Misadventures of Tea

By now, you all have heard about my misadventure on the mountain.


Painful, yes.


Funny, yes.


Preventable, well not really.

Sawtooth to the left. I snapped this picture about 250m from the summit.

Taken from the summit of Bierstadt. That's sawtooth.

As I've been laid up, I've had way too much time on my hands for thinking. 


First of all, accidents happen. I wasn't too terribly upset about this. In fact, I wasn't upset at all given how bad it could have been. Although Justin said that I should get the Bad Ass Mom of the year award. I know, at the time, he was scared.   


Yesterday, I made my first appearance back in the gym. I still can't bear additional weight standing, but my back & shoulders are no longer sore. My hands are scabbed up. My rehab exercises all consist of balance, strength and stretching with my own body weight. During my first appearance back, I ran into Helen who stared at my bruised and battered body, pointed at the bruises that went from the tips of my toes up to my knees and yelled in that demanding voice, "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?" After I explained, she said, "It's lucky that you are in such great shape. It could have been alot worse."


Of course, that sent me right back into my thinking mode. 







Even before the fall (fall as in GO BOOM. Not as in Autumn), I had been thinking a lot about things that I like to do.


My problem is that I enjoy doing SO MANY things. Thank goodness I don't live near an ocean because I don't know HOW I'd fit in my obsession with sailing or quiet my overwhelming surfing urges. 


So, it comes down to prioritizing. I can either focus on ONE BIG TIME CONSUMING *thing* or enjoy a little of everything.


Given that I tend to get bored with things quickly, my best option is enjoy a little of everything. 


I can't do any of it without a certain level of fitness. If you run, do triathlons, swim 10ks, climb, hike....I don't care what it is...you know that you can't do those things without having a basic level of fitness. And, just because you can do Ironman, that doesn't mean you can climb. Because you can ride 100 miles, doesn't mean you can run 50 miles.


BUT!! The one activity that DOES connect all of these is strength, core, balance....those types of activities. When you DO plan on doing a different activity, it will be that much easier because of the work you've done in strength, core & balance. 


(btw: when I say YOU, I mean ME)


Where does this leave me?


Well, once I'm all better....which should be in about another 4-6 weeks, I'm going to do my half marathon. My friend is coming in from Costa Rica to run with me. Well, not WITH me, especially not NOW. I will likely do the half as a walk/run as I am going to miss out on my long runs. 


Then, it's about fun. Next year, I want to climb & hike more. This Fall (Fall as in Autumn not as in GO BOOM), once I'm healed, Justin and I are planning on going up hiking if weather permits, if not snowshoeing. 


I can't help it. There's nothing in the world like standing on top of a mountain. If I took a personality test, it would likely come out as a "high risk, high reward" type. Or better yet, as my friend Ti quotes on her blog "When you marry a mountain girl, you marry the mountain." (Oh, and if you haven't read her blog, please do. She's pretty amazing, and she's my idol.)


I've also gotten a great opportunity to do CrossFit for 3 months. Talk about PERFECT for my mentality. I love this type of workout. Well, it's a love/hate type of thing. 


Never fear, triathlete friends! My desire for triathlon hasn't died. In talking to coach, I've got a plan to focus on short distances, probably for the next few years. Shorter distances will give me the opportunity to do all the *long* workouts without having to sacrifice all the other things that I love....


And give me time to find NEW things. 

Turkey Trot Throw Down

It has gotten U.G.L.Y here in the Land of Chand.


You might remember what happened last year at the 4 mile Turkey Trot.


For years, I've held the title of FASTEST MOST AWESOMEST RUNNER IN THE LAND OF CHAND.


And, I haven't hidden this fact. 


When I WIN, I like to remind family members that YES, INDEED....I ONCE again won the 4 mile family friendly Turkey Trot. 


So, I've had to resort to....evil methods...to ensure my win. SO, I've hidden timing chips, running shoes, warm gear and bottles of water. 


A little HTFU never hurt anyone.


especially not a 10 year old, right.


Imagine my surprise, when I finished the race last year....all smug like....only to look around and see GOOGS already sitting under a tree, drinking water.


WTF?


Needless to say. I was NOT pleased when the official results came down that GOOGS beat me by :24 seconds. 


:24


Immediately after my race I started plotting for the future. Because, let's be honest, this was NOT going to happen again. 


And don't feel all sad for Googs either, he's 17....he can handle his mom being a sore loser.


*****


My plan came down to this. Googs likes to weight lift. Serious, big time, weight.


Because I didn't do the Boulder race, all of a sudden my schedule cleared out to train for SPEED, man, SPEED.


Hmmm, jordan keeps getting bigger....hee hee....I get faster....I started salivating with the thought of regaining my title.


THEN that little bastard did the unthinkable.....he started running. Not just any running.


THE KID IS RUNNING 400M SPRINTS.


HOW CAN I COMPETE WITH 400M SPRINTS?


I needed help.


I called for reinforcements.


Behind an abandoned building in Denver, we meet to discuss the plan.


Did you bring the stuff?


I nod and hand him the bag of donuts.


He takes the bag. Shoves a donut in his mouth and says, The ways I sees it. Your only chance to beat this punk is (he looks around) to use my secret weapon.


I move in closer, What's that?


First, you gotta do these VO2max workouts. I ain't gonna lie. They're gonna hurt.


I start scribbling down the workout. Ok, ok.


He wipes his mouth and says: Next, we need to come up with a plan for you to visualize, visualize, visualize. You got plenty of time to beat this kid, but you gotta BELIEVE you're gonna beat him.


I write it down. Anxiously awaiting the next training trips from the Great One.


What? he asks. That's it. that's all I got tonight. Next time, bring me sprinkled donuts. I like the sprinkles. They remind me of when I was kid.


And he disappears into the night.


*****
Dear blogger friends. 


Intervals, visualization & donuts.


I can almost taste the victory!


Mama's coming boy. And she has a chip the size of Colorado on her Shoulder.

Operation TTIAH

Let Operation TTIAH BEGIN!

Of course that translates to Let Operation Turn Tea Into A Hottie Begin!

Not hottie as in: Oh, you look great for almost 44.

No.

I mean hottie as in DAYUM GIRL!

YOU.HAVE.BEEN.WARNED.