And the Race is On

(and here comes pride up the back stretch)... Oh Sorry! I was hearing George Jones in my head :)

Over the last couple of weeks I've been working on getting my race schedule lined up and I started registering for things left and right! I had planned to race the Rev3 Olympic in Knoxville, but a few days after I paid for it to the tune of a couple hundred bucks, I learned that my first-born's high school graduation is that day :( BOOO! So I had to back out. BUT, luckily the folks at Rev 3 are giving me credit against a future race so all is not lost. Even if it would have cost me the entire entry fee, I couldn't miss my baby's graduation, now could I?

In addition to all the racing I'm doing, there's alot of things I'll use as "training events" as well as a team-building day for work. After all was said and done and my debit card stopped smoldering, here is what 2011 looks like for me:

April 9th - 65 Roses 5K race
May 1st - Scenic City Sprint Triathlon (doing this as a relay with my girls, and I've got the swim leg)
May 21 - Dragonboat Race (I actually signed up to ride 62 miles for the Tour de Cure, but I forgot that I had already signed up for the Dragonboat Race)
June 11 - Chattanooga Rat Race (1.2mi swim in the Tennessee River)
June 26 - Tellico Sprint Triathlon (800m swim, 16mi bike, 3.1mi run)
July 24 - Tri the Mountains Blue Ridge Sprint Triathlon (600yd swim, 18mi bike, 3.1mi run)
August 21 - Fall Creek Falls Olypmic Triathlon (1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run)

and then....

the big Kahuna...

the Mack Daddy of my 2011 season....

September 25th - Ironman Augusta 70.3 - this is my very first 1/2 Ironman and will consist of 1.2mi swim, 56mi bike, and 13.1mi run.... yes folks that is a 1/2 freaking marathon AFTER the swim and the bike! YIKES! I'm really nervous, but I've just got to look at it the same way as all the other races.... one foot in front of the other!

Also this July, it looks like I'll be registering for a full Ironman in 2012. I almost peed my pants just typing that, but hey... I've come this far, right? There is no going back now - I mean, there's no other way to earn that IM tattoo, so I've just gotta do it. Unfortunately IMs sell out quick - some within minutes - so I'll have to be poised and ready when the registration opens, which will be the morning after this year's race. Can you believe it? I'll have to register a year in advance, which will mean I will have 365 full days to freak out and think what the heck have I done! LOL But with any luck, come July my new motto will be Lake Placid or Bust!

Pressing the "RESET" Button

Well, hello again, my bloggy friends! It's been quite a little while since I've blogged about anything, and it's just been because I've been feeling like my life was put in a blender turned on "puree". Somewhere near the eand of January, I started feeling out of sorts - nothing I could put my finger on specifically, but just "not right". I assumed it was because I was getting close to needing another dose of my hormone pellets, so I just did the best I could with trying to force my way along "business as usual". I was able to take a fabulous vacation at the beginning of February to see my dear friend Shell in San Jose, and for the record, Shell, I will be forever indebted to you... You'll never know how very much I enjoyed that trip! It really helped me to remember to put "First Things First" and take time for joy! So when I got home, I tried to cut back on some of the things that were overwhelming me, and essentially I "uncommitted" myself to all of those activities I'd been trying to cram into those 2 spare minutes I'd find along the way. I thought it would help, but nothing seemed to make any difference. As a matter of fact, I just started feeling worse and worse, spiraling farther down to a place where motivation and desire and appreciation just seemed to disappear. I gave up on healthy eating, training, spending quality time with people I care about, and all that just broke my heart because it wasn't that I didn't want to do those things... I mean I wanted to want to, but I just couldn't make myself really want to enough to get up and do them. Sounds like jibberish, I know, but there's not really an easy explanation for where I was.

When I went to the doctor, hoping for more pellets to end this madness, we learned something completely unexpected. Oh, before I forget to mention, I decided to change doctors - I didn't like the old one anymore (really cold bedside manner), and the search for a new one just made me even later for pellets. Anyway, because I was a new patient, they had to do the whole "how do you do" blood work up and physical, and would not just slice-n-stuff my pellets like usual. I was so frustrated and sad, and at this point in my journey I was just a mess.... crying over every little thing, just desperate to find me again. but I'm telling you, it was a good thing they insisted, because getting those pellets at that time would have had really big consequences. We thought my problem was lack of hormones, but in reality, when my bloodwork came back, my levels were OFF THE CHARTS high for both the estrogen and testosterone. I was so shocked! I've been on the pellets for years, and no one had ever bothered to check them along the way. It's no wonder I felt like I wanted to do pinch somebody's head off and then felt horribly emotional and depressed at the same time! It was like Roid Rage, PMS, and Postpartum Depression got together and had some kind of hay day with my body.... brutal I tell ya! So, my new doctor (nurse midwife actually) has made a plan, and we're changing some medicines around to help me get back to normal. Subtract the pellets, add in progesterone, multiply all that by a little less hectic schedule and more sunshine, and we've got an equation for health with any luck!

After almost 2 months off of training and eating right, I'm finally starting to see the light! I've been out on a few runs, a swim and a couple of bike rides, and although I can tell I've lost some speed and it hurt really bad like I when I just started working out, but admittedly it is feeling really good to start making my way back to the land of the living! A couple of weeks ago, I got my Road ID in the mail. In the midst of my chaos, I had forgotten that I'd ordered it. And it was waiting for me when I got home one day. Once I looked at it, I couldn't help but feel that little spark ignite way down deep. I remembered the thrill I felt when I pedaled past that guy at the Tellico Sprint last year, and instantly knew whatever it takes, I'm going to get back in the race to the rhythm of Katie Perry (not that I advocate her views at all, but her song inspired the catch phrase on my Road ID)....

Thank you all for being patient and compassionate and for not giving up on me!