She's Gotten Soft….

No, I am not talking about my no-longer-lean frame, although the title works for this, too.

I rode yesterday with Wylie, Trey and his friend, Corlie… rain and even occasional thunder for most of it. At 6:30a it was raining, not hard but it was raining, and doppler radar showed thunderstorms rolling in. I made a face and called Wylie and Trey, encouraging them to bail with me. They weren’t having it – “it’s just a light drizzle” Wylie said, and Trey (and Corlie) were already in their cars heading to the ride start. Ug.

Alright, I was in. Was this ME??! There was a time in the not-so-distant past (though it seems like forever) when I wouldn’t have even considered canceling. I yelled at myself for having become such a wuss. “You’re riding!”, I said to myself, disgusted...

Timex Mafia

I’ve been loving having my teammates, Erin Kummer and Bruce Gennari, here at my house before they head for their xterra race Saturday morning. Their race is about an hour from Atlanta, so Erin flew in from Boulder, Bruce drove in...

Bring on the needle!

This past weekend I went to CT to celebrate my aunt’s 100th birthday. 100 years old?! Man. About 30 of my aunts, uncles and cousins assembled from all over the country to be there for this auspicious event.

My Aunt Jeannette is one of 11 children, the sister of my maternal grandfather. She was/is my mother’s godmother and is the only one of the 11 children still living. Amazing how alert and self sufficient she is at 100 years old… she lives alone and needs very little help, “except putting on her stockings”, she’ll point out.

I arrived early Saturday afternoon at my cousin Terry’s. I was the last of us to arrive and walked into the hurricane, the frenzy of activity known as my family. Terry’s house was filled with our family members, and it was SO LOUD! Very expressive...

Olympic Trials and the back

I hope you’ll join me in rooting on JZ, either in-person or sentimentally, at Olympic Trials this weekend. I realize she’s my friend so I’m going to seem slightly biased in my support, but she so truly deserves a spot on that team, representing our country. I think all the women (and men) have worked hard; they all have sacrificed. But few people realize what JZ went through after Sydney. The woman was out for 3 years with her back injury. 3 YEARS. The rest of us flip-out when we are out for weeks or months, JZ endured years of very painful mobility, rehab, and the resolve that she would likely never race again. Instead of giving in, she continued to fight – and she came back!. That is just SO her – it is hard not to support that spirit. While some rely on their DNA, and she clearly has God-given talent, I can tell you I have never seen anyone work harder than she does. Every day.

Go JZ, GO!

I rode today… it was a beautiful...

Training Day At Hand

It’s strange to have Ironman season upon us again. IM Arizona is this weekend and I can’t believe it. I can’t believe how much time has lapsed as I continue to be in the same place, little-to-no improvement.

I sent a little note to Gollnick and Biscay to wish them luck, and felt an odd twinge of envy. Typically I don’t feel this when others are racing something I am not, but this time I wished I was going to be there, too… or perhaps just have the option to race if I wanted.

I also got an update email earlier in the week from Karen Holloway who told me she is 5 months pregnant! Apparently she found something else to do while nursing her stress fracture! Congratulations to her and her husband, Chris....