Loving What You Do

In 2002 Even (Ol Griz) Evensen retired from his job with the Forest Service to pursue his dream lifestyle of training and racing the Ironman triathlon. He was in the best shape of his life when he lined up with the other athletes at Panama City Beach for Ironman Florida. He completed the 2.4 mile swim in 1:05:43 and got on the bike (his true strength) to tear up the course and leave the old guys in the 50-54 division in his wake.

Eighty miles later Even lay on the side of the road, his body covered in road rash, his bike in pieces, both of his ankles broken, and five vertebrae in his back shattered. An impatient driver had accidently struck Even during the race and the life that Ol Griz had been preparing for all these years was suddenly over.

Sometimes you can't truly love something until it is gone. The triathlon lifestyle Even had dreamt of had almost killed him and now his future in the sport and his quality of life was in jeopardy. He went from having it all to having his wife take care of him like he was an infant. After several weeks in a hospital in Florida, surgery to put titanium rods in his back and some extended care, Even returned to the home he had built with his own hands a battered and disabled man.

Even's friends rallied around him and his loving wife Gayle to help Griz recover. But recovery was a road Even had to travel on his own. So he started out by painfully walking laps around his dining room table. First 10 laps, then 50 laps, then hundreds of laps. He had a goal. If you think walking without pain was the goal then you don't know Ol Griz. His goal was only a few months away, he wanted to complete the Beaver Freezer Sprint triathlon held in his town on a course that he knew well and where he holds two age group course records.

So on the first weekend of April 2003, just months after he was almost killed in Florida, Even lined up with the other athletes and started his first triathlon as Griz part II. He swam 500 yards on his back in 0:09:58, had a friend assist him out of the pool and follow him onto the bike course where he biked 12 miles in 0:53:36 and went on to run the 3.1 miles in 46:22.

He finished the race in 2:02:21 which was good enough for dead last. There were tears on his face when he crossed the finish line that day and he said it was one of the greatest accomplishments of his life. He was able to dream again, his goals taken away from him temporarily, and he slowly went back to a sort of modified training, a piece of the life he had wanted to live.

In 2004 Ol Griz showed up at the Beaver Freezer again, this time completing the race in 1:06:48, fast enough to win his age group. He was training well and unbelievably, he was on a mission to return to the Ironman. He registered for Ironman Coeur d'Alene (CDA) in 2005 and started back into his routine of long bike rides while he worked on swimming faster. The Dr. had advised Even that he could attempt to run a marathon but he should not train to run a marathon due to his back problems.

So by June 2005, Even was once again lining up with the other athletes at the start of the Ironman. He swam the 2.4 miles in 1:09:47 which put him 10th in his division and went on to bike 5:55:03 for the 112 mile bike course which was the 6th fastest time in his division that day. Once out on the run, Even's back began to ache with a vengeance. He dropped out of the race as he promised his wife Gayle when it appeared that he might put himself in jeopardy. Griz enjoyed the race day, he said he had a fabulous time, and there were no regrets about not finishing.

Once again he returned home to Oregon and began quietly training. He pushed himself through several 100 mile rides and long swim sessions but continued to respect his back by not running very often. Ol Griz signed up for Ironman CDA again in 2006 and challenged himself to get back to the competitive shape he had once known. Back to the lifestyle he had worked for, and maybe back to Kona for the Ironman Triathlon World Championships again.

It was a long shot, but you don't know until you try so Even lined up with the rest of the athletes for yet another Ironman, this time with a goal to finish but with perhaps the smallest doubt about what was to come. Even finished the swim in 1:06:15 putting him in 1st place in his division. Out on the bike, Ol Griz mixed it up with the young guys biking 5:57:15 in tough conditions (5th fastest in division) and made his way out on the run. He started slowly and thought about walking the next 13 miles just to finish the race. He came by our cheering section and we gave him some news: he was running in 3rd place.

He was in contention for a slot to Kona if he could just hold it together for the remainder of the marathon. So with a smile on his face, he ran on and he didn't stop. I don't know what pain he felt, or what his head said to his heart, I only know what he did and what he did was amazing. He ran 26.2 miles in 5:11:07 and finished the Ironman in 12:29:35 which put him in 3rd place in his division.

Not only did Ol Griz finish an Ironman, he kicked the butts of 62 other old guys in the process and was going to the Ironman Triathlon World Championships again! You can't plan something like this, it just happens. Sometimes bad things happen and sometimes, if you let it, amazing things happen. Ol Griz came to this race with a love for the sport and the sport gave him some love back. As soon as he crossed the line, he began thanking his wife and friends for their support. The moments we all shared at the finish line with Griz will stay with us for a lifetime. The old man did it. The old man DID IT!

Have you ever dreamt of doing something so big that it scared you to think about it? When I think of Griz riding his bike on the Queen K highway in Kona with the sun on his back and the bad memories behind him I feel pretty right with myself. I am inspired not to pursue dreams of Kona, but to love what I do. And to do it.

Could YOU do this?

It's easy to get a reputation for being hard core if you race Ironman triathlons as a fun hobby. Truth be told, many people could complete the race with the proper training, education, and a strong will to finish. But most experienced athletes will drop out of an Ironman (rightly so) when illness or injury gets in the way. They aren't willing to push themselves when the chips are stacked against them, they live for another day.

They might have a hard core reputation, but they are no Michael (Taz) Tasman.

I don't know if Taz has ever raced an Ironman without some major complication to overcome. There was the year a motorist intentionally hit him while he was biking and caused several serious injuries. Then Taz had another accident, this time with a fellow triathlete, and seperated his shoulder before an Ironman. He crossed the finish line that day, 140.6 miles of pain.

In 2004, Taz had a stellar performance at Ironman Coeur d'Alene (CDA) where he qualified for Ironman Hawaii and went on to race one of his best performance yet. He also had a stress fracture in his shin that prevented him from running much, and at times he ran backwards on a wood chip trail to help himself heal. He took 2005 off from racing and came into this year confident that a personal best was in the cards for him.

2006 started out well but he noticed a loss of strength in one of his arms. He had to scale back some of his training and receive painful injections in his neck to help the healing process. When he did train, it hurt. But he made it to taper week for Ironman CDA only to find himself uncomfortably indigested and feeling terrible. He was so ill that on the drive from Oregon to Idaho he went to the hospital for treatment. The prescribed drugs weren't working so two days before the race, Taz went to the emergency room and had an uncomfortable procedure done to remove a blockage in his intestines. He lost 7 pounds in two days and was nauseated and miserable.

He had every reason not to race, it was highly unlikely that he would be able to perform at the level he wanted and it was very possible that he would not even be able to finish if he started the race. So he checked his immaculately cleaned bike in, put on his wetsuit, and toed the line with everyone else on race morning.

Taz swam 0:59:26 that morning, good enough for 4th place in the 50-54 division. The bike course was hot and windy but he was able to maintain a solid pace for the 112 miles and came in at 5:45:15 which was the 14th fastest time in his division. Making it that far, that fast, is an amazing display of his will and strength. So imagine our delight to see him out there running with the rest of the racers, doing a 4:16:10 marathon which allowed him to finish in 6th place out of 113 people in his division. His total race time 11:12:55 was 55 minutes slower than the last time he did this race in 10:17:27.

It was not a personal best time, but even with that he still could have had a slot to Ironman Hawaii with this performance because many people were slower in the tougher conditions this year too. He turned down the slot to Kona.

I know myself, and I know that if I was in at the ER with an intestinal blockage, I would have spent race day in a bed recupperating. Almost everyone on the planet would have stayed home on race day. Taz is a uniquely determined person. There is a famous saying in triathlon, "Never, EVER give up." Taz lives that saying and has proven to himself and everyone else, that it is always worth trying.

Congratulations Taz! We now crown you KING OF HARD CORE!

Tribute to a Balanced Triathlete

Friends are important in endurance sports, you need people to inspire you, get you through long workouts and to set the bar higher when you consider your goals. Bill and I are very fortunate to have a group of friends that are amazing athletes and wonderful people who are there for us in sports and in our personal lives as well. Our motley crew is called The Doggs and they range in age from 30-57 and are all accomplished triathletes, many of them have qualified and raced the Hawaii Ironman World Championships multiple times.

Our peer group is not normal, they are hard core, dedicated to the sport, and driven to push themselves in tough conditions. The 2006 Ironman Coeur d'Alene (CDA) race this past Sunday was a tough stage for the Doggs to test themselves with temperatures soaring well over 90 degrees. Today I am dedicating this blog entry to our friend Jess aka Jester aka The Good Doctor who has proven himself (again) on a hot day in CDA.

We had no idea how well Jess would do, it seemed like he spent most of his weekends this spring on the ski slopes with his son Carl. The week before IM CDA, Jess and Carl were up at Whistler in Canada and I think we all hoped Jess wasn't wearing down his legs skiing when he could have been resting for that Ironman he signed up for...

Jess is a smart guy, he's a baby Dr. and a dedicated family man. He has two college aged kids who have both done well at local triathlons. This year, Jess (1st), Carl (5th) and his daughter (1st) all placed in their divisions at a local sprint triathlon with Jess finishing 15th overall. Last year Jess challenged Carl to a sprint triathlon and not only did dad beat his hot shot son, he won the race overall. Jess races in the 50-54 age group division so for an old guy to win a race... not bad Jess! (Just teasing about the old part!)

Back to CDA, we tracked the 50-54 division so we could see if the guys were in contention for a slot to Kona. Triathletes have to qualify for the Hawaii Ironman by placing well in their divisions at other events. Some people get in on a lottery, but our friends like to do it the hard way. Jess came out of the 2.4 mile swim in a cool 0:55:55 which put him 2nd in his division for the bike. Once out in the heat and on a slightly hilly course, Jess rode 112 miles in 5:51:34 which put him 20th in his division out of 113 people. By the time Jess got to the marathon, the temperatures were well over 90 degrees so imagine our amazement when Jess pushed the pace on the course to complete the 26.2 mile run in 3:58:05, the 2nd fastest time in his division for the run.

Jess finished the race this year in 10:52:15 which put him 3rd in his division and 139th overall out of the 1,939 people who finished. His time was slower than year's past but it doesn't matter because he was faster than most and he qualified AGAIN for the World Championship race in Hawaii. (After spending the winter skiing with his son).

Jess is not the type to race his friends, to compete while training or to boast about his accomplishments. He is dedicated first to his family and his work and treats triathlon like a fun sport and yet he still is able to do so well at it. In a room full of hard core triathletes, he is the most accomplished at balancing life's challenges and having fun and we all admire his amazing strength and good natured attitude.

To you Jess, I say CONGRATULATIONS on another great race, we all admire you on so many levels and think the world of you. You're the best! Now keep beating young Carl at those races!

Road rash on the road trip

GREAT WEEKEND, MANY STORIES TO TELL... It will take me all week to talk about this past weekend. First story: I crashed my bike trying to show BeeHunter around the bike course for Ironman Coeur d'Alene. We had just ridden the hilly section of the course and were trying to get back to town on a bike path. A tree root had raised the pavement on a little downhill section (see photo of me laying on ground next to pavement that took me out). I hit it without seeing it and went down fairly hard in the only patch of gravel in the area. The top tube of my triathlon bike is dented and I have some nice wounds but I am fine.

I need to admit several errors on my part:

1. I wasn't wearing contacts and had blurred vision
   
2. I didn't have the route planned and we were slightly lost
3. I rode my bike several miles back to town after I crashed

I think #3 is the most stupid of all the things I did and I need to shame myself for acting macho. My ears rang for a while after the crash and I got light headed so yes, I am STUPID to ride my dented bike through traffic after I wrecked.

My bike is likely ruined, we'll take it in to the shop this week to get it checked out. A new bike might be in my future which might be in the DISTANT future... we've got some other expenses pending (the wedding and honeymoon and Bill returning to school) so all I can say is WAAAAAHHHHH!

More positive stories to follow (we had a great weekend at the Ironman!)

Road trip

Pic of daisies and the Willamette Valley from atop Dimple Hill taken on 06/21/06 the evening of summer solstice. Bill and I had a nice mountain bike ride last night, went about 2 hours which was great except my legs were shot from the beginning.

I asked Bill to take the ride really easy and after a while he commented, "I always thought if I rode this slow that I would fall over."

I can't make this stuff up, he just knows all the right things to say to a girl ;)

We're leaving Corvallis sometime around 6pm tonight which means we'll arrive in Spokane sometime in the morning around 1am. I'm pretty sure I'm too old for this late night road trip stuff. Tomorrow we'll be in Coeur d'Alene (CDA) for a group swim on the Ironman course then we'll bike a 56 mile loop and then Bill is planning to run a 13.1 loop too. Should be quite a social event, we're meeting people for a late lunch and seeing some friends and family on Saturday.

Looking forward to swimming with Bubba in Lake CDA!

Summer Solstice

It's going to be 90+ degrees this weekend here in Oregon but we're headed to Idaho for Ironman Coeur d' Alene (CDA). I think the weather there will be similair only we'll be hanging out near the lake so it will be NICE!

Check out my girl Chantel down under in New Zealand, she put on the fleece skirt I made her at the first sign of snow. She's a cutie, she sent me pics of a recent trip to Australia and she was all glammed out in sunglasses, having drinks and looking international.

I never look glamorous so I was impressed. I'm definitely more the goofy type. Tall and goofy. Glamorous... no. Bill used to call me AL when we first started dating. AL=arms and legs. Today I told him I was the ideal weight and that I needed to stop drinking beer because it made me chubby and he said, "Good thing I didn't buy that beer that was on sale." He wasn't joking. He's kind of clueless sometimes.

We're hitting the trails after work for a mountain bike ride and then I'm riding to Sarah's for a ladies night soltice party which will be FUN! There should be some BEER and WINE and Bill will be picking me up so I could be hurting tomorrow if this soltice thing is a bash. I'm not complaining (yet)!

No pressure!

Sunday morning I quietly gardened while Bubba frolicked in the yard and the cat slept in. All seemed well but my mind was waging a full on war.

In one corner: You have to go on a long bike ride. The 1/2 ironman is 2 months away, you are riding 56 miles next weekend and you haven't ridden long in weeks. If you don't ride long today, you aren't doing that race. CHOOSE NOW!

In the other corner: We're having a BBQ at 5:30pm for friends tonight, you need to finish planting these flowers, weed the beds, make a birthday cake for Taz, buy groceries, clean the house, go look at that arbor Gayle told you about for the wedding, make the wedding invitations (!), go to the fabric store so you can make covers for the outdoor chairs, the dog needs to be walked and...!

I was making myself so panicked that when Bill came home at noon from his disc golf tournament I basically told him what was up: you are cleaning the house, mowing the yard, making Taz a cake, and prepping the food for the BBQ. I am going on a bike ride. The rest will have to wait. He had taken 2.5 days off from reality, he was going to help me deal with my reality.

We had a great night sending off Taz and Griz for Ironman Coeur d'Alene next weekend. Gayle and Griz with birthday Taz in pic:

I was tired Monday so when I got off work I asked Bill to go trail running and we hit a steep trail and ran for an hour with the dog. It wasn't easy, I'm even more tired today, and my legs are really sore now but I enjoyed that run more than I have enjoyed a run in weeks. We stopped off on the way home and bought the arbor for the wedding and I'll make the invitations tonight. I hope I can keep this up for another two months. :)

Fabulousness

Saturday was one of the better days I've had in a very long time. I woke up early and walked the dog, drank some coffee then headed out for a 3 hour mountain bike clinic where I learned to ride over a log and bunny hop my bike. I think I am pretty cool.

Showered up, put on a skirt and hit the road to Eugene with Sarah to try on wedding dresses. Sarah was the perfect person to take as she offered helpful advise and told me I looked nice. :) We both cried when I tried on the first dress, it was a little overwhelming! Sarah took pics so I can mull the different styles over, here is one I don't want so I don't spoil the suprise.

After trying on a bunch of pretty dresses we found a good mexican restaurant where we enjoyed margaritas out on the patio in the sunshine. It was a fabulous day!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Today is the last day of school at OSU! When the students leave, the town changes and summer begins. Adults come out of hiding and the entire vibe in town becomes more relaxed and enjoyable. These next four months in Oregon will be warm, sunny, and dry. SWEET!

Last night Bill and I browsed through a 4 inch thick bridal magazine and talked about wedding dresses. Bill suprised me with his thoughtful analysis of the dresses, I'm glad we talked because he had some strong opinions. I was thinking sweet and feminine and he was thinking stylish and form fitting. Who knew!?! Now we all do, I'm sure Bill will be thrilled with me for putting this on my blog.

Tomorrow: mountain bike clinic in the morning and wedding dress shopping in the afternoon. We're hosting a BBQ on Sunday to say good luck to our friends doing Ironman Coeur d'Alene next weekend. Bill and I leave next Thursday for Spokane to see my family for the weekend and to spectate at the Ironman. It will be the first time one of us is not racing so we'll spend the day together and it will be much less stressful!

Also, my sister Boo Boo is graduating from beauty school next Friday so we'll take her out to celebrate. She's nine years younger than I am so you can guess why we lovingly call her Boo Boo. Still. She's 24 now. I might be the only one still calling her Boo Boo. I'm going to ask her to do my hair for our wedding so maybe we'll find some time to practice next weekend. Sounds fun! YEEEAAAAAHHH!

Out of body experience

Bill brought this shiny object home last night. The testosterone level rose another notch in the house. Perhaps the cake incident provoked this? As soon as he had this monster assembled I said, "How are you getting it out of the house?" He's lucky, it fit through the door. Should be fun to have a real BBQ grill, another excuse to have people over. Griz and Gayle will be over tonight for more wedding planning. I have to get my lists together before they get there. HELP!

I was feeling like crud again yesterday, this virus thing is lingering and it seems like everytime I exercise I start feeling sick. So last night when I got home from work my body said, "COUCH" but my mind said "TRAIL RUN" and the dog's wiggle butt said "LEASH" so my mind put the leash on the dog and drove to the trail head for some running.

My body said, "NOOOO!" We are swimming relay races in master's swim this week and earlier in the day I got a huge headache while swimming so I thought the run would feel pretty awful too. Of course the trail starts out by going UP UP UP and I figured I would walk but as soon as my legs started moving I got that old familair feeling...

My legs wanted to run and the rest of my body fell into step and soon enough I was in the groove. We pranced up the hill, took the long way back down, and then extended the run with a lower loop. The dog was happy, my mind was satisifed and my body felt great! FINALLY! I'm taking today off from exercise so maybe by Friday I'll feel normal again. I think there's an off road duathlon in a few weeks that sounds like a good race for me!

All's Fair in Love and War

Things Bill is getting away with right now:

• recording all the World Cup soccer games and watching most of them
• taking Friday off and playing disc golf for 3 days
• telling everyone that HE will make our wedding cake

I made a mistake. I looked Bill in the eye and said, "I want you to care about the wedding cake." HA! Once he found out how much they cost he thought one of our friends would make it. After I told him that it was a major responsibility and two of our friends said they wouldn't do it he decided HE would do it himself. He thinks he can use Duncan Hines mix and frosting to make a tiered wedding cake. HA HA!

Things I get away with: posting these things on my blog. I can't suffer in silence. :)

I made an appointment at a bridal boutique for this Saturday and purchased a wedding magazine so I can be prepared to handle the sales ladies. I think I'll attend a mountain bike clinic in the morning before I go shopping to balance out the day. It will be an interesting experience for sure, I've never tried on wedding dresses before. I hope I find one quickly, otherwise, Sarah and I will make a dress which won't be easy but can be done.

Samara and Ms Kitty playing nice .

Blue Lake Triathlon 2006

Blue Lake is an early season triathlon that brings out NW talent. You get to see who is in competitive form and getting into the top 10 is not easy here. Typically Bill is in the middle of Ironman training for Blue Lake and he trains right up to race day. This year there is no Ironman but we've been all over the place with training between buying a house and getting engaged.

I think he's in pretty good shape regardless so I was excited to follow the race and give him splits to the leader throughout the day. He came out of the water in 3rd (for the elite wave) and lost a little time in transition (1st race of the season).

I missed it, but he flatted right out of T1. Fortunately, there were people there with tools because he didn't have everything he needed to fix the flat. He decided to ride his race bike the morning of the race and wasn't totally ready. I guess he struggled for a while to fix the flat but eventually got out on the bike course but was 13 minutes down to the leader by the time he got back to T2.

The flat took the wind out of his sails and he went on to run the 10k in 40:48. He went from 4th (last year) to 48th this year. He seemed fine with it. We socialized after the race and then headed home, stopping off at the outlet mall on the way so I could return a top to Banana Republic. I asked Bill to come in and try on some suits for the wedding. We found a great khaki suit for him and bought a gorgeous tie at Calvin Klein so he's all taken care of.

I better go dress shopping soon! I think the wedding is in 13 weeks. AH! My hair is a mess in this pic, dang I have some work to do before this wedding!!!

How NOT to do a triathlon

Since I'm too competitive (in my own mind) to do a race unless I think I can kick butt... today I went hiking with Bubba, watched The Office special (BBC version) on DVD, went to the nursery to buy more plants for the yard, went to the park with Sarah and Simon, tried on a wedding dress downtown that Gayle found, then had Lonnie, Cindy, and Samara over for a BBQ, walked over to the park again with Samara and went and got coffee for tomorrow since we're getting up at 4am to leave for Bill's triathlon.

It was a fine day and I tried to stay positive and think about the races yet to come. There is one next weekend up in Washington State, I was the 1st place woman there 2 years ago so I have a good history on the course. I would have to go by myself though since Bill is out of town next weekend at a disc golf tournament. Yikes! I don't know if I can go by myself... probably not.

Today I secured Simon (2 yrs) and Samara (3yrs) to walk down the aisle together as ring bearer and flower girl. They are both amazingly cute and Bill and I have watched both of them grow up so we are excited to share the wedding with them. In this pic, Samara set her chair up within arms reach of Marshall who was tied up to the car. He was sure to give her lots of puppy kisses.

TOMORROW: race report for Bill. I think he was 4th last year at this race. His swimming is very good right now but I can't tell how he's running or biking. This will be his first tri of the season so it'll be fun to watch!

Let them eat Costco cake

I weighed myself yesterday and I'm down almost 5 pounds in a week and half from being sick. I'm now close to Ironman race weight without the fitness. Freaky! I'm sure it will come back as soon as I can drink my daily beer again. I'm trying not to think about missing the race on Saturday which will be really hard when I'm spectating for Bill on Sunday. I'm depressed about it so let's talk about something else...

Pics I took from the yard last night. Things are growing everywhere, I love it! I don't know what most of the plants are, but they seem like they are doing fine with our novice care.

Bill and I are not extravagant people and we're pretty much in agreement about most financial decisions but all of these impeding wedding expenses are giving both of us a headache. Gayle picked up a price sheet for wedding cake from the local Safeway store. The cheapest cake is $150. Hmmm, sounds reasonable for a wedding cake but if you think about it, when do you spend $150 on cake!?! For a wedding, I know, but jeez! I feel like I've entered Bizarro spending world and I'm just not buying into it.

We got a Costco membership last night and a whole new world has opened up for us! I saw the biggest bag of chocolate chips, it weighed 5 pounds! They have sheet cake for $17 and cheesecake for $13. That sounds real reasonable to me. Do they have wedding dresses there too? I think we'll have ourselves a Costco wedding!

Finding Comfort

Well this week has sucked. I've had hit or miss with my health, sometimes I'm able to eat a full meal, sometimes not. I was able to bike for an hour Tuesday but when I tried to go for a run last night I started feeling sick and overheated and had to walk two miles to get home. I've basically decided not to do the triathlon this weekend which was a frustrating decision.

We had a friend criticize our wedding planning (publicly) so what was once a fun and exciting thing we are sharing with friends has suddenly become a sore point for certain people. We were planning to ask a group of friends to assist us with the wedding but we might have to rethink that approach. Right now, it doesn't feel good to be me.

Normally, I wouldn't let other people or situations cause me to be in a funk so that is frustrating me too. I have a good life and I am grateful for the things I have, like a croissant and coffee that's only $1 on Tues/Thurs. Or passing a rastaman biking down the road this morning while he was smoking something. Or when my sweet dog pulled the strap on my backpack while I was rushing out the door and I dropped the bag and everything fell out on the floor. Or that my pretty kitty woke me up and purred while I lay there trying to find energy for the day. Or that my wonderful future husband cleaned the dog poo out of the yard this morning like I asked him to... OK I guess I feel better. It was the poo that made me smile the most :)

Biting off more

Bill got Bubba some big bones and he's been showing signs of frustration since he can't demolish them in 10 minutes. Reminds me of someone... me! I'm always trying to bite of more than I can chew and then getting frustrated with it.

Lately I haven't been able to chew much of anything, I can't wait to enjoy a meal again. If I lost any weight from being sick, it will come right back on once I can eat again! We did make it to the pool last night and loved it! It's at least 20 yards long and we had it all to ourselves so I did get to splash around. We're putting off the swim bike run workout at Foster Lake another day to see if I start feeling better. I'm still struggling but it seems to improve everyday.

Check out our wedding invitations. I'm making them, aren't they fab? Guess I better spend some more time making them. We're having dinner with Even and Gayle tonight, they are helping us with the wedding. Gayle is basically handling all of the details that I should obsess about but don't have the time to get into. Even (old Griz) is going to be our wedding officiant and Gayle's assistant. I can't wait to start making jokes about it with him. They're the best!

Who's in charge here?

I think I am mostly over the worst of the illness. I'm able to eat now although I'm still afraid of Raisin Bran or anything bran and might be for a while. I rode on the trainer twice this weekend and went for a short run yesterday but ended up with what I think is a heat rash all over my legs afterward. It went away a few hours later but it was enough to remind me that even an easy run is still a bit much now.

I'll be skipping Master's swim today since I overdo it in there even when I don't try to. Bill and I are going to go check out the pool at the clubhouse in our development after work today. It looks really nice, it's wide and I think it's at least 20 yards long so I might be able to get in a short swim workout then.

We're supposed to drive over to Foster Lake tomorrow after work to do a swim, bike, and run workout to warm up for the Blue Lake triathlon this weekend. I'm a little worried about it considering the heat rash and my still grumbling intestinal region. I guess I'll find out then.

The dog likes to give Ms Kitty a bad time but I think she ultimately wins. I came home from errands the other day and the cat was sleeping in the big dog house and the dog was sleeping in his small carrier. Bill says the cat dominates the dog but he dominates the cat and the dog. He claims the dog dominates me and the only problem is I dominate Bill or so he says. I don't believe any of that. I think the cat is in charge of everyone.

I'm Toast

I'm trying not to think about how hard I trained for the past two months, how I practiced climbing hills in the aero position, how I started track workouts and ran intervals and swam 3-4 times a week... because I'M SICK AND I CAN'T DO ANYTHING NOW EXCEPT LOSE FITNESS. I have contracted a nasty virus that doesn't allow me to eat much of anything or do much of anything so I sit here, not eating or doing. We had to cancel a BBQ we were going to host this weekend and I have plans to do nothing until I get better. Oh, the good news is that I can eat toast and any other bland food that I consider a warm up to a real meal.

OK, let's go back to last weekend: went camping, the guys all love to play frisbee (disc) golf and I ate smores. The end. More pics available here: http://tribabe.smugmug.com/gallery/1512623/2/72592384