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I look tired, I feel tired, I am tired. And it seems like I’m not the only one whose life is just GO! GO! GO! right now. Maybe it’s because the summer is coming to an end and schools are starting back this week & next. Our events season and programs are starting to kick up again at work, so that means my job is pretty busy right now. On the home front, I made some major progress last night and finished painting the whole bedroom. All that’s left to do now is trim work (a little upstairs, but mostly downstairs) and I can start painting the floors, which is the very last step. Luckily we have some flexibility on when we have to move our things out of our current house, so I’m sure I’ll move stuff this weekend & next. The renovation has definitely taken a lot longer than I expected, but I couldn’t be happier with the results! I can’t imagine trying to do what I’ve done to a whole house… that would take soooooooooo much more work and time. I guess that’s why people hire professionals to help them. :) By doing the work myself I’ve been able to buy things for the carriage house that I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. Photos soon, I promise!
I’ve had to put exercise on a back burner for the last two weeks, so I am really beginning to question doing the Half Ironman in Augusta in late September. I haven’t completely dismissed it, but I am giving myself some flexibility in case I am not ready physically. I would only have 7 weeks to train, but honestly it sounds like a lot of fun to not have a rigorous training schedule this time around. :D My body trains back up fairly quickly as long as I take caution with my knee. My next exercise goals will be to try again for the marathon next February, then follow it up with the Half Ironman in New Orleans in April. Those are my two staple races!
After doing some research, I’ve discovered that you can stay up to 90 days in Europe without needing any sort of visa. If I left with a solid outline, I think that would be plenty of time to write my book. The question is, how do I raise the money needed to stay there that long? I would need to have a solid financial and business plan in place for the trip & a predetermined time afterwards to really make it happen. Next fall is seeming like a great time to do this. And maybe I can make two dreams happen at once – working in Italy on book, then returning to live in New York. This is not out of the realm of possibility if I can sell my idea. Good thing I have some time to mull it over and then make it happen, if that is in fact the direction I’d like to take my life in.
I’ve unexpectedly ended up with a free day today! My original plans were to go tubing with friends for a birthday celebration, but after waking up this morning I decided that having some “me” time seemed much more appealing than baking in the sun. I am going to meet up with that same group later on for a drink or two, so I will still get some quality time with the b’day girl then.
I’ve gotten two hilly six-mile running sessions in over the past few days, and my knee seems to be doing good. I know I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating… the Arc Machine really keeps my body conditioned for the times that I can’t run due to my injury from earlier this year. It was like I didn’t miss a beat.
I am feeling the need to do something active again today, but I don’t think it would be wise to run for a 3rd day in a row. I would like to be outside, so my options are to go for a bike ride or a hike. Or maybe I will just chill out today and watch the Tour de France and Harry Potter movies. 
I also see a trip to Home Depot/Lowe”s in my near future for some carriage house dreaming. Sunday, funday!
Speaking of the Tour de France, there have been so many crashes this year. I literally just watched as two riders were hit by a team car with tremendous speed, with one of them (Johnny Hoogerland) going airborne into a barbed wire fence. Click here to watch the crash. They are both surprisingly OK, and back on their bikes to finish Stage 9. These guys truly are machines.
Tomorrow I start training for the Augusta Half Ironman in late September. More on that in the morning! It’s time once again to get back in the pool… my least favorite of the three sports, which just means I need to spend the most time on it. Blah!!!
A new life chapter is about to begin. I think by the time fall comes around (my favorite time of year) everything is going to be on the upswing… and it is already starting. I believe with all my heart that the most challenging days of 2011 are now in the past. Having a new place to live as of August 1st is going to kick-start everything off!
The next big things on my radar are fixing up my new mini-house, training for the Half Ironman in late September, then preparing for the Sidewalk Film Festival the last weekend of August. Besides those, the next month or two look pretty quiet as far as the weekends go. I am really proud of myself for not doing too much lately, and not having a ton planned for the immediate future. The ultimate goal is to live day by day and enjoy every moment (or at least 75%).
Speaking of Half Ironman training, I can’t believe it’s already time to prepare for Augusta! I’ve also got a sprint triathlon picked out that I will be participating in the last weekend of July in Columbus, GA with my sister. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I was a little concerned about my knee with it being so sensitive in the past few weeks, so I will have to take it easier than usual with my training right off the bat to see how it does. If I had to, I could always just train more on the bike & swim since those don’t irritate it. I can use the Arc Machine as a supplement, and run only when I feel OK to do so. I think that is a fair & reasonable plan, one that will definitely get me to the finish line with a smile on my face.
From the American flag photo shoot.
Instead of renting a movie last night, I watched Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves on cable TV all snuggled up on the couch. I tried to find a new release earlier in one of those dollar-a-day rental machines, but nothing jumped out at me. It ended up being the perfect movie to watch on a Sunday night, especially since I hadn’t seen it from beginning to end in over 10 years. I don’t remember it being as funny as it was… especially the scenes with the Sheriff of Nottingham. Click here to read some of the best quotes from the movie. Here is one of my favs: “That’s it then. Cancel the kitchen scraps for lepers and orphans, no more merciful beheadings, and call off Christmas.” - The Sheriff
I went off the exercise radar last week in the sense that I didn’t follow a normal schedule by any stretch. I still worked out, but instead of being so strict with myself I just did what I wanted when I wanted to do it. My knee was getting a tad sore the week before last so I knew I needed to cut back on my running just a little bit. Plus the extra sleep in the mornings has served me well. I only worked out four days last week but they were all high quality. I did a lot of time on the Arc Machine, my favorite go-to cardio when running isn’t on the menu. Click here to read about the benefits of this machine over the treadmill & elliptical. It doesn’t put any stress on my injury and I can go as long as my heart desires. And in all honesty, I should be taking full advantage of this flexible time before my Augusta Half Ironman training starts up next month!
Happy May 1st! 
Do you ever have days where you feel like you could just sleep all day long? That’s today for me. I’m not sure what I did to myself this week, but I’m wiped. I had several last-minute invitations to do some fun things last night, but instead I stayed home & babysat Lily while watching cheesy movies like The Notebook. It was fabulous.
It’s kind of nice to not be on a training schedule at the moment, so I can do whatever I want in any amounts just because I love doing it. My next race is the Half Ironman in Augusta on September 25, so I won’t start training for that until late May/early June. Today I have a personal training session at noon followed by some cardio work on the Arc Trainer (obsessed) and a little bit of running. Starting tomorrow I join in full-time with my running buddies for the early morning runs. My knee has been doing great with no signs of stress or soreness. I’ll continue to be extra cautious as it fully heals. I’ve also been continuing my hip stabilization exercises which help relieve some of the pressure off of that area.
I have seen some of the most beautiful flowers in bloom over the past few days. Such beauty to contrast the devastation that the tornadoes left behind in our area just a few days ago. The most gorgeous of them all are peonies, my absolute favorite flower. They are just so big & round with an interesting texture on the inside. And they smell like heaven.
Pale Pink Peony
I am feeling well rested & ready to go this morning! I actually even feel like I can start working out again this afternoon as my body isn’t really that sore from Sunday. While my knee was giving me trouble during the run portion, it doesn’t hurt a bit today… so I feel confident that I didn’t do any damage to it and can resume my normal activities. I think I will aim for a 4 mile run this weekend (up from 3) and just increase my mileage weekly from there. I’ve also noticed lately that I can go faster without it “clicking”… so all signs are pointing in the right direction.
So along with signing up for the Augusta Half Ironman in September, my other two goals this summer are to get a new bike (yay!) and possibly find some small sponsors in exchange for blog & advertising exposure. I’m already getting hooked up with the nationally recognized runner trainer that I will talk more about tomorrow which will bump my game up big time. It’s all exciting stuff!!! If you know of anyone who might want to see a sponsorship proposal, drop me a message on Facebook. Like I said yesterday, I am waiting until next year to take on the full Ironman… I just think it’s the smart thing to do. The race I’ve tentatively picked out for that is the Ford Ironman Florida, which I’ll have to sign up for ASAP after this year’s event in November b/c it sells out in a matter of days.
It’s so nice to have fun things to look forward to… I think that’s what life is all about. This week I’m also going to put a big focus on my book, as that’s been pushed to the back burner for the last little while. I feel like with each experience I have my story grows. I just need to put that same focus & energy into it as I have my athletic pursuits.
