Thursday, January 27, 2011

Rest night!

I have decided to not work-out today. And I am taking full advantage. Not sure what it was about today, but an evening on the couch sounds fantastic. I guess it has been a little while since my last rest day:

Yesterday morning- spin class kicked my butt!
Tuesday evening- did a 3 mile speedwork run. I had a lot of pent up aggression after a battle to get my test strips refilled (I was down to one strip and insurance said I couldn't fill until the next day - ERRRR) and treating an unexpected low (after being mysterious high all day).
Monday evening - volleyball. We finally won one of the games, and the rest were close! We had a good time!
Sunday - YOGA. Love it.
Saturday - Tour de Cure kick-off spin class!

So dinner is cooked (chicken tortilla soup), dishes are clean, and after this post I am going to enjoy a few of my favorite shows sitting in the DVR: Criminal Minds (I love this show right now, I even watch the old ones : ) and Top Chef. Or maybe I will enjoy a little reading! I just bought a new book on my kindle - "Faithful Place" by Tana French. I am excited for a new read!

Enjoy your nights all!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Feeling good

The past week or so I have finally been feeling better. Still no idea why I felt so crappy, but I am just glad to feel better and hope it stays that way!

This new-found energy has gotten me excited and looking forward to the up-coming year!

1st - I signed up for the Fargo Go-Far Challenge in May: a 5K on Friday night, and a half-marathon the next morning. It will definitely be a challenge, but I am glad to have something to train for this loooong winter. I am in process of developing a training plan and would love any advice out there! The nice thing is I have plenty of time to build up a solid base, so hopefully this will go well with no injuries. Another fun side-note about this race is that my entire family (parents, sisters, and husband) are participating in some form AND my TBFL! Antoher cool thing - there will be 25 bands along the route! 

2nd - I am back on planning our trip to Germany this summer. We've got our general itinerary mapped-out, and now just need to do some real research and book hotels/hostels/B&B. We also need to book our flights, man are those crazy expensive. Geez. One of the things we wanted to do there was catch a soccer game. Turns out the women's World Cup is in Germany and starts the last week we are there! AND USA plays in Dresden, which is essentially where our trip ends (near Munich) on one of the last days we are there. Talk about meant to be! I have applied for tickets and find out at the end of February if we got them - fingers crossed!


3rd - I am officially signed-up for the 2011 Tour de Cure in June!!! My TBFL and I attended a Tour de Cure kick-off party yesterday at our favorite cycle instructors new cycle studio. It was really fun! There were lots of door prizes (I won a free cycle class pass and my TBFL won a nice Tour de Cure t-shirt). I am super excited about the cycle jerseys you can get if you raise a lot of money, they are pretty sweet! I also am pumped that I get a "red-rider" jersey since I have T1D. Let the fundraising begin!

4th - my hubby and I bought an SLR camera this weekend (Nikon D-3100). Neither of us really know much about photography, but both of us like to try taking cool pictures. We decided this would be a nice investment for both of us to enjoy and learn how to use. We have been playing around with it alot already, and it is pretty amazing (the dogs are definintely our favorite subject).


Those are all the fun things swirling through my brain right now, plus I am seriously thinking about signing up for the Warrior Dash in July, the YWCA triathlon in August and the Iron Girl duathlon at the end of September. Now, time for yoga!

Monday, January 3, 2011

Goodbye 2010 -- Hello 2011!

I had a blast ringing in the new year, maybe a little too much as New Year's Day was a complete day of recovery (spent on the couch watching the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills marathon).

Now its time to reminesce about 2010, and look forward to what 2011 will bring!

2010 was definitely a whirlwind year.

In January my hubby returned from Iraq!! The only downside was my work. It was busy season, and I was lucky to get one day off to spend with B. But the Welcome Home Party was epic, and I was SO glad to celebrate with so many friends and family who supported both of us while he was away.

By February I was still stuck in busy season and received the heart-breaking news that my grandma had a brain aneurysm. I was glad I was able to make a trip home and spend it with my her and my amazing mom and her sisters, as they took turns staying up all night with my grandma. She fought hard, but now is at peace and will be missed by so many.

The month of March brought light to the end of the tunnel called busy season (and the end of 60+ hour work weeks). B and I participated in the 100% Irish for a Day 5k. He ran with me the first half, which helped me boost my speed. It was cold, but I was pumped to finish it in 30:30, which I think was a PR for me. Another highlight this month was the completion of our kitchen remodel!

I am not sure what happened to April. I know we took a fun trip with friends to Chicago, but that's about all I recall from this month.

After months of working out together, my TBFL and I finally tested out our abilities in May. We completed an indoor triathlon and a local 5K. It was fun to see our hard work pay-off!  Knowing I could not sacrifice any more of my life to public accounting, with the help of a recruiter, I found an exciting opportunity - and took it!

In June, I quickly began to love my new job - the people, even the work, and of course "summer hours" (feel free to leave early on Friday!). This is also the month I took on and completed one of the hardest challenges in my life - Lake Waconia triathlon. I literally thought I would die, as all my leg muscles cramped up in the last few miles of the bike ride, but there was my TBFL ready to run the last leg of the race with me. And we did it!

The triathlon was intense and my body was physically and mentally drained. I thought taking a couple of weeks to rest and recoup would help, but when it didn't I finally went to the clinic in July to see whats up. I was quickly diagnosed with surprise - Type 1 Diabetes. I guess I have the grueling triathlon to thank, as who knows how long it would have gone on un-diagnosed. I kept my head up, and even completed another 5K.

I continued to learn how to manage my diabetes in August, while trying to keep my exercising up. I did the Twins 4K with my family, and was very pleased with my pace. I was unsure about the YWCA triathlon I had signed up for awhile back, but in the end pushed myself through it. It was awesome to do a women's only event with women of all fitness levels. This is one race I am going to do again! At the end of the month, I also did a military appreciation 5K with my hubby and friends.

B and I were in our best friends' wedding in September and I also completed a 36 mile bike tour with my TBFL. The events I participate in never seem to get easier, but the satisfaction when its over must be worth it, since I keep doing them!

In October I completed my first 10K. Another tough race for me, but was really happy with my 10 minute mile average pace!

November brought a new focus on strength training and just working out to work out. It felt good.

December was a family month, including my sister's big 3-0 celebration, a trip to Florida and a ND 4 Christmas tour. I felt so fortunate to be able to spend time with all of our family. I have been struggling with some new health issues that my Dr. hasn't figured out yet, but I am trying to not let it bring me down. I also found out that my awesome company is being acquired by a Fortune 500 company. Supposedly no one will lose their jobs when the deal closes in early 2011, but it will be interesting to see how my role and/or the work environment will change.

PHEW. That was one big year for me.

2011 my focus will be on staying positive. No need to be a worry-wart about things out of my control, that will work out in the end anyway.

I have already signed-up for the May 2011 Fargo Go Far Challenge, which will be a 5K and then a half-marathon the next morning. Time to get back in training mode!

Other plans include: my BFF's wedding in AZ in March; Tour de Cure in June; GERMANY vacation in June; YWCA triathlon in August; and IronGirl duathlon in September. I am sure some other great things will pop up between here and there ; ) Its going to be an awesome year!