I Tri-ed

A few months ago, a friend mentioned she was training for a triathlon. Being the great friend that I am, I decided to invite myself. We trained on our own and shared a few concerns / tips / achievements when we saw each other. Then the week of the event came.

I couldn't sleep.

Every night was a dream about the event. I dreamt I forgot my socks. My shoes. My hat. One night I actually dreamt that someone stole the front tire from my bike. It was a long week.

And then Saturday came.

Four of us traveled to Hilton Head, SC the day before. We ate dinner, went for a leisurely swim at the hotel, and packed the car for the next day. 5:15 on a Saturday comes quickly!

We left the hotel and got to the beach at 6:15. This is my 'remind me why I'm here so early and why are you taking pictures of me' face. Cute. I know.

We registered. Got our race numbers. They put your registration number on your arm and your age on your leg. I'm telling you...there's nothing like nearly running out of energy during the running portion - you want to quit - and then you see some lady pass you and she has a '59' written on her calf to get you moving again!

It was my second sprint triathlon. I'm not brave enough to try longer distances yet.

And ladies, um, ladies...let me give you six reasons why you should compete in a triathlon.

Did you find all six abs? Um, hello!

Oh, hi mom. ahem.

As I was saying... what was I saying?!

Oh, right, 6 reasons why you should compete in a triathlon.

1. It's fun.

2. You get to swim in the ocean.

3. You get a tan.

4. You get a t-shirt.

5. You are done by 10 in the morning and can spend the rest of the day on the beach.

6. You can blog about it.

Try it!

Riesens to be Healthy

I went to a series of workshops on Saturday where I learned about diabetes, exercise, women's health, and total body health. Lunch was a salad bar with dozens of various toppings, wheat rolls and fruit cups.

And dessert.

On each table was a little dish full of chocolate. I didn't want to offend any of the hosts or guest speakers from the area so I took a piece.

And another.

Oh, and one more.

I finally had to push the dish past my reach so I would stop. I remarked to those seated nearby that - starting right then and there - I had a new health goal involving chocolate. Since I struggle with chocolate temptations and could never not eat it, I would moderate my consumption to allow one piece a day. They agreed with me that the goal was obtainable.

On Saturday I purchased a small bag of Riesens. 'One piece' I told myself. Today is Wednesday. I finished the bag yesterday. I could be disappointed in my lack of control but that's just depressing. I prefer to think I'm 12 days ahead of schedule. Early is good, right?

IT

It has started. I tried so hard to avoid it. I stayed away from people when it was all they could talk about. I ate the foods and drank the fluids that help it go away. I washed my hands of it. Somehow, being surrounded by it, my body finally gave up and let it in.

And I'm ready for it to be over.

I'm ready to breathe in and breathe out without it causing me to cough.
I'm ready to sleep without it waking me up to go blow my nose.
I'm ready for it not to make my voice sound weird.
I'm ready for my shoulders to not ache from it.
I'm ready for it to not make my throat so scratchy.
I'm ready to stop feeding it cough drops.
I'm ready for bright lights or loud noises to not aggravate it.
I'm ready to taste flavors that it has numbed.

I'm ready.

Who else has it?

Happy New Year

Reasons why I loved Christmas.
Incidently, the same reasons why the New Year will be difficult.

Oh man. Christmas was sweet! The type of sweet that melts in your mouth and then clogs your arteries. Oh blessed, sweet, corn syrupy Christmas. I will miss you.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye

With a table full of pies, that's amore...

There is a family here that celebrates Pie Day. ...oh you've never heard of it? It's the day before Thanksgiving... you know, just in case you choke on your turkey or something and die without dessert, pie day insures you reach your maximum sugar intake prior to Thursday's meal. Pie Day is serious stuff though. In fact, it's a full course meal.

I started with a quesadilla. It's round (like a pie), cut into wedges (like a pie), and full of protein (um, like a pie).

I moved onto pumpkin pie. Pumpkin is a vegetable.

USDA recommends 2-3 servings of fruit so I took a piece of apple pie, one of blackberry, one of lemon...

Pecan pie was next. Pecans are nuts...more protein.

Of course, you have to have cheesecake. Cheese ~ that covers my dairy.

USDA also suggests 6-12 servings of whole grains. Flour makes the crust. I was on the low end with only 6 grain portions. I better have a slice of banana to get more crust.

And for dessert, I had chocolate pie.

All in all, pie night was a complete success. And I've never enjoyed being healthy quite so much!

I C U

My contact prescription is old so I went to the doctor for an eye checkup. I filled out all my paper work, was seated in the checkup room, and left to wait. I entertained myself by looking around the room. I saw the typical eye doctor wall hangings: pictures of the eye, contact lens advertisements, a wall chart, and his diploma. The diploma stood out to me. Most diplomas are printed on letter or legal size paper. This one was at least 2 feet by 3 feet.

GOOD

GRIEF! Why so

big? Does he think I can't

see or something? Oh wait... never mind.