Tuesday, August 31, 2010

It's a new year

Today marks the start of a brand new school year! Last night we had "Back to School Night" and I got to meet most of my new students and parents. I think it's going to be a very interesting year, to say the least. However, I am going to keep an open mind with hopeful thoughts of a what I presume to be a wonderful school year!

On the flip side, trying to get the workouts in while adjusting to the "back to school" schedule over the past week has been a bit of a challenge. Last week started off all fine and dandy, and then before I new it, it's been 5 days since my last workout. Things like mowing the lawn, a wedding out of town, and long days with late nights haven't made the transition any easier. I guess I just need to plan a bit better.

This week better be different .... even though I got nada in yesterday. Today calls for a 2-fer!

And like every other first day of school, I am going to post my usual video from one of my favorite movies - Billy Madison! This song has been going through my head for the past week!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

In what feels like no time at all....

...summer has come and gone.



Today marks the first day back to work for me. Tuesday I will begin working with my little 6 and 7 year olds. Oh, how a change this will be from my 10-11 year olds.

This summer was the best! I was always busy, but I think that's what made this summer so great.


Let's take a look back:

May/June -
Kicked of my first weekend of summer camping with the BF and a couple other couples!
First weekend of June we went camping again, and took in a great Bret Michael's Concert at the Casino!
Attended a cousin's wedding.
Completed my 3rd outdoor sprint triathlon on a tough, but rewarding course (1st outdoor triathlon of 2010)
In attempt to clean my spare bedroom, I found water seepage and had a company dry out my drywall...and rip up my carpet and carpet padding.
Bought my new car! My 2009 Toyota Camry LE... black!
Taught 4 weeks of extended school year (special education summer school) to 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade students.
★ Said my final goodbye to some of my 5th graders heading off to middle school this year - they gave me hugs and all!


July -
Went to my first Twins game at the new Target Field over the Fourth of July weekend! Witnessed some of the best fireworks I have ever seen in Chanhassen, MN!
Attended another cousin's wedding.
Attended (as good friend and personal attendant) a friend's wedding over looking Big Pine Lake in Perham, MN.
Finished my summer grad class
Took a trip to San Diego, CA with the BF!


August -
Attended a friends bachelorette party at a cabin on Long Lake in WI.
★ Finally made a decision on flooring for spare bedroom (mentioned above) and had carpet put in. Room is still empty.
★ Got to see the Twins play again at Target Field with fireworks to follow. What a treat!
Participated in 2nd and last triathlon of 2010
Went home for a week to visit the BF and family - got to have a nice dinner with the BF's family, dinner with my family for my Dad's birthday, dinner with my Grandpa, and some wonderful relaxing and downtime.
Going to the BF's cousin's wedding this coming weekend...



In addition to that, I have proceeded to run 79.77 miles, bike 269.47 miles, and swim 16,100 Yds (or 9.1477 miles) Since the 1st of June!




Things I will miss about summer:
Staying up past 10pm, but not much later than 11pm.
The occasional cool summer mornings or evenings
Reading on my patio while soaking in some vitamin D.
Flexible workout schedule - which meant I could do workout at almost any time of the day.
Riding outside... even though I didn't do this nearly as much as I would have liked to..
Being able to pick up and head home to Bismarck almost any day of the week, for as long as I wanted.

Things I look forward to this school year:
Working with a different age group of students (I think)... I am so used to working with upper elementary students. This will be a huge adjustment for me!
Trying to bring more positivity into the school setting - with students (especially) and with my coworkers. This goes hand in hand with trying not to get sucked into the negative "teacher's lounge" crap talk. Teachers - you know what I am talking about.
Getting back into a routine - working out most mornings, an occasional second workout in the afternoon, getting up and going to bed at a regular time; eating better and drinking more water on a consistent basis (yes I do this better during the work day than any other day).
Sleeping with my windows open, until it get's too cold.
A friend's wedding in September, in MN.
Possibly a couple 5K's and a 10K race (October, November, December)
★ Brad Paisley Concert in October
Maybe a Half Marathon next spring (May)
Crossing off a couple more grad classes (one per semester) off my list of classes to earn my Autism Credential.
Turning 30! Birthday's aren't usually a big deal for me - I don't like making a big to-do of them, and I don't have a problem with turning a year older. However, this year, I am looking forward to joining the 30's club! Be prepared for a possible virtual race in December!
What am I missing?

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Things That Make Me Smile

After my YWCA Triathlon Race Report, I knew I needed to post on a more positive note. I like to think of myself as a positive person, and try to keep things optimistic and upbeat around here, but there was too much negativity in that post and I need to post something more cheery!



So, here's a handful of things that have made me smile recently:
  • My Students - When cleaning through student folders from last year, today, I opened one student's folder to find the following sentence written by one of my 5th graders (who will now be at the middle school): "Miss 'S' is a very nice teacher." I loved it - plus he used correct capitalization, punctuation, and spelling - this was his writing folder after all.

  • 2-fers - Yes, I said TWO-FERS. There's just something about getting in two workouts in ONE day! Yesterday I ran 3 miles in the morning, and then in the afternoon I biked 6 miles and did 45 minutes of Pilates. All felt sooooo good!

  • Kind Words - all of your kind words/thoughts regarding my last triathlon. Thanks, everyone!

  • Haircuts and colors - tonight I am going in for a cut and color. It probably could have waited another 3-4 weeks, but I wanted a fresh look and feeling prior to the start of school.

  • Compliments - Why is it that some people have a hard time taking compliments?! Yesterday when leaving Pilates, one of the regulars was trying to remember who I was (since I had been there a few times before in June)... he asked if I had been doing some other training since I "looked pretty buff and in good shape".

  • Start of a new school year - As much as I am sad to see this wonderful summer come to an end, I am excited to get back into a work routine and start teaching again. I have a feeling there are going to be a few changes this year, and I look forward seeing what this school year will bring!

Happy Tuesday, y'all!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

"Last Triathlon of 2010"

...or... "the triathlon that almost killed my love for triathlons"




YWCA Womens Sprint Triathlon

Minneapolis, MN
August 15th, 2010
I did this race with my sister, and friends J and A.



Night Before/Pre-Race:



The night before the race, we ate out at Bucca Di Beppo in Eden Prairie, MN. Sometimes I am leary about eating pasta the night before a race, but we selected wisely and I ate just enough to feel comfortable.

I went to bed pretty early, close to 9pm, but struggled to get a good night's sleep. I fell asleep around 930pm, woke at 11pm, 3:10am, and then again at 4am. The alarm went off at 4:40am and I know that I didn't sleep much between then and 3am, but I felt ready to go. J and her hubby picked my sister and I up at 5:30am, and then met up with A.

We arrived at Lake Nokomis around 6am to find our spot and set up transition. With the high number of participants, the transition are became pretty snug. We had heard that close to 1,200 women were participating in this event and over half of them were first timers! How awesome is that?!

After getting bodymarked, timing chips, and checking the out the water, the transition area closed at 730am. Our wave (15 out of 18) wasn't expected to start until 842am so we had quite a bit of time to stand around on the beach.

If I remember correctly, I ate half of a clif bar at about 715am and then took my first gu at about 820am.
(please note the smile)



The Swim:
500 Yds - 15:24


In past triathlons, I never took the time to get aquainted with the water prior to jumping for the swim and in past swims there has been a going trend that my heart rate will jump through the roof when starting the swim. Other bloggers have mentioned getting used to the water prior to the start of the swim and that is what I planned to do for this race. About 20 minutes before our wave started, I spent a few minutes "warming up" in the water. The water was already 80 degrees and probably the warmest water I have ever swam in before.

Before we new it, our wave was on the shore line waiting for the countdown. The plan was to stay to the back and on the outside of the group. Everything started out just fine and I was feeling pretty strong. After we took our first turn, things started to go down hill. My breathing was off, probably too shallow, and I started to feel a pinch in the middle of my back every time I would breath in. At this point, there were multiple times where I would have to roll over on my back and catch my breath. When on my back, I would take a deep breath and my breathing reminded me of how one breathes while bawling their eyes out. You know what I am talking about?

So, needless to say, the rest of the swim was horrible and I was ready to call it quits. I had a bad attitude at this point that stuck with me through pretty much the rest of the triathlon and I wanted to be done.


Transition 1:
4:17

I reached the shoreline and it took everything in me to run/walk through the sand and into transition. The distance from the water to our transition area was the longest transition I have ever done.

I felt like the swim took everything out of me and I could barely manage to do much more than walk through most of the transition. Isn't it written all over my face?

I was hoping that if I took my time getting ready to ride that my heart rate would come down a bit and my breathing would become more regular. Once I was ready, I grabbed my bike and took off. But, I will admit, I struggled to get on my bike at first. It was rediculous.





The Bike:

15 miles - 57:07 (15.76 mph average)
I was so happy to be out of the water but knew I needed to take it easy to start, which was quite easy because it nearly seemed impossible to go more than 13mph at the start of the bike. geez.
The course was relatively flat, but there was some wind that never seemed to be at my back, no matter which direction I was going. In fact, there were a couple wind gusts that almost knocked me over while passing another girl over a bridge. I think if I would have fallen at that point I would have been done. For reals.
After about ten or 15 minutes of riding, I was able to pick up some speed, despite the fact that I felt like I was having breathing issues anytime I really picked up the pace or climbed any "hills". I saw 18-19mph quite a few times, but nothing to get me above a 16mph average. But, given the conditions, I will take what I have.
Usually, prior to the last few miles of the bike, I have gotten into a habit of taking a gu to get me through the run. However, this time, I wasn't feeling too good and was afraid I would puke if I took one.
As I was approaching the transition area, I saw my family and was happy to be done with the ride. Getting off the bike was much easier than getting on less than an hour earlier.


Transition 2:
2:34

Once entering the transition area, I didn't have far to go before reaching my area. I threw my bike on the rack, ripped off the helmet and bike shoes, threw on my tennies and visor and was off. It all seemed to happen so fast at the time, but when I think about two and a half minutes, that's a lot of time for the little amount of things I did. As much as I wasn't looking forward to the run, I was so glad to be off the bike and 2/3 done with this race.
The Run:
5K - 40:54 - 13:11/mile average
Like I said before, I had a pretty bad attitude and really just wanted to be done at this point. I don't think anything would have changed my attitude at this point. However, as soon as I left the transition area, I saw my family and was so happy to be running.

I found my running legs right away, but still struggled to get any good air. Breathing was still really shallow and my lungs just hurt. J and I ended up doing a lot of run/walk intervals and looking back I know I walked a lot more than I needed. We did do a lot of talking and became distracted at times.
Despite what I thought was a bad race all around, this picture makes me happy. My brother-in-law snapped this as I was starting the run... and I am smiling.
As I neared the finish line, all I wanted to do was finish in under 2 hours. According to my watch, I was cutting it close. I kept telling J, "leave it all out on the course"... and that's exactly what I felt like I was doing. The last tenth of a mile I picked up the pace and sprinted across the finish line with my Dad's words "Finish Strong" running through my head over and over again. It felt so good to be done! And done I was.

Results:
Bib#: 859
Division: 30-34
Overall place: 688
Division Place: 111 out of 142

Swim 500 Yds: 15:24
T1: 4:17
Bike 15 miles: 57:07
T2: 2:34
Run 3.1 miles: 40:54

Overall: 2:00:13



Post Race & After Thoughts:

After the race we were handed dog tags and water. There was a huge tent set up with a wonderful array of food: wraps, bananas, clementines, cookies, chips, watermelon wedges, nutrigrain bars, candy, etc.
I know my "training" wasn't ideal the last month leading up to this race, especially with a week of while on vacay. Looking back it seems like I was just putting in the workouts, but wasn't really following any sort of schedule or plan. That irritates me.
Does anyone else deal with such breathing issues? After talking with my mom about it a couple times, I wonder if there's anything in the water that irritates my allergies and affects my breathing. Sounds weird, but I just don't know what to do. I wish I had the ability to do more open water swims, but there isn't much for lakes that I know of around here.
This race was set up so well. There were tons and tons of volunteers that were amazing. I have had a week to think about this race and it bugs me know almost as much as it bugged me when I crossed the finish line. I was just so frustrated and still am. The idea of doing this race again next year has crossed my mind a handful of times. I feel like I have a fight to pick with it and want to do better.
Here's a picture of us after the race. Yes, another smile, but I think I was so happy to be done and just ready to go. Three of us are wearing our race shirts, which happened to be very nice technical tees. Love it!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Three Things Thursday

1. Workouts - I took two complete rest days after Sunday's tri (race report still in progress). So, yesterday I took advantage of my parents treadmill and ran. I was hoping to do at least 3 miles and struggled through most of them. My breathing was very laborous and annoying. But, things seemed to fall into place and I pushed through another mile after the 3. Today, my legs felt fresh, so I hopped on the treadmill again today - working primarily on some speed. Nothing in specific, but just got the legs really kicking. Ahhhh. I am still trying to figure out what I want to do for workouts starting next week - a part of me wants to start training for a half marathon... a part of me wants to work on speedwork... a part of me just wants to focus on incorporating more strength training and yoga/pilates.... decisions, decisions.

2. Reads - One thing I am not looking forward to about going back to work and starting up with another grad class is that I won't get much pleasure reading in. In the past few weeks I finished The Shack (love love love - will probably re-read it), Deception Point, and am currently working on The Time Travelers Wife. I have so many books that I have borrowed from people that I want to get back before I forget! What are you reading?

3. Dinner with Gramps - Since I am home for the week, mom and I thought it would be nice to bring dinner to Grandpa. After my Grandma passed away this winter, all of my mom's siblings have been really good about making sure Grandpa had everything he needs to live on his own. My Grandma did everything for him and it didn't take long for him to realize this after she passed away - I remember when he made the remark that he has never had to make the bed before. It's been a surprise to see him do so well, considering he is legally blind with Macular Degeneration and can't drive a car. Must be due to the fact that he is a stubborn German, just like the rest of us. Many family members have taken turns bringing him meals, doing laundry for him while visiting, taking him to church, etc. I guess there's an advantage of having 12 kids... and 28 grandkids. And, it just so happens that tonights church mass is for my Grandma, so that will be nice to attend.

Happy Thursday, y'all!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Catching Up

I can't believe summer is almost over. I have been so busy all summer and will be busy next week preparing for the first week of school!



So, in an attempt to catch up a bit, I will do it bullet-style:




  • This past weekend the whole fam was in the Twin Cities. Steph and I, as well as a couple friends, participated in our last triathlon of 2010 on Sunday. (Race report will be up as soon as it's finished and I receive my camera in the mail - left it at my sister's place - oops).

  • Friday night we went to a Twins game. They beat the Oakland A's. Woot woot!

  • I have been home in the Bis since Sunday night, rode home with the 'rents and the BF will bring me back to Fargo this weekend.

  • Monday morning I finally get my carpet installed in one of my spare bedrooms. Then the trim needs to be replaced and I can start putting the room back together and my basement living room will be more usable.

  • Tuesday I plan to get my haircut and colored before school starts.

  • My classroom is a mess and I need to get things organized... will be doing that all next week.

  • Next Thursday I am back to work and the following week we start with the kiddos. Yay.

  • Grad class starts next week as well. won.der.ful.

I am hoping to catch up with you all this week. I seem to have a lot of time on my hands during the day, while everyone is at work!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Three Things Thursday

1. This weekend I will be participating in my last triathlon for 2010! - The YWCA Women's Triathlon in Minneapolis, MN. I will be participating in this event with my sistah and two friends. Because training has been minimal and not very organized this past month, I look forward to just going out there and having fun... soaking it all in. I am sure by Sunday night, I will be already thinking about what the rest of this year and 2011 will look like...

2. Two weeks from today I will be sitting in workshops. Gasp. Yes, that means two weeks from today I will be heading back to work. Three days of workshops and we start with the kiddos on the 31st. Am I ready for this? No. But, I know once I am back I will be okay with it... I think. Summer is really almost over.

3. Looking for a Challenge... After this weekend's triathlon, I don't have another race on my schedule. Thus, I am looking for a challenge. Something different. Something fresh. Any one doing anything special out there or have any ideas?

Monday, August 9, 2010

Traveling fool

A few days after returning from our trip to Cali, I unpacked and repacked for a weekend with the girls.

Thursday afternoon I headed to the Twin Cities, arriving just as my sister got off work. We hurried to change into our cycling gear and mount the bikes on her car to meet up with a friend for a nice ride. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and the path was gorgeous. It was a somewhat gravel path, with most of it squeezed between beautiful tall trees. Everything was so green! An hour later, and ten miles on the garmin, we were happy girls!

Friday morning, while my sister worked for a while, I got in a 3-miler on the treadmill. After grabbing lunch and running a few errands, it was time to pack things up for the weekend. We met up with some friends and were off to Wisconsin for a girlfriend's bachelorette party.

Friday night we enjoyed a couple drinks and many conversations while working through my Table Talk games. If you haven't played this before, it's great for conversation starters, especially when you don't know everyone. I have the original edition and the "girls night out" edition. Saturday we spent quite a bit of time out on the pontoon on Long Lake. We even got in a couple games of sand volleyball with some locals on the sandbar. The weather was gorgeous! That evening we spent a bit of time at a local bar and then back at the cabin enjoying some good conversation.

All in all the weekend was super fun and I was happy to make some great memories with the girls, but after 6+ hours in the car yesterday, I was ready to stay put for a bit. Well, at least a few days. I am heading back to the cities either Thursday night or Friday morning. I have my last triathlon of the 201o season... the YWCA Women's Sprint Triathlon.. and there's 4 of us doing it together!
(my sister and I at the bachelorette party)
I hope you all have a wonderful week!
Sidenote: My sister started blogging again! Stop over at Today's Triumph and say hello! She's truly a rockstar!

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Stay Classy, San Diego!

The BF and I returned from our wonderful trip to San Diego Monday evening and were sad to realize that our vacay was already over. Here's a wordy run-down of our 6 days of adventures!



San Diego/Coronado, CA
July 28th - August 2nd, 2010



Tuesday, July 27th, 2010:
While the BF was driving to Fargo, and less than a day before we were to fly out of FARGO, he get's a notice that our flights were CANCELLED. After a few phone calls, we got put on a different flight, out of Grand Forks. So, after the BF made it to Fargo, we packed up my car and drove the hour north to GF and stayed the night with my aunt. It was a nice relaxing evening, but still disappointed that we had to add that extra drive to our trip, as well as parking the car at the airport. *WARNING to all those that travel with me, by air or by land - I BRING BAD LUCK*



Wednesday, July 28th, 2010:
Arrived at the airport before 7am, realized the flight was delayed a half our, and was only able to print one of my two boarding passes. Made it to Minneapolis with just enough time to get my second boarding pass before the plan began boarding. phew.


We arrived in cloudy San Diego right later that morning, grabbed our bags and got our rental car - the Chevy Colbalt leaves little to be desired.


We were staying at Loews Resort in Coronado and arrive shortly before 1pm. Check-in wasn't until 4pm, so we went to grab a bite to eat at the Market Cafe in the resort while we waited. Who knew the portion sizes were so big, we could have shared our first meal. But, it was tasty! This place has the best fresh fruit! While we enjoyed our meal on the patio, we took in a beautiful view of the Bay area.
After getting settled into our hotel room, we decided to take advantage of the Wednesday night Wine Tasting on the Gondolla. The experience exceeded our expectations. There were about 12 people on the gondolla, including the wine connoissuer sharing 6 different wines with us. Plus, there were chocolate covered strawberries to enjoy, and I didn't have a problem trying one or two.
After the near 2 hour gondolla ride, we grabbed a late dinner at the Mistral - another resort restaurant. With our meals, we enjoyed our new favorite wine, Dona Paula Merlot. It was wonderful!




Thursday, July 29th, 2010:
The only thing we had planned for this day was to attend the Padres vs. Dodgers game that afternoon at Petco Park. We headed into San Diego later that morning, parked, and took a walk through the area before grabbing a lunch. The park opened a couple hours before the game started and spent some time walking through and taking photos. We even sat a bit on the green grass mound behind left feild. There were about 45,000 people at the game and the spirit of the fans was definitely heard. The Padres ended up winning in a 9th inning walk-off! Too fun.

To top of the fun, I managed to sun burn my shoulders/neck the first full day we were in San Diego, even though I applied sunscreen 4 times during the game. I guess the hour or so of walking around before the game is what really got me.


This evening we grabbed dinner in Coronado at Mc. P's Irish Pub & Grill. The food was okay, but I think the we both really enjoyed the atmosphere. There were baseball games on all tv's and we found out later that they have live music every night! We stuck around that night for a bit to listen to the husband and wife duo performing songs from the 50's and 60's. Very entertaining!


Friday, July 30th, 2010:
We shared a pizza for lunch at Alexander's Pizza in Coronado before heading to the San Diego Zoo. All I can say is DELISH!


Most of our day was spent at the zoo, and even though I took tons of photos, I won't bore you with those. However, I will share my favorite that left us laughing for a long time! My new found love, the Hippo!


This evening we grabbed another late dinner, sharing a burger and nachos at the bar in the resort. The food was pretty good, but it was disappointing to see 3 different "restaurants" in the resort that served pretty much the same menu coming from one kitchen. It was pretty limited on the resort.



Saturday, July 31st, 2010:
We didn't do much on this day. For breakfast, we enjoyed a good meal, and the environment, at Clayton's Coffee Shop in Coronado. The temps were a bit warmer (almost 70 degrees) and we were ready to enjoy some time by the pool.
Our resort at 3 pools, an adult pool, a family pool, and a kids pool. The adult pool was nice and quiet and I loved it. We both had a mojito from the pool bar, and even though it was a bit spendy, it was the best mojito I have ever had! The BF enjoyed it to, and it was his first! We also played a little ping pong while out on the pool patio.


For dinner we ventured back into San Diego, in hopes of finding a good mexican restaurant I had read about online. However, even with the Garmin, we wound up in a shady spot and decided to go with plan B - House of Blues. The food was pretty good, and live music was starting at 8pm, however, we were a bit wiped out and ready to head back to the resort. I know, we're old.





Sunday, August 1st, 2010:
This morning I had one of the best breakfasts I have ever had in my life at the Beach -n- Diner in Coronado. Asside from the best french toast evah (that I will never feel guilty about eating), I had a side of scrambled eggs, bacon, and home fries. Obviously I didn't finish it all, even with the help of the BF. I think he enjoyed my french toast more than his pancakes!
We spent the afternoon at the Silver Strand State Park, which was just across CA-75 from our resort, to dip our feet in the Pacific Ocean and enjoy some time at the beach. I think this was the best 10 bucks we spent on our trip, and were sad it was the only day we were able to get out there. The weather just wasn't that warm until then.
That evening we enjoyed a good mexican meal at the Costa Azul in Coronado. From there, we walked around a bit and grabbed a glass of wine at the Bistro d' Asia & Sushi Bar. After seeing some of the meals people had ordered, this is definitely a place I would like to try the next time I go back!



Monday, August 2nd, 2010:
We were up early, packed and checked out of the hotel shortly after 8am. We returned the car to Enterprise, and got to the airport more than 2 hours before our flight was to depart. Shockingly, I had troubles with my tickets, again. After standing in line for quite some time, with no service, we were able to figure things out. I got my boarding pass for the first leg of the trip, but had to wait until I got to MSP again to get my ticket for the second flight. grrr.


Once we got our bags checked and through security, we both were ready for a beer! And dangit, did we enjoy it! The BF ordered a beer that was a microbrew from a local brewery - Karl Strauss Brewing Company. It was yummy! We shared a breakfast pizza and then ended up ordering another drink - the best bloody mary I have ever had!

We got into Grand Forks around 830pm, grabbed our bags, paid our parking fee, and drove back to Fargo. It was a quiet drive, as I think both of us were tired and sad to see the vacay was over. But, we both said we would love to go back... sometime! All of the people we encountered while in San Diego/Coronado, whether they were employees, residents, or other guests, were sooo nice. It was very welcoming!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

What A Month!

Well, it's time again. Time for my "Month in Review" post... I swear I just wrote one of these a couple weeks ago. Hmphh.

Month in Review: July 2010
Swim - 4,700 Yds ........ 5,200 Yds in June
Bike - 98.23 miles ....... 96.19 miles in June
Run - 24.90 miles ....... 31. 79 miles in June


Total Number of:
Swims - 3
Bikes - 6
Runs - 10 (including runs off the bike)
Bodypump Class - 2
Pilates - 0
Rest Days - 15 (includes 4 days while on vacay)


Highlights of the Month:
  • Attending a Twins game @ Target Field with the family over the 4th of July weekend!
  • Two weddings!
  • Finishing grad class for the semester!
  • Vacay in San Diego/Coronado with the BF! (more on that in a later post)
  • Spare bedroom was emptied and painted!


Lows of the Month:

  • Not being able to follow a good training plan, but was able to squeeze high quality workouts in when and where possible. No regrets here!
  • Eating some heavy, not-so-healthy food :(

Goals for August:

  • Back on track with training/working out - more strengthening/stretching/core work asside from my biking, running, and swimming.
  • Back on track with healthy eating. period.
  • Enjoy the next few weeks the best I can before work starts back up again. On tap: Bachelorette party in Wisconsin, triathlon in Minneapolis, wedding in MN, and hopefully some time back home again. Before I know it, summer will be over and I will be looking forward to my long labor day weekend after school starts!

Year-To-Date Stats:
Swim - 52,900 Yds
Bike - 669.80 miles
Run - 228.05 miles

July went by so fast, and I know August is going to go by just as fast. But, I can say that July was jam-packed with goodness and look forward to all the "happenings" in August!