Monday, April 21, 2008

Threesomes

Self Respecting Ruminations Without being too teribly egocentric, I must admit: I like myself. Not in a self centered, arrogant kind of way. Not in the kind of "I love to talk about myself" kind of way. But in the kind of self appreciation that comes after years of being that nerdy, awkward kid who was never asked to school dances and who was teased because of her... 1) vertically challenged dimension 2) unruly eyebrows 3)big pouty lips In life, so many things come in threes. And in my life, it's not just in my nascent inadequacies. But is it a coincidence that I fell into doing triathlons, something that has changed my life and can be credited with my sense of self empowerment? Whoever coined the adage "Three times is a charm", I'd like to say I'd agree. Because much to pinkgurugal's delight, I have another "threes" under my belt. Three times over the last year, if you happen to be thumbing through those free fitness magazines (I'm not certain anyone really reads them) ... inside you will find me unsuspectingly striking one of my many tri poses. Magazine Mugs Here I am cycling my heart out. Only this was taken a few years ago. Notice the bad aero position. Recently this shot showed up in one of those local health and fitness magazines. I'm not sure which race this was. I think it was last October's Ironstar Half. I know I look like I'm okay, but in reality, I recall I was cursing myself getting out of that cold, rocky Lake Conroe water. Then, in just the last few weeks, someone showed me this photo. I think this was the Thanksgiving Day Turkey trot. I look happy. I smiled. Actually, I always smile when I see a camera. It's my way of not taking myself so seriously and to remember I am doing this because it's fun

I didn't get paid for these photos. And admittedly, I am far from being a competitive triathlete. I just like doing them. They are fun. And they make me feel good about myself. And I am an endorphin junkie.

And this is payback.

Cheers and happy training!

"If you cannot change your fate, change your attitude." Amy Tan

Monday, April 14, 2008

The Return of Country Riding and the Red Allez

Comfort in the Country Here in good ole' Houston, the weather has been nothing short of fabulous. Highs in the mid 70's, lows in mid 60's, sunny....you can't beat it right now. So feeling that long distance riding itch, on Friday I headed to the country for an easy 50 miler. It had been a few months since I had ridden these roads, and I missed that feeling of being on your bike for hours on end and thinking about nothing and everything. It was good to be back on my bike. For the first hour of my ride, I listened to my ipod (bad me!) and just focused on riding again. It was windy and there was plenty of headwind, but I simply took things easy. How fast I was going I have NO clue, since my damn cateye is broken (damn I really hate this thing) and I need to take it in to get another one or have one of the Sugar Cycles guys look at it. In some ways though, it was nice not being a slave to speed and cadence. I mean, I'm not training for anything in particular. And I was riding to clear my head and be in my thoughts. After an hour I ditched the music and took in the scenery. I saw the usual number of roadkill and familiar landmarks. Then I thought about all the times I had trained for last years ironman using this country route. This ride is not just familiar to me, but it's also personal. I've prayed on this route, I've cursed this route, I've almost gotten killed on this route. Heck, most all of my long rides have been on this country route. I was on my bike for three hours. Plenty of time to obsess in your thoughts. I was sore, tired and plain hungry when I finished. But these were also familiar feelings. And in a strange sort of way, I took comfort in these pangs.

Again, I'm really glad I'm back on my bike.

I'm also happy to announce the return of Red Allez. Red Allez Alas Actually, not my fellow anti blogger. But Rob's new bike, the Red Allez. He needed one for many reasons. 1) He's with me and to be with me, you need to have a bike. 2) Riding is cool and fun and better than going to the malls and shopping 3) Oh, and I signed him up for his first sprint triathlon in May Saturday we took his shiny new bike out for a spin. I'm not ready to take him to the country in traffic until he feels comfortable. He did fine, considering he hasn't ridden a bike save for spin class at the gym.

I think Rob is such a hottie.

Great weather, a return to riding and a new biking buddy.

Life is good. Cheers and happy training! "Nothing is worth more than this day" Goethe

Monday, April 7, 2008

Tri-ing in Vain

Much has changed in the life of Pinkgurugal.
Among those changes, my triathlon love affair.
This time last year, I had already completed a half ironman and was getting into high gear for my full Ironman training romance.
This past weekend, I finally took my bike out of the bike box. It was left in there during my travels.
It's not that I have been an absolute slug. But in truth, I'm just not in the triathlon spirit
While many of my tri colleagues kicked off their 2008 tri race season with the local Lone Star race, I was busy obsessively cleaning my house. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love to clean. Musta' have been a maid in a past life.
Anyhoo, after five weeks of travelling, LOTS of eating and a half assed attempt to train again, the other day..... I finally got on the scale.
Good news.
I think I gained just a few pounds. I thought I had gained 5 or more.
But I am feeling kinda soft.
I know, I shouldn't complain. But isn't that what we as women do? We're never happy with our bodies, no matter what anyone says.
Rain is threatening our skies today. I was thinking about going on a ride.
Maybe I'll skip and take a pilates class.
Cheers and happy training!
"He who smiles rather than rages is always the stronger."
Japanese proverb

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Winds of Change

Coming Clean There are several changes to the Pinkgurugal blog, including this confession: I dropped out of Ironman Austria. So I edited my profile, deleted the IM Austria countdown, among other things. Actually the decision was made months ago, prior to my travels. Though I failed to change it on my blog. My reasons for laying off on my Ironman training obsessions of 2007 are quite simple and complex: I am prioritizing my personal life. Meaning, I now have a flowering life outside of triathlons and when I want to take a day off, I do it. And I did that for many days during my time in Vietnam, since I was staying with my very Vietnamese family, whom I did not want to offend by leaving them to "work out". Not culturally correct. Not to mention, I let go of that obsession with little or no guilt. So does that mean I won't race in triathlons? Nope. Signed up for one next month already. And still plan on riding and running (though that nagging knee pain for the marathon continues to elude me). Just not an ironman. A good friend once told me ironman training destroys families and relationships. Now he was kidding, but there is a grain of truth in it. And that's the last thing I want to do at this point. Maybe my life has changed. Maybe my priorities are different. A year ago this time, I just finished my first half ironman and started my 2007 ironman training season. This year, I skipped that race, and tonight, had nine friends over for dinner. And I was just as happy, if not more. Cheers and happy training! "If you realize that all things change, there is nothing you will try to hold onto." Lao Tze

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

I AM HOME

And it has been hectic. And I have been back to obsessively cleaning my home. And I just plain have not wanted to write after my FIVE weeks away from home. I feel fried both skinwise and emotionally from my travels! 'Nuff' said. 'Mo' later. Cheers and happy training!