FRIENDS!

As pathetic as this may sound, I finally have friends in Vermont! Granted, it took roughly 8 months to do so, but--darn it--I'll take what I can get in this tiny, tiny town.

I signed up for the local rec center (if you can call it that). I took a 'tour' of the place and literally kept one foot in place, pivoted, and saw it all: two treadmills, one elliptical, some free weights, a stationary bike, two locker rooms, and a decent pool. Pool, you say? I'm in. So I registered. A whopping $47.50 for my one year membership later, I am a registered 'athlete' in the eyes of the Bennington-ites.

Last weekend, I was lucky enough to sneak away and see Matt in Cleveland. I brought Kelly with me, too. Matt is so patient: he went shoe shopping with me (the only shoe shopping I do: running shoes), then went for a short run with me to break the shoes in. Kelly came, too. The shoes feel good, they're slowing being broken in as I go on short runs with Kelly back home now.

Today, went out for a beer after work to vent with a co-worker, then came home, ran 3 miles with Kelly, then am about to head out to Masters Swim. These are my new friends: the triathletes that come from all over to swim on Tuesdays and Saturdays. They are SO NICE and it's just the greatest feeling to know that there are other people in the area who share common interests! Yay!

Race day is 8 weeks away--training kicks in for sure now!

Slow Starts

I've been so tired lately that I truly have no energy for much activity besides work and sleep. Don't worry, it's warming up so I can start biking. It will be a while before Oscar or Tobias hit the road because Vermont uses sand/dirt/rocks instead of salting the roads, so I don't want to get repeat flats on my ride. Mountain biking will be a good to start out. Kelly and I have been going on decent walks each day. My diet has really improved, too. Don't worry though, I'm getting extra physical activity to my daily routine. Nothing quite like working in a manufacturing plant where you have to jump from plant 1 (first floor) to plant 2 (fifth floor) on a regular basis. Yeah stairs!!! No joke, a few weeks ago, there was one day that I made at LEAST 20 some trips back and forth. Good thing I can wear comfy shoes with my cute outfits!

Today's mission is to get new running shoes. My old pair of Asics were LOVED throughout last summer during training for IM Moo and I even stretched their lifespan out to complete the Memphis Marathon in December. Oops. DEFINITELY time for new shoes! Thank goodness for tax refunds!! :-)

Off to shopping, running, tuning up bikes, getting my membership to the local (nasty) pool.

**Click heels three times... there's nothing like open water swimming...there's nothing like open water swimming...there's nothing like open water swimming...** Come on really warm weather, heat up the reservoir so I can do REAL swimming!!

Spring Fever

It's finally starting to warm up. Thank goodness. Vermont is FREEZING and this winter seemed to last longer than it should have.

I'm starting a new SIP (self-improvement plan) tomorrow (3/9) because I have a 3-day Ironman in just two months and I really ought to do some training for this. I will be fine with the swim (membership to the pool starts tomorrow), and running has never been a problem for me, but I'm terrified for the bike. No really, I get that uneasy feeling in my stomach when I think of 112 miles through mountains. And the majority of my bike training will be on my trainer since Vermont has the ingenious idea of using rocks and dirt instead of salt during winter storms. That probably won't get cleaned up for quite a while.

I need to cut weight, too. I'm at a weight that I'm not proud of and I know training will be easier if I knock off a few pounds.

Well, better rest up for the start of real training!