13 years ago tonight...

... my sweet husband proposed to me.

It is a pretty great story.

In addition to the 10 dozen roses...

... and the sunset...

... and the ring...

... he gave me a choice.

He made reservations for dinner at the expensive french restaurant that we always wanted to try..

... or pick up Jess and Chris (who were doing homework with Grandma Susie and Daddy D.) so that he could "propose" to them at a family dinner and ask them to be his son and daughter.

... I think you can guess where we went for dinner.  Like I said... that night is a GREAT story...

... I love you, my sweet husband.  Thank you for the roses... again! :-)

I love you with all my heart!

Mission Bay Triathlon - 2013 Race Report

I love the start of this race... my category is one of the first and I'm
in the water while the sun is rising... a GREAT way to start the day!

WOOO HOOOOO... I am SO excited that I have a 2013 Mission Bay Tri Race Report to share with you!!!  You may know that I injured my right knee (4) weeks ago and have not been able to do any lower body training, running or impact since then.  I was told that if I was really careful, that I could do an easy practice run a few days before the race and if I felt good, that I could do the race... cold.

I did a 1.5 mile run on Thursday... and it felt good.  So the race was ON!


I don't often post bike photos because I still don't like the way I look
on the bike, but I LOVE the shadow on this photo...I was just
starting the bike and my bad leg wouldn't clip in and slipped... OUCH!

Seriously, racing is half training and half mental and since I knew I couldn't do the training, I had to keep telling myself "treat this like a training brick... you've done this race before... you can push through the pain..."  But the voice that kept ringing in my head was, "Don't push too hard or you'll be down for another few months... this is going to hurt... your legs and cardio are now weak, what are you thinking... this is going to suck!"

Add to those negative thoughts that we were going to be visiting friends the night before the race... at Speedway (in Costa Mesa... about 90 miles away from home)... getting home at 11PM and having to get up at 3:30AM... no sleep... before a race... that I haven't been able to train for... I was trying to be cool, calm and collected, but I was a wreck!

I have to say that I knew the lack of cardio training would be tough... shoot... I have been training non stop for the past 3+ years, but not with a (4) week gap before a race!  My swim time was great... T1 was good... but my strength, the bike, was HARD!  I kept trying to get my computer to go 18-20 miles as I should have gone... but it kept slipping... 16, 15, 13... my MPH were horrible and I was pushing as hard as I could... and I almost threw up twice... who knew the run would be better than the bike?

It is time for the photos to tell this story...


Start of the run... and there is NO PAIN (in my knee)!
While doing the mental prep for this race, I told
myself that the run was going to hurt... so just keep running
and it would be over soon...

Long story short, I watch the results in my category and know that "Heather Richards"
usually wins the under 40 Athena catgory... but I've never met her.  I have, however,
seen this gal in front of me at many races, but thought she was in another category, so I
didn't think she was my competition... until we came to the finish line and the
announcer said, "Here comes Heather Richards and Tracey Locher" and I
thought, "CRAP...I hope she is not 40 yet!"  I could not have given one more
ounce of effort and she beat me by 2 seconds... good news... she won't be 40 for
several more years!!! :-)  And, yes, I introduced myself shortly after this race.

I was SOOOOO happy to have finished this race...
... and friend Roger is there in the blue... LOVE
this photo!!!  Even with my issues, I finished
my run 1 minute faster than last year... WHAT!?

Superman Matt and me at the end of the race.  Matt's first triathlon
was Misson Bay 2 years ago... his 2nd race was an international and then
a 70.3... he is on the quick path to his first Ironman... he is one
of my big time inspirations!!!

I TOOK 1ST PLACE and Tammy Franco took 2nd.  I am so blessed for
Facebook... and the chance to meet my competitors on the race course and
get to know them later online... the Athenas all have a story... and most of them are
very similar... health, weight loss, getting our butts out of bed to race!

Do you see something missing from this celebratory #1
photo... oh yes, that would be a medal.  The finisher
and the awards medals were held up in customs due
to the goverment shut down... I didn't think the shut
down would affect us... darn it!

What I want vs. what I can do...

... THIS is what I want to train to do...

... at the moment, this is what I can do...

I have a knee injury that, although could be worse, requires me to do no bootcamp, no lower body strength training, and most important... NO RUNNING!  No impact for (4) weeks from injury, which is exactly the day of the Mission Bay Tri.  I can swim... I can spin... but I will have to go into my last race of the season COLD on my run. 

Triathlon (as far as I'm concerned) is half training and half mental... time to start working on that mental...

... no weight gain with injury... and fun new tri site...

YEAH!  One good piece of news after a week without any cardio... no weight gain!  I've been pretty freaked out that my weight would start going up while I've been out of commission, but I'm the same weight that I was 4 weeks ago.

204.8

204.8

I was planning to swim to get in my cardio this week, but Jeff wanted me to take the week off, so I did... and then the pool at the Y went down this weekend, so I've had a few extra days off that I wasn't planning.  Still no game plan for the knee and 3 weeks until my last tri of the season.

While I figure things out, check out this new blog that I found (well actually, the writer found me and I checked out her blog.)  Lisa is on a similar journey... weight issues, confidence, learning about and fears of triathlons... her writing is honest and hysterical.  While reading her recent posts, I kept saying, "YES, I feel the same way!"  http://lightlyfromtheledge.blogspot.com/  Her first triathlon is next week and I can't wait to see how she documents that special day!  Good luck, Lisa!

... Now what... accountable?



... WHAT THE...?

4 weeks from today is my last race of the season... then I have SIX MONTHS of off season training... plenty of time to nurse an injury back to health and continue training.

 

But darn it, it has been more than 1 1/2 years since my last injury and I was feeling confident... and I made a silly mistake at Boot Camp on Saturday morning.  I twisted my knee as I put my weight on it and I heard a "pop..." and the pain started.

 

Jeff has "grounded" me... I thought I could at least do a swim today to get in a workout and he told me I had to ice and elevate my knee in hopes for a quick recovery.  He knows how frustrated I am... and he took care of everything around the house today so I could watch my knee. 

 

Thank you, my sweet husband.  I pray this heals quickly and I can get back to training.  In the meantime, I'm going to kick my own butt pulling in the pool and make sure that my trainer only does upper body and core.  THIS is the great thing about triathlons... if you get injured, you have several different sports to switch the training to! :-)

 

Oh... and the answer to my last post... Week 78 was 6 pounds lighter than Week 131... although 131 looks much better.  Just goes to show you that the numbers on the scale are just part of the answer... but there is so much more!!!

...breaking down accountable...

One of the things I love about taking all these photos is that you can really break it down and see how everything effects the numbers... at the end of the day, the number on the scale isn't the best show of your progress...

THIS is my trouble area... where most of my extra weight still lives.

The photo on the right is today and the photo on the left was a year ago.  These photos are a year apart... and 6 pounds apart.  Which is the photo that weighs 6 pounds more?




Photos... need to get back to accountable...

The last time I posted a photo was in April... APRIL!  And my weight has been all over the place since then.  I have been on a very long term plateau, and it is time that I buckle down and get back to work.  For me, the weekly photos kept me accountable... and successful.

206.2

204.2
 

The shadows on these photos make it hard to see much of a difference at all.  And if I am being honest, the photos I should be taking now are the side profile.  That is where I am seeing the weight loss... or gain... more than these front shots. 

As with any journey, you have to pay attention... notice when you are starting to move backward... and set up your next plan of attack... and for me... my attack is accountability!

One-derland... I'm coming back! :-)




12 Years...

Who cares what we were toasting at this moment... I love
you, Jeff... and always will!

... there is so much going on right now...

... but nothing more important than the 12th anniversary of our wedding vows!

Yes, we even left my 25th high school reunion last night early to celebrate (more on that later!)...

I love you with all my heart, my sweet husband!  Here's to 12 years plus 12 years plus even more 12 years!

... until we are that couple, slowly walking in the park, hand in hand, in our 90's...

I... Love... You!

Happy Anniversary!

Carlsbad Tri... MVHS Reunion Tri... Jeff's first Tri...

Jeff and me (and Anna and Abby) picked up the
race packets for our teams... 16 hours to go
before race time!

... what an AMAZING day!  :-)  Next weekend is my 25th high school reunion from Mission Viejo High School - class of 1988.  Several months back, a few of us reconnected and found that we are all doing triathlons or one leg of a tri, so we decided to set up (2) relay teams for the Carlsbad Triathlon... one week before our reunion... sort of a reunion challenge!

Ends up that someone on the "other" team had to back out so Jeff decided to fill in... for his first tri... doing the bike leg... on the team against me... and I was also doing the bike leg for my team... hence, we have had some fun smack talk going on for the past few months.  There was no doubt in my mind that Jeff would beat me on the bike leg, but it was a matter of how much time he would gain for his team.

Who knew that a 1,000 meter beach start swim...
... 16 mile bike...
... and 3.1 mile run could be SOOOOOO MUCH FUN? :-) 

As usual, the photos will tell the story...

OUR transition area... you have NO idea how much I have waited
to say those words! :-)  Yes, we were on opposite teams, but my
sweet husband was doing a triathon with me...OK... against me...
... who cares?  He was with me!

... in THIS corner, Team Justwingit...Steph, Roger and Jeff...
... and in the other corner, Team LoserBuysBeer... Mike and me (and Gary)...
who was supposed to do our run until he had knee surgery... a week ago... darn...
I had to have a mulit-time and trainer Ironman do our swim and bike... ;-)

I've never done or seen a beach start tri before...
... could this BE more beautiful?

... pretty big group for the beach start!

Jeff and I were jogging to warm up... I've NEVER run with Jeff...
I KNOW after today we will be a (2) member tri family!
 

Another photo of the beach start... oh... I should mention that we handed
our camera off to injured team member, Gary, who took all these
photos while we were warming up!  (THANK YOU!!!)

WOOO HOOOO!  There is my teammate, Ironman Mike, coming in
strong from the swim.  We saw him coming and this is when I started
getting nervous!  Since Mike was one of the first out of the water, there
was a bullseye on my back... and Jeff was all over it!

There is Jeff starting his first tri bike... white star on his back...
the race is ON!

JustWingIt runner Roger starting the run... and friend and regular
triathlete in the over 75 category, Bill Hines is at the front of the screen...

Ironman Mike finishing up our run... WOO HOOOOOOOOO!

Our teammates and family waiting for Roger from Jeff's team to finish...

And here comes Roger... up the left... GO, GO, GO!!!

Today was sooooo amazing.  A great course... great friends... and Jeff finally INSIDE the transition area with me.  Another great surprise were friends Matt and LaLa there at the finish cheering us on!  :-)  At lunch, after the race, we all agreed to do this again next year... although (3) months out, we will be picking names and race legs out of a hat... :-) 

And for those of you that were following the Jeff vs. Tracey bike challenge... yes, Jeff beat me in time... he finished 3:31 faster than me... however, my team took 6th place out of 21 co-ed tri teams and I met my goal of 18MPH even on this hilly course.  I had a GREAT ride thanks to Jeff's fixing of my gears... but Jeff had an even better ride.  Jeff will get the new jersey... but we were all winners today... by the numbers... and by the heart! :-)  Next year can't come soon enough!!!

SDIT 2013 - Race Report

Could there BE a more beautiful place for a 7AM swim?  I was
4th out of the water in this group, so I'm right up there...

First off, I... LOVE... THIS... RACE!  It is local... it is beautiful... and a great course with lots of fantastic volunteers! 

Pre-race - I was feeling ready and very excited for this race... even though the weather called for exessive heat warnings.  It was in the mid-80's and high humidity at the coast when we were picking up our race materials the day before the race with the temps expected to increase race day.  I prepared to take my own hydration (camel back on the bike and a bottle for the run... all frozen with ice the night before) to be sure I was OK for the race.  I should have known that KOZ totally increased the water stations from the year before... I think I counted (6) water stations, where there were only (2) the year before.

Race Day - When we arrived at the race at 5:45AM, it was already almost 70 degrees... but by race time, the weather had changed!  It remained overcast, but the wind started blowing.  When we were up at Cabrillo National Monument on the bike, the clouds were blowing across the road... it looked like we were riding into the clouds... actually, I guess we were! :-)  When we got to the flat seaside run, the wind was howling.  It felt like I was running in a wind tunnel.  Yes, it was cool!  But the headwind was a challenge! 

Alright... enough of the chatter... it is time for the photos to tell this story...

6:30AM... it was already so warm that Anna
was in shorts as I was about to jump into the water.

This photo tells it all... TOTAL SHOCK as I came out of the water! 
Wooooo Hoooooo!

I had some tech issues with the bike and knew
I was 10 minutes off my goal... had to pick it up!

The wind killed me on the run... although I ran more (walked less) and felt
better on the run this year.

Anna made us a cool sign... and is showing here how hard the wind
was blowing... she didn't have to hold her sign, the wind held it for her.

Me and Briony... PHEW...It's over! :-)

Our Palomar YMCA racers... love having a "gym" to train at that
comes along with a family to race with!

At the finish line, Anna (dog lover) met a new 180 pound friend!

WINNERS!  I took 2nd just behind Paul Torres... I beat her by 10 minutes
on the swim, she beat me by 10 minutes on the run... our transitions
were pretty equal.  It KILLS me that my mechanical issues on the bike
cost me this race!  AUGH!!!  :-)  Onto the next race!

... RACE TIME - SD International Triathlon!!!

WOOO HOOOOOOO!  And here we go!  I'm SOOOOOO excited about the race tomorrow.

 

... not so excited about getting up at 3AM...

... not so excited about the extreme heat warning...

... but my training has been solid, my long bricks on the course have been fantasic... I am excited because I am ready and I look forward to having fun at the race tomorrow.  I know, I know... isn't that how you are always supposed to feel... like you are having fun?  Don't get me wrong... this is NOTt going to be a walk in the park... 1,000 meter swim, 18 mile hilly bike, and 6.2 mile run, but I am looking forward to mentally talking myself through the pain and (hopefully) a great race!

And, I don't think there are jellies in the water... :-)

If you are interested, here is my 2012 SDIT Race Report

Time for dinner and bed... see you for the 2013 Race Report tomorrow!

... reason #247 - Why I Love My Husband...

... footprints... on our honeymoon...

... I called Jeff today and Jessica (our 23-year-old daughter) answered his phone. 

Jess - "MOM... that is the CUTEST thing ever!"

Me - "What was so cute?"

Jess - "Jeff's ringtone for you is the song from your wedding... your first dance song... 'When A Man Loves A Woman.'"

I could hear Jess handing Jeff the phone and telling him how cute the ringtone was...

... and I could hear his smile as he took the phone and said, "Hello." :-)

((( cue the butterflies that filled my stomach as I gushed through the rest of our conversation )))

Music Day... Don't be "Broken..."

There is a new song that I've added to my training playlist.  It is a slow, but powerful song, and it reminds me why it...IS... SO... IMPORTANT... TO... PLAY with your spouse. 

Don't let yet years go by...

I know...

...you are dealing with the kids...

and the bills...

and everything else...

...except your love. 

Don't get yourself into a place where your relationship is "Broken." You have a choice... broken from him.. or playing with him... :-)

Don't worry, you are "not broken, just bent... and you can learn to love again!"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gwx4iTRLXG8

If I'm talking to you... listen to Pink's "Just Give Me A Reason." Little steps can make it happen.

Life and love are AMAZING...don't forget why you love.

AMGEN Tour of California... WOOO HOOO!

Jeff about to do the AMGEN pre-tour ride in 2006 with Bruce Jenner.

I learned how to ride a bike when I was a kid...

... and as I grew up, I had no idea there was something called a "professional bike race..."

... until I started dating Jeff.

My husband doesn't watch Sunday Night Football or much basketball or hockey

Dave and Jeff at the start of the ride in 2006.

(except for the Superbowl... we watch commercials... or if a local team is in the playoffs, we'll watch some highlights)

... Jeff has been a tour bike race spectator for over 30 years.  So much so that during our honeymoon in the Dominican Republic, we stood at the TV and sometimes had to hold the rabbit ears to watch the one station that was following the Tour de France that year.

8 years ago, California started a Tour Race... the AMGEN Tour of California.  In 2006, right after Jeff finished chemo, he decided to do the pre-ride before the Tour that was a cancer fundraiser.  It is funny looking back, because Bruce Jenner, olympic athlete, but known at the time as the new star of "The Kardashinas," started off the ride.

I've been following races and cheering/jeering along with Jeff for the past 13 years.  There has been a lot of cycling ups and downs since then, but this is a FANTASTIC sport and we can't wait to follow along with this year's race again...

... here are some photos of the Tour setting up in downtown Escondido... knowing that the best in the world are HERE and racing on our streets is AMAZING! 

VIP Tents setting up on Grand

The stage and podium.

The "Joor Muffler" got a cycling
jersey and cap for the Tour. :-)

I love this murial that was created for the Tour.