January Catch-Up.

Two posts in January. Progress?!  Maybe?!

I hate to use the excuse "busy"....ever. Because in reality we are all busy.  Sometimes busy even means sitting your bum on the couch and doing nothing.  It is something that has to be done and must be fit into "life".

In reality, bum-on-the-couch has not been in the cards. 

*93-year-old Grandma passed earlier this month. If you know the Webb family you can't help but notice the closeness they all share.  A huge part of this loving family was because of Grandma.  She was a caring, loving, gentle soul.  She embraced her family unlike anything I have ever seen.  Tomorrow we say our good-bys, although the traditions she instilled amongst her family will live on forever. She left footprints on every heart she touched.

(Kitty footprints in the snow)

*Did you hear it snowed in Seattle?!  Immediately followed up by a rain storm? Then a wind storm? It was fun and crazy all at the same time. We gym hopped to find one that was open, only to find an 86 degree pool. After a 1:30 tempo run on a treadmill a sweaty hot pool is less than desirable.  We busted it out. Once we had enough cabin fever we ran outside.  In puddles and brown-dirty-slushy snow. But with the right friends we can't complain.

(Run buddy Elizabeth)



*The weather left us bundled inside. I cleaned out my closet that looked like it could have been border-line hoarding. It is officially a walk-in closet again. And I feel lost without all my shoes. But thanks to Zoot, it will be Christmas in January soon!

*It has been 6, yep, SIX entire months of no hospital visits and in turn 6 months of solid training.  6 months ago I held an FTP of  150'ish. This number (although tough to swallow) kept me going, knowing how much further I could push.  Seeing gains made me excited to ride, excited to train, and anxious to get stronger. Not one week has surpassed 15 hours, my body has limits.  BUT I am excited to enter a race in 8 weeks with the most fitness I have had since August of 2010. 

*Speaking of race.  We are headed to Costa Rica.  I don't own a passport.  We are working on that.  My picture got denied.  No headbands. I don't live a day without a headband. New photo submitted. Convinced I will go un-recognized.

*Humira can cause arthritis. Humira is used to treat arthritis. Makes sense right?! I now have arthritis in my foot.  It hurts. But not enough to stop me from sport. So my right foot will be swimming, biking, running OR sitting in an ice bucket. This was determined after multiple (ie:8) doctor visits.  No wonder there is no time to blog. Stress fracture, gout, cyst were all ruled out. Actually a huge cyst was found, but it doesn't hurt, so "it" needs to be named because" it" will be with me forever.

*Some non-racing goals were set for the new year. One has been a huge success: Spend more time with girlfriends. Dinners, coffees, mani/pedis, have been super enjoyable catching up with new and old friends. Epic fail on the other: No shopping for three months.  The new Coach bag was reaching for me, I budged, but half of it was accounted for through gift cards, so maybe I only failed half way. I will make up for it by spending more time with friends. :)

*Up and Coming events: One hour postal swim on Sunday and Colorado next week!

Live it up!

2012 *bam*

WOW! Its the end of 2011 and I just have to post.

I went back to see what I was doing last year and reminisced.  I was defining what it feels like to be an athlete.  I was trying to figure out what was next. I wrote goals.

Race goals for 2011 was to just show up at a start line and race! Mission accomplished.

Race goals for 2012. A little more lofty and I have to hit some big numbers to get there. So the goal watts and paces are within reach and I am feeling nervous with excitement. Nearly puking every S/B/R....but seeing my race plans and goals flash before my eyes on that refrigerator that sat practically blank at the end of last year is huge motivation. AND, those plane tickets to Costa Rica are purchased!!!

*I was taught at a young age that if you HAND write your goals and post them in a place you frequent then you are more likely to accomplish them. Our refrigerator is full of our goals, what we need to do to get there, and why it is important to us. A trait I feel truly works and that everyone wanting to achieve anything should follow.

*I would post photos but was also taught to only share your goals with individuals that 100% believe in you. Since blog land is, well, blogland, then keeping them private I must. When a goal is accomplished then I can share. I believe I posted a small visual of it once before post-St. Croix in 2009.

2011 Stats:

I tracked my "training hours" and am surprised that this year my hours are higher (bike less).  NOW, let me follow this up by saying I fully believe in quality over quantity and measurement of hours is not a true indicator of fitness, BUT it is kind of fun data to look at (amongst all the other fun data I can geek out on).  This year was very sporadic but consistently sporadic, last year was full of tons of training until late July and then it cam to a huge halt. Here are the numbers (a little embarrassed but also very proud, I gave it my best!).

Swim: 115 hours

Bike: 224 hours

Run: 127 hours

*34 hours of strength

2010 numbers

In great news the Humira is working besides feeling incredibly tired for 1-2 days.  I can handle this (and the bruises too)!  Mark just loves being able to prick me with the painful epi-pen every two weeks, twiddling his thumbs in excitement and listening to it go "whoosh" as it is inserted.

Last year I posted about all the things I "wanted" to do this time of year and wasn't able to. My last post stated ALL those things that I "GOT" to do this year! Yipee!!!

Remember the good, let go of the bad, and shine bright in 2012.  Happy New Year!