Mama Orrick's Christmas Wish List

I know it's early, but I've been coveting a few things and I thought I should send those wishes out to the universe (aka Patrick) because the universe is always asking for a Christmas/anniversary/birthday/Columbus Day wish list.

1.  Swim Paddles.  The kind that help you with your hand water entry form.  A guy I work with who also swims at my pool let me try his one day, and they were super fun. 

2. This sweatshirt:

Or really, anything from Victoria's Secret PINK.  I know it's sororityish, but their sweats and t-shirts are so freaking comfortable!  I love to throw on my neon green PINK sweatpants to head to the pool.  Especially in the winter.   And I love that they have KU stuff.

3. Moccasins:

They don't necessarily have to be UGGs, but I'm looking for warm slip-on type shoes to wear to and from the pool in the winter.  And I'm partial to cute colors.

4.  Ipad.  He's heard enough about this.  That's all I'm going to say.

5. Clipless pedals.  I know nothing about these, but if they come in pink, that would be cool.

6.  These sunglasses:

I've been running and biking in some old sunglasses I got from Walmart AGES ago.  They work, but it's probably time to upgrade.  I've never before owned a pair of sunglasses that cost more than 15 bucks, but I think I'm now mature enough to handle a bigger investment. 

7.  A giant tube of this:

I'm not really sure how I survived normal life without this.  I don't care if it is infused with fetal pig stem cells, I would ingest it if I thought I needed to.  My number one use is for razor burn.  My go to tri girl, Hillary, brought this to my attention.  I dug through Patrick's old tri bag, looking  for a free sample of this stuff, and I have been hooked ever since.  I also smear it on my feet before a long run.  I like to run without socks, and this stuff really stays in place over the course of 8 miles.  No blisters for this girl.  I'm half convinced this stuff might cure stretchmarks, but I don't want to waste it trying. 

 

8. And to go ahead and put my weirdness out there completely, I really want to try this stuff:

I am constantly on the hunt for the perfect meal replacement.  Not as a diet aid, but as a "My wonderful husband had to go into work early this morning and I have to get three kids ready and out the door by 8:00am" aid.  I've tried Herbalife (good taste, but don't understand half the ingredients) and Orgain (weirdo taste, expensive, but recognizable ingredients).  I saw a write up about Supergreen in "LAVA", the magazine for Serious Triathletes (it really says that on the cover), and am curious.  It is supposedly a true meal replacement made of only vegetables, legumes, and grains.   

So there you go universe, that's my Christmas wishlist as of September 29th...

I. Love. Triathlons.

I am hooked, people.  Absolutely, positively, obsessive compulsively hooked.

I have never had so much fun in an exercise situation.  I never once thought, "Why am I doing this?" (Okay, I thought it ONCE when I was standing on the shore in the cold September fog, waiting for the starting gun to go off...)

The fog was incredible.  Almost calming.  They had to delay the start by 10 minutes because you couldn't see the buoys.  I stayed up all night stressing about how cold the swim was going to be.  In actuality, it was about five degrees warmer in the water than it was standing on the sand.

I think my only disappointment of the whole day was that I didn't push myself on the swim.  I was so cautious out there, mostly because I didn't want to panic. 

Look at me checking every step.  I was sure I was going to fall running up the beach. 

Man that's an attractive getup.

Once I got on the bike, I threw caution to the wind.   I never once hit the brakes until I was turning the last steep hill into transition.  I picked off bikers left and right that had passed me on the swim, especially on the uphills.  I looked down at my bike computer at one point and saw 30mph!  30 miles per hour!  I had never before ALLOWED myself to travel that fast on a bike.  I remember thinking around mile five on the bike "Maybe I should pace myself a little, what if I don't have anything left for the run?"  I thought to myself, "What would Patrick do?"  The answer came easily: "Go. All. Out."  So I did, and I didn't regret it.

Pro:  I was smiling in just about every single picture taken of me.  It's obvious I'm having a blast.  Con:  I still look ridiculous in a bike helmet.

This is straight off the bike.  My legs are shaky, but I was super excited to be so close to the end.  I had just yelled at Patrick "Do I have everything?"  Transition (the time in between the swim, bike, and run) seemed too easy.  All the books that I had been reading really made a big deal out of people forgetting things in transition.  I was sure I had forgotten something as I was running out.

The only negative on the run?  My shoes made a squishy sound the WHOLE time.  I wasn't wearing socks, and I'm not sure if this was the reason why they squished so much.  I couldn't sneak up and pass people because they always knew I was coming, and usually sped up.  I listened closely to other people's shoes and never heard one other person squishing.  I was totally annoyed at my beautiful flower shoes.

This is the end.  It was a huge downhill finish, which was good for the ego.

The end.  I was so pumped.  I'm still on a high.

"The family that tris together, stays together!" -Kim Jenkins

The best part of the whole day was sharing it with my family.  My husband, kids, and dad were just around almost every corner.  They gave me an extra special lift.  Looking at this picture gives me a twinge of guilt because I have seen very few of Patrick's races due to my weekend schedule.  I wish I could give him the boost at his races that he gave me. 

It's also fun to race with friends. 

Navigating the whole triathlon world is a lot less scary when there's two of you.

Patrick is excited that I'm excited.  "I'm going to make you fast." 

He wants to get me one of those crazy helmets.  Maybe it will look cooler than the one I have now...

Just Keep Swimming

T-Minus Five Days and Counting....

It's almost time, folks.  Time for me to complete my 2011 New Year's Resolution.  I feel...okay about this.  I know I can finish the swim, bike, run, but I wish I could finish it faster.  This reasoning is ridiculous, I know, because the question becomes "faster than what?"  I've never completed a Sprint Triathlon before, therefore, whatever time I finish with will be my fastest time...ever.  Sigh.  I've just put a lot of time and effort into this and I want to compete (and look) like those freakishly fit triathlete women that I'm constantly surrounded by.

I AM excited to do this, though.  Training for this short little triathlon has brought my husband and I closer, I think, and increased my understanding of his passion.  While the kiddos were at my parents Sunday and Monday, Patrick took me to Kill Creek (where the race is) to do a practice bike and run together.  It was funny (I wasn't actually laughing at the time, too out of breath) to draft behind him on the bike because he was pedaling so leisurely, as if he was out for a casual neighborhood ride, while I was pedaling my ass off to keep up with his 20mph average. 

The bike route for the race was really pretty.  Lots of horses out doing their thing, big fields of stuff growing wild, cute farm houses, and a creek or two flowing past.  Only three big hills I have to worry about, but now I know when they're coming.  

There's just no chance of me looking cute in a bike helmet.

Next was the run.  The majority of the run is on a trail through Kill Creek Park and around the lake.  Very shady and green.  I was also holding my hubby back on the run, but I ran the three miles faster than I have in a long time (since half marathon training) so his pacing definitely helped me pick it up.  Too bad he can't be my pacer bunny on the day of the race.  

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am (married to) an Ironman."

I didn't feel terrible after this practice bike/run.  Also to take into consideration is the fact that Officer Orrick and I went out after work on Sunday night, ate a huge unhealthy creamy Olive Garden dinner and then played trivia until the wee hours of the morning at a local bar.  So I'm hoping I will perform even better next Saturday sans hangover.

And to top off the nice Labor Day morning spent with my husband, I ended the day with this:

Pink handlebar tape, people.  My bike is complete.  I had been coveting pink handlebars since I started training in January, but my husband pretended like it was a ridiculous idea.  He's good at tricking me like that.  At least if I can't be fast and skinny, I can be color coordinated.

City Girls Out in Nature

"Holy cow, Ellis Mary, did you see that?"

Note:  I may or may not of replaced "cow" with another more colorful word.

This morning, these two city girls were running their normal Friday trail.  Last Friday, I got super excited about a little lizard that crossed our path.  He was about 3 inches long with a fresh neon green tail.  I tried to stop to show my miniature running partner, but she was less than excited, and the lizard was too fast. 

This Friday, we got an even cooler brush with the wild side.

What's the matter, you can't see anything?  Well, I didn't see (or hear) anything either until there were three large deer leaping across our path about a foot in front of us.  I nearly peed my already sweat stained shorts.

Ellis took it in stride.  I can't get this girl excited about anything.

P.S.  This is the first time I've ever seen a picture of my third born that I thought looked like me.  Whoa.

There was the mom again, slowly walking away so I could get a better picture.  I realize there are deer everywhere these days, but jeez louise, I've never in my whole 32 years been so close to three of them at one time.  The thought that they might be sick certainly crossed my mind.  I realize most City Girls wonder this when Nature ventures out into the suburbs in the middle of the morning, but we can't help it.  It's what our parents always told us so we wouldn't try to touch the cuddly looking raccoons in our backyards.

"Mom, deer don't bite.  Seriously.  Chill out."