Thanks Ekim

Today was a rough day for me.

I miss my son every day and I wish he would call and let me know he's OK. It for whatever reason was an incredibly hard morning for me, and once I got to work, I ended up in a heap of tears at my desk. My boss happened to walk into my office about the time I was melting into a puddle of goo. As I sat with her trying to pull myself back together, a bundle of roses arrived. A few people asked what the occasion was, and my first thought was "my husband thinks I am having a complete mental breakdown and is trying to head it off at the pass."

I have the best husband on earth.

By the way, thanks for the supportive comments and emails. I was not able to respond to everyone - either because I couldn't email you a reply or because it was all feeling too raw - but know that I appreciate you guys.

Things No One Ever Told Me (but I Wish I'd Known Ahead of Time....)

Many of you know that my oldest son turned 18 last month. There have definitely been some growing pains for everyone with this. Big changes have cropped up at every turn.

We have watched our son go from skating the razor's edge of getting through the remainder of his senior year to careening over the edge of the cliff. There was a time when we hoped for a B average. When that didn't happen, we calculated how many points it would take to get the lowest possible D- so we pass the classes. Nick has always been a good kid, although performance in school was always a worry. He is a very bright kid, he just never saw the value or had the internal drive to do well in school, resulting in acing tests and taking zeros on homework, which generally causes the GPA to take a big hit.

Since his birthday in February, it reached another level. He could start signing himself out of school, and he did it .... alot. Once he moved all his stuff out after signing himself out of school and moved in with his friend for a couple days, until he showed back up at home. He came back, and I thought we had reached an agreement - he would finish up his last semester of school and at least graduate. It was a tenuous situation at best, but we were headed for the finish line. Or so I thought.

Last Friday was the last day of school before spring break, and we found Nick had not come home for lunch from school and we knew something was up. After a little calling around, we finally got a text from Nick saying he had gone on a spring break trip (news to us) with his friends to the UP of Michigan and he would be back the following Saturday. Nothing we could really do - technically he's an adult and can take himself on vacation. Oh yeah - he also quit his job, a job for which he was getting school credit for as a youth apprenticeship class.

Yesterday, we called him to find out when to expect him. He texted us back after ignoring the call to tell us he liked it there so they were going to stay there, in another state, hours away. "I'll let you know more details as they become available." (WTF is that??)

So like it or not, I guess he is done with school and not going to talk to us. Disheartening I know, but hopefully he will come around to at least have a conversation with us soon. We love him and miss him, but we can't live his life for him. He always has liked to learn his lessons the hard way. So for now, I guess we just sit back and wait for the other shoe to drop, and work out our frustration on the track and trainer.

It's so hard to watch someone make decisions you know will affect them for the rest of their life, and knowing they are really only hurting themselves. It's like watching a train wreck happen right in front of you. Being a parent is a much tougher job than I thought I was signing on for......... I feel like maybe I should apologize to my parents for my own boneheaded stunts.

The OTHER Endurance Sport (and more bike porn)

Early Sunday morning, the Beefinator woke up early and informed his father and I that he had "nothing to wear." Well, knowing that I had just 2 days prior folded 17 (yes, that's right Seven-TEEN) pairs of jeans in his closet and I knew that there were at least 75 tshirts, sports jerseys, and polos in his dresser drawer, I took issue with that statement.
I insisted he prove that he really was one outfit away from nekkid. The picture is the only items of clothing he could pull on and button, even though it looked painted on. He spruced up the hair and got his best geek look going on for the picture. (Notice the piles of clothing that no longer fits piled on the sofa........ that's just the tip of the iceberg!)
So we brought every stitch of clothing down to the living room and played fashion show. 100+ items of clothing tried on later, the ugly truth was confirmed....... the boy had grown overnight out of everything except 2 pairs of jeans and half a dozen tee shirts.
This sad turn of event necessitated a road trip to West Towne Mall in Madison (my favorite) for some POWER SHOPPING- my favorite endurance sport. We fixed the near-nekkidness situation at all of my favorite places - Aeropostale, Abercrombie, Hollister, PacSun, and many many more. I was in shopping heaven!


Lucas was quite happy with his new wardrobe, but he definitely needs to work on his endurance a bit........ he passed out from exhaustion in the Matrix on the hour drive home, but damn he was a well dressed napper!
It's just sad when the offspring of endurance athletes can't hang with the big dogs isn't it?










Now, speaking of things that have been dressed up, Mike has been needling me to post some more bike porn with her newest updates.
Notice the Pink FuelBox, perfect for holding my phone, powerbars, and dog spray on those long rides. Also, note the smokin hot pink bottle cages, lightweight yet still girly. *SIGH*
She's lovely isn't she? I can't wait to get her dirty!





What? What is my favorite addition you ask? Yeah, that would have to be the PINK Crank Brothers Quattro SL eggbeater pedals.














After the updates and the Beefy's new wardrobe, we have everything that didn't fit listed on eBay.... Boils down to lust under 50 auctions, feel free buy lots of stuff and help me pay for all the stuff I bought this week!

Run Vs Nap

Yesterday was a rest day for me. And I really needed one - sucky work day/week, lots of teenage 18-itis drama again, and just plain tired.

Today I woke up with a wild hair up my ass, and was just grouchy, mostly about all of the above still. We did some running around with Cheesy Beefy getting him some stuff - a couple pairs of shorts and a pair of throwing shoes (He is out for track for shot/discus). Did you know there were special shoes for the shotput?? I had no idea.

I knew I had a longish slower run on my plan today, but by 4pm I had talked myself into a little predinner nap. My big bed was calling me. As I sat on the edge of the bed thinking about hitting the pillow, guilt got the best of me and I laced up the running shoes and hit the road. Nothing real special to brag about or anything other than it was really kinda COLD out (38 degrees), but I got my big butt off the bed and got outside.

The battle: Nap vs Run.

The winner: I think it's a draw.

Supposed to be a tempo run with 1 milewarm up, 3 miles at 11:40, 1 mile cool down. Still lots of ice mountains and GINORMOUS puddles to dodge, so slowed me up a bit. On a positive note, I changed the battery in my heart rate strap and guess what? It works again. Imagine that..... (PS - even though I was slower than crap, it was AWESOME to run outside again!!!!! SPRING IS COMING!!!!!!!) Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 862 ft Location: Rock, WI Elev. Gain: -23 ft Date: 03/12/08 Up/Downhill: [+219/-242] Time: 04:48 PM Difficulty: 2.6 / 5.0   Weather: Mostly Cloudy   43 F temp; 64% humidity   43 F heat index; winds SE 14 G 23 Performance Distance: 5.71 miles Time: 1:11:15 Speed: 4.8 mph Pace: 12' 29 /mi Heart Rate: 174 bpm (Avg) Calories: 732 190 bpm (Peak) Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Heart Rate (bpm)   Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 167 - 185 0h 58m 81%  4.98 mi Zone 4 148 - 167 0h 13m 18%  0.97 mi Zone 3 130 - 148 0h 01m 2%  0.08 mi Zone 2 111 - 130 0h 00m 0%  0.01 mi Zone 1 93 - 111 0h 00m 0%  0.00 mi (none) out of range 0h 03m 4%  0.25 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 12' 04 -0' 25 5.0 +0.2 167 -32 ft 2 12' 44 +0' 15 4.7 -0.1 173 -33 ft 3 11' 40 -0' 49 5.1 +0.3 174 -14 ft 4 10' 13 -2' 16 5.9 +1.1 171 -6 ft 5 13' 06 +0' 37 4.6 -0.2 173 +17 ft 6 12' 37 +0' 08 4.8 -0.1 182 +72 ft end 12' 07 -0' 22 5.0 +0.1 184 -26 ft Versus average of 12' 29 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

One for my Sisters (Real or Spiritual, Don't be Shy!)

Take the Quiz.
The Princess Bride Personality Test

Yeah, I was Buttercup. you wish you were me.

Caution: Bike Porn

Well, we took a trip to Bike-O-Rama tonight at the Alliant Energy Center tonight.


I had to touch a lot of pretty bikes, there were hundreds to choose from. Remember the Orbea Diva that Di and I drooled over at the Chicago Accenture Tri? Here I am petting her again. God she's beautiful!







Here is a cool one with a lightning paint job. That's totally hot.















How about this paint job? What Spiderman fan wouldn't want this bike????














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How do you think she looks in my kitchen? I am going to have to ride this bike for the rest of my life, but at least it will be fun.

Snowshoeing: part Deux

Well my ACTUAL snowshoes arrived today while I was at work. Mike and I took a turn around the cornfields across the street for an hour checking them out.

Mine are quite cute, much smaller, more difficult to secure, much less flipitty-floppity, in short they are LADIES snowshoes....... you know all dainty and shit just like their owner.

Oh yeah.... and the little "feather" shape of the back of my RedFeather Pace snowshoes is PERFECT for flinging craploads of ice at my back and head. And I mean lots of big ice chunks.

Mike posted my video on his post and you can see the ice flying in action. It's really quite cool except when it pelts me in the back of the head. I would post it myself but it seems pointless to post the same dang thing as he did. So go check it out. It's OK, I'll wait right here.

Done laughing yet? Good.

So the snow went through a major metamorphosis since I took my solo mission in Mike's shoes on Friday. We had a lot of melting so we lost melting, then on top of that we had rain, then a little more snow, then a little more melt. It made the snow really thick, almost plated, and crispy. I think that's why the snow chunks kept flying around me.

I do think I like Mike's snowshoes better, but I will keep my own since that's what I chose! (Anyway, I'm not sure I am comparing apples to apples anyhow since the two trips were on much different snow conditions)

Tagged by Steve

So Steve tagged us and I need to share 7 random facts about me. I'm not what I have shared before but here goes.
My 7 random facts:
1) I am an educational perfectionist. I graduated 7th (of 313) in my HS class without hardly cracking a book open, just doing my homework. In college (at least in nursing school and at Ball State for my BSN), anything less than 100% was unacceptable. I had a 4.0 GPA at both places. Bordered on neurotic I know.
2) Prior to starting the VLCD diet and returning to regular food, the only vegetables I would eat were corn (I know - technically not a veggie), and lettuce (iceberg, please), and raw carrots or raw cauliflower. Now, I try something new all the time. I practically live on onion, peppers, squash, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, and a ton of others. Who knew I was missing so many good things?? I learned the trick is to cook things only to the point of getting warm. If you cook them til they are a mushy mess, it still makes me gag just like I when I was a kid.
3) When I was little, I had an imaginary friend that kept me company in the bathroom. I don't remember her name anymore, but I do recall she was just a couple inches tall and fit in my pocket when I wasn't in the bathroom.
4) Also when I was a kid, I was convinced that I was adopted (I wasn't) for the sole purpose of doing chores. I envisioned that my little sisters were midgets that zipped out of their "kid" suits at night after I went to bed. What's funny now is I don't remember being asked to do any super huge amount of chores around the house.
5) It was very important to get to the bathroom right after each meal growing up. There were 2 bathrooms and 3 sisters. First 2 to the bathroom sat there until it was certain that the third one was finished clearing the table and loading the dishwasher. I don't think we ever did much more in there but read People magazine until the coast was clear.
6) There is nothing on earth I like more than watching kids play sports. With nothing on the line but pride, all you see is heart. When you start getting into the college and pro level, it becomes less about the love of the game and more about what the game can do for you to get ahead. Unless, of course, my boy makes the NFL - then I might change my mind.
7) I am taking a stab at writing a book about our experience. It comes in fits and starts and random thoughts jotted on scraps of paper. I have no idea if I will even finish it, but writing it is kind of cathartic.

I have no idea who I have or haven't tagged in the past, so if you want to be tagged next you're it.

BIM Active log entry

Here is my first try at publishing from some new training software. bear with me. BTW if anyone has any idea how to get my HR strap to capture my HR better, I am open to ideas. I am pretty sure I didn't run a avg HR of 69 for real. 169 - maybe....... 69 no way. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 853 ft Location: Rock, WI Elev. Gain: -20 ft Date: 03/02/08 Up/Downhill: [+311/-331] Time: 10:12 AM Difficulty: 2.8 / 5.0 Weather: Partly Cloudy 46 F temp; 70% humidity 46 F heat index; winds S 17 G 25 Performance Distance: 6.61 miles Time: 1:26:22 Speed: 4.6 mph Pace: 13' 04 /mi Heart Rate: 72 bpm (Avg) Calories: 797 125 bpm (Peak) Notes Very slushy and Messy, lots of ice to navigate and big puddles, salt and sand messies. Slow avg pace - mostly due to need to slow down to navigate all of the above. Stop at hospital to lose some clothes (dressed too warm!) and refill water bottle. Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Heart Rate (bpm) Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 167 - 185 0h 00m 0% 0.00 mi Zone 4 148 - 167 0h 00m 0% 0.00 mi Zone 3 130 - 148 0h 00m 0% 0.00 mi Zone 2 111 - 130 0h 06m 7% 0.23 mi Zone 1 93 - 111 0h 05m 5% 0.35 mi (none) out of range 1h 25m 98% 7.31 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 12' 49 -0' 15 4.7 +0.1 90 -56 ft 2 12' 07 -0' 57 5.0 +0.4 71 -13 ft 3 13' 18 +0' 14 4.5 -0.1 57 -7 ft 4 20' 12 +7' 08 3.0 -1.6 61 -13 ft 5 1' 21 -11' 43 44.2 +39.7 73 0 ft 6 13' 47 +0' 43 4.3 -0.2 70 -4 ft 7 12' 30 -0' 34 4.8 +0.2 79 +30 ft end 11' 25 -1' 39 5.2 +0.7 74 +42 ft Versus average of 13' 04 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com