Kathleen's Adventures

Gees. I guess I know what it feels like now to be pressured into something you had absolutely no intention of doing. I may be doing a half ironman in the California Wine Country on August 2 now. Do I have any business doing this? No. Am I going to be talked into it? Maybe. Probably. At least it is sweet medicine.

Friday night I organized a social outing for the tri club at Mixers, Elixers, and IMAX at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. We ended up scoring free VIP passes which was awesome! They had a band that turned out to be really good, dancing, drinks, and good food. Oooh - they also had glow jewelry and beakers full of starburst. How fun! They have it every Friday night in the Summer and it really is a smart use of the museum after hours - for the big kids to play! I plan on organizing another round for the tri club in July. Saturday morning the alarm went off waaaaay too early after too much socializing the night before, but I ran 10 miles for the first time since my 1/2 Ironman in May and it actually went pretty well. Houston Fit had a small party afterward and we sat around eating watermelon and bagels - very fun! Saturday night Shellie and I went on a date (you didn't know we are dating? It's going great!). Sunday I raced in the Y Freedom Tri in Pearland. It was a 300m po...

First and foremost, I have to thank my cousin Scott and my friend Luke, because I doubt I would have been in CDA to watch the race if it had not been for them. So, thank you so much!! I had one of the best trips I've had in a long time over the past weekend and I just had an absolute blast (maybe because I wasn't racing?? and not really "in charge" or worrying about anything but cheering and volunteering?) My trip began bright and early Friday morning with a 7:25 flight. I flew Southwest, so had no idea where all I'd be going on my way to Spokane. I landed in Denver and took back off again on the same plane and then switched planes in Salt Lake City before arriving in Spokane just after noon. After having issues with the rental car place, I finally ended up with a super cool minivan. Someone gave me hell for that and later said it was a good thing I had one...that wouldn't be the first time over the weekend I was given hell for something that turned out to b...

My niece, Mary Kathleen ("Kate") was apparently very appropriately named. I talked to my sister last night and we laughed for quite a while about some of Kate's recent "scheduling" activities. She is 6 (turning 7 tomorrow). Since she was little, others in our family have said she was definitely named after the right relative. I never necessarily saw it since it was usually when she was in the middle of a huge temper tantrum or something like that. I, however, saw my first true sign of similarity during the last school year when I stayed in her room one night. On the back of her door was a schedule - handwritten and divided out by day. It listed her normal weekly activities, including ballet and whatever sport she was playing at the time. Boy, was I proud to see such a neatly outlined schedule come out of a first grader. Their family is heading to Destin this weekend to spend a week there. Over the past weekend they were all in Denver for a wedding and Kate and ...

I guess I left a few people hanging who didn't know if I was actually signing up or not. Well, I definitely signed up! I will post a better "spectator report" later in the week, once I get back on central time.

Ironman CDA 2008

EVERYONE needs to do it next year. It is awesome!! I'm exhausted right now, or I'd write more, but I promise more is to come.

Wow - what a day! I spent more time on moving planes, boats, and automobiles than on solid land! The journey started at 7:25am in Houston. Flew to Denver, stayed on plane, flew to Salt Lake City, changed planes, flew to Spokane, drove to CDA. Then hopped in ski boat less than 10 minutes after getting to CDA. Played on the boat for 3 hours. Gees! The lake was beautiful and the weather is awesome too. I went for a short run on the path that goes along the lake and it was very nice. More on this day and the area later. I'm pooped...absolutely wiped out. I got up at 5:30 Houston time and it is now after midnight Houston time.

Last night I ran over to the track to do the weekly tri club track workout. It started raining on me when I was almost there and I thought "wow, this is nice - it won't be as hot and running in the rain is fun!" When I got there all my tri buddies were already working out, all oblivious to the weather. I started my workout as well, but noticed the lightning was getting closer and closer. Doug, the coach, said we were all crazy and left, saying he has heard too many stories about people getting hit by lightning while out running. I figured I would keep myself safe by not standing still - it works that way, right? Anyway, I was dying during my first set of intervals. The bronchitis was in full force. I stopped after the first set and walked over to get my water. I looked down and my heart rate was freakin' 190! After at least a 30-60 second break! So I guess that means I'm still sick. The rain started coming sideways and I felt like Forrest Gump (not for the runn...

So that's the good news - I don't have mono this time around. The bad news is I'm pretty sure my bronchitis is viral as it isn't so much responding to the antibiotics. So that means at least another week or so of feeling blah and not breathing normally. That is better than mono though, so I guess I have to take it! I did do a semi-long run Saturday and slowed way down and actually felt great, so that is promising. Friday night we had a baby shower for Lisa which was lots of fun. I was in charge of dessert and made brownies with white chocolate/cream cheese icing, strawberry and chocolate cupcakes, and chocolate chip cookies. Yum. Saturday night my sister's family came to stay with me to pick up Molly from camp on Sunday. It is a family affair for us now - even my parents go - because my sister and I grew up at the same camp. It is also the only way my dad will ever see us on Father's day. Kate signed up to go next year and was so excited as we made the last tur...

Saturday I tried a new recovery formula post-long run: chopped beef sandwich! Jonathan hosted a party at his house Saturday morning after a local 5k race and I chomped on some fabulous chopped beef at approximately 9:30am. Who needs endurox, chocolate milk, or some other fancy recovery drink when you can have BBQ?

...is what the dr. said today. And a sinus infection. Soooo fun! I'm having almost an exact replay of this time last year when I got sick, only that turned out to be mono. I find out in a week if I have mono again. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that that isn't the case this time around. Ugh. No wonder I had such a hard time running Saturday morning. I'm bummed now because I know I'm going to have a hard time working out (running especially) for the next few weeks. It feels like you have bricks on your chest and you can never get a full breath. I'm going to be exhausted for the next few weeks as well. Grrr... This also probably means all weight loss efforts are not-so-much going to work at this point. Last summer when I was sick I tried to lose weight and lost a whopping pound over the course of several weeks. This is so frustrating. I did get loaded up with tons of medicine including antibiotics, codeine cough syrup and an albuteral inhaler. Just ...

I did a short sprint in Sugar Land on Sunday. It was a 600m open water swim, 9 mile bike, and 3 mile run. I finished in 1:09 and that was good for 7th out of 41 in my age group. I don't have lots to report, but do have some good pics. Meg did this race too and brought 3 friends along who did their first triathlon. I love when new people are introduced to the sport! I think they are all hooked because we spent all of brunch talking about where their next race would be. Speaking of brunch...bottomless mimosas sound like a great idea until you go home and take a nap and wake up at 6pm feeling like complete poo! My head and butt match! I always look so great when I run...not! Michelle, Me, Cameron, and Shellie after the race Me, Shellie, and Meg at brunch Phil, Kelly, me, Shellie, Ryan, and Meg (Phil, Kelly, and Ryan did their first race at Tejas!)

I received my volunteer assignment for Ironman Coeur d'Alene earlier this week and I'm stationed at the finish line! I was assigned to the 9-midnight shift, but politely asked if I could switch to the 6-9pm shift and was able to move. I think most of the people I'm there to watch will finish during that time or just after, so I'm super excited. The volunteer email warned that I might get puked on. Nice. My job is essentially to "catch" people as soon as they cross the finish line and make sure they are ok , and if not, to escort them to the med tent. I'm getting excited about my trip as well. I've never been anywhere in the Pacific Northwest (I guess Idaho would be considered in that area?). It will also be fun to be on the other side of a race for once and to get to cheer on my friends and cousin out there racing.

It has been a while since I have posted - I haven't really felt like I've done anything worth posting about lately! Just the regular ol' life stuff. I did spend most of the weekend with my mom which was nice and my sister and the girls came in town Sunday to drop Molly off for camp on Monday. I want to go back to summer camp! I had a relaxing Sunday and actually did what most normal people might do. Mom and I ate lunch in the Village and then went shopping at Gap and Kids Gap. I got a skirt at the Gap and then we decided the girls needed something from Kids Gap. While there, I decided I apparently fit into what Kids Gap considers a kid's size. How sad that the world is coming to that, but also great for me that I can buy super cute clothes at half the price! So, I picked up a cute sundress there. Mom and I picked out 3 bathing suits and matching shorts for the girls. They were all very cute. Molly's had to look a bit different because she is the oldest and way over ...