Personally, I like the 'snot on my glasses and shoulder' look :)

Hello IM training!  

Random Motivation

See that huge button on the right side of my page?  Click on it - and donate any amount of money to Rev3 Run Across America!  We are raising funds for the Ulman Cancer Fund -which is an amazing foundation that focuses on educating, connecting, and empowering young cancer survivors.  You can also track our progress across the country!  Take a moment and check it out!  

I was in Telluride, CO last week for a family friend's wedding.  Wow.  For those of you who live in the mountains, I envy you!  (except when it's really cold - then I'm happy on the beach) But the views were absolutely breath taking!  And it's always great to spend quality time to my friends and family!

Now I'm back home and back to reality.  I would like to throw a huge thank you to who ever decided to decorate the IMFL bike course with some spray paint motivation:

This really helped out on the last 1/2 of my hurricane force winds ride yesterday evening!  (This is about the last 25 miles of the IMFL course) 

I hope everyone is having a great week!  

Back on the saddle

 I have not 'seriously' been on the princess (aka - my tri bike) since October.  Sometimes you just have to take the bike and put her in her room for awhile.  I do this to avoid burnout and from throwing her into the gulf (hey - sometimes I get really burned out!) On Facebook I was invited to a coffee ride - which I thought would be an excellent way to get back into a saddle.  A leisurely 40ish mile ride and then coffee after?  Perfect!  

This morning I woke up uber excited for the ride.  Sitting on the couch, drinking my coffee, I turned on the weather channel.  40 degrees - 20mph wind/gusts.  Awesome.  When I got to the ride, it only got better.  I only knew two people.  And I was the only girl.  The other 20 people were hard core roadies.  Just a bit out of my comfort zone.    

Suck it up princess and get it done.  

Check.  It was fast and I was in the 'b' group - but for my first ride back in 2+ months, I was pretty excited.  Thankfully my cross training with P90X and my new found love of mtn biking paid off - and I felt awesome.  Oh how I've missed quality time on the princess.  

But I can not forget the new purple princess:

On a random ranting note.

(man - I have not done this forever)

Special K's 'lose 6 lbs in two weeks'.  Absolute crap.  A bowl of cereal of breakfast and lunch?  Really?  How long can someone keep that up?  And what is that serving?  1/2 cup?   You know after the 'two weeks' those six lbs will just reappear!  It's not a diet folks - its a lifestyle change - that is the key :)  Eat fruits and veggies and you'll be looking good!  

Not to mention - I can't keep cereal in the house because I will seriously eat a box in one day.  Some people are addicted to chocolate - but my weakness is cereal.  LOVE IT!  So - this Special K diet will no doubt NOT work for me.  

Happy Training!  

So much going on!

It's official.  2012 is going to be one of the best/craziest/busiest year of my life.  But I am so ready for it.

First of all - I hope everyone had a great new years!  We kept it classy in Panama City Beach by bring in the new year with all you can bowl/skate.  I tell you what - you get a group of triathletes and surfers together - we are one competitive bunch!

So this year, not only will I be a member of the crazy/awesome bunch of people otherwise known as Team REV3, but I will continue to be an ambassador for GoTRIbal.  GoTRIbal is such an awesome group of women - when you have a free moment, check out  the GOTRIbal site.  

REV3 is also doing some amazing things this year!  Want to run across America to raise money for cancer? Sure!  How about raising money for the Ulman Cancer fund for Young Adults? Sounds awesome!  This epic adventure will be starting March 26th in Oceanside, CA and ending 21 days later in Washington DC.   Want to see if they will be running through your neck of the woods or how you can donate to this kick ass cause?  Check out this site.  

Remember - this is just January.  I can't wait to see what the rest of the year bring for REV3 and GoTRIbal!  SO freaking excited!  

While we are talking about GoTRIbal - I would like to give a huge shout out to fellow ambassador - Kellie Smirnoff.  Kellie was not only the first female to finish Epicman this past weekend, but she won the whole race!  Talk about chicking everyone - Kellie now owns the saying 'you've been chicked'!  Not sure what Epicman is?  It's a triple Ironman.  Yes, you read that correct.  TRIPLE IRONMAN.  Kellie is nothing but a 5 foot ball of awesomeness.  She is hands down the most positive, friendly, and one of the best people to have a glass of wine with I know. 

Love it.  It's hard to take the smile off of my face when I see such awesome people reach their goals!  

Well.  It's January.  Let the Ironman Texas training begin!  Blogging will be getting very interesting!

I have found the secret

the secret to having a killer off season!  Holy cow p90x is awesome to build strength.  I have not swam in probably a month but have been doing p90x about 5 times a week.  Yesterday, I jumped in the pool with bad ass Sarah and felt awesome!  I'm not going to lie, I have been nervous about starting training for IMTX (in two weeks!) because I have not been on the princess or have ran further then seven miles in two months.  But I really think these crazy ass workouts I've been doing will benefit me once I do start IM training.  So if you are looking for something different - seriously check it out. 

Here are some photos from tonight's plyo workout:

And it also helps to have some awesome training partners!

I know I've been talking about P90X quite a bit - but it's pretty much the only training I have been doing for the past month or so.  Don't worry - I'll have fun and exciting swimbikerun goodness (and more frequent posts) here soon!  

I hope everyone is having a great week!

This week

I had dinner on Monday night with some amazing women.  So amazing that I actually sat back (while drinking a fab glass of wine) and had to smile.  Smile because I'm lucky enough to know these kick ass ladies.  And that smile is still on my face.  Across from me - I had Kellie.  Kellie is a fellow GOTRIbal ambassador and also training for a little race called EPIC MAN in Hawaii.  Don't know what Epic Man is?  It's like of like an Ironman on crack.  7.2 mile swim / 336 mile bike and a 78.6 freaking mile run.  Holy crap.  And then next to her I had Libby.  Libby not only killed Kona last year and rocked Ironman St. George while training in Florida (remember, Florida = not to many hills) but she also took a HUGE milestone leap in her job.  And then next to me was Doris.  Doris launched a sweet new worldwide website on Monday which she designed- and also took a position that is going to move her California.  I really don't think a table could get any more awesomer. 

I feel blessed to even get to enjoy a great meal with these awesome ladies. 

Anyway - on with my random crazy week.  I've been traveling for work (hence my killer kick ass girls Jacksonville dinner) But I took advantage of the free gym membership with my hotel.  So far I'm winning the treadmill fight - but I just cannot bring myself to run over five miles in place. But I'm loving the free weights - and I can totally tell a difference in my strength and the definition of my muscles since starting P90X!  But there are still random boys lifting the really really heavy weights - like three times.  Still can't figure that out.   

I hope everyone had a killer week!  And CHEERS to the freaking weekend! 

I love Saturdays

I really do.  Specially now since it's off season - it's nice to do 'fun runs' instead of 'planned' runs. Yesterday we decided to do the Watercolor loop which is a nice 5ish mile run that is partly on trails and partly on the road.  

 We ran into someones water stop - I just thought it was funny and I needed to take a photo.  At least we hide our mid-run goodies in a bush!

Ron looking awesome running though the woods

Carla and Ron running in between the Seaside houses

After we completed the awesome scenic run - we decided to hit up the farmers market in Seaside - which happened to be right where we parked - conscience?  

Grabbed an awesome organic black bean burrito

And enjoyed the view

Not a bad Saturday right?

So Jason and I just finished up watching Forks over Knifes.  I've been wanting to see this for awhile - and I can finally view it instantly on my Netflix.   Have you seen it or heard about it?  If not - hop into your Netflix and check it out.  It's well worth your time.  There are going to be several minor adjustments to my diet after seeing this show.  

Also - P90X is still kicking my ass.  In a good way.  I'll be traveling all next week for work - so we'll have to see how I do on my workouts in a hotel room :)