law on Saturday, I'm thrilled with tons of snow.
• Noodles and Company has everything going right for them. Have you been there? Their mac and cheese is like crack. I'm serious. You have to try it. Yeah, I'm gaining weight and bitch and moan about it every day and then go and eat Noodles and Company. I know. But it's that good. (Plus it's the perfect PMS food...)

Hope you are having a great Tuesday... off to catch up on some blogs - I'm way behind!

Earning my halo

Today I think I might have entered Saint-hood. I'm serious... you decide...

So my mother-in-law lives in the country, not far from us, but on 7 or so acres. She has a plethora of animals, not limited to 4 Jack Russel terrors terriers, 2 cats, a pond worth of fish and now, 14 chickens. Well 13. Anyway, when they travel (which is often) Tom and I house/animal sit. It's a lot of work, but there are perks - a complete gym, a hot tub, a log cabin, and some cash, but I'm not going to lie... it's a lot of work!

So this Sunday, she called because they were leaving. One of her favorite chickens is sick. For some reason it's neck is turned up and it's beak is facing the ceiling. She expects it to die while she's gone and gives us instructions on how to dispose of the chicken when it does since the ground is frozen. Lovely.

(Now I need to add, I'm not a fan of the chickens. They freak me out. They are mean. They peck at me. They fly in small spaces. The smell funny. And I hate eggs)

So for the last few days, I've been on chicken duty in the mornings and hubby takes care of them in the evening. They live in this cute little coop: And each morning I go out to feed them, make sure they have water, and take in any eggs that have been left.

The sick chicken has been looking baaaad. We get a call from my mother-in-law that she found a vet that would take a look at it (and in our farm town, there really aren't that many around that deal with chickens). Just so happens that Tom is waiting for a delivery of carpet at our house and yours truly has morning chicken duty AND vet duty. We put the chicken (who for all we know has some bird flu or something) in a cat crate and I put it in the back of my father-in-law's car. I literally shutter the entire way to the vet which is 35 minutes away because it freaks me out to be in a car with a chicken, let alone a sick chicken.

You see... I dreamed of being a lot when I was young. A teacher, a doctor, a scientist, a wife, a mom - but NEVER a farmer... or a chicken raiser.

I get to the vet, bring said sick chicken in for an exam. The vet is super nice, but starts asking me if I've looked into the bird's eyes, and a bunch of other questions that finally got answered with a "this isn't my chicken and quite frankly, I'm not really fond of the animals so I just do what I need to do". He tells me that the bird is having seizures and possibly has brain damage. We get my mother-in-law on the phone and he finally tells her that it would probably be best to put the chicken down and get some tests done to make sure that it didn't have an infection that will make the other 13 chickens die. She agrees.

Now I'm stuck with signing the paper work to put the poor 3 pound bird down.

The kicker - I need to bring it 45 minutes away for an autopsy.

I can't make this up people.

So they do what they need to do, put the bird in a bag, kindly put it back in the cat carrier for me and in my trunk and I drive it across town for the autopsy.

We'll have the results in a few days.

Are you all blinded by the glaring light of my halo???

The good, the bad and the ugly

The good: CHRISTMAS CAME EARLY FOR ME!!!!If you remember, a while back I posted my Christmas wish list. One of the items on the list was this little gem - a replacement for the one I dropped and shattered last year causing tears galore. I searched and searched and finally a local running store suggested that they could special order it from BaySix. I thanked them for the info and looked up BaySix when I got home. Couldn't find the ornament anywhere. Hum... so I contacted them, told them about my clumsiness, told them that I had shared the search with you all and that many of you would love one too. Within minutes, I received an email from Steve at BaySix telling me that he'd get a replacement in the mail for free. AWESOME! They have been amazingly wonderful and I was so excited when I got my package today and found that they sent me 2 of these ornaments. I must have been a good girl this year! :) If you want one of these ('cause you know we all want new PR's for Christmas), head over to BaySix. I'm hoping they added them back to their website, but if not, email them and I'm sure they can get one ordered for you!

The bad: Well it's not really bad, but I'm spent right now. I rented Toy Story 3 (great movie to those of you that haven't seen it!) this weekend and didn't get around to watching it. I hopped on the trainer yesterday but didn't feel like watching it - Shape magazine with Kelly Osbourne on the front made the hour go fast enough. Decided to run to the movie today. I couldn't take the dreadmill for more than 7 miles so I hopped on the spin bike and finished the rest of the movie. A hour and 35 minutes later and I'm toast right now. HA... I have a long way to go to get back to racing shape!

The ugly: Now onto the scrooge part of my post. Some people can be real poopheads. So Amanda at Run To The Finish (and not the poophead by the way) had an ongoing contest this past fall called the PR Challenge. The goal was to PR in a race and have that PR be the biggest in your group. I entered myself in the Marathon 4:15 to 4:23 group. My previous PR for a marathon was 4:21 and I thought that I had a chance to better that in Columbus. Fast forward to October and I did just that, PRing by about 12 minutes. Well I was up against three other girls and although only two of us kept to the challenge, I ended up winning the contest. My competition, Julie at A Case of the Runs (who isn't a poophead either and has a great blog... go check her out!) had a great marathon though... besides the train. Anyway, she sent me a note the other day telling me that she sent me a necklace for winning (one of the rules was that you send the winner a little something). Super sweet of her. I got the envelope in the mail today and some poophead had cut the side of the envelope and taken the necklace. I hope that person feels totally rotten when they wear that necklace and gets nothing but coal in their stocking! Really, who does that? BLAH... Thank you Julie though... I really appreciate the gesture!!!

Did you have a good, bad and ugly today?

Whew...

It's all sinking in - the fact that I'm going to be part of an amazing team, that I'm going to have some amazing sponsors, and that I better work my tail off to have a great season. Nothing like the motivation of 40 great teammates! :) A super big thanks to Carole and Charlie for giving me this opportunity! And a big thanks to Meredith and Chris too - love you guys!

So a little more about the Trakkers stuff (tell me to shut up if it's too much... I'm on a little excitement high so I won't talk about it forever... I promise!).

First, we race the Rev3 series. I'm super excited about this because I've heard such amazing things about the races. Honestly, I haven't heard a single negative! Tom and I were planning on doing one of them before Trakkers came along, but now I'll add a few more to the list. I'm planning on doing the half in Knoxville in May, the half in Portland in July (which I'm totally excited about since I've never been to Portland!!!!) and then the half at Cedar Point in September. And maybe if I'm good, I can convince the hubs to take me to Costa Rica in 2012 for my birthday! HA! Come join us... it's bound to be a great time!!!

We'll be riding Kestrels this year. Don't know much about Kestrels??? Check out what the winner and runner up in IM Cozumel were riding!!! They are amazing bikes and I've heard nothing but praises for them! And while I have a ginormous place in my heart for Flica, my Orbea, I'm super excited to get one of these bad boys (or in my case bad bitches...)

(**With that being said though, if anyone knows someone who is looking for an amazing tri bike, I have one for sale! :) It's a 2008 Orbea Ora in impeccable condition (we baby bikes in this house as they mean more to us than most inanimate objects should). It's a size 52 (I'm 5'7.5" if that helps), red, carbon beauty. Contact me if you know anyone who would be interested!**)

Finally, we're running in Avia. I'm heading out today to test some and see what I like since I've never run in them before. I'm such a dork though and love the skull and cross bones that has been associated with them! And the bright colors. So I sound like a total girl or what? HA! I'll let you know what I come up with!

So that's the happenings as of now. Thanks everyone for your congratulatory messages - you made me feel all warm and fuzzy!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Training is going well... I finally feel like I'm back in somewhat of a groove. It's nice. I feel energized and I'm excited again. I really do feel that the down time I took, as hard as it might have been on me mentally, was really a blessing. It's funny how fast we are to question our abilities and if we are doing things right or wrong. I've learned that there isn't a perfect equation and what might be best for me, isn't best for someone else (although I must say... there are a lot of you that shared my feelings and frustrations and I appreciate you voicing those to me!)

Oh, and one more little thing... Jodi, at RunJodiRun did a Thursday Thumbs Up about me. It was fun to answer the questions and tell a little more about myself and my swimming/biking/running obsession. Head over there and check it out (yeah, I'm tootin' my own horn...) Thanks Jodi!

They like me...

I'm super excited to announce that I am officially part of the Team Trakkers family!!! I've been bubbling at the seams, hoping that it would all work out and it did. The triathlon Gods must like me!

I'm so thrilled and honored to know that I'll get to represent the green in 2011 and race with an amazing group of athletes. And I was super excited to hear that some of my blogging friends were chosen too... you sneaky little buggers!

So, I guess I should start training, I mean, my first Trakkers race is 158 days away!

WOOHOO!

At least I didn't die...

I learned a tough lesson today. Not swimming for nearly 2 months means that the first time back in the water, I'm going to feel like a fish out of water.

OMG

Good news is I didn't die and didn't drown. That's about all the good that came from the swim.

I did go to kickboxing before hand and am totally using that as an excuse (as if I can actually dismiss the fact that I've lost any of my "speed" in swimming because I haven't, uh, swam - I've never really had speed, but now if you saw me from above, you'd wonder if I'm moving forward). No, it's not that bad. I put my SWIMP3 on and decided to just swim a straight 1500 - it took me 27:46. But at least I have a base to go from and I can't get anything but faster if I actually stick with the swimming plan. :) But really, it was all the kickboxing - one hour before swimming of punching a 110 pound bag and doing pushups and planks.

Can I get away with using that as an excuse?

Tom gave me an early Christmas present. I've been bitching and moaning about my weight gain since the Ironman (and I know that there are others of you out there sharing in my pain). It's there... I can see it and the scale isn't being a good friend and lying to me. I've gained nearly 6 pounds since August which is bad. Anyways, Tom bought me the book "Racing Weight".I just started reading it last night. I got uber depressed when I read the first chapter and it was talking about "normal" body fat percentages for runners, bikers, swimmers, and triathletes. Humph...

But, I am interested to keep reading. I know that the book has gotten a ton of great reviews. I hope that it kind of gives me that "aha" moment that I need. Obviously I know that my body fat percentage isn't going to drop to the "normal" range over night. And I'm not overweight, but there's always room for improvement.

Tom said to me that he wishes I saw what he sees. We are usually our own worst critics aren't we?

Oh, and two more random things - first, I found the "All I Want For Christmas Is A PR" ornament! The best part is, I told the company who makes it about me dropping mine last year and they are sending me a replacement free of cost. I'm so stinking excited! Second, RunningSkirts told me that they were going to send me a running skirt to test and review on my blog after the discussion that I started on here about over a month ago (the one about finding a running skirt with shorts underneath that don't ride up). Well, they never sent it and now I can't get an answer from them. :( I'm so sad... I was totally hoping to find a skirt that I can rock for once. Oh well...

Giveaway winners!

Thanks to everyone that entered the Chrissy's Knee High Sock giveaway. I used the trusty old Random.org to get the winners. (Just so you know, I had 54 entries (but someone got an extra entry because a new follower came from her blog) so I ended up with 55 entries).

The following three people have each won 3 pairs of Chrissy's Knee High Socks,

#9 - Janae at The Hungry Runner Girl
#14 - Molly at I'm a Sleepy Baker
#54 - Besty at Earning my M-Dot

Congrats ladies. Please send me your contact information to thekingerys [@] hotmail [.] com and I will get your three pairs out in the mail! Hope you enjoy them!

I'm on a freaking roll

First, thank you all so much for your input about time off. Seems I'm not the only one in a funk! :)

I've done 1 hour workouts the last three days and am feeling great. I feel like December 1st hit and my motivation instantly came back. It's all mental I'm sure, but I'm finally feeling better after finally going on an antibiotic (I've been on and off sick for nearly a month) so I'm not complaining.

Wednesday, I hopped on the indoor trainer. I know I've said it before, but that thing is evil. While I feel like it's 9 bazillion times harder than riding outside (and infinitely more boring), I pushed my way through an hour and felt great. It's amazing what snow outside and a People magazine on the book stand in front me can do to get me through a sweaty trainer ride! I'm anxious to start my real workouts on the trainer (which will include a lot of intervals with coach Tom telling me when to go and stop and me probably cursing him in my head and probably out loud a little), but for the time being, I need to be able to get through an hour without wanting to die. I'm almost there. Baby steps...

Yesterday I had to sit around all day while the drywaller got finished. By the time I was freed from being a prisoner in my home able to leave, it was nearly 7pm. I didn't want to run outside in the dark and cold alone (who am I kidding... it wouldn't have happened had Tom been here either - sorry sweetie) so I went to my mother-in-law's and jumped on the dreadmill.

I have mad respect for Emz and any other crazy dreadmill lover. How do you do it???

I started out slow, mentally pumping myself up for a great hour. Eh, maybe like 45 minutes. Oooh... I'll get 5 miles and see how long that takes me. Before I know it, I've done a mile. Nice. But after that 8:47 of running in place and watching the Hallmark movie that my mother in law was watching upstairs (her gym TV can only watch what's on upstairs... crazy country living), I needed to do something to get my mind off the monotony!

Intervals. Yeah, that sounds good.

I did quarter mile segments and increased the pace 0.1 on the treadmill each time for a mile working up to an 8:27 . Then I came back down. Okay, three miles down and literally want to be poking my eyes out with hot fire pokers.

I then did 1 minute at 8:34, 1 minute at 7:30, 1 minute at 8:34, 2 minutes at 7:30, 1 minute at 8:34, 3 minutes at 7:30, 1 minute at 8:34.

I've gotta be getting close to 5 miles right?

No!

Only one mile left. It wasn't as horrible as I make it sound, but it was pretty bad. I ended up finishing 5 miles in 41:45 which is fairly slow considering I could have get the treadmill to 7.2 and just ran for 5 miles and done it in the same time, but mentally, I would have been putting the pokers in the fire upstairs. Not a pretty site. Anyway, I finished up and hopped on the elliptical to get my hour.

Today I got my butt kicked at kickboxing for an hour. I wanted to swim too, but I needed to get some things done around here. Tomorrow I'm doing a brick - look out world... I'm acting all triathlete-like! :)

Giveaway Reminder

Just a reminder that tomorrow is the last day to enter my knee high sock giveaway. Winners will be announced on Saturday.

Off to go bike or run - look at me go...