It's gonna be a looong night

I started drinking coffee last year and was immediately fascinated with the ability to be twice as productive and effectively handle training with 18-hour semesters. Today I decided to try a latte. Before I had stuck strictly to 2 cups of black and the occasional "misto" or coffee w/ steamed milk or soymilk. Well, my conclusion is this wasn't the best idea. The latte obviously had a yummier taste especially in the cold weather when there's nothing like sipping something hot and frothy. I really underestimated the power of espresso because I had read that its caffeine content was less than drip coffee. Therefore, at mid-day, knowing I had track this evening at 6 (I'm used to eating dinner at that time to be in bed no later than 8:30), I ordered another one!!!!

So now it's almost 9:30 and I'm absolutely wired. I have a couple of DVDs to return to Blockbuster so will probably get that done now and rent some more- maybe that will put me to sleep by about 3am. I've been on such a high all day that I managed to get a weekend's worth of homework/studying for final exams in about 3 hours.

The great thing is, track went awesome. It definitely didn't feel like 6pm- more like 6am...I was ready to roll. We did 800s, I don't remember how many. This guy, who happened to be from Mexico too ha, and I stuck together pretty much throughout the workout. We were doing different efforts ranging from 70-90% per 400, coming in from 1:20s-1:35 (per 400 duh). Nowhere near blazing haha yet it was good to work with speed again! I love track :) cuz it just kicks your butt and then makes you feel awesome after.

Alright I'm gonna go pick out some more movies. I'm returning Mr. Brooks, The Pursuit of Happiness, and Open Water. The first one was really good- a true thriller but the ending sucked! The second was super motivational, I even cried :( The last one is about a couple left out at sea by a scuba diving boat and their struggle to survive amidst sharks, dehydration, starvation, etc....I love survival/wildlife movies. OK well there you have my movie reviews.

Good night!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I thought I should write today in appreciation of the incredible life I've been blessed with. As previously stated, this has been an amazing year for me- meeting great people and going through life changing experiences.

Thank you sooo much to my family, friends, and sponsors- everything I've accomplished and have the confidence and motivation to strive for in the future is possible because of you.

I'm happy to be here with my parents and brother whose love and support exceeds anything one could ask for.

It's freezing right now- 37F!!!!!!! and we're still undecided about where to go for dinner tonight...my mom and I made reservations at two different places so will pick one probably 5 min before heading out the door. In the meantime, this is the perfect day to go back to bed :)

Hope everyone has an awesome day!

BRRRR....a cold day and my trip to the courthouse

Hello winter. I dread this time of year so when the weather peeps announced we would be in the 40s this morning I prayed that they'd be wrong- as they are 99% of the time. Well, nope, they hit it spot on.

Because of school and a court date to pay a ticket I got before leaving for Kona for my expired State Inspection Sticker, I had the choice of riding my easy 2hrs on the trainer from 5-7am or outside after the trip to see the judge. I decided to wait, as it was predicted to be in the low 60s by noon and I can manage that weather.

So, my court appointment was for 1:30 but that would mean I wouldn't be riding my bike until about 2:30 so I thought I'd get there a little early- 1pm. That didn't do me any good because they do everything "by-the-book" and if your appointment is at a certain time it doesn't matter that it's not busy at all- you can't see the judge until then. GREAT! So as I imagined, I was walking out of the court at 2:15, to be on my bike at 2:30.

Was my trip to see the judge in person vs. pay the full ticket by mail worth it? NO!! Instead of $143, I paid a mere $118 haha they only took off $25 because "the rest are court fees ma'am". The last thing I do is check my inspection sticker. If it were a sticker on my bike- that would be different. My car though, let's just say it's a miracle it still works. Whatever.

I'm proud of not getting on the trainer even in the afternoon because 60s with freezing wind is not fun. But I have brainwashed myself for months that winter has to be my friend until I win the lottery and can afford to live part time in Australia or Hawaii :)

People from cold places would have laughed if they'd seen me riding with undershirt & underpants (my awesome Hot Chilis undies that I wear snow skiing!), long sleeve shirt, jacket, pants on top of the undies, gloves, and double socks. My feet still got numb!

As for now, I'm enjoying the warmth of my condo and my bowl of hot oatmeal! It would be cool if global warming actually had a literal effect on my section of the earth.

Wow, I'm weak!

So this morning we did weights...first day back in the weight room for me after about 2 months! I knew not to expect much, but really didn't think it would be that bad. When you can't do more than a couple of push ups without your arms shaking, that's a big problem!

It's quite comforting to know that for the next couple of years I'll be able to race hard numerous times throughout the year and not be backtracked by such long recovery times. I definitely need to regain my strength and speed.

Mondays are busy for me as far as school and interning so after weights I had to either get my swim or run in. Thankfully I went swimming since that helped loosen everything up and also it started to rain. This afternoon it should be sunny and humid so that will be awesome. The weather in Texas right now is a lot better than last year- we're still in the high 70s by mid-afternoon.

Anyway, I can't wait until I feel comfortable in the weight room again...patience is a virtue ;)
Back to paying attention in class!

ideal semester

Ha, one more week until yet another break from school- Thanksgiving. The geniouses behind the academic calendar decided it was best to eliminate our fall break (2 days off at the beginning of October) and opted instead to add those days to our Thanksgiving holiday. Perfect! So, that plus no classes on Fridays yields 10 days of training heaven.

Since my family is from Mexico, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving- that is in the strict sense of making it a requirement to get together. It was enough chaos when I was little to head down to Mexico City for x-mas and partake in the drama that unfolds as my hundreds of family members unite...Irish, Spanish, and Italian descent....you get the picture. My parents, little brother, and I do however take advantage of the excuse to eat the massive piles of turkey and stuffing and usually do so at a restaurant as my mom can't scramble an egg, my dad can't exceed grilling, and though I pride myself in thinking I could pull off a decent turkey, would rather have it made for me.

Last year, a group of my friends from S. America (who also obviosuly don't celebrate Thanksgiving either) got together at my apartment in Dallas and had our own version of this holiday consisting of 80% wine 20% food :)

This year, my family is comng up to visit me (they live in San Antonio) for a couple of days- I've convinced them all to do the Turkey Trot with me that morning. So nothing too exciting, which is good- more training time.

After the break the semester nears the end as follows: 1 boring week, my birthday week (yes, I celebrate my birthday all week!), finals week....END!

Looking back, it's been an amazing semester, I haven't been in school almost at all. Not because I'm lazy....I had Ironman going on people, that justifies everything ;)

I started school at the end of August, then spent 4 days training with my friends Lisa Preeg and Sierra Snyder in Austin (also Kona qualifiers and stellar finishers!!). That was followed by a week back out in San Diego training at the end of September- not the greatest of "vacations" as I got the worst case of food poisoning, actually sickness in general, that I've ever had. But, still, it was time off. Finally, came the 10 days in Hawaii- my absolute favorite place!!!

So, I really can't complain, it has been an awesome year, particularly since summer. Now I just have to fight my way to good grades given all I've missed, and head to Austin for winter break!!!! I'll be staying with one of my good friends and her roomates who all go to UT. Yay, can't wait!!