Welcome back!!!

Well hello friends!!! I guess you can say I keep a journal about as sporadically as i do a blog :) I have lots of notebooks with the first 5 pages full of all kinds of ideas! The worst part, I love buying notebooks~ what's that about???

The first quarter of school has flown by and the snow is on the ground!! Yeah, almost time for skiing... Jason and I went on our month long trip and had an absolute blast! I got to do a triathlon out of state which went much better then I thought it would, considering 7,500' in elevation! Hardest swim of my life!!! I took first for my age group and 8th overall. I was actually in 6th out of the lake, 2nd at the bike turn around, but then came the run :) I will say it was a great experience and not too bad after spending a few days in Vegas before hand!! Other then that I am pretty happy with my season, after a horrid Gold Nugget, I dropped 6 minutes at Eagle river- still can't figure out where that came from. The final times for the Big lake tri were messed up but by my watch I think i Pr'd by a couple minutes. I really wanted to do the Alaska State tri, but that was the morning that we flew back to Alaska so I decided to skip it and get some sleep.

So I am still swimming with the master's team in the a.m. and loving it! I sure missed swimming all those years :) I am trying to continue biking, and of course my running has slacked since the xc running season ended... I am attempting to run at least a few times a week, but have found I am easily distracted :) we shall see! I guess the question is - how bad do you want it??? Swimming with Shannon D. & Shannon T. in the a.m. intimidates me, it also inspires me to be more driven. Great work ethic!!!

Well, gotta get some stuff done. Again, I will try to be consistent not only in running but my blog :) Happy Wednesday!!!

short and sweet

well, i am yet again late at writing in my blog! 2 weeks left of school and my first summer break without teaching summer school! I am excited, but uncertain at the same time... This is the first year i have taken off from Track and Summer school in 6 years. I definitely think that this will be a much needed break and am looking forward to some me time :) Hopefully i have enough endurance in me to make it though the summer training and enjoying some of the local races. Seems like I make it to the big lake tri and lose all momentum... First triathlon of the season is this Sunday and i am praying I can get through this allergy issue, or whatever it is. I think back to a month ago when training was going awesome and I felt so strong- i am a bit concerned but i guess that is normal. Every year it is the same story, i just need to tell myself I am strong. I need a good mantra!!!
Well, gotta work! ciao

Spring Break

Well we are in the middle of spring break and guess what, it's snowing again!! Actually I am not disappointed in the snow, it could be melting, icy, and brown... I am celebrating my decision of taking this years track season off so for the first time in a long time I am not upset that we are buried!!

I have been a bit distracted with new events this year. Helping with the ski team this season has sent me on a different track - that being I am much more interested in playing in the snow! I have decided that this is a fun path so am going with it, but I am a bit concerned that my running has been put even further on the back burner! Speaking of skiing, my friend Lydia has been awesome in getting me involved in various events throughout Anchorage. We did the Ski for Women, the master's swim meet, and most recently the Tour of Anchorage... It is nice to have a friend that is motivated to be adventurous! I think the most exciting people I have met that help me appreciate living here are people that are not from here! I have realized how many exciting events I have missed out on in this state and I hope that I continue to add to the events- no matter how intimidated I might be.

The Tour was awesome! We did the 40k freestyle event. After the HS ski season, I kept skiing out of concern that I wouldn't survive 40k! It turned out to be the most beautiful weather, a break in this massive storm we have been experiencing. Of course I couldn't do the event without one face plant!! I totally ate it when my feet came to a complete stop and I went face down! Hilarious! Anyway, at the end of the day I found a nice 4 inch long gash down the base of my ski!!! I think I hit a nail or something! It was my medal of accomplishment :) A souvenir! Other than that, my only other highlight besides finishing was when some lady hit me head on with her bike!! Yes, her bike! I was totally shocked! I still cannot figure out how in the heck she didn't see me skiing right towards her! I mean, what are you doing on your bike in the middle of a ski course? DUH!!! I cannot believe it but I did not fall down! I balanced on one ski, my other was being ran over, and came out of it without another fall... I do have to say that the words that came out of my mouth were not so nice, but REALLY??? My final time was 3hr 11 min, and I placed 100 out of 138. Not bad for my first year of skiing. I felt great! I took the first 20k easy, stopping at aide stations. At the halfway point I decided to just go and that took me 1.5 hours. So now I have an idea of what to try for next year! A gorgeous event, and other then the minor annoyances of people skiing on your poles while you are trying to ski uphill, or just getting hit by bikers, the event was a blast!

Well, I guess that is probably more then enough for now. I am hoping the trails get groomed so I can go enjoy the trails later today! Have a great Thursday...

busy busy!

Boy last year this blog was so much easier! Maybe it has something to do with coaching cross country running and skiing?? I just realized this is the end of 3rd quarter as well! WOW! Time flies when you are having fun :)

So what has been going on, let's see..... No marathon this winter - whew! I will never train for one of those in the winter again. My new found love is xc skiing, now if I were good at it! I guess I feel like I have this granny speed, kinda like when I run... I need more Power!!! Dang fast twitch muscles need to fire up! I will say that the skiing took me back to when I was a little girl skiing with my uncles and grandpa all over the back trails of Nikiski. There is something that is so calming about skiing, even when you are sucking wind! Skiing definitely helps me appreciate my surroundings! Now let's see if I can remember that when my friend and I do the tour of Anchorage this weekend! It is going to be sooooooo difficult! My goal: make the cut off time and actually finish, oh and don't get hurt!

Other then skiing, I have been trying to get triathlon ready for this season. It was pretty tough with ski season, but now that is over I am getting on track. I have been swimming for about a month now and a friend of mine talked me into swimming at a master's meet (for adults). I had a blast! I did not feel any of the pressure I put on myself in the triathlons. I just went out there to have a good time and I did! It helped that I got to do the 100 IM, the 50 Breast stroke, and a relay! Those made the 500 free seem bearable! I can't wait to do more meets next year, just to be doing something. Plus it is pretty inspiring to see a 74 year old woman do the 400 IM with flip turns! Something I would not even do now!!!

Well, I could go on and on but no one is probably even checking these considering I have posted 2 blogs all year! I will get better at this I promise :) Have a great week and pray for me in the Tour of Anch this weekend!!!