The Life and Times of Tri Chick

Yes I'm still Here!

2009-07-14T20:06:00.012-05:00

I know - it's been quite a while since I've posted anything, so here' a quick whirlwind tour of the last 6 weeks or so.

Lovable's wedding planning is in full force. She's already over budget, but then she's my only little girl so what the hell?

Mr Smarty Pants is taking calculus in summer school. Glad those days are behind me.

I had a bump in the road with my training. Back started giving me major problems. I've never had back problems before and I felt (and looked) like an old lady. After trying chiropractor, massage and stretching I finally went to the doctor and got drugs. Don't know why I waiting 3 weeks to do this. I'm back on track now with less than 7 weeks to go.

Apologies for the long exercise log but I promised to keep myself accountable by publishing my exercise log and I'm woefully behind.

Workout Log
Monday, June 1
Bike ride on trainer 60 min

Tuesday, June 2
Running - speed workout 50 min

Wednesday, June 3
Swim 45 min at Lifetime

Thursday, June 4
Bike ride on trainer 55 min
Run 45 min

Friday, June 5
Swim 45 min

Saturday, June 6
Long Run 1:34
Open Water Swim 45 min

Sunday, June 7
Long Bike Ride 4 hours

Monday, June 8
Bike ride on trainer 60 min

Tuesday, June 9
Running - speed workout 61 min in College Station

Wednesday, June 10
Swim 45 min at Texas A&M Natatorium

Thursday, June 11
Bike ride on trainer 65
Run 46 min

Friday, June 12
Swim 45 min

Saturday, June 13
Long Run 1:30

Sunday, June 14
Long Bike Ride 4:10 hours
Open Water Swim 1:15 hour

Monday, June 15
Bike ride on trainer 60 min

Tuesday, June 16
Running - speed workout 69 min
Stretching 40 min

Wednesday, June 17
Swim 55 min
Yoga 60 min

Thursday, June 18
Bike ride on trainer 65
Run 45 min

Friday, June 19
Swim 45 min

Saturday, June 20
Long Run 1:30

Sunday, June 21
Long Bike Ride 4:10 hours
Open Water Swim 1:15 hour

2009-05-31T18:40:00.009-05:00

My little girl is all grown up and engaged to be married. Lots of planning, shopping, fun, tears and who knows what else to come!

Workout Log
Monday, May 18
1 hour ride on trainer

Tuesday, May 19
Back still bothering me. Skipped weight training and stretched for 20 min instead. Ran 50 min of mile repeats at very fast pace

Wednesday, May 20
Swam 1900 yards outside at Lifetime
Yoga class with Becca

Thursday, May 21
55 minutes on the trainer
Lactate Threshold running test - boy that takes a lot out of ya!

Friday, May 22
Swam 40 min at Lifetime

Saturday, May 23
Rest day - spending time with Sweetie

Sunday, May 24
3:30 hour bike ride. First time the winds weren't a killer. Averaged 18.1mph for 65 miles. I think that's a first

Monday, May 25
100 minute run with Sweetie, Canadian Debbie and Chris

Tuesday, May 26
1 hour ride on trainer

Wednesday, May 27
Yoga - great class with Becca

Thursday, May 28
Day of rest - hoping back will get better from this

Friday, May 29
Day of rest for back issues. Finally it feels better after 2 days of doing no exercise

Saturday, May 30
45 min easy run

Sunday, May 31
Magnolia Hill Field Trip - 75 min bike ride, 20 min run, 45 min swim, 15 min swim

Still Going...

2009-05-18T16:47:00.007-05:00

It's been a few weeks since I last wrote. I feel like the Energizer Bunny....keep going, going, going. I'm pretty excited because the first of my support crew is officially coming to Canada. Patty and my oldest sister Wendy bought airline tickets to make the trip. In the words of Wendy, "I have to come see what this Ironman thing you do is." I'm sure it will be very interesting to see her reaction. She has no idea! Of course Patty is THE veteran Ironman supporter and I'm sure will figure out a way to get on the official IM video that is distributed to all participants. She's 2 for 2 of the ironman races she has attended so far. Who knows what she has in store. See her first adventure in the picture above.

Workout Log

Saturday, May 2
First Century Ride!!!!

Sunday, May 3
45 minute run. Felt better than I expected the day after 100

Monday, May 4
60 min on bike trainer

Tuesday, May 5
Weights with Hawaiian Christine
45 min hill run

Wednesday, May 6
60 min swim
60 min yoga

Thursday, May 7
45 min on bike trainer
45 min run

Friday, May 8
45 min swim

Saturday, May 9
3 hour HILLY bike ride in Texas Hill Country

Sunday, May 10
80 min run around Town Lake in Austin

Monday, May 11
60 min on bike trainer

Tuesday, May 12
Weights with Hawaiian Christine
45 min interval run

Wednesday, May 13
60 min swim
60 min yoga

Thursday, May 14
65 min on bike trainer
45 min run

Friday, May 15
40 min swim

Saturday, May 16
90 minute run

Sunday, May 17
3:30 on bike

Change of Scenery

2009-04-23T08:20:00.011-05:00

Spent five days with Sweetie in North Carolina. He's such a doll and knows that I have to keep up with Ironman training even when I travel. So we worked everything around the training schedule but still kept if F-U-N.

The highlight was going to the Outer Banks (OBX for those in the know) for a Friday night of camping and awesome training ride on Saturday. It was a taper week, so it was ok to take it a little easy. We started from the campground. Rest Stop 1 was at the memorial to the Wright Brothers. Spent about 30 minutes viewing the memorial and the awesome view from the top of the very large hill that the memorial sits on. (Yes we did ride our bikes up the hill and then a lady with a cane pointed out to me on the way down that there was one - and only one - sign that said 'no bicycles'.) Rest stop 2 was the beach. Nothing better than taking off your helmet and cycling shoes for a little fun in the sand. Final stop was a small grocery for a refill of fluids. The last 8 miles of the ride were through a beautiful neighborhood of shade trees and blooming dogwoods.

Sunday was a trail run that follows the perimeter of a lake near the Raleigh/Durham airport. I'm so impressed with the Raleigh/Durham area with the number of parks, trails, sidewalks, bike lanes, etc. It's definately "Exercise Friendly". Wish H-Town was more like that!

I can't believe I'm now 3 months into Ironman training. Almost half way there!

Workout Log

Monday, April 13
45 min trainer ride

Tuesday, April 14
1 hr weight training
45 min hill run

Wednesday, April 15
1 hour swim
Yoga

Thursday, April 16
BRICK - 45 min trainer ride, 30 minute run. Had fabulous run. Did 9:30 pace

Friday, April 17
OFF

Saturday, April 18
60 miles on trainer - UGHHHHH....I hate the rain

Sunday, April 19
GREAT 2 hour run with the girls starting at Memorial Park then towards downtown. Followed this with brunch at The Hobbit and shopping at Lululemon.

Monday, April 20
45 min trainer ride

Tuesday, April 21
45 min hill run - not a good run, but finished it

Wednesday, April 22
Swam 1 hour at pool in Cary

Thursday, April 23
Brick in NC - 45 min hilly ride followed by 30 min hilly run

Friday, April 24
1 hour swim in Cary Pool

Saturday, April 25
AWESOME 42 mile ride on the Outer Banks of NC

Sunday, April 26
1.5 hour trail run around the lake in Raleigh

Monday, April 27
45 min ride on bike trainer

Tuesday, April 28
Weights for 1 hour with Hawaiian Christine
30 minute run with Canadian Debbie

Wednesday, April 29
1 hour swim in the 50 meter pool with Canadian Debbie. Nice to have the longer lanes for a change

Thursday, April 30
My big sis's birthday and also did a Brick - 45 min on trainer and 30 minute tour of the neighborhood

Friday, May 1
1 hour swim with Canadian Debbie

Easter in the Hills

2009-04-12T13:04:00.008-05:00

After many years of hearing about it from the Master Lord, I finally went with Michelle and Canadian Debbie to the Easter Hill Country Tour. This event is 3 days of no-frills riding in the Texas HILL country....and hilly it was! Met a new training friend, Amy, who came along with Michelle.

First up was a 47 mile ride on Friday. Well, mile 9 almost did me in. The "BEAR", as it's known got to me about 1/3 of the way up. It was so steep that I thought I should upclip one side. BIG mistake. When you slow down enough to unclip on a very steep hill, you can't get enough momentum to get going again. It was so steep, I was sliding on my clips when I was WALKING up! Had to stop and put my clip covers on so I could get to the top. Made it through the rest of the hills.

Day two was 66 miles. Well, we should have known there was going to be a problem when the street sign even warned cars of the upcoming "hill". So what did they call all those other things I had been climbing without the warning sign. When we got to the top (I actually made it to the top this time cuz I WAS NOT walking even though this hill was steeper than the BEAR), the guy at the rest stop told us we were at "Eagle's Nest". Glad I didn't know the name before I started climbing.

Sunday we woke to rain and very wet streets. So we headed back through the storms back to Houston and I rode the 19 mile ride I was supposed to do in the Hill Country on the trainer.

Best part of the weekend was fun with the girls, meeting Amy and knowing that I'm one step closer to being ready for the mountains in Canada!

Workout Log

Sunday, Mar 29
2 hour ride, 30 minute brick run

Monday, Mar 30
45 minute ride on trainer

Tuesday, Mar 31
1 hour weights
45 minute hill run

Wednesday, April 1
60 minute swim with Canadian Debbie
Yoga 1 hour

Thursday, April 2
45 min ride on trainer
45 min run

Friday, April 3
OFF

Saturday, April 4
1 hour swim in New Orleans

Sunday, April 5
Support Crew at Ironman New Orleans 70.3 Ran about 3 miles!

Monday, Apr 6
90 minute ride on trainer

Tuesday, Apr 7
Overslept and missed weights
45 minute hill run in Land of Sugar

Wednesday, Apr 8
Swam 1 hour with Canadian Debbie
Yoga 1 hour

Thursday, Apr 9
OFF

Friday, Apr 10
47 mile ride in the Hill Country

Saturday, Apr 11
66 mile ride in the Hill Country

Sunday, Apr 12
Brick: 19 mile ride/30 minute run

2009-03-28T20:27:00.005-05:00

I'm such a light weight. Went to Escalantes with Mr Smarty Pants for early dinner at 4:30pm. Decided to have one margarita since I'm not riding until 9:00am tomorrow. I'm laid out on the couch and can hardly keep my eyes open....That's what Ironman training does to you....

Workout Log

Friday, Mar 13
60 minute bike on trainer

Saturday, Mar 14
60 minute run
90 minute swim lesson at Richmond Y

Sunday, Mar 15
4 hour ride
45 minute brick run

Monday, Mar 16
60 minute bike on trainer

Tuesday, Mar 17
60 minute weight training
60 minute hill run

Wednesday, Mar 18
60 minute swim at LTF

Thursday, Mar 19
60 minute bike on trainer
60 minute run

Friday, Mar 20
60 minute bike on trainer

Saturday, Mar 21
90 minute run with Canadian Debbie
60 minute swim at First Colony

Sunday, Mar 22
4.5 hour ride Tour de Houston
60 minute brick run in downtown Houston

Monday, Mar 23
90 minute bike on trainer

Tuesday, Mar 24
60 minute hill run

Wednesday, Mar 25
60 minute swim at LTF
Yoga

Thursday, Mar 26
90 minute bike on trainer
60 minute run on TREADMILL - which I hate!!

Friday, Mar 27
60 minute bike on trainer

Saturday, Mar 28
90 minute run with Canadian Debbie
60 minute swim at LTF

Victorious Secret

2009-03-13T14:50:00.007-05:00

On Saturday, March 7 - Sunday March 8 for the second year in a row, I was a proud member of Team Victorious Secret in the Second Annual Texas Independence Relay. This 203 mile race starts in Gonzales, TX and ends at the San Jacinto Monument in Pasadena TX. Our all-female team was quite victorious taking 3rd place in the Open Womens' Division. With a full complement of a team and a few stronger girls running this year, we managed to finish more than 4 hours faster than last year.

One might think that having 13 women (12 runners and 1 driver) in two vans over the course of more than 30 hours would create drama, but the truth is we had a blast and I think all the drama was on the co-ed teams. We laughed, we cried, we ran, we ate, we didn't sleep, we ran....all for over 30 hours.

I have to admit that the lack of sleep (approximately 30-45 minutes sitting upright in the driver's seat of a parked car) did impact my training this week. But Coach Sam had anticipated that and adjusted the schedule accordingly. It's 6 days later and I'm still feeling somewhat sleep deprived. Oh well - as Team Victorious Secret's motto says --- SUCK IT UP CUPCAKE!!!!

I can't wait to do it again next year!

Workout Log

Thursday, Mar 5
60 minutes on bike trainer
45 minute run in Land of Sugar with Canadian Debbie

Friday, Mar 6
60 minute swim at Lifetime by myself (and vacation day)

Saturday, Mar 7 and Sunday, Mar 8
Texas Independence Relay - ran 16 miles over the 2 days

Monday, Mar 9
45 minutes on bike trainer

Tuesday, Mar 10
60 minute run on hills with Canadian Debbie

Wednesday, Mar 11
60 minute swim at Lifetime with Canadian Debbie

Thursday, Mar 12
45 minutes on bike trainer
45 minute run with Sweetie and Patty

The Bachelor is a Loser!!!!!

2009-02-23T21:09:00.006-06:00

Just got finished watching the taped versions of the final episodes of The Bachelor. This is one of the shows that I watch only when exercising. I cheated and watched it tonight after yoga class instead of waiting until morning when I was riding on the trainer.

What a L-O-S-E-R he is! That's all I'll say. I used to think Jason was such a good guy....until he picks one girl and decides less than 6 weeks later that he's still in love with the girl he dropped on the last episode. Make up your freaking mind. If I was Molly I would have told him to go fly a kite.

Workout Log

Friday, Feb 13
Swam 1 hour at First Colony Aquatic Center

Saturday, Feb 14
Ran 1 hour with Sweetie

Sunday, Feb 15
Bike ride 3 hours, Ran 45 minutes with Canadian Debbie

Monday, Feb 16
60 minute ride on traininer

Tuesday, Feb 17
Weights with Hawaiian Christine
Ran hills 60 minutes with Canadian Debbie

Wednesday, Feb 18
60 minute ride on trainer

Thursday, Feb 19
30 minute run at White Rock Lake
60 minute swim at Dallas Y

Friday, Feb 20
60 minute ride on trainer
60 minute swim at Dallas Y

Saturday, Feb 21
30 minute run at White Rock Lake

Sunday, Feb 22
2 hour ride, 30 minute run in Austin

Monday, Feb 23
45 minute run around Town Lake in Austin

Tuesday, Feb 24
45 minute ride on trainer

Wednesday, Feb 25
60 minutes swim at Lifetime with Canadian Debbie
60 minute yoga class

Thursday, Feb 26
45 minute ride on traininer
45 minute run at Memorial Park with Zeenie, Darwin, Canadian Debbie

Friday, Feb 27
45 minute ride on trainer
60 minute swim at FCAC with Jannelle

Saturday, Feb 28
3.5 hour windy ride with Candian Debbie
30 minute windy run with Canadian Debbie

Sunday, Mar 1
60 minute run in the neighborhood

Monday, Mar 2
45 minute ride on trainer

Tuesday, Mar 3
30 minutes of weights - without Hawaiian Christine!
60 minute run in the Land of Sugar

Wednesday, Mar 4
60 minutes swim with Canadian Debbie
60 minutes of yoga with Margie

Friday the 13th

2009-02-13T11:59:00.004-06:00

So my morning of Friday the 13th started with me waking up to do my 1 hour trainer ride as per the schedule. Thirty minutes into it, things seemed to be getting too easy. "Maybe I'm just peddling harder because I'm really motivated by these folks on The Biggest Loser episode I'm watching on the DVR." No it's a little too easy. Get off the bike and I have a flat on my rear tire.

HOW THE HECK DO YOU GET A FLAT ON A TRAINER. THIS SUCKS!!!!

It's 7:30am already, so guess what I'll be doing this evening? The other half of my workout from this morning!!!!!

Workout Log

Tuesday, Feb 10
Weights with Hawaiian Christine
60 minutes of hill running - even in the rain. We just didn't go to the top deck of the parking garage!

Wednesday, Feb 11
1 hour swim at Lifetime
1 hour yoga followed by Andy's Bra Bash and the purchase of 2 new sports bras!

Thursday, Feb 12
1 hour ride on bike trainer
1 hour run (Did a bonus 15 minutes. I thought the schedule said 1 hour and it was really 45 minutes. Does that make up for the 30 minutes of bike riding I still have to do today?)

I Will Survive

2009-01-26T20:56:00.010-06:00

Well it's finally here. Training plan for IM Canada has started and I'm loving it. After recovering from a week of flu or some other unidentified virus, I finally get started on Coach Sam's training plan for Canadian Debbie and I.

I've finished Week One and I feel like a Donna Summer song--I Will Survive! Been setting the alarm clock earlier and even waking up before it goes off. I'm sure this will get old long before August 30th, but right now my life finally feels like it's in order again.

Some might call it a sickness, but I love it!

Workout Log

Sunday, Jan 25
Bike trainer ride 60 minutes

Monday, Jan 26
Bike trainer ride 60 minutes

Tuesday, Jan 27
Weights with Hawaiian Christine

Wednesday, Jan 28
SICK

Thursday, Jan 29
SICK

Friday, Jan 30
SICK

Saturday, Jan 31
1 hour run around Town Lake in Austin

Sunday, Feb 1
Bike trainder ride 2 hours

Monday, Feb 2
Swam 30 minutes
Bike trainer ride 45 minutes

Tuesday, Feb 3
Weights with Hawaiian Christine
45 minute Hill Run

Wednesday, Feb 4
1 hour swim at Lifetime
Yoga class

Thursday, Feb 5
45 minute ride on trainer
45 minute run

Friday, Feb 6
45 minute ride on trainer

Saturday, Feb 7
1 hour run

Sunday, Feb 8
2.5 hour ride/30 minute run

Monday, Feb 9
45 minute ride on trainer

The Results are In...

2009-01-22T17:55:00.007-06:00

Well another one for the record books. Finished my 8th Houston Marathon and 9th time participating in the Houston Marathon weekend. (I did the half marathon with Lovable in 2008.) Won't dwell on it, but let's just say I didn't make my goal time, but I had a blast! Jean stayed with me the entire time and even would take my water bottles and fill them at each water station. The highlight was the weekend stay at the Hilton with the Spa Girls. Although the four of us don't do as much together as we used to, we are forever best of friends and I love them all to death!

I cried 50 yards from the finish line when I saw Sassy Pants and Sandy cheering me in. I was running to raise money (and I beat my fund raising goal) for CanCare and also in celebration of her hubby's recent discovery that he had KICKED CANCER'S BUTT! They had written me the most touching email when they found out and to see Sassy Pants at the finish line was just awesome....I still miss her on our Saturday long runs since she moved to the KUNTRY (as she calls it).

A few steps later, my kids were holding a giant sign that said "My Mom is My Hero. 4:30". Well even though I didn't make the 4:30 goal, it was even better to see that poster. When we got home, I told them we were keeping that poster and they would have to hold it at the finish line every year until I made 4:30 or less! (And we really did save it. In case I ask any of you next year where I put it, it's in the hall coat closet.)

Now the real training begins! 8 days until Ironman Canada training starts. Coach Sam - I'm counting on ya!

Workout Log

Saturday, Jan 17
Rest for marathon

Sunday, Jan 18
Just a little 26.2 mile run through the streets of Houston

Monday, Jan 19
Stretching

Tuesday, Jan 20
Walk/jog and stretching for 40 minutes

Wednesday, Jan 21
Yoga

Thursday, Jan 22
Weights with Hawaiian Christine

Friday, Jan 23
Nothing

Saturday, Jan 24
Easy 4 mile run. Felt a few little post-marathon aches, but nothing major that one shouldn't expect 6 days after a marathon

Marathon Weekend

2009-01-16T17:28:00.005-06:00

It's finally here! Weather is predicted to be be good. Spa Girls are pacing me. No excuse not to have a great time. And oh-by-the-way, going to go for the big PR and crash 4:30. I'll give it my all and you can't ask for anything more!

Workout Log

Wednesday, Jan 14
N-O-T-H-I-N-G (Fort Bend Fit Pasta Party

Thursday, Jan 15
N-O-T-H-I-N-G

Friday, Jan 16
N-O-T-H-I-N-G

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVABLE

2009-01-14T12:01:00.001-06:00

Do I really have a 21 year-old?

Smart Lovable

2009-01-13T11:13:00.002-06:00

Today Lovable takes her Dental School Entrance Test. I can't believe my little girl is big enough to go to dental school. Please send her SMART thoughts! She's been studying her a$$ off!

Workout Log

Sunday, Jan 11
Volunteered from 5am to 2pm at USA Fit marathon. I think that was harder than running the marathon....NOT!!!

Monday, Jan 12
Nothing....Met with Coach Sam to discuss Ironman Canada training plan

Tuesday, Jan 13
Weights with Hawaiian Christine

Traditions

2009-01-02T08:36:00.009-06:00

Remember the movie Fiddler on the Roof and the song "Tradition". It's one of my earliest movie theater memories as a kid. Our family rarely went to the movies....too much money. But I remember the whole family of 6 going to the theater to see Fiddler on the Roof.

So, this week starts Tradition for me. Houston Marathon weekend #9. The countdown has begun. I'm now one week, seven days, 154 hours from the start of the 2009 Houston Marathon. The traditions have also begun. The first tradition is to have a HORRIBLE last long run on the weekend prior to the marathon. So I had to uphold that! After a good 21 miler six days earlier, I started running on Saturday. After about 1.5 miles, I decided that I'd rather walk this weekend, than spend the last few miles on Jan 18th walking. So I finished the run with a long, slow 2.5 mile walk. It was a great time to think about the good times and bad of the past year.

This week will be a comfortable week of more traditions (massage, pasta dinner, expo, pre-race dinner, etc) culminated by a run with my four original Spa Girl running buddies pacing me for the 26.2

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Workout Log

Sunday, Dec 28

Monday, Dec 29
45 minutes on the bike trainer. It's been a while! Did a wattage ride for the first time like Coach Sam taught us a few weeks ago. It different.

Tuesday, Dec 30
Weights with Hawaiian Christine. Yikes she took my body fat and measurements. Gained 3 pounds and lots o'fat! Back to the eating program on Jan 5. She'll take my measurements again on Jan 20.

Ran 46 minutes of parking garages with New Angie and Yvonne.

Wednesday, Dec 31
New Year's lifting of glasses and toasting. Had more martini's than I usually have all year....uh-oh

Thursday, Jan 1
WII Fit with Sweetie and the kids. Yes, it really does count!

Friday, Jan 2
Day of Rest

Saturday, Jan 3
Day of Rest #2 in prep for big one

Sunday, Jan 4
21 miles with Sweetie, Canadian Debbie and Chris. Hot as H-E-L-L. So where does the Big Man get making it 75 degrees and 110% humidity in January? I was happy with our time given the weather. I even got a little kick at mile 19.5 and ran ahead of the group for about 5 minutes.

Monday, Jan 5
Recovery

Tuesday, Jan 6
SICK :-(

Wednesday, Jan 7
Yoga

Thursday, Jan 8
Weights with Hawaiian Christine

Friday, Jan 8
Rest

Saturday, Jan 9
Ran 1.5 miles, walked 2.5 miles

Home for the Holiday

2008-12-15T21:27:00.007-06:00

Well you can see by my workout log below that I've been a bit pre-occupied by the holidays. It really is more important this time of year to spend time with folks you love rather than exercise. I've fit in a few good, quality workouts and got lots of family time so all-in-all it was a good Christmas.

Christmas 2008 was extra special for the Jackson clan. We had a new addition, the first of a new generation born about 2 weeks before Christmas. My niece, Jessie, had a little boy, Matthew Madden on Dec 8th. Lovable is his Godmother, so she's pretty excited. This new generation was especially significant because we now have 5 living generatins in our family. My 89 year-old grandmother is now a Great-Great-Grandmother....WOW. I sure hope I get to see my great-great grandchildren.

Workout Log

Tuesday, Dec 16
Weights with Hawaiian Christine
5.25 mile run in Sugar Land with Canadian Debbie

Wednesday, Dec 17
Nothing!!!! Was a bad girl...

Thursday, Dec 18
5.25 mile run in Sugar Land with Harvest Moon Angie

Friday, Dec 19
NOTHING AGAIN! But then Friday is supposed to be my rest day.

Saturday, Dec 20
10 miles by myself in horribly, hot, muggy weather. Was happy with my 10:00/mile pace

Sunday, Dec 21
Two parties - does that count as a workout...oh and got a massage.

Monday, Dec 22
Wonderful Christmas Light Run led by Dandy Don Ruggles. Did 6.1 miles and enjoyed all the decorations of Brightwater

Tuesday, Dec 23
Weights with Hawaiian Christin
Does present wrapping count for cardio?

Wednesday, Dec 24
How about driving home to New Orleans? I flexed my ankle on the gas peddle!

Thursday, Dec 25
I promise I'll get back to working out

Friday, Dec 26
How about driving home?

Saturday, Dec 27
FINALLY - ran 10.5 miles in Sugar Land

Sleep, Exercise, Shop

2008-12-11T16:08:00.009-06:00

That's how I spent my summer...oopps....winter vaction. Rounded out the rest of the week with this pattern. Sleep until 8:30 - didn't even hear Sweetie leave for work each morning. Wake up. Eat breakfast and catch a little of the Today Show. Who knew Hoda Kotbe (a former New Orleans reporter back in the day) and Kathy Lee Gifford now host the Today Show later in the morning? What the working girl misses these days. Afer that I would do a workout of some sort and then hit the malls of Raleigh/Durham area. I still seemed to not be able to finish Christmas shopping though.

Since I missed the 30K Race in the Land of Sugar, Sweetie and I did 30k through Durham and Duke University. He tells me I pretty much saw all of Durham! Hey that's what happens when you have to do that much mileage. We took it fairly easy but for some reason at mile 15, I got a burst of energy and started running a sub-9 pace. Well that didn't last for long. The last half mile seemed to go on FOR-EVVAAAAA.

Here's a little pre and post run view for ya:

BEFORE

AFTER

Workout Log

Friday, Dec 12
Rest Day

Saturday, Dec 13
18.6 miles at 10:45 pace. Would like to have been faster, but I did this with Sweetie and it was about covering the distance, not the pace.

Sunday, Dec 14
Rest Day (lots of those lately!)

Tuesday, Dec 15
Travel Day - back to Houston

Snow in the Land of Sugar

2008-12-11T16:02:00.006-06:00

So I'm on a week of vacation being a Lady of Leisure in Sweetie's home town while he works. It's unusually warm here for December and has rained for the last 2 days. Sweetie and I go to see Australia on Wednesday evening and Mr Smarty Pants calls during the movie. It's unusual for him to call so I step out of the movie.

It's SNOWING in Sugar Land, Texas. No REALLY!!! It's 70 degrees in Raleigh and it's freakin snowing in Sugar Land while I'm not there!!!!!! What's up with that?

Workout Log

Thursday, Dec 4
Weights with Christine (and I was sore until Monday!)
5 mile Christmas Lights run in Sugar Land followed by Vineyard on the Square

Friday, Dec 5
Weights with Christine

Saturday, Dec 6
10 miles with Coach Bob (my original running mentor) and Alia. Had a great time catching up with Coach Bob. It's been a long time since I've run with him!

Sunday, Dec 7
Rest Day

Monday, Dec 8
1800m swim in Raleigh. Timed a 400, 300, 200 and 100. Did all in sub 2:00 (ranged from 1:45 to 1:53)/hundred. This is a big improvement since the last time I timed myself. Yay for me!

Tuesday, Dec 9
6 mile run in Sweetie's neighborhood

Wednesday, Dec 10
Rest Day (went shopping...isn't that exercies?)

Thursday, Dec 11
3.2 mile fast run in Sweetie's neighborhood in the rain!

Construction Project

2008-12-03T20:32:00.005-06:00

After 12 years of living with old fashioned white laminate counter tops and what seems like 6 months of trying to pick out granite, construction finally started in the kitchen project. Granite is installed, lights are mostly there, but somehow I don't have a faucet! Oh well, guess that means dinner out. (Like I need an excuse!)

I'll post the "after pix when it's all done. It may be a while cuz I still gotta pick out the backsplash!

Workout Log

Saturday
Rest Day

Sunday
Computrainer 65 min

Monday
Computrainer lesson with Coach Sam so did more listening than exercising

Tuesday
NOTHING - one day biz trip to Tulsa

Wednesday
Yoga

It's Christmas Time in the City

2008-11-28T14:57:00.003-06:00

My favorite time of year so of course I had to decorate my blog.

Now, first there was Thanksgiving. I was driving to my hometown, "The City that Care Forgot". I don't normally go home for Thanksgiving, but my niece is having a baby in mid-December and Lovable is the godmother. So we're hosting a baby shower on Saturday in New Orleans. I left the Land of Sugar at 1:25 on Wednesday afternoon. By 3:30 I had driven a whopping 35 miles and was stopped on I-10 at Baytown. Since I was driving by myself, I was just not prepared to be on the road for what would be a 10 hour trip at this rate. So I called Mom and Dad and turned around and went back to Sugar Land and bought an airline ticket to fly home after Thanksgiving instead.

So, not having planned to be home for Turkey Day, I volunteered instead of running the Turkey Trot. Walked 2 miles in the process since I was assigned to work the aid station at mile 4 of the 5 miles race.

Canadian Debbie invited me over to give thanks. It was very yummy! She's an awesome cook.

The good thing about staying home was that I didn't have to run the 14 mile long run by myself in New Orleans. Canadian Debbie and Alia ran with me on Friday morning. We started later than normal and with temps in the 70's and 100% humidity it was quite a mental challenge.

Now off to start Christmas!

Workout Log

Wednesday
100 crunches

THANKSGIVING Thursday
Walked 2 miles
Trainer 1 hour
100 crunches

Friday
Ran 14 miles at 10:24 pace on VERY hot and humid day!

Battle of the Scale

2008-11-26T08:44:00.005-06:00

Why does the scale go down at the most inopportune times? Here I've been watching what I eat and exercising very regularly (see log below) and the SCALE HAS NOT BUDGED!!!!! The only weight I've lost since August has been from the surgical removal of tissue from a certain site. And that was only two pounds.

So now we approach the Thanksgiving holiday. Time for o'caroling and o'gourging. I've already told myself, "OK Self. You can eat what you want during the holiday. You've been good and the scale hasn't moved so go ahead and have fun."

Well wouldn't you know....I get on the scale this morning, the day before the start of Gorge Fest and the scale has finally budged!!!. So now what am I to do? If I eat what I want I'll be back to square one and very frustrated. If I watch what I eat and gain back the couple of pounds I'll be REALLY FRUSTRATED.

Oh the problems of being a girl.....

Workout Log

Monday
Cycled on Trainer for 1 hour (and watched my fave show Lipstick Jungle)

Tuesday
Gruelly hour of weights with my trainer, Hawaiian Girl, at the gym in the a.m.
52 minutes of running hills in the evening

I Love My Kids

2008-11-23T19:37:00.005-06:00

Sweetie left this morning after a wonderful, but all too short weekend. Late afternoon decided to go see the movie, The Changeling, with Angelina Jolie. I only go to the movies about 4 times a year and am not sure what motivated me today. I think I just wanted to justify popcorn!

The movie was really good. It's the story of a single mom in the late 1920's in Los Angeles. After her 9 year old son is kidnapped, the LAPD return a boy who she says is not her son, while the police insist it is. If you're a mother, you know there's no way anyone could subsitute another child for your little one. The police try to blow her off and basically portray her as a crazy woman. You know, Sweetie sometimes asks me the question "If you could come back during any time period, which would it be?" My answer is always the 20's but if this is how women are treated, I think I'm going to have to rethink this.

I won't give away the full story, but highly recommend you see it. Made me come home and hug my kids. Had to just call Lovable since she doesn't live at home.

The movie is based on a true story which makes it even more wrenching.

Workout Log

Tuesday
Hills for 52 minutes - warm-up, 5 laps, cool-down

Wednesday
Rest Day (was supposed to ride but was lazy)

Thursday
5 miles at 9:50 pace (and no walk breaks)

Friday
Rest Day

Saturday
16 miles with Sweetie, Canadian Debbie and Chris. 10:34 pace overall

Sunday
Cycling 1.5 hours - rode by myself from the house and discovered a new route

ANTICIPATION

2008-11-18T08:05:00.004-06:00

For those who are of my vintage (very young and beautiful of course) you may remember the ketchup commercial that was on TV when we were kids. It showed a little boy fixing his burger and just waiting for the ketchup to come out of the bottle. You could almost see the kid drooling. In the background they played the song "Anticipation" by Carly Simon. You know the one....Anticipation...it's keeping me way-yay-yay-ting.

Well this week I feel like that little boy! Sweetie is coming to Houston on Friday. I can't wait. His trips to H-Town have been few this year since he came to Houston all the time in 2007 while I was training for Ironman. BTW this won't be the case for my Ironman Canada training since I now have a bike at his house and I'll probably get better training when I'm with him in Raleigh since they have REAL hills there. And the last time he was here was for my surgery so it doesn't really count. He'll only be here for a quick Friday evening - Sunday afternoon. The TriPsy end-of-season party is Saturday night and I'm thinking about getting tickets for the Body World 2 at the museum for Saturday afternoon. Of course with a 16 mile run on the agenda for Saturday morning, we may skip the museum in favor of a NAP!

Friday can't come soon enough. This has to be the slowest week at work ever! I'm having a hard time getting motivated to do my workouts but I keep telling myself before every workout that if I don't do xxx (ride the trainer, go to the gym to swim instead of hitting snooze, etc) then Sweetie won't come on Friday.

Only 3 more days!!!!

Workout Log

Sunday
Rest Day - Cleaned my closet and gave lots of clothes to Goodwill

Monday
Cycled - 50 min
Ran - 30 min
First brick workout I've done since before Vineman!

It's another Makeover

2008-11-15T16:01:00.001-06:00

After running 15 miles this morning, I'm getting rather comfortable horizontal on the sofa with the laptop and did a little research on bloggy stuff. Found www.thecutestblogontheblock.com. What a jackpot! Cutest backgrounds on the web and even learned how to create my own signature.

So why "Tri Chick" you ask? Well for years Lovable and Mr Smarty Pants have wanted me to get a personalized license plate on the car. I finally did it earlier this year. Since I was limited to only 6 characters by the big, bad state of Texas, I went for "TRI CHK". So, my bloggy signature is the same...well almost!

What do you think?

What's all the hype about YOGA?

2008-11-15T13:37:00.008-06:00

With the 6 weeks "rest" from working out I seemed to be really tight and inflexible now. So, I joined Canadian Debbie in a yoga class this week. Gotta tell you that I've tried yoga twice before and hated it. I get B-O-R-E-D. When I exercise I'm looking for action, sweat and most of all socializing with my buddies. In yoga you are quiet, relax and I didn't sweat a drop. Can that really be exercise? Doesn't seem like it.

Now all the Hollywood stars do yoga and claim it's what they do to keep in shape. I'm not so sure I believe them. I think they are secretly running and doing crunches when nobody is looking and then claim they're doing cool Pilates and Yoga.

But, I'm going to give it at least a few more weeks and see if it helps me before being a yogie drop out with ADD who can't sit still!

Workout Log
Tuesday
Hills - 5 loops/52 min

Wednesday
Yoga Class

Thursday
Swimming 45 min
5 miles at Memorial Park

Friday
Rest Day

Saturday
15.3 miles with Canadian Debbie

PD'ing

2008-11-10T20:21:00.009-06:00

It was an adventurous weekend. About 15 of my gal pals and I ventured into the 'Big City' near the Galleria and had a private pole dancing class at a place called Sheila Kelly's S-Factor. What a hoot! Now before your thoughts get too racey, we only learned one 'trick' on the pole. Mostly it was a fun GNO! The majority of the class was spent doing yoga-like stretching. Only difference was there were lots of hip swings in between! Then we did some killa abs. My stomach is still hurting 3 days later. Finally we learned a pole trick where we wrapped our legs around the pole, hung on and spun around. I was pretty spastic and have a purple shin and knee to prove it. After about 5 tries I finally got it and even eventually could do it and look pretty sexy...as per the girls! Most fun was had trying on the shoes that you wear at the "advanced" class. I think we're ready for that one already!

The rest of the weekend was spent in Austin with Lovable. We have a tradition of having one Mom/Daughter weekend every sememster since she started college. I just love these weekends! We shopped, ate, ran, shopped some more and ate some more. We made our usual trek to Nordstrom's but were actually more successful this time at Banana Republic. Gotta love the new purple for the season. New purple sweater and scarf for me, new boots and dress for Lovable. On Sunday morning we ventured out to Town Lake. Love that soft trail around the lake. Lovable ran 5 miles with me and then I did another 7 miles by myself.

Finally, I spent a little time doing some serious run calendar planning today. I have until Nov 19 to decide if I'll be doing the Houston Marathon/Half Marathon. Right now, I'm favoring the option of doing the full in Austin and either spectating or doing the half in Houston. I think I've even got Sweetie considering pacing/running with me. It would be awesome to do a full marathon with him by my side. He's an incredible runner and is such a great coach/encourager. I always run better/faster with him. We've done several half marathons together but never a full --- so this would be a first. More on that later. I have a little convincing to do yet!

Workout Log
Friday
Rest Day

Saturday
Rest Day

Sunday
12 miles around Austin's Town Lake

Monday
Cycling on Computrainer 45 min

Guilty Tracking

2008-11-06T21:30:00.003-06:00

I'm gonna copy Augie's idea and start recording my workouts in my blog. Just putting it out to the public will keep me more honest.

So here it goes:
Weights - 1 hour with personal trainer
Running - 4 miles at Memorial Park loop with Jen and Kathleen

My legs are sore!

Happy News All Around

2008-11-02T18:41:00.008-06:00

Well it was quite a weekend for some of my "younger" friends.

Zeenie and Wes got married. It was a beautiful wedding! Only the second "Houston" wedding I've been to. Bride was absolutely beautiful. Groom was quite handsome. Food was DELISS!!! Good thing I watched my calories at lunch time!

While the wedding was going on, fellow TriPsy member and swim coach extroidinaire, Markell, finished the Florida Ironman in a time of 12:28:08! Wow - I can't even imagine that. Of course Markell is young enough to be my daughter ;-) Congrats to Markell.

Augie, Shannon, Michelle, Chad, Sandy, Coach Bob, Trevor, Cory G and Darwin are now officially committed....Ironman Florida 2009. Although my race will be a few months ahead of them, it will be nice to have a larger crowd doing long distance training over the summer.

Splish Splash

2008-11-01T12:19:00.008-05:00

So I did my longest post-surgery run this morning. Honestly I wasn't sure I could do it and it wasn't my fastest. But I ran 11 miles at 10:50 pace and I'm happy. It started out much faster due to pacing with Canadian Debbie. But at about mile 5.5, nature called. So I peeled off and thankfully St Laurence church was open before 7:00am this morning and had a bathroom. I ran the next 4 miles by myself and I'm sure that's where the pace slowed. At about 9.5 I ran into Canadian Debbie, Alia and Sam. (They did 11.5 so sinced I cut off the Plantation Colony loop, I was now up with them.) Ran the last 1.5 miles with them. at 10 min pace. Made my goal for the day. Hoo-Yah!

Now for the real topic of the day. Yesterday, I received my order from Splish. If you don't know them, they make the cutest swimsuits. They even make custom suits. So Patty and I partnered to have them make TriPsyclone team suits. OMG, they are the cutest. I also splurged and ordered a custom Christmas suit. Nothing like getting into the holidays. Hey, based on the decorations at the malls, I can start wearing my Christmas swimsuit now. OK - I'll wait until after Thanksgiving. It's just the bomb. Everyone at the pool is going to be sooooooo jealous!!!

Boo

2008-10-31T19:41:00.002-05:00

So I'm sitting here in my Halloween finest - Black yoga pants, orange trick-or-treat shirt, jack-o-lantern on the front porch, lights on, Halloween flags-a-flyin. So why have I only had 3 small groups of trick-or-treaters? Somebody save me!!! I'm about to have to dig right into the candy bowl. I allocated myself 5 pieces of candy. I'm up to 7. Oh wait, there's a knock at the door.

Ok - I'm back. Make that 4 groups. These guys just really made out. I think I gave them half the bowl. OK I can have 7 pieces of candy cuz tomorrow I'm gonna do my longest run since Vineman. Here's hopin my new shoes are nice to my right foot. Don't tell anyone, but it's been bothering me since the half marathon relay on Sunday.

See ya on the roads tomorrow!!!

Roll the Dice, It's Bunco Time in Texas

2008-10-25T00:50:00.005-05:00

Bunco - I think in Webster's it's defined as a Texas phenemenon better known as an excuse for women to get together, eat, drink and gossip thinly disguised as a mindless dice game. I'd never heard of this until I moved to Texas. I've been part of my bunco group for about 10 years now. It's a group of special girls most of whom I worked with at Texaco many years ago. Tonight was my turn to host.

Being allergic to cooking as I am, I ordered dinner from Pappasitos for the girlz. Well, if there's one thing my Mamma taught me, it's never run out of food for your guests. I ordered 5 pounds of fajita meat. When I got home, for some reason it just didn't look like it was enough. So I went to Lupe Tortillas and got another two hunks of beef. Ahh, now I felt better. Well, needless to say, I have about 4 pounds of meat and fixins left over.

In past years when I hosted, the chef of the family, Mr. Smarty Pants always cooked. This year, he decided to focus on dessert only. What a hit! He kept to the Fall/Halloween theme and made pumpkin pie and the most delicious caramel apples (drizzled in white chocolate) you have ever tasted. Man that boy can create some tasty vittles.

Sunday is the big Houston Half Marathon that June and I will be relaying. It will be my longest run since surgery. I'll do the first leg and then hand off to June at mile 6.5. Since it's another 2 miles back to the car, I'm going to run alongside June for the first 2 miles of her leg. I'm pretty excited about this since this will get me closer to the mileage required to do the full marathon in January.

So, who's up for a fajita leftovers celebration lunch on Sunday after the race?

Junk Food Carbs

2008-10-22T10:35:00.005-05:00

It was my last night with Sweetie so what did we do? NO I'm not gonna blog about that! We went to the North Carolina State Fair. Seems the best thing to do at the North Carolina State Fair is eat junk food. So that is what we did! Over and over again! Just one little pointer....Bloomin onion, kettle corn and cotton candy do not make for good pre-run food the next morning! Suffered through what should have been a beautiful 5 mile run around the Duke campus in 45 degree weather. Unfortunately the carbs from the cotton candy were long gone! Maybe they should make Cotton Candy flavored gels!

Amongst These Hills

2008-10-21T09:25:00.002-05:00

Did my first hilly bike ride since Vineman yesterday. Since Sweetie is now living in Raleigh along with my rode bike, we spent our vacation day on Monday doing our first North Carolina ride yesterday. Perfect weather, perfect route, perfect company, not perfect bike. Well the ride started out really nice through the country side outside of Chappell Hill. (No not the Houston area Chappell Hill, the REAL one in North Carolina....although the terrain is about the same.) Sweetie had even mapped out a 25 mile ride that had a dairy farm about 16 miles into it that served homemade ice cream. We thanked the cows as we rode past them and stopped at their ice cream store.

Now with a sugar rush we took off. But seems my Trek didn't quite like the move and suddenly for some reason it would randomly change gears about every 5 rotations. Never knew if it would go to a harder or easier gear.

No worries, Sweetie is gonna take care of it for me and bring the baby into the doc for a tune-up before my next trip here. I foresee lots of hill riding in North Carolina during Ironman Canada training!

Fly the Friendly Skies

2008-10-16T12:47:00.004-05:00

Remember when you thought flying on an airplane was fun - an adventure? Those days are O-V-E-R. I've decided to run for president of the FAA (or whatever organization controls the rules of the airports and airlines) and institute some new rules.

First the security lines. I declare that when I am head of the FAA, the rule will be "if you have not flown within 30 days you are required to watch a mandatory video on how to check in your luggage and go through security." How frustrating it is to stand in line at Southwest for 20 minutes only to have the person in front of you get to the check-in stand and realize that they have to fill out a luggage ID tag to attach to their luggage. What the heck have they been doing for the last 20 minutes??? Or in the security line for them to discover that they have their favorite perfurme and shampoo in the check in luggage, change in their pockets and refuse to take their shoes off? Come on people. It's just not that complicated.

Next it's the boarding process. OK we all learned how to count in kindergarten. Your boarding pass has a number on it and you line up in numerical order. Again....it's not that hard. You don't need to line up 30 minutes before boarding and you also don't gather near where you're supposed to be in line. If I'm number 58 and you're 61, I get to be ahead of you so get out of my way.

Finally, go to the bathroom BEFORE you get on the plane. Yesterday I was flying out of IAH to visit Sweetie. I woke up at 4:45am to catch a flight departing at 7:25am. I got to the airport only to find out that bad weather the previous night had screwed up all the flights coming in on Wednesday night. So, because of "crew mandatory rest" (an FAA rule that I will keep in place when I'm president of the FAA cuz I want to make sure my pilot isn't asleep at the wheel), my flight was now delayed until 9:15am. Of course that meant I would miss my connection in Atlanta, but Delta had already taken care of that and rebooked me to the 1:10pm connector. Finally at 9:00 they boarded us. We all got on the plane and pulled away from the terminal only for the pilot to tell us that the runway was being inspected (why at 9:15am I can't tell you) and all of the planes were having to move to a new runway and it would be a while. "Stay in your seats though because when they tell us it's our turn we will take off immediately" he added. Well about 30 minutes later the pilot comes on and tells us that we had our turn but that because everyone was not in their seat, we now had to wait another 10 minutes. When that guy walked out of the bathroom back to his seat I had to contain myself not to trip him from my aisle seat. WHAT A JERK!!!!! Of course when we landed in Atlanta, I ran to the gate of my connecting flight and the person at the gate said I missed the flight by about 3 minutes. THANKS MR "I GOTTA GO PEE"!!!!! I had the pleasure of waiting another hour in an airport before I got to my Sweetie. I think that man should be banned from flying for life.

Back in the Saddle Again

2008-10-12T21:17:00.002-05:00

After 6 long weeks of recovering from surgery, I am finally able to run again. Doc says I can pretty much do anything I feel up to doing. So Saturday I went out for my first run. Of course Friday night was quite an adventure of shopping for a new running bra. After about 3 stops, I finally found one that I thought would work.

While my regular training group was starting at 5am to do 15 miles, I decided that I would rather finish with them than start with them - My Momma didn't raise no dummy! I started in teh dark at about 6:40 am. Recognized my Vineman partner June leaving the parking lot about the same time. (She's just starting back after injury too.) We started together but quickly seperated. Brought good ole IPOD along for company.

All I will say is WOW - what a difference a little surgery makes. I felt like a kid running around the playground at recess. I had planned on starting at 3 miles but felt so good I went for 4. So, I'm back in the saddle again!

Granite and Panties?

2008-10-06T21:19:00.004-05:00

My house is 12 years old. It's time for some updates. I'm starting in the kitchen - upgraded the light fixtures and now replacing laminate counter tops with granite. Now most women would relish the idea of picking out a new kitchen, but in case you didn't notice in my "About Me", cooking and decorating are definately NOT in the list of things I like to do. I'm much better at take-out and eating.

Tomorrow I go to the granite warehouse to pick out the slabs of granite. Now I'm usually pretty calm and collected about things, but this has me very stressed out. This will be trip#4 and every time it gets more confusing and over-whelming. I thought I had it down to 3 colors and hated all of them once they pulled them out so I could look at them. So now I'm back to square one, but I'm not leaving there tomorrow until I have selected something. ARGGGGHHHH!!!!!!

As Jannelle told me tonight, "put on your big girl panties and just do it!"

Mr Smarty Pants Really Is Smart

2008-10-05T16:22:00.004-05:00

My baby started college this semester. Yeah I can hardly believe it. He's living at home commuting to the local college. I'm fine with this as he's very independent and it's almost like we each have our own "half" of the house. He lives upstairs and I live downstairs. He's just completed his first round of tests. He took these much more seriously than I expected. I think he was even nervous. I'm happy to report that he made an A in math, an A in English, the second highest grade in the class in sociolgy and the 18th highest grade (with over 100 kids in the class) in geology. The sociology teacher told them he would curve the grades and the geology teach as well. I'm very proud of him - Mr. Smarty Pants.

So, why do teachers do this? Why do they give impossible exams? Why do they post scores for the test in the order of best to worst? I had a math professor in college who used to do this. He would hand out the tests in the order you scored. So if you got your test first, you had the highest grade and if you got yours last, you had the worst grade. Now while that motivated the anal retentive, type A, competitive personalities like me (I always wanted to be first!), it certainly did nothing but embarrass the lower scorers. I always tried to distract myself after he got about halfway through handing out the tests (of course I had already received mine) because I didn't want to embarrass anyone.

Well back to Mr. Smarty Pants....We went to the Galleria on Saturday to celebrate his grades. A man close to his mom's heart...we went shopping! He didn't find what he was looking for, but Mom bought several pieces of costume jewelry from my favorite accessory place, Charming Charlie. Oh don't feel sorry for Mr. Smarty Pants - he got home and ordered what he wanted online. Oh the modern methods of shopping!

Go Away IKE - You don't scare me!

2008-09-10T20:11:00.004-05:00

Well I think I've become a Weather Channel junkie. I never thought I'd see the day when every day I'd wake up early before my alarm to watch The Weather Channel. But that's what Ike has done to me. Being a Southern girl, I'm used to the idea of hurricanes. I always said that I'd rather live in the world of hurricanes than the world of tornados. At least you know they're coming and can plan for them. But this year it seems like we're planning the the possibility of the next storm every week. To make things worse, it seems like landfall only happens on holidays (like Labor Day) and weekends. Give a girl a break. So here I am with my hurricane kit all ready, flashlights out, stash of batteries, candles, matches, radio, water and last but not least, junk food. If we have to sit around in the dark, at least I'm going to enjoy it in some way.