29 December 2006

HOLY HOLIDAY HIATUS HORROR!!



Well, it's been a few weeks since I've done any regular exercise, dedicated to my "holiday hiatus" of taking time off from all things triathlon. I've realized that my whole motto of "I train to eat" is true. While I haven't been training, I have been eating! Between Thanksgiving, birthday, and Christmas feasts, my clothes no longer fit! Good thing I've got the next 4 days off to get on my bike!


Fortunately for me, DC winter is alot like CA winter (I'm going to regret those words soon, I'm sure) and I'm all set for a glorious ride tomorrow with friends. How many days does it take to reestablish a habit. . .?

15 December 2006

Season's Greetings!

Seasons Greetings! How did it get to be December AGAIN!?!? As with every other year, 2006 has been a whirlwind and full of exciting adventure for me!! January found me training day and night for my first Ironman 70.3 triathlon. Juggling tri life with Navy life was difficult, and left time for little else. My ship took a trip to Canada where I sailed PREBLE through the San Juan Islands and into beautiful Vancouver BC!! There I met up with my close friend Sarah and the wonderful Canadians who, despite their dislike of Bush, love Americans and the US military. I took my bike with me, but since our mission was to search out the worst possible seas and then try to sail as fast as possible, I didn’t get a whole lot of training done onboard. The seas were so bad that we actually cracked bulkheads on the ship, and a number of folks sleeping racks became detached from the bulkheads and “got underway” on their own! It was crazy! While underway, I was contacted by my Navy detailer (headhunter/agent), who informed me that I’d been selected to interview for jobs in Washington DC. So I caught a plane from BC and flew to DC, which would be the beginning of a whole new world for me! I interviewed for a position as the Staff Secretary for Vice President Dick Cheney’s National Security Affairs office, and as a Congressional liaison. The VP job had no travel and was basically an Executive Assistant position—not what I was looking for. I had done a phone interview from the ship for the liaison position, and was meeting the Admiral for a second interview. It was my first time in the Pentagon. What an impressive, intimidating building! But, apparently my calm, collected, exterior prevailed and I landed the job! So, I told the Admiral I’d report as soon as I finished my Ironman in Baja! I think that impressed him most of all, and they supported me 100%. My training was paying off, and in April I won the women’s field in the Rosarito to Ensenada 50 mile bike race, finishing in 2:31. I was actually an “international record holder” until September when my friend Julia beat my time (we met on the course in April—she took 2nd!). And in May I again took 1st in my age group in the Sprint triathlon that started my whole tri craze! I left good ship PREBLE in May, done with sea duty for the next 5 years, packed my things and headed off to Mexico to see how well I’d fare at this Ironman thing. Turns out pretty well. I placed 5th in my age group, finished in 5:57:34 and qualified for the World Championship race in Florida!! It was an amazing experience, shared with my amazing friend Jess, and somehow 6 hours doesn’t seem to cover all the emotions and stresses that I endured during that race! Krista, my friend since back in high school, took a crazy trip down to Mexico to meet me and we enjoyed a few days of fiesta and siesta on the Baja coast before we headed out like Thelma and Louise across country in my convertible. I left Krista in Kansas, and finished my 7th cross-country trip on my own. I arrived to find DC everything I’d feared: hot, humid, and horrible. The sweltering summers really knocked off my training, and the traveling for work kept me very busy as well. Ten days into my new job I was on a 7 day, 3 island trip to Hawaii! Had a fantastic time, actually got my very first ride on a submarine (only 11 years in the making), and spent some time on the Big Island of Hawaii, which is the host island for the Full Ironman World Championships in Kona. I also found myself in the deserts of Yuma showing Congressional staff the work being done on the critical counter IED (improvised explosive device) threat that is killing our troops every single day. Yuma is a lot like Iraq, which makes it a good place for testing. The only nice thing about Yuma is that it’s 168 miles from San Diego, so I managed to get back to San Diego to see my friends throughout the summer. I was fortunate enough to get back there for a long Labor Day weekend, and saw my friend Carlos close a 16 year career as the San Diego State Aztec Warrior. I saw my Nephew Erik go to his first day of kindergarten, and have been able to spend a lot of time with them again. Finally, in September the weather broke in DC, and a fantastic fall followed. I reveled in the changing colors, the great 80-degree temperatures, and the “fantastic California days”. But DC isn’t SD when it comes to training, and my Championship race in Clearwater FL wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. I beat my Baja time by 10 minutes, but should have been able to beat it by 30. The race will air on NBC on March 31st, 2007. So, I’m going to have to “suck it up, princess” come next summer! Fortunately, I have met some great folks out here, reconnected with Navy folks that I randomly run into in the great halls of the 5-sided jungle, and have really found a niche with some great athletes out here. I’ve become a Velo-Bella bike racer, and will be doing more bike races in the next year. Amazingly, after 10 years of being afraid to leave San Diego, I am thoroughly enjoying DC! I absolutely LOVE my job, have a whole new network of friends, and even manage to fit in a date or two! I am happy, healthy, and just living my life the only way I can imagine! I hope you too are happy, healthy, and enjoying each and every day! Happy New Year!
MILEAGE TOTALS 2006: SWIM: 71,600 yds (40.7 mi) BIKE: 2059 mi RUN: 350 mi TOTAL: 2816 miles!!!