Nationals

I woke up this morning wanting to do something nice for someone, someone who means a lot to me. I offered to pay Windys registration fee for her to go to Nationals since she qualified too (1:21:45, 8th in her A/G) and she is going. But she totally shot me down.

Made me feel like a heel for trying. Hurt my feelings and pissed me off.
She just doesn't get it, that I can't go but if I could pay her fee then I will feel a lot fucking better about NOT GOING. I'd feel like I was there, just a little bit.

KONA in October

Ironman holds its world championship race in Kona, Hawaii every October so this year Lan and I are going and invited Linda and Steve to join us for the week. Steve found the MOST EXPENSIVE place on the entire island to book. Linda insisted that it have A/C in all rooms. Which is stupid because its not going to be that hot or humid in October. It was perfectly fine when we were there in September 2009.

So I've been looking for a place on either Maui or Kauai and don't want to pay $1200 and am not finding ANYTHING. Fucking people over there are greedy bastards, that's for sure.
We have our timeshare but those fuckers won't help either. RCI SUCKS and Interval International hasn't helped either. We paid a ton of cash for our timeshare, then joined the 2 trading places and nothing is working out. Fucking II and RCI just suck.

I have placed an ad on CL to see if I can get something privately without having to pay $$$$, so we'll see.

Congratulations from USA Triathlon

Congratulations from USA Triathlon

Congratulations Denise! You have qualified for the Olympic-distance race at the 2016 USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships on Aug. 13 in Omaha, Nebraska, after finishing in the top 10 percent in your age group at the Iron Girl Seattle. 

 

        

             
    Registration is now open. To register, look for an email invitation with the registration link to hit your inbox within the next business day. If you do not see an email in your inbox, please check your junk/spam folder before contacting USA Triathlon. This event has sold out in past years and is likely to sell out again in 2016, so be sure to claim your spot on the starting line early. If you would like to participate in the Sprint National Championships on Aug. 14 in Omaha – either in addition to, or lieu of, the Olympic-distance race – simply CLICK HERE to register.

The USA Triathlon Olympic-Distance National Championships race is the nation’s premier amateur Olympic-distance event with top athletes from all 50 states forming one of the most prestigious age-group fields in the sport. The top 18 finishers from each age group will also automatically qualify to represent Team USA at the 2017 International Triathlon Union (ITU) Age Group World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The dates of the 2017 ITU World Championships will be announced later this year, and additional information will be added to the Team USA website.

For more information on the 2016 USA Triathlon Olympic-Distance National Championships, please visit www.usatriathlon.org/nationalchampionships. Please note: Athletes must be current USA Triathlon annual members through Aug. 13, 2016, in order to register. You may register or renew your membership at www.usatriathlon.org.

 

I have been hoping for this email since last summer when I finished in 10th place at Iron Girl but since there were only 98 people in my age group I had no idea if I would qualify or not. And look at that, I did! So exciting for me, to be in the TOP 10 in the nation in my age group.

 

There are a few other ladies I know who qualified, Suzie, Barb, Heidi in my A/G alone, plus Windy in hers.

 

I wish I could go but I can't afford it with Hawaii in October and my work will never let me have the time off for sure in the middle of summer. And that just bums me out. To work so hard, to do so well and not be able to go the next step.

 

If Windy decides to go I'll help her any way I can, maybe give her some cash for a new jacket.

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.