Sunday, April 14, 2013

Otherwise known as The Masters......


 If you ask my husband what this weekend was he may respond with the Masters, but really it was my birthday too.  Never fret , Webb ensured all gifts were purchased and meal reservations made before HIS night before Christmas.
 
On the night before my birthday, or better known as "Friday at Augusta" Webb surprised me with a cute top as an early gift, or a "thank you for letting me OWN the TV all day (and soon to be all weekend) gift".
 
Powerbar provided my breakfast for riding up and down a hill with teammates, and a fun run on trails around Discovery Park.
Bridget brought amazing homemade treats in famous B-Jones-style and left the team asking for more.
A nice nap and then dinner time with family at the delicious and local La Rustica.
 
Thanks to everyone for making my day so special, one lucky and thankful girl over here!


Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Finding Motivation.

 
Motivational quotes are EVERYWHERE!  "Face your fears", "aim high", "dig deeper".  When focused these make sense, but over the past few months they have been a discouragement.  And I have to close my eyes and ignore the unsettling swirls in my stomach.  I read them and think I am lazy, but in reality, I need to be smart.  I believe to truly be successful you need to be "all in", and honestly, in the racing aspect of my life I have been striving to find that certain something that drives me each and every day, primarily in fear of compromising my health.  Having enough eye-opening- flare-up-experiences can do this to you.   But, when the time is right, the time is right and the drive to excel finds you.  When the time isn't right, then we occupy that time with other important goals in our life.
 
It is easy to be influenced into continually doing more, even if it is unhealthy, as an athlete, that is all many of us know. Balance is hard, but it is rewarding.
I have been lucky enough to do the Hot Chocolate 15K a few months ago with lots of teammates (it made the out and back so-much-fun!) Considering I had only run 1 full hour a couple of times, you can only imagine what happened at 1 hour and 1 minutes into the race...ouch!  But the hot cocoa was great!
 
I did the Mercer Island 5K too, double ouch. But thankful to be out there once again.
 
Insurance finally gave approval for the VLS#3 probiotic and after a couple of weeks I am feeling even better. So am sticking to the combination of Humira and Imuran and the probiotics.
 
I was challenged with my achy shoulders  restricting me in the water, with my legs producing watts 50 lower than what I was used to seeing, and with my run paces being sub-par.  I had to go back to the basics and appreciate training by disabling all gadgets and committing to persistence. Over several weeks things started to change...did I mention SEVERAL weeks! 
 
My motivation and drive is reinstated. I may have decided on doing some triathlon races this year (pro or age group is yet to be determined) but either way I am really love what I am doing again, its undeniable!