The latest

I'm back. It's been extra super busy in my corner this past week so I haven't been online much or updated the blog in a while..but here's what I have done this week.

Monday...Lifted weights with Jessika..Then had an acid peel on my face. It's peeling like a sun burn.
Tuesday..Speed Sessions-200 fast 200 jog
200 fast 400 jog
800 fast 400 jog....Then repeat these again. It sounded easy till I did it.
Wed...I don't think I did anything..but I had every intention of doing something. Ha!
Thurs...I ran 4.3 miles with Fleet Feet and I was doing good till my abs cramped up past the point I could run through. Someone said it may have been the combination of the gel I took..lack of hydration, and the humidity. It's never happened before like that...Upper abs. I have had stomach cramps and stitches..but this was doubled over pain and I wondered if I regretted not wearing my Road Id because I thought I may fall over on the side of the road for about 5 minutes there. Pretty Intense.
Tomorrow I have the day off again and I am having lunch with a friend. But I may try to go swimming sometime after that. (right).

Laurie's Day Off

Any suggestions? Anyone? Anyone? I have the whole day off tomorrow and nothing has been planned. Anyone know what I should do? Class? Anyone? Anyone know what it's called when you have a free day and nothing to do? Something "L _ _ K-of-planning"?...... LACK-of-planning.

This is a dilemma for me. I can't tell you the last time I had a day where nothing was in my calendar for me to do. I just don't function this way. I don't have any dogs booked, the kids will be gone, the husband will be playing golf..and I....I have absolutely NO IDEA what to do with myself. How crazy is that? Hmmmm... What to do..what to do. ..


UPDATE: Ok..It's funny the stuff a person can come up with to do when the slate (calendar) is clean.I got up at 6AM and didn't go to bed till 2Am. I jumped from activity to activity..starting the day with a 6o minute run at 6:30 with Kelli, and the day ending at a Karaoke bar with a rowdy group of friends. I'd say I found something to do! I wouldn't wish for a day like that EVERYDAY, but was so good to just have a day off and see what it brings. There was running, shopping, Mexican food, margarita's, A LOT of water, bar hopping, beer, swimming, a sunburn, a pedicure, a nap, more beer, dancing, some shots, singing...the day just went on and on and each hour brought something fun. I now think EVERYONE should plan a free day with nothing planned every once in a while and just see what happens. It's safe to say a good time was had by all!

Speed Sessions Week 3

When I drove out to the track..I could see a dark cloud starting to form, but I didn't really think it would rain. It has rained on and off all day, but the radar was clear an hour before Speed Sessions were to start..so I figured the night would be clear. I was wrong. A DOWNPOUR hit around 5:45. I called Doug to ask him to check the radar agin and see if he thought it would blow over pretty soon. From the looks of it he didn't think it would, so I hung out for a while and got out of the mood to run. I thought about going to the gym instead. Then...all of a sudden..it stopped. DANG! Just when I thought I was going to get off the hook.

Everyone who was waiting out the rain in their cars headed down to the track and warmed up 1.5 miles. It was still cloudy and I thought the weather was perfect. Then the Sun came out. MAN was it humid after that. I looked out over the track and steam was rising. it wasn't 5 minutes before everyone looked like they had jumped in a pool!

Tonight work-out was not a picnic either. I did 9x400's at a 1:48 pace and alternated a 400 jog after each lap. The jog was to take twice the time of the run. I was supposed to do 8x400's but I lost count and kept running with a chick who was pacing me and she was doing 10x400's. After the 9th one I asked her how many that was and she said 9. Opps. All of my laps were under the time frame though, with the last one at 1:39. Then I did a mile cool-down. I was DEAD after that work-out so instead of going out to eat all sweaty and nasty I came home and ate some Chinese food and drank a Mich Ultra. I LOVE Speed Sessions..but only after I am done with them for the week.

Patrick...Where were you???

I have had yet ANOTHER slacker week. Spending time at the pool..blowing off running, swimming, and biking, Can't seem to get my act together with any form of training. However, I HAVE worked my tail off grooming dogs this week, which may explain the laziness in every other aspect of my life. Summer is so busy in the grooming trade. We did 17 dogs on Thursday alone!! I got finished around 6:45 pm and I was dead tired. But, I am bummed because I skipped out on the Moon Pie run. I never got the chance to build any mileage since my post-marathon hiatus, so I just didn't go. My kids were still in Baseball Tournaments anyway, and so I went to that. This week it is my hope that I will get back on it instead of talk about it. I have a 5k I am planning on this weekend because I don't feel like I am ready for another Tri yet. Last night I went out with my friend Kelli to try and blow off some steam. It was fun. Today I plan to spend another day at the pool aging my skin and drinking Long Island Teas. Doug wants to watch the Golf thing on Tv and it's Father's Day so he has the right. We went to eat Brunch at the Country Club this morning, and I should go run some of it off, but ...Nah. The Pool is calling! I do know that my newly defined ABs will not stay visible much longer if I don't get back on the training soon. It was hard enough to get them to show up...all of this laziness and beer is not going to help matters much.
Here's a photo from this morning at the Country Club. My Husband and my Boys. I am thinking I may shave the Mohawks off this week because baseball is over. Those haircuts are crazy enough, and they refuse to spike them up the way they are supposed to be, so it just looks like a REALLY bad haircut when we are at the pool or in public. If they would keep them spiked at least people would know it's supposed to be a Mohawk. I spiked them this morning, though. We got a few looks at the Country club..I don't care..but I think it would be better for the beach to go bald. I don't know..whatever.

Speed Sessions Week 2

Super-Stud Patrick!!

Jeff and Mark

Melissa and Me

Man..This was a tough one..(Aren't they all). Coach Mark had us run a two mile time trial last week to get our base, then he based the rest of the summers workouts on our times.so my workout for tonight went like this...
Warm up 1.5 miles..then Run a 200 in 54 secs.....jog a 200...run another 200 in 54 secs....jog another 200...Run a 400 in 108 secs.....jog a 400..... then repeat this sequence two more times. Everyones workout was slightly different depending on the mileage they run during the week and how fast they ran the 2 miles last week. I was excited to know I had moved up to group 3 from group 4 last year. PROGRESS!!
Funny story...On the workout board all of our times were listed So I wrote them on my hand so I wouldn't have to keep the numbers in my head during the run. (Watch out for that runner's math) I wrote 200=54 and 400=1:08. Anyway..I would do my 2x200's in 54 seconds, then I would BUST ASS trying to do the 400 in 1:08 because that's what I had written on my hand....And I was gettin PISSED because the best 400 I could come up with was between 1:40 and 1:48. I just couldn't figure it out! Was I REALLY in that bad of shape, or was Mark just trying to kill me? I saw Wayne and asked what the hell and as it turned out I was hitting it perfectly because he informed me that the time was in Seconds..not minutes. I looked again and it said 108 on the board..not 1:08. I felt so stupid. I decided to keep it to myself till I was cooling down and started chatting with a few friends and they confessed they thought the same thing I did! We shared a good laugh. I mean.....to go from a 54 sec 200 to a 1:08 400?? And I was actually TRYING TO!! Hello??
After Speed Sessions I went out to eat with Melissa, Jeff and Coach Mark (I tried to invite you Patrick..but you "disappeared". Oh and BTW...I have "her" narrowed down. ;) ) Melissa and I confessed our "Duh" moments to Mark, and he laughed and said a bunch of people were scratching their heads too because they couldn't run the pace either and couldn't figure out why. Runner's Math, man. It'll get you every time!

Slacker...

I have been such a lazy loser since the Tri last Saturday. I never went to swim team last week, and I only ran Speed Sessions and a mile or 2 on Thursday, so Sunday morning my plan was to run 12 miles and get back into the swing of things. I have a 10 mile run this Saturday called the Moon Pie, and I am not EVEN ready. I got up Sunday with good intentions, and met a girl to run with. We did the 6 mile loop and that's all I had in me. I couldn't run any more than that because physically I felt weak and mentally I was DONE. I can usually push through some weakness...but yesterday I couldn't find the boost ANYWHERE so I stopped. Wimpy. After that I went to the pool and got WASTED drunk with my friend Kelli for whatever reason (I'll tell you..one beer and 2 or 3 Long Island Teas..I lost count) I remember joking that I was going to blog about it and the heading would read.."Hello...My name is Laurie..and I am a Long Island TeaAholic" For some reason that was funny yesterday....this morning?...Not so much. I came home from the pool and shot off some foul emails, then I went to bed at some point and woke up around 9:30 pm...went back to bed at 10:30ish, then woke up this morning at 4:30 and made it to swim class!! Yee-Haw! I haven't been to swim class in over a week so it felt good to be swimming again. I am going to try my hardest to make it 3 times this week and lift weights maybe tomorrow or this afternoon. We'll see how it goes!

My new Employee

Yeah..SUCKS doesn't it? It's a dirty job....

But SOMEBODY's gotta do it. Might as well be you!

FINALLY..A solution to my summer woes. If you haven't been keeping up, a couple of entries ago I was desperately trying to figure out what the heck I am supposed to do with my two paths of destruction running free in the neighborhood. Then it hit me.......Put their poor little spoiled Brentwood butts to work. I was so excited to be able to spend some quality bonding time with my oldest trouble maker, Bailey, this morning. He had SOOOOO much fun learning the ways of the cold-cruel world ..earning his keep. I'll bet it will be the LAST time he comes into my shop and complains of being bored. He'll find SOMETHING constructive to do..like clean his room, do the laundry, pick up the sticks in the yard, pick his nose......anything. I have laughed so hard today watching these scenes take place, I had to snap a few pictures for history's sake. Oh, don't worry. I paid him for all his hard work, and he'll have some cash to spend at the concession stand at the ball park instead of hittin' me up every 5 minutes. That snow cone will taste so much sweeter when he thinks about what he had to do to get it. Connor..You better lay low buddy, because YOU'RE NEXT! If you come in and tell on Bailey for something trivial ONE MORE TIME while I'm working, I'll have you picking dog hair out of every nook and cranny of that shop for the next SIX WEEKS!! You have the cutest little hands that are perfect for the job. It'll be a BLAST! I have HAD IT and I really can't wait. Yes..I am talking to you with your know-it-all sassatude, and your superiority. The end is near..I can FEEL IT!! (I have a strong suspicion that my groom shop is going to be spotless real soon.) Hey..sorry about the tone of this post..but I don't call it "Train or Insane" for nothing. I'm going CRAAAZY. Look into my eyes! (Of course..there could be a dash of PMS involved, too)

The agony of Defeat!

Connor and his Division Leader Trophy

Final Score

This was a NAIL-BITING game..but we were defeated by one point! That was the closest game we have played and it was against the other divisions undefeated team. Both of us 16-0. We were ahead some of the time..they were ahead some of the time..but they had the Home Team advantage and got to bat last..and they got us. I want Doug to do a more complete version of what happened in this game, but he says "Let it Go". There were a couple of plays which I believe to be a bad call on the umpire's side..no seriously..there was some huffing and puffing of coaches and officials in the field for a few minutes..but it wasn't in our favor. We were behind at this point but scored SEVEN RUNS in the 5th..which is all they allow..so then the home team came got up to bat and had one out..scored three runs..and beat us by 1 point. They were a tough team. But even the parents and coaches on the other team admitted it was the closest game they had played, too. It could have gone either way..and SOMEONE had to lose. Oh well.The boys took it well, though. The tournament starts up on Saturday morning and I have a feeling we will see them again at the championship..hopefully beating them this time. They all got trophies tonight for being the division leaders, (That's what it's all about..trophies..right?) so the kids were happy. AFter the game we went out to eat with a family we have made friends with over the season, and I shared a MONSTER margarita with the wife, Anne. It was so good..and much needed after that game!

Connor..Sporting his Tournament Mohawk

Bailey got one, too.

Shelli, me, And Jessika. (I haven't washed my hair in three days..that should explain it)

Today I did 2 dogs and hit the pool with my kids and some friends. I have blown off swim team both Monday and this morning so I swam some laps for 30 minutes and then put on the spf 50 and laid out for the rest of the day. As you can see in the photo above, I have nasty pool hair...but I will wash it tomorrow. Maybe...I promise. HAH!

Tonight is Connor's Baseball Division Championship. His team is UNDEFEATED this season..16-0..and they are playing the team in the other division that is also undefeated. It's sad because one of them is going to feel the stabbing pain of loss tonight, and I am going to cry if we lose. But we won't because a bunch of the kids got Mohawks. (His team is the Indians) That should make a difference..right? Connor plays catcher and he has done an awesome job this season guarding the home plate. I am so proud of him. He actually catches the ball! I have watched the other kids on other teams and they pretty much shy away from it at his age. Go Connor!!

It's already the beginning of a LONG summer. A few days ago Bailey decided to burn down my neighbor's tree, and today he was on a busy road in our neighborhood, and Winfield drove up in his Jeep and had to stop because Bailey (9) was positioning these boulder sized rocks across the road. Winfield apparently yelled at him in a DAD tone ( Winfield has two boys the same age as my two) and came to my house to tell me to get control of my kid. He drove me to the evidence, but the rocks had already been moved , and Bailey beat us home and played dumb while Winfield told me the story. Needless to say, Bailey will not leave the yard again for a while...maybe the summer. I thought he could handle a little freedom on our circle, but I guess I was wrong. It will kill him to see Connor (7) leave the yard while he is stuck at home. He needs a good ass-bustin' to go along with the grounding, but he's already as strong as me so I'll leave that up to the man of the house. I am seriously the worst mom, ever...I'm already counting down the days till school starts back, and that's just awful! I should be able to chill out and have some fun with my kids..but NOOOOO....that would just be a hallmark card commercial. NEVER gonna happen in real life! They just WILL NOT behave like civilized human beings when unsupervised and it's like watching an episode of Malcom in the Middle when it comes to my family. Where did I go wrong?

Summer Speed Sessions

Mark..The coach layin' out the game plan for the summer!

Jeff and Melissa. I met them Last year and now they are Engaged. I think they make a perfect couple!

Speed sessions have started back! Woo-Hoo! It can't BELIEVE it's been a year since I have seen some of those people. I had been dreading tonights work-out for days because it was the 2 mile time trial...and it was HOT as hell outside this afternoon. I drove out there with the usual nervous stomach and anxiety I always experience before a speed session. It's a love/hate relationship. I love it because of the friends I have made and the way I feel AFTER the work-out..but I hate it because I know it's gonna SUCK!.

When I pulled up there were already people circling the track warming up and I started getting excited. Clouds were starting to form overhead outta nowhere, but I was glad because the shade would be nice. As I walked up to the track entrance, who did I see??? Patrick!! I was thinking.."Yay!! Speed Sessions are gonna ROCK this year!" We usually all go hang out after we run and from some of the stuff I have read on Patricks Blog..he likes to party! This is the 3rd time in a week I have run into him. I also saw my friends Melissa and Jeff. Melissa is the chick dressed up as Wonder Woman over in the margin. She's a lot of fun to run with so I was glad to see her there.

We started our mile warm-up..and at about lap 2 the sky opened up and a hurricane came through complete with 100 MPH winds and deadly lightning. Ok..this is Tn..no Hurricane or 100 MPH winds..but still. Not running weather. So we all moved it inside and had our pre-work-out meeting there. After 20 mins the storm passed and we hit the track again to warm up. Then they divided us up into 2 groups. Over 15 min. and under 15 min. (I was in the over 15 min. group.) When the coach said "GO" I took off like a bat outta hell, and after the first lap I thought..YUP.. this is gonna suck, alright. I HATE time trials. If someone were to tell me to go run two miles..I'd say EASY! But there''s something about being timed and running round and round a track that gets to me. Every lap was a struggle. The first mile was 7:15. Too fast. There is NO WAY I can keep up this pace. I was running with Melissa's friend Mary Jane for most of the run and she was FAST. The last mile was a blur of pain and puke (Almost) but I kept sayin to myself.."One more..then we'll talk" So I would run one more lap..get it done, and I would tell myself "One more.." again. FINALLY I crossed the finish line in 15:28. And as hard as that was for me tonight, I was happy with it. Mary Jane finished in 15:07 because she started sprinting the last lap, and I couldn't keep up. But I appreciated her pacing me through-out the majority of the run.

The rest of the work-outs will be based on my time till the middle of the summer, then we'll do another 2 mile run to see where we are at. The target race is the Franklin Classic 5k/10k on Labor Day. I might be doing a half marathon on Labor Day in San Jose, though. We shall see. Either way I hope to get my 5k time down to the 22:00 range or better this year. I think I can do it. It'll be fun to try! (Not even) Whew.. I am glad that's over for the week!

Mach Tenn Tri

Me and Winfield..settin' up Transition..I am so "Not in the know" at this moment!

Concerned look on my face as I surveyed the situation...and put my wetsuit on Backwards. Opps. HA!

I'm thinking "Smile..this is the LAST time I'll ever get the chance to!"


Tip-Toeing into the lake.. About to face death


Made it to my bike by the grace of God

SO glad I Finished! Me, Lana, and Michele chillin' with beer and bananas.

I got up at 4:30 and got ready for the 1.5 hour drive to Tullahoma. Winfield was late picking me up. (Winfield is the husband of my friend, Kelli. She is still too chicken to TRI. We're workin' on her) We left around 6:00. We drove in his Jeep and it was COLD cause he had the top off so I covered up with a blanket and turned the heat up full blast. Then it started to rain. Fun stuff.

We got there and set up the transition area, then I found Emmit who took all the photos for me, and I saw various other people I knew including Patrick, Michelle, and Lana. I was so happy to see my fellow bloggers!!

The Swim portion was living HELL! I was grossly under prepared. THe wet suit prevented me from reaching like I am used to, and my shoulders gave out almost immediately. I spent the majority of the 6/10 mile swim on my back praying to God I didn't drown. 30:38 later I dragged myself out of the lake and spent 5:44 in T1 trying to get my act together for the bike leg.

The biking wasn't all that hard, but it wasn't a piece of cake either. (Anything's better than the swim) I rode almost all of it with a guy that played catch me if you can the whole time. I would catch him..pass him..and he'd chase me for awhile. This went back and forth the whole 16 miles. We passed a bunch of Goat farms so I called to the goats every time I passed one. That was the most enjoyable part of the 59:23 ride for me. I was glad to be off the bike.

The the run was actually the easiest for me this time. I never had to walk..not even the hills. But, I had gotten a Microdermabrasion treatment done on the day before...so my face was ON FIRE when I started to sweat. I passed my bike dude early during the run and he never caught me. I did it in 35:29..4 miles. Now that time is a slow 4 miles for me but the swim just about killed me so I am giving myself a break on my run time. I grabbed a cold towel at the finish line and put it on my poor face. Then I ate pizza, bananas, cookies, beans, HoeCakes, and washed it all down with BudLight. I was buzzin' after just ONE! My total time was 2:13:40...which got me 12th out of 13 in my age group. HA!!! I was pissed at first but I am new so now I don't care. Next year I'll be at the top of the list. Next stop....Moon Pie 10 miler on the 16th..then the McMinnville Tri on June 23rd.