Some ramblings

First off, ya'll are awesome.  Thank you so much for all the kind words about our news of the baby.  We're excited and to have all of you tell us how great of parents we'll be made me smile.  You know just the right things to say to make me happy. :)

Tom just told me that Kate Middleton is pregnant and that should help take some of the attention off me. Hahaha - I love him.

One more baby related thing and then I'll move on.  As most of you know, Baby K is the reason that I didn't do Ironman Florida.  So many people asked me why I wasn't racing and although I really was struggling with burnout (something fierce I may add), getting pregnant just put the nail in the coffin that it wasn't meant to be this year.  I'm a smart girl and knew that there was no chance that I would put my body through 12+ hours of exercise for the day.  It never ever crossed my mind to be quite honest.  And the pregnancy was probably a blessing in disguise when it comes to my feelings on Ironman this year.  I'm really at the "been there, done that" phase.  I'm not out to impress anyone.  I enjoy racing, but I would rather just be active.    I love setting goals for myself and the baby isn't going to stop that.  But I'm going to follow through with all that I said about following my heart from here on out with racing and training.  Someday I might feel like racing long again.  And maybe not.  I'm cool either way.

Okay, so I'm loving Georgia weather right now.  Today we went for a 4.5 mile walk with the dog and it was nearly 75 degrees when we were walking.  How awesome is that? Yesterday we realized the joy of living on a half acre of wooded land... leaves galore.  It was a day long project, but it was so amazing to not be bundled up and freezing.  Tom had shorts and a teeshirt on.  In December.  YES!

Tom's leaving on Sunday for Spain.  He'll be gone 7 days.  He's never been to Europe and I'm excited for him to see some it it, although I am wishing that I was going.  But alas, I'll keep myself entertained for the 7 days.  That's a lot of time to get my Christmas shopping done and my presents wrapped. Teeheehee. I'm about 80% done.  Now Christmas cards... that's another story.  We haven't even taken the picture for them yet.  Maybe they will be New Year's cards. :)

And just a reminder... if you are in the Atlanta area this weekend, come support Kacie and Dani and their fundraising efforts for Race Across America at All3Sports.  Friday night, Craig Alexander will be there for a book signing.  They are doing a raffle and silent auction which will start Friday and continue to another event on Saturday morning.  They have some pretty awesome stuff in the auction.  Check out their blog, Power, Pedals and Ponytails for more information.All the proceeds benefit Camp Twin Lakes.  I'm sponsoring Kacie for a day during RAAM and doing some fundraising on her behalf.  Stay tuned for information about this!  I could use your help! :)

PCB and RAA

Before I get to my trip to PCB, a quick update on the guys with Run Across America. They are booking it. Right now they are in Illinois and I just got word from Tom that they are going to be in Indiana by dinner time! That's awesome - especially since that means I get to see them either tomorrow or Thursday for dinner!!! They seem to be in good spirits and excited to be moving forward to rapidly.

Tom hit 100 miles on the 3rd - that's 7 days into his journey, but said that now they are averaging more like 25 miles a shift since their shifts run from 6am - 6pm. They are doing 1 mile intervals and covering a lot of miles! Then three guys take over and run over night. Last night they covered 70 miles in about 9 hours. They are amazing. I asked if he's sick of running and he was very quick to respond with "yep"!  I've been loving the pictures (which Tom is posting on the side of the Team Type 1 webpage if you haven't noticed). This one just cracked me up..

At least I know that they are having fun.  It's interesting because there is so much to this journey that you don't get to hear about (and I, of course do, being the wife of the team manager!)  They make this seem like it's been an easy going, super fun journey of 10 guys, just running across the country with no worries.  Let me tell you... it's so much more than running and recovering.  They have had some serious low spots, times when they missed home, were annoyed with each other (how can you not be... you are with the same people 24/7 in close corners), have been injured both physically and mentally, wanted to quit and have questioned why they are doing this.  But they have always come together, hugged it out, and remembered the goal - to show that they, everyday people with Type 1 Diabetes, can do anything.  And they will finish strong, as a unified group, having done something that just the 10 of them (and the 3 crew members) will never forget, and never really be able to explain to us watching from afar. What a journey!!!

So, what's a girl to do when her hubby leaves for 3 weeks - go on a girls trip, of course.  To summarize my weekend:

• I got to see one of my besties Kristin and got to meet the infamous Mandy

•  I ended up meeting Laura, KC, John, Andy, and Wes, as well as getting to spend time with Matty-O, Heather, Frank and Sophie

 

•  I ate a lot of peanut butter M&M's, rice krispie treats, and doritos

•  Learned that Mellow Mushroom has the most fantastic pizza ever (and yeah, I kind of already knew that but sharing it with new people was too much fun!)

•  We got to introduce Mandy to the Wally World of PCB... yep, they have airbrusing there!!!

•  I made signs for the racers, many of which included "that's what she said" phrases and bought a race spectating necessity... a cooler on wheels.

•  I made an Irondiva cup which may or may not have come in handy when cheering along the course and holding cold beverages...

• I met some totally great glowing people from the Boca Tri Club who you would have thought we'd known our own lives
• I saw a record get broken (hello sub8 hour US Ironman record) and witness my new friends have amazing days!
• I laughed until I cried and smiled nonstop
• And... I signed up for another Ironman!  

Couldn't have been a better weekend!

Did I make the right choice?

We have 27 days until the half Rev at Cedar Point.  More than one person has asked me if I'm happy with my decision to switch from the full to the half.  Heck, I've asked myself if I'm happy that I switched many times over.  And the answer is always the same.

Yep.

Now I'd be lying if I said that I didn't feel like a bit of a failure at times.  I started something and I'm not finishing it.  And how much of a hypocrite am I for preaching that times will get tough but you can get through them to all of my friends that have been or are training for their first, second, tenth Ironman?  I know all about the peaks and valleys, the walls that need to be overcome.  It's probably 75% mental. I know first hand how hard Ironman training can be and that yes, sacrifices need to be made, times will be tough, but in the end, there's no greater glory than crossing that finish line.  It all comes together.

So how can I be happy with my decision?

I know that my heart wasn't in it, I wouldn't have been able to honestly give it everything it deserved.  I have done the Ironman training and races three times now... I have a HUGE amount of respect for the distance - enough to know when I'd be foolish to half ass my way through it.  I'm loving training right now.  I still do long stuff - 40 miles of running planned this week, a 17 mile run last week that was by far the best run I've had in a loooong time, 85 miles on the bike last Sunday, etc..  But I'm doing things on my time because I want to, not because I have to.  I'm going into the half in better shape than I've ever been, and I know that my fitness will carry me to the finish line, and then to the finish line of the two marathons in the following 4 weeks, and then to the goofy in January.

And while I guess I could feel like a schmuck for telling people not to give up when the going gets tough, I feel like I've finally made a smart decision that will help me in the future.

I mean, Ironman Florida 2012 is already in my mind and I'm going to blow the socks off that race.