The Impending Taper and a Sneak Peek at 2014

"All this time I was finding myself, and I didn't know I was lost."

-Wake Me Up, Avicii

My kind of running weather

I pretended I was a triathlete this morning and swam a kilometer after my 4-mile run.  The run went GREAT.  I nailed my M-pace with minimal effort and felt like a champ.  (NYC's average high in November is 50-something and Orlando's is 79, so I may just hit that sub-5 goal. My body luuurrrrves some cool weather.) 

Now, to get my ass back on a bike . . .

I think I have the opposite of Taper Madness.  Taper Madness is when you start to lose your ever-loving mind during taper because you're so used to dedicating all your spare hours to training. You start to question yourself, your abilities, your training, your diet . . . or maybe you itch like Dave Chapelle's crackhead character Tyrone Biggums.  Lemme tell you something you don't know about me, Joe Rogan . . . I smoke rocks.

(Don't tell me I'm the only one who feels like that during a taper?!?!)

I have the opposite of that.  I am DYING for the taper to begin.  I think because the MAJathon was such an awaited effort and running 42 miles in one week was such a milestone for me that I almost feel like I should just go right into the off-season. 

No such luck, chief. 

While my hardest week is over, I have several hard ones left.  Several more weeks of 30-40 miles of running, a half marathon, 800 repeats. My actual "taper" is that I don't do weights starting next week (this week I still do them), and I drop down to 20 miles of run 2 weeks before the race, then run 35+ miles the week OF the race.

Seriously, though, I feel super. Amazeballs even.

So I got to thinking about 2014.   The results came in this week, and I was not sponsored by Betty Designs for '14.  Of course, I was initially disappointed that I'm not a Betty this year, but I am not one to dwell on disappointments for more than a short period. I like to find the silver lining in a hurry.

Besides, I have lots of things up my sleeve.  Among them:

-I may be speaking at the team DermiNation dinner again this year

-I could try to qualify for Nats again and this time save the money to go

-I could go 70.3 and finally slay my demons at Florida Half Ironman

-I could make it another double-marathon year to start hunting down my dream of doing 50 states

 

After surviving this year, there's no telling what's up next.  Stay Tuned.

You May be Right . . . I May Be Crazy



I am a fan of workout clothes that are badass. I dig butterflies and bold red kits and old-school sailor tattoos.  (Obviously - I have a butterfly tattoo and the thyroid gland is the shape of a butterfly.)  Apparently, I'm such a fan that my workout friends know this.  The other day one of them posted this kit on my Facebook wall (totally me, except that my signature color is red): http://www.bettydesigns.com/products/signature-tri-short

Butterflies AND old-school sailor-style skull tats.  Badass.

So I go and check out the page (I have always loved Betty Designs, but I was in the mood to read more about them).  It turns out they're looking for ladies to represent the company in 2014.The page says Betties will be chosen based on their community influence, positive attitude, and active lifestyle.

Hmm.  So I read on.

Do you have to get your endorphin rush daily? Love to toe a starting line to see what you're made of? Cycle, run, swim, tri + more? Are you that girl who gets asked about what you're wearing on a regular basis? Have a bit of a fashion eye? Love skulls + butterflies?

Hmm.  So I read on.

Then convince us you have what it takes. Put together your best pitch, photos, links to your blog, social media exploits and round up your friends to persuade us as well.

So I figured, hell, why not.

Bragging about myself is not something I like to do.  But I figured I might as well go for it.

And I wrote something in that email that I really feel strongly about.  Something I wholeheartedly mean, even if I never got chosen to represent any person, company, or organization besides myself - ever.

I think it's time someone stepped up to represent the underestimated.  Those of us who battle chronic illness but still "show up" for work, life, races, school, and our families.  Those of us who don't look the way people expect a super-fit chick to look.  Those of us who understand that being a badass and being a good person are not mutually exclusive. Those of us who believe a positive attitude is the ultimate key to victory. 

KDub wrote about something like this a few weeks back and her post really echoed in my head.  Granted, my recent body fat test just pegged me in the "healthy" range, but that was the kicker for me: just because the number on the scale makes people think I am not healthy doesn't mean I am not fit.  I need to stop letting people (including the endo and myself) make me think I'm not fit or strong just because I don't look that way. 


Look Ma! I'm a Conquistador!

I think, as women, we underestimate ourselves WAY too often. I can't tell you how many times I hear myself and my friends say, "I'm not that strong/fast/pretty/fit."  We all have body parts we hate and want to fix. I always felt there was no way to be secure and confident in my abilities without being cocky.  I was always afraid that I couldn't be both a nice person and a successful person.  But being a badass and being a good person are NOT mutually exclusive.  And success is really what you make of it.

Maybe I won't get any athletic sponsorships; maybe I won't go on to be some history-making researcher that discovers some amazing fact about human behavior; maybe I'll never make a gabillion dollars a year.  But I'm going to  call myself a success every day that I don't dog myself mentally for looking like someone else.  Every day that things are especially difficult and I still get up the next morning and find something small to be thankful for. 

And, of course, every day that I don't take myself too seriously.  Because, really - what is the point if you're not having fun!?

You may be right . . . I may be crazy.  But it just may be a lunatic you're lookin' for.

Billy Joel