Sunday, May 31, 2015

What happens after #mbw

dressed for the wedding
So how do you back up a 33 hour training #mbw ?  With a 7 hour week!  Why?

1- fatigue- whether I felt it or not, I was tired
2- let that good work soak in.  we at the old age of 48 cannot roll big volume week after big volume week and not get injured or sick
3-  i need to work
4- my kids were in town

So instead of riding every day with Leslie I hung with JD and Riley.... it was the first time both kids were in our new house.

Family dinner
kids have been friends since preschool
Our days looked like this- early swim or run, yes run, for me!  rolled out of here around 9 and hit Lofty or Ironworks, cruised around, breakfast at Swami's one day, Bernardo Winery another day with my Mom.  Riley and I had some girl stuff to do... waxing, hair and nails so JD went surfing with John.  JD, R and I went to the mall, yes my 1 time a year.  I loathe shopping but we were on a mission Riley was meeting her boyfriend's parents and going to her boy's sister's wedding.  So we needed the classy/sexy look- I think we succeeded. Meanwhile JD scored clothes, after all if mom is spending $ is has to be fair.
kids and their granny

My sis came into town to help with my Mom who had surgery and we had a big dinner here on Tuesday. Almost make vegan kale enchiladas for everyone but was afraid JD would never come home so made some good ol' cheese enchiladas.   We had dinner one night with old friends from PQ, JD and Ian met in pre-school and the boys grew up together and we celebrated many holidays with them. We continued the night here looking at pictures from 20 years ago and just about died. Fun filled!

It was a whirlwind but a blast....they are both so grown up and such a joy to be around.

But I have to say.....I was really happy to log 4 hours today on the bike with Les and Maureen and do a short run with the pups!   #loveemptynest

Monday, May 25, 2015

#mbw DONE

Cheers to #mbw
414.2 miles ridden #mbw
37.8 miles today  on the coast with friends 

Stats for the 7 days:
Bike hours: 28.45
Swim: 3:30
Run: 2:15

Total training time: 33:30 - RECORD!!

This does not count the 20 min a day of mobility- EVERY DAY.

 thank you Coach Mike-  In our short "relationship"  Dec- May I have swam the most yards in one month (December) and had the biggest training week ever 33+ hours!    Thanks for the ongoing challenges.

So training is going well.... looking forward to racing!!! when... not sure yet.    People keep asking why #mbw (monster bike week) Well coming off an injury I wanted a focus, a goal.. a reason to get up in the morning- kidding and this was the perfect one.

Les and I laughed today- we could do this every week if we did not have jobs, husbands and a life to manage.  But it was a ton of fun!

Final ride was a cruisy coastal ride that started at Lofty Coffee with a salted caramel almond milk latte and ended at Union with a Belchin Beaver Milk Stout and brunch.

Nuff said!

1- no saddle sores... magic formula
- dump entire tube acne cream into betwixt chamois cream and stir. layer 1: Athletic ointment. layer 2: betwixt

worked like a charm!!!

PS  no mascot today. #dbj and #bbb left in the garden at my house on a religious play date.

#mbw day 6

376.4 miles 6 days (Sunday)

87.4 miles today - slowest ride possible. Not sure we would have made the ironman bike cut off

Heidi was out guest rider today AND she brought Buddha- in hopes of lifting the spell #dbj put on us.  #bbb (bento box Buddha) rode the 87.4 miles with us today.  Around mile 25 Heidi split off as she has a life and is not chasing miles  for a shorter ride and has a race in a few weeks.

#bbb
Left alone we dillie- dallied (one of my mothers top 10 words) for 6+ hours all around the county.  Going up the 78 ( in the rain) we were passed by 2 pro triathletes at a pace that made it look like we were riding 40 lb beach cruisers.   We are thinking they must have said " wow did you see those girls on Cervelo's with Di2, really they should spend the money on learning how to ride vs those bikes"  So we just laughed and tootled along.   You know you are riding slowly when your power is where your HR usually is.

It was about the miles. All was great until the epic crash ok it was really a topple over on the bike path at 4mph.  A bystander was trying to help and pick up Leslie's bike but she wanted a picture and I was laughing so hard we could not communicate to her that all was good. Some nice guy stopped in his car- all good- while this photo looks dramatic Leslie is really taking a nap.

From there it was one more stop for emergency calories.   Rockstar and Bugles - so much for clean eating.  But whatever it takes.

Rolled in around 3:00 and my adoring husband noted I looked like death. Go me :)

Recovery.... organic blue corn tortilla chips with vegan cheese and chulula sauce.  Kombucha.  2 oranges.  Carrots and honey mustard.  2nd Kombucha.  xoxo dark chocolate and sea salt.   Epsom salt bath, recovery boots and than somewhat normal.

Watched Whiplash  - HIGHLY recommend this film.  Holy cow....human emotion, drive, commitment, physical pain, mental anguish, conceit, humbling... so much to think about.



Sunday, May 24, 2015

#mbw day 4/5

Tue- Sat: 280 miles

Friday: 40.1 miles
Saturday: 46.3 miles

Got behind a day  or 2 blogging ....after the "epicness" of the Thursday follies it is hard to top that... and maybe I was a little tired and way behind at work.

Guest rider Friday Jen!  While she agreed to our easy pace it was still a step in effort on our tired leggies.  

Friday also started with masters swim + 36 minute run and than 40.1 mile ride.  A real frickin day of training :)  Friday before a holiday- work was dead! thank goodness since I was playing triathlete

Friday was sweet potato day!  (unplanned)   Breakfast reheated sweet potatoes with egg! As good as it gets.carbs + protein.  Post ride more sweet potatoes with some steamed kale and vegan cheese.  I am now maxed out on sweet potatoes.  New food on deck tomorrow. 

I am definitely tired... Achy more than sore but feeling good in general.  Drinking copious amounts of water and glad we don't have stairs in our house.

Couch stretch- every day - 2 min per leg
min. each side 
I'm sticking to mobility every day. On days I run, yes I said run!  Its 12 min pre run and 8 min post.  Other days 20 min in one shot.  Also keeping up the plank/arm challenge with my athletes. Entails push ups/triceps dips/mountain climbers and planking. 

Riding with the Serrano's GWL 
Sushi lessons by Leslie 
Saturday les and broke up!  I wanted to ride with a few of my athletes so I headed to GWL with the Serrano's for a wet day. Weather said clear by 8 ..., so much for the genius weather reporters in SD. So we started in cloud cover which soon was drizzle and steady rain for the next 21/2 hours.  Wet but not too cold. It is always great to see my athletes in motion.  Lots of time to talk and discuss riding/racing and see how tough they are - rain, no problem :)

Vegan "eel" sushi 

Lovin our backyard 
Sat night was an impromptu So Cal bbq featuring vegan "eel" sushi by Leslie and my attempt at "vegan" burgers.  I could  tell by the consistency (too wet) they work  not work on the BBQ so I did them in the oven. So not really a bbq.

  It was good friends, good food and a reminder how lucky we are to live in paradise and be surrounded with such great people.

Beet "burger" ala salad

8 ounces beets, steamed or roasted and peeled*
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, washed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, washed and drained
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup rolled oat flour** forgot the flour- probably why they were to moist and not binding 
1/2 red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon sumac
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 flax eggs
Salt
Pepper

Pulse beets in a food processor until roughly chopped. Add beets to a large bowl, along with the garbanzo beans, black beans, brown rice, oat flour, red onion, garlic, sumac, thyme leaves, ground cumin and ground coriander. Mash with two forks until all the beans are incorporated. Salt and pepper to taste. (I added about one teaspoon of kosher salt and half of a teaspoon of pepper.)


Vegan dessert from Heidi - yuum!
“Raw Mango Pie” from Cooking with Trader Joe’s Cookbook (all plant based recipes):
Ingredients:
  • 1.5 c almond meal (I used 1 c. almonds and 1/2 c. buckwheat groats in food processor)
  • 6 Medjool dates (soaked in warm water for 10 min.)
  • 1/8 tsp sea salt
  • 1 – 16 oz bag organic frozen mango chunks (thawed) or can use 4 fresh mangos 2 bananas (didn’t have enough mango filling so I improvised for three with strawberry/banana filling made the same as mango filling)
  1. While dates soak, blend almonds and buckwheat groats in food processor
  2. Process almond/buckwheat meal, dates and sea salt.  Press into a freezer-safe pie pan or baking dish or individual dessert cups
  3. Blend mangos and banana until smooth
  4. Pour mango/banana mixture into dish or individual dishes and freeze for about 6 hrs or until firm
  5. Let pie sit about 30 min. at room temperature before serving

Thursday, May 21, 2015

#mbw day 3

Total miles: 194.5  NOT EVEN 1/2 WAY  
Leslie riveted by the demo

78.1 today 6700 ft climbing 

Yesterday at mile 74 Les made a snarky comment about #dbj and she flatted.  So she bought a rocking Gatorskin tire and could not get it on.  Plan was to roll at 8 - she arrived 7:45 and John was on deck ready to help.  The tire lesson was close to 30 min and very informative to Les, albeit she looks bored out of her mind. Many inappropriate comments, expletives but we were on the road 25 min later.  No worries, we have all day, and turns out we needed it.

On we go and today's guest rider was John, for about 4 miles, but we had one today.  thank you John! And we brought along #dbj.
Holy Guacamole 

what lead to the flat 
So the 5:20 bike ride  took nearly 8 hours.. because.... late start due to tire change, 10 min wait for restroom at AMPM, than many pictures at Rainbow market because we thought Holy Guacamole was the funniest thing we have ever said.   The "bad" joke  which lead to a gash and a flat in Leslie's tire. Using her newly acquired skills she had that tire off, changed with Pitstop (oozing out), $ in the tire and back on in less than 1 hour and all is not so well...not quite back on.  As she is putting it back on I say turn the bike over, it's easier. So she does and now the chain is not really part of the bike anymore and it has 2 loops in it. 10 minutes later we have the tire on and try to roll it back, not working, wheel off and somehow Les undoes the "knot" while I am looking for the nearest Uber SUV.  We are now caked in crease but determined to finish this ride.
Um enough pit stop? 

On we go and my Di2 battery dies- not a big deal as I have deal with that before, but we have 30 miles to go.  Well 10 miles later it totally dies and I am stick in 39/12 and we still have twin oaks to climb.  My cadence is either 110 or 25.  VI for the ride 1.25. Cluster Fck for sure.

Climbing up Champagne we decided to see if we could recite the Lords Prayer- turns out we could.

Accomplished:

We made it before dark.  No one was hurt,  We rode our 75 miles.  Got a killer core workout  laughing so hard. It was so bad  I had to pee in the bushes nearly on top of a beehive. And we did not have to call for a ride.  Leslie has really soft feet due to foot cream in her socks and bike shoes (seriously)

Good times... no food details today other than we both purchased unnaturally orange crackers late in the ride.

Blue Ribbon Pizza for dinner never tasted so good!


Wednesday, May 20, 2015

#mbw day 2

total: 116.4 
76.2 miles today

Today's guest rider was Courtney!   She was nice enough to "enjoy" our slow pace for the day.  It's about the week.  20 mile march-  reference from Jim Collins Great by Choice (highly recommended reading) 

Breakfast - discovered a new treat at Trader Joes. Whole wheat cinnamon role + almond butter!  nuuummm .   250c per roll.  this + coffee x2 with almond milk started my day.  Wait I had 18oz H20 with Boulder Salt and beet powder. 

Mobility 10 min and than...drumroll 30 min run with the dogs!  yeah.... all good there.  Nice and easy with a few walk breaks.  I feel like a baby giraffe ( you know the videos when they are trying to walk)  yes, I feel like that running.  

Piled in the car and rushed to see magic fingers Dan Selstad for ART and rolled from Leslie's 8:40.  

Fuel for the ride:
- whole wheat lavash with almond butter and honey (they look like taquito's but trust me they are not) 
- coconut bonk breaker -yuuum
- dark choc/gf/vegan peanut butter brownies. 
 3/4 cup GF all purpose flour
 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
 1 1/2 cups coconut sugar
 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
 3 flax eggs (3 Tablespoons water +1 Tablespoon golden flax  meal) = 1 egg
 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
 1/2 cup 70% dark chocolate chips
 1/2 cup organic pumpkin puree
 Mix and bake 350 for 20 min 

perfect mix of foods for the day!

Post ride - Mighty Maple PB slathered the banana with PB + had some roasted seaweed, grapes and iced mocha. 

Leslie poked a little fun at the greater one and was stricken with a flat tire. Dark clouds came over... be warned.  


Today's winning topic on the ride.... how easy it is for males to get more sex.   





Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Day 1 #mbw

Miles ridden this week:  40.6( not so impressive day 1)


 9 hours of sleep!  needed that after a rough night Sunday to Monday.  So I was not up at 5am but was up by 6.  Today is not a big day(of riding)  and the goal is steady all week, but vigilant.  16oz of water (before) my coffee with a bit of Boulder Salt  - perfect blend of electrolytes (or so he says): Potassum 150mg, Magnesium 140 mg ,Calcium 75 mg, Sodium 496 mg, Bicarbonate 242 mg, Chloride 750 mg

First time used it i put in a teaspoon and spewed it back into the sink (read directions much) I'm going to try today on the bike with my favorite Nuun for some flavor.  I think the 2 together are a good combo. 


no judging the photo- I am not a food
blogger nor do I play one on TV
Breakfast - bowl of overnight oats.  1 container ea: blueberries, blackberries,raspberries, roughly 2 cups organic oats, 1 c vanilla almond milk, 1 cup water, 4T maple syrup, cover shake and ready to eat.  

Worked 90 min.  Mobility 16 minutes, 20 min brisk trail hike with the pups and off to ride.
Thank you Liz for joining us on day 1  :)












40.6 miles- chill ride with Leslie and Liz. 

Got home. Pulled off a 10 min work call dong couch stretch, squat stretch and hip flexor stretch.  2:30 plank- that was HARD!  + push ups/mountainclimber and tricep dips ( all for the PA plank/arm challenge we have going on)

Shower + quick food.  Last night left overs re-heated + added egg +  roasted sweet potatoes from last night- whole food, ez and good!  Back at work... 

It is so easy to roast veggies ( I buy all organic)  - they roast much better when dry - so plan a bit and wash and let them air dry (or you can use a hair dryer like I saw Leslie to one time with kale)

brussel sprouts-  washed and trimmed in a bag from TJ.  Cut in 1/2 or 1/4's if they are big
asparagus - washed and cut
mushrooms - washed and cut into small chunks
sweet potatoes- peeled washed and chopped
6 garlic cloves diced

Tossed in coconut oil ( I microwave it to liquefy)  with salt
Big roasting pan - if the veggies are not piled up the roast better.  30 min @400. mix up at 15 min.  Last 5 min I open oven to let out all steam, move to top rack and broil 5 min to crisp.  I throw roasted seeds on top for some flavor and protein.  


Left overs - throw in a pan, heat up and drop an egg on top and that was lunch.  NO picture as I was hungry :)  

 #dbj

Monday, May 18, 2015

#mbw

Monster Bike Week begins Tuesday!   

400 miles in 7 days.

Why? Why not?  Timing is good with work.  Fairly quiet week going into Memorial Day and the 7 days includes Memorial Day so a 3 day weekend.  

Timing.  As I am barely running and Leslie is not running we can endure together.  

Work on one sport while the other is down.

How it looks per day miles


Tue        40
Wed       75
Thu        40
Fri          70
Sat         45
Sun        90

Mon       40

3 runs mixed in, daily mobility, 3 swims ( 30-40 min) 

Do Epic Shit right!

Planning....
1- work
  - the "short days"  are my days I have more work.  I will be up at 5, work 5-7, walk the dogs, prep, mobility, ride and be back home for afternoon of work, Swim in evening
- long day are Wed/Fri/Sun.  Wed and Friday I will be up 4am as I have a run as well,  So mobility, run, work, ride, work.  Fortunately for me, a lot of my work can be done - after work hours, so I can "play by day" but may have a few late nights working.  

2- food
 - this takes planning as I don't want to be eating poorly and time will be limited. Day 1 shopping was today.  

Breakfast- I made a monster batch of oats, berries, almond milk - in the fridge and good go for breakfast.  Will make more Wed or Thur. 

Riding:  will mix it up as too much of the same bar gets old fast.  Will alternate with sweet, salty, savory.... yes those are maple pop tarts- a real treat!  Almond butter and honey sandwiches will be in the mix as well as the store bought Fritos and other snacks. 

Post ride/dinners.  Will have quinoa and roasted sweet potatoes on hand.  Copious amounts of veggies to toss in a pan with coconut oil/garlic and add a few eggs.    Today I made a large bowl of "vegan" cheese.  Cashews/nutritional yeast, salt and garlic - which will be tossed on most of my good.  The only animal is the eggs-  like the clean protein (vs tofu etc)  and will need it with near 30 hour week ( assuming I get in the swims etc)  

3- Etc
- Laundry : clean kit every day
- Chamoix cream- copious amounts - NO saddle sores
- Sunscreen- save my skin
- iPod - as much a I love Leslie.. 400 miles is a lot of time :)  Or we need a topic of the day, read, learn and show up ready to discuss.- 

Focus, planning and fun!!!

Dinner tonight - Quinoa and rice with roasted sweet potatoes, garlic, asparagus, leeks, mushrooms and garlic.  Topped with pumpkin seeds

not shown was dark chocolate :) 


Sunday, May 17, 2015

Triathlete again (in a tiny way)

Okay it happened... 4x actually!  After 11 weeks and 3 days (not that I was counting) I went for a run, well did not go for a run, I ran.  It took me 30 min to actually run 10 minutes.

My coach is being crazy conservative (which is ok) so I ran 1 min/walked 2 min on a treadmill at Equinox in LA.  I was "that girl" walking on a treadmill, but I did run 10 minutes without pain. Of course on the TM next to me was a 5'10' 120 lb lean/ripped chick running at at 7:00 pace like it was 11:00.  I tired to not hate her, but I secretly did.

I felt awkward but I ran! I may have even broken a sweat.

2 days later I managed 15 min on a soft surface with okay success.  2 days later I ran 20 min with a few walk breaks on hard sand - no pain it was magical.  I nearly jumped in Johns arms when I finished. 2 days later 25 min and 2 days later 30 min, all with walk breaks on the trails with Roo/Mako and Liz!  Awesome.  

The 30 min was 5 min run/1 walk AND it was after a 5+ hour Rice/Couser Canyon ride.  I felt like a triathlete!!!

Coach nearly shat when I mentioned it was on hilly trails..... I have since been "redirected" here is how it will go.

Easy flats
Easy hills on road
Easy hills on trail
Hard on the flats, 

Hard on the trails.

Oops, okay so hard trails next week I say... Uh no.  ok ok easy flats, I'll take it!  

No garmin - I don't want to know the pace.  

So for a 25 min run, this is what it takes.  
Pre-Run:

2 min each side hip opener
2 min squat
2 min each side "couch stretch"  Couch stretch- 2 min each side - see belowhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZX1QMTdAC4

2 min ankle mobility-  toe taps, right left, up and down, circles right, circles left- 10 x each 
2 min "sit on feet"  

Than I can run 25 min. 
Post run: squat, sit on feet, leg swings and usually one other "mobility"  from the bible. 

So far it is working.  The goal is ramp up running as Mike says :) and get stronger and faster with all "this work"  

I do this mobility routine EVERY day, whether I run or not.  "bulletproof" is the goal.

Turning 49 this year....somthing has to change if I want to keep racing!  I hope this is it :) 

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

WTC ( World Triathlon Corp) - a company (some) triathletes love to hate.


WTC, Ironman, Mdot....  WTC (World Triathlon Corporation) owns or is Ironman

When I think of Ironman I think of my passion, my friends, my life, my business and a bit of pain but a lot of adventure and accomplishment.

Some hear Ironman and get angry?  What I say?

Why? I've heard it all.. My favorite is the complaint that they are "ripping " us off with high race fees.  They (Ironman) are just trying to make a profit.  Here is the deal WTC is a for profit company!!!    They have continued to build a brand that is growing every day.  It is a brand that triathletes are willing to pay for.  

Do people accuse Apple of ripping of people for high priced phones and iPads?  Triathlon is a choice.  You make the choice to race or not.  If the race it too expensive choose another one.  If the iPhone is too expensive, buy an Android. ( and wish you had an Iphone) 

Why is an Mdot (branded race) more expensive?  Lots of reasons.. But yes people will pay so why should they discount?  But you also know what you are getting? Closed roads, stocked aid stations, marshals; quality medical, Kona slots and a crappy back pack and an ugly shirt. BUT you get the experience of a world class race. You want home grown, go race home grown - it's a choice.
 
There is a lot of negative PR about WTC these days from the 50 Women to Kona to the end in of the lottery... neither of which I comment on. 

But a lot has changed since I did my first ironman in 2008.  Here is why I think they are better   

1- there are so many more races - 15 in North America

2- so many races  that they don't all sell out in 24 hours. You can still get into Coeur d'Alene, Whistler, Muskoka, Lake Tahoe, Cabo or Cozumel  for 2015.  When I started every race sold out in 24 hours thus 12 months of planning ahead was mandatory.  Now more choices.

3- transfer policy. Hello? This is an great deal and one, due to my 12 week hiatus from running, that I have first hand experience with.  I had a deadline of May 1 for Whistler ( if I was not running 3 miles / 3x a week than Whistler was off the table). That is not happening so I opened a ticket with ironman inquiring about a transfer. 72 hours later, $50 and I am registered for Lake Tahoe. Sweet. 

4- insurance $40- (no brainier going forward after this injury).  I signed up for St George 70.3 when I knew I could not race Oceanside. Clearly never imagined I would still be sidelined.  In any case I did get the insurance but could not race.  3 weeks out I filled out the form, had the Dr sign it and mailed it in.  1 week after the race $275 check arrived.  Nice.

Transferring and refunds were among the biggest  complaints with Ironman- they listened and acted. Thank you!!

Now fix the bloody race day tracking (although it is improving), ditch crappy pizza post race and we are golden! 


Saturday, May 9, 2015

Mothers Day

Mother's Day is twofold for me.... I honor my Mom and thank and love her for all she has done for me.  And my 2 kids hopefully  do the same for me.  I am blessed to live in the same city as my Mom so Mother's Day has always been a split day for me.....Mornings were about me being a Mom and then evening's about me being the daughter to my Mom.

This year with both my kids away it is about being a daughter. I have an afternoon planned at a craft fair, botanical gardens and dinner with my Mom.  I am blessed to honor her and thank her for the 48 years of support she has given me.  Mind you I will get in a solid AM workout first :)   Julie at a craft fair requires exercise or copious amounts of wine- since I am driving I will go with the workout.

 If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?
Milton Berle

Little Riley
It's hard for me to believe sometimes how really old I am that my kids are grown.  It really does not seem that long ago that I was overwhelmed with hand print cards,  burned toast and messy breakfast in bed as they showered me with their affection.   Most of those days I cherished and loved it all but I have to admit  sometimes I remember thinking about the mess they made and what I would have to do later to clean it up. Or thinking a real Mothers Day gift would be a day alone, just me and a book- wait not really, it would be me and my bike! ,

For those of you who will be showered with homemade cards and gifts and poor attempts at breakfast or a day of "look mommy" "look mommy"  take a deep breath and know....they grow fast and you cannot get that time back.   I am thankful I made a career change when they were  1 and 3 so I could work at home.  I had the best of both worlds - able to maintain a career but see my kids all the time.  Sure I had a few conference calls during a soccer game but it worked.  Finally I started my own business at 8 and 10 so I was setting the calls around their schedules.

We never know the love of the parent until we become parents ourselves.
  by: Henry Ward Beecher

Around that time I discovered triathlon and soon became obsessed.... how convenient that I was working at home and thus could train around their schedules and my work schedule.  I think about my early Ironman training and it was often ride 50 miles to soccer game, watch the game, ride home. Run to soccer, finish run a 1/2 time and catch a ride home.   I did a lot of training alone, starting rides at 5am to be done by 10am to see my kids.  It was about making it work- being the mom I wanted and having my own athletic and career goals. Sometimes I would rework my day so I could do long rides on the weekdays.    We all juggle a lot- whether it is kids, work, parents etc...but we all make choices and getting creative to make "our:" life work is what is amazing about being a human.  We can do it all, it just takes planning, willingness to never sit down and sleep less, but it's doable.

And it is temporary. Just when you think I cannot do triathlon, be a mom and work....the kids are teenagers they hate you and don't want to see you and your time starts to free up.  And they they go to college and you have ALL the time in the world.... Nothing is permanent.



It really is a blink of an eye that the bundles of love soon are tweens, teenagers and then up and out.   I am so sad to think I won't be able to hug or kiss JD or Riley tomorrow but that is overshadowed with the immense pride I have for both of them.  They are both making life happen for them.  They are fiercely independent, for the life of me I don't know where they get that, determined to do this on their own, they rarely ask for any help and have really moved out.   They are both living in their respective cities and plan to stay there.

Before you know it ....they are all grown up



“The best place to cry is on a mother’s arms.” — Jodi Picoult