Yesterday, today, tomorrow, and then some

Yesterday - Despite how upset I was from my appointment from voc rehab, and then not having a couple necessities for a run at the gym last night, I did enjoy my evening and was asleep before 9pm. Ahhhhh....such goody goodness.

Today - Seriously, the kids were crazy insane today! I was telling our ED teacher that there is a full moon coming up or a storm en route. Sure enough... we are currently under a winter storm warning for the next 24+ hours. Possibly 3-4 inches of white fluffy stuff. I went to spin and it was my first in two weeks. Today was also the last night our spin instructor was teaching. I guess taking night classes to work towards her masters was more important! Can't wait to hear when she subs for other instructors on saturdays/sundays! Good luck to her! Tonight... I am off to watch the great KG and the Celtics.. ... because the T-wolves are sucking it up... big time.

Tomorrow - Early morning meeting that I am NOT looking forward to. Then, dinner after school with a couple friends, a basketball game, and then home to bed early. I am staying away from the gym to finish fighting off this cold. I will use my free time to mentally prepare myself for my 7-miler on saturday morning....as I will need it to make up for the lack in physical preparedness. I am still "planning" on doing the "8 miles on the 8th" dealio. Hmmm. Fun times for sure on the thrillmill... as I am sure it will be below freezing and then some with windchill that morning. If you think you have ran in cold weather, try fighting the Great Wind of the Red River Valley in ND.... purely discusting.

then some - I am really not feelin' this tri-training-stuff. I am going to keep doing what I am doing and see how things go. I just think an outdoor triathlon in the summer sounds much more enjoyable and worthwhile. Good news... a girl friend of mine is supposed to be coming to visit this saturday! I can't wait to see her! .....plus.... A friend of mine (from grad school who now lives in MT), called last night and he gave me the dates for a few of us to roadtrip out there for our ski trip this winter! I can't wait. I am looking forward to using part of my week and 1/2 vacation from school to do the slopes in beautiful MT! Don't worry... you know me... there will be lots of pics!

snapshot from Whitefish, MT... February 2006

I am out!! Y'all have a wonderful weekend!

Take care, stay warm, and most importantly... live life!

Tomorrow is another day....

I left work a half hour early today to get to my meeting with a counselor from voc rehab. The purpose was to see how much money and services I could get for hearing aids... The result? Nada. Nilch. None. Absolutely NO money. Turns out that being a teacher in the state of north dakota... I make to much damn money. It's complete crap. From here.. I don't know what will happen.

From there, I went to the gym, hoping to run off some aggrevation. Got there. attempted to change (clothes were packed from monday night for spin and running yesterday that didn't happen), went to grab my sports bra... not there. Crap. Looking for socks. None. Double crap. By now I am just fuming and on the verge of tears. If it were nice (above freezing and minimal wind), I would have headed home, changed, and went out for a run. But no, according to the weather channel, it is 12 degrees but feels like -4 due to the nasty wind. Hell no.
View from apartment... some snow on ground from monday night's blow in... something coming in from the west... and weatherman says the it will get as cold as -26 with the wind ... damn.

I am staying home tonight.... and re-packing my bag for spin and running tomorrow night. This definitely calls for a small Tom and Jerry.....

Feelin' a little under the weather...

Before getting to the point of this post, I am still looking for input or comments in regards to the Danskin Triathlons from my post on monday...

Last night after returning home from my not-so-desireable 3 mile run, I ate dinner, sat down to relax and all of a sudden the right sight of my throat was killing me. All I thought about was nicking this thing, whatever it is, in the butt before it took over me. So I took my dose of airborne, and went to bed early.

This morning I started the day with a glass of airborne and then another large glass of water. To be honest, I felt like all I did today was drink water and airborne. Poohy. Between the slight head pains that increased and decreased in intensity throughout the morning and early afternoon, and the feeling of running a fever (either that or having hot flashes)... I made the executive decision to chill tonight (no pun intended). I am starting to feel like a damn water buffalo from all the water, and hope to head to bed soon. No spin/running for me tonight. Grr.

Wishful thinking consists of me waking tomorrow feeling 20 times better...and getting to the gym... to do something.

It's definitely coming

I thought I would post the picture above... just for my home-girl, Marcy. That was taken about a week ago, in the AM as I was going through the drive through at my fav coffee shop. It was definitely prettier in person when you had the 360 view of the sky and all it's colors!

Winter is definitely just around the corner. Mrs. Alberta Clipper is supposed to be dropping off a present for us all... possibly 1-2 inches of accumulated precipation that is a 4-letter-word. Leaving behind windy weather and slippery roads. ... And wind chill below ZERO!?!?! Dang....it is inevitable. There is nothing I can do. Blech. All I want to do is curl up with a book and a hot Tom and Jerry...

With all said, it was tough to get my mindset back in training mode. And while we're on the talk of "training"... where was it that I said I was doing this tri-thingy for sure? I am trying to train, and then will decide after the Christmas break if this is something that I want to do. I don't want to through $50 into this if I am not "feelin" it. I would rather put the money towards a Danskin Race later on in the year. Which reminds me... they have finally posted the dates of all the Danskin races... any one out there planning on doing one?? Or does anyone have an idea as to which one would be awesome to participate in????

Today's workout:
3 mile run
abs

Conversation with my endorphine craving conscious

What has your training looked like in the past week?

5K turkey trot... that's about it.

Any swimming or biking?

Nope.... look at my week 5 training if you don't believe me!

Damn, Stacy! Time to get back into training mode.... serious training mode. If you can't handle training over a long weekend away from home, how the heck are you going to do it when you have over a week off for Christmas break?

Good question.

Ughh.. Get your ars in gear or you won't ever be able to complete your first triathlon!

Bring it!

5K Turkey Trot

Well, I did it!

Done and done.

The weather was cold, only about 15 degrees. But it was snowing and the road was hard and a bit slippery at times! But, on the flipside.... there wasn't any wind. Which is a good thing!

The organization of the race start and finish was a complete mess. I didn't start my watch until I got to the start line... and the finish line was jamned with runners. Just crazy.

Overall, I beat my time from last year by 4 seconds.....and I think I might have enjoyed it!

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

Because I can

This morning when I woke up... 17 degrees.

This afternoon.... 24 degrees.

Currently... 19 degrees.

Tomorrow morning when I am supposedly running this 5k Turkey Trot.... expected 15 degrees.

Definitely going to be colder than last year's race....

How tempting it would be to sleep-in and wake to the wonderful smells of a warm Thanksgiving...

But I don't think that is an option... this may very well be my last race of 2007.... I am gonna do it... and I am gonna do it with a smile...

Why?

Because I can!

Snow globes are pretty....

.... living in one is even prettier!

I woke up this morning wanting to do my 5.5 mile memory run for Ryan Shay outdoors (the one I was supposed to do yesterday but wasn't able due to overcoming a leetle hang-over and crampy legs). Yesterday the weather man said it was going to be in the mid-forties. I knew it would be chilly, but not too bad.

When I checked the weather channel this morning, it was 32 degrees, which isn't terribly cold, but it is when you add 15-20 mph wind gusts. Then it feels as if it is only 15-20 degrees outside! So I knew I would be heading to the gym.... to my favorite thrillmill.

While on running, I noticed that it began to snow! not just little while flecks of snow that are barely visible, but the big chunky fluffy one's that disappear when they touch the ground. It was beautiful. I tried taking a pic, but with the wind, the snow moves to fast and it doesn't look pretty in the picture.

This past week of training wasn't too successful, but it was better than nothing. this coming week won't be that great either. I will be at home in Bismarck from Tuesday night until Sunday. That kind of takes away from my spin sessions and swimming. But, I do have a race thursday! As much as I would like to focus on beating my PR again, I would love to be able to just enjoy it and have nice weather. This time of year you never know what you're going to get!

Welcome to MY World....in pictures

Following Marcy, Lisa, and Jess... I thought I would give you an insight into my daily routine.... Okay so everyday doesn't look like this, but it can be quite similar... long and full of ... well, everything!

Rise and SHINE!!! It's 4:30... just enough time to dress, potty, drink some water, do some push ups and head for the gym..... at.......
3.1 miles on the thrillmill and I am home, hot, sweaty and barely had the chance to cool down....
Not too long later, around 7ish, and I am off to work...

...great tunes in the car, coffee in one hand (thanks to my wonderful Caribou Giftcard from the PTA), and a multi-grain bagel in the bag for breakfast...
Here is my so-called "office". Very lovely, huh?


Here is my ... well, ... classroom. My two tables, where I attempt to juggle 3-5 students at a time... for 45 minute chunks... After a day of teaching, I had two IEP's between an afternoon/evening of conferences, a no-show for my last IEP... and then I was home... at 8pm... do I look happy?
... just in time for grey's anatomy in some sweaties with a bag of single-serving popcorn on the side! I am sure I will be down for the count by 9:30!

Tomorrow is going to be another rest day ... and Jeans day with Alma Mater sweatshirts! Got to continue the Friday-payday-tradition... aps and taps after school!

Saturday I will be running 5.5 miles in memory of Ryan Shay. I can't wait!

Have a great weekend, y'all!

Lookin' at the upside...

I was supposed to run 3 miles today and do some strength training. It just didn't happen. I wanted to do it this morning before work, but for some reason when the alarm went off at 4:30 I just didn't have it in me.....

Part of me is pissed I didn't do it this morning. Part of me is pissed that I didn't do it tonight. Part of me is really pissed, because now I will be making it up tomorrow... at 5am. 3 hours before my day starts.... a day that consists of teaching all day, parent/teacher conferences and 3 IEP's squeezed in there somewhere .... a day that won't end until 8pm!

Geez.

Yuck.

On the upside?!??!?! This chica is pumped!! Pumped for the start of UNC's basketball season! Therefore, my friends, I will be stalking y'alls blogs and watching my Tarheels!

I guess I am not too pissed at myself after all!
UPDATE: Tarheels 1-0, beating Davidson 72 to 68! That was not the prettiest game, either.

5 Things

I read Jess' post today and she tagged whoever was interested in joining. So, I thought since I hadn't been tagged yet, I would give it a whirl. Instead of sticking with things that have to do with the number 5, I am going to list 5 positives from today!

1. My big boss complimented me on a very difficult meeting we had today... a meeting no special education teacher would want to have, ever.
2. I crossed off 3 things on my "to-do" list.
3. It was red, white, and blue day along with jeans day today.... celebrating Veteran's day and Teacher Appreciation Week.
4. I received a $5 giftcard to Caribou from the school PTA ... in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week.
5. I topped off the day with a great spin session!!

Boring I know, but I didn't have much of anything else to post!

Today's Workout:
16.87 mile spin

Letter to Self

Dear self,

I don't know what it is I am doing wrong, but in every attempt to lose weight even if it is only a pound a week.... I have failed. This past week I rode almost 25 miles on the bike, swam 600M, and ran almost 16 miles. I have ate healthy and watched my portions. I have limited my intake of sweets. I have stopped eating 2 hours before going to bed and made sure I have consumed a healthy breakfast each and every morning. What else am I to do? Hmmm?

Totally upset,

Teacherwoman

P.S. I am sure it won't help that I am making a "heavy" german dinner tonight for friends...will it?

Moment of Truth Monday:
Last monday's weight: 150.8
Today's weight: 149.6

Today's Workout:
900M Swim

Congrats, Good Luck, and Thanks

Sunday, November 11

Congratulations to my parents
on their 29th Anniversary today!
29 years... and three wonderful girls. Hehehe.

Good luck to Mom and Dad
on there Big Sur Half Marathon in California this morning!!
(What a way to spend an Anniversary!)

Thanks to all those Veterans out there....
and especially one in particular....
close to us at home.
We appreciate all you've done.
Pictured Left to Right: me, Susan (sister), Blaine (now brother-in-law), and Steph (sister)....the night of Blaine's return from Iraq in April of 2004...

In Honor of all Veterans

They come from all corners of America,
sons and daughters of factory workers,
truck drivers, housewives, professionals and farmers.

Veterans are of different age, race, sex, color and creed.
Some are short or tall, others thin or stout,
but all are willing to sacrifice their life
to protect our country, fellow citizens and world freedom.

They join the military, some with no training,
hoping that they can in some way make a difference.
Little do they know that each individual’s sacrifice
makes a distinct impact in the preservation
of what our forefathers fought for.

A veteran is one who cries when his fellow soldier dies,
but continues on with the mission assignment.
They heal the wounded … some bury the dead.
There are those who plan the missions
and others who seek out the enemy.

Some must transport them to battle, along with those
who provide support and cover in their journey.
There are Commanders, who must give orders for war,
and Chaplains who pray for them all.

The veteran returns from battle, some injured,
others mentally scarred for life.
All are very humble, matured and not willing to share
the death and destruction they may have witnessed,
there is no need to cause others despair.

Deep inside their hearts the Veteran know
their goal of sacrifice,
was to serve their country proudly and
help bring peace for all that will follow.


W. Robb Robichaud
Vietnam Veteran
November 11, 2002

Straight from the mouths of the little ones...

Despite all the chaos of the weeks' events..... IEP meetings, trying to find the bottom of my desk, and trying to give my students the impression I have my head screwed on tight, this week has gone by real fast.

I thought I would share a few comments from my world.... from my students.

Coming from a fourth grade student after giving me a hug.... "You smell like my Mom," she says. ...... "Does your Mom smell good?" I asked.... "Yep," she says. I sort of felt relieved after this. I had to remind myself that I was wearing Very Sexy from Victoria Secrets.

In a discussion about arm hair (don't know how we got there)... a fourth grade boy says to me ... "It looks like your going through puberty." Interesting how he relates my hairy female arms to puberty. I wanted to tell him that I knew another female with hairier arms than me!

When wearing a long, shiny necklace yesterday, one of my first graders asked to see it. So I took it from my neck and handed it to him... He was playing with it and says "My Grandma would love to meet you!" ... I responded with "oh really?" ... and he says, "you should buy her one of these!". .... "are you going to buy her one of these and give it to her when you meet her at conferences?" .... "Um, probably not. She will have to buy one for herself." ... okay kid.

When working on homonyms with students, another teacher was discussing the difference between steak and stake. One of the girls said she knew of another kind of "stake/steak"... ... The teacher thinking "oh really?"... The student shared that there is the "stake" when you mess up on your work. You know... mis-stake! Except she doesn't call it mistake... she says "stake". too cute.

Kids are great. Very unpredictable!

Tomorrow I plan to spend some time in the pool... nothing fast... just taking my time to really work on my technique. From there I will be heading to work. Most likely I will spend the entire day there to get caught up. Did I mention I need to find the bottom of my desk? Complete 2 IEPs? Edit an Integrated Written Assessment Report? Write of a Positive Behavior Intervention Plan and create a daily Point System sheet? Finish Progress Reports? Make copies? Do some laminating? Update progress monitoring Graphs? Organized Binders? Correct assignments and update grade book? Work on file-folder language and math games? Yeah, I think I have a few things to do tomorrow.

I will definitely be ready for a drink tomorrow evening!

Yesterday's Brick:
24.45 mile spin (longest bike ever)
2 mile run

Today's Workout:
2.65 mile run

What's in your gym bag?

Somedays I feel like I spend more time getting ready for the next day's workout, taking stuff out of my gym bag, putting in into another, adding stuff to the gym bag....etc. So, in the process of putting together my gym bag for today, I was wondering if anyone else feels as if they are constanting filling and emptying their gym bag... So after work, I have a scheduled spin session with a short run afterwards.... and then to a friends for grey's anatomy night. Here's what's in my gym bag today....

• heart rate monitor and watch
• ipod
• two pairs of socks
• underwear
• three pairs of shoes ( 1 for cycling, 1 for running, and then tennis shoes for afterwards)
• tank top
• sports bra
• shorts
• a pair of jeans
• a long sleeved shirt
• shampoo and conditioner
• shower gel
• towel
  
• mousse
• headbands, bobby pins, and ponytails (can never have too many)
• lock for locker
• two packs of sports beans
• water bottle
  
• gatorade

What's in your gym bag?

Set in stone or written in sand?

Today's scheduled "longer" run didn't go as I would have liked. In fact, I cut it short by about a mile. My legs muscles were stiff from top to bottom. They weren't sore, just felt tight. I know I probably didn't hydrate myself in the past two days as much as I usually do. On top of the stiff muscles, my right knee just wasn't having it. It was tired. I was tired. I don't think my body is used to running 3 days in a row. .. ... with a swim thrown in there.

I have to remind myself that my "training" isn't set in stone. I chose to do 16 weeks of training for a reason.... to take the time I needed to build my training and make sure this triathlon is possible. Therefore, it is written in sand. Change is inevitable. I have mentioned my thoughts on changing around my swim sessions, and after tonight's run, I think I need to take into consideration what I am capable of doing or pushing myself to do in a weeks span. I have the time, and I am going to take it.

Thanks for all the advice... much appreciated.

Today's Workout:
3.35 mile run
strength training
abs
picture found on Google Images

pondering the possibilities

Monday night swims. I don't know if I am feelin' it. Yet.

• You see, it's just soo late.
  
• I have a hard time eating before I swim, and I don't like the idea of eating at 9 when I get home. ... only to go to bed in less than an hour later.
• I have been pairing it with a run before-hand, and I am afraid the run is taking most of my energy away from the swim.
• and to be honest, I like to be able to come home in the evening and just chill for a few hours.
  

I think it is possible to switch my swim the morning. That is only 1 day a week, possibly twice down the road. And, if I still want to run that day, I can do that in the afternoon after work... causing me to switch gears and think about 2-a-days. I am more of a morning person anyway. I would just have to adjust my mindset a bit. I know if I want it, and it is required as part of my training, it will happen.

Now for those of you who have commented on my post from yesterday... "In Heaven There Is No Beer".... It is a song/cheer we sing after the Sioux make a goal. It goes something like this....

In Heaven there is no beer.... (no beer!)
that's why we drink it here... (right here)
and when were gone from here...
our friends will be drinking all our beer!

Today's workout:
2.25 mile run
600M swim

Moment of Truth Monday

Well. I posted my weight last thursday, so I didn't expect much change from then to today. Especially with a weekend of eating out and beer drinking.

Last thursday's weight: 150
Today's weight: 150.8

Not too shabby for all the crap consumed this weekend. Hopefully this will go down over the next week!

In Heaven there is no beer...

The weekend with the family in the Greater Grand Forks was wonderful! Friday night we vegged and watched the Sioux kicks some butts on the ice. Saturday Dad and I hit up some almost-too-good football. UND beat St. Cloud 59-14. We are now ranked 8-1. It will be interesting to see how we are once we get into D-1 next year! Later that evening we all were ready to watch some more butt-kickin' .... live. Unfortunately, that wasn't what happened. We got our butts kicked. We lost... 1-4. It was rediculous.Overall, it was a fun and relaxing couple of days.

My Mom and I were discussing how this is the best time of year for running outside but it is the shortest season. You don't have to worry about the intense weather of the summer that can involve sunburns, being overheated, humidity, bugs.....and you don't have to worry about the other extreme ....winter; slipping on any ice patches and going back and forth between outfits, trying to determine whether your going to wear just 2 layers or 3 layers.

Today was perfect. Some might disagree with me.

I went out for my run around 12pm. The temps were in the high 30's with light sprinkles on and off. There was dense overcasting that gave the impression of other sorts of precipitation not too far away. It is November. Our precipitation can switch from rain to s*** anytime now. I would like to enjoy what we have (or don't have), while it's here. Even though I thought it was nice, I did have to turn the heat on in my apartment for the first time this fall. That's definitely a sign that weather is changing!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Today's Workout:
3.25 mile run (outdoors)

Finally Friday

Yesterday I hurried from a day long "meeting/training" to get to spin. Luckily I was able to grab the last of the better bikes. Boo-ya! My training schedule stated that my workout would consist of spin with a 1 mile run afterwards. ... done and done!

This weekend I will be out of town and in the Greater Grand Forks area. The whole-fam-damily will be heading there to catch some hockey! I am SIOUX-per pumped! I promise not to drink too much beer (in one evening) or eat too much (junk food). But, I have to have a grinder from the Red Pepper.... it's a trade mark of the city! It was the best after a night of partying...

Due to being away for the weekend, I squeezed in my workout at the butt crack of dawn today! Can you believe it? This morning's workout was a wonderful nice recovery run and then some brief lifting and ab work. I have on my schedule a 3 mile run tomorrow, but I have given myself the option to save that for sunday if necessary.

Yesterday's Workout:
20.87 mile spin
1.55 mile run

Today's Workout:
2.05 mile run
strength training
abs

Have a great weekend, y'all!

"Don't be pushed by your problems. Be led by your dreams."

Thursday "Moment of Truth"

Well, y'all.... I am offically joining P.O.M. in her "Moment of Truth Monday". I wasn't going to do it because I am not fond of sharing my weight, especially since it shot up 10+ pounds since last spring (despite the clothing fitting the same). But, who better to share it with and get great motivation from then all my friends out there in bloggerland?!

It's not so much that I really want to lose weight, I think I am more bothered by the fact that I have gained weight when working so hard at the gym. But, I find that this will be helpful in getting myself to eat better. I have already given up soda... why not try eating better!?!

Here's the criteria:

• Post current weight
• Post goal weight
• Post reward if goal is achieved by February 2008

Here's what I got... gulp:

• Current weight: 1 *cough* 5 *cough* 0
  
• Goal weight: 135
• Reward if achieved by February 2008: Massage after completing first Triathlon!

I will be posting my progress... if any, on monday in the "Moment of Truth Monday" weigh in. Yuck. Take it or leave it people! Hopefully there will be some progress. It's definitely a moment of truth.... time to cut back on the cupcakes and beer!

Any tips on easy and healthy lunches, snacks, and dinners for "traithlete's in training" would be helpful! I don't have time to spend stand around the stove!