Finally a grown-up?

What do you get when you aren't training for Ironman and are getting enough sleep? Apparently, you act like a grown-up and start buying stuff for your house (after living there for 2.5 years).

We purchased a used treadmill from our friend Rob. We are going to head to Ikea soon to get some items to transform our now office/workout room just into a workout room. The office will now be upstairs once we move the desk up there. I'm excited to be able to do a brick in winter without leaving the comfort of my home - we'll set the Computrainer up right next to the treadmill.

The big purchase though was a new dining room set from Arhaus. We got a table that will expand to seat 8 comfortably, 8 chairs (of course) and a buffet. Check it out.








We also looked at new dinnerware (I haven't bought new dishes since 1991 and those were $24 for a set of 8 from Hills Department Store) and paint. I may finally have an accent wall! I've always wanted one of those. Now, we may have to entertain more often! We even stimulated the economy at the same time! I feel like such a grown-up! : )

Stuck

I got up later than planned, but was ready to go on-time to meet Sam for a hill repeat indoor treadmill run followed by weights session. However, the garage had other plans for me.

I hit the button and the door only raised a foot. Tried it a few times with the same result. I called Matt into the garage for assistance. He discovered that a something was broken, so the door wouldn't raise automatically. We tried the manual release. No good. Apparently, a spring is broken.

So, I changed into some bike clothes, did an indoor trainer ride and am now sitting in my pajamas while the repairman works on the door. From the sounds of it, we are about to be unstuck. Hallelujah!

Tattoo

While swimming on Thursday morning, I had to get out to make a quick bathroom stop (peeing in the pool is not acceptable).

When I got back, this dude (who happens to be a swim coach at CSU and always gives swim tips to Sam because he thinks she is hot) and I have this conversation:

Dude: "While you were gone, I asked your friend about your tattoo. Did you really get it last year?"

Me: "Yes, in September."

Dude: "I thought it was from your wild college days, because you don't look like the type who'd get a tattoo."

Me: Thinking "what does someone who would get a tattoo look like", but saying "I always said if I did an Ironman, I'd get the symbol tattooed on my forehead, but this was a good compromise."

Dude: "I bet your husband was happy about that decision."

Me: Thinking "of course, I wouldn't tattoo my forehead - I never thought I'd ever do an Ironman, so forehead tattoo didn't seem to be a possibility - who knew that I would do one", but saying "Yes, he was. After I did Ironman, I wanted to commemorate it by getting the tattoo, so I did."

And, I don't regret it at all. I like having a little ink. : )

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I'm off to swim again now. My former coach and I had lunch the other day and she was surprised to hear how often I am swimming given that I'm not training for anything in particular and hate to swim. I figure you have to practice your limiters, right?

6 inches of snow on the ground on March 22 makes swimming seem more palatable than running or biking anyway. I miss Florida.

Beach running

On Thursday, I tried my first beach run ever. I had always thought that the loose sand would be too hard to run in, but it was worth a shot - it couldn't be much worse than running in snow. Plus, if you ran near the water, it was harder there.

I managed around a 10-minute pace heading out into the wind and then sailed back sub-10 with the wind at my back. 5 miles in total - it felt good. My abs were rocked!

Today, the wind had switched directions, but I didn't realize it at first. I truly thought that I was able to hold 9-minute pace on sand, but then I felt the breeze. You know it can't be good when you feel the breeze on your back. So, I ran 3.5 miles out and then 3.25 miles back into the fierce headwind in the same amount of time. But, you know what? It was 70 degrees, the sun was shining and I was running alongside the ocean - who can complain about that?!

Please don't make me go home.

Heading South

Ugh, the biggest snowstorm of the year (and possibly my life) completely ruined my plans this past weekend.

Swim on Saturday? Nope. Matt and I braved the bad roads to go swim at CSU, but found out it was closed when we arrived. I did do a good weights routine at the Progressive Fitness Center instead.

See Wicked Saturday night? Nope. We were braving the roads headed downtown again when we heard that Cleveland had an emergency driving ban. Now, I'm not going to risk death AND a ticket for a Broadway musical. Good news is Playhouse Square is being nice enough to refund our money.

Run Shamrock 15k race on Sunday with pals? Nope. Sam's and Joe's coach (my former coach) said "no way" and Matt agreed, so I rode 1.5 hours on the trainer instead.

The good news is that we didn't crash the car on our foolish outings and I got to spend a lot of time with my hubby. Good times!

Now, we are heading to Florida on Wednesday night for 5 days. I can't wait to get out of this snow globe!! I'm looking forward to running in shorts and renting a bike and actually riding OUTSIDE! Woo hoo!

Cuz I'm a Traveling Jen

That song (Cuz I'm a Traveling Man) has run through my head since Friday, because this week is chock full of travel for me.

I drove to Hell, Michigan on Saturday to sign up for Dances with Dirt with my friend/teammate Nicole. Along the way up, we stopped off to see my friend Jen and have a wonderful breakfast/conversation with her. The only bad things were 1) people can still smoke in Michigan restaurants (kind of hits you harder when you aren't used to it anymore) and 2) Nicole was sick, so we couldn't run the fun sign-up run. However, seeing my friend Jen and having Nicole for company made the 7-hour drive worth it.

Yesterday, I drove to Cincinnati and back in the same day for a client meeting (about 10 hours on the road total). Luckily, the weather was nice, so the trip was uneventful. My co-worker allowed me to drive his car (Audi S8), so he could make his phone calls and not worry about driving at the same time. I had visions of dying in a car crash, so I'm glad he was flexible on that point. I'm not sure the meeting was worth the drive down, but I enjoyed the lovely 72 degree weather in Cinci and was thankfully home by 7:30 PM.

On Thursday, I drive to Pittsburgh and back for another client meeting. I'll have company for that too, but the weather doesn't look as nice.

Speaking of weather, it is just lousy out there today. I think it is harder to take these days after having a random warm day than if it had just stayed cold. I need to get home to vote, but the traffic looks all snarled up. I guess I better go join it. I'm still undecided on who to vote for tonight. One minute it is Obama and the next it is Clinton. I wish Obama had more experience or that Hillary was more likable. Maybe I'll toss a coin. : )