It’s Sunday evening and I’m feeling pretty zen. I have my pets, my cup of tea. I know I should dig in and try and get a head start on the week with my work laptop, but I’m in denial. Just a few more hours of relaxing bliss until I enter the rigors of the real world.

It has been quite a fine weekend. They always go so fast.

Yesterday did start out with a bit of work. But it was actually some fun stuff. I attend the Whuffie Workshop at the Best Buy headquarters on Friday morning. The author of The Whuffie Factor, Tara Hunt, lead the discussion on business and social media. And while the hotness of “social media” as a topic can, at times, make me gag in its overplay in our interactive space, this was a very practical session on how brands should interact within communities and there was a lot of great food for thought to take back and implement in my day job. The truth is, our online behaviors are trending more and more heavily into the social networking space (finally toppling email & porn and about to topple search) and we, as businesses, have to shift our approach. The tried-and-true tools we have now will not be the tried-and-true tools of tomorrow. If you’re interested in that stuff, the slides from the workshop are here.

So, when my work was done, I was on to the first part of my weekend:

Act I: Spinning with @BolderOptions

As I’ve mentioned here before, I’m a mentor for Bolder Options this year and have been paired with my 12-year-old female mentee since July. We spend about 2 to 4 hours per week together and we’ve already accomplished two 5ks with the program as well as a ton of other fun experiences both formally in Bolder Options programs and on our own at the YMCA or doing other things.

Yesterday was a cycling event.

My mentee is technically in a running program. However, she has a bike and is interested in biking as well — which we try to do when we can. When I saw this pop up on the calendar, I thought it would be a great opportunity to do something different (than running) and in an area of interest for her.

The event was at my old Lifetime club in downtown Minneapolis. It was fun to be able to drive downtown to the Target Center and enter a “fancy” club compared to the Y where we normally workout together (never mind that my regular club is the posh St. Louis Park location, but I can’t bring my mentee there unfortunately). When we got there, there were only about eight other mentors/mentees and a couple of program coordinators. The two dudes in charge are owners of their own home fitness business and were volunteering their services for the day.

Going into this, my expectations weren’t high. Sure, I’ve been going to spinning classes for almost 12 years now, but I just assumed a Bolder Options event would be different. More low key. I’m mean, seriously, how on earth could you keep 10-13 year-old kids entertained for that long on a studio cycling bike?

But in reality? The classes was just as much a spin class as any I’ve ever attended. It was just as hard. The music was just as loud. There were even push-ups and jumps on the bike (both of which are tactics that I’m not the biggest fan of). And knowing how hard my first spin class was for me when I was in my twenties, I could only imagine how hard it was for the kids!

They persevered, though. My girl was tough. She hung in there. She never quit. She did tell me it was impossible more than once. But it wasn’t impossible because she finished. And I was very, very proud.

Luckily, the music was good and my girl is a HUGE fan of pop music. So, between singing along and adding in some fist-bumping as well as high fives, she made it the whole 45 minutes of class to the sweaty, sweaty finish.

At the end, there were bananas and granola bars and loads of congratulations. All the kids were glowing and it looked like they enjoyed it. Walking back to the car, I asked my mentee, “If they have another one of these, do you want to do it?”

And she said very firmly and solidly, “Absolutely not.”

Act II: The Late Afternoon Ski

I got home after the spin event a little after 3pm and the weather was absolutely lovely. The sun was out. The temps were in the 30s and I knew I wanted to ski. I did have to shove a quick, late lunch down the hatch because I was STARVING when I got home. And the husband was already gone. Being the very lucky lady that I am, James had spent the morning cleaning the house while I worked and did my Bolder Options thing. When I got home and he was gone, I knew he was already out on the trail.

I didn’t get over to the golf course until about 4pm. And when I hit the trail, I was very uncoordinated and had a hard time finding my balance. The snow was a little slushy, too, so I felt awkward and slow. I even biffed it right away on a flat — not even sure what happened there. Still, the weather was great so I started my sloggy little ski.

Unfortunately, the actual act wasn’t living up to what I’d imagined in my brain. I wasn’t having the time of my life. In fact, I checked my watch every 10 minutes surprised at how slow the time was passing and I was pretty sure I was only going to make one lap around the thing and go home. I chalked it up to already tired legs from the earlier spin. That and my digesting Tuna Casserole (a pretty heavy lunch to shove so quickly and probably not such a good idea). About five minutes from the end of lap 1, James appeared and skiied with me back to our start. At that point, I’d only been out for 40 minutes and, somehow, I talked myself into a second lap. James headed home. I headed out again. And as the sun started to set some more, the track firmed up a bit. I also found more balance and I had a great second half of my ski. The setting sun was gorgeous, too. I love the colors of the winter sun in Minnesota.

I got home for the second time around 5:30. And after mustering a shower and some more chow, I was pretty much toast for the night. But it was a really good kind of toast.

Act II: A Ski at the State Park

My little golf course ski wasn’t enough yesterday. The weather was again beautiful today so James and I made it a point to get out to ski somewhere special today. One of our favorite parks, William O’Brien, was our destination. After loading up on oatmeal, we headed out and were on the trail by 11 am.

There is something so mystical about skiing through the park in the winter. The trees. The snow. It’s just so absolutely gorgeous. Anyone who complains about Minnesota winters obviously does not cross country ski.

Some of the park trails are pretty tough in terms of skill level. We climbed a lot of hills and went down them, too. I also managed to muster up the courage to attempt the “scary” spots that I’d first encountered at this park last year. The first was a SUPER steep downhill that, last year, I scootched down on my butt. The second was a glare ice S curve that I fell and scootched down, too.

This year? The SUPER steep downhill wasn’t as scary as I’d remembered and I did fine. The S curve, while still scary, not as bad. It helped that it also wasn’t glare ice today, too.

I also got to use some of the lessons I’d learned on Tuesday night at Ride & Glide. I practiced my V1 stroke. I tried to make sure I cornered with my gravity low using the little steps to turn. I also tried to get more confident and not slow myself down on every hill by snowplowing. It was fun to put those lessons into use.

In the end, I skiied about 13.5 miles (James completed 14). It was a pretty intense and very rewarding afternoon. We fueled back up afterward with beer and bar food in Stillwater. I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

And now, here we are. The end of a great weekend. I only have the Golden Globes and some dinner left. But I’m as content as I could be.

Last week was a close to back to Weight Watchers as I’ve been for a while. I also casually looked for a weekly meeting that would fit into my schedule, but I ended up not prioritizing anything. I had a lot going on during the week nights and Saturdays are hard for me to do anything but focus on a workout and chores. I also had a movie date with my mentee @ the library.

So, yeah, getting back to a meeting just hasn’t been prioritized. It’s hard this week, too. I have activities every night and work is pretty insane right now as everyone is getting back into a groove after the holidays. But I’m not giving up yet.

I did manage one little milestone. I went every school night without a cocktail or glass of wine last week. That’s been a bad habit I’ve developed: treating myself to a martini or small glass of wine after a particularly hard day or as something comfortable while I work an evening on the laptop. I’ve been trying to replace that with tea. And while it’s not the same, it’s a good small goal to have and achieve. This week, so far so good, too. In fact, I have my Good Earth tea at my side right now.

In other news, I did sign up for a cross country ski training group this winter. This will be my third year with skate skis and I’ve yet to get any formal training aside from a 3 hour lesson one day two years ago. All other instruction has been from generous friends on my ski team. Signing up for Ride & Glide this year is my attempt to craft a bit of skill and learn technique. And while I’d already attended a few of their dryland training sessions pre-snow, tonight was my first evening with them with actual skis on.

I’m in the beginner group and it’s very basic. But it’s good for me. We concentrated on open field technique, V2 and then headed off to a small hill with a sharp corner at the end. That latter exercise is my nemesis and I really need to practice learning how to corner without slowing myself down so much that I lose all momentum. It’s a hard skill for me. I hate falling and every cell in my body wants to do whatever I can to prevent a fall – which means practically stopping pre-corner instead of trusting myself to maneuver with the speed. I’ll never get it if I don’t loosen up and practice without putting the breaks on. Tonight was a good first step. I also made a few friends — so that should help the “wanting to come back” factor.

I did learn one other valuable thing. I need better gloves. The gear I wear when I’m skiing outside might be great while I’m moving, but at a class where you’re also standing around a lot listening and watching technique requires more warmth. My fingers were in pain by the end of the night. My right ring finger is still feeling a little numb. Yikes.

Gah. What a boring entry. But it’s something. Still also trying to get back in the blogging groove. I guess, if anything, this entry is a good reflection of where I am right now: struggling to get back on the WW wagon, working on my xc ski technique and continuing to focus on the ever-so-popular work/life balance thing.

Okay. I need to hit the sack now. I have a painful 10 x 400 interval running workout scheduled for the morning. Ouch.

So, we got a kitty.

Her name is Isa. Formerly Lovie. But this household just couldn’t tolerate a name like Lovie, as snobby as that sounds. We named her Isa, after Dora the Explorer’s iguana friend, in hopes that someday she and our Dora will get along. Be friends. But we have some time before we get there.

I’m not a cat person. In fact, I’m a HUGE dog person. Ask anyone who knows me in real life. I border on obnoxious when it comes to my love for pups. Sienna is my baby whom we’ve had since 1997 and I probably treat her like a child. There was Tryna, too, who we lost last year and I still miss her almost every day. And then, Dora. Wow. Dora. I’m amazed at how much I’ve fallen in love with that little girl. Her destruction has been unmatched by any other pets in my life. Between multiple pairs of eyeglasses, a heart rate monitor, my WALLET, leather boots and other unnameable items, her destruction has cost me thousands of dollars. Yet every day, I pause and gasp and say, “She’s SO cute”, “James, isn’t she A-Dora-able??” or “I’ve really fallen in love with this girl.”

She’s really, as my friend Ann says, a sweet little bean. And while she’s still timid and shy of strangers, both remnants from her puppy mill days, she’s got a great sense of humor and personality and I’m so happy we drove all the way to Missouri for the little girl.

Which brings me back to Isa, the topic of this entry. I grew up with cats. In fact, in my youth, I was quite a cat person. But somewhere, somehow, that quickly was shredded from my identity in college and I never went back there. I’m not sure when, some time in college, I knew I wanted a dog. And after we got married, it became a desire as deep as some women long for children. I had to have a dog. Then, in 1997, we got Sienna and she was everything I’d imagined and more and I never, ever looked back. Dog Person was practically tattooed to my forehead. And while most of my friends have expanded their families to actual human children now, I remain in my dog-children world and the pups are the center.

All of that said, there is a limit. James has been pretty firm in his assertion that 2 dogs are our maximum. And even though the City of Saint Paul will TECHNICALLY allow us 3, 2 is enough. Deep down, the practical part of me understands this. They are expensive. They take attention. And do we *really* need 3 dogs?? I get it. No, we don’t.

And with that conversation, we’ve talked lightly about a cat. Not really serious, but entertained the idea. At least entertained it until we starting thinking about litter boxes and jumping on counters and claws tearing up our furniture. No, no cat. Definitely, no cat. We’re not cat people.

This position, however, never completely kept us away from peeking. We’d check out kitties at PetSmart. We’d consider the idea. But we never did anything about it. In fact, the thought would disappear the minute we walked out the automatic door of the store.

Then, on December 11th, we were making our usual run to Chuck & Don’s for our Solid Gold Wolf King bison dog food and there she was: Isa. Formerly Lovie.

Chuck & Dons usually has one cat that is up for adoption in the store. We’ve been known to check out the rescues on our various trips to the store. But there was something about Lovie that spoke to us in a way that no other cat had. Perhaps it was her coloring (actually very similar to our Keeshonds and very unusual for a cat). Perhaps it was her sweet demeanor. But, for the first time ever, we asked the clerks if we can see her out of her cage. And the minute we did, we fell in love. With Lovie. How cornball, cheesy is that??!!

After that interaction, we were pretty much sunk. And even after multiple “we can’t have a cat” and “we’re not cat people” and “good god, what would we DO with a litter box in the house?” conversations, we committed. And one week later, we took Lovie home, named her Isa and started introducing her to life in the Lockwood household.

Which brings us to today. We’ve had her for a few weeks now. We’ve taken it slow as all the cat people have suggested. We first put her in the basement (where her litter box will stay) and gave her plenty of places to nest as well as toys and treats. We frequently visited her and eventually graduated to letting the dogs come down into her space. She hisses and growls. But there has been very little swiping and the dogs are very gentle and timid around her. She’s gotten better and began to growl less when they came downstairs.

Then, last week, we started introducing her upstairs. She growls more when the dogs are near, but I’m sure that is because she doesn’t view the upstairs as her space yet. But she’s gotten more comfortable. In fact, most of the time, she hangs out on the front step of the basement right at the door — pretty much straddling both worlds: ours and her basement.

Today, we even brought her upstairs and shut the basement door for an hour just to force her to acclimate a bit to the environment up here and she did pretty well. In fact, she drank water from the dog bowls and is total boss when the pups are around. It worked so well, she even came back up when the door was open and did a few laps of our home. So, it’ll come. Eventually.

I have to admit, it’s hard with cats. Dogs are so eager to please. And the cat is so fickle. She wants things her way, on her schedule, on her terms.

But she’s also a real sweetheart. When you pick her up, she grabs your neck with her paws and literally HUGS you. She also licks your face — which, isn’t that a dog thing? She’s so loving. Hence the name. And she’s the perfect cat to melt a non-cat person’s heart.

Her back story: she was a stray. She was discovered pregnant. She had kittens. All the kittens were adopted. She was not adopted. But the St. Francis of Assisi Animal Rescue saved her from euthanization and has been trying to find her a home for a couple months. Then she found us. And here we are: cat people in the making. And hoping maybe, finally, those i can has cheezburger jokes will make sense.

I’m not ashamed to steal this meme from EJShea. After such a long hiatus from blogging, I’ve been honestly struggling with how to come back and write again. What do I talk about? How do I start after all this time away?

But since blogging is something I want to get back in the habit of doing, I figured filling in the blanks would be an easy way to start back. Baby steps.

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before? Visited a national park (can you believe that? WTF?); Completed my first XC ski race; Mentored an at-risk youth; Took a Hot Yoga class.

2. Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I don’t really set resolutions as a rule of thumb. That said, I did sign back up with WW in January in hopes that I would finally get my weight that’s been steadily creeping up to go back down. But the year of eTools didn’t do much for me. I didn’t stuck to the program consistently. The formula without meetings just hasn’t been effective. I’ve also had a hard time concentrating on weight loss while juggling an insane work schedule. I love my job. I let it take over too much. And it made weight loss less of a priority for me in 2009.

That said, I did set two goals at the beginning of the year: stick to a 2009 training program and become a mentor for Bolder Options. The 2009 program was successful: I completed two ski races, a handful of runs and triathlons and met my 4:15 marathon goal @ Twin Cities Marathon. Then Bolder Options allowed me to share my passion for fitness with an at-risk youth — something more rewarding than all my races combined.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Oh, yes. So many friends & family members having babies. We were especially excited for the birth of one close couple’s first. She came early and is absolutely lovely.

4. Did anyone close to you die? No. We’ve been very blessed this year.

5. What places did you visit? A number of cabin visits up north in MN; my first trip to the Upper Peninsula and Isle Royale (my first National Park); Nashville for a wedding; San Francisco for a conference

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? More work-life balance. I made some good strides in the back half of this year, but I need more. Working and sleeping immediately upon arriving home is not a healthy pattern every night of the week.

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Oct. 4. The date of Twin Cities Marathon. After loads of training and lots of doubt around being able to accomplish my goal, I had a dream race and hit the 4:15 mark. And it was SO FUN. After two less-than-stellar marathon experiences, Twin Cities was a dream and I loved every second of it. Even the pain afterward.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Probably Twin Cities marathon. That and my killer Web site that I manage for work. We’ve taken her from #14 in the category when I started to #6 in Oct. & Nov. and that has been THRILLING! I should also add here that my mentee’s two 5ks were pretty big accomplishments as well.

9. What was your biggest failure? Working too much and not concentrating on the other important aspects of my life.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing major and, for that, I’m blessed. I did have a really nagging Achilles tendon injury that I nursed for the first 3-4 months of the year until the PT finally made me stop running so it would heal. And it did. Imagine that.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Hmm… do I daresay my minivan? But the jury is still out on that. I love the storage and ability to travel with the thing but I do miss driving my Buick.

The jury is also still out on the kitty we brought home two weeks ago. She’s sweet, but still adjusting to life in our home. With dogs.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? James. My spouse. Good lord, I have no idea how I could have made it through the year without his constant support on the home front. He makes our meals. He does the dishes. He lets the dogs out when I work late. Best. Husband. Ever.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? I don’t really know how to answer this in a way that is appropriate online in my personal life. Politically, I have been pretty disgusted by the Hyde amendment proponents in the health care debate. The past decade saddens me in terms of how much we’ve retreated around reproductive rights.

14. Where did most of your money go? On food. At least that’s what it feels like when we grocery shop each week. We’ve also been good about saving this year and our only major purchase with the minivan which was needed because the Buick was dying.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Seeing the iPhone app my team developed for Betty on a Apple iPhone commercial in December. Super fun to see your project recognized that way.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009? Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? Happier. As much as I might have failed on the work-life balance thing this year, I’m in a much better place than I was in 2008. We’ve done some amazing things at work in terms of structure to support that this year. The changes have been very exciting and rewarding. I’ve also made a stronger effort the maintain balance that will only continue and improve. Even just making sure I leave the office by 5pm 2xs a week is a great place to be.

b) thinner or fatter? Fatter. I’ve steadily been gaining and didn’t focus on food & diet much this year at all. Oh well. It was a year of different priorities.

c) richer or poorer? Richer. Our savings has grown. Our debts have declined. And mentoring has added a level of richness not calculated in $$.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? More trips with the pups to the dog park. More trips to the farmer’s market with the spouse on weekends, too.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Working after hours on the couch.

20. How did you spend Christmas in 2009? With my family in Wisconsin. There was lots of loafing and a movie. Also, lovely laughs with my brother & sister. I heart them.

21. Did you fall in love in 2009? I think so. Work-wise, we accomplished a lot. And while I might regret working so much, I’m very proud of what myself and my team has accomplished. Add to that crossing the finish line @ Twin Cities marathon, it was a pretty sweet year.

22. What was your favorite TV program? So You Think You Can Dance. While America’s Funniest Home Videos and The Amazing Race are my absolute faves, I discovered SYTYCD this year and it’s made me really appreciate dance as an art. We might even attend some modern dance performances in 2010.

23. What did you do for your birthday in 2009? We were in the UP getting ready for our kayak trip on Isle Royale. Started the day with an authentic Pasty, crashed a ton attempting to mountain bike on difficult trails with a bike that didn’t fit me, got eaten alive by bugs during our water skills training and completed my first wet exit from a kayak in 55 degree water.

24. What was the best book you read? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I held out in finishing the series because I didn’t want to be done. But I finally completed it this year and I thought it was everything it should have been.

25. What did you want and get? Accomplishment of loads of goals a work and a 4:15 marathon

26. What did you want and not get? To lose weight. But I didn’t make it a strong enough focus.

27. What was your favorite film of this year? Fresh. It was an incredible film that focused on the hope around sustainable farming as opposed to the bleak picture portrayed by films such as Food, Inc. I was also very surprised by District 9 and how intense an experience it created.

28. Did you make some new friends this year? Yes. Including a sweet couple in Nashville that we want to go back and visit.

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Less time working, more time focused on home.

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009? 2009 was the year of the dress for me. And I found some cute ones.

31. What kept you sane? James. My dogs.

32. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Barrack Obama. It’s been a lovely year not to cringe every time the President would speak.

33. What political issue stirred you the most? Health care reform and the lack of willingness that so many of my fellow constituents have to invest in a system that provides equitable care.

34. Who did you miss? My grandpa. He died when I was 16 and I still miss him every single day.

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009. If you’re going to complain, come with a solution. It’s empowering to actually take control and effect change.

So, obviously I haven’t been posting. The truth is, I’ve not been as focused this year. I’m having a hard enough time right now just balancing work with my personal life and getting in minimal training. This was not my summer of triathlon. I’m still struggling to get back on the Weight Watcher’s bandwagon. But things aren’t bad either: I do still really like my job. My husband takes good, good care of me when I work too much. And the puppies are great.

More than that, I have actually taken the time to give back and volunteer. After many years of considering but never really doing anything about it, I finally hit the submit button and committed to be a mentor for Bolder Options, a non-profit organization in the Twin Cities that targets at-risk youth with adults with activity as one of the main focuses of the program.

For more info on the program, there is a great video on MSN when the Today show highlighted the great work and donated a ton of great stuff:

NBC Today Show donates to Bolder Options Dog Soldiers movie download Virtuosity dvdrip

So, I was paired with my mentee early July and we’re almost on two months. We’re doing her first ever 5k at the end of this month and then we’re going to start biking together as well. The commitment is 2-4 hours per week for a year and I have to say my experience thus far is great. This has been way better than actually focusing on my own training this year.

In addition to that, I *am* training for Twin Cities Marathon in October. Obviously, I still have to conquer something big for myself. I’m not as small and fast as I’d like to be, but the training is going well so far. I can only hope to PR.

So, that’s where I’ve been.

• Adrift in Manhattan hd

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My results for the 2009 Oakdale Duathlon (3 mile run / 13 mile bike / 3 mile run) as follows:

Total Time: 1:39:42

182nd out of 313 total participants
49th out of 148 women
8th out of 26 in my division (women 35 – 40)

Run 1: 25:56 (8:39/mile)
T1: 0:56
Bike: 45:15 (17.9 mph)
T2: 1:05
Run 2: 26:33 (8:51/mile)

So, not bad considering I haven’t been running all season. It’s not the 8:18/miles I had last year, but I’m pleased to have eecked out sub-9s — especially given my fear of running 10 minute miles today. If anything, it shows that I don’t have that far to go to get back into last year’s race shape as long as I take it cautious on the runs.

Ironically, I placed HIGHER this year — 8th out of 26 (last year I was 10th out of 27). I love it when I can make the top ten of my age group, even if there were only 26 of us. It’s still cool to make the top 10 — and the fact that I actually placed higher this year, well, that feels good.

That said, my bike was SLOW. Holy cow. I thought I was doing well out on the course. But it was pretty windy out there and it’s a hilly course. I also have to remember that last year I did this race coming out of a week spent cycling in Texas for Hell Week. I’d had almost 750 miles on my legs by this time last year. This year? Hmm, maybe 250 if I’m lucky. I also noticed that there were a few times during the bike that I did notice my heart rate dropping into my aerobic zone as opposed to the anaerobic I was trying to maintain. Oops. Funny thing is that this year’s time was slower and LAST YEAR we were stopped on the course by a train for two minutes. Funny.

As for the race experience, it was a great day and I’m so glad I talked myself back into going. It’s a 9 am start and not that far from my house, so I got to sleep in later (6:30 is really sleeping in on race days — some tris have me up at 4:30 am). I had my regular granola and soy milk and got my gear together. I was out the door around 7:30ish and got to the race a little before 8 am. Parking was already a little crazy and transition was full, so I took a spot towards the back — the non-desirable area, I suppose given its distance from the bike in and out. But I didn’t really care since this race has a teeny transition area and I know the transitions would be quick. It’s so great when you don’t have to deal with a wet suit. Love that.

I caught up with a teammate and another buddy. I also ran into a few other friends. It’s always so much more enjoyable when you know people at a race. I remember my first races in Minnesota and not knowing a sole. I always felt so lonely wandering around, setting up my stuff.

Since I just put my aero-bars onto my bike last night, I did take the bike out for a spin just to make sure they were okay and remind myself what aero-bars felt like. I also noticed just how cold it was. Temperature when I arrived at the race site was 47. Not sure it got much warmer than that. Clouds moved it and it was windy so it never really felt that warm. I made a mental note that I’d most likely need arm warmers and a wind vest for the bike portion.

After my bike warm-up, I jogged a little as well. Then I lined up with my peeps. The 35+ women were the last wave so we got the carry up the rear. I have to admit, I hate starting last. I’d kind of wished I’d chosen to race Athena and then could have started in Wave 1. Oh well.

For the first 3 mile run, I was determined to keep my heart rate between 155 and 160. Although, it was actually more steady around 162. This felt about all I could give. My teammate caught up to me and we paced each other through the whole 3 miles which was nice. It kept me motivated. Just like last year, I was in love with the gorgeous venue. The running trail was hilly, but so pretty in and out of the wet lands.

My first transition felt really fast. I did take a few seconds to drink some water. And I’m glad I didn’t wear a hat this year so I didn’t have to deal with swapping it out with my helmet.

It felt good to get on the bike since my legs were feeling tight and a little tired from the run. I just cruised at what I felt was a good pace. I stayed in my aero-bars. I tried to make sure my heart rate stayed anaerobic (155+), but, as I mentioned before, I did see 145 a few times and chastised myself a bit.

I passed a lot of people. I guess that’s the nice part of starting in the last wave, I don’t have fasties behind me catching up. I felt pretty good on the hills — mostly just cranked along. There were some brutal sections with a strong, strong headwind (up to 15 mph gusts).

At the end of the bike leg, I managed to get my feet out of my shoes on the bike. I’m still tickled that I’ve managed to figure this out. Running into transition barefoot is so much easier than in my cleats.

Transition 2, however, was not so smooth once I got to my transition area because another athlete had racked their bike in my spot and I had to futz around a bit to get my bike racked (in the process, knocking over the coffee I had in there and spilling it all over my towel and dry clothes — damn). (NOTE TO TRI PEEPS OUT THERE: Don’t be an ass in transition. Put your bike back where it was to begin with and NOT over other people’s stuff. Goodness, that drives me batty when transition neighbors aren’t considerate.)

Right away on my second run, I knew it was going to hurt. Almost immediately, my calves started to cramp a little (probably didn’t help that I did have a massage yesterday). I had to really push myself to stay anaerobic, because I could really feel my legs. But my ankle was fine (that was my biggest worry) and I felt okay. I just had three miles left to go. I knew I wasn’t as fast as I was on the first run, but I made every effort not to completely tank on the final run (although, I did consider for two seconds just walking the second one using my ankle recovery as an excuse — but that would have been lame, right?). There was a flat-footed, heavy breathing dude behind me for the first 1.5 miles and that was annoying. He was just so loud. Luckily, he passed me right at the water stop and I actually walked through this, drank some water and set off for the final leg.

The last 1.5 miles of the race are brutal because it’s constantly up and down with barely any flats. So, just as you are trying to push out the final mile, you are also dealing with painful legs and lots of uphills. I also had some woman at this point pass me so closely she brushed my shoulder and then immediately cut in front of me so close my arms in there natural movement actually hit her back. “Excuse me” I exclaimed. “Oh, sorry,” she mumbles. And I wonder how necessary that really was. Weird.

The last little bit of the run is also tough because you see the finish line when you still have approx 400 meters still to go. You can hear the people, but you have take the long way around to get there — a large half-loop with the longest stretch up hill and in the opposite direction of the finish. It’s a bit of a mind game because it looks like a really long way.

As I turn the final corner, I muster what I have left. My heart rate is in the upper 160s, so I know I’m giving it my all. I see a woman in front of me that I’ve been following the whole way and she becomes my rabbit. In the last 100 yards, I pull out whatever sprint I have left to pass her and finish strong.

I know I worked hard because I did feel a little pukey at the end and my legs were screaming. The best news, however, is that my ankle feels really good after putting a combined total of 6 miles of running on them — my longest since December. That feels really sweet because it does feel like I’m finally recovering.

My teammate was right behind me. Our other buddies rocked it and were waiting at the finish.

All in all, a pretty good day.

And now it’s nappy time.

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I have my first race of the season tomorrow morning. Oakdale Duathlon: The race that took me by surprise last year The War of the Roses the movie

— the one where I did really well (including averaging an 8:18/mile pace for BOTH runs which is a major PR for me). Yep, that’s tomorrow. And, truth be told, I’ve been planning on skipping it.

I know I haven’t been posting here consistently and, if you haven’t been following me on Twitter, you might not even be aware that I’ve had a nagging ankle injury. Crazy enough, it stemmed from an early December tumble on my skis. My achilles tendon just became a nuisance and never healed. It just bothered me — especially while running. Of course, did I stop running? Um, no.

No, I ran pretty much all winter long. I also started seeing the Physical Therapist. And after about four appointments, he told me to quit it. Stop running. “If you were complaining to me about your face hurting while you kept punching yourself in the face, I’d tell you to stop that and you wouldn’t argue, right? Same with your ankle. Stop it. You can take some time off.”

So, I took about 4-5 weeks off based upon his advice. I did my exercises. I iced and stretched. And, about three weeks ago, I started running again. The distance has been short. I started out with a few 3 milers. Now I’m up to whopping 4.4. I’m feeling pretty good. My ankle seems to be taking it okay. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed and taking it one day and 10% mileage increases at a time.

That said, I’m slow. I tried to keep as much run fitness as I could through the 4-5 week period. I used the eliptical and the arc trainer. But it’s hard – especially when I normally concentrating on speed work during this time in my training schedule. So, I’m back to 10-minute miles and trying to be okay with that.

Which brings me to tomorrow’s duathlon. I haven’t trained for it. I haven’t even been on my bike nearly as much as I was prior to last year’s race. And my run just isn’t the same. I’d committed weeks ago to skipping the this race. I just didn’t want to suffer through a slow version of last year that just didn’t measure up. I’m competitive and stubborn that way.

Of course, this week has been beautiful weather-wise. Spring is finally here. I’ve been digging my rides. And I’ve been psyched to be out running again. All this outdoor and athletic love got me thinking about the race again. How beautiful the course is. How it’s already paid for. Why not just go out there and do it and chalk it up to training? Sure, it’s a little blow to the ego. But we all have set-backs. And if a race time of 6+ minutes to last year is the worst thing that can happen, well, I’m a lucky, paranoid freak. Honestly, it’s really a blessing to just have the ability and opportunity to compete in this sort of thing — at any level.

So, I’m off to bed. It’s an early rise tomorrow and I’m going to go out there and hit my first race of the 2009 season. And I’m going to concentrate on having fun. Time doesn’t matter but the experience does.

Night, ya’ll. See you on the flip side.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 film Bicentennial Man ipod

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I had a great 90 minute spin today. I was a little hesitant. Sitting on the trainer for over an hour by myself is always a challenge. Even while watching TV, I still struggle. It’s hard for me to focus and push myself hard enough to make the effort worthwhile. And I know I had at least 60 minutes of riding in zone 3 ahead of me today. So, I got up and put together a playlist specifically for the ride and I’m super-thrilled with how it turned out. The 90 minutes FLEW BY. The music was great. I actually could have gone longer — if only I hadn’t had a lunch date and a longer playlist.

I did kind of copy the structure of an endurance ride I did recently at the St. Louis Park Lifetime. I warmed up for 20 minutes and included a couple of short of pushes into zones 3 & 4 as well as about 4 minutes total of isolated leg drills. Then, after 20 minutes, I went into the meat of my Zone 3 ride which was basically approx. 10 minutes of 90-100 rpm seated riding with a 5 minute standing climb added to keep things fresh and give the booty a break. I did this x4 and the time flew. I finished with a 10 minute cool down that include a few short sprints and then some totally relaxed zone 2 & 1 riding.

And because I had so much fun, I thought I’d share my playlist. It might not be your thing, but it was a perfect, dreamy ride for me. Also reminded me of how much I love music:

Expectations (Remastered), Belle & Sebastian
That Old Pair of Jeans (Edit), Fatboy Slim
Hey World (Remote Control Version), Michael Franti & Spearhead
New Shoes, Paolo Nutini
The Comeback, Shout Out Louds
I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You, Black Kids
Relief Next to Me, Tegan and Sara
Floorplan, Tegan and Sara
Everyone’s At It , Lily Allen
F**k You, Lily Allen
Goodnight Goodnight, Hot Hot Heat
Hurry Up Let’s Go, Shout Out Louds
Time to Pretend, MGMT
Freakshow (Mix 13), The Cure
Take What You Take, Lily Allen
Keep Your Head, The Ting Tings
Love In Fear, Constantines
Wolf Like Me, TV On The Radio
Hours, TV On The Radio
The Only One (Mix 13), The Cure
High Low (feat. Zap Mama), Michael Franti & Spearhead
Boyz, M.I.A.
Down Under, The Cure
You Don’t Know Me (feat. Regina Spektor), Ben Folds
O… Saya, AR Rahman & M.I.A.
On Call, Kings of Leon

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Just in case you are not one of my friends on Facebook, here are the pictures from our recent trip to Ely, MN. It was a super-fun trip. We had a BLAST. After our amazing dog sledding trip in 2008, I guess we couldn’t stay away from Ely. Although, this time, we enjoyed it from the comfort of a cabin with our own dogs. :)Color of the Cross 2: The Resurrection releaseRace to Witch Mountain dvdrip Vampires Anonymous Heat move Frame of Mind dvd

Hola. I’m sitting here at my desk digesting my breakfast and gearing up for a long workout at the club and I figured I might as well log in and tell ya’ll what I’m up to. I haven’t forced myself to sit down and write my Vassaloppet race report. But I will say the 35k ski race was way easier than I’d expected. Although, the conditions were super fast which made the experience a lovely 2.5 hour trek instead of the 4 hour slog that I’d expected. Every time I’d come across a sign indicating how much distance was left, I was amazed that I only had 18k left. Or 15k left. Or 10k left. Or only 3k left. It was so unlike any long race I’ve ever done — those long races where each final mile or kilometer stretches out to infinity and you just want it to be over. I guess that’s the upside to being mentally committed to a 4 hour race. That makes 2.5 hours seem like a breeze.

That said, I did finish almost dead last in my division. I was #11 out of #12. Yes, I’m totally a newbie skier and it’s humbling to be so back-of-the-pack again. Of course, I think I can also admit that I didn’t push myself like I do in triathlons or other races. My heart rate was more in the upper 140s / lower 150s with the exception of a few hills. I’m just not that confident to go fast or hard yet. My technical skills are rough and the slightest imbalance throws me down on my ass. I was too scared to fall in the middle of the race to push too hard. I know when I go hard skiing, I start to lose form and the last thing I wanted to do was cause a pile-up at the Mora Vassaloppet.

This was a crowded race in my limited experience. I probably did start too far back in the pack and was stuck behind a lot of slower skiers for the first 10-12k of the race, I found a few ladies to follow and would try and stick with them when they passed other skiers. But it was a challenge and sometimes I’d just have to resolve to stick behind someone until the trail would open up. Passing is not my forte. It’s SOOOO much easier on the bike without all those poles and sticks in the way.

I was the last of our ski team to finish and was it was nice to see my crew at the end. I was pretty psyched that I’d survived and that it’d been so fun. It was such a glorious day to ski. Everyone said it was perfect. I almost don’t want to do another race because it was so great. I can only imagine that those perfect conditions don’t come very often.

In other news, I’ve been crazy busy at work. I know, what’s new? And isn’t EVERYONE crazy busy at work. But I do finding it very hard to separate my personal life from work and I’m not doing a very good job AT ALL on the work / life balance thing. In fact, I have a half-filled out application for Bolder Options that shouldn’t be too hard to complete but I’ve been sitting on it for a month now. I just need to fill in my references. But, truth be told, the time commitment makes me nervous. It’s something I need to do. But it scares me. 2 hours per week is a lot and you’re committed to a kid. If I do this, I have to do it right. I have to make the time.

But work HAS been fun. I so dig what I do. I’m lucky to work where I do. Shit, I’m lucky to have a job in this current economy and then to adore the industry I’m in, well, that’s a special thing. And even better than the regular Web site *stuff* we do, we launched both an iPhone app AND a very cute (I hate this word, but I’m going to use it because that’s what it is) viral video for Valentine’s day. Both super-tiny, scrappy projects. But exciting things in the space and it’s been fun to watch them gain traction.

As for my training, I was doing pretty good since the start of the year. I selected my race schedule pretty early this year and started training pretty regularly on my Training Peaks.com regime. Then the Vassaloppet happened two weekends ago and a fun cabin trip to Ely happened last weekend, so I’ve fallen off the wagon a bit and am looking to get back on starting today with a swim / spin / weights workout at the club. I’m going to do an early half ironman this year (yes, Sascha, I’m going to do Liberty!). I’m then going to sprinkle in some sprints & Olympic distance races throughout the summer with my focus being the Twin Cities Marathon in October. I’ve had two marathons now that I’ve not been that jazzed about my time. I think this will be the year. But I do need to really focus on my running. I also need to focus on my weight.

Ahhh. What a segue. Not that I really want to talk about it, but as long as I’m giving you the update, I might as well paint the whole picture. My weight is up. It’s up higher than it’s been in years. For a while, it wasn’t that big a deal because I was still fitting in my clothing. But now almost all my jeans are tight. It’s kind of bugged me because I’m not doing anything all that different than how I maintained a few years ago. I still workout like mad. I do have my wine and cocktails. I know I haven’t tracked all my food. But to gain like I have in the past year, something in my body has changed. It’s probably age. I know the metabolism slows down. But whatever the excuse, it’s indicative that something does need to change. I need to focus.

I started back with Weight Watchers online back in mid-January. I saw some success the two weeks that I actually tracked everything. But then, again, Vassaloppet and the Ely Cabin weekend distracted me. I feel off the wagon. I didn’t track and I already feel like the 2 lbs. that I lost at the end of January are already back. My body is very unforgiving right now.

So, that’s that. I’m back to counting today. I’m headed to the gym. I’m not all that crazy about where I am weight-wise, but I have some fun races coming up and I feel more focused on training than I was last year. I’m also having a blast at work — which is a good thing when you work as much as I do.

Okay. Cereal digested. I needs to hit the club.

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