My a$$ hurts....

I've mentioned having a pain in my butt I believe. I told you that I went to the chiro last week. I thought things were feeling ok, not great but better, on a short 2 mile run on the TM I did on Thursday. On Saturday I decided to try again. No bueno as my son would say. After about 1/2 mile not only was the pain in the butt back, but it was shooting down the left side of my leg. I continued to run for 2 miles but then headed home to clean up and head back to the chiropractor. This time I finally put it all together, I can be a little slow. It is obviously the sciatic nerve. It's not as if I haven't had an issue with this before so why oh why did it take me so long to figure it out? Actually maybe I knew, it just took me a long time to take it serious and actually start to take care of it...Not only do I have a pain in the ass, I am an ass....I have noted in my training log off and on pain and tightness since about mid September and I'm sure I didn't note it right off either. So it's my own fault that I am now sitting here while the weather outside is perfect for running. Let this be a lesson to you Julie...stretch better (ok maybe I should just say stretch) and when go to the chiropractor on a regular basis! I will see her again this week and go from there. Hopefully I will be running again soon!

Meanwhile I'm not sure what to do...I guess I'll take the dog for a walk....

Three Thing Thursday- Bitch, bitch, reality check

1. I feel like crap. I’m tired. I have no energy. A direct result of the diet and lack of exercise in my life I’m sure. Can you say hello 10 pounds. I need someone to kick my butt on a daily
basis.

2. People that think yield means merge make me crazy....

3. On my way to work I was thinking about this post, when I got to work I had an email from Kathleen telling me to check the BT mentor group that we both belong to. Scott one of the other members had posted that he once again had cancer.

“ I heard the news today...again. That book I am writing about going from fat
man to Ironman and beating cancer along the way just added a new chapter. I had
no idea I took cancer along for the 140.6-mile ride at IM Wisconsin on Sept. 11.
I thought the event was a celebration of being 5 years clean as a matter of
fact.

But, the colonoscopy was not routine today as it turned out.
Pronounced free of prostate cancer in June, I was diagnosed Oct. 26 with colon
cancer. The doctor found a tumor the size of a walnut that has been there for
some time, he said. Perhaps as long as 5 years, he said. The irony is I was
supposed to get a colonoscopy in 2006 when the PSA tests revealed my prostate
cancer. Prostate cancer absorbed all my attention.”

“Lance said, You are
in for the fight of your life - again. And I say, Yes, cancer you are. Knowledge
is Power. Unity is strength. Attitude is everything. Thanks to Kathy and my
friends and a God who loves me no matter what, prepare to get your kicked -
again. “

The man has an incredible attitude. He has already overcome huge odds by going from morbidly obese at age 54, to beating cancer and becoming an ironman just 2 weeks shy of his 60th birthday. Maybe you could all keep him in your thoughts and if you’re so inclined say a prayer for him.

Kind of puts 1 and 2 into perspective.

C is for...

Committing..... To getting back on track! In an effort to do that (yes I realize I probably said in an earlier post that I was getting back on track!) I believe I will join the Holiday Bootie Buster ChallengeI must however still go to check out what is required of me. But since I can ill afford to wait until it starts I do believe I will get started now. In fact we started last night with another one of Josh's garage boot-camps. This time the youngest son was out there getting his butt kicked too.

Colorful!..... What a beautiful weekend we had! The weather was just about perfect. Sunday I spent as much time outside as possible. Starting with a hike in the morning with my Josh and his girlfriend.

We were hiking up near Red Rocks. The views were awesome.
After hiking I quickly headed out for a bike ride, perfect!

Cute!...... This is Josh's girlfriends dog Skittles...isn't this about the cutest thing you have ever seen!

She went hiking with us.

Cancun....I'm planning a trip to Mexico! I'm hoping to take the boys sometime before Josh leaves for the Marines in June. We are thinking Cancun but may change to Cozumel. Two years ago we went to Puerto Vallarta and all are looking forward to going again. Anyone have any hotel suggestions? Looking at all inclusive and keeping it inexpensive.

Chiro.... I finally made it!!! My hips have been giving me a problem for a while...in fact that's what she said as she looked at me disapprovingly. :) I was giving her a hard time about causing me so much pain all the time.....I guess if I went more often it would not be near as painful or take as much adjusting. I also learned something new too today. One of the chiropractors works with many of the sports team in town and other athletes. Today I learned that they also have a guy who who does massage and acupuncture. They are awesome and I would totally recommend them to anyone in the area.

Candy Corn...I haven't had any yet this year...kind of goes against the getting back on track, but I looooovvvve it and must have some!

Friday Funny And a SUAR Shoe giveaway!

Christmas is comming.....you might want to get one of these for the man in your life.Even better then the Shake Weight thing! :)

I was laughing so hard at the end I nearly fell out of my office chair.

By the way SUAR (who I'm sure would love this video too) is giving a way a pair of shoes....go check it out here!

Three thing Thursday- Changing my mind....

1. While there may have been a couple many moments when I thought that I would not want to do another adventure type race. As I look at the professional pictures from the Rugged Maniac (race report here)I'm reminded about how much I grow as a person each time I step out of my comfort zone. As I sat on top of that cargo net wall and contemplated jumping off and found the courage to do it, I became stronger and I look at what a great experience it was to have done this with my son and I know that there is a very good chance that I will do another one of these in the future. And as if I hadn't posted enough here are a couple more pics from the race.

"Come on momma"

2. So I think I’ve decided not to do the ½ marathon in November. I cut way short my long run last week because my hips after the Rugged Maniac were bothering me quite a bit. Add to that the fact that I already felt unprepared and a lack of funds after the vet and dentist bills of the last month and it’s looking like maybe just doing a couple of shorter races might be the way I go.

3.New shoes! I think I just said that....but the Asics just were not working for me. I’m back in Saucony. However this time I’m going with the Kinvara. Jill recommended the minimalist, low heel drop shoe given the fact that I’ve been having some issues with what seems to be the beginning of PF. I’ve only run in the a couple of times, but I'm pretty happy with them so far! I can't wait to try them on a longer run. They are so light it truly feels like I’m just floating instead of slogging.

The Versatile Blogger

I was lucky enough to recieve the Versatile Blogger award from Heather over at Just a Colorado Gal. So without fruther ado we'll get on to it!

There are a few basic rules with this award:
1. You have to thank the giver, and provide a link to the post. Thanks a ton to Heather over at Just a Colorado Gal.
2. Share 7 random facts about yourself.
3. Award 15 other newly discovered blogs the same award (I changed this one up a little as you will see below.

So first up Random facts about myself:

1. I love Mexico. And I have a real fondness for the all inclusive resorts. I’ve been to Cabo San Lucas a couple of times, Mazatlan, Cancun a few times, Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta and Playa Del Carmen. I’m hoping to be able to take the boys again in the spring before Josh goes off to the Marines.

2. I’ve lived in/owned (ok not really the bank still owns it) my house for 20 years. That makes me feel really old.

3. The idea of a full marathon is starting to enter my head every once in awhile.

4. I can be pretty shy when in social situations where I don’t know many people.

5. I quit smoking 10 years ago, but when I’m in situations with smokers and alcohol I will smoke.

6. I’m not much of a housekeeper these days....I was never great, but at different times in my life I have been better. These days I would much rather go for a run/bike/swim/read blogs :) then sweep the floor or dust.

7. I pretty much only drink water or coffee. And I drink quite a bit of both. I drink hot water during the day when I’m trying not to drink so much coffee...that’s right just plain hot water. People at work finally stopped offering me tea bags and got used to the idea that I just want water.

Pretty boring stuff huh?

Well instead of tagging 15 new blogs I want to introduce some fellow Colorado Bloggers. Many of these you will already know. Some I've met and become friends with, some are new to me. Some like me are newer to exercise and some are fantastic athletes. The one thing they all have in common is we live in and enjoy this beautiful state of Colorado. So take a minute and check them out. And if I forgot someone or you have another Colorado blog I should check out, please let me know! So here we go in no particular order.

Just a Colorado Gal
Colorado bikeaholics
Run with Jill
Couch Potato To Ironman
BQ by 40
Happy Runner Girl
Pedestrian Runner
I Tri To Be Me
Shut up & Run
Dare To Dream
50 half marathons in 50 states
Swimming, Cycling & Running....with A(L)titude:
Colorado Runner
Mamarunsbarefoot
Tri-Girl Training Plan
Reason2Ride
run around aroo

Rugged Maniac-An Adventure Race

Warning: Seriously long post ahead! Mostly a bunch of pictures. Some are a little blurry but I felt I had to include them for the "full experience" Thanks to my younger son Zach for running around taking pics!

Not for the faint of heart, frail of body, or weak of mind, the Rugged Maniac 5K was designed with the assistance of Navy SEALs to push your limits and determine how rugged you truly are.-From the website

Wow I don't know where to start with this one! It was CRAZY! As you all know I was both nervous and excited about doing this race, however I think I was more nervous about the obstacles then the run part although I knew the hills would suck, I had no idea. The course is at a motocross park so that should give you a clue. I'd driven by it before and seen it and still I was mostly oblivious as to just how painful this would be. I was doing this race with my oldest son Josh and we had an afternoon start of 2:30. We arrived about an hour early since I really had no idea what to expect as far as traffic and parking. It was a beautiful day in the mid 70's. We could not have asked for better mid October weather! As we walked around we remarked about how no one seemed that muddy or dirty. And Josh said he overheard someone say there wasn't much. He was really looking forward to the mud so he was hoping not to be disappointed.

Josh and I before the race.
The above shots are just a few random pics of the course but gives you an idea of what kind of hills we would be facing. We had a pretty small wave I would say maybe 30-40 people is all. As you can see they didn't give you a chance to ease into it either we started out going straight up a hill.
"We just started and already I'm holding him up!"After running up that hill we had to run down..and that's when I learned that going down is as hard or harder then going up. The downhills were steep, very steep. A girl right in front of me wiped out on the first downhill! She ended up with some nasty road rash but she got up and off she went.

I had told Josh that he was going to have to stay with me on this race in case I needed help with the obstacles but it really wasn't long before I realized just how much I would be holding him up. I really don't know what the first obstacle that we came to was. It's all a blur, mostly we just went up and down hills for what seemed like a very long time before we even got to the first one. It was hot and I was thirsty. I did little running. My heart rate must have been through the roof and my lungs were burning like never before. At this point I was beginning to believe that it was possible I might just end up with one of BDD's Pukie awards, good think I hadn't eaten lunch! I was sucking wind, it was dusty and it hurt...did I say it hurt? I think one of the first obstacles were a mud pit which Josh was thrilled to see. He loved the mud and made sure to get plenty on him.
As you can tell I did not like the mud quite as much as Josh.
Then I think there was a tire jungle, climb over some huge tires, a pit of logs that you walk across and some other stuff I just can't remember, maybe a small wall. At this point we still had not reached the water stop which I was desperately in need of. I had no concept of time at all. We could have been out there for 20 minutes or 40 I had no idea. It was just up and down, up and down, and the surface we were running in many parts was completely rutted with the big tire tracks from the equipment and just crazy hard to walk on let alone run. Then we had the first of the crawl through the water/mud under barbed wire obstacles and another through this really small tube. The water was cold but actually felt good because I was so hot and in need of cooling down. "Don't try this at home folks! "
I can not tell you how great Josh was during this race. He kept saying "come on momma" in this really cute way and just kept encouraging me. "you've done a 1/2 Ironman, you can do this" I did have to remind him a couple times that I was 30 years older then him. And several times I told him to go ahead and he said no he was sticking with me, that I had paid for the race and he was not leaving me. Thank goodness! It was great to have him there even as I felt bad for holding him back so much. So after another monster hill we get to the first big wall. As you can see I took the easier path on the sides while Josh went straight up the middle. This one did take him 3 tries as he kept sliding backwards.
Here we are taking a breather and assessing the situation.
Hauling my plentiful behind over the wall. I made it but it was a little painful on some of my girl bits. Then more downhills and more mud

We are getting really close to the finish now! I'm so ready! The last obstacle is a water slide and then some wood things you have to climb over in the water. It was soooo cold! And it felt like once you hit the water you just kept going down and down it was crazy! I don't know how deep it was but it felt really deep. But maybe it was just that you kept sliding for along time under the water. And then you pop up and have to make your way over the poles. It maybe would have been easier to go under but I just couldn't put my head under again.


Yes I'm plugging my nose, do you wanna make something of it?

Next up the finish line!

This was sooo hard I had no idea. The obstacles by themselves were not that hard. I completed all but one of the walls that was similar to the one pictured above. I just couldn't get myself over it the 2nd time around and I was afraid that if I did get up I was going to kill my self when I jumped down becuase of the angle of the dirt on the otherside. I also fell off of these post things that you had to walk across. They stuck up out of the ground different heights approximatley 2 feet high. I made it across 3 but missed the last 2. By far the scariest one was the cargo net. (It was to far away for pictures) getting up was no problem, but sitting at the top and having to jump off into the mats, that part scared me. But I did it. I'm very proud of myself for having done this race. I don't know exactly how long it took. The results have not been posted yet, but someone told me we did it in right at an hour. An hour for a 5k. I would say that it truly seemed as hard or harder then the 70.3. It was much more intense with all the hills and I really felt like I challenged myself to do things I would never have thought I could do. I believe I am proud to say that yes....

I AM A RUGGED MANIAC!

Edited to add final results:

Time 1:00:26
Overall place 1580 out of 2230
Gender Place 642 out of 1063

Three Thing Thursday- and a P.S.

1. Rugged Maniac! It’s here! This weekend I will be rolling in the mud and attempting to pull my plentiful behind over obstacles. Good news is the weather prediction is good for Saturday. This time of year we could have had anything, but right now they are saying high 70’s or even 80 degrees. I have to say I almost as nervous for this as the 70.3

2. Running Clubs what do you think of them? Do you belong to one? I received a yearly membership to one when I did the personal motivator for the Skirt Chaser and it sounds great, however many if not most of their runs are not that convenient. I’ve been made aware of another one that is much closer and I’m planning to check it out. But I’m wondering what your thoughts are on them? Would I be better off to join a triathlon club?

3. I’m feeling very unprepared for this ½ marathon that I’m planning on ( but have not yet signed up for) running the first weekend in November. I've missed a couple of short runs but I have pretty much stuck to the training program. My long run this weekend is suppose to be 9 miles...that just seems so far from 13. I would guess though that what I’m doing is pretty comparable to the training I’ve done in the past. Maybe it's the lack of swimming and biking in my life. I feel like a real slacker. Do you ever feel prepared for a race? I guess I've gotten to the point where I pretty much feel prepared for the shorter distances (sprint's, 5k maybe even 10k) but these longer ones still get me.

P.S. Did you hear there is going to be some new tri's in town? Including a full distance! Check it out! HITS Fort Collins

What's for Dinner? White Bean Chili

It's back!!!! It had been brought to my attention a few times that I've not shared any recipes of late. Part of that is because I just haven't been cooking that much during the summer. It is about time to get back to it! I'm sure the boys would like it if I actually fed them more often. I'm just trying to make them self sufficient. Their future wives will thank me.

Today I made White Bean Chili. This recipe was super, super simple and pretty tasty. A great throw together lunch or dinner. The only change I made was to add a medium size potato.

White Bean Chili - Fitness Magazine
Makes: 4 servings
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes


Ingredients
3/4 pound lean ground turkey
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3 1/4 cups water
1 can (15 ounces) great northern or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (4 ounces) diced green chilies ( I used hot and in the future I think I would add another can)
2 teaspoons instant chicken bouillon granules
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons flour
1 medium potato diced (my addition)

Directions
1. In a large saucepan, cook turkey, onion, and garlic until turkey is no longer pink.
2. Stir in 3 cups of the water, beans, undrained chilies, bouillon, cumin, and pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1/4 cup water and the flour. When chili is ready, add flour mixture and cook for 1 minute more to thicken. Serve

A day in my life- Kona Saturday

So Beth over at SUAR is having a contest to win a shirt or visor and in order to play you have to post a day in your life. So here goes! Sorry my life is so boring! I tried to add some pics to make it less so, well that didn't help much either.


4:20- Eyes wide open and ready to go. This it the time my alarm usually goes off during the week and my body just doesn't get that it's Saturday. Grab my book and read for almost an hour before falling back asleep.

6:30 Eyes wide open again. Grab my book and read for about 30 minutes before deciding I really need some coffee.

7:00 start reading emails. One containing the "Damn you auto correct" pics. Tears rolling down my face I'm laughing so hard. And I haven't even had coffee yet! The one on the side is one of the few clean ones.

7:45 still messing on the computer searching for recipes to make for dinner tomorrow. It's raining and 39 degrees. I can't decide if I want to run now/today. HTFU? or not...
My breakfast

Duke's breakfast

8:15 decide that running is not going to happen right now do Duke meds make breakfast. Oh my, I had forgotten how good the breakfast bakes were...if you haven't tried this you should really do so. It's like cake for breakfast...only healthy. Today's pumpkin with a pumpkin cream cheese frosting.

8:50 Vet calls with new on Duke WOHOO!!!! Seems there were some issues in his blood work (thyroid and clotting issues) but none of them major and no reason he should not be fine for a long time to come! Happy dance and celebrating ensues!

9:00 Get started on some house cleaning, which is in order if the parents are coming for dinner tomorrow.

10:15 Shower and get dressed

11:15 snack on apple w/pb and head to younger son's roller hockey game.

12:50 Game finally starts final results, first game of the season a win of 10 - 8

2:00 Stop at Chipotle for lunch yummy! Veggie burrito bowl!

2:45 Kona viewing! While trying to get teenagers to go clean their bathroom.

3:15 quickly clean the 1/2 bath on the main floor. Back to Kona

4:45 Take Zach to pick up friend who is spending the night.

5:15 Back to Kona. Can't take it any more finally turn on the heat in the house.

6:05 Josh's girlfriend comes over.

6:32 A few tears as I watch Craig Alexander break the world Ironman record! Wow!

7:25 More tears for Chrissie what an amazing woman! What an amazing race! Is just me or is unbelievable how down to earth and humble these champions are?

7:45 A small bowl of Vegetable Curry and some banana/strawberry soft serve while watching Kona and the Matrix with Josh and his girlfriend Megan.

10:18 Give it up and go to bed. This is an hour later then I usually hit the sack.

Wow it's even more boring then I suspected. But all in all a pretty typical weekend day. Most weekends there are more errends but Kona took priority this Saturday.