well, you can't win 'em all. . .

Hazelnut cream coffee. . .I cannot believe how amazing this stuff is.  Has there ever been a beverage with more love to give than hazelnut cream coffee?  When you are feeling tired, and work has you bummed out because you just spent 6 hours on a project someone will tell you was done wrong, this wonderful cup of coffee comes to your aid, and fills you with energy and joy.  Truly, even my beloved Diet Dr. Pepper cannot lift my spirits in the way that this cup of pure heaven has.  Thank you Intel for being, perhaps not the greatest "great place to work", but certainly the greatest place to get a cup of coffee.

And with that introduction, I will now expand on how difficult it is to adjust your sleep for a full night shift of 6p-6a.  I was planning to go for a run yesterday, my long, 18 mile run.  Alas, I made the choice to try to sleep instead.  Well, sleep was not easy, and in the end, I wished I'd just gone for the run instead.  Now, it looms over me to complete it today after work.  I will come home after 4 12 hour 6p-6a shifts, and I will run 18 miles (that's almost 3 hours).  No!!  I refuse!  Next week, when I do my 20 mile, I will go right after work, but not today!  "The line must be drawn here! This far, no further!"  "This is madness!!"  I am only training for a marathon.  I do not need to kill myself before I even begin seriously training for IM.  I will run after sleeping for a while.  I will run in the evening, when Steve will be going to bed.  I will go home this morning, sleep, wake up as close to noon as possible (got to go to church), have some food, hang out with Steve, get some grocery shopping done, flake out on the couch with a movie or play some Prince of Persia, have an awesome dinner, go for a run, go to bed.  Yup, I am loving this plan. 

Next week is Christmas, and on Monday, I need to finish up my shopping.  It is going to be a horrible Christmas. . .Get off work, drink a red bull, drive out to the west side, eat some Christmas breakfast, imbibe a red bull, open gifts, admire gifts, chug a red bull, come back to the east side, make a pie, take a nap, down a red bull, eat Christmas dinner, laugh it up with family, open gifts, open another red bull, play with new things, IV-bag of red bull, play games with family, bathe in red bull, eat some pie, take an ambien, go to sleep.  Nothing to it, day shift pansies!

Sat on my butt all day. . .

I started out early this morning. . .8:40 on my epic bike ride.  I tried a new route to South Mountain again, using kyrene instead of 48th to cut across, and felt is was a bad choice.  My speed in town was a lot better than last time (comparing myself to myself with a cold in this case- yeah, let's hope it was better).  Let the climb begin!!  I reached South Mountain, and I was happy to have a ton of energy for the ride.  Potty break!  My bladder empty and my heart full, the climb was easier than it had ever been.  Except that one part, that still kicked my a--!  My dad drove by me during this part, and I couldn't muster a "hi" for my puppies who were staring at me from the car window.  I was also passed by my paragliding crew!  Carlos was there with a tandem and student.  Bill from yesterday was there too!  I reached to top to a team of PG pilots cheering me on :-).  And then there was a debate over whose way down this mountain was more dangerous.  I voted the bike would likely get me hurt before the paraglider- you don't have to worry about cars in the sky (not yet anyway).

WOOOOOO!!!  Roller coaster ride back down (don't put your hands in the air, keep them safely on your brakes, please)!  I had a van pull over to get out of MY way I was going so friggin' fast!  As always the ride ends too quickly. . . I would go again, but if you think waiting in line at Disneyland is slow, imagine that wait while pushing your heart rate up to . . .wish I knew (I still haven't replaced the battery in my HRM :-\).  Is it worth it?  Hells yeah!

My ride in town was pretty mundane.  I was about 15 miles out when my brain and stomach wanted to do something else. . . EAT!  So, I could think of nothing else for the rest of my ride back to the house.  Soup. . .Bread. . .Ham. . .Swiss. . . Should I heat the sandwich up and melt the cheese?  That will take too much time. . .but it sounds too good. . . .and so on for the next hour!  I wonder how much of my workout time is spent thinking about food.  Ahh, lunch- it was all I'd hoped it could be. 

A quick wardrobe change and sunscreen reaplication later, and I was off to tackle another mountain- "the little one this time" is how I phrased it in my head.  It felt like it took no time at all to get there, and I was still maintaining a pretty decent pace (for me).  The initial climbing was harmless enough, and I got my fun ride down again.  I think I got a bug in my teeth from smiling too much!  I need to check my garmin to see how fast I was going- it was FAST.  Garmin say 51 mph?  I am going to say, no. 

When I reached that hill on Usery Pass, I discovered my legs were on fire.  Not literally, that would have put an end to cycling for me if I found that could happen.  Note: my 3rd least desired way to go is by death in a fire.  I climbed up that hill, and it felt like I would never reach the top.  Did I stop?  No!  I reminded myself that in not very much time I will have to run a marathon on legs that feel very much like they do now.  In other words, "quit your b----ing and climb that hill!"  I reached the top, had a little snack break, and started the journey home.  I was pretty proud of myself.

On the wa home, I encountered a small hill, and discovered something strange.  I decided to stand up to pedle instead of shifting, and the lactic acid burn I usually feel actually tickled. . .I'm concerned on a number of levels.  I hit every light on the way home, and I hit a car which was making a right hand turn and decided to park in MY bike lane (sometimes I hit cars).  I tapped it with my front wheel, but that just doesn't have the same drama to it.  Time slowed down, and the miles just would not go by fast enough.  I was ready to take a nap. . .My butt hurts so bad, my shoulders ache and my lower back and obliques are tight.  But it was well worth it to have reached my goal :-)  I was home by 5 just like I wanted!

The Century

Today is going to be my first day riding over 100 miles.  I am going to take my normal route from the house up to the towers at South Mountain.  My dad is going to meet me at the top with a few extremely cute and excitable little dogs.  I am then going to ride home and enjoy some soup and a ham sandwich on fresh sourdough, yum.  Once I have eaten, I will be riding up Usery park rd., a 45 mile round trip.  I am starting my ride at 8:30 and have set a goal to be done by 5:00.  Am I nervous?  Nope.  Do I fear I won't make it?   Nope.  Am I thinking it is going to be a bit cold on the way out there this morning?  Yup.  50 degrees is a bit cooler than I normally ride in :-).  I will be warmed up well before I climb the mountain, and once I'm there, I am not going to need to think about wind speed. . . I ride up SM at a whopping 6 mph at some points!

You may be right. . .I may be crazy

I registered to run Ironman Arizona next year! I have started working toward new and exciting fitness goals. I feel like a virgin, running for the very first time ;-). The idea of this race is enough to make all my "old boring routes" seem brand new. I think to myself, "this time I'm running for Ironman!" I completed a bike ride which by all my calculations and planning was ill-advised at best, but I proved myself wrong again. I biked 90 miles last week, a 30 mile jump from my longest ride. I will not pretend I made any kind of record speed on this ride, but I was amazed to have completed it without incident (heck, I didn't even get a flat!)


My next race is the PF Changs Rock and Roll Marathon in January. I signed up for this race believing it fell on my short week (so I would have Saturday off), but I was wrong. This means that I will be leaving work, going to the race, running 26.2, getting food, and, as rude as it may be, falling asleep at the table. I hear you saying "why not take a day off". Um, because A. I'm too much of a bad a-- for that and B. because I'm already blowing all my vacation on a trip to -wait for it- AUSTRALIA!!! boo ya! I am going to learn to scuba dive and dive the reef! That is another blog entirely, and I am looking forward to some fun stories from that 17 DAY CRUISE by the way :-).

Back to the training. . .This morning, after I got off work at 3am, I went home and ran 12 miles. I was scheduled to do 18, but sleep won my attention at last, and I finished up the last 6 after a good 5 hour nap. Next week, I am heading up Usery and South Mountain on Tuesday, with a lunch break in between to make it feel like a work day. . .it should take me about 8 hours because I am way too slow. After I do this, because it was a goal from last year and needed to get done, I am going to start working on speed, and keeping my long rides a tad shorter to save up some energy for the rest of the week.

My nutrition plan is being thwarted by hunger. I am using sparkpeople.com to log my fitness and food, and it is a judgmental little beast! Too much fat, not enough carbs, too much fiber. . .not enough calories? Well, that is new. I have started planning out my whole day's food so that I can be in range on all these nutrients. The program makes food feel like a chore, and it makes me want to eat a Twix in defiance. 

So, in conclusion, I am training for a Marathon, spending a day on my bike, feeling good about life, and eating on purpose or with purpose.  It is time to start my weekend, and I am ready to get some sleep :-)

A week of ups and downs

Work was a roller coaster today.  We started out in a happy place, but dark clouds were on the horizon.  Little did we know, the gremlins would be casually removing semicolons from our code.  The gremlins are real, though I have not seen one myself.  I have seen their handiwork: changing settings, rearranging charts, hiding production lots.  On my team, we have one ambitious gremlin fighter.  He notices when things are amiss, and make it his responsibility to undo the damage the gremlins have done.  Today, he bravely tracked the location of the gremlin mischief, and started the factory running smoothly again.  My hero. . .  And, as I leave today, things are back as they should be, quiet as a church on Monday.

Another week of work goes by

Things have slowed back down again at work, and I am feeling happy about my current job role. I am learning new tools, and feeling more comfortable with my responsibilities. I am working on losing a few pounds with a better attitude. I am concentrating on eating enough to keep my fitness a priority, so the weight will come off slowly, but I will feel better in the meantime :-).

I am still a little bummed that my race was cancelled, but I am looking forward to going to TX to run a 1/2 marathon with my brother. I will have only run races with my brother this year, which is pretty strange! I ran a new year's 5K with him and the Rock and Roll 1/2 in Phoenix. He seems like he is doing really well with speed work on the treadmill. I am jealous, I can never make any progress at all if I can't run outside. Those darn treadmills make me nervous at speed!

The 3PM-3AM schedule I am working right now has been a little tricky to settle into. The hubby and I are struggling with my long weeks where I go almost 4 days without seeing him. (We did play racquetball today before I left for work, and that was awesome). The weekend will be only Sunday for us this week, and then he's off to work M-F. At least we see eachother in the evenings Monday and Tuesday, so there's that. It makes me not want to go to Monday night yoga anymore though because then I miss spending time with him :-(. I know there are people who have to deal with more difficult schedules, and I pity them, this has taken some getting used to.

The summer is finally reaching an end. . .

I went for a bike ride this morning, only 20 miles, but I wasn't tired or dehydrated at the end of it, so I call it a win! My work schedule doesn't allow me to wake up very early to go for a ride, so I will have to wait until it cools down to really persue my south mtn and usery goal :-). I am still bummed about not having a triathlon this year, but I have a 1/2 marathon coming up in November with my brother in TX, so that will be something to look forward to.

Tomorrow is going to be my long run- 12 miles at this time. I will begin getting back up to speed, and getting back to my distance over the winter. I may be able to sign up for a 1/2 IM in April! That would be great to get done before the summer hits again. IM distance for next year if I can get signed up for the race :-)

wow, what a day!

I have had just the worst time with this coworker. She loves to talk to me in this way that makes my ego shrivel to 32 nm. She starts each sentence with my name, which wouldn't be bad, but it actually is quite condesending. I know who I am, please. . . "Jessica, you are not understanding what I am asking." Too much contact with her today has lead to a fun new discovery about stress and poor eating habits. I have learned that if I just let myself throw a fit (not in public), then I am ok to go about my day without binge eating. Fantastic, this must be how normal people handle their issues! I have used some very destressing language in my car and cried a few angry tears, but I feel better now. . .at least about that.

My terrible day had some leakage into my other life, my triathlete life. A month or so ago, my triathlon I was training for was turned into a duathlon, and I got pretty bummed, and lost all motivation to go to the pool. Well, today, I got word that the race has been cancelled completely.

Things are looking good.

I am getting better at motivating myself to swim. I have discovered that swimming 1000 yds is best done by counting 10 100 yard sets. I feel like it is easier to complete 10 rather than saying 40 lengths! So, yet another way to trick myself into feeling like this isn't a long time spent in the pool.

My weight loss project is going pretty well right now. I am back down to 140, and preparing to face the inevitable temptation to eat my way right back to 145. I feel like I am more motivated to lose the pounds, and I have more control over myself. It feels good to be on track. I will be at my goal by the end of August!

If I am lighter and the temperatures start dropping off, I am hoping my speed on both the bike and the run will increase rapidly. My long runs have slowed to a relative crawl (10:30 min/mi at times). My bike speeds are not too bad, but I tend to go in the early morning, and the movement of air seems to keep me cooler. I am hoping to bike Usery Pass tomorrow before going to San Diego at 15 mi/hr (that's a 3 hour total ride time).

Today I feel accomplished

I have spent most of my day running around trying to get things done and ready for the first checkpoint of the deinstallation of a piece of equipment at work. I spent the morning working to make sure all the big requirements were met, and had some others take care of double and triple checking some smaller things. I lucked out with getting my scheduled walk-through to give the ok for the beginning of phase 2 because another person dumped that slot since they weren't ready :-). I was supposed to give 48 hrs notice, but wasn't at work, so it slipped my mind! We passed with only a few minor concerns with me not signing off a couple of items on our checklist (because I did them this morning, and I was a bit nervous). This was my first major project, and I have impressed everyone with my ability to get things done on time and with good attention to detail. I worked through lunch, though, and now it is time to take a break at the gym, and do some stationary biking and weight lifting. Before I go home, I am going to hit the gym again for a swim! Should be fun.

I spent a good part of today enjoying my job. There is a project we are working on, and I was given charge of it. So far everyone is impressed that I am getting things done. I don't know if I should be insulted or feel proud when my collegues are surprised that things are already scheduled and moving along.

On my lunch break today, I ran on a treadmill for 6 miles. I felt really good except for the humidity and lack of air circulation. I suppose it is still better than running outside, but I long for the winter days when I could run at noon outside :-). I have been becoming more brave about my speed restrictions on the treadmill. I put it up to an 8 min mi for a while. I think I could do the whole run at an 8:30, but I didn't. Next week, I will try to do this.

My calorie restriction is right on track for today. Maybe a few more good days like this and I can get those 15 lbs gone!

eating right isn't always fun :-(

I am trying to lose 15 lbs before race day. I am starting off trying to lose 2 lbs per week, hoping that this will get me some initial momentum and inspiration. So far, I just lose the weight and gain it back. I have a 5 pound range I go through every couple of weeks. I have so many issues with foods. I have learned unhealthy habits! I eat when I am stressed, eat when I am angry, eat when I'm depressed, eat when I want to celebrate, eat when I am frustrated, eat when I'm sleepy, and eat when I'm bored. It makes it really hard to lose any weight. The only time I can stick to my plan is when I am emotionless! I am going to begin a new diet called the Vulcan diet. I reduce my caloric intake by meditating and focusing on eliminating emotion. If I am successful, I will write a book and make millions.

I love to eat healthy. Some of my favorite foods are fruits and vegetables. I prefer wheat over white bread, and don't drink non-diet soda. The problem is, I stick to my plan for a week or two, and then I lose control, and eat all the calories I'd been avoiding. It can be so heartbreaking sometimes. I feel like my brain is trying to trick me into eating. I find myself making excuses for my indulgence. "You ran a lot today" "you need the fuel for tomorrow's bike ride" "What's the big deal? It's not like you're fat" "you had a stressful day, enjoy something tasty" "you've got plenty of time before the race, why lose so much now?" I wish I knew how to fight it . . . ::sobbing::

Pepe ran 6 miles!!

Wow, I am proud of my little puppy! I had a fantastic 10 mile run today. I ran from my house to my dad's, then ran with my brother for 3 miles at the park by my dad's house, then ran home. Pepe did the run to and from my dad's house, and made a new distance record of over 6 miles!

My running partner is now at my feet, absorbing all my pride in him :-). When I run with him, he can be so well behaved, staying to my left, not running to far ahead or behind, but today, we saw many birds and lizards. Lizards must have done some harm to Pepe in another life because there is nothing he wants more than to chase one of these devils down and tear them to bits.

My favorite part of my run was when we went off the sidewalk, and ran parallel to a fence, on the other side of which where many lizards who had made nice homes for themselves amidst the trees and shrubberies. I have never seen a dog's eyes light up and ears perk up the way Pepe's did when he realized what was just on the other side of that fence. His head would dart back and forth as lizards would spring out of their hiding places, all the while Pepe's feet would keep trotting along as though only on part of him had forgotten the primary mission. Oh, but then, one made the error of leaving the safety of the fence, and my arm paid the penalty. Pepe strained at the end of the leash, confused, I am sure, as to why I was not as anxious to get the demon spawn. Alas, the lizard got away, and Pepe, disappointed in me for my lack of ambition, returned to his standard trot.

my long run

The sun is rising as I start my run. I am proud of myself for making it out this early. I start moving my legs, and they feel stiff. I tell myself, "mile one is the hardest, just get through this, and then you'll feel good." Everything starts to fall into place, my heart rate climbs and levels out at 160. The sun is rising in front of me, and I am so happy to be on my run.

At first, time passes slowly, and I feel the impact of every stride. Then, at mile 4, I feel as though things get quiet. My aches stop bothering me, and my mind is free to think of other things.

I begin to feel the heat of the sun, and find it higher than I'd expected. I begin to rethink my route, wondering where I might find more shade. Drops of sweat begin to form, and I wipe them away from my ears, hoping to avoid their interferance with my earphones. I realize that the song I am running to is pretty far into my playlist, and I count up my miles. I have gone 10 miles. Then, the light changes, and I am forced to wait. I become more aware of the heat, and my sweat, and the difference a self-generated 6mph wind can make. Finally, the signal turns green, and my feet are back in sync with the drummer from Coheed and Cambria.

"Only a 5k" to go! "Less than a mile to go!" "Just around the corner now!" I encourage myself to the end.

Beautiful Day

Went flying this morning! I was on South Mountain, and the winds were coming in South with some cycles out of the East. It was my third day in a row launching here, and I felt strangely nervous having just spoken to some hikers about reserve parachutes. My lines were a mess, maybe? My dad and I worked on them until we were sure things were sorted out, and at the end, I wasn't sure if there had been a problem from the start :-).

I brought the wing up in a nice lull in the wind, feeling the warmth of what I hoped would turn out to be a thermal. I put my weight into my harness, and started moving backward (reverse launch); bringing the wing up with only a slight correction needed on the left side before I turned around and ran toward the edge. The wing was flying, then, so was I :-)! I was flying into thermals and turning 360s to keep going up (even though I needed some convincing from my dad to complete the first full turn). I do not like facing the mountain before I am over launch, but the lift was strong, and I went up. There was a hawk coring the thermal I was in, and it felt amazing to be looking down on him for once. I looked back at launch, and my dad was taking off. I saw him go thermal searching, but for once he had to follow me to find the really strong lift :-).

After about 20 minutes, I decided to head for the LZ. The thermals had some edges to them, and I worried about things that might happen on landing. My goal was to land without taking an approach over the wash-the bastard got me twice already this week! I set up by the ridge, getting a little flight extending lift before I made my final approach. I landed into the wind with a great flare (thanks to some actual winds in the LZ), kited the wing to a clear spot where I could pack up and enjoy the feeling of a great, safe flight. My dad landed soon after, and we packed up and headed home.

In celebration of our flying, I tried to burn down the kitchen with a new recipe for stir fry! It was delicious, but this oil I was using was not good for cooking.

I also went for a 60 mile bike ride, which was not nearly as exciting to talk about, but I can say that my butt hurts from it, and I was at mile 58 and feeling sad that it was almost over :-(. The sun was setting at this point, and I was listening to "Goodbye Beautiful Day". I could not have planned a better ending to that ride.

I love sporks

I ate my breakfast today with a spork, and the rest of the day regretted not having said spork for my other meals. Cantaloupe is a great spork fruit!

I had a fantastic run this morning with my dogs. Pepe tried to kill me just so he could make an attempt at catching a butterfly, but did not kill me as I am very much alive. I love how happy he is on our run together. My dad said both dogs just wanted to snuggle the rest of the day, and he had a relaxing afternoon looking after them :-).

I am so tired today, just trying to get through the day at work, but it is almost over, and then 4 days of freedom!! :-) I went for a swim on my break tonight, and did about 20 minutes of intervals. I need to do another swim this weekend and also lift because I missed those workouts, but I can do those on Saturday while Steve and his buddies work on Churrios. I need to come up with a recipe for my chili moat as well. . . Days are too short, I think. And there aren't enough opportunities to use sporks-chili would be a good spork food.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming

My run yesterday went really well, I managed to get the dogs out for a few miles, and they enjoyed the exercise. Ayesha went for a 1.25 miles. I am so proud of her! She doesn't try to trip me anymore, and has gotten a bit faster, though the end of the run she still slows down a lot. Pepe is still a wonderful runner, aside from the occasional bird distraction. He ran 2 miles, and still howled at the door when I went out for my last 3.

For my break at work yesterday, I went to the gym to get my swim done. I was so happy to get to swim! Last week was a mess at work and I couldn't get away :-(. I could have kept going forever, but finished my workout and went back to work.

Today, I slept in too late to go for my morning ride, so the stationary bike awaits me on my break tonight :-). Which means I get to read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?

On a side note: I am very upset today about the situation with the Diet Dr. Pepper (DDP) fountain in the cafe. "Out of Order", huh? Why even come to work if you can't get your DDP fix. I might have some serious symptoms from the withdrawal. I already feel fatigue and increased irritability.

A great day!

Yesterday was a tough day at work. I didn't get any of my workouts in because I never stopped working :-(. 12 hours straight, and I couldn't find a moment to comfortably get away for a swim or go to the gym to lift. But, today, I was able to run my 12 miles, and it felt so good! I put some time into my meal plan for the week, and it is looking yummy! I am ready for a few days off when I can go for a long ride and hopefully get to the gym to swim a couple of times.

The best part of my run today was when I reached mile 6 and almost forgot I was running. My thoughts were drifting, and it was great to just imagine instead of worry about life :-). Steve ran my last 4 miles, and pushed me to run a little faster! Can't wait for my ride tomorrow!!

The temperature outside is 84 degrees, feels like 81

Yeah? Feels more like 101! I just finished 5 miles in this "feels like 81" morning :-). It will be worth it to get used to it now. My shift at work kind of forces me away from my very early morning runs, and maybe that's a good thing.

While I am not feeling sorry for myself yet, I am feeling sorry for my poor puppies! I took them out for the first mile. I had Pepe on my left and Ayesha on my right (well, until she just dropped back and tried to run only where she could find shade). When we got home, they both seemed happy to have gone, but were quite anxious to get to the ice water :-).

My plan for the rest of the day is to take my dinner break at the gym and then go swim after work. Swimming after work has never happened because I get off work very sleepy :-).

Ode to Chocolate Milk

Ode to Chocolate Milk:

You are all I desire
At the end of my ride
You taste of accomplishment
And my increasing pride

With each mile I run,
You make it so clear,
That I can recover
As long as you’re here

You are on my mind
At lap forty-five,
I complete these last laps
With increasing drive

In my refrigerator,
I reserve you a place
So I'll be strong when
I compete in this race

Curse you cheese dip!!

I am starting this blog because I think about so many things when I run/bike/swim, and I want to have them stored somewhere in case anyone is curious about my mini-adventure.

Today was supposed to be a 20 mi bike ride with Steve, but last night was a late one with foods I should probably have avoided. This cheese dip with meat and salsa just begged to be tasted, and the cursed stuff was full of some, as of yet undefined, substance which interferes with all brain function associated with appetite control. It helped in no way at all that it was paired with corn chips (delicious little bastards)! Needless to say, I woke up with a food hangover. If you've never experienced this, don't try. I could taste the salt from the previous evening's indulgence, and I felt like I would never stop feeling thirsty.

After getting through the morning, Steve and I managed to play some racquetball together, and it made me feel much better. I also went for a 3 mi run tonight with Steve and Pepe, who is a great little runner (just keep it at 3 miles). On my run, I started singing to myself, and I settled on "Let it be". I couldn't have come up with a better mantra for the day if I'd sat for hours. As I repeated the phrase, it seemed to address my failing. Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be . . .