Merry Christmas!

I've been having a good time visiting the parents, seeing old friends, and hanging out in my old 'hood. I always like coming up here. I even went to track practice one day and ran with the distance girls. It was fun, and it was great to see my old coaches, but it was weird not knowing anyone on the team anymore!

The day before, which was the day I got here, I had a tempo run. I was supposed to do it two days earlier but because of the Missing Shoe Saga I hadn't done it yet. Talk about a rude awakening- I leave New Orleans in the morning, where it's close to 70 degrees, and by the evening I'm running in windblown snow at 12 degrees with a wind chill of -4. Gah! I actually felt really good, or maybe I was just so numb I didn't feel anything at all. I did keep thinking to myself though, "I used to LIVE here?!? And run outside all winter??"

I also participated in a fun Christmas tradition- the Candy Cane Relays. On Christmas Eve morning, the current track athletes, coaches, and any alumni who are home for the holidays meet up at the school and run a relay race (with candy canes as batons). It's a lot of fun to see some former teammates, hear what everyone's up to, and laugh and cheer for each other as we try to hand off broken remnants of candy canes. It was even funnier this year because we had to run around the bus loop. PHS is getting a brand new all weather track (yay!) but it's in the process of being built so there's no track right now.


Henn giving the pre-race instructions



All the alumni lining up to give their introductions (I'm the one on the left with the red thing on my leg)... there were more alumni than current athletes!



Ready... set... GO!



Look at that handoff! Henn, you taught me well :)



Mike T posing with his winner's trophy



It was good seeing you again, Henn!



Christmas morning was great as always. My mom and I both love having presents under the tree and stockings filled, so Santa still comes. He brought some great stuff this year, including the umbrella I asked for, the really cute coat I reluctantly left at the store a few days earlier (Santa is so sneaky!), and a 100-qt crawfish pot for my parents for next year's crawfish boil (Santa's helpers are pretty sneaky too!). One of the best gifts, and biggest surprises, was my brand new....

WETSUIT!



I'd never worn one before and I wasn't sure if it was going to go on all the way... it was TIGHT!



Getting closer...



Ta-daa!




It's Super PBG, here to save the day!



Jay-R got some presents too, like always. Unwrapping presents is one of his favorite things to do!







Merry Christmas everyone!

The Missing Shoe Saga

So if you're pbg, and you're leaving town for 10 days, and two days before you leave you realize that you've lost your running shoes, what do you do? If you answered "freak out", or "panic", then you know me pretty well :)

The shoes are old anyway so losing the shoes themselves wasn't that big of a deal, but they have my custom orthotics in them. I wouldn't mind running once or twice without them but ten days is a long time. I couldn't get new ones made before I left, since I was leaving town before my PT's office opened again. I didn't know if I could even find a suitable replacement pair of shoes, since the Hurricane 9 has been retired.

Friday morning when I didn't have them, I assumed I had left them at Greg's. So instead of running at lunchtime I'd just get them after work and run then. No biggie. Except when I got to Greg's.... no shoes! That's when I really started thinking and realized I probably left them at the gym Wednesday night. I wore them to the gym after my run, which I never do. I must have forgotten to pick them up on the way out after swimming.

Got to the gym and checked the lost and found... nada. I was very upset at this point. The next morning, Saturday, was the group bike ride. I headed back to the gym immediately after to check the locker room where I probably left them. I saw the masters swim coach, George, while I was there. He suggested a few more places to look and told me he'd call me if he heard anything. I looked in the locker room, all the open lockers, at the pool area, the back entrance desk... nothing. I called my coach and we talked about contingency plans- I'd try to run in new shoes with no orthotics, and possibly substitute some elliptical in case the running bothered my legs. I wasn't happy about it, but there wasn't much choice.

As I was pulling out of the parking lot, dejected, George called. He asked, "what kind of shoes were they again?" He had them!! I couldn't believe it. I said, "really??" so he said, "no, I'm just making this up to waste my time." Aw George, what a sweet guy. I raced back in there, grabbed the shoes, and gave him a huge, dirty, sweaty hug (I was still dressed in my bike clothes) because I knew that's exactly what he didn't want me to do :) He found them in the lost and found, in the Friday bin. They must have been turned in after I looked in there.

PHEW!! Crisis averted! I didn't realize how attached to my shoes I am until I couldn't find them. We've been through a lot together! When I thought they had been stolen, I felt so violated.

So that's the story of the missing shoes. And yes, I will be much more careful in the future!!

Hardcore Moment of the Day,

brought to you by the letters R-I-D-E and R-A-I-N.

What a crazy day Saturday was! And not just because of the bike ride where a few people wiped out, one necessitating an ambulance call (more on that later), or the Missing Shoe Saga (more on that later too). There was also all the last minute stuff to take care of before the next morning's early flight to NY for Christmas. PHEW.

Saturday morning, 5:00 AM rolled around way too soon and I *almost* stayed in bed and skipped the group ride. The plan was to ride with the GNO Tri group for the first time and I was excited, but also a little nervous. I'd never ridden with more than two other people before, and what if I was the slowest one there? Or what if I did something stupid and caused a crash? But in the end, I knew that as good as the bed felt, I'd regret it if I didn't go, So up I got, packed Stella in the truck, and headed for the meeting point.

As everyone started showing up, it started to rain. Not hard, but enough to get the roads slicked up. The general consensus was that we'd ride anyway, since "what are you going to do on race day if it rains? DNS??" I saw some people that I knew and lots of people I didn't. I was surprised at how many people showed up- there had to be close to 50 of us. My friend said there's not usually that many.

When we finally rolled out of the parking lot at 7:00 sharp, it was kind of a rush! For the first time I was riding in a huge group of people. There were bikes all around me, and I knew I had better keep good control of Stella or there would be problems quick. It was also really cool though, this huge group of triathletes, and I was one of them! I already decided this group thing was much cooler than riding on the levee all by myself.

Kevin, the guy everyone calls Coach and who is one of the "leaders" of GNO Tri, knew that it was my first time. He rode over to me and told me not to worry, just stay on his wheel and he'd look out for me. And that's exactly what he did- I stuck right to his back wheel almost the whole time, caught a nice draft, and let him worry about the road ahead. It was so nice of him to take care of me like that. I was able to enjoy myself in what could otherwise have been a pretty intimidating experience.

Sticking close to his back wheel meant that I caught all his road spray though, and combined with my own spray hitting my back, I got pretty dirty pretty quickly. It was happening to everyone though. At least it wasn't cold.

On the way back, one of the guys in a group ahead of us wiped out. The group behind him came around a corner and found him laying in the road, unconscious. Totally scary. Kevin said he was a really experienced rider, and must have just caught a slick patch or hit one of those reflector things in the road. No one was around him when it happened and he doesn't remember, so no one knows for sure. He seemed OK after a few minutes, coherent and alert at least. A group of us waited until the ambulance showed up and then Kevin waited with his bike until someone came to pick it up. The rest of the ride was uneventful, thankfully, but I did hear of another friend of mine from the lead group who wrecked twice. Kevin made sure to tell me that this type of thing is very rare! I think he was afraid I'd get freaked out. I'm just glad everyone is OK.

It was my longest ride so far, about 45 miles I think. We were moving at a pretty good pace (for me anyway), had the rain and slick roads to deal with, and it was my first group ride, so I allowed myself to feel a little hardcore after we were done. Especially when I got back to the truck and was wiping all the dirt off my face. Aw yeah, bring it on!

Wait, what did I just say??

I've been feeling a change coming for a while now. There have been rumblings of it- the feelings of satisfaction after a long workout, getting excited over trying a new nutrition product, spending more of my day thinking about my key sessions for the week... Well it finally hit me the other day. As I was writing my workout comments for my coach, I realized that TWICE in two days, at two different workouts, I had very distinctly thought to myself, "This is FUN!" Once was a tempo run and once was a spinning interval workout. And I actually thought it was fun *while* I was doing it.

This may not seem like that big of a deal, but to me it's pretty huge. I've always enjoyed the fitness I get from working out, and I've always felt a commitment to keeping up with my training schedule, but I've never been able to say with a straight face that I really truly enjoy it. During school I used to get frustrated when I'd hear teammates and friends talk about loving running. Yeah, running was something I did and did a lot of, but it was always because of a sense of obligation, competitiveness, or just plain stubbornness. Definitely not because of any kind of love.

So how did this happen? I don't really know. It's not because I'm getting good at it and winning stuff, because that's definitely not happening. Maybe it has to do with being injured for a while and not being able to train. I'm finally doing more now than I was before the injury, and that does feel good. But however it happened, when I think of how I felt before my tempo run on Monday ("let's go, time to stretch the legs, this is going to feel good") compared to how I used to feel before tempo runs ("crap, this is going to hurt, when is it over??") the difference is pretty apparent! I'm still not going to go on the record and say that "I love running" or any kind of crazy talk like that, because it's definitely not all sunshine and puppies, but I have been having some good workouts.

And it's not all because of me by any means- I have to give a shout-out to my super-duper coach, Jennifer of Ironclad Coaching, since I would be a lazy blob without her, and to my PT, Mike of Babin Physical Therapy and Babin Tri-Sports, who keeps me going with regular tune-ups :)

With my next race being my biggest one so far (the New Orleans 70.3 in April) and my training volume increasing, I hope this new-found enjoyment continues. I'm still not too crazy about my long bikes... it would be great if those became fun all of a sudden, but I'm not holding my breath :)

Can Anybody Hear Me?

Some of my favorite lyrics from one of my favorite songs:

And I fail
But when I can, I will
Try to understand
That when I can, I will

Can anybody hear me
I just want to be me
When I can, I will
Try to understand
That when I can, I will


Tonight I can't. I was excited for today's run, it was the first one that I got to do some targeted pace work. It was going to be fun. But I just can't. I went back and forth on it a few times, but I guess I'm just going to have to move my schedule around and fit it in tomorrow. I hope I get out of this funk soon, this sucks. Especially because physically I feel great.

Today I learned...

...how right people are when they say you have to keep swimming consistently or you'll lose your feel for the water. I swam tonight for the first time since before I went to India, and it felt like I was learning to swim all over again! You would think that since I was just training for a half marathon that I'd be in decent shape, but apparently it doesn't completely cross over. After my first few sets, I was tired! And they were easy sets too! Finally by the end I was feeling a little more like my old swimming self, but still far from fishlike.

Before India, I was getting a little burned out on swimming. I think the weather turning colder had something to do with me starting to not look forward to my swims. Also I think I was just getting bored of up and down and up and down and up and down the pool all the time. I still wasn't thrilled about the cold today- I totally wussed out and swam inside. Even though I hate swimming inside, sometimes I hate the cold more. But even with that going on, I didn't have that burned out feeling about doing my workout that I'd been starting to have before. My break from swimming wasn't planned, but maybe it's good that it happened. It is the offseason after all so it's not like I have a race to worry about, and it's kind of nice to feel that swimming is new again. Maybe I should buy a new suit to celebrate. Of course, I doubt that my upcoming swims are going to be as easy as this one was, so maybe I shouldn't speak too soon about my newfound love for swimming and instead just get my arse in the pool and get better at it!

Ms Kai doesn't know what all the fuss is about. She thinks swimming is awesome no matter how often you do it.








And it's even better if you get to carry a big stick.

Just What The Doctor Ordered

I wasn’t feeling very well on Wednesday afternoon, which was exactly what I didn’t need with the race coming up this weekend. So to help it go away as quickly as possible, I went home early from work and pretty much stayed in bed the rest of the day and all of Thursday. Along with taking several naps and eating a lot of soup, I also got a lot of quality time with Kai. I felt a little bit bad that she might be bored with just sitting in bed all day. But one thing she does very well is sleep, and she performed that duty exceptionally well those two days.



Early on during that time, I was struck by the fact that we hadn’t spent that kind of time together in a long time- a kind of purposeful nothingness. We hadn’t simply been in each other’s company, not doing much of anything at all, for as long as I could remember. And I noticed things about her, things that I always notice but usually in passing while I’m on my way from one thing to the next- like the way she rests her head on the pillow like a person, or the way she smells when she’s sleeping. She likes to change positions every so often, alternating from curled in a tight ball to flat out on her side. Often when she uncurls from her ball to lie flat, she stretches- arching her back like a cat and spreading her toes. When she dreams, she twitches her feet and face and sometimes makes a noise almost like a muted bark, and I always imagine that she’s chasing squirrels. She checks on me every now and again, lifting her head off the pillow and blinking sleepily in my direction, yawning, then when she’s convinced that everything is still how she left it, she lowers her head back down with a sigh and goes back to sleep. I relished the fact that I was able to spend unhurried time soaking in all these wonderful things about her, all these things that I love so much and am constantly trying to imprint on my memory forever.





My house is poorly insulated so I hate to run the heat too much and waste it, which means it’s pretty cold inside in the winter. That meant that we also spent a lot of time cuddling those two days, much of it with her curled up to my side under the blankets. I always worry whether she gets enough oxygen down there, but I also love the feeling of her warm furry body next to me so I let her do it. She eventually gets overheated and has to come up for a break anyway. It’s secretly one of the things that I, as a person who hates to be cold, love about the wintertime- the summer is just too hot for that much body contact. But Kai, ever a creature of comfort, hates to be cold as well. So those cold winter nights more often than not find her snuggled up next to her mama, an arrangement that serves both of us well.



After two days of us lazing around together, I was feeling much better and went on to Vegas to have a great race and an awesome weekend. I met some friends in person for the first time, I made some new ones, had lots of laughs… and oh yeah the race was good too! My first half marathon- I finished feeling strong but also that I’d given it all I had, which were exactly my instructions so I consider it a success. I was satisfied with my time too. Even though I didn’t have an official time goal, I wanted to break 2 hours and I did (1:53). I’ll write up a more detailed RR later. Now it’s time to catch back up on some sleep, with a certain pit bull of course!!

On To The Next One

Home safe from India. It was a looong flight! We almost missed our connection in Newark. This was after over 20 hours of traveling already. It's a good thing we made it (barely!) because I think I would've lost it at that point.

Now time to focus on Vegas. And it's about time too, since the race is Sunday and I leave here in 2 days. It's been a while since my last race so I've been thinking about this one for kind of a long time. I was doing really well too, putting some great long runs in the bank over the last few weeks. Then my schedule got upset by the terrorist attacks, and my whole system was upset by the traveling anyway, and now I'm kind of stressing. I shouldn't be any less fit than I was a week or two ago, but I still feel that way.

I think I decided that if this race does not go well, I'm going to try to find another half marathon to do in the very near future. Then hopefully I won't have to deal with any issues like I did with this one and I'll be able to have the good race that I know is in me. But I'm not going to think about that any more right now, because there's still a race to run. And two of the things I know I'm good at are focus and determination. My head's not quite where I want it to be in those respects considering how close the race is, but I have faith that come race time I will be ON. Thirteen miles? Easy peasy. Bring it on!!

Three Days And Counting...

That's how long it's been since I've been able to run/bike/swim/do anything besides sit in a hotel room and watch the news. It's a pretty trivial complaint, considering all the people here who have lost their lives, lost loved ones, and who are still unaccounted for. I know how extremely fortunate I am that missing workouts is the worst thing I have to deal with right now.

I wrote a big post with everything I've experienced since the attacks started, but it was too long to post here. Basically, it's been interesting for sure, but I've never felt too much in danger. I was probably the most scared while listening to the explosions the first night. Whenever we heard voices in the hallway of our hotel we would turn off the TV and stay really quiet for a few minutes. That whole night we stayed dressed and ready to run in case we needed to (I made sure to put on my sportsbra just in case!!). I wore my pants with the cargo pockets so I could carry my passport and some cash without worrying about it falling out. But luckily, that was as intense as it got for us. We never felt too freaked out, even then. I knew there wasn't anything I could do about what was happening, so I just made sure to stay alert and be ready to act if we needed to.

Over here in Mumbai, it was late at night Wednesday night when the attacks started. The whole day Thursday, we pretty much just stayed in the hotel room watching the news. We did venture out at one point to try to find some water. Every place was closed, but we could see some people moving around inside a restaurant on the corner where we had eaten dinner two days prior. They wouldn't let us in but they sold us two bottles of water. This was about 11:30 AM on Thursday. I took a few pictures out on the street just to capture what was going on. The street outside our hotel was very quiet. There were more pedestrians than I expected, but still much fewer than normal.


Around the corner from our hotel, police and military were blocking off the street that led down to the Taj.



At the end of the next street, we could see all the parked vehicles from the news stations that were covering the story.



Soldiers from the Indian army were stationed along the streets. This truck was parked directly across from our hotel.


The next day, Friday, we were finally able to meet up with the rest of my family. We are now at a different hotel, further from the action. Originally, we were all supposed to stay at the Trident, so my brother had to scramble around to find rooms somewhere else. Friday afternoon actually felt pretty normal- my mom and I, along with my brother's fiancee and two of her cousins went shopping for saris for my mom and I to wear for Saturday's party. We went to a big department store where the whole third floor was all saris. So many different fabrics in every different color you can imagine. And the beadwork and stitching is just amazing. Saris are so cool!

Now it's Saturday morning. My brother just left to go to the Trident to try and retrieve his luggage. He and his fiancee had sent their bags ahead to the hotel, before everything started happening. They've been living in borrowed clothes since then. My brother's suit for the party is in his bag, so hopefully he can get it back or he might be partying in a t-shirt tonight!

Today's mission for me is to find a treadmill. Even though life is pretty much going on as normal where we are, it's still too dangerous for me to run outside. And unfortunately this hotel doesn't have a gym. I'm also starting to worry a little about being able to get my flight out of here. I imagine the airport must be pretty backed up. I know that missing my race next week would be another very trivial complaint, but I'd really like to make it. Not much I can do about it now besides just wait and see. And enjoy myself while I'm here- can't wait to wear my sari tonight!

Thanks so much to everyone for sending your thoughts and prayers. It really makes me feel good to know that so many people are thinking of me and my family. It is very sobering though to think of how many people there are in this city who have not been as fortunate as we have.

And you think triathlon is crazy?

The next time someone tells me I'm crazy for doing triathlon, I will laugh and say, "You want crazy? Try running in the streets of Mumbai."

People EVERYWHERE, narrow streets, unmarked intersections, stray dogs and livestock roaming around, horns honking constantly... and that was in the first five minutes!



And that's the tamest street of all, I didn't get a picture of the really wild ones (I was too busy holding my life in my hands!). I had to keep repeating to myself which side of the street I was on- "Now I am running WITH traffic" or "Now I am running AGAINST traffic". Although that doesn't help much, since the people basically just drive wherever there's room. Lane lines, if they even exist, are a mere suggestion. I figured out that whoever is in front is who has the right of way, whether you're another vehicle or a pedestrian- if you manage to get in front, they'll let you go, but if they nose ahead, you better get out of the way!

To prove I really did it, here's me starting out (I'm on the right side with a white t-shirt):



And a big shout out to my Bahraini running buddy. After I'd been running almost ten minutes, I saw another guy on my side of the street who was running too. He had sneakers and shorts on, so I figured he was probably running for exercise rather than just trying to get somewhere. We got stopped by traffic at the same point, so I asked him, "are you running too?" He replied, "Arabic, you know?" to which of course I said no, sorry. We started back up running, and came back together again a few corners down. I called to him and asked him, "Can I run with you?" and made gestures towards me and then him, while scissoring my fingers to look like running legs. I think he pretty much got it and he nodded, and then we were off. He helped me fend off traffic, showed me where to turn, and really helped me get my confidence up to handle the streets. We couldn't talk much, but I managed to figure out that he was from Bahrain and he was here because of the hospital (whether working or as a patient or family member, I don't know, but I asked him if he was OK and he said yes). I told him I was American and I was here because my brother was getting married. I'm not sure if he understood the wedding part, but he knew "American". After another ten minutes or so, I got the impression that he was done but I had about 20 still to go. I told him I had to get back to the Taj, and he ran me back there and we said goodbye. At that point, I was much more comfortable navigating the streets on my own, even though I did manage to almost get lost (luckily I ran into a Mumbai police officer who kindly gave me directions). So I don't even know his name, but THANK YOU, my friend from Bahrain, it was so nice to meet you and run together!

What are you good at?

Whenever I read an interview or survey with questions like "what are you proudest of about yourself?" or "what is your best personality trait?" I always think about what my answers would be. It's tough to come up with anything, because I don't tend to think of myself in those terms. So when a friend of mine recently told me "you're so fast" (yes that was you MD!), I didn't really think about it at first. Today on my long run, those words came back to me. It's funny that she said that, because I've actually never been fast. I did run a pretty surprising 10K last month at the end of my first Oly tri that I was really pleased with- don't get me wrong, I wasn't breaking any records, but it was a lot faster than I thought I'd be able to go at that point. But still- fast? me? That just sounds silly.

In school, we won a lot because we had a great team. We had two girls who were very good, then a few who were OK-to-decently-good (I was one of these) and then several more who contributed to the team in one way or another. Our team was very good because we didn't have just one or two superstars, we had a consistent level of pretty good talent among a lot of people. I loved being part of that: achieving more together than any of us could have achieved alone.

So, I was thinking about all this, and wondering if I'm not fast, then what am I? What do I do well? I decided that my best athletic strength is the ability to outrun my abilities. Meaning that when I need to, I can push through a lot of discomfort and doubt and pain and get more out of my body than I really had in there. My coach used to tell me I was a 'big-meet runner' because I'd always have my best races when it really counted.

I remember running my last leg of Hood to Coast in August, when I was still on my comeback from shin splints. I hadn't run anywhere near 7.28 continuous miles yet in my training, but that was how long my last leg was, so I crossed my fingers and off I went. I remember looking at my watch after about 2 miles and not really believing I could keep up my 8:45ish pace for 5 more miles (I'd been running around 11:00 pace in training!). But I thought, hey there's only one way to find out... and just kept going. I finished with an average pace of just under 9:00 which I was totally pleased (and surprised) with.

On my long runs lately, I've felt great, but I haven't felt like I could run much faster over that distance than I already am. But if history is any indication, I guess I won't really know until race day. I'm excited to find out.

Stuff I Like...

pbg's Product Hall of Fame:




My Nike FitDry sportsbras. These things rock. I am VERY picky about my sportsbras. They have to be tight enough to stop the bounce, stretchy enough to get on and off easily, have a wide chest band to be supportive and allow for the HRM, and be made of a good technical material. Check, check, check and check. I think I have one in every color!




Under Armour running shorts. They hardly feel like I'm wearing anything at all. And even on long runs, no chafeage. Sweet.




Nike running gear- whenever I go to the sporting goods store (which is way more often than I should), I always try on all the brands but I keep coming back to Nike. The materials are good, the fit is good, the cuts are good. They don't make me look like a sausage (like Under Armour does, except for the above shorts), they don't fit me weird (Adidas) or ride up (Champion, and many of the off-brands) and they seem to last a long time. This tank top is my current favorite. I like to wear it for my long runs. I think it has some special clip for your head phone cord, but I don't use that. I just like how it fits.




Garmin Forerunner 405. This thing is totally cool. It does way more things than a watch should ever be expected to do. I'm addicted.




Bike shoes. Easy on/off, comfortable, and apparently stylish- I had a girl stop me one time as I was leaving for a ride to ask me where I got those cool shoes so she could get some. She was disappointed when I showed her they were bike shoes and really not the best for walking around in, although she looked like she was still considering it anyway.




Angel Eyewear sunglasses, "Mystique". I first bought these on my first (and only so far!) trip to California. I lost them when I moved, and I was so disappointed because I don't think they make them anymore and they really are the best sport sunglasses I've ever had. They fit my face perfectly and don't bounce when I run. Fortunately I found someone selling them on ebay, so I bought all they had!




Calf sleeve. I am so in love with this thing. It helped me tremendously when I was trying to come back from my shin splints. At first I wore it 24x7, now I just wear it when I work out. I could probably wean myself off of it at this point, but I'm very attached to it. As you can see, it's been through a lot :)




The best running shoes ever- Saucony ProGrid Hurricane 9. I got fitted for these by my PT and I'm about ready to get my 3rd pair. Along with my orthotics, these shoes keep my over-pronating feet in line, which keeps the rest of me healthy and happy.




Foooood.... The best stuff I've found so far. I have a lot of experimenting still to do, but so far I love: Gu2O (great calorie/carb replacement without an overwhelming flavor or overload of sugar), Honey Stinger (honey as an energy gel- genius! And the gummies are great too), Hammer Bars and Larabars (very few ingredients, and they're all recognizable- cashews, dates, almonds, raisins- and the texture and taste are perfect for mid-workout), nuun (light taste, slight fizziness, great for replacing electrolytes when you don't need the sugar or calories of energy drinks).

tran⋅si⋅tion /trænˈzɪʃən, –noun

"movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another"

Before you can figure out you're transitioning, though, you have to know where you were, then that it's changing, and then where you want to be. Or at least where you think you're headed.

So before I could figure out that I was transitioning into an adult, I had to figure out what that meant. Who was I, really? What was I trying to be? When I was in college, I used to always hear people say that college taught them who they really were. Whatever that means. I used to get so frustrated at that because whatever that boat was, I missed it. If there was a class or a seminar on it, I didn't find it. Nor did I have some kind of "a-ha!" epiphany moment. But it did make me start asking myself the question. I never really thought to wonder about who I really was before that. I didn't realize it was something people actually thought about. But like everything else at college, what I ultimately learned was how much I didn't know. What motivates me? What makes me happy? What do I want to achieve with my life? Do I have a "type", as far as guys that I like, and what is it? What's REALLY my favorite flavor of ice cream? (OK so that last one was easy. All of them. Just not the ones with chunks of cherries in them, that's just gross.)

So now here I am, about 4.5 years post-college, and I finally feel like I've started to make progress on some of those answers. I guess you figure out those things as you see how you respond to different life situations. What motivates me? A challenge. Wanting to feel loved and appreciated. Pleasing someone. The desire to do the right thing. I'm still working on it, but it's a start. And I'm finding that the more answers I get, the more comfortable I feel with myself as a person. That's a transition I've been wanting for a long time.

What other transitions have I been up to? I've gone from New Yorker to New Orleanian; from dog sister to dog mom, thanks to the most amazing canine companion any girl could ever wish for and who I love more than I thought possible; from student to gainfully employed; from living under someone else's roof to being a homeowner; from reluctant athlete to inactive blob to finally an athlete again, and an eager one this time; from codependent to able to stand on my own two feet.

Not least of all, this season was my first time trying the transition from swimmer to cyclist and cyclist to runner. And I think I really like this triathlon stuff! In my rookie season, I did two sprint triathlons and one Olympic distance, and I had a blast. Now I'm getting ready for my first half marathon on Dec 7th which I'm very excited about (Vegas baby!). Next year will be even better. I've got a great coach and I'm happy with what I'm doing. So there's another answer to one of my questions- what makes me happy? Triathlon!

Now off for my 135-min long run, the longest until Vegas. Also the longest run of my life so far, actually. See, things are changing in a great way, and that's what it's all about!

Congratulations, It's a Blog!

I have never been a blog person. Not that I have anything against them, I just didn't really read them or picture myself ever writing one. I still think it's kind of a weird idea- I mean, do I really think I have enough interesting things to say that people will actually want to read it? Besides my mom, that is. I know she'll read it. Honestly though, I'm kinda boring.

But, I wanted a good way to keep track of my workouts, training-related stuff, and race reports. I'm excited about the new things I'm doing and I have some pretty big goals I'm working towards.

It's too bad that I can't blog while I'm running actually, since that's when I seem to do my best thinking. I've been writing blog posts in my head during runs for the last few weeks at least. Time to finally write them down for real, I guess!