Calling In Sick

Today I called in sick to work. I didn't want to but my shoulder has a huge knot in it and its killing me. I was supposed to go in for the Night Watch, midnight to 9am; 4 hours of watching the boats and 5 hours of selling.
These shifts KILL me and I'm ruined for the rest of the day.

Trip Coming Soon

We're going to Colorado in 9 days for Lans birthday week.

I wanted to take him to Crested Butte to ski but he decided to go to Steamboat Springs instead. At S.S., he can visit and ski with his friend, Nelson. They will have an epic day on the slopes.

I will hang out and maybe do some shopping in town.

March 5 arrive in Denver. After we pick up our car we'll head north,

to Loveland, to visit my brother and his wife.

March 6th we'll head over to SS, where we will stay for 2 nights.

Lan will spend one day skiing and one day just hanging out. 

The Mountain Coaster looks like a TON of fun and I want to ride it.

March 8th, Lans 51st birthday,

we'll head to Gunnison and Crested Butte

& somewhere along the way meet up with my niece, Andrea and her son, Soren.

Soren is 5 and I've never met him.

In Gunnison we're spending the night at Wanderlust Hostel. We've stayed there before, in 2010 during our honeymoon. Fun time. 

March 9th we head back into Denver to spend time with my other niece, Audrey and then fly home in the evening.

Its going to be a busy week, lots of driving & sitting on our butts, COLD and fun.

That Was Different

When we decided to not take our bikes to Vegas, it opened up a whole new world for us. 

This trip wasn't about getting up at 4am, loading out backpacks and packing the bikes on the bike rack, it was about sleeping in, sitting around doing nothing, enjoying the sunshine. We went to the hot tub every day & jumped into the lazy river to chill and splash each other.

Went out to Lake Mead on the one day it was 86*, got lost in the desert, enjoyed an absolutely gorgeous sunset at the top of a mountain at the perfect time.

While in town we found other things to do, like meet up with friends from home and have a drink. Erik & Sharon were there for the Rock n Roll half marathon so we went out onto the strip to cheer for him as he ran past. 

We went to the 

I hadn't previously known about this museum so we decided to go and learn a little bit. Instead we learned a lot. We're going to the guided tour at Mercury and testing site next year and going through the museum before hand taught us  some of the things we will be seeing.

I felt kind of weird being there though. These bombs killed so many people.

The weather in Vegas was perfect, mid 70's most days, up to mid 80's. One day we went out to Blue Diamond area and hiked/rock scrambled up into a valley where a lot of rock climbers go. It was 54* at start but in the sunshine & dry 'heat' it felt warmer to me. I didn't take a jacket and within a couple minutes was warmed up perfectly. Once we were climbing the BIG rocks I was thankful I didn't have to carry around a jacket.

When we've previously visited Vegas we've only gone to the strip once, to enjoy the sights, eat at 1 buffet and see a show. This trip we went to the strip more, no shoes but a buffet every other day. Our reasoning was that once we got home, we would be going on a diet.

Now we are home and on that diet. I have lost 6 lbs already and my goal is a LOT more.

After The Run

I wanted to wait before running again to see what happened with the foot, what kinds of weird pain it might have caused.

There was normal tiredness the first evening but it wasn't hurting.

The second day though, it felt like my sock was folded down a lot more than ever before. I actually took off my shoe twice to check it and of course both times it was fine.

Yesterday I didn't run, wore the usual compression footies and it felt fine, today I wore regular footies, not compression and after just an hour or 2 it felt fatigued. Changed socks and its fine again so I will just plan on wearing them for a lot longer.

 

I have 2 friends racing tomorrow in Ironman Boulder, excited for both. She's just happy to be there after a bad bike crash & torn rotator cuff just 10 months ago.

He is competing in his 12th Ironman event and after this he will qualify for Ironman World Championships in Kona. I've already told him if he makes it I'm going to be there to see his finish.

 

Horse related:

The barn work is going slowly, as I imagined it would. Without a bulldozer in the area to rent the ground work is taking 10 times the work. It has been fun doing the planning and measuring, making orange marks in the dirt.

60 feet long, 5 stalls

Not the straightest lines but this is just so we can imagine it



If we open this end of the covered arena and extend it, it will come out to this rock.

Sunshower & Roses in stalls

And Wifi in the aisle & Joey in  the arena

 

Joey & my girls were turned out in the front grassy pasture this morning for 2 hours, then when I went to bring them in all I had to do was whistle and they came to the gate to go to the back pasture. Slowly and calmly, no messing around. Good horses!

They are learning to come to my whistle and I love that.

 

Black Friday

Today is Black Friday, traditionally the day everyone goes shopping in the big stores and malls, fighting over the 5 TVs on sale for a super good price, pushing old ladies into the street in order to get her place in line to get through the door faster. I've only gone shopping on this day a few times and not for Christmas gifts but usually for groceries or a piece of lumber at Lowes.

 

Last year REI decided to start something new,

 

 

I won't be able to go hiking or running but I'll certainly stay away from the stores.

 

 

This awesome signed picture is now mine. Affirmed, Secretariat and Seattle Slew, ridden to victory in the Triple Crown, autographed by their jockeys. I'm very excited to get it.

 

Bent Out Of Shape

Someone keeps getting bent out of shape about me not riding all the horses. I think its fucking funny that they can't mind their own business and that they even care in the first place. So just to make this person understand, I'll explain why I don't ride all my horses.

 

Joey is retired. He's 20 years old and has lead a damn easy life but hes got a stifle injury (inherited) that is now catching up to him and he hurts. He will continue to live here with us throughout his golden years.

I don't 'Get rid of' my horses just because they are old.

 

Joey in the shitty halter because someone stole his leather one.

 

Sunshower!

Shes the perfect mare. I do ride her, shes my trail horse now and shes loving it, a lot. Joey was always my trail horse before but now my girl is picking up the slack.

 

 

And Wifi. My beautiful girl. Stinkpot. Spoiled rotten.

Shes got a career as a dressage horse and that's going along smoothly. Shes not liking that she has to work again but she sure as hell enjoys the attention she gets.

 

 

Other barn news:

We should be able to start the barn build within the month and we're pretty excited about that. I'm going to the county for the permit next week.

 

I've already been doing the research on use of different types of woods for the walls, etc. and have been to 3 stores to price things. I know the walls so far will be about $5,000 but that doesn't include stall fronts, hardware or the roof/floor of the loft. I'm having so much fun drawing up plans for everything and then getting to redo them when we figure out I did it wrong. I wish I had paid more attention to the stall doors in the old barn but Lan remembers how they were. I know we're definitely going to use pressure treated boards on the bottom of the walls so they don't rot out from pee and the first 4 boards will be 2x12x12 so they have added strength. I've seen too many 2x8s that horses kick and get injured because owners were too cheap to purchase stronger boards.

 

 

Inside the house we're prepping to take out 1 wall and replace all the down stairs flooring. I'm thinking about adding a gray slate inside the front door and going into the bathroom. We've also priced hardwood flooring for inside the house and spoken to a lot of people who have so much info to share. I've had hardwood before but we've never been the ones to choose and install it. 

Getting Back To Normal

After the busy summer and awesome vacation we just had, things are returning to normal for us. Farm work, rain, house hold repairs and chores, plus jobs and family issues.

 

Lan has been up on the roofs of the barns, garages and house for the last couple days cleaning out the gutters and making some repairs. I've been cleaning stalls since the horses are kept in nights due to inclement weather.

 

We are making progress on the barn with quotes for the cement for the floor (26' x 60' x 4") at about $2,100.00. That doesn't include rebar or wire mesh or forms but we can rent forms.

 

In the house I'm getting caught up on the cleaning that wasn't done while I was away, dusting and stuff. I don't know where all the junk comes from but it seems I constantly have a box of stuff to donate and if I had the gumption I'd be able to fill 4 more boxes today. Purging once in a while is great. 

 

I've also been working on a few rainy day projects that I held off during the warm summer months and I'm enjoying getting these finished. Pictures of Wifi mounted on old stable boards, Joey & Sunshower horse shoes hammered into strategic spots.  I have several more things to do in the next few months, more pictures of Wifi, painting more walls, possibly a mural to mount on one wall.

 

I've been back to work a few nights, love it there. I have all the time in the world to do my own things, like reading and cleaning tack. Lol, I have my bridles packed and ready to go tonight.

 

R2 is doing well. On the day we came home from Hawaii he posted on FB that he

ONLY fractured his neck.

WTF??

He was climbing a ladder to work on his roof and the ladder slipped out from under him. I guess there is video, which I haven't seen yet.

 

Brandan has been dealing with car issues, first the started has been going out for a month, luckily he can clutch-start it. But now the radiator is also leaking so Lan will be spending some time on his car tonight. He was all ready to take it to a shop but I stopped him in time. Lan can do the work for a fraction of the costs of a mechanic and Lan probably knows more than most of them anyway.

 

Lessons with Delicia resume soon. Working with Wifi again has been great. Shes loving the attention and remembers everything she was ever taught before. And shes SO LOVING, that girl loves to be hugged and get attention.

Another Great Vacation

So our vacation has come to an end. Kona and Ironman was just awesome, watching all those FIT athletes and what they were able to do just amazed me.

While on the big island we went out to see Kilauea erupting lava into the sea.

 

This is an open lava tube. Lan and I walked all around it, safely roped off about 100 feet away, of course. It was warm but not hot for us. But the air was warm, all over the island.

 

It was pretty hot in town too.

Cute bike
 

On Maui Lan and I drove up to Haleakalā and watched the sun rise above the clouds.

 

 

Followed that up with a trip out to Hana, a red sand beach and of course, the Seven Sacred Pools.

 

 

 

We hiked out the trail to Waimoku Falls

 

and this is what you see at the end. 400' of water cascading down the rock wall.

 

The next day we went to my favorite beach, Makena Landing.

 

As always, it was my best day, spent relaxing and enjoying life with Lan.

 

 

 

Black Diamond Triathlon

 

Once again I'm in for the Black Diamond Long Course triathlon in Enumclaw, WA.

This year on September 10th.

 

I finished last year in 7:38:50

with times of

Swim~ 50:13

T1~ 4:48

Bike~ 3:39:38

T2~ 3:09

Run~ 3:00:59

 

All I have to do this year is beat each one by 1 second and I'll be good.

 

The next day is Tri Turtle Tri, our local sprint put on by Lisa every year; my fastest time on that was 2:00:26 so all I gotta do is beat 2 hours. This is weird, my fastest TTT was 2011, I also did it in 2013 but took 2 minutes longer and least year I was the bike in a relay team and I was still slower. Geesh.

Good Morning Horses

Spring Weather, Bike Rides

Today I had a fun ride on the mtn bikes with Leona at Banner Forest, about 6.26 miles in 1:40 hours. So much fun. Shes got skills and is about equal to me so we ride well together.

 

Here is her bike, leaning on a log. We had to climb over that sucker.

 

I've been asked to ride 32 miles tomorrow.

 

Going long.

 

This morning before I rode the bike I had a massage, she worked hard on my left shoulder and right hip. The hip is messed up because the shoulder is messed up, all aggravated by the accident. I have stretching exercises to do to help it get better and IF I JUST DO THEM it can only make me feel better.

 

I'd be able to swim faster too.

 

Horse news:

Joey is awesome.

Wifi is shedding, should be white soon.

Recovery

In triathlon, you take recovery very seriously. When you're training hard, 4-6 hours on an easy day for 6 days a week, you need to rest and recover. Sleep and down time. Then it's even more important when it goes up to a couple days of 8+ hour days.

Being injured from the car accident has been an entirely different kind of recovery. I am having a hard time doing it and I want to get back to training. Chiro and massage visits 5 times a week have gone down to 3 times and that makes it way easier to accept.

I have a half marathon in 2 weeks and I'm just not going to be ready for it. Its going to be extremely hilly, cold and wet. But at the same time, it will be a lot of fun. Its on the islands at Fort Ebey Kettles and the views there just can't be beat. Lan is doing the 5k and I will do the half with Linda; Steve and Brayden will do the half but finish way before us girls do.

The horses are doing well, finally. Joey is getting over the pigs and will now go out of the arena and back in much easier. Last night he still wanted to come in the back gate but at least he's coming in.
Wifi and Sunshower don't care about the pigs and are thriving. Wifi's butt is getting so big from walking up and down the hill in the back pasture, she's going to look amazing when she finally gets to go to her first show this year. She's also doing GREAT long lining and prepping for carting.

The pigs are getting friendlier. This morning the boy let me pet his back before he scooted off slowly. Eating is more important to him than not being touched.

I ordered an enlarged 16 x 20 print of Wifi from a show, a 3/4 view of her head looking away, on a bright sunny day. I've found another photo that I'm going to get made into a 36 x 48 watercolor of her and make into art for the living room. So excited for these things happening.

Made this sign the other day out of an old barn board:

I have so many more projects I want to do and with slow work hours I can do these at my leisure.

Back On A Bike

I rode my mtn bike today for the first time since November and I only rode it then to go to a friends house and to get my 50 minutes of riding in before IMAZ.

 

 

  I asked Lan this morning if he would go with me and he agreed so we went to banner Forest at noon. The parking lot was full and the secondary parking area too but we only saw a few people.

 

I didn't crash but I did side swipe a tree, it didn't hurt at all but I got dirty. And it scared me so I lost all my confidence for a few minutes. But I was back at it in no time.

 

I wore my IMAZ FINISHERS cycling jacket for the first time and it was PERFECT. I felt like I had warm air surrounding me, I wasn't too cold at all. OK, my butt was cold but it wasn't in my jacket either.

 

We rode for about an hour and it was so perfect.

Post Ironman

I am an Ironman. I love being able to say it out loud and I brag as often as I can. Because I can.
I have ran just twice since the race and both times it felt wonderful but its dang cold out and I'm lazy so I don't do it often. I want to get my house in order but its cold in here because I'm too cheap to turn on the heaters.

But I have signed up for another race so I'm up to 3 again. I didn't do Yukon Do It half marathon, with the accident I seriously wasn't in shape to run but I did volunteer at the club aid station.
next race is Hot Chocolate 15k in Seattle, with Lan, on March 6th. Then Tacoma City Half May 1st and Harstine Island half June 16th.

I was thinking about doing a half each month, there is one at the end of January on a Saturday in Seattle, its free or $10 donation to the local food bank. Unsupported, you bring your own food and water and you know the way, no medals or tee shirts. But it is timed and a Boston qualifier if that's your thing. That's not my thing. But I could use it, if needed, to qualify for Half Fanatics if I wanted to and if I were to run 2 others within a 90 day period. I can't use the time & bib number 'I' had for Yukon because I sold my bib to Sandy. I want to qualify for HF's on my own.

So if I'm going to run a half each month I have to start looking for a February run that I can afford and that's on a Sunday and local, or at least in Western Washington. OK, make that within 50-100 miles from home. I really don't want to drive to Bellingham for a half marathon.

I see a lot I like but this one http://www.rainiertoruston.com/FoothillsBOHalf.html is in my home town, or ends up there anyway. Only $60 and limited to 250 participants. If I could get the day off...

John Henry, Havva, Jenny

Our girls, John Henry, 8 years old.

 

Havva, 3 years old.

 

John Henry with Jenny, 9 weeks.

 

Jenny

 

Jenny, 10 weeks.

Back At It

Tomorrow I'm going to go trail running, it will be my first run since Ironman. Technically, I DID run on a treadmill on the 3rd or 4th day afterward but quit after about 100 steps, had that small blister to complain about, lol.

I've been a little sore since the accident that happened on the freeway on the way home from the airport. My left side is way tighter than normal and I've had headaches. Body tightness is one thing but having it bother me and create headaches is another and I don't like it. I've got a massage tomorrow and I hope it helps. I went to the doc and was prescribed massage and pain pills and muscle relaxers. I can't take pills when I'm going to be working, that is HIGHLY frowned upon.

I am signed up for the Yukon Do It half marathon on December 27th, the Hot Chocolate 15K Run on March 6th and the Tacoma City half marathon on May 1st. In April there is a 50 mile run in Port Gamble, on trails, and I am thinking about signing up for that too. I wouldn't do the entire 50 miles but I could certainly give it a try. Anita is doing it, this will be her 4th year and she's never gone more than 3 laps, which are 12.5 miles each. It would require running in the dark and I've never done anything that crazy.

HORSE NEWS:

Lan built 2 more stalls in the arena so there are 4 now. We were able to get 2 finished before Ironman and the other 2 he did last weekend. Now all 4 horses are warm and dry all night. And I am now turning all the horses out together in the pasture all day and they seem to be doing Ok with that.

Wifi, Sunshower, Joey & Roses

 

We had to buy 12 boards for the walls and fronts and 2 gates. I already had rubber mats for all the stalls so at least they aren't standing in mud every night. I need a few more bucket holders for their water, right now my girls are sharing a rubber thing for drinking but Joey and Roses each have 2 buckets.

 

I ordered more slow feed hay nets and that's saving us tons of money, as I knew it would. Who ever stole the old ones doesn't realize it but they were at the end of their usefulness.

 

Look, shit in the stalls already

 

We have to drag a hose all the way from the front corner of the house all the way out to the arena and that's a pain in the ass. Today I saw Joey drinking out of a mud puddle so I dumped the water trough that had a LOT of fallen leaves in it and moved it farther from the trees, cleaned it out and refilled it. I hope he drank at least a little water out of it.

 

We are planning on getting an excavator and digging a ditch from the house out to the arena to install a water line.  I am about done pulling the hose all the way out there or arguing with a frozen hose every morning.

 

It sure was nice this morning when it was above freezing and I got all my shit done fast and easy. Tomorrow all I have to do it put out hay and turn all the horses out, Julia and Tory will do all the cleaning, watering and feeding for me. I should set out hay nets so Joey gets alfalfa, Sunshower gets a bit less and the other girls get the right amounts.

 

I can't wait to be able to ride and take lessons again.

 

 

I DID IT!

16:11:33

Officially, I am an Ironman.

 

10 Days

No time for anything with all the work I have to do. Still have to swim 45 minutes and run an hour. Ugh. Might do a spin class instead.
Need to go get hay, its already loaded in the trailer. Took the truck over there last night with every intention of running home but she talked my ear off and I got 3.1 miles before Lan showed up to get me. Luckily I left him a note with my route.
This morning I spent 2 hours out in the barn cleaning stalls, feeding breakfast, filling 10 water buckets, getting dinners all set. Also had to fuck with the fence so I could get the girls out in the back and Joey & Rosie in the front but Wifi had other plans and wouldn't cooperate. I finally just left them out there and she found her way out to the piles of hay I had left & then I beat feet out there to close the fence off. Stinker.

112

Today I did something I never knew I'd do in my life, never even imagined it. I rode my bike on the CompuTrainer for 112 miles. It took me nearly 8 hours but I didn't turn off the timer for all potty breaks.

 

Here I was still on the first lap of the Ironman Arizona 3 lap course, still felt pretty good.

 

And here I am at about mile 106, my hoo haw was SCREAMING and I wasn't looking forward to doing a run afterward.

 

Here is my awesome Helmet Hair

 

And the run.

I wasn't happy to start, I was scared it would be miserable but it wasn't.

 

So I was happy to be done, even though the run was only 1 mile.

 

Here is my nutrition table which doesn't show the bacon or the chicken sandwich.  I drank 5 bottles of water and 3 bottles of Gatorade.

I wore my helmet for the entire ride so my neck could work on carrying the weight.

 

I'm really tired but have to stay awake for The Walking Dead.