Mama B

and I want a skateboard, and I want a....

2007-12-26T16:12:00.000-08:00

2007-12-05T15:20:00.000-08:00

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1182474120

Bad Blogger...bad BAD Blogger

2007-11-14T22:35:00.000-08:00

I'm just about the worst blogger ever.

Ugh.

We had a super busy summer into fall. We enjoyed a full race season this year. Here are the races I participated in:

1) Wildflower Triathlon Mountain Bike Course

2) Kennedy Club Fitness Triathlon

3) San Luis Obispo Triathlon

4) Strawberry Stampede 5k

5) Talley Vineyard 5k

6) Rock to the Pier 10k (Morro Bay to Cayucos)

7) San Simeon Pier to Point 10k

Abbreviated race reports will need to be completed, but not tonight.

We have been preparing our house to sell. Holy crap, WHAT A HUGE JOB!!!

My husband had emergency surgery two weeks ago. We are just so thankful he's alive.

There is just so much to write about that I get overwhelmed and end up writing nothing.

Wildflower '07 Race Report

2007-05-17T09:10:00.000-07:00

I guess the focus of this race report is to highlight the lessons I have learned. The biggest lesson learned, and the most expensive, was during Wildflower '06, my very first triathlon. Do not stand and crank on your pedals until you're certain your bike is in gear. OUCH! Lesson learned.

Coming into Wildflower '07 I really just wanted to have fun and cross the finish line in one piece.

It was such a gorgeous day. Thankfully we made it to the lake Friday afternoon this year and were able to pick up our packets the day before the race. This made for a much more relaxed race morning.

THE SWIM

It didn't take long to learn my second triathlon lesson: Have faith in your swim. Now last year we started in the water, waist deep. I guess because the water levels were so much higher? Well somehow last year I avoided the washing machine and was able to find my own space. Last year I had a great swim.

I wanted to avoid the washing machine again, so I let everyone else go first. This was a big mistake. The swim start is so narrow, and I got stuck behind a bunch of swimmers slower than myself. I ended up treading water and doing the breaststroke, waiting to get my own space. It was so frustrating. Now I have never been a particularly fast swimmer. But I am a good swimmer (I was a lifeguard and swimming instructor for 10 years). I am at the very least a middle of the packer, certainly NOT a back of the packer. My swim was actually 2 minutes slower than last year. Argh....

T1

I was feeling a little spun after the swim. And I had some trouble getting my wetsuit off, mostly my left leg. What I didn't realize at the time was the suit was caught on my timing chip. Now this leads up to my next lesson learned: Be aware of your timing chip when taking off your wetsuit. Yes, my timing chip came off with my wetsuit, although I didn't realize this until midway through the bike. So the only split time I received was my crappy swim.

BIKE

I was very cautious on the bike. This race is very fast and competitive. There's also a lot of newbies and kids in this event. Lots of opportunities for mishap. I really just wanted to focus on the beauty surrounding me, and have a nice safe ride. I really didn't push myself. I discovered my missing timing chip, and dealt with some disappointment there. I had memory flashes from last year going down the hills, especially the downhill after the first loop: It's fast and the ground is very loose, tricky enough while riding two handed. It was tripping me out thinking about how scary it was for me last year riding one-handed. I kept thinking about how crazy I was to do that.

I remembered to look for my timing chip, but was unable to locate it.

RUN

It's a very fast course. One mile out, then back. Once again I just tried to focus on enjoying myself. I thanked the volunteers, encouraged the other racers and waved at the photographers. I held enough back to sprint down the finishing chute and was happy to pass about 4 other competitors, without noticing whether or not they were in my age group. They didn't call out my name in the chute due to the lost chip.

I'm not really proud of my performance here, and I've been struggling with what to write. I only shaved off 4 minutes from my prior year's race with a broken arm. I did enjoy myself though and that's what I really needed to do. I finished 17th out of 40 finishers in my age group. I really believe next year will be my year. I want to actually compete. I think I could get into the top ten if I were to really try. And try I will.

I would love to do the Olympic course in the future, but with the timing of this race it's highly unlikely. Unless I change careers.

Just because.....

2007-05-10T01:08:00.000-07:00

Wildflower Reflections

2007-05-09T23:40:00.000-07:00

It was a wonderful Wildflower weekend. I have spent the last few days reflecting on the magic of Wildflower. It's such an incredible experience to be surrounded by thousands of healthy happy people all sharing a love of triathlon. Kindred spirits.

This year held the promise of being even better than usual. I'm not much of a blogger myself, but I LOVE to read yours (and yours, and yours....). And I was so looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible. The tri-blogger alliance. Race Athlete. Triscoopers.

The place is just huge, and I had no idea where anyone was camped, but I had faith that at some point in the weekend I had to run into someone. I kept my eyes peeled.

Saturday afternoon, long after I had finished my race, I looked up and was pretty sure I was seeing Kahuna taking off on his run. "KAHUNA?", I yelled, and sure enough he turned around to see who the hell had recognized him. "It's Mama B!", I yelled. (too funny) He smiled and gave me the thumbs up.

We headed back to our camp to drink some beer and cheer on the long course people. What a blast! I kept hoping to see more familiar faces. Then Robo-Stu ran by. "Robo-Stu?" Sure enough, he turned around. I jumped off our truck and ran with him for a minute. He gave me a hug (or perhaps I was the hugger) when I told him who I was. What a sweet guy. I found out from him where the gang was camping, but we were too tired after the triathlon, sun, and beer to journey that far. I was a bit bummed (I'd had visions of singing by the campfire) but tried not to let it get me down.

And Sunday still held promise.

Whew! And what a scorcher it was. We felt sorry for the oly racers dealing with such heat. We enjoyed the sun for a while watching the swim waves from the upper lawn. That was so awesome!

Eventually we were searching for shade and headed up to the bleachers by the finish line. We were sitting there for awhile without even noticing that Trimama, Tac Boy, Kahuna, Iron Jenny, Bolder, and SimplyStu were sitting right beside us! Too funny. It was a thrill for me to meet you all. You are like celebrities, well actually better than celebrities to me.

And I even got to see Iron Wil and FE-Lady cross the finish line. They were both looking great.

And we found ourselves heading up the hill with Bolder and Roman on our way out. That was really cool, as I got the update on all the one-on-one competition, and I got to drool over a BMC TT02 up close. Holy Crap! those are sweet looking bikes.

Race report to follow. I'm still working through it all in my head. In the meantime, it's good to be home again...

Ready or not....

2007-05-01T16:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am ashamed that it's been 3 months since I've blogged. Sure, I have excuses, the biggest one being TAX SEASON. Well, I survived and my family survived another season. It's tough on everyone involved. I am just so thankful for my wonderful husband who did so much at home, to help keep our son happy, and our house reasonably clean. I'm so lucky.

Now it's time for Wildflower again. I don't think I'm quite as ready for the race this year as I was last year, but at least I know what to expect. This will be my second official triathlon, and I feel pretty damn excited. I only have 2 goals for this race: 1) arrive at the finish line injury-free, and 2) HAVE FUN.

I just can't wait to just get on with it....

2007-02-03T00:08:00.000-08:00

Before....

And After....

Bicycle Memoirs ~ Chapter 1

2007-02-01T19:24:00.000-08:00

I can't remember riding on training wheels. And I can't remember learning how to ride a bicycle.

My earliest bike memory, I was probably 5, was riding my big brother's bike ALL DAY LONG. I guess I was tired of my training wheels and wanted to ride a real bike. The only problem? Well, my brother is 4 years older than me so the bike was way too big for me. Yeah, so....uh....I was sitting on the top tube of his bike because my little legs couldn't reach the seat. ALL. DAY. LONG.

Can you say OUCH???

I can remember my mother putting cream or powder on my...........yeah that........to help ease the pain and burning.

Needless to say, my parents bought me my first real bike shortly thereafter. A purple Schwinn complete with banana seat. And it was love at first sight.

Ipod in the Toilet

2007-01-12T13:05:00.000-08:00

I recently bought a new Ipod case because my obsession with purple demanded it. It’s this purple anodized metal case that looks SO COOL!

The problem is: it’s metal clip is not secured to the case, and easily slips off. A very poor design, no wonder it was on sale. Well, I have sort of remedied this by clipping it horizontally to prevent gravity from pulling the case off the clip.

Yeah, this worked pretty well until I LEANED OVER THE TOILET WHILE CLEANING IT!! PLOP...into the chemical filled bowl it tumbled. I dove for it, and quickly rinsed it off in the sink (well…I was worried about the chemicals!). I dried it off with Jaxon’s tee (he was in the tub at the time) and at this point it was still working. The next step was the hair dryer, yeah this is about the time it died. I then put it into the oven for about an hour @ 150 degrees (somebody told me they revived their cell phone this way). My next step was to plug it into the computer hoping it would generate some heat inside the unit to assist with the drying process.

That was 2 days ago.

This morning it powered on! And I even got it to play something. However, the screen is all funky, and I was having problems scrolling through the menus. *sigh*

I am, however, still filled with hope...

I Am So Thankful....

2006-12-01T16:35:00.000-08:00

Well, this post is a little late, but I just wanted to say:

I have such a great life and am THANKFUL for so many things: I have a loving & supportive husband; an adorable, funny & smart 4yr old son; the best dog in the whole world; awesome parents who retired nearby and help take care of our son while we work; a humble but very nice home; a great job and promising career; SO many great friends who have loved and supported me through thick and thin; a great relationship with my in~law family; and last but not least: a great tri~blog community that helps keep me motivated and in love with the sport of triathlon.

Thank you.

Life is Good

2006-11-12T20:25:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you just have to remember what the important things in life really are...

Momentum

2006-11-10T10:51:00.000-08:00

I just want to gain it back, momentum that is. Daddy B is always telling me, "with you it's always ALL or NOTHING." And I guess he's pretty much right. Except I haven't been doing nothing. Well, except this week, and that's only because I've been sick. I tried to run with Tia at the beach last weekend and I just couldn't physically do it. But I walked for over an hour and Tia got to chase birds and run in the surf to her hearts content.....unbridled joy....I wish we still lived at the beach so I could take her there every day. Ah well, 14 miles away ain't shabby. And we have an acre to her to run and play, which would be impossible if we still lived in Morro Bay.

So back to momentum......I've been struggling with motivation and that usually results in feeling crappy about myself. Ugh. I am sad and sorry. This was pretty much my frame of mind last year when I decided to do triathlon in the first place....and it changed my life.

The good news is I have found the inspiration to get me going again. OMG, Wildflower is going to be such a party next year. It sounds like pretty much everybody is going to be there. I am so excited! Stoked enough to get my ass back into gear, that's for sure.

Great Compliment

2006-09-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

"Holy Moly!" she exclaimed, "Mommy, look at those pretty underwear!" I turned around to find that the little girl, not a day over 2, was referring to MY lacy underthings. Aw shucks, that's the best compliment I've had in, well, days.

Not to mention that I had just finished a great run/swim brick, and broke my prior mile swim record by 5 minutes.

It's a good day.

Honeymooners

2006-09-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

Well not really, but that's what we felt like this weekend. It was so bizarre to not have a little chaperone with us. We really missed Little Jax, BUT we had a fabulous time. The weather was perfect. We camped along the shores of Nacimiento, and spent saturday and sunday cruising back into the narrows in our little boat. Daddy B caught some fish. I cast a few, with no luck, and read a book!! (pretty rare these days unfortunately). We took off Tia's conehead, and her gratitude for that outweighed her nerves at riding in the boat. This was actually her 3rd & 4th time out, and she's getting better with it. Actually the only time she doesn't like it is when we go fast. For those of you who haven't been to Nacimiento, they call it the Dragon:

And you can see why. All the long fingers (aka "The Narrows") are no wake zones, and there are so many private coves to be discovered. And discover them we did. Ahhhhh....life is good.

Here's the Punkin Eater.....

2006-09-22T23:06:00.000-07:00

...she's so very humble and so very fast and so very loved.

Back on Track

2006-09-22T14:42:00.000-07:00

I just finished a great run/swim brick...and I am back in the game baby!

My last post was pretty depressing...but if there's one thing you should know about me it's that I'm stubborn, and once I make up my mind to do something, I do it. And I am NOT going to let myself get to where I was 18 mos ago. Enough said....

I trained pretty consistently all through the summer, it was really just the last 2-3 weeks where I was slacking.

It's amazing how quickly you can lose fitness and gain weight. And then, on the other hand, you have to work long and hard to get the weight off. It just doesn't quite seem fair does it?

On another note, Daddy B and I have the weekend to ourselves. Jaxon is going to be at his grandparents house 2 hrs away. Whoa........ What are we going to do? I think we're going to go camp at Lake Nacimiento (beautiful) and head out in our hot rod boat (circa 1978 ~ Oh I wish I was home, I'd post a pic), find a private cove, and go skinny dipping. It doesn't get any better than that!!! And hopefully catch some fish.

We will have Tia the conehead with us (our new chocolate lab). She's a conehead because we had her spayed last week and she won't leave her incision alone. Poor baby, she hates that thing, and I just feel so bad for her. She's getting better though and we should be able to take the damn thing off soon.

Peace and love everyone......

New Beginnings

2006-09-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to formulate a post in my head for quite a few days now. It's hard to know where to begin.

I guess I'll start by saying I'm not much of a triathlete these days. *sigh*

I hate to admit it but my wildflower experience took the wind out of my sails a bit. (for those of you who don't know my story: I broke my wrist while completing my first triathlon)

I was going to do the Scott Tinley triathlon in October, but my training efforts have been lame. Oh yeah, and I never signed up.....which probably has something to do with why my training has been lame.

I've been drinking too much.

I've been working long hours due to final deadlines (corporate taxes).

ENOUGH WHINING ALREADY!!

Okay, here's my plan:

1.) Today I stop drinking. I wouldn't say I abuse alchohol, I just like to have a couple beers after work. The problem is it goes straight to my belly. I took a 6 month break last year, I felt great, and it showed.

2.) This morning I lifted weights with Daddy B. I plan to do this twice a week. I love weight training, but haven't done it for years, since I stopped going to the gym (I much prefer to train outdoors anyway!) The good news is we bought a free weights system this summer. It's sweet!

3.) Now that my final work deadlines have come and gone, I have some flexability in work schedule to get in those great brick workouts.

4.) I'm going to repeat what I did last year when I decided to do Wildflower. I'm going to train my butt off from here through January.

5.) Then comes Tax Season.

6.) But that's okay! I ran almost every day on my lunch breaks, minimum 1 swim a week. And then rode my bike on the weekends, and got in some good bike/run bricks. This worked pretty well last year....I WAS READY!

7.) I will complete Wildflower again without getting hurt this time.

8.) I hope to use my tax season bonus $$$ to buy a road bike.

9.) And if that happens I want to train and complete my first Olympic Distance Tri next season.

10.) Okay, well, that's the plan, and I'm sticking to it!

New Baby Girl

2006-08-31T00:31:00.000-07:00

Her name is Coco Tia. We've been wanting a dog for a long time, and we finally got one. A beautiful chocolate lab. She's 7 months old, and has lived her life in an outdoor kennel, so we're working on the house training. We probably won't be having another child, so she should be a great companion to our little boy. They're in love already...... And Daddy B and I took her out for a run yesterday.......oh what a good girl. She loved it and it will be a comfort to have her with me on my "mountain lion" runs (yes, they're in our neighborhood ~ yikes!)

Sticky Fingers

2006-08-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, Daddy B competed in the SLO triathlon. I really wanted to as well, but due to the fact that I received Dr's clearance to ride my bike but a week before the event I decided to pass on this one. Sorry folks but I really like to be prepared. And I have to say I got a little sh*t over it....."You finished the Wildflower (a much harder race) with a broken wrist, and you're not doing this one?" Okay okay okay.....

Anyway, the hubby's start time was 1:40pm, and it was about 100 degrees......ugh. We were very anxious about the run because Daddy B has been having serious issues with his calves. Just when he thinks they are better they blow out on him again. Daddy B is a chiropractor and well versed in the art of ART, but I'm not so sure it's as effective when you do it on yourself???

Anyway, I think I was as stressed and worried as he was. And it was in this state of mind that I was handed someone's goody bag to hold. The whole time I was holding this bag I thought it belonged to my husband....in fact I swear I read his # on the bag. I looked in the bag to try and figure out why the darn thing was so heavy: I saw the usual things, a T-Shirt, water bottle, etc, and a wad of cash. "My God," I thought "this will be much safer in my purse," so I transferred it.

The swim took place in a pool, and I was DB's lap counter, so while I was doing this I placed my purse with camera, water bottle, wad of money, etc and the goody bag behind me so they wouldn't get wet.

As we were exiting the swim area I reached back to grab my purse and noticed the goody bag was GONE. What the hell?

During DB's bike ride I went and checked Lost & Found......no goody bag. They sent me to the registration tent. They were very nice there, and gave me a new T-Shirt and 2 new water bottles.

But I continued to worry that perhaps there was something else of value in the bag.....after all, why was it so heavy?

Daddy B returned to T2 and was off on his run. I tried to be the best cheerleader ever, even though I was consumed with worry over his temperamental calves, and now the missing goody bag.

I went to the finish line and anxiously awaited his arrival, enthusiastically cheering everyone else who came across the line.

And then I spotted him, and he was looking pretty good. Relief washed over me. After he crossed the finish line, I went and got a big ol' sweaty hug.

I gave him maybe 5-7 minutes to recover before asking him about the goody bag. "What else was in there? I got the money out, but was there anything else of value?" He looked at me like I'd lost my mind. "What are you talking about?" It was a very frustrating conversation for both of us, and ended up with me just walking away from the situation.

We met back up in the transition area, after I did a little shopping therapy, and DB showed me his goody bag, safe and sound in his transition bag.

Uh Oh....

I STOLE SOMEBODY'S MONEY!!!!

Whose bag was it? And why the hell was I holding it in the first place? (I swear to you I did not smoke anything)

Okay, the only scenario that made any sense was that it had to be the out-of-town friends of our friend Kim. They also competed and one of them was sharing the lane with Daddy B, which would explain why it disappeared at that time, since she finished before Daddy B completed his laps.

We got back to the truck and I counted the money........

$650

I felt awful.....

Okay, luckily we were close to Daddy B's office where he had Kim's cell phone number. We called and soon found out that yes it was indeed her friend's money. They were frantic at that point looking for it, and were headed back to the race site to check lost and found. They were, of course, ecstatic that I had the $$$$$.

I still cannot figure out why I had that damn bag in the first place.

Oh, and her race number was #830, and Daddy B's was #831.

The blond jokes are never-ending........ugh

Sometimes I Hate Computers

2006-07-30T23:46:00.000-07:00

Oh, I am so mad right now. I was writing a post on how hard it is to blog, and describing my first ride back on my bike, and the San Luis Obispo Triathlon of which I did not compete but the husband did, when I managed to punch a combination of keys that cleared all I had just written on the screen. damn it. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow.

Maybe I'll also tell you how I accidently stole $650.

The Fragility of Life

2006-07-17T17:23:00.000-07:00

My brother~in~law had his second heart attack on Saturday (his first was in 1999, a couple weeks before our wedding). He is just 37 years old. He's kind, generous, hilarious and charismatic. We love him so much and are very afraid of losing him. Life is so very very fragile. Enjoy every moment. Spend as much time as you can with your family and friends. Good Health is Life. I'm feeling overwhelmed with worry and sadness....

Triathlon Withdrawals

2006-06-16T17:18:00.000-07:00

Went back to the doctor today.... He checked the flexibility of my wrist, was pleased, and sent me packing. I did manage to ask him one question, "When can I get on my bike again?" In four weeks, was his answer. Argh, so much for the San Luis Triathlon in July. Let me tell you, I am seriously jonesing for another tri.

And actually we can't afford to pay for any right now anyway, which is discouraging. Paying for this surgery is draining our savings account. You see, I rarely get sick and rarely visit the doctor, so thought it would be really smart to switch over to a high deductible plan and start up a health savings account. Yeah, 2 months before the accident. So there is very little in the HSA, and my new deductible is, well let's just say HIGH. Ugh. Oh well.....that's life, right?

Okay, so I've been swimming.......alot, which is really great. Certainly great therapy for my wrist. And I've been running.....alot. I've also been doing pilates which ROCKS, I love it. But what I really want to be doing is training for something. Wilflower is over, now what? It's like a big emptiness in my life right now.

So I searched on the internet and found some races that sound really great, in September. That would give me a month to get back up to speed on the bike.

Now, I just need to convince Daddy B......

Mommy Love

2006-05-27T23:08:00.000-07:00

I usually don't like pictures of myself.

I recently took in about ten rolls of film to be developed (taken prior to the digital era). Most of the pictures were from Jaxon's first year (he's now almost 4). There was one roll in particular that was really good, taken during Jaxon's first camping trip. He was about ten months old at the time. So, here's my favorite:

Just look at Jaxon's eyes! And me? Well I just look damn happy...

Wildflower

2006-05-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

Wow, the last couple weeks have been very surreal.

Did I really do a triathlon? Did I really complete a triathlon with a broken wrist?

There are times when I feel like a crazy person...who would do that? Why? What if I had wrecked again? *shudder*

First of all, let me just say "adrenaline is good stuff, really good stuff." Honestly, it wasn't that painful....except when I tried to use my hand. Luckily it was my left wrist that was injured so I could still change gears and use my rear brake. Also, having spent so much time on my bike prior to the race, I felt comfortable enough to know my limitations. And I had ridden the course a week prior so knew there was nothing I couldn't handle.

I felt a couple painful twinges during the run, but at that point I was SO CLOSE, so close to my goal......for which I had trained so hard.

The primary reason I decided to do triathlon was to recreate the feelings of accomplishment that childbirth gave me.

I had some complications during my pregnancy: gestational diabetes. Had to give myself an insulin shot every night before bed. Had to test my blood many times throughout the day. My diet was VERY strict (I actually lost 20 lbs during my pregnancy).

Regardless.....I felt fabulous. I swam everyday. I loved my huge brown belly. It was magnificent.

And the actual childbirth. Well now, THAT'S some hard labor. And I did it all without screaming & yelling or being mean to my husband.

It was a beautiful, mind~blowing, positive experience. My midwife was amazing, and my nurses were very special. I had a great support team: my husband and dear friend Lisa (now a doula). And we ended up with a beautiful healthy baby boy.

So what happened?

I gained back all the weight I had lost and more. It's a never ending work~in~progress: Fighting the demons that bring out my insecurities, feelings of negativity & self loathing. Finding comfort in food. Chocolate. Losing myself to the stupid television.

Triathlon saved me. Is still saving me.......

I can't swim or bike....yet. But I've been running, and walking, and doing pilates, and belly dancing, and hula hoopin', and chasing my little boy, and eating healthy, and reading books on triathlon, and reading tri-geek blogs, and working on my own blog.....

I feel so honored that Kahuna featured my story in his blog. I am still blown away by all the wonderful comments that people made. Being called a hero........ (who, me?) I told my husband, "Check out the computer, honey, Kahuna called me his hero!" to which Daddy B replied, "Everyone thinks you're a hero."

Completely humbled.....

My Training Partner

2006-05-17T13:21:00.000-07:00

He's a real slave driver......

The Men in my Life

2006-05-17T12:47:00.000-07:00

I just wanted you to meet Daddy B & Jax....

Last Week a Hero, This Week a Wimp

2006-05-17T00:49:00.000-07:00

I had my follow up appointment with the Doctor yesterday. I felt a little woozie when they took my splint off. I don't know, my arm just felt wierd, and looked wierd with bright purple bruises and big black stitches. I felt like such a WIMP! They took out the stitches, and assured me that everything is healing up nicely.

Time for rehabilitation.

I'm supposed to take off my splint OFTEN and start using my left arm/hand as much as possible. It's really hard to do! I feel like an injured little bird with a broken wing. I just want keep it wrapped up and protected. Ugh.

Anyway, the good news is......the Dr recommended 2-3 more weeks off from work. Cool!

I have decided to really ENJOY this time off. I want to concentrate on my core. I want to belly dance. I want to update my blog. I want to cook healthy delicious meals. I want to walk....and run. I want to play with Jaxon. I want to READ. I want to catch up on my favorite podcasts.